INTRODUCTION. 
THE principal object of the present Catalogue has been to 
give a complete list of the specimens of Lepidopterous Insects 
contained in the collection of the British Museum, indicating 
at the same time the peculiarities of each, as regards variations 
in colour, locality, and the source from whence it has been 
derived. } 
With this view, the different individuals of each species 
contained in the collection are indicated by the letters a, b, c, 
&e., following the name of the species, and its synonymes. 
The habitat is given as particularly as the materials pos- 
sessed by the Museum permit; but as many specimens have 
been procured from dealers, it is often impossible to give the 
place from whence they are derived, except in the most gene- 
ral terms. 
Those specimens which have been presented to the Mu- 
seum have the name of the donor marked immediately after 
the habitat, and in general, the collection from whence the 
specimen has been purchased, or procured in exchange, is 
also marked ; as it often gives some authenticity to its 
history. 
