﻿PREFACE. 
  

  

  If 
  the 
  volume 
  under 
  consideration 
  be 
  presented 
  to 
  my 
  brother 
  lepi- 
  

   dopterists 
  with 
  even 
  more 
  misgivings 
  than 
  any 
  of 
  its 
  predecessors, 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  

   because 
  less 
  work 
  has 
  been 
  devoted 
  to 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  its 
  contents, 
  

   but 
  rather 
  that 
  the 
  group 
  dealt 
  with 
  is 
  so 
  little 
  known 
  and 
  scarcely 
  at 
  

   all 
  understood, 
  that 
  one 
  feels 
  oneself 
  to 
  be 
  treading 
  on 
  treacherous 
  

   ground 
  at 
  every 
  step 
  forward 
  that 
  one 
  attempts 
  to 
  take 
  to 
  reach 
  the 
  

   light, 
  which 
  one 
  knows 
  should 
  show 
  somewhere 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  

   new 
  and 
  old 
  facts 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  here 
  collected 
  together. 
  

  

  An 
  early 
  interest 
  in 
  the 
  group 
  was 
  somewhat 
  stimulated 
  by 
  

   Mr. 
  South's 
  " 
  Contributions 
  " 
  to 
  The 
  Entomologist, 
  and, 
  in 
  1887, 
  a 
  

   commencement 
  was 
  made 
  to 
  collect 
  together 
  the 
  details 
  already 
  

   published 
  on 
  the 
  British 
  species 
  of 
  the 
  group. 
  These 
  rough 
  notes 
  were 
  

   printed 
  in 
  The 
  Young 
  Naturalist, 
  and 
  later, 
  in 
  1895, 
  were 
  collected 
  in 
  

   book 
  form, 
  and 
  published 
  by 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  E. 
  Robson, 
  under 
  the 
  ambitious 
  

   title 
  " 
  The 
  Pterophorina 
  of 
  Britain: 
  A 
  ~Mono(jra\ih" 
  but 
  so 
  crude 
  were 
  

   the 
  notes, 
  so 
  superficial 
  the 
  treatment, 
  so 
  apparent 
  our 
  ignorance 
  of 
  

   the 
  superfamily, 
  and 
  so 
  marvellously 
  abundant 
  the 
  misprints 
  and 
  

   errors 
  scattered 
  throughout 
  the 
  little 
  work, 
  that 
  no 
  sooner 
  was 
  it 
  

   finished, 
  and 
  The 
  'Natural 
  History 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Lepidoptera 
  contem- 
  

   plated, 
  than 
  the 
  help 
  of 
  Dr. 
  T. 
  A. 
  Chapman 
  and 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  W. 
  Bacot 
  

   was 
  sought, 
  fresh 
  material 
  was 
  collected, 
  the 
  life-histories 
  were, 
  as 
  

   opportunity 
  offered, 
  studied 
  ab 
  ovo, 
  and 
  preparation 
  for 
  a 
  new 
  volume 
  

   on 
  the 
  superfamily 
  was 
  commenced. 
  It 
  was 
  intended 
  that 
  this 
  

   volume 
  should 
  have 
  comprised 
  Volume 
  II 
  of 
  the 
  series, 
  but 
  so 
  slow 
  

   was 
  our 
  progress, 
  so 
  difficult 
  the 
  work, 
  and 
  so 
  hopeless 
  seemed 
  our 
  

   efforts 
  to 
  form 
  any 
  satisfactory 
  conclusions 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  relationships 
  of 
  

   the 
  various 
  Alucitid 
  groups, 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  till 
  fully 
  ten 
  years 
  had 
  

   elapsed, 
  that 
  we 
  felt 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  to 
  commence 
  to 
  formulate 
  our 
  

   ignorance 
  in 
  the 
  pages 
  of 
  Volume 
  V. 
  

  

  It 
  is, 
  therefore, 
  20 
  years 
  since 
  the 
  earliest 
  contributions 
  towards 
  

   the 
  material 
  for 
  this 
  volume 
  just 
  finished, 
  and 
  its 
  successor, 
  should 
  it 
  

   ever 
  be 
  completed, 
  were 
  collected, 
  yet, 
  at 
  the 
  completion 
  of 
  this 
  

   volume, 
  all 
  one 
  can 
  honestly 
  say 
  is 
  that 
  one 
  feels 
  one 
  is 
  just 
  a 
  little 
  

   more 
  fit 
  to 
  commence 
  it 
  than 
  was 
  the 
  case 
  two 
  years 
  ago. 
  Our 
  

   excuses 
  for 
  not 
  destroying 
  what 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  and 
  commencing 
  again 
  

   are 
  twofold 
  — 
  (1) 
  That 
  if 
  we 
  waited 
  till 
  we 
  knew 
  that 
  we 
  knew 
  our 
  

   subject, 
  Dothing 
  would 
  ever 
  be 
  written, 
  knowledge 
  would 
  be 
  lost, 
  and 
  

   progress 
  impossible. 
  (2) 
  That 
  at 
  the 
  later 
  stage 
  of 
  again 
  finishing, 
  

   we 
  should 
  be, 
  in 
  our 
  recognition 
  of 
  our 
  appalling 
  ignorance, 
  exactly 
  

   where 
  we 
  stand 
  to-day. 
  Friends 
  must, 
  therefore, 
  believe 
  us 
  when 
  we 
  

   say 
  that 
  no 
  student 
  of 
  the 
  Palasarctic 
  Alucitides 
  can 
  be 
  more 
  painfully 
  

   aware, 
  when 
  he 
  has 
  carefully 
  studied 
  our 
  book, 
  than 
  we 
  ourselves 
  are, 
  

   of 
  the 
  many 
  lapses, 
  blanks, 
  possible 
  errors 
  and 
  doubtful 
  conclusions, 
  

   that 
  it 
  must 
  contain 
  . 
  Still 
  we 
  hope 
  that 
  all 
  will 
  agree 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  an 
  

   honest 
  attempt 
  to 
  bring 
  together 
  whatever 
  is 
  known 
  of 
  this 
  interesting 
  

   superfamily, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  species 
  dealt 
  with 
  are 
  concerned, 
  and 
  that, 
  

   from 
  the 
  details 
  here 
  offered, 
  someone, 
  less 
  distracted 
  by 
  the 
  accumu- 
  

  

  