116 CLASSIFICATION OF 
Of this order Linneus forms three genera, namely, 
Papilio, Sphinw, and Phalena ; which are called in 
English, Butterflies, Hawk Moths, and Moths. 
The French authors have subdivided this order 
into a variety of families, tribes, and genera ; but to 
enter into these would occupy a space far beyond 
our limits. I therefore confine myself to the Lin- 
nean arrangement. 
The first genns to be considered is that of Papilio, 
or what, in our language, is termed Butterfly ; which 
Dr Johnson says is so named because it first appears 
in the beginning of the season of butter. According 
to Dr Webster, it is much more probably derived 
from the colour of a yellow species, which is the 
most common. 
The varied and splendid tints of Butterflies, and 
their generally elegant and graceful forms, afford 
ample means for contemplation and admiration. 
Miss Jarmyn has justly observed, that the tribes of 
these animals, which inhabit the tropics, are at least 
equal in the brilliancy of their general colour to 
those of the birds of the same countries. Linneus, 
alive to all the dazzling splendour of Butterflies, 
emphatically says—* See ! the large, elegant, paint- 
ed wings of the butterfly, four in number, covered 
with delicate feathery scales! With these it sustains 
itself in the air a whole day, rivaling the flight of 
birds, and the brillianey of the peacock. Consider 
this insect through the wonderful progress of its 
