1889.] 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



is of secondary importance to that of the wings, and so long as the 

 wings are fairly well set and the antennae well out, most lepidopterists 

 are satisfied ; a few set the first and last pair of legs, but generally 

 these look after themselves. In " plumes," it is absolutely necessary 

 to set the legs, and the setting of these is of equal importance with 

 the wings. If the insect is well pinned, the legs can easily be drawn 

 into position before putting the insect completely down into its place 

 on the setting-board, and then arranged afterwards. Probably the 

 wings of the " plumes " are more easy to set than those of any other 

 group. Just below the apex of the anterior wing is a cleft, into which 

 a pin can be inserted and the wing drawn forward, the posterior 

 wings generally fall into position, or if not, a little persuasion with a 

 fine pin under the plumules will arrange them, when the bracing can 

 be done in the ordinary way. So much for the mechanical part of 

 the work. 



With regard to the localities in which "plumes" may be found, 

 lepidopterists who have already taken up the larger groups, will 

 already know the localities and habits of many species, and if any 

 collector who may, in anticipation of these papers, or otherwise, be 

 taking up the "plumes " for the first time, will set what specimens 

 he may capture, I shall be very pleased to name them for him. Many 

 species are excessively local, but abundant where they occur, and 

 collectors should take a fairly long series, as specimens of most of 

 this group are always useful to friends. 



The sub-division of the British Pterophonna was very crude until 

 Dr. Jordan took up the matter some years ago, and gave us a new 

 idea of their classification,?/^ "Entomologist's Monthly Magazine," 

 Vol. VI., pp. 119 and 149. In the old Doubleday arrangement there 

 was practically no sub-division of the group, because so little was 

 known about it. With the exception of two species, they were all 

 placed together under the one generic name Pterophorus, much in the 

 same way as all the butterflies were originally called Papilio. As far 

 back as Hiibner's time, however, the necessity for sub-division has 

 been realised by our leading lepidopterists, but the first real attempt 

 in this direction was made by Herr Wallengren, in a " Monograph of 

 the Scandinavian Pterophori," and the sub-divisions proposed by this 

 lepidopterist are very natural. This arrangement was criticised and 

 the leading points in it fully discussed by Dr. Jordan, and most of 

 our leading lepidopterists at once adopted the application of it to our 

 British species as proposed by Dr. Jordan in the " Entomologist's 

 Monthly Magazine," Vol. VI, pp. 119 and 149, where a full list of our 



