INTRODUCTION. 81 
Treitschke, in their valuable and extensive work 
on the Lepidoptera of Europe*. 
But there can he little doubt that those arrange- 
ments are the most accurate and philosophical which 
are founded on characters derived from all the dif- 
ferent states in which these insects exist. This 
conviction seems now' to be generally entertained, 
and most writers of very recent date have seen the 
propriety of acting upon it. In the w'orks of Cur- 
tis,. Stephens, Ilorsfield, &c. it has been adhered to 
to a greater or less extent, and in a general work 
on Lepidoptera lately published by Dr. Boisduval 
of Paris, nearly equal importance is assigned to the 
peculiarities of the caterpillar, chrysalis, and butter- 
fly. As this method presents some new features, 
and is the last that has been laid before the public, 
we shall give an account of it along with the ac- 
companying remarks in the author’s own words : — 
“ It is not till after a most attentive study of the 
butterflies of Europe in their different states, and 
after having collected a certain number of materials 
on the metamorphoses of exotic species, that we 
have attempted to group the lepidoptera in a man- 
ner different from that hitherto followed, nof ne- 
glecting, at the same time, the study of those authors 
who have occupied themselves with this order, that 
we might be enabled to combine the results of 
their labours with our own. .We do not flatter our- 
* This work extends to fourteen volumes (the last pub- 
lished in 1833), and three supplementary ones are in course 
of preparation. 
