2 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
frequently arranged on the wings in regular order, as are the scales on 
reptiles or fishes, and when removed leave a slight scar on the mem¬ 
brane where they were attached. 
In studying the structure of a butterfly, turn it underside upper¬ 
most. It will then be seen to be composed of three distinct parts : 
the head, which supports the antennae (popularly known as feelers), 
the eyes, and the mouth parts; the thorax, to which are attached 
two pairs of wings and three pairs of legs; and the abdomen. 
The eyes of butterflies and moths are compound, and the facets 
vary in different species from several hundred to many thousand. 
The vision of some of the higher butterflies is exceedingly acute, as 
one will often have reason to note when cautiously endeavoring to 
approach some coveted prize near enough to use the net. Many 
moths, on the contrary, seem to be simply able to distinguish 
between light and darkness, and are apparently more often guided 
by the sense of smell than of sight. 
The antennae have been supposed by some naturalists to be organs 
of smell, and there is certainly good foundation for this supposi¬ 
tion. They vary in shape from hair-like and feather-like in many 
of the moths to rods with club-shaped ends in most of the butterflies. 
Antemije. 
By the antennae the beginner may most easily distinguish between 
butterflies and moths. The antennae of butterflies are nearly always 
blunt or knobbed at the ends, while the same organs in moths are 
generally pointed. 
The mouth parts of the lepidoptera are constructed for sucking 
the sweets from flowers or the juices from other substances ; and 
-while, some of the moths have no w r ay of taking nourishment in their 
perfect state, most of the species of this order are provided with a 
