VI 
PREFACE. 
The colored plates, or Nature Prints, used in the work, are direct trans¬ 
fers from the insects themselves ; that is to say, the scales of the wings of the 
insects are transferred to the paper while the bodies are printed from engrav¬ 
ings and afterward colored by hand. The making of such transfers is not 
original with me, but it took a good deal of experimenting to so perfect the 
process as to make the transfers, on account of their fidelity to detail and 
their durability, fit for use as illustrations in such a work. And what mag¬ 
nificent illustrations they are, embodying all the beauty and perfection of the 
specimens themselves ! 
As I have had to make over fifty thousand of these transfers for the en¬ 
tire edition, not being able to get any one to help me who would do the work 
as I desired it done, and as more than half the specimens from which they were 
made were collected by myself, I having made man} r trips to different parts of 
the country for their capture, some idea of the labor in connection with prepar¬ 
ing the material for the publication may be obtained. 
I will say, however, that there never was laborer more in love with his 
work, or one whose labors took him among pleasanter scenes. In collecting 
such a large number of specimens, many new facts in regard to the habits of 
these charming creatures have been observed, and to write interestingly of their 
lives and to give a few examples of their marvellous beauty has been the aim 
of the author. 
Sherman F. Denton. 
Wellesley, Mass., 1899. 
