S INCE the publication of my work, The Natural 
History of British Butterflies, in 1924, which 
dealt with the complete life cycle of every species of 
our British butterflies, certain new facts in connection with 
the migration of different kinds have been recorded, and in 
some cases remarkable changes have taken place in the 
intervening ten years, not only in the abundance and scarcity 
of certain species, but in the remarkable manner in which 
others have, and are still, extending their range of distribution 
throughout the country, chiefly over the southern and Midland 
counties. These notable changes and new discoveries are now 
fully dealt with and brought up to date. Also, the new 
order of classification, in accordance with the recent arrange¬ 
ment of international nomenclature, is included in this book 
on our native butterflies. 
These combined and important facts, together with the 
long-felt need of a really comprehensive, practical and up-to- 
date book on the butterflies of Britain, afford sufficient reason 
for placing before the public a work that it is hoped will be found 
useful to the general entomologist and to all lovers of nature. 
The whole of the descriptive matter and the illustrations 
embodied in this volume are taken direct from the objects 
themselves. Also the statements regarding habits of the 
various insects are from personal observation, as during a 
period of well over half a century I have had the privilege 
of studying and capturing all our indigenous butterflies in 
their natural haunts. I have also observed and taken all 
the usual migratory species in this country. Therefore, with 
the exception of records relating to the capture of certain 
species, and statements in relation to some of the localities, 
the whole of the contents of this volume are original, and I 
am responsible for any errors that may be present in the text. 
The recognised number of species of butterflies occurring 
in the British Islands is sixty-eight, which number includes 
the migratory kinds, also the extinct Large Copper, which 
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