THE MOTH. 
149 
One group of moths is called skippers/ because 
their flight consists of a succession of jerks 
or skips. 
The skippers may be considered as a connecting 
link between the butterflies and the moths. In 
some respects they resemble the butterfly, for 
their antennae get thicker towards the tip, and 
end in a club; and they hold the upper pair of 
wings erect, as the butterfly does when she is 
resting, but the under pair of wings are kept in 
a horizontal position, like those of a moth. 
Moths are attracted by a light; and as they 
always fly towards it, they may be caught by 
opening a window, and letting a lamp be seen. 
They come out in succession, at different hours 
of the night. As for instance, one species will 
be abroad from seven till ten, and then another 
will appear, and fly till one or two in the 
morning; and so on, until the dawn of day. 
And they have their own peculiar ways of 
coming into the room, so that a naturalist can 
tell which species a moth belongs to, before he 
sees her. One will fly downwards, and announce 
herself by a knock upon the floor; another will 
mount up to the ceiling, and beat against it with 
her wings. A third will enter very gently, and 
fall upon the table like a flake of snow; while 
* Ilesperidae. 
