BRITISH MOTHS 
AND 
THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. 

ORDER LEPIDOPTERA. 
—_ e —_ 
SECTION I1.—HETEROCERA. 
Tue distribution of this beautiful order of insects into three primary groups, Papilio, Sphinx, and Phaleena, 
by Linneus, which correspond with Latreille’s sections, Diurna, Crepuscularia, and Nocturna, has been alluded 
to in the introductory portion of our former volume, in which—as it was at first intended that the first two 
groups should be comprised therein—it appeared advisable to retain the divisions Crepuscularia and Nocturna 
whereby the subjects of the first volume would have maintained a nominal distinction from those treated on in the 
subsequent part of the work. As, however, the plan of the work has been altered so as to comprise the 
butterflies alone in the first volume, I am enabled with less difficulty to adopt the distribution of M. Boisduval ; 
by whom the order is divided into only two primary divisions; the first, or Rhopalocera, composed of the 
butterflies, or the section Diurna; and the second, or Heterocera, comprising both the Crepuscularia and 
Nocturna, or the hawk-moths (genus Sphinx, Linnzeus), and moths (genus Phalzna, Linnzus). 
On referring to the ‘ Systema Nature,” we find the formation of the antenne and the period of flight to 
constitute the only distinctive characters to separate the two last-mentioned tribes, the antenne in Sphinx being 
attenuated at each extremity, and subprismatical in form, whilst in Phalena they were described as setaceous, 
or gradually attenuated from the base to the extremity. The flight of Sphinx, on the other hand, is described as 
being either in the morning or evening, whilst that of the Phalena is nocturnal. Now these characters are 
clearly insufficient to separate the two groups. Many of the species belonging to the Linnean genus Sphinx, 
for example, have not prismatical antenne thickened at the middle, whilst a great number of them fly in the 
hottest sunshine. Again, many Phalena have antenne similar to those of many Sphinges, and their flight, as 
every entomological tyro knows, who has ever been out at dusk “ mothing,” is during the twilight : but the more 
generalised views entertained by modern naturalists, who found their distributions, not upon an isolated character, 
but upon the entire character of an animal, derived from ail its peculiarities, lead us to the certain conviction that 
B2 

