This term is derived from the Greek lepis, a scale, and ptera, wings, and refers to the scales on the wings of moths and butterflies, these insects constituting the order. These must be ranked among the most elegant of the denizens of the air. The delicacy of the forms of many species, the charming contrast of color often exhibited in their wings, and the gem-like brilliancy of others, must always render them most attractive objects. "Moths and Butterflies," says Professor Jaeger, "in comparison with the other orders of insects, are well entitled to the rank of nobility, for among them we find no impudent beggars and spongers, as among the flies; no parasites as in some of the wingless insects; no working class, as among the hymenopterous insects-bees, wasps, and gall-flies; no musicians, as among the family of crickets, grasshoppers, katydids, and cicades; but all of these are aristocratic idlers, who, dressed with silver, and gold, and purple, and ornamented with ever-varying splendor, have naught to do but to seek their own pleasure, and charm away their brief existence, fluttering from bough to bough, and satiating themselves with the sweet nectar of flowers."

The structure of the mouth is almost sufficient to distinguish a lepidopterous insect from one belonging to any other order. The suctorial organ consists of a spirally-rolled trunk attached to the lower part of the front of the head, and reposing, when coiled up, between the hairy palpi. The wings are four in number, membraneous, generally flat, furnished with branching nervures. They are usually covered with minute scales, popularly called feathers, which are, in reality, only a peculiar form of the hairs with which the wings of most insects are furnished. They are set very close together, usually more or less flattened, and laid over one another in the manner of tiles upon the roof of a house. Their form varies greatly in different species, and even on different parts of the wings of the same species. It is entirely to these scales that the beautiful colors of

these insects are due; and the metallic tints exhibited by many species are owing to the presence of very delicate stripes upon the scales.

The larvae of the Lepidoptera are well-known as Caterpillars. These are generally more or less cylindrical, composed of thirteen segments, of which the anterior forms a horny head furnished with jaws and antennæ, and usually with groups of simple eyes. The jaws are strong and welladapted for biting the fine vegetable tissues on which the most of them feed.

The duration of the larva state is very variable in these insects; many of them producing two broods annually, while others occupy two or three years in arriving at their perfect condition. In their larva state they are exceedingly voracious, often doing immense damage to vegetation: most of them accordingly grow rapidly, and shed their skins several times before attaining maturity. When this period has arrived, the caterpillar seeks some sheltered spot in which to undergo its change to the pupa form. Some species select the lower surface of leaves and branches for this purpose; others, clefts and hollows in the bark of trees, walls, or palings; while others bury themselves in the earth. Those which remain in the air suspend themselves in various ways by means of their silky secretion, and some inclose themselves completely in a silky cocoon. This is also done by some of those which conceal themselves in the earth; but many of these only line their cavity with a sufficient quantity of silken threads to keep its walls from falling in upon them. The pupa is entirely inclosed in a horny case, in which the position of the wings and limbs is indicated, externally, only by lines and other elevations.

In their preparatory stages the Lepidoptera are exceedingly liable to be destroyed by numerous species of parasitic insects, which lay their eggs in the larva; the latter still continues to feed, and frequently even effects its transformation to the pupa state, without exhibiting any indications of the work of destruction which is going on within. These parasites, assisted by the insectivorous birds, keep the numbers of caterpillars within moderate limits. Without these checks they would soon destroy the fruit of the labors of the gardener and the husbandman.*

THE SYBIL BUTTERFLY.

The perfect insect, on first emerging from the pupa case, usually has the wings soft and crumpled; and it is not until some little time after it has set itself free from its prison that its

* There are said to be twelve hundred species of lepidopterous insects in this country, and the numbers of each are of course beyond computation. One female will produce three hundred eggs a year, and if her offspring were to go on at that rate of increase, in four years her progeny would be eight thousand one hundred millions. The necessity of powerful checks upon such prolific and voracious species is obvious. The birds are immense destroyers of caterpillars. A single woodpecker will destroy fifty or sixty a day; thus one million of woodpeckers, during the months of April, May, June, and July, will destroy six billions annually.

wings become sufficiently expanded to be available for flight. Many butterflies, immediately before taking their flight into the air, eject a red fluid from the anus, which, of course, forms a red spot wherever it falls; and this-when, as is sometimes the case, vast quantities of some species of butterfly have simultaneously attained the perfect state, in a particular district—has given rise to the stories of bloody rain.

These insects are divided into two great groups or sub-orders, the Rhopalocera and Heterocera.

THE RHOPALOCERA.

This name is derived from the Greek rhopalon, a club, and keras, a horn, and is descriptive of the club-shaped form of the antennæ of these insects-the Butterflies, the most charming of the insect creation. They form only a single tribe, which, however, is divided into numerous families and sub-families. They are all diurnal in their habits, fluttering about from flower to flower in the hottest sunshine, and nearly all of them carrying their wings upright over their backs in

THE PRIAM BUTTERFLY.

repose. It is in hot climates that the largest and most magnificent species abound. Under the burning rays of the tropical sun, brilliantly metallic species sport like living gems, and even those not adorned with metallic tints exhibit an elegance and variety of coloring which is perhaps not surpassed by any other productions of nature. We can only notice a few prominent species.

The PRIAM BUTTERFLY, Papilio Priamus, is a native of the Eastern Archipelago; its wings are from seven to eight inches in extent, and are colored with rich green and deep black. This is one of the most beautiful species of the order, and living in a climate of perpetual summer, and amid the most gorgeous of flowers, is

one of the glories of nature.

The APOLLO BUTTERFLY, P. Apollo, is found in the damp meadows of the high Alps; the wings are whitish, with five black spots on each of the superior ones; on the inferior are two

THE APOLLO BUTTERFLY.

sparkling eye-like figures, bordered with black. It flies in June and July. Thus even wild mountain regions, as well as those of the florid tropics, are embellished by this beautiful family.

The FLAME BUTTERFLY, P. podalirius, of Europe, has yellow wings, the upper as well as the lower ones crossed with black rays, in the form of flames. The caterpillar of this species is found on plum-trees, peach-trees, and the like.

The SYBIL BUTTERFLY, P. Sybilla, sometimes called the Mourning Butterfly, is a common European species, flying in the dog-days, the upper part of the wings of a brownish-black, with

The GALATEA BUTTERFLY, P. Galatea, a Eurodean species, called The Half-Mourning Butterfly,

THE HALF-MOURNING BUTTERFLY.

of birch, elms, and other ornamental trees. The PEACOCK-BUTTERFLY, V. Io, has the

has the wings slightly denticulated; they are of a brownish-yellow, with the base and extremities black, and spotted with white.

There are many other splendid examples of the beautiful genus Papilio. Of the genus Vanessa the MOURNING-CLOAK, V. Antiope, is a celebrated species, which seems to be found both in Europe and America. Its wings are of an angular form, of a deep purple color, with a large yellow band, dotted with blue along the edges. It inhabits woods and meadows during the summer; the caterpillars are black and thorny, and often nearly destroy the foliage They may be easily killed with soap-suds. edges of the wings denticulated; above they are of a reddish-fawn, with a large eye-spot on each; those on the superior wings are red, encircled with mingled black and yellow; those on the inferior ones are blue, with a black circle. It is a splendid European species, inhabiting woods, meadows, and gardens in October.

Though our butterflies do not rival the more magnificent species of tropical America and of other portions of the torrid zone, we have many species of exceeding beauty. The TROILUS BUTTERFLY, Papilio Troilus, is a superb insect, the wings denticulated, black, spotted with yellow, and terminated by a swallow-tail. It lives on spice-wood and sassafras-trees; is rare in the Northern States; common in the Southern, and in

THE PEACOCK-BUTTERFLY.

THE PAPILIO TURNUS.

the West Indies. The PHILENOR, P. Philenor, is smaller than the preceding, but resembles it; found in the Southern States. The Papilio Turnus is a large and handsome species, common in the northern and middle states. Of the genus Vanessa we have the ADMIRAL, V. Atalanta, which has black velvet-like forewings, marked with scarlet and white, and black hind-wings: the THISTLE BUTTERFLY, V. cardui, found in Europe as well as America, and called

there the Painted Lady: the GOLDEN C. BUTTERFLY, V. C. aureum, marked behind the wings with a golden C: and many others.

The BERENICE, Danaus Berenice, has dark red wings, with black rims and a black border, with two rows of white spots. It feeds on the poisonous leaves of the different kinds of milkweed.

The IDALIA, Argynnis Idalia, has the fore-wings red, with black marks, and the hind-wings bluish-black on the upper sides; the under sides of all the wings are covered with silvery spots. Of the smaller butterflies, some of which are beautifully colored, there are almost innumerable species. Among them is the LITTLE YELLOW BUTTERFLY, Colias Philodice, which we often see in the late summer and early autumn months flying over the meadows, and gathering in flocks in wet places in the highways. There are several species of Colias, all of which are more or less of a bright yellow color.

THE HETEROCERA.

This term is from the Greek heteros, various, and keras, a horn, and refers to the diversified forms of the antennæ of the species of this extensive and interesting group. They are called Moths, and are mostly either crepuscular or nocturnal in their habits, though many fly by day. They include numerous tribes, some of which we shall briefly notice.

Of this tribe there are many species: they have the antennæ thickened in the middle or toward the end, but terminate in an acute point. They are generally prismatic in their form; the wings are long and narrow, but firm, and adapted for powerful flight; the trunk is almost always well developed, sometimes longer than the body. The name of Sphinx, applied to the typical genus of these insects, is derived from the habit of the larvæ of sitting with the head and forepart of the body raised in an attitude which, to a fanciful imagination, bears some resemblance to the Sphinx of the ancients. Most of these insects fly in the twilight; but some are to be found hovering over flowers in the brightest sunshine, extracting the nectar by means of their long trunks. They are generally of considerable size; the most remarkable species is the DEATH'S-HEAd Moth, Acherontia Atropos, a large kind, variegated with dark brown and yellow, bearing upon the back of the thorax a deep orange mark, presenting no inconsiderable resemblance to the front of a human skull. Hence this insect has been regarded as ominous of pestilence-a feeling probably not diminished by its power of emitting a plaintive squeak when disturbed. The larva is very partial to the potato-plant, and the pupæ are often turned up in digging potato-grounds. The moth, which has a very short trunk, is a great enemy to bees, invading their hive and feeding upon their honey. It is supposed to frighten the bees by the squeaking noise above referred to,