The name of 'Sphinx Vespiformis' has little connection with the subject of the essay further than its being the original name of the insect selected as an object whose place in a natural system the author proposed to find. Concerning the insect to which the name was strictly applicable some doubts appeared to exist, and the author attempted to show that it was synonymous with the Ægeria Asiliformis of our cabinets. The insect is figured below.

The Spurge Hawk-moth sucking the blossom of Honey-suckle.

CHAPTER II.

OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF LEPIDOPTERA.

CHARACTER amorphous: i. e. larva and pupa bearing no resemblance in external appearance to the imago: pupa perfectly quiescent, having the limbs and parts of the mouth enclosed with the body, in a hard brittle skin or case. Larva with strong corneous mandibles, moving

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horizontally, and six articulated feet, situated in pairs on the second, third and fourth segments: the fifth, sixth, eleventh and twelfth segments invariably without feet: the other segments each subject to the possession of a pair of fleshy prehensile feet: feeds on the leaves, bark, wood, or roots of vegetables, and rarely on other larvæ. Imago with short, undeveloped, immoveable labrum and mandibles: maxillæ elongate, palpigerous, slender, flexible and tubular; when at rest, convoluted between the labial feelers; labium triangular, bearing two erect conspicuous feelers : all the wings fully and nearly equally developed, and, together with the body, clothed with scales: feeds on the honey of flowers, and on fruit. The class Lepidoptera contains seven stirpes or principal divisions, but the characters will be given minutely in detail, as characters of orders.

Hawk-moths or Sphingites. Larva naked, of uniform substance, with ten prehensile legs, and a stout, corneous, recurved horn on the paratelum. Pupa smooth, rounded, generally quite naked; changes in or on the ground. Imago with the antennæ incrassated in the middle: the tips furnished with a recurved hook composed of fine bristles; wings narrow; hind wings small; body stout; flight rapid and well sustained; diurnal or nocturnal. British genera, Sesia, represented at page 101, Macroglossa, Smerinthus, Sphinx, of which the caterpillar is represented at page 82 and the pupa at page 196, Acherontia, Deilephila, the caterpillar of which is represented at page 90, and the perfect insect at page 209.

Skippers or Hesperites. Larva generally naked, stout in the middle and attenuated at the extremities, with ten prehensile legs. Pupa stout, smooth, unangulated; changes in a loose web among the leaves on which the larva feeds, attached by the tail and a thread round the middle. Imago with the antennæ partially clavated; sometimes

nearly filiform, hooked at the extremity; the hind wings of the insect, when at rest, reposing in a nearly horizontal position; the fore wings nearly erect: flight diurnal, brisk and bustling. Hesperia, Thymele.

Butterflies or Papilionites. Larva sometimes naked, but generally covered with down, hair, or spines: with ten prehensile legs. Pupa naked; mostly angulated, always attached by the tail; changes in the air. Imago with clavated antennæ not hooked; all the wings erect, and meeting above the back when at rest. Polyommatus, Lycæna, Thecla, Amaryssus, Colias, Pontia, Apatura, represented at page 85, Limenitis, Hipparchia, Vanessa, represented at pages 112 and 113, Argynnis.

Loopers, slender bodies or Geometrites. Larva naked, slender, and very elongate, with four prehensile feet: in consequence of the length of body with

out feet, its back is arched in walking. Pupa smooth, rounded; situation of change, various. Imago with antennæ tapering to a point; in the males often highly pectinated: wings ample, expanded; body very slender; flight in the evening, silent, feathery. Geometra.

Looper Caterpillar.

Half-loopers or Phytometrites. Larva naked, elongate, less slender than the preceding, with six prehensile feet; in walking its back is arched, but not so decidedly as in the preceding. Pupa smooth, rather pointed at the tail; changes in a slight web. Imago with filiform antennæ ; wings deflexed; body moderately stout; beautifully coloured; often with brilliant metallic markings; flight at all hours; in the hottest sunshine, and at midnight. Plusia, Ophiusa, Heliothis, Acontia, Erastria, Phytometra.

Full-bodied moths or Noctuites. Larva generally naked, cylindrical, robust, with ten prehensile feet: rolls in a ring

when touched. Pupa smooth; mostly changes in the ground. Imago with filiform antennæ; occasionally pectinated in the males; wings small, deflexed; body stout and heavy; colour dusky; flight very rapid; nocturnal. Noctua, subdivided into numerous genera.

Millers or Arctiites. Larva very hairy; sometimes with bunches, brushes, or fascicles of hairs; with ten prehensile legs; rolls in a ring when touched. Pupa more or less hairy; changes in a cocoon composed of silk, in which the hairs of the larva are always intermixed. Imago, the males with somewhat slender bodies and more or less pectinated antennæ; active, often flying by day; the females very heavy, sluggish, and often apterous. Acronycta, Spilosoma, Arctia, the caterpillar of which is represented at page 8, Hypercampa, Lithosia, Hypogymna, Laria, Orgyia.

Eggars or Bombycites. Larva elongate, cylindrical, of equal substance, hairy; with ten prehensile feet; rolls in a ring when touched. Pupa in a silken cocoon, more compact than the preceding. Imago with pectinated antennæ in both sexes; males with slender bodies, very active, and fly by day; females heavy, sluggish, and seldom fly; predominating colour, fulvous. Eriogaster, Odonestis, Gastropacha, Lasiocampa.

Emperor-moths or Phalanites. Larva obese, with fascicles of bristles disposed in rings on each segment. Pupa short, obtuse, flat, with bristles at the tail; changes in a tough pear-shaped cocoon, of which the smaller end remains partially open. Imago with highly pectinated antennæ in both sexes; wings amazingly expanded; the fore wings more or less falcate; beautifully coloured, and ocellated; body short and small; flight of the males diurnal; of the females rare, and mostly in the evening. Saturnia, the caterpillar of which is represented at page 130.