In the older systems of classification the Clear wings (Sesiidæ) were associated with the Hawk-moths (Sphingidæ), but the former family is now considered to be more closely connected with the Tineidæ. The Goat-moth (_Cossus ligniperda_) has been removed from among the Bombyces, its name changed to _Trypanus cossus_, and placed in the family Trypanidæ, which is relegated to the neighbourhood of the Tortricidæ. The Burnets (Zygænidæ), together with _Heterogenea limacodes_ and _H. asella_ (Cochliopodidæ), also _Macrogaster castaneæ_ and _Zeuzera pyrina_ (Cossidæ {7} part) are removed by Meyrick to the Psychina, a group placed between that author's Pyralidina and Tortricina. The Swifts (Hepialidæ) are grouped with Micropterygidæ, which are considered to be primitive forms of Lepidoptera originating in the Caddis-flies or Trichoptera--a division of the Order Neuroptera. Except that the Cymbidæ and Arctiidæ are placed just before the Noctuidæ instead of after the Geometridæ, the arrangement of families, genera, and species adopted in the present work is very much the same as that in the 1901 edition of Staudinger's Catalogue. Many British entomologists are now interested in the lepidopterous insects of the Palæarctic, or at least the European, fauna, of which our islands furnish but a relatively small number of species. Others, who at the present time are perhaps but beginners, may very possibly desire, later on, to extend their collections and their knowledge by making entomological expeditions to various parts of the continent. It seemed therefore desirable that in an introductory book on British moths its method of arrangement should at least be founded on some generally accepted system. {8} FIELD WORK. [Illustration: FIG. 7. DRINKER-MOTH AT REST.] Several methods of moth collecting are in vogue, but space will only permit of a few of those most frequently practised being here referred to, and those suitable for day work will first be considered. Although small woods should not be neglected, large tracts of woodland afford the moth hunter the best chance of success in searching for those species that usually sit during the daytime on the trunks of trees. Many of the moths that rest in this way so admirably blend with their surroundings that they may easily be overlooked; others by their resemblance to feathers, birds' excrement, etc., are also apt to escape detection. Tree trunks, too, abound in moth-like scars, blotches, and knobs, so that the beginner will frequently fail to readily distinguish a moth from such objects, or from the others mentioned. A little practice will soon enable him to tell {9} which is which without having to very closely investigate, or perhaps even touch the suspected object. [Illustration: FIG. 8. SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR AT REST.]