*COMMENT ~ Character notes. 
 
*CHARACTER NOTES
#1. ~ (alternatively) is here used to indicate sometimes not
unreasonably included in or reduced to.
#2. It is axiomatic that no identification can be relied upon until
it has been confirmed with reference to a detailed description.
\par{}Wingspan: centre of thorax to apex of forewing, multiplied by 2.
Readily observable representations of size are absurdly under-utilized
in professional keys, by contrast with (for example) inaccessible and
often ambiguous details of wing venation. Specimens falling outside the
normal ranges will occasionally mislead, but occasional problems of this
kind arise with most characters, and the Intkey 'tolerance' facility
minimizes the deleterious consequences for successful pursuit of
identifications. Wingspan measurements for four species well known to
exhibit dwarfism (the Meadow Brown, the Orange Tip, the Small White and
the Large Blue) have been encoded here to account for it. 
#3. It is axiomatic that no identification can be relied upon until
it has been confirmed with reference to a detailed description.
\par{} Wingspan: centre of thorax to tip of forewing, multiplied by 2. 
#6. Data calculated from the numeric character relating wingspan to
thoracic width (q.v.). 
#13. \i{}In situ\i0{} length of the antennae relative to the
base-to-apex length the forewing, when viewed straight and laid parallel
to the costa; i.e., as presented in conventionally set specimens. 
#14. Referring to the centre-thorax-to-forewing-apex measurement (i.e.,
the one which is doubled to obtain wingspan). 
#18. This character needs pursuing in living buterflies. The flattening
is conspicuous in dead specimens. 
#20. As shown in the illustrations, the popular and euphonious
description porrected palps refers to labial palps, which lend the
delightful, perky appearance to the face presented by several groups of
Lepidoptera. These organs generally retain their position in set
specimens. However, from the standpoint of useful description, there
exists in reality an awkward continuum of forms, from porrected
through ascending to erect. 
#23. Tibial epiphysis: a basally articulated, leaf-like or spur-like
structure commonly occurring on the tibiae of the front legs, seemingly
used by the insect for cleaning its antennae and tongue. 
#26. The assessments are based on base-to-apex length, divided by the
approximate maximum width measured at right angles to a line drawn from
base to tornus (i.e., approximately at right angles to the hind or inner
margin) from hind margin to costa. 
#28. The angle between the hind/inner margin and the wing apex, measured
at the inner commencement of the tornal curve. Data were obtained by
applying a protractor to photographs (original, and in South). The
character is unreliable because of imprecision regarding locations of
apex and tornus, and only quite large differences are meaningful. 
#29. If in doubt, enter more than one state. 
#30. In species exhibiting scalloping, it is usually more pronounced in
the hindwings; and in some with emphatically scalloped hindwings (e.g.,
\i{}Iphiclides podalirius\i0{}), the forewings are not scalloped at all.
#32. Published descriptions of lepidopteran wing colours are often very
inadequate and misleading, with later efforts often comparing very
poorly with Newman's. For example, compare the latter's pleasant and
genuinely informative word pictures with Meyricks inadequate and boring
attempts to be scientific. 
#33. Refers to the appearance in reflected light. Misleading darkening
of the venation by transmitted light can be seen in some of the
photographs, for which it has been necessary to illuminate the
background. 
#42. In species exhibiting scalloping, it is usually more pronounced in
the hindwings; and in some with emphatically scalloped hindwings (e.g.,
\i{}Iphiclides podalirius\i0{}), the forewings are not scalloped at all.
#44. Refers to the appearance in reflected light. Misleading darkening
of the venation by transmitted light can be seen in some of the
photographs, for which it has been necessary to illuminate the
background. 
#55. Refers to the appearance in reflected light. Misleading darkening
of the venation by transmitted light can be seen in some of the
photographs, for which it has been necessary to illuminate the
background. 
#64. Refers to the appearance in reflected light. Misleading darkening
of the venation by transmitted light can be seen in some of the
photographs, for which it has been necessary to illuminate the
background. 
#77-78:82-85. Basic information on lepidopteran wing neuration and the
terminology used here is available via the Lepidopteran morphology
toolbar button. 
#86. Meyricks vein 2 employed here = the vein CuA2 of modern works.
\par{}Basic information on lepidopteran wing neuration and the
terminology used here is available via the Lepidopteran morphology
toolbar button. 
#87-92:94. Basic information on lepidopteran wing neuration and the
terminology used here is available via the Lepidopteran morphology
toolbar button. 
#95. Including vein 8 if this coincides or anastomoses with the cell -
see second image. \par{}\par{}Basic information on lepidopteran wing
neuration and the terminology used here is available via the
Lepidopteran morphology toolbar button. 
#96-97. Basic information on lepidopteran wing neuration and the
terminology used here is available via the Lepidopteran morphology
toolbar button. 
#101. For detailed discussion, see Ford (1945). \par{}\par{}Deduced
positive for Lycaenidae, when not directly observed, on the evidence of
a functional secretory gland located dorsally on the mid-line of the 7th
abdominal segment, which becomes operative only in the \i{}later\i0{}
instars. With the exceptions of the Hairstreaks', \i{}Lycaena
phlaeas\i0{} and \i{}Cupido minimus\i0{}, the life histories of all
British Lycaenidae probably involve symbiotic relationships with ants,
which milk the larvae from their honey glands. The presence of ants
around the larvae on their foodplants evidently serves to deter
potential insect parasites and predators, and in some cases the
relationship involves deliberate farming of the larvae by their
protectors. In Britain, ants have been observed to carry larvae of
\i{}Lysandra coridon\i0{} and \i{}Plebajus argus\i0{} in their jaws and
deposit them on the approriate foodplants conveniently near their nests;
and in the famous case of the Large Blue (\i{}Maculinea arion\i0{}), the
butterfly larvae become virtually parasitic, being taken into the ants
nest and fed to maturity on their own larvae. Larvae of \i{}Lycaena\i0{}
species lack the usual honey glands, but those of \i{}L. dispar\i0{}
(not \i{}L. phlaeas\i0{}) do attract ants to secretions from scattered,
glandular skin cells. \par{}\par{}The \i{}early\i0{} instars of British
Pieridae also attract ants via secretions presented at the forked tips
of long setae, with the possible exceptions of \i{}Aporia crataegi\i0{},
the \i{}Colias\i0{} species and \i{}Pieris brassicae\i0{}, where the
setae occur but may be non-secretory. 
#114. Bradley (2000) details in precise terms the national status of
species here tagged adventive. The term as used here denotes not
native to this environment, and includes species usually indicated in
check lists as of doubtful British status. Assignment is inevitably
somewhat arbitrary, because situations where specimens have been rarely
but genuinely found at large in the British Isles as a result of
migrations beyond the normal range of a species, or of accidental
transport by human agencies, are hard to disentangle from honest but
erroneous records and cases of fraud. Migrant species recorded regularly
in Britain as adults but which are unable breed successfully there are
treated as native in this connection. 
#115. Complete lists of species and genera are given here (cf. Bradley
et al., 1972, 2000) for British Macrolepidoptera. For Microlepidoptera,
only examples illustrated by Curtis are listed, although nearly all the
families are represented in the package by at least one illustration.
\par{}Bradley (2000) details in precise terms the national status of
species here tagged adventive. The latter term here denotes not
native to this environment, and includes species usually indicated in
check lists as of doubtful British status. Assignment is inevitably
somewhat arbitrary, because situations where specimens have been rarely
but genuinely found at large in the British Isles as a result of
migrations beyond the normal range of a species, or of accidental
transport by human agencies, are hard to disentangle from honest but
erroneous records and cases of fraud. Migrant species recorded regularly
in Britain as adults but which are unable breed successfully there are
treated as native in this connection. 
#120. Known distributions of organisms are obviously taxonomically
useful, but equally obviously, they have to be used with caution. The
accessible data have here been geographically generalized to render them
practicable and reasonably reliable when checking identifications. Known
distributions have been widened by recording them quite liberally under
the broad regions used here. \par{}\i{}Southern Scotland\i0{}: south of
the Firth of Forth. \par{}\i{}Northern England\i0{}: including north
Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, north Lincolnshire.
\par{}\i{}English Midlands\i0{}: central England, including
Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire,
southern Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire,
Shropshire, Herefordshire, etc. \par{}\i{}East Anglia\i0{}: eastern
England south of The Wash, including Norfolk, parts of Cambridgeshire
and Essex. \par{}\i{}Southeast England\i0{}: including London and the
Home Counties, Kent, East Sussex. \par{}\i{}Central southern
England\i0{}: including Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire,
Hampshire, east Dorsetshire, Wiltshire. \par{}\i{}Southwest
England\i0{}: west Dorset, Somerset, Devonshire, Cornwall. 
#122. It is axiomatic that no identification can be relied upon until
it has been confirmed with reference to a detailed description.
\par{}Known distributions of organisms are obviously taxonomically
useful, but they have to be used with caution for identification.
Detailed vice-county records have not been available for the present
purpose, and distributional data (mainly from Meyrick and Ford) have
been deliberately widened for encoding in terms of vice-counties. The
geographical generalization should render the information more reliable
for helping with identifications, and the routine advice we advocate
when using INTKEY (if in doubt, select more than one character state)
remains available to users as a further precaution. 
#123. It is axiomatic that no identification can be relied upon until
it has been confirmed with reference to a detailed description.
\par{}Known distributions of organisms are obviously taxonomically
useful, but they have to be used with caution for identification.
Detailed vice-county records have not been available for the present
purpose, and distributional data (mainly from Meyrick and Ford) have
been deliberately widened for encoding in terms of vice-counties. The
geographical generalization should render the information more reliable
for helping with identifications, and the routine advice we advocate
when using INTKEY (if in doubt, select more than one character state)
remains available to users as a further precaution. 
#127. \i{}Melaninism\i0{}. Melanin is a complex of dark (black, brown,
yellowish or dull red) animal pigments, and melanism in the present
context is the occurrence in a species of some individuals that are
darker than the typical form, due to a heritable increase in the
proportions of melanins in the epidemis (cf. Kettlewell, 1973). Melanism
occurs in numerous moth species. In some it is known only as a rare
mutation, but others exhibit populations in which melanic individuals
are common or even predominant in certain habitats and/or geographical
locations. From an evolutionary standpoint, persistence of melanic
populations in relatively natural habitats (rural or non-industrial
melanism) is sometimes reasonably interpretable with reference to
Darwinian natural selection , as in the genus \i{}Spilosoma\i0{},
although few cases have yet been thoroughly investigated (see Majerus,
2002). However, spectacular \i{}changes\i0{} in the proportions of
melanic versus normal individuals in the populations of some moth
species have been observed and quantitatively detailed in Britain for
over a hundred years. Being rather obviously correlated with probable
habitat pollution consequent on industrialisation, this phenomenon is
termed industrial melanism, and in the case of the Peppered Moth
(\i{}Biston betularia\i0{}) in particular, a causal relationship
involving Darwinian selection has been rather convincingly demonstrated
via numerous, laborious experiments. Researchers disagreements over
experimental design and interpretation of results leads to spurious
claims by religious extremists, who fail to grasp that the obvious fact
of organic evolution is not in the least undermined by arguments over
details of the complex mechanisms. For detailed discussion of the
Peppered Moth in the context of evolutionary debate in the 21st century,
see Majerus (1998, 2002). \par{}\par{}Examples of melanism are
illustrated under the appropriate family descriptions in the present
package (The families of Lepidoptera), or in the generic descriptions
in the accompanying Geometridae or Noctuidae packages, with
references to the phylogenetic status of melanism largely following Ford
(1955) and Majerus (2002). In the latter connection, non-industrial to
industrial" here implies occurrence of melanics in natural, unpolluted
habitats, with observed increased proportions of them in habitats
affected by industrialization. \par{}\par{}\i{}Non-industrial
melanism\i0{} (= rural melanism, cf. Ford 1955). The intra-specific
variation encompassed by all moth species frequently includes
significant levels of heritable melanism (q.v.), which existed prior to
the Industrial Revolution and cannot be attributed to selective
advantages in the face of environmental pollution. A range of possible,
natural selective factors that may have been operative in different
cases have been postulated (cf. Majerus 2002), mostly assuming either
increased crypsis of darker individuals in habitats with low light
intsnsity, or associated with deceiving predators that have learned to
associate the normal colouring with palatability. 
#128. Classification after Bradley \i{}et al\i0{}. (1972, 2000). 
 
