The guide contains an immense amount of information, collated from numerous papers scattered about the literature (although no references are given), or not previously published.

The main text consists of a list of the species (with the Bradley & Fletcher numbers of the day). For each species there is a line or paragraph for each stage: O(va), L(arva), P(upa), I(mago). Each line gives the months of occurance. The "O" line also gives the foodplant (and the location of oviposition, (if known), the "L" and "P" lines give the location of feeding and pupation, while the "I" line gives the habits of the adult.

The "Index to Foodplants and Other Food Substances and Situations", provides an identification route via foodplant (references are B&F numbers, not page nos) for microlepidopterous larvae found in the field. The index can equally be used the other way as a guide to what to look for on a particular plant.