Chapter IV: Lepidoptera (2)

For a long time this dust was thought to be formed of very small feathers, but Réaumur showed that it is composed of little scales. Their form varies singularly, as we may see in Fig. 133, borrowed from the Memoirs of Réaumur,[45] which represents the different forms of the scales which cover the wings of Lepidoptera. M. Bernard Deschamps has closely studied them. According to this naturalist, they are composed of three membranes, or plates, superposed one on the other, of which the first is covered with granulations of a rounded form, which give to these scales their splendid and varied colours; the second plate is covered with silk, forming sometimes curious designs; the third plate, viz., that which is applied to the membrane of the wing, has the peculiar property of reflecting colours the most brilliant and the most varied, although the surface of the scales visible to the eye is often dull and colourless.

[45] Tome i., planche 7, Figs. 1 à 23.

"Supposing," says M. Bernard Deschamps, "that a painter was possessed of colours rich enough to represent on canvas with all their splendour, gold, silver, the opal, the ruby, the sapphire, the emerald, and the other precious stones which the East produces, that with these colours he formed all the shades which could result from their combination, one might affirm without the chance of contradiction, that he would have none of these colours and of their various shades, whatever might be the number, which could not be discovered by the microscope on part of the scales of the Lepidoptera, which Nature has been pleased to conceal from our gaze."

Each of these scales adheres to the membrane of the wing by a small tube, which is solidly fixed to it. Réaumur has called our attention to the admirable arrangement of these scales, which are disposed like those of fish, that is to say, in such a manner that those of a row shall partially overlap those in the following one.

In Fig. 134, representing a portion of the wing of the _Saturnia pavonia major_, magnified, which we borrow from Réaumur's Memoir, the scales are arranged in rows; isolated scales, and the points where other scales were fixed before they were taken off, are represented.

The membranous frame which supports the coloured scales of butterflies and moths is well worth a moment's consideration. It consists of two membranes intimately united by their interior surfaces, and divided into many distinct parts by horny, fistulous threads, more or less ramified, which seem intended to support the two membranes mentioned above, and which branch out from the base to the edge of the wing. Their number, counting from the exterior edge, is not always the same in the upper and lower wings. It varies from eight to twelve.

With its large and light wings, the butterfly can fly for a long time. But this flight is not in the least regular; it is not made in a straight line. When the insect has to go some distance, it flies alternately up and down. The line it takes is composed of an infinity of zig-zags, going up and down, and from right to left. This irregularity of flight saves the little insect from falling a prey to birds. "I saw one day with pleasure," says Réaumur, "a sparrow which pursued in the air a butterfly for nearly ten minutes without being able to catch it. The flight of the bird was nevertheless considerably more rapid than that of the butterfly, but the butterfly was always higher or lower than the place to which the bird flew, and where it thought it would catch it."

But let us leave the wings to pass on to the other parts of the butterfly. These other parts are the _thorax_ or chest, the body or _abdomen_, and the _head_.

The thorax is solidly put together, so as to bear the movements of the wings and legs. These latter are composed, as in other insects, of five parts: the coxa, the trochanter, the thigh, the shank, and the tarsus.

Many butterflies have all their six legs of equal length. In others, the two fore legs are very small, and are not suited for walking. In others, again, they are rudimentary, being deprived of hooks, very hairy, and applied on to the front of the breast.

This difference of structure may be seen in Figs. 135 and 136, one of which represents, after Réaumur, a leg unsuited for walking, very hairy, and terminated in a sort of brush resembling the tail on a tippet; and the other a leg furnished with hooks.

The abdomen has the form of an elongated, or--in the majority of species--an almost cylindrical oval. It is composed of five segments, each formed of an upper and a lower ring, joined together by a membrane. The first are larger than the others, and generally overlap the edges, which gives to this part of the body the power of dilating considerably.

We must dwell longer on the head. It is generally rounded, compressed in front, longer than it is broad, and furnished with fine or scaly hairs. The important organs of which this part is the seat are the eyes, the antennæ, the palpi, and the proboscis or trunk.

The eyes are more or less spherical, surrounded by hairs, and composed of innumerable facettes. Colours are seen on these as various as those of the rainbow. But the colour which serves as a base to all, is black in some, grey in others; then again there are different gold or bronze colours of the greatest splendour, inclining sometimes to red, sometimes to yellow, sometimes to green. On the compound eye of a butterfly as many as 17,325 facettes have been counted. Simple eyes, or stemmata, are moreover observed in certain species, and are generally more or less hidden by scales.

The antennæ are situated near the upper rim or border of each eye. Réaumur has pointed out six principal shapes. One terminates in a little _knob_, and belongs to the butterflies. The others are variously shaped, and belong to the moths. Some are prismatic, or like beading. And lastly, others are shaped like feathers. We represent, in Fig. 137, the different forms of the antennæ, which Réaumur collected together in plates 8 and 9 of his fifth Memoir.[46]

[46] "Sur les parties extérieures des papillons," tome i., p. 197.

The palpi are four in number, two maxillary and two labial. The first are generally excessively small; one can only ascertain their existence by the aid of a strong magnifying glass: the second are in general very apparent, straight, cylindrical, covered with scales, and formed of three joints, of which the last is often very small and sometimes very pointed. They also sometimes bristle with stiff or silky hairs.

The trunk is placed exactly between the two eyes. As long as the butterfly does not want to take nourishment, the trunk remains rolled in a spiral. Some are so short, that they scarcely make one turn and a half or two turns; some larger sized make three turns and a half or four turns; lastly, some very long are curled as many as eight or ten times.

This is how the butterfly makes use of its trunk: When fluttering around a flower, it will very soon settle on or quite close to it. The trunk is then brought forward entirely or almost entirely unrolled; very soon afterwards it is almost straightened, then directed downwards, and plunged into the flower. Sometimes the insect draws it out a moment after, curves it, twists it a little, and sometimes even curls it partially up. Immediately it straightens it again, to plunge it a second time into the same flower. It repeats the same manoeuvre seven or eight times, and then flies on to another flower.

This trunk, of which the butterfly makes such good use, is composed of two filaments more or less long, horny, concave in their interior surfaces, and fastened together by their edges. When cut transversely, one sees, according to Réaumur,[47] that the interior is composed of three small rings. Consequently, there are three canals in the trunk: one central, the other two lateral (Fig. 138). Are all these three used to conduct the juice of flowers into the butterfly's body? Réaumur has made some very interesting observations on this subject, by observing a moth which was sucking a lump of sugar whilst its portrait was being taken.

[47] Planche 9, Fig. 10, 5e Mémoire, "Sur les parties
extérieures des papillons."

"I held in one hand," says Réaumur, "a powerful magnifying glass, which I brought near to that part of the trunk I wished to examine; I was sometimes half a minute, or nearly a minute, without perceiving anything, after which I saw clearly a little column of liquid mounting quickly along the whole length of the trunk. Often this column appeared to be intersected by little balls, which seemed to be globules of air which had been drawn up with the liquid.

"This liquid ascended thus during three or four seconds, and then ceased. At the end of an interval of a greater number of seconds, or sometimes after an interval as short, I saw some fresh liquid mounting up along the trunk. But it was straight up the middle of the trunk that it seemed to ascend.

"The Author of Nature has given to insects means of working, which, though very simple, we cannot divine, and which often we are not able even to perceive. Whilst I was observing the trunk of our butterfly, between the columns of liquid which I saw ascending, there were, but more rarely, times when I saw, on the contrary, liquid descending from the base of the trunk to the point. The descending liquid occupied half or two-thirds of the tube. It was no longer difficult to perceive how the butterfly is able to nourish itself on honey, the thickest syrup, and even the most solid sugar. The fluid it sends down is probably very liquid; it drives against the sugar, moistens, and dissolves it. The butterfly pumps this liquid up again when it is charged with sugar, and conducts it along as far as the base of its trunk, and beyond it."

The life of the perfect insect is generally very short. Like nearly all other insects, they die as soon as they have propagated their species. The female lays her eggs, which vary in shape, on the plant which is to nourish her progeny. The colour is also very various, and passes through all sorts of shades. At the moment they are laid, many are covered with a gummy substance, insoluble in water, which serves to stick them on the plant.

In some species the mother lays her eggs on the trunks of trees, and covers them with down or with the hairs which clothe her abdomen, so as to preserve them from cold and damp. She may also hide them entirely under a whitish foamy substance. Some do not lay more than a hundred eggs; others lay some thousands.

To bring the history of the Lepidoptera to an end, it only remains for us to give a sketch of their classification, and to point out some species remarkable, either on account of their beauty or their utility.

We see during the day butterflies flying in our gardens, in meadows full of flowers, or in the alleys of woods. Towards evening, at the sombre hour of twilight, the stroller is sometimes surprised to see pass near him large moths, with a heavy and unequal flight; or, if we go into a garden on a beautiful calm summer's night, bearing a light, we see a crowd of moths flying from all parts towards it.

It is on account of these different hours at which the Lepidoptera show themselves, that naturalists for a long time divided them into diurnal, crepuscular, and nocturnal. This division was simple, convenient, and seemed founded on Nature. Unfortunately, the _night_ fliers of the old authors do not all fly by night: some species, classed by the old naturalists among the crepuscular, or nocturnal, show themselves in the very middle of the day, seeking their food in the hottest rays of the sun. In the regions near the poles they appear during the day, and in other countries they are more or less friends of the twilight.

So as not to multiply methodical divisions, we will confine ourselves to classing the Lepidoptera into two sections.

The first section contains those _which fly during the day, which have club-shaped antennæ, and which have their four wings entirely free, and standing perpendicularly[48] when the insect is at rest_. They are called Butterflies, or Rhopalocera. This section is divided into a number of families, which comprise many genera. We will content ourselves with calling the attention of the reader to some of the most remarkable of these groups, and to those species which, either on account of their beauty or abundance, strike, or ought to strike, the attention of every one.

[48] There are exceptions to this.--ED.

In the family of the _Papilionidi_, we will mention the genera _Papilio_, to which belong the Swallow-tailed Butterfly (_Papilio machaon_), _Papilio podalirius_, &c., and _Parnassius_, of which we will notice _Parnassius Apollo_, and _Parnassius Mnemosyne_.

The swallow-tailed butterfly is found plentifully in the fens of Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk and Suffolk, and very commonly in the environs of Paris. It is seen from the beginning of May till towards the middle of June; then from the end of July till September. It frequents gardens, woods, and, above all, fields of lucerne. It is easily taken when settled, particularly at sunset.

This is one of the largest and the most beautiful of the European butterflies. The wings are variegated with yellow and black; the eyes, antennæ, and trunk are black. The body is yellow on the sides and underneath, and black above. The front wings have rounded edges; the hind ones, on the contrary, are notched, and one of these notches is prolonged into a sort of tail. The first are black, spotted and striped with yellow; the second have their upper part and middle yellow, with some touches only of black. Near the margin is a broad black band, dusted with blue; lastly, six yellow spots in the form of a crescent run along the border, and end in a magnificent eye of a reddish colour, bordered with blue.

The caterpillar of this species is large, smooth, and of a beautiful light green, with a transverse black band on each ring. These bands are sprinkled with orange spots. It lives on the fennel, carrot, and other Umbelliferæ. If teased, it thrusts from the first ring after the head a fleshy, orange-coloured tentacle. The chrysalis, attached to a stalk of grass, is sometimes light green, sometimes greyish.

In the low Alps, on the plains near the environs of Digne and Barcelonette, is found in the months of May and July the _Papilio Alexanor_ (Fig. 141), and in Corsica and Sardinia is found the _Papilio hospiton_, a rare species, nearly related to our swallow-tailed butterfly, but which we will here content ourselves with mentioning.

The _Papilio podalirius_ (Fig. 142) is in form very analogous to _Papilio machaon_. It is of a rather pale yellow colour, marked with black, as if singed. The lower wings have tails longer and narrower than those of the latter, and are magnificently ornamented with blue crescent-shaped spots and an orange-coloured eye bordered below with blue. This beautiful species is not rare at Montmorency, at Ile-Adam, and at St. Germain. It is said to have been taken in England, and is called the scarce Swallow-tail, but its capture is considered as very questionable. It appears for the first time at the end of April, and for the second in July and August. The _Parnassius Apollo_ (Fig. 143), is a beautiful butterfly, which appears in June and July, and is found commonly enough in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Cévennes. Its wings are of a yellowish white. The upper part of the fore wings presents five nearly round black spots; the base and the costa, or front edge, of these wings are sprinkled with black atoms. The upper part of the hind wings presents two eyes of a vermilion red, the inner border furnished with whitish hairs amply dotted with black, and marked towards the extremity with two black spots. The under part of the fore wings is very similar to the upper. But the under part of the hind wings presents four red spots bordered by black, forming a transverse band near the base. The body is black, furnished with russety hairs, and the antennæ white, with the club black.

The larva of the Apollo lives on saxifrages. To affect its transformation it surrounds itself with a slight network of silk in which are confined one or more leaves. This caterpillar is thick, smooth, cylindrical, and covered with small slightly hairy warts, and ornamented on the first ring with a fleshy tentacle in the shape of a Y. The chrysalis is conical, sprinkled over with a bluish efflorescence resembling the bloom on a plum. The _Parnassius Mnemosyne_ is found in the month of June in the mountains of Dauphiné, in Switzerland, Sicily, Hungary, Sweden, and in the Pyrenees.

In the family of the _Pieridi_ we will mention many species remarkable in different ways, such as _Pieris cratægi_, the black-veined White, _Pieris brassicæ_, the Cabbage Butterfly, _Pieris napi_, _Pieris callidice_, _Anthocharis cardamines_, the Orange-tip, _Rhodocera_ (_Gonepteryx_) _rhamni_, and _Colias edusa_, or Clouded-yellow. _Pieris cratægi_ is white both above and below; the veins only of the wings are black, and become a little broader at the edge of the upper wings. These black veins on a rather transparent white ground make this butterfly resemble a gauze veil, hence its French name, _le gaze_. It flies in spring and summer in meadows and gardens, but is not generally common in England. In the first volume of his "Travels in the North of Russia," Pallas relates that he saw insects of this species flying in great numbers in the environs of Winofka, and that he at first took them for flakes of snow. The _Pieris cratægi_ fixes itself at sunset on flowers, where it is easily taken by the hand. During the day, on the contrary, it is difficult to catch. The larva, black at first, afterwards assumes short yellow and white hairs, but it varies much. They live in companies, under a silky web, in which they pass the winter. The leaves of the hawthorn, the sloe, the cherry tree, and of many other fruit trees, serve them for food. The pupa, yellow or white, and sometimes of both colours with little stripes and spots of black, is angular and terminated in front by a blunt point.

The _Pieris brassicæ_ (Fig. 144), or Cabbage Butterfly, is perhaps the commonest of all butterflies. From the beginning of spring till the end of autumn one sees it flying about everywhere, in the gardens, sometimes near and almost in the interior of towns. It is of a dull white, spotted and veined with black, and it can be seen at a long distance, when flitting from flower to flower, in a meadow or garden. And so children wage desperate war against this flying prey. The pursuit of the cabbage butterfly through the alleys of parks, along the outskirts of woods, or on the green turf of meadows, is the first joy and the first passion of children in the country.

The caterpillar (Fig. 145) is of a yellowish green, or rather greenish yellow, with three yellow longitudinal stripes separated by little black points, from each of which springs a whitish hair. It lives in groups on the cabbages in gardens, and on many other Cruciferæ. It is so voracious that it consumes in a day more than double its own weight, and, as it multiplies very quickly, commits great ravages in the vegetable garden. Its pupa (Fig. 145) is of an ashy white, spotted with black and yellow.

The _Pieris rapæ_, or Small White Butterfly, differs but little from the preceding except in size. The caterpillar, which lives on the cabbage, turnip, mignonette, nasturtium, &c., is green, with three yellow lines. It does not do these much harm. In France it is called _le ver du coeur_ (the heartworm), because it penetrates in between leaves pressed closely together.

The _Pieris napi_ (Fig. 146), the Green-veined White, is very like the two preceding, but the wings, the lower one especially, have underneath broad veins, or bands, of a greenish colour. The _Pieris callidice_, the wings of which are white spotted with black, is common in the Alps of France, in Savoy and Switzerland, and in the Pyrenees. Its caterpillar lives near the regions of perpetual snow, on small cruciferous plants.

The Orange-tips have, in the males, the extremity of the upper wings of a beautiful orange yellow. The rest of the wings is white in the only British species (Fig. 147), which is to be seen in meadows from the end of April till the end of May, and sulphur-coloured in some other species.

One species, extremely common, and which appears with but short interruption from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn, is the Brimstone Butterfly (_Rhodocera_ [_Gonepteryx_] _rhamni_). The wings are a lemon yellow, with an orange-coloured spot in the middle of each, and the front border terminated in a series of very small iron-coloured spots. The body of the butterfly is black with silvery hairs.

The _Colias edusa_, or Clouded-yellow, so called from the colour of the upper part of its wings, is not uncommon in meadows and fields in early autumn throughout Europe. The upper side of the wings is of a marigold yellow; the upper ones having towards the middle a large spot of black. At the extremity of each wing is a broad black band, continuous in the case of the male, interrupted by yellow spots in the female. The back of the body is yellow; the legs, as well as the antennæ, rosy.

The family of the _Lycænidæ_ comprises a great number of species, some of which we will mention.

The _Theclæ_, or Hair-streaks, which the French call _Petits Porte-queues_, on account of the tails which grace the hind margin of the hind wings, inhabit woods, their larvæ feeding, according to the species, on the birch, the oak, the plum-tree, the bramble, &c.

The _Thecla betulæ_ (Fig. 148), or Brown Hair-streak, is somewhat rare in this country.

The Purple Hair-streak (_Thecla quercus_, Fig. 149), which Geoffroy calls the "_Porte-queue bleu à une bande blanche_," is not rare in woods; but it is very difficult to catch, as it flies nearly always by couples at the tops of trees. We still further represent here the Black Hair-streak (_Thecla pruni_, Fig. 150), and the Green Hair-streak (_Thecla rubi_, Fig. 151).

In the meadows are found the Copper Butterflies; butterflies with wings of a bright, tawny colour, with black marks on the upper side. Such is the _Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _phlæas_ (Fig. 152), which is very common from the end of May until late in the autumn. The upper part of the wing is coppery, spotted with black, the under side of a grey colour, sprinkled with small eyes, and bordered by a zone of tawny spots. Linnæus counted forty-two little black eyes on the under side of the wings.

_phlæas_).]

We also figure _Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _virgaureæ_ (Fig. 153), and _Polyommatus_ (_Lycæna_) _gordius_ (Fig. 154), neither of which occurs in this country.

In the meadows, the gardens, and the lucerne and clover fields, are found the charming Blue Butterflies, the wings on the upper side, in the majority of instances, blue in the case of the males, brown in the females.

They comprise the genus _Lycæna_, or, as it is frequently called, _Polyommatus_,[49] though that name is now generally given to the preceding. We will content ourselves here by giving drawings of a few species of the genus, namely, the _Lycæna (Polyommatus) Corydon_, or Blue Argus (Fig. 155), which is not uncommon wherever there is chalk, in May and August; the _Lycæna (Polyommatus) battus_, or Brown Argus (Fig. 156), which does not occur here; the _Lycæna (Polyommatus) ægan_, which flies about our sandy heaths.

[49] It may not be out of place to remark that although both
these generic names are applied, sometimes to the one,
sometimes to the other of these genera, the genus named in the
text _Polyommatus_ and that called _Lycæna_ are never
considered identical. When either name is applied to the one,
it is not at the same time applied to the other.--ED.

The caterpillars of this genus, as also those of the preceding, are broad and flat, resembling wood-lice, with very short legs, and are very slow in their movements.

In the numerous family of the _Vanessidæ_ are placed the beautiful species known as the large and small Tortoise-shell, the Peacock, &c.

The large Tortoise-shell Butterfly (_Vanessa polychloros_, Fig. 158) has the wings of a tawny colour above, and of a blackish brown below, with darker spots, bordered by a black band, with a stripe of yellowish colour running down the middle. It is found in July and September on the oak, the elm, the willow, and many fruit trees.

The larva (Fig. 159) is bluish or brownish, with an orange-coloured lateral line, bristling with yellowish hairs. The chrysalis, which is angular, and of a red tint, is ornamented with golden metallic spots.

We give here a drawing of the small Tortoise-shell (_Vanessa urticæ_, Fig. 160), which resembles the preceding, but is smaller. Its caterpillar, bristly, blackish, with four yellowish lines, lives in companies on the nettle. The Peacock Butterfly (_Vanessa Io_, Fig. 161) is very easily recognised by the peacock's eyes--to the number of four, one on each wing--which have gained for it the name it bears. The eye on the upper wings is reddish in the middle and surrounded by a yellowish circle. That on the lower ones is blackish, with a grey circle round it, and contains bluish spots. The upper part of the wings is of a russety brown, the under part blackish. This _Vanessa_ is met with in the woods, in lucerne fields, and in gardens. Its spiny caterpillar is of a shiny black with white dots, and lives in companies on nettles. The chrysalis, at first greenish, then brownish, is ornamented with golden spots.

The _Vanessa Antiopa_ (Fig. 162), one of the greatest of entomological rarities in England, is not very common in the woods about Paris, but it is frequently found in the environs of Bordeaux, and, above all, at the Grande Chartreuse (in the department of Isère). The Parisian collectors go as far as Fontainebleau in pursuit of this beautiful species, with angular wings, of a dark purple black, with a yellowish or whitish band on the hind border and a succession of blue spots above it. The caterpillar is black, and bristly, with red spots. It lives in companies on the birch, the aspen, the elm, and different kinds of willows. The pupa is blackish, sprinkled with a bluish powder, and has ferruginous-coloured dots. The butterfly, which emerges from the chrysalis in July and August, is found, after hybernation, at the end of February and until May. It flies very rapidly, and is very difficult to catch.

_cardui_).]

The Red Admiral Butterfly (_Vanessa Atalanta_, Fig. 163) has bands of vermilion colour on the upper side of its wings, which are black above, and variegated beneath with different colours. The caterpillar is bristly and blackish, with a succession of spots of lemon-colour on its sides. It lives in solitude on the stinging-nettle (_Urtica dioica_). Its chrysalis is blackish, with golden spots. This magnificent insect is common at the end of summer, and easy to catch. If missed once it comes back again almost immediately, and almost alights on the net of the collector.

The Painted Lady (_Vanessa_ [_Cynthia_] _cardui_, Fig. 164) owes its vernacular name to the beauty of its colours. The upper wings are covered above with tawny spots, rather cerise coloured towards the interior, and with white spots on the hind margin towards the tip of the wing; the whole on a lightish ground. The lower wings are of a reddish tawny colour with many black spots, a circular row of which borders the wing. The caterpillar is bristly, brownish, with yellow lateral broken lines. It lives in solitude on many species of thistle, on the artichoke, the milfoil or yarrow, &c. It makes for itself a web, rather like a spider's nest, and lives therein. The chrysalis is greyish, with numerous golden dots. The perfect insect shows itself almost without interruption, from spring till autumn. It flies rapidly, and in certain seasons is abundant.

The _Vanessa (Grapta) C. album_ (Fig. 165), or Comma Butterfly, is common in parts of England. Above, its wings are tawny, spotted with black. Below, they are more or less brown, with different tints, and sometimes a little blue. On the under side of the lower wings is a white spot of the form of a C. "This spot," says old Geoffroy, "caused this butterfly to have the name of _gamma_ given to it, and its colour of _Diable enrhumé_ (_sic_), as also the singular cut of its wings, has caused it to be called by others _Robert le Diable_." Its caterpillar lives on the nettle, the honeysuckle, the currant, the hazel, and the elm. It is of a reddish brown, with a white band on the back. Réaumur calls it the Beadle, comparing it to the church beadles, who usually dress in glaring colours.

The brilliant _Vanessæ_, of which we have just briefly described some remarkable species, have been the cause of superstitious terror. This must at first sight seem incredible, but it has arisen thus: When they have just quitted the pupa, a red-coloured liquid drops from them. If a great many butterflies are hatched at the same time, and in the same place, the ground becomes, as it were, sprinkled with drops of blood. Hence the origin of some of those pretended _showers of blood_, which, at different periods, have terrified the ignorant, too much imbued with religious superstitions.

At the beginning of the month of July, 1608, one of these supposed showers of blood fell on the outskirts of Aix, in Provence, and this _rain_ extended for the distance of half a league from the town. Some priests of the town deceived themselves, or, desirous of turning to account the credulity of the people, did not hesitate to attribute this event to Satanic agency. Fortunately, a learned man, M. de Peiresc, who was not only well versed in the knowledge of ancient literature, but who was, moreover, familiar with the natural sciences, discovered that a prodigious multitude of butterflies were flying about in the places which were thus miraculously covered with blood. He collected some chrysalides and put them into a box, and letting them hatch there, observed the blood-like liquid, and hastened to make it known to the friends of the miraculous. He established the fact that the supposed drops of blood were only found in cavities, in interstices, under the copings of walls, &c., and never on the surface of stones turned upwards; and proved by these observations that they were drops of a red liquid deposited by the butterflies.

However, in spite of the reassuring remarks of the learned Peiresc, the people in the outskirts of Aix continued to feel a genuine terror at the sight of these tears of blood which stained the soil. Peiresc attributes to this same cause some other showers of blood related by historians, and which took place about the same season. Such was a shower which was supposed to have fallen in the time of Childebert, at Paris, and in a house in the territory of Senlis. Such again was a so-called bloody shower which showed itself towards the end of June, during the reign of King Robert of France. Réaumur points out the large Tortoise-shell as being the most capable of spreading these sorts of alarms, founded on a deplorable ignorance and the spirit of superstition.

"Thousands," says he, "change into pupæ towards the end of May or the beginning of June. Before their transformation they leave the trees, often fastening themselves to walls, and, making their way into country-houses, they suspend themselves to the frames of doors, &c. If the butterflies which come out of them towards the end of June or the beginning of July were all to fly together, there would be enough of them to form little clouds or swarms, and consequently there would be enough to cover the stones in certain localities with spots of a blood-red colour, and to make those who only seek to terrify themselves, and to see prodigies in everything, believe that during the night it had rained blood."

In the family of _Nymphalidæ_, we will first mention the White Admiral (Fig. 166). The upper side of its wings is of a dark brown, almost black, traversed in the middle by a white band divided into spots very close to each other. The lower part of the wings is ferruginous, with a band and spots of white, as on the upper, besides which it has a double hinder transverse row of black dots. These dots are followed on the hind wings by some white spots, and the whole of the inner margin is of a glossy ashy blue, with the base spotted with black. This butterfly is not rare in the month of July in woods in the south of England, where it flies round and settles upon the branches of the underwood. The caterpillar is of a delicate green, with a lateral white stripe, and rather bristly. It feeds on honeysuckle. The pupa is angular, of greenish colour, with golden spots.

The _Limenitis camilla_ (Fig. 167), of which the black on the wings is shot with blue, is not found in England.

In the month of July the _Apatura ilia_ (Fig. 168) and the Purple Emperor (_Apatura iris_), sylvan insects of strong flight, whose wings are beautifully shot with violet blue when examined in certain lights--the latter resembling _Ilia_, but wanting the eye-like spots on the front wings--are met with. _Iris_ only is found in this country. Both species occur in the environs of Paris.

The _Charaxes jasius_ (Fig. 169), which is found along the whole of the Mediterranean coast, has its lower wings terminated in two points, whence the peasants call this butterfly the _Pacha with two tails_. The upper part of its wings is of a brown colour of changing hues. The hind margin of the fore wings has along it a tawny band with a fine black line running round. The hind wings have their hinder margin black, and garnished with a little white fringe. The two tails are black, and the groove of the inner margin is of an ashy grey. The underneath of the wings is ferruginous, with spots of an olive brown set in a framework of white towards the base.

The caterpillar is green, and flat like a slug, with four yellow horns bordered with red (Fig. 170). It lives on the arbutus, a shrub common enough on the hills and mountains of the coast of the Mediterranean.

To the family of the _Satyridi_ belongs the _Erebia Euryale_ (Fig. 171), which is found in the month of July in sub-alpine regions; the _Chionobas aello_ (Fig. 172), which is found in the Alps of Switzerland, of the Tyrol, and of Savoy, and which is common enough, in the month of July, on the summit of Montanvers, near the _mer de glace_; the _Satyrus janira_, or Meadow Brown (Fig. 173), which is very common, in the months of June and July, in woods and fields.

We now pass on to the second section of Lepidoptera.

_janira_).]

It contains _those whose flight in the majority of species is nocturnal or by twilight, but by day in some species. The antennæ are more or less swollen out in the middle or before their extremities, and, independently of that, sometimes prismatic, sometimes cylindrical, sometimes pectinated or indented. The body--which was small in comparison to the wings, and which was remarkably thin between the thorax and the abdomen in the first section of Lepidoptera--is in this section very much larger in proportion to the wings, and is not drawn tightly in between the thorax and the abdomen. The wings are horizontal or slightly inclined when the insect is at rest; the upper then cover the lower, which are generally comparatively short and kept back by a bridle on the first, in the case of the males only._

We will take the genus _Sesia_ as the representative of the _Sesiidæ_. These singular insects have membranous wings, and resemble various species of Hymenoptera. The largest species is the _Sesia apiformis_ (Fig. 174), that is, bee-like, which is found in this country, resting on the trunks of willows and poplar-trees, from the end of May till the middle of July. It resembles a hornet, and is of the same size and has the same colours; only they are not quite so bright. When this moth is just hatched its wings are ferruginous; but its scales, light and caducous, fall as soon as the insect begins to fly. The caterpillar, which lives in the trunks or roots of willows and poplar-trees, is of a yellowish colour. The pupa is long, of a brownish colour, enclosed in a cocoon composed of agglutinated saw-dust, the product of the caterpillar's erosions.

In the middle of summer the meadows are frequented by moths, with brilliant black and velvety wings, marked with red, which fly heavily, and only for a short time together. They remain motionless during the great heat of the day. These are the _Zygænæ_, or Burnets, of the family of the _Zygænidæ_. The Ram Sphinx of Geoffroy, or the Six-spot Burnet Moth (_Zygæna filipendulæ_, Fig. 175), is common from the end of June till the beginning of August. Its legs, antennæ, head, and body are black and rather hairy; its upper wings are of a brilliant bluish green, with six spots of a beautiful red on each, bordered by a little green. The caterpillar is yellow, spotted with black; its cocoon is boat-shaped, with longitudinal furrows, and is straw colour (Fig. 176).

Next to _Zygæna_ comes _Procris_, the species of which fly during the day in damp fields. We will mention particularly the _Procris statices_ (Fig. 177), which is plentiful enough where it occurs between the middle of June and the middle of July, on the sides of hills. Its fore wings, antennæ, and the whole of its body, are of a blue green above. The same wings are of the same colour below, and the surfaces of the lower ones are of an ashy brown.

_statices_).]

The Sphinges, that is, those species that form the family of the _Sphingidæ_, have received this general name from the attitude which their caterpillars often assume. Raising the fore part of the body, which attitude resembles the Sphinx of mythology, they keep for a very long time this state of immobility. They fly very rapidly and briskly, and only make their appearance for the most part after sunset. The caterpillars, which in this group are without hair, and have almost always a horn on the eleventh segment of the body, metamorphose themselves in the earth, without forming hard cocoons. The chrysalis are sometimes enveloped in a very slight shell, or cocoon, which when it exists is formed of particles of earth or of vegetable _débris_ bound together by threads. This family comprises species generally remarkable for their size and beauty.

The genus _Macroglossa_ contains some species which fly rapidly and for a long time together during the day. We will mention particularly the Humming-bird Sphinx (_Macroglossa stellatarum_). This moth (Fig. 178) has attracted the attention of all who have ever spent much time in a flower garden. In Burgundy the children call it _bird-fly_. In passing from one flower to another it has brisk and rapid movements, but it remains suspended in the air before each; it does not alight upon any, it is always flying, thrusting its long trunk the while into the corollæ of flowers, counterbalancing the action of its weight by the continuous vibration of its wings.

We will describe in a few words this robust inhabitant of the air, this charming _bird-fly_. The _Macroglossa stellatarum_ shows itself during the whole of the fine season, and till the middle of autumn, in our climate. It often penetrates in the middle of the day into our houses, and knocking itself against the window-panes, falls an easy prey to children. Its front wings are of an ashy brown, of changing hues above, with three black, transverse, undulating lines. The lower, shorter than the others, are of a rusty-yellow colour. All the wings are yellowish below near the body, ferruginous in the middle, and of a dark brown at their extremities.

The body is long, brown, hairy, and terminating in a tuft of divergent hairs, reminding one of a bird's tail. It is for this reason that it has been called by the French _Sphinx Moineau_, or Sparrow Sphinx. This resemblance is so great, that Mr. Bates, in his book on the Amazons, says he often shot species of this genus in mistake for humming-birds. The caterpillar of this remarkable Lepidopteron (Fig. 179) is of a pale green, with eight transversal rows of small white dots and four longitudinal rows, of which two are white and two yellowish. It has a dark blue horn, with an orange-coloured tip. It lives on different species of bed-straw, but by preference on the _Galium mollugo_. Before its metamorphosis, it encloses itself in a shapeless cocoon, made of the _débris_ of leaves held together by threads, and placed on the surface of the ground. The pupa (Fig. 180) is of a light grey, sprinkled over with brown dots, and striped with black. Its skin is so thin and transparent that one can follow it through all the phases of transformation to the imago.

The genus _Deilephila_ is composed of species whose flight is rapid, and after sunset. Such are the _Deilephila euphorbiæ_, the Oleander Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _nerii_), and the large Elephant Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _elpenor_).

The _Deilephila euphorbiæ_ (Fig. 181) has the upper wings of a reddish grey, with three spots of greenish or olive colour along the costa, or front margin, and a broad black oblique band along the hind margin. The lower wings are red, with the base black, and a transverse black band towards the edge; they have, moreover, a large round white spot on the inside; beneath the wings are red, as also is the body, which is covered above with greenish hairs. This species is exceedingly rare here, but is plentiful on the Continent during the months of June and September.

The larva (Fig. 182) is one of the most remarkable of the genus on account of the splendour and the vividness of its colours, and appears to be covered with varnish. It has a number of small yellow dots very close to each other on a glossy black ground, which are ranged in circles. On each side of the body are two longitudinal rows of spots generally of the same colour as the dots, and a narrow band of carmine runs down the middle of the back, and a similar band, which is intersected by yellow, is to be seen above the legs. This caterpillar is almost always found on the Cyprus-leafed spurge. It is found first at the end of June. Generally the chrysalis passes through the winter, and the moth emerges in the following year.

The _Deilephila (Chærocampa) nerii_ (Fig. 183), or Oleander Hawk-Moth, is a charming species almost peculiar to hot countries, where the shrub from which it derives its name grows spontaneously--that is to say, in Africa, in the southern parts of Asia, in Greece, in Spain, &c. Carried forward by its rapid flight, and assisted by atmospheric currents, these beautiful insects sometimes come accidentally into the countries of Central Europe. They have been met with many times in Paris, in the garden of the Luxembourg, where the oleander is cultivated under glass. But those which are hatched in the environs of Paris never reproduce their species, on account of the coldness of the climate. Both larva and imago--the former on periwinkle--_have_ been found in the same locality.

The caterpillar of this species (Fig. 184) is one of those called by the French _Cochonnes_, because their two first rings, which are retractile and drawn back under the third when the insect is at rest, taper in such a way as to resemble the snout of a pig, hence the English name "Elephant," when they change their place or are engaged in eating. It is of a beautiful green, with white stripes and dots on the sides, and marked on the third segment with two large spots like eyes, of an azure blue, encircled with black, and having white pupils. A short orange-coloured horn rises at the extremity of the body. A few days before its transformation, this caterpillar entirely loses its rich livery, it becomes brown on the back, and of a dirty yellow on the rest of its body, and constructs for itself a cocoon at the foot of the shrub on which it lived, with the _débris_ of leaves fastened together with threads.

The cocoon contains a chrysalis (Fig. 185) of a hazel brown, delicately streaked with a darker brown, and with a very conspicuous black spot on each of its stigmata.

The Elephant Hawk-Moth (_Deilephila_ [_Chærocampa_] _elpenor_, Fig. 186) is not rare during the month of June. Its fore wings are purple red, glossy above, with three bands of a light olive green, having at the base a small black spot. The inner margin is garnished with white hairs. The hind wings are of a dark rose colour above, with the base black, and the hind margin bordered with white. The four wings are rose coloured below, with the costa and the middle of an olive green; the upper ones have their interior border tinged with a blackish colour. The body is rose colour, with two longitudinal bands of an olive green over the abdomen, and five diverging lines of this colour on the thorax. The sides of the abdomen have along them a double series of yellowish points.

The caterpillar of this sphinx (Fig. 187) is of a dark brown, delicately striped with black. Two grey lines run down each side of its body, and on the fourth and fifth segments are two black eyes bordered by light violet. This caterpillar is found most often on certain kinds of _Epilobium_, but will also eat of the vine, fuchsia, and bed-straw. It must be sought in damp places, by streams and ponds, from the end of July till September. It constructs on the surface of the soil a shapeless cocoon with moss and dry leaves, which it fastens together with some silky threads. Its pupa (Fig. 188), of a yellowish brown, has short bristles on the rings of the abdomen. The caterpillar possesses in the highest degree the retractile power which has gained for certain species of this genus their popular names. The Privet Sphinx (_Sphinx ligustri_, Fig. 189) has its upper wings rather narrow, about two inches long, of a reddish grey, and veined with black above, with the middle of a dark brown, the inner margin with rose-coloured hairs, and the hind margin having two whitish flexuous lines running along it. The hind wings are of a rose tint, with three black bands. The wings are of a reddish grey below with a common black band. The abdomen has black and rose-coloured rings above, and in the middle a brownish band wholly divided by a black line.

This species is very common in all parts of Europe. One finds it in gardens from June to September. Of all the caterpillars of the genus _Sphinx_, this is the one which, by its attitude when in a state of repose, most resembles the sphinx of fable, from which the genus has derived its name. It is of fine apple green, with seven oblique stripes, half violet and half white, placed on each side of its body, and three or four small white spots beyond these stripes. The stigmata are orange, the head is green, bordered with black. The extremity of the body is surrounded by a smooth horn, black above, yellow below (Fig. 190). This beautiful caterpillar is not rare. It lives on a great number of trees and shrubs, but it is principally on the privet, the lilac, and the ash tree, that it must be looked for. Three or four days before it buries itself in the earth to change itself into a chrysalis, its beautiful colours grow dim. During the month of June and September is found the Convolvulus Sphinx (_Sphinx convolvuli_, Fig. 192), with brown wings, and with the abdomen striped with transverse bands alternately black and red. The caterpillar of this species, which presents a great number of varieties, lives on many kinds of _Convolvuli_, but particularly on the field species. It is generally rare here, but occasionally abundant.

It is to the genus _Acherontia_ that a well-known moth belongs. We refer to the Death's-head Moth (_Acherontia atropos_). It is the largest species of hawk-moth. This insect presents, roughly marked out in light yellow, on the black ground of its thorax, a human skull. This funeral symbol, joined to the plaintive cry which this moth emits when frightened, has sometimes inspired terror into the whole population of a country. The appearance of this moth in certain countries having coincided with the invasion of an epidemic disease, some thought they saw in this doleful sylph of the night the messenger of death. The _Acherontia atropos_ plays a great part in the superstitions which are believed in by the country folk in England. One hears it said in country places that this ominous inhabitant of the air is in league with the witches, and that it goes and murmurs into their ears with its sad and plaintive voice the name of the person whom death is soon to carry off. In spite of its ominous livery, the _Atropos_ does not come from Hades; it is no envoy of death, bringing sadness and mourning. It does not bring us news of another world; it tells us, on the contrary, that Nature can people every hour; that it was her will to console them for their sadness, to grant to the twilight and to the night the same winged wanderers which are at once the delight and ornament of the hours of light and of day.

This is the mission of science, to dissipate the thousands of prejudices and dangerous superstitions which mislead ignorant people.

This moth has the front wings of a blackish brown colour, having lighter irregular bands varied with brown and grey, above and below. On the middle of the front wing there is a well-defined white dot. The hind wings have two black bands, the upper narrower than the lower one; the rest of the wing is a fine yellow. The abdomen has likewise from five to six yellow and as many black bands; in the middle is a long blackish longitudinal band. This moth is not very rare, and may be found in autumn. Its flight is heavy, and, as we have said, the insect never flies till after sunset. If caught, or when teased, it utters a cry which is very audible.

The death's-head hawk-moth would be a very inoffensive being if it did not make its way into bee-hives, in order to steal the honey, of which it is excessively fond. It is to no purpose that the bees dart their stings at the intruder, they only blunt them against its thick skin, and soon, terrified at its presence, disperse on all sides.

The caterpillar of the _Acherontia atropos_ (Fig. 194) is the largest of all European caterpillars. It attains to as much as four and a half inches in length by eight lines in diameter. Its colour is lemon yellow, which changes into green on the sides and belly. From the fourth to the tenth ring inclusively it is ornamented laterally with seven oblique bands of an azure blue, which are tinted with violet, and bordered with white on the side. These bands joining together over the back of each segment resemble so many _chevrons_ placed parallel to each other. The body is, moreover, dotted with black. At its extremity is a yellow horn, curved back like a hook, and covered with tubercles. The head is green, and marked laterally with a black stripe. It lives chiefly on the potato, and the _Lycium barbarum_, sometimes called the tea-tree, a shrub belonging to the _Solanaceæ_. It buries itself in the earth to change into a chrysalis (Fig. 195) of a bright chestnut brown.

We will mention still further, in the family of the _Sphingidæ_, three species of the genus _Smerinthus_, which fly heavily and by twilight.