186 PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 24, NO. 7-8, OCT.-NOV., 1922 



caterpillars dangling under trees 

 By slender threads and swinging in the breeze, 

 Which filthily bewray and sore disgrace 

 The boughs in which are bred th' unseemly race." 



Cowper. 



''And there lay visions swift, and sweet, and quaint, 

 Each in its thin sheath like a chrysalis." 



Shelley. 



Having arrived at the pupal stage, next in order is the emer- 

 gence of the adult: 



"Straight from the filth of this low grub behold! 

 Come fluttering forth a gaudy spendthrift heir, 



All glossy, gay, enamelled all with gold, 

 ****** 



See her bright robes the butterfly unfold 

 Broke from her tomb in prime of May! 

 What youthful bride can equal her array?" 



Thomson. 



Until recently poets have been satisfied to allude to these 

 insects simply as the "butterfly" but we find them mentioned 

 rather abundantly by their vulgar specific names, thus: 

 Alfred Noyes has: 



"Now they roam these mortal dells 

 Wondering where that happy glade is, 



Painted Ladies, 

 Admirals and Tortoise-shells." 



And John Burroughs: 



"The mourning cloak takes up her clew 

 And dances through the sunny glades." 



April. 



There are many such, but space forbids their mention. 



Although poets usually mention the butterflies with admira- 

 tion or at least in approbation, this is not always the case, as 

 shown by the following, from Chaucer: 



"Your tale annoyeth all this companye: 

 Swych talking is nat worth a boterflye." 



Canterbury Tales. 



Thus, having belittled the insect, the poet proceeds to take a 

 shot at the collector: 



"The virtuoso thus at noon, 

 Broiling beneath a July sun, 

 The gilded butterfly pursues 

 O'er hedge and ditch, through gaps and mews: 



