THE MOSAIC OF COLOURS 



that emit flashing reflections of red and green ; there are also large 

 Scarabaeidae that shimmer blue, green, red and gold. There are 

 handsome Weevils whose bronze is covered with a green patina, and 

 some of the Brazilian Cockchafers seem to be wrought of solid gold. 

 The handsomest species of the Bronze Wasps, so called on account 

 of their metallic brilliance, are found in Brazil, and there are also 

 Bronze Bees, at which one can only gaze in amazement when their 

 bodies glitter in the tropical sunlight with a shimmering radiance 

 of green, blue and gold. There is no lack of brilliantly-coloured 

 Dragonflies, and even the family of the Bugs has developed 

 surprisingly lovely species. In the botanical gardens of Rio I used 

 to gaze with ever-renewed delight on a number of Leather-bugs 

 (Homoptera) which inhabited a trail of passion-flowers. These 

 long-legged creatures were bronze-green in colour, with two long 

 yellow stripes along the back; but the hindlegs were expanded in 

 one joint to form violet-purple leaves, adorned with specks of bright 

 red or yellow (Plate 29, II, 4). 



And now the butterflies, as richly endowed with colour as though 

 they were the children of the Sun himself! I have already said 

 enough of the metallic blue of the Morphidae. Even the least 

 emotional and most sophisticated of men could not fail to exclaim 

 with delight when he sees these azure, silken creatures floating 

 through the forest. Those who have seen the Arpsche collection in 

 Rio will admit that no human palette could do justice to the chromatic 

 splendour of the Brazilian butterflies. In many species even the 

 underside of the wings is not only splendidly coloured, but often 

 adorned with elaborate designs, as though an artist had dipped his 

 brushes in a variety of pigments, and had carefully drawn delight- 

 fully contrasting circles and spirals on the back of the wings. It is 

 impossible to enumerate all these marvels; I will only mention the 

 fact that some Brazilian butterflies have even contrived to provide 

 themselves with underwings of pure gold, while others are so richly 

 adorned with silver that the species in question is known as the 

 "Money butterfly," Dione moneta. 



There are silver spiders too in Brazil. How often have I admired 

 them in the garden of Sao Bento in Olinda! The great wheel- 

 shaped web is itself beautifully woven, and from the centre four 

 broad rays of spun silk run to the boiders like the arms of a St. 

 Andrew's Cross. Where the arms of the cross meet sits the spider, 

 like a work of art cunningly fashioned of silver, from which the 

 raised, red-brown body, itself flecked with silver, protrudes. Other 



207 



