140 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES 



Huntingdonshire, and Norfolk. Occasional!}' we hear of the capture 

 of single specimens quite outside these localities, sometimes even 

 in most unlikely spots, where its food plant does not abound. But 

 we know that Machaon is a general favourite with entomologists, 

 and that it is sent in the pupal state, by post, to all parts of the 

 kingdom ; so that the occasional capture of the insect far bej'ond 

 the borders of its hamits is probably the outcome of an escape from 

 prison, or of the tender-heartedness of some lover of nature who 

 could not bear to see such a beautiful creature deprived of its short 

 but joyous, sunny flight. 



You cannot hope to see this splendid butterfly on the wing unless 

 you visit its haunts during its season — May to August; but the 

 pupae may be purchased for a few pence each from most of the 

 entomological dealers ; and if you obtain a few of these and watch 

 them closely, you may be fortunate enough to see the perfect insect 

 emerge from its case, and witness the gradual expansion of its 

 beautiful wings. 



The pupa (Plate VIII, fig. 7) itself is a most beautiful object. 

 Its colour is a pale green, and it is fixed to its support by the tail, 

 and farther secured by a very strong silk band. 



The larva (Plate VIII, fig. 1), too, is exceedingly beautiful. Its 

 ground colour is a lovely green, and twelve velvety black rings 

 mark the divisions between the segments. Between these are a,lso 

 black bars, all spotted with bright orange except the one on the 

 second segment. 



A remarkable feature of this larva is the possession of a forked, 

 Y-shaped 'horn,' that is jH-ojected from the back, just behind the 

 head, when the creature is alarmed. If it is gently pressed or 

 irritated in any way, this horn is thrust out just as if it were an 

 important weapon of defence. And perhaps it is, for it is the source 

 of a powerful odoiu- of fennel — one of the food plants of the cater- 

 pillar — that may possibly prove objectionable to some of its numer- 

 ous enemies. 



The food plants of Machaon are the milk parsley or hog's 

 fennel {Pcuccdanum i^alustre), cow-parsnip (Hcracleuni bpJioii- 

 dyUiivi), and the wild angelica {Angelica sylvestris) ; but in con- 

 finement it will also partake of rue and carrot leaves. 



The caterpillar of this species may bo found in the fens during 

 the greater part of the summer. It turns to a chrysalis in the 

 autumn, and remains in this state throughout the winter, attached 

 to the stems of reeds in the vicinity of its food plants. The perfect 



