THE HELICONIANS 231 



They change to chrysalids which are remarkable for their 

 irregular shape, with two leaf -like projections on the head 

 which the insect can move in a most curious fashion. 



One of the most notable things about this insect is the 

 fact that the male butterflies are attracted to the chrysalids 

 of the females even before the latter emerge. Many ob- 

 servers have reported upon this curious phenomenon and 

 have recorded experiments demonstrating that it is a 

 general habit with the species. 



The Roosting Habits 



The adult butterflies flock together at night and rest 

 upon the Spanish moss which festoons so many of the 

 trees in the Far South, or upon dead branches. They take 

 positions with heads upward and wings closed, many of 

 them often flocking together to roost, and wandering out 

 to the near-by fields when the morning sun gives them re- 

 newed activity. But these butterflies are essentially 

 forest insects. Reliable observers have noticed that when 

 one emerges from a chrysalis it flies up in the air and 

 makes straight for the nearest woods. Others have 

 noticed that when a butterfly in a field is alarmed it also 

 makes for the woods. And in the regions where the species 

 is abundant the butterflies are most likely to be found in 

 paths and glades in the forest. Thus they show the in- 

 fluence of their ancestral habitat in the tropical wilderness. 



There seems to be a certain amount of ceremony at- 

 tending the flocking together at night for roosting pur- 

 poses. A famous English naturalist, Philip Henry Gosse, 

 saw the performance in the West Indies many years ago 

 and described it in these words: 



"Passing along a rocky foot-path on a steep wooded 



