232 BUTTERFLIES 



mountain side, in the Parish of St. EKzabeth (Jamaica), 

 about the end of August, 1845, my attention was attracted, 

 just before sunset, by a swarm of these butterflies in a sort 

 of rocky recess, overhung by trees and creepers. They 

 were about twenty in number, and were dancing to and 

 fro, exactly in the manner of gnats, or as Hepioli play at 

 the side of a wood. After watching them awhile, I 

 noticed that some of them were resting with closed wings 

 at the extremities of one or two depending vines. One 

 after another fluttered from the group of dancers to the re- 

 posing squadron, and alighted close to the others, so that 

 at length, when only two or three of the fliers were left, the 

 rest were collected in groups of half a dozen each, so close 

 together that each group might have been grasped in the 

 hand. When once one had alighted, it did not in general 

 fly again, but a new-comer, fluttering at the group, seeking 

 to find a place, sometimes disturbed one recently settled, 

 when the wings were thrown open, and one or two flew up 

 again. As there were no leaves on the hanging stalks, the 

 appearance presented by these beautiful butterflies, so 

 crowded together, their long, erect wings pointing in differ- 

 ent directions, was not a little curious. I was told by per- 

 sons residing near that every evening they thus assembled, 

 and that I had not seen a third part of the numbers often 

 collected in that spot.'* 



THE MILKWEED BUTTERFLIES 



Family Lymnadidae 



So far as the great majority of readers of this book are 

 concerned, this family includes but one species — the famil- 

 iar Monarch or Milkweed butterfly. In the Southern 



