io6 



Marvels of Insect Life, 



of its legs narrower, rounded, and the fringe of hairs is so shght as to be 

 ineffective for such a purpose had the cuckoo any desire to labour. But as a 

 matter of fact she does nothing of the kind, unless it be that she may take temporary 

 refreshment in the shape of nectar from the flowers. The actual labour of providing 

 for her own progeny she leaves entirely to the humble-bees. 



The Apollo Butterfly. 



For many years, owing to a misapprehension, all the books on the British 

 butterflies included this fine species. Long after the error was discovered the 

 Apollo ^ continued to make its appearance in such works ; and one can well under- 

 stand the reluctance with which more recent authors have excluded it as never having 

 had an}^ real claim to the position. But although we may not in this country see 

 it, more than half concealed by its colouring, sitting on the heads of knapweed, 

 everyone who spends a holiday in the Alpine districts of Europe may enjoy such 

 a sight, for it is a common butterfly on the slopes from a thousand to five thousand 



feet above sea- 

 level. The female, 

 which is the finer 

 of the two sexes, 

 measures from 

 three to three and 

 a quarter inches 

 across the wings, 

 which are semii- 

 transparent and 

 thinly powdered 

 with black scales 

 on the dirty-white 

 ground colour. 

 The outer margin 



of the fore-wings is practically scaleless and glossy. There are six irregular 

 black spots on each fore-wing, but four of the five on the hind-wing — of 

 which the three smallest run together — are red, ringed with black, whereof the two 

 largest have white centres. These and most of the black spots are red on the 

 under side, which is the surface exposed when the butterfly is at rest, sucking nectar 

 from the flowers. Then with the wings turned up over the back, the fore-wings 

 slipped within the hind ones, and the antennae tucked away between them, the 

 wing outline is lost and the coloured spots become part of the flowers among which 

 it is resting. The male is smaller than the female, somewhat whiter because rather 

 more liberally clothed with scales, and all its spots are smaller ; but its body and 

 the adjacent margins of the hind -wings are covered with longer hairs. When 

 captured the butterfly pretends to be dead, and waits for a favourable opportunity 

 for suddenly expanding the wings and escaping. 



The caterpillar when full grown is a handsome Insect coloured a rich velvety 

 black, spotted with bright orange — warning colours. In the first segment behind 



^ Parnassiiis apollo. 



Photo by] 



The Humble-Bee and its Cuckoo. 



The left-hand figure is that of the humble-bee ; that to the right is the cuckoo 

 in character of the hind-legs of the two Insects. 



[£. SU-p, F.L.S. 



Note the difference 



