PAPILIO. 



Prgan of tl^e |few Jork pntomological piub. 



Vol. 1.] December, 1881. [No. 11. 



ON CERTAIN HABITS OF HELICONIA CHARITONIA, 



LINN., A SPECIES OF BUTTERFLY FOUND IN 



FLORIDA. 



By W. H. Edwards. 

 In part read before the Ent. Sub-Section of the Am. Assn., at Cinn., August i8, 1881. 



In Wallace's Contributions to the Theory of Natural Selec- 

 tion, London, 1870, page JJ, we read: "There is in South 

 America an extensive family of these insects, the Heliconidae, 

 which are in many respects remarkable. They are so abundant 

 and characteristic in all the woody portions of the American 

 tropics, that in almost every locality they will be seen more fre- 

 quently than other butterflies. They are exceedingly beautiful 

 and varied in their colors, spots and patches of yellow, red, or 

 pure white, upon a black, blue or brown ground being most gen- 

 eral. 



They frequent the forests chiefly, and all fly slowly and 

 weakly. Yet, although they are all so conspicuous and could 

 certainly be caught by insectivorous birds more easily than almost 

 any other insect, their great abundance all over the wide region 

 they inhabit shows that they are not persecuted. 



It is to be especially remarked also that they possess no 

 adaptive coloring to protect them during repose, for the under 

 side of their wings presents the same, or at least, an equally con- 

 spicuous coloring as the upper side, and they may be observed 

 after sunset suspended at the ends of twigs and leaves, where 

 they have taken up their station for the night, fully exposed to 

 the attacks of enemies, if they have any. 



These beautiful insects possess, however, a strong, pungent, 

 semi-aromatic or medicinal odor, which seems to pervade all the 



