PAPILIO II. 



such fondness for the place that they might be rehed on to return even if fright,- 

 ened off by an unsuccessful stroke of the net ; Piliniinus, however, showed more 

 discretion, and once missed by the net, took permanent leave. While watching 

 a beautiful male, as he flitted round the regular course which each species under 

 such circumstances quickly adopts, it occurred to me to utilize the habit of salu- 

 tation which prevails tliroughout the butterfly tribe. Accordingly, I took from 

 my box a battered specimen recently caught, and pinned it through the thorax 

 to a switch about five feet long, trimmed to the greatest possible inconspicuous- 

 ness. With this wand I danced my butterfly- up and down, so as to imitate, though 

 feebly, natural flight, and to prevent too easy discovery of its condition. With 

 left hand thus occupied, the right grasping the handle of the net, jealously kept 

 behind me, I watched for a moment when the new-comer's back was turned, and 

 took position on his beat. As he swung down upon me, the thump of my pul^e 

 apparently furnished enough appearance of vitalit}' to my decoy ; for he started 

 rapidly toward it, settling on it before I was ready with the net. The few 

 seconds, however, necessar}' to demonstrate the sex of the decoy, enabled me to 

 bag my prize with ease, and without injury to his perfect tails. In this way I 

 caught seven males that day. After this, 1 kept a damaged specimen on hand, 

 during the rest of my trip, and I rarely missed a butterfly of that species. 



" Later, at Queretaro, I tried the same plan successfully with P. Daunus ; and 

 later still, in Colorado, I caught Daunus with a Turnus decoy. I intend in future 

 to carry pasteboard and water colors, with a view to imitating, even if clumsily, 

 any rare species which I may find especially diflicult to catch. Only males were 

 taken in this way. The females of all these species are more ea.sy of capture on 

 account of their heavier flight and mental preoccupations." I spoke of this 

 mode of taking Papilios to Mr. David Bruce, and he told me he had used paper 

 decoys with success. 



In Papilio IV. p. 100, is a description of what purports to be the mature larva 

 and chrysalis of PUumnus, but there is some mistake in the matter, the stages as 

 described belonging to the Palamedes group, and probably to Palamedes itself. 

 I have seen the identical pupa which was so described, in the collection of Mr.' 

 Henry Edward.s, and it is of the form and peculiar character of TroUiis. Cer- 

 tainly the pupa of PUumnus would be of same character as that of Daunus, 

 Rutulus, and Turnus. 



