184 BUTTERFLIES. 



tremely prolific ; a single female, at one birth, 

 produces several hundred eggs : and one of 

 the most wonderful particulars in the history 

 of these insects, is the precaution with which 

 they provide for the security of their young : 

 some species tear off even the down from their 

 own bodies to supply them with a covering. 



The variety and richness of the colours 

 that adorn the greater part of this tribe, have 

 made it an object of especial research by 

 painters as well as by naturalists. In 

 general the tropical climates, that heighten 

 the colours both in the plumage of birds and 

 the scales of fishes, offer the most gaudy 

 specimens of the Butterfly. Our limits will 

 only allow us to detail two or three descrip- 

 tions in prose and verse of this beautiful 

 insect. 



The Prianws measures more than six 

 inches from wing's end to wing's end : the 

 upper wings are velvet black, with a broad 

 band of the most beautiful grass-green, and 

 of a satiny lustre, drawn from the shoulder 

 to the tip ; and another on the lower part of 

 the wing, following the shape of that part, 

 and of a somewhat undulating appearance as 



