WYCOMBE BUTTERFLIES. 163 
Magpie’s, an Owl’s, a Blackbird’s, a Redstart’s, and a Pheasant’s, 
were all within 200 yards of each other. These and other 
instances show that the birds will get on well enough if man 
will let them alone; and experience and observation show plainly 
enough that the balance of creation is perfectly adjusted unless 
men destroy it by their unreflecting interference. 
T. MarsHALL. 
Wycombe Butterflies. 
Ill.—THE RED HORNS—(Rhodoceride). 
HIS family, which derives its name from the beautiful rose tint 
of the antenne, includes three British species, one of which is 
very common in our neighbourhood, the second exceedingly rare, 
and the third non est. 
THe Briwstone (Gonepteryx Rhamni) is one of the first 
harbingers of Spring, often coming out on warm sunny days in 
February and March, enlivening the banks of resuscitating 
herbage, and even sometimes putting in an appearance in 
January, rousing pleasant recollections of last year’s excursions, 
and filling us with hopes for the coming summer. The wings 
have a bold contour—the fore wings are angled at the extreme 
tip, the hind ones in the middle of the hind margin: the body is 
of a rich silvery blue on the thorax, the abdomen darker, the 
thorax is covered with silky hair rising to a ridge along the 
centre, and peculiarly beautiful in freshly emerged specimens. 
The wings of the male are of a strong brimstone yellow, with a 
bright saffron spot in the centre, showing much plainer on the 
under side; the female is much weaker in tint, and may easily be 
mistaken for a Large White: both sexes are greenish on the 
under side. This species is fond of lanes and woody districts, and 
is very plentiful round High Wycombe. I have not seen it since 
I left the neighbourhood, and it was like missing a very old friend. © 
It emerges from the chrysalis in August, nearly always appearing 
T 
