200 NATURK STUDY. 



of the wings is brighter than the under, and as the wings 

 are always raised upright when the butterfly is at rest, it 

 is then less conspicuous than when flying. 



Another butterfly, smaller than the Monarch, but look- 

 ing and flying almost exactl}- like it, is the Viceroy. It is 

 said that birds do not eat the Monarch, because, as is sup- 

 posed, of a bad taste or smell. The Viceroy is good to 

 eat, but fools the birds by looking like the Monarch. This 

 way of escape from natural enemies is called " mimicry," 

 and is quite common among many sorts of animals and 

 plants. 



There are man}- beautiful butterflies in this great four- 

 footed family, and among them are the Fritillaries, whose 

 caterpillars feed on the leaves of violets. These butterflies 

 are commonly a little above medium size, and all have a 

 characteristic family look. The color of the wings is 

 what is called fulvous, bordered and checkered with black. 



The Red Admiral, the Painted Beauty, and others of 

 the group called Angle- wings, are justly considered prizes 

 by young collectors, and these, too, belong to the family 

 Nymphalidse. 



It would require a good-sized book in which merely to 

 mention all the kinds of butterflies that are found in our 

 country, but there is one that must not be left out. even 

 when we are naming onlv a few, and that is the Mourning 

 Cloak. In Germany it has a name that means nearly the 

 same — the Sombre Mantle, but in England it is called the 

 Camberwell Beaut3^ It is a beautiful butterfly. Its wings 

 are purplish-brown, with a broad j^ellow border, inside ot 

 which is a row of blue spots. 



The Mourning Cloak appears earl}^ in the spring, and is 

 quite abundant even late in the fall. This is because it is 

 "two-brooded" — that is, there are two sets of eggs and 

 two generations of Mourning Cloaks every yeai . A few 

 appear to live through the winter, as they are often found 

 flying about in wooded places very early in the spring. 



