BUTTERFLIES. 



QJ. 



(jfl'T may appear strange, if not alto- 

 gether inappropriate to the sea- 

 son, that "the fair fragile things 

 which are the resurrection of 

 the ugly, creeping caterpillars" 

 should be almost as numerous in Octo- 

 ber as in the balmy month of July. 

 Yet it is true, and early October, in 

 some parts of the country, is said to be 

 perhaps the best time of the year for 

 the investigating student and observer 

 of Butterflies. While not quite so 

 numerous, perhaps, many of the species 

 are in more perfect condition, and the 

 variety is still intact. Many of them 

 come and remain until frost, and the 

 largest Butterfly we have, the Archip- 

 pus, does not appear until the middle 

 of July, but after that is constantly 

 with us, floating and circling on the 

 wing, until October. How these deli- 

 cate creatures can endure even the 

 chill of autumn days is one of the 

 mysteries. 



Very curious and interesting are the 

 Skippers, says Current Literature. 

 They are very small insects, but their 

 bodies are robust, and they fly with 

 great rapidity, not moving in graceful, 

 wavy lines as the true Butterflies do, 

 but skipping about with sudden, jerky 

 motions. Their flight is very short, and 

 almost always near the ground. They 

 can never be mistaken, as their pecu- 

 liar motion renders their identification 

 easy. They are seen at their best in 

 August and September. All June and 

 July Butterfles are August and Sep- 

 tember Butterflies, not so numerous 

 in some instances, perhaps, but still 

 plentiful, and vying with the rich 

 hues of the changing autumnal foliage. 

 The "little wood brownies," or 

 Quakers, are exceedingly interesting. 



Their colors are not brilliant, but 

 plain, and they seek the quiet and 

 retirement of the woods, where they 

 flit about in graceful circles over the 

 shady beds of ferns and woodland 

 grasses. 



Many varieties of the Vanessa are 

 often seen flying about in May, but 

 they are far more numerous and per- 

 fect in July, August, and September. 

 A beautiful Azure-blue Butterfly, when 

 it is fluttering over flowers in the sun- 

 shine, looks like a tiny speck of bright 

 blue satin. Several other small Butter- 

 flies which appear at the same time 

 are readily distinguished by the pecu- 

 liar manner in which their hind wings 

 are tailed. Their color is a dull brown 

 of various shades, marked in some of 

 the varieties with, specks of white or 

 blue. 



"Their presence in the gardens and 

 meadows," says a recent writer, "and 

 in the fields and along the river-banks, 

 adds another element of gladness which 

 we are quick to recognize, and even 

 the plodding wayfarer who has not the 

 honor of a single intimate acquaint- 

 ance among them might, perhaps, be 

 the first to miss their circlings about 

 his path. As roses belong to June, 

 and chrysanthemums to November, so 

 Butterflies seem to be a joyous part of 

 July. It is their gala-day, and they 

 are everywhere, darting and cir- 

 cling and sailing, dropping to investi- 

 gate flowers and overripe fruit, and 

 rising on buoyant wings high into the 

 upper air, bright, joyous, airy, ephe- 

 meral. But July can only claim the 

 larger part of their allegiance, for they 

 are wanderers into all the other 

 months, and even occasionally brave 

 the winter with torn and faded wino-s." 



70 



