THE FRITILLARY'S FLIRTATION 



refined as that of the wood warbler, and scarcely less 

 inviting to watch. Some butterflies' lives appear to 

 be the pursuit of love and pleasure. Take those 

 butterflies which seem to live on air. There is 

 the orange tip, whose season has just passed. I 

 cannot see this butterfly feeding as I constantly 

 see red admirals and sulphurs. The orange-tip 

 parade is often up and down a grass field at the 

 edge of a coppice or park. Here, several days this 

 season, I watched the orange-tips flying to and 

 fro in the burning sun, hardly ever settling for a 

 few moments, and never feeding on the nectar of 

 flowers. 



Is the parade one of exultation in the sun, or a 

 search for the right mate ? Again and again during 

 such a parade we see two male orange-tips meet. 

 Flying at each other as though to fight, they whirl 

 round like a teetotum, and always separate without 

 any harm. Rivalry there probably is among the 

 butterflies of the same sex and species, keen rivalry, 

 but their duels are not hurtful. Feathers sometimes 

 fly in bird battle ; I doubt whether that lovely fresh 

 paint on the orange-tip's upper wing, or the green 

 tracery on his under side, is often smudged in this 

 mimic war. 



Indeed, this teetotum of the male orange-tips 

 need not be war at all. Two male orange-tips 

 meeting may not at once perceive each other to 

 belong to the same sex the teetotum whirl may be 

 one of inquiry. The same teetotum is often 

 witnessed on the meeting of opposite sexes. The 



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