ADMIRABLE BUTTERFLY. 289 



tail, is a great destroyer of this insect. It is very 

 soon apprised of these movements, and will often 

 attend the steps of the mower, fearless of harm, to 

 watch for its prey. As soon as the moth rises, it 

 is chased ; and its exertions and shiftings to escape, 

 and the activity and perseverance of the bird to 

 capture it, are very amusing. 



Our lepidopterous insects feed upon various sub- 

 stances in their several states; and most of our but- 

 terflies, when perfected, appear to extract the sweet 

 liquor from the tubes or nectaries of plants, and 

 many of our moths obtain their nourishment by 

 similar means : but one butterfly alone, the admira- 

 ble (v. Atalanta), and at times the peacock (v. lo), 

 feed upon the juices of our autumnal fruits ; and 

 in the months of September and October we may 

 frequently see these beautiful creatures basking and 

 regaling themselves upon the rejected fragments of 

 our wall fruit. They seldom prey upon the grow- 

 ing produce, like the hornet, wasp, and hive bee ; 

 but when it has fallen and advanced to a state of 

 fermentation, it becomes the most grateful to them. 

 Nothing can be less injurious than this propensity ; 

 and it seems that fruit in such a state is requisite 

 for them by some constitutional formation, as they 

 appear only at the termination of a season when the 

 product of our trees is in a state of great ripeness 

 and decay. The life of this creature appears to be 

 remarkably short, and we have more certain means 

 of ascertaining its duration than are afforded us 

 for others of the race. It very rarely appears until 



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