The British Butterflies Described 



usually refers to this butterfly. " Is that a British 

 butterfly?" they ask ; and on being assured that it is, 

 they tender the information that they never saw one 

 like it in this neighbourhood ; and it takes much 

 explanation to make them understand how rare and 

 local some butterflies and moths are. 



Alas ! he is our one and only Swallow-Tail the con- 

 necting link between our small island family and the 

 great host of tropical and subtropical Swallow-Tails 

 that flaunt their gorgeous colours under sunnier skies. 

 And we hope he may long remain with us. The 

 incentive to travel and capture this butterfly in his 

 native haunts is not so great as it may have been half a 

 century ago. For a few pence, or by exchange, the 

 larva or chrysalis can be had from a dealer, and with 

 ordinary care and attention it is not a difficult species 

 to rear, and thus see alive. 



That this species is already getting scarcer should be 

 a warning to all who are interested in the preservation 

 of our native fauna. Its extermination might not be a 

 very difficult task ; and although it is common in many 

 places on the Continent, its reintroduction into England 

 would certainly be attended with great trouble and 

 difficulty. 



Two years ago (1909) an experiment was made, 

 under very favourable conditions, to " naturalize " a 

 colony of this fine butterfly at Easton, near Dunmow, in 

 Essex, the property of Lord Warwick. Lord Warwick 

 and Professor Meldola laid down a large number of 

 chrysalids which duly hatched, and, although the sur- 

 30 



