The Perfect Insect 



now he looks his very best, arrayed in all his new- 

 found finery. Such wings ! no wonder he looks proud 

 as he slowly opens and closes them, repeating this 

 action over and over again as if to prove their smooth 

 working before he launches forth upon the air. 



And the wonderful pattern of these wings is all built 

 up of tiny scales placed as regularly as the slates on a 

 roof. Your pocket-lens will show you much of this, 

 but to examine the individual scales, their various shapes 

 and structure, you will require a compound microscope. 

 These scales are the "dust'* you will find on your 

 finger and thumb if ever you pick up a butterfly in such 

 an unscientific manner. You will notice, too, that the 

 under sides of the wings bear quite a different design 

 from the upper sides ; this is nearly always the case, 

 and in many foreign butterflies this difference between 

 the two sides is so very remarkable as to be quite 

 startling in its effect. Well I remember an old sergeant- 

 major, who had spent many years in India, and had done 

 a lot of " butterfly dodging " in his day, telling me of 

 this wonderful effect. He said one would come upon 

 an open piece of meadow-land blazing with flowers and 

 butterflies, but, on being disturbed, the whole crowd of 

 insects would rise in the air, and then, he would say, they 

 looked like a different set altogether. When you 

 capture a few specimens of any species, examine closely 

 the under sides, and in any case, if you wish to preserve 

 them, always set one of each sex with the under side 

 uppermost. 



Next to the wings the head claims our attention ; it 

 B.B. 9 2 



