Chap. II. FOREST INSECTS. 51 



can convey no adequate idea of it. The reader who has 

 visited Kew may form some notion by conceiving a 

 vegetation like that in the great palm-house spread over 

 a large tract of swampy ground, but he must fancy it 

 mingled with large exogenous trees similar to our oaks 

 and elms covered with creepers and parasites, and 

 figvire to himself the ground encumbered with fallen 

 and rotting trunks, branches, and leaves ; the whole 

 illuminated by a glowing vertical sun, and reeking with 

 moisture. 



In these swampy shades we were afraid at each step 

 of treading on some venomous reptile. On this first 

 visit, however, we saw none, although I afterwards 

 found serpents common here. We perceived no signs of 

 the larger animals and saw very few birds. Insects 

 were more numerous, especially butterflies. The most 

 conspicuous species was a large, glossy, blue and black 

 Morpho (M. Achilles, of Linnaeus), which measures six 

 inches or more in expanse of wings. It came along the 

 alley at a rapid rate and with an undulating flight, but 

 diverged into the thicket before reaching the spot 

 where we stood. Another was the very handsome 

 Papilio Sesostris, velvety black in colour, with a large 

 silky green patch on its wings. It is the male only 

 which is so coloured ; the female being plainer, and so 

 utterly unlike its partner, that it was always held to be 

 a different species until proved to be the same. Several 

 other kinds allied to this inhabit almost exclusively 

 these moist shades. In all of them the males are 

 brilHantly coloured and widely different from the 

 females. Such are P. iEneas, P. Yertumnus, and P. 



