THE BIRD-BUTTERFLIES. 537 



tive, the well-known Swallow-tail, and this is quite a rarity 

 except in one or two very limited spots. 



The genus Papilio (which is the Latin for Butterfly) has all 

 the legs fit for walking, short palpi, the club of the antenna) 

 elongated and never hooked, and the " discoidal cell " closed. 

 This, by the way, is the cell formed in the middle of the wing 

 by the juncture of the principal nervures. All the insects of this 

 genus are extremely handsome, and, with very few exceptions, 

 can be accepted as the most beautiful of all the Butterflies. 

 Linnaeus was so struck with their splendour, that he called them 

 by the classical name of Equites, or "knights," dividing them 

 into two sections, Trojans and Greeks. To each insect he gave 

 the name of some personage mentioned either by Homer or 

 Virgil. 



Some systematic entomologists form a number of these insects 

 into a group called Ornithoptera, i.e. " bird- winged," because their 

 wings are so large and ample that they somewhat resemble birds 

 when flying. The larvae of these insects are very odd-looking 

 creatures, each segment being furnished with a number of thick, 

 fleshy spikes that radiate in all directions. In common with 

 other members of the group, the larva has at the neck a curious 

 apparatus, consisting of a double tentacle that can be projected 

 or withdrawn at will through a small aperture. This tentacle 

 can easily be seen in the larva of our Swallow-tail Butterfly. It 

 gives out a powerful odour, which in one species resembles that 

 of fennel. 



The pupa has some remnants of the fleshy spikes, they of 

 course existing in the segments near the tail. The pupa is 

 oddly shaped, being curved almost like the letter S. It is 

 suspended by the tail, and kept from swinging about by a 

 couple of short and stout silken cables. In our country we 

 have many pupae which support themselves by means of a 

 cable which completely surrounds them, but in the present case 

 there are two distinct cables, each being fastened to one side 

 of the body. 



We will now proceed to the various species of this group. 



The fine insect which is here represented is a native of 

 Queensland. It is a large species, the expanse of wing being 

 nearly two inches and a half. The longitudinal bands seen on 



