712 



The Living Animals of the World 



Photo by E. C. Atkinson. 



BLUE BUTTERFLY. 



Among the most conspicuous of the smaller European 

 butterflies. 



Butterflies are divided into several groups, the 

 first of which includes the BRUSH-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES, 

 so called because the front pair of legs is converted 

 into hairy paws, useless for walking, and only 

 employed for toilet purposes. This is a very exten- 

 sive group, including about half the butterflies 

 known, and is divided into several smaller sections. 

 The most interesting species among the DANAIDS 

 is the MONARCH, one of the largest and commonest 

 butterflies found in North America. It is migratory 

 in its habits, and has succeeded in acclimatising 

 itself throughout the Pacific islands as far as Australia 

 and New Zealand, as well as in the Canaries ; and 

 so many specimens have been taken recently in the 

 south of England that it seems not unlikely to take 

 up its residence there also. It is a tawny butter- 

 fly, not unlike the one represented on the preceding 

 page, but much larger, measuring about 5 inches 

 across the wings. The caterpillar is yellow, with trans- 

 verse black bands, and a pair of long, black slender 

 filaments near each extremity of the body. The 

 pupa is pale green, with golden spots, and is 

 suspended by the tail, as is the case with most of those of the Brush-footed Butterflies. 



The next group, the LONG-WINGED BUTTERFLIES, includes a considerable number of species 

 with long rounded wings, found in tropical and sub-tropical America. A species with black 

 and transparent markings is shown on page 710, but many have wholly transparent wings, 

 except for a narrow black or brown border. 



Turning to more familiar insects, there are several kinds of large or moderate-sized tawny 



butterflies, marked with black spots and 

 lines, called FRITILLARIES in England. 

 The caterpillars are spiny, and feed on 

 violets and other low-growing plants. The 

 photograph on page 710 shows the DIANA 

 FRITILLARY, a large and handsome species, 

 which is somewhat of a rarity in the 

 Southern States of America ; it measures 

 4 inches in expanse, and the sexes 

 are very dissimilar. It is dark brown, 

 with a broad orange border spotted with 

 black in the male, and rows of more 

 or less connected green or white spots 

 in the female. 



The ANGLE-WINGED BUTTERFLIES 

 include several of the best known and 

 most brightly coloured British species, 

 such as the KED ADMIRAL, a velvety 

 black butterfly, with a transverse red 

 band on the fore wings, and several 

 white spots between this and the 

 tip? ^ hind wings nav mg a red 



BLUE MORPHO BUTTERFLY AND HUMMING-BIRD. border, spotted with black and blue. 



Note proportionate sizes. It measures about 2 inches across 



