BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



of nearly equal size throughout, but are very 

 slightly incrassated towards the tip; they are 

 rough, with raised points, more particularly 

 on the under side ; these strange appendages 

 move with the head, but possess no capacity 

 for motion independently of the head ; when 

 the month is stretched out, as in feeding, the 

 horns point backwards, but when the mouth 

 is brought up to the chest their position is 

 exactly reversed, and they point forwards; 

 the width of the face is nearly the same at 

 the mouth as at the foi-ehead : the body is 

 slug-shaped, tapering to both extremities, 

 more particularly to the caudal extremity, 

 which terminates in two short, parallel, 

 closely approximate points, directed back- 

 wards ; the surface of the body is rough, like 

 shagreen, a character due to transverse series 

 of warts, one of which series is on each section 

 of a segment, and a fifth on a rather con- 

 spicuous skinfold which intervenes between 

 the segments. 



The colour requires a rather minute de- 

 scription ; the horns may be called glaucous 

 green, inclining to blue in front, to white 

 behind, and to black at the tips ; the space 

 between them is of a pale yellow colour, 

 approaching to white, but there is a pointed 

 triangular green plate above the mouth, which 

 enters into and almost divides the yellow 

 part : I have said that each horn may be 

 called white behind, thus presenting a white 

 stripe from near the tip to the base; this 

 white stripe is continued on the second, third, 

 fourth, and partly on the fifth segment, where 

 it fades into the general green colour of the 

 back ; on each side of the body is a very 

 narrow yellow stripe traversing the region of 

 the spiracles, extending the entire length of 

 the caterpillar, and terminating in the anal 

 point ; there are, moreover, seven oblique 

 lines on each side, all of them commencing 

 near the lateral stripe which I have just 

 described, and running upwards and back- 

 wards, but not meeting on the back ; the third 

 of these oblique lines is the longest, reaching 

 uearly, but not quite, to the middle of the 

 hack ; this line is also rather stouter than the 

 others ; they are all of a yellow- white tinty 



the third being rather conspicuously bordered 

 at the upper anterior extremity with purple ; 

 the ventral surface is glaucous green, and the 

 legs and claspers are nearly concolorous. 

 When full fed the caterpillar fastens itself by 

 the anal claspers to a s : lken carpet it has 

 previously spun on the-under side of a eallow- 

 leaf, and, thus suspended, changes to a CHRY- 

 SALIS, which is obese, dumpy, awkward-look- 

 ing, somewhat compressed laterally, and 

 somewhat keeled dorsally ; the head ter- 

 minates in two approximate short points or 

 eai-s : the colour is apple-green, the wing- 

 cases being rather darker, and the body rather 

 yellower, and the seven oblique lateral stripes 

 which I described in the caterpillar are still 

 to be observed on the sides of the chrysalis. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. The full-fed cater- 

 pillar in May and June, the chrysalis in June, 

 and the butterfly in July. 



Obs. The Purple Emperor has achieved a 

 great reputation among English entomologists 

 for his lofty flight, and the extreme difficulty 

 of securing him with the hand-net. Haworth 

 says, "The Emperor invariably fixes his throne 

 upon the summit of a lofty oak, from the 

 utmost sprigs of which on sunny days he per- 

 forms his aerial excursions, and in these he 

 ascends to a much greater elevation than any 

 other insect : I have even seen him sometimes 

 mounting higher than the eye can follow; 

 especially if he happens to quarrel with 

 another Emperor, the monai'ch of some neigh- 

 bouring oak : they never meet without a battle, 

 flying upwards all the while, and combating 

 with each, other as much as possible : after 

 which they will frequently return again to 

 the identical sprigs from which they ascended. 

 The wings of this fine species are of a stronger 

 texture than those of any other in Great 

 Britain, and more calculated for that gay and 

 powerful flight which is so much admired by 

 entomologists. The Purple Emperor com- 

 mences his aerial movements from ten to 

 twelve o'clock in the morning, but does not 

 perform his loftiest flights till noon, decreasing 

 them after this hour until he quite ceases to 

 fly about four in the afternoon : thus emulat- 

 ing the motions of that source of all hia 



