PAPER MULBERRY PARROT 



387 



no means so good. The species grow freely in our 

 stoves, but are infertile in consequence of the plants 

 being unisexual. 



PAPER MULBERRY is the Morns papyri/era 

 of Linnaeus, and Broussonetia papyri/era of Ventenat. 

 A common plant in our shrubberies, known as the 

 paper-mulberry, and propagated by layers. 



PAPILIO (Linnaeus). The butterfly. See the 

 articles DIURNA and BUTTERFLY. 



The genus Papilio, as restricted by modern authors, 

 comprises only those species which have all the legs 

 perfectly developed, the chrysalis girt round the 

 middle, as well as attached by the tail (as represented 

 in the plate of British butterflies), the palpi of the 

 perfect insect very short, and scarcely extending be- 

 yond the forehead, with the third joint very indistinct. 

 The species of which this genus is now composed are 

 remarkable for their size and the splendid variety of 

 their colours. They are found for the most part in 

 the tropical regions of both hemispheres, three species 

 only being inhabitants of Europe, namely, Papilio 

 Mftc/K/on, Podalirius, and Alc.ranor. 



Those species which have red spots on the side of 

 the thorax formed the Lina3an division Equites Tro- 

 juni ; whilst those which wanted this character were 

 named Equites AcJiivi. In many species the posterior 

 wings are furnished with a pair of tails, whence these 

 species are named swallow-tailed butterflies. The 

 caterpillars are very variable in their forms, so that 

 from a consideration of the structure of these insects 

 in their preparatory states, it will be necessary still 

 further to subdivide this very natural group into 

 minor divisions or sub- genera. When alarmed, these 

 caterpillars protrude from the upper side of the neck 

 a fleshy forked horn-like protuberance, emitting at 

 the same time a very disagreeable odour. The body 

 is naked and destitute of hairs or spines. 



As the two British species of this genus are 

 the largest of our butterflies, and consequently ob- 

 jects of considerable interest, not only on this account, 

 but from their beautiful appearauce, we have repre- 

 sented them in our plate of British butterflies. 



PAPILIO MACHAON (Linnaeus), is of a yellow 

 colour with a black border to the wings, in which 

 are yellow lunules ; the posterior pair tailed, with six 

 blue spots and a red ocellus at the anal angle. It 

 varies very considerably in size, some specimens 

 being three inches, and others three inches and a "half 

 in the expansion of the wings. The caterpillar is 

 green with black rings spotted with red. It feeds 

 upon the fennel and carrot. It is by no means rare 

 in the fens of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire, 

 where the writer has had the pleasure of seeing it 

 in the living state. 



PAPILO ^PODALIRIUS (Linnaeus), is about the 

 same size as the preceding, of a paler yel- 

 low colour with black longitudinal bars, some of 

 which are abbreviated ; the posterior wings are tailed, 

 with blue lunules and a red and black spot at the 

 anal angle, and a red streak on the underside. This 

 species has long been a reputed British insect, but 

 doubts have been thrown upon its right to be con- 

 sidered an indigenous insect. The writer hereof has, 

 however, been informed both by the Rev. F. W. 

 Hope and H. R. Read, Esq., that they have severally 

 taken a specimen of this butterfly ; the latter at Eton 

 about 18-26. This specimen has been figured by Mr. 

 Curtis in his British Entomology. 



PARASITA (Latreille ; or, more correctly, ANO- 



PLURA, Leach). An order of apterous insects, be- 

 longing to the class ., Amctabola of MacLeay, but 

 placed amongst true insects by Latreille, having six 

 legs, being destitute of wings, having only simple 

 tubercles or ocelli for eyes, and the mouth either suc- 

 torial or mandibulated ; the body is broad and depressed, 

 without any terminal threads or filamentous appen- 

 dages as in the Thysanoura. This order is composed 

 of the Linnsean genus Pediculus, which see. 



PARASITIC INSECTS. This name is applied 

 to those species of insects which, in some man- 

 ner or other, subsist upon or within the bodies of 

 other insects, which they in general ultimately de- 

 stroy. On examining, however, somewhat more 

 minutely the proceedings of these parasites, it is easy 

 to discover that there are various kinds of parasitism 

 if we may be allowed to coin a term to express 

 the parasitic connexion between these insects. In the 

 IchneumonidcE, for instance (which see), the connexion 

 is such, that the female parasite deposits her eggs 

 upon, or introduces them into, the body of another 

 insect, upon which the young, when hatched, prey. 

 In the PediculidcB, on the other hand, the connexion 

 consists in a residence upon the outside of the body 

 of another animal, upon the humours of which the 

 parasite feeds, without causing the death of the 

 animal attacked ; whilst in another class, namely, the 

 cuckoo bees, and wasps, the egg is merely deposited 

 in the already-provisioned nest of another working 

 species nearly allied in general structure to the para- 

 site, so that the food stored up serves either for the . 

 parasite or the insect in whose nest it is placed, the 

 former, however, is generally developed before the 

 latter, and, consequently, by devouring the supply of 

 food, starves the latter to death. 



Having already in various articles, given more 

 detailed accounts of these variations in the parasitic 

 habits of insects, we shall here merely refer the 

 reader thereto. 



PARNID^E (Leach). A family of coleopterous 

 insects of small extent and minute size, belonging to 

 the section Pentamera, and sub-section Rhypophaga, 

 having the antenna; very short, and clavate with a 

 large lateral ear-shaped lobe ; the legs are formed for 

 walking ; the tarsi moderately long and slender, with 

 strong claws ; the body oblong and convex, and 

 clothed with a silken pile ; the thorax is generally 

 acute at the posterior angles. There are two genera, 

 Dryops and Parnus, the species of which frequent 

 the muddy banks of ponds, &c., creeping slowly 

 about the roots of aquatic plants. The type is the 

 Parnus Iprolifericorius, Fabricius, which is about one 

 fourth of an inch in length, and of a dark brown 

 colour. 



PARROT (Psittacus, or rather Psittaddee, the 

 parrot family). An exceedingly numerous and highly 

 characteristic family of birds, belonging to the order 

 of climbers, or those with zygodactylic feet'; and from 

 this structure, being chiefly forest birds, though some 

 of them alight on the ground and find their food 

 there. But the greater part are tree birds, remarka- 

 bly dexterous in climbing, in which they use the bill, 

 which is very powerful and peculiar in its shape, as a 

 sort of third foot, or hand ; for the foot of a true 

 parrot is a grasping instrument rather than a walking- 

 one, and as such it partakes more of the nature of a 

 hand than of that of a foot. 



With the exception of a single species found in 

 North America, and which is represented as being- 

 BB2 



