Ixiv LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



nature, and this although they prefer the very hottest sunshine, 

 and even seem to find it so necessary that, if the sun is only 

 clouded over for a minute, they settle as soon as possible ; and 

 if the sun should not shine in the case of some individuals 

 even if it should not shine very strongly they never leave their 

 hiding-place the whole day. I have seen some striking examples 

 of this, one of which has, I think, never been recorded, and 

 seems at first sight altogether to conflict with the idea that one 

 is accustomed to form of the habits of Butterflies. Even in the 

 Netherlands we may occasionally see Butterflies alight on damp 

 sand, on which the sun is shining, to suck up moisture from 

 the ground ; but if, in the East Indian Islands, we walk along 

 the sandy or gravelly bank of a mountain stream, or along the 

 bed of a nearly dry stream, composed of similar materials, dur- 

 ing the hottest part of the day, we shall disturb Butterflies at 

 almost every step, especially Papilionida and Pierida, which 

 sit there on the damp ground to refresh themselves with visible 

 pleasure, but with wings closed so that they are scarcely dis- 

 cernible ; and you suddenly see swarms of such Butterflies flut- 

 tering up into the air from before your feet. I was once travelling 

 in South-west Celebes, when my companion suddenly exclaimed 

 as we were crossing a nearly dry brook, * Oh, look, what a 

 oeautiful flower !' And on looking where he pointed, I saw 

 m the bed of the stream amongst the damp gravel, a beautiful 

 orange-coloured flower with a white centre, about ten centi- 

 metres in diameter. The strangeness of the occurrence led 

 me to step nearer in order to observe it more closely, when 

 what did I see ? The flower consisted of two concentric rings 

 of Butterflies (Callidryas scylla t Linn.) which had closed their 

 wings, which are yellow and orange beneath, and were busily 

 sucking up the moisture from the damp sand, and thus repre- 

 sented in the most closely deceptive manner the petals of a 

 flower. They surrounded five of another white species of 



