342 NATURE-STUDY REVIEW [14:8— Nov., 1918 



for several days before I finally found it on a low bush at rest. 

 I threw stones up in the air because I had read that would some- 

 times make them come down. The more* stones I threw the higher 

 it flew, — and the faster. I counted four bushes I . ran into the 

 first day I tried to capture one. After that I lost count and patience 

 too. It is a large yellow butterfly with black stripes on its wings. 

 It has a wing expanse of three to five inches. Dr. Holland terms 

 it the "Lordly Turnus". In the south it is diamorphic, that is 

 having two forms in the female sex. These were at one time 

 thought to be different species until a test was made. The eggs 

 procured from a yellow female produced black females and vice 

 versa. 



A very common butterfly here is the Eastern Swallowtail 

 (Papilio asterias). The larva is often found on parsley, fennel 

 and related plants. It can easily be detected by the strong odor 

 of fennel it emits when approached; a means of defense. I can 

 always trace one to its hiding place by the odor. The perfect 

 insect is subject to considerable variation. 



In the yard of a mill along Cooper River there are some Ailan- 

 thus trees which were completely defoliated by the larva of the 

 Philosamia Cynthia. I used to pass that way frequently, look 

 up at those trees and shiver, — for I will confess I used to be afraid 

 of "worms" — then look again thoroughly fascinated. The 

 larva always seemed to feed on the under side of the leaves. 

 I am not afraid now for I know the insects. They are perfectly 

 harmless. People who have not made an acquaintance with them 

 have many wrong ideas about them. Last summer someone 

 found a "Hickory Horn Devil" and took it to the Academy of 

 Natural Sciences, gleefully thinking he had discovered the cause of 

 infantile paralysis. The Citheronia regalis, or "Hickory Horn 

 Devil," is truly a fierce looking fellow. The big white spots 

 on his sides, outlined on top with black and the big horns on the 

 head are truly fear-inspiring and it would be easy to think him 

 guilty of any sin. But how unjust ! It is a thoroughly harmless 

 and innocent insect, but like a full-blooded bulldog, so ugly that 

 it is beautiful. 



To go back to the Cynthias, they are the makers of the strongest 

 silk among all the silk-worms. Some scientists claim they are 

 the makers of our future silk supply. As yet there is no satisfac- 

 tory machine for carding the silk. The Cynthia moth is a native 



