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AMERICAN FORESTRY 



facilities and proper place to carry on his investigations, 

 there is no reason why he should not be able to stamp 

 his researches with the trade-mark of originality. 



In the forest, nursery, orchard, or in the care of shade 

 trees, he will soon become expert in the detection of the 

 eggs of moths and butterflies where those insects deposit 

 them in nature. Under the microscope these eggs are 

 often very beautiful and vary greatly in form and color. 

 They are usually deposited on the under side of leaves, 

 and sometimes on their upper surfaces ; in most instances 

 on the leaves of the trees upon which the caterpillars 

 feed when they hatch out. Such eggs are also laid 

 upon twigs of trees and shrubbery. We have much to 

 learn about the eggs of these two groups of insects, as 

 for example the probable reason for the female's select- 

 ing the place where they are deposited ; the number laid ; 

 their form and size; the fate of infertile eggs; whether 

 the female lays one or two clutches, that is, whether 

 the species is single-brooded or otherwise ; the time re- 

 quired for hatching, and numerous other points. 



All these lines of inquiry and research are best pur- 

 sued through the actual breeding of the specimens; and 

 while this requires no end of work and patience, the in- 

 formation gained is, as a rule, of very distinct value and 

 wide application. Regular breeding cages are made for 

 this purpose ; or the investigator may, if of a mechanical 

 turn of mind, readily construct one for himself. Models 

 will be found in any work treating of the subject ; and 

 if many are required for the breeding of different species, 

 they may easily be made of proper-sized boxes with wire 

 gauze tops. The writer has often constructed suoh cages 

 or breeding-boxes, and successfully reared a variety of 

 moths and butterflies. Usually this has been done by 

 collecting the caterpillars, as they are far more easily 

 discovered than eggs, and produce the imagoes much 

 sooner. Both methods, however, should be followed. 

 Very perfect specimens of many of our most beautiful 

 moths and butterflies may thus be obtained for the col- 

 lection and for study. Very recently, and in years gone 

 by, the writer has thus secured cecropias, silk-worm 

 moths, many lovely butterflies, io moths, Philosamia 

 cynthia, Hyphantria textor, moths of the tent-caterpillar, 

 and so on. 



This is as far as this subject can be carried at present ; 

 at another time the question of collecting moths and 

 butterflies in their haunts will be taken up, together with 

 their subsequent preparation, preservation, and classi- 

 fication. One gains a very meagre idea of the extent and 

 grandeur of the world's lepidoptcra as a whole from 

 seeing a complete collection of the moths and butterflies 

 of the United States. We have very, very few large and 

 showy butterflies ; while in the case of the moths, were 

 we to substract from them a couple of dozen of the larg- 

 est species, the collection would at once appear to be 

 quite mediocre. We have some eight species of big 

 Hawk-moths ; then we have three or four big ones, or 

 fairly large ones, in the Samia group (Saturnida) ; the 

 Regal, Luna, and Imperial moths; Rothschildia orizaba 

 and Callosamia, which last is not very large (Fig. 2). 



The balance are practically all small species; and while 

 some of them are rather showy, the vast majority are 

 not over an inch across, of some uniform shade of 

 brown or tan, with usually inconspicuous markings. 



To gain some idea of the splendor of some of the 

 world's moths and butterflies, one should glance over 

 nearly complete collections of them from the tropics as 

 they occur in South America, Asia, Africa, and the 

 great Eastern and Western Archipelago, with certain 

 parts of Australia. Such collections are to be found in 

 the United States National Museum in the reserve and 

 duplicate series. There is, for example, a superb species 

 that comes from Africa, wherein the "tails" to the hinder 

 pair of wings are over eight inches in length. Then we 

 have the gorgeous Atlas moth of the East Indies that 

 measures a foot across from tip to tip of its upper wings, 

 while its markings are most conspicuous. So bizarre 

 and intricate are some of the markings of these moths 

 and butterflies that any species among them would re- 

 quire a printed octavo page to describe them. The rare 

 African butterfly, Papilio antimachus, has very narrow 

 fore wings that, when spread, measure ten inches across. 

 Its coloration is striking, as its fore wings are of a dark 

 brown shade, marked with curiously shaped spots of a 

 tan yellow, the hind wings being of a bright tan yellow, 

 spotted and deeply emarginated with glossy black. Drury 

 figured this species first in 1782; but more than eighty 

 years passed before a second specimen was brought to 

 Europe. Many collections on the Continent now have a 

 specimen or two in them. 



The rare south Brazilian butterfly, Dynastor napoleon, 

 measures fully seven inches across, and is of a brilliant 

 black, with an oblique white band between the middle and 

 outer thirds of either fore wing, and with a broad tan- 

 colored edge to the hinder wings. However, it is quite 

 useless to attempt to give any description in writing that 

 will convey to the mind of the reader any idea whatever 

 of the truly magnificent splendor of scores of these great 

 insects. In the entire series, every color known to man is 

 to be found ; and some of the combinations are so bizarre 

 as to defy description in words. Gold, silver, and coppery 

 markings are not rare, and occasionally the markings on 

 the wings are transparent, being bordered with black or 

 some vivid color, frequently orange, red, or azure. 



Nearly all of our United States moths and butterflies 

 are easily captured, but not so with many of the tropical 

 ones of the latter-named group. The South American 

 species of Morpho are magnificent insects. The great 

 long-winged orange species (M. hecuba, Linn., and 

 cisseis, Feld) are fully nine inches in expanse, and have 

 a lofty, sailing flight, while some of the species with 

 broader and shorter wings, such as the black-bordered 

 M. menelaus, have a lower, but very rapid flight through 

 the forest, and settle occasionally. The high-flying 

 species very rarely come within reach. Collector Bates 

 says that although he often saw the beautiful M. rhetenor, 

 Cram., one of the most richly blue Amazonian species, he 

 was only able to obtain two specimens in eleven years. 

 This, and several blue species, have an orange female. 



