150 



THE SILVER BLUE BUTTERFLY. 



Papilio Menelaus. SOUTH AMERICA. 

 PLATE XX. 



Papilio Menelaus, Linn. Syst. Nat. p. 749. Merian's Ins. 

 Sur. pi. 53 Cramer, Des. de Papillons, ii. pi. 21. 



THE upper surface of the wings of the Silver Blue 

 Butterfly, is of a brilliant verdegris blue ; the ante- 

 rior margin has a broad black band, in which are five 

 oblong-ovate transverse white spots ; round the whole 

 posterior margin is a narrow black border, the margins 

 being indented ; the body and eyes are black ; the 

 whole under surface of the wings, clouded with 

 brown, and marked with large ocellated spots ; the 

 antennae are short, and thickening towards the points, 

 which are club-shaped ; extent of the wings, five 

 inches and three quarters. 



So uncommonly bright and brilliant is this superb 

 insect, that it can be but faintly expressed by the 

 utmost efforts of artificial colouring, and may serve as 

 an instance, amongst many others, of the inimitable 

 beauty which Nature alone can produce. 



Linnaeus, in his description of this splendid insect, 

 observes, that the blue on the upper surface is so 

 polished and lively, that scarcely any other natural 



