238 



NATURE-STUDY 



larva, which is a large, fleshy, yellow and black striped cat- 

 erpillar,, feeds upon the leaves of the milkweed, and forms a 

 beautiful green and gold chrysalis. 



The adult has broad, brown wings, banded or nerved with 

 black, with several rows of white spots along the border. An 

 interesting thing about this species is that toward the close of 

 summer it migrates southward in vast swarms. I have 

 seen the sky full of these butterflies flying and drifting with 



FIG. 86. Sphinx-moth. 

 (Note long proboscis. Scale in inches.) 



the wind on their way South. Sometimes they will settle for 

 the night in the trees of the forest, when it is an easy matter 

 to collect them by the hundred. 



A butterfly which, by most people not especially acquainted 

 with it, is taken for the monarch is the somewhat smaller 

 Viceroy. This butterfly illustrates the wonderful mimicry 

 that some insects and other animals are capable of. The 

 monarch butterfly is not eaten by birds, probably because 

 of a disagreeable odor and taste. The group to which the 

 viceroy belongs are generally purple and white, and are liked 

 by birds, but the viceroy by putting on a "lion's skin," 



