494 



THE NATURE BOOK 



for they have no real weapons, and are caterpillar remains for about three days, 

 quite harmless. then it moults its black and spiny skin, 



At about the end of July the handsome and becomes a green chrysahs like that 

 Peacock Butterfly (Vcuiessa lo) again 

 appears, and from thence until late autumn 

 it may be seen feasting amongst the thistle 

 heads, and also in the gardens and orchards, 

 for ripe fruit has a great attraction for it. 

 Its reddish-brown wings with their con- 

 spicuous " peacock eyes " readily dis- 

 tinguish it. The butterflies that appear 

 in July are the offspring of those seen in 

 the spring, for, at the approach of cold 

 weather, they hibernate for the winter, and 

 reappear in the spring to deposit their eggs. 



The eggs are usually placed in batches 

 amongst nettles, and from each batch 

 appears a host of caterpillars which feed 

 gregariously, and eventually appear as a 



PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. 



black mass amongst the leaves. Later on, 

 when full-grown, they separate, each one 

 selecting a suital)le site beneath a leaf 

 or stem to wliich it can suspend itself by 

 its tail-end to become a chrysalis. Attached 

 to a little pad of silk, which it spins, the 



CHRYSALIS OF THE PEACOCK 

 BUTTERFLY. 



shown above. At the end of nine or 

 ten days the chrysalis suddenly bursts 

 open, and the butterfly appears. 



On pp. 73 and 74 of the " Nature 

 Book " I described and illustrated the 

 development of the Pale Tussock Moth 

 from its chrysalis, and it was there shown 

 that some fifteen minutes or more were 

 required for its wings to become extended. 

 But with butterflies this is a much more 

 rapid process. Instead of taking fifteen 

 minutes or more, the wings are often 

 extended in that number of seconds. 

 The emergence of a butterfly from its 

 (iirysalis, and the development of its 

 wings, is a sight which once seen can 

 never be forgotten, and one that every 

 Nature lover should witness ; the whole 

 process is a marvellously beautiful and 

 engrossing transformation. 



The chrysalis hangs suspended as shown 

 above, but just when the butterfly will 

 appear it is impossible to foretell. This 

 uncertainty, therefore, necessitates a con- 

 stant watch, for only five seconds of 

 divided attention may moan that the 

 emergence will not be witnessed ; since 

 during that short period of time the butter- 

 flv mav free itself from its chrysalis. 



