LIFE STORY OF THE PAINTED LADY BUTTERFLY 770 



particular area, or 

 stretcii (if huul, 

 about which ihey 

 often career lor 

 several days to- 

 gether, is another 

 curious character- 

 istic of this species 

 of butterfly. Si) 

 our butterfly kept 

 up the traditions 

 of its race, and 

 boldly manoeuvred 

 to and fro o\-er its 

 plot, occasionally 

 resting and sun- 

 ning itself on tlic 

 tops of some tall 

 thistles, where the 

 charming chestnut 

 browns and reds 

 of its wings, con- 

 trasted with the 

 black and white 

 of the fore-parts, 

 gave it a most 

 fascinating ap- 

 pearance. 



After it had 

 worked off some of 

 its superabundant 

 energy, and had 

 sampled the various kinds of nectar 

 from most of the flowers that grew 

 in its domains, this Painted Lady 

 (for such she was in the strict 

 sense of the word) proceeded to 

 business. She made a kind of slow 

 circular totir amongst a clump of 

 thistles and nettles which were 

 growing together, fluttering from 

 plant to plant, and moving amongst 

 their leaves as if carrying out a 

 botanical investigation. A careful 

 examination of a leaf on which the 

 butterfly had been at work revealed 

 some tiny pale green bodies dotted 

 over the leaf — so small that four or 

 five could comfortably rest on the 

 head of a pin. Nev^ertheless they 

 were wonderfully interesting little 

 objects — the butterfly's eggs, indeed ; and 

 on ])agc 778 some are sliown as seen 

 through the pocket lens of the writer. 



Seeing that the butterfly herself feeds 

 on the sweet nectar of the flowers, it is 



quite mar- 

 vellous how 

 she knows 

 that her 

 (I ff s p r i n g 

 will need 

 g r e e n 

 thistle and 

 11 e t t i e 

 leaves to 

 feed uy^on ; 

 yet with 

 unerring in- 

 stinct she 

 places her 

 c g g s a- 

 mouL'st the 



FROM THE EGGS 

 CAME LITTLE 

 CATERPILLARS 

 THAT S CON 

 MADE INROADS 

 INTO THE SOFT 

 PARTS OF THE 

 LEAVES. 



WHEN THREE WEEKS OLD THEY SWARMED ABOUT 

 THE NETTLES. AND ALL SEEMED DESIROUS OF 

 FEEDING UPON THE SAME SPOT. 



leaves, and. ai)i)arently, she iloes not con- 

 sider it imi)ortant whether they are those 

 of the thistles or the nettles. 



Five days later (June 13th) the butter- 

 flv had disappeared. Indeed, it was 



