BRITISH BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 



parsley flourishes in damp situations. Then again, 

 some species are gregarious and many will be found 

 flying close together, or their larvae discovered in some 

 numbers ; others are solitary when in the larval and 

 adult states, the female depositing her eggs singly and 

 not in groups or clusters. 



Of the manner in which these insects harmonise with 

 their surroundings when at rest, the reader will doubtless 

 have had personal experience. The male Orange-tip 

 Butterfly, for instance, is fairly conspicuous when in 

 flight, but as it is seen resting with the wings closed, it 

 is a difficult task to distinguish it, and the same may be 

 said of the closed forms of the Peacock and Tortoise- 

 shell Butterflies. Warning colour-eyes above, almost 

 complete protection below because of the sombre mark- 

 ings, such may describe the handsome Peacock. With 

 notable exceptions, our British Moths are much less 

 gaudy than their cousins, the Butterflies, and this being 

 so their harmonisation with their environment is con- 

 stantly remarked upon. The same remark applies to 

 many larvae, and as regards the eggs (beautiful objects 

 though they are) only the eye of an expert (or a bird !) 

 is likely to discover them. The pupae, when not 

 hidden below ground away from one's gaze, are also 

 cleverly camouflaged so as to escape detection from 

 enemies. 



The whole subject is an entrancing one, especially 

 when the diligent observer endeavours to build up the 

 nature-study of the subject, so as to ascertain some idea 

 of the place the particular creature occupies in the 



environment which it visits, or inhabits. This, after all, 



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