514 



THE DIDO. 



and filled with a yellowish oil resembling in taste a sweet nut These masses, with which 

 the ' netbuls ' or ' talabats ' of the native tribes are loaded during the season of feasting 

 upon the Bugong, will not keep above a week, and seldom even for that time ; but by 

 smoking they are able to preserve them for a much longer period. The first time this 

 diet is used by the native tribes, violent vomiting and other debilitating effects are 

 produced, but after a few days they become accustomed to its use, and then thrive and 

 fatten exceedingly upon it. 



These insects are held in such estimation among the aborigines, that they assemble 

 from all parts of the country to collect them from the mountains. It is not only the 

 native blacks that resort to the ' Bugong,' but the crows also congregate for the same 

 purpose. The blacks (that is, the crows and the aborigines) do not agree about their 

 respective shares, so the stronger decides the point ; for when the crows, called ' Arabul ' 

 by the natives, enter the hollows of the rocks, and feed upon the insects, the natives stand 

 at the entrance, and kill them as they fly out, and they afford them an excellent meal, 

 being fat from feeding upon the rich Bugong. So eager are these feathered blacks, or 

 Arabuls, after this food, that they attack it even when it is preparing by the natives ; but 

 as the aborigines never consider any increase of food a misfortune, they lie in wait for the 

 Arabuls with waddies, or clubs, kill them in great numbers, and use them as food." 



The colour of the Bugong is dark brown, with two black eye- like spots on the upper 

 wings. The body is rather stout, rilled with a yellow oily substance, and covered with 

 down. It is not a large insect, the spread of wing averaging an inch and a half. 



WE now arrive at another family, of 

 which the ARCHIPPUS affords a good ex- 

 ample of the typical genus. This fine 

 insect measures about four inches and a 

 quarter between the points of the out- 

 spread wings, of which the entire contour 

 is bold and sweeping. There is but little 

 diversity of colouring in this butterfly; 

 rich chestnut striped and streaked with 

 black being the ground tint, and relieved 

 round the edges with white spots, arranged 

 in a rather irregular double series. The 

 under surface presents similar hues, but 

 of a paler cast. The head, thorax, and 

 abdomen are deep velvety black, decorated 

 with small spots of snowy white. 



THE large and important family of the 

 Nymphalida3 contains a vast number of 

 species, most of which are notable for 

 their brilliant colouring, and many of which 

 are well-known natives of England. These 

 insects are, indeed, so numerous, that only 

 a very slight sketch can be given of them. 

 The large and boldly marked insect 

 in the lower left-hand corner of the en- 

 graving is the DIDO, a native of Brazil 

 and Guiana, and is here represented of 



the natural size. The ground colour of its wings is blackish brown, and all the lighter 

 parts are soft leafy green, with a slight pearly gloss. On the under surface, the ground 

 colour is chocolate, the green marks are much paler, and rather more opalescent 

 than on the upper surface, and are edged with silvery white. There are, besides, several 

 bands of the same delicate hue on various parts of the wings. The caterpillar of this 

 insect is green, diversified with a red and white stripe on each side of the body, and 

 covered with several rows of short spines, besides two rather long appendages to the taiL 



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ARCHIPFTTS. Danais archippvs 



