520 THE HELICOPIS. 



I was very busy, you may imagine, at first, in securing a supply of specimens ; I 

 caught perhaps 150, two-thirds of which fell to pieces in the bottom of the net, so fragile 

 is their texture. I then paused to look around the locality, and endeavour to find the 

 larvae and pupae. I walked through the thicket in all directions, and found the space 

 peopled by the species was not more than from twenty to thirty square yards in extent, 

 but within this space they were innumerable. Up the trees, ac far as the eye could reach, 

 the leaves were peopled with them. It is possible the brood belonged to some one tree. 

 The only two pupae I could find were, it is true, on two distinct kinds of trees, but this 

 is no proof that the larva may not have fed on one tree only. I was disappointed at not 

 finding the larva, although I searched well during this and the three following days. On 

 the second day the butterflies were still coming out ; on the third day they were much 

 fewer and nearly all worn ; and on the fourth day I did not see a single perfect specimen, 

 and not a dozen altogether." 



The white portions of the wings are membranous and transparent, and the dark 

 portions are nearly all black, except that the base of the projecting portions of the lower 

 wings is deep blue. The light-coloured bar is 'rich scarlet. This specimen represents 

 a male ; the hinder wings of the female are closer together, and the tails are nearly 

 straight. 



THE central upper figure represents the Erycina Julia, a native of tropical America. 

 This insect, though not so peculiar as the preceding, is nevertheless a handsome and even 

 striking creature. The upper surface of both wings is deep sooty black, over which are 

 drawn two bars of flaming scarlet, of that fiery tint so familiar in the flower of the 

 scarlet verbena. The under side is even more splendid than the upper. Appearing at 

 a first glance to be simple dark brown, with a little scarlet patch on the inner edge of the 

 lower wings, it only needs a side-light to flash into dazzling azure, which again changes 

 to equally dazzling green, not unlike the gorget of the humming-bird. The place occupied 

 by the scarlet bands of the upper surface are black below, and serve to add to the rich- 

 ness of effect 



ON the extreme right of the illustration is the small but elegant Galydna calamita. 

 The upper surface of this insect is black, diversified with numerous blue and white spots. 

 Below, the ground colour is brown, spotted profusely with black and white, and having 

 some short transverse lines of yellow. This insect inhabits the regions about the 

 Amazon. 



The central lower figure represents a butterfly of simple, but extremely beautiful 

 colouring. Unless held in a favourable light, the insect seems to be of a simple orange 

 colour, but if held with its head towards the observer's eyes, and the sun being behind his 

 back, its wings glow with a golden effulgence that surpasses all power of description. As 

 the insect is gently turned or held so as to communicate a quivering motion, all the tints 

 of the rainbow play over the trembling wings, and the glory reflected from its surface is 

 almost intolerable to the eye. As is the case with all the butterflies, this insect is 

 represented of its natural size. 



ON the illustration at page 505, two more examples of this family may be seen. The 

 first is placed in the centre of the left-hand side, and immediately under the tip of the left 

 wing of the great Thoas butterfly. This is the Helicopis cupido, an insect which if only viewed 

 on its upper surface seems, except for the long and slender projections of the hinder wings, 

 to be hardly worthy of much observation, the colour being pale and dull brown, changing 

 to pale rusty red towards the base of the wings, and having a rather large whitish spot in 

 the centre of the upper wings. But on turning it over, so as to bring the under surface 

 into view, it proves to be a really wonderful insect. The upper wings have little remark- 

 able about them, their colour being brown, becoming paler towards the edge, and having 

 a sharply defined whitish yellow mark in the centre. But it is on the lower wings that 

 the chief interest is concentrated. On a ground of ochreous yellow are a number of large 

 spots which look exactly as if they were made of gold-leaf artificially affix.ed to the wings, 



