220 THE BRITISH NATURE BOOK 



The brief description of the colour of the perfect insect in the List of 

 Species cannot pretend to be more than an attempt to point out the salient 

 features of each species, but I hope that, with the photographs as well, my 

 readers will find it serviceable enough. 



The student, however, has much more to note than the colour and shape 

 of the wings. Let him look at a butterfly's head through his pocket lens. 

 Here he finds striking and beautiful features. A pair of great compound 

 eyes, and two simple eyes (ocelli) on the top of the head ; the antennae ; the 

 long tongue, coiled up when not needed like a watch spring, but in reality 

 consisting of two tubes which, when brought side by side, form a central 

 passage, through which the nectar and other sweets are drawn up into the 

 throat. 



The months of the year, placed in the List of Species, refer to the months 

 when the butterfly itself may be seen. Common sense will suggest that eggs 

 and larvae are likely to be found in later months, and that, unless the butterfly 

 hibernated all through the winter, there must have been either (i) larvae, 

 which had hibernated and then come out to feed and pupate in the spring ; 

 or (2) pupae, which had been formed in the preceding autumn and had survived 

 the winter ; or (3) eggs, which, laid late in the autumn, did not hatch till the 

 following spring. Such is, as a matter of fact, the case. Some butterflies 

 for example, the Small Tortoiseshell, the Peacock, the Brimstone find a warm 

 corner for the winter and sleep until the spring. Large numbers of pupae 

 must remain inert on their withered food plants till the spring sun warms 

 them into activity. In addition, larvae from eggs hatched in the summer 

 and autumn feed for a few weeks and then hibernate for the winter. 



To catch butterflies it is necessary to have a net, a killing bottle, and a 

 store box, as well as a supply of pins. These latter should be the very thin 

 black pins specially made for the purpose. The net should be ten to twelve 

 inches in diameter, two or three feet long, preferably of green-coloured material 

 (gauze or muslin), and fastened on a light but strong frame. A Y-shaped holder 

 of tin can be obtained at any entomological shop, the base of which will slide 

 on to a walking-stick, and a pliant cane on which the net is run will be held 

 by the other two arms. This enables the apparatus to be " unshipped" and 

 carried in the pocket till required. 



The killing bottle has to be used at once, as it is impossible to carry live 

 butterflies about without damaging them. Many of these insects can be killed 

 instantaneously by pinching the thorax ; but this is bound to damage them to 

 some extent, and it is better to place them in a bottle containing poison. The 

 simplest form of all is a wide-mouthed bottle containing crushed laurel leaves. 

 These must be freshly used, and can be made effective by breaking them up 

 and rubbing them between the palms of the hands. A " cyanide " bottle, 

 containing cyanide of potassium in plaster of Paris, can be bought ready made. 

 It is better for young people not to attempt to make one themselves, as it is a 

 deadly poison ; any chemist will supply one. 



