120 THE BKIMSTONE. 



Of all the wings of all the butterflies, these bear, perhaps, 

 the closest similitude to floral productions, and on each, as if 

 to perfect the resemblance of their delicate flower-like'colour- 

 ing, is a reddish spot, an exact copy of that often produced by 

 decay or accident, on the surface of a yellow petal. In the 

 beautiful raised veining of their reverse, the pinions of the 

 " Brimstone " are no less correspondent with the same ; but 

 those of the female which, instead of yellow, are of a greenish 

 white, resemble, perhaps yet more nearly, the leaf of a poplar 

 on its under side. The dye of the antennas that purplish 

 pink, so frequent upon tender leaf and flower stems, also the 

 clothing of the body a soft, satiny down, like that by which 

 stalks and seed-pods are so often invested, are all alike accord- 

 ant with the floral character of this most elegant flutterer of 

 the spring. This pretty butterfly comes of a pretty caterpillar, 

 with a smooth, green coat, dotted or shagreened with black, 

 and marked by a whitish line along the back and sides. It 

 is said to feed usually on the leaves of buckthorn and alder. 



The term Papilio, which was used by Linnaeus to designate 

 all diurnal or day-flying Lepidopteraa, has now become much 

 restricted, including, amongst a company of brilliant foreign- 

 ers, only one or two native species. 



Of the latter is the " Swallow Tail,"* a beautilul insect, ap- 

 proaching more nearly to some of the tropic butterflies, both in 



* Papilio Machaon. 



