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INSECTS AT HOME. 



contemporary literature are doubtless familiar with ' Peter 

 Pindar's' poem on Sir Joseph Banks and the 'Emperor of 

 Morocco,' certainly one of the best of his inimitable witticisms 

 at the expense of science. The present insect is the ' Emperor 

 of Morocco,' who led Sir Joseph such a cliase, and left him at 

 last in the hands of an exasperated market-gardener. 



XLII 



1. Arge Galatliea. 2. Erebia blandina. 3. Apatura Iris. 



a. Apatura, non-walking fore-leg. b. Do., club of antenna. c. Do., larva. 



Its popular name of Purple Emperor is a very appropriate 

 one, at least as far as regards the male insect. The ground 

 colour of the upper wings is brown-black in some lights, but in 

 others is a rich shining purple, tliis effect being produced by 

 the shape and arrangement of the scales, as can be seen by 

 examining a specimen under the microscope. The light- 

 coloured bands and spots are white, pure white in the male, 

 and yellowish-white in the female. Beneath, the general colour 

 is rust-red, blotched with black, grey, and here and there blue. 



