THE HISTOEY 



OF OUR 



BRITISH BUTTERFLIES 



Family PAPILIONID^E. 



Who loves not the gay Butterfly, which flits 



Before him in the ardent noon, array'd 



In crimson, azure, emerald, and gold; 



With more magnificence upon his wing 



The little wing than ever grac'd the robe 



Gorgeous of royalty ; is like the kine 



That wander mid the flowers which gem the meadows, 



Unconscious of their beauty. 



CARRINGTON, Dartmoor. 



This family belongs to the first division of the butterflies, which is called 

 SUCCINTA., because the chrysalides are supported by a silken belt or girdle 

 round the middle of their bodies. See Introduction, page xxxi. 



The Papilionidae are pretty widely distributed over the earth, but are 

 especially abundant in the tropics, where they attain their maximum of size 

 and beauty, and the greatest variety of form and colouring. South America, 

 India, and the Malay Islands are the regions where these fine insects occur 

 in the greatest profusion, and where they actually form a not unimportant 

 feature in the scenery. In the Malay Islands in particular, the giant Orni- 

 thopterse may be frequently seen, their large size, stately flight, and gorgeous 

 colouring rendering them even more conspicuous than the generality of birds. 

 One species, Priamus, measures no less than eight inches across the wings. 

 The typical genus, Pajjilio, occurs in every country between the arctic and 

 antartic circles, inclusive of the various islands of the Pacific Ocean. Some 

 of the species are very local, such as Hospiton, which only occurs in the 



