26 



where tliey settle when pursued. Frequently I have had to 

 examine the spot carefully for some minutes, upon which one 

 of these butterflies had been seen to settle, before its where- 

 abouts could be discovered. Another instance of such co- 

 relation is, that in the earlier part of the season brighter and 

 duller coloured individuals of the same species appear indis- 

 criminately ; but later on, only the latter are about, which seems 

 to prove that they were better protected. The white and black 

 tinted species blend harmoniously with the profuse white 

 clusters of the Eucalypti flowers, which they frequent. The 

 yellow Terias and the bluish species of Cwpido fly chiefly close to 

 the ground, and frequent preferentially flowers of their own 

 hue ; for the former several yellow-flowered composits, for the 

 latter the blue Walilenhergia gracilis, Dampiera rosmarinifolia, 

 &c., which are very abundant. "When resting upon such flowers 

 they are almost wholly concealed by the blending of their 

 colours, and this, no doubt, contributes considerably to their 

 safety from birds, &c. The Papilionidae occur much more 

 frequently where there is surface-water or moisture in the soil, 

 than where such is not the case. Thus, they are much more 

 abundant in the gullies of wooded ranges than in the dry 

 shrubless plains ; and along the sea-coast of Yorke's Peninsula 

 far more are met with than a mile or two inland. In fact, 

 during a walk for. miles in the mallee scrub, at the best part 

 of the season, one can scarcely ever catch a glimpse of any. 

 During the hot north-west winds, I have frequently found 

 them collected in numbers in hollow trees, under overhanging 

 stones, or other shady places, which afford them some protec- 

 tion against the fierce blasts — some as lively as ever, some 

 already so weak as scarcely to be able to rise or move, while 

 some actually have succumbed to the heat. 



Papilio Erithonius, Cramer. 



Mef. — Angas, S. Aust. Illusti-ated, pi. 37, fig. 1. 



This is the largest and one of the rarest of our butterflies. It 

 measures 3| to 3f inches in span, is black with a broad yellow 

 band contiguous through the middle of both pairs of wings, a 

 series of yellow spots along their whole margin, two red spots 

 partly surrounded by a blue ring on the opposite sides of the 

 posterior wings, while all the darker parts of both pairs are 

 dotted over with innumerable blue specks, form its princijjal 

 distinction. It flies usually high, frequenting the flowers of 

 the higher Eucalypts for their nectar, but sometimes descends 

 to lower levels when attracted by the profuse l)looiniug of 

 lower trees and shrubs (Biirsaria sjjinosa and Melaleuca 

 species). I have captured it in the open glades of the Barossa 

 hills. Reedbeds, near Adelaide (^«yas) . 



