412 THE 
a 
SCARLET AUMIRAL. 
a good idea of its real beauty may be formed by imagining the ground color of the upper 
wings to be pale chestnut, that of the under wings wood-brown, and all the spots to be com- 
posed of highly-burnished silver leaf. 

THYODAMAS.— Cyrestis thyodamas. THETIS.—MVarpesia thetis. 
DIDO.— Cethésia dido. 
Agraulis monéta. 
To this family belongs the brightly-colored genus Vanessa, of which the common PEAcocK 
Burrerrty is a familiar British example. This insect, which is one of the finest butterflies, 

PEACOCK BUTTERFLY.— Vanessa Io. 
creature disappearing as mysterious! 
may be seen very plentifully in fields, roads, or woods, 
when the beauty of its coloring never fails to attract 
admiration. 
One of the most notable peculiarities in this but- 
terfly is the uniform dark hues of the under side, which 
present a great contrast to the varied shades of blue and 
red which decorate the upper side. The object of this 
arrangement seems to be that the insect may be able to 
conceal itself from its foe at will, a purpose which is 
readily attained by a very simple mancwuvre. When the 
Peacock Butterfly thinks itself in danger, it flies straight- 
way to some shaded spot, such as a tree-trunk or old pal- 
ings, closes its wings over its back, and remains motion- 
less. The effect of this proceeding is, that the wide expanse 
of bright colors is suddenly replaced by a flat, dark, leaf- 
like object, which looks more like a piece of bark torn 
from the tree than an insect. The apparent vanishing 
of the butterfly has always a rather startling effect, even 
to those who are accustomed to it, the large, brilliant 
y as if annihilated, or covered with the cap of darkness. 
The beautiful ScARLET ADMIRAL, so well known by the broad, scarlet stripes that are 
drawn over the wings; the LarGEr 
and SMALL TOoORTOISE-SHELL BUTTERFLIES; the CoMMA 
