indicated : Eg^g, Caterpillar, Chrysalis, 

 Butterfly, Egg. 



Why they migrate is not known but 

 evidence enough has been brought in 

 by eye witnesses to prove that this 

 does occur. One flight seen in Switz- 

 erland lasted for two hours, the con- 

 tinuous stream of insects being ten or 

 fifteen feet wide and made up of the 

 species called the Painted Lady. Similar 

 companies have been seen at sea, as 

 Mr. Darwin bears witness, also before 

 and after tornadoes in certain places. 

 In Ceylon a gentlemen drove through 

 a cloud of white Butterflies for nine 

 miles. But very interesting to us, is a 

 great migration recorded to have been 

 seen in our own country, in Massachu- 

 setts, about Oct. I, 1876. These are 

 strange stories, but really hardly more 

 strange than other facts about these 

 little animals, graceful and beautiful 

 in form and motion, whose very 

 presence adds greatly to the charm of 

 mother Nature. 



Such quantities of eggs are laid by 

 the Butterflies that if certain animals 

 did not contend against them, man 

 would not be able to withstand the 

 ravages of the Caterpillar. Man has 

 one powerful ally in the birds 

 which devour enormous quantities of 

 these eggs, but a still more powerful 

 ally ^*s the Ichneumon Fly. This little 

 insect is a parasite through its grub 

 state and chooses as its host either the 

 egg of the Butterfly or the Caterpillar. 

 The full grown Fly lays its egg by 

 means of an ovipositor, a sharp, hol- 

 low instrument with which it can 

 pierce the skin or shell of its victim. 

 The eggs of the fly hatch and the 

 grubs feed upon the Caterpillar, but 

 usually do not touch upon its vital 

 parts until it is full grown, then they 

 devour them and within the skin of 

 their former host form their own 

 cocoons. Sometimes they wait until 

 the Caterpillar assumes its Chrysalis 

 state before they finish their dread 

 work, then much to the surprise of 



interested beholders, a little cluster of 

 flies appears at the breaking of the 

 cocoon, and no beautiful Butterfly. 



Some of these brightly colored little 

 messengers of gladness live through 

 the winter. Usually they pass this 

 trying period wrapped warmly in the 

 cocoon or nestled under some leaf, still 

 a Chrysalis; but a few species weather 

 the cold and the snow and, shut up in 

 some hollow tree or some empty shed, 

 sleep away the happy days of Jack 

 Frost and Santa Claus and are ready 

 to awake with the spring, when they 

 are not abashed in their bedraggled 

 garments to appear among their 

 brothers, who come forth brightly 

 clad, fresh from the soft, warm resting 

 place of the cocoon. 



Perhaps the marvelous migration of 

 Butterflies which occurred on Oct. 3, 

 1 898, will be more interesting to us than 

 those already mentioned because it 

 happened so recently and in our own 

 country, and perhaps, most of all, be- 

 cause the reason for flight is hazarded. 

 The inhabitants of Wichita, Kansas, at 

 3:15 o'clock in the afternoon of that day 

 were greeted with the sight of many 

 Butterflies flying south. Gradually 

 the number increased until business 

 practically ceased, the inhabitants all 

 turning out to view the brilliant spec- 

 tacle. The stream of yellow and 

 brown insects, with the accompanying 

 purr and brilliant effects of fluttering 

 wings flowed on until within a half an 

 hour of sunset, and even after this, 

 millions of stragglers hastened south- 

 ward. But you are interested in the 

 reason given? They say that our 

 little friends were driven away from 

 their customary haunts by the forest 

 fires in Colorado. This is only one 

 more supposition to add to the list 

 already awaiting some enterprising 

 student, who shall at last solve the 

 mystery of these wonderful flights and 

 fully acquaint us with all the other 

 interesting facts which our little But- 

 terflies are still keeping secret. 



113 



