292 HOMES WITHOUT HANDS. 



of these hairs is in fact a minute prism, they break up the light 

 into the well-known prismatic colors. 



Upon the outer edge of the wing is a triangular black spot, 

 which is not transparent, and serves as a foil to show off the lovely 

 colors by which it is surrounded. The whole upper part of the 

 wing is pale yellow, passing, by the gentlest imaginable transition, 

 through delicate rays into lively pink, of the character termed 

 " rose-carmine." Toward the lower edge of the pink a slight in- 

 fusion of blue steals in, being first purple and then changing to 

 azure. Here the colors are abruptly cut by a nervure, and one 

 of the large cells next comes into view. This cell is wonderfully 

 beautiful, for the colors are no longer subdued, as i^ the case with 

 the upper part of the wing, but are startling from their extreme 

 brilliancy. The circumference, of the cell is emerald, inclosing 

 three distinct centres of coloring, which >seem to divide the cell 

 into three parts. The upper division consists of a large emerald 

 patch, changing in the centre by imperceptible gradations to gold- 

 en green. Immediately below the green comes a patch of fiery 

 ruby, edged on one side with azure and on the other with golden 

 yellow. The third, or lowermost division, is chiefly blue, edged 

 on one side with ruby and on the other with golden yellow. Thus 

 we have in this one cell three centres of color, each centre being 

 one of the three primary colors, and changing by degrees to the 

 secondaries and tertiaries. The next cell is colored in a similar 

 manner, except that the colors which form the centre of the di- 

 visions in the last-mentioned cfell form their circumferences in this 

 case ; and the base of the wings fades off into delicate shades of 

 pink and rays of golden yellow like the tip. 



Now it must be borne in mind that the microscope has nothing 

 to do with the production of these colors, but is limited to their 

 exhibition. These wondrous colors already exist, although they 

 are on so small a scale that the unassisted eye fails to separate 

 them, and so they are blended together and appear to be colorless. 

 I mention these apparent platitudes because, while exhibiting the 

 microscope, I have found many persons falling into the error of 

 supposing that the wondrous beauties which they see are due either 

 to the excellence of the instrument or the skill of the operator. 



After the Burnet Ichneumon has laid the eggs she leaves them 

 to be hatched in the animal, which is generally, but not always, 

 the caterpillar of the Burnet Moth {Anihrocera filipendulai),\\SQ\i & 

 pensile insect. This is not always the case, as one of my group 



