J. M. DEGAK.MO. 131 



From beneath, even when in a position on a pendulous 

 flower or leaf to see perfectly, they ran be approached 

 with much greater ease and certainty of capture. 



Another manifestation of intelligence is in their plain 

 efforts to hide from danger. After pursuing a Turnus 

 for some time, and repeatedly starting it from its feeding 

 grounds by ineffectual attempts to capture it, I have 

 often seen it seek the dense foliage of some large-leaved 

 tree, like the maple, hickory, or tulip, and getting itself 

 snugly ensconced on a leaf immediately sheltered by one 

 or more others, it was apparently feeling absolutely safe. 

 Then, any ordinary degree of caution is sure to result in 

 its capture. The Argynnis aphrodite once exhibited re- 

 markable knowledge and as remarkable stivpidity in this 

 matter. I found quite a number of them feeding on a 

 cluster of thistles in front of a disused barn. Behind 

 the barn was a patch of low sumac bushes, through 

 whose foliage the sunlight filtered in tiny blotches, as 

 from a sieve. The ground underneath was covered with 

 vines of the running blackberry. I came to the barn 

 hurriedly, and when near the butterflies, tripped in the 

 tangled grass and fell, flinging the net into the thistles. 

 When I rose, not a butterfly was to be seen. I went to 

 several adjacent clusters of thistles, but found nothing. 

 I searched all about in vain. Returning in an hour, I 

 found them there again, and caught two in a single 

 cast of the net. But after securing them, I discov- 

 ered that the rest were all gone again. The next day I 

 came determined to spy out the performance. A com- 

 panion threw the net at the thistles, and lo ! the butter- 

 flies all flew round the barn, and lighted under the 

 sumac bushes, each on a blackberry leaf. Now the 

 oddest part of this was, that they had made the circuit 

 of one-half the circumference of the barn to get to the 

 hiding place, when they could have reached it by a 

 short trip directly across the end of the barn. More- 



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