106 ASSOCIATIONS AND MIGRATIONS. 
the Purple Emperor, (Papilio iris of Linneus,) when 
he makes his first appearance, fixes his throne on the 
summit of some lofty oak, from whence, in sunny 
days, unattended by his empress, who does not fly, 
he takes his excursions. Lanching into the air, 
from one of the highest twigs, he mounts often to so 
great a height, as to become invisible. Hence his 
synonymous name of the Purple Highflier. When 
the sun is at the meridian, his loftiest flights take 
place ; and, about four in the afternoon, he resumes 
his station of repose.* 
The large bodies of the Hawk Moths (Sphinw) 
are carried by wings remarkably strong, both as to 
nerves and texture, and their flight is proportionally 
rapid and direct. That of butterflies is by dipping 
and rising alternately, so as to form a zigzag line, 
with vertical angles, which the animal often describes 
with a skipping motion, so that each zigzag consists 
of smaller ones. This, doubtless, renders it more 
difficult for the birds to take them as they fly ; and 
thus the male, when paired, often flits away with the 
female.t 
* Haworrn’s Lepidoptera Britannica, i. p. 19. 
+ Kirsy and Srence, ii. p. 355, 
