THE PURPLE HIGHFLIER. ish’ 
It derives the title of Purple Highflier from the 
circumstance of its very rarely descending to the 
ground; except in some few instances, having 
hitherto been only captured in elevated situations ; 
and even those instances have been after a strong 
wind or heavy fall of rain. The tops of the loftiest 
forest trees afford it an asylum; and in the cater- 
pillar and chrysalis state, it is preserved from the 
wanton cruelty of man, by the almost inaccessible 
height of its habitation. The larvee feed on the 
sallow, (Salix caprea.) They are obtained by 
beating the branches of the tree with a pole twenty 
or thirty feet in length ; in which case it is a ne- 
cessary precaution to cover the ground beneath with 
large sheets, to a certain distance, lest the larvee 
should fall and be lost among the herbage. 
The caterpillar is hatched about the end of May 
or beginning of June ; and early in July it passes to 
the chrysalis condition; and undergoes its final 
change into the imago, or perfect butterfly, in the 
end of that month, or in the beginning of August. 
The great difficulty and trouble in rearing the 
caterpillar of this Papilio, even after it has been 
found, and the still greater difficulty of taking the 
butterfly, has stamped a valuable consideration on 
it, and particularly so when the colours are bright, 
and the insect in a perfect condition; and, there- 
fore, a high price is obtained for it when in a good 
state of preservation. The male is smaller, but 
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