yards distant. Here, Mr. Newman observers in his " British Butterflies/' is 

 sufficient evidence of the kind of delicacies best adapted to the imperial 

 palate; an adaption which, however, I may regret, I am unable to dispute. 

 1 would gladly have depicted the Emperor of our insect world as banqueting 

 on ambrosia, an esculent of which, by the way, I have no clearly defined idea, 

 or quaffing the nectar of flowers, but this would not be truthful : in this, and 

 other cases of depraved appetite, we can only lament a fact as incontrovertible 

 as it is unsatisfactory, repeating the somewhat trite, but once sapient axiom, 

 de gustibus not est disputandum. I am able, however, to assign his imperial 

 majesty one instance of more refined taste — Dr. Knaggs records in the fourth 

 volume of the " Entomologists' Weekly Intelligencer/' that he succeeded in 

 decoying an Emperor by painting the trunk of a tree with sugar, and thus 

 secured him." 



In the "Zoologist/' for the year 1852, the Eev. W. Bree writes, "Early 

 in the morning, and on dark, gloomy days, 1 have several times seen to the 

 greatest advantage, the most splendid of all our butterflies at Barnwell and 

 Ashton Wolds, sailing along the ridings, and settling upon the ruts and other 

 moist and shady spots, often assailed by the impudent attack of Janira and 

 Galatkea, which appear to be the foremost in attacking him, when he thus 

 condescends for a while to leave his lofty oak to visit the regions inhabited 

 by his less honourable kindred. The partiality which this insect exhibits for 

 individual sprigs of particular trees has often been remarked upon by ento- 

 mologists, and is certainly confirmed by the Emperor of this neighbourhood. 

 And it should seem as if this partiality were, if I may use the expression, 

 hereditary ; for upon a certain sprig of a small ash tree, by the side of one of 

 the ridings in Barwell Wold, Northamptonshire, I have each year since 

 1847 succeeded in capturing the Purple Emperor; and in ail instances, upon 

 the capture of one, the identical sprig has in the course of a few days been 

 invariably occupied by another Emperor." 



In the "Entomologist" for 1882, Mr. Anderson, writing from Chichester, 

 records a singular habit of this butterfly, thus : " It seems to be the invari- 

 able habit of Ajoatura iris, upon first emerging from the chrysalis, to cling to 

 the empty case with the head uppermost for five or six hours, and then to 

 reverse the position, and still clinging to the case remain with head down and 

 wings upwards for a similar time. For the first attitude it is easy to account, 

 for the wings could not well be developed in any other way, but why the 

 insect should turn round and continue so long in the second position 1 can- 

 not understand." 



The Purple Emperor does not seem to be the only one of the genus which 

 has a fondness for puddles, for Mr. Goss, in the "Entomologist" for 1880, 



