572 
ARTICULATA. 
wings become sufficieiitly expanded to be available for flight. Many butterflies, immediately 
before taking tbeir flight into the air, eject a red fluid from the anus, which, of course, forms a 
red spot wherever it falls ; and this — when, as is sometimes the case, vast quantities of some 
species of butterfly have simultaneously attained the perfect state, in a particular district — has given 
rise to the stories of bloody rain. 
These insects are divided into two great groups or sub-orders, the Rhopalocera and Heterocera. 
THE EHOPALOCERA. 
This name is derived from the Greek rhopalon, a club, and Jceras, a horn, and is descriptive of 
the club-shaped form of the antennae of these insects — the Butterfiies, the most charming of the 
insect creation. They form only a single tribe, which, however, is divided into nmnerous fami- 
lies and sub-families. They are all diurnal in their habits, fluttering about from flower to flower 
in the hottest sunshine, and -nearly all of them carrying their wings upright over their backs in 
repose. It is in hot climates that the 
largest and most magnificent species 
abound. Under the burning rays of 
the tropical sun, brilliantly metallic 
species sport like living gems, and 
even those not adorned with metallic 
tints exhibit an elegance and variety 
of coloring which is perhaps not sur- 
passed by any other productions of 
nature. We can only notice a few 
prominent species. 
The Priam Butterfly, Pcqnlio 
JF'riamiis, is a native of the Eastern 
Archipelago ; its wings are from seven 
to eight inches in extent, and are 
colored with rich green and deep 
black. This is one of the most beau- 
tiful species of the order, and living 
in a climate of perpetual summer, and 
amid the most gorgeous of flowers, is 
one of the glories of nature. 
The Apollo Butterfly, P. -<4poZ/o, is found in the damp meadows of the highAl]3s; the 
wings are whitish, with five black spots on each of the superior ones ; on the inferior are two 
sparkling eye-like figures, bordered with 
black. It flies in June and July. Thus 
even wild mountain regions, as well as 
those of the florid tropics, are embel- 
lished by this beautiful family. 
The Flame Butterfly, P.podalirius^ 
of Europe, has yellow wings, the upper 
as well as the lower ones crossed with 
black rays, in the form of flames. The 
caterpillar of this species is found on 
plum-trees, peach-trees, and the like. 
The Sybil Butterfly, P. Syhilla, 
sometimes called the Mourning But- 
terfly^ is a common European species, 
flying in the dog-days, the upper part 
of the wings of a brownish-black, with 
a white band across the middle ; beneath they are of an ashy-blue, wdth black spots. 
THE PRIAM BUTTERFLY. 
THE APOLLO BUTTERFLY. 
