This fly, which is amazingly fwift in flight, is 
fond of fettling on the ground in afhadyplace; 
and will permit you to come pretty near it, 
when it darts off with fuch velocity, that the 
befteyes cannot difcover the courfe it takes. It 
is common both in North and South America. 
Fig. 3. Purple Empep.or; the Iris, Nymphales, 
of Linnseus. The antennte are black, having 
a little brown fpeck on the extremity of each. 
The head, thorax, and abdomen, are brown, 
but covered with fine hair of a dark butglolTy 
aih-colcur. The fuperior and inferior wings 
are very dark near the margins or fan-edges, 
but all the other parts are changeable, accord- 
ing to the different lights in which this beauti- 
ful infecl is viewed. Sometimes it appears of 
a fboty black; and, at others, the eye is fud- 
denly dazzled with a refplendcnt glow of vivid 
purple: fb that, by frequently turning the fly 
into different pofitions, the colours play and 
fhift through all the gradaiions, from a footy 
black to tlie mofl brilliant purple, in fuch 
a manner as undefcribably to charm the eye 
with a delightful and am.azing variety. The 
borders of the wings are ornamented v/ith 
a rov/ or line of mifty orange fpots ; and, 
tov/ards the abdominal corners of the inferior 
wings, there a^re two eye-like fpots, one on each, 
which confiflof a round black fpot with a fmall 
fpeck of white in the middle, the black one 
being encircled with a gold-coloured ring. 
The fuperior wings have each a number of 
white fpots; three of which, extending from the 
middle to the lower or flip-edge, feem to join 
another band that crofTes the inferior wing, 
and reaches to that part which is neareft the 
anus, or end of the abdomen. 
Fig. 4. Undcr-fidc, The eyes appear of a red 
brown, having a white ilreak under each. The 
palpi are white; and the thorax, as well as the 
eyes, are of a blueifli or afli colour. Thev/hite 
fpots are very flmilar to thofe on the upper- 
fide; but the field or ground-colour is of a red- 
difh brov/n, variegated with black and orange. 
The table-m.embrane is of a pale blofTom- 
colour, Vvdth two fpots of black. Towards the 
lower corner of the wing, there is a large 
orange-coloured fj:>ot about three eighths of an 
inch in diameter, the centre of vv'hich has 
a black rin^;, and within that there is another 
of purple. The inferior Vv-ings are of a dull 
pearl-colour near the body or thorax, as well 
as on the outer edge; but, near the white bar 
or band which crofles the middle, it is of a 
blood-red brown. The eye on the upper- 
fide near the abdominal corners appears very 
faintly on this fide. 
The expanfion of the v/ings is three inches. 
The caterpillar, which feeds on failov/, is of 
a green colour, and has tv/o horns on it's head, 
like a Inail or Aug. It is in the caterpillar 
ftate during the winter, changes into a 
chryfaiis, hanging by it's tail on the under- 
lide of a leaf in the fpring, and the fly appears 
about the end of June. It flies very high ; 
and fports round the tops of oak and afh ti-ees, 
where it often fettles on a leaf ; and, on feeing 
any fmall fly, or other infeft, pafs by, im!m,e- 
diately purfues it a little way, when it goes 
round the top of the tree, and is fure to fettle 
again on the iame leaf^ 
^ BUT 
The female is like the male in every refpecf!-,, 
except that it has not the beautiful purple hue 
on the upper fide. 
Fig. 5. Clouded Yellov/; the FIyale, Dana;, 
of Linnaeus. The antenna are reddifli, and fa 
are the head and fhoulder parts of the fuperior 
wings. Thefe wings are of a cream coloufj. 
having around black fpot in the middle. Each 
fan-edge and tip is covered with a broad irre- 
gular black border, which at the tip is half aa 
inch wide. In this border are two or three 
cream-coloured fpots nearly in the form of a 
heart, and the fringe at the edges is red. The 
inferior wings are of a difmal greyifh afli-co- 
lour, having a double orange-coloured fpot in 
the middle. The abdominal groove is of a 
greenifli yellow, and the fan-edges at and ne2:r 
the outer corner of the wings are clouded Vvuth 
black. The thorax and abdomen are blacky 
but thinly cloathed with yellov/ifli hair. 
Fig. 6. Unrkr-f.de. Tlie eyes are black; the 
palpi are yellow, but reddilh at their extremi- 
ties; and the legs are alfo red. The fuperior 
wings are yellow, but paleft near the middle 
parts. Within about a quarter of an Inch of 
the fan -edge there is a rov/ of black fpot?, three 
of the lower ones being large and confpicuous, 
and the loweft of the fame fize as that in tVcQ 
middle of the wing on the bar tendon, v>'hich is 
about the bignefs of a fmall hemp-feed. The 
inil-iior wings are of a dirty of greyifli yellow; 
in each of vv'hi.ch, on the bar tendon, are two 
fpots in double rings of red, clofe together, the 
central parts ofwhich appear like reddifli pearl, 
a little lacl inihgto bloffom-colour. The fringes 
of tlie winp-s, as well as the feflor-edffes of both 
wings, fuperior and inferior, are red. 
The expanfion of the wings is two inches and a 
quarter. 
It flies in the middle of Augufb; is very fond oF 
meadows, and particularly attached to fields 
of clover. 
Fig. 7. Mareled-Wihte ; the Galathea,, 
Nymphales, of Linnsus. The head, tho- 
rax, and abdomen, are black, but covered 
with whitifh hair. T!ie fuperior and inferior 
wings are of a greenifn cream-colour, teife- 
lated or chequered all over with multifcrm 
black fpots : round the borders of each wing,,, 
near the fan-edge, is a line or chain of fix 
white fpots ; thofe on the inferior wing, in 
particular, being fomewhat in the form of a 
heart. The fringes are v.'hite. On the lower 
part of each wing, -near the abdominal cor- 
ner, there ate three eye-like rings of wliite, 
v/ith a v,'hite fpeck in the middle of each. 
Fig. 8. Under -fide. The palpi are v>/hife, edged 
V, ith black ; the wings are the fame colour 
as on the upper-fide, only that they ihew the 
outlines of the markings on this, except in 
the iTiiddle of tlie fupe.-ior v*ang, v/hich is 
black, the infericrones being duflcy. A fnali 
eye is fecn near the tip of the fuperior wing, 
and there are two more eyes near the outer cor- 
ner, fis vv^ell as four in a line near the abdomi- 
nal corner of each of the irxf^ric-r wings. 
The expanfion of the v/ings is two inches^ 
The caterpillar, which feeds on grafs, changes 
into the chryfaiis ia May, and the fly gene- 
rally appears about the 6th ol June, 
3t 
