80 
THE SUBSTITUTE. 
before the enraged insects have 
recourse to more effective weapons 
than buzzes. We walk on by the 
side of the hedge watching (like 
Mr. Micawber) for something to 
“ lum up.” How hot it is! We 
feel quite incompetent for the ex- 
ertion of beating, so we stroll 
lazily along till we reach a small 
clearing where some clover has 
been cut down. Directly we 
reach the spot our eye rests upon 
an insect settled with expanded 
wings on a fallen clover-stalk, 
whose size, form, and beautiful 
harmony of colour, proclaim it to 
be Cynthia Cardui. We know 
how active and easily-alarmed this 
species is, so we approach it with 
great caution, holding our net 
with the mouth downwards, so as 
to drop it over the insect when 
a fitting opportunity occurs. A 
few seconds elai)se and Cardui 
closes his wings. Now or never! 
Down goes the net with a sudden 
swoop! Not sudden enough to 
entrap Cardui though. Quick as 
thought he glances from his seat 
at the very instant the net is fall- 
ing, and in another moment is 
half across the field, where, strange 
to say, it is very difficult to follow 
his flight, for, although so large 
and conspicuous an insect when 
at rest, yet, when flying, he seems 
to lose all his colour and to dwin- 
dle to half his size. 
[This singular circumstance, I 
suppose, is caused by the colours 
being all of a somewhat subdued 
tint, and being very equally dis- 
persed over the whole surface of 
the wings, so that in the rapid 
motion of the wings in flight the 
colours are so blended together 
that they lose their distinctness. 
Of course, I only give this as a sup- 
position, but 1 have so repeatedly 
noticed this fact in the flight of 
Cardui, that 1 cannot refrain from 
calling attention to it here.] 
We determine, however, to 
await his return ; and sure enough 
he soon reappears; and after rush- 
ing over the hedge and baek again 
two or three times, actually settles 
boldly on a clover-head close to 
us, and, as if tired with his exer- 
tions, closes his wings and begins 
to extract the honey. It’s his last 
meal, poor fellow ! Sweep goes 
the net ! — a flutter — a squeeze, 
and all is over with him. Calmly 
we w'alk on (at least with as much 
composure as we can muster under 
the attacks of those horrid Dip- 
Icra !) We behold Vanessa lo 
and Urlicte sitting in dozens on 
the clover flowers ; but these spe- 
cies being lucky exceptions to our 
wants, we pass on without molest- 
ing them. Plvsia Gamma, too, 
bustles about in the clover in the 
most consequential manner ; in- 
deed, he makes the most of his 
“ little day,” for, visit him when 
you will, by night or day, you 
will almost always find him feed- 
ing on the honey of clover or other 
flowers. We now reach the gate 
at the end of the clover-field, sur- 
mounting which, we enter a large 
ploughed field, bounded on the 
side farthest from the sea by a 
small hanging copse which covers 
a steep sandy cliff rising abruptly 
from the field. We immediately 
make for the edge of this copse, 
and, when arrived within a few 
yards of it, we become aware of 
the presence of Hipparchia lly- 
peranlluut. Wc look higher up the 
cliff, and see that the bramble 
flowers are surrounded by numbers 
of them, so we accordingly set to 
