76 
THE WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
PaPILIO [CiENONYMPHA] PaMPHILUS. 
Habitat Larva in Cynosu.ro Cristate 
i. Mai. et i. Aug. Imago compas- 
cuisi. Jun. i. Sep. frequens. 
Papii.io [Vanessa] Io, 
Habitat larva Urtica urente i. Jul. 
Imago in Jul. Sylvaticis et per hy- 
emem. Femina ova ponit tempore 
vernali. Props Londinum satis fre- 
quens sed in com. Ebor. rarissime 
seu bis tantum capta. 
Papilio [Apatuea] Iris] 
Habitat larva Salice caprea f. Mai. 
Imago Quercisummis, satis infre- 
quens in Jul. 
Obs. This purple Empci’or of the 
British oaks is, not undeservedly, the 
greatest favourite of our English Aur- 
elians In his manner likewise, as 
well as in the varying lustre of his 
purple plumes, he possesses the 
strongest claims to their particular 
attention. 
In the month of July he makes 
his appearance in the winged state, 
and invariably fixes his throne upon 
the summit of a lofty oak, from the 
utmost sprigs of which, on sultry 
days, lie performs his aerial excur- 
sions, and, in these, ascends to a 
much greater elevation than any other 
insect I have ever seen, sometimes 
mounting higher than the eye can 
follow, especially if ho happens to 
quarrel with another Emperor , — the 
monarch of some neighbouring oak. 
They never meet without a battle, 
Hying upwards all the while, and 
combating with each other as much 
as possible ; after which they will 
frequently return again to the iden- 
tical sprigs from which they ascended. 
The wings of this fine species are of a 
stronger texture than those of any 
other in Britain, and more calculated 
for that gay and powerful flight which 
is so much admired by Entomologists. 
The Purple Emperor continues his 
aerial movements from ten' to twelve 
o’clock in the morning, but does not 
perform his loftiest flights till noon, 
decreasing them from this hour, until 
he quite ceases to fly, about four in 
the afternoon, — thus emulating the 
motions of that source of all his 
strength, — the sun. The females, — 
like those of many other species, are 
very rarely seen on the wing, the 
reason of which is both interesting 
and but little known. It is their 
being destitute of a certain spiral socket 
which the males possess, near the 
base of the main tendon of their 
upper wings; which socket receives 
and works a strong elastic spring, 
arising from the base of the under- 
wings,— thereby enabling them to per- 
form a stronger, longer and more easy 
flight than it is possible for the female 
to do. Moses Harris, I believe, was 
the first who discovered and publish- 
ed figures of this socket and spring, in 
an ingenious and little known work 
called “ An essay preceding a supple- 
ment to the * Aureliau ' wherein are 
considered the Tendons and Mem- 
branes of the wings of Butterflies”, 
