LETTEES FROM ALABAMA. 
79 
delicacy in the diverging and intersecting white 
lines and sober brown shades of the nnder surface^ 
but it has only two eye spots instead of four. 
Moths are likewise numerous, chiefly of the 
smaller kinds, but these I cannot attempt to parti- 
cularize : there is one, however, too pretty to pass 
over in silence. It is the Pinkwing {Dewpeia 
iella). It is well known in many parts of North 
America, and among the flowers of these prairies 
it is particularly plentiful ; we can scarce stir the 
tall rank herbage in any direction, but three or 
four of these pretty creatures, before unseen, scuttle 
out and flit away for a few yards, and then plunge 
down into the mazes of the leaves and stalks again : 
if repeatedly disturbed, however, they fly a good 
way before they again alight. The fore wings of 
this species, which is about an inch and a half in 
spread of wing, are marked with alternate trans- 
verse bands of white and orange-tawny, about a 
dozen in all, the white ones having a row of black 
dots in them : the hind pair are pink bordered 
with deep black. I have seen specimens in which 
the bands on the fore wings, which are usually 
tawny, were of a fine scarlet, but these are rare. 
Perhaps you will say I am somewhat extravagant 
in my admiration of these insects, but really I think 
that any words of description are insufficient to do 
justice to their surpassing beauty. Take a butterfly 
into your hand and examine it yourself for a 
moment superficially ; for though the internal orga- 
nization would be equally instructive, we will not 
enter into that at present. Look at the richness of the 
colours. ' What brilliant hues ! Note the burnished 
metallic gloss and the changeable glow of many of 
them ; the soft velvety downiness of all. Look at 
