PAPILIONIDzE. 
333 
tlie surface. The bodies of these insects are dark in color and very 
hairy. 
The larvae are dark colored, flattened beneath, and pass through 
their transformations on the ground, gathering a few hits of leaves or 
twigs into a loose cocoon, which is held together by silken threads. 
These butterflies'are all inhabitants of mountainous districts and 
are found both in the old world and the new. While we have no 
species of this genus in the eastern part of our country, they are 
found on the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains as far east as 
Colorado. 
There is great variation in the coloring of the specimens, individ¬ 
uals ranging from almost white with yellow spots to slate color with 
red spots. These insects are not difficult to capture, as they fly near 
the ground. I have never seen them abundant, and by collectors in 
this country they are generally considered most valuable specimens 
to possess. 
In the genus Papilio are classed many of the largest and 
handsomest butterflies the world affords. The group reaches its 
greatest development, both as to the number of the species and the 
extraordinary beauty of their coloring, in southern India and through¬ 
out the islands of the Malay Archipelago, but we have many very 
fine species in our country and in Mexico and South America. 
Rev. J. G. Wood, in writing of this group, says: “ The genus is a 
very comprehensive one, including between two and three hundred 
known species, among which may be found almost every imaginable 
tint in every gradation and exhibiting bold contrasts of color which 
scarcely any human artist would dare to place together, and which 
yet produce a result equally striking and harmonious.” 
The group has been divided into several genera by some authors, 
and although the general characteristics of the species thus separated 
are not difficult to follow, they seem somewhat arbitrary, especially 
as there is a great similarity in the habits and development of the 
species of the whole group. Had there been but a few species of the 
various classes, instead of dozens or scores, the genus would probably 
have been left entire, much to the satisfaction and convenience of 
those who wish to acquire knowledge on the subject of entomology. 
Many of these butterflies are supplied with tails or prolongations 
to the lower wings which add much to their beauty. In some these 
tails are long and narrow, in others short and wide, while a few of 
the species are destitute of tails. Their larvae are fleshy, of various 
