William S. Coleman

“ Supposing that you have reared and watched a caterpillar to apparently healthy maturity, that it has duly become a chrysalis, and you are awaiting its appearance in butterfly splendour—peeping into your box some morning to see if the bright expected one is "out," be not surprised if in its stead you find the box tenanted by a swarm of little black flies—an impish-looking crew. ”

“ Though one of the commonest of our native butterflies, this, like numberless other very common things, is also one of the loveliest, both in the graceful outline of its wings, and in the lively hue that overspreads their surface; charms the more to be appreciated, as this insect is one of the few that do not wait for the full bloom of summer ere they condescend to make their appearance, but in the earliest, chill months of spring, and even in the dead winter season, the country rambler is sometimes gladdened by its gay flight ”

“ Then comes a mighty change: the caterpillar is to exchange his worm-like form and nature for an existence unspeakably higher and better. But, as we have seen, to arrive at this glory there is only one condition, which is, that the creature must pass through another, and, as it might seem, a gloomy state—one anything but cheerful to contemplate; for it must cease to eat, to move, and—to the eye—to live. ”

“ This happy consummation, however, is only for the chrysalis which has not within it the devouring worm, the fruit of the ichneumon's egg, harboured during the caterpillar state—and emblem, in the human soul, of some deadly sin yielded to during life, and which afterwards becomes the gnawing "worm that dieth not." For in this case, instead of the bright butterfly, there issues forth from the chrysalis-shell only a swarm of black, ill-favoured flies, like a troop of evil spirits coming from their feast on a fallen soul. ”

“ The wings of the male only have that splendid glow of changing purple that gives him his name and honours, the empress having in its place a sober garb of brown; she, however, considerably exceeds her lord in dimensions and expanse of wing. ”

“ This is a question often less difficult to answer in words than in action, for many of our butterflies are gifted not only with strong prejudices against the inside of a net, but with very strong powers of escaping from that unpleasant situation. Still, by aid of proper apparatus, a sure eye and hand, and often, of a good pair of legs, there is no butterfly, however fleet and wary, that we may not feel ourselves a tolerable match for. ”

“ Above, a dark sepia-brown tint, banded and spotted with white, is all that greets the eye; but beneath there is a piece of the most exquisitely harmonious colouring, though the hues that compose it are still of a subdued and secondary nature;—silvery blue, and golden brown blended with a cooler brown and black, are placed in vivacious contrast with bands and spots of pure silvery white.
The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 4) , which feeds on the Honeysuckle, is a pretty and singular looking creature; general colour bright green, with reddish branched spines, and white and brown side-stripes. ”

“ It is true, that the painting of a butterfly and the fragrance of a flower can give deep pleasure to a mind quite unconscious of their Latin names, their genus, order, or anything of the kind; but the interest of natural objects is, I am sure, greatly augmented when we acquire some insight, however dimly, into the wonderful mechanism of creation's plan, its infinite gradation of forms, and their curious, subtle relationships, to which a good system of classification serves, in some degree, as an index. ”

“ While the poet draws from the butterfly many a pleasant similitude, and the moralist many a solemn teaching, the artist (who should be poet and moralist too) dwells upon these beings with fondest delight, finding in them images of joy and life when seen at large in the landscape, and rich stores of colour-lessons when studied at home in the cabinet. ”

“ HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY.
This truculent sentence may, I fear, look like a blot on the page to some tender-hearted reader, and, in truth, this killing business is the one shadow on the otherwise sunshiny picture, which we would all gladly leave out, were it possible to preserve a butterfly's beauty alive; but this cannot be done, and yet we have made up our minds to possess that beauty—to collect butterflies, in short; there is but one way for it, and so a butterfly's pleasure must be shortened for a few days, to add to our pleasure and instruction, perhaps for years after. ”

“ Most juvenile butterfly hunters, unblest by scientific knowledge of insect life, imagine that this and the last owe their difference in size simply to their being old and young individuals of the same name; forgetting—or, rather, never having heard—that butterflies never grow in the slightest degree after once getting their winged form; only as caterpillars do they grow.
The male is distinguished from the female by having only one round black spot, or sometimes none, on each upper wing, whilst the female is spotted as in the engraving. ”

“ The colouring of the upper surface is composed of black and very dark brown, with irregular markings of an orange red, tinged partially with a rosy hue. Near the tip of the front wings are several pure white spots.
Beneath, the great beauty lies in the delicate pencilling of the hind wing with pearly greys and browns, and contrasted with this, the warm roseate blush and aurora tint on the upper wing.
The caterpillar is thorny and brown, with yellow stripes down the back and sides. It feeds on various species of thistle, but sometimes also on the nettle and other plants. ”

“ The plan alluded to, is to take advantage of the creature's royal taste for game—for in that light I take his predilection for decomposing animal matter, now a matter of notoriety; and so potent is the attraction of the haut-goût for the royal palate, that if any animal, or part of one, not too recently slaughtered, be suspended near the known haunts of the insect, ten to one but its savour will bring him down to earth to taste the luxurious morsel, and so engrossed does he become when thus engaged, that he may be swept off by the net without difficulty. ”

“ It seems, indeed, as if nature determined that the ornamental character of the butterfly should commence with its earliest stage; form, and not colour, being employed in its decoration, sculpture being here made the forerunner of painting. ”

“ Its favourite resorts are clover and lucerne fields, though dry flowery meadows, open downs, and the sides of railway-banks are also the scenes of its lively flight—for Edusa has indeed a lively flight, and his pursuer has need of the "seven-league boots," with the hand of Mercury, to insure success in the fair open race, if that can be called a fair race at all, between a heavy biped, struggling and perspiring about a slippery hill-side, such as Edusa loves,—and a winged spirit of air, to whom up-hill and down-hill seem all one. ”

“ When on the wing, this species might easily be mistaken by the inexperienced for the common Cabbage White; and, by virtue of this incognito, does in all probability often escape from the terrors of the net, which would speedily entrap him, were his real character known to the young hunter; for this butterfly is one of those called, in entomological slang, "a good thing"—a term expressive neither of superior excellence nor beauty, but meaning that the insect can't be met with everywhere, or every day, and when seen is always to be caught. ”

“ Such are a few of the devices that ornament the earliest cradle of the butterfly; but probably those of every species would well repay their examination to any one who possesses a microscope.
Prompted by a most remarkable instinct, and one that could not have originated in any experience of personal advantage, the female butterfly, when seeking a depository for her eggs, selects with unerring certainty the very plant which, of all others, is best fitted for the support of her offspring, who, when hatched, find themselves surrounded with an abundant store of their proper food. ”

“ In contemplating a butterfly, one feels that the mind is first engaged by that ample spread, and exquisite painting of the wings that form the creature's glory; let therefore these remarkable organs have our first attention.
Wherein do these wings chiefly differ from all other insect wings? ”

“ There is a peculiar and constant variety of the female, in which all the yellow portion of the upper surface is replaced by a greenish white tint; but in every other respect the insect agrees with the common form of Edusa. This interesting variety was formerly ranked as another species, under the name of C. Helice; but it is a curious fact that no corresponding variety of the male has ever been observed; and last year I captured a pair together—a white female and common orange male—who were on those terms of tender intimacy which are generally supposed to betoken identity of species. ”

“ In the more strongly marked, or richly coloured species, it is a wonderfully beautiful sight to watch this expansion of the wings, and to see the various features of their painted devices growing under the eye and developing gradually into their true proportions. ”

“ Generally within an hour the development is complete, and the wings, having gained their full expanse and consistency by drying in the sun, are ready for flight, and the glad creature wings his way to the fields of air, and enters on that life of sunshine and hilarity which is associated with the very name of "Butterfly." ”

“ Until very recently it had always been stated by entomologists, that the Brimstone Butterfly was "double-brooded" (a term meaning that it went through two whole cycles of existence, from the egg to the perfect insect, in one year) , one brood appearing in May, and the other in the autumn.
But it is now established, on very satisfactory evidence, that one brood only is produced, and that, the autumnal one. A considerable number of these survive the winter in some place of concealment, and coming out again in the spring form the so-called spring brood. ”

“ Like the rest of its body, the caterpillar's head widely differs in structure from that of the perfect insect, being furnished with a pair of jaws, horny and strong, befitting the heavy work they have to get through, and shaped like pincers, opening and shutting from side to side, instead of working up and down after the manner of the jaws in vertebrate animals. This arrangement offers great convenience to the creature, feeding, as it is wont to do, on the thin edge of a leaf. It is a curious sight to watch a caterpillar thus engaged. ”

“ No, she has far other and better excuses for absenting herself from her family; one of which is, that she usually dies before the latter are hatched; and if that is not enough, that the young can get on quite as well without her; for probably she could not teach them much about caterpillar economics, unless, indeed, she remembered her own infantile habits of lang syne, so totally different from those of her perfected butterfly life. ”

“ CHAPTER III. WHAT BUTTERFLIES NEVER DO—GROUNDLESS TERROR—A MISTAKE—USES OF BUTTERFLIES—MORAL OF BUTTERFLY LIFE—PSYCHE—THE BUTTERFLY AN EMBLEM OF THE SOUL—THE ARTIST AND THE BUTTERFLY. Among the negative attributes of butterflies, I may state positively, that no butterfly whatever can either sting or bite in the least degree; and from their total harmlessness towards the person of man, conjoined with their outward attractiveness, they merit and enjoy an exemption from those feelings of dread and disgust that attach to many, or, I may say, to almost all other tribes of insects ”

“ Beneath, its plan of colouring is totally distinct from that of any of our native "Blues" (Polyommati) , being destitute of the numerous little eye-like spots, which are replaced by bands of fawn colour and white; but at the lower angle of the hind wings are two spots of glittering metallic green, reminding one, on a small scale, of the "eye" of a peacock's feather.
The habits of the insect are those of our Common Blues—skipping about over grassy places, and for a Common Blue it would on the wing be readily mistaken. ”

“ The usual notion of a butterfly is of a gay fluttering thing, whose broad painted wings are covered with a mealy stuff that comes off with handling. This is all very well for a general idea, but the characters that form it are common to some other insects besides butterflies. Moths and hawk-moths have mealy wings, and are often gaily coloured too; whilst, on the other hand, some butterflies are as dusky and plain as possible. Thus the crimson-winged Tiger, and Cinnabar moths get the name of butterflies, and the Meadow brown butterfly is as sure to be called a moth. ”