Greenfly

“ At that moment there was a great whirr in the air, and from out of the green stalks rose a flight of millions and millions of enormous broad-winged butterflies of every hue and description—silver, gold, purple, brown and blue. Some with dark and velvety wings like the Purple Emperor, or the Red Admiral, others diaphanous and iridescent as dragon-flies. Others again like vast soft and silvery moths. They rose from every part of that green plain of stalks, they filled the sky, and then soared upwards and disappeared into the silvery cloudland. ”

“ Nor are there many conspicuous green insects— the grasshopper; some green flies; the lace-fly, a green body and delicate white wings. With the wild flowers, on the contrary, there seems to come a great deal of green. There is scarcely a colour that cannot be matched in the gay world of wings. Red, blue, and yellow, and brown and purple—shaded and toned, relieved with dots and curious markings; in the butterflies, night tints in the pattern of the under wings, as if these were shaded with the dusk of the evening, being in shadow under the vane. ”

“ When an Orange-tip is at rest upon these blossoms it merges so completely into the background that it disappears from view. Should a bird chase one of these insects through the air it would see chiefly the orange tips which are so marked upon the upper side of the wing, and when the butterfly closed its wings and lighted among the flowers the orange color would instantly disappear and there would be only an almost invisible surface against the background of flower and leaf. ”

“ A greenfinch rises with a yellow gleam and a sweet note from the grass, and is off with something for his brood, or a starling, solitary now, for his mate is in the nest, startled from his questing, goes straight away.
Dark starlings, greenfinch, gilded fly, glistening beetle, blue butterfly, humble bee with scarf about his thick waist, add their moving dots of colour to the surface. There is no design, no balance, nothing like a pattern perfect on the right-hand side, and exactly equal on the left-hand. ”

“ Then in despair some one uses [140] paraffin or some violently caustic wash for spraying the Green Fly, and destroys his roses thereby.
Nature has mercifully provided some enemies to prey on the Green Fly—and these help in some small degree to keep the pest down. The chief of these is the Ladybird, which both in its adult and in its larval state devours them ceaselessly. The pretty green Lace-wing Fly or Aphis Lion is also useful, as its larvæ are provided with "large sickle-shaped jaws for picking the Green Fly off the plants." ”

“ Under the perpetual shade of the evergreens haunt Heliconias and other delicate butterflies, who seem to dread the blaze outside, and flutter gently from leaf to leaf, their colouring—which is usually black with markings of orange, crimson, or blue—coming into strongest contrast with the uniform green of leaf and grass. ”

“ One by one the swarm sought their original haunt, settling on the bramble, and I now noticed that only in occasional instances did the insects seek the flowers, the attraction seeming to be confined to the leaves. I stole up softly for a nearer point of observation, and could now distinctly see the beautiful yellow and black open wings of the swallow-tail softly gliding or gently fluttering as it hung from the edge of a leaf, while it explored its surface with its uncoiled capillary tongue. ”

“ But it annoyed Mabel. She seemed unable to forget it. Why must those loathsome and parthenogenetic green flies devour the tender roses? There is still a certain amount of rhubarb in the garden, and they are welcome to it. I would very much rather they ate it than that I should eat it myself. But the green flies will not look at it. They cling to the rose and suck its life out. Then, out of sheer devilry, they grow wings and migrate to some other rose tree. ”

“ My soul always craved colour, and more brilliancy could be found on one butterfly wing than on many flower faces. I liked to slip along the bloom-bordered walks of that garden and stand spell-bound, watching a black velvet butterfly, which trailed wings painted in white, red, and green, as it clambered over a clump of sweet-williams, and indeed, the flowers appeared plain compared with it! Butterflies have changed their habits since then. They fly so high! ”

“ By day, the air was at this season filled with what is called the Green Bay fly, a species of dragon-fly, with which the outer walls of the houses are at times so covered that their color is hardly distinguishable. Their existence is very ephemeral, scarcely lasting more than a day. Their dead bodies are seen adhering to the walls and windows within, and they fall without in such numbers that after a high wind has gathered them into rows along the sides of the quarters, one may walk through them and toss them up with their feet like the dry leaves in autumn. ”

“ They are broad beans. They are in flower just now, and every flower is a little black-and-white butterfly. That, however, is the good side of the account. If you look closer at them, you will see that each of them appears as if its head had been dipped into coal-dust. There is a congregation of the blackest of all insects hiding in horrid congestion among the leaves and flowers at the top. Compared to them, the green-fly on the roses has almost charm. There is something slummy and unwashed-looking about the black blight. These insects are as foul as a stagnant pond. ”

“ The under wing surface bears a striking resemblance to a leaf and the hind wings project to form a tail which looks like the petiole of the leaf, and there is also a mark running across the wings which mimics the midrib. When the butterfly is flying the brilliant colors of the upper surface are visible, but when it alights these are instantly replaced by the sombre tone of the under surface, so that apparently the insect completely disappears and in its place there is only a leaf attached to a branch in a most natural position. ”

“ When one first sees this pretty little insect flitting about in the hot sunshine it is rather difficult to believe that it is really a moth, for it looks a great deal more like a bright green fly. The best places in which to look for it are grassy clearings in woods in which mulleins are growing; for it is very fond indeed of resting on the blossoms of those plants, where its glossy green wings form a most lovely contrast to the yellow petals. On dull days, however, it never flies at all ”

“ For a whole hour you may not observe a humble-bee, and the wasp-like hover-flies, that are generally past all thought of counting, are scarcely seen. A blue butterfly we found in the dust of the road, without the spirit to fly, and lifted him into a field to let him have a chance of life; a few tortoiseshells, and so on—even the white butterflies are quite uncommon, the whites that used to drift along like snowflakes. Where are they all? Did the snow kill them? Is there any connection between the absence of insects and the absence of swallows? ”

“ You cannot possibly mistake the male of this butterfly for any other insect, for the upper surface of both its front and hind-wings is of the most beautiful silvery greenish-blue colour, shading off into a blackish band along the hind border. In fact, as a great naturalist once said, it always makes one think of a bright moonlight night, while the “Clifton blue” reminds one of the sky on a clear summer’s day. But the female is so exactly like that of the “Clifton blue” that it is hardly possible to tell the one from the other. ”

“ Linden while the roll went on, "I have not forgotten your question,—they, and we, are going to play a French game called 'the Butterfly and the Flowers;' wherein I, a midge, am in humble attendance oh a sprig of mignonette. Whenever our butterfly gardener chooses to speak the name of any flower or insect, that Flower or insect must reply: when he speaks of the gardener, you flowers must extend one hand in token of welcome, we insects draw back in dismay: if the gardener brings his watering-pot, or there falls a shower of rain, you must hold up your head for joy—I must kneel down for fear. ”

“ Every crevice is full of ferns and orchids and curious plants, while moths and butterflies flit about in every direction. Imagine, if you can, scarlet butterflies gaily spotted, yellow butterflies with orange edgings, butterflies with dark blue velvety-looking upper wings, the under surface studded with bright owl-like peacock eyes, grey Atlas moths, and, crowning beauty of all, metallic blue butterflies, which are positively dazzling, even when seen in a shop, dead. ”

“ Butterflies flit idly by—dark-winged peacocks, soft brown tortoise-shells, pale yellow brimstones like flying gleams of sunshine. The apple boughs are fretted all over with fine points of green, the purple mist round the heads of the great elms deepens in the warm air, the old hedge-row wears already the bright garb of spring. The air is full of spring time, of the breath of primroses and violets, full of pleasant sounds of country life, of the wakening of the world, of the happy voices of a hundred birds, whose glad hearts are revelling in the golden weather. ”

“ A beautiful and far-famed insect—do not mistake, I mean neither the Emperor, nor the King of Sardinia, but a much finer specimen—the fire-fly. Their bright light is evanescent, and alternates with the darkness, as if the swift whirling of the earth struck fire out of the black atmosphere; as if the winds were being set upon that planetary grindstone, and gave out such momentary sparks from their edges. Their silence is more striking than their flashes, for sudden phenomena are almost invariably attended with some noise, but these little jewels dart along the dark as softly as butterflies. ”

“ Just as I came to it, that afternoon, I saw to my surprise a white admiral butterfly sunning itself upon an alder leaf. I hope the reader knows the species,—Limenitis Arthemis, sometimes called the banded purple,—one of the prettiest and showiest of New England insects, four black or blackish wings crossed by a broad white band. ”

“ These hunting parties, however, have lost none of their picturesqueness, and the flashing insect has been the theme of many an exquisite poem, such as: "Ah, the cunning fireflies! being chased, they hide themselves in the moonlight!"
Grown-up people, however, go out to see the fireflies with the same ardour with which they indulge in flower-viewing. To the minds of these great Nature-lovers the fireflies resemble dazzling petals of some strange fire-flower or a host of wondering stars that has left the sky to wander upon the earth. ”

“ On the other hand, moths, which fold their wings in the opposite manner, often have their upper surfaces imitative or protective, while the lower sides are bright and beautiful. One Malayan butterfly, the Kallima paralecta, has wings of purple and orange above, but it exactly mimics dead foliage when its vans are folded ”

“ It was such a nice, sweet place, all amongst flowers, and the scent of the honey would come from the hives so strongly that very often the birds would come and think they would like a taste, while the wasps would even go so far as to creep in and steal some of the luscious food. As to flies, they would come without end, and if they had not been afraid of the bees they would soon have run off with all the sweet honey. ”

“ In this Fly State their first Care seems to be the Propagation of their Species, for some of them will copulate immediately if they can find a Mate; to seek which the Male Butterfly takes Wing, as soon as his Wings are in a proper Condition: But few Moths, whether bred in the Night Time or in the Day, ever offer to fly till the Night after their Birth, when they go in Search of the Females. ”

“ Hot sunshine seems to afford perfect bliss to almost every kind of fly, and in that condition we see them basking on leaves in great profusion. Bluebottles, the golden greenbottle, the drone-fly, all the highly coloured, swift-darting sunflies—these are constantly to be found poised on the laurels, although only for a few moments’ rest between their aerial games. It gives one a sense of pleasure to watch anything so absolutely happy as these creatures seem. ”

“ There are the late butterflies, and wasps and bees of all kinds, and flies of all sizes and colours—green and steel-blue, and grey and black and mottled, in thousands and tens of thousands. They are massed on the clustered blossoms, struggling for a place; the air all about the ivy is swarming with them, flying hither and thither, and the humming sound they produce may be heard fifty yards away like a high wind. One cannot help a feeling of melancholy at this animated scene ”

“ One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine round-topped straw hives there were at Greenlawn—hives full of such rich, thick honey, and such beautiful combs, and all about these round heavy hives the bees would hum and buzz of a hot day, flying in and out loaded with honey and pollen; and outside some of the hives the bees would hang down like great pockets made of insects, all hanging to one another ”

“ Butterfly.—The male has the upper side of the wings pale silvery-blue, narrowly edged with black; the wings of the female on the upper side are darker blue, dusky on the borders, with a dark spot at the end of the cell of the primaries. On the under side the wings are pale chocolate-brown, with a submarginal band of black spots, margined with white, on both wings, as well as a spot at the end of the cells, and one or two on the costa of the secondaries. ”

“ Small white wings that we scarce can see Fly. Here and there may a chance-caught eye Note, in a score of you, twain or three Brighter or darker of tinge or dye; Some fly light as a laugh of glee, Some fly soft as a long, low sigh: All to the haven where each would be,— Fly." Swinburne.
Butterfly.—For the most part medium-sized or small butterflies, white or yellow in color, with dark marginal markings. In many genera the subcostal vein of the fore wing has five, or even in some cases six nervules, and the upper radial is lacking in this wing. ”