The Insect World: Being a Popular Account of the Orders of Insects; Together with a Description of the Habits and Economy of Some of the Most Interesting SpeciesFiguier, Louis
Science
The Insect World: Being a Popular Account of the Orders of Insects; Together with a Description of the Habits and Economy of Some of the Most Interesting Species
Figuier, Louis
Insects
The _Papilio podalirius_ (Fig. 142) is in form very analogous to
_Papilio machaon_. It is of a rather pale yellow colour, marked with
black, as if singed. The lower wings have tails longer and narrower
than those of the latter, and are magnificently ornamented with blue
crescent-shaped spots and an orange-coloured eye bordered below with
blue. This beautiful species is not rare at Montmorency, at Ile-Adam,
and at St. Germain. It is said to have been taken in England, and is
called the scarce Swallow-tail, but its capture is considered as very
questionable. It appears for the first time at the end of April, and
for the second in July and August. The _Parnassius Apollo_ (Fig. 143),
is a beautiful butterfly, which appears in June and July, and is found
commonly enough in the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the Cévennes. Its wings
are of a yellowish white. The upper part of the fore wings presents
five nearly round black spots; the base and the costa, or front edge,
of these wings are sprinkled with black atoms. The upper part of the
hind wings presents two eyes of a vermilion red, the inner border
furnished with whitish hairs amply dotted with black, and marked
towards the extremity with two black spots. The under part of the fore
wings is very similar to the upper. But the under part of the hind
wings presents four red spots bordered by black, forming a transverse
band near the base. The body is black, furnished with russety hairs,
and the antennæ white, with the club black.
[Illustration: Fig. 143.--Parnassius Apollo.]
The larva of the Apollo lives on saxifrages. To affect its
transformation it surrounds itself with a slight network of silk in
which are confined one or more leaves. This caterpillar is thick,
smooth, cylindrical, and covered with small slightly hairy warts, and
ornamented on the first ring with a fleshy tentacle in the shape of a Y.
The chrysalis is conical, sprinkled over with a bluish efflorescence
resembling the bloom on a plum. The _Parnassius Mnemosyne_ is found in
the month of June in the mountains of Dauphiné, in Switzerland, Sicily,
Hungary, Sweden, and in the Pyrenees.
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