The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1892-01-14

must look to the prairies u the west
In that vast and trackless domain.
where nature reigns supreme, she nm
folds her richest treasures and relates
her strapgest stories.
It was once my good fortune to wit
ness in the far southwest the migra-
tons in vast numbers of three widely
different species OF insects The first.
which took place in the month of May,
was the flight Of the white butterflies
OF the species known IS Kricogonia
lyside, about as large as our common
cabbage butterfly, and pretty closely
resembling it In the morning these
white butterflies began to leave Tho
| places where they had concealed them.
selves during the night and to move in
one general direction towards the north
BY noon the prairie was alive with
them all around as far as the eye could
reach.
walked several miles that morning
through the vast cloud Of wings, but
found no end to 1t. At times / COM
pared them in numbers to bees leaving
hive AZ others TO great rHpfd snow
fakes stood with my collecting net
catching on the wing some Of the finest
and largest specimens that came within
reach. There was not much choice,
however, for 1 noticed that nearly all
OF them were in fresh and perfect con.
dition, having evidently just emerged
from the chrysalis
All that day they continued to fly,
but, OF course, the migration ceased at
night, because it is the instinct of but
terf1ies to go under cover when dark
ness approaches found few that had
lodged under the leaves Of the mesquite,
bush related to our locust. The ncxt
morning the flight was resumed, and
the .white-robed travellers continued TO-
move past me In dense swarms for.
about an hour. after which the num-
bers dwindled down. then became scat
tered, then a few stragglers only were
to be seen and at last they disappeared.
On two or three occasions witnessed
northward migrations of this same spe-
cies was assured by observers, whom
had reason to consider trustworthy,,
that in the early autumn large flights
Of this same white butterfly take place
in southwark direction Such fight
must be composed of insects of later
brood, because the life Of an individual
butterfly is but few weeks in dura-
ton at most 1t is quite possible that
by some developed instinct peculiar to
only few species these butterflies are
impelicd, at the beginning of the long.
dry southern summer, to seek a more
northern climate, where they may find
a soil less baked by the sun and more
succulent heritage adapted to the wants
of their voracious caterpillars
At the end of summer It would seem
that they return. like The birds, to find
a warm and sunny winter. The fight
that observed took place in Southern
Texas, but in my journeys farther
north ! never found this species in large
numbers. l am, therefore unable to
say to what northern locality my great
clouds of white butterflies could have
been waited.
In June of the same year and again
in August certain large dragon-fiy
caught the migrating fever, and mill
lions of his kind flew in swarms all in
one direction over the prairie. As far
90 Jul poi W SOulu brdfCl III QUO Jay we
continued to see these winged s.darning
needles" In June they few due north
west, in August nearly southwest. This
also seemed like going and returning
migration. Unlike the butterflies, these
dragon-flies continued their passage
during the night and their procession
occupied three or four days in passing
us We had no means of learning
whittier they were bound or whence
they came.
The common gray beetle known as
the Spanish fly is another emigrant
over the Texas prairies. Our party
suddenly encountered an army of these
beetles as we were driving from one of
our hunting camps to another, and we
turned and followed in its wake The
insects crawled as fast as their active
legs could carry them, making a coll
umn that varied from six inches to two
two feet in width and more than one
hundred yards in length. The head of
the army was compactly formed in a
dense line, but its rear ended with a
long stream of stragglers until they
gradually ceased. / am inclined to be-
lieve that all these myriads of beetles
were Matched from eggs laid close to-
gether by . few females of the proceeds
ing generation. Philadelphia Times.