The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-06
Great SWarms Of Big Brown
Butterflies Appear
In Numbers Never Seen Ia Kan
sss EoIOsO.
THAT WICHITA STORY
No Fake, For EmpOria Reports
Similar Visitation.
Clouds of the Insects in Shaw
nee County.

Where do so many butterflies come
frOm?" is a question frequently pro-
pounded by people who have been rid
ing in the country in the past few days.
In some parts of Shawnee county the
butterflies can be seen by the thousands.
They are the common brown variety
and hutter about apparently in blissful
ignorance of the fact that their lives
will soon be cut short by Jack Frost.
4 was riding in the countrv a day
or two ago." said one Topeka gentle
man, 'and the butterflies seemed to rise
from the hedges by the myrfads. There
were clouds of them. The hedges
seemed to be literally covered with the
insects-big, beautiful brown butterflies,
-multitudes of them. They seemed
to be holding a sort of a fall festival
From different parts of the state come
similar reports, only in some places the
air is said to be alive with them. A
few days ago when a story with a
Wichita date line appeared in the news
papers telling of clouds of butterflies
as thick as the grasshOpper clouds of
other years, everybody set it down for
one of Dave Leahy's stories, but a.
similar report comes from Enporia
where it is said, the sun was almost OBJ
scured for two hours by the insects.
which covered the streets and houses
and filed the air.
Journal reporter asked Secretary
Coburn, of the state board of agricul-
ture, who knows everything about the
birds, animals and insects of Kansas,
what he thought about it.
4 don't know what causes so many
butterflies" said Mr.. Coburn. IN fact
no reports of unusual numbers Of such
insects have reached this department.
so I am not prepared to render any
opinion concerning them. However,
you may examine our specimens of but
terf1ies and if you see any like the ones
welcome
name.''
The cabinets of butterflies were ex-
amined, but the specimens seemed to
be of rarer species.
Il don't find your kind of butterfly
here" said Mr.. Coburn, I'VE don't seem
to have them in stock
Have you any idea what causes so
many, or what produces them?" was
asked.
mo. I can't say that I have" replied
Mr.. Coburn. And yet" he added.
meditatively, from my observation
should say that the buckwheat cake is
the grub that generally makes the but
is a nice old joke which Secretary Co
burn may be forgiven for, if he does not
soon offend again.
Prof. smythe of the Academy of Sci
''The butterfly in question is undoubt-
edly the danais archippus. This is a
butterfly which is quite common at this
season of the year. 1t is the last one
seen in the fall and also the first one
in the early spring. Tt is of a reddish
brown color, marked with brown lines,
and is from three to four and a quarter
inches across the wings. 1t feeds on
milk weeds, and I presume the locali-
ties in which it has been found so nu-
merous are regions which abound in
milk weed know of no other expla-
nation for their great numbers. The
worms feed on the milk weeds during 2
the summer and the chrysalis matches
late in the fall or early the next spring.
The weather and other conditions NAV
have been just right last week to hatch
out great numbers of them with the re-
suit that in the localities where milk
weeds abound thousands of them ap-
peared almost in a day