The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-08-17
SHOOTING BUTTERFLIES.
How Specimens of Some of the High
 Flying Kinds are Obtained.

 | Tn the forests of northern Australia l lives a butterfly which is always hunt 1 ed with powder and shot. This is a brilliant-hued creature, highly valued | by collectors. It Is very shy, and how CTS about the upper branches of the trees, seldom approaching within twen- ty feet of the ground. For long time the only specimens in collections were frayed and bedraggled individuals, which, because of injuries to their wings, had dropped below their zone of blight. A travelling American natural ist went to Australia determined to get some perfect specimens of this rare in sect. For several days he strove with long nets to entrap some of the beau tiful creaturesof the upper air. He raised ladders and climbed trees at the peril of life and limb, but the wary butterflies kept beyond the range of his sweeping net. Yankee ingenuity was not to be beaten so easily, howev- CT The entomologist hit upon the bril- liant idea Of decop.
 Loading his gun with the smallest shott he had he brought down one of
 
 but he patched and furbished 1t up to an appearance of responsibility and spread 1t on a bush top in a concpicu- ous spot ten feet above the ground, ar ranging the wings with as close a re- semblance to life as possible. Curiosi- ty is a besetting failing of butterflies. Presently two of them noticed thteir departed comrade and began to circle lower and lower above the bush 9th CTS joined the investigation, and final ly the patient collector was able to cap- ture one of them by g. swift movement. This sent the others soaring away in alarm, but in few moments they were back again, and before the day was overthe naturalist's ingenuity was re- warded by the capture of half dozen perfect specimens, which afterward be- came the property of various museums. Since then this has been the recognized method of taking that species of in- sect
 Somewhat similar was the capture of some rare South American butterflies several years ago. Ar en1omologist travelling in the Orinoco failed, after IIitHy dtteIIlplS, lU tdhe d. SfHsle SpeCi- men of a swallow-tail butterfly, which haunted the upper foliage of the forest. One day his party came across band of half-savage natives armed with bows and spears, one of whom offered to supply the collector with a number of the desired insects at a price. An offer of twenty-yve cents a specimen represented opulence to the native who returned on the following evening with six of the butterflies, all perfect or nearly so. How, the Indian could catch the shy and dtlicate insect which he himself with all the imple- ments of the chase could not capture l was a problem to the traveler. Not | until he was about to leave would the | native explain. His method was very | simple he said, and pointed to his | olow-gun, weapon with which these l people are marvelously accurate and | deadly n7arksmen, even killing big ! game with darts blown from them. | Ie had marked down" his butterfly, | waited for it to alight and then shot ,ellet to the leaf upon which it was ooising. The impact was sufficient to tun the prey and bring it to the round without injuring its fragile l Companion.