Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-14

Gldrk says, nave rather StTOHk'
SWEET odor. which soon disappears.
He describes the fragrance of the
males of the common. and presum-
ably poisonous. milkweed butterfly as
like the faint, sweet fragrance of
red clover blossoms or of the f1o.vera
of the common milkweed. With this
is fainter cockroachlike or carroty
odor. which is found alone and much
stronger in the females" Some ex-
otto members of this group have been
described as having a fragrance like
that of sweet chocolate with sug-
,gestion of vanilla. In another type
has been detected the scent of
crushed cabbage leaf The odor of
balsam has been found in one Of the
wood nymphs. Another member of
this family is described as having the
bOdor of vanilla biscuits with a sug-
gestion of that of chocolate candy.
4 X X
MOT all butterflies. however. are
fragrant. The odors of some are
distinctly unpleasant. In this respect
the females appear to be the chief Of
tenders. Probably the evil scent is
protective device of nature to scare
off their natural enemies. Some of
thes males possess this same charac-
teristic and are unpleasant for the
as ''acetylene plus cockroach." An
other emits combination of the scent
of musty straw and vinegar, while
still another is described as ''lnuskrat
plus acetylene.''
The male of one species OF wood
nymph or satyr has been described as
yielding scent similar to chocolate
or sandal-wOod. while the female emits
the scent of snuff or old cigar boxes.
In four males of one Australian
species was found the cdor ofnDbacco
and molasses mingled, while the
females all had a fiowery scent, like
balsam. This apparently is an isolated
case where the female smells sweeter
than the male.
The common little blue lycaenid of
local fields yields the delicate odor of
| newly stirred gardens in Spring or Of
crushed violets. while in the common
blue of England has been detected the
odor of chocolate. A somewhat SINH
lar species. however. was described by
an English observer as smelling very
strongly like a pig sty or rather like
| a pig" 1t seemed to him hardly credi-
BILE that so small a butterfly could
smell so strongly. The female of
| this species is odorless. A strong bat
| like odor has been found in Brazilian
| representative of this family. The
smell of musty straw and of ammonia
| is frequently drawn upon as a COM
! parison for the odors emitted by
| females Of common species, while one
| has been found which exudes the odor
of witch hazel. One smelled like q
| sable-skin fresh from the furrier's
shop.
Butterfly types often are difficult to
distinguish from the colorings alone
| because of the fact that, while the
| males are always the same, the
| females of the same variety may
differ widely. This is one of natures
| protective schemes, according to DIR.
| Clark. The females show q tendency
| to mimic in their wing colors the
| wings Of certain poisonous species.
| such as a milkweed butterfly, which
| birds and reptiles have learned to
leave strictly alone. These insects are.
| i'm fact, quite virulently poisonous.
Curiously enough. they form the one
type Of butterfly used for human food.
| An Australian variety is eaten in great
| numbers by the natives. The first
meal makes the eater violently sick.
The second leaves him shaky but not
| quite SO i'll. The third meal he can
eat with impunity and continue de.
vouring this delicacy to the end Of his
life. Confirmed butterfly eaters who
have become immune to the poison
have tendency to put on flesh
rapidly.
A few Of the more snowy butterflies
are raised for the decorative value Of
their wings. The most beautiful are
difficult to capture because Of their
secrecy and the fact that they haunt
treetops. Hence, as far as possible,
they are Matched and raised in cap
| tivity. There are several successful
butterfly farms in Brazil. There was
formerly one in Maine devoted to the
rearing Of the beautiful luna moth
not uncommon about Washington, fd
sale to schools.
THE loveliest butterflies have given
rise to curious folk lore. In DIR.
Clark's collection Is one wonderfully
colored insect from Colombia, which
Is quite rare. 1t occurs throughout
the emerald belt. According to the
natives. when one of these insects
dies 1t Is buried under the earth and
becomes an emerald.
| DIR. Clark also has what Is known
| as the original butterfly small
| European type the male of which
has wings of approximately the color
| of newly churned butter. It is
| very abundant in England and re-
| ceived its name from the peasant
| farmers who noted the curious re-
| semblance. The other sex, however.
| Is pure white, like milk. Hence
| in Germany it is known as "the milk
| thief"
Among the most curious of butter
flies, according to DR.. Clark. are
those credited with having the capac.
| ity to inf1ict an electric shock on
their enemies. Two of this sort
have been reported from Nigeria.
This propensity exists only among
the larvae. One observer describes
the experience as follows: "a curl
| Gus sensation in finger and thumb,
like a very faint electric shock. 1t
was not accompanied by prickly
sensation, but was rather as If one
were tickled by tiny bunch of slight
but strong bristles. The sensation
was not that of tickling so much
as that OF faint shock which was
not continuous but rapidly intermit-
tent. On putting the larvae down.
there was no after sensation such as
that which would follow singing.
One family of butterflies while In
the larval stage serve as COWS" for
| colonies of ants. These creatures
ants are very fond. The arrange
ment is mutually beneficial. The
larvae are rearec m the ant nest
and carefully fed and guarded up to
the point where they fly away as
butterflies. The ants sometimes go
so far as to fence off their COWS" by
stringing few strands Of silken web
about the caterpillar and the leaves
on which it is feeding. and they
attack fiercely any living thing which
intrudes on this pasture" These
caterpillars usually are colOred like
the leaves or pods upon which they
feed and are difficult to find except
by looking for the ants first. Some
of similar species do not give off
this sweet liquid. but nevertheless
find a haven among the ants, who