BUTTERFLIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7202, 13 September 1901, Page 2

BUTTERFLIES.

MAKING LONDON BEAUTIFUL.

The " Daily Mail " states that the London County Council has erected a house &t Ba ttersea Park for the cultivation of butter- j flies, and from it some four hundred of the insects are jusb now being turned loose daily to subsequently beautify their surrouiidings. This nov«l little house is in ihe botanic-garden set apart for students, but ] no encouragement will be given the scholars to transfer their attention from the flowers to the product. The butterflies are intended for ornament only, and not for the instruction of budding naturalists. Originally some 8200 caterpillars wers placed in the house, and it is interesting i to watch their process of development into gorgeous-hued beauties, chiefly of the tor-toise-shell, peacock, red admiral, and the more common white butterfly. The caterpillar may be seen eating with a ferocity and pertinacity truly amazing fur his size. In some cases he has increased his weight in about three weeks to over eleven thousand' times his original avoirdupois. This achievement, remarkable though it is, is regularly surpassed by a-t least one specimen not included in the Battersea collection— the great moth — which at this period of his career grows over seventy thousand times heavier. Before the fully grown butterflies are released from the house, a certain amount of dissension may be observed in their ranks. The explanation of these hostilities is a simple but romantic one. Mr Butterfly having selected a partner to share the freedom of the outer world, jealous rivals challenge his right to the conquest. The result j is not invariably rumpled and broken wings —and a compulsory dissolution of the original partnership.