104
V. R. BURKHARDT
Its speed gives the butterfly immunity from the collector except when feeding, or, in the case of the female ovipositing. The commonest food plant is Cretaeva religiosa, a deciduous tree with large clumps of white and yellow flowers. The larva, when irritated, draws in its legs and elevates its head and the forepart of the body. Its laterally swollen anterior segments and small head give it the aspect of a snake, the illusion being enhanced by a darting movement towards the intruder as if about to strike like a cobra.
In propagating its species the butterfly is very improvident for the females continue laying their eggs right up to December, when the leaves fall. Pupae and larvae in all stages consequently perish. There was a great dearth of this species in the autumn of 1962 as Typhoon Wanda, which struck the Colony on 1st September, stripped a large number of the Cretaeva trees. Though they were again in full leaf three weeks later the rhythm of reproduction was broken, and the same applied to the food plant. On the anniversary of the typhoon it again shed its leaves, and flowered a month later. In Stanley, at any rate, the females of H. glaucippe did not begin to frequent the tree till late summer, and the general scarcity continued throughout the autumn of 1963.
104
V. R. BURKHARDT
Its speed gives the butterfly immunity from the collector except when feeding, or, in the case of the female ovipositing. The commonest food plant is Cretaeva religiosa a deciduous tree with large clumps of white and yellow flowers. The larva, when irritated, draws in its legs and elevates its head and the forepart of the body. Its laterally swollen anterior segments and small head give it the aspect of a snake, the illusion being enhanced by a darting movement towards the intruder as if about to strike like a cobra.
In propagating its species the butterfly is very improvident for the females continue laying their eggs right up to December, when the leaves fall. Pupae and larvae in all stages consequently perish. There was a great dearth of this species in the autumn of 1962 as typhoon Wanda, which struck the Colony on 1st September, stripped a large number of the Cretaeva trees. Though they were again in full leaf three weeks later the rhythm of reproduction was broken, and the same applied to the food plant. On the anniversary of the typhoon it again shed its leaves, and flowered a month later. In Stanley, at any rate, the females of H. glaucippe did not begin to frequent the tree till late summer, and the general scarcity continued thoughout the autumn of 1963.
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