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The back wings were darker than the darkest part of the fore-wings and this colour covered them to the margin, lightening very slightly. A clay- coloured band bordered the edge, touched with irregular splashes of dark brown, a little below them a slightly heavier line than that on the fore-wing, which seemed to follow the outline of the decorations.
Over the whole moth in strong light, there was an almost intangible flushing of palest purplish pink. It may have shaded through the fore-wing from beneath, and over the back wing from above. At any rate, it was there, and so lovely and delicate was the whole colour scheme, it made me feel that I would give much to see a newly emerged male of this species.
On account of being compelled to fly so much more than the females, the back wings of the males of many species have developed a secondary rib that fits under and supports the front, also causing both to work together with the same impulse to flight. A stiff bunch of bristles serves the same purpose in most females, while some have a lobe extending from the fore-wing.
There is to be observed a shifting of the third band, so that in conjunction with the fourth, which is curved, it forms the mid-rib of the leaf. Eimer finds the cause of this phenomenon in the alteration of the form. The leaf-like form results from an acumination and elongation of the wings, which in turn results from a marked elongation of the rim of the fore-wing.
Many are marked with changeable metallic hues on the upper side of the fore-wing: some violet, some with green, and some with golden bronze. The most lovely of all is the Ilerea brahma, of which the colouring of the upper side of the male is unique.
For instance, in the Australian Gastrophora the upper surface of the fore-wing is pale greyish-ochreous, while the lower surface is magnificently ornamented by an ocellus of cobalt-blue, placed in the midst of a black mark, surrounded by orange-yellow, and this by bluish-white.
With reference to the reason of this growth it is of importance to note that experiments, consisting in the application of artificial heat to the chrysales of the swallow-tail and sailor-butterfly, demonstrated that by this means "the fore-wing is drawn out more toward the outer wing-vein, and the rim of the fore-wing becomes more elongated and curved."
Cyllo leda, Linn., from a drawing by Mr. Trimen, shewing the extreme range of variation in the ocelli. A. Specimen, from Mauritius, upper surface of fore-wing. Specimen, from Natal, ditto. B. Specimen, from Java, upper surface of hind-wing.
The outside figure of each pair here given, shows the exact size and form of the fore-wing in a butterfly of Celebes, while the inner one represents the most closely allied species from one of the adjacent islands. The difference of form is in each case sufficiently obvious, but when the insects themselves are compared, it is much more striking than in these partial outlines.
Often it takes long and patient coaxing, and they are sensitive to touch. If I try to force a fore-wing with my fingers to secure a wider sweep, so that the markings of the back wings show, the moths resent it by closing them closer than before, climbing to a different location or often taking flight.
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