HANDSOME MIGRANT
MONARCH BUTTERFLY. APPEARANCE IN MANAWATU. Although the Monarch butterfly has been seen in numbers of other districts in New Zealand previously, the 1 lant Research Bureau of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department has had no reports of its appearance in the Manawatu until this summer, two instances at least have now been made known to the bureau, and in both cases the butterfly has established itself in Lyndhurst Street. A caterpillar and chrysalis were brought to the Standard” office yesterday for identification, and officers of the bureau already had a number of chrysalids in hand for observation, having seen them develop from caterpillars. In both cases the caterpillars and chrysalids were taken from the swan plant (also called the duck plant), which is a favourite food of the insect. With a wing span of up to four and a-half inches the insect is one of the most liadsome butterflies m New Zealand. The ground colour of the wings is orange-brown, bordered and veined with black, while there are two rows of small white spots round the outside edges. The chrysalid (which resembles a large ear-ring) is of a beautiful pure green, the pale colour being set off by spots of bright gold. The caterpillar has white, yellow and black stripes in a tiger-skin pattern, with two feelers at the head and two shorter ones at the tail. Central America was the Monarch s native home, but it is now to be found over most of the tropical and subtropical countries. Probably in some cases the butterflv travelled by means of ships, but on the other hand it is stated to have the greatest power of sustained flight of all butterflies, and has been found flying strongly even 500 miles from land. References have been made to the incidence of the Monarch butterfly in other quarters of New Zealand this summer. In many cases suggestions have been made that every effort be made to preserve the insect in order to allow it to multiply because of its outstanding beauty.
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Bibliographic details
Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 49, 26 January 1938, Page 8
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341HANDSOME MIGRANT Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 49, 26 January 1938, Page 8
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