MONARCH BUTTERFLY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVIII, Issue 52, 29 January 1938, Page 9

MONARCH BUTTERFLY.

\ correspondent residing in the Pohanuinn Valiev writes to the "Standard” as follows: I was most interested to hear oftne monarch butterfly being found in iSew Zealand. It can'easilv be transported by flowers and seeds. Once when out camping in California. I gathered a bunch of Maranoria lilies: a short time after I had placed the flowers in water a large ca+erpdlar crawled from the centre of a flower, fixing itself to a point of a pod about an men long. After an hour or more on returning to mv tent I found the seed pod completely consumed and hanging to’the stern in its place was a beautifnl erreen jewel spangled with gold. T have a painting of hoth the chrysalid and the hnt+erflv. MAGNIFICENT DRAGONFLY. For those interested in insect life I will describe a beautiful dragonfly which appeared in the Pohangina Valiev near a swamn early in Ihe morning on January 26. The dragonfly was longer than any. I had seen. exccnt near the tropics. On measuring 11 dock leaf upon which it had settled (the wings reaching to the edge of the leaf on either side) I should sav wing span was about four inches and the length of the insect about five inches. The upper part of the body from which the large lacy wings sprung was covered with a glistening . semii n scale. Mow which the long, thui body tanered. bright blue with gold bars. I should like to learn more . about this beautiful insect and if it 13 common in other parts of ea ! n • 1 as it is the first one I have seen in this district.