Have you ever spent a bright summer s morning watching butterflies with a friend? Many

people have developed a keen interest in nature by observing the live irsects. Why not

construct a wire cage which allows plenty of ventilation, and capture a caterpillar:or two? Be sure

to determine what your new captive feeds on, and have an ample supply available. Most moth and

butterfly larvae (the wormlike insect which hatches from the egg) have finickY appetites and will

reject anything that they aren t adapted to eat. So you can t get by on lettuce and grass. If you re

lucky, your caterpillar will thrive and form a chrysalis, if it s a butterfly, or a cocoon, if it s a moth.

Finally, a beautiful adult will emerge. Some species are temperature-sensitive, and must be left

outdoors in order to go through the necessary cycles; so do your homework, and determine what

your larvae needs to fulfill its lifecycle. When the adult has emerged, let it go back to nature.

Here is an array of North American butterflies you might encounter. The comma angle wing

(Polygonia comma), left, is one of a group named for the sharply angled wing edges. The

undersides of the wings are camouflaged, resembling dead leaves, but the tops are brightly

colored, with a background of orange, blending into black margins which contain a line of small

white spots. The 4.5 to 5 cm. (about two inches) adult male has an aggressive attitude toward

other males, and will vigorously defend his territory. Common in the moist woodland areas east of

the Rocky Mountains, the adult form hibernates, and in spring lays chains of pale green eggs

suspended from the undersides of leaves. The larvae are dark brown with white spines, and

feed--often destructively--on hops, nettles, and elm.

The buckeye (]unonia coenia), top right, is gaudily colored, and can be found from southern

Canada to Colombia. Its background is light brown, with eight blue-centered, orange-rimmed

eyespots. The hindwing margins are yellow, with bright orange inner margins, and large irregular

yellow spots surrounding the forewing eyespots. Two diagonal orange spots flank either side of

the head. The larvae live on plantain, snapdragon, and monkey flower.

Some of the first butterflies to appear in the spring are the pink-edged sulfurs (Colias

interior), middle right. It has bright yellow wings, delicately edged in pink, with pink-edged silver

spots on the undersides of the wings. The butter-yellow hue of a European sulfur species may

have given rise to the name "butterfly," although another theory holds that "butterfly" is a

reversal of "flutter by". Primarily a northern species, the green larvae feed on several types of

blueberries. Another sulfur, the southern dog-face (Colias cesonia), bottom right, is strikingly

marked in a vivfd yellow and black, with two tiny ochre spots on each hindwing. The markings on

the forewings form a sort of dog-face in profile. The larvae feed on clover and other legumes, and

hibernate as pupae.

The lovely mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), bottom, is one of the "tortoise shell

butterflies" resembling the angle wings. Deep purplish brown with yellow margins, it has blue

dots within the dark inner wing margins, and yellow spots along the leading edges of the

forewings. The large adults (7 to 8.25 cm. ) hibernate and make .their appearance in early spring

throughout their extensive northern hemispheric range. The da~eggs are laid on elm, willow, or

poplar trees, and the spiny larvae have bright red dots along the back.