Abstract
WHILE waiting for a car at Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California, on February 12 (Lincoln's birthday) of the present year, I noticed that a man standing near me had the brightly-coloured “eye” of a peacopk's feather in the band at the back of his hat. While looking at this I saw a butterfly floating above the man head. It suddenly lighted on the “eye” and apparently began trying to extract food from it. I directed the man's attention to it; he removed his hat, and we watched the insect for several minutes as it tried to secure food from the feather. It then flew away, as if satisfied that it had made a mistake. I do not know the name of the butterfly, but it was one of many of a light brown colour that seem to be plentiful at Pacific Grove at that season. I was told that these butterflies at a certain time regularly alight in thousands upon a special pine tree (one of a great many) in the western edge of the town, and from this fact they have called it the “Butterfly Tree.” I do not know whether these insects seek their food from flowers by the sense of smell or that of sight, but it was evident in the present case that this one was guided entirely by sight.
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BARNARD, E. A Mistaken Butterfly. Nature 95, 174 (1915). https://doi.org/10.1038/095174c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/095174c0
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