The yellows are slightly faded, the reds
very much degraded, the greys a half lighter than when fresh; but
showing to-day a pure, clear grey.
What troubles me is whether Regalis of the Limberlost is grey,
where others are green; or whether I am colour blind or these
men. Referring to other writers, I am growing `leery' of the
word `Authority'; half of what was written fifty years ago along
almost any line you can mention, to-day stands disproved; all of
us are merely seekers after the truth: so referring to other writers,
I find the women of Massachusetts; who wrote "Caterpillars and Their
Moths", and who in all probability have raised more different
caterpillars for the, purpose of securing life history than any
other workers of our country, possibly of any, state that the
front wings of Regalis have "stripes of lead colour between the
veins of the wings," and "three or four lead-coloured stripes"
on the back wings. The remainder of my description and colouring
also agrees with theirs. If these men worked from museum or
private collections, there is a possibility that chemicals used
to kill, preserve, and protect the specimens from pests may have
degraded the colours, and changed the grey to green.
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