leaf-butterfly love

Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A butterfly of the genus

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

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Examples

  • Then there is the curious leaf-butterfly, which has a marvellous resemblance to a dead leaf with its wings folded over the back and showing the underside only, the leaf-stalk veins being excellently mimicked.

    The Heart of Nature or, The Quest for Natural Beauty Francis Edward Younghusband 1902

  • The leaf-butterfly _Kallima_, conspicuously coloured on its upper surface, is like a withered leaf when it settles down and shows the under side of its wings.

    The Outline of Science, Vol. 1 (of 4) A Plain Story Simply Told J. Arthur Thomson 1897

  • And it is to be noted that it is by no means only external parts that are changed; internal parts are _always_ modified at the same time -- for instance, the delicate elements of the nervous system on which depend the _instinct_ of the insect to hold its wings, when at rest, in a perfectly definite position, which, in the leaf-butterfly, has the effect of bringing the two pieces on which the marking occurs on the anterior and posterior wing into the same direction, and thus displaying as a whole the fine curve of the midrib on the seeming leaf.

    Evolution in Modern Thought Gustav Schwalbe 1880

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