ARGYNNIS LATHONIA.
Plate III.—Figs. 3 and 4.
This exquisite butterfly, which is about two inches in expanse, is known in England, where it is accounted a great rarity, by the common name Queen of Spain Fritillary, and it is not very commonly found in Teneriffe. The caterpillar is a greyish brown with a white dorsal line, spotted with black, and having two brownish lines on the sides. The spines are reddish and the legs yellow. It feeds on the heartsease, violet, etc. The upper surface is a tawny orange colour with many distinct rounded black spots. On the under-side the hind-wings are brownish yellow with very large oval silver spots interspersed with smaller ones. The fore-wings have black spots of various sizes, and five or six apical silver spots. The butterfly is found mostly on high ground in barrancos; but also in fields and gardens from the months of March to September, though in some years it appears earlier. It flits quickly along the paths in the barrancos, settling at short distances, very often just out of reach of the net, and this liveliness often necessitates a long walk after a specimen. The antennæ are furnished with a round thick nob at the end. There is no very marked difference in the male and female.