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.
PYRAMEIS ATALANTA.
Plate III.—Fig. 7.
This richly-coloured butterfly, known in England as the Red Admiral, is very rare in the Canary Islands. The ground-colour of the upper surface of the fore-wings is a velvety black, shading off to brown at the base. A bright red oblique band crosses the wings, and four large oblong white spots, with four or five smaller ones, are grouped on the apex. These again are bordered by several faint blue spots, quite at the tip. The hind-wings are blackish brown, with a broad red margin, in which are four black dots, and some blue spots are marked on the lower angle of the wings. On the underside the fore-wings are black, with several steely blue lines, the red band across the centre being clearly defined. The apex of the wings is brownish yellow, marked with white. The hind-wings are most beautifully variegated with steely blue, black, and buff. The antennæ are long and slender, abruptly forming a knot at the end, which is tipped with white. The larva is dusky green in colour, with a yellow line running down its back and sides; it is sparingly coloured with short stubby hairs, and is found gregariously on the nettle-leaf. Gold spots are freely sprinkled over the brown chrysalis. The caterpillar stage lasts five or six weeks, the butterfly appearing in another three or four. The larva suspends itself by the tail, often wrapping itself in a nettle-leaf, on which it feeds. If the pupa is gathered from the nettles for breeding, it should be fastened in the cage in the same position, head downwards. Disappointment is often experienced in the number of butterflies that emerge from the chrysalis state, so many being attacked by ants, &c.
The caterpillars are found gregariously with the Callirhoe, which is the commonest species of Pyrameis found in the Islands. Among many reared, three only proved to be Atalanta butterflies. It is found in Teneriffe from January to June.
PYRAMEIS CALLIRHOE, or VULCANIA.
Plate III.—Fig. 6.