Melitæa, Type III.
Of this type, we know already as many Californian as European species, but except M. Phaeton, I do not know any Eastern representative of this type. The most robust and gaily colored species belong to this type and it is one of the most predominant of the diurnal types in California, not only from the number of its species but also of its individuals.
1. Melitæa Chalcedon, Doubleday.
This showy species is very common around the Bay of San Francisco. The caterpillar is somewhat of the coloration of that of Vanessa Antiopa, but short and thick like all the Melitæa caterpillars and beset with short fleshy thorns. The dorsal row of spines is brick red and so is the lateral stripe above the feet. All other parts, both of the body and spines, are black, which tint, being thickly sprinkled with white dots has a bluish luster like the same tint in the caterpillar of V. Antiopa.
Most commonly this caterpillar is found on Scrophularia, but I have found it also on Diplacus glutinosus and on a Lonicera, related to L. Caprifolium. The chrysalis is white with black and yellow dots. The butterfly is developed towards the end of April and is found until the end of June. There exists only one generation. The caterpillars grow very slowly through the summer. They are social and weave a kind of nest, in which they also hibernate. In spring their growth is quick enough, but they seem to be subject to much disease, and even in their natural state are frequently found half dried up. The butterfly also is often caught with crippled wings.
2. M. Cooperi, Behr, n. sp.
Alae supra ut M. Chalcedontis, subtus inferiores sulphureae fasciis et maculis ordinariis fuscis, maculis fasciae submarginalis fuscis concoloribus, neque ullo halone cicumdatae.
This species is very similar to M. Chalcedon, but the want of the yellowish halo around the lunulae of the brown band on the underside, is a very positive diagnostic character. The brown color of the bands also is always of the same somber hue as that of the underside of the forewings, and never of the fiery brick red that colors this fascia on the underside of M. Chalcedon, forming a perceptible contrast to the somber coloring of the underside of the forewings, which is the same in M. Chalcedon and M. Cooperi. With all these well-marked differences, the two species look so much alike, that it would have been a long time before M. Cooperi would have been recognized as a distinct species, if it had not been for the striking difference of its caterpillar, which was discovered by Mr. Lorquin near Clear Lake on a species of Scrophularia. This caterpillar is much more elongated than that of Chalcedon. It is nearly of the shape and coloration of that of the European M. Artemis, brimstone yellow, with a dorsal and a lateral black stripe. We were quite justified in expecting from such a caterpillar something strikingly different from the very common type of Chalcedon. But to our surprise our chrysalids gave us a series of crippled butterflies, which could scarcely be distinguished from M. Chalcedon. Since that time I have received a well-developed specimen through the kindness of Baron Koels, who caught it with several other insects on an excursion to Mount Tamal Pais.
It is pretty certain that M. Cooperi will be found in many other localities, as it is only its similarity to our most common vernal butterfly, the M. Chalcedon, that makes it escape our attention.