(9) Grapta progne, Cramer, Plate XX, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♂, under side; Plate III, Fig. 31, larva; Plate IV, Figs. 32, 37, 38, chrysalis (Progne).
Butterfly.—A rather small species, with light-fulvous fore wings, shading into yellow toward the outer margins; the dark markings slight, but deep in color. The secondaries are heavily bordered with black on the outer margin. On the under side the wings are very dark, variegated with paler shades, somewhat as in G. gracilis. Expanse, 1.85-2.00 inches.
The early stages have been quite fully described by various authors, and the reader may consult "The Butterflies of New England," vol. i, pp. 266-268, for a full account. The caterpillar feeds on the elm, but more commonly on various species of the Grossulaceæ, or currant tribe, wild or domesticated. It ranges from Siberia to Nova Scotia, and southward as far as Pennsylvania.
There are several other species of Grapta found in our fauna, which are not delineated in this book; but they are rare species, of which little is as yet known. The types are in the collection of the writer, and if the reader finds any species which he cannot identify by means of this book the author will be pleased to help him to the full extent of his ability.
Genus VANESSA, Fabricius (The Tortoise-shells)
[a]Fig. 96.]—Neuration of the genus Vanessa.
Butterfly.—Medium-sized insects, the wings on the upper side generally some shade of black or brown, marked with red, yellow, or orange. The head is moderately large, the eyes hairy, the palpi more or less heavily scaled, the prothoracic legs feeble and hairy. The lower discocellular vein of the fore wings, when present, unites with the third median nervule, not at its origin, but beyond on the curve. The cell of the primaries may or may not be closed. The cell of the secondaries is open. The fore wings have the outer margin more or less deeply excavated between the extremities of the upper radial and the first median, at which points the wings are rather strongly produced. The hind wings have the outer margin denticulate, strongly produced at the extremity of the third median nervule.