Butterfly, ♂.—The fore wings without an extra-median eye-spot, and the secondaries broadly obscured with dark brown or blackish, especially on the outer borders, so that the eye-spots are scarcely, if at all, visible.
♁.—Much larger and paler in color than the male, the eye-spots on the secondaries conspicuous. Expanse, ♂, 2.00 inches; ♁, 2.50-2.65 inches.
Early Stages.—The life-history has been carefully worked out, and the reader who wishes to know all about it should consult the writings of Edwards and Scudder.
This species is occasionally found in New England, and ranges thence westward to Michigan, and southward to the Gulf States. It is quite common in the valley of the Ohio.
(7) Chlorippe flora, Edwards, Plate XXIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (Flora).
Butterfly, ♂.—The ground-color is bright reddish-fulvous on the upper side. The usual markings occur, but there is no eye-spot, or ocellus, on the primaries. The hind wings are not heavily obscured with dark brown, as in clyton, and the six ocelli stand forth conspicuously upon the reddish ground. The hind wings are more strongly angulated than in any other species. The borders are quite solidly black.
♁.—The female is much larger than the male, and looks like a very pale female of clyton. Expanse, ♂, 1.75 inch; ♁, 2.35 inches.
Early Stages.—The life-history has been described by Edwards in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xiii, p. 81. The habits of the insect in its early stages and the appearance of the larva and chrysalis do not differ widely from those of C. clyton, its nearest ally.
Flora is found in Florida and on the borders of the Gulf to Texas.