Egg.—Greenish, conoidal, with about eighteen vertical ribs.
Caterpillar.—Head black, yellowish behind. The body velvety-black, ornamented with black spines which are yellowish at their basal ends. The caterpillar feeds on violets.
Chrysalis.—Reddish-brown or gray, irregularly mottled and striped with black, the abdominal segments slaty-gray, marked with black on the edges where the short angular projections are located.
This butterfly is found in the Western States, extending from the prairie lands of northwestern Ohio to Montana. It largely replaces aphrodite in these regions.
(10) Argynnis nausicaä, Edwards, Plate XI, Fig. 9, ♂ (The Arizona Silver-spot).
Butterfly.—The species is related to the foregoing, but is rather smaller in size. The upper side of the wings is dusky reddish-brown, with the characteristic markings of the genus. On the under side the fore wings are pink, laved with buff at the tip. The hind wings on this side are deep cinnamon-brown, mottled with buff on the inner two thirds; a narrow but clearly defined submarginal band of bright yellowish-buff surrounds them. The silvery spots are clearly marked. The female has the black markings broader and more conspicuous than the male. Expanse, 2.25-2.50 inches.
This insect is quite common in the mountain valleys of Arizona, at an elevation of from six to seven thousand feet above the level of the sea, and flies in July and August. We have no knowledge of the early stages, but it probably does not differ greatly in its larval state from the allied species of the genus.
(11)Argynnis atlantis, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 9, ♂; Plate V, Fig. 6, chrysalis (The Mountain Silver-spot).
Butterfly.—This insect, which resembles aphrodite, is distinguished from that species by its smaller size, its somewhat narrower wings, the deeper brown color of the base of the wings on the upper side, and their darker color on the under side. The submarginal band is pale yellow, narrow, but distinct and always present. Expanse, 2.50 inches.