♁.—The female has the wings more or less mottled with yellowish outside of the mesial band. The black markings are very heavy in this sex. On the under side the spots are well silvered.
The dark markings on the upper side of the wings of the male are much heavier than in A. behrensi. On the under side of the wings in both sexes it may be distinguished from behrensi by the fact that the ground-color toward the base is mottled with yellow, and not solid brown as in behrensi. Expanse, 2.25-2.40 inches.
This species abounds on Mount Shasta, in California, at an elevation of seven to eight thousand feet above sea-level.
(14) Argynnis cornelia, Edwards. Plate XI, Fig. 8, ♂ (Miss Owen's Fritillary).
Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side of both wings is dark brown from the base to the mesial band of spots, with the exception of the outer end of the cell. The space beyond the band is reddish-fulvous; the dark markings are not very heavy; the two marginal lines are fine, and confluent at the ends of the nervules. The under side of the fore wings is reddish-brown from the base to the outer margin on the inner half of the wing; the outer spaces toward the apex are yellowish; the subapical patch is reddish-brown, inclosing a small silvery spot; the outer margin is reddish-brown, adorned with five small silvery spots toward the apex. The hind wings on the under side are almost solid reddish-brown to the clear yellow submarginal belt, only slightly mottled on the discal area with buff. The spots are small and well silvered.
♁.—The female on the upper side is duller red, with the dark markings heavier; the marginal spots on the fore wings are pale yellowish, and the marginal lines are confluent on the upper half of these wings. The wings on the under side in this sex are as in the male, but the ground-color on the inner half of the wings is darker, and the spots are more brilliantly silvered. Expanse, 2.30-2.50 inches.
Early Stages.—Unknown.
This pretty species is found with A. electa and A. hesperis in Colorado. It was originally described from specimens taken at Manitou and Ouray, and named by Edwards in honor of a deceased daughter of Professor Owen of the University of Wisconsin.
(15) Argynnis electa, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 8, ♂ (Electa).
Butterfly.—The male is dull reddish-fulvous on the upper side. The black markings are narrow. The base of both wings is slightly obscured. On the under side the fore wings are pale cinnamon-red, with the tip dark cinnamon-red. The hind wings are broadly dark cinnamon-red, mottled on the disk with a little buff. The submarginal band is buff, quite narrow, and often invaded by the ground-color of the inner area. The silvery spots are usually very well marked and distinct, though in a few instances the silvery color is somewhat obscured. The female has the black markings a little heavier than in the male; otherwise there is but little difference between the sexes. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches.