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Front cover

THE BUTTERFLY BOOK

[a]Plate I], Frontispiece.

SPRING BUTTERFLIES. Pyrameis Cardui, Linn., (The Painted Lady); 2. P. Huntera, Fabr., ♂ (Hunter's Butterfly); 3. Grapta Interrogationis, Fabr., ♂ (The Question Sign); 4. Colias Philodice, Godt., ♂; 5. Do., ♁ (The Clouded Sulphur); 6. Vanessa Antiopa, Linn., ♁ (The Mourning Cloak). COPYRIGHTED BY W.J. HOLLAND, 1898

THE BUTTERFLY BOOK

A POPULAR GUIDE TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA

BY

W.J. HOLLAND, PH.D., D.D., LL.D.

CHANCELLOR OF THE WESTERN UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA; DIRECTOR OF THE CARNEGIE MUSEUM, PITTSBURGH, PA.; FELLOW OF THE ZOöLOGICAL AND ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETIES OF LONDON; MEMBER OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FRANCE, ETC., ETC.

WITH 48 PLATES IN COLOR-PHOTOGRAPHY, REPRODUCTIONS OF BUTTERFLIES IN THE AUTHOR'S COLLECTION, AND MANY TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS PRESENTING MOST OF THE SPECIES FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES

Garden City New York DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1922

Copyright, 1898, By W.J. HOLLAND. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y.

TO MY GOOD WIFE AND MY TWO BONNY BOYS, THE COMPANIONS OF MY LEISURE HOURS AND MY VACATION RAMBLES, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK, WITHOUT ASKING THEIR PERMISSION

PREFACE

At some time or other in the life of every healthy young person there appears to be developed what has been styled "the collecting mania." Whether this tendency is due to the natural acquisitiveness of the human race, to an innate appreciation of the beautiful and the curious, or to the development of an instinct such as is possessed by the bower-bird, the magpie, and the crow, which have the curious habit of gathering together and storing away trifles which are bright and attractive to the eye, I leave to students of the mind to decide. The fact is patent that there is no village without its youthful enthusiast whose collection of postage-stamps is dear to his heart, and no town in which there are not amateur geologists, archæologists, botanists, and zoölogists, who are eagerly bent upon the formation of collections of such objects as possess an attraction for them.

One of the commonest pursuits of boyhood is the formation of a collection of insects. The career of almost every naturalist of renown has been marked in its early stages by a propensity to collect these lower, yet most interesting and instructive, forms of animal life. Among the insects, because of their beauty, butterflies have always held a foremost place in the regard of the amateur collector. For the lack, however, of suitable instruction in the art of preserving specimens, and, above all, by reason of the almost entire lack of a convenient and well-illustrated manual, enabling the collector to identify, name, and properly classify the collections which he is making, much of the labor expended in this direction in the United States and Canada fails to accomplish more than the furnishing of temporary recreation. It is otherwise in Europe. Manuals, comprehensive in scope, and richly adorned with illustrations of the leading insect forms of Great Britain and the Continent, have been produced in great numbers in recent years in England, France, and Germany. The result is that the youthful collector enters the field in those countries in the possession of a vast advantage over his less fortunate American fellow. It is to meet this want on this side of the Atlantic that this volume has been written. Its aim is to guide the amateur collector in right paths and to prepare him by the intelligent accomplishment of his labors for the enjoyment of still wider and more difficult researches in this and allied fields of human knowledge. The work is confined to the fauna of the continent of North America north of the Rio Grande of Texas. It is essentially popular in its character. Those who seek a more technical treatment must resort to the writings of others.

If I shall succeed in this book in creating a more wide-spread interest in the world of insect life and thereby diverting attention in a measure from the persecuted birds, which I love, but which are in many species threatened with extinction by the too eager attentions which they are receiving from young naturalists, who are going forth in increased numbers with shot-gun in hand, I think I shall render a good service to the country.

I flatter myself that I have possessed peculiar facilities for the successful accomplishment of the undertaking I have proposed to myself, because of the possession of what is admitted to be undoubtedly the largest and most perfect collection of the butterflies of North America in existence, containing the types of W.H. Edwards, and many of those of other authors. I have also enjoyed access to all the other great collections of this country and Europe, and have had at my elbow the entire literature relating to the subject.

The successful development in recent months of the process of reproducing in colors photographic representations of objects has been to a certain degree the argument for the publication of this book at the present time. A few years ago the preparation of such a work as this at the low price at which it is sold would have been an utter impossibility. "The Butterflies of North America," by W.H. Edwards, published in three volumes, is sold at one hundred and fifty dollars, and, as I know, is sold even at this price below the cost of manufacture. "The Butterflies of New England," by Dr. S.H. Scudder, in three volumes, is sold at seventy-five dollars, and likewise represents at this price only a partial return to the learned author for the money, labor, and time expended upon it. The present volume, while not pretending to vie in any respect with the magnificence of the illustrations contained in these beautiful and costly works, nevertheless presents in recognizable form almost every species figured in them, and in addition a multitude of others, many of which have never before been delineated. So far as possible I have employed, in making the illustrations, the original types from which the author of the species drew his descriptions. This fact will no doubt add greatly to the value of the work, as it will not only serve as a popular guide, but have utility also for the scientific student.

I am under obligations to numerous friends and correspondents who have aided me, and take the present opportunity to extend to them all my hearty thanks for the generous manner in which they have assisted me in my pleasant task. I should fail, however, to follow the instincts of a grateful heart did I not render an especial acknowledgment to Mr. W.H. Edwards, of Coalburg, West Virginia, and Dr. Samuel H. Scudder, of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Justly esteemed as the two foremost lepidopterists of America, it is my honor to claim them as personal friends, whose kindness has much aided me in this labor of scientific love which I have undertaken. For the kind permission given me by Dr. Scudder to use various illustrations contained in the "Butterflies of New England" and other works, I am profoundly grateful.

I am under obligations to Messrs. Charles Scribner's Sons for permission to use the cuts numbered 46-49, 51-56, 59, 61, 62, and 73, which are taken from the work entitled "Taxidermy and Zoölogical Collecting," by W.T. Hornaday, and to the authorities of the United States National Museum and the heirs of the late Professor C.V. Riley for other illustrations.

Should this book find the favor which I have reason to think it deserves, I shall endeavor shortly to follow it by the preparation of a similar work upon the moths of the United States and Canada.

Office of the Chancellor,W.J.H. [a]Western University of Pennsylvania], August 16, 1898.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

The Eggs of Butterflies. Caterpillars: Structure, Form, Color, etc.; Moults; Food of Caterpillars; Duration of Larval State; Transformation. The Pupa, or Chrysalis: The Form of Chrysalids; Duration of Pupal Life; The Transformation from the Chrysalis to the Imago. Anatomy of Butterflies: The Head; The Thorax; The Abdomen; The Legs; The Wings; Internal Organs; Polymorphism and Dimorphism; Albinism and Melanism; Monstrosities; Mimicry. The Distribution of Butterflies.

Collecting Apparatus: Nets; Collecting-Jars; Field-Boxes; The Use of the Net; Baits; Beating. The Breeding of Specimens: How to Get the Eggs of Butterflies; Breeding-Cages; How to Find Caterpillars; Hibernating Caterpillars. The Preservation of Specimens: Papering Specimens; Mounting Butterflies; Relaxing Specimens; The Preparation and Preservation of Butterfly Eggs; The Preservation of Chrysalids; The Preservation of Caterpillars. The Preservation and Arrangement of Collections: Boxes; Cabinets and Drawers; Labeling; Arrangement of Specimens; Insect Pests; Greasy Specimens; Mould; Repairing Specimens; Packing and Forwarding Specimens; Pins; The Forceps.

The Place of Butterflies in the Animal Kingdom; The Principles of Scientific Arrangement; The Species; The Genus; The Family, etc.; Scientific Names; Synonyms; Popular Names.

Early Writers; Later Writers; Periodicals.

THE BOOK

PAGE

• The Butterflies of North America North of Mexico.
• Family I. Nymphalidae, the Brush-footed Butterflies [77]
• Subfamily Euplaeinae, the Milkweed Butterflies [80]
• Subfamily Ithomiinae, the Long-winged Butterflies [85]
• Subfamily Heliconiinae, the Heliconians [91]
• Subfamily Nymphalinae, the Nymphs [93]
• Subfamily Satyrinae, the Satyrs, Meadow-browns, and Arctics [197]
• Subfamily Libytheinae, the Snout-butterflies [226]
• Family II. Lemoniidae [228]
• Subfamily Erycininae, the Metal-marks [228]
• Family III. Lycaenidae [236]
• Subfamily Lycaeninae, the Hair-streaks, the Blues, and the Coppers [236]
• Family IV. Papilionidae, the Swallowtails and Allies [272]
• Subfamily Pierinae, the Whites, the Sulphurs, the Orange-tips [272]
• Subfamily Papilioninae, the Parnassians and Swallowtails [304]
• Family V. Hesperiidae, the Skippers [318]
• Subfamily Pyrrhopyginae [319]
• Subfamily Hesperiinae, the Hesperids [320]
• Subfamily Pamphilinae [339]
• Subfamily Megathyminae, genus Megathymus [367]

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN TEXT

LIST OF COLORED PLATES

Produced by the color-photographic process of the Chicago Colortype Company, 1205 Roscoe Street, Chicago, Ill.

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

THE LIFE-HISTORY AND ANATOMY OF BUTTERFLIES

"The study of butterflies,—creatures selected as the types of airiness and frivolity,—instead of being despised, will some day be valued as one of the most important branches of biological science."—Bates, Naturalist on the Amazons.

In studying any subject, it is always well, if possible, to commence at the beginning; and in studying the life of animals, or of a group of animals, we should endeavor to obtain a clear idea at the outset of the manner in which they are developed. It is a familiar saying that "all life is from an egg." This statement is scientifically true in wide fields which come under the eye of the naturalist, and butterflies are no exception to the rule.

THE EGGS OF BUTTERFLIES

[a]Fig. 1.]—Egg of Basilarchia disippus, magnified 30 diameters (Riley).

[a]Fig. 2.]—Egg of Basilarchia disippus, natural size, at the end of under surface of leaf (Riley).

[a]Fig. 3.]—Egg of Papilio turnus, greatly magnified.

The eggs of butterflies consist of a membranous shell containing a fluid mass composed of the germ of the future caterpillar and the liquid food which is necessary for its maintenance and development until it escapes from the shell. The forms of these eggs are various. Some are spherical, others hemispherical, conical, and cylindrical. Some are barrel-shaped; others have the shape of a cheese, and still others have the form of a turban. Many of them are angled, some depressed at the ends. Their surface is variously ornamented. Sometimes they are ribbed, the ribs running from the center outwardly and downwardly along the sides like the meridian lines upon a globe. Between these ribs there is frequently found a fine network of raised lines variously arranged. Sometimes the surface is covered with minute depressions, sometimes with a series of minute elevations variously disposed. As there is great variety in the form of the eggs, so also there is great variety in their color. Brown, blue, green, red, and yellow eggs occur. Greenish or greenish-white are common tints. The eggs are often ornamented with dots and lines of darker color. Species which are related to one another show their affinity even in the form of their eggs. At the upper end of the eggs of insects there are one or more curious structures, known as micropyles (little doors), through which the spermatozoa of the male find ingress and they are fertilized. These can only be seen under a good microscope.

[a]Fig. 4.]—Egg of Anosia plexippus, magnified 30 diameters (Riley).

[a]Fig. 5.]—Egg of Anosia plexippus, natural size, on under side of leaf (Riley).

The eggs are laid upon the food-plant upon which the caterpillar, after it is hatched, is destined to live, and the female reveals wonderful instinct in selecting plants which are appropriate to the development of the larva. As a rule, the larvæ are restricted in the range of their food-plants to certain genera, or families of plants.

[a]Fig. 9.]—Upper end of egg of Pieris oleracea, greatly magnified, showing the micropyle.

[a]Fig. 10.]—Egg of Grapta comma, laid in string-like clusters on the under side of leaf. (Magnified.)

The eggs are deposited sometimes singly, sometimes in small clusters, sometimes in a mass. Fertile eggs, a few days after they have been deposited, frequently undergo a change of color, and it is often possible with a magnifying-glass to see through the thin shell the form of the minute caterpillar which is being developed within the egg. Unfruitful eggs generally shrivel and dry up after the lapse of a short time.

The period of time requisite for the development of the embryo in the egg varies. Many butterflies are single-brooded; others produce two or three generations during the summer in temperate climates, and even more generations in subtropical or tropical climates. In such cases an interval of only a few days, or weeks at the most, separates the time when the egg was deposited and the time when the larva is hatched. When the period of hatching, or emergence, has arrived, the little caterpillar cuts its way forth from the egg through an opening made either at the side or on the top. Many species have eggs which appear to be provided with a lid, a portion of the shell being separated from the remainder by a thin section, which, when the caterpillar has reached the full limit allowed by the egg, breaks under the pressure of the enlarging embryo within, one portion of the egg flying off, the remainder adhering to the leaf or twig upon which it has been deposited.

[a]Fig. 11.]—Eggs of Vanessa antiopa, laid in a mass on a twig.

CATERPILLARS

Structure, Form, Color, etc.—The second stage in which the insects we are studying exist is known as the larval stage. The insect is known as a larva, or a caterpillar. In general caterpillars have long, worm-like bodies. Frequently they are thickest about the middle, tapering before and behind, flattened on the under side. While the cylindrical shape is most common, there are some families in which the larvæ are short, oval, or slug-shaped, sometimes curiously modified by ridges and prominences. The body of the larvæ of lepidoptera consists normally of thirteen rings, or segments, the first constituting the head.

[a]Fig. 12.]—Caterpillar of Papilio philenor (Riley).

[a]Fig. 13.]—Head of caterpillar of Papilio asterias, front view, enlarged.

[a]Fig. 14.]—Head of caterpillar of Anosia plexippus, lower side, magnified 10 diameters: lb, labrum, or upper lip; md, mandibles; mx, maxilla, with two palpi; lm, labium, or lower lip, with one pair of palpi; s, spinneret; a, antenna; o, ocelli. (After Burgess.)

The head is always conspicuous, composed of horny or chitinous material, but varying exceedingly in form and size. It is very rarely small and retracted. It is generally large, hemispherical, conical, or bilobed. In some families it is ornamented by horn-like projections. On the lower side are the mouth-parts, consisting of the upper lip, the mandibles, the antennæ, or feelers, the under lip, the maxillæ, and two sets of palpi, known as the maxillary and the labial palpi. In many genera the labium, or under lip, is provided with a short, horny projection known as the spinneret, through which the silk secreted by the caterpillar is passed. On either side, just above the mandibles, are located the eyes, or ocelli, which in the caterpillar are simple, round, shining prominences, generally only to be clearly distinguished by the aid of a magnifying-glass. These ocelli are frequently arranged in series on each side. The palpi are organs of touch connected with the maxillæ and the labium, or under lip, and are used in the process of feeding, and also when the caterpillar is crawling about from place to place. The larva appears to guide itself in great part by means of the palpi.

[Plate II]

[a]Fig. 15.]—Head of caterpillar of Anosia plexippus, side view, showing ocelli.

The body of the caterpillar is covered by a thin skin, which often lies in wrinkled folds, admitting of great freedom of motion. The body is composed, as we have seen, of rings, or segments, the first three of which, back of the head, correspond to the thorax of the perfect insect, and the last nine to the abdomen of the butterfly. On each ring, with the exception of the second, the third, and the last, there is found on either side a small oval opening known as a spiracle, through which the creature breathes. As a rule, the spiracles of the first and eleventh rings are larger in size than the others.

[a]Fig 16.]—Caterpillar of Anosia plexippus, milkweed butterfly (Riley).

Every caterpillar has on each of the first three segments a pair of legs, which are organs composed of three somewhat horny parts covered and bound together with skin, and armed at their extremities by a sharp claw (Fig. 17). These three pairs of feet in the caterpillar are always known as the fore legs, and correspond to the six which are found in the butterfly or the moth. In addition, in most cases, we find four pairs of prolegs on the under side of the segments from the sixth to the ninth, and another pair on the last segment, which latter pair are called the anal prolegs. These organs, which are necessary to the life of the caterpillar, do not reappear in the perfect insect, but are lost when the transformation from the caterpillar to the chrysalis takes place. There are various modifications of this scheme of foot-like appendages, only the larger and more highly developed forms of lepidoptera having as many pairs of prolegs as have been enumerated.

[a]Fig. 20.]—Caterpillar of Basilarchia disippus, the viceroy, natural size (Riley).

The bodies of caterpillars are variously ornamented: many of them are quite smooth; many are provided with horny projections, spines, and eminences. The coloration of caterpillars is as remarkable in the variety which it displays as is the ornamentation by means of the prominences of which we have just spoken. As caterpillars, for the most part, feed upon growing vegetation, multitudes of them are green in color, being thus adapted to their surroundings and securing a measure of protection. Many are brown, and exactly mimic the color of the twigs and branches upon which they rest when not engaged in feeding. Not a few are very gaily colored, but in almost every case this gay coloring is found to bear some relation to the color of the objects upon which they rest.

Caterpillars vary in their social habits. Some species are gregarious, and are found in colonies. These frequently build for themselves defenses, weaving webs of silk among the branches, in which they are in part protected from their enemies and also from the inclemencies of the weather. Most caterpillars are, however, solitary, and no community life is maintained by the vast majority of species. Many species have the habit of drawing together the edges of a leaf, in which way they form a covering for themselves. The caterpillars of some butterflies are wood-boring, and construct tunnels in the pith, or in the soft layers of growing plants. In these cases, being protected and concealed from view, the caterpillars are generally white in their coloration, resembling in this respect the larvæ of wood-boring beetles. A most curious phenomenon has within comparatively recent years been discovered in connection with the larval stage of certain small butterflies belonging to the family Lycœnidœ. The caterpillars are carnivorous, or rather aphidivorous; they live upon aphids, or plant-lice, and scale-insects, and cover themselves with the white exudations or mealy secretions of the latter. This trait is characteristic of only one of our North American species, the Harvester (Feniseca tarquinius).

[a]Fig. 21.]—Early stages of the goatweed butterfly: a, caterpillar; b, chrysalis; c, leaf drawn together at edges to form a nest. (Natural size.) (Riley.)

In addition to being protected from enemies by having colors which enable them to elude observation, as has been already stated, some caterpillars are provided with other means of defense. The caterpillars of the swallowtail butterflies are provided with a bifurcate or forked organ, generally yellow in color, which is protruded from an opening in the skin back of the head, and which emits a powerful odor (Fig. 22). This protrusive organ evidently exists only for purposes of defense, and the secretion of the odor is analogous to the secretion of evil odors by some of the vertebrate animals, as the skunk. The majority of caterpillars, when attacked by insect or other enemies, defend themselves by quickly hurling the anterior part of the body from side to side.

[a]Fig. 22.]—Head of caterpillar of Papilio troilus, with scent-organs, or osmateria, protruded.

Moults.—Caterpillars in the process of growth and development from time to time shed their skins. This process is called moulting. Moulting takes place, as a rule, at regular intervals, though there are exceptions to this rule. The young larva, having emerged from the egg, grows for a number of days, until the epidermis, or true skin, has become too small. It then ceases feeding, attaches itself firmly to some point, and remains quiet for a time. During this period certain changes are taking place, and then the skin splits along the middle line from the head to the extremity of the last segment, and the caterpillar crawls forth from the skin, which is left behind it, attached to the leaf or branch to which it was fastened. The skin of the head sometimes remains attached to the head of the caterpillar for a time after it has moulted, and then falls off to the ground. Ordinarily not more than five, and frequently only four, moults take place between hatching from the egg and the change into the chrysalis. In cases where caterpillars hibernate, or pass the winter in inaction, a long interval necessarily elapses between moults. Some arctic species are known in which the development from the egg to the perfect insect covers a period of two or three years, long periods of hibernation under the arctic snows taking place. The manner in which the caterpillar withdraws itself from its exuviæ, or old skin, is highly interesting. Every little spine or rough prominence is withdrawn from its covering, and the skin is left as a perfect cast of the creature which has emerged from it, even the hairs and spines attached to the skin being left behind and replaced by others.

The Food of the Caterpillar.—The vast majority of the caterpillars of butterflies subsist upon vegetable food, the only exceptions being the singular one already noted in which the larvæ feed upon scale-insects. Some of the Hesperiidæ, a group in which the relationship between butterflies and moths is shown, have larvæ which burrow in the roots and stems of vegetation.

Duration of the Larval State.—The duration of the larval state varies greatly. In temperate climates the majority of species exist in the caterpillar state for from two to three months, and where hibernation takes place, for ten months. Many caterpillars which hibernate do so immediately after emerging from the egg and before having made the first moult. The great majority, however, hibernate after having passed one or more moults. With the approach of spring they renew their feeding upon the first reappearance of the foliage of their proper food-plant, or are transformed into chrysalids and presently emerge as perfect insects. A few species live gregariously during the period of hibernation, constructing for themselves a shelter of leaves woven together with strands of silk.

Transformation.—The larval or caterpillar stage having been completed, and full development having been attained, the caterpillar is transformed into a pupa, or chrysalis. Of this, the third stage in the life of the insect, we now shall speak at length.

THE PUPA, OR CHRYSALIS

The caterpillars of many butterflies attach themselves by a button of silk to the under surface of a branch or stone, or other projecting surface, and are transformed into chrysalids, which are naked, and which hang perpendicularly from the surface to which they are attached. Other caterpillars attach themselves to surfaces by means of a button of silk which holds the anal extremity of the chrysalis, and have, in addition, a girdle of silk which passes around the middle of the chrysalis, holding it in place very much as a papoose is held on the back of an Indian squaw by a strap passed over her shoulders.

[a]Fig. 23.]—Caterpillar of Anosia plexippus, undergoing change into chrysalis: a, caterpillar just before rending of the skin; b, chrysalis just before the cremaster, or hook, at its end is withdrawn; c, chrysalis holding itself in place by the folds of the shed skin caught between the edges of the abdominal segments, while with the cremaster, armed with microscopic hooks, it searches for the button of silk from which it is to hang (Riley). (Compare Fig. 24, showing final form of the chrysalis.)

The Form of Chrysalids.—The forms assumed by the insect in this stage of its being vary very greatly, though there is a general resemblance among the different families and subfamilies, so that it is easy for one who has studied the matter to tell approximately to what family the form belongs, even when it is not specifically known. Chrysalids are in most cases obscure in coloring, though a few are quite brilliant, and, as in the case of the common milkweed butterfly (Anosia plexippus), ornamented with golden-hued spots. The chrysalids of the Nymphalidæ, one of the largest groups of butterflies, are all suspended. The chrysalids of the Papilionidæ, or swallowtail butterflies, are held in place by girdles, and generally are bifurcate or cleft at the upper end (Fig. 25), and are greenish or wood-brown in color.

[a]Fig. 24.]—Chrysalis of Anosia plexippus, final form (Riley).

[a]Fig. 25.]—Chrysalis of Papilio philenor: a, front view; b, side view, showing manner in which it is held in place by the girdle of silk (Riley).

[a]Fig. 26.]—Pieris protodice: a, caterpillar; b, chrysalis (Riley).

A study of the structure of all chrysalids shows that within them there is contained the immature butterfly. The segments of the body are ensheathed in the corresponding segments of the chrysalis, and soldered over these segments are ensheathing plates of chitinous matter under which are the wings of the butterfly, as well as all the other organs necessary to its existence in the airy realm upon which it enters after emergence from the chrysalis. The practised eye of the observer is soon able to distinguish the location of the various parts of the butterfly in the chrysalis, and when the time for escape draws near, it is in many cases possible to discern through the thin, yet tough and hard, outer walls of the chrysalis the spots and colors on the wings of the insect.

[a]Fig. 27.]—Chrysalis of Pieris oleracea (Riley.)

Duration of Pupal Life.—Many butterflies remain in the chrysalis stage only for a few weeks; others hibernate in this state, and in temperate climates a great many butterflies pass the winter as chrysalids. Where, as is sometimes the case, there are two or three generations or broods of a species during the year, the life of one brood is generally longer than that of the others, because this brood is compelled to overwinter, or hibernate. There are a number of butterflies known in temperate North America which have three broods: a spring brood, emerging from chrysalids which have overwintered; an early summer brood; and a fall brood. The chrysalids in the latter two cases generally represent only a couple of weeks at most in the life of the insect. In tropical and semi-tropical countries many species remain in the chrysalis form during the dry season, and emerge at the beginning of the rains, when vegetation is refreshed and new and tender growths occur in the forests.

[a]Fig. 28.]—Butterfly (Papilio asterias) just emerging from chrysalis.

The Transformation from the Chrysalis to the Imago.—The perfectly developed insect is known technically as the imago. When the time of maturity in the chrysalis state has been reached, the coverings part in such a way as to allow of the escape of the perfect insect, which, as it comes forth, generally carries with it some suggestion of its caterpillar state in the lengthened abdomen, which it with apparent difficulty trails after it until it secures a hold upon some object from which it may depend while a process of development (which lasts generally a few hours) takes place preparatory to flight. The imago, as it first emerges, is provided with small, flaccid wings, which, together with all the organs of sense such as the antennæ, require for their complete development the injection into them of the vital fluids which, upon first emergence, are largely contained in the cavities of the thorax and abdomen. Hanging pendant on a projecting twig, or clinging to the side of a rock, the insect remains fanning its wings, while by the strong process of circulation a rapid injection of the blood into the wings and other organs takes place, accompanied by their expansion to normal proportions, in which they gradually attain to more or less rigidity. Hardly anything in the range of insect life is more interesting than this rapid development of the butterfly after its first emergence from the chrysalis. The body is robbed of its liquid contents in a large degree; the abdomen is shortened up; the chitinous rings which compose its external skeleton become set and hardened; the wings are expanded, and then the moment arrives when, on airy pinions, the creature that has lived a worm-like life for weeks and months, or which has been apparently sleeping the sleep of death in its cerements, soars aloft in the air, the companion of the sunlight and the breezes.

ANATOMY OF BUTTERFLIES

The body of the butterfly consists of three parts—the head, the thorax, and the abdomen.

[a]Fig. 29.]—Head of milkweed butterfly, stripped of scales and greatly magnified (after Burgess): v, vertex; f, front; cl, clypeus; lb, labrum, or upper lip; md, mandibles; a, antennæ; oc, eyes; tk, spiral tongue, or proboscis.

[a]Fig. 30.]—Cross-section of the sucking-tube of the milkweed butterfly, to show the way in which the halves unite to form a central canal (c): tr, tracheæ, or air-tubes; n, nerves; m, m³, muscles of one side. (Magnified 125 diameters.) (Burgess.)

[a]Fig. 31.]—Longitudinal section of the head of the milkweed butterfly: cl, clypeus; mx, left maxilla, the right being removed; mfl, floor of mouth; œ, œsophagus, or gullet; ov, mouth-valve; sd, salivary duct; dm and fm, dorsal and frontal muscles, which open the sac. (Magnified 20 diameters). (Burgess.)

The Head.—The head is globular, its breadth generally exceeding its length. The top is called the vertex; the anterior portion, corresponding in location to the human face, is called the front. Upon the sides of the head are situated the large compound eyes, between which are the antennæ, or "feelers," as they are sometimes called. Above the mouth is a smooth horny plate, the clypeus. The labrum, or upper lip, is quite small. On both sides of the mouth are rudimentary mandibles, which are microscopic objects. The true suctorial apparatus is formed by the maxillæ, which are produced in the form of semi-cylindrical tubes, which, being brought together and interlocking, form a complete tube, which is known as the proboscis, and which, when not in use, is curled up spirally, looking like a watch-spring. At the upper end of the proboscis, in the head, is a bulb-like enlargement, in the walls of which are inserted muscles which have their origin on the inner wall of the head. When these muscles contract, the bulb-like cavity is enlarged, a vacuum is produced, and the fluids in the cup of the flower flow up the proboscis and into the bulb. The bulb is also surrounded by muscles, which, when contracting, compress it. The external opening of the tube has a flap, or valve, which, when the bulb is compressed, closes and causes the fluid in it to flow backward into the gullet and the stomach. The arrangement is mechanically not unlike that in a bulb-syringe used by physicians. The process of feeding in the case of the butterfly is a process of pumping honeyed water out of the flowers into the stomach. The length of the proboscis varies; at its base and on either side are placed what are known as the maxillary palpi, which are very small. The lower lip, or labium, which is also almost obsolete in the butterflies, has on either side two organs known as the labial palpi, which consist of three joints. In the butterflies the labial palpi are generally well developed, though in some genera they are quite small. The antennæ of butterflies are always provided at the extremity with a club-shaped enlargement, and because of this clubbed form of the antennæ the entire group are known as the Rhopalocera, the word being compounded from the Greek word (ῥοπαλον), which means a club, and the word κεραζ (keras) which means a horn.

[a]Fig.] 32.—Interior view of head of milkweed butterfly: cl, clypeus; cor, cornea of the eye; œ, œsophagus, or gullet; fm, frontal muscle; dm, dorsal muscles; lm, lateral muscles; pm, muscles moving the palpus (Burgess).

[a]Fig.] 33.—Labial palpus of Colias, magnified 10 diameters.

It will be observed from what has been said that the head in these creatures is to a large extent the seat of the organs of sense and alimentation. What the function of the antennæ may be is somewhat doubtful, the opinion of scientific men being divided. The latest researches would indicate that these organs, which have been regarded as the organs of smell and sometimes as the organs of hearing, have probably a compound function, possibly enabling the creature to hear, certainly to smell, but also, perhaps, being the seat of impressions which are not strictly like any which we receive through our senses.

[a]Fig. 34.]—Colias philodice: a, antenna; p, extremity of palpus; pl, prothoracic leg; ml, mesothoracic leg; hl, metathoracic or hind leg; t, proboscis.

Thorax.—The thorax is more or less oval in form, being somewhat flattened upon its upper surface. It is composed of three parts, or segments, closely united, which can only be distinguished from one another by a careful dissection. The anterior segment is known as the prothorax, the middle segment as the mesothorax, and the after segment as the metathorax. The legs are attached in pairs to these three subdivisions of the thorax, the anterior pair being therefore sometimes spoken of as the prothoracic legs, the second pair as the mesothoracic legs, and the latter pair as the metathoracic legs (Fig. 34). On either side of the mesothorax are attached the anterior pair of wings, over which, at their insertion into the body, are the tegulæ, or lappets; on either side of the metathorax are the posterior pair of wings. It will be seen from what has been said that the thorax bears the organs of locomotion. The under side of the thorax is frequently spoken of by writers, in describing butterflies, as the pectus, or breast.

The Abdomen.—The abdomen is formed normally of nine segments, and in most butterflies is shorter than the hind wings. On the last segment there are various appendages, which are mainly sexual in their nature.

[a]Fig. 35.]—Leg of butterfly: c, coxa; tr, trochanter; f, femur; t, tibia; tar, tarsi.

The Legs.—Butterflies have six legs, arranged in three pairs, as we have already seen. Each leg consists of five parts, the first of which, nearest the body, is called the coxa, with which articulates a ring-like piece known as the trochanter. To this is attached the femur, and united with the femur, forming an angle with it, is the tibia. To the tibia is attached the tarsus, or foot, the last segment of which bears the claws, which are often very minute and blunt in the butterflies, though in moths they are sometimes strongly hooked. The tibiæ are often armed with spines. In some groups of butterflies the anterior pair of legs is aborted, or dwarfed, either in one or both sexes, a fact which is useful in determining the location of species in their systematic order.

[a]Fig. 36.]—Magnified representation of arrangement of the scales on the wing of a butterfly.

[a]Fig. 37.]—Androconia from wings of male butterflies: a, Neonympha eurytus; b, Argynnis aphrodite; c, Pieris oleracea.

The Wings.—The wings of butterflies consist of a framework of horny tubes which are in reality double, the inner tube being filled with air, the outer tube with blood, which circulates most freely during the time that the insect is undergoing the process of development after emergence from the chrysalis, as has been already described. After emergence the circulation of the blood in the outer portion of the tubes is largely, if not altogether, suspended. These horny tubes support a broad membrane, which is clothed in most species upon both sides with flattened scales which are attached to the membrane in such a way that they overlap one another like the shingles on a roof. These scales are very beautiful objects when examined under a microscope, and there is considerable diversity in their form as well as in their colors. The males of many species have peculiarly shaped scales arranged in tufts and folds, which are called androconia, and are useful in microscopically determining species (Fig. 37). The portion of the wings which is nearest to the thorax at the point where they are attached to the body is called the base; the middle third of the wing is known as the median or discal area, the outer third as the limbal area. The anterior margin of the wings is called the costal margin; the outer edge is known as the external margin, the inner edge as the inner margin. The shape of the wings varies very much. The tip of the front wing is called the apex, and this may be rounded, acute, falcate (somewhat sickle-shaped), or square. The angle formed by the outer margin of the front wing with the inner margin is commonly known as the outer angle. The corresponding angle on the hind wing is known as the anal angle, and the point which corresponds to the tip or apex of the front wing is known as the external angle (Fig. 38). A knowledge of these terms is necessary in order to understand the technical descriptions which are given by authors.

[Plate III]

If a wing is examined with the naked eye, or even with a lens, a clear conception of the structure of the veins can rarely be formed. Therefore it is generally necessary to remove from the wings the scales which cover them, or else bleach them. The scales may be removed mechanically by rubbing them off. They may be made transparent by the use of chemical agents. In the case of specimens which are so valuable as to forbid a resort to these methods, a clear knowledge of the structure of the veins may be formed by simply moistening them with pure benzine or chloroform, which enables the structure of the veins to be seen for a few moments. The evaporation of these fluids is rapid, and they produce no ill effect upon the color and texture of the wings. In the case of common species, or in the case of such as are abundantly represented in the possession of the collector, and the practical destruction of one or two of which is a matter of no moment, it is easy to use the first method. The wing should be placed between two sheets of fine writing-paper which have been moistened by the breath at the points where the wing is laid, and then by lightly rubbing the finger-nail or a piece of ivory, bone, or other hard substance over the upper piece of paper, a good many of the scales may be removed. This process may be repeated until almost all of them have been taken off. This method is efficient in the case of many of the small species when they are still fresh; in the case of the larger species the scales may be removed by means of a camel's-hair pencil such as is used by painters. The chemical method of bleaching wings is simple and inexpensive. For this purpose the wing should be dipped in alcohol and then placed in a vessel containing a bleaching solution of some sort. The best agent is a solution of chloride of lime. After the color has been removed from the wing by the action of the chloride it should be washed in a weak solution of hydrochloric acid. It may then be cleansed in pure water and mounted upon a piece of glass, as microscopic slides are mounted, and thus preserved. When thus bleached the wing is capable of being minutely studied, and all points of its anatomy are brought clearly into view.

[a]Fig. 38.]—Outline of wing, giving names of parts.

[a]Fig. 39.]—Arrangement of scales on wing of butterfly.

The veins in both the fore and hind wings of butterflies may be divided into simple and compound veins. In the fore wing the simple veins are the costal, the radial, and the submedian; in the hind wing, the costal, the subcostal, the upper and lower radial, the submedian, and the internal are simple. The costal vein in the hind wing is, however, generally provided near the base with a short ascending branch which is known as the precostal vein. In addition to these simple veins there are in the fore wing two branching veins, one immediately following the costal, known as the subcostal, and the other preceding the submedian, known as the median vein. The branches of these compound veins are known as nervules. The median vein always has three nervules. The nervules of the subcostal veins branch upwardly and outwardly toward the costal margin and the apex of the fore wing. There are always from four to five subcostal nervules. In the hind wing the subcostal is simple. The median vein in the hind wing has three nervules as in the fore wing. Between the subcostal and the median veins, toward the base in both wings, is inclosed the cell, which may be wholly or partially open at its outer extremity, or closed. The veinlets which close the cell at its outward extremity are known as the discocellular veins, of which there are normally three. From the point of union of these discocellular veins go forth the radial veins known respectively as the upper and lower radials, though the upper radial in many genera is emitted from the lower margin of the subcostal.

An understanding of these terms is, however, more readily derived from a study of the figure in which the names of these parts are indicated (Fig. 40).

[a]Fig. 40.]—Wing of Anosia plexippus, showing the names of the veins and nervules: C, C, costal veins; SC, subcostal vein; SC_1, etc., subcostal nervules; UR, upper radial; LR, lower radial; M, median veins; M_1, M_2, M_3, median nervules; SM, submedian veins; I, internal veins; PC, precostal nervule; UDC, MDC, LDC, upper, middle, and lower discocellulars.

Butterflies generally hold their wings erect when they are at rest, with their two upper surfaces in proximity, the under surfaces alone displaying their colors to the eye. Only in a few genera of the larger butterflies, and these tropical species, with which this book does not deal, is there an exception to this rule, save in the case of the Hesperiidæ, or "skippers," in which very frequently, while the anterior wings are folded together, the posterior wings lie in a horizontal position.

Internal Organs.—Thus far we have considered only the external organs of the butterfly. The internal organs have been made the subject of close study and research by many writers, and a volume might be prepared upon this subject. It will, however, suffice for us to call the attention of the student to the principal facts.

[a]Fig. 41.]—Longitudinal section through the larva of Anosia plexippus, ♂, to show the internal anatomy (the Roman numerals indicate the thoracic, the Arabic the abdominal segments): b, brain; sog, subœsophageal ganglion; nc, nervous cord; œ, œsophagus; st, stomach; i, intestine; c, colon; sv, spinning-vessel of one side; s, spinneret; mv, Malpighian vessel, of which only the portions lying on the stomach are shown, and not the multitudinous convolutions on the intestine; t, testis; dv, dorsal vessel; the salivary glands are not shown. (Magnified 3 diameters.) (Burgess.)

The muscular system finds its principal development in the thorax, which bears the organs of locomotion. The digestive system consists of the proboscis, which has already been described, the gullet, or œsophagus, and the stomach, over which is a large, bladder-like vessel called the food-reservoir, a sort of crop preceding the true stomach, which is a cylindrical tube; the intestine is a slender tube, varying in shape in different genera, divided into the small intestine, the colon, and the rectum. Butterflies breathe through spiracles, little oval openings on the sides of the segments of the body, branching from which inwardly are the tracheæ, or bronchial tubes. The heart, which is located in the same relative position as the spine in vertebrate animals, is a tubular structure. The nervous system lies on the lower or ventral side of the body, its position being exactly the reverse of that which is found in the higher animals. It consists of nervous cords and ganglia, or nerve-knots, in the different segments. Those in the head are more largely developed than elsewhere, forming a rudimentary brain, the larger portion of which consists of two enormous optic nerves. The student who is desirous of informing himself more thoroughly and accurately as to the internal anatomy of these insects may consult with profit some of the treatises which are mentioned in the list of works dealing with the subject which is given elsewhere in this book.

[a]Fig. 42.]—Longitudinal section through the imago of Anosia plexippus, ♁, to show the internal anatomy: t, tongue; p, palpus; a, antenna; pr, prothorax; mes, mesothorax; met, metathorax; ps, pharyngeal sac; b, brain; sog, subœsophageal ganglion; 1-2, blended first and second ganglia of the larva; 3-4, blended third and fourth ganglia of the larva; l, l, l, the three legs; ac, aortal chamber; dv, dorsal vessel; œ, œsophagus; res, reservoir for air or food; st, stomach; mv, Malpighian vessels; i, intestine; c, colon; r, rectum; cp, copulatory pouch; o, oviduct; ag, accessory glands; sp, spermatheca; ov, ovaries (not fully developed); nc, nervous cord. (Magnified 3 diameters.) (Burgess.)

Polymorphism and Dimorphism.—Species of butterflies often show great differences in the different broods which appear. The brood which emerges in the springtime from the chrysalis, which has passed the winter under the snows, may differ very strikingly from the insect which appears in the second or summer brood; and the insects of the third or fall brood may differ again from either the spring or the summer brood. The careful student notes these differences. Such species are called polymorphic, that is, appearing under different forms. Some species reveal a singular difference between the sexes, and there may be two forms of the same sex in the same species. This is most common in the case of the female butterfly, and where there are two forms of the female or the male such a species is said to have dimorphic females or males. This phenomenon is revealed in the case of the well-known Turnus Butterfly; in the colder regions of the continent the females are yellow banded with black, like the males, but in more southern portions of the continent black females are quite common, and these dark females were once thought, before the truth was known, to constitute a separate species.

Albinism and Melanism.—Albinos, white or light-colored forms, are quite common among butterflies, principally among the females. On the other hand, melanism, or a tendency to the production of dark or even black forms, reveals itself. Melanism is rather more common in the case of the male sex than in the female sex. The collector and student will always endeavor, if possible, to preserve these curious aberrations, as they are called. We do not yet entirely understand what are the causes which are at work to produce these changes in the color, and all such aberrant specimens have interest for the scientific man.

Monstrosities.—Curious malformations, producing monstrosities, sometimes occur among insects, as in other animals, and such malformed specimens should likewise be preserved when found. One form of malformation which is not altogether uncommon consists in an apparent confusion of sexes in specimens, the wings of a male insect being attached to the body of a female, or half of an insect being male and half female.

Mimicry.—One of the most singular and interesting facts in the animal kingdom is what has been styled mimicry. Certain colors and forms are possessed by animals which adapt them to their surroundings in such wise that they are in a greater or less degree secured from observation and attack. Or they possess forms and colors which cause them to approximate in appearance other creatures, which for some reason are feared or disliked by animals which might prey upon them, and in consequence of this resemblance enjoy partial or entire immunity. Some butterflies, for instance, resemble dried leaves, and as they are seated upon the twigs of trees they wholly elude the eye. This illustrates the first form of mimicry. Other butterflies so closely approximate in form and color species which birds and other insects will not attack, because of the disagreeable juices which their bodies contain, that they are shunned by their natural enemies, in spite of the fact that they belong to groups of insects which are ordinarily greedily devoured by birds and other animals. A good illustration of this fact is found in the case of the Disippus Butterfly, which belongs to a group which is not specially protected, but is often the prey of insect-eating creatures. This butterfly has assumed almost the exact color and markings of the milkweed butterfly, Anosia plexippus, which is distasteful to birds, and hence enjoys peculiar freedom from the attacks of enemies. Because this adaptation of one form to another evidently serves the purpose of defense this phenomenon has been called "protective mimicry." The reader who is curious to know more about the subject will do well to consult the writings of Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace and Mr. Darwin, who have written at length upon mimicry among butterflies. There is here a field of most interesting inquiry for the student.

The Distribution of Butterflies.—Butterflies are found everywhere that plant life suited to the nourishment of the caterpillars is found. There are some species which are arctic and are found in the brief summer of the cold North and upon the lofty summits of high mountains which have an arctic climate. Most of them are, however, children of the sun, and chiefly abound in the temperate and tropical regions of the earth. While the number of species which are found in the tropics vastly exceeds the number of species found in the temperate zone, it is apparently true that the number of specimens of certain species is far more numerous in temperate regions than in the tropics. Very rarely in tropical countries are great assemblages of butterflies to be seen, such as may be found in the summer months in the United States, swarming around damp places, or hovering over the fields of blooming clover or weeds. In the whole vast region extending from the Rio Grande of Texas to the arctic circle it is doubtful whether more than seven hundred species of butterflies are found. On the continent of Europe there are only about four hundred and fifty species. The number of species of butterflies and the number of species of birds in the United States are very nearly the same.

CHAPTER II

THE CAPTURE, PREPARATION, AND PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS

"What hand would crush the silken-wingèd fly, The youngest of inconstant April's minions, Because it cannot climb the purest sky, Where the swan sings, amid the sun's dominions? Not thine."

Shelley.

COLLECTING APPARATUS

Nets.—In the capture of insects of all orders, and especially of butterflies and moths, one of the most important instruments is the net. German naturalists make use of what are known as shears (Scheren), which are made like gigantic scissors, having at the end two large oval rings upon which wire gauze or fine netting is stretched. With this implement, which looks like an old-fashioned candle-snuffer of colossal size, they succeed in collecting specimens without doing much injury. Shears are, however, not much in vogue among the naturalists of other countries. The favorite instrument for the ordinary collector is the net. Nets may be made in various ways and of various materials. There are a multitude of devices which have been invented for enabling the net to be folded up so as to occupy but little space when not in use. The simplest form of the net, which can be made almost anywhere, is constructed as follows: A rod—preferably of bamboo, or some other light, stiff material—is used as the handle, not more than five feet in length. Attached to this at its upper end, a loop or ring made of metal, or some moderately stiff

[a]Fig. 43.]—Plan for folding net-ring: c, halves of ring detached; b, upper joint of the halves; a, ring set; d, cap of ferrule; f, cap of ferrule, showing screw in place; e, screw (Riley).

[a]Fig. 44.]—a, net; b, ferrule to receive handle; c, wire hoop to be fastened in the upper end of the ferrule (Riley).

[a]Fig. 45.]—a, ring of metal tied with wire at a; b, ferrule; c, plug put in before pouring in solder (Riley).

yet flexible material, should be tied securely. Upon this there should be sewed a bag of fine netting, preferably tarletan. The bag should be quite long, not less than eighteen inches deep; the ring should be not less than a foot in diameter. Such a net can be made at a cost of but a few cents, and will be, in most cases, as efficient as any of the more expensive nets which are more carefully constructed. A good, cheap ring for a net may be made by using the brass ferrule of a fishing-rod. The ferrule should be at least three quarters of an inch in diameter. Into this insert the ends of a metal ring made by bending brass, aluminium, or iron wire into the proper form. When the ends have been inserted into the ferrule, melted solder or lead may be poured into it, and the ends of the wire forming the ring will be thus firmly secured in the ferrule. The ferrule can then be inserted into its mate placed at the end of a bamboo rod. I have commonly obtained for this purpose the last joint or butt of a fishing-rod as the handle of a net. Such a handle can often be purchased for a small sum from a dealer in fishing-rods. It can be made very cheaply. Any kind of a stick, if not too heavy, will do. It is sometimes convenient to have it in your power to lengthen the handle of your net so as to reach objects that are at some elevation above the head, and for this purpose I have had nets made with handles capable of being lengthened by jointed extensions. In collecting in tropical countries, among tall shrubbery and undergrowth, nets thus made, capable of having their handles greatly lengthened, have often proved serviceable. One of the most successful collectors I have ever had in my employment made his net by simply bending a piece of bamboo into the form of the frame of an Indian snow-shoe, to which he attached a handle about a foot and a half in length, and to this he affixed a bag of netting. He was, however, a Japanese, and possessed a singular dexterity in the capture of specimens with this simple apparatus to which I myself never attained. When tarletan cannot be had, ordinary mosquito-netting will do as the material for the bag. It is, however, too coarse in the mesh for many delicate and minute species. Very fine netting for the manufacture of the bags is made in Switzerland, and can be obtained from reputable dealers.

In order to protect and preserve the net, it is well to bind it with some thin muslin at the point where it is joined to the ring. Nets are sometimes made with a strip of muslin, about two inches wide, attached to the entire circumference of the ring, and to this strip of muslin the bag is sewed. For my part, I prefer gray or green as the color for a net. White should be avoided, as experience shows that a white net will often alarm an insect when a net of darker material will not cause it to fly before the collector is ready to bring the net down over the spot where it is settled.

Collecting-Jars.—In killing insects various methods have been used. In practice the most approved method is to employ a jar charged with cyanide of potash or with carbonate of ammonia. For large moths and butterflies cyanide of potash and carbonate of ammonia serve very well, but it must be remembered that carbonate of ammonia bleaches insects which are green in color. It is well, in my judgment, to use a drop or two of chloroform in the jar charged with carbonate of ammonia, for the collection of diurnal lepidoptera. By putting a few drops of chloroform into the jar, the insect is anesthetized, and its struggles are made quickly to cease. The principal objection to chloroform is the fact that it induces rigidity of the thoracic muscles, which subsequently sometimes interferes with handsome setting.

[a]Fig. 46.]—Cyanide-jar prepared for use: P, perforated cardboard; Cy, lumps of cyanide of potash.

[a]Fig. 47.]—Piece of paper punctured and slit for pasting over the cyanide in the collecting-jar.

In the preparation of the poisoning-jar it is well to use a jar which has a ground-glass stopper, and the mouth of which is about three inches in diameter. This will be large enough for most specimens. The one-pound hydrate of chloral jars, provided with glass stoppers and sold by Schering, make the neatest collecting-jars that are known to the writer. I have found it well to have such jars partly covered with leather after the fashion of a drinking-flask. An opening in the leather is left on either side, permitting an inspection of the contents of the jar. The leather protects from breakage. At the bottom of such a jar a few lumps of cyanide of potash, about the size of a filbert, should be placed. Over this may be laid a little cotton, to prevent the lumps from rattling about loosely at the bottom of the jar. Over the cotton there is pasted a sheet of strong white paper, perforated with a multitude of holes. In securing the white paper over the cyanide, the writer has resorted to a simple method which is explained in the annexed diagram. A piece of paper is placed under the jar, and a circle the size of the inside of the jar is traced upon it. Then a disk is cut out about three quarters of an inch greater in diameter than the original circle (Fig. 47). The paper is punctured over the entire surface included within the inner line, and then, with a scissors, little gashes are made from the outer circumference inward, so as to permit of the folding up of the edge of the disk. A little gum tragacanth is then applied to these upturned edges; and it is inserted into the jar and pasted securely over the cyanide by the upturned flaps. A jar thus charged will last for a long time, if kept properly closed when not in use. Cyanide of potash has a tendency to deliquesce, or melt down in the presence of moisture, and in very humid climates or damp places, if the jar is not kept well stoppered, the cyanide will quickly become semi-fluid, the paper will become moist, and specimens placed in the jar will be injured or completely ruined. It is well, however, to bear in mind the fact that the fumes of hydrocyanic acid (prussic acid), which are active in producing the death of the insect, will not be given off in sufficient volume unless there is some small amount of moisture present in the jar; and in a very dry climate the writer has found it sometimes necessary to add a drop or two of water from time to time to the cyanide. The same method which has been described for charging a jar with cyanide of potash can be employed in charging it with carbonate of ammonia.

[a]Fig. 48.]—Method of disabling a butterfly by pinching it when in the net.

Field-Boxes.—In collecting butterflies it is often possible to kill, or half kill, the specimens contained in the net by a smart pinch administered to the insect by the thumb and the first finger, the pressure being applied from without the net (Fig. 48). This mode of procedure, however, unless the operator is careful, is apt to somewhat damage the specimens. The writer prefers to hold the insect firmly between the thumb and the first finger, and apply a drop or two of chloroform from a vial which should be carried in the upper left-hand vest-pocket. The application of the chloroform will cause the insect to cease its struggles immediately, and it may then be placed in the poisoning-jar, or it may be pinned into the field-box. The field-box, which should be worn at the side, securely held in its place by a strap going over the shoulder and by another strap around the waist, may be provided with the poisoning apparatus or may be without it. In the former case the box should be of tin, and should have securely fastened in one corner some lumps of cyanide, tied in gauze. The box should be very tight, so that when it is closed the fumes of the cyanide may be retained. The bottom should be covered with cork, upon which the specimens, as they are withdrawn from the poisoning-jar, should be pinned. It is well to bear strictly in mind that it is a mistake to continue to put one specimen after another into the poisoning-jar until it is half filled or quite filled with specimens. In walking about the field, if there are several insects in the jar at a time, they are likely to become rubbed and their beauty partially destroyed by being tossed about as the collector moves from place to place; and a large insect placed in a jar in which there are one or two smaller insects will in its death-struggles possibly injure the latter. So, as fast as the insects are partially asphyxiated, or deprived of the power of motion, they should be removed from the poisoning-jar to the poisoning-box, where they are pinned in place and prevented from rubbing one against the other. Some collectors prefer simply to stun the insects, and then pin them into the field-box, where they are left, in whole or in part, to recover their vitality, to be subsequently put to death upon the return of the collector from the field. This mode of procedure, while undoubtedly it yields in the hands of a skilful operator the most beautiful specimens, appears to the writer to be somewhat cruel, and he does not therefore approve of it.

[Plate IV.]

The Use of the Net.—In the use of the net the old saying is true that "practice makes perfect." The bag of the net should be sufficiently long to allow of its being completely closed when hanging from the ring on either side. It is possible to sweep into the net an insect which is fluttering through the air, and then by a turn of the hand to close the bag and to capture the specimen. When the insect has alighted upon the ground it is best to clap the net over it and then to raise the net with one hand. Very many species have the habit of flying upward. This is particularly true of the skippers, a group of very vigorous and swift-flying butterflies. The writer prefers, if possible, to clap the net over the specimens and then to allow them to rise, and, by inserting the wide-mouthed collecting-jar below, to capture them without touching them at all with the fingers. So far as possible the fingers should not be allowed to come in contact with specimens, whether in or out of the net, though some persons acquire an extremely delicate yet firm touch which enables them to handle the wings of frail species without removing any of the scales. Nothing is more unsightly in a collection than specimens that have been caught and rubbed by the fingers.

Baits.—Moths are frequently taken by the method of collecting known as "sugaring." But it may also be employed for butterflies. For this purpose a mixture of beer and cheap brown sugar may be used. If the beer be stale drippings, so much the better. In fact, it is well, if the collector intends to remain in one locality for some time, to make a mixture of beer and sugar some hours or a day in advance of its application. In semi-tropical countries a mixture of beer and sugar is hardly as good as a mixture of molasses and water into which a few tablespoonfuls of Jamaica rum have been put. A mixture thus prepared seems to attract more effectually than the first prescription. Having provided a pail with a quart or two of the mixture, the collector resorts to the point where he proposes to carry on his work. With an ordinary whitewash brush the mixture is applied to the trunks of trees, stumps, fence-rails, and other objects. It is well to apply the mixture to a series of trees and posts located on the side of a bit of woodland, or along a path through forests, if comparatively open and not too dense. The writer has rarely had success in sugaring in the depths of forests. His greatest success has always been on paths and at the edge of woods. Many beetles and other insects come to the tempting sweets, and separate jars for capturing these should be carried in the pocket. The collector never should attempt to kill beetles in the same jar into which he is putting butterflies. The hard, horny bodies and spiny legs of beetles will make sad havoc with the delicate wings of butterflies.

Many other baits besides this may be employed to attract insects. Some writers recommend a bait prepared by boiling dried apples and mashing them into a pulp, adding a little rum to the mixture, and applying this to the bark of trees. In tropical countries bananas, especially rotten bananas, seem to have a charm for insects. The cane-trash at sugar-mills is very attractive. If possible, it is well to obtain a quantity of this trash and scatter it along forest paths. Some insects have very peculiar appetites and are attracted by things loathsome. The ordure of carnivorous animals seems to have a special charm for some of the most magnificently colored and the rarest of tropical butterflies. A friend of mine in Africa, who collected for me for a number of years, used to keep civet-cats, the ordure of which was collected and placed at appropriate points in the forest paths; and he was richly rewarded by obtaining many insects which were not obtained in any other way. Putrid fish have a charm for other species, and dead snakes, when rankly high, will attract still others. It may be observed that after the trees have been treated for a succession of days or nights with the sweetening mixture spoken of above, they become very productive. When collecting in Japan I made it a rule to return in the morning to the spots that I had sugared for moths the evening before, and I was always amply repaid by finding multitudes of butterflies and even a good many day-flying moths seated upon the mossy bark, feasting upon the remnants of the banquet I had provided the evening before. There is no sport—I do not except that of the angler—which is more fascinating than the sport derived by an enthusiastic entomologist from the practice of "sugaring." It is well, however, to know always where your path leads, and not to lay it out in the dusk, as the writer once did when staying at a well-known summer resort in Virginia. The path which he had chosen as the scene of operations was unfortunately laid, all unknown to himself, just in the rear of the poultry-house of a man who sold chickens to the hotel; and when he saw the dark lantern mysteriously moving about, he concluded that some one with designs upon his hens was hidden in the woods, and opened fire with a seven-shooter, thus coming very near to terminating abruptly the career of an ardent entomologist.

Beating.—There are many species which are apparently not attracted by baits such as we have spoken of in the preceding paragraph. The collector, passing through the grove, searches diligently with his eye and captures what he can see, but does not fail also with the end of his net-handle to tap the trunks of trees and to shake the bushes, and as the insects fly out, to note the point where they settle, and then make them his prey. It is well in this work, as in all collecting, to proceed somewhat leisurely, and to keep perfectly cool. The caricature sometimes found in newspapers of the ardent lepidopterist running like a "quarter-back" across a ten-acre lot in quest of some flying insect does not represent the truly skilful collector, whose movements are more or less stealthy and cautious.

THE BREEDING OF SPECIMENS

By breeding it is possible to obtain specimens in the most perfect condition. Bred specimens which have not had an opportunity to fly are always preferred on account of their freshness of color and perfection of form. A great many species which apparently are exceedingly rare may often be obtained in considerable numbers by the process of breeding, the caterpillar being more readily found than the perfect insect. Although the process of breeding involves a good deal of labor and care, it affords a most delightful field for observation, and the returns are frequently of the very greatest value.

How to Get the Eggs of Butterflies.—The process of breeding may begin with the egg. The skilful eye of the student will detect the eggs of butterflies upon the leaves upon which they have been deposited. The twig may be cut and placed in a vase, in water, and kept fresh until the minute caterpillar emerges, and then from time to time it may be transferred to fresh leaves of the same species of plant, and it will continue to make its moults until at last it is transformed into a chrysalis, and in due season the butterfly emerges. Eggs may frequently be obtained in considerable numbers by confining the female under gauze, with the appropriate food-plant. A knowledge of the food-plant may often be obtained by watching the female and observing upon what plants she deposits her eggs. The exceedingly beautiful researches of Mr. W.H. Edwards were largely promoted by his skill in inducing females to oviposit upon their food-plants. He did this generally by confining the female with the food-plant in a barrel or nail-keg, the bottom of which had been knocked out, and over the top of which he tied mosquito-netting. The plant was placed under the keg. The insects thus confined may be fed with a mixture of honey and water placed upon the leaves.

In collecting caterpillars it is well to have on hand a number of small boxes in which to place them, and also a botany-box in which to bring from the field a supply of their appropriate food.

The process of breeding may begin with the caterpillar. The collector, having discovered the caterpillar feeding upon the branch of a certain plant, provides the creature with a constant supply of the fresh foliage of the same plant, until it finally pupates.

[a]Fig. 49.]—Cheap form of breeding-cage: G, lid covered with mosquito-netting; E, pan of earth; B, bottle for food-plant.

Breeding-Cages.—Various devices for breeding caterpillars and rearing moths and butterflies are known. One of the most important of these devices is the breeding-cage, which is sometimes called a vivarium. The simplest form of the vivarium is often the best. In breeding some species the best method is simply to pot a plant of the species upon which the larva is known to feed, and to place the potted plant in a box over which some mosquito-netting is tied. The writer frequently employs for this purpose cylinders of glass over the top of which perforated cardboard is placed. This method, however, can be resorted to only with the more minute forms and with plants that do not attain great height. Another form of vivarium is represented in the adjoining woodcut (Fig. 50). The writer has successfully employed, for breeding insects upon a large scale, ordinary store boxes provided with a lid made by fastening together four pieces of wood, making a frame large enough to cover the top of the box, and covering it with gauze. The food-plant is kept fresh in bottles or jars which are set into the boxes. Be careful, however, after you have put the branches upon which the caterpillars are feeding into the jars, to stuff something into the neck of the jar so as to prevent the caterpillar from accidentally getting into the water and drowning himself—a mishap which otherwise might occur. When breeding is undertaken on a still larger scale, it may be well to set apart for this purpose a room, preferably in an outbuilding, all the openings leading from which should be carefully closed so as to prevent the escape of the caterpillars.

[a]Fig. 50.]—Breeding-cage: a, base, battened at g to prevent warping; b, removable body of cage, inclosing zinc pan, f, f, containing jar for plant, d, and filled with five inches of soil, e; c, removable top, covered with wire gauze. The doors and sides are of glass (Riley).

How to Find Caterpillars.—Many species of caterpillars are not hard to discover; they are more or less conspicuous objects, and strike the eye. Some species conceal themselves by weaving together the leaves of the plant on which they feed, or by bending a single leaf into a curved receptacle in which they lie hidden. Others conceal themselves during the daytime about the roots of trees or under bark or stones, only emerging in the night-time to feed upon the foliage. The collector will carefully search for these. The presence of caterpillars is generally indicated by the ravages which they have committed upon the foliage. By carefully scanning a branch the collector will observe that the leaves have been more or less devoured. Generally underneath the tree will be found the frass, or ejectamenta, of the caterpillar. The presence of the ejectamenta and the evidence of the ravages committed by the larvæ upon the foliage will give the collector a clue to the whereabouts of the caterpillar. The writer has found it generally advantageous to search for caterpillars that feed upon trees along the wide, sandy margins of brooks and rivers. The frass is easily discovered upon the sand, and by casting the eye upward into the foliage it is often easy to detect the insect. The pavements in towns and cities which are bordered by trees may also very well be scanned for evidence of the presence of caterpillars. A favorite collecting-ground of the writer is one of the large cemeteries of the city in which he lives, in which there are numerous trees and a great quantity of shrubbery. Wood-boring species, as a rule, are more difficult to obtain and rear than those that feed upon the foliage.

Hibernating Caterpillars.—While some difficulty attends the preservation of chrysalids in the case of those species which pupate in the fall and pass the winter in the chrysalis state under the ground, far more difficulty attends the preservation of species which hibernate in the caterpillar state. As a rule, it is found best to expose the boxes containing these species in an ice-house or other cold place, keeping them there until there is available an abundant supply of the tender shoots of the plant upon which they are in the habit of feeding. They may then be brought forth from cold storage and placed in proximity to the food-plant, upon which they will proceed to feed.

THE PRESERVATION OF SPECIMENS

Papering Specimens.—When time and opportunities do not suffice for the proper preparation of butterflies for display in the permanent collection, the collector may, in the case of the larger species, conveniently place them in envelopes, with their wings folded (Fig. 51), and they may then be stored in a box until such time as he is able to relax the specimens and properly mount them. Thousands of insects are thus annually collected. The small drug envelopes, or the larger pay-roll envelopes, which may be bought in boxes by the thousand of any stationer for a comparatively small sum, are preferable because of their convenience. Many collectors, however, paper their specimens in envelopes which they make of oblong bits of paper adapted to the size of the insect. The process of making the envelope and of papering the insect is accurately depicted in the accompanying cut (Fig. 52). The writer finds it good in the case of small butterflies to place them in boxes between layers of cheap plush or velvet. A small box, a few inches long, may be provided, and at its bottom a layer of velvet is placed; upon this a number of small butterflies are laid. Over them is placed a layer of velvet, with its soft pile facing the same side of the velvet at the bottom. On top of this another piece of velvet is laid, with its pile upward, and other specimens are again deposited, and over this another piece of velvet is laid, and so on. If the box is not filled full at once, it is well to have enough pieces of velvet cut to fill it, or else place cotton on top, so as to keep the layers of velvet from moving or shaking about. A yard or two of plush or velvet will suffice for the packing of a thousand specimens of small butterflies.

[a]Fig. 51.—Butterfly in envelope.]

[a]Fig. 52.]—Method of folding paper for envelopes: first fold on line AB; then on AD and CB; then on BF and EA.

Mounting Butterflies.—When the collector has time enough at his disposal he should at once mount his specimens as they are intended to be displayed in the collection. We shall now proceed to explain the manner in which this is most advantageously accomplished. The insect should first of all be pinned. The pin should be thrust perpendicularly through the thorax, midway between the wings, and at a considerable elevation upon the pin. It should then be placed upon the setting-board or setting-block. Setting-boards or setting-blocks are pieces of wood having a groove on the upper surface of sufficient depth to accommodate the body of the insect and to permit the wings to be brought to the level of the upper surface of the board (Fig. 53). They should also be provided either with a cleft or a hole which will permit the pin to be thrust down below the body of the insect for a considerable distance. As a rule, the wings of all specimens should be mounted at a uniform elevation of about seven eighths of an inch above the point of the pin. This is known as the "continental method" of mounting, and is infinitely preferable to the old-fashioned "English method," in which the insect was pinned low down upon the pin, so that its wings touched the surface of the box.

[a]Fig. 53.]—Setting-board designed by the author. The wings of the insect are held in place by strips of tracing-muslin, such as is used by engineers. The grooves at the side serve to hold the board in place in the drying-box. (See Fig. 59.)

[a]Fig. 54.]—Setting-block: A, holes to enable the pin to reach to the cork; C, cork, filling groove on the bottom of the block; B, slit to hold thread.

[a]Fig. 55.]—Setting-block with butterfly expanded upon it.

Setting-blocks are most advantageously employed in setting small species, especially the Hesperiidæ, the wings of which are refractory. When the insect has been pinned upon the setting-board or setting-block, the next step is to set the wings in the position which they are to maintain when the specimen is thoroughly dry. This is accomplished by means of what are known as "setting-needles" (Fig. 56). Setting-needles may be easily made by simply sticking ordinary needles into wooden matches from which the tips have been removed. In drawing the wings into position, care should be taken to plant the setting-needle behind the strong nervure on the costal margin of the wing; otherwise the wings are liable to be torn and disfigured. The rule in setting lepidoptera is to draw the anterior wing forward in such a manner that the posterior margin of this wing is at right angles to the axis of the body, the axis of the body being a line drawn through the head to the extremity of the abdomen. The hind wing should then be moved forward, its anterior margin lying under the opposing margin of the front wing. When the wings have thus been adjusted into the position which they are to occupy, slips of tracing-muslin or of paper should be drawn down over them and securely pinned, the setting-needles being removed.

[a]Fig. 56.—Setting-needle.]

In pinning down the strips which are to hold the wings in place, be careful to pin around the wing, but never, if possible, through it. When the wings have been adjusted in the position in which they are to remain, the antennæ, or feelers, should be attended to and drawn forward on the same plane as the wings and secured in place. This may ordinarily be done by setting pins in such a position as to hold them where they are to stay. Then the body, if it has a tendency to sag down at the end of the abdomen, should be raised. This may also be accomplished by means of pins thrust beneath on either side. The figure on the next page shows more clearly what is intended. When the insect has been set, the board should be put aside in a place where it will not be molested or attacked by pests, and the specimens upon it allowed to dry. A box with shelves in it is often used for this purpose. This box should have a door at the front covered with wire gauze, and the back should also be open, covered with gauze, so as to allow a free circulation of air. A few balls of naphthaline placed in it will tend to keep away mites and other pests. The time during which the specimen should remain on the board until it is dried varies with its size and the condition of the atmosphere. Most butterflies and moths in dry weather will be sufficiently dried to permit of their removal from the setting-boards in a week; but large, stout-bodied moths may require as much as two weeks, or even more time, before they are dry enough to be taken off the boards. The process of drying may be hastened by placing the boards in an oven, but the temperature of the oven must be quite low. If too much heat is applied, great injury is sure to result. Only a careful and expert operator should resort to the use of the oven, a temperature above 120°F. being sure to work mischief.

[a]Fig. 57.]—Setting-board with moth expanded upon it (Riley).

[a]Fig. 58.]—Butterfly pinned on board, showing method of holding up body and pinning down antennæ.

[a]Fig. 59.]—Drying-box: a, setting-board partly pulled out; b, T-shaped strip working in groove on setting-board; c, front door, sliding down by tongue, d, working in a groove at side in front.

Relaxing Specimens.—When butterflies or moths have been put up in papers or mounted on pins without having their wings expanded and set it becomes necessary, before setting them, to relax them. This may be accomplished in several ways. If the specimens have been pinned it is best to place them on pieces of sheet-cork on a tray of sand which has been thoroughly moistened and treated with a good dose of carbolic acid. Over all a bell-glass is put. A tight tin box will serve the same purpose, but a broad sheet of bibulous paper should always be put over the box, under the lid, before closing it, and in such a way as to leave the edges of the paper projecting around the edges of the lid. This is done to absorb the moisture which might settle by condensation upon the lid and drop upon the specimens. In a bell-glass the moisture generally trickles down the sides. Earthenware crocks with closely fitting lids are even better than tin boxes, but they must have paper put over them, before closing, in the same way as is done when tin boxes are used. When specimens have been preserved in papers or envelopes these should be opened a little and laid upon damp, carbolized sand under a bell-glass or in a closed receptacle of some kind. Papered specimens may also be placed in their envelopes between clean towels, which have been moistened in water to which a little carbolic acid has been added. The towels should be wrung out quite dry before using them. The method of placing between towels should never be used in the case of very small and delicate species and those which are blue or green in color. Great care must be exercised not to allow the insects to become soaked or unduly wet. This ruins them. They should, however, be damp enough to allow the wings and other organs to be freely moved. When the insects have been relaxed they may be pinned and expanded on setting-boards like freshly caught specimens. It is well in setting the wings of relaxed specimens, after having thrust the pin through the body, to take a small forceps and, seizing the wings just where they join the body, gently move them so as to open them and make their movement easy before pinning them upon the setting-board. The skilful manipulator in this way quickly ascertains whether they have been sufficiently relaxed to admit of their being readily set. If discovered to be too stiff and liable to break they must be still further relaxed. Dried specimens which have been relaxed and then mounted generally require only a short time to dry again, and need rarely be kept more than twenty-four hours upon the setting-boards.

[a]Fig. 60.—Drying-box (Riley).]

The process of setting insects upon setting-blocks is exactly the same as when setting-boards are used, with the simple difference that, instead of pinning strips of paper or tracing-muslin over the wings, the wings are held in place by threads or very narrow tapes, which are wound around the block. When the wings are not covered with a very deep and velvety covering of scales the threads or tapes maybe used alone; but when the wings are thus clothed it becomes necessary to put bits of paper or cardboard over the wings before wrapping with the threads. Unless this is done the marks of the threads will be left upon the wings. Some little skill, which is easily acquired by practice, is necessary in order to employ setting-blocks to advantage, but in the case of small species and species which have refractory wings they are much to be preferred to the boards.

The Preparation and Preservation of Eggs.—The eggs of butterflies may be preserved by simply putting them into tubes containing alcohol, or they may be placed in vials containing dilute glycerine or a solution of common salt. The vials should be kept tightly corked and should be marked by a label written with a lead-pencil and placed within the bottle, upon which the name of the species and the date of collection should be noted, or a reference made to the collector's note-book. Unless the eggs of insects are preserved in fluid they are apt in many cases to dry up and become distorted, because, on account of their small size, it is impossible to void them of their contents. The larvæ escaping from eggs often void the shell very neatly, leaving, however, a large orifice. Such remnants of shells may be preserved, as they often are useful in showing some of the details of marking; but great vigilance in securing them should be exercised, for almost all the larvæ of butterflies have the curious habit of whetting their appetites for future repasts by turning around and either wholly or partially devouring the shell of the egg which they have quitted. Eggs are most neatly mounted in the form of microscopic slides in glycerine jelly contained in cells of appropriate depth and diameter. It is best, if possible, to mount several specimens upon the same slide, showing the side of the egg as well as the end. A cabinet filled with the eggs of butterflies thus mounted is valuable and curious.

The Preservation of Chrysalids.—Chrysalids may be deprived of their vitality by simply immersing them in alcohol, or they may be killed by means of chloroform, and they may then be fastened upon pins like the imago, and arranged appropriately in the collection with the species. Some chrysalids, however, lose their color when killed in this way, and it is occasionally well to void them of their contents by making an opening and carefully removing the parts that are contained within, replacing with some material which will prevent the chrysalis from shrinking and shriveling. This method of preserving need, however, be resorted to only in exceptional cases. When a butterfly has escaped from its chrysalis it frequently leaves the entire shell behind, with the parts somewhat sundered, yet, nevertheless, furnishing a clear idea of the structure of the chrysalis. If no other specimen of the chrysalis can be obtained than these voided shells they should be preserved.

The Preservation of Caterpillars.—The caterpillars of butterflies when they first emerge from the egg, and before they make the first moult, are, for the most part, extremely small, and are best preserved as microscopic objects in cells filled with glycerine. After each successive moult the larva increases rapidly in size. These various stages in the development of the caterpillar should all be noted and preserved, and it is customary to put up these collections in vials filled with alcohol or a solution of formaline (which latter, by the by, is preferable to alcohol), or to inflate them. The method of inflation secures the best specimens.

In inflating larvæ the first step is carefully to remove the contents of the larval skin. This may be done by making an incision with a stout pin or a needle at the anal extremity, and then, between the folds of a soft towel or cloth, pressing out the contents of the abdominal cavity. The pressure should be first applied near the point where the pellicle has been punctured, and should then be carried forward until the region of the head is reached. Care must be exercised to apply only enough pressure to expel the contents of the skin without disturbing the tissues which lie nearest to the epidermis, in which the pigments are located, and not to remove the hairs which are attached to the body. Pressure sufficient to bruise the skin should never be applied. A little practice soon imparts the required dexterity. The contents of the larval skin having been removed, the next step is to inflate and dry the empty skin. A compact statement of the method of performing this operation is contained in Hornaday's "Taxidermy and Zoölogical Collecting," from the pen of the writer, and I herewith reproduce it:

[Plate V.]

Fig. 61.—Apparatus for inflating larvæ: B, foot-bellows; K, rubber tube; C, flask; D, anhydrous sulphuric acid; E, overflow-flask; F, rubber tube from flask; G, standard with cock to regulate flow of air; H, glass tube with larva upon it; I, copper drying-plate; J, spirit-lamp.

"The simplest method of inflating the skins of larvæ after the contents have been withdrawn is to insert a straw or grass stem of appropriate thickness into the opening through which the contents have been removed, and then by the breath to inflate the specimen, while holding over the chimney of an Argand lamp, the flame of which must be regulated so as not to scorch or singe it. Care must be taken in the act of inflating not to unduly distend the larval skin, thus producing a distortion, and also to dry it thoroughly. Unless the latter precaution is observed a subsequent shrinking and disfigurement will take place. The process of inflating in the manner just described is somewhat laborious, and while some of the finest specimens which the writer has ever seen were prepared in this primitive manner, various expedients for lessening the labor involved have been devised, some of which are to be highly commended.

[a]Fig. 62.]—Tip of inflating-tube, with armature for holding larval skin.

[a]Fig. 63.]—Drying-oven: A, lamp; B, pin to hold door open; C, door open; D, glass cover.

"A comparatively inexpensive arrangement for inflating larvæ is a modification of that described in the 'Entomologische Nachrichten' (1879, vol. v, p. 7), devised by Mr. Fritz A. Wachtel (Fig. 61). It consists of a foot-bellows such as is used by chemists in the laboratory, or, better still, of a small cylinder such as is used for holding gas in operating the oxyhydrogen lamp of a sciopticon. In the latter case the compressed air should not have a pressure exceeding twenty pounds to the square inch, and the cock regulating the flow from the cylinder should be capable of very fine adjustment. By means of a rubber tube the air is conveyed from the cylinder to a couple of flasks, one of which contains concentrated sulphuric acid, and the other is intended for the reception of any overflow of the hydrated sulphuric acid which may occur. The object of passing the air through sulphuric acid is to rob it, so far as possible, of its moisture. It is then conveyed into a flask, which is heated upon a sand-bath, and thence by a piece of flexible tubing to a tip mounted on a joint allowing vertical and horizontal motion and secured by a standard to the working-table. The flow of air through the tip is regulated by a cock. Upon the tip is fastened a small rubber tube, into the free extremity of which is inserted a fine-pointed glass tube. This is provided with an armature consisting of two steel springs fastened upon opposite sides, and their ends bent at right angles in such a way as to hold the larval skin firmly to the extremity of the tube. The skin having been adjusted upon the fine point of the tube, the bellows is put into operation, and the skin is inflated. A drying apparatus is provided in several ways. A copper plate mounted upon four legs, and heated by an alcohol-lamp placed below, has been advocated by some. A better arrangement, used by the writer, consists of a small oven heated by the flame of an alcohol-lamp or by jets of natural gas, and provided with circular openings of various sizes, into which the larval skin is introduced (Fig. 63).

"A less commendable method of preserving larvæ is to place them in alcohol. The larvæ should be tied up in sacks of light gauze netting, and a label of tough paper, with the date and locality of capture, and the name, if known, written with a lead-pencil, should be attached to each such little sack. Do not use ink on labels to be immersed, but a hard lead-pencil. Alcoholic specimens are liable to become shriveled and discolored, and are not nearly as valuable as well-inflated and dried skins.

[a]Fig. 64.]—Drying-oven: a, sliding door; b, lid; c, body of oven with glass sides; d, opening for inserting inflating-tube; e, copper bottom; f, spirit-lamp; g, base (Riley).

"When the skins have been inflated they may be mounted readily by being placed upon wires wrapped with green silk, or upon annealed aluminium wire. The wires are bent and twisted together for a short distance and then made to diverge. The diverging ends are pressed together, a little shellac is placed upon their tips, and they are then inserted into the opening at the anal extremity of the larval skin. Upon the release of pressure they spread apart, and after the shellac has dried the skin is firmly held by them. They may then be attached to pins by simply twisting the free end of the wire about the pin, or they may be placed upon artificial imitations of the leaves and twigs of their appropriate food-plants."

THE PRESERVATION AND ARRANGEMENT OF COLLECTIONS

The secret of preserving collections of lepidoptera in beautiful condition is to exclude light, moisture, and insect pests. Light ultimately bleaches many species, moisture leads to mould and mildew, and insect pests devour the specimens. The main thing is therefore to have the receptacles in which the specimens are placed dark and as nearly as possible hermetically sealed and kept in a dry place. In order to accomplish this, various devices have been resorted to.

[a]Fig. 65.]—Detail drawing of front of box, made to resemble a book: s, s, sides, made of two pieces of wood glued together across the grain; t, tongue; g, groove; c, cork; p, paper covering the cork.

[a]Fig. 66.]—Detail drawing of front of box: t, top; b, bottom; e, side; f, strip, nailed around inside as at n; c, cork; p, paper lining.

Boxes.—Boxes for the preservation of specimens are made with a tongue on the edges of the bottom fitting into a groove upon the lid, or they may be made with inside pieces fastened around the inner edge of the bottom and projecting so as to catch the lid. The accompanying outlines show the method of joining different forms of boxes (Figs. 65-67). The bottom of the box should be lined with some substance which will enable the specimens to be pinned into it securely. For this purpose sheet-cork about a quarter of an inch thick is to be preferred to all other substances. Ground cork pressed into layers and covered with white paper is manufactured for the purpose of lining boxes. Turf compressed into sheets about half an inch thick and covered with paper is used by many European collectors. Sheets of aloe-pith or of the wood of the yucca, half an inch thick, are used, and the pith of corn-stalks (Indian corn or maize) may also be employed, laid into the box and glued neatly to the bottom. The corn-pith should be cut into pieces about half an inch square and joined together neatly, covering it with thin white paper after the surface has been made quite even and true. Cork is, however, the best material, for, though more expensive than the other things named, it has greater power to hold the pins, and unless these are securely fixed and held in place great damage is sure to result. A loose specimen in a box will work incalculable damage. Boxes should be made of light, thoroughly seasoned wood, and should be very tight. They are sometimes made so that specimens may be pinned both upon the top and the bottom, but this is not to be commended. The depth of the box should be sufficient to admit of the use of the longest insect-pin in use, and a depth between top and bottom of two and a quarter inches is therefore sufficient. Boxes are sometimes made with backs in imitation of books, and a collection arranged in such boxes presents an attractive external appearance. A very good box is made for the United States Department of Agriculture and for the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh (Fig. 68). This box is thirteen inches long, nine inches wide, and three inches thick (external measurement). The depth between the bottom and the lid on the inside is two and one eighth inches. The ends and sides are dovetailed; the top and bottom are each made of two pieces of light stuff, about one eighth of an inch thick, glued together in such a way that the grain of the two pieces crosses at right angles, and all cracking and warping are thus prevented. The lids are secured to the bottoms by brass hooks fitting into eyelets. Such boxes provided with cork do not cost more than fifty-five cents apiece when bought in quantities. Boxes may be made of stout pasteboard about one eighth or three sixteenths of an inch thick, with a rabbet-tongue on the inside. Such boxes are much used in France and England, and when well and substantially made are most excellent. They may be obtained for about thirty-five cents apiece lined with compressed cork.

[a]Fig. 67.]—Detail drawing of box, in which the tongue, z, is made of strips of zinc let into a groove and fastened as at n; g, groove to catch tongue; s, s, top and bottom; c, cork.

[a]Fig. 68.—Insect-box for preservation of collections.]

Cabinets and Drawers.—Large collections which are intended to be frequently consulted are best preserved in cabinets fitted with glass-covered drawers. A great deal of variety exists in the plans which are adopted for the display of specimens in cabinets. Much depends upon the taste and the financial ability of the collector. Large sums of money may be expended upon cabinets, but the main thing is to secure the specimens from dust, mould, and insect pests. The point to be observed most carefully is so to arrange the drawers that they are, like the boxes, practically air-tight. The writer employs as the standard size for the drawers in his own collection and in the Carnegie Museum a drawer which is twenty-two inches long, sixteen inches wide, and two inches deep (inside measurement). The outside dimensions are: length, twenty-three inches exclusive of face; breadth, seventeen inches; height, two and three eighths inches. The covers are glazed with double-strength glass. They are held upon the bottoms by a rabbet placed inside of the bottom and nearly reaching the lower surface of the glass on the cover when closed. The drawers are lined upon the bottom with cork five sixteenths of an inch thick, and are papered on the bottom and sides with good linen paper, which does not easily become discolored. Each drawer is faced with cherry and has a knob. These drawers are arranged in cabinets built in sections for convenience in handling. The two lower sections each contain thirty drawers, the upper section nine. The drawers are arranged in three perpendicular series and are made interchangeable, so that any drawer will fit into any place in any one of the cabinets. This is very necessary, as it admits of the easy rearrangement of collections. On the sides of each drawer a pocket is cut on the inner surface, which communicates through an opening in the rabbet with the interior. The paper lining the inside is perforated over this opening with a number of small holes. The pocket is kept filled with naphthaline crystals, the fumes of which pass into the interior and tend to keep away pests. The accompanying figure gives the details of construction (Fig. 69). Such drawers can be made at a cost of about $3.50 apiece, and the cost of a cabinet finished and supplied with them is about $325, made of cherry, finished in imitation of mahogany.

[a]Fig. 69.]—Detail drawing of drawer for cabinet: e, e, ends; b, bottom; c, cork; p, p, paper strips in corners of lid to exclude dust; g, g, glass of cover, held in place by top strips, s, s; m, m, side pieces serving as rabbets on inside; po, pocket in ends and sides, sawn out of the wood; x, opening through the rabbet into this pocket; y, holes through the paper lining, p¹, allowing fumes of naphthaline to enter interior of drawer; f, front; k, knob; o, lunette cut in edge of the top piece to enable the lid to be raised by inserting the fingers.

Some persons prefer to have the bottoms as well as the tops of the drawers in their cabinets made of glass. In such cases the specimens are pinned upon narrow strips of wood covered with cork, securely fastened across the inside of the drawers. This arrangement enables the under side of specimens to be examined and compared with as much freedom as the upper side, and without removing them from the drawers; but the strips are liable at times to become loosened, and when this happens great havoc is wrought among the specimens if the drawer is moved carelessly. Besides, there is more danger of breakage.

Another way of providing a cheap and very sightly lining for the bottom of an insect-box is illustrated in Fig. 70. A frame of wood like a slate-frame is provided, and on both sides paper is stretched. To stretch the paper it ought to be soaked in water before pasting to the frame; then when it dries it is as tight and smooth as a drum-head.

The beginner who has not a long purse will do well to preserve his collections in boxes such as have been described. They can be obtained quite cheaply and are most excellent. Cabinets are more or less of a luxury for the amateur, and are only a necessity in the case of great collections which are constantly being consulted. The boxes may be arranged upon shelves. Some of the largest and best collections in the world are preserved in boxes, notably those of the United States National Museum.

[a]Fig. 70.]—A, A, side and bottom of box; B, frame fitting into box; C, space which must be left between frame and bottom of box; P, P, paper stretched on frame.

Labeling.—Each specimen should have on the pin below the specimen a small label giving the date of capture, if known, and the locality. Below this should be a label of larger size, giving its scientific name, if ascertained, and the sex. Labels should be neat and uniform in size. A good size for labels for large species is about one inch long and five eighths of an inch wide. The labels should be written in a fine but legible hand. Smaller labels may be used for smaller species. A crow-quill pen and India ink are to be preferred in writing labels.

Arrangement of Specimens.—Specimens are best arranged in rows. The males should be pinned in first in the series, after them the females. Varieties should follow the species. After these should be placed any aberrations or monstrosities which the collector may possess. The name of the genus should precede all the species contained in the collection, and after each species the specific name should be placed Fig. 71 shows the manner of arrangement.

[a]Fig. 71.]—Manner of arranging specimens in cabinet.

Insect Pests.—In order to preserve collections, great care must be taken to exclude the various forms of insect pests, which are likely, unless destroyed and kept from attacking the specimens, to ruin them utterly in comparatively a short time. The pests which are most to be feared are beetles belonging to the genera Dermestes and Anthrenus. In addition to these beetles, which commit their ravages in the larval stage, moths and mites prey upon collections. Moths are very infrequently, however, found in collections of insects, and in a long experience the writer has known only one or two instances in which any damage was inflicted upon specimens by the larvæ of moths. Mites are much more to be dreaded.

[a]Fig. 72.]—Naphthaline cone.

In order to prevent the ravages of insects, all specimens, before putting them away into the boxes or drawers of the cabinet in which they are to be preserved, should be placed in a tight box in which chloroform, or, better, carbon bisulphide, in a small pan is put, and they should be left here for at least twenty-four hours, until it is certain that all life is extinct. Then they should be transferred to the tight boxes or drawers in which they are to be kept. The presence of insect pests in a collection is generally first indicated by fine dust under the specimen, this dust being the excrement of the larva which is committing depredations upon the specimen. In case the presence of the larva is detected, a liberal dose of chloroform should at once be administered to the box or tray in which the specimen is contained. The specimen itself ought to be removed, and may be dipped into benzine. Naphthaline crystals or camphor is generally employed to keep out insect pests from boxes. They are very useful to deter the entrance of pests, but when they have once been introduced into a collection neither naphthaline nor camphor will kill them. Naphthaline is prepared in the form of cones attached to a pin, and these cones may be placed in one corner of the box. They are made by Blake & Co. of Philadelphia, and are in vogue among entomologists. However, a good substitute for the cones may very easily be made by taking the ordinary moth-balls which are sold everywhere. By heating a pin red-hot in the flame of an alcohol-lamp it may be thrust into the moth-ball; as it enters it melts the naphthaline, which immediately afterward cools and holds the pin securely fixed in the moth-ball. In attaching these pins to moth-balls, hold the pin securely in a forceps while heating it in the flame of the lamp, and thrust the red-hot pin into the center of the ball. Naphthaline crystals and camphor may be secured in the corner of the box by tying up a quantity of them in a small piece of netting and pinning the little bag thus made in the corner of the tray. By following these directions insect pests may be kept out of collections. It is proper to observe that while carbon bisulphide is more useful even than chloroform in killing pests, and is also cheaper, it should be used with great care, because when mixed with atmospheric air it is highly explosive, and its use should never take place where there are lamps burning or where there is fire. Besides, its odor is extremely unpleasant, unless it has been washed in mercury.

Greasy Specimens.—Specimens occasionally become greasy. When this happens they may be cleansed by pinning them down on a piece of cork secured to the bottom of a closed vessel, and gently filling it with benzine, refined gasoline, or ether. After leaving them long enough to remove all the grease they may be taken out of the bath and allowed to dry in a place where there is no dust. This operation should not take place near a lighted lamp or a fire.

Mould.—When specimens have become mouldy or mildewed it is best to burn them up if they can be spared. If not, after they have been thoroughly dried remove the mould with a sable or camel's-hair pencil which has been rubbed in carbolic acid (crystals liquefied by heat). Mildew in a cabinet is hard to eradicate, and heat, even to burning, is about the only cure, except the mild use of carbolic acid in the way suggested.

Repairing Specimens.—Torn and ragged specimens are to be preferred to none at all. "The half of a loaf is better than no bread." Until the torn specimen can be replaced by a better, it is always well to retain it in a collection. But it is sometimes possible to repair torn specimens in such a way as to make them more presentable. If an antenna, for instance, has been broken off, it may be replaced neatly, so that only a microscopic examination will disclose the fact that it was once away from the place where it belonged. If a wing has been slit, the rent may be mended so neatly that only a very careful observer can detect the fact. If a piece has been torn out of a wing, it may be replaced by the corresponding portion of the wing of another specimen of the same sex of the same species in such a way as almost to defy detection. The prime requisites for this work are patience, a steady hand, a good eye, a great deal of "gumption," a few setting-needles, a jeweler's forceps, and a little shellac dissolved in alcohol. The shellac used in replacing a missing antenna should be of a thickish consistency; in repairing wings it should be well thinned down with alcohol. In handling broken antennæ it is best to use a fine sable pencil, which may be moistened very lightly by applying it to the tip of the tongue. With this it is possible to pick up a loose antenna and place it wherever it is desired. Apply the shellac to the torn edges of a broken wing with great delicacy of touch and in very small quantity. Avoid putting on the adhesive material in "gobs and slathers." Repairing is a fine art, which is only learned after some patient experimentation, and is only to be practised when absolutely necessary. The habit of some dealers of patching up broken specimens with parts taken from other species is highly to be reprobated. Such specimens are more or less caricatures of the real thing, and no truly scientific man will admit such scarecrows into his collection, except under dire compulsion.

[a]Fig. 73.]—Butterflies pinned into a box overlapping one another, or "shingled."

Packing and Forwarding Specimens.—It often becomes necessary to forward specimens from one place to another. If it is intended to ship specimens which have been mounted upon pins they should be securely pinned in a box lined with cork. A great many expanded specimens may be pinned in a box by resorting to the method known as "shingling," which is illustrated in Fig. 73. By causing the wings of specimens to overlap, as is shown in the figure, a great many can be accommodated in a small space. When the specimens have been packed the box should be securely closed, its edges shut with paper, after some drops of chloroform have been poured into the box, and then this box should be placed in an outer box containing excelsior, hay, cotton, or loose shavings in sufficient abundance to prevent the jarring of the inner box and consequent breakage. Where specimens are forwarded in envelopes, having been collected in the field, and are not pinned, the precaution of surrounding them with packing such as has been described is not necessary, but the box in which they are shipped should always be strong enough to resist breakage. Things forwarded by mail or by express always receive rough treatment, and the writer has lost many fine specimens which have been forwarded to him because the shipper was careless in packing.

Pins.—In the preceding pages frequent reference has been made to insect-pins. These are pins which are made longer and thinner than is the case with ordinary pins, and are therefore adaptable to the special use to which they are put. There are a number of makers whose pins have come into vogue. What are known as Karlsbader and Kläger pins, made in Germany, are the most widely used. They are made of ordinary pin-metal in various sizes. The Karlsbader pins have very fine points, but, owing to the fineness of the points and the softness of the metal, they are very apt to buckle, or turn up at the points. The Kläger pins are not exposed to the same objection, as the points are not quite so fine. The best pins, however, which are now made are those which have recently been introduced by Messrs. Kirby, Beard, & Co. of England. They are made of soft steel, lacquered, possessing very great strength and considerable flexibility. The finest-sized pin of this make has as much strength as the largest pin of the other makes that have been mentioned, and the writer has never known them to buckle at the tip, even when pinned through the hardest insect tissues. While these pins are a little more expensive than others, the writer does not fail to give them an unqualified preference.

[a]Fig. 74.—Butterfly-forceps, half-size.]

The Forceps.—An instrument which is almost indispensable to the student of entomology is the forceps. There are many forms of forceps, and it is not necessary to speak at length in reference to the various shapes; but for the use of the student of butterflies the forceps made by the firm of Blake & Co. of Philadelphia is to be preferred to all others. The head of this firm is himself a famous entomologist, and he has given us in the forceps which is illustrated in Fig. 74 an instrument which comes as near perfection as the art of the maker of instruments can produce. The small forceps represented in Fig. 75 is very useful in pinning small specimens. In handling mounted specimens it is well always to take hold of the pin below the specimen with the forceps, and insert it into the cork by the pressure of the forceps. If the attempt is made to pin down a specimen with the naked fingers holding the pin by the head, the finger is apt to slip and the specimen to be ruined.

[a]Fig. 75.—Insect-forceps.]

IMMORTALITY

A butterfly basked on a baby's grave, Where a lily had chanced to grow: "Why art thou here with thy gaudy dye, When she of the blue and sparkling eye Must sleep in the churchyard low?" Then it lightly soared thro' the sunny air, And spoke from its shining track: "I was a worm till I won my wings, And she, whom thou mourn'st, like a seraph sings; Would'st thou call the blest one back?"

Sigourney.

CHAPTER III

THE CLASSIFICATION OF BUTTERFLIES

"Winged flowers, or flying gems."

Moore.

At the base of all truly scientific knowledge lies the principle of order. There have been some who have gone so far as to say that science is merely the orderly arrangement of facts. While such a definition is defective, it is nevertheless true that no real knowledge of any branch of science is attained until its relationship to other branches of human knowledge is learned, and until a classification of the facts of which it treats has been made. When a science treats of things, it is necessary that these things should become the subject of investigation, until at last their relation to one another, and the whole class of things to which they belong, has been discovered. Men who devote themselves to the discovery of the relation of things and to their orderly classification are known as systematists.

The great leader in this work was the immortal Linnæus, the "Father of Natural History," as he has been called. Upon the foundation laid by him in his work entitled "Systema Naturæ," or "The System of Nature," all who have followed after him have labored, and the result has been the rise of the great modern sciences of botany and zoölogy, which treat respectively of the vegetable and animal kingdoms.

The Place of Butterflies in the Animal Kingdom.—The animal kingdom, for purposes of classification, has been subdivided into various groups known as subkingdoms. One of these subkingdoms contains those animals which, being without vertebræ, or an internal skeleton, have an external skeleton, composed of a series of horny rings, attached to which are various organs. This subkingdom is known by naturalists under the name of the Arthropoda. The word Arthropoda is derived from the Greek language and is compounded of two words, (αρθρον), meaning a joint and (πουσ), meaning a foot. The Arthropoda seem at first sight to be made up of jointed rings and feet; hence the name.

[Plate VI.]

The subkingdom of the Arthropoda is again subdivided into six classes. These are the following:

Class I. The Crustacea (Shrimps, Crabs, Water-fleas, etc.).

Class II. The Podostomata (King-crabs, Trilobites [fossil], etc.).

Class III. The Malacopoda (Peripatus, a curious genus of worm-like creatures, found in the tropics, and allied to the Myriapods in some important respects).

Class IV. The Myriapoda (Centipedes, etc.).

Class V. The Arachnida (Spiders, Mites, etc.).

Class VI. The Insecta (Insects).

That branch of zoölogy which treats of insects is known as entomology.

The Insecta have been variously subdivided by different scientific writers, but the following subdivision has much in it to commend it, and will suffice as an outline for the guidance of the advanced student.

Class VI. Insecta (Insects proper)

Heterometabola

For the most part undergoing only a partial metamorphosis in the development from the egg to the imago.

ORDERS

• 1. Thysanura.
• Suborders:
• Collembola (Podura, Springtails).
• Symphyla (Scolopendrella).
• Cinura (Bristletails, etc.).
• 2. Dermatoptera (Earwigs).
• 3. Pseudoneuroptera.
• Suborders:
• Mallophaga (Bird-lice).
• Platyptera (Stone-flies, Termites, etc.).
• Odonata (Dragon-flies, etc.).
• Ephemerina (May-flies, etc.).
• 4. Neuroptera (Corydalis, Ant-lion, Caddis-flies, etc.).
• 5. Orthoptera (Cockroach, Mantis, Mole-cricket, Grasshopper, Katydid, etc.).
• 6. Hemiptera.
• Suborders:
• Parasita (Lice).
• Sternorhyncha (Aphids, Mealy Bugs, etc.).
• Homoptera (Cicada, Tree-hoppers, etc.).
• Heteroptera (Ranatra, Belostoma, Water-spiders, Squash-bugs, Bedbugs, etc.).
• 7. Coleoptera.
• Suborders:
• Cryptotetramera (Lady-birds, etc.).
• Cryptopentamera (Leaf-beetles, Longhorns, Weevils, etc.).
• Heteromera (Blister-beetles, Meal-beetles, etc.).
• Pentamera (Fire-flies, Skipjacks, June-bugs, Dung-beetles, Stag-beetles,
• Rove-beetles, Tiger-beetles, etc.).

Metabola

Undergoing for the most part a complete metamorphosis from egg, through larva and pupa, to imago.

ORDERS

• 8. Aphaniptera (Fleas).
• 9. Diptera.
• Suborders:
• Orthorhapha (Hessian Flies, Buffalo-gnats, Mosquitos, Crane-flies, Horse-flies).
• Cyclorhapha (Syrphus, Bot-flies, Tsetse, House-flies, etc.).
• 10. Lepidoptera.
• Suborders:
• Rhopalocera (Butterflies).
• Heterocera (Moths).
• 11. Hymenoptera.
• Suborders:
• Terebrantia (Saw-flies, Gall-wasps, Ichneumon-flies, etc.).
• Aculeata (Ants, Cuckoo-flies, Digger-wasps, True Wasps, Bees).

It will be seen by glancing at the foregoing table that the butterflies and moths are included as suborders in the tenth group of the list, to which is applied the name Lepidoptera. This word, like most other scientific words, is derived from the Greek, and is compounded of the noun (λεπισ), which signifies a scale, and the noun (λεπισ), which signifies a wing. The butterflies and moths together constitute the order of scale-winged insects. The appropriateness of this name will no doubt be at once recognized by every reader, who, having perhaps unintentionally rubbed off some of the minute scales which clothe the wings of a butterfly, has taken the trouble to examine them under a microscope, or who has attentively read what has been said upon this subject in the first chapter of this book. By referring again to the classification which has been given, it will be noted that the last four orders in the list agree in that the creatures included within them undergo for the most part what is known as a complete metamorphosis; that is to say, they pass through four successive stages of development, existing first as eggs, then as worm-like larvæ, or caterpillars, then as pupæ, and finally as perfect, fully developed insects, gifted for the most part with the power of flight, and capable of reproducing their kind. All of this has been to some extent already elucidated in the first chapter of the present volume, but it may be well to remind the reader of these facts at this point.

[a]Fig. 76.—Antennæ of butterflies.]

A question which is frequently asked by those who are not familiar with the subject relates to the manner in which it is possible to distinguish between moths and butterflies. A partial answer can be made in the light of the habits of the two classes of lepidoptera. Butterflies are diurnal in their habits, flying between sunrise and dusk, and very rarely taking the wing at night. This habit is so universal that these insects are frequently called by entomologists "the diurnal lepidoptera," or are simply spoken of as "diurnals." It is, however, true that many species of moths are also diurnal in their habits, though the great majority of them are nocturnal, or crepuscular, that is, flying at the dusk of the evening, or in the twilight of the early morning. Upon the basis of mere habit, then, we are able only to obtain a partial clue to the distinction between the two suborders. A more definite distinction is based upon structure, and specifically upon the structure of the antennæ. Butterflies have long, thread-like antennæ, provided with a swelling at the extremity, giving them a somewhat club-shaped appearance (Fig. 76). This form of antennæ is very unusual among the moths, and only occurs in a few rare genera, found in tropical countries, which seem to represent connecting-links between the butterflies and the moths. All the true moths which are found within the limits of the United States and Canada have antennæ which are not club-shaped, but are of various other forms. Some moths have thread-like antennæ tapering to a fine point; others have feather-shaped antennæ; others still have antennæ which are prismatic in form, and provided with a little hook, or spur, at the end; and there are many modifications and variations of these forms. The club-shaped form of the antennæ of butterflies has led naturalists to call them Rhopalocera, as has been already explained in speaking of this subject on page 17. Moths are called Heterocera. The word Heterocera is compounded of the Greek word (ἑτερον), meaning other, and the Greek word (κερασ), meaning a horn. They are lepidoptera which have antennæ which are other than club-shaped. Besides the distinctions which exist in the matter of the form of the antennæ, there are distinctions in the veins of the wings, and in the manner of carrying them when at rest or in flight, which are quite characteristic of the two groups; but all of these things the attentive student will quickly learn for himself by observation.

[a]Fig. 77.—Antennæ of moths.]

Scientific Arrangement.—Having thus cast a passing glance at the differences which exist between moths and butterflies, we take up the question of the subdivision of the butterflies into natural groups. Various systems of arranging butterflies have been suggested from time to time by learned writers, and for a knowledge of these systems the student may consult works which treat of them at length. It is sufficient for beginners, for whom this book is principally written, to observe that in modern science, for purposes of convenience, as well as from regard for essential truth, all individuals are looked upon as belonging to a species. A species includes all those individuals, which have a common ancestry, and are so related in form and structure as to be manifestly separable from all other similarly constituted assemblages of individuals. For instance, all the large cats having a tawny skin, and in the male a shaggy mane, constitute a species, which we call the lion; the eagles in the eastern United States, which in adult plumage have a snow-white head and neck and a white tail, constitute a species, which we know as the "white-headed" or "bald-headed" eagle. Species may then be grouped together, and those which are manifestly closely related to one another are regarded as forming a natural assemblage of species, to which we give the name of a genus. For example, all the large cats, such as the lion, the tiger, the puma, and the jaguar, are grouped together by naturalists, and form a genus to which is given the Latin name Felis, meaning cat. The name of the genus always comes before that of the species. Thus the tiger is spoken of scientifically as Felis tigris. The genera which are closely related to one another may again be assembled as subfamilies; and the subfamilies may be united to form families. For instance, all the various genera of cats form a family, which is known as the Felidæ, or the Cat Family. A group of families constitutes a suborder or an order. The cats belong to the Carnivora, or order of flesh-eating animals.

In zoölogy family names are formed with the termination -idæ, and subfamily names with the termination-inæ.

Everything just said in regard to the classification of the higher animals applies likewise to butterflies. Let us take as an illustration the common milkweed butterfly. Linnæus for a fanciful reason gave this insect the name Plexippus. This is its specific name, by which it is distinguished from all other butterflies. It belongs to the genus Anosia. The genus Anosia is one of the genera which make up the subfamily of the Euplœinæ. The Euplœinæ belong to the great family of the Nymphalidæ. The Nymphalidæ are a part of the suborder of the Rhopalocera, or true butterflies, one of the two great subdivisions of the order Lepidoptera, belonging to the great class Insecta, the highest class in the subkingdom of the Arthropoda. The matter may be represented in a tabular form, in the reverse order from that which has been given:

Subkingdom, Arthropoda. Class, Insecta.
Order, Lepidoptera.
Suborder, Rhopalocera.
Family, Nymphalidæ.
Subfamily, Euplœinæ.
Genus, Anosia.
Species, Plexippus (Milkweed Butterfly).

Varieties.—A still further subdivision is in some cases recognized as necessary. A species which has a wide range over an extensive territory may vary in different parts of the territory within which it is found. The butterflies of certain common European species are found also in Japan and Corea, but, as a rule, they are much larger in the latter countries than they are in Europe, and in some cases more brightly colored. Naturalists have therefore distinguished the Asiatic from the European form by giving the former what is known as a varietal name. Similar differences occur among butterflies on the continent of North America. The great yellow and black-barred swallowtail butterfly known as Papilio turnus occurs from Florida to Alaska. But the specimens from Alaska are always much smaller than those from other regions, and have a very dwarfed appearance. This dwarfed form constitutes what is known as a local race, or variety, of the species. The members of a species which occur upon an island frequently differ in marked respects from specimens which occur upon the adjacent mainland. By insulation and the process of through-breeding the creature has come to acquire characteristics which separate it in a marked degree from the closely allied continental form, and yet not sufficiently to justify us in treating it as a distinct species. It represents what is known as an insular race, or variety, and we give it therefore a varietal name. Naturalists also distinguish between seasonal, dimorphic, melanic, and albino forms. Names descriptive or designatory of these forms are frequently applied to them. All of this will become plainer in the course of the study of the succeeding pages, and in the effort to classify specimens which the student will make.

Sex.—The designation of the sex is important in the case of all well-ordered collections of zoölogical specimens. As a measure of convenience, the male is usually indicated by the sign of Mars, ♂, while the female is indicated by the sign of Venus, ♁. The inscription, "Argynnis Diana, ♂," therefore means that the specimen is a male of Argynnis Diana, and the inscription, "Argynnis Diana, ♁," means that the specimen is a female of the same species. These signs are invariably employed by naturalists to mark the sexes.

The Division of Butterflies into Families.—Without attempting to go deeply into questions of classification at the present point, it will be well for us to note the subdivisions which have been made into the larger groups, known as families, and to show how butterflies belonging to one or the other of these may be distinguished from one another. There are five of these families represented within the territory of which this book takes notice. These five families are the following:

1. The Nymphalidæ, or "Brush-footed Butterflies."
2. The Lemoniidæ, or "Metal-marks."
3. The Lycænidæ, or "Blues," "Coppers," and "Hair-streaks".
4. The Papilionidæ, or the "Swallowtails" and their allies.
5. The Hesperiidæ, or the "Skippers."

The Nymphalidæ, the "Brush-footed Butterflies."

The butterflies of this family may be distinguished as a great class from all other butterflies by the fact that in both sexes the first, or prothoracic, pair of legs is greatly dwarfed, useless for walking, and therefore carried folded up against the breast. From this peculiarity they have also been called the "Four-footed Butterflies." This is the largest of all the families of the butterflies, and has been subdivided into many subfamilies. Some of the genera are composed of small species, but most of the genera are made up of medium-sized or large species. The family is geologically very ancient, and most of the fossil butterflies which have been discovered belong to it. The caterpillars are in most of the subfamilies provided with horny or fleshy projections. The chrysalids always hang suspended by the tail.

The Lemoniidæ, the "Metal-marks."

This family is distinguished from others by the fact that the males have four ambulatory or walking feet, while the females have six such feet. The antennæ are relatively longer than in the Lycænidæ. The butterflies belonging to this great group are mostly confined to the tropics of the New World, and only a few genera and species are included in the region covered by this volume. They are usually quite small, but are colored in a bright and odd manner, spots and checkered markings being very common. Many are extremely brilliant in their colors. The caterpillars are small and contracted. Some are said to have chrysalids which are suspended; others have chrysalids girdled and attached at the anal extremity, like the Lycænidæ. The butterflies in many genera have the habit of alighting on the under side of leaves, with their wings expanded.

The Lycænidæ, the "Gossamer-winged Butterflies."

This great family comprises the butterflies which are familiarly known as the "hair-streaks," the "blues," and the "coppers." The males have four and the females six walking feet. The caterpillars are small, short, and slug-shaped. The chrysalids are provided with a girdle, are attached at the end of the abdomen, and lie closely appressed to the surface upon which they have undergone transformation. Blue is a very common color in this family, which includes some of the gayest of the small forms which are found in the butterfly world. In alighting they always carry their wings folded together and upright.

The Papilionidæ, the "Swallowtails" and their allies.

These butterflies have six walking feet in both sexes. The caterpillars are elongate, and in some genera provided with osmateria, or protrusive organs secreting a powerful and disagreeable odor. The chrysalids are elongate, attached at the anal extremity, and held in place by a girdle of silk, but not closely appressed to the surface upon which they have undergone transformation.

The Hesperiidæ, or the "Skippers."

They are generally small in size, with stout bodies, very quick and powerful in fight. They have six walking feet in both sexes. The tibiæ of the hind feet, with few exceptions, have spurs. The caterpillars are cylindrical, smooth, tapering forward and backward from the middle, and generally having large globular heads. For the most part they undergo transformation into chrysalids which have a girdle and an anal hook, or cremaster, in a loose cocoon, composed of a few threads of silk, and thus approximate the moths in their habits. The genus Megathymus has the curious habit of burrowing in its larval stage in the underground stems of the yucca.

To one or the other of these five families all the butterflies, numbering about six hundred and fifty species, which are found from the Rio Grande of Texas to the arctic circle, can be referred.

Scientific Names.—From what has been said it is plain to the reader that the student of this delightful branch of science is certain to be called upon to use some rather long and, at first sight, uncouth words in the pursuit of the subject. But experience, that best of teachers, will soon enable him to master any little difficulties which may arise from this source, and he will come finally to recognize how useful these terms are in designating distinctions which exist, but which are often wholly overlooked by the uneducated and unobservant. It is not, however, necessary that the student should at the outset attempt to tax his memory with all of the long scientific names which he encounters in this and similar books. The late Dr. Horn of Philadelphia, who was justly regarded, during the latter years of his life, as the most eminent student of the Coleoptera, or beetles, of North America, once said to the writer that he made it a religious duty not to try to remember all the long scientific names belonging to the thousands of species in his collection, but was content to have them attached to the pins holding the specimens in his cabinets, where he could easily refer to them. The student who is engaged in collecting and studying butterflies will very soon come, almost without effort, to know their names, but it is not a sin to forget them.

In writing about butterflies it is quite customary to abbreviate the generic name by giving merely its initial. Thus in writing about the milkweed butterfly, Anosia plexippus, the naturalist will designate it as "A. plexippus." To the specific name he will also attach the name of the man who gave this specific name to the insect. As Linnæus was the first to name this insect, it is proper to add his name, when writing of it, or to add an abbreviation of his name, as follows: "A. plexippus, Linnæus," or "Linn." In speaking about butterflies it is quite common to omit the generic name altogether and to use only the specific name. Thus after returning in the evening from a collecting-trip, I might say, "I was quite successful to-day. I took twenty Aphrodites, four Myrinas, and two specimens of Atlantis." In this case there could be no misunderstanding of my meaning. I took specimens of three species of the genus Argynnis—A. aphrodite, A. myrina, and A. atlantis; but it is quite enough to designate them by the specific names, without reference to their generic classification.

Synonyms.—It is a law among scientific men that the name first given to an animal or plant shall be its name and shall have priority over all other names. Now, it has happened not infrequently that an author, not knowing that a species has been described already, has redescribed it under another name. Such a name applied a second time to a species already described is called a synonym, and may be published after the true name. Sometimes species have had a dozen or more different names applied to them by different writers, but all such names rank as synonyms according to the law of priority.

Popular Names.—Common English names for butterflies are much in vogue in England and Scotland, and there is no reason why English names should not be given to butterflies, as well as to birds and to plants. In the following pages this has been done to a great extent. I have used the names coined by Dr. S.H. Scudder and by others, so far as possible, and have in other cases been forced myself to coin names which seemed to be appropriate, in the hope that they may come ultimately to be widely used. The trouble is that ordinary people do not take pains to observe and note the distinctions which exist among the lower animals. The vocabulary of the common farmer, or even of the ordinary professional man, is bare of terms to point out correctly the different things which come under the eye. All insects are "bugs" to the vulgar, and even the airy butterfly, creature of grace and light, is put into the same category with roaches and fleas. Apropos of the tendency to classify as "bugs" all things which creep and are small, it may be worth while to recall the story, which Frank Buckland tells in his "Log-book of a Fisherman and Naturalist," of an adventure which he had, when a school-boy, at the booking-office of the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway Company in Dover. He had been for a short trip to Paris, and had bought a monkey and a tortoise. Upon his return from sunny France, as he was getting his ticket up to London, Jocko stuck his head out of the bag in which his owner was carrying him. The ticket-agent looked down and said, "You will pay half-fare for him." "How is that?" exclaimed young Buckland. "Well, we charge half-fare for dogs." "But this is not a dog," replied the indignant lad; "this is a monkey." "Makes no difference," was the answer; "you must pay half-fare for him." Reluctantly the silver was laid upon the counter. Then, thrusting his hands into the pocket of his greatcoat, Buckland drew forth the tortoise, and, laying it down, asked, "How much do you charge for this?" The ancient receiver of fares furbished his spectacles, adjusted them to his nose, took a long look, and replied, "We don't charge nothin' for them; them 's insects." It is to be hoped that the reader of this book will in the end have a clearer view of facts as to the classification of animals than was possessed by the ticket-agent at Dover.

CHAPTER IV

BOOKS ABOUT NORTH AMERICAN BUTTERFLIES

Early Writers.—The earliest descriptions of North American butterflies are found in writings which are now almost unknown, except to the close student of science. Linnæus described and named a number of the commoner North American species, and some of them were figured by Charles Clerck, his pupil, whose work entitled "Icones" was published at Stockholm in the year 1759. Clerck's work is exceedingly rare, and the writer believes that he has in his possession the only copy in North America. Johann Christian Fabricius, a pupil of Linnæus, who was for some time a professor in Kiel, and attached to the court of the King of Denmark, published between the year 1775 and the year 1798 a number of works upon the general subject of entomology, in which he gave descriptions, very brief and unsatisfactory, of a number of North American species. His descriptions were written, as were those of Linnæus, in the Latin language. About the same time that Fabricius was publishing his works, Peter Cramer, a Dutchman, was engaged in giving to the world the four large quartos in which he endeavored to figure and describe the butterflies and moths of Asia, Africa, and America. Cramer's work was entitled "Papillons Exotiques," and contained recognizable illustrations of quite a number of the North American forms. The book, however, is rare and expensive to-day, but few copies of it being accessible to American students.

Jacob Hübner, who was born at Augsburg in the year 1761, undertook the publication, in the early part of the present century, of an elaborate work upon the European butterflies and moths, parallel with which he undertook a publication upon the butterflies and moths of foreign lands. The title of his work is "Sammlung Exotischer Schmetterlinge." To this work was added, as an appendix, partly by Hübner and partly by his successor and co-laborer, Karl Geyer, another, entitled "Zuträge zur Sammlung Exotischer Schmetterlinge." The two works together are illustrated by six hundred and sixty-four colored plates. This great publication contains some scattered figures of North American species. A good copy sells for from three hundred and fifty to four hundred dollars, or even more.

The first work which was devoted exclusively to an account of the lepidoptera of North America was published in England by Sir James Edward Smith, who was a botanist, and who gave to the world in two volumes some of the plates which had been drawn by John Abbot, an Englishman who lived for a number of years in Georgia. The work appeared in two folio volumes, bearing the date 1797. It is entitled "The Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia." It contains one hundred and four plates, in which the insects are represented in their various stages upon their appropriate food-plants. Smith and Abbot's work contains original descriptions of only about half a dozen of the North American butterflies, and figures a number of species which had been already described by earlier authors. It is mainly devoted to the moths. This work is now rare and commands a very high price.

The next important work upon the subject was published by Dr. J.A. Boisduval of Paris, a celebrated entomologist, who was assisted by Major John E. Leconte. The work appeared in the year 1833, and is entitled "Histoire Générale et Monographie des Lepidoptères et des Chenilles de l'Amérique Septentrionale." It contains seventy-eight colored plates, each representing butterflies of North America, in many cases giving figures of the larva and the chrysalis as well as of the perfect insect. The plates were based very largely upon drawings made by John Abbot, and represent ninety-three species, while in the text there are only eighty-five species mentioned, some of which are not figured. What has been said of all the preceding works is also true of this: it is very rarely offered for sale, can only be found upon occasion, and commands a high price.

In the year 1841 Dr. Thaddeus William Harris published "A Report on the Insects of Massachusetts which are Injurious to Vegetation." This work, which was originally brought out in pursuance of an order of the legislature of Massachusetts, by the Commissioners of the Zoölogical and Botanical Survey of the State, was republished in 1842, and was followed by a third edition in 1852. The last edition, revised and improved by Charles L. Flint, Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, appeared in 1862. This work contains a number of figures and descriptions of the butterflies of New England, and, while now somewhat obsolete, still contains a great deal of valuable information, and is well worth being rescued by the student from the shelves of the second-hand book-stalls in which it is now and then to be found. For the New England student of entomology it remains to a greater or less extent a classic.

In 1860 the Smithsonian Institution published a "Catalogue of the Described Lepidoptera of North America," a compilation prepared by the Rev. John G. Morris. This work, though very far from complete, contains in a compact form much valuable information, largely extracted from the writings of previous authors. It is not illustrated.

With the book prepared by Dr. Morris the first period in the development of a literature relating to our subject may be said to close, and the reader will observe that until the end of the sixth decade of this century very little had been attempted in the way of systematically naming, describing, and illustrating the riches of the insect fauna of this continent. Almost all the work, with the exception of that done by Harris, Leconte, and Morris, had been done by European authors.

Later Writers.—At the close of the Civil War this country witnessed a great intellectual awakening, and every department of science began to find its zealous students. In the annals of entomology the year 1868 is memorable because of the issue of the first part of the great work by William H. Edwards, entitled "The Butterflies of North America." This work has been within the last year (1897) brought to completion with the publication of the third volume, and stands as a superb monument to the scientific attainments and the inextinguishable industry of its learned author. The three volumes are most superbly illustrated, and contain a wealth of original drawings, representing all the stages in the life-history of numerous species, which has never been surpassed. Unfortunately, while including a large number of the species known to inhabit North America, the book is nevertheless not what its title would seem to imply, and is far from complete, several hundreds of species not being represented in any way, either in the text or in the illustrations. In spite of this fact it will remain to the American student a classic, holding a place in the domain of entomology analogous to that which is held in the science of ornithology by the "Birds of America," by Audubon.

A work even more elaborate in its design and execution, contained in three volumes, is "The Butterflies of New England," by Dr. Samuel Hubbard Scudder, published in the year 1886. No more superbly illustrated and exhaustive monograph on any scientific subject has ever been published than this, and it must remain a lasting memorial of the colossal industry and vast learning of the author, one of the most eminent scientific men whom America has produced.

While the two great works which have been mentioned have illustrated to the highest degree not only the learning of their authors, but the vast advances which have been made in the art of illustration within the last thirty years, they do not stand alone as representing the activity of students in this field. A number of smaller, but useful, works have appeared from time to time. Among these must be mentioned "The Butterflies of the Eastern United States," by Professor G.H. French. This book, which contains four hundred and two pages and ninety-three figures in the text, was published in Philadelphia in 1886. It is an admirable little work, with the help of which the student may learn much in relation to the subject; but it greatly lacks in illustration, without which all such publications are not attractive or thoroughly useful to the student. In the same year appeared "The Butterflies of New England," by C.J. Maynard, a quarto containing seventy-two pages of text and eight colored plates, the latter very poor. In 1878 Herman Strecker of Reading, Pennsylvania, published a book entitled "Butterflies and Moths of North America," which is further entitled "A Complete Synonymical Catalogue." It gives only the synonymy of some four hundred and seventy species of butterflies, and has never been continued by the author, as was apparently his intention. It makes no mention of the moths, except upon the title-page. For the scientific student it has much value, but is of no value to a beginner. The same author published in parts a work illustrated by fifteen colored plates, entitled "Lepidoptera-Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres—Indigenous and Exotic," which came out from 1872 to 1879, and contains recognizable figures of many North American species.

In 1891 there appeared in Boston, from the pen of C.J. Maynard, a work entitled "A Manual of North American Butterflies." This is illustrated by ten very poorly executed plates and a number of equally poorly executed cuts in the text. The work is unfortunately characterized by a number of serious defects which make its use difficult and unsatisfactory for the correct determination of species and their classification.

In 1893 Dr. Scudder published two books, both of them useful, though brief, one of them entitled "The Life of a Butterfly," the other, "A Brief Guide to the Commoner Butterflies of the Northern United States and Canada." Both of these books were published in New York by Messrs. Henry Holt & Co., and contain valuable information in relation to the subject, being to a certain extent an advance upon another work published in 1881 by the same author and firm, entitled "Butterflies."

Periodical Literature.—The reader must not suppose that the only literature relating to the subject that we are considering is to be found in the volumes that have been mentioned. The original descriptions and the life-histories of a large number of the species of the butterflies of North America have originally appeared in the pages of scientific periodicals and in the journals and proceedings of different learned societies. Among the more important publications which are rich in information in regard to our theme may be mentioned the publications relating to entomology issued by the United States National Museum, the United States Department of Agriculture, and by the various American commonwealths, chief among the latter being Riley's "Missouri Reports." Exceedingly valuable are many of the papers contained in the "Transactions of the American Entomological Society," "Psyche," the "Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society" (1872-85), "Papilio" (1881-84), "Entomologica Americana" (1885-90), the "Journal of the New York Entomological Society," the "Canadian Entomologist," and "Entomological News." All of these journals are mines of original information, and the student who proposes to master the subject thoroughly will do well to obtain, if possible, complete sets of these periodicals, as well as of a number of others which might be mentioned, and to subscribe for such of them as are still being published.

There are a number of works upon general entomology, containing chapters upon the diurnal lepidoptera, which may be consulted with profit. Among the best of these are the following: "A Guide to the Study of Insects," by A.S. Packard, Jr., M.D. (Henry Holt & Co., New York, 1883, pp. 715, 8vo); "A Textbook of Entomology," by Alpheus S. Packard, M.D., etc. (The Macmillan Company, New York, 1898, pp. 729, 8vo); "A Manual for the Study of Insects," by John Henry Comstock (Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, New York, 1895, pp. 701, 8vo).

HUGO'S "FLOWER TO BUTTERFLY"

"Sweet, live with me, and let my love Be an enduring tether; Oh, wanton not from spot to spot, But let us dwell together. "You've come each morn to sip the sweets With which you found me dripping, Yet never knew it was not dew, But tears, that you were sipping. "You gambol over honey meads Where siren bees are humming; But mine the fate to watch and wait For my beloved's coming. "The sunshine that delights you now Shall fade to darkness gloomy; You should not fear if, biding here, You nestled closer to me. "So rest you, love, and be my love, That my enraptured blooming May fill your sight with tender light, Your wings with sweet perfuming. "Or, if you will not bide with me Upon this quiet heather, Oh, give me wing, thou beauteous thing, That we may soar together."

Eugene Field.

THE BUTTERFLIES

OF

NORTH AMERICA NORTH OF MEXICO

"Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold! With silver fringed, and freckled o'er with gold: On the gay bosom of some fragrant flower They, idly fluttering, live their little hour; Their life all pleasure, and their task all play, All spring their age, and sunshine all their day."

Mrs. Barbauld

ORDER LEPIDOPTERA
SUBORDER RHOPALOCERA (BUTTERFLIES)

FAMILY I

NYMPHALIDÆ (THE BRUSH-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES)

The family of the Nymphalidæ is composed of butterflies which are of medium and large size, though a few of the genera are made up of species which are quite small. They may be distinguished from all other butterflies by the fact that the first pair of legs in both sexes is atrophied or greatly reduced in size, so that they cannot be used in walking, but are carried folded up upon the breast. The fore feet, except in the case of the female of the snout-butterflies (Libytheinæ), are without tarsal claws, and hence the name "Brush-footed Butterflies" has been applied to them. As the anterior pair of legs is apparently useless, they have been called "The Four-footed Butterflies," which is scientifically a misnomer.

Egg.—The eggs of the Nymphalidæ, for the most part, are dome-shaped or globular, and are marked with raised longitudinal lines extending from the summit toward the base over the entire surface or over the upper portion of the egg. Between these elevations are often found finer and less elevated cross-lines. In a few genera the surface of the eggs is covered with reticulation arranged in geometrical patterns (see Fig. 1).

Caterpillar.—The caterpillars of the Nymphalidæ, as they emerge from the egg, have heads the diameter of which is larger than that of the body, and covered with a number of wart-like elevations from which hairs arise. The body of the immature larva generally tapers from before backward (see Plate III, Figs. 7 and 11). The mature larva is cylindrical in form, sometimes, as in the Satyrinæ, thicker in the middle. Often one or more of the segments are greatly swollen in whole or in part. The larvæ are generally ornamented with fleshy projections or branching spines.

Chrysalids.—The chrysalids are for the most part angular, and often have strongly marked projections. As a rule, they hang with the head downward, having the cremaster, or anal hook, attached to a button of silk woven to the under surface of a limb of a tree, a stone, or some other projecting surface. A few boreal species construct loose coverings of threads of silk at the roots of grasses, and here undergo their transformations. The chrysalids are frequently ornamented with golden or silvery spots.

This is the largest of all the families of butterflies, and it is also the most widely distributed. It is represented by species which have their abode in the cold regions of the far North and upon the lofty summits of mountains, where summer reigns for but a few weeks during the year; and it is enormously developed in equatorial lands, including here some of the most gloriously colored species in the butterfly world. But although these insects appear to have attained their most superb development in the tropics, they are more numerous in the temperate regions than other butterflies, and a certain fearlessness, and fondness for the haunts of men, which seems to characterize some of them, has brought them more under the eyes of observers. The literature of poetry and prose which takes account of the life of the butterfly has mainly dealt with forms belonging to this great assemblage of species.

In the classification of the brush-footed butterflies various subdivisions have been suggested by learned authors, but the species found in the United States and the countries lying northward upon the continent may be all included in the following six groups, or subfamilies:

1. The Euplœinœ, the Euplœids.
2. The Ithomiinœ, the Ithomiids.
3. The Heliconiinœ, the Heliconians.
4. The Nymphalinœ, the Nymphs.
5. The Satyrinœ, the Satyrs.
6. The Libytheinœ, the Snout-butterflies.

The insects belonging to these different subfamilies may be distinguished by the help of the following analytical table, which is based upon that of Professor Comstock, given in his "Manual for the Study of Insects" (p. 396), which in turn is based upon that of Dr. Scudder, in "The Butterflies of New England" (vol. i, p. 115).

Key to the subfamilies of the Nymphalidæ of the United States and Canada

• I. With the veins of the fore wings not greatly swollen at the base.
• A. Antennæ naked.
• (a) Fore wings less than twice as long as broad—Euplœinœ.
• (b) Fore wings twice as long as broad and often translucent, the abdomen
• extending far beyond the inner margin of the hind wings—Ithomiinœ.
• B. Antennæ clothed with scales, at least above.
• (a) Fore wings at least twice as long as broad—Heliconiinœ.
• (b) Fore wings less than twice as long as broad.
• 1. Palpi not as long as the thorax—Nymphalinœ.
• 2. Palpi much longer than the thorax—Libytheinœ.
• II. With some of the veins of the fore wings greatly swollen at the base—Satyrinœ.

We now proceed to present the various genera and species of this family which occur within the territorial limits of which this book treats. The reader will do well to accompany the study of the descriptions, which are at most mere sketches, by a careful examination of the figures in the plates. In this way a very clear idea of the different species can in most instances be obtained. But with the study of the book should always go, if possible, the study of the living things themselves. Knowledge of nature founded upon books is at best second-hand. To the fields and the woods, then, net in hand! Splendid as may be the sight of a great collection of butterflies from all parts of the world, their wings

"Gleaming with purple and gold,"

no vision is so exquisite and so inspiring as that which greets the true aurelian as in shady dell or upon sun-lit upland, with the blue sky above him and the flowers all around him, he pursues his pleasant, self-imposed tasks, drinking in health at every step.

SUBFAMILY EUPLŒINÆ (THE MILKWEED
BUTTERFLIES)

"Lazily flying Over the flower-decked prairies, West; Basking in sunshine till daylight is dying, And resting all night on Asclepias' breast; Joyously dancing, Merrily prancing, Chasing his lady-love high in the air, Fluttering gaily, Frolicking daily, Free from anxiety, sorrow, and care!"

C.V. Riley.

Butterfly.—Large butterflies; head large; the antennæ inserted on the summit, stout, naked, that is to say, not covered with scales, the club long and not broad; palpi stout; the thorax somewhat compressed, with the top arched. The abdomen is moderately stout, bearing on the eighth segment, on either side, in the case of the male, clasps which are quite conspicuous. The fore wings are greatly produced at the apex and more or less excavated about the middle of the outer border; the hind wings are rounded and generally much smaller than the fore wings; the outer margin is regular, without tails, and the inner margin is sometimes channeled so as to enfold the abdomen. The fore legs are greatly atrophied in the male, less so in the female; these atrophied legs are not provided with claws, but on the other legs the claws are well developed.

Egg.—The eggs are ovate conical, broadly flattened at the base and slightly truncated at the top, with many longitudinal ribs and transverse cross-ridges (see Fig. 4).

[Plate VII.]

Caterpillar.—On emerging from the chrysalis the head is not larger than the body; the body has a few scattered hairs on each segment. On reaching maturity the head is small, the body large, cylindrical, without hair, and conspicuously banded with dark stripes upon a lighter ground, and on some of the segments there are generally erect fleshy processes of considerable length (see Fig. 16). The caterpillars feed upon different species of the milkweed (Asclepias).

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is relatively short and thick, rounded, with very few projections, tapers very rapidly over the posterior part of the abdomen, and is suspended by a long cremaster from a button of silk (see Fig. 24). The chrysalis is frequently ornamented with golden or silver spots.

This subfamily reaches its largest development in the tropical regions of Asia. Only one genus is represented in our fauna, the genus Anosia.

Genus ANOSIA, Hübner

Butterfly.—Large-sized butterflies; fore wings long, greatly produced at the apex, having a triangular outline, the outer margin approximately as long as the inner margin; the costal border is regularly bowed; the outer border is slightly excavated, the outer angle rounded; the hind wings are well rounded, the costal border projecting just at the base, the inner margin likewise projecting at the base and depressed so as to form a channel clasping the abdomen. On the edge of the first median nervule of the male, about its middle, there is a scent-pouch covered with scales.

[a]Fig. 78.]—Neuration of the genus Anosia.

Egg.—The egg is ovate conical, ribbed perpendicularly with many raised cross-lines between the ridges. The eggs are pale green in color.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, fleshy, transversely wrinkled, and has on the second thoracic and eighth abdominal segment pairs of very long and slender fleshy filaments; the body is ornamented by dark bands upon a greenish-yellow ground-color; the filaments are black.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is stout, cylindrical, rapidly tapering on the abdomen, and is suspended from a button of silk by a long cremaster. The color of the chrysalis is pale green, ornamented with golden spots.

The larvæ of the genus Anosia feed for the most part upon the varieties of milkweed (Asclepias), and they are therefore called "milkweed butterflies." There are two species of the genus found in our fauna, one, Anosia plexippus, Linnæus, which is distributed over the entire continent as far north as southern Canada, and the other, Anosia berenice, Cramer, which is confined to the extreme southwestern portions of the United States, being found in Texas and Arizona.

(1) Anosia plexippus, Linnæus, Plate VII, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Monarch).

Butterfly.—The upper surface of the wings of this butterfly is bright reddish, with the borders and veins broadly black, with two rows of white spots on the outer borders and two rows of pale spots of moderately large size across the apex of the fore wings. The males have the wings less broadly bordered with black than the females, and on the first median nervule of the hind wings there is a black scent-pouch.

Egg.—The egg is ovate conical, and is well represented in Fig. 4 in the introductory chapter of this book.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is bright yellow or greenish-yellow, banded with shining black, and furnished with black fleshy thread-like appendages before and behind. It likewise is well delineated in Fig. 16, as well as in Plate III, Fig. 5.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is about an inch in length, pale green, spotted with gold (see Fig. 24, and Plate IV, Figs. 1-3).

The butterfly is believed to be polygoneutic, that is to say, many broods are produced annually; and it is believed by writers that with the advent of cold weather these butterflies migrate to the South, the chrysalids and caterpillars which may be undeveloped at the time of the frosts are destroyed, and that when these insects reappear, as they do every summer, they represent a wave of migration coming northward from the warmer regions of the Gulf States. It is not believed that any of them hibernate in any stage of their existence. This insect sometimes appears in great swarms on the eastern and southern coasts of New Jersey in late autumn. The swarms pressing southward are arrested by the ocean. The writer has seen stunted trees on the New Jersey coast in the middle of October, when the foliage has already fallen, so completely covered with clinging masses of these butterflies as to present the appearance of trees in full leaf (Fig. 79).

[a]Fig. 79.]—Swarms of milkweed butterflies resting on a tree. Photographed at night by Professor C.F. Nachtrieb. (From "Insect Life," vol. v, p. 206, by special permission of the United States Department of Agriculture.)

This butterfly is a great migrant, and within quite recent years, with Yankee instinct, has crossed the Pacific, probably on merchant vessels, the chrysalids being possibly concealed in bales of hay, and has found lodgment in Australia, where it has greatly multiplied in the warmer parts of the Island Continent, and has thence spread northward and westward, until in its migrations it has reached Java and Sumatra, and long ago took possession of the Philippines. Moving eastward on the lines of travel, it has established a more or less precarious foothold for itself in southern England, as many as two or three dozen of these butterflies having been taken in a single year in the United Kingdom. It is well established at the Cape Verde Islands, and in a short time we may expect to hear of it as having taken possession of the continent of Africa, in which the family of plants upon which the caterpillars feed is well represented.

(2) Anosia berenice, Cramer, Plate VII, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Queen).

This butterfly is smaller than the Monarch, and the ground-color of the wings is a livid brown. The markings are somewhat similar to those in A. plexippus, but the black borders of the hind wings are relatively wider, and the light spots on the apex of the fore wings are whiter and differently located, as may be learned from the figures given in Plate VII.

There is a variety of this species, which has been called Anosia strigosa by H.W. Bates (Plate VII, Fig. 3, ♂), which differs only in that on the upper surface of the hind wings the veins as far as the black outer margin are narrowly edged with grayish-white, giving them a streaked appearance. This insect is found in Texas, Arizona, and southern New Mexico.

All of the Euplœinæ are "protected" insects, being by nature provided with secretions which are distasteful to birds and predaceous insects. These acrid secretions are probably due to the character of the plants upon which the caterpillars feed, for many of them eat plants which are more or less rank, and some of them even poisonous to the higher orders of animals. Enjoying on this account immunity from attack, they have all, in the process of time, been mimicked by species in other genera which have not the same immunity. This protective resemblance is well illustrated in Plate VII. The three upper figures in the plate represent, as we have seen, species of the genus Anosia; the two lower figures represent two species of the genus Basilarchia. Fig. 4 is the male of B. disippus, a very common species in the northern United States, which mimicks the Monarch. Fig. 5 represents the same sex of B. hulstii, a species which is found in Arizona, and there flies in company with the Queen, and its variety, A. strigosa, which latter it more nearly resembles.

SUBFAMILY ITHOMIINÆ (THE LONG-WINGS)

"There be Insects with little hornes proaking out before their eyes, but weak and tender they be, and good for nothing; as the Butterflies."—Pliny, Philemon Holland's Translation.

Butterfly.—This subfamily is composed for the most part of species of moderate size, though a few are quite large. The fore wings are invariably greatly lengthened and are generally at least twice as long as broad. The hind wings are relatively small, rounded, and without tails. The wings in many of the genera are transparent. The extremity of the abdomen in both sexes extends far beyond the margin of the hind wings, but in the female not so much as in the male. The antennæ are not clothed with scales, and are very long and slender, with the club also long and slender, gradually thickening to the tip, which is often drooping. The fore legs are greatly atrophied in the males, the tibia and tarsi in this sex being reduced to a minute knob-like appendage, but being more strongly developed in the females.

The life-history of none of the species reputed to be found in our fauna has been carefully worked out. The larvæ are smooth, covered in most genera with longitudinal rows of conical prominences.

The chrysalids are said to show a likeness to those of the Euplœinæ, being short, thick, and marked with golden spots. Some authors are inclined to view this subfamily as merely constituting a section of the Euplœinæ. The insects are, however, so widely unlike the true Euplœinæ that it seems well to keep them separate in our system of classification. In appearance they approach the Heliconians more nearly than the Euplœids. Ithomiid butterflies swarm in the tropics of the New World, and several hundreds of species are known to inhabit the hot lands of Central and South America. But one genus is found in the Old World, Hamadryas, confined to the Australian region. They are protected like the Euplœids and the Heliconians. In flight they are said to somewhat resemble the dragon-flies of the genus Agrion, their narrow wings, greatly elongated bodies, and slow, flitting motion recalling these insects, which are known by schoolboys as "darning-needles."

Three genera are said to be represented in the extreme southwestern portion of the United States. I myself have never received specimens of any of them which indisputably came from localities within our limits, and no such specimens are found in the great collection of Mr. W.H. Edwards, which is now in my possession. A paratype of Reakirt's species, Mechanitis californica, is contained in the collection of Theodore L. Mead, which I also possess. Mr. Mead obtained it from Herman Strecker of Reading, Pennsylvania. Reakirt gives Los Angeles as the locality from which his type came; but whether he was right in this is open to question, inasmuch, so far as is known, the species has not been found in that neighborhood since described by Reakirt.

Genus MECHANITIS, Fabricius

Butterfly.—Butterflies of moderate size, with the fore wings greatly produced, the inner margin bowed out just beyond the base, and deeply excavated between this projection and the inner angle. The lower discocellular vein in the hind wings is apparently continuous with the median vein, and the lower radial vein being parallel with the median nervules, the median vein has in consequence the appearance of being four-branched. The submedian vein of the fore wings is forked at the base. The costal margin of the hind wings is clothed with tufted erect hairs in the male sex. The fore legs of the male are greatly atrophied, the tarsi and the tibia being fused and reduced to a small knob-like appendage. The fore legs of the female are also greatly reduced, but the tarsi and tibia are still recognizable as slender, thread-like organs.

[a]Fig. 80.]—Neuration of the genus Mechanitis. The letters refer to the names of the veins. (See Fig 40.)

The caterpillars are smooth, cylindrical, ornamented with rows of short fleshy projections.

The chrysalids are short and stout, suspended, and marked with golden spots.

There are numerous species belonging to this genus, all natives of tropical America. The only species said to be found within the limits of the United States occurs, if at all, in southern California. It is, however, probably only found in the lower peninsula of California, which is Mexican territory. No examples from Upper California are known to the writer.

(1) Mechanitis californica, Reakirt, Plate VIII, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Californian Long-wing).

The original description given by Reakirt in the "Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia," vol. v, p. 223, is as follows:

"Expanse, 2.45-2.56 inches. Fore wing above, brownish-black; a basal streak over the median nervure, and two rounded spots near the inner angle, orange-tawny; of these the outer is the largest, sometimes the inner is yellow, and sometimes both are nearly obsolete; a spot across the cell near its termination, much narrower than in M. isthmia, and in one example reduced to a mere dot on the median nervure; a more or less interrupted belt across the wing from the costa to near the middle of the outer margin, and an oblong subapical spot, yellow; in the specimen just mentioned there is an additional yellow spot below the medio-central veinlet.

"Beneath the same, suffused with orange-tawny at the base and the inner angle, with a row of eight or nine submarginal white spots along the outer margin.

"Hind wing above, orange-tawny, with a broad mesial band, entire, and a narrow outer border, from the middle of the costa to the anal angle, brownish-black.

"Beneath the same, a yellow spot on the root of the wing; a band runs along the subcostal nervure from the base to the margin, where it is somewhat dilated; immediately below its termination, a mark in the form of an irregular figure 2, usually with the upper part inordinately enlarged; between this and the base, on the central line of the band above, three small subtriangular spots; all these markings blackish-brown; a submarginal row of seven white spots on the outer margin.

"Body brownish; wing-lappets and thorax spotted with tawny-orange; antennæ yellowish, with the base dusky.

"Hab.—Los Angeles, California."

The species is probably only a local race of the insect known to naturalists as M. polymnia, Linnæus, as Reakirt himself admits. The figure in the plate is from one of Reakirt's paratypes.

Genus CERATINIA, Fabricius

Butterfly.—Butterflies of medium size, very closely related in structure to the butterflies of the genus Mechanitis. The peculiarity of this genus, by which it may be distinguished from others belonging to this subfamily, is the fact that the lower discocellular vein in the hind wing of the male sex is strongly in angled, while in the genus Mechanitis it is the middle discocellular vein of the hind wing which is bent inwardly.

Early Stages.—Unknown for the most part.

There are at least fifty species belonging to this genus found in the tropical regions of America; only one is said to occur occasionally within the limits of the region covered by this volume.

[a]Fig. 81.]—Neuration of the genus Ceratinia. (For explanation of lettering, see Fig. 40.)

(1) Ceratinia lycaste, Fabricius, Plate VIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (Lycaste).

Butterfly.—The butterfly is rather small, wings semi-transparent, especially at the apex of the fore wings. The ground-color is pale reddish-orange, with the border black. There are a few irregular black spots on the discal area of the fore wings, and a row of minute white spots on the outer border. There is a black band on the middle of the hind wings, curved to correspond somewhat with the outline of the outer border. The markings on the under side are paler. The variety negreta, which is represented in the plate, has a small black spot at the end of the cell of the hind wings, replacing the black band in the form common upon the Isthmus of Panama.

[Plate VIII.]

Early Stages.—Unknown.

Reakirt says that this butterfly occurs about Los Angeles, in California, and the statement has been repeated by numerous authors, who have apparently based their assertions upon Reakirt's report. I have no personal knowledge of the occurrence of the species within our borders. It is very abundant, however, in the warmer parts of Mexico and Central America, and it may possibly occur as a straggler within the United States.

Genus DIRCENNA, Doubleday

Butterfly.—Medium-sized butterflies, for the most part with quite transparent wings. The most characteristic features of this genus, separating it from its near allies, are the thread-like front feet of the females, furnished with four-jointed tarsi (Fig. 83), the very hairy palpi, and the wide cell of the hind wing, abruptly terminating about the middle of the wing. Furthermore, in the male sex the hind wing is strongly bowed out about the middle of the costal margin, and the costal vein tends to coalesce with the subcostal about the middle.

[a]Fig. 83.].—Fore leg of Dircenna klugii, ♁, greatly magnified.

Early Stages.—Very little is as yet known about the early stages of these insects, and what has been said of the characteristics of the caterpillars and chrysalids of the subfamily of the Ithomiinæ must suffice us here.

[a]Fig. 82.].—Neuration of the genus Dircenna.

This genus numbers a large array of species which are found in the hottest parts of the tropics of the New World. They fairly swarm in wooded paths amid the jungle of the Amazonian region, and no collection, however small, is ever received from those parts without containing specimens belonging to the group.

(1) Dircenna klugii, Hübner, Plate VIII, Fig. 1, ♂ (Klug's Dircenna).

Butterfly.—Fore wings transparent gray, broken by clear, transparent, colorless spots at the apex, on the outer borders, and on the middle of the wing. The inner margin of the fore wing is black. The hind wings are transparent yellowish, with a narrow black outer border marked with small whitish spots. The body is black, with the thorax spotted with white. Expanse, 2.75 inches.

The specimen figured in the plate is from Mexico. Whether the insect has ever been taken within the limits of the United States is uncertain. It is another of the species attributed to our fauna by Reakirt, but which since his day has not been caught in the nets of any of the numerous butterfly-hunters who have searched the region in which he said it occurs. It may, however, be found upon the borders of Mexico, in the hotter parts of which country it is not at all uncommon. The "gentle reader" will kindly look for it when visiting Brownsville, Texas, and southern California, and, when finding it, herald the fact to the entomological world.

SUPERSTITIONS

"If a butterfly alights upon your head, it foretells good news from a distance. This superstition obtains in Pennsylvania and Maryland.

"The first butterfly seen in the summer brings good luck to him who catches it. This notion prevails in New York.

"In western Pennsylvania it is believed that if the chrysalids of butterflies be found suspended mostly on the under sides of rails, limbs, etc., as it were to protect them from rain, there will soon be much rain, or, as it is termed, a 'rainy spell'; but, on the contrary, if they are found on twigs and slender branches, that the weather will be dry and clear."—Frank Cowan, Curious History of Insects, p. 229.

SUBFAMILY HELICONIINÆ (THE HELICONIANS)

"Men, like butterflies, Show not their mealy wings but to the summer." [a]Shakespeare], Troilus and Cressida, act iii, sc iii

Medium or large-sized butterflies, with the fore wings twice as long as they are broad; the hind wings relatively small and rounded upon the outer margin; without tails. The palpi are produced. The antennæ, which are nearly as long as the body, are provided at the tip with a gradually tapering club, thicker and stouter than in the Ithomiinæ, and are clothed with scales on the upper surface. The fore legs are very feebly developed in both sexes. The eggs are cylindrical, twice as high as wide, tapering rather abruptly toward the apex, which is truncated; they are ribbed longitudinally, with strongly developed cross-ridges, giving the egg a somewhat pitted appearance. The caterpillar, when emerging from the egg, has the head somewhat larger than the body; each segment is clothed with hairs, which upon the first moult are replaced by branching spines. The caterpillar, when it reaches maturity, is provided with six branching spines on each segment. The chrysalis is very peculiar in shape, and is strongly angulated and covered with curious projections, which cause it to somewhat resemble a shriveled leaf.

[a]Fig. 84.]—Neuration of the genus Heliconius.

These butterflies are extremely numerous in the tropics of the New World, and are there represented by a number of genera which are rich in species. Most of them are very gaily colored, the prevalent tints being black banded with yellow or crimson, sometimes marked with a brilliant blue luster. They are evidently very strongly protected. Belt, in his "Naturalist in Nicaragua," tells us that birds and other animals observed by him invariably refused to eat these butterflies, although they swarm in the forests; and he vainly endeavored to induce a monkey which was very fond of insects to eat them, the creature revealing by his grimaces that they were extremely distasteful to him. Mr. Wallace believes their immunity from attack is owing to a "strong, pungent, semi-aromatic, or medicinal odor, which seems to pervade all the juices of their system."

Genus HELICONIUS, Latreille

The description of the subfamily applies to the genus sufficiently well to obviate the necessity of a more particular description, as there is but a single species in our fauna.

(1) Heliconius charitonius, Linnæus, Plate VIII, Fig. 5, ♂ (The Yellow-barred Heliconian; The Zebra).

This insect is a deep black, the fore wings crossed by three bands of yellow: one near the apex; another running from the middle of the costa to the middle of the outer margin; a third running along the lower edge of the cell, and bending at an obtuse angle from the point where the first median nervule branches toward the outer angle, at its outer extremity followed by a small yellow dot. The hind wings are crossed by a somewhat broad band of yellow running from the inner margin near the base toward the outer angle, which it does not reach, and by a submarginal curved band of paler yellow spots, gradually diminishing in size from the inner margin toward the outer angle. There are also a number of small twinned whitish spots on the margin of the hind wing near the anal angle. The body is black, marked with yellow spots and lines; on the under side both wings are touched with crimson at their base, and the hind wings have some pale pinkish markings near the outer angle.

The caterpillar feeds upon the passion-flower. The chrysalis, which is dark brown, has the power when disturbed of emitting a creaking sound as it wriggles about, a property which is reported to be characteristic of all the insects in the genus. This butterfly is found in the hotter portions of the Gulf States, and is rather abundant in Florida, in the region of the Indian River and on the head waters of the St. Johns. It ranges southward all over the lowlands of Mexico, Central America, and the Antilles.

SUBFAMILY NYMPHALINÆ (THE NYMPHS)

"Entomology extends the limits of being in new directions, so that I walk in nature with a sense of greater space and freedom. It suggests, besides, that the universe is not rough-hewn, but perfect in its details. Nature will bear the closest inspection; she invites us to lay our eye level with the smallest leaf and take an insect view of its plane."—Thoreau.

"My butterfly-net and pocket magnifying-glass are rare companions for a walk in the country."—William Hamilton Gibson, Sharp Eyes, p. 117.

Butterfly.—The butterflies of this subfamily are mainly of moderate or large size, though some of the genera contain quite small species. The antennæ are always more or less heavily clothed with scales, and are usually as long as the abdomen, and in a few cases even longer. The club is always well developed; it is usually long, but in some genera is short and stout. The palpi are short and stout, densely clothed with scales and hairs. The thorax is relatively stout, in some genera exceedingly so. The fore wings are relatively broad, the length being to the breadth in most cases in the ratio of 5 to 3, or 3 to 2, though in a few mimetic forms these wings are greatly produced, and narrow, patterning after the outline of the Heliconians and Ithomiids, which they mimic. The fore wings are in most genera produced at the apex, and more or less strongly excavated on the outer margin below the apex. The discoidal cell is usually less than half the length of the wing from base to tip. It is occasionally open, but is more generally closed at its outer extremity by discocellular veins diminishing in thickness from the upper to the lower outer angle of the cell. The costal nervure usually terminates midway between the end of the cell and the tip. The two inner subcostal nervules usually arise before the end of the cell; the outer subcostal nervules invariably arise beyond the end of the cell.

The hind wings are rounded or angulated, with the outer border scalloped or tailed; the inner border always affords a channel for the reception of the abdomen. The costal nervule invariably terminates at the external angle of this wing. The discoidal cell is frequently open, or simply closed by a slender veinlet, which it is not always easy to detect; the anal vein is never lacking.

The fore legs are greatly reduced in the male, less so in the female.

Egg.—The egg is either somewhat globular, or else barrel-shaped, with the sides marked with net-like elevations, or vertically ribbed (see Figs. 1, 8, 10).

Caterpillar.—When first emerging from the egg the caterpillar is generally furnished with long hairs rising singly from wart-like elevations which are arranged either in longitudinal rows or in geometric patterns (Fig. 85). As the caterpillars pass their successive moults the hairs are transformed into branching spines or tubercles (see Plate III, Figs. 28-38).

[a]Fig. 85.]—Caterpillar of Vanessa antiopa, just hatched. (Greatly magnified.) (After Scudder.)

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis invariably hangs suspended from a button of silk, and is frequently furnished, especially on the dorsal or upper surface, with a number of prominences; the head is usually bifurcate, or cleft (see Plate IV, Figs. 21, 39, etc.).

This is the largest of all the subfamilies of the butterflies, and is widely distributed, including many of the most beautifully colored and most vigorous species which are known. There are twenty-six genera represented in our fauna, containing about one hundred and seventy species.

Genus COLÆNIS, Doubleday

Butterfly.—Butterflies of moderately large size, the fore wings greatly produced and relatively narrow; the hind wings evenly rounded and relatively small, of bright reddish-brown color, with darker markings. The species are mimics, and in the elongation of their wings reveal the influence of the Heliconians, protected species, which abound in the regions in which the genus attains its greatest development. The median vein in the upper wing is characterized by the presence at the base of a minute, thorn-like, external projection; the second subcostal nervule is emitted beyond the cell; the cell of the hind wing is open.

The life-history of the two species found within our fauna has not as yet been carefully worked out, and aside from a knowledge of the fact that the caterpillars closely resemble in many respects the caterpillars of the two succeeding genera, being provided with branching spines on their bodies, we do not know as yet enough to give any complete account of the early stages of these insects.

[a]Fig. 86.]—Neuration of the genus Colœnis, slightly less than natural size.

(1) Colænis julia, Fabricius, Plate VIII, Fig. 6, ♂ (Julia).

The upper side is dark reddish-orange, the borders are black, a black band extends from the costa at the end of the cell to the outer margin on the line of the third median nervule; the costal area on the hind wings is silver-gray; the wings on the under side are pale rusty-red, mottled with a few darker spots, principally on the costa, at the end of the cell, and at the apex of the primaries. There are a few crimson marks at the base of the hind wings, and two light-colored lunules near the inner angle of the hind wings. Expanse of wing, 3.50 inches.

This butterfly, which mimics the genus Heliconius in the outline of the wings, is very common in the tropics of America, and only appears as an occasional visitant in southern Texas.

(2) Colænis delila, Fabricius, Plate VIII, Fig. 4, ♂ (Delila).

The Delila Butterfly very closely resembles Julia, and principally differs in being paler in color and without the black band extending from the costa to the outer margin of the primaries. This species has nearly the same form and the same size as the preceding, and, like it, is occasionally found in southern Texas. It is very common in Central America and the West Indies. One of the earliest memories of my childhood relates to a collection of Jamaican butterflies in which were a number of specimens of this butterfly, which I have always much admired.

Genus DIONE, Hübner (Agraulis, Boisd.-Lec.)

Butterfly.—Head large, the antennæ moderately long, with the club flattened; the tip of the abdomen does not extend beyond the inner margin of the hind wings; the cell of the hind wings is open; the primaries are elongated, nearly twice as long as broad, with the exterior margin excavated; the secondaries at the outer margin denticulate. The prevalent color of the upper side of the wings is fulvous, adorned with black spots and lines, the under side of the wings paler brown, in some of the species laved with pink and brilliantly adorned with large silvery spots, as in the genus Argynnis.

Egg.—Conoidal, truncated on top, with fourteen ribs running from the apex to the base, between which are rows of elevated striæ, causing the surface to appear to be covered with quadrangular pits.

Larva.—The caterpillar is cylindrical in its mature stage, tapering a little from the middle toward the head, which is somewhat smaller than the body. The head and each segment of the body are adorned with branching spines.

[a]Fig. 87.]—Neuration of the genus Dione.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is suspended, and has on the dorsal surface of the abdomen a number of small projections. At the point where the abdominal and thoracic segments unite on the dorsal side there is a deep depression, succeeded on the middle of the thorax by a rounded elevation composed of the wing-cases. At the vertex of the chrysalis there is a conical projection; on the ventral side the chrysalis is bowed outwardly.

This genus is confined to the New World, and contains five species. It is closely related to the genus Colœnis on the one hand and to the genus Argynnis on the other. It is distinguished from Colœnis by the more robust structure of the palpi, which closely approximate in form the palpi of the genus Argynnis. It is distinguished from the species of the genus Argynnis by the form of the wings and by the open cell of the secondaries. The larva feeds upon the different species of the genus Passiflora. I cannot at all agree with those who have recently classed this butterfly with the Heliconians. In spite of certain resemblances in the early stages between the insect we are considering and the early stages of some of the Heliconians, and in spite of the shape of the wings, which are remarkably elongated, there are structural peculiarities enough to compel us to keep this insect in the ranks of the Nymphalinæ, where it has been placed for sixty years by very competent and critical observers. In a popular work like this it manifestly is out of place to enter into a lengthy discussion of a question of this character, but it seems proper to call attention to the fact that in the judgment of the writer the location of this genus in the preceding subfamily does violence to obvious anatomical facts.

(1) Dione vanillæ, Linnæus, Plate VIII, Fig. 7, ♂ (The Gulf Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The upper side is bright fulvous; the veins on the fore wings are black, very heavy near the tip; there are four black spots on the outer border, and three discal spots of the same color; there are three irregular black spots toward the end of the cell, pupiled with white; the hind wings have a black border inclosing rounded spots of the ground-color; between the base and the outer margin there are three or four black spots; the under side of the fore wings is light orange, the markings of the upper side showing through upon the under side; the apex of the front wing is brown, inclosing light silvery spots; the secondaries are brown, with numerous elongated bright silver spots and patches. The female does not differ from the male, except that she is darker and the markings are heavier. Expanse, 2.50-3.25 inches.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, with the head somewhat smaller than the body, pale yellowish-brown in color, marked with longitudinal dark-brown bands, of which the two upon the side are deeper in color than the one upon the back, which latter is sometimes almost entirely effaced; the base is slaty-black. There are orange spots about the spiracles. There are six rows of black branching spines upon the body, and two similar spines upon the head, these latter somewhat recurved. The feet and legs are black. The caterpillar feeds upon the various species of passion-flower which are found in the Southern States.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is dark brown, marked with a few small pale spots.

This species ranges from the latitude of southern Virginia southward to Arizona and California. It is abundant also in the Antilles and Mexico.

Genus EUPTOIETA, Doubleday

Butterfly.—Butterflies of medium size, having wings of a yellowish-brown color, marked with black, the under side of the wings devoid of silvery spots such as are found in the genera Dione and Argynnis. The palpi have the second joint strongly developed, increasing in thickness from behind forward, and thickly covered with long hair; the third joint is very small and pointed; the antennæ are terminated by a conspicuous pear-shaped club. The cell of the fore wing is closed by a very feeble lower discocellular vein, which unites with the median vein at the origin of the second median nervule; the cell of the hind wing is open, though occasionally there are traces of a feebly developed lower discocellular vein on this wing. The outer margin of the fore wing is slightly excavated below the apex; the outer margin of the hind wing is somewhat strongly produced at the end of the third median nervule.

[a]Fig. 88.]—Neuration of the genus Euptoieta.

Egg.—Short, subconical, with from thirty to forty vertical ribs, pale green in color.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, with short branching spines arranged in longitudinal rows upon the body, the spines on the first segment being bent forward over the head. The head is somewhat smaller in the mature stage than the body.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is suspended, marked upon its dorsal side with a number of small angular eminences, with the head and the ventral side evenly rounded.

The larva of these insects feeds upon the various species of passion-flower. It is also said to feed upon violets. The butterflies frequent open fields, and are sometimes exceedingly abundant in worn-out lands in the Southern States.

There are two species of this genus, both of which are found within the United States, and range southwardly over the greater portion of Central and South America.

(1) Euptoieta claudia, Cramer, Plate VIII, Fig. 9, ♂ (The Variegated Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The upper side of both wings is dull ferruginous, darker toward the base, crossed by an irregular black median line, which is darker, broader, and more zigzag on the fore wing than on the hind wing. This line is followed outwardly on both wings by a pair of more or less wavy limbal lines, inclosing between them a series of round blackish spots. The outer margin is black, with the fringes pale fulvous, checkered with black at the end of each nervule. At the end of the cell in the fore wing there are two black lines inclosing paler fulvous spots, and both wings near the base have some curved black lines. On the under side the fore wings are marked somewhat as on the upper side, but paler in color, with a large apical patch of brownish-gray broken by a transverse band of darker brown. The hind wings are dark brown, with the markings of the upper side obscurely repeated; they are mottled with gray and crossed by a broad central band of pale buff.

The species varies very much, according to locality, both in size and in the depth of the markings. Expanse, 1.75-2.75 inches.

Egg.—The egg is conoidal, relatively taller than the eggs of the genus Argynnis, which closely resemble it. There is a depression at the apex, surrounded by a serrated rim, formed by the ends of the vertical ribs, of which there are about twenty, some longer and some shorter, about half of them reaching from the apex to the base. Between these vertical ribs there are a multitude of smaller cross-ridges.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, reddish-yellow in color, marked with two brown lateral bands and a series of white spots upon the back. There are six rows of short branching spines upon the body, which are black in color; the two uppermost of these spines on the first segment are much elongated and are directed forward. The head is smaller than the body in the mature caterpillar, and is black. On the under side the caterpillar is pale or whitish; the legs are blackish-brown. It feeds upon the passion-flower.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is pearly-white, marked with black spots and longitudinal streaks.

This species has been taken as far north as Long Island and Connecticut, though it is a very rare visitant in New England; it is quite common in Virginia and thence southward, and occurs not infrequently in southern Illinois and Indiana, ranging westward and southward over the entire continent to the Isthmus of Panama, and thence extending over the South American continent, wherever favorable conditions occur.

(2) Euptoieta hegesia, Cramer, Plate VIII, Fig. 8, ♂ (The Mexican Fritillary).

The upper side is marked very much as in the preceding species, but all the lines are finer and somewhat more regular, and the basal and discal areas of the hind wings are without dark spots in most specimens. The under side is less mottled and more uniformly dark rusty-brown than in E. claudia. Expanse, about 2 inches.

The life-history of this species has not as yet been thoroughly worked out, but there is every reason to believe that the insect in its early stages very closely approaches the Variegated Fritillary. It is a Southern form, and only occasionally is taken in Arizona and southern California. It is common in Central and South America.

LUTHER'S SADDEST EXPERIENCE

"Luther, he was persecuted, Excommunicated, hooted, Disappointed, egged, and booted; Yelled at by minutest boys, Waked up by nocturnal noise, Scratched and torn by fiendish cats, Highwayed by voracious rats.

"Oft upon his locks so hoary Water fell from upper story; Oft a turnip or potato Struck upon his back or pate, Oh! And wherever he betook him, A papal bull was sure to hook him.

"But the saddest of all I am forced to relate: Of a diet of worms He was forced to partake— Of a diet of worms For the Protestants' sake; Munching crawling caterpillars, Beetles mixed with moths and millers; Instead of butter, on his bread, A sauce of butterflies was spread. Was not this a horrid feast For a Christian and a priest?

"Now, if you do not credit me, Consult D'Aubigné's history. You'll find what I have told you Most fearfully and sternly true." Yale Literary Magazine, 1852.

[Plate IX.]

Genus ARGYNNIS, Fabricius

(The Fritillaries, the Silver-spots)

"July is the gala-time of butterflies. Most of them have just left the chrysalis, and their wings are perfect and very fresh in color. All the sunny places are bright with them, yellow and red and white and brown, and great gorgeous fellows in rich velvet-like dresses of blue-black, orange, green, and maroon. Some of them have their wings scalloped, some fringed, and some plain; and they are ornamented with brilliant borders and fawn-colored spots and rows of silver crescents.... They circle about the flowers, fly across from field to field, and rise swiftly in the air; little ones and big ones, common ones and rare ones, but all bright and airy and joyous—a midsummer carnival of butterflies."—Frank H. Sweet.

Butterfly.—Butterflies of medium or large size, generally with the upper surface of the wings reddish-fulvous, with well-defined black markings consisting of waved transverse lines, and rounded discal and sagittate black markings near the outer borders. On the under side of the wings the design of the fore wings is generally somewhat indistinctly repeated, and the hind wings are marked more or less profusely with large silvery spots. In a few cases there is wide dissimilarity in color between the male and the female sex; generally the male sex is marked by the brighter red of the upper surface, and the female by the broader black markings, the paler ground-color, and the sometimes almost white lunules, which are arranged outwardly at the base of the sagittate spots along the border.

[a]Fig. 89.]—Neuration of the genus Argynnis.

The eyes are naked; the palpi strongly developed, heavily clothed with hair rising above the front, with the last joint very small and pointed. The antennæ are moderately long, with a well-defined, flattened club. The abdomen is shorter than the hind wings; the wings are more or less denticulate. The subcostal vein is provided with five nervules, of which the two innermost are invariably given forth before the end of the cell; the third subcostal nervule always is nearer the fourth than the second. The cell of the fore wing is closed by a fine lower discocellular vein, which invariably joins the median vein beyond the origin of the second nervule. The hind wing has a well-defined precostal nervule; the cell in this wing is closed by a moderately thick lower discocellular vein, which joins the median exactly at the origin of the second median nervule. The fore feet of the males are slender, long, and finely clothed with hair. The fore feet of the females are of the same size as those of the males, but thin, covered with scales, and only on the inner side of the tibiæ clothed with moderately long hair.

Egg.—The eggs are conoidal, truncated, and inwardly depressed at the apex, rounded at the base, and ornamented on the sides by parallel raised ridges, not all of which reach the apex. Between these ridges there are a number of small raised cross-ridges.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, covered with spines, the first segment always bearing a pair of spines somewhat longer than the others. All of the species in North America, so far as their habits are known, feed upon violets at night. During the daytime the caterpillars lie concealed.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is angular, adorned with more or less prominent projections. The head is bifid.

The genus Argynnis is one of the largest genera of the brush-footed butterflies. It is well represented in Europe and in the temperate regions of Asia, some magnificent species being found in the Himalayas and in China and Japan. It even extends to Australia, and recently two species have been discovered in the vicinity of the great volcanic peak, Kilima-Njaro, in Africa. But it has found its greatest development upon the continent of North America. The species composing this genus are among our most beautiful butterflies. Owing to the fact that there is a great tendency in many of the forms closely to approximate one another, the accurate distinction of many of the species has troubled naturalists, and it is quite probable that some of the so-called species will ultimately be discovered to be merely local races or varietal forms. The species that are found in the eastern part of the United States have been studied very carefully, and their life-history has been worked out so thoroughly that little difficulty is found in accurately determining them. The greatest perplexity occurs in connection with those species which are found in the region of the Rocky Mountains. While silvery spots are characteristic of the under side of most of the fritillaries, in some species the silvery spots are not found; in others they are more or less evanescent, occurring in the case of some individuals, and being absent in the case of others.

(1) Argynnis idalia, Drury, Plate X, Fig. 3, ♁; Plate V, Fig. 4, chrysalis (The Regal Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The upper side of the fore wings of the male is bright fulvous, marked very much as in other species of the genus. The upper side of the hind wings is black, glossed with blue, having a marginal row of fulvous and a submarginal row of cream-colored spots. On the under side the fore wings are fulvous, with a marginal row of silver crescents, and some silvery spots on and near the costa. The hind wings are dark olive-brown, marked with three rows of large irregular spots of a dull greenish-silvery color. The female is at once distinguished from the male by having the marginal row of spots on the hind wings cream-colored, like the submarginal row, and by the presence of a similar row of light spots on the fore wings. Expanse, 2.75-4.00 inches.

Egg.—The egg in form is like those of other species of Argynnis.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar moults five times before attaining to maturity. When fully developed it is 1.75 inches long, black, banded and striped with ochreous and orange-red, and adorned with six rows of fleshy spines surmounted by several black bristles. The spines composing the two dorsal rows are white, tipped with black; those on the sides black, tinted with orange at the point where they join the body. The caterpillar feeds on violets, and is nocturnal in its habits.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is brown, mottled with yellow and tinted on the wing-cases with pinkish. It is about an inch long, and in outline does not depart from the other species of the genus.

This exceedingly beautiful insect ranges from Maine to Nebraska. It is found in northern New Jersey, the mountainous parts of New York and northern Pennsylvania, and is reported from Arkansas and Nebraska. It is rather local, and frequents open spots on the borders of woodlands. At times it is apparently common, and then for a succession of seasons is scarce. It flies from the end of June to the beginning of September.

(2) Argynnis diana, Cramer, Plate IX, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (Diana).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side has both wings deep rich brown, bordered with fulvous, this border being more or less interrupted by rays of brown along the nervules and two rows of circular brown spots, larger on the fore wings than on the hind wings. The wings on the under side are pale buff, deeply marked with black on the base and middle of the fore wings, and clouded with grayish-fulvous on the inner two thirds of the hind wings. A blue spot is located near the end of the cell in the fore wings, and the hind wings are adorned by a marginal and submarginal row of narrow silvery crescents and a few silvery spots toward the base. The female on the upper side is a rich bluish-black, with the outer border of the fore wings marked by three rows of bluish-white quadrate spots, the outer row being the palest, and often quite white. The hind wings are adorned by three more or less complete rows of bright-blue spots, the inner row composed of large subquadrate spots, each having a circular spot of black at its inner extremity. On the under side the female has the ground-color slaty-brown, paler on the hind wings than on the fore wings, which latter are richly marked with blue and black spots. The silvery crescents found on the under side of the hind wings of the male reappear on the under side of the female, and are most conspicuous on the outer margins. Expanse, 3.25-4.00 inches.

Egg.—The egg is pale greenish-white, and conformed in outline to type.

Caterpillar.—The larva is velvety-black, adorned with six rows of fleshy spines armed with bristles. The spines are orange-red at the base. The head is dull brown.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is dusky-brown, with lighter-colored short projections on the dorsal side.

This splendid butterfly, which is the most magnificent species of the genus, is confined to the southern portion of the Appalachian region, occurring in the two Virginias and Carolinas, northern Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and being occasionally found in the southern portion of Ohio and Indiana, and in Missouri and Arkansas.

(3) Argynnis nokomis, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (Nokomis).

[Plate X.]

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side is bright fulvous, with the characteristic black markings of the genus. On the under side the wings are pale greenish-yellow, with the fore wings laved with bright pink at the base and on the inner margin. The spots of the upper side reappear on the under side as spots of silver bordered narrowly with black. The female has the ground-color of the upper side yellow, shaded outwardly with fulvous. All the dark markings of the male sex reappear in this sex, but are much broader, and tend to fuse and run into one another, so as to leave the yellow ground-color as small subquadrate or circular spots, and wholly to obliterate them at the base of the wings. On the under side this sex is marked like the male, but with all the markings broader. Expanse, 3.40-3.60 inches.

This species, the male of which resembles the male of A. leto, and the female the same sex of A. diana, is as yet quite rare in collections. It has been taken in Arizona and southern Utah. We have no knowledge of the life-history of the species.

(4) Argynnis nitocris, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 4, ♂, under side (Nitocris).

Butterfly.—The male is bright reddish-fulvous, marked like A. nokomis. The under side of the fore wings is cinnamon-red, ochre-yellow at the tip. The hind wings are deep rusty-red, with a broad yellowish-red submarginal belt. The silver spots are as in A. nokomis. The female on the upper side is blackish-brown, darker than A. nokomis. The extradiscal spots in the transverse rows are pale yellow, and the submarginal spots whitish. The under side of the fore wings is bright red, with the tip yellow. The hind wings on this side are dark brown, with a submarginal yellow belt. Expanse, 3.25-3.75 inches.

This species, like the preceding, is from Arizona, and nothing is known of its egg, caterpillar, or chrysalis.

(5) Argynnis leto, Edwards, Plate IX, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♁ (Leto).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side is marked much as A. nokomis, but the ground-color is duller red, and the basal area is much darker. The under side of the fore wings is pale fulvous, upon which the markings of the upper side reappear; but there are no marginal silver crescents. Both wings on the under side are shaded with brown toward the base; the hind wings are traversed by a submarginal band of light straw-yellow. The female is marked as the male, but the ground-color is pale straw-yellow, and all the darker markings are deep blackish-brown, those at the base of both wings being broad and running into one another, so that the inner half of the wings appears to be broadly brownish-black. On the under side this sex is marked as the male, but with the dark portions blacker and the lighter portions pale yellow. Expanse, 2.50-3.25 inches.

The life-history of this insect remains to be worked out. It is one of our most beautiful species, and occurs in California and Oregon.

(6) Argynnis cybele, Fabricius, Plate IX, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♁; Plate XIII, Fig. 1, ♁, under side; Plate V, Figs. 1-3, chrysalis (The Great Spangled Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The male is much like the male of A. leto, but the dark markings of the upper surface are heavier, and the under sides of the hind wings are more heavily silvered. The yellowish-buff submarginal band on the under side of the hind wings is never obliterated by being invaded by the darker ferruginous of the marginal and discal tracts of the wing. The female has the ground-color of the wings paler than the male, and both wings from the base to the angled median band on the upper side are dark chocolate-brown. All the markings of the upper side in this sex are heavier than in the male. On the under side the female is like the male. Expanse, 3.00-4.00 inches.

Egg.—Short, conoidal, ribbed like those of other species, and honey-yellow.

Caterpillar.—The larva in the mature state is black. The head is blackish, shaded with chestnut behind. The body is ornamented with six rows of shining black branching spines, generally marked with orange-red at their base. The caterpillar, which is nocturnal, feeds on violets, hibernating immediately after being hatched from the egg, and feeding to maturity in the following spring.

Chrysalis.-The chrysalis is dark brown, mottled with reddish-brown or slaty-gray.

This species, which ranges over the Atlantic States and the valley of the Mississippi as far as the plains of Nebraska, appears to be single-brooded in the North and double-brooded in Virginia, the Carolinas, and the Western States having the same geographical latitude. A small variety of this species, called A. carpenteri by Mr. W.H. Edwards, is found in New Mexico upon the top of Taos Peak, and is believed to be isolated here in a colony, as Œneis semidea is isolated upon the summit of Mount Washington. Specimens of cybele much like those of this New Mexican variety are found in eastern Maine and Nova Scotia, and on the high mountains of North Carolina.

(7) Argynnis aphrodite, Fabricius, Plate XIV, Fig. 11, ♁, under side; Plate V, Fig. 5, chrysalis (Aphrodite).

Butterfly.—This species closely resembles cybele, but is generally smaller, and the yellow submarginal band on the hind wings is narrower than in cybele, and often wholly wanting, the hind wings being broadly brown, particularly in the female sex. The under side of the fore wings at the base and on the inner margin is also brighter red.

The caterpillar, chrysalis, and egg of this species closely resemble those of cybele. The caterpillar has, however, a velvety-black spot at the base of each spine, the chrysalis has the tubercles on the back shorter than in cybele, and the basal segments are party-colored, and not uniformly colored as in cybele.

(8) Argynnis cipris, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♁ (The New Mexican Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—This species, which belongs to the Aphrodite-group, may be distinguished by the fact that the fore wings are relatively longer and narrower than in aphrodite. The black markings on the upper side of the wings in both sexes are narrower, the dusky clouding at the base of the wings is less pronounced, and the ground-color is brighter reddish-fulvous than in aphrodite. On the under side the fore wings lack in the male the pinkish shade at the base and on the inner margin which appears in aphrodite, and both the male and the female have the inner two thirds of the hind wings deep cinnamon-red, with only a very narrow buff submarginal band, deeply invaded on the side of the base by rays of the deeper brown color of the inner portion of the wing. Expanse, 2.75-3.15 inches. The insect flies from late June to the end of August.

Caterpillar, etc.—We know nothing of the larval stages of this insect. The specimens contained in the Edwards collection came from Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, and these localities approximately represent the range of the species.

(9) Argynnis alcestis, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 6, ♂, under side (The Ruddy Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—Very much like aphrodite, from which it may be most easily distinguished by the fact that the hind wings are uniformly dark cinnamon-brown, without any band of buff on the outer margin. Expanse, 2.50-3.00 inches. The insect flies from late June to the end of August.

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.

[Plate XI.]

Egg.—Conoidal, with twelve to fourteen ribs, honey-yellow. The caterpillars are hatched in the fall, and hibernate without feeding until the following spring.

Caterpillar.—The head is dark blackish-brown. The body is velvety-purple above, a little paler on the under side. The usual spines occur on the body, and are black, grayish at the base. The larva feeds on violets.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is light brown, speckled, except on the abdominal segments, with black.

This species ranges from Maine to the mountains of western Pennsylvania, and thence southward along the central ridges of the Alleghanies into West Virginia. It is also found in Canada, and extends westward into the region of the Rocky Mountains. It is especially common in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Adirondacks.

(12) Argynnis lais, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 12, ♂; Fig. 13, ♁ (The Northwestern Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—The male is bright reddish-fulvous on the upper side, slightly obscured by fuscous at the base. The discal band of spots common to both wings is broken and irregular, and the spots on the hind wings are quite small. The fore wings on the under side are buff at the tips and pale red at the base and on the inner margin, lighter at the inner angle. The under side of the hind wings as far as the outer margin of the discal row of silvery spots is dark brown, mottling a yellowish ground. The submarginal band of the hind wings is pale yellow and moderately broad. The female is marked much as the male, but the discal band of spots on the upper side of the fore wings is confluent and broader, the fringes whitish, and the spots included between the sagittate marginal spots and the marginal lines paler than in the male sex. Expanse, 2.00-2.20 inches.

Caterpillar, etc.—The early stages are unknown.

This species is found in the territories of Alberta and Assiniboia, and in British Columbia among the foot-hills and the lower slopes of the mountain-ranges.

(13) Argynnis oweni, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♁, under side (Owen's Silver-spot).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are dull reddish-fulvous, not much obscured with brown on the base, the black markings moderately heavy, the two marginal lines tending to flow together. The fore wings on the under side are yellowish-buff from the base to the outer row of spots, or in some specimens with the buff lightly laved with reddish; the nerves reddish-brown. The subapical patch is dark brown, with a small silvered spot; the five submarginal spots are small and obscurely silvered. The hind wings are dark brown on the discal area and outer margin, with a rather narrow grayish-buff submarginal band, strongly invaded by projections of the dark brown of the discal area. The spots of the outer discal row are generally well silvered; the inner spots less so in most cases.

♁.—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.

Caterpillar, etc.—The early stages are unknown.

This species has been confounded with A. atlantis, from which it is wholly distinct, being much smaller in size, the fore wings relatively broader, and the markings not so dark on the upper surface. It is found in Colorado and Montana, among the mountains.

(16) Argynnis columbia, Henry Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Columbian Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—The male has the upper side of the fore wings pale reddish-fulvous. In the median band of both wings the spots do not flow together, but are separate and moderately heavy. The under side of the fore wings is pale fulvous, buff at the tip; spots silvered. The hind wings on the under side are light rusty-red, but little mottled with buff on the disk; the submarginal band is narrow, buff, and sometimes almost wholly obscured by the darker ground-color. The spots, which are small, are well silvered. The female is much lighter than the male, and, as usual, the dark lines are heavier than in that sex. The spots of the median band are bent and partly lanceolate, and the light spots of the outer border are whitish. Expanse, 2.25-2.50 inches.

Caterpillar, etc.—The early stages have not as yet been worked out.

This species, which is related to electa, may easily be distinguished from it by the pale marginal series of light spots, in the male, between the sagittate spots and the dark outer marginal lines, which latter are confluent, forming a solid dark outer border to the wing, while in electa they are separated by a narrow band of light-brown spots. The female is also much lighter and larger than in electa, as has been pointed out. The types which came from the Caribou mining region of British Columbia are in my possession, as are those of most of the other North American species of the genus.

(17) Argynnis hesperis, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (Hesperis).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side of the wings is fulvous, shaded with dark fuscous for a short distance from the base. The black spots of the median band are rather broad, and seem to coalesce through dark markings along the nervules. The under side of the fore wings is pale ferruginous, tinged with a little buff at the tips, which, together with the outer margin, are somewhat heavily clouded with dark ferruginous. The under side of the hind wings is dark ferruginous, with a narrow buff submarginal band, which in some specimens is almost lost. The female is paler than the male in the ground-color of the upper side, the black markings are heavier, the marginal lines fuse, as do also the sagittate marginal markings, leaving the marginal spots between them, which are quite light in color, deeply bordered on all sides by black. The under side is like that of the male, but darker and richer in color. In neither sex are the light spots marked with silver; they are opaque, yellowish-white. Expanse, 2.25-2.40 inches.

Caterpillar, etc.—The life-history remains to be learned.

This insect is not uncommon among the mountains of Colorado.

(18) Argynnis hippolyta, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 10, ♂ (Hippolyta).

[Plate XII.]

Butterfly.—The male is fulvous upon the upper side, all the dark markings being heavy and black, and the basal areas of the wings clouded with fuscous, this dark clouding on the hind wings reaching down and nearly covering the inner angle. The fore wings on the under side are buff, laved with pale red at the base, marked with ferruginous on the outer margin and about the subapical spots. The submarginal and subapical spots are silvered, especially the latter. The hind wings are deep ferruginous, mottled with buff. The submarginal band is buff, narrow, and dusted with more or less ferruginous. All the spots are well silvered. The female has the basal area of the fore wings bright pinkish-fulvous, and the belt of the secondaries almost lost in the deep ground-color.

(19) Argynnis bremneri, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 7, ♂ (Bremner's Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side is bright fulvous. The black markings, especially those about the middle of the wing, are heavy. Both wings at the base are clouded with fuscous, the under side of the primaries red toward the base, buff on the apical area; the subapical and the upper marginal spots well silvered; the hind wings with the inner two thirds more or less deeply ferruginous, a little mottled with buff, very rarely encroached upon by the dark color of the inner area, except occasionally near the anal angle. Expanse, ♂, 2.40 inches; ♁, 2.70 inches.

Early Stages.—The early stages have not as yet been described.

This species is found in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and in the southern portions of British Columbia and Vancouver's Island.

(20) Argynnis zerene, Boisduval, Plate XIV, Fig. 9, ♂, under side (Zerene).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side is reddish-fulvous, with rather heavy black markings, the mesial band of spots being confluent. The under side of the fore wings is reddish, inclining to pink, with the apex laved with buff. The hind wings have the ground-color purplish-gray, mottled on the inner two thirds with ferruginous. The spots are not silvered, but are a delicate gray color. The female is colored like the male, but the red at the base of the fore wings in this sex is much deeper, and the yellow at the apex of the primaries contrasts much more strongly. The spots on the under side in the female sex are frequently well silvered, though in many specimens they are colored exactly as in the male sex. Expanse of wing, ♂, 2.17 inches; ♁, 2.50 inches.

Early Stages.—The early stages of this species have not as yet been ascertained.

This beautiful butterfly, which is somewhat inclined to variation, is found in northern California, being quite common about Mount Shasta. It is also found in Oregon and Nevada. One of the varietal forms was named Argynnis purpurescens by the late Henry Edwards, because of the decided purplish tint which prevails on the under side of the secondaries, extending over the entire surface of the hind wings and covering likewise the apex of the fore wings. This purplish-brown is very marked in specimens collected about the town of Soda Springs, in northern California.

(21) Argynnis monticola, Behr, Plate XIII, Fig. 7, ♂, under side; Fig. 8, ♂; Plate XIV, Fig. 17, ♁ (Behr's Fritillary).

Butterfly.—This species is very closely allied to the preceding in some respects; the upper surface, however, of the wings in both sexes is brighter than in zerene, and the dark markings stand forth more clearly upon the lighter ground-color. The wings are not shaded with fuscous toward the base as much as in A. zerene. While the markings on the upper side are almost identical with those of Dr. Boisduval's species, they are much brighter and clearer, giving the insects quite a different aspect. On the under side the wings are colored as in zerene, the primaries in the male being ferruginous, laved with a little red toward the base, marked with purplish-gray toward the apex, the light spots near the end of the cell on this wing being pale buff. The hind wings are very uniformly purplish-gray, mottled with dark brown, the spots very little, if at all, silvered in the male. In the female the fore wings are bright red at the base, and the hind wings are colored as in the male; but all the spots in both the fore wings and hind wings are broadly and brightly silvered.

Early Stages.—The early stages have not been ascertained, and there remains something here for young entomologists to accomplish.

This species is quite common in the same localities as the last, and some authors are inclined to regard it as being a mere variety, which is a belief that can only be verified by careful breeding from the egg.

(22) Argynnis rhodope, Edwards, Plate XI, Fig. 6, ♁, under side (Rhodope).

Butterfly.—In the male sex the upper side is bright fulvous, with both wings on the inner half heavily clouded with dark fuscous. The black markings are very heavy and confluent. The outer border is solid black, very slightly, if at all, interrupted by a narrow marginal brown line, in this respect resembling A. atlantis. On the under side the fore wings are dark ferruginous, on the outer margin rich dark brown. Between the spots at the end of the cell and the nervules below the apex are some clear, bright straw-yellow spots. The upper spots of the marginal series are silvered. The hind wings are dark reddish-brown, very slightly paler on the line of the marginal band. The spots are pale straw-yellow, except those of the marginal series, which are distinctly silvered. The female on the upper side is of a lighter and brighter red, with the markings dark and heavy as in the male sex. On the under side the markings in the female do not differ from those in the male, except that the primaries on the inner half and at the base are bright pinkish-red. Expanse, ♂, 2.20 inches; ♁, 2.40 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This striking species has been heretofore only found in British Columbia.

(23) Argynnis behrensi, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 10, ♂, under side, (Behrens' Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The male on the upper side is dull fulvous, clouded with fuscous at the base, the black markings much narrower and lighter than in the preceding species. The primaries on the under side are pale fulvous, clouded with dark brown at the apex. The subapical spots and the upper spots of the marginal series on this wing are well silvered. The hind wings on the under side are deep reddish-brown, with the marginal band only faintly indicated. All the spots are distinctly well silvered. The female does not differ materially from the male, except in the larger size and the somewhat paler ground-color of the upper side of the wings. On the under side the wings are exactly as in the male, with the marginal band even less distinct than in that sex.

Early Stages.—Not yet ascertained.

The type specimens upon which the foregoing description is founded came from Mendocino, in California.

(24) Argynnis halcyone,, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♂, under side, (Halcyone).

Butterfly, ♂.—The primaries are produced and relatively narrower than in the preceding species, fulvous on the upper side, with the black markings distinct, the mesial band of the secondaries confluent. The fore wings on the under side are pale fulvous, reddish at the base, pale buff at the end of the cell and on the costal margin before the apex. The subapical spots and the pale spots of the marginal series are very little silvered. The hind wings have the inner two thirds deep reddish-brown, slightly mottled with buff. The marginal band is buff, and all the spots are well silvered.

♁.—The female, which is considerably larger than the male, is marked much as in that sex; but all the black markings are heavier, and on the under side of the primaries the base and inner margin are laved with red. The marginal band on the hind wings is not as distinct in this sex as in the male, in many specimens being somewhat obscured by olive-brown. Expanse, ♂, 2.50 inches; ♁, 2.90-3.10 inches.

Early Stages.—Not known.

This species, which is still rare in collections, is found in southern Colorado and the adjacent parts of Utah and Arizona.

(25) Argynnis chitone, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 16, ♁ (Chitone).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are dull fulvous, greatly obscured by brown at the base of the wings. The dark spots and markings are not heavy. The fore wings on the under side are yellowish-fulvous at the base and on the inner half of the wing; the apical patch and the nervules on the apical area are heavy ferruginous; the marginal spots are buff, with no silver. The hind wings on the under side are light ferruginous, mottled with buff; the belt is broad, clear buff; the outer margin is brown. All the spots are small and imperfectly silvered.

♁.—The female is nearly the same shade as the male, with the marginal spots on the under side always silvered, the remainder without silver, or only now and then with a few silvery scales. Expanse, 2.25-2.50 inches.

[Plate XIII.]

Early Stages.—Not ascertained.

This species occurs in southern Utah and Arizona.

(26) Argynnis platina,, Skinner, Plate XVIII, Fig. 7, ♂ (Skinner's Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The original description of this species, contained in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxix, p. 154, is as follows:

"♂.—Expands two and a half inches. Upper side: Rather light tawny or even light buff. Black markings dense and wide, with outer halves of wings looking rather clear or open, with rows of round spots not very large; marginal border light; bases of wings not much obscured. Under side: Superiors have the two subapical silver spots and silver spots on margin well defined; color of inner half of wing rosy. The silver spots on the inferiors are large and well defined, and placed on a very light greenish-gray ground. The intermediate buff band is well defined, comparatively wide, and very light in color. ♁.—The ground-color on the inferiors below is reddish-brown in the female."

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species occurs in Utah and Idaho, and is possibly a varietal form of A. coronis, specimens agreeing very nearly with the type figured in the plate being contained in the Edwards collection under the name of A. coronis.

(27) Argynnis coronis, Behr, Plate XI, Fig. 10, ♂; Fig. 11, ♁ (Coronis).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are yellowish-brown, with but little brown obscuring the base. The dark markings are not heavy, but distinct. The fore wings on the under side are buff, with the basal area orange-fulvous. The subapical and submarginal spots are more or less imperfectly silvered. The hind wings are brown, mottled with reddish. The discal area is buff, and the belt is pale yellowish-buff. All the spots are large and well silvered on these wings.

♁.—The female is paler than the male, with the markings on the upper side a little heavier. The wings on the under side are much as in the male sex. Expanse, ♂, 2.10-2.50 inches; ♁, 2.50-3.00 inches.

Early Stages.—The early stages remain to be ascertained.

This species ranges from southern California northward to the southern part of British Columbia, and is found as far east as Utah.

(28) Argynnis snyderi, Skinner, Plate XVIII, Fig. 6, ♂ (Snyder's Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are light tawny, but little obscured by fuscous at the base. The black markings are moderately heavy and very sharply defined against the lighter ground-color. The outer margin is distinctly but not heavily marked. On the under side of the fore wings there are two subapical and five marginal silver spots. The ground-color of the under side of the hind wings is grayish-green, with a narrow pale-buff marginal belt. The spots are large and well silvered.

♁.—The female is much like the male, but on the hind wings the ground-color from the base to the outer belt is brownish. Expanse, ♂, 3.00 inches; ♁, 3.30 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species, which is very closely allied to A. coronis, is found in Utah.

(29) Argynnis callippe, Boisduval, Plate XI, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁; Fig. 3, ♁, under side (Callippe).

Butterfly,.—This species may easily be recognized by the general obscuration of the basal area of the wings, the light-buff quadrate spots on the discal area of the fore wings, and the clear oval spots of the same color on the hind wings, as well as by the light triangular marginal spots, all standing out distinctly on the darker ground. The wings on the under side are quite pale buff, with the spots large and well silvered. Expanse, 2.30-3.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

Callippe is abundant in California.

(30) Argynnis nevadensis, Edwards, Plate X, Fig. 4, ♂, under side (The Nevada Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The ground-color is pale fulvous, but little obscured with fuscous at the base. The outer margins are heavily bordered with black. The dark markings of the discal area are not heavy. The fore wings on the under side are pale buff, the spots well silvered; the hind wings are greenish; the belt is narrow and clear, and the spots are large and well silvered.

♁.—The female is much like the male, but larger and paler. The outer margin of the fore wings in this sex is more heavily marked with black, and the marginal spots are light buff in color. Expanse, ♂, 2.50-3.00 inches; ♁, 3.00-3.50 inches.

Early Stages.—These remain to be discovered.

This species is found in the Rocky Mountains of Utah, Nevada, Montana, and British America.

(31) Argynnis meadi, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♂, under side (Mead's Silver-spot).

Butterfly.—This species is very closely allied to the preceding, of which it may be an extreme variation, characterized by the darker color of the fore wings on the upper side, the nervules being heavily bordered with blackish, and the deeper, more solid green of the under side of the wings. All the specimens I have seen are considerably smaller in size than A. nevadensis.

Early Stages.—Wholly unknown.

This species or variety is found from Utah northward to the province of Alberta, in British America.

(32) Argynnis edwardsi, Reakirt, Plate XI, Fig. 4, ♂; Fig. 5, ♁ (Edwards' Fritillary).

Butterfly.—This beautiful insect is closely related to the Nevada Fritillary, from which it may be distinguished by the brighter color of the upper side, the heavier black borders, especially in the female sex, and the olive-brown color of the under side of the hind wings. The olivaceous of these wings greatly encroaches upon the marginal belt. Expanse, 3.00-3.25 inches.

Early Stages.—These have been carefully and minutely described by Edwards in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xx, p. 3. They are not unlike those of A. atlantis in many respects.

This species is not uncommon in Colorado and Montana.

(33) Argynnis liliana, Henry Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 11, ♂ (Liliana).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are reddish-fulvous. The black markings and the spots are slight. The fore wings on the under side are yellowish-buff; the base and the hind margin to below the cell, brown, with buff on the median interspaces. The outer end of the cell is yellowish-buff. The subapical patch is brown, adorned by two or three well-silvered spots. The five upper marginal spots are well silvered. The hind wings are brown, but little mottled with buff. The spots are well silvered. The marginal belt is narrow, ochreous-brown.

♁.—The female is much paler than the male, and the marginal spots on both wings are much lighter. On the under side the wings are as in the male sex, with the basal area and the nervules of the fore wings red. Expanse, ♂, 2.20 inches; ♁, 2.35 inches.

Egg.—W.H. Edwards gives the following description: "Conoidal, truncated, depressed at summit, marked vertically by twenty-two or twenty-three ribs, which are as in other species of the genus; the outline of this egg is much as in eurynome, the base being broad, the top narrow, and the height not much more than the breadth; color yellow."

Caterpillar.—The same author has given us a description of the caterpillar immediately after hatching; but as the young larvæ were lost after being sent to Maine to be kept over winter we do not yet know the full life-history.

The range of this species is northern California and Utah, so far as is known at present.

(34) Argynnis rupestris, Behr, Plate XII, Fig. 8, ♂. Fig. 9, ♂, under side (The Cliff-dwelling Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side of the fore wings is deep reddish-fulvous, with the black markings very heavy. The fore wings on the under side are buff, shaded with red at the base and on the inner margin. The spots are buff, without any silver. The hind wings are buff, mottled with cinnamon-red, sometimes dark, sometimes lighter. The marginal belt is narrow, buff, encroached upon by the darker color of the median area at the ends of the oval spots. None of the spots is silvered, except very lightly in exceptional cases.

♁.—The female is much like the male on the upper side, with the dark markings much heavier, the ground-color somewhat paler, and the marginal row of spots quite light. The wings on the under side are more brightly tinted than in the male, and the marginal spots are more or less silvered. Expanse, ♂, 2.00 inches; ♁, 2.20 inches.

Early Stages.—Nothing is as yet known about the egg and larva.

This species is quite abundant at a considerable elevation upon Mount Shasta, Mount Bradley, and in the Weber Mountains in Utah.

(35) Argynnis laura, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 11, ♂; Fig. 12, ♁ (Laura).

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side is deep reddish-fulvous, with both wings somewhat obscured at the base by fuscous. The black markings on the upper side of the wings are heavy; the outer margin is also heavily banded with dark brown, the marginal lines being fulvous. The four spots on the hind wings are lighter in color than the ground. The fore wings on the under side are reddish-orange, with the apex and the hind margin yellowish-buff. The apical and upper marginal spots are more or less well silvered. The hind wings are pale yellow, the marginal belt very broad and clear yellow. All the spots are large and well silvered.

♁.—The female is much paler than the male, but otherwise closely resembles that sex. Expanse, ♂, 2.20 inches; ♁, 2.35 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species is found in northern California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

(36) Argynnis macaria, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 9, ♂ (Macaria).

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side of the wings is yellowish-fulvous, the black markings very light. The fore wings on the under side are orange-red, at the apex yellowish-buff. The subapical upper marginal spots are lightly silvered. The hind wings are yellowish-buff on the outer third, mottled with brown on the basal and median areas. The marginal belt is clear buff. The spots are large and well silvered.

♁.—The female is paler than the male. On the upper side of the hind wings the second row of silver spots is indicated by spots much paler than the ground. The black markings are lighter than in the male. Expanse, ♂, 2.00 inches; ♁, 2.20 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species, which is somewhat like A. coronis, but smaller, and brighter fulvous, is found in California, but is still quite rare in collections.

(37) Argynnis semiramis, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 2, ♂, under side; Fig. 3, ♁ (Semiramis).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings are bright fulvous on the upper side, with the black markings much as in A. adiante, slight on the fore wings and even slighter on the hind wings. The under side of the fore wings is cinnamon-red at the base and on the inner half of the wing, beyond this buff. The apical patch and the outer margin are brown. The upper marginal spots and two spots on the subapical patch are well silvered. The hind wings are rusty-brown from the base to the second row of spots, mottled with lighter brown. The marginal belt is clear brownish-buff. All the spots are well silvered.

♁.—The female on the upper side is colored like the male, with the dark markings somewhat heavier. On the under side the fore wings are laved over almost their entire surface with red, the upper angle of the cell alone being buff. The hind wings are in many specimens fawn-colored throughout, except that the marginal band is paler. In a few specimens the ground is darker and the band more distinct. All the spots are well silvered. Expanse, ♂, 2.60 inches; ♁, 2.75-3.00 inches.

Early Stages.—The life-history of this butterfly has not been ascertained.

The species appears to be very common at San Bernardino, California, and vicinity, and resembles A. adiante on the upper side and A. coronis upon the lower side.

(38) Argynnis inornata, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 10, ♁, under side (The Plain Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—This species resembles A. rupestris in its markings, but is somewhat paler, the black margins are heavy and the black markings on the disk comparatively light; the base of the wings is obscured with fuscous. On the under side the fore wings are cinnamon-brown, with the apical area buff. The hind wings are reddish-brown, with the marginal band clear buff. All the spots are buff, and completely devoid of silvery scales.

♁.—Paler than the male on the upper side. The fore wings on the under side are orange-fulvous; the hind wings are pale greenish-brown, mottled with buff. In some specimens a few silver scales are found on the submarginal spots. Expanse, ♂, 2.50 inches; ♁, 2.70 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This butterfly, which is as yet not very common in collections, is found in California and Nevada.

(39) Argynnis atossa, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 12, ♂ (Atossa).

[Plate XIV.]

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side is bright yellowish-fulvous, with the wings at the base slightly dusted with brown. The margins of both wings are bordered by a single line, there being no trace of the outer line usually found in other species of the genus. The dark markings of the outer margin are almost entirely absent, and those of the discal and basil areas very greatly reduced. On the under side both wings are very pale, the spots entirely without silver, in some specimens even their location being but faintly indicated. The fore wings at the base and on the inner margin are laved with bright red.

♂.—The female resembles the male, except that the red on the under side of the fore wings is in many specimens very bright and fiery. Expanse, ♂, 2.50 inches; ♁, 2.75-3.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Entirely unknown.

This butterfly, which is still rare in collections, has been taken in southern California. It may be an extreme variation of the next species, A. adiante, Boisduval.

(40) Argynnis adiante, Boisduval, Plate XIV, Fig. 4, ♁ (Adiante).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are bright fulvous; the black markings are slight. The fore wings on the under side are pale buff, much lighter at the apex, laved with orange-red at the base. The hind wings are pale buff, clouded with fawn color on the basal and discal areas. All the spots which are generally silvered in other species are in this species wholly devoid of silvery scales.

♁.—The female is like the male, but the black markings on the upper side are heavier, and the basal area and inner half of the primaries are laved with brighter and deeper red. Expanse, ♂, 2.30-2.40 inches; ♁, 2.30-2.60 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species is found in southern California, and is somewhat local in its habits, hitherto having been taken only in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

(41) Argynnis artonis, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 13, ♂, under side (Artonis).

Butterfly, ♂.—Closely resembling A. eurynome, Edwards, from which species it may be at once distinguished by the entire absence of silvery scales upon the under side of the wings, and also by the fact that the silver spots on the under side of the hind wings are not compressed and elongated as much as in eurynome, and by the further fact that all the dark marginal markings of the under side are obliterated.

♁.—The female does not differ materially from the male, except that the dark markings on the upper side are all much heavier, standing out very distinctly upon the paler ground, and the marginal spots within the lunules are very light in color and relatively large. On the under side the fore wings are laved with red, very much as in the female of A. adiante. Expanse, ♂, 1.75-2.00 inches; ♁, 2.00-2.15 inches.

Early Stages.—These still remain to be ascertained.

This interesting butterfly, which seems to indicate a transition between the butterflies of the Adiante-group and those of the Eurynome-group, has been found in Colorado, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

(42) Argynnis clio, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♁; Fig. 7, ♂, under side (Clio).

Butterfly.—Closely resembling A. eurynome and A. artonis. Like artonis, the spots on the under side of the wing are without silver. The female very closely resembles the female of artonis, and in fact I am unable to distinguish the types of the females of the two species by any marks which seem to be satisfactory. Expanse, ♂, 1.75 inch; ♁, 1.75-1.90 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species, which is as yet comparatively rare in collections, is found in Montana and the province of Alberta, in British America, at a considerable elevation.

(43) Argynnis opis, Plate XIV, Fig. 8, ♂, under side (Opis).

Butterfly.—This species, which apparently belongs to the Eurynome-group, appears by the location of its markings to be closely related to eurynome, but on the upper side the wings of both the male and female are more heavily obscured with fuscous at the base; the dark markings are heavier than in eurynome, and in both sexes it is smaller in size, being the smallest of all the species of the genus thus far found in North America. The spots on the under side of the wings are none of them silvered. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.60 inch.

Early Stages.—Nothing is known of these.

The types came from Bald Mountain, in the Caribou mining district of British Columbia.

(44) Argynnis bischoffi, Edwards, Plate XI, Fig. 7, ♂ (Bischoff's Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The fore wings on the upper side are bright reddish-fulvous, the base of the primaries and the inner half of the secondaries being heavily obscured by blackish, so as to conceal the markings. Both wings have moderately heavy black marginal borders. The other markings are as in A. eurynome. On the under side the fore wings are buff, laved with reddish at the base. The hind wings are pale buff, with the basal and discal areas mottled with green. The marginal belt is clear buff. In some specimens the spots on the under side are not silvered; in others they are well silvered.

♁.—The female on the upper side is very pale buff, slightly laved with fulvous on the outer margin of both wings. All the markings are heavy; the margins of both wings are solid black, the spots within the lunules being pale and almost white. The fore wings at the base and the inner half of the hind wings are almost solid black. On the under side the wings are very much as in the male, and the same variation as to the silvering of the spots is found. Expanse, ♂, 1.80 inch; ♁, 1.90 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

The types of this genus came from Sitka, in Alaska. It may be an extreme boreal variation of A. eurynome.

(45) Argynnis eurynome, Edwards, Plate XII, Fig. 7, ♂; Plate XIV, Fig. 14, ♁; Fig. 15, ♂, under side (Eurynome).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are bright yellowish-fulvous, but little obscured at the base. The outer margins are edged by two fine lines which are occasionally confluent. The under side of the fore wings is pale buff, laved with cinnamon-brown at the base and along the nervules; the spots on the margin and in the apical area are well silvered. The hind wings on the under side are buff, with the basal and discal areas mottled with pale brown or pale olive-green. The marginal belt is broad and clear buff; all the spots are well silvered.

♁.—The female is like the male, but paler, with the dark markings, especially those of the margin, heavier. The marginal spots inclosed by the lunules are much paler than the ground-color, and in many specimens almost white. On the under side the wings in this sex are like those of the male, but the fore wings are more heavily laved with cinnamon-brown at the base. Expanse, ♂, 1.70-2.00 inches; ♁, 2.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Mr. Edwards, in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. ii, has given us a beautiful figure of the egg of this species. Of the other stages we have no knowledge.

A. eurynome is a very common butterfly in Colorado, Montana, and British America, and is the representative of a considerable group, to which the four preceding species belong, if, indeed, they are not local races or climatic varieties of eurynome, a fact which can be demonstrated only by the careful breeding of specimens from various localities. There is a fine field here for study and experiment.

(46) Argynnis montivaga, Behr, Plate X, Fig. 5, ♂, under side (Montivaga).

Butterfly.—This species in both sexes very closely approximates the foregoing. The main points of distinction consist in the somewhat darker red of the upper side of the wings, the slightly heavier dark markings, and the absence on the under side, especially of the hind wings, of the olive-green shade which is characteristic of typical specimens of A. eurynome. The mottling of the basal and median areas on this side is reddish-brown. The spots are more or less silvered on the under side. Expanse, ♂, 1.75 inch; ♁, 1.90 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species is found in the Sierras of California and among the mountains of Nevada.

(47) Argynnis egleis, Boisduval, Plate XIII, Fig. 13, ♂; Fig. 14, ♁, under side; Fig. 15, ♁ (Egleis).

Butterfly, ♂.—The ground-color of the wings on the upper side is deep fulvous, with rather heavy black markings. The wings on the under side are pale fulvous, mottled with buff on the subapical interspaces of the fore wings. The basal and discal areas of the hind wings are mottled with brown, which in many specimens is of a distinctly purplish shade. In some specimens the inner half of the primaries is rather heavily laved with red. The spots on the under side are either silvered or without silver, in the latter case being pale buff.

♁.—The female is much like the male, but paler. The red on the under side of the primaries is deeper, and the purplish-brown on the inner surface of the secondaries is also darker. Expanse, ♂, 2.25 inches; ♁, 2.50 inches.

Early Stages.—These remain to be ascertained.

This is a common species in California and Nevada. For many years it has been placed in all catalogues at the end of the list of the species of this genus, where I also leave it, though to my way of thinking its proper location is near A. rupestris. It certainly reveals but small affinity to the species of the Eurynome group.

Besides the species of Argynnis enumerated in the foregoing pages and delineated upon the plates, there are several others of more or less doubtful validity credited to our fauna, and a number of varieties which have received names. With all of these the more advanced student will become familiar as he prosecutes his researches, but it is not necessary to speak of them here.

A RACE AFTER A BUTTERFLY

There is much that is pleasing about "first things." I shall never forget the first dollar I earned; the first trout I took with my fly; the first muskalonge I gaffed beside my canoe on a still Canadian lake; the first voyage I made across the Atlantic. So I shall never forget my first capture of a female specimen of Argynnis diana.

My home in my boyhood was in North Carolina, in the village of Salem, famous as one of the most successful of the settlements made by the Moravian Brethren under the lead of the good Count Zinzendorf, and well known throughout the Southern States as the seat of an excellent seminary for young ladies. The Civil War broke out, and the hopes cherished of sending me North to be educated were disappointed. I was left to pursue my studies under a tutor, and to roam the neighborhood in quest of insects, of which I gathered a large collection.

One day I spied upon a bed of verbenas a magnificent butterfly with broad expanse of wing and large blue spots upon the secondaries. In breathless haste I rushed into the house and got my net. To the joy of my heart, when I returned to the spot, the beauty was still hovering over the crimson blossoms. But, as I drew near with fell intent, it rose and sailed away. Across the garden, over the fence, across the churchyard, out into the street, with leisurely flight the coveted prize sped its way, while I quickly followed, net in hand. Once upon the dusty street, its flight was accelerated; my rapid walking was converted into a run. Down past the church and—horribile dictu!—past the boarding-school that pesky butterfly flew. I would rather have faced a cannonade in those days than a bevy of boarding-school misses, but there was no alternative. There were the dreaded females at the windows (for it was Saturday, and vacation hour), and there was my butterfly. Sweating, blushing, inwardly anathematizing my luck, I rushed past the school, only to be overwhelmed with mortification by the rascally porter of the institution, who was sweeping the pavement, and who bawled out after me: "Oh, it's no use; you can't catch it! It's frightened; you're so ugly!" And now it began to rise in its flight. It was plainly my last chance, for it would in a moment be lost over the housetops. I made an upward leap, and by a fortunate sweep of the net succeeded in capturing my prize.

Many years later, after a long interval in which ornithology and botany had engrossed my mind to the exclusion of entomology, my boyish love for the butterflies was renewed, and I found out the name of the choice thing I had captured on that hot July day on the streets of Salem, and returned to North Carolina for the special purpose of collecting a quantity of these superb insects. My quest was entirely successful, though my specimens were not taken at Salem, but under the shadow of Mount Mitchell, in the flower-spangled valleys which lie at its feet.

Genus BRENTHIS, Hübner

"The garden is fragrant everywhere; In its lily-bugles the gold bee sups, And butterflies flutter on winglets fair Round the tremulous meadow buttercups."

Munkittrick.

Butterfly.-Small or medium-sized butterflies, very closely approximating in form and color the species of the genus Argynnis, in which they are included by many writers. The principal structural difference between the two genera is found in the fact that in the genus Brenthis only one of the subcostal nervules arises before or at the end of the cell of the primaries, while in Argynnis the two innermost subcostal nervules thus arise. In Brenthis the palpi are not as stout as in Argynnis, and the short basal spur or branch of the median vein of the front wings, which is characteristic of the latter genus, is altogether lacking in Brenthis.

Egg.—The eggs are subconical, almost twice as high as wide, truncated at the top, and marked with thirteen or fourteen raised longitudinal ridges connected by a multitude of smaller cross-ridges.

Larva.—The caterpillars are not noticeably different in their general appearance from those of the genus Argynnis, except that they are smaller and generally not as dark in color as the larvæ of the latter genus. They feed, like the caterpillars of Argynnis, upon violets.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is pendant, about six tenths of an inch long, and armed with two rows of sharp conical tubercles on the back.

[a]Fig. 90.]—Neuration of the genus Brenthis, enlarged.

(1) Brenthis myrina, Cramer, Plate XV, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♂, under side; Plate V, Figs. 12-14, chrysalis (The Silver-bordered Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The upper side of the wings is fulvous; the black markings are light, the borders heavy. The fore wings on the under side are yellowish-fulvous, ferruginous at the tip, with the marginal spots lightly silvered. The hind wings are ferruginous, mottled with buff. The spots, which are small, are well silvered. Expanse, ♂, 1.40 inch; ♁, 1.70 inch.

Egg.—The egg is conoidal, about one third higher than wide, marked by sixteen or seventeen vertical ribs, between which are a number of delicate cross-lines. It is pale greenish-yellow in color.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar has been carefully studied, and its various stages are fully described in "The Butterflies of New England," by Dr. Scudder. In its final stage it is about seven eighths of an inch long, dark olive-brown, marked with green, the segments being adorned with fleshy tubercles armed with needle-shaped projections, the tubercles on the side of the first thoracic segment being four times as long as the others, cylindrical in form, and blunt at the upper end, the spines projecting upward at an angle of forty-five degrees to the axis of the tubercle.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is yellowish-brown, spotted with darker brown spots, those of the thoracic and first and second abdominal segments having the lustre of mother-of-pearl.

This very pretty little species has a wide range, extending from New England to Montana, from Nova Scotia to Alaska, and southward along the ridges of the Alleghanies into Virginia and the mountains of North Carolina.

(2) Brenthis triclaris, Hübner, Plate XV, Fig. 3, ♂ (Hübner's Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The male above is bright fulvous, with the base of the fore wings and the inner margin of the hind wings heavily obscured with blackish scales. The usual dark markings are finer than in the preceding species; the black marginal borders are not so heavy. The submarginal spots are relatively large and distinct in most specimens, and uniform in size. The light spots of the under side of the median band of the hind wings show through from below on the upper side lighter than the ground-color of the wings. On the under side the fore wings are fulvous, tipped with ferruginous. The hind wings are broadly ferruginous, with a couple of bright-yellow spots near the base and a curved band of yellow spots crossing the median area. The outer margin about the middle is marked with pale fulvous. The spots on the under side are none of them silvered.

♁.—The female is much paler than the male in most cases, and the marginal spots within the lunules are very pale, almost white. The submarginal row of round black spots is relatively large and distinct, quite uniform in size. On the under side the wings are much more conspicuously marked on the secondaries than in the male sex, being crossed by three conspicuous bands of irregularly shaped yellow spots, one at the base and one on either side of the discal area. The submarginal round spots of the upper side reappear on the under side as small, slightly silvered, yellow spots. The marginal spots are bright yellow, slightly glossed with silver. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.60 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This extremely beautiful little species is found throughout arctic America, is not uncommon in Labrador, and also occurs upon the loftier summits of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and elsewhere. It is, as most species of the genus, essentially arctic in its habits.

[Plate XV.]

(3) Brenthis helena, Edwards, Plate XVIII, Fig. 16, ♂, under side; Fig. 17, ♂ (Helena).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are fulvous, greatly obscured by brown at the base of the fore wings and along the inner margin of the hind wings. The usual black markings are light, and the marginal border is also not so heavily marked as in B. myrina. The fore wings on the under side are pale fulvous, laved with ferruginous at the tip. The hind wings are brightly ferruginous, with small yellow marginal spots, and paler spots inclining to buff on the costal border and at the end of the cell, about the region of the median nervules.

♁.—The female is very much like the male on the upper side, but the ground-color is paler. On the under side the wings are somewhat paler, and all the spots and light markings, especially on the secondaries, are far more conspicuous, being bright yellow, and standing out very prominently upon the dark ferruginous ground. Expanse, 1.40 inch.

Early Stages.—The early stages of this insect are not as yet known.

Helena appears to be a common species in Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico. It is subject to considerable variation, both in the intensity of the coloring of the under side of the wings, and in the distinctness of the maculation.

(4) Brenthis montinus, Scudder, Plate XV, Fig. 7, ♂; Fig. 8, ♁, under side (The White Mountain Fritillary).

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side is fulvous, closely resembling B. chariclea, but the ground-color is darker. The under side of the hind wings is deep ferruginous, mottled with white, the most conspicuous of the white spots being a white bar occurring at the end of the cell, and a small round white spot at the base of the wing. The hind wings have also a marginal row of slightly silvered white spots.

♁.—The female is very much like the male, but the ground-color of the upper side is paler. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.75 inch.

This interesting butterfly is found on the barren summits of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It represents the survival of the arctic fauna on these desolate peaks, and, like the arctic flora of the spot where it is found, is a souvenir of the ice-age, which once shrouded the northeastern regions of the United States with glaciers.

(5) Brenthis chariclea, Schneider, Plate XV, Fig. 4, ♂ (Chariclea).

Butterfly, ♂.—Fulvous on the upper side, with heavy black markings, both wings greatly obscured at the base by fuscous. On the under side the fore wings are pale yellowish-fulvous, mottled with ferruginous at the tip and on the outer margin. The hind wings on the under side are dark purplish-ferruginous, mottled with yellow, crossed by a central row of conspicuous yellow spots. The row of marginal spots and two or three small spots at the base are white, slightly silvered.

♁.—The female differs from the male in having the markings of the upper side darker and heavier, and the outer margins more heavily marked with black, and having all the spots on the under side more distinctly defined against the dark ground. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—Undescribed.

This species, like B. freija, is circumpolar, being found in Lapland, Greenland, and throughout arctic America. It also occurs within the limits of the United States, in the Yellowstone Park at considerable elevations, and is not uncommon on the high mountains in British Columbia, numerous specimens having been captured in recent years about Banff and Laggan, in Alberta.

(6) Brenthis boisduvali, Duponchel, Plate XV, Fig. 5. ♂; Fig. 6, ♁, under side (Boisduval's Fritillary).

Butterfly.—Somewhat closely resembling B. chariclea, but with the markings much heavier on the outer margin, and the base of the wings generally more deeply obscured with dark brown. The wings on the under side in color and marking closely approximate those of B. chariclea, and I have been unable to distinguish the specimens marked as boisduvali, and contained in the Edwards collection, from the specimens designated as B. chariclea in the same collection, so far as the color and maculation of the under sides of these specimens are concerned. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species, originally described from Labrador, is found throughout boreal America and British Columbia.

(7) Brenthis freija, Thunberg, Plate XV, Fig. 9, ♂; Fig. 10, ♁, under side (The Lapland Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The wings are pale fulvous, the fore wings at the base and the hind wings on the inner half being deeply obscured with fuscous. The markings are quite heavy. The fore wings on the under side are very pale fulvous, yellowish at the tip, mottled with ferruginous. The hind wings are ferruginous on the under side, mottled with yellow. The spots are quite large, consisting of lines and dashes, and a marginal row of small lunulate spots, pale yellow or white, slightly silvered. Expanse, 1.50 inch.

This butterfly is circumpolar, being found in Norway, Lapland, northern Russia, and Siberia, through Alaska, British America, and Labrador, occurring also upon the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains as far south as Colorado.

(8) Brenthis polaris, Boisduval, Plate XV, Fig. 11, ♂; Fig. 12, ♂, under side (The Polar Fritillary).

Butterfly.—The upper side dull fulvous; the markings on the inner half of the wings are confluent, and lost in the brownish vestiture which obscures this portion of the wing. The outer median area is defined by irregular zigzag spots which flow together. Beyond these the submarginal row of small black spots stands out distinctly upon the lighter ground-color of the wings. The outer margin is marked by black spots at the end of the nervules, on the fore wings somewhat widely separated, on the hind wings narrowly separated by the lighter ground-color. On the under side the wings are fulvous, with a marginal row of white checkerings on both wings. The hind wing is deeply mottled with ferruginous, on which the lighter white markings stand forth very conspicuously. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch.; ♁, 1.50-2.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This butterfly has been found in Labrador, Greenland, and other portions of arctic America, as far north as latitude 81° 52´.

(9) Brenthis frigga, Thunberg, Plate XV, Fig. 13, ♂; Fig. 14, ♁, lower side (Frigga).

Butterfly, ♂.—On the upper side this butterfly somewhat closely resembles polaris, but the markings are not so compact—more diffuse. The fore wings at the base and the hind wings on the inner two thirds are heavily obscured with brown. The outer margins are more heavily shaded with blackish-brown than in B. polaris. On the under side the wings are quite differently marked. The fore wings are fulvous, shaded with brown at the tips, and marked with light yellow on the interspaces beyond the end of the cell. The hind wings are dark ferruginous, shading into purplish-gray on the outer margin, with a whitish quadrate spot on the costa near the base, marked with two dark spots, and a bar of pale, somewhat obscured spots, forming an irregular band across the middle of the hind wings.

♁.—The female does not differ greatly from the male, except that the spots on the under side of the hind wings stand forth more conspicuously, being lighter in color and better defined. Expanse, 1.65-2.00 inches.

This pretty little butterfly occurs in Labrador, across the continent as far west as northern Alaska, and is also occasionally taken upon the alpine summits of the Rocky Mountains as far south as Colorado.

(10) Brenthis bellona, Fabricius, Plate XV, Fig. 16, ♂; Plate V, Fig. 10, chrysalis, side view; Fig. 11, chrysalis, side view (Meadow Fritillary).

Butterfly.—Pale fulvous on the upper side, with the dark markings on the inner half of the wing narrow, but more or less confluent. The dark markings on the outer part of the wing are slighter. The fore wings are a little angled on the outer margin below the apex. On the under side the fore wings are pale fulvous, mottled with purple at the tip and on the outer margin. The hind wings on this side are ferruginous, mottled with purple. Expanse, 1.65-1.80 inch.

Egg.—The egg of this species is similar in form, size, color, and markings to the egg of B. myrina.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar also in its early stages closely resembles myrina, but in its mature form it differs in not having the spines on the second segment of the body lengthened as in that species.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis, which is represented in Plate V, is bluish-gray in color, marked with dark spots. The life-history has been given us by several authors.

This butterfly is very common in the whole of the northern United States, as far south as the mountain-ranges of Virginia, and occurs throughout Quebec, Ontario, and British America, as far west as the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. It flies commonly with B. myrina, the only other species of the genus found in the densely populated portions of our territory, from which it may be at once distinguished by the entire absence of the silvered markings which make B. myrina so bright and attractive.

(11) Brenthis epithore, Boisduval, Plate XV, Fig. 17, ♂; Fig. 18, ♂, under side (Epithore).

Butterfly.—This species on the upper side is pale fulvous, with the markings slighter than in B. bellona, and the inner half of the hind wings much more heavily clouded with fuscous. On the under side the wings are somewhat like those of B. bellona, but less purple and mottled more distinctly with yellow. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.85 inch.

Early Stages.—Undescribed.

This species appears to replace B. bellona, its close ally, in California, Oregon, and the States eastward as far as parts of Colorado.

(12) Brenthis alberta, Edwards, Plate XV, Fig. 15, ♂ (Alberta).

Butterfly.—This, the least attractive in appearance of the species composing the genus, has pale wings with a "washed-out" appearance on the upper side, almost all the dark markings being greatly reduced or obliterated. On the under side the wings are even more obscurely marked than on the upper side. The female is darker than the male, and specimens have a greasy look. Expanse, ♂, 1.55 inch; ♁, 1.65-1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown, except the egg and the young caterpillar, which have been most beautifully figured by Edwards in vol. iii of "The Butterflies of North America." The only locality from which specimens have as yet been received by collectors is Laggan, in Alberta, where the species apparently is not uncommon at lofty elevations above sea-level.

(13) Brenthis astarte, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate XVIII, Fig. 14, ♂; Fig. 15, ♁, under side (Astarte).

Butterfly.—This rare insect, the largest of the genus, may at once be distinguished from all others by the very beautiful markings of the under side of the hind wings, crossed by a band of irregular, bright-yellow spots, which are narrowly edged with black, and beyond the black bordered by red. Expanse, ♂, 2.00 inches; ♁, 2.15 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

The first description and figure of this insect were given by Doubleday and Hewitson in their large and now very valuable work on "The Genera of Diurnal Lepidoptera." They correctly attributed it to the Rocky Mountains, but Kirby afterward gave Jamaica as its habitat, and this led to its subsequent redescription by Edwards under the name Victoria. It is a rare species still, having been received only from Laggan, Alberta, where it was rediscovered by that most indefatigable collector and observer, Mr. T.E. Bean. It frequents the highest summits of the lofty mountains about this desolate locality. Mr. Bean says: "Astarte seems always on the lookout for an entomologist, whose advent is carefully noted, and at any approach of such a monster nearer than about fifteen feet, its wings rise to half-mast, vibrate there a doubtful instant, and away goes the butterfly."

In addition to the thirteen species figured in our plates there are two other species of the genus, B. butleri, Edwards, from Grinnell Land, and B. improba, Butler, from near the arctic circle. It is not likely that many of the readers of this book will encounter these insects in their rambles, and if they should, they will be able to ascertain their names quickly, by conferring with the author.

SUSPICIOUS CONDUCT

The entomologist must not expect to be always thoroughly understood. The ways of scientific men sometimes appear strange, mysterious, bordering even upon the insane, to those who are uninitiated. A celebrated American naturalist relates that on one occasion, when chasing butterflies through a meadow belonging to a farmer, the latter came out and viewed him with manifest anxiety. But when the nature of the efforts of the man of science had been finally explained, the farmer heaved a sigh of relief, remarking, in Pennsylvania Dutch, that "he had surely thought, when he first saw him, that he had just escaped from a lunatic asylum." The writer, a number of years ago, after having despatched a very comfortable lunch, sallied forth one afternoon, in quest of insects, and in the course of his wanderings came upon a refuse-heap by the roadside, opposite a substantial house, and on this heap discovered an ancient ham, which was surrounded by a multitude of beetles of various species known to be partial to decomposed, or semi-decomposed, animal matter. He proceeded immediately to bottle a number of the specimens. While engaged in so doing, the window of the house across the way was thrown up, and an elderly female thrust her head out, and in strident voice exclaimed: "Hey, there! What are you doin' with that ham? I say, don't you know that that ham is spiled?" As he paid no attention to her, she presently appeared at the door, came across the street, and remarked: "See here, mister; that ham's spiled; Lucy and me throwed it out, knowin' it was no good. If you want a good meal of wittles, come into the house, and we will feed you, but for mercy's sake leave that spiled ham alone." It took considerable effort to assure her that no designs upon the ham were cherished, and she went away, evidently completely mystified at the wild conduct of the well-dressed man who was grubbing in the rubbish-pile.

Genus MELITÆA, Fabricius

(The Checker-spots)

"The fresh young Flie,... ... joy'd to range abroad in fresh attire, Through the wide compass of the ayrie coast; And, with unwearied wings, each part t'inquire Of the wide rule of his renowned sire."

Spenser.

Butterfly.—Small. The tibiæ and the tarsi of the mesothoracic and metathoracic legs are more lightly armed with spines than in the genera Argynnis and Brenthis. The palpi are not swollen. They are clothed with long hairs and have the third joint finely pointed. The antennæ are about half as long as the costa of the fore wings, and are provided with a short, heavy, excavated, or spoon-shaped club. The subcostal of the fore wings is five-branched, the first nervule always arising before the end of the cell, the second at the end or just beyond it. The cell of the primaries is closed, of the secondaries open. The markings upon the wings are altogether different from those in the two preceding genera, and the spots on the under side of the wings are not silvered, as in the genus Brenthis.

Egg.—The egg is rounded at the base, subconical, truncated, and depressed at the upper end and fluted by light raised ridges (see p. 4, Fig. 8).

Caterpillar.—The larvæ are cylindrical, armed in the mature form on each segment with comparatively short spines thickly covered with diverging hairs, or needle-shaped spines. They are known in some species to be gregarious in their early stages, and then to separate before maturity. They feed upon the Scrophulariaceæ, upon Castileja, Diplopappus, and other plants.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is pendant, rounded at the head, provided with more or less sharply pointed tubercles on the dorsal surface, and generally white or some shade of light gray, blotched with brown or black, and marked with reddish or orange spots on the dorsal side.

[a]Fig. 91.]—Neuration of the genus Melitæa.

This genus is very large and is distributed widely over all the colder portions of the north temperate zone. There are many species found in Europe, in Siberia, in China, and in the northern islands of Japan. On the upper slopes of the Himalayas it is also represented by a few species. In North America the genus is well represented, the most of the species being found upon the mountain-slopes and in the valleys of the Pacific coast region. Only two species occur in the Eastern States.

(1) Melitæa phaëton, Drury, Plate XVI, Fig. 1, ♂; Plate V, Figs. 15, 16, chrysalis (The Baltimore).

Butterfly, ♂.—The upper side is black, with a marginal row of red spots, followed by three rows of pale-yellow spots on the fore wings and two on the hind wings. Besides these there are some large red spots on the cells of both wings, a large red spot about the middle of the costa of the hind wing, and a few scattering yellow spots, forming an incomplete fourth row on the fore wing and an incomplete third row on the hind wing. On the under side all the spots of the upper side reappear, but heavier and more distinct, and on the hind wings there are two additional rows of yellow spots, and a number of irregular patches of red and yellow at the base of both wings.

♁.—The female is much like the male. Expanse, ♂, 1.75-2.00 inches; ♁, 2.00-2.60 inches.

[Plate XVI]

Egg.—The egg which is outlined upon p. 4, Fig. 8, is brownish-yellow when first laid, then changes to crimson and becomes black just before hatching. The eggs are laid by the female in large clusters on the under side of the leaf of the food-plant.

Caterpillar.—The life-history in all the stages will be found minutely described by Edwards in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. ii, and by Scudder in "The Butterflies of New England," vol. i. The mature larva is black, banded with orange-red, and beset with short, bristly, black spines. Before and during hibernation, which takes place after the third moult, the caterpillars are gregarious, and construct for themselves a web in which they pass the winter. After the rigors of winter are past, and the food-plant, which is commonly Chelone glabra, begins to send up fresh shoots, they recover animation, scatter, and fall to feeding again, and after the fifth moult reach maturity.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is pendant, formed generally at a considerable distance from the spot where the caterpillar feeds, for the larvæ wander off widely just before pupation. It is pearly-gray, blotched with dark brown in stripes and spots, with some orange markings.

This very beautiful butterfly is quite local, found in colonies in swampy places where the food-plant grows, but in these spots sometimes appearing in swarms. It occurs in the northern portions of the United States and in Canada, extending as far north as the Lake of the Woods, and as far south as West Virginia. It does not occur west of the Rocky Mountains.

(2) Melitæa chalcedon, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate XVI, Fig. 2, ♂ (Chalcedon).

Butterfly.—The male and female are much alike. The wings are black, spotted with red and ochreous-yellow. On the under side they are brick-red, with the spots of the upper side repeated, and in addition at the base a number of large and distinct yellow spots. Expanse, ♂, 1.75-2.00 inches; ♁, 2.50 inches.

Early Stages.—For a knowledge of these the reader may consult Edwards, "The Butterflies of North America," vol. i, and "Papilio," vol. iv, p. 63; Wright, "Papilio," vol. iii, p. 123, and other authorities. The egg is pale yellowish when first laid, pitted at the base, and ribbed vertically above. The caterpillar is black, with the bristling processes on the segments longer than in the preceding species. The chrysalis is pale gray, blotched with brown. The food-plants are Mimulus and Castileja.

This very pretty species is apparently quite common in northern California about Mount Shasta. It is subject to variation, and I possess a dozen remarkable aberrations, in one of which the fore wings are solid black without spots, and the hind wings marked by only one central band of large yellow spots; another representing the opposite color extreme, in which yellow has almost wholly replaced the black and red. The majority of these aberrant forms are females. They are very striking.

(3) Melitæa macglashani, Rivers, Plate XVI, Fig. 3, ♂ (Macglashan's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—Larger than the preceding species, with the red spots on the outer margin bigger, the yellow spots generally larger and paler. Expanse, ♂, 1.85-2.00 inches; ♁, 2.25-3.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This insect is represented in the Edwards collection by a considerable series. They come from Truckee, California.

(4) Melitæa colon, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 5, ♂ (Colon).

Butterfly.—Of the same size and general appearance as M. chalcedon, with which I believe it to be identical, the only possible satisfactory mark of distinction which I am able to discover on comparing the types with a long series of chalcedon being the reduced size of the marginal row of yellow spots on the upper side of the primaries, which in one of the types figured in the plate are almost obsolete. They appear, however, in other specimens labeled "Type." The learned author of the species lays stress, in his original description, upon the shape of the spots composing the band of spots second from the margin on the under side of the hind wings; but I find that the same points he dwells upon as diacritic of this species are apparent in many specimens of what undoubtedly are chalcedon. Expanse, 1.75-2.50 inches.

Early Stages.—These have not been recorded.

The types came from the region of the Columbia River, in Washington and Oregon.

(5) Melitæa anicia, Doubleday and Hewitson, var. beani, Skinner, Plate XVIII, Fig. 13, ♂ (Bean's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—M. anicia is a well-known Californian species, smaller than M. chalcedon, and with a great deal of red on the basal and discal areas of both wings upon the upper side. An extremely small and dark form of this species, found on the bleak, inhospitable mountain-tops about Laggan, in Alberta, has been named by Dr. Skinner in honor of Mr. Bean, its discoverer. The figure in our plate, which is taken from Dr. Skinner's original type, sufficiently defines the characteristics of the upper surface. Expanse, 1.50 inch.

Early Stages.—The early stages of M. anicia and its varietal forms are quite unknown.

M. anicia is found in Colorado, Montana, Washington, and British America.

(6) Melitæa nubigena, Behr, Plate XVI, Fig. 6, ♂; var. wheeleri, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 9, ♂ (The Clouded Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—Smaller than any of the foregoing species, and characterized by the much redder ground-color of the upper side of the wings, an extreme form being the variety M. wheeleri, in which the black ground-color is greatly reduced and almost wholly obliterated on parts of the primaries. There are other marks of distinction given in the figures in the plate which will enable the student easily to recognize this species, which is subject to much variation, especially in the female sex. Expanse, 1.20-1.50 inch.

Early Stages.—Mead, in the "Report upon the Lepidoptera of the Wheeler Survey," has described the caterpillar and chrysalis.

The species is common in Nevada.

(7) Melitæa augusta, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 4, ♂ (Augusta).

Butterfly,.—This is another species in which red predominates as the color of the upper side, but it may at once be distinguished by the broad, clear red band on the secondaries, on either side of which are the marginal and outer median rows of yellow spots, and by the bands of yellow spots on the primaries, which are not so well marked in M. nubigena. Expanse, ♂, 1.50-1.75 inch; ♁, 1.75-2.00 inches.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

The habitat of this species is southern California.

(8) Melitæa baroni, Henry Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig 7, ♂ (Baron's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—This species closely resembles chalcedon upon the upper side, but is smaller and much more heavily spotted with deep red on the upper side toward the base and on the median area of the wings. The bands of light spots on the under side are paler than in chalcedon, being white or very pale yellow, narrow, and more regular. Expanse, ♂, 1.50-1.80 inch; ♁, 1.60-1.90 inch.

Early Stages.—These are in part given by Edwards, "The Butterflies of North America," vol. iii. The food-plant is Castileja. The young larvæ have the same habit as those of M. phaëton in the matter of spinning a common web in which to hibernate.

The species is found in northern California.

(9) Melitæa rubicunda, Henry Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 10, ♂ (The Ruddy Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—Of the same size as M. baroni, from which it is most easily distinguished, among other things, by the tendency of the outer row of small yellow spots near the margin of the hind wings on the upper side to become greatly reduced, and in a majority of specimens to be altogether wanting, as in the specimen figured in our plate. Expanse, ♂, 1.50-1.60 inch; ♁, 1.80 inch.

Early Stages.—For a knowledge of what is thus far known of these the reader may consult the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xvii, p. 155. The caterpillar feeds on Scrophularia.

The range of this species is in northern California.

(10) Melitæa taylori, Plate XVI, Fig. 16, ♂ (Taylor's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—This insect resembles M. baroni, but is smaller, the red spots on the wings are larger and more conspicuous, and the light bands of pale spots more regular and paler in color, in many specimens being quite white. It looks at first sight like a diminutive edition of Baron's Checker-spot, and possibly is only a northern race of this species. Expanse, ♂, 1.25-1.50 inch; ♁, 1.50-1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—Mr. W.H. Danby of Victoria, B.C., informs us in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxi, p. 121, that the food-plant of this species is the ribwort-plantain (Plantago lanceolata, Linn.).

It is found on Vancouver's Island.

(11) Melitæa editha, Boisduval, Plate XVI, Fig. 8, ♂ (Editha).

Butterfly.—Characterized by the considerable enlargement and the disposition in regular bands of the pale spots on the upper side of the primaries, and by the tendency to a grayish cast in the darker markings of the upper side, some specimens, especially females, being quite gray. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 2.00 inches.

Early Stages.—The food-plants, according to Henry Edwards, who described the caterpillar and chrysalis in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. v, p. 167, are Erodium cicutarium, clover, and violets.

The habitat of this species is southern California.

(12) Melitæa acastus, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 11, ♂; Fig. 12, ♂, under side (Acastus).

Butterfly.—With thinner and less robust wings than any of the species of the genus hitherto mentioned. It is prevalently fulvous upon the upper side, and on the under side of the hind wings heavily and somewhat regularly banded with yellowish-white spots, possessing some pearly luster. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.60 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

Common in Nevada, Utah, and Montana.

(13) Melitæa palla, Boisduval, Plate XVI, Fig. 13, ♂; Fig. 14, ♂, under side (The Northern Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—On the upper side resembling the preceding species, but with the median band of spots on the hind wings paler. On the under side the markings are different, as is shown in the plate. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—The larva and chrysalis were described by Henry Edwards, the actor naturalist, in the "Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences," vol. v, p. 167. The food-plant is Castileja.

The species ranges from California to Colorado, and northward into British Columbia.

(14) Melitæa whitneyi, Behr, Plate XVII, Fig. 7, ♂; Fig. 8, ♂, under side (Whitney's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—The markings are much as in M. palla, the spots are lighter fulvous and larger than in that species, the yellow bands on the under side are more prominent, and the marginal spots have a silvery luster which is lacking in M. palla. The female has the yellow of the under side more prominent than is the case in the male sex. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.70 inch.

Early Stages.—Altogether unknown.

Whitney's Checker-spot ranges from California into Nevada.

(15) Melitæa hoffmanni, Behr, Plate XVII, Fig. 13, ♂; Fig. 14, ♁, aberration (Hoffmann's Checker-spot).

Butterfly, ♂.—General style of marking much as in the two preceding species, but with the basal area black, and the black markings toward the outer margin not so heavy, giving it here a more fulvous appearance. The median bands on both wings are broader and paler than in M. palla. The under side is much as in the last-mentioned species, but the yellow markings are more prominent.

♁.—Much like the male. Expanse, ♂, 1.35 inch; ♁, 1.45 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This species, which is found in California and Nevada, is subject to extreme variation, and I have placed upon the plate one out of many beautiful and singular aberrations which I possess.

(16) Melitæa gabbi, Behr, Plate XVI, Fig. 15, ♂ (Gabb's Checker-spot).

Butterfly.—In the style of its markings on the upper side it almost completely resembles M. acastus, but the dark markings are slighter, giving the wings a more fulvous appearance. On the under side the bands are narrower, defined more sharply with black, and pearly, almost silvery white, whereas in acastus they are pale yellowish-white, and not so lustrous. Expanse, ♂, 1.20 inch; ♁, 1.50 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

The habitat of this species is southern California.

(17) Melitæa harrisi, Scudder, Plate XVII, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♁, under side; Plate V, Figs. 17-18, chrysalis (Harris' Checker-spot).

Butterfly, ♂.—Wings fulvous, black at the base and on the outer margin, with five fulvous spots in the cell of the fore wing, two below the cell; and three in the cell of the hind wing. The black border is widest at the apex of the fore wing, and below this runs inwardly on the veins. There are two white spots near the apex. At the anal angle on the hind wing the border is somewhat divided so as to present the appearance of two indistinct lines. On the under side the wings are fulvous, marked with black bands and spots, and crossed by bands and crescents of pale yellow, as is shown in the figure on the plate.

♁.—The female is much like the male. Expanse, ♂, 1.50 inch; ♁, 1.75 inch.

Egg.—The eggs are lemon-yellow, in the form of a truncated cone, with fifteen or sixteen vertical ribs, which are highest about the middle.

Caterpillar.—The matured caterpillar is reddish-fulvous, with a black stripe on the back. Each segment is marked with one black ring before and two black rings behind the sets of spiny tubercles with which the segments are adorned. There are nine rows of spines, those above the feet being quite small. The spines are black, tapering, and set with diverging black hairs. The food-plants are aster and Diplopappus umbellatus.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is pearly-gray or white, blotched with dark brown or black.

This choice little butterfly ranges from Nova Scotia to Wisconsin, extending as far south as northern Illinois, and northward to Ottawa.

(18) Melitæa elada, Hewitson, Plate XVII, Fig. 2, ♂ (Hewitson's Checker-spot).

Butterfly, ♂.—The wings on the upper side are black, crossed by numerous bands of small fulvous spots, the one crossing the middle of the median area being composed of the largest spots. The fore wings on the under side are fulvous, shading outwardly into ferruginous. The spots and bands of the upper side reappear upon the under side, but are lighter, and the submarginal row of crescents is pale yellow and very distinct, the spot between the second and third median nervules being the largest, and the spot between the fourth and fifth subcostals being only a little smaller. The under side of the hind wings is deep ferruginous, crossed by bands of pearly pale-yellow spots, those of the outer margin being the largest.

♁.—The female is much like the male, with the ground-color a little paler. Expanse, ♂, .90 inch; ♁, 1.00-1.10 inch.

Early Stages.—Unknown.

This little species is found in western Texas, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

(19) Melitæa dymas, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 18, ♁ (Dymas).

Butterfly.—This species is closely related in size and the style of some of the markings to the foregoing species, but may be at once distinguished by the lighter ground-color, which is pale fulvous, and the totally different style of the marginal markings on the under side of the wings. The female represented in the plate is a trifle paler than the male. Expanse, ♂, .85 inch; ♁, 1.00 inch.

Early Stages—Unknown.

The habitat of this species is southwestern Texas.

(20) Melitæa perse, Edwards, Plate XVI, Fig. 19, ♂ (Perse).