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 _Euploeinoe_, the Euploeids.
2. The _Ithomiinoe_, the Ithomiids.
3. The _Heliconiinoe_, the Heliconians.
4. The _Nymphalinoe_, the Nymphs.
5. The _Satyrinoe_, the Satyrs.
6. The _Libytheinoe_, 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--_Euploeinoe_.
(_b_) Fore wings twice as long as broad and often translucent, the
abdomen extending far beyond the inner margin of the hind
wings--_Ithomiinoe_.
_B._ Antennæ clothed with scales, at least above.
(_a_) Fore wings at least twice as long as broad--_Heliconiinoe_.
(_b_) Fore wings less than twice as long as broad.
1. Palpi not as long as the thorax--_Nymphalinoe_.
2. Palpi much longer than the thorax--_Libytheinoe_.
II. With some of the veins of the fore wings greatly swollen at the
base--_Satyrinoe_.
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 EUPLOEINÆ (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).
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE VII |
| |
| ANOSIA AND BASILARCHIA |
| |
| |
| 1. _Anosia plexippus_, Linnæus, ♂. |
| 2. _Anosia berenice_, Cramer, ♂. |
| 3. _Anosia berenice_, var. _strigosa_, Bates, |
| ♂. |
| 4. _Basilarchia disippus_, Godart, ♂. |
| 5. _Basilarchia hulsti_, Edwards, ♂. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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).
[Illustration 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 Euploeinæ 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 Euploeinæ,
being short, thick, and marked with golden spots. Some authors are
inclined to view this subfamily as merely constituting a section of the
Euploeinæ. The insects are, however, so widely unlike the true Euploeinæ
that it seems well to keep them separate in our system of
classification. In appearance they approach the Heliconians more nearly
than the Euploeids. 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 Euploeids 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.
[Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE VIII |
| |
| |
| 1. _Dircenna klugi_, Hübner, ♂. |
| 2. _Mechanitis californica_, Reakirt, ♂. |
| 3. _Ceratinia lycaste_, Fabricius, ♂. |
| 4. _Coloenis delila_, Fabricius, ♂. |
| 5. _Heliconius charitonius_, Linnæus, ♂. |
| 6. _Coloenis julia, Fabricius_, ♂. |
| 7. _Dione vanillæ_, Linnæus, ♂. |
| 8. _Euptoieta hegesia_, Cramer, ♂. |
| 9. _Euptoieta claudia_, Cramer, ♂. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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."
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.
[Illustration 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).
[Illustration 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.
[Illustration FIG. 86.--Neuration of the genus _Coloenis_, 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.
[Illustration 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 _Coloenis_ on the one hand and to the
genus _Argynnis_ on the other. It is distinguished from _Coloenis_ 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.
[Illustration 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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE IX |
| |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis diana_, Cramer, ♂. |
| 2. _Argynnis diana_, Cramer, ♀. |
| 3. _Argynnis cybele_, Fabricius, ♂. |
| 4. _Argynnis cybele_, Fabricius, ♀. |
| 5. _Argynnis leto_, Behr, ♂. |
| 6. _Argynnis leto_, Behr, ♀. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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).
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE X |
| |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis nokomis_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 2. _Argynnis nokomis_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 3. _Argynnis idalia_, Drury, ♀. |
| 4 _Argynnis nevadensis_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 5. _Argynnis montivaga_, Behr, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 6. _Argynnis alcestis_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 7. _Argynnis bremneri_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 8. _Argynnis electa_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 9. _Argynnis atlantis_, Edwards, ♂. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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 _OEneis 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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XI |
| |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis callippe_, Boisduval, ♂. |
| 2. _Argynnis callippe_, Boisduval, ♀. |
| 3. _Argynnis callippe_, Boisduval, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 4. _Argynnis edwardsi_, Reakirt, ♂. |
| 5. _Argynnis edwardsi_, Reakirt, ♀. |
| 6. _Argynnis rhodope_, Edwards, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 7. _Argynnis bischoffi_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 8. _Argynnis cornelia_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 9. _Argynnis nausicaä_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 10. _Argynnis coronis_, Behr, ♂. |
| 11. _Argynnis coronis_, Behr, ♀. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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).
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XII |
| |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis hesperis_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 2. _Argynnis hesperis_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 3. _Argynnis cypris_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 4. _Argynnis cypris_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 5. _Argynnis oweni_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 6. _Argynnis oweni_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 7. _Argynnis eurynome_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 8. _Argynnis rupestris_, Behr, ♂. |
| 9. _Argynnis rupestris_, Behr, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 10. _Argynnis hippolyta_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 11. _Argynnis laura_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 12. _Argynnis laura_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 13. _Argynnis artonis_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| |
| |
| [Illustration 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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIII |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis cybele_, Fabricius, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 2. _Argynnis semiramis_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 3. _Argynnis semiramis_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 4. _Argynnis nitocris_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 5. _Argynnis halcyone_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 6. _Argynnis halcyone_, Edwards, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 7. _Argynnis monticola_, Behr, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 8. _Argynnis monticola_, Behr, ♂. |
| 9. _Argynnis macaria_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 10. _Argynnis inornata_, Edwards, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 11. _Argynnis liliana_, Henry Edwards, ♂. |
| 12. _Argynnis atossa_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 13. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ♂. |
| 14. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 15. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ♀. |
| |
| [Illustration 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).
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIV |
| |
| 1. _Argynnis meadi_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 2. _Argynnis meadi_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 3. _Argynnis Columbia_, Henry Edwards, |
| ♂. |
| 4. _Argynnis adiante_, Boisduval, |
| ♀. |
| 5. _Argynnis clio_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 6. _Argynnis clio_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 7. _Argynnis clio_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 8. _Argynnis opis_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 9. _Argynnis zerene_, Boisduval, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 10. _Argynnis behrensi_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 11. _Argynnis aphrodite,_, Fabricius, |
| ♀, _under side_. |
| 12. _Argynnis lais_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 13. _Argynnis lais_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 14. _Argynnis eurynome_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 15. _Argynnis eurynome_, Edwards, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 16. _Argynnis chitone_, Edwards, ♀. |
| 17. _Argynnis monticola_, Behr, ♀. |
| |
| [Illustration 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.
[Illustration 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.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| |
| EXPLANATION OF PLATE XV |
| |
| |
| 1. _Brenthis myrina_, Cramer, ♂. |
| 2. _Brenthis myrina_, Cramer, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 3. _Brenthis triclaris_, Hübner, ♂. |
| 4. _Brenthis chariclea_, Schneider, ♂. |
| 5. _Brenthis boisduvali_, Duponchel, ♂. |
| 6. _Brenthis boisduvali_, Duponchel, |
| ♀, _under side_. |
| 7. _Brenthis montinus_, Scudder, ♂. |
| 8. _Brenthis montinus_, Scudder, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 9. _Brenthis freija_, Thunberg, ♂. |
| 10. _Brenthis freija_, Thunberg, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 11. _Brenthis polaris_, Boisduval, ♂. |
| 12. _Brenthis polaris_, Boisduval, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| 13. _Brenthis frigga_, Thunberg, ♂. |
| 14. _Brenthis frigga_, Thunberg, ♀, |
| _under side_. |
| 15. _Brenthis alberta,_, Edwards, ♂. |
| 16. _Brenthis bellona_, Fabricius, ♂. |
| 17. _Brenthis epithore_, Boisduval, ♂. |
| 18. _Brenthis epithore_, Boisduval, ♂, |
| _under side_. |
| |
| [Illustration 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."