Chapter IV: Books About North American Butterflies (2)

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_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.

_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.

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.

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).

_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.

_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).

_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.

_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."

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The Butterfly BookChapter IV: Books About North American Butterflies (2)

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