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The Mentor: Butterflies, Vol. 3, Num. 12, Serial No. 88, August 2, 1915 cover

The Mentor: Butterflies, Vol. 3, Num. 12, Serial No. 88, August 2, 1915

Chapter 18: RED ADMIRAL, SWALLOWTAIL, AND SKIPPER
By W. J. Holland
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About This Book

Aimed at general readers, the essay blends personal recollection of early collecting with an accessible survey of butterfly natural history: wing scales and specialized structures, eggs, larvae, chrysalises, life cycles, classification within the scaly‑winged insects, and practical methods of collecting and curation. It highlights regional diversity, supplies colored plates and magnified diagrams to aid identification, and underscores the scientific and agricultural value of studying butterflies while offering guidance for young naturalists and collectors.

BUTTERFLIES

RED ADMIRAL, SWALLOWTAIL, AND SKIPPER

Monograph Number One in The Mentor Reading Course

These be the genii of the flowers,
Daintily fed with honey and pure dew.—Hood.

The two butterflies on the right are the male and female of the Tiger Swallowtail, the finest of this tribe. Papilio turnus is its technical name, and it abounds in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. It is charming in its bold and rapid motions, and is a restless creature, always on the wing. Its dark bands are arranged after the fashion of a tiger’s stripes, whence its name. The Tiger Swallowtail has a tendency to produce dark forms; and the dark form of the female was long regarded as a distinct species until it was discovered that some eggs produced by yellow females produced black females, and conversely some eggs produced by black females produced yellow females.

The brilliant butterfly poised on the blades of grass on the left is the well known Red Admiral, familiar throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. It belongs to the “Brush-footed” race. Below it a little Sulphur shows the inside of its wings. This, the Colias eriphyle, extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada to Florida and Texas.

The little brown Silver-spotted Skipper standing on the open flower, with a broad, irregular silvery spot on the under side of the hind wings, also has a wide range. It is found from Canada to the Isthmus of Panama. The Silver-spotted Skipper belongs to the Hesperiidæ, which are generally small in size, with stout bodies. They have six walking feet in both sexes, and spurs on the hind feet. The antennæ of many of these butterflies end in a fine point and are usually bent into a hook. They are noted for their quick, strong flight. When at rest most of the skippers hold their wings erect, though some of them extend them horizontally.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 12, SERIAL No. 88
COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

The Butterfly Book

Courtesy Doubleday, Page & Co.

Copyrighted by W. J. Holland, 1898

A SWALLOWTAIL AND GROUP OF SKIPPERS

  • 1. Papilio rutulus, Boisduval
  • 2. Pholisora alpheus, Edwards
  • 3. Calpodes ethlius, Cramer
  • 4. Pholisora catullus, Fabricius
  • 5. Thanaos afranius, Lintner
  • 6. Eudamus proteus, Linnæus
  • 7. Thanaos brizo, Boisd.-Lec.
  • 8. Thanaos clitus, Edwards
  • 9. Pyrrhopyge araxes, Hewitson
  • 10. Achalarus lycidas, Smith and Abbot, under side
  • 11. Plestia dorus, Edwards
  • 12. Achalarus cellus, Boisd.-Lec.