The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Butterfly Book by W.J. Holland, PH.D., D.D., LL.D.

"Then we gather, as we travel, Bits of moss and dirty gravel, And we chip off little specimens of stone; And we carry home as prizes Funny bugs of handy sizes, Just to give the day a scientific tone."

Charles Edward Carryl.

Butterfly.—Medium-sized or small butterflies, dark in color, wings marked on the under side with eye-like spots; the antennæ short, with a gradually thickened club. The eyes are naked. The costal vein of the fore wing is generally strongly swollen at the base. The subcostal vein is five-branched; the first two nervules generally emitted before the end of the cell; the third nearer the fourth than the end of the cell; the fourth and fifth nervules spring from a common stem, the fourth terminating immediately on the apex. The lower radial is frequently projected inwardly into the cell from the point where it intersects the union of the middle and lower discocellular veins. The outer margins of both wings are evenly rounded.

Egg.—Subconical, flattened at the base and at the top, the sides marked by numerous raised vertical ridges, which occasionally branch or intersect each other.

Caterpillar.—The head is globular, the body cylindrical, tapering gradually backward from the head, the last segment slightly bifurcate.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is formed about the roots of grass and on the surface of the ground, either lying loosely there or surrounded by a few strands of silk. The chrysalis is convex, both ventrally and dorsally, humped on the thorax, produced at the head; all the projections well rounded. The chrysalids are generally some shade of light brown or ashen-gray, with darker stripes and spots. This genus is arctic, and only found in the cooler regions of the North or upon elevated mountain summits. A few species range downward to lower levels in more temperate climates, but these are exceptional cases.

(1) Erebia discoidalis, Kirby, Plate XXV, Fig. 19, ♂ (The Red-streaked Alpine).

Butterfly.—Easily distinguished by the plain black wings, relieved by a reddish-brown shade on the disk of the primaries on the upper side.

This species is found in the far North. My specimens came from the shores of Hudson Bay.

(2) Erebia disa, var. mancinus, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate XXV, Fig. 23, ♂ (The Alaskan Alpine).

Butterfly.—The wings are dark brown on the upper side. On the outer third below the apex are three or four black ocelli, broadly ringed with red and pupiled with white. The upper ocellus is generally bipupiled, that is to say, the black spot is twinned, and there are two small light spots in it. On the under side the fore wings are as on the upper side. The hind wings are broadly sown with gray scales, giving them a hoary appearance. The base is more or less gray, and there is a broad, regularly curved mesial band of dark gray, which in some specimens is very distinct, in others more or less obsolete. The female does not differ from the male, except that the ocelli on the fore wings are larger and more conspicuous.

Butterfly.—Pale brown on the upper side, with a more or less indistinctly defined broad transverse band of reddish on the outer third of the fore wings. At the apical end of this band are two black ocelli, pupiled with white. The fore wings on the under side are reddish, with the costa and outer margin grayish. The ocelli on this side are as on the upper side. The hind wings are gray, dusted with brown scales and crossed by narrow, irregular, dark-brown subbasal, median, and submarginal lines.

This species is not uncommon on the high mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. It is regarded as a variety of the European E. tyndarus, Esper, by many. All the specimens of tyndarus in my collection, and there are many, lack the ocelli on the fore wing, or they are very feebly indicated on the under side. Otherwise the two forms agree pretty closely.

Butterfly.—The wings are dark brown on the upper side, with four or five black ocelli, pupiled with white and broadly surrounded by red near the outer margin of the fore wings, and with three or four similar ocelli located on the upper side of the hind wings. The spots on the upper side reappear on the under side, and in addition the hind wings are covered by a broad curved median blackish band.

Early Stages.—These have been carefully described by Edwards in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. iii, and by H.H. Lyman in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxviii, p. 274. The caterpillar feeds on grasses.

The species ranges from New Mexico (at high elevations) northward to Alaska. It is common on the mountains of British Columbia.

(5) Erebia sofia Strecker (ethela, Edwards), Plate XXV, Fig. 18, ♁ (Sofia).

Butterfly.—Dark brown on the upper side, with an even submarginal band of red spots on the primaries, and five similar spots on the secondaries, the last two of the latter somewhat distant from each other and from the first three, which are nearer the outer angle. On the under side the primaries are reddish, with the submarginal band as on the upper side, but paler. On the secondaries, which are a little paler below than above, the spots of the upper side are repeated, but they are yellowish-white, standing forth conspicuously upon the darker ground-color.

Sofia has been found at Fort Churchill in British America, in the Yellowstone National Park, and in a few localities in Colorado. It is still rare in collections. The figure in the plate is that of the female type of Edwards' ethela, ethela being a synonym for sofia.

Butterfly.—Uniformly dark blackish-brown on both sides of the wings, with no spots or markings.

This species has thus far been found only in Colorado at an elevation of from ten to twelve thousand feet above sea-level.

There are two or three other species of this obscure genus, but they are rare boreal insects, of which little is as yet known.

Butterfly.—Medium-sized butterflies, dark in color, with light eye-like spots on the primaries and brown borders on the secondaries. The antennæ are short, with a gradually tapering club; the palpi are long, slender, compressed, well clothed with scales on the lower surface. The costa of the fore wings is strongly arched, the outer margin evenly rounded, the outer margin of the hind wings regularly scalloped. The costal vein of the primaries is somewhat thickly swollen at the base.

Butterfly.—The wings of the upper side are dark brown, with a submarginal row of white-centered ocelli below the apex of the primaries. The secondaries are marked with a submarginal band of red. On the under side the fore wings are as on the upper side. The hind wings have the submarginal band purplish-red, irrorated with whitish and dark-brown scales, on the inner edge relieved by a number of imperfectly developed ocelli, which are partially ringed about on the side of the base by pale yellow.

Butterfly.—Medium-sized, with the costa and inner margin of the fore wing straight, the outer margin of the same wing evenly rounded. The hind wings have the outer margin evenly rounded, and the costal margin quite strongly produced, or bent at an angle, just above the origin of the costal vein. The inner margin is straight. The costal vein of the fore wing is slightly swollen. The costal margin at the extremity of the second costal nervule is slightly bent inward; the upper discocellular vein is wanting; the lower radial vein is emitted from the lower discocellular a little below the point at which it unites with the middle discocellular. The middle discocellular of the hind wing appears as an inward continuation of the lower radial for some distance, when it bends upward suddenly to the origin of the upper radial. The head is small; the antennæ are short, with a thin, gradually developed club; the palpi are slender, compressed, well clothed with long hairs below.

Egg.—The egg is somewhat barrel-shaped, broader at the base than at the top, with the summit rounded. The sides are ornamented with fourteen or fifteen vertical raised ridges, which are quite broad, and sometimes fork or run into each other. On the sides these ridges seem to be regularly excised at their bases, and between them on the surface are many horizontal raised cross-lines, giving the depressed surface the appearance of being filled with shallow cells.

Caterpillar.—The mature caterpillar has the head globular, the body cylindrical, gradually tapering backward, and provided with two very short conical anal horns.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is formed under the surface of the earth; it is rounded, somewhat carinate, or keel-shaped, where the wing-cases unite on the ventral side. The head is rounded, the thorax strongly arched, the dorsal side of the abdomen very convex. On either side of the head are small clusters of fine processes shaped somewhat like an Indian club, the thickened part studded with little spur-like projections. These can only be seen under the microscope.

Butterfly.—The upper side is well depicted in the plate. The under side is paler than the upper side, and the basal and median areas of both wings are profusely mottled with narrow pale-brown striæ, the secondaries crossed by a darker mesial band, the outer margin of which is sharply indented. Expanse, 1.50 inch.

Early Stages.—These have been beautifully ascertained, described, and figured by Edwards in the third volume of "The Butterflies of North America." The egg, larva, and chrysalis agree with the generic description already given, which is based upon the researches of Edwards.

(2) Neominois dionysius, Scudder, Plate XXV, Fig. 16, ♂ (Scudder's Satyr).

Butterfly.—Distinguished from the preceding species by the larger and paler submarginal markings on the upper side of the wings and the pale color of the basal tract in both wings. On the under side the median band of the secondaries is narrower and more irregularly curved than in ridingsi, with the dentations of the outer margin more sharply produced. Expanse, 1.90 inch.

Early Stages.—Nothing has been written on the early stages, but no doubt they agree closely with those of the other species.

"Hast thou heard the butterflies, What they say betwixt their wings?" Tennyson, Adeline.

"Fluttering, like some vain, painted butterfly, From glade to glade along the forest path." Arnold, Light of Asia.

Butterfly.—Butterflies of medium size, their wings marked with eye-like spots, or ocelli. Upon the upper surface they are generally obscurely colored of some shade of gray or brown, occasionally marked with bands of yellow. On the under side the wings are generally beautifully striated and spotted, with the eye-like spots more prominent. The costal vein at the base is greatly swollen; the median and submedian veins less so. The first and second subcostal nervules arise very near the end of the cell, slightly before it. The outer margin of the fore wing is evenly rounded; the outer margin of the hind wing somewhat scalloped; the head small, the eyes of moderate size, full, naked; the antennæ gradually thickening to a broadly rounded club, which is slightly depressed; the palpi slender, compressed, profusely clothed beneath with long hairs. The fore legs are very small.

Egg.—Short, barrel-shaped, greatly diminishing in size on the upper half; truncated at the summit; the sides furnished with a large number of vertical ribs, not very high, with numerous delicate cross-lines between them. At the summit the ribs are connected by a waved, raised elevation.

Caterpillar.—Head globular; body cylindrical, tapering from the middle forward and backward; provided with short and slender diverging anal horns.

Chrysalis.—Shaped very much as in the genus Debis, from which it is hardly distinguishable. Generally green in color.

This genus includes numerous species which are more or less subject to varietal modifications. In the following pages I have treated as species a number of forms which by some writers are reckoned as mere varieties. Whether the view of those who regard these forms in the light of varieties is correct is not perfectly plain to me, and we cannot be sure until more extensive experiments in breeding have been carried out.

(1) Satyrus pegala, Fabricius, Plate XXVI, Fig. 18, ♁, under side (The Southern Wood-nymph).

Butterfly.—The largest species of the genus in our fauna, easily recognized by the broad yellow submarginal band on the primaries, marked with a single eye-spot in the male and two eye-spots in the female. The plate gives a correct idea of the under side of the wings. Expanse, 2.75 inches.

Early Stages.—These have only been partially ascertained. The caterpillar, like all others of the genus, feeds on grasses.

This insect is found in the Gulf States and as far north as New Jersey, and is probably only a large Southern form of the next species.

(2) Satyrus alope, Fabricius, Plate XXVI, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁; Plate III, Fig. 18, larva (The Common Wood-nymph).

Butterfly.—Closely resembling the preceding species, but only two thirds of its size. The figures in our plate give a correct idea of its appearance. The number of the ocelli is not constant, and occasionally specimens occur in which they are almost wanting. Several varietal forms have been described: S. maritima, from Long Island and Martha's Vineyard, in which the wings are smaller, the band inclined to orange-yellow, and the upper side of the wings is darker than in the typical form; and S. texana, from the extreme South, in which the ground-color of the wings is paler brown, the yellow band ochreous, and the spots on the under side of the hind wings larger than in the other forms.

(a) Satyrus alope, form nephele, Kirby, Plate XXVI, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♁, under side; Plate IV, Figs. 7, 8, chrysalis (The Clouded Wood-nymph).

This varietal form of S. alope, long held to be a species, but now known to be a dimorphic variety, is characterized by the partial or entire suppression of the yellow band on the primaries and the tendency of the eye-spots to become obsolete. It is the Northern form of the species, and is found in Canada, New England, and on the continent generally, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, north of the latitude of central New York and southward on the mountain masses of the Appalachian ranges.

(b) Satyrus alope, form olympus, Edwards, Plate XXVI, Fig. 9, ♂; Fig. 10, ♁, under side (Olympus).

This form of S. alope is common in the region west of the Mississippi. The males are a trifle darker and the females a shade paler than in the form nephele, which they closely approximate, and from which it would almost be impossible to separate them without a knowledge of the country whence they come.

In ariane we have a decidedly dwarfed form, in which the males and the females are quite dark. The ocelli, though small, are persistent, well defined, rarely showing a tendency to disappear completely. This form is found in British America, Oregon, and the northwestern portion of the United States.

(d) Satyrus baroni, Plate XXVI, Fig. 15, ♂; Fig. 16, ♂, under side (Baron's Satyr).

This is another form, dark on the upper side and reddish below, in which the ocelli on the under side show a tendency to become obsolete, and in some specimens are wholly wanting.

There are other varietal forms, one of which, named boöpis by Behr, is commonly found on the Pacific coast in northern California, Oregon, and Washington, and the ocelli, while prominent on the upper side of the wings, are almost obsolete below.

Early Stages.—The early stages of S. alope (typical form) and its variety nephele have been well described by several authors. The caterpillar feeds on grasses. There is, however, a fine field for the entomologist to work out the causes of the rather remarkable variation to which the species is subject.

(3) Satyrus gabbi, Edwards, Plate XXVI, Fig. 17, ♁, under side (Gabb's Satyr).

Butterfly.—The male is dark reddish-brown, the female pale fawn. The ocelli in both sexes are very well developed on both sides of the wings. The anal series on the secondaries consists of three spots, of which the one in the middle is always large. Expanse, 2.25 inches.

(4) Satyrus meadi, Plate XXVI, Fig. 13, ♁; Fig. 14, ♂, under side (Mead's Satyr).

Butterfly.—This well-marked species is comparatively small, and may easily be distinguished from all others by the bright red on the limbal area above and on the middle area of the primaries below. Expanse, 1.60-1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—These have been described and figured by Edwards in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. iii. The caterpillar is green, marked by paler stripes and lozenge-shaped spots of pale green on the side. The chrysalis is pale green. The egg is pale saffron. The caterpillars feed on grass.

(5) Satyrus paulus, Edwards, Plate XXVI, Fig. 19, ♂, under side (The Small Wood-nymph).

Butterfly.—A little smaller than S. nephele, dark brown above in both sexes, the fore wings always with two pupilate ocelli, one near the apex, the other near the inner angle, most conspicuously developed in the female. The secondaries have one or two spots of the same kind near the anal angle. On the under side the wings are pale reddish-brown, abundantly marked by transverse striæ. The primaries are marked with gray at the apex and on the outer margin, and have a submarginal and submedian transverse ferruginous line, between which the ocelli are located. The secondaries are crossed by a broad darker median band defined inwardly and outwardly by narrow dark lines. The outer third is pale gray, mottled with darker spots and lines, and traversed by a dark ferruginous submarginal line. Expanse, 1.75-2.00 inches.

Paulus occurs in California and Nevada. It has been regarded as a variety of sthenele by some writers; but I am convinced of its distinctness, though there is considerable resemblance.

(6) Satyrus charon, Edwards, Plate XXVI, Fig. 11, ♂; Fig. 12, ♁ (The Dark Wood-nymph).

Butterfly.—The male is dark in color; the female is paler. There are two eye-spots on the fore wings in the usual location, indistinct on the upper, distinct on the lower side of the wings. The under sides of the wings are variable. In the type they are dark; in other specimens they are paler. They may or may not have ocelli on the secondaries. The form with obsolescent ocelli has been named silvestris by Edwards. Both the fore and hind wings are abundantly and evenly marked by little striæ, and crossed on either side of the median area by obscure, irregular, transverse dark lines, either one or both of which may be wanting in some specimens. Expanse, 1.50-1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—These have been described and beautifully figured by Edwards in the third volume of his great work, to which the reader may refer. The caterpillar is green, cylindrical, tapering before and behind, marked with longitudinal pale-yellow lines. The chrysalis is green or black, striped with narrow white lines. The egg is somewhat firkin-shaped, flat at the top and base, vertically ribbed, and honey-yellow. The larva feeds on grasses.

Charon is found in the Northwest, ranging from British Columbia as far as New Mexico.

(7) Satyrus œtus, Boisduval, Plate XXVI, Fig. 7, ♂; Fig. 8, ♂, under side (Boisduval's Satyr).

Butterfly.—Larger than charon, paler on the upper side, especially in the female sex, in which the outer third of the primaries is reddish-fawn. On the under side the secondaries of the male are without ocelli, or at most faint traces of ocelli appear. In the female the ocelli near the anal angle of the secondaries are usually well developed. Expanse, 1.60-2.00 inches.

(8) Satyrus sthenele, Boisduval, Plate XXVI, Fig. 20, ♂, under side (The Least Wood-nymph).

Butterfly.—Quite small, superficially resembling charon. The female is paler and the ocelli are larger and more distinct than in charon. The distinguishing mark of this species is the irregular, dark, twice-strangulated band of the secondaries, bordered on both sides externally by whitish shades. This is shown in our figure. Expanse, 1.40-1.50 inch.

"To reside In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice."

Shakespeare.

Butterfly.—The antennæ are short; the eyes of moderate size; the front full, protuberant; the palpi slender; the fore wings somewhat produced at the tip, with the outer margins rounded and the hind margins very slightly, if at all, sinuated. The nervules of the fore wings are slightly dilated toward the base; the hind wings are elongated, oval, with the outer margins evenly rounded. The color of these butterflies is some shade of brown; the outer margin is generally lighter than the base of the wing, and is marked with black spots, sometimes pupiled with white. The wings are generally marbled and mottled on the underside, and sometimes crossed on the middle of the hind wings by a broad band of darker color. The fringes are brown, checkered with white.

Egg.—The egg is ovate-spherical, higher than broad, marked on the side from the apex to the base with raised sculptured ridges. These eggs are deposited, so far as we have been able to learn, on dried grass and the stems of plants in proximity to the growing plants upon which the young caterpillars are destined to feed.

Caterpillar.—The head of the caterpillar when it emerges from the egg is somewhat larger than the rest of the body, but as it passes successive moults and attains maturity the relative thickness of the body increases, and the adult larva tapers a little from about the middle in either direction. The larvæ are pale green or brown, marked by darker stripes upon the back and on the sides, the markings on the sides being in most species more conspicuous than those on the back. The species all feed on grasses.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalids are stout, very slightly angulated, and are formed, so far as we know, unattached, under stones and at the roots of grasses. When pupating, the caterpillar often makes for itself a slight depression or cell in the soil, in which a few threads of silk have been deposited, though not enough to justify us in calling the structure a cocoon.

This genus is composed of butterflies which are mainly arctic in their habitat, or dwell upon the summits of lofty mountains, where the summer is but brief. Only a few species are found at comparatively low elevations, and these in British America, or the parts of the United States immediately contiguous to the Canadian line. The most widely known of all the species up to this time is the White Mountain Butterfly, Œneis semidea, Say, a colony of which has existed probably ever since the glacial period upon the loftiest summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire. A number of species are found in the region of the Rocky Mountains. One species, Œneis jutta, Hübner, occurs in Maine, Nova Scotia, and parts adjacent. There are in all about a score of species of this genus recognized by authors as occurring in our fauna. In spite of the fact that these insects are boreal or arctic in their habits, Mr. W.H. Edwards has with marvelous skill and patience succeeded in obtaining the eggs and rearing at his home in Coalburg, West Virginia, a number of species. We are indebted to him for more of our knowledge of the generic characteristics of these insects, in their early stages, than had been ascertained hitherto during a century of investigation. His work is one of the beautiful triumphs of that enduring zeal which is a supreme quality in the naturalist. In their early stages all of the species show a close likeness to one another.

(1) Œneis gigas, Butler, Plate XXVII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (The Greater Arctic).

Butterfly.—This, one of the largest species in the genus, occurs on Vancouver's Island. The butterfly hides among the dark mosses and upon the trunks of prostrate trees. The males are vigilant and inquisitive, and dart out suddenly when alarmed, or attracted by passing insects. The females have a slower and more leisurely flight and are more readily taken. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches.

Early Stages.—Edwards has figured the egg and the caterpillar in its first three stages, but the remaining life-history of the species awaits investigation.

Butterfly.—This insect, which even exceeds Œ. gigas in size, is found on the Coast Range in northern California. It is decidedly lighter on the outer third of the wings than the preceding species, the male being prevalently a pale yellowish-brown, with the basal and median areas of the fore wing dark brown. On the under side the wings are somewhat lighter than in the preceding species, and the transverse lines are more distinctly marked. Expanse, 2.00-2.30 inches.

Early Stages.—These have been most beautifully delineated by Edwards in the third volume of "The Butterflies of North America."

Butterfly.—This species is closely allied to the two foregoing, but may be distinguished by the broad median band of dark brown traversing the under side of the hind wings, as well as by other peculiarities of marking. It lacks the bar of raised scales which is found in the male sex about the lower part of the cell of the fore wing in most of the species of the genus. It has been found thus far only on the north shore of Lake Superior and at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in the territory of Alberta. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches.

Early Stages.—For a knowledge of these in all their minute details the reader is again referred to the pages of the indefatigable Edwards.

(4) Œneis chryxus, Westwood, Plate XXVII, Fig. 10, ♂ (The Chryxus Butterfly).

Butterfly.—This species is widely distributed, being found in Colorado, British Columbia, and the vicinity of Hudson Bay. It is distinguished from other species by the darker brown color, which covers the basal and median areas of both the fore and hind wings, leaving a broad band of lighter brown on the outer margin. On the under side the wings are beautifully mottled with white and dark brown. Œneis calais, Scudder, is probably only a form of chryxus, which is somewhat lighter in color on the base of the wings. Expanse, 1.60-1.75 inch.

Butterfly.—This species is easily distinguished from all others by the peculiar pale ashen-brown of the upper side of the wings. It is not a common species, and is apparently restricted to the mountains of Nevada, principally about Lake Tahoe, though it probably occurs elsewhere. Expanse, 1.90-2.10 inches.

(6) Œneis varuna, Edwards, Plate XXVII, Fig. 8, ♂ (The Varuna Butterfly).

Butterfly.—This species is much smaller than any of those which have thus far been mentioned. It is found in the prairie lands of Montana, North Dakota, and the parts of Canada adjacent. It is not uncommon about Calgary. It is light in color on the upper side of the wings, and on the under side it is mottled with brown, strongly marked with blackish blotches or shades. Expanse, 1.50-1.60 inch.

Butterfly.—This species is found in Colorado. It is redder on the upper side than varuna, and the females are generally very richly ornamented with eye-spots on the outer borders of both the fore and hind wings. Expanse, 1.45-1.55 inch.

Early Stages.—These have been most thoroughly described and beautifully delineated by Edwards.

Butterfly.—This beautiful species, which is also found in Europe, is not uncommon in the State of Maine as far south as Bangor, and occurs also in Nova Scotia, and ranges thence westward to Ottawa and the Hudson Bay country. It is one of the more conspicuous species of the genus, the eye-like spots upon the wings having a very striking appearance. Expanse, 1.80-2.10 inches.

Early Stages.—For a thorough knowledge of these the reader may consult the pages of Scudder and Edwards.

(9) Œneis semidea, Say, Plate XXVII, Fig. 11, ♂; Plate III, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 7, 15, larva; Plate IV, Figs. 4, 5, chrysalis (The White Mountain Butterfly).

Butterfly.—This species has thin wings, and is much darker in color than any of the species which have thus far been mentioned. It is restricted in its habitat to the summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, and only reappears on the high mountains of Colorado and in Labrador. Its life-history has been very carefully worked out. It is to be hoped that entomologists and tourists resorting to Mount Washington will not suffer it to disappear by reason of too wholesale a capture of the specimens, which hover about the barren rocks on which the race has existed since the great continental ice-sheet melted away and vanished from the face of New England. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—The curious reader is again referred for a knowledge of these to the pages of Scudder and Edwards. They are similar to those of other species, and the generic description which has been given must suffice for all in this work.

Butterfly.—Though somewhat closely related to the last species, Bruce's Arctic may at once be distinguished from it by the broad dark band on the under side of the secondaries and the great translucency of the wings, which permits a label to be read through them. It is found in Colorado and in British Columbia at an elevation of from twelve to thirteen thousand feet above sea-level. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—All we know of these is contained in the pages of Edwards' great work.

(11) Œneis taygete, Hübner, Plate XXVII, Fig. 6, ♂ (The Labrador Arctic).

Butterfly.—Much like Œ. brucei, but the wings are not so translucent as in that species, and the broad mesial band on the under side of the hind wings is differently shaped, being more strongly directed outward just below the costa. The figure in the plate is from a specimen taken at Nain, in Labrador. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

There are eight or nine other species of Œneis in our fauna, but they are all arctic, and most of them very rare. Those we have described and figured will give a good idea of the genus.

When the full moon hangs high overhead, the snow creaks underfoot, the north wind roars with furious blast, and the trees of the forests crack in the frost with a report like that of cannon, then, hanging in its little nest on the bare branches of the wind-tossed trees, the tiny caterpillar of the Viceroy keeps the spark of life where men freeze and die. Nothing in the realm of nature is more wonderful than the manner in which some of the most minute animal forms resist cold. The genera Erebia and Œneis, and many species of the genus Brenthis, are, as we have already learned, inhabitants of the arctic regions or of lofty Alpine summits, the climate of which is arctic. Their caterpillars often hibernate in a temperature of from forty to fifty, and even seventy, degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.

It has been alleged that caterpillars freeze in the winter and thaw out in the spring, at that time regaining their vitality. Thus far the writer is unable to ascertain that any experiments or observations have positively decided for or against this view. A number of recorded cases in which caterpillars are positively stated to have been frozen and to have afterward been found to be full of vitality when thawed are open to question.

The most circumstantial account is that by Commander James Ross, R.N., F.R.S., quoted by Curtis in the Entomological Appendix to the "Narrative" of Sir John Ross's second voyage to the arctic regions. The specimens upon which the observations were made were the caterpillars of Laria rossi, a moth which is found abundantly in the arctic regions of North America. I quote from the account: "About thirty of the caterpillars were put into a box in the middle of September, and after being exposed to the severe winter temperature of the next three months, they were brought into a warm cabin, where, in less than two hours, every one of them returned to life, and continued for a whole day walking about; they were again exposed to the air at a temperature of about forty degrees below zero, and became immediately hard-frozen; in this state they remained a week, and on being brought again into the cabin, only twenty-three came to life; these were, at the end of four hours, put out once more into the air and again hard-frozen; after another week they were again brought in, when only eleven were restored to life; a fourth time they were exposed to the winter temperature, and only two returned to life on being again brought into the cabin; these two survived the winter, and in May an imperfect Laria was produced from one, and six flies from the other."

The foregoing account seems to verify more thoroughly the stories that have been told than anything else I have been able to discover within the limits of entomological literature, but does not conclude argument. It would be interesting in these days, when methods of artificial freezing have been so highly perfected, to undertake a series of experiments to prove or disprove, as the case may be, the view which has been held since the time of the ancients. There is here a field for nice investigation on the part of some reader of this book. In making the experiment it probably would be well to select the larvæ of species which are known to hibernate during the winter and to be capable of withstanding a great degree of cold.

The effect of cold suddenly applied to the chrysalids of butterflies at the moment of pupation is often to produce remarkable changes in the markings. The spots upon the wings of butterflies emerging from chrysalids thus treated are frequently rendered more or less indistinct and blurred. The dark markings are intensified in color and enlarged; the pale markings are also in some cases ascertained to experience enlargement. Many of the strange and really beautiful aberrations known to collectors have no doubt been produced by the action of frost which has occurred at the season when the larva was pupating. The species believed by the writer to be most prolific in aberrations are species which pupate early in the spring from caterpillars which have hibernated or which pupate late in the autumn. Some are species found at considerable altitudes above sea-level, where late frosts and early frosts are apt to occur. A number of very beautiful experiments upon the effect of cold upon the color of butterflies have been made in recent years, and some very curious phenomena have been observed. The writer has in his collection a considerable number of strikingly aberrant specimens which emerged from chrysalids treated to a sudden artificial lowering of the temperature at the critical period of pupation.

SUBFAMILY LIBYTHEINÆ (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES)

"What more felicitie can fall to creature Than to enjoy delight with libertie, And to be Lord of all the workes of Nature, To raigne in th' aire from th' earth to highest skie, To feed on flowres and weeds of glorious feature, To take whatever thing doth please the eie?"

Spenser.

Butterfly.—The butterflies of this family are very readily distinguished from all others by their long projecting palpi, and by the fact that the males have four feet adapted to walking, while the females have six, in which respect they approach the Erycinidæ.

Butterfly.—Rather small in size, with the eyes moderately large; the antennæ with a distinct club at the end; the palpi with the last joint extremely long and heavily clothed with hair. The wings have the outer margin strongly excised between the first median nervule and the lower radial vein. Between the upper and lower radial veins the wing is strongly produced outwardly; the inner margin is bowed out toward the base before the inner angle. The costa of the hind wing is bent upward at the base and excised before the outer angle; the wing is produced at the ends of the subcostal vein, the third median nervule, and the extremity of the submedian vein. There is also a slight projection at the extremity of the first median nervule. Of these projections the one at the extremity of the third median nervule is the most pronounced. The cell of the primaries and of the secondaries is lightly closed.

Egg.—The egg is ovoid, nearly twice as high as wide, with narrow vertical ridges on the sides, every other ridge much higher than its mate and increasing in height toward the vertex, where they abruptly terminate, their extremities ranging around the small depressed micropyle. Between these ridges are minute cross-lines.

Caterpillar.—The caterpillar has the head small, the anterior segments greatly swollen and overarching the head. The remainder of the body is cylindrical.

Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is of a somewhat singular shape, the abdomen conical, the head sharply pointed, a raised ridge running from the extremity of the head to the middle of the first abdominal segment on either side, and between these ridges is the slightly projecting thoracic tubercle. On the ventral side the outline is nearly straight.

The caterpillar feeds upon Celtis occidentalis. Three species are reckoned as belonging to our fauna. It is, however, doubtful whether these species are in reality such, and there is reason to believe that the three are merely varietal forms or races, no structural difference being apparent in any of them, and the only differences consisting in the ground-color of the wings.

(1) Libythea bachmanni, Kirtland, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♂, under side; Plate V, Figs. 23, 24, chrysalis (The Snout-butterfly).

Butterfly.—Easily distinguished from the following species by the redder color of the light spots on the upper side of the wings. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

Early Stages.—The generic description must suffice for these. They have been frequently described.

The butterfly ranges from New England and Ontario southward and westward over the whole country as far as New Mexico and Arizona.

(2) Libythea carinenta, Cramer, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Southern Snout-butterfly).

Butterfly.—Much like the preceding species, but readily distinguished from it by the paler yellowish-fulvous light markings of the upper side of the wings. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

SUBFAMILY LIBYTHEINÆ (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES)

FAMILY II. LEMONIIDÆ

SUBFAMILY ERYCININÆ (THE METAL-MARKS)