Mrs. Heman.
Butterfly.—Generally large, and often with the hind wings adorned by tail-like projections. The most characteristic structural feature of the group is the absence of the internal vein of the hind wings. The submedian vein occupies the position usually held in other subfamilies by the internal.
Early Stages.—In that portion of the group which includes the genus Parnassius and its allies, the caterpillars are not, so far as is known, provided with scent-organs, and pupation takes place upon the ground, or among loosely scattered leaves, which are interwoven, at the time of pupation, with a few strands of silk. The genus Papilio and its allies have large, fleshy, more or less cylindrical caterpillars, possessed of osmateria, or offensive scent-organs, and a general resemblance runs through the chrysalids of all species, which are attached by a button of silk at the anal extremity and supported in the middle by a silk girdle.
Genus PARNASSIUS, Latreille
(The Parnassians)
Pope.
Butterfly.—Of medium size, with more or less diaphanous wings, generally white or yellow in color, marked with black spots and round pink or yellow spots, margined with black. The head is relatively small, thickly clothed with hairs. The antennæ are short and straight, having a gradually thickened club. The palpi are very thin, straight, and clothed with long hairs. The wings are generally translucent on the margin, with a rounded apex. The upper radial is lacking. The subcostal is five-branched, the third, fourth, and fifth nervules being emitted from a common stalk which springs from the upper outer angle of the cell. The first subcostal nervule rises well before the end of the cell; the second from the same point from which the stalk which bears the other three nervules springs. The cell of the hind wing is evenly rounded at its outer extremity. The inner margin of the hind wing is more or less excavated.
Early Stages.—The egg is turban-shaped, flattened, profusely covered with small elevations, giving it a shagreened appearance. The caterpillars have very small heads. They are flattened, having a somewhat leech-like appearance; they are black or dark brown in color, marked with numerous light spots. The chrysalis is short, rounded at the head, and pupation takes place on the surface of the ground, among leaves and litter, a few loose threads of silk being spun about the spot in which transformation occurs.
The butterflies of this genus are classified with the Papilioninæ, because of the fact that the internal vein of the hind wings is always wanting, a characteristic of all papilionine genera.
(1) Parnassius clodius, Ménétries, Plate XXXIX, Figs. 7, 9, ♂; Figs. 8, 10, ♁ (Clodius).
Butterfly.—The species may be distinguished from the following by the uniformly larger size and the more translucent outer margins of the fore wings in the male. Expanse, ♂, 2.50-2.75 inches; ♁, 2.50-3.00 inches.
Early Stages.—These await study. The egg and young larva were described by W.H. Edwards in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xi, p. 142, but we have no account of the later stages. The caterpillar feeds on Sedum and Saxifraga.
Clodius is found upon the mountains of California in spring and early summer. It is, like all its congeners, an alpine or boreal species.
(2) Parnassius smintheus, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate XXXIX, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♁; var. behri, Edwards, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁; var. hermodur, Henry Edwards, Fig. 6, ♁; mate of hermodur, Fig. 5, ♂ (Smintheus).
Butterfly.—This very beautiful insect is greatly subject to variation, and the plate shows a few of the more striking forms, of which the dark female, named hermodur by the late Henry Edwards, is one of the most beautiful. Expanse, ♂, 2.00-2.50 inches; ♁, 2.25-3.00 inches.
Smintheus is found at proper elevations upon the mountains from Colorado to California, and from New Mexico to Montana. The life-history is most exquisitely delineated by Edwards in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. iii.
The caterpillar feeds on Sedum and Saxifraga.
Genus PAPILIO, Linnæus
(The Swallowtails)
Coleridge.
Butterfly.—Generally large, frequently with the hind wings tailed. A figure of the neuration characteristic of this genus is given on p. 20, Fig. 38. From this it will be seen that the internal vein of the hind wing is lacking, the submedian vein occupying the space which is commonly occupied by the internal vein. The median vein of the fore wing is connected with the submedian by a short vein, from the point of union of which with the submedian there proceeds a short internal vein in this wing. There is great diversity of form in the wings of this genus, some species even mimicking the species of the Euplœinæ and Heliconiidæ very closely, and being entirely without tails. In all cases, however, in spite of obvious diversities in color and in form, there is substantial anatomical agreement in the structure of the wings; and the caterpillars and chrysalids reveal very strongly marked affinities throughout the whole vast assemblage of species, which at the present time includes about five hundred distinct forms.
Early Stages.—The eggs are somewhat globular, flattened at the base, and smooth. The caterpillars are cylindrical, smooth, fleshy, thicker in the anterior portion of the body than in the posterior portion, and are always provided with osmateria, or protrusive scent-organs, which, when the larva is alarmed, are thrust forth, and emit a musky odor, not highly disagreeable to the human nostrils, but evidently intended to deter other creatures from attacking them. The chrysalids are always attached by a button of silk at the anal extremity, and held in place by a girdle of silk about the middle. The chrysalids are, however, never closely appressed to the surface upon which pupation takes place.
There are about twenty-seven species of this genus found within the limits of boreal America. Our fauna is therefore much richer in these magnificently colored and showy butterflies than is the fauna of all Europe, in which but three species are known from the Dardanelles to the North Cape and Gibraltar. The genus is wonderfully developed in the tropics both of the New and the Old World, and has always been a favorite with collectors, containing many of the largest as well as the handsomest insects of the order.
(1) Papilio ajax, Linnæus, Plate II, Fig. 14, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 11, 12, chrysalis (Ajax).
Butterfly.—This insect, which is one of the most beautiful in our fauna, has been the subject of attentive study in recent years, and is now known to be seasonally polymorphic. We have given in Plate XLIV figures of several of the forms.
(a) Winter form walshi; Edwards, Plate XLIV, Fig. 4, ♂. In this form, which emerges from chrysalids which have been exposed to the cold of the winter, the black bands of the wings are narrower and a trifle paler than in the other forms, the tails of the hind wing tipped with white, and the crimson spot on the inner margin near the anal angle forming a conspicuous bent bar. A variety of this form, with a more or less distinct crimson line parallel to the inner margin on the upper side of the hind wing, has been named Papilio ajax, var. abbotti, by Edwards.
Another winter form, for which I propose the name floridensis, is represented in Plate XLIV, Fig. 2, by a male specimen. It is characterized by the great breadth and intensity of the black bands on the upper side of the wings, which are quite as broad as in the summer form marcellus. I find this form prevalent in the spring of the year on the St. Johns River, in Florida. Expanse, 2.50-2.75 inches.
(b) Winter form telamonides, Felder, Plate XLIV, Fig. 1, ♂. In this form the tails of the hind wings are somewhat longer than in walshi, and are not simply tipped, but bordered on either side for half their length with white, and the red spots near the anal angle do not coalesce to form a crimson bar, but are separate. The black transverse bands on the upper side are wider than in walshi. Expanse, 2.75-3.00 inches.
(c) Summer form marcellus, Boisduval, Plate XLIV, Fig. 3, ♂. In this form, which represents the second generation emerging in the summer and fall from chrysalids produced from eggs of walshi, floridensis, and telamonides, the tails of the hind wings are greatly lengthened, being fully twice as long as in walshi, the black bands are greatly widened, and there is but a single small spot of crimson (sometimes none) above the anal angle of the secondaries. Expanse, 3.00-3.25 inches.
Early Stages.—These are well known. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the papaw (Asimina triloba), and wherever this plant is found the butterfly is generally common.
Ajax ranges from southern New England, where it is very rare, west and south over the entire country to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains. It is very common in the lower Appalachian region, and in southern Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee is especially abundant.
(2) Papilio eurymedon, Boisduval, Plate XLIV, Fig. 5, ♂ (Eurymedon).
Butterfly.—This beautiful insect belongs to the same group as the four succeeding species. In the style of the markings it recalls P. turnus, but the ground-color is always pale whitish-yellow or white, the tails of the hind wings are more slender, and the white marginal spots on the under side of the fore wings are fused together, forming a continuous band. There are other differences, but these, with the help of the plate, will suffice for the ready identification of the species. Expanse, 3.50-4.00 inches.
Early Stages.—The caterpillar resembles that of P. turnus, but may be distinguished by its paler color and the much smaller spots composing the longitudinal series on the back and sides, and by the different color of the head. It feeds upon a variety of plants, and is especially partial to Rhamnus californicus.
The species ranges from Mexico to Alaska, and eastward as far as Colorado. It is abundant in the valleys of the Coast Range, and I have found it very common in the cañon of the Fraser River, in British Columbia, in the month of June.
(3) Papilio rutulus, Boisduval, Plate XLV, Fig. 1, ♂ (Rutulus).
Butterfly.—The insect very closely resembles the following species in color and markings, but the female is never dimorphic as in P. turnus, and the marginal spots on the under side of the fore wings run together, forming a continuous band, as in eurymedon, and are not separate as in P. turnus. By these marks it may always be distinguished. Expanse, ♂, 3.50-4.00 inches; ♁, 3.75-4.25 inches.
Early Stages.—These have been described with accuracy by W.H. Edwards in the second volume of his great work. The caterpillar differs from that of P. turnus in many minute particulars. It feeds on alder and willow. It is the representative on the Pacific coast of its Eastern congener, the common Tiger Swallowtail.
(4) Papilio turnus, Linnæus, Plate XLIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, dimorphic form glaucus, Linnæus, ♁; Plate II, Figs. 15, 26, 28, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 1-4, chrysalis (The Tiger Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—The "lordly Turnus" is one of the most beautiful insects of the Carolinian fauna. The plate shows the figures about one third smaller than in life, but they are sufficient for the immediate identification of the species. The species is dimorphic in the female sex in the southern portions of the territory which it occupies. The black form of the female was regarded for a long while as a distinct species, until by the test of breeding it was ascertained that some eggs laid by yellow females produced black females, and that, conversely, eggs laid by black females often produced yellow females. In Canada and northward and westward in northern latitudes the dark dimorphic female does not occur. A small yellow dwarfed form is common about Sitka, whence I have obtained numerous specimens. Expanse, ♂, 3.00-4.00 inches; ♁, 3.50-5.00 inches.
Early Stages.—The egg is outlined on p. 4, Fig. 3. It is green or bluish-green, quite smooth, with a few reddish spots in some specimens. The caterpillar feeds on a great variety of plants, but has a peculiar preference for the leaves of various species of wild cherry (Cerasus). The chrysalis is accurately portrayed in Plate VI, Figs. 1-4.
The metropolis of this species seems to be the wooded forests of the Appalachian ranges at comparatively low levels. It abounds in southwestern Pennsylvania, the Virginias, the Carolinas, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I have often found as many as a dozen of these magnificent butterflies congregated on a moist spot on the banks of the Monongahela. At Berkeley Springs, in West Virginia, I counted, one summer day, forty specimens hovering over the weeds and flowers in a small deserted field. The movements of the butterfly on the wing are bold and rapid. Its flight is dashing. Now aloft to the tops of the highest trees, now down in the shadows of the undergrowth, hither and thither it goes, often settling for a moment on some attractive flower, or staying its flight to quench its thirst on the sandy edge of a brook, and then away again over the fields and into the forests. In New England it is not very abundant, and in the Gulf States, while numerous, is still less common than about the head waters of the Ohio.
(5) Papilio daunus, Boisduval, Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 2, ♂ (Daunus).
Butterfly.—This magnificent species, which is even larger than turnus (the figures in the plate are greatly reduced), resembles the preceding species in color and markings, but may at once be distinguished by the two tails on the hind wing and the projection of the lobe at the anal angle of this wing. It is found among the eastern valleys of the Rocky Mountain ranges, and descends into Mexico. In Arizona it is quite common. Expanse, 4.00-5.25 inches.
Early Stages.—These have not yet been thoroughly studied, but what we know of them shows that the species is allied very closely to its immediate congeners, and the caterpillar feeds upon the same plants, principally Rosaceæ.
(6) Papilio pilumnus, Boisduval, Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (Pilumnus).
Butterfly.—Resembling the preceding species, but smaller, having the bands and black margins of the wings decidedly broader, and the lobe of the anal angle of the hind wing so much lengthened as to give the wing the appearance of being furnished with three tails. Expanse, 3.80-4.30 inches.
Early Stages.—All we know of these is derived from the brief account given by Schaus in "Papilio," vol. iv, p. 100. Mr. Schaus says that the larva "feeds on laurel."
The insect is Mexican, and only occasionally occurs in Arizona.
(7) Papilio thoas, Linnæus, Plate XLII, Fig. 4, ♂ (Thoas).
Butterfly.—This species is readily distinguished from its near ally, P. cresphontes, by the greater and more uniform breadth of the median band of yellow spots traversing both the fore and the hind wing, and by the almost total absence of the curved submarginal series of spots on the primaries. There are other points of difference, but these are so marked as to make the determination of the species easy.
Early Stages.—These have never been fully described, but we know that the caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of the lemon, the orange, and other plants of the citrus group.
P. thoas is not common within the limits of the United States, where it is generally replaced by the following species; but it occasionally occurs in the hot lands of the extreme southern portion of Texas.
(8) Papilio cresphontes, Cramer, Plate XLII, Fig. 3, ♂; Plate II, Fig. 16, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 8-10, chrysalis (The Giant Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—The principal points of difference between this and the preceding species, its closest ally, have already been pointed out, and are brought into view upon the plate.
Early Stages.—These are quite well known. The caterpillar feeds upon Ptelea, Xanthoxylon, and various species of Citrus. It is very common in the orange-groves of Florida, where the people call the caterpillar the "orange-puppy," and complain at times of the ravages perpetrated by it upon their trees. It appears to have been gradually spreading northward, and in quite recent years has appeared at points in the Northern States where before it had never been observed. It has been recently taken in Ontario. It has become rather abundant in the vicinity of the city of Pittsburgh, where no observer had seen it prior to the year 1894. It is one of the largest and most showy species of the genus found within our faunal limits.
(9) Papilio aliaska, Scudder, Plate XLI, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Alaskan Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—This interesting form of the species, known to entomologists as Papilio machaon, Linnæus, and to every English school-boy as "the Swallowtail," represents a colonization from the Asiatic mainland of this insect, which is the sole representative of the genus on English soil. It differs from the English butterfly by having more yellow on the upper side of the wings, and by having the tails of the secondaries much shorter.
Early Stages.—Undoubtedly these are very much like those of the forms found in Europe and Asia, and the caterpillar must be sought upon umbelliferous plants.
Thus far this insect has been received only from Alaska, and is still rare in collections.
(10) Papilio zolicaon, Boisduval, Plate XXXVIII, Fig. 1, ♂ (Zolicaon).
Butterfly.—This species is somewhat nearly related to the preceding, but may at once be distinguished from it by the broader black borders of the wings, the deeper black on the upper side, and the longer tails of the secondaries. The figure given in the plate is only two thirds of the natural size.
Early Stages.—These have been fully described by Edwards, and are shown to be much like those of P. asterias. The caterpillar, like that of the last-mentioned species, feeds upon the Umbelliferæ.
Zolicaon ranges southward from Vancouver's Island to Arizona, and eastward to Colorado. It is more abundant in the valleys and foot-hills than on the sierras.
(11) Papilio nitra, Edwards, Plate XLI, Fig. 2, ♂ (Nitra).
Butterfly.—This insect, which is still very rare in collections, is very nearly related to the preceding species, it having, no doubt, with the succeeding species, sprung from the same original stock as zolicaon and aliaska.
Early Stages.—Unknown.
The insect occurs in Montana and the portions of British America adjacent on the north.
(12) Papilio indra, Reakirt, Plate XLI, Fig. 3, ♁ (Indra).
Butterfly.—Easily distinguished by the short tails of the secondaries, and the narrow bands of yellow spots on the wings closely resembling those found in the same location on the wings of P. asterias, ♂. Expanse, 2.50-2.75 inches.
Early Stages.—These still await description.
Indra occurs on the mountains of Colorado, Nevada, and California.
(13) Papilio brevicauda, Saunders, Plate XL, Fig. 5, ♁ (The Newfoundland Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—There are two varieties of this species—one with bright-yellow spots, one with the spots more or less deeply marked with orange-yellow on the upper sides of the wing. The latter variety is represented in the plate. The form with the yellow spots is common on the island of Anticosti; the other occurs quite abundantly in Newfoundland. Expanse, 2.75-3.00 inches.
Early Stages.—Both the caterpillar and the chrysalis show a very strong likeness to those of P. asterias. The larva feeds on umbelliferous plants.
The range of the species is confined to the extreme northeastern part of our faunal territory.
(14) Papilio bairdi, Edwards, Plate XL, Fig. 2, ♂ (Baird's Butterfly).
Butterfly.—This form, the male of which is represented in the plate, is the Western representative of P. asterias, and is characterized in general by the fact that the size is larger than that of asterias, and the postmedian band of yellow spots is broader. The female is generally darker and larger than that sex in asterias. Expanse, 3.25-3.50 inches.
Early Stages.—Not unlike those of P. asterias. The caterpillar feeds upon Umbelliferæ.
The seat of this species or form is Arizona, whence it ranges northward.
(15) Papilio brucei, Edwards, Plate XL, Fig. 4, ♂ (Bruce's Butterfly).
Butterfly.—This species, which is thought to be the result of a union between P. oregonia and P. bairdi, is found in Colorado. Oregonia is, unfortunately, not represented in our plates. It flies in Oregon and Washington, where P. bairdi is not found. In Colorado and adjacent regions meeting with the form bairdi, which ranges northward from Arizona, hybridization has occurred, and we have a fixed form breeding either toward bairdi or oregonia. To this form, characterized by more yellow on the bands of the wings than in P. bairdi, and less than in oregonia, Mr. Edwards has applied the name P. brucei, in honor of Mr. Bruce of Lockport, New York, who has done much to elucidate the problems connected with the species. Expanse, 3.25-3.60 inches.
Early Stages.—These have been fully described by Edwards. They are much like those of asterias, and the food-plants belong to the same class.
Bruce's Butterfly is found quite abundantly in Colorado.
(16) Papilio hollandi, Edwards, Plate XL, Fig. 3, ♂ (Holland's Butterfly).
Butterfly.—This species or form, which belongs to the Asterias-group, in the breadth of the yellow spots on the upper side of the wings holds a place intermediate between P. bairdi and P. zolicaon, between which it has been suggested that it may be a hybrid, which has become fixed, and therefore a species. It is characterized by the fact that the abdomen is always striped laterally with yellow or is wholly yellow. Expanse, 3.25-3.50 inches.
Early Stages.—We know as yet but little of these.
The insect occurs in Arizona and northward to Colorado.
(17) Papilio asterias, Fabricius, Plate XL, Fig. 1, ♂; Plate II, Figs. 17, 24, 27, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 13, 18, 19, chrysalis (The Common Eastern Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—The male is well represented in the plate. The female lacks the bright-yellow band of postmedian spots on the primaries, or they are but faintly indicated. The species is subject to considerable variation in size and the intensity of the markings. A very remarkable aberration in which the yellow spots cover almost the entire outer half of the wings has been found on several occasions, and was named Papilio calverleyi by Grote. The female of this form from the type in the author's collection is represented in Plate XLI, Fig. 6. Expanse, 2.75-3.25 inches.
Early Stages.—The caterpillar feeds on the Umbelliferæ, and is common on parsley and parsnips in gardens. In the South I have found that it had a special liking for fennel, and a few plants in the kitchen-garden always yielded me in my boyhood an abundant supply of the larvæ.
P. asterias ranges all over the Atlantic States and the valley of the Mississippi.
(18) Papilio troilus, Linnæus, Plate XLI, Fig. 5, ♂; Plate II, Figs. 18, 19, 22, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 5-7, chrysalis (The Spice-bush Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—The upper side of the male is accurately depicted in the plate. The female has less bluish-green on the upper side of the hind wings. Expanse, 3.75-4.25 inches.
Early Stages.—The caterpillar lives upon the leaves of the common spicewood and sassafras, and draws the edges of a leaf together, thus forming a nest in which it lies hidden.
The insect is found throughout the Atlantic States and in the Mississippi Valley.
(19) Papilio palamedes, Drury, Plate XLII, Fig. 1, ♁ (Palamedes).
Butterfly.—The upper side of the wings is very accurately depicted in the figure just cited. On the under side the predominant tint is bright yellow. Expanse, 3.50-4.25 inches.
Early Stages.—These are described by Scudder in the third volume of his work on "The Butterflies of New England." The caterpillar feeds on Magnolia glauca, and on plants belonging to the order Lauraceæ.
The insect ranges from southern Virginia, near the coast, to the extreme southern end of Florida, and westward to southern Missouri and eastern Texas.
(20) Papilio philenor, Linnæus, Plate XLII, Fig. 2, ♂; Plate II, Figs. 13, 20, 21, larva; Plate VI, Figs. 14, 17, 20, chrysalis (The Pipe-vine Swallowtail).
Butterfly.—The figures in the plates obviate the necessity for describing this familiar but most beautiful insect, the glossy blue-green of which flashes all summer long in the sunlight about the verandas over which the Aristolochia spreads the shade of its great cordate leaves. Expanse, 3.75-4.25 inches.
Early Stages.—The caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of Aristolochia sipho (the Dutchman's-pipe) and Aristolochia serpentaria, which abound in the forest lands of the Appalachian region.
Philenor is always abundant during the summer months in the Middle Atlantic States, and ranges from Massachusetts to Arizona, into southern California and southward into Mexico. It is double-brooded in western Pennsylvania, and the writer has found females ovipositing as late as October. The caterpillars are familiar objects about houses on which the Aristolochia is grown as an ornamental vine.
(21) Papilio polydamas, Linnæus, Plate XLI, Fig. 4, ♂ (Polydamas).
Butterfly.—Easily distinguished by the absence of tails on the hind margin of the secondaries. The butterfly recalls the preceding species by the color of the wings on the upper side. On the under side the fore wings are marked as on the upper side; the hind wings have a marginal row of large red spots. Expanse, 3.00-3.50 inches.
Early Stages.—The caterpillar is dark brown, and in many points resembles that of P. philenor in outline, but the segments are spotted with ocellate yellow and red spots. It feeds on various species of Aristolochia. The chrysalis resembles that of P. philenor.
This lovely insect represents in the United States a great group of butterflies closely allied to it, which are natives of the tropics of the New World. It occurs in southern Florida and Texas, and thence ranges southward over Cuba, Mexico, and Central America.
THE CATERPILLAR AND THE ANT
Allan Ramsay.
"Bedouins of the pathless air."—H.H.
Butterfly.—The butterflies belonging to this family are generally quite small, with stout bodies, the thorax strongly developed in order to accommodate the muscles of flight. They are exceedingly rapid in their movements. Both sexes possess six feet adapted to walking, and the tibiæ of the hind feet, with few exceptions, have spurs. The lower radial vein of the hind wing in many of the genera is lacking, or is merely indicated by a fold in the wing. There is great variety in the form as well as in the coloration of the wings.
Egg.—The eggs, so far as we are acquainted with them, may be said to be, almost without exception, more or less hemispherical, with the flat section of the hemisphere serving as the base. They are sometimes smooth, but not infrequently ornamented with raised longitudinal ridges and cross-lines, the ornamentation in some cases being very beautiful and curious.
Caterpillar.—The caterpillars are cylindrical, smooth, tapering forward and backward from the middle, and generally possess large globular heads. They commonly undergo transformation into chrysalids which have an anal hook, or cremaster, in a loose cocoon woven of a few strands of silk.
This family, the study of which presents more difficulties than are presented by any other family of butterflies, is not very well developed in the Palæarctic Region, but finds its most enormous development in the Nearctic and Neotropical Regions. It is also very strongly developed in the Indo-Malayan and Ethiopian Regions. There are, at the present time, in the neighborhood of two thousand species belonging to this family which have been named and described.
Emerson.
This subfamily is composed of closely related genera which are found only in the New World. They may be easily recognized by the large blunt club of the antennæ. The cell of the fore wing is always very long, being two thirds the length of the costa; the lower radial vein usually rises from the end of the cell, a little above the third median nervule, and at a considerable remove from the upper radial. They are said when at rest to extend all their wings horizontally.
But one genus belonging to this subfamily is represented within the limits of the United States.
Genus PYRRHOPYGE,
Hübner
Butterfly.—The neuration is as represented in the cut, and need not, therefore, be described at length. The club of the antennæ is thickened, usually bluntly pointed and bent into a hook.
(1) Pyrrhopyge araxes, Hewitson, Plate XLV, Fig. 9, ♂ (Araxes).
Butterfly.—Easily recognized from the figure in the plate. The hind wings are prevalently yellow on the under side. It is wholly unlike any other species found within the faunal limits with which this book deals. The wings expand about two inches. We have no knowledge whatever of the life-history of the insect. It occurs in southern Texas occasionally, but is quite common in Mexico and more southern countries.
Drake, The Culprit Fay.
This subfamily falls into two groups:
Group A.—In this group the cell of the fore wing is always more than two thirds the length of the costa; the lower radial vein lies approximately equidistant between the third median nervule and the upper radial. The hind wing is frequently produced at the extremity of the submedian vein into a long tail or tooth-like projection. The fore wing is usually furnished in the male sex with a costal fold, but is never marked with a discal stigma, or bunch of raised scales. The antennæ always terminate in a fine point and are usually bent into a hook. The butterflies when at rest, for the most part, hold their wings erect, though some of them hold them extended horizontally.
Group B.—In this group the cell of the fore wing is less than two thirds the length of the costa, and the lower radial is always emitted from the end of the cell near the upper angle, much nearer to the upper radial than to the third median. The hind wings are often somewhat lobed at the anal angle, but never produced as in the first group. The antennæ are very seldom hooked.
Genus EUDAMUS, Swainson
Butterfly.—The antennæ terminate in a fine point bent into a hook at the thickest part of the club. The cell of the fore wing is very long. The discocellulars are inwardly oblique and on the same straight line, the upper discocellulars being reduced to a mere point. The lower radial is equidistant between the upper radial and the third median nervule. The hind wing is without the lower radial and is always produced into a long tail.
Egg.—The egg is more nearly globular than is true in most of the genera, but is strongly flattened at the base and is marked with a number of transverse longitudinal ridges, somewhat widely separated, between which are finer cross-lines. The micropyle at the summit is deeply depressed.
Caterpillar.—The caterpillar is cylindrical, tapering rapidly from the middle forward and backward. The head is much larger than the neck and is distinctly bilobed.
Chrysalis.—The chrysalis is provided with a somewhat hooked cremaster, is rounded at the head, humped over the thorax, and marked on the dorsal side of the abdominal segments with a few small conical projections. The chrysalis is formed between leaves loosely drawn together with a few strands of silk.
This genus is confined to the tropics of the New World, and is represented in the extreme southern portions of the United States by the species figured in our plate—E. proteus.
(1) Eudamus proteus, Linnæus, Plate XLV, Fig. 6, ♁; Plate II, Fig. 34, larva; Plate VI, Fig. 23, chrysalis (The Long-tailed Skipper).
Butterfly.—The upper side of the wings is brown, glossed with green at the base of both wings. The spots on the primaries of both sexes are alike, and are well represented in the plate. On the under side the wings are pale brown; the primaries are marked as on the upper side; the secondaries have the anal portion and the tail dark brown; in addition they are crossed by a short dark band at the end of the cell, and another similar but longer postmedian band, which does not quite reach the costa and loses itself below in the dark shade which covers the anal portion of the wing. About the middle of the costa of the hind wings are two small subquadrate black spots. Expanse, 1.60-1.75 inch.
Early Stages.—The plates give us representations based upon Abbot's drawings of the mature caterpillar and the chrysalis. The student who desires to know more may consult the pages of Scudder's "Butterflies of New England." The caterpillar feeds upon leguminous plants, especially upon the Wistaria and various species of Clitoria (Butterfly-pea). It makes a rude nest for itself by drawing two of the leaves together with strands of silk.
The species is tropical and is found all over the tropics and subtropical regions of the New World, but ranges northward along the Atlantic sea-coast, being occasionally found as far north as New York City, where it has been taken in Central Park.
Genus PLESTIA, Mabille
Butterfly.—The club of the antennæ is flattened, sickle-shaped, terminating in a fine point. The male has a costal fold upon the fore wing. The lower radial is nearer to the upper radial than to the third median nervule. The hind wing is produced into a short tail. The fifth vein is wanting.
Early Stages.—Unknown.
This genus is peculiar to Mexico and Central America. But one species is found within our limits, and is confined to Arizona.
(1) Plestia dorus, Edwards, Plate XLV, Fig. 11, ♂ (The Short-tailed Arizona Skipper).