Part 4

In order to preserve collections of lepidoptera in beautiful condition, light, moisture, and insect pests must be excluded. Light bleaches many species, especially those which are red, brown, or green in color. Moisture produces mold and mildew. Insect pests such as mites, _Anthrenus_, and _Dermestes_, the two latter being species of beetles, devour specimens. The receptacles containing collections should therefore be furnished with covers excluding the light, kept in a dry place, and be so tight that insect pests will not enter. However, as an additional precaution, it is well to place in every box or drawer moth balls or lumps of camphor, secured so that they cannot roll about. These tend to deter predaceous insects from entering the receptacles. If by any chance they have entered, neither the naphthaline nor the camphor in some cases will prevent their ravages. In the great collections which are under the care of the writer it is a rule from time to time to go over all the cases and put into every receptacle a small quantity of carbon bisulphide. The fumes of carbon bisulphide kill all grubs and matured insects which may have hidden themselves in the cases, and it is believed that it also tends to destroy the life in eggs which may have been laid in the boxes. Great care should be used, however, in employing carbon bisulphide, as the fumes mingled with the oxygen of the atmosphere form an explosive compound. The work should never be done where there is danger of ignition from an open fire or light. Boxes for the preservation of insect collections are made by many firms, and prices for such receptacles vary according to their size and the materials employed in their construction. All receptacles, however, should be lined at the bottom with cork or some other soft material into which the pins sustaining the insects can be put. We employ in the Carnegie Museum a composition cork covered with white paper, which is made in sheets of varying sizes, according to requirement, by the Armstrong Cork Manufacturing Company of Pittsburgh, Pa., the largest cork-manufacturing establishment in the world. This is the most satisfactory material which is made.

Large collections are advantageously preserved in cabinets, the drawers of which are covered with glass through which the insects may be inspected without handling them. Here again, for the details of the construction of boxes, trays, and cabinets, the reader is referred to “The Butterfly Book,” which may be found in every public library, and is in the hands of multitudes of individuals.

In arranging specimens the scientific order should be followed. The species belonging to a given genus should be placed together. The little labels attached to the pins should give both the generic and the specific name, the locality where the specimen was taken, and the sex, if known. For the purpose of designating the sex naturalists employ what are known as “sex marks,” the male being indicated by the sign of Mars, ♂, while the female is indicated by the sign of Venus, ♀. The inscription _Papilio philenor_, ♀, means that the specimen is a male, and the inscription _Papilio philenor_, ♀, means that it is a female of the same species.

The classification of the genera and species should be subordinated further to the classification into families. There are five families of butterflies represented in the United States and Canada. They are the following:

1. The Nymphalidæ, or “Brush-footed Butterflies.” 2. The Erycinidæ, or “Metal-marks.” 3. The Lycænidæ, or “Blues,” “Coppers,” and “Hair-streaks.” 4. The Papilionidæ, or the “Swallowtails” and their allies. 5. The Hesperiidæ, or the “Skippers.”

In every well-arranged collection of butterflies certain drawers or boxes should be set apart for the reception of the insects belonging to these families, and they should be placed under their proper genera, according to their species. Nothing is more beautiful or interesting to those who have a love of nature than a collection of butterflies thus classified and displayed.

In recent years an ingenious friend of mine has devised a system of mounting butterflies under glass in cases made of a shell of plaster of paris, which he backs with cardboard and seals around the edges with gummed paper. Latterly he has taken to mounting them between pieces of glass which he secures in the same way. Specimens thus preserved keep well, may be handled readily without fear of injury to them, and in the glass cases both sides of their wings may be examined. A collection of butterflies mounted in this way may be stored in shallow trays and placed in scientific order. The process of mounting in this fashion is, however, somewhat laborious and expensive, and is not generally adopted by scientific men, who wish to be free to examine their specimens under the magnifying glass, occasionally touching the wings with benzine to disclose the facts of neuration, and to minutely investigate the feet and other parts of the body, which, when sealed up in the way I have described, are not easily accessible.

* * * * *

Having thus briefly outlined the principal facts as to the nature of butterflies in general, and the best methods of collecting and preserving them, we now pass on to the description of the commoner species which are found on the continent of North America, north of Mexico and the Straits of Florida.

Class INSECTA (Insects) Order LEPIDOPTERA (Scale-winged Insects) Suborder RHOPALOCERA (Butterflies) Family NYMPHALIDÆ (The Brush-footed Butterflies)

The Nymphalidæ may be distinguished from all other butterflies by the fact that _in both sexes the foremost, or prothoracic, pair of legs is greatly dwarfed, useless for walking, and therefore carried folded up against the breast_. This is the largest of all the families of butterflies and has been subdivided into many subfamilies. Some of the genera are composed of small species, but most of them are made up of large or medium-sized forms. To this family belong many of the most gorgeously colored butterflies of the tropics, among them the brilliant blue _Morphos_ of equatorial America.

The caterpillars, when they emerge from the egg, have heads much greater in diameter than the rest of their bodies. In the earlier stages the bodies taper from before backward, and are adorned with little wart-like protuberances, which bear hairs. In later stages these little protuberances in many genera are replaced by branching spines and fleshy projections, which impart to the caterpillars a forbidding appearance. The mature caterpillar generally has a cylindrical body, but in the subfamilies, _Satyrinæ_ and _Morphinæ_, the larvæ are thicker at the middle, tapering forward and backward.

The chrysalids, which are generally marked by metallic spots, always hang suspended by the tail, except in the case of a few arctic species, which are found under a frail covering composed of strands of silk woven about the roots of tufts of grass, under which the larva takes shelter at the time of pupation.

In the region with which this booklet deals all the butterflies belonging to the _Nymphalidæ_ fall naturally into one or the other of the following subfamilies: (1) the _Euplœinæ_, or Euplœids; (2) the _Ithomiinæ_, the Ithomiids; (3) the _Heliconiinæ_, the Heliconians; (4) the _Nymphalinæ_, the Nymphs; (5) the _Satyrinæ_, the Satyrs; (6) the _Libytheinæ_, the Snout-butterflies.

KEY TO THE SUBFAMILIES OF THE NYMPHALIDÆ OF TEMPERATE NORTH AMERICA

I. With the veins of the fore wings not greatly swollen at the base. A. Antennæ naked, not clothed with scales. (a) Fore wings less than twice as long as broad _Euplœinæ._ (b) Fore wings twice as long as broad and often translucent, the abdomen extending far beyond the inner angle of the hind wings _Ithomiinæ._ B. Antennæ clothed with scales, at least above. (a) Fore wings at least twice as long as broad _Heliconiinæ._ (b) Fore wings less than twice as long as broad. 1. Palpi not as long as the thorax _Nymphalinæ._ 2. Palpi longer than the thorax _Libytheinæ._ II. With some of the veins of the fore wing greatly swollen at the base _Satyrinæ._

Subfamily EUPLŒINÆ (The Euplœids).

Large or medium-sized butterflies; fore wings somewhat produced at apex; hind wings rounded, never with tails; fore legs greatly atrophied in the males, somewhat less so in the females; hind wings of the males marked with one or more sexual brands which in the American species are located on or near the first median nervule; some of the oriental species are white, many are dark brown or black in color, shot with purple and violet; all of the American species are of some shade of reddish brown or fulvous, with the apex of the fore wings and the outer borders of both fore and hind wings margined widely with darker color, and the veins and nervules also darker, standing out in bold relief upon the lighter ground-color; the apex of the primary and the outer border of the secondary wings are more or less spotted with light color, often with white.

The adult caterpillars are cylindrical in form, adorned with long fleshy filaments, and with their bodies of some light shade of yellow or green banded with darker colors. The American species feeds upon the plants belonging to the family of the _Asclepiadaceæ_, or Milkweeds.

The chrysalis is smooth, pale in color, often ornamented with metallic spots, usually golden.

This subfamily, which is represented in the tropics of the Old World by many genera and species, is only represented in the United States by one genus, _Anosia_.

GENUS ANOSIA HÜBNER

_Butterfly_, large or medium-sized; fore wings triangular, produced; hind wings rounded, the inner margins clasping the abdomen when at rest; apex, outer margins, and veins, dark; male with sex-mark on first median nervule of hind wing. _Egg_ ovate conical, ribbed perpendicularly and horizontally. _Larva_ cylindrical, with long, dark, fleshy filaments before and behind; body usually pale in color, ringed with dark bands. _Chrysalis_ pendant, stout, cylindrical, abdomen rapidly tapering, and ending in long cremaster; pale, with metallic spots.

A large genus, many species being found in the tropics of both hemispheres, but only two in the United States. The insects are “protected,” being distasteful to other animals, thus escaping attack.

[Illustration: PL. I]

(1) _Anosia plexippus_ (Linnæus), The Monarch, Plate I, ♂; Plate C, Fig. g, _egg_; Figs. a-c, _larva pupating_; Fig. d, _chrysalis_.

Upper side of wings reddish brown, apex, margins, and veins black, under side paler; a double row of whitish spots on outer borders, apex crossed by two bands of light spots. Expanse of wings 3.25 to 4.25 inches. _Egg_ pale green. _Caterpillar_ feeds on milkweeds, and is found in Pennsylvania from June onward. _Chrysalis_ pale green spotted with gold.

Breeds continuously. As summer comes the butterflies move north, laying eggs. The insect spreads until it reaches its northern limit in the Dominion of Canada. In fall it returns. Swarms of the retreating butterflies gather on the northern shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario and in southern New Jersey. Recently the Monarch has become domiciled in many parts of the Old World.

[Illustration: PL. II]

(2) _Anosia berenice_ (Cramer), The Queen, Plate II, ♀.

Smaller than the Monarch; the ground-color of the wings livid brown. The markings, as shown by the Plate, are somewhat different from those of the preceding species. Expanse 2.5 to 3 inches.

This butterfly does not occur in the North, but ranges through New Mexico, Texas, Arizona, and southward.

Subfamily ITHOMIINÆ (THE ITHOMIIDS).

_Butterflies_ of moderate size, though a few species are quite large. Fore wings at least twice as long as wide; hind wings small and rounded, without tails. Abdomen produced beyond the margin of the hind wing. Wings more or less transparent. Antennæ long and very slender, with a slender club at end, naked. Fore legs greatly atrophied, especially in the males. _Larvæ_ and _chrysalids_ resembling those of the _Euplœinæ_, the chrysalids being short, cylindrical, and marked with metallic spots. The family, with the exception of the Australian genus, _Hamadryas_, is confined to the New World, in the tropics of which there are swarms of genera and species. Like the _Euplœinæ_ they are “protected.” But two genera are reported from our territory.

GENUS CERATINIA FABRICIUS

Distinguished from other allied genera by the strongly lobed costal margin of the hind wings in the male.

There are fifty species of this genus known from the American tropics, but only one occurs within the limits of the United States, and only in the extreme southwestern portion of our territory.

(1) _Ceratinia lycaste_ (Fabricius), Plate III, Fig. 2, ♀ (Lycaste Butterfly).

This insect, which may easily be identified by the figure we give, is reported from southern California. The plate shows the variety, named _negreta_, which has a spot at the end of the cell of the hind wing instead of a black bar, as is the case in specimens from Panama. Expanse 2.1 to 2.25 inches. Wright does not include this species in his list of butterflies of the west coast.

GENUS DIRCENNA DOUBLEDAY

Medium-sized _butterflies_, with quite transparent wings. Abdomen not as long as in the preceding genus. Hind wing of male strongly bowed forward at middle, the costal vein tending to coalesce with the subcostal. Only one species occurs in our region. There are many species in the American tropics.

[Illustration: PL. III]

(1) _Dircenna klugi_ (Hübner), Plate III, Fig. 1, ♂ (Klug’s Dircenna).

The wings are pale brown, narrowly margined with darker brown; the fore wings have a pale yellowish diagonal bar at the end of the cell, followed by two bands of similar spots, curving from the costa to the inner margin. Expanse 2.5 to 2.75 inches.

_Habitat_: Southern California and Mexico according to Reakirt. The citation of California by this authority may refer to Lower California. In recent years no specimens have been taken in Upper California. It may be that with the changes which have taken place in the development of the country the insect has become extinct about Los Angeles and San Diego, where Reakirt collected.

SUBFAMILY HELICONIINÆ (THE HELICONIANS).

Moderately large _butterflies_. Fore wings twice as long as wide. Antennæ nearly as long as the body; club tapering, but stouter than in the _Ithomiids_, clothed with scales above. Fore legs feeble in both sexes. Color black, sometimes shot with blue, and variously marked with white, yellow, orange, or crimson spots. _Eggs_ cylindrical, twice as high as wide, tapering and truncate above, ribbed. _Caterpillar_, when mature, with six branching spines on each segment. _Chrysalis_ angulated, covered with curious projections, making it look like a shrivelled leaf, dark in color.

These insects, which are strongly “protected,” abound in the forests of tropical America. There are many species, but only one occurs in our region.

GENUS HELICONIUS LATREILLE

[Illustration: PL. IV]

(1) _Heliconius charithonius_ (Linnæus). Plate IV, ♀ (The Zebra).

The figure suffices for identification. The caterpillar feeds upon the foliage of different species of Passion-flower. Common in the hot parts of the Gulf States, thence ranging all over the American tropics. Expanse 2.5 to 3.5 inches.

SUBFAMILY NYMPHALINÆ (THE NYMPHS).

The _butterflies_ belonging to this subfamily are usually medium-sized or large, although some are very small. Antennæ usually as long as, or longer than, the abdomen, more or less heavily clothed with scales. Palpi stout, densely clothed with hairs and scales. Thorax stout or very robust. Fore wings relatively broad, except in certain forms which mimic the _Heliconiinæ_, produced at apex, more or less excavated on outer margin; discoidal cell generally less than half the length of wing, and in most genera closed; costal vein terminating behind the middle of the front margin of the wing; the two inner subcostal nervules given off before, the outer subcostals beyond, the end of the cell. Hind wings rounded, or angulated, with the outer border either rounded, scalloped, or tailed, the inner border always forming a channel for the reception of the abdomen; discoidal cell often open, or closed by an almost imperceptible veinlet. _Eggs_ conoid, barrel-shaped, or globular, variously ornamented. _Larva_ when hatched with minute wart-like eminences, each bearing a hair, the hairs in later stages being replaced in many forms by branching spines. _Chrysalis_ suspended, variously ornamented, often having on the dorsal surface raised eminences, and the head bifurcate.

There are about thirty genera, containing somewhat less than two hundred species, which belong to this subfamily in the United States.

GENUS COLÆNIS DOUBLEDAY

The _butterflies_ of this genus mimic the Heliconians in form; their fore wings are long and narrow. The cell in the hind wing is open. There are a number of species, two of which are found in the hot parts of the Gulf States. The larvæ resemble those of the genera, _Dione_ and _Euptoieta_, and, like them, feed on the Passifloraceæ.

[Illustration: PL. V]

(1) _Colænis julia_ (Fabricius) (Julia). Plate V, ♂.

The figure on the plate obviates the necessity for a description. The insect occurs sparingly in Florida and in Texas, especially about Brownsville. It is very common in Mexico, and thence southward. Expanse 3 to 3.5 inches.

(2) _Colænis delila_ (Fabricius), Delila.

Imagine all the dark markings shown in the figure of _Colænis julia_ on Plate V effaced, and replaced by the lighter ground-color, only all of the wing a shade paler and yellower, and the fore wings a trifle more pointed at the tip, and you have a mental picture of this species, which has the same range as the one shown. Expanse 2.75 to 3.3 inches.

GENUS DIONE HÜBNER

This genus has the fore wings elongated, but less so than in _Colænis_. The cell in the hind wing is open. The palpi are much more robust and heavily clothed with hairs than in _Colænis_, thus resembling those of the genus _Argynnis_. Like _Argynnis_ the under side of the wings of all species of _Dione_ is spotted with silver.

There are a half dozen species of _Dione_ in the New World, all but one of which occur outside of our limits. They are gloriously beautiful insects.

[Illustration: PL. VI]

(1) _Dione vanillæ_ (Linnæus) (The Gulf Fritillary). Plate VI, ♂.

This lovely insect ranges from southern Virginia southward and westward to southern California, and thence further south, wherever the sun shines and Passion-flowers bloom. The figure on the plate does not show the magnificent markings of the under side of the wings, but catch one, and you will see that you have a beauty in your possession. Expanse 2.75 to 3.25 inches.

GENUS EUPTOIETA DOUBLEDAY

There are two species of this genus found in the United States. The _butterfly_ has the cell of the fore wing closed by a feeble veinlet and the cell of the hind wing open. The antennæ and palpi resemble those of the genus _Argynnis_. The under sides of the wings are not spotted with silvery marks.

[Illustration: PL. VII]

(1) _Euptoieta claudia_ (Cramer), The Variegated Fritillary. Plate VII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, _under side_.

The caterpillar feeds upon the leaves of Passion-flowers and violets. It is reddish yellow in color, with black spines on the segments, white spots on the back, and dark brown bands running the long way on the sides. The _chrysalis_ is pearly white mottled with black spots and streaks. The insect ranges from southern New England south and west, and is reported from as far north as Alberta. It goes as far as Argentina in the south. Expanse ♂, 1.75 to 2.25 inches; ♀, 2.25 to 2.75 inches.

(2) _Euptoieta hegesia_ (Cramer), The Mexican Fritillary.

Very much like the preceding species, only the wings, especially the hind wings, have very few dark markings, except about the borders, and the insect is smaller. Expanse ♂, 1.6 to 2.25; ♀, 2.25 to 2.5 inches.

Found in Texas, Arizona, and southward.

GENUS ARGYNNIS FABRICIUS

_Butterflies_ of medium or large size, generally of some shade of reddish fulvous, conspicuously marked on the upper side with dark spots and waved lines, which are less conspicuously repeated on the under side, and in many species in part replaced by silvery spots. In some species the males and the females are _dimorphic_, that is, very different in appearance from each other. The palpi are strongly developed and clothed heavily with hairs. The antennæ have a short, well-defined, flattened, somewhat spoon-shaped club. The cells of both fore and hind wings are closed. _Eggs_ cone-shaped, flattened, and depressed at the top, rounded at the base, ribbed both ways, mostly near the base. _Caterpillars_ dark in color, spiny, with the spines on the first segment the longest; feeding on violets at night, and hiding during the day. _Chrysalis_ angular, adorned with more or less prominent projections, head bifid.

This large genus has many species. It occurs in both hemispheres. Its metropolis is North America, and we can speak of only a few of the commoner and more conspicuous forms.

[Illustration: PL. VIII]

(1) _Argynnis idalia_ (Drury), The Regal Fritillary. Plate VIII, ♂.

The figure given will help the student to recognize this insect. The caterpillar, when fully grown, is about 1.75 inches in length, black, banded and striped with ochreous and orange-red, and ornamented with fleshy spines, of which the two rows on the back are white tipped with black, those on the sides black tinged with orange where they spring from the body. The chrysalis is brown mottled with yellow.

Ranges from Maine to Nebraska, and southward among the Appalachian highlands into West Virginia. Expanse 2.75 to 4 inches.

[Illustration: PL. IX]

[Illustration: PL. X]

(2) _Argynnis diana_ (Cramer), Plate IX, ♂; Plate X, ♀ (Diana).

This lovely insect is dimorphic, the male having the outer borders of the wings orange-fulvous, while the female has the wings bordered with blue spots. Expanse 3.75 to 4.5 inches.

It belongs to the southern Appalachian region, and ranges from West Virginia and the Carolinas to northern Georgia, thence westward to the Ozarks, being found sparingly in southern Ohio and Indiana, and commonly in parts of Kentucky.

[Illustration: PL. XI]

(3) _Argynnis leto_ Edwards, Plate XI, ♀ (Leto).

The male of this species is in some respects not unlike the two following species, but with the wings darker at their bases; the female, on the other hand, is quite different, the dark spots on the inner half of the wings running together and giving this part of the wings a dark brown or black appearance, while the outer borders are pale yellow. Expanse 2.5 to 3.25 inches.

This beautiful form occurs on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, in California and Oregon.

[Illustration: PL. XII]

(4) _Argynnis cybele_ (Fabricius), Plate XII, ♀, _under side_ (The Great Spangled Fritillary).

The male is bright reddish-fulvous on the upper side of the wings, with the characteristic dark markings of the genus; on the under side the wings are heavily silvered. There always is a pale yellowish submarginal band shown on the under side of the hind wings which does not appear in the next species, and by the presence or absence of which they may be discriminated from each other. The caterpillars hibernate as soon as hatched, and pass the winter in this state, feeding up and maturing in the following spring when the violets begin to grow. Expanse 3 to 4 inches.

This species ranges from Maine to Nebraska and southward to Georgia and Arkansas. It is our commonest species in the Middle States.

[Illustration: PL. XIII]

(5) _Argynnis aphrodite_ (Fabricius). Plate XIII, ♀, _under side_ (Aphrodite).

Closely resembling the preceding species, but smaller. The under side of the hind wings has the submarginal band narrower than in _A. cybele_ and often wholly wanting, as shown in the figure. The fore wings on the under side are redder at the base than in _A. cybele_. Expanse 3 to 3.5 inches.

The range is the same as that of the preceding species.