104 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



LIMENITIS ARTHEMIS, ETC. 



BY JOHN B. SMITH, NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. 



The paper by Mr. W, H. Edwards in the March number of the 

 Canadian Entomologist brought back to me vividly my collecting days 

 in the Catskills, and as I have also taken arthemis, proserpina and 

 Ursula, perhaps my experiences may not be entirely uninteresting. It 

 was sixteen years ago that I set out for a two weeks' tramp in the moun- 

 tains, and as it was my first experience with them, the memory of that 

 trip is yet more distinct than of many subsequent excursions. I arrived 

 at Catskill village soon after sunrise, and before noon was close to the 

 foot of the mountain. I saw more butterflies there than I had ever seen 

 at any one time before, and gathered in a large harvest, of Argynnids 

 more especially. Limenitis Ursula was abundant, but as this was already 

 an old acquaintance, I captured only such as offered themselves too 

 temptingly. My objective point for that day was the Mountain House on 

 the summit, and soon after I started the climb I noticed that ursula 

 became smaller, and had an odd look somehow. I took a few^ and 

 above the Rip Van Winkle House began to take arthemis, and saw no 

 more ursula. I stopped at the Rip Van Winkle, deeming it a good col- 

 lecting centre, and stayed there a week. On the second day a colony of 

 ants invaded my room, and before I discovered them, destroyed a large 

 part of my first day's collecting. I threw away all the ursula, but saved 

 some of the odd-looking specimens which had suffered little, and these 

 'pxov&di proserpifta. I took arthemis on the top of the mountain, but no 

 vcioxe proserpina. Had I known the insect, I could no doubt have cap- 

 tured many, lower down the road, but I never tramped that way. In five 

 different, not consecutive years thereafter, I visited the Catskills, but made 

 Lexington, only a itw miles — six, I believe — west of Hunter, my stop- 

 ping place. This is about 2,000 feet above sea level, though lower than 

 Hunter. To reach it from the U, & D. R. R. meant a 13 mile drive 

 from Shandaken through the " notch," which is nearly a duplicate of 

 Stony Clove. In this " notch," which I often visited, I took many a 

 good insect, and it was a reliable locality for artheviis. They were very 

 abundant always, though rather shy; but I never {onxxd proserpina during 

 the five years I collected there. But on the other hand I took ursula on 

 both sides of the pass, both at Shandaken and at Westkill, and along the 

 banks of the Schoharie at Lexington. There is no doubt, therefore, that 



