16 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



REMARKS, CRITICAL AND SUGGESTIVE, ON THE GENUS 

 LIMENITIS EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



BY ROBERT M. GREY, KENWOOD, ALBANY CO., N. Y. 



Demonstrations from examples taken by me during the past three 

 years, and from examples taken in Farmington, Conn., twenty years ago, 

 give indubitable evidence that our Limenitis are plastic forms of one species, 

 accommodating themselves readily to the environment, assuming colors 

 from climatic effect or different seasons and localities, or for purposes of 

 protection — the form L. disippus being mimetic of plexippus, as already 

 suggested by authors. My conclusions are drawn from the following 

 observations : Near the Hudson River I find Ursula and proserpina in 

 close association, each partaking of the markings of the other, evidently 

 one brood, alighting on the same heap of pomace ; expansion of wings 

 three to three and a half inches. About six miles from the river ursula 

 and proserpina are equally abundant, with a few arthemis and rarely a 

 disippus. Expansion of the wings of the four about two and a half inches ; 

 all found in one glade. From this to the highest tables of the Helderberg 

 Hills, ursula gradually disappears and only proserpina and arthemis are 

 found, the latter most abundant. In the low lands disippus, ursula and 

 proserpina are only found ; in intermediate broken lands ursula, proserpina 

 and arthemis are chiefly found ; at the highest altitudes only proserpina 

 and arthemis are found, and examinations of many examples from the 

 different localities show that these forms approach each other very closely. 



In December, 1877, I sent a melanitic form of disippus to W. H. 

 Edwards, Esq., for his examination, and in a communication written to 

 Mr. Edwards at the time, I ventured the assertion of all being one 

 species. As Mr. Edwards did not notice it in a future communication, I 

 took it as a gentle way of dealing with an absurdity. From captures 

 made since I am convinced that all our Limenitis have one origin. In 

 proof I have in my collection a disippus without the division line on 

 secondaries ; some with narrow and others with broad mesial lines. In 

 one example the dividing line is extended to a broad band, with blue 

 crescents in marginal, and red lunules in submarginal band. An arthemis 

 from the white band to margin is the exact counterpart of it ; in one 

 example, on the under surface of secondaries inside of mesial line, are 

 white lunules. 



