184 [March 



descriptions. But Faunus has the surface beautifully marbled in several 

 colors. 



That this question of resemblance might be carefully determined, I en- 

 closed specimens of Faunus to Mr. H. T. Stainton, whose work on British 

 Butterflies I have quoted, and who would be well acquainted with C. 

 album, which is a common British species, requesting his opinion as to its 

 identity with the other. I have received the following reply : — 



" Lewisham, near London, Kith FtVy, 1862. 

 Dear Sir : — I have carefully examined the Butterflies enclosed in your 

 letter of 16th Dec, and have compared them with American specimens in 

 the collection of the British Museum. No. 2 (Faunus) is a distinct, un- 

 named species, which, in the ' List of Lepidoptera in the British Museum, 



Part I., 184-4,' follows V. Progne as ' Vanessa ? from Martin's 



Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay.' " 



As the "List'' referred to was prepared by Mr. Doubleday, we may 

 conclude that he also regarded Gr. Faunus as distinct from C. album of 

 Europe. 



Gr. Interrogationis presents an interesting anomaly. We constantly 

 find at least three well-marked varieties, one much larger than the others, 

 plain colored below in both sexes, with no markings except a dark irregu- 

 lar band across the middle of the wings. A second variety is much mottled 

 on the under side, and approaches Comma, and the third is closely allied 

 to Comma, having, in addition to the marks of the second variety, the 

 double marginal series of spots so characteristic of the smaller Gl-raptas, 

 the outer one being blue-green, the inner, black or brown. These varie- 

 ties would seem to be intermediate species, but hitherto, from the diffi- 

 culty of identifying the larvae as coming from the same laying of eggs, 

 and their perplexing variation of color and markings, and from their feed- 

 ing on the same plants at the same seasons, they have been a puzzle to 

 collectors. Boisduval and Leconte say : " If we had not obtained all 

 these varieties from the same caterpillar, we could easily make three 

 species." 



