1865.] 



2 19 



expanse, any of the former; — on the other hand, the least that I have 

 ever collected, were females, taken in the vicinity of Philadelphia. 



Ornamentation affords a much greater range of variability. Consid- 

 ering the male first, some of the most striking peculiarities upon the 

 upper surface, are manifested in the black margin ; this is exceedingly 

 subject to variation; in some specimens being very wide, in others, 

 narrowing to the width of a line : nor is this always in accordance with 

 the size of the insect. 



Sometimes, it is perfectly traversed by yellow veins ; in some, all 

 these are commenced, proceeding but part way; in others, they are 

 found near the apex only, and frequently, not at all. 



Another great point of difference, is in the manner in which this 

 border is super-imposed upon the yellow ground color. It is usually 

 crenated within ; rarely parallel with the margin ; the curves varying 

 through all possible degrees of length and depth ; sometimes there are 

 a few prominent projections, and the rest of the outline sinks into a 

 common level. 



The degree of prolongation upon the inner margin, varies consider- 

 ably ; sometimes terminating abruptly at the inner angle ; sometimes 

 rising a short distance on the margin, and very rarely, to two-thirds its 

 length. This last extreme, I have seen in but one specimen, (N) taken 

 at Schooley's Mountain, N. J. 



The discoidal point of the primaries ranges from a narrow black line, 

 to a large oval spot, and in one specimen, now in the Cabinet of the 

 Society, taken in this city by Mr. James Ridings, it is prolonged out- 

 wardly in the form of a sagittate dash, connected with the border by 

 an interrupted line. 



The secondaries usually present but little change, except conjointly 

 with the primaries, in the quantity of black basal atoms, but one spe- 

 cimen (E. of my Cabinet) which I took last summer at Harrisburg, 

 has the abdominal margin strongly powdered with black scales. The 

 discoidal spots vary from almost total obsolescence, to a very vivid 

 orange, frequently geminate. 



A specimen, (K) caught near this city, in the summer of 1863, dif- 

 fers so much from the others, that I shall describe it more fully. 



The insect ( £ ) is of small size — expanse 1.85 inches ; bright yellow. 

 The black margin of the primaries is prolonged up the veins, forming 

 very deep scallops, and contains a transverse line of four sub-quadrate 

 spots, near the apex. On the secondaries, the border is very narrow 

 and indistinct, scarcely extending to the middle of the margin. Cilias 

 on the apex of the primaries, and anal angle, very pale roseate, else- 



