58 



BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA. 



liind wings are cinnamon brown with a narrow sub-marginal band. The 

 silver spots are more or less edged with black. 



Early Stages — The eggs are short, conoidal, honey yellow and ribbed. 

 The caterpillar has a velvety black spot at the base of each spine, the 

 chrysalis has the tubercles on the back short, and the basal segments are 

 partly colored. The caterpillar feeds on violets. 



Distribution — It is found in the northern and middle western states. 

 Taken in the state by Wiley at Miles City, and by Elrod at Missoula. 

 Cooley has one specimen from near Bozeman at 4,200 feet, July 20. Cou- 

 iDcaux reports it common in Bear Paw Mountains. 



Var. alcestis, Edwards, Fig. 47, the Ruddy Silver-spot is very much 

 like aphrodite, but distinguished from it by the fact that the hind wings 

 are uniformly dark cinnamon brown, without any band of buff on the 

 outer margin. It is of the same expanse as aphrodite. It is said to 

 largely replace aphrodite in the western states. Indeed, there is likely 

 to be difficulty in separating alcestis from the true form of aphrodite. 



Fig. 47. Argynnis aphrodite, var. alcestis, lower side. 



Alcestis has been taken by Elrod at Missoula and Flathead Lake, by 

 Douglass in the Madison valley. The latter closely i-esemble aphrodite 

 from Miles City. By far the greater number of specimens examined are 

 .aphrodite, and not var, alcestis. 



