74 BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA. 



dominates, sometimes almost to th^e exclusion of yellow; in another red 

 and yellow, much as in other allied species; on the third much yellow, 

 very little red; so that the black surface is more exposed than in many 

 species. 



1. The red form. The spots dull; the common marginal row wholly 

 red, the submarginal row sometimes red on primaries, sometimes red 

 partly replaced by yellow, and secondaries always red and yellow; the 

 the third row is red and yellow on primaries, red on secondaries, the 

 fourth row just the reverse of this; at end of cell on primaries a short 

 red and yellow band, m the cell four spots, red and yellow alternately, 

 from the arc, the yellow ones very small; on secondaries, a red stripe 

 along upper side of cell, two small yellow spots in cell; fringes black at 

 ends of the nervules, yellow in the interspaces. 



2. The spots of the second row red and yellow on primaries, yellow 

 on secondaries; the two next costa sometimes red on the posterior side; 

 the yellow spots in cell of primaries large, and a large yellow patch below 

 cell. 



3. Nearly all spots yellow; the marginal red; no other red on second- 

 aries, or a mere trace of it indicating the spots of the third row, which 

 are otherwise suppressed; the submarginal row of primaries represented 

 by a few scales only, as are also the spots in cell. 



On the under side all three forms agree; primaries dull red, almost 

 without black; the marginal spots a aeeper red, the next two rows yellow, 

 the submarginr.1 obsolete on lower half; a yellow pr.tcli subapical on costa, 

 another outside arc of cell ;the two cellular spots yellow, dusted red. 



Secondaries have all the spots clearly defined; the marginal row 

 red, the second row of yellow lunules; the third wholly red; the fourth 

 yellow, the spots of upper half elongated and cut unequally by a black 

 line from costa to lower discoidal nervule; beyond to base red, with a 

 straight row of four confluent spots from costa to sumedian, and a fifth 

 at end of cell. 



Female — Expands 1.7 to 1.8 inch, 40 to 42 mm. Varies as the male, 

 but some examples still more widely, the yellow spots being very lar.p;?. 

 On the under side as in the male, except that some examples have the 

 red submarginal spots of secondaries slightly edged with yellow; in the 

 more yellow upper side examples the yellow edging to these spots is 

 broader, and even sometimes extends along the marginal side. 



This small Melitaea has long been known in collections, but till re- 

 cently I myself have seen few of them, and knew nothing of its localities 

 or habits. Mr. Bruce, who took great numbers of examples, says: "I 

 found it only on high mountain tops (in Colorado) ; this was strictly the 

 rule. These tops are in most cases extensive plains covered with flow- 

 ers, chiefly yellow compositae, and the Melitaeas in question sit on every 

 blossom in numbers, and are very sluggish — or rather I may say, they sit 

 and cling tightly to the flowers to prevent the brisk wind, that is gen- 

 erally blowing at this elevation, from taking them away. I have never 

 seen them down the slope lower than a few hundred yards. It is an 

 abundant species on the Snowy Range at not lower than 12,000 feet, and 



