BUTTERFLIES OF MONTANA. 

 THE VICEROY, Basilarchia archippus, Cramer. 



103 



Fig. 81. Basilarchia archippus, From water color drawing by Mrs. Edith 



Ricker. 



Butterfly — Upper surface fulvous, the lines black; on the fore wings 

 a dark triangular patch, containing three white spots on the costa beyond 

 the cell, continued to the posterior angle in a narrow line. A black line 

 crosses the hind wings about two-thirds of the distance from the base. 

 Outer border black containing a row of white spots, and there are two 

 ante-apical white spots; the lower one quite small. Underside similar 

 to upper, paler fulvous. The fringes are black, spotted with white. 



Earley Stages — The larva feeds upon willow, popular, balm of gilead, 

 aspen, and cottonwood. It is two or three brooded. 



Distribution — Found over nearly the whole of the United States as 

 far west as the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and has been found sparingly 

 even to the Pacific coast, near our northern boundaries. 



B. archippus is injurious to the oak and to the wild plum. 



This species mimics the Monarch butterfly Anosia plexippus, so 

 abundant in the eastern states. The Monarch is sparingly found in the 

 western part, rather abundant east. The eastern milkweed is gaining 

 a footing along the railroads, and with it the Monarch is probably on the 

 increase. The writer has not taken the Viceroy west of the range, but 

 Mr. E. N. Brandegee has some specimens from Gold Creek, west of the 

 range, which he collected and which the writer has seen. Cooley re- 

 ports it as occasional near Bozeman, while Wiley calls it rare and local 

 about Miles City. Douglass collected one specimen at Fish Creek. — 

 Coubeaux has collected it at Big Sandy. 



