112 BULLETIN UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA. 



aislikes Atlantis or not was not apparent. It appeared more a curiosity- 

 move, but was not displayed toward the others. 



Phyciodes tharos was abundant, and had been several days. Light, 

 graceful and delicate, it rested airily on the broad white umbels of the 

 Spiraea, when it would spread its wings to their fullest extent and fan 

 them gently up and down. Its flight is more graceful and undulating 

 than that of the Argynnids. It moves more slowly, keeps in the open, 

 and for that reason was not difficult to capture. It was taken while 

 waiting for others to appear. 



Lycaona meliasa, the orange-margined blue, was less abundant along 

 the roadside than on former days. It is a delicate little butterfly of 

 wondrous beauty~in color. It expands only about an inch. The males 

 are blue-violet above with a delicate fringe or border of white scales 

 to the wings. The female is dark brown with eye spots on the wing 

 margins, surrounded by orange, giving the appearance of an orange band. 

 It is underneath that the gorgeous colors appear. The spots with their 

 border of gold and dust of silver, on a light grey background, and set out 

 in contrast to the pure white brush like margin, call for admiration from 

 all. Along the roadside they slowly flitted, mostly males, but now and 

 then a female, occasionally seeming to hobnob with tharos, but always 

 in graceful contrast to the more swiftly moving Argynnids. They were 

 •easy to take, but previously many had been captured. 



A single Lorquin'a. admiral Basilachia lorquina, was captured as it 

 was being gently wafted along a side road by the breeze. 



Down among the red cedars along the rocky lake shore a female Par- 

 nassius smintheus was resting on a weed. She was royal in her array 

 of delicate red, creamy white and drab gray. Upon the hilltop one must 

 usually search for smintheus, for it is an alpine species, among the rocky 

 summits where grow the sedum and saxifrages. It is rather suprising 

 to find it at the level of the lake, about 2,900 feet, yet on several previous 

 occasions it has been seen and captured. 



Shortly after four in the afternon the trees were casting longer shad- 

 ows, and already the cool of evening was being felt in the woods. The 

 sun in the insects' god. When it shines all is life and activity. The 

 whirr of the bettle's wings is heard, and the bumble bee hums from 

 flower to flower, flies and gnats fill the air, dragonflies and damselflies 

 «kim the surface of the water, and butterflies disport themselves on airy 

 ■wing. But when a passing cloud obscures the sun, or evening approaches, 

 every form of insect life, except the mosquito and gnats, seems to feel 

 the depression, and goes to cover. Where or what the cover is, who can 

 tell? Two hours of brief collecting, and the work of the afternoon was 

 over. The net result was forty butterflies and two moths, embracing 

 the following species: Colias alexandra, Argynnis atlantis, abundant; 

 Argynnis leto, less common; Lycaena melissa, quite common; Phyciodes 

 tharos, common; Basilarchia lorquina, a single specimen; Parnassius 

 smintheus, a single specimen; Argynnis hesperis, rare; a small black but- 

 terfly, of undeterminable species, two specimens; total, forty speci- 

 mens, eight species. 



This was a good day. Many and many a day in Montana has resulted 

 In a third of this catch. Both species and specimens are lacking in 



