80 THE COMMON EH BUTTERFLIES. 



to lay eggs, nor has he found mature eggs in the bodies of 

 females at that season. The male has no perceptible odor. 



8. Genus Speyekia. 

 SPEYERIA IDALIA— THE REGAL FRITILLARY. 



(Argynnis idalia.) 



Butterfly. — Upper surface of fore wings brilliaiit orange, 

 marked with black, much after the pattern of Argynnis ; of hind 

 wings purpUsh bkxck, with an extramesial bent series of cream- 

 colored roundish spots and a subniarginal series of similar spots, 

 cream-colored in the female, orange in the male. Under surface 

 of fore wings as in Argynnis, of hind wings dark olivaceous, 

 heavily marked, Argynnis-fashion, with series of large silvery 

 spots, edged, especially on the basal side, with bhick. Expanse 

 3^4 inches. 



Caterpillar. — Head black below, reddish above. Body s])inous, 

 velvety black, heavily banded and striped witli ochrey yellow or 

 reddish; spines corneous, mostly yellowish, the spinules black. 

 Length If inches. 



Chrysalis. — Brown, tinged with pink and marked with black in 

 rather small spots, scattered over the thorax and wings and in 

 front of, sometimes including, the tubercles. Length more than 

 1 inch. 



The eggs, which are short sugar-loaf-shaped, broader 

 than high, tapering rapidly, with sixteen to eighteen verti- 

 cal ribs and pale green, are laid singly on the food -plant, 

 probably on the under side of the leaves; they hatch in 

 about thirty days. The caterpillars at once hibernate after 

 devouring their egg-shells, or possibly some remain in the 

 ^g^ all winter. The remainder of the life-history transpires 

 the next season, the caterpillar feeding upon violets (and 

 Compositae ?), the chrysalis hanging (in the single instance 

 recorded, in West Virginia) seventeen days. The butter- 

 fly is somewhat local and is found in open breezy places, oc- 

 curring only in a relatively narrow belt across the country, 

 following the annual isotherm of 50° F.; it flies low and 



