FAMILY BRUSH-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES. 81 



with no great rapidit}^, settling suddenly, and is single- 

 brooded, the males appearing at the very end of June or 

 early in July, the females [ibout ten days later, and both 

 continuing on the wing until near the end of September, 

 fresh specimens coming from the chrysalis until after the 

 middle of August, indicating probably some lethargy in the 

 caterpillars. The eggs are not laid until the last of August 

 and usually not until Sej^tember. This is one of our show- 

 iest butterflies and the male has a slight musky odor. 



9. Genus Ecptoieta. 

 EUPTOIETA CLAUDIA— THE VARIEGATED FRITILLARY. 



(Argynnis columbina ) 



Butterfly. — Upper surface of wings pale fulvous, darker in the 

 basal half, with an irregular, transverse, black mesial line, darker, 

 broader, and much more abruptly zigzag on the fore than on the 

 hind wing, and a pair of extramesial, moi'e or less wavy brown 

 lines enclosing between them a series of round blackish spots. 

 Under surface of fore wings much like the upper, with the addi- 

 tion of a large apical clouded patch of gray and brown, obliquely 

 divided; of hind wings dark yellowish brown with the markings 

 of the upper surface obscurely repeated and overlaid by hoary 

 patches and streaks, especially forming a marginal and a broad 

 extramesial band, in both more intense in tint toward the costal 

 margin. Expanse more than 2 to nearly 3 inches. 



Caterpillar. — Head blackish, orange above. Body spinous, 

 very variable in color but generally of some glistening shade of 

 reddish orange, twice longitudinally banded on each side with 

 black, enclosing or partly enclosing squarish white spots. Length 

 IJ inches. 



Chrysalis. — Silvery white, dotted and blotched with black ; 

 wings much blotched with black; tubercles gilt, but sometimes 

 silvery behind, nearly encircled with black. Length f inch. 



The eggs, which are short sugar-loaf-shaped, with from 

 thirty to forty vertical ribs and pale green, are laid singly 

 on the food-plant and hatcli in from five to twelve da3^s. 



