FAMILY BRUSH-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES. 9.5 



by not very long black spines. Body spinous, brownish yellow, 

 with a large dorsal white patch on posterior half of body in strik- 

 ing contrast to the rest ; spines white. Length 1} inches. 



Clirysalis. — Pale wood-brown, streaked with dusky green ; 

 ocellar tubercles equal on basal half, conical beyond, the notch 

 between them deeper than broad ; largest tubercles of abdominal 

 segments not very much larger than the others. Length nearly 

 1 inch. 



The grass-green, barrel-shaped, ribbed eggs are laid 

 singly on the upper surface of the leaves of the food-plant 

 and hatch in one week. The caterpillar feeds principally 

 on willow and black birch, but has also been taken on 

 alder, currant, and wild gooseberry; it does not devour its 

 egg-shell on hatching, but immediately crawls to the under 

 side of the leaf, otherwise living openly and making no 

 sort of nest. The chrysalis state lasts from eight to fifteen 

 days. The butterfly is a northern species, not occurring 

 in the east south of Massachusetts (except along the Ap- 

 palachians), though in the Mississip23i Valley it comes as 

 far south as Iowa and northern Nebraska. It is very 

 active in its movements, partial to roadw^ays, especially 

 through the forest, and although on the wing the entire 

 summer appears to be only single-brooded. It hibernates 

 as a butterfly and lays eggs in the latter half of May and 

 throughout June, and about the middle of July the brood 

 of butterflies of the season appears while some of the 

 hibernators are still on the wing; butterflies continue to 

 emerge from the chrysalis for a month, and it is not until 

 the middle of October that they have all retired to winter 

 quarters. 



POLYGONIA COMMA— THE HOP MERCHANT. 



(Vanessa comma, Grapta couiina, Vanessa c-album, Grapta dryas, 



Nymphalis dryas.) 



Butterfly. — Middle of the outer margin of fore wings distinctly 

 crenate ; tail of hind wings not more than twice as long as broad; 



