Genus Dircenna 
/ 
parent, colorless spots at the apex, on the outer borders, and on 
\he middle of the wing. The inner margin of the fore wing 
is black. The hind wings are transparent yellowish, with a narrow 
black outer border marked with small whitish spots. The body 
is black, with the thorax spotted with white. Expanse, 2.75 
inches. 
The specimen figured in the plate is from Mexico. Whether 
the insect has ever been taken within the limits of the United 
States is uncertain. It is another of the species attributed to our 
fauna by Reakirt, but which since his day has not been caught 
in the nets of any of the numerous butterfly-hunters who have 
searched the region in which he said it occurs. It may, however, 
be found upon the borders of Mexico, in the hotter parts of 
which country it is not at all uncommon. The “gentle reader” 
will kindly look for it when visiting Brownsville, Texas, and 
southern California, and, when finding it, herald the fact to the 
entomological world. 
SUPERSTITIONS 
“ If a butterfly alights upon your head, it foretells good news from a distance. 
This superstition obtains in Pennsylvania and Maryland. 
“The first butterfly seen in the summer brings good luck to him who catches it. 
This notion prevails in New York. 
“ In western Pennsylvania it is believed that if the chrysalids of butterflies be found 
suspended mostly on the under sides of rails, limbs, etc., as it were to protect, them 
from rain, there will soon be much rain, or, as it is termed, a * rainy spell ’; but, on the 
contrary, if they are found on twigs and slender branches, that the weather will be 
dry and clear.”— Frank Cowan, Curious History of Insects , p. 229. 
QO 
