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Home Nature-Study Course. 



wings are mottled in dull colors so that they resemble dead leaves or 

 grass. All one of these butterflies has to do to become invisible when 

 resting on the ground is to close its wings above its back, and it is then 

 almost impossible for the eye to detect it. 



The Violet Tip. — This is the largest of the polygons and tlic most 

 ,'^'- graceful in furm of all but- 



terflies. It winters as an 

 adult. The caterpillar is 

 yellowish-brown with ir- 

 regular spots and marks of 

 lighter color. It has many 

 branching spines, one pair 

 being on the top of the 

 head. It feeds on elm, hop, 

 nettle, linden, and hack- 

 berry. 



The Hop Merchant. — 



This looks on the upper 



»side like a dwarf violet tip, 



for the margins of the 



THE VIOLET TIP 



Expanse, two and one-half to three inches. Color, 

 rich orange red spotted with black. The margins 

 of the wings and the tails tinted with violet color 



The hind wings bearing a large silver semicolon wings are tinged with vio- 



let. It hibernates as a but- 



•^^ 



o 



on the lower side. 



terfly and is one of the 

 earliest that we see in the 

 woods in the spring. Its 

 caterpillar is about an inch 

 long, dark brown or green- 

 ish, with blotches and lines 

 and adorned with thorny 

 spines, one pair of which is 

 on the head. It feeds on 

 hops, nettle and elm. The 

 chrysalis is a beautiful oIj- 

 ject ornamented with knobs 

 that shine like the precious 

 metals. There is a super- 

 stitioJi that if these knobs 

 are golden the price of hops will be high; if they are silver, the price will 

 be low. 



' The Green Comma. — This always hibernates as a butlcrfly. It may 



be distinguished from the gray comma, which it very much resembles, by 



'the green tinge quite noticeable in the darker markings of the upper side 



of wing, and by the amount of olive green and the very difl^erent pattern 



on the lower side of the wings, and a quite different initial. Its cater- 



TIIE HOP MERCHANT 



Expanse, two inches. Color, bright orange-red 

 ivith black spots. The borders of the wings 

 dark brown, shading off to violet at the margin. 

 The "initial" on the lower side of the hind 

 ivings is like a badly made G. 



