THE COMMON BUTTERFLIES 235 



knobs that shine like the precious metals. There is a superstition 

 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 butterfly. It 

 may be distinguished from the gray comma, which it very much 

 resembles, by the green tinge quite noticeable in the darker mark- 

 ings of the upper side of wing, and by the amount of olive green 

 and the very different pattern on the lower side of the wings, and a 

 quite different initial which is much like that of the hop merchant. 

 Its caterpillar is a little more than an inch long, reddish or yellowish 

 in color with a large patch of white on its back. Its branching 

 spines are light colored. It eats the leaves of black birch, willow, 

 alder, currant and gooseberry. 



The Gray Comma. — This butterfly always hibernates as an adult 

 and appears early in the spring. It especially frequents orchards. 



The Gray Comma 



Expanse about two inches. Color orange-red with black 

 spots brownish borders to the wings. The under sides of 

 the wings are "pepper and salt" arranged in wavy lines. 

 The "initial" a delicate wide-angled L. 



Its caterpillar attains the length of an inch and has a body yellow- 

 ish-brown marked with greenish-black. It has many branched 

 spines one pair being on the head. It feeds on currant, gooseberry, 

 and elm. 



THE SOVEREIGNS 



These butterflies are noted for the very interesting habits of the 

 caterpillar which are omitted here. The caterpillars when fuUy 

 grown are so covered with humps that they look most grotesque. 

 On the front end of the body is borne a pair of tiny tubercles that 

 look like pompoms. The chrysalis has a projection which resem- 

 bles a Roman nose. 



