120 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 

 The Monarch Butterpt^y and its Mimic 



-^-> 



LL through the summer 

 and fall one may find 

 the reddish colored 



^ Monarch butterfly 



abroad in the meadows. In 

 the initial drawing it is de- 

 picted with its companion 

 ' ' v'* species, the \ iceroy, on one 



^.. of its favorite food flowers. 



On sunny days, wherever clumps of 

 »:. the boneset flowers were found, I 



was reas()nal)ly certain to find the 

 Monarch, although it was a frequent 

 / visitor to many other flowers. 



It lays its eggs on the leaves of the milkweed, and after 

 hatching, the larva? find their suitable food readily at hand 

 during their development. These familiar larva* are marked 

 with light or lemon-colored bands traversed with shining l)lack. 

 The plump green chrysalis will be easily distinguished by its 

 ornamentation of metallic golden-hued spots. The chrysalids 

 are often attached to the stems of plants near to the ground, 

 or they are sometimes found hanging from the lower edge of 

 outside clapboards of houses. The Viceroy butterfly, shown in 

 the plate illustration and on page 133, bears a close resemblance 

 to the Monarch. Even after one knows both butterflies it is 

 not easy in the field to distinguish the two. However, the 

 resemblance is only superficial, being confined to color. The 



