BUTTERFLIES OF THE DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA 85 



on the ground or head down on the trunks of trees, spreading its 

 wings nearly to the full extent, closing them two or three times, then 

 darting off again. It will often fly about an intruder, occasionally 

 perching for an instant on his clothing. It is frequently to be seen 

 sunning itself with the wings fully extended. It is rather sedentary 

 and, like nearly all our Avoodland butterflies, is prone to remain in the 

 same glade or clearing or along the same short stretch of road, if 

 frightened away, returning after a greater or lesser lapse of time. 



In the meadows it is less active, less wary, and less suspicious. Its 

 flights as a rule are short, and it seldom rises more than a foot or so 

 above the grass tops. If frightened it will either dash into a bush and 

 perch on one of the innermost branches, or after a short and usually 

 circuitous flight drop into the grass and hide. 



In open fields with widely scattered small trees, the red admiral 

 is fond of resting in the shade afforded by them, fluttering in and 

 out among the lower branches and alighting on their under sides, or 

 on the trunk, or sometimes on the ground beneath. 



It is fond of flowers, though it is much less frequently seen on them 

 than the two related species, for the reason that it is less of a wanderer 

 and therefore is less likely to stray to flowery fields and gardens. 

 It is especially fond of rotting fruit, and in autumn when it is most 

 abundant it is a frequent visitor to orchards and to vineyards. 



This butterfly is to some extent nocturnal. I have caught it at 

 night flying about electric lights, and others have done the same. It 

 has also repeatedly been taken at sugar bait prepared for noctuid 

 moths. 



Almost without exception the individuals of this species caught in 

 the open have more or less torn and ragged, or at least rubbed, wings. 

 I have caught specimens in which the hind wings were almost entirely 

 torn away and which, as a result, had a curious hovering flight like 

 that of the hovering skipper {Poanes ^nassasoit). Quite frequently 

 the hind wings will be nearly or quite half gone and the outer border 

 of the fore wings will be worn off to just within the outer row of 

 Avhite spots and the lower outer end of the red band. 



This mutilation, commonly attributed to birds, is due to the habit 

 of spending the night deep down in the grass or in the far interior 

 of thickets or of vines. A luxuriant growth of ivy on a wall is a 

 very favorite place for a night's rest, and I have several times late 

 in the afternoon in autumn watched individuals crawl into the vines 

 covering the east wall of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at 

 Harvard University. No matter how deeply the insect may crawl into 

 a thicket or a mass of vines, it almost invariably flies out, and in this 

 way rubs and tears its wings. 



Seasons. — The red admiral appears in the second week of May, 

 when ragged individuals that have survived the winter come from 



