BUTTERFLIES OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 33 



wing, and at the same time appear the earliest individuals of the 

 dusky skippers (Thanaos) and of the tailed blue {Everes comyntas). 



At the end of the first week in April, when the redbud {Cercis 

 canadensis)^ the springbeauty {Claytonia vlrginica), the delicate 

 white {Viola striata) and coarse purple (F. hirsuta) violets, the star 

 chickweed {Stellarla yubera)^ and the saxifrage {Saxifraga vir- 

 ginica) are at their very best, a walk through the still leafless woods 

 will reveal a quite unexpected wealth of butterflies. 



Hop merchants, question marks, and Camberwell beauties are sur- 

 prisingly common, especially the first. At this season they are very 

 easily seen as they wander through the woods. They usually fly 4 

 or 5 feet above the ground, but on occasion will rise high among the 

 topmost branches of the trees. At this time they are scattered more 

 or less uniformly through the naked woods, instead of being most 

 frequent on the borders of woods, along roads, and about clearings 

 as in the summer ; and, furthermore, they are confined to the woods, 

 not straying out over the open country as they do in autumn. 



Together with these in the woods are seen numerous white swallow- 

 tails, a few orange tips of both sexes, and a few dusky skippers. On 

 the borders of the woods and in bushy areas the common blue is very 

 frequent, and already the individuals of both sexes are largely frayed 

 and worn. Widely scattered males of the yellow swallowtail are 

 noticed, and a few individuals of both sexes of the tailed blue are to 

 be found. The cabbage butterfly now is common everywhere in open 

 areas. 



The earliest individuals of the dusky skippers take little interest in 

 flowers. They are to be found sunning themselves on woodland roads, 

 flitting about mud banks, or flying among the leafless branches of the 

 trees from 10 to 20 feet or more above the ground. 



During the second week in April the tailed blues and the dusky 

 skippers increase in numbers and become common, and by the end of 

 the second week a few pearl crescents {Phyciodes tharos) and oc- 

 casional males of the yellow clover butterfly {Golias philodice) have 

 appeared. The yellow swallowtails are still represented only by small 

 males. 



During the third week in April males of the 3^ellow clover butter- 

 fly become more frequent, and both yellow and white females are 

 occasionally seen. Most interesting of the butterflies appearing at 

 this time is the grizzled darter {Pyrgus centaureae) . In the District 

 it is known to fly only in the last half of April, when the temperature 

 is approximately the same as it is in midsummer in the far northern 

 regions where elsewhere this little butterfly has its home. 



THE END OF THE SEASON 



The end of the season in the fields at Cabin John may well be 

 illustrated by two visits made on October 6 and 7, 1928. Though 



