BUTTERFLIES OP THE DISTRICT OP COLtTMBIA 231 



feeds by preference on tall yellow composite flowers. It is a very 

 active insect, rather shy, and very pugnacious. 



My experience with this species in the vicinity of the District has 

 been that the males and females are seldom found together. The 

 males keep rather strictly to the banks of streams flowing through 

 the woods, or to damp glades, where the females are never seen, while 

 the females wander rather widely over open fields. In New England, 

 however, both males and females are found in the same areas. 



Genus ATRYTONOPSIS Godman and Salvin 



ATRYTONOPSIS HIANNA (Scudder) 



Plate 14, Figures 4 to 6 



I took a single female of this species at Cabin John, Md., on June 

 2, 1929. It should be not uncommon here, as it occurs as far south 

 as Ealeigh and Tryon, N. C. 



Very different from the typical female recorded above is another 

 taken at Cabin John on August 26, 1929, and kindly identified for 

 me by Foster H. Benjamin. It is very dark in color. The hoary 

 bloom on the underside is absent except for a narrow border on the 

 fore wings confined to the upper half and twice as broad opposite 

 the cell as elsewhere, which is tinged with dull violet. The hind 

 wings below are deep brown obscurely washed with dull violet in 

 the outer fourth and with a large indefinite patch of this color just 

 within the middle of the wing. There are no white spots on the 

 hind wings below. So far as I am aware there are no previous 

 records for this species anywhere later than June. 



Genus AMBLYSCIRTES Scudder 



AMBLYSCIRTES VIALIS (Edwards) 



Roadside Skipper 

 Plate 52, Figures 17, 18 



Occurrence. — This little butterfly is not very common. It is 

 found in damp meadows and along the grassy sides of roads through 

 moist ground where it flies in company with the least skipper 

 {Ancyloxypha nunrdtoT). The Schonborn collection includes one 

 from the District taken on April 30, Mr. Shoemaker has specimens 

 from the District without date, and I have one taken by the side of a 

 wooded road at Riverdale, Md., on July 23, 1928. I noticed it in 

 the same place May 30, 1929. 



Remarks. — The flight of this species is very swift for such a 

 small butterfly, and so irregular as to be difficult to follow with the 

 66544—32 16 



