86 THE REPORT OF THE [ No. 19 



of an out of door ii sect in this country than we at present suppose, though we know that, 

 at home in Europe from whence we received it, the insect is unknown as a household 

 pest. 



Anthrenus varius Fab., I have taken in the blossoms of Tulip, in connection with 

 the preceding, and also by itself in the Peony blossoms in June. A single individual 

 was found in a breeding cage, supposed to be secure against the ingress as well as the 

 egress of the smallest insects, in which were thorns of the Honey Locust, infested with 

 lepidopterous larvje. Of course, in this case, the beetle might have made its way into the 

 cage, though the probabilities are that it did not. I have reared either this species or 

 A. muscBorum Linn., from masses of spiders' nejts mingled with the bodies of dead insects, 

 as well as the living, in hibernation, under the loose bark of a hickory tree. 



NOTES ON DANAIS ARCHIPPUS. 

 By C. W, Nash, Toronto. 



During the past season (1900) I have made the following notes of the movements of 

 this butterfly in the neighbourhood of Toronto : 



June 14th. — Saw first Arcbippus butterflies. There were three of them loiterinsr 

 over the willow bushes near the shore of Lake Ontario. They were much faded and 

 ragged ; all of them were flying eastward. 



June 20Lh. — Archippus butterflies are now^ common. All are very dull coloured ; 

 their scales being worn oflF and wings ragged, they look old. 



July 21st. — I examined a lirge number of Asclepias for Archippus larvae, but found 

 only one, about half-grown. The butterflies are common, but all seen are dull and worn. 



July 22ad. — On a small patch of Asclepias, near my house, I found a number of 

 Archippus larvae of various si^zes, some very small and ranging up to full-grown ones ; 

 also found several chrysalids. 



I watched several of these chrysalids for some time, but not one of those I kept nnder 

 observation produced a living butterfly. In each case the insect reached the perfect stage, 

 or nearly so, and then died in the shell. None of these appeared to be parasitized ; they 

 simply dried up. 



August 5 ch. — Archippus butterflies are now congregating about the trees near my 

 house, where they roost ; some of the fl Dcks contain over one hundred. These are all 

 large, bright coloured specimen?, evidently produced this season. 



September 4th. — Archippus butterflies were streaming along the lake shore in 

 myriads all this afternoon, I travelled through the flock for about five miles, and in that 

 distance there was no break in the flight; all of them vere flying westward. At times 

 individuals would alight on the ground, always with their heads pointing westward. They 

 seemed generally to select a shady spot to alight on, and in some places the ground was 

 covered with them. After resting a few minutes they would get up again and go on with 

 the flying crowds. The wind was from the north-west, very light, in fact scarcely per- 

 ceptib e. 



Just at sunset I visited the trees they frequent near my house and found a great many 

 roosting there. 



September 6th. — Very few Archippus butterflies about to-day. 



September 7 th. — Only saw a few individuals. 



September 28th. — Saw a few Archippus butterflies to-day, perhaps half a dozen. 



October 6th. — A few Archippus still about. 



Prof. Com stock and some other entomologists say that no birds will eat the D. 

 Archippus. This is a mistake, so far as the butterfly is concerned, for I have myself taken 

 them from the stomach of cuckoos. So far I have not identified the larvae in the stomach 

 of any bird, and it may be that they are never eaten by them. 



[At London, Ontario, this year the Archippus butterfly was seen as late as Novem- 

 ber 2nd. A specimen captured on the 27th of October lived for over a fortnight in the 

 Society's room and died apparently from a chill, as it had been left on the windowsill one 

 cold night.] 



