1902 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 63 



August. But what butterfly laid it ? Certainly not one of the worn and discoloured spring 

 immigrants. No one, I am sure, ever saw one of them laying eggs as late as the middle of 

 August. What reason is there against supposing tnat it was laid by a butterfly which emerged 

 about the end of July or beginning of August from an egg laid by an immigrant the last of June 

 or beginning of July ? 



I accept the colonization theory, but I see no reason to accept the extraordinary hypothesis 

 that this species practises celibacy for a year from its birth. 



In regard to the autumnal gatherings, which I regret to say I have never observed, Mr. 

 Moffat's belief seems to require our acceptance of an intelligence scarcely less than human. He 

 speaks of the working of their " minds," claims that a rendezvous is selected, but whether 

 by a representative "committee on place of meeting" duly elected for the purpose, oris 

 named by some Napoleon or Lars Porsena among them, we are not told, and that then messen- 

 gers are .sent forth east and west and north, if not south, to summon the array. 



Such a belief is, to me at least, incredible. I have never seen one of these gatherings, but 

 do not doubt that they frequently occur, but I think that if they occurred regularly every 

 year, and that if annual flights to the south were also of yearly occurrence many more observa- 

 tions would have been made and recorded, on account of the size and conspicuous appearance 

 of the species, but I see no reason to attribute anything semi-miraculous to these gatherings. 



Tt is well known that in some years this butterfly occurs in much greater numbers than in 

 others, and it would seem probable that marked swarms only occur in years of great abund- 

 ance. That a southerly migration also sometimes takes place, may also be conceded but it is 

 not necessary to suppose that scouts are sent out to gather the hosts. 



The migration would begin at the furthest point north that the species extended to, and 

 would begin earliest at that point. Naturally, as they flew south they would meet milder 

 climatic conditions, and so be tempted to linger by the way, and to foregather with those in- 

 habitating these regions. That the butterfly has a marked odour is well known, and it seems 

 probable that the odour from these increasing swarms would be carried a considerable dis- 

 tance by the wind, and so tend to attract still more, either from east or west, to these gather- 

 ings, of which there are probably not one but many. 



Because Dr. Thaxter has observed it wintering, like "the very best society," in the Gulf 

 States, Mr. Moffat concludes that it does not hibernate anywhere, but surely this is too weighty 

 a conclusion to draw from such slender premises. 



The life history of this butterfly will never be settled by argument, but the main facts 

 could easily be learned if a suflBcient number of intelligent persons would devote a little time 

 to observing the species, and jotting down their observations at the time, as nothing is so 

 unsatisfactory as trusting to one s memory in regard to scientific facts. And to this end I 

 would suggest the issuing by the Society of a leaflet, printed on stout foolscap paper, with 

 one of our Annual Reports, of which a large number are printed and distributed, giving 

 illustrations of the butterfly, caterpillar and chrysalis, and with a series of questions, carefully 

 prepared to elicit information upon all the doubtful points in its life history. That the 

 observers be requested to pin up the leaflet in a convenient place, and fill in their observations 

 as soon as made, and then at the close of the season, when the last of these butterflies have 

 disappeared, to sign and forward them to Dr. Fletcher, to whom they would go post free, and 

 the results could then be tabulated by a committee of the Society. 



In order to insure a general interest in the matter, it would be well for the Society, or 

 individual members, to offer a series of say flve prizes, rangijig from $10.00 to |2.00 for the 

 best and most complete reports sent in. 



