ARGYNNIS I. 



spots, each of which, except the two extreme, enclosing a rounded black spot near 

 its anterior edge. Fringes of both wings white, black at ends of nerviires. 



Under side of primaries black, with a slight blue reflection ; apical border 

 brown; on the ajjex a white patch edged within by silver; a marginal row of wliite 

 crescents, nearly obsolete above, the lower ones preceded by a grey shadow and 

 streak ; a median row of whitish spots corresponding to those of ujiper surface ; a 

 lar"-e white patch on costa ; anterior to the median a row of spots, of which the 

 lower is purjjle, the upper one green, much elongated ; in the cell three green spots, 

 that next the arc slightly silvered ; between the other two a faint brown patch ; sil- 

 ver scales on the costa. 



Secondaries have the basal two-thirds brown, varying in shade in different 

 specimens, from blackish to dark red, and usually with a greenish-grey reflection ; 

 this space edged Avitliout by a silvery line more or less complete, (but sometimes 

 wholly wanting,) which terminates on the margins in triangular silver spots ; the 

 silver crescent as in the male ; eyelet on the arc often silvered ; outer limb black- 

 ish-brown, with green reflections ; hind margin edged by a narrow grey band, 

 which is j^receded by silver crescents as in the male. 



Body black above, red brown below, legs and palpi red brown ; antennse as in 

 the male, but a shade darker. 



Sjiecimens vary much, some having the spots of upper surface green instead 

 of blue ; the variation in silvering below is extreme, from almost nothing to com- 

 plete ornamentation. 



The larva is unknown. 



Until quite recently this butterfly has been almost unknown in Collections. 

 Boisduval and LeConte say that they never saw it, and that tlieir description, as 

 well as that of Godart, and jirobably of Fabricius, were taken from the figure of 

 Cramer. This figure of Cramer's is much better than that of Say, which must 

 have been made from a worn-out specimen, as his description also indicates. Say 

 says he had taken the species in Georgia, Florida, Arkansas and Missouri. No 

 mention is made of the female by any author, and it seems to have been unknown 

 till its discovery by me in 18(34, in Kanawha County, West Virginia. On the 

 20th August I saw, for the first time, a male, hovering about the flowers of the 

 Iron-weed (Vernonia fasciculata) ,and succeeded in taking it. Two days afterwards, 

 in same vicinity, while breaking my way through a dense thicket of same weed, 

 hoping to find anotlier Diana, I came suddenly upon a large black and bhie butter- 

 fly feeding so quietly as to allow me to stand near it some seconds and watch its 

 motions. It seemed to be a new species of Limenitis, allied to Ursula, which it 

 resembled in color. But on taking it, I saw it was a female Argynnis, and the 

 general pattern of the under wing left little doubt of its affinity to Diana male, 

 despite its total difference in color and of upper surface. Subsequent captures con- 



