198 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



I have found tliat the abdominal liorns are always held horizontally, 

 whether the caterpillar is at rest or in motion, but Mr. Edwards says that 

 when feeding they are " elevated at about 45°, and separated." 



Life history. The insect is single brooded. The imago usually ap- 

 pears about the 7th of July, occasionally as early as the 1st or as late as 

 the 15th, and Morrison records one taken as fiir north as the White 

 Mountains on June 29 ; generally it is abundant by the middle of July ; 

 toward the end of the month it is much less common, also badly torn and 

 rubbed, but continues until after the middle of August, and Captain 

 Geddes says he has captured it in Canada in September. The female lays 

 her eggs the middle or last of July, and these hatch in from seven to nine 

 days. The first caterpillar which I obtained hatched about the first of 

 August, moulted first on the 14th, again on the 29th and the last time on 

 the 14tli of September ; after which it remained quiescent four days ; others 

 since obtained were hatched between July 27 and August 5, and were very 

 irreo-ular in their growth, backw\ard specimens changing to their third stage 

 September 1, and forward ones to their fourth September 7. Mr. Ed- 

 wards records similar experience ; it is very slow of growth and passes 

 the Avinter as a larva, nearly or quite full grown. 



Habits and flight. The butterflies have a very feeble, delicate flight, 

 dancing lazily hither and thither among the herbage, flying generally but 

 two or three feet above the ground ; yet when alarmed their movements 

 are more powerful than one would suppose possible in an insect with 

 wings of so delicate a texture. 



Desiderata. Although we know that this insect passes the winter in the 

 caterpillar state, our breeding experiments have not yet been extensive 

 enough or conducted under sufficiently natural conditions to show in just 

 what stages of larval life it does so ; nor do we know anything of the places 

 to which it resorts for hibernation. The lethargic action of the caterpillar and 

 the irregularity of growth of different members of the same brood suggest 

 the need of repeated experiments to learn its meaning or to what it leads. 

 The southern and northwestern limits of the range of the butterfly need 

 revision, and no parasites have been discovered attacking it. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.— SATYBODES EUBYDICE. 



