670 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



carving. Prothofax with a transverse row of four minute warts next tlie auterior edge. 

 Abdomen considerably and regularly arched : a laterodorsal series of pretty regular, 

 conical, bluntly tipped tubercles of medium size, on the middle of the meso- and 

 metathorax and the first to ninth abdominal segments, that of the last two segments 

 being only low, blunt warts, the last a little below the line; those of the mesothorax 

 are a little larger than the others, and those of the first abdominal segment a little 

 smaller ; with these exceptions they are equal ; on the abdomen there is also a dorsal 

 row of similar tubercles on the auterior portion of the first to eighth segments, the 

 eighth with two, one posterior, and both, like that of the first segment, mere low, 

 blunt warts; a suprastigmatal series, anteriorly placed on the second to eighth seg- 

 ments, those of the third and fourth segments like those of the laterodorsal rows, 

 those of the second similar, but only half as large, the others scarcely raised warts; 

 an infrastigmatal series of scarcely raised warts in advance of the middle of the fourth 

 to eighth segments ; and a latero-ventral series of small warts on the middle of the 

 fourth to sixth segments. Inferior base of cremaster bounded laterally by very broad, 

 doarse, low walls, curving strongly on the postei'ior half, straight and somewhat 

 approximated anteriorly, each terminating in a small, short, rounded tubercle. Cremas- 

 ter proper viewed from above, somewhat longer than broad, not large, tapering, latei'- 

 ally tuberculate near base, well rounded at tip; viewed from the side, rather stout, 

 half as long again as broad, straight, equal excepting at tip, where it expands consider- 

 ably beueath ; the apical field of anal booklets nearly circular. Hooklets very closely 

 crowded, rather short, the stem slender and nearly or quite straight, the crook very 

 strongly curved and considerably enlarged and especially heightened. 



This genus is common to Europe and Ameriea and appears to be more 

 abundant in the Old World than in the New . It has not yet been found 

 in western North America, but one species at least belongs to Gautemala. 

 Not being autoptically familiar with the many species of Melitaeidi de- 

 scribed from Central America and the northern part of the southern 

 continent, I am unable to say how extensively the genus is distributed ; 

 but it will probably be found in all the elevated districts of Central 

 America and Mexico as well as in parts of the great elevated central 

 plateau region of the United States. East of the Rocky Mountains it 

 is confined to the Alleghanian fauna and the southern parts of the Cana- 

 dian. It occurs in all but the southern portions of New England. 



The butterflies are considerably under the medium size, dark brown 

 with deep orange markings : these consist of some transverse patches in 

 the cell and of a mesial and a submarginal, transverse, sinuous series of 

 spots, the latter small in the fore wing and large in the hind wing ; in the 

 male the two are confluent; beneath, the wings are orange fulvous, the 

 hinder pair traversed by a basal series of independent, black edged, pale 

 yellow spots, a broad, mesial band of similar but larger and contiguous 

 spots and a submarginal continuous series of black edged, pale yellow 

 lunules ; the latter occur also on the fore wings. 



The insects are single-brooded and winter as half grown larvae ; they 

 remain suspended in the chrysalis state for about a fortnight, and appear 

 on the wing in the first half of June. The eggs are laid in clusters, and 

 the young larvae live in a common web, our species on Doellingeria ; they 

 desert this before winter, but are again found associated in considerable 

 numbers in spring. 



