740 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



green disappears ; the orange wings of the imprisoned butterfly now become visible 

 through its temporary sarcopliagus, which it bursts open on the following day and 

 the liberated insect soon takes wing to join its comrades, select its mate, and pass the 

 happy hours of a brief existence in revelling in the sweets of the flowers, among 

 which it sprang into being. [Speaking of tlie period of the chrysalis he further says :] 

 It is only during the summer that the chrysalis is gorgeously arrayed ; for by one of 

 those wise provisions of nature, whicli so often are obvious to the student of her 

 works, it has been decreed that the green and gold shall be sported only whilst the 

 prevalence of verdure serves to guard the insect in its most helpless state, from the 

 analogy of colors. 



Life history. This biitterHy passes the winter in the imago state. In 

 southern latitudes, according to Edwards, who has given it closest atten- 

 tion, it appears early in the spring and lays eggs upon the milk weed just 

 out of the ground, beginning in West Virginia in the early part of May. 

 The insect matures there very rapidly, and passes through several genera- 

 tions, according to Mr. Edwards at least three, and probably four, in the 

 course of the season, the latest brood of the butterflies hibernating. Riley, 

 who was first to give a tolerably full life history of the insect, claimed 

 that in Missouri it was double brooded, the broods appearing in the latter 

 half of June and in October. In New England, however, what we can 

 learn of the butterfly indicates a somewhat different history. Some years 

 ago in publishing an account of its history here, I claimed that the insect 

 was only single brooded, first coming out of hibernation at the end of 

 June and early in July, laying eggs for a month or so, and the butter- 

 flies from these eggs hibernating. A great many points concerning its 

 history both here and elsewhere have been brought out since then and the 

 facts as we know them at present may probably be interpreted somewhat 

 in this way. 



The butterflies, which are far more numerous in the late autumn than 

 at any other time, seek winter quarters to hibernate, either by migrating 

 southward or by hiding on our own territory, but with very rare excep- 

 tions, north of the natural division line of the Canadian and Alleghanian 

 faunas, and even to a considerable distance to the south of this, say at the 

 line of the restricted northern limits of the latter, possibly sometimes 

 throughout the entire district of New England, every single specimen that 

 remains with us perishes. Now and then an old and battered female may 

 be found in the month of May, but we have actually on record as far as I 

 can discover but two or three instances of this, and one of these is not 

 specific. Mr. F. H. Sprague has a record of one specimen seen near 

 Boston, May 9, 1880. A female much worn and faded was found May 

 12 at Amherst by Professor Parker, and in another year they were found 

 by Mr. W. D. Marsh on May 15 and May 21 at the same place ; while 

 Mr. Caulfield speaks in general terms* of the appearance of butterflies in 



* I beheve this last a mistake. 



