LYt'AKNINAK: OYAMKIS PSKlDAlil ;i( il.lS. 037 



The early spriiij:; torni of tlie noi'lli, known as lin'iu, is cunlinuil to tlic 

 nortluTii portion ofall this region, not oeeurring sonlli of New Kngiantl 

 anil New York, excepting in the extreme west, where it has bccu taken in 

 northern Colorado. In the east it has been taken as far south as Yon- 

 kers and on Long Ishiiid, and in the west is not rare at Hacine, Wis. 

 These points indicate just ahont its extreme southern limits. It has not 

 been reported in the west beyond Montana. 



The form piasus is found in California. Arizona, and northern So- 

 nor.i, but wiiethcr it extomls into Nevada and ITtali is as yet uncertain ; 

 it has not been reported from that region. Over the whole of the re- 

 maining territory covered by the species the forms violacea and neglecta 

 occur and indeed extend a long way into the region api)ropriated hy lucia ; 

 but the dark form of the male is peeidiar to its southern limits. This last 

 has not been found in Pennsylvania nor as far noi-th as Dayton, Ohio. It 

 is indeed not known north of Coalburgh, W. Va. (except that it is re- 

 ported as taken by (iracf in the vicinity of New York), nor in any part of 

 Ohio and Illinois, l>ui it has been obtained from Georgia, ^'irginia, west- 

 ern North Carolina, eastern Tennessee and e\cii soutlicrn Colorado (Ed- 

 wards). 



In New England lucia has been everywhere found : it is extremely 

 abundant in the northern half, not at all uncommon in tlic central por- 

 tions, but comparatively rare in the south. Violacea is bv no means un- 

 common, but having generally been mistaken for one of the other forms 

 and so producing a confusion of statements, its exact distribution cannot be 

 fully determined. It is, however, rather more common in the south than 

 in the north, while noglccta is equally al)undaiit throughout the district. 



Haunts and abundance. Opc'u deciduous woods, whether dry or 

 swampy, are the favorite haunts of tiiis butterHy, at the borders of which, 

 or in their open shade, or by the road sides in their vicinity, it flutters in 

 great numbers ; for wherever found it appears to be abundant, possessing, 

 as Edwards well puts it, the whole country. It settles about damp spots, 

 and in the west is never found on the prairies, but at the liottom of the 

 deep wooded ravines beside the streams. 



Oviposition. The eggs are laid upon the buds, or the calyx of tlic 

 flowers themselves if they have already opened, of the plant on which the 

 larva feeds. As the flowers of these plants are always clustered, the 

 c<r<rg are the more difficult to discover because thev are tucked in l^ctween 

 the flowers often well out of sight. The eggs hatch in from four to eight 

 days according to the season, Mr. Edwards says ; mine, found in May l)y 

 Mi~s riiiild, liMtiiird in six days. 



Food plants of caterpillar. Eggs and caterpillars have been found 

 on a large numlier of [dants of very varied character; and as might be 

 expected of a polyphagous caterpillar it will eat under stress not a few 



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