1046 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



often with orange disks ; the fore wings and sometimes the hind wings of 

 the female are more or leas heavily bordered with ferruginous tints. The 

 wings of the males are rather broadly edged above with raised, mealy 

 looking scales, sometimes darker than the ground color. There is often 

 a small spot at the tip of the cell, especially on the fore wings, which is 

 larger beneath and often double and pupilled with silver. 



They are probably double brooded, appearing late in spring and again in 

 autumn ; the imagos are long lived and doubtless survive the winter, as 

 they seem to be found in warm climates throughout the year ; in the 

 autumn they swarm in myriads and having a powerful flight occasionally 

 migrate in flocks. Lacordaire describes their flight as elevated and rapid 

 and adds that they are difficult to catch, often resting on the flowers of 

 high trees. They are very fond of flowers, "rejoice in the hottest sun- 

 shine and crowd in dense masses several yards in extent, around puddles 

 and on sandy beaches, rising in clouds of yellow and orange on being 

 disturbed" (Wallace). Bates gives the following account of them on the 

 Amazons : — 



As the waters retreated from the beach, vast numbers of sulphur-yellow and orauge 

 coloured butterflies congregated on the moist sand. The greater portion of them 

 belonged to the genus Callidryas. They assembled In densely packed masses, some- 

 times two or three yards in circumference, their wings all held in an upright position, 

 so that the beach looked as though variegated with beds of crocuses. These Calli- 

 dryades seem to be migratory insects, and have large powers of dissemination. 

 During the last two days of our voyage the great numbers constantly passing over 

 the river attracted the attention of every one on board. They all crossed in one 

 direction, namely, from nortli to south, and the processions were uninterrupted from 

 an early hour in the morning until sunset. All the individuals which resort to the 

 margins of sandy bcaclics are of the male sex. Tlie females are much more rare, and 

 are seen only on the borders of the forest, wandering from tree to tree, and deposit- 

 ing their eggs on low mimosas which grow in the shade. The migrating hordes, as 

 far as I could ascertain, are composed only of males, and on this account I believe 

 their wanderings do not extend very far. (Nat. on Amazons, i : 249.) 



The caterpillars, remarks Schomburgk, are sometimes eaten by the 

 Indians of British Guiana ; they are roasted and mixed with flour made 

 from the root of the Cassava, etc., and then baked into cakes or mixed 

 with turtle's eggs. The food of the larva appears to be confined to the 

 Caesalpinieae (Leguminosae) and the chrysalids continue from ten to 

 eighteen days. 



The eggs are tall, conical and very strongly constricted at the base. 



The caterpillars are yellowish green, the head rather small and the sur- 

 face of the body more or less granulated, with a pale or colored lateral 

 stripe. 



The chrysalids are similarly colored, strongly curved, dorsally concave, 

 the wing cases very large and protruding extraordinarily in a strongly 

 rounded curve, and the anterior extremity produced to a long, conical 

 snout. 



