rAMI'HlLIDI: TIIV.MELICUS AETNA. 1699 



parts, ocelli ;iiul aiitoniiae black, the last with a pale bristle; tlie iiunitli parts more or 

 less tinared with reddish. Body pallid, uniformly besprinkled with round, fcrrugineo- 

 testaceous spots, which arc more distinct and darker anteriorly, and ^row gradually 

 paler on the posterior segments, giving the whole body a freckled appearance : In'istles 

 from two-t!iirds to three-fourths the length of a segment ; ba.sal half black and straiglit, 

 becoming paler and finally pellucid apic.ally, slightly bowed, the apex very slightly and 

 gradually enlarged ; last segment with long, recurved, pointed hairs, as long as two or 

 three segments; legs slender, equally and slightly infuscated; spiracle rims dark 

 luteous, the larger ones blackish. Length, 2..5 mm. 



Last staye (77 : ;U). Head chocolate brown, a median darker stre.ak down the whole 

 front, bordered by paler stripes, but interrupted at the crown of the triangle ; antennae 

 somewhat pale. Body p.ale green, becoming lioary in the middle of the upper surface, 

 but throngliout jirofusely and nearly uniformly mottled with dark green; a dark green 

 dorsal line, attenuated toward either end; a broad, dull yellowish green, stigmatal 

 band, broadening so as to occupy the whole dorsal part of the body (except the dorsal 

 stripe) beyond the seventh abdominal segment, and tinged on the posterior third of the 

 body with very pale pinkish ; a slender, indistinct, snl)stigmatal, greenish line, followed 

 by a yellowish green band ; first thoracic segment crossed by a transverse, central, nar- 

 row black band, stopping just before the spiracles, which are in black fields ; spiracles 

 black ; legs pinkish brown ; prolegs green. Length, 3.5 mm. ; greatest height, .j.5 mm. ; 

 breadth of head, 2. .5 mm. Described from the original dra-.^ing by Abbot, in the late 

 Dr. Boisdnval's possession. 



Chrysalis (85 : 42). Head brownish green ; tongue pink; thorax dull grass green, 

 the sutures pinkish brown ; abdomen dull greenish yellow, the spiracles and cremaster 

 dull pink. Length (total), 19 mm.; height of thorax, 4.5 mm. ; height beyond wing 

 covei-s, 4 mm. ; length of cremaster, 1.5 mm. ; length of tongue beyond wing, 8 mm. 

 Described from .Vbbot's origin.al drawing in the Boisduv.al collection. 



Distribution (31 : i) . The butterfly is extremely abundant throughout 

 the Carolinian and most of tlie Allcghanian faunas ; in the northern half of 

 the latter it becomes less abundant and finally disappears shortly before its 

 ultimate boundaries. To the south it has been found even as far as Key 

 West (Biu'gess) ; westward it has been taken on the Rio Grande (Lintner) 

 and at Waco, Te.xas (Belfrage) , Iowa (Austin ) , Lake Co. , Indiana ( Worth- 

 ington), Wisconsin, common (Hoy), and Michigan (Mus. Mich. Univ.) ; 

 and to the north it finds its limits in these latter localities, Prescott 

 (Beadle) and London, Ontario, and Bethlehem, N. Y. (Lintner). 



In New England it is confined to the southern half. Once, however, a 

 specimen was taken in Norway, Me. (Smith). The other northern local- 

 ities in which it has been found are Walpole (Smith) and Milford, N. H. 

 (Whitney), but it is found nowhere in abundance north of Springfield, 

 Mass. (Emery), w-here it is a common species. 



Oviposition. Tlie first eggs of this species seen by me were laid in 

 confinement in a small box, and were sent me by Mr. Hambly. Most 

 were laid on the sides but a few on the top, and one or two on the bottom 

 of the box. Others since obtained were laid in confinement on the under 

 surface of grass blades ; they hatched early in August in thirteen days. 



Food plant. Abbot figures the caterpillar on Sabbatia gracilis, or S. 

 elliottii, one of the gentian family ; but he says it feeds also on crab 



