1700 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



grass (Panicum sanguinalej ami other grasses ; it appears to eat readily 

 common grass. 



Life history. In the north it is single brooded, apjiearing at midsiini- 

 mer. Jt usually makes its advent upon the wing early in July, between 

 the 1st and the 5th, but it sometimes appears even as early as the 2 2d 

 of June ; a week afterwards it becomes abundant, and it continues to fly 

 througliout July. Tlie female commences the work of oviposition ap- 

 parently about the lOtli of July, and keeps it up through the month ; 

 the eggs hatch in less than a fortnight, and the caterpillar lives at 

 least three weeks before moulting, an unprecedented length of time (in 

 one instance from August 7 to September 3), but the further history 

 of the insect here is unknown, though it is evident it must hibernate as a 

 caterpillar. In the south, the insect must at least be double brooded, 

 for ]Mr. Burgess took fresii si)ecimens in Key West on the 8th of February, 

 and Dr. Palmer poor specimens at Indian Kiver, Florida, at the end of 

 March, wliile Abbot bred a specimen in Georgia August 30, after ten days 

 in chrysalis, and says that it is ''plenty in the woods in most parts of the 

 country in autumn." Doubtless at least another brood intervenes between 

 these two, as is the case in its near ally, T. brettus. 



The butterfy is less vigorous and bustling than most Pamphilidi, as is 

 quickly noted by their behavior when caj)tured. Parker notices their 

 attraction to the flowers of Indian hemp. 



Desiderata. AVe know far too little about the life history of this 

 insect, and its earlier stages are little known. As it is found both north 

 and south, and appears to vary greatly in the two regions in the number of 

 its broods, the comparative life histories at different latitudes would be most 

 instructive. Tiie northern limits of its distribution should be more care- 

 fully traced, and the iiaunts, liabits, flight and postures of the butterfly 

 described ; parasites, as usual, are unknown. 



LIST OF ILLVSTBATlOI^S.— THYyiELICVS AETXA. 



