I'AMrilll.lDI: TIIYMELICUS MYSTIC. 1709 



Distribution (31:(l)- Tliis Ijutterfly must I)c considered a member of 

 the Allegluiiiiiin and Canadian faunas, aitiiough it scarcely reaches the ex- 

 treme limits of either. Southwardly it is found as far as Statcn Island 

 (Davis), Pennsylvania ( Bhikc, Mus. Anier. Ent. Soc. ) and .Maryland 

 (Scudder) ; and tn tlic nmiii it has been taken in Nova .Scotia, "coniinon" 

 (Jones), Ila Ila Hay and Cacouna (Saunders), (Quebec, "not unconuuon" 

 (Bowles), Montreal, not common (Caulfield, (Jouper), Chateauguay (Pear- 

 son), and Ottawa, Canada, very common (Billings, Fletcher). West of 

 eastern New York, Bctiilehem, Albany, Scoharie (Lintner) and the Adiron- 

 dacks (Hill), it seems to have been seldom reported, although Iloy finds it 

 common in W^iscousin, Worthiugton says it occurs in northern Illinois, 

 and Edwards gives it from Michigan and Canada West. ^Ir. Saunders, 

 however, has not detected it in Ontario. In 18<S8, since the map was 

 printed, Mr. Fletciier and I found it common at Xepigon. 



In Xew England it occui's everywhere, from the White Mountains (Scud- 

 der) and Pinkliam Notch, N. H. (Sanborn) andOrono (Fernald) andHal- 

 lowell, ]\Ie. ( Miss \\'adsworth) . to Cape Cod (Fisii) and New Haven (Smith, 

 Mus. Yale Coll.). There is hardly a local collection of any size which 

 does not contain it. Imt it is nuicli less common in tiie southern tlian in the 

 northern half and it is rather rarely found in tlie vicinity of Boston ; nor 

 have I taken it at Nantucket. 



Oviposition. The eggs are very lightly afHxed to blades of grass, at 

 least in confinement o\cr the same, so lightly that they often readily drop 

 to the ground on jarring the grass ; in several instances the females have 

 been known to lay eggs when enclosed alive in pill boxes and tiicn unaffixed, 

 or it may be so loosely attached as to fall on opening the box. j\Ir. 

 Saunders had the eggs hatch in eight or nine days in London, Ontario, 

 at the end of June ; near Boston in June and July I have found the period 

 ten or eleven days, in the White Mountains generally about thirteen 

 days. Eggs laid at Nepigon and carried to Ottawa and Boston took 

 twelve to fourteen or more days to iiatch. 



Food and habits of the caterpillar. The natural preference of the 

 caterpillar is not known, but it readily feeds upon common grasses and its 

 habits are very similar to those of Atrytone zabulon. It devours its forsaken 

 shell as soon as hatched. It is timid and retires abruptly at the least 

 alarm to its tuljular nest of grass blades, which is firmly constructed of 

 many blades and many threads, some of the openings being covered with a 

 trauze-like framework somewhat resembling that of the cocoon of the geome- 

 trid moth, Zerene catenaria. It is slow to mature, several weeks being 

 passed in each larval stage, so far as my experience has gone, though Mr. 

 Saunders carried one from egg to chrysalis in about forty days. 



Life history. The data at command for establishing the periods of 

 the app;u-ition of this i)uttcrfiy are insufficient to enable one to s^Jeak with 



