1754 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



the tougue, 21-24.75 mm. ; breadth of body at head, C.5 mm. ; of extreme base of cre- 

 master, 2 mm. Described from dried specimens and the notes of Dr. Guudlach. 



Mr. Henry Edwards describes the color of the chrysalis after exclusion as a pale 

 buff, the surface with a slight mealy covering; and he adds, "in the male chrysalis the 

 spiracles are marked with black dots, in the female they are concolorous with the rest 

 of tlie body." 



Distribution (32:5). Tliis butterfly, who.se proper home is Central 

 America and the northern part.s of the South American continent, inhabits 

 also the extreme southern states of our Union. It has been reported so 

 far only from the Gulf states and South Carolina; in the latter from 

 BlufFton (Eiley) and Charleston (Dodge). It is found everywhere in 

 Florida and in Texas, at least as far as San Antonio (King). It occurs 

 also in all the Antilles, or at least in the larger islands, Cuba, Jamaica and 

 Porto Eico, and in South America extends at least as far as the Argentine 

 Kepublic, where Burmeister has found it common. 



The only reason for its introduction here is that it was once taken by 

 Mr. James Angus in West Farms, near New York. Whether this was 

 an accidental occurrence or a commercial introduction to New York City 

 can only be told by a careful survey of the butterfly fauna of the Atlantic 

 seaboard. 



Oviposition. The eggs are laid singly and separately, but accord- 

 ing to Burmeister, in groups of five to seven, on the under surface of 

 leaves ; but Dr. Wittfeld says they are laid on the upper side on the same 

 genus of plants as Burmeister, "plainly visible and therefore much ex- 

 posed to destruction." Some which he sent me were, however, laid on the 

 under surface, in groups of three, almost touching. They hatch in Texas, 

 according to Helen King in six days ; Wittfeld says four days in southern 

 Florida. 



Food plant and habits of caterpillar. The caterpillar appears to 

 feed only on some species of Canna or Indian shot, one of the Cannaceae. 

 In our sotithern states it is C. flaccida, in Cuba C. indica. Sometimes 

 tliey are so abundant as to do much damage, having, in one instance re- 

 ported to me by Dr. Riley, "utterly destroyed some luxuriant plants" in 

 Dr. Mellichamp's garden in South Carolina. 



On hatching, the caterpillar devours the greater part of its egg, some- 

 times all but the floor, too closely adhering to the blade to be bitten. 

 "Having eaten a small portion of the leaf," says Helen King, "the larva 

 folds this over and confines it to its place with a few stitches of silk, enlarg- 

 ing this temporary retreat, or folding a new section, as it grows. ... It 

 feeds from this tubular case, just along the edges, retreating witliin when 

 alarmed. It forcibly ejects all excrement from the upper, free end, to- 

 gether with all exuviae, so that, although it evidently sheds its skin 

 several times, these cast skins cannot be found. The larva increases more 

 rapidly in size at its early stages than later, and doubles its length in 



