132 BUTTERFLIES 



the Carolinas. In New England and the Atlantic states 

 it is one of the commonest of the smaller butterflies. 



Beginning with the butterflies which are seen in the 

 fields and meadows in September, the yearly cycle of this 

 insect may be summarized in this way: the eggs laid in 

 September hatch in a few days into tiny caterpillars, some 

 of which become lethargic at once, while others begin 

 feeding upon the violet leaves and continue thus to feed 

 until they are about half grown. These then also become 

 lethargic and find shelter just above the soil surface 

 where they remain until the following spring. They then 

 begin to feed again upon the violet leaves and at about 

 the same time the other caterpillars which became dor- 

 mant as soon as hatched, also waken and feed upon these 

 leaves. Naturally those which were half grown at the 

 beginning of spring are likely to mature and change to 

 chrysalids two or three weeks earlier than those which were 

 so small at the beginning of the season. Consequently 

 the fresh butterflies will be found from late in May to the 

 latter part of June. Presumably those which first ap- 

 peared have developed from the larger caterpillars and the 

 later ones from the smaller caterpillars. 



The butterflies of this first brood of the season lay their 

 eggs upon the violet leaves, generally upon the upper sur- 

 face of the blade, but occasionally upon the stems or upon 

 near-by grasses. These eggs hatch in about a week into 

 caterpillars that mature during the next three or four 

 weeks, coming forth as a second brood of butterflies late 

 in July or early in August. These in like manner lay 

 their eggs and develop into a third brood which matures 

 as butterflies in September. These lay eggs that hatch 

 into the caterpillars which live through the winter. There 



