THE TRIBE OF THE CRESCENT-SPOTS 139 



quickly. When full fed they wander about in all direc- 

 tions, each hunting its own shelter before becoming a 

 chrysalis. Having found a twig or branch that suits their 

 purpose each hangs downward and changes to a brownish 

 yellow chrysalis, more or less marked with black. It re- 

 mains in this condition for about a fortnight, when it comes 

 forth as the Baltimore butterfly which thus appears again 

 about the first of June. 



These butterflies seem to have some of the character- 

 istics of their unique surroundings. There are very few 

 flowers in the peat bogs and it is significant that the butter- 

 flies instead of flitting from flower to flower, as do most of 

 our familiar species, fly rather in a slow and lazy fashion 

 from leaf to leaf, lighting upon the foliage or frequently 

 upon the surface of the moss or ground. They seem leth- 

 argic and have httle of the animation which we usually 

 associate with the name butterfly. 



In my mind the Baltimore is associated with the White 

 Mountain butterfly as a survivor of a former geologic 

 period. The latter was developed under colder conditions 

 and now survives only on a few isolated mountain peaks; 

 but the former has survived wherever the peat bog has 

 held its sway during the long ages that the surrounding 

 landscape has been taking on its present-day condition. 

 Many things in the life of the Baltimore point to its primi- 

 tive condition: the laying of the eggs in loose clusters, the 

 long lethargy of the caterpillars, the limited flight of the 

 butterflies — all indicate a creature with habits firmly fixed 

 by long ages of development in a definite environment. 



No collector should feel sure that the Baltimore is not to 

 be one of his trophies until he has visited in June every 

 peat bog or sphagnum swamp in his locality. One may 



