204 BUTTERFLIES 



The Red-spotted Purple 



Basilarchia astyanax 



Were it not for the wonderful iridescence of its wings 

 the Red-spotted Purple would be one of the most plainly 

 marked of the Sovereigns. But the upper surface of both 

 pairs of wings is thickly covered with iridescent scales 

 which give the insect a shimmering beauty that makes it 

 conspicuous among northern butterflies, suggesting some- 

 thing of the marvelous coloring of the large tropical 

 species. The general coloring is a purplish black with 

 rows of white dots along the borders of the wings. The 

 under surface shows much more of the fulvous brown which 

 is so characteristic of the Viceroy, the brownish back- 

 ground being rather thinly overlaid with iridescent scales, 

 but with a large number of spots and stripes, where the 

 fulvous color alone shows. {See plate, page 208.) 



The favorite food plants of this species belong to the 

 great order Rosaceae which includes the apple, pear, cherry, 

 rose, and many other common trees and shrubs. The 

 egg is laid upon the extreme tip of the leaf, a character- 

 istic habit of all the species of Basilarchia. It obviously 

 must have decided advantages in preserving the eggs 

 from attack by ants, spiders. Ichneumon flies, and other 

 enemies. All of these creatures are constantly patrolling 

 leaf surfaces in search of eggs and minute insects. They 

 are much more likely to find their victims upon the broad 

 general surface than upon the extreme tip of narrowly 

 pointed leaves. The eggs of all these butterflies are small, 

 and pitted much like a tiny little honeycomb with a large 

 number of tiny hairs arising from the surface. These 



