Genus Pyrrhansea 



Caterpillar. — Head somewhat globular in appearance ; the an- 

 terior portion of the first thoracic segment of the body is much 

 smaller in diameter than the head ; the body 

 is cylindrical, tapering to a point. 



Chrysalis. — Short, stout, with trans- 

 verse ridges above the wings on the middle 

 of the abdomen, keeled on the sides. The 

 cremaster is small and furnished with a glob- 

 ular tip, the foce of which is on the same 

 plane as the ventral surface of the body, 

 causing the chrysalis to hang somewhat ob- 

 liquely from the surface which supports it. 

 This is a large genus of mostly tropical 

 species, possessed of rather singular habits. 

 The caterpillars in the early stages of their 

 existence have much the same habits as the 

 caterpillars of the genus Basilarchia, which 

 ^'""genurp^rlSr.^^^' have been already described. After passing 

 the third moult they construct for themselves 

 nests by weaving the edges of a leaf together, and thus conceal 

 themselves from sight, emerging in the dusk to feed upon the 

 food-plant. They live upon the Eiiphorbiacea-, the Lauracea:, and 

 the Piperacecv. The insects are double-brooded in the cooler 

 regions of the North, and are probably many-brooded in the 

 tropics. 



(i) Pyrrhanaea andria, Scudder, Plate XXIV, Fig. i, ? (The 

 Goatweed Butterfly). 



Butterfly, $. — Solidly bright red above, the outer margins 

 narrowly dusky on the borders. On the under side the wings 

 are gray, dusted with brown scales, causing them to resemble 

 the surface of a dried leaf 



$ . — The female has the upper side paler and marked by pale 

 fulvous bands, as shown in the plate. Expanse, $, 2.50 inches; 

 ? , 3.00 inches. 



Earty Stages. — In Fig. 21, on p. 9, is a good representation of 

 the mature caterpillar, the nest which it constructs for itself, and 

 the chrysalis. A full account of the life-history may be found 

 in the " Fifth Missouri Report " from the pen of the late C. V. Riley. 

 The caterpillar feeds on Crofon capitatum. 



The insect ranges from Illinois and Nebraska to Texas. 



192 



