Genus Nathalis 



lit on the straw hat of one of the dignitaries. The naturalist, ac-^ 

 costing him, said: " Friend, do you know what rests upon your 

 head?" "No," said he. "A butterfly." "Weil," said he, 

 " that brings good luck." " Yes," replied the naturalist; "and 

 the insect reveals to me the wonderful instinct with which nature 

 has provided it." " How is that ?" quoth the city father. "It is 

 a cabbage-butterfly that rests upon your head." 



Genus NATHALIS, Boisduval 



" The butterflies, gay triflers 

 Who in the sunlight sport." 



Heine. 



B7ifferffy.— The butterfly is very small, yellow, margined with 

 black. The upper radial vein in the fore wing is wanting. The 

 subcostal has four nervules, the third and fourth 

 rising from a common stalk emitted from the 

 upperoutercornerofthecell, the first and second 

 from before the end of the cell. The precostal 

 vein on the hind wing is reduced to a small 

 swelling beyond the base. The palpi are slen- 

 der; the third joint long and curved; the second 

 joint oval; the third fine, spindle-shaped, and 

 pointed. The antennae are rather short, with a 

 somewhat thick and abruptly developed club. pio T^^^^eura- 



Eaiiy Stages. — Very little is known of these, tion of the genus Na- 



Three species belong to this genus, which ^^■'"^"' enlarged. 

 is confined to the subtropical regions of the New World, one 

 species only invading the region of which this volume treats. 



(i) Nathalis iole, Boisduval, Plate XXXII, Fig. 21, $ ; Fig. 22, 

 ? (The Dwarf Yellow). 



Butterfly.— This little species, which cannot be mistaken, and 

 which requires no description, as the plate conveys more infor- 

 mation concerning it than could be given in mere words, ranges 

 from southern Illinois and Missouri to Arizona and southern Cali- 

 fornia. Its life-history has not yet been described. Expanse, i.oo- 

 1.25 inch. 



The identification of this species with N. felicia, Poey, which 

 is found in Cuba, is doubtfully correct. The two species are 

 very closely allied, but, nevertheless, distinct from each other. 



281 



