ARGYNNIS VI. 



the readiness with which a strong Aj^hrodite upon the prairie can be distin- 

 guished, while on the w'ing, from the surrounding Alcestis, owing mainly to a 

 slight difference in its manner of flight, which resembles that of Cybele." It may 

 be distinguished also from the western Aj^hrodite by its intense red color, and 

 by the hue of its under surface. This is often olivaceous like Idalin, and unlike 

 any other North American Argynnis, of whatever sub-group, and the color is 

 solid on secondaries from base to margin, with no subraarginal band or any mot- 

 tling of yellow on the disk, such as seen in Aphrodite and C'qwis ; at times the 

 ground color is blackish ferruginous, also solid. In all tlie earlier stages, from egg 

 to chrysalis, there are distinct differences from Aphrodite. 



I have twice bred the larvfe of Alcestis to imago, the eggs having been ob- 

 tained by confining the females over violet. The first eggs were received 2Gth 

 September, 1876, from Mr. Thomas E. Bean, then at Galena, Illinois. The larvte 

 hatched 14th October, and at once went into lethargy. 1 carried them through 

 the winter, at Coalburgh, but with much loss, not yet having di.scovei-ed the 

 advantage of a snowbank for hibernating larvae. During January, 1877, they 

 began to feed, and by 1st February, some had passed their first moult ; on loth, 

 the second ; on 27th, the third ; on 10th March, the fourth ; 25th March, the 

 fifth ; and pupation took place 16th April, the imago appearing 7th May. 



In 1877, I received another lot of eggs from Mr. Worthington, at Chicago, 

 which began to hatch 23d September. A second lot received later hatched 1st 

 October. All the larvte at once went into lethargy, and were kept in as cool a 

 room as I could give them. Several were alive during January, and some were 

 feeding in February, but one after the other died, and none reached tlie first 

 moult. 



In 1878, Mr. Worthington sent more eggs, and these were hatching 6th Sep- 

 tember. Several of the larvfe fed at once, and some were passing their first 

 moult on 25th September. I never saw that happen with any larvje of the 

 larger Argynnis in my possession except in this one instance. But as I have 

 related under Cijhelc, in this Volume, Mr. Siewers had known a larva of that 

 species to feed and pass its second moult, and had found one wild that was 

 deemed to have passed its third. On 1st October, some were passing the second 

 moult, on the 7th of same month, the third moult. I was absent from home two 

 weeks just after this, and on returning, 5th November, I found but one of these 

 large larvje living, and it seemed in lethargy. But ten days later it had died. 



Of the larvns that hibernated from the egg, two were found to be alive on 5th 

 February, 1879, and one passed first moult on 11th February, the other 18th. 

 The oldest passed second moult 4th March; the third, 11th March ; the fourth, 

 on 25th ; the fifth, 9th April, and pupated 12th May. The other larva I had 

 sent to Mrs. Peart, and had no record of its changes. 



