MELIT^A I. 



low depression ; abdomen stont, furnished with several rows of sharp, conical, 

 short tubercles (corresponding to the larval spines) ; the wing cases a little 

 flaring at base, depressed in middle ; color blue-gray, the whole surface much 

 marked with black ; wing cases buff, more or less tinted red ; with a black patch 

 from base almost to hind margin, the nervules within it being orange, a mar- 

 ginal row of serrated spots, and another submarginal ; head case and mesonotum 

 largely black ; the tubercles more or less enclosed with black ; behind the dor- 

 sals are four small spots each, forming with the tubercle a triangle ; similar spots 

 on sides. But there is much variation in extent of the black markings. (Fig./.) 



In 1876, Mr. Oscar T. Baron, then at Mendocino, California, sent me several 

 mature (or nearly) lax'Vfe of the present species by mail. They were twelve days 

 out and but one was alive on arrival. From this the drawing given on the Plate, 

 Fig. e, was made. Several larvae had pupated, but were more or less eaten, and 

 I suppose the single larva had kept itself alive in that way. 



On 16th December, 1878, I received from Mr. Baron, then at Navarro, about 

 twenty of the same larvoe, in hibernation. Mr. Baron wrote that the eggs were 

 laid June 29th, in clusters, one large and several small, the former containing 

 sixty or more eggs, the latter from five to twenty. The larvae hatched 20th 

 July, or after 21 days. Their first care was to spin a common web, and this was 

 occupied (of course, with additions, as needed) until the time for hibernation 

 approached. Then some larvae left the common web and spun for themselves 

 among the wilted leaves of the food plant. Mr. Baron thought this plant was a 

 species of Castelleia, but it was not identified. These larvae did not survive the 

 winter. I was able to get a description of the stage after third moult, and had 

 to depend on alcoholic specimens for the earlier stages and the egg. 



On 18th May, 1879, I received from Mr. Baron several chrysalides which had 

 come from the same lot of larvse, and from them obtained six butterflies, between 

 22d and 31st May. One of these was the red variety, female, shown by Figs. 5, 6. 



Not much is known of the early stages of the American species of the group 

 of Melitsea to which Baroni belongs. It is a difficult group to separate, and this 

 makes it the more important that the preparatory stages of the several species 

 should be studied. 



