56 BUTTERFLIES 



The Long-beaks. Libytheidae, 

 The Metal-marks. Riodinidae. 

 The Gossamer- wings. Lycaenidae, 



It must not be thought that such a list necessarily indi- 

 cates the degrees of development of the respective families, 

 for this is not true. It is simply a linear arrangement 

 adopted for convenience by leading authorities, notably 

 Dr. Harrison G. Dyar in his standard "Catalog of Ameri- 

 can Lepidoptera." 



THE PARNASSIAN BUTTERFLIES 



Family Parnassiidae 



It is perhaps a bit unfortunate that the group of but- 

 terflies, which is commonly chosen to head the list of 

 families, is one that is rarely seen by most collectors. The 

 Parnassians are butterflies of the far north or of high ele- 

 vations in the mountains. The four species credited 

 to North America have been collected in Alaska and the 

 higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, so there is very 

 little probabiHty of any of them being found in the Eastern 

 states. 



While, structurally, these butterflies have a close affin- 

 ity with the Swallowtails, one would never suspect it 

 from their general appearance. Their bodies are large 

 and all of the wings well rounded, so that there is more of 

 the suggestion of a large moth than of the Swallowtail. 

 The coloring is also more moth-like than with most but- 

 terflies, the wings being very light colored and nearly 

 transparent, with markings of gray and brown, arranged 

 in dots and splashes. 



