O08 BUTTERFLIES 



antennae are much shorter than the width of the front 

 wings. Only two species of the former and one of the 

 latter are sufficiently abundant to be considered here. 



The Goatweed Emperor 



A7ioea andria 



Comparatively few butterflies are confined so closely 

 to the valley of the Mississippi River as the Goatweed 

 Emperor. From southern Illinois south to the Gulf this 

 insect is rather abundant in many localities where its food 

 plant, the goatweed, is common. The life-history of the 

 insect was carefully studied by Dr. C. V. Riley, and one of 

 the best accounts was published in one of his early reports 

 on the insects of Missouri. The excellent illustrations 

 in that article first made the species familiar to many 

 students. 



Briefly summarized, the life-history runs something like 

 this : the butterflies hibernate, coming forth in spring and 

 visiting various spring and early summer flowers. The 

 females deposit eggs singly upon the leaves of the young 

 goatweed plants. In a week or less each egg hatches into 

 a little caterpillar that feeds upon the tip of the leaf 

 leaving the midrib and covering it with silk so that it 

 may serve as a resting perch. Later each makes an ex- 

 cellent tent for itself by bending over and binding to- 

 gether the opposite margins of a leaf.* This bit of work 

 is cleverly done, a hole being left at each end so that 

 there is good ventilation and an opportunity for the cater- 

 pillar to go in and out. Quite frequently the nest is also 

 lined with more or less silken webbing. This tent is used 



* See next page. 



