288 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 



The lower wings are brown with many large creamy spots, having 

 a satiny lustre, arranged in irregular rows across them. These 

 spots are also enclosed in rings of black. The male reseml)les the 

 female except tliat it is smaller and generally lighter, and the outer 

 row of spots is reddisli orange instead of cream color. 



This, our largest and handsomest Ar<jyimis in New England, is 

 found during the latter part of Jul}^ and the first of August in low 

 meadowy districts, where its favorite flower, tlie wild flax, as it is 

 sometimes called, or the swamp milkweed, lives. In exceptional 

 seasons this insect is })lentiful, and one may see one or more of 

 these large and richly colored flies al)Out every clump of its favorite 

 blossom. It sometimes visits tlie upland iields of clover and occa- 

 sionally the flowers of the garden. It is a wild insect and a strong 

 flyer, and when once alarmed it will tax the wind and endurance of 

 a good runner to overtake it. 



The insect is found throughout New England and the middle 

 and western states, as far west as Dakota. The finest specimens I 

 have ever seen came from Illinois, and their richness of coloring and 

 size made them well worth the trouble of capturing. 



In the mountainous districts of Virginia, Carolina, Tennessee and 

 Arkansas is found tlie most magnificent species belonging to tlie 

 genus Ariiynnh which inhabits this country. This beautiful butterfly 

 is An/pinis dlana. In size there are few species of the group in the 

 world which equal it, and but one or two with which I am acquainted 

 which rival it in beaut}'. 



In the male insect the inner portion of each wing is a rich dark 

 brown bordered by a wide band of tawny orange, across which run 

 several narrow lines of brown, between which are round brown spots. 

 The under side, especially on the lower wings, is a good deal lighter 

 where the large area of dark brown gives place to light brown, while 

 on the upper wings the same area is black with several tawny orange 

 markings. Two lines of elongated silvery spots cross the lower wings, 

 the line near the outer margin being the more distinct. The female 

 is often a good deal laigei' than the male and in coloring is totall}^ 

 different, the ornund color of the wino-s beino- a rich greenish or 

 l)luish black. The outer portion of the fore wings is crossed by 

 three rows of ])luish white spots, while the same portion of the 

 lower winws has one row of laro-e blue si)ots, each enclosing a round 

 black spot, and one row of elongated bluish white s[)ots near the 

 outer maroin. The under side of the female is brown with the 



