294 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 



wings beneath is narrower in this species than in cijhele^ a charac- 

 teristic by whicli the two species can be readily distingnished. 

 The females are occasionally very dark beneath, the lower wing 

 being chocolate brown and the silvery spots looking like discs of 

 the pure metal highl}" })olished. 



\\\ July and August this butterfly is at times plentiful, but I 

 have never seen it so al)undant as A. cyhele. It seems to be more 

 northern in its range, and one of my friends living in Ontario, 

 Canada, has sent me many fine specimens. In habits it much le- 

 sembles tlie preceding species. 



Argynnis alcestis is about the size of A. aplirodite and much re- 

 sembles it. The coloring is dark and rich, and the yellow band 

 along the margin of the lower wings is wanting. Specimens are 

 occasionally taken which are very red beneath on the basal })art 

 of the upper wings. I have never seen the insect abundant, but 

 have taken it near Chicago, Illinois, in July, where I Avas given 

 to understand by a local collector, it was at times ver}^ common. 

 The specimens taken there were very fine and well repaid the 

 stop of a few hours for their capture. This is a western species 

 occupying tlie upper part of the iMississippi valley. 



A butterfly smaller in size, but scarcely less brilliant in color- 

 ing beneath than A. aphrodite and resembling it a good deal, is 

 Aryiinnis atlantis. Although there is often a good deal of differ- 

 ence between the males and females of this species in the inten- 

 sity of their coloring, the female being the darker, in size they 

 are about the same, and one rarely sees the discrepancy in size so 

 noticeable in A. cyhele. 



This butterfly is abundant in the hill}^ parts of New Hamp- 

 shire early in July, M'here it may be seen on the flowers and 

 bushes by the roadside or winging its way across the upland 

 meadows. It is quite common about Sunapee Lake, where many 

 of the specimens for the illustration of this work were obtained. 



Like the other members of this group, the larva feeds on vio- 

 lets, and hil)ernates when half-grown through the winter. Tliere 

 is but one brood in a season. It is a rather nortliern species and 

 only iidiabits the middle and southern states along the ranges of 

 mountains. It is connnon in Canada. 



A very connnon little butterfly during May and again in 

 August, in the meadows and swampy lands, is Argynnis myrhia. 

 It resembles the larger species of the genus in the tawny orange 



