1U 



THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OP 



excrescence near the disk of the hind wing, close to, or upon the fourth 

 nerve. This excrescence or tubercle is faintly shown in the above fig- 

 ure, which represents the male, and it is entirely lacking in the 

 female. The color of the Archippus butterfly is of a bright orange- 

 red, marked with black and cream-color as in the figure — the underside 

 being similarly marked but paler, that of the hind wings being bright 

 fulvous. The species feeds upon most of the different kinds of Milk- 

 weed or Silk-weed (Asclepias), and also upon Dogbane {Apocynum), 

 according to some authors. It shows a wonderful dislike, however, to 

 the Poke Milk-weed (Asclepias phytolaccoidcs), and I was surprised 

 to find that larvre furnished with this plant would wander about their 

 breeding cages day after day, and would eventually die rather than 

 touch it, though they would eagerly commence devouring the leaves 

 of either A. lul>erosa, curassavica, cornuli or purpurascens as soon as 

 offered to them. 



The butterflies hibernate, though whether any but the impregna- 

 ted females survive until the Milk-weeds commence to grow is not 

 definitely ascertained. They commence depositing eggs in the lati- 

 tude of St. Louis during the fore part of May. Some of the earliest 

 developed butterflies from these eggs begin to appear about the mid- 

 dle of June and others continue to appear for several weeks. These 

 lay eggs again, and the butterflies abound a second time in October. 

 Thus there are two broods each year, and though the first brood of 

 larvge are hatched more uniformly and within a more limited time 

 than the second, the two broods yet connect by late individuals of the 

 first and early individuals of the second, and the caterpillars may be 

 found at almost any time from May to October, but are especially 

 abundant during late summer and early fall. 



The egg (Fig. 64, «, magni- 

 ppl^lfied; c, natural size) is invari- 

 ably deposited on the under 

 side of a leaf, and is conical and 

 delicately reticulate with longi- 

 tudinal ribs, and fine transverse 

 striae. It is yellowish when first 

 deposited but becomes gray as 

 the embryo within develops. 



Description OF Ec;g.— Length 0.05; greatest diameter 0.03 inches. Conical, slightly narrower at 

 base than in middle, and generally slightly contracted towards apex. Color pale cream-yellow; 

 opaque, smooth; the shell but slightly polished and rather soft. About 22 longitudinal narrow car- 

 inate ribs, usually regular and single, though occasionally one gives forth a branch; interstices 

 crossed by about 30 very fine transverse striaj, often subobsolete. Apex smooth. Slightly and singly 

 attached to the underside of leaf. 



Described from numerous specimens. 



It is a little singular that this egg has not previously been des- 

 cribed. It is very easily found, and I had no difficulty in obtaining great 

 numbers last summer, though I owe the first one ever obtained to the 

 sharp eyes of Miss M. E. Murtfeldt, of Kirk wood, a lady who takes much 



