SUBFAMILY EUPLCEIN/E (THE MILKWEED 

 BUTTERFLIES) 



" Lazily flying 



Over the flower-decked prairies, West; 

 Basking in sunshine till daylight is dying, 

 And resting all night on Asclepias' breast; 



Joyously dancing, 



Merrily prancing, 

 Chasing his lady-love high in the air, 



Fluttering gaily, 



Frolicking daily, 



Free from anxiety, sorrow, and care! " 



C. V. RILEY. 



Butterfly. Large, butterflies ; head large; the antennae inserted 

 on the summit, stout, naked, that is to say, not covered with 

 scales, the club long and not broad; palpi stout; the thorax some- 

 what compressed, with the top arched. The abdomen is mod- 

 erately stout, bearing on the eighth segment, on either side, in the 

 case of the male, clasps which are quite conspicuous. The fore 

 wings are greatly produced at the apex and more or less excavated 

 about the middle of the outer border; the hind wings are rounded 

 and generally much smaller than the fore wings ; the outer mar- 

 gin is regular, without tails, and the inner margin is sometimes 

 channeled so as to enfold the abdomen. The fore legs are 

 greatly atrophied in the male, less so in the female; these atro- 

 phied legs are not provided with claws, but on the other legs the 

 claws are well developed. 



Egg. The eggs are ovate conical, broadly flattened at the base 

 and slightly truncated at the top, with many longitudinal ribs 

 and transverse cross-ridges (see Fig. 4). 



Caterpillar. On emerging from the chrysalis the head is not 

 larger than the body; the body has a few scattered hairs on each 



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