220 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 



FOOD-PLANTS OF GRAPTA ZEPHYRUS. 



By Thomas E. Bean. 



Early in August, 1890, I collected zephyrus larvae of various 

 ages from third stage to those nearly mature, at an elevation of 

 about 5800 feet, feeding on Ribes lacustre, a gooseberry very 

 common near Laggan, though also very local. They were taken 

 home, and with them a supply of the plant, on which they were 

 fed for a day or two, during which time several made pupa. The 

 supply of gooseberry being exhausted, and the nearest locality 

 for it quite distant, I was obliged to consult the botanies for a 

 substitute. Of accessible plants rose seemed most plausible for 

 trial. Accordingly, the wilderness of their can was made to 

 blossom with the rose, and the Graptas (there were ten or more) 

 were introduced. They climbed up on the awning in a long 

 procession to inspect the new Bill of Fare — looded askance at the 

 rose twigs and went away to look for a gooseberry patch. Pros- 

 pects for success of the experiment looked dark, but I persevered 

 in giving the botanical ultimatum a fair test. And the Graptas, 

 after many journeys around the can and a great amount of 

 "beating about the bush" (rosebush), x^VLoXznWy admitted the 

 analogy between rose and gooseberry, and began to tackle the 

 rose leaves. The)' successfully fed up, and I have to-day ten 

 fine rose-fed zephyrus in my collection. The butterflies are 

 mostly smaller than those from gooseberry. Since that time on 

 one occasion I found a single larva of zephyrus on rose, at a dis- 

 tance from any of the known food-plants of the species. But 

 when collecting the larvae in 1892, found freely in one locality on 

 gooseberry only, and in another place on Menziesia glabella only, 

 both localities within four miles of Laggan, none could be found 

 on rose. Although the fact cannot be considered fully proved, 

 my experience in 1892 seems to indicate that in this district 

 zephyrus has a local habit in regard to its food-plants: — where 

 the larva was found feeding on gooseberry I found none on other 

 plants in that immediate locality; where it was feeding on Men- 

 ziesia glabella careful search failed to detect any on either goose- 

 berry or rose in the same locality. Possibly the facts observed 

 may simply mean that zephyrjis has a scale of preference in food- 

 plants; Meyiziesia glabella being the preferred plant, with goose- 

 berry as a second choice. I have tried no further experiments, 



