Macrolepidoptera of Staten Island 3 



road. The day before had been cold for a day in August. The 

 New York papers of September 8, 1899, contained articles on the 

 invasion of the city by butterflies. It was a migration of this 

 species, and on the date mentioned we found them at 9 a.m. 

 settled quietly on an ailanthus tree in Battery Park. Very few 

 were flying about until a ball made of newspaper was cast into 

 the tree, when there was a great display of fluttering butterflies, 

 a hundred or more hovering about the tree. 



Euptoieta claudia Cramer. This is not a common species on 

 the island. Less than a dozen specimens have been seen and 

 these usually in late summer and fall. The earliest record is July 

 II, at Richmond Valley. Two specimens were observed by Mr. 

 Charles L. Pollard at Dongan Hills on September 18, 1910. 



Argynnis idalia Drury. Last days of June through July, Au- 

 gust, and September. 



Argynnis cybele Fabricius. June, July, August, and Septem- 

 ber. The males appear in numbers in June a day or so before the 

 females. 



Argynnis aphrodite Fabricius. A single specimen taken on 

 June 29. One seen at close range in the Clove Valley by Mr. 

 Frank E. Watson on August 2, 1908. 



Argynnis myrina Cramer. May to September inclusive. 



Argynnis bellona Fabricius. June, July, and August. For- 

 merly found in the Clove Valley, but none have been seen there 

 in recent years. Mr. Frank E. Watson collected a single 

 specimen in Buck's Hollow on August 7, 1910. 



Melitaea phaeton Drury. Has been found in several meadows 

 in May and June, sometimes in considerable numbers. 



Phyciodes tharos Drury. Early May to October inclusive. A 

 caterpillar was found near Richmond on March 29, 1903, under 

 a chip. It pupated on the same day, and the butterfly hatched 

 on April 20. 



Grapta interrogationis Fabricius. To be seen throughout the 

 warm weather, and occasionally early in the spring. 



Grapta comma Harris. Less common than the last, but ap- 

 pearing at the same time. 



