6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
is in general, highly decorated with orange which often shows 
a rose madder tint when held in certain lights. 
The reader will note that we say in general when re- 
ferring to Eurytheme’s coloring. This is necessary for the 
reason that the female of Kurytheme is strongly polymorphic, 
that is to say, it has various forms. While the markings of the 
female are rich and full in all cases, the ground color varies 
from the tints described above to plain yellow and even whit- 
ish. This is another curious phase of the subject which is 
still under investigation, and which further complicates the 
study. It may readily be seen that when one species is sub- 
ject to such changes it is necessary to know whence it came in 
order fully to identify and classify it. An amusing example 
of this occurred recently when a collector now connected with 
one of the large Eastern museums sent a specimen from a 
Southern postoffice to one of our best known authorities with a 
request that it be identified. It was returned labeled, C. Eury- 
theme, and was immediately forwarded again, from an East- 
ern address. This time it was returned labelled, C. Philodice. 
Now, the standard types of the two species are decidedly 
different, but certain specimens of the yellow and whitish 
Southern females closely approach the female of Philodice in 
appearance, so that by falsely locating the place of capture, 
even the most experienced collector can be misled. As a gen- 
eral rule, however, the specimens from one locality follow a 
certain type of marking and coloring that was very certainly 
produced by the physical qualities of the surroundings. It is 
this fact which makes the study of our butterfles so 
interesting and which allows of so much careful study and re- 
search without exhausting the subject. 
Captain Collins in Europe. 
The secretary of the Astronomical section, Capt. Holdridge 
O. Collins, went abroad in October, accompanied by his daugh- 
ter, Miss Constance, and while in Vienna visited the Imperial 
Observatory, where he met the distinguished director, Dr. 
Edmund Weiss, with whom he had a pleasant interview. A 
description of the buildings, instruments, library and working 
force of astronomers will be furnished to the Bulletin later. 
