Canadian Butterflies. 225 



Mnd; tbe third segment i=! ornamented on eact side with a yel = 

 low eyt'-like spot, containing- two blue pupik; the head is flesh- 

 eoloured, with the collar yellow. It feeds on a great many plants 

 of the genus Primus, principally on Prunus Virginianus, and 

 Prunus Serotina (Choke-cherry.) Abbot frequently met with it on 

 Ptelea Tiifoliata ; and Mr. Gosse in that charming work, the 

 " Canadian Naturalist," mentions that he has taken it from 

 willow, poplar, and bass-wood {Tilix bra,) but chiefly from 

 brown ash ; and that tbe young larv» are bluish grey at each 

 extremity, and white in the middle. He also says that "it spins 

 a bed of silk so tightly stretched from one edge of a leaf to the 

 other as to bend it up, so that a section of it would represent a 

 bow, the silk being the string. On this elastic bed the larva re- 

 poses, the fore parts of the body drawn in so as to swell out that 

 part of the body on which the eye-spots are very conspicuous." 

 " Before it spins its button and suspending girth, it gradually 

 ■changes colour to a dingy purple." The larva may be found in 

 July and September. The Chjysalis is brown with many darker 

 blotches, and has a conical point on the breast. This Butterfly 

 appears twice in 1 1 ■ year, those of the first brood having passed 

 tbe winter in the pupa state. It is abundant throuohout Canada 

 aud the United States from end of May to end of July, and is 

 found from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico, and perhaps 

 further. 



In the early part of a Canadian summer, when the fragrant 

 Lilacs are in full bloom, it is a glorious sight to see the tiny 

 Humming birds flying over the blossoms in company with this 

 splendid Butterfly, which is very partial to the flowers of that 

 plant It has, like many other species, a habit of assembling in 

 numbers round wet places on roads, &c., and Mr. Gosse speaks of 

 as many as fifty-two being seen together in one spot. 



Explanation of the technical tenns used in the description of 

 the Butterflies: — 



Outline of Wing. — Costa, the front edge of each wing — 

 base, the part of the wing nearest the body — hind margin, the 

 -edge furthest from the body — inner margin, the edge opposite 

 the costa — tip, the part where the costa meets the hind-margin — 

 nnal angle, where the hind-margin meets the inner-margin. 



Markings. — Longitudinal, extending in the direction from 

 the base to the hind-margin of the wing, or from the head to 

 the tail of the insect^ — trmisverse, extending from the costa to th* 



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