300 LEPIDOPTEBA. 



ably an early brood of caterpillars in June or July, but I 

 have not seen any on the hop-vine before August ; the former 

 are therefore confined to the elm and other plants, in all 

 probability. The caterpillar is brownish, variegated with pale 

 yellow, or pale yellow variegated with brown, with a yel- 

 lowish line on each side of the body ; the head is rust-red, 

 with two blackish branched spines on the top ; and the spines 

 of the body are pale yellow or brownish and tipped with 

 black. The chrysalis is ashen brown, with the head deeply 

 notched, and surmounted by two conical ears, a long and thin 

 nose-like prominence on the thorax, and eight silvery spots 

 on the back. The chrysalis state usually lasts from eleven to 

 fourteen days ; but the later broods are more tardy in their 

 transformations, the butterfly sometimes not appearing in 

 less than twenty-six days after the change to the chrysalis. 

 Great numbers of the chrysalids are annually destroyed by 

 little maggots within them, which, in due time, are trans- 

 formed to tiny four- winged flies (Pteromalus Vanessce), 

 which make their escape by eating little holes through the 

 sides of the chrysalis. They are ever on the watch to lay 

 their eggs on the caterpillars of this butterfly, and are so 

 small as easily to avoid being wounded by the branching 

 spines of their victims. 



Vanessa Comma. Comma Butterfly. 10 (Plate IV. Fig. 1.) 



Upper side tawny orange ; fore wings bordered behind 

 and spotted with black ; hind wings shaded behind with dark 

 brown, with two black spots on the middle, and three more 

 in a transverse line from the front edge, and a row of bright 

 orange-colored spots before the hind margin ; hind edges of 

 the wings powdered with reddish white ; under side marbled 

 with light and dark brown, the hinder wings with a silvery 

 comma in the middle. 



Expands from 2{ to 2f inches. 



This butterfly very closely resembles the white C ((7 



[ w V. Comma belongs to the genus Grapta, Kirby. — Morris.] 



