120 XATUUE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



The MoNAKC'ii Hutteufly anti tts Mimic 



LL thi'ouf^h the summer 

 and fall one may lind 

 the reddish colored 

 M o n a r c h butterfly 

 abroad in the meadows. In 

 the initial drawing it is de- 

 picted with its companion 

 species, the Viceroy, on one 

 of its favorite food flowers. 

 On sunny days, wherever clumps of 

 the boneset flowers were found, I 

 was reasonably certain to find the 

 / Monarch, although it was a frequent 



/ ' visitor to many other flowers. 

 It lays its eggs on the lea^'es of tlie milkweed, and after 

 hatching, the larva? find their suitable food readily at hand 

 during their development. These familiar larv£B are marked 

 with light or lemon-colored bands traversed with shining black. 

 The plump green chrysalis will be easily distinguished by its 

 ornamentation of metallic golden-hued spots. The chrysaiids 

 are often attached to the stems of plants near to the ground, 

 or they are sometimes found hanging from the lower edge of 

 outside clapboards of houses. The Viceroy butterfly, shown in 

 the plate illustration and on page 133, bears a close resemblance 

 to the Monarch. Even after one know'S both butterflies it is 

 not easy in the field to distinguish the two. However, the 

 resemblance is only sujjerficial, being confined to color. The 



