Genus Vanessa 



Egg. — Short, ovoid, broad at the base, tapering toward the 

 summit, which is broad and adorned with a few narrow, quite 

 high longitudinal ridges, increasing in height toward the apex. 

 Between these ribs are a few delicate cross-lines. They are 

 generally laid in large clusters upon twigs of the food-plant. 



Caterpillar. — The caterpillar moults four times. In the ma- 

 ture form it is cylindrical, the segments adorned with long, 

 branching spines arranged in longitudinal rows; the spines much 

 longer, and branching rather than beset with bristles, as in the 

 genus Grapta. It lives upon elms, willows, and poplars. 



Chrysalis. — The chrysalis in general appearance is not unlike 

 the chrysalis of Grapta. 



The genus is mainly restricted to the north temperate zone 

 and the mountain regions of tropical lands adjacent thereto. 

 The insects hibernate in the imago form, and are among the first 

 butterflies to take wing in the springtime. 



(i) Vanessa j -album, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate XIX, 

 Fig. 9, ? (The Compton Tortoise). 



Butterfly. — No description is required, as the figure in the 

 plate will enable it to be immediately recognized. On the under 

 side of the wings it resembles in color the species of the genus 

 Grapta, from which the straight edge of the inner margin of 

 the primaries at once distinguishes it. It is a very close ally of 

 the European V. vau-album. Expanse, 2.60-2.75 inches. 



The caterpillar feeds upon various species of willow. It is a 

 Northern form, being found in Pennsylvania upon the summits of 

 the Alleghanies, and thence north to Labrador on the east and 

 Alaska on the west. It is always a rather scarce insect. 



(2) Vanessa californica, Boisduval, Plate XX, Fig. 11, $ 

 (The California Tortoise-shell). 



Butterfly. — On the upper side deep fulvous, mottled with yel- 

 low, spotted and bordered with black. On the under side dark 

 brown; pale on the outer half of the primaries, the entire surface 

 marked with dark lines and fine striae. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches. 



Early Stages. — The larva and chrysalis have been described 

 by Henry Edwards in the " Proceedings of the California Acad- 

 emy of Sciences," vol. v, p. 171. The caterpillar feeds upon 

 Ceanotbus tbyrsiflorus. 



This insect is a close ally of the European V. xantbomelas. 

 It ranges from Colorado to California and as far north as Oregon. 



168 



