RUMICIA PHLvEAS. 



347 



found the butterfly in the same position, more than half way up the grass blade, in 

 the shade, and with the head up, the wings drooped to an acute, instead of a right, 

 angle with the body. It certainly sleeps very soundly, and, when aroused, does not 

 become so active as in the middle of the day. I have waked and disturbed one six 

 times, each time immediately after it had settled down after a former awakening, 

 and, even tbe last time, it flew but ten steps or so, and settled down as before. I 

 once counted 7 perched for the night on grass-blades within an area of four 

 square feet. I have generally found tbem on buffalo or herd's grass, about half 

 way down the stalk, but with the head downward, the costal edges of both wings 

 together, the abdomen bent back to an angle of 135° with the thorax, the antennae 

 straight forward, parted at an angle of about 15°. Distribution. — This member 

 of the Alleghanian fauna is widespread, invading the southern portions of the 

 Canadian fauna and extending to the Pacific coast ; its very abundance has prevented 

 its specification in many places, so that our knowledge of its southern limit is not 

 very definite. It is, however, usually common in Maryland (Uhler) and is even 

 painted by Abbott with the memorandum ' ' met with by Elliot on his tour to 

 the mountains " i.e., the Alleghanies of Georgia ; although it occurs' in California, 

 and is stated by Saunders to be found in Canada from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 

 it has not been traced across the continent, but only indicated at one or two points 

 west of the Mississippi, such as Oxley Ranche, between Fort Macleod and Calgary 

 (Geddes), and Iowa (Chic. Mus.) ; the westernmost points east of this in which it 

 has been obtained are Racine, " common " (Hoy) and Beloit, Wise. (Chamberlin); it 

 is, however, abundant enough in northern Illinois (Worthington) ; Michigan (Mich. 

 Univ. Mus., Harrington), and at Sault St. Marie (Bethune), and evidently must be 

 connected with California through more northern latitudes. Eastward it occurs in 

 Nova Scotia (Brit. Mus., Jones) and Cape Breton (Thaxter), and. in the north, has 

 been taken at Cacouna (Saunders), Quebec (Bowles), Montreal, generally common 

 (Caulfield), River Rouge District (D'Urban), and Ottawa (Billings, Fletcher), and 

 has even been taken at Moose Factory, James Bay (Weir) . Of late years specimens that 

 have been credited to this species have been reported as taken in Norway. It is found 

 throughout New England almost as abundantly in the White Mountain district as 

 elsewhere, and is one of our commonest species. Haunts. — It is found most 

 commonly in dry, sandy or gravelly, barren spots, favourable to the growth of 

 sorrel, and is particularly common by the sides of paths in dry pastures or upland 

 highways. It constantly invades the town, and, a fire itself, seems to delight in 

 finding the hottest places for its gambols. Near Quebec, Mr. Bowles finds it "in 

 rocky places where there are mossy spots." 



Whether this life-history will prove sufficiently convincing to all 

 lepiclopterists that the American hi/pophlaea.s is merely a variety of our 

 Rimiicia j/hlaeas, or a distinct species, we do not know. For our- 

 selves, we are satisfied that it is no more than a local race, and has 

 no clearly marked structural specific characters. Schoyen, Schneider, 

 and other Scandinavian lepidopterists have no hesitation in referring 

 their Arctic form to aniericanas, to which, also, Staudinger refers the 

 insect from Amur] and — Sutschan. 



j3. ab. fulliolvs, Hulst, " Ent. Amer.," ii., p. 182 (1886). Fulliola, Scudd., 

 "Butts. New Engl.," p. 1002 (1889). — C. americanus var. fulliolus, nov. var. A 

 variety of this common species in which the coppery-red is replaced by an equally 

 glowing somewhat sooty-yellow (Hulst). 



Scadder observes that, in this form, " the coppery-red is replaced 

 by an equally glowing, somewhat sooty, yellow," and suggests that it 

 corresponds in the American hypophlaeas, with the ab. schmidtii of 

 phlaeas, although it appears to us to be much nearer our ab. intermedia, 

 of which it would appear to be simply a suffused form. Scudder 

 further notes that "it is, perhaps, not different from a specimen 

 captured at Ellsworth, Maine, in 1886, by Mr. Carl Braun, in tolerably 

 fresh condition, which is remarkable for having the fiery-red of the 

 upper surface uniformly bleached to a pale but glistening saffron ; a 

 faded trace of the original brilliant colour is found only on the griseous 

 costal margin of the front wings and at the anal angle of the hind- 

 wings." 



