FAMILY NYMPHALID^ 127 



never seen it flying. It is very much like Berenice, the only dif- 

 ference being the light lines along the veins of the hind wing. 

 I call it the Desert Danais, as it likes best the dry border lands near 

 the desert proper. 



FAMILY NYMPHALID^. 



This marks a grand division, and now we come to the Nymphs. 

 This family includes most of the more showy and beautiful but- 

 terflies, and consists of four genera of four-footed, and one genus 

 of six-footed species. The fact that a butterfly has six feet, or only 

 four, as the case may be, does not count for much, being appar- 

 ently merely a minor point. In the four-footed species the front 

 pair of legs are aborted, and exist only in part, being represented 

 only as a pair of "lappets." 



Sex-marks : In most of these genera the apparent difference 

 between the sexes is very small, and it is sometimes difficult to 

 determine the sex; in these cases the lappets afford some help; 

 the vestiture of the male lappets being much more dense and long 

 than that of the females, so that by a comparison of several speci- 

 mens a conclusion is arrived at. 



103. Mechanitis Californica. 



No figure. 



This species is erroneously included in the fauna of California, 

 as it does not exist here. It was stated to have been found near 

 Los Angeles, but there must have been a mistake about it, as for 

 the last forty years no specimen has been taken. 



To give an understanding of the matter, I will state that the 

 appearance of the butterfly is somewhat like that of Heliconia, 

 being a little smaller, the wings being similar in shape ; the fore 

 wings are black, with orange spots, and the hind wings are red, 

 with a central patch of black, similar in shape to the long white 

 spot on the hind wings of Heliconia. 



104. Agraulis Vanillae. 



Plate XII ; Figures 104, Male ; a, Underside of Male. 

 Vanillae is a very common butterfly in the Southern or Gulf 

 States. It is not a native of the West Coast, but was introduced 

 into the country over the Southern Pacific Railroad, soon after 



