218 PKOCEEDINGS OP THE [Feb., 1889. 



Papilio philenor, Linn. 



Clad in dark, but ricli velvet tints, this % may be well considered the hand- 

 somest of his tribe in our limits. I well remember the capture of my first 

 philenor. I was a very yoimg collector, with a knowledge of the genus Papilio 

 confined to one battered specimen of Papilio crespTiontes, though even unaware 

 of its name, and when this new and unknown beauty was taken out of my net, 

 1 felt amazed to find that there were actually two swallow-tailed butterflies 

 found near Charleston. Directed by a friend to the works of Abbott and Smith 

 in the Chai'leston Librarj-, I there found that there were many more butter- 

 flies in my neighborhood than I had dreamed of ; a fact at which I soon ceased 

 to be astonished. 



Philenor is not as common in the vicinity of Chaiieston as it is in the Coun- 

 ties of the Middle and Up Cotmtry. There is a noticeable difference in size 

 and beauty of color in the specimens found in the mountainous portions of the 

 State, and those found on the Coast, the latter being, as a rule, smaller and 

 duller colored. In Clarendon County the majority of specimens taken are 

 unusually small, and this has been my experience for two or three seasons. 

 It is probable that the food plant, AristolocJiia, may be scarcer and of inferior 

 quality on and near the Coast. If this be so, it would account for the difference 

 iu quantity and qualitj^ of the fly. I have taken phileiior feeding upon the 

 freshly dropped dung of cattle, and it is often and easily taken at the margins 

 of streams where they are crossed by roads, a thistle patch, however, is one of 

 the choicest feeding grounds, not only of this but of many other species, nota- 

 bly Papilio iroilm, Argynis Diami, and the PyrameidcB. 



Philenor is seen occasionally in the City of Charleston, though it cannot be 

 considered as a species often there met with. It is, of course, more frequent in 

 the country around than in the City itself. 



Papilio {var.) Mai'cellus, Bdl. 



Papilio Ajax, L., the Spring form, I have never yet taken, and I have never 

 seen Jlarcellm in the immediate vicinity of Charleston ; in Clarendon County 

 I have taken it in August. I consider it unusual near the Coast. In the Coun- 

 ties of Anderson and Greenville it is one of the characteristic Papilios, and I 

 have found it breeding there on the Pawpaw ( Anona ). 



Marcellm is most generally seen flying rapidly through the open forests, its 

 long tails streaming and flickering in the wind. When flying it seems much 

 larger than it really is, owing to the striking appearance presented by its many 

 "stripes and sharp contrasts of color. I have occasionally seen it hovering 

 around and ahghting upon sun-flowers, and it has the same fondness possessed 

 by troilm and philenor for the wet, sandy edges of brooks. A shady, sandy 

 road crossed by a stream, is pretty sm-e to have a specimen of MarceUm drink- 

 ing up the moisture at the water's edge, while hosts of httle blue Lycaemu, and 

 representatives from the yellow tribes of Terias and Callidryas relieve the 

 sombre appearance caused by the dark and stately Papilios, and rise in bewil- 

 dering clouds of color as the vehicle splashes through the water. I have, how- 



