558 
Annual Report of New York 
upon the back; its under side white and coated with white scales. The legs are 
covered with white scales, and the under side of the thighs with white hairs; and theie 
is frequently a black stripe on the thighs and one or two slender black lines on the 
shanks and feet. The wings are white and at their bases dusted more or less with 
black scales. The fore wings frequently have black scales sprinkled along then- 
outer or costal border its whole length. At their tips is a large triangular 
grayish black spot, which is longer on the outer than on the hind side, and on its 
inner side straightish, frequently with a concavity toward its inner end. In the 
female this spot is larger, but effaced on its inner end, whereby it has more of a 
squarish than a triangular form. Slightly beyond the center of these wings is a large 
black dot or round spot; and between this and the inner edge, in the female, is a 
second spot, which is usually smaller and less regular in its form, with its edges more 
indefinite. And in this sex is frequently a faint gray streak on the inner border of 
these wings, extending from opposite the inner spot forward toward the base. The 
hind wings in both sexes have a black spot on the outer margin a little back of the 
middle, which is smaller than those on the upper wings, and its edges indefinite. On 
the under side, the fore wings are white and sprinkled with black scales at the base 
and along the outer border sometimes to the middle. Along the inner side of the 
rib vein toward the base is a broad stain of yellow, more distinct in the females. 
The tips are pale yellow; and in both sexes here are two black spots, corresponding 
with those on the upper side in the female, but commonly smaller. The hind wings are 
pale yellow, and dusted over witli small black scales, which are more numerous 
toward the base; the outer edge is brighter yellow near the base; and no vestiges of 
the black spot of the upper side are here visible in either sex. 
These butterflies are liable to vary greatly in their markings, the 
spots being larger or smaller, coal black or pale, sometimes quite 
small and dim, and sometimes one and another of them totally dis¬ 
appearing. In the south-eastern part of Europe, a small variety 
occurs in which all the spots are wanting except that on the upper 
side of the fore wings. This has been treated by Ilubner as a dis¬ 
tinct species, under the name P. Ergane. 
Another variety, also small in size and coming out earlier than the 
others appear, having the bases of the wings black, the tips of the 
fore pair slightly, if at all, blackish, the second spot on these wings 
double or composed of two small dots, and the under side of the hind 
wings very densely dusted over with black scales, was long regarded 
as a distinct species, named P. Metro, by Stephens. Among some 
late pupae, kept in a warm room the present winter, one has given 
me a butterfly of this variety. 
Westwood says: “Some females have the upper side dirty pale 
buff.” I have not met with any in this country thus colored. Curtis 
states that he has a male “ which has all the wings of a bright yel¬ 
low color.” I possess two specimens of this kind, both as deep yel¬ 
low, and nearly the same tint as our common yellow butterfly, CoUas 
Philodice. These both came from larvae which, when nearly grown, 
had been placed in boxes with some leaves on which to feed and were 
