PAPILIO XI. 
ASTERIAS, vae. CALVERLEYI, 2—5. 
Papilio Calverleyi, Grote, Proc. Ent. Soc. Phil., II., p. 441, pi. 10, cf. Mead, American Naturalist, III. 
p. 332, ?. 
The male described by Mr. Grote was captured August, 1863, by Mr. Louis 
Fischer, in the neighborhood of New Lots, Queens Co., Long Island, and is still 
in the collection of Mr. Stephen Calverley, now of Utica, N. Y., from whom I ob¬ 
tained it in order to figure it on the Plate. The female represented was taken 
by Mr. T. L. Mead, near Enterprise, Florida, April, 1869. I formerly thought 
it not impossible that we might have to do with a good species here, as both 
sexes had been taken, and one of them in a then little explored region. But 
very full exploration of Florida of late years has failed to produce another ex¬ 
ample, and I think this form must be regarded as a suffused Asterias. Such 
cases are not of very uncommon occurrence in different species of butterflies, 
and I have several in my own collection. Many are figured in Esper and other 
European authors. We have a good example of the phenomenon in Argynnis 
Ashtaroth, Fisher, which is a suffused Idalia. But when the suffusion is not 
restricted to one sex only, it would seem that under favoring circumstances the 
peculiarities of color might be perpetuated, and give rise to a permanent variety, 
— that is, to a good species. 
The causes of this suffusion in butterflies can onlv be surmised, but some 
experiments recently made by me, in which the chrysalids of Phyciodes Tharos 
were subjected, immediately after forming, to a low temperature, 33° Fahr., for 
several days, indicate that continued severe cold, such as would ensue from an 
enveloping with ice or snow, for example, soon after the forming of the chrys¬ 
alis, may be one cause of the blending of colors in the emerging butterfly. In 
the instance referred to, not only was there a decided change in the coloration 
of the butterflies brought about, but in many of them the colors of both sur¬ 
faces had run together, affording as fine illustrations of suffusion as in these P. 
Calverleyi. 
