282 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
if made with the point of a very fine pen, distributed over the 
greater part of the surface of the under side of the wings. In 
habits and mode of flight this butterfly resembles others of the 
genus already described. It often alights on the roads where they 
traverse woods, and is so active and wary as to make its capture dif¬ 
ficult. The species is found in northern New England and Canada, 
and is generally considered somewhat rare. 
The genus Pliyciodes contains a large number of small and 
plainly colored butterflies of a tan or brownish orange color with 
dark brown or black markings. They are found over all parts of 
our country and are usually among the commonest of butterflies, 
actually swarming in May and June and again in August and Sep¬ 
tember. So much alike are the different species that a collection 
containing the many kinds will at first give one the impression that 
they are all of one or two species with variations. Varieties dif¬ 
fering both in colors and markings are common, and where the 
different species are so much alike, it is scarcely necessary to state 
that it is at times exceedingly difficult to separate them. 
As the many kinds of these butterflies are interesting only to the 
specialist, I shall not weary the reader with figures and descriptions 
which must of necessity be very dry and lacking in interest to a 
lover of the beautiful, the rare and the curious in Nature. 
Pliyciodes tharos is a very common little butterfly in June and 
again in August in our fields and meadows, where it delights in 
the blossoms of the low plants, several butterflies sometimes being 
seen on one flower. It is slow and feeble in flight. The larva feeds 
on the plantain, and is dark in color and covered with short bristles. 
The genus Melitoea contains a large number of butterflies of 
rather small size, which are closely related to Pliyciodes. They 
are inhabitants of the north temperate parts of the world, particu¬ 
larly in mountain districts, and the western part of our country is 
rich in species. The genus is well represented in western Nevada 
near the base of the Sierra Nevada, where in June several pretty 
species may be taken in large numbers. 
Our eastern species, Melitoea phaeton , is one of the finest of the 
genus, and is a general favorite with collectors. The color is 
brownish black witli several rows of buff round spots and crescents 
on the outer half of the wings. Along the outer margins of both 
sets of wings is a row of brick red spots. The body is black with 
several small whitish dots along the sides of the abdomen. On the 
