294 
MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 
wings beneath is narrower in this species than in cybele , a charac¬ 
teristic by which the two species can be readily distinguished. 
The females are occasionally very dark beneath, the lower wing 
being chocolate brown and the silvery spots looking like discs of 
the pure metal highly polished. 
In July and August this butterfly is at times plentiful, but I 
have never seen it so abundant as A. cybele. It seems to be more 
northern in its range, and one of my friends living in Ontario, 
Canada, has sent me many fine specimens. In habits it much re¬ 
sembles the preceding species. 
Argynnis alcestis is about the size of A. aphrodite and much re¬ 
sembles it. The coloring is dark and rich, and the yellow band 
along the margin of the lower wings is wanting. Specimens are 
occasionally taken which are very red beneath on the basal part 
of the upper wings. I have never seen the insect abundant, but 
have taken it near Chicago, Illinois, in July, where I was given 
to understand by a local collector, it was at times very common. 
The specimens taken there were very fine and well repaid the 
stop of a few hours for their capture. This is a western species 
occupying the upper part of the Mississippi valley. 
A butterfly smaller in size, but scarcely less brilliant in color¬ 
ing beneath than A. aphrodite and resembling it a good deal, is 
Argynnis atlantis. Although there is often a good deal of differ¬ 
ence between the males and females of this species in the inten¬ 
sity of their coloring, the female being the darker, in size they 
are about the same, and one rarely sees the discrepancy in size so 
noticeable in A. cybele. 
This butterfly is abundant in the hilly parts of New Hamp¬ 
shire early in July, where it may be seen on the flowers and 
bushes by the roadside or winging its way across the upland 
meadows. It is quite common about Sunapee Lake, where many 
of the specimens for the illustration of this work were obtained. 
Like the other members of this group, the larva feeds on vio¬ 
lets, and hibernates when half-grown through the winter. There 
is but one brood in a season. It is a rather northern species and 
only inhabits the middle and southern states along the ranges of 
mountains. It is common in Canada. 
A very common little butterfly during May and again in 
August, in the meadows and swampy lands, is Argynnis myrina. 
It resembles the larger species of the genus in the tawny orange 
