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A POPULAR GUIDE TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA
A POPULAR GUIDE TO A KNOWLEDGE OF THE BUTTERFLIES OF NORTH AMERICA
Garden City New York DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY 1922 Copyright , 1898, By W.J. HOLLAND. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE COUNTRY LIFE PRESS, GARDEN CITY, N.Y. TO MY GOOD WIFE AND MY TWO BONNY BOYS, THE COMPANIONS OF MY LEISURE HOURS AND MY VACATION RAMBLES, I DEDICATE THIS BOOK, WITHOUT ASKING THEIR PERMISSION...
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PREFACE
PREFACE
At some time or other in the life of every healthy young person there appears to be developed what has been styled "the collecting mania." Whether this tendency is due to the natural acquisitiveness of the human race, to an innate appreciation of the beautiful and the curious, or to the development of an instinct such as is possessed by the bower-bird, the magpie, and the crow, which have the curious habit of gathering together and storing away trifles which are bright and attractive to the eye,
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LIST OF COLORED PLATES
LIST OF COLORED PLATES
Produced by the color-photographic process of the Chicago Colortype Company, 1205 Roscoe Street, Chicago, Ill....
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CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
"The study of butterflies,—creatures selected as the types of airiness and frivolity,—instead of being despised, will some day be valued as one of the most important branches of biological science." —Bates , Naturalist on the Amazons . In studying any subject, it is always well, if possible, to commence at the beginning; and in studying the life of animals, or of a group of animals, we should endeavor to obtain a clear idea at the outset of the manner in which they are developed. It is a familia
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CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
"When the skins have been inflated they may be mounted readily by being placed upon wires wrapped with green silk, or upon annealed aluminium wire. The wires are bent and twisted together for a short distance and then made to diverge. The diverging ends are pressed together, a little shellac is placed upon their tips, and they are then inserted into the opening at the anal extremity of the larval skin. Upon the release of pressure they spread apart, and after the shellac has dried the skin is fi
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CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
Moore. At the base of all truly scientific knowledge lies the principle of order. There have been some who have gone so far as to say that science is merely the orderly arrangement of facts. While such a definition is defective, it is nevertheless true that no real knowledge of any branch of science is attained until its relationship to other branches of human knowledge is learned, and until a classification of the facts of which it treats has been made. When a science treats of things, it is ne
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CHAPTER IV
CHAPTER IV
Early Writers. —The earliest descriptions of North American butterflies are found in writings which are now almost unknown, except to the close student of science. Linnæus described and named a number of the commoner North American species, and some of them were figured by Charles Clerck, his pupil, whose work entitled "Icones" was published at Stockholm in the year 1759. Clerck's work is exceedingly rare, and the writer believes that he has in his possession the only copy in North America. Joha
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FAMILY I
FAMILY I
The family of the Nymphalidæ is composed of butterflies which are of medium and large size, though a few of the genera are made up of species which are quite small. They may be distinguished from all other butterflies by the fact that the first pair of legs in both sexes is atrophied or greatly reduced in size, so that they cannot be used in walking, but are carried folded up upon the breast. The fore feet, except in the case of the female of the snout-butterflies (Libytheinæ), are without tarsa
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SUBFAMILY EUPLŒINÆ (THE MILKWEED BUTTERFLIES)
SUBFAMILY EUPLŒINÆ (THE MILKWEED BUTTERFLIES)
C.V. Riley. C.V. Riley. Butterfly. —Large butterflies; head large; the antennæ inserted on the summit, stout, naked, that is to say, not covered with scales, the club long and not broad; palpi stout; the thorax somewhat compressed, with the top arched. The abdomen is moderately stout, bearing on the eighth segment, on either side, in the case of the male, clasps which are quite conspicuous. The fore wings are greatly produced at the apex and more or less excavated about the middle of the outer b
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SUBFAMILY ITHOMIINÆ (THE LONG-WINGS)
SUBFAMILY ITHOMIINÆ (THE LONG-WINGS)
"There be Insects with little hornes proaking out before their eyes, but weak and tender they be, and good for nothing; as the Butterflies."— Pliny, Philemon Holland's Translation. Butterfly. —This subfamily is composed for the most part of species of moderate size, though a few are quite large. The fore wings are invariably greatly lengthened and are generally at least twice as long as broad. The hind wings are relatively small, rounded, and without tails. The wings in many of the genera are tr
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SUBFAMILY HELICONIINÆ (THE HELICONIANS)
SUBFAMILY HELICONIINÆ (THE HELICONIANS)
Medium or large-sized butterflies, with the fore wings twice as long as they are broad; the hind wings relatively small and rounded upon the outer margin; without tails. The palpi are produced. The antennæ, which are nearly as long as the body, are provided at the tip with a gradually tapering club, thicker and stouter than in the Ithomiinæ, and are clothed with scales on the upper surface. The fore legs are very feebly developed in both sexes. The eggs are cylindrical, twice as high as wide, ta
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SUBFAMILY NYMPHALINÆ (THE NYMPHS)
SUBFAMILY NYMPHALINÆ (THE NYMPHS)
"Entomology extends the limits of being in new directions, so that I walk in nature with a sense of greater space and freedom. It suggests, besides, that the universe is not rough-hewn, but perfect in its details. Nature will bear the closest inspection; she invites us to lay our eye level with the smallest leaf and take an insect view of its plane."— Thoreau. "My butterfly-net and pocket magnifying-glass are rare companions for a walk in the country."— William Hamilton Gibson , Sharp Eyes , p.
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SUBFAMILY SATYRINÆ (THE SATYRS)
SUBFAMILY SATYRINÆ (THE SATYRS)
Emerson. Emerson. The butterflies belonging to this subfamily are, for the most part, of medium size, and are generally obscure in color, being of some shade of brown or gray, though a few species within our territory are brightly colored. Gaily colored species belonging to this subfamily are more numerous in the tropics of both hemispheres. The wings are very generally ornamented, especially upon the under side, by eye-like spots, dark, pupiled in the center with a point of lighter color, and r
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SUBFAMILY LIBYTHEINÆ (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES)
SUBFAMILY LIBYTHEINÆ (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES)
Spenser. Butterfly. —The butterflies of this family are very readily distinguished from all others by their long projecting palpi, and by the fact that the males have four feet adapted to walking, while the females have six, in which respect they approach the Erycinidæ. Only one genus is represented in our faunal region, the genus Libythea . Genus LIBYTHEA, Fabricius (The Snout-butterflies) Butterfly. —Rather small in size, with the eyes moderately large; the antennæ with a distinct club at the
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FAMILY II. LEMONIIDÆ
FAMILY II. LEMONIIDÆ
Edgar Fawcett. Butterfly. —Small, the males having four ambulatory feet, the females six, in which respect they resemble the Libytheinæ, from which they may readily be distinguished by the small palpi. There is great variety in the shape and neuration of the wings. The genera of this subfamily have the precostal vein on the extreme inner margin of the wing; in some genera free at its end, and projecting so as to form a short frenulum, as in many genera of the moths. In addition the costal vein s
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FAMILY III. LYCÆNIDÆ
FAMILY III. LYCÆNIDÆ
Quoted as from Haworth by Scudder. Butterfly. —Small, in both sexes having all feet adapted to walking. There is exceeding diversity of form in the various genera composing this family. Many of the genera are characterized by the brilliant blue on the upper side of the wings; in other genera shades of coppery-red predominate. The hair-streaks frequently have the hind wings adorned with one or more slender, elongated tails. In Africa and in Asia there are numerous genera which strongly mimic prot
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FAMILY IV
FAMILY IV
The butterflies of this family in both sexes are provided with six ambulatory feet. The caterpillars are elongate, and in the genera Papilio and Ornithoptera have osmateria, or protrusive scent-organs, used for purposes of defense. The chrysalids in all the genera are more or less elongate, attached at the anal extremity, and held in place by a girdle of silk, but they never lie appressed to the surface upon which pupation takes place, as is true in the Erycinidæ and Lycænidæ . P. asterias range
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FAMILY V
FAMILY V
"Bedouins of the pathless air."—H.H. Butterfly. —The butterflies belonging to this family are generally quite small, with stout bodies, the thorax strongly developed in order to accommodate the muscles of flight. They are exceedingly rapid in their movements. Both sexes possess six feet adapted to walking, and the tibiæ of the hind feet, with few exceptions, have spurs. The lower radial vein of the hind wing in many of the genera is lacking, or is merely indicated by a fold in the wing. There is
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SUBFAMILY PYRRHOPYGINÆ
SUBFAMILY PYRRHOPYGINÆ
Emerson. This subfamily is composed of closely related genera which are found only in the New World. They may be easily recognized by the large blunt club of the antennæ. The cell of the fore wing is always very long, being two thirds the length of the costa; the lower radial vein usually rises from the end of the cell, a little above the third median nervule, and at a considerable remove from the upper radial. They are said when at rest to extend all their wings horizontally. But one genus belo
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SUBFAMILY HESPERIINÆ (THE HESPERIDS)
SUBFAMILY HESPERIINÆ (THE HESPERIDS)
Drake , The Culprit Fay . This subfamily falls into two groups: Group A. —In this group the cell of the fore wing is always more than two thirds the length of the costa; the lower radial vein lies approximately equidistant between the third median nervule and the upper radial. The hind wing is frequently produced at the extremity of the submedian vein into a long tail or tooth-like projection. The fore wing is usually furnished in the male sex with a costal fold, but is never marked with a disca
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SUBFAMILY PAMPHILINÆ
SUBFAMILY PAMPHILINÆ
Russell. The Pamphilinæ found in our fauna fall into two groups. Group A. —The antennæ are not greatly hooked and generally sharply pointed; the palpi have the third joint short and inconspicuous; the cell of the fore wing is always less than two thirds the length of the costa; the lower radial is somewhat nearer to the third median nervule than to the upper radial. The hind wing is often lobed. The lower radial in the hind wing is generally lacking. The male never has a costal fold on the fore
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SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION
SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE TO THE SECOND EDITION
The first edition of this book having been nearly exhausted in less than a month after publication, the author has not yet had opportunity to avail himself of the criticisms of scientific friends who are presumably looking for sins of omission and commission, of which it is sincerely hoped they will acquaint him when discovered. Thus far all criticisms have been of an approbatory character, and have only expressed pleasure. The writer is indebted to Mr. Harrison G. Dyar, the Honorary Curator of
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Explanation of Color Plates
Explanation of Color Plates
Explanation of Plate II. Reproduced, with the kind permission of Dr. S.H. Scudder, from "The Butterflies of New England," vol. iii, Plate 76. Caterpillars of Papilionidæ and Hesperiidæ Explanation of Plate III Reproduced, with the kind permission of Dr. S.H. Scudder, from "The Butterflies of New England," vol. iii, Plate 74. Caterpillars of Nymphalidæ Explanation of Plate IV Reproduced, with the kind permission of Dr. S.H. Scudder, from "The Butterflies of New England," vol. iii, Plate 83. Chrys
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