Life Among The Butterflies - free ebook by Vance Randolph

Life Among the Butterflies

Vance Randolph, B. Sc., A.M. Drawings by Peter Quinn HALDEMAN-JULIUS COMPANY GIRARD, KANSAS Copyright, 1925, Haldeman-Julius Company. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA...

8 minute read

Read Chapter

CHAPTER I BOOKS ABOUT BUTTERFLIES

Many ancient and mediaeval writers dealt with butterflies, but the first descriptions of American species are found in the works of Linnaeus, the great Swedish naturalist who wrote about 1750, and invented the system upon which all modern classification is based. Pictures of several American butterflies were published in 1759 by Charles Clerck, who had studied with Linnaeus. Johann Christian Fabricius, a professor at the University of Kiel, published a few more descriptions in 1796, and Peter Cr

5 minute read

Read Chapter

THE HEAD, EYES, AND MOUTH PARTS

The head is globular, usually a little flattened from front to rear. Two large compound eyes are located at the sides of the head, and the face or front consists largely of a plate called the clypeus . Above the clypeus and between the eyes are the antennae or feelers, which are believed to be the organs of hearing, smell, and touch. Below the clypeus is the labrum or upper lip, and the rudimentary mandibles ; just below these are the two maxillae , which unite to form a tube called the probosci

40 minute read

Read Chapter

THE THORAX, WINGS AND LEGS

The thorax is composed of three segments, the front part or prothorax, the middle part or mesothorax, and the hind part or metathorax. The prothorax bears the front legs; the mesothorax the second pair of legs and the fore wings; the metathorax carries the third pair of legs and the hind wings. The under side of the thorax is called the pectus or breast. The large muscles which operate the legs and wings are contained in the thorax. One pair of spiracles or breathing-holes is found in the protho

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE ABDOMEN

The abdomen is composed of ten segments; the first seven bear spiracles or breathing-holes (completely hidden by scales, however) and the last two segments are modified to form external sexual appendages. In the male there is a pair of claspers for holding the female during copulation; in the female there is only a short and simple ovipositor ....

18 minute read

Read Chapter

THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS

The alimentary canal , the principal part of the digestive apparatus, is a tube extending through the entire body from the end of the proboscis to the anal opening. Just above the proboscis is a bulb , which is enlarged by the contraction of muscles attached to the hard parts of the head. When the bulb is expanded nectar may be sucked up through the proboscis; then the valve at the end of the proboscis is closed, and the bulb contracted again. By this means the liquid is forced back into the eso

50 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The circulatory system consists essentially of a single blood vessel, running the entire length of the body in about the position occupied by the spinal column in the higher animals. This tube is open at the rear, and has valves opening inward all along its sides. In the thorax there is a pulsating enlargement which serves as a simple heart . The blood is a colorless liquid which percolates about through the entire body cavity, not being confined to any particular arteries or veins. It is ultima

48 minute read

Read Chapter

THE RESPIRATORY TRACT

Insects have no lungs, and the blood does not carry oxygen about as in the higher animals; air is drawn into the body and brought into direct and immediate contact with the tissues. In the butterfly there are eight pairs of spiracles or breathing-holes—seven pairs in the abdomen and one in the prothorax. These spiracles are connected with large air-sacs reaching from one end of the body to the other, each air-sac being provided with minute branching tubes called tracheae , which carry air direct

33 minute read

Read Chapter

THE EXCRETORY ORGANS

The abdomen of the butterfly contains a number of slender Malpighian tubules , in contact with the blood contained in the various cavities. These tubules extract waste matter from the blood, functioning just as kidneys do in the higher animals. The butterfly has no bladder or urethra, however; the Malpighian tubules empty into the small intestine, and the urine passes out of the body with the fecal matter....

19 minute read

Read Chapter

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

The nervous system consists of the brain, the subesophageal ganglion, and the ventral nerve cord, together with branches of these structures. The brain is a large mass of nerve tissue in the head just above the esophagus. The two optic nerves which supply the large compound eyes make up the principal part of the brain, being much larger and more complicated than the cerebrum , which is supposed to be the organ of sensation. The subesophageal ganglion is a sort of second brain lying just below th

48 minute read

Read Chapter

THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS

The ovaries in the female butterfly are sometimes so large as to crowd the other organs in the abdominal cavity. They communicate by means of tubes called oviducts with the copulatory apparatus at the end of the abdomen. The testes of the male butterfly are usually combined into a single organ; they discharge the seminal fluid into the vas deferens , whence it is conducted to a sort of pouch near the penultimate segment of the abdomen. In copulation the ends of the male and female abdomens are l

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FIRST STAGE OR EGG

Female butterflies are equipped with organs called ovaries which produce ova, and male butterflies have testes which produce sperm. By an act called copulation (in which the male and female abdomens are locked together by appropriate appendages) the sperm of the male is introduced into the body of the female. A single spermatozoon fuses with each ovum, and the result is a fertilized egg. The female deposits the egg upon a green leaf, and as a rule each species is limited to one or two particular

32 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SECOND OR LARVAL STAGE

Most butterfly eggs hatch within a week or two, producing worm-like larvae called caterpillars , which differ in appearance according to the species, but whose general characteristics are well known. The principal business of a caterpillar is to eat; no sooner has it emerged from the egg than it devours the egg-shell, and then sets to work on the leaves of the food plant. Its growth is so rapid that the outer skin must soon be shed, and this shedding process is known as moulting. Most caterpilla

44 minute read

Read Chapter

THE THIRD OR PUPAL STAGE

When the caterpillar is fully grown it spins a little silken button on some solid object, hangs itself up by the tail, and undergoes a final moult. When the old skin peels off this time it reveals, not a caterpillar with a bright new skin, but a different sort of creature altogether. The apparently lifeless pupa or chrysalis shows some of the characteristics of a butterfly, but the wings and legs are folded up, the antennae are cemented fast against the body, and the whole structure covered by a

33 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOURTH STAGE OR IMAGO

When the chrysalis stage is over the outer skin bursts open about the head, and the imago —the butterfly proper—crawls out. The newly emerged butterfly is a sorry-looking specimen; the wings are very small and flaccid, and it can do no more than cling to some convenient support, usually the empty skin of the chrysalis. After a while, however, the body juices flow out into the wings, which expand and harden, and in a few hours the young butterfly is flitting from flower to flower with its fellows

1 minute read

Read Chapter

OVIPOSITION

“One of the females, alighting upon the upper side of a leaf within ten inches of my face, suddenly elevated the forward part of the body, brought the wings together vertically, curved the abdomen slightly forward, and drew its tip slowly across the surface of the leaf for a distance of approximately 12 mm. Remaining quiet for an instant, it lifted the abdomen, showing an egg firmly attached to the leaf. The eggs are laid singly, usually in the upper middle of the leaf. I have never seen more th

25 minute read

Read Chapter

THE EGG

“The egg measures about 1.12 mm. in height and .7 mm. in diameter at the widest part, barrel-shaped, with fourteen vertical ribs. A brilliant yellow at first, it assumes after about thirty-six hours a reddish brown color. A few hours later an irregular, whitish broken ring, not quite circling the egg, appears about one-third of the distance from the top. When within an hour or so of hatching the shell becomes very thin and transparent and reflects the light with a sort of frosted-glass effect. T

35 minute read

Read Chapter

THE EMERGENCE OF THE CATERPILLAR

“At 2:15 p. m. the larva was clearly visible through the shell. Slight bodily movements were noted, then the very large, shining black head was thrust out at a point on one side of the egg, just below the top. The entire structure rocked and swayed slowly back and forth, inclining toward the side from which the head projected. “At 2:19 the larva emerged very slowly, head first. The head and the final segment appeared very large. The entire length was about 1.5 mm. The body yellowish red; prolegs

42 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CATERPILLAR

“The newly emerged larva does not venture far from the egg-shell and does not move about much for the first five or six hours. It sometimes devours the shell, but this is not usually the case. At the age of six hours it appears darker, and the black spots from which the hairlike spines protrude have become more conspicuous. Has not eaten any of the leaf, and has increased in size very little if at all.” “At the age of twenty-seven hours the larva attains a length of 2.3 mm. and has eaten several

1 minute read

Read Chapter

MOULTING

“1:30 a. m.—Larva about 21 mm., inactive and very dark, extended on lower side of leaf, front of body high, head bent, holding with third, fourth and anal prolegs. A few silk threads lie flat on leaf near caudal end of body. After some little rippling of muscle (no violent motion) the skin of the body separates from that of the head. The former is very tight; slowly, segment by segment, it is skinned backward until finally it is left, a crumpled, prickly black ball about 4 mm. in diameter, faste

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PUPATION

“10:00 a. m.—Caterpillar, 37 mm. long, leaves food plant and begins to wander restlessly about. “1:00 p. m.—Extended motionless, clinging to under side of window frame. “2:30 p. m.—Same position. “3:30 p. m.—Begins to lay a sparse, ragged network of very fine threads flat to the surface, covering a space of perhaps an inch square. These threads become thinner toward the periphery of the net, where they are hardly visible without a lens. “4:00 p. m.—Spins a little white silk button in the center

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE CHRYSALIS

“When the chrysalis first appears it is nearly cylindrical; no dorsal depression, no ventral bulge. The head is bent forward, and the whole thing has a compact, slug-like appearance. An hour or so later the head is no longer bent, and bears two double projections, set wide apart; the wing cases are bulging and prominent; on the dorsal side, opposite the middle of the wing covers, is a U-shaped depression; there are projections on the third, fifth, sixth, and seventh abdominal segments, those on

1 minute read

Read Chapter

PUPAL MOVEMENTS

“The chrysalis seems unable to bend the body toward the back or toward the wing covers; sidewise, however, it can turn until the body is extended nearly parallel to the horizontal surface from which it is suspended. Six chrysalids which hung in a north window in September, 1919, and which I observed for fourteen days, were noted to be invariably and unanimously pointed inward (toward the warm room, that is) every morning. During the warmer part of the day there was no uniformity in position. Six

29 minute read

Read Chapter

THE APPEARANCE OF THE BUTTERFLY

“Two or three weeks after pupation (the period varies with the temperature, from eight days in August to twenty-seven in November) the chrysalis turns nearly black, and a diagonal fissure appears on either side, extending from the back of the head down along the antenna cases, nearly to the middle ventrum. “About twelve hours later, after some little wriggling, the ventral triangle formed by the covering of the head, antennae and mouth parts falls open trap-door fashion, the antennae covers serv

1 minute read

Read Chapter

SUBKINGDOMS, CLASSES, ORDERS, AND SUBORDERS

Members of the animal kingdom which have no spinal column, but only an external skeleton composed of horny rings, are assigned to the subkingdom Arthropoda . Arthropods which have six legs are grouped together in the class Insecta . Insects with scales on their wings are assigned to the order called Lepidoptera . This order is divided into two suborders, the Rhopalocera or butterflies and the Heterocera or moths. Butterflies fly in the daytime, and have slender antennae with club-like knobs at t

30 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOUR FAMILIES

The suborder Rhopalocera is divided into four families: the Nymphalidae , the Lycaenidae , the Papilionidae , and the Hesperiidae . The Nymphalidae or four-footed butterflies make up the largest family; the first pair of legs are much smaller than the others, and are quite useless for walking. Most of the Nymphalidae are large or medium-sized butterflies. The caterpillars are usually provided with spines or fleshy protuberances, and the chrysalids are always suspended by the tail. The Lycaenidae

1 minute read

Read Chapter

SUBFAMILIES, GENERA, AND SPECIES

Each one of these four families is divided into several subfamilies; each subfamily is divided into several genera, and each genus is divided into several species, all of these divisions being based on an increasing anatomical similarity. Thus the common Milkweed Butterfly belongs to the class Insecta , the order Lepidoptera , the suborder Rhopalocera , the family Nymphalidae , the subfamily Euploeinae , the genus Anosia , and the species Plexippus ....

22 minute read

Read Chapter

THE VALUE OF SCIENTIFIC NOMENCLATURE

One may well ask why we do not simply say “milkweed butterfly” and have done with it, but this term refers merely to the fact that the caterpillar feeds upon a certain plant, while Anosia plexippus places the specimen definitely in the scientific scheme of things, and designates important structural distinctions which have nothing to do with milkweeds. The average American is prone to call any insect a “bug” or “moth-miller” or some such unenlightening name, so that many butterflies have no comm

1 minute read

Read Chapter

VARIETIES

Sometimes the individuals of a species differ in different parts of the country; these different forms are called varieties , and are designated by a varietal name added to the generic and specific names. Papilio turnus , Linn. is a large yellow swallowtail, but in the southern part of its range some of the females are black. The black female was formerly regarded as a distinct species, and Linnaeus named it Papilio glaucus , but when it was reared from eggs laid by a yellow female it was recogn

44 minute read

Read Chapter

THE FOUR-FOOTED BUTTERFLIES

The largest family of butterflies in America is the Nymphalidae , and its members are called four-footed butterflies because the front legs are so small as to be useless, leaving only four walking feet. Most of the butterflies are large or medium-sized, the caterpillars are usually provided with spines or fleshy protuberances, and the chrysalids are always suspended by the tail. The family is divided into five subfamilies; the Euploeinae , the Heliconiinae , the Nymphalinae , the Satyrinae , and

24 minute read

Read Chapter

THE EUPLOEINAE

So far as the great majority of readers are concerned, this subfamily includes but one species— Anosia plexippus , the familiar Monarch or Milkweed butterfly, which is common every summer in every state in the Union. The main color of the wings is bright reddish brown, but the edges are black, and there are some white spots in the black area, particularly in the fore wings. The pale green eggs are laid upon the milkweed, and soon hatch into little black and white caterpillars. The mature caterpi

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE HELICONIANS

This is a tropical subfamily, and has only one representative within the borders of the United States. Heliconius charitonius , the Zebra butterfly, is a slender, long-winged, black-and-yellow species common along the roadsides of southern Florida. This butterfly has such an evil taste and odor that no known animal will eat it. The eggs are deposited upon the passion-flower vine; the young larva is hairy, but the mature caterpillar is provided with a great number of branching spines. The chrysal

33 minute read

Read Chapter

THE NYMPHALINAE

This is the largest of all the subfamilies, numbering more than a hundred and seventy species in the United States. They are mostly large or of medium size, and include many of the commonest and most conspicuous butterflies we have. One of the most interesting members of this group is Dione vanillae , the Red Silverspot. The wings are bright red on the upper surface, with black veins and markings; the under side shows a spangled effect of brown and silver. The wings are unusually long, and the b

3 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SATYRINAE

The members of this subfamily are medium-sized, obscurely colored, forest-loving butterflies, conspicuous because of their peculiar manner of flopping about in the grass and low herbage. Satyrus alope , the Wood-nymph butterfly, is a medium-sized grayish brown species, with a broad yellow band across the fore wing. This yellow area contains two eye-spots, dark with blue centers, and in the male there is a smaller eye-spot in the hind wing also. There is a good deal of regional variation in this

53 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LIBYTHEINAE

The butterflies of this subfamily are easily recognized by the very long projecting palpi, which have the appearance of a beak or snout. Libythea bachmanni , the common Snout-butterfly, is a small, reddish brown species, with three or four white spots near the tip of the fore wing. The eggs are found upon Hackberry leaves; the caterpillar has a small head and two or three enlarged thoracic segments; the chrysalis has a sharply pointed head and a conical abdomen. This species probably spends the

24 minute read

Read Chapter

THE GOSSAMER-WINGED BUTTERFLIES

The Lycaenidae is the family of delicate little butterflies known as “blues,” “coppers,” and “hair-streaks.” Metallic blue, red, and grey are the predominating colors, and the “hair-streaks” usually have an orange spot on the hind wings. The males of this family do not use the first pair of legs in walking, but the females walk with all six feet. The caterpillars are small and usually slug-shaped, and the chrysalids are held closely to some supporting object by a girdle of silk....

22 minute read

Read Chapter

THE LYCAENINAE

Lycaena pseudargiolus is the common little blue butterfly found in every part of the United States except the far West. It is extremely subject to seasonal and geographic variations, seven or eight distinct varieties having been described. The wings of some specimens are almost black, others are a very pale blue, while still others combine the blue ground-color with a broad black border. The eggs are laid upon a great variety of plants; the caterpillars are very small and slug-shaped, and usuall

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SWALLOWTAILS AND THEIR ALLIES

The family Papilionidae includes many of the commonest and showiest of our butterflies. The adults of both sexes have six ambulatory feet; the caterpillars are elongate; the chrysalids are attached at the tail and held in place by a silken girdle, but never fastened close to the supporting surface, as the Lycaenids are. The Papilionidae is divided into two subfamilies: the Pierinae and the Papilioninae ....

20 minute read

Read Chapter

THE PIERINAE

This is the subfamily of the small and medium-sized butterflies, white and yellow in color, so common about pastures and roadsides. Pieris rapae , the cabbage butterfly, is one of the most familiar species. It is a white butterfly, with one or two black dots and tips on the fore wings. The pale yellow eggs are deposited on cabbage plants; the smooth green caterpillar eats an enormous amount of sauerkraut material, and turns into a gray or brownish chrysalis. This butterfly was originally a Europ

1 minute read

Read Chapter

THE PAPILIONINAE

This is the subfamily of the true swallowtails, the largest and most distinctive of American butterflies. The hind wings are prolonged into two tail-like projections, and are characterized, by the absence of the internal vein. The caterpillars are all provided with peculiar V-shaped scent-organs called osmateria ; these organs are thrust out just back of the head when the insect is disturbed, and give off an offensive odor, supposed to discomfit birds and other enemies. Papilio troilus , the Gre

2 minute read

Read Chapter

THE SKIPPERS

The Hesperiidae or Skipper family includes all the large bodied, small-winged, moth-like butterflies, called Skippers because of their jerky, erratic manner of flight. They are mostly small, dull colored butterflies with short, hooked antennae. The caterpillars are recognized by their large heads and small necks, and usually live in nests made of leaves fastened together with silk. The chrysalids are rounded and moth-like, and (unlike all the other families) are usually enclosed in a loose cocoo

4 minute read

Read Chapter

PROTECTIVE COLORATION

One of the commonest of the protective devices is called protective coloration . It may be noted that many caterpillars are green, a color which blends well with that of the leaves upon which they feed, and so protects them in a measure from the prying eyes of their enemies. Such chrysalids as are attached to green leaves or twigs are often green also, but most caterpillars leave the foliage to pupate, and the chrysalids are neutral gray or brown so as to be inconspicuous against a background of

2 minute read

Read Chapter

OFFENSIVE ODORS AND TASTES

Besides the method of protective coloration, some caterpillars are protected against birds by sharp spines or hairs; others by peculiar markings and attitudes said to approximate the appearance of serpents or other dangerous objects. Many butterflies, it has been observed, are protected by still other methods. The common Monarch ( Anosia plexippus ), the Zebra butterfly ( Heliconius charitonius ), and the Red Silverwing ( Dione vanillae ) are very conspicuous butterflies, yet they flutter leisur

1 minute read

Read Chapter

WARNING COLORATION

It has been noticed that many dangerous and distasteful insects are rendered conspicuous by their brilliant colors, and examples of this so-called warning coloration are not lacking among the butterflies. The Swallowtail caterpillars, which produce a very disagreeable odor, are usually marked by two great staring eye-spots on the back of the thorax. Some of the protected butterflies, such as the ill-smelling Zebra and Red Silverwing, are extraordinarily conspicuous by reason of striking color-co

36 minute read

Read Chapter

PROTECTIVE MIMICRY

There seems to be a tendency among certain insects which are edible and unprotected, to bear a superficial resemblance to inedible or distasteful species. Thus certain harmless flies have developed a remarkable likeness to wasps and bumblebees, although in structure and habits they are really very different. Several diurnal moths, too, have transparent wings, and yellow bands about the body which give them the appearance of gigantic and singularly ferocious hornets. It is certainly a great advan

1 minute read

Read Chapter

HELIOTROPISM AND LIST

It was long ago observed that plants respond definitely and mechanically to the direction of rays of light; the leaves and flowers of many plants always turn toward the sun and even follow its daily course, so that the flower which turned to the East in the morning faces due West at sunset. Similar phenomena are now known to occur in animals. Among butterflies a good example is that of the Mourning Cloak ( Vanessa antiopa ). This butterfly, when it alights in the sunlight, almost invariably turn

1 minute read

Read Chapter

FEIGNING DEATH

Many insects, particularly beetles, frequently escape their enemies by feigning death. Whether this behavior is an instinctive ruse or a genuine paralysis induced by something akin to fright we do not know, but it is doubtless of considerable value to the insect. Some butterflies have been known to play possum when in a tight place. Vanessa cardui , known as the Painted Lady, sometimes closes its wings, folds its legs close to the body, and falls motionless to the ground. Usually it is lost in t

1 minute read

Read Chapter