BUTTERFLIES
BUTTERFLIES
Monograph Number Two in The Mentor Reading Course
Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold!With silver fringed, and freckled o’er with gold:On the gay bosom of some fragrant flowerThey, idly fluttering, live their little hour.—Mrs. Barbauld.
Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold!With silver fringed, and freckled o’er with gold:On the gay bosom of some fragrant flowerThey, idly fluttering, live their little hour.—Mrs. Barbauld.
Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold!
With silver fringed, and freckled o’er with gold:
On the gay bosom of some fragrant flower
They, idly fluttering, live their little hour.—Mrs. Barbauld.
The Fritillaries (taking their name from their resemblance to the spotted flowers of the lily, called fritillary), or Silver Spots, belong to theNymphalidæ, one of the largest families of butterflies. The scientific name of the genus isArgynnis.
These Fritillaries, or Silver Spots, are of medium or large size, generally with the upper surface of the wings reddish or tawny yellow, marked with well-defined black stripes and spots like arrowheads near the outer borders. On the under side of the fore wings the design is faintly repeated; while on the under side of the hind wings large silvery spots are so numerous and characteristic that they give this tribe its popular name. The eyes are bare, the antennæ moderately long, ending in a well-defined, flattened club.
These beautiful butterflies are found all over the world; but they have reached their greatest development in North America. One cannot travel anywhere in the summer and early autumn without seeing some form of the genus.
The sexes seem to have equally divided their fine points; for the male is brighter in hue on the upper surface, while the female has the broader black markings on her paler ground color. This will be evident by looking at the plate, where the male and female of three varieties of Fritillaries appear. The two in the center are classified asArgynnis Diana. These splendid creatures, the finest of their race, are found at their best in Virginia, the Carolinas, northern Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Missouri, and Arkansas. The male is a deep, rich brown, with a dull, orange border, ornamented with two rows of brown spots, larger on the fore than on the hind wings. The under side of the wings is pale buff, deeply marked with black on the fore wings; while the hind wings are decorated with silvery crescents on a rich, velvety, bluish black. The fore wings of the female are ornamented with three rows of bright blue spots (the outer row sometimes is pale blue or white). Blue spots edge the hind wings, the inner row somewhat squared, and each has a central spot of black. Blue and black spots mark the under side of her fore wings, and silvery crescents and spots the under side of her hind wings.
The Great Spangled Fritillary appears on the plate. Its scientific name isArgynnis cybele. It ranges over the Atlantic States and the valley of the Mississippi as far as Nebraska. A small variety is found in New Mexico. The upper surface is tawny red, with heavy and handsome stripes and spots of black. The under side is heavily silvered. The female is paler than the male and appears to wear a kind of bolero jacket of dark, chocolate brown. Her markings are heavier than those of her lord and master. On the under side she wears exactly the same silvery decorations that he sports.
Argynnis Letois represented at the bottom of the plate, and greatly resembles the former variety. Its ground color is paler; but the female is more heavily marked, but with less silver underneath.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATIONILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 3, No. 12, SERIAL No. 88COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
The Butterfly BookCourtesy Doubleday, Page & Co.Copyrighted by W. J. Holland, 1898ADMIRALS1.Basilarchia astyanax, Fabricius, ♂ (male)2.Adelpha californica, Butler, ♀ (female)3.Basilarchia lorquini, Boisduval, ♂ (male)4.Basilarchia arthemis, Drury, ♂ (male)5.Basilarchia arthemis, Drury, var.proserpina, Edwards, ♂ (male)6.Basilarchia weidemeyeri, Edwards, ♂ (male)
The Butterfly Book
Courtesy Doubleday, Page & Co.
Copyrighted by W. J. Holland, 1898
ADMIRALS