Article beginning on page 192.
Psyche 5:192, 1888.

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192 k'sx L'HA. [April 18%.
remarkable than any of the others, in
the spread, known to be recent, of
Anosia pZexif$z~s which feeds only upon
Asclepiadaceae, a group of plants found
all over the world in temperate and
torrid regions. It is remarkable, because Anosia belongs to a section of the sub-
family nearly all whose other members
belong to the Old World, and yet it is
in the Old World that it is now achiev-
ing its success. In ancient times, some
oftslioot of the Old World type found
its way to the new continent, spread
and multiplied, so long a time ago as to have now become difterentiated into
several different species and genera,
one of which, reintroduced through
comnjercial agencies into the home of
its forefathers, bids fair to rival its
, ancient allies. Here then we have a
butterfly which may yet become as
cosmopolitan as Vanessa cardui is
to-day, or only less so froin its inability to perpetuate itself in regions with
severely cold winters.
I do not find among our butterflies
any other instance which seems to me
likely to aspire to similar honor. But
it may be pointed out that Pieris rafae
is by no means so destructive in Euiope
as is another butterfly of the same group, Mancipium brassicae whose caterpil-
lars, being semigregarious, are capable of much more mischief. Should this butter-
fly be transported to America (and its
chances of such transportation seem to
be equally good with those of Pieris
rafae), it would probably outdo the
ravages of Pieris rafae and spread as
far as it.
Considering the relative abundance in
individuals of the species of Rhodoce-
ridi above that of those of any other
tribe of butterflies, the prevalence of
Eurymi in the north temperate
regions, and that of CaZZidryades in
the tropics of the New World, it
seems a little surprising that we have
among them no single species which
has a range at all extraordinary, and
no example of widespread distribu-
tion through two hemispheres. At least
such must be the judgment of one who
cannot look upon two forms having an
entirely different development in two
hemispheres, as holding any right to be
considered otherwise than as now dis-
tinct species. But there are others who
claim an identity of species between
some of the forms of E.mym~~ 011 the
two northern continents. In one case,
indeed, it would appear that one of our
common species of Euytvus, E. fhilo-
dice, was introduced by some accident
into England, and flourished there for a brief while, but speedily became extinct. It seems almost equally surprising,
considering the dependence of insects
upon their food plants, that we find
not a single instance of any remark-
able distribution among butterflies feed- ing in their caterpillar state upon
Leguminosae or upon grasses, although
a very considerable number of butter-
flies affect these particular groups. It is, therefore, plain that besides the uni- versal distribution of its larval food
plant, something more is needed to open
before any butterfly the possibilities of a cosmopolitan life.




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