Article beginning on page 405.
Psyche 9:405-406, 1900.

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October, qoa] PSYCHE,. 40 5
GROUP CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME NORTH AMERICAN BUT- TERFLIES - IV.
BY SAMUEL H. SCUDDER, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
Mechanitis Fabricius.
Butterfly :
Palpi thinly clothed, with
first and second joints subequal and long, third very short; antennae more than
half as long as fore wing. Wings
opaque; fore wing twice as long as
broad, the recurrent nervule in discoidal cell originating between the lowest sub- costal and upper median nervules ;
pre-
costal nervure of hind wings forked.
Femur of male of same length as
coxa, Egg: Tall, pointed above, with
strong ribs and delicate transversals;
laid in open clusters of about a dozen.
Caterpillar at birth : Segments of body
somewhat deeply separated, anteriorly
tumid below the spiracles;
ranged ap-
pendages moderately long, straight (?),
pointed, perceptible in after stages.
Ma-
ture caterpillar: Provided with an infra- stigmata1 series of fleshy prominences,
not prominent on the thoracic, conical
and pointed on the abdominal segments,
besides transverse series of papillae
next, the incisures and a pair of fleshy prominences on the sides of the first
thoracic segment ; transversely banded.
Chrysalis: The wing-cases show a
gentle arcuation along the ventral line, but the mesonotum is roundly prominent
on the dorsal line ; anterior extremity, as seen from the side, very aculely pointed ; abdomen long conical. (ppp&, a
contriver; the significance is not clear.) M. californiea Reak. Butici+'y: Wings
with nearly the same markings above and
beneath. Fore wings brownish black ; a
basal stleak along the median nervure and two rounded spots near inner angle orange- tawny; a yellow spot across the cell near its apex, a mole or less interrupted oblique belt across the apical half of the wing and an ob- long subapical spot also yellow. Hind wings orange tawnywith an entire broad mesial band and narrow border of brownish black, be- neath a z-shaped blackish brown spot, much - enlargedabove below the middle of the apical half of costal margin. Expanse 60 mm.
Early stups : Unknown. - Southern Cali-
fornia.
Dircenna Doubleday.
Butte~fly: Palpi thickly clothed, with
first and second joints subequal and long, the third short, but not minute ; antennae fully half as long as fore wing. Wings
nearly transparent ; fore wing twice as
lung as broad, the recurrent nervule
in discoidal cell as in Mechanitis; pre- costal nervure of hind wings simple:
Femur of male of same length as coxa.
Egg: Unknown. CateqWm af 627th.
Body cylindrical ; ranged appendages
long, slightly bent, seated on papillae. restricted to first stage. Mature cater- pillar : Head round. Body cylindrical,
covered with pile and spotted.
Chrysalis:
As in Dynothea.
D. klugii Huh. Butterfly : Wings
with nearly similar markings above and
beneath, nearly tiansparent but somew hat



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406 PSYCHE [October, qoa
infumated, and with brown nervures. Fore wings with two arcuate series of large oval cleurur paler or amber-like spots in the inter- spaces heyoncl the cell, subparallel to outer margin, a dusky margin and a pair of dusky (Jablies enclosing a broad oblique clearer hand between them near apex of cell; an
orange stripe wiLh an enclosed broad black stripe following the inner margin. Hind
wings margined narrowly with black., in
which, beneath, are a series of transverse white dashes. Expanse So mm. Early
sfcip'es: Unknown. - Southern Texas,
Subfamily HELICONINAE.
ButtqQ : Head unusually broad.
Palpi small, con~pressed, the fringes
moderate. Antennae naked or sparingly
scaled, exceptionally long, straight, the club well marked, sometimes abrupt.
Fore legs of both sexes excessively atro- phied, short and sparsely clothed with
short hairs. Fore wings very long and
narrow ; none of the nervures swollen at the base; internal nervure absent; cell
of hind wings short and closed or open ; costal nervure extending to the outer
margin. Abdomen exceptionally long
and slender in most genera. Highly
variegated and of lively colors, but rarely with delicate markings, generally similar above and beneath. Females with a pair
of extensile club-shaped stink-pads at tip of abdomen, between the two last seg-
ments, brought into use when seized.
Males with a similar pair on the inner
side of the claspers. Egg: Thimble-
shaped, considerably higher than broad,
the outer portion of the domed summit
with unusually large cells, the more or
less direct continuation of the large quad- rangular cells upon the sides.
Caterpil-
tar at birth : Head scarcely larger than segments following. Body cylindrical,
scarcely tapering, uniform in color;
ranged appendages very long, slender,
and arcuate and generally, in our species always, clubbed. Mature caterpiZZar :
Head armed with long and slender aculi-
ferous coronal spines. Body cylindrical, submoniliform, more or less and deli-
cately spotted or marmorate or blotched
on the sides, armed with series of excep- tionally long and slender, briefly and
sparsely aculiferous spines. Feeds only
on Passifloraceae, whence Muller in
Brazil terms these insects maracuji but- terflies. Chq~satis : Of very bizarre
appearance; with highly conspicuous
prominences in several places producing
the most grotesque and distorted forms ; especially are the ocellar prominences
strongly compressed and generally ex-
cessively elongate and serrate, the wing- cases are excessively medioventrally
protuberant and the sides of the dorsal
surface of the third (sometimes second
and third) abdominal segments pronii-
nent, produced or lamellate ; thorax and abdomen rather deeply separated. In
coloring much variegated.
Contains but a single tribe, Heliconini. Synopsis of the genera.
I. APOSTRAPHIA. Butterfly: Fore
wing distinctly more than twice as long
as broad, its cell fully half as long as wing ; cell of hind wing closed. Egg:
Tapering only on the upper third.
Cat-
erpillar at birth: Three principal rows




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October, ~wz] PSYCHE. 407
of ranged appendages on each side, the
uppermost laterodorsal, the lowermost
with two appendages to a segment, all
springing from flattened tubercles. Ma-
fzirc caterpillar: Spines of head slender, tapering throughout ; uppermost spines
of body much longer than the segments.
Chrjvalis : Frontal tubercles excessively long, ribbon-like, serrate above ; antennal joints spined ; abdominal prominences
terminating in spines.
2. COLAENIS. Butterfly: Fore wing
distinctly more
than twice as long as
broad, its cell fully half as long as wing ; cell of hind wing open. Egg: Unknown.
Caterpillarat birth: Ranged appendages
springing from elevated tubercles. Afa-
twe caterpillar: Uppermost spines of
body scarcely longer than the segments.
Chrysalis: Frontal tubercles large but
not elongate ; antennal joints not spined ; laterodorsal prominences of abdomen be-
yond third joint large, compressed, sub- quadrate.
3. AGRAULIS. Bu/te/-fly : Fore wing
not more than twice as long as broad,
its cell much less than half as longas
wing ; cell of hind wing open. Egg :
Tapering from the middle upward. Caf-
erpilla-r at birth : Three principal rows of ranged appendages on each side, all
with one appendage to a segment and all
springing from elevated tubercles. Ma-
ture caterpillar: Spines of head stout,
scarcely tapering; uppermost spines of
body longer than the segments. Chrys-
alis: Frontal tubercles large but not
elongate ; antennal joints tuberculate but not spined ; laterodorsal prominences of abdomen beyond third joint small, con-
ical.
Apostraphia IItibner.
Butterfly: Palpi very slender, very
thinly haired; antennae as long as the
body, gradually clavate. Fore wings
more than twice as long as broad with
well-rounded tip, the cell more than half as long as the wing; cell of hind wings
closed, the anal angle rounded. b'orc
tarsus of <} very short; pulvilli and
paronychia preseril. Egg: Subcylindri-
cal, tapering considerably only on the
upper third, the lateral cells less than twice as broad as high. Laid singly.
LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GEOMETRIDAE. - XXXVI. BY HARRISON G. DYAH, WASHINGTON, D. C.
Synomilu subochrearia Hulst. face. Pale yellowish pink, turning darker. Egg.-Elliptical, sides ~oundedly flat- Size .6 X .5 X .+ mm. Laid loose, easily rol- tened, truncation rounded, a little oblique, ling around. outline in general a little irregular, no end Stage, I.- Ilead rounded, erect, slightly depression. Reticulations circular-hexago- bilobed; free, dark dull brov'n ; width .3 mm. nal, rounded, raised, the cell areas forming Body moderate, norm:~I, translucent sordid round
pits like a thimble all over the sur- whitish, marked with sordid vinous brown,



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