_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side is bright fulvous. The black markings, especially those about the middle of the wing, are heavy. Both wings at the base are clouded with fuscous, the under side of the primaries red toward the base, buff on the apical area; the subapical and the upper marginal spots well silvered; the hind wings with the inner two thirds more or less deeply ferruginous, a little mottled with buff, very rarely encroached upon by the dark color of the inner area, except occasionally near the a.n.a.l angle. Expanse, ?, 2.40 inches; ?, 2.70 inches.
_Early Stages._--The early stages have not as yet been described.
This species is found in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and in the southern portions of British Columbia and Vancouver"s Island.
(20) =Argynnis zerene=, Boisduval, Plate XIV, Fig. 9, ?, _under side_ (Zerene).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side is reddish-fulvous, with rather heavy black markings, the mesial band of spots being confluent. The under side of the fore wings is reddish, inclining to pink, with the apex laved with buff. The hind wings have the ground-color purplish-gray, mottled on the inner two thirds with ferruginous. The spots are not silvered, but are a delicate gray color. The female is colored like the male, but the red at the base of the fore wings in this s.e.x is much deeper, and the yellow at the apex of the primaries contrasts much more strongly. The spots on the under side in the female s.e.x are frequently well silvered, though in many specimens they are colored exactly as in the male s.e.x. Expanse of wing, ?, 2.17 inches; ?, 2.50 inches.
_Early Stages._--The early stages of this species have not as yet been ascertained.
This beautiful b.u.t.terfly, which is somewhat inclined to variation, is found in northern California, being quite common about Mount Shasta. It is also found in Oregon and Nevada. One of the varietal forms was named _Argynnis purpurescens_ by the late Henry Edwards, because of the decided purplish tint which prevails on the under side of the secondaries, extending over the entire surface of the hind wings and covering likewise the apex of the fore wings. This purplish-brown is very marked in specimens collected about the town of Soda Springs, in northern California.
(21) =Argynnis monticola=, Behr, Plate XIII, Fig. 7, ?, _under side_; Fig. 8, ?; Plate XIV, Fig. 17, ? (Behr"s Fritillary).
_b.u.t.terfly._--This species is very closely allied to the preceding in some respects; the upper surface, however, of the wings in both s.e.xes is brighter than in _zerene_, and the dark markings stand forth more clearly upon the lighter ground-color. The wings are not shaded with fuscous toward the base as much as in _A. zerene._ While the markings on the upper side are almost identical with those of Dr. Boisduval"s species, they are much brighter and clearer, giving the insects quite a different aspect. On the under side the wings are colored as in _zerene_, the primaries in the male being ferruginous, laved with a little red toward the base, marked with purplish-gray toward the apex, the light spots near the end of the cell on this wing being pale buff.
The hind wings are very uniformly purplish-gray, mottled with dark brown, the spots very little, if at all, silvered in the male. In the female the fore wings are bright red at the base, and the hind wings are colored as in the male; but all the spots in both the fore wings and hind wings are broadly and brightly silvered.
_Early Stages._--The early stages have not been ascertained, and there remains something here for young entomologists to accomplish.
This species is quite common in the same localities as the last, and some authors are inclined to regard it as being a mere variety, which is a belief that can only be verified by careful breeding from the egg.
(22) =Argynnis rhodope=, Edwards, Plate XI, Fig. 6, ?, _under side_ (Rhodope).
_b.u.t.terfly._--In the male s.e.x the upper side is bright fulvous, with both wings on the inner half heavily clouded with dark fuscous. The black markings are very heavy and confluent. The outer border is solid black, very slightly, if at all, interrupted by a narrow marginal brown line, in this respect resembling _A. atlantis._ On the under side the fore wings are dark ferruginous, on the outer margin rich dark brown.
Between the spots at the end of the cell and the nervules below the apex are some clear, bright straw-yellow spots. The upper spots of the marginal series are silvered. The hind wings are dark reddish-brown, very slightly paler on the line of the marginal band. The spots are pale straw-yellow, except those of the marginal series, which are distinctly silvered. The female on the upper side is of a lighter and brighter red, with the markings dark and heavy as in the male s.e.x. On the under side the markings in the female do not differ from those in the male, except that the primaries on the inner half and at the base are bright pinkish-red. Expanse, ?, 2.20 inches; ?, 2.40 inches.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
This striking species has been heretofore only found in British Columbia.
(23) =Argynnis behrensi=, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 10, ?, _under side,_ (Behrens" Fritillary).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side is dull fulvous, clouded with fuscous at the base, the black markings much narrower and lighter than in the preceding species. The primaries on the under side are pale fulvous, clouded with dark brown at the apex. The subapical spots and the upper spots of the marginal series on this wing are well silvered.
The hind wings on the under side are deep reddish-brown, with the marginal band only faintly indicated. All the spots are distinctly well silvered. The female does not differ materially from the male, except in the larger size and the somewhat paler ground-color of the upper side of the wings. On the under side the wings are exactly as in the male, with the marginal band even less distinct than in that s.e.x.
_Early Stages._--Not yet ascertained.
The type specimens upon which the foregoing description is founded came from Mendocino, in California.
(24) =Argynnis halcyone,=, Edwards, Plate XIII, Fig. 5, ?; Fig. 6, ?, _under side,_ (Halcyone).
_b.u.t.terfly_, ?.--The primaries are produced and relatively narrower than in the preceding species, fulvous on the upper side, with the black markings distinct, the mesial band of the secondaries confluent. The fore wings on the under side are pale fulvous, reddish at the base, pale buff at the end of the cell and on the costal margin before the apex.
The subapical spots and the pale spots of the marginal series are very little silvered. The hind wings have the inner two thirds deep reddish-brown, slightly mottled with buff. The marginal band is buff, and all the spots are well silvered.
?.--The female, which is considerably larger than the male, is marked much as in that s.e.x; but all the black markings are heavier, and on the under side of the primaries the base and inner margin are laved with red. The marginal band on the hind wings is not as distinct in this s.e.x as in the male, in many specimens being somewhat obscured by olive-brown. Expanse, ?, 2.50 inches; ?, 2.90-3.10 inches.
_Early Stages._--Not known.
This species, which is still rare in collections, is found in southern Colorado and the adjacent parts of Utah and Arizona.
(25) =Argynnis chitone=, Edwards, Plate XIV, Fig. 16, ? (Chitone).
_b.u.t.terfly_, ?.--The wings on the upper side are dull fulvous, greatly obscured by brown at the base of the wings. The dark spots and markings are not heavy. The fore wings on the under side are yellowish-fulvous at the base and on the inner half of the wing; the apical patch and the nervules on the apical area are heavy ferruginous; the marginal spots are buff, with no silver. The hind wings on the under side are light ferruginous, mottled with buff; the belt is broad, clear buff; the outer margin is brown. All the spots are small and imperfectly silvered.
?.--The female is nearly the same shade as the male, with the marginal spots on the under side always silvered, the remainder without silver, or only now and then with a few silvery scales. Expanse, 2.25-2.50 inches.
+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIII | | | | 1. _Argynnis cybele_, Fabricius, ?, | | _under side_. | | 2. _Argynnis semiramis_, Edwards, ?. | | 3. _Argynnis semiramis_, Edwards, ?. | | 4. _Argynnis nitocris_, Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 5. _Argynnis halcyone_, Edwards, ?. | | 6. _Argynnis halcyone_, Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 7. _Argynnis monticola_, Behr, ?, | | _under side_. | | 8. _Argynnis monticola_, Behr, ?. | | 9. _Argynnis macaria_, Edwards, ?. | | 10. _Argynnis inornata_, Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 11. _Argynnis liliana_, Henry Edwards, ?. | | 12. _Argynnis atossa_, Edwards, ?. | | 13. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ?. | | 14. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ?, | | _under side_. | | 15. _Argynnis egleis_, Boisduval, ?. | | | | [Ill.u.s.tration PLATE XIII.] | +--------------------------------------------------------------+
_Early Stages._--Not ascertained.
This species occurs in southern Utah and Arizona.
(26) =Argynnis platina,=, Skinner, Plate XVIII, Fig. 7, ? (Skinner"s Fritillary).
_b.u.t.terfly_, ?.--The original description of this species, contained in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxix, p. 154, is as follows:
"?.--Expands two and a half inches. Upper side: Rather light tawny or even light buff. Black markings dense and wide, with outer halves of wings looking rather clear or open, with rows of round spots not very large; marginal border light; bases of wings not much obscured. Under side: Superiors have the two subapical silver spots and silver spots on margin well defined; color of inner half of wing rosy. The silver spots on the inferiors are large and well defined, and placed on a very light greenish-gray ground. The intermediate buff band is well defined, comparatively wide, and very light in color. ?.--The ground-color on the inferiors below is reddish-brown in the female."
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
This species occurs in Utah and Idaho, and is possibly a varietal form of _A. coronis_, specimens agreeing very nearly with the type figured in the plate being contained in the Edwards collection under the name of _A. coronis_.
(27) =Argynnis coronis=, Behr, Plate XI, Fig. 10, ?; Fig. 11, ?
(Coronis).
_b.u.t.terfly_, ?.--The wings on the upper side are yellowish-brown, with but little brown obscuring the base. The dark markings are not heavy, but distinct. The fore wings on the under side are buff, with the basal area orange-fulvous. The subapical and submarginal spots are more or less imperfectly silvered. The hind wings are brown, mottled with reddish. The discal area is buff, and the belt is pale yellowish-buff.
All the spots are large and well silvered on these wings.
?.--The female is paler than the male, with the markings on the upper side a little heavier. The wings on the under side are much as in the male s.e.x. Expanse, ?, 2.10-2.50 inches; ?, 2.50-3.00 inches.
_Early Stages._--The early stages remain to be ascertained.
This species ranges from southern California northward to the southern part of British Columbia, and is found as far east as Utah.
(28) =Argynnis snyderi=, Skinner, Plate XVIII, Fig. 6, ? (Snyder"s Fritillary).
_b.u.t.terfly_, ?.--The wings on the upper side are light tawny, but little obscured by fuscous at the base. The black markings are moderately heavy and very sharply defined against the lighter ground-color. The outer margin is distinctly but not heavily marked. On the under side of the fore wings there are two subapical and five marginal silver spots. The ground-color of the under side of the hind wings is grayish-green, with a narrow pale-buff marginal belt. The spots are large and well silvered.
?.--The female is much like the male, but on the hind wings the ground-color from the base to the outer belt is brownish. Expanse, ?, 3.00 inches; ?, 3.30 inches.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
This species, which is very closely allied to _A. coronis_, is found in Utah.
(29) =Argynnis callippe=, Boisduval, Plate XI, Fig. 1, ?; Fig. 2, ?; Fig. 3, ?, _under side_ (Callippe).
_b.u.t.terfly,_.--This species may easily be recognized by the general obscuration of the basal area of the wings, the light-buff quadrate spots on the discal area of the fore wings, and the clear oval spots of the same color on the hind wings, as well as by the light triangular marginal spots, all standing out distinctly on the darker ground. The wings on the under side are quite pale buff, with the spots large and well silvered. Expanse, 2.30-3.00 inches.