The Butterfly Book Part 55

SUBFAMILY PAPILIONINae

_b.u.t.terfly._--Generally large, and often with the hind wings adorned by tail-like projections. The most characteristic structural feature of the group is the absence of the internal vein of the hind wings. The submedian vein occupies the position usually held in other subfamilies by the internal.

_Early Stages._--In that portion of the group which includes the genus _Parna.s.sius_ and its allies, the caterpillars are not, so far as is known, provided with scent-organs, and pupation takes place upon the ground, or among loosely scattered leaves, which are interwoven, at the time of pupation, with a few strands of silk. The genus _Papilio_ and its allies have large, fleshy, more or less cylindrical caterpillars, possessed of osmateria, or offensive scent-organs, and a general resemblance runs through the chrysalids of all species, which are attached by a b.u.t.ton of silk at the a.n.a.l extremity and supported in the middle by a silk girdle.

Genus PARNa.s.sIUS, Latreille

(The Parna.s.sians)

"Some to the sun their insect wings unfold, Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold; Transparent forms, too fine for mortal sight, Their fluid bodies half dissolv'd in light."

POPE.

_b.u.t.terfly._--Of medium size, with more or less diaphanous wings, generally white or yellow in color, marked with black spots and round pink or yellow spots, margined with black. The head is relatively small, thickly clothed with hairs. The antennae are short and straight, having a gradually thickened club. The palpi are very thin, straight, and clothed with long hairs. The wings are generally translucent on the margin, with a rounded apex. The upper radial is lacking. The subcostal is five-branched, the third, fourth, and fifth nervules being emitted from a common stalk which springs from the upper outer angle of the cell. The first subcostal nervule rises well before the end of the cell; the second from the same point from which the stalk which bears the other three nervules springs. The cell of the hind wing is evenly rounded at its outer extremity. The inner margin of the hind wing is more or less excavated.

_Early Stages._--The egg is turban-shaped, flattened, profusely covered with small elevations, giving it a s.h.a.greened appearance. The caterpillars have very small heads. They are flattened, having a somewhat leech-like appearance; they are black or dark brown in color, marked with numerous light spots. The chrysalis is short, rounded at the head, and pupation takes place on the surface of the ground, among leaves and litter, a few loose threads of silk being spun about the spot in which transformation occurs.

The b.u.t.terflies of this genus are cla.s.sified with the _Papilioninae_, because of the fact that the internal vein of the hind wings is always wanting, a characteristic of all papilionine genera.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 149.--Neuration of the genus _Parna.s.sius_.]

(1) =Parna.s.sius clodius=, Menetries, Plate x.x.xIX, Figs. 7, 9, ?; Figs.

8, 10, ? (Clodius).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The species may be distinguished from the following by the uniformly larger size and the more translucent outer margins of the fore wings in the male. Expanse, ?, 2.50-2.75 inches; ?, 2.50-3.00 inches.

_Early Stages._--These await study. The egg and young larva were described by W.H. Edwards in the "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xi, p.

142, but we have no account of the later stages. The caterpillar feeds on _Sedum_ and _Saxifraga_.

_Clodius_ is found upon the mountains of California in spring and early summer. It is, like all its congeners, an alpine or boreal species.

(2) =Parna.s.sius smintheus=, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate x.x.xIX, Fig. 3, ?; Fig. 4, ?; var. =behri=, Edwards, Fig. 1, ?; Fig. 2, ?; var.

=hermodur=, Henry Edwards, Fig. 6, ?; _mate of hermodur_, Fig. 5, ?

(Smintheus).

_b.u.t.terfly._--This very beautiful insect is greatly subject to variation, and the plate shows a few of the more striking forms, of which the dark female, named _hermodur_ by the late Henry Edwards, is one of the most beautiful. Expanse, ?, 2.00-2.50 inches; ?, 2.25-3.00 inches.

_Smintheus_ is found at proper elevations upon the mountains from Colorado to California, and from New Mexico to Montana. The life-history is most exquisitely delineated by Edwards in "The b.u.t.terflies of North America," vol. iii.

The caterpillar feeds on _Sedum_ and _Saxifraga_.

Genus PAPILIO, Linnaeus

(The Swallowtails)

"The b.u.t.terfly the ancient Grecians made The soul's fair emblem, and its only name-- But of the soul, escaped the slavish trade Of mortal life! For in this earthly frame Ours is the reptile's lot--much toil, much blame,-- Manifold motions making little speed, And to deform and kill the things whereon we feed."

COLERIDGE.

_b.u.t.terfly._--Generally large, frequently with the hind wings tailed. A figure of the neuration characteristic of this genus is given on p. 20, Fig. 38. From this it will be seen that the internal vein of the hind wing is lacking, the submedian vein occupying the s.p.a.ce which is commonly occupied by the internal vein. The median vein of the fore wing is connected with the submedian by a short vein, from the point of union of which with the submedian there proceeds a short internal vein in this wing. There is great diversity of form in the wings of this genus, some species even mimicking the species of the _Euploeinae_ and _Heliconiidae_ very closely, and being entirely without tails. In all cases, however, in spite of obvious diversities in color and in form, there is substantial anatomical agreement in the structure of the wings; and the caterpillars and chrysalids reveal very strongly marked affinities throughout the whole vast a.s.semblage of species, which at the present time includes about five hundred distinct forms.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | EXPLANATION OF PLATE x.x.xIX | | | | 1. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., | | var. _behri_, Edwards, ?. | | 2. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., | | var. _behri_, Edwards, ?. | | 3. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., ?. | | 4. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., ?. | | 5. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., ?, | | mate of ? _hermodur_. | | 6. _Parna.s.sius smintheus_, Dbl.-Hew., | | var. _hermodur_, ?, Henry Edwards. | | 7. _Parna.s.sius clodius_, Menetries, ? | | (_baldur_, Edwards). | | 8. _Parna.s.sius clodius_, Menetries, ? | | (_baldur_, Edwards). | | 9. _Parna.s.sius clodius_, Menetries, ?. | | 10. _Parna.s.sius clodius_, Menetries, ?. | | | | [Ill.u.s.tration PLATE x.x.xIX.] | +--------------------------------------------------------------+

_Early Stages._--The eggs are somewhat globular, flattened at the base, and smooth. The caterpillars are cylindrical, smooth, fleshy, thicker in the anterior portion of the body than in the posterior portion, and are always provided with osmateria, or protrusive scent-organs, which, when the larva is alarmed, are thrust forth, and emit a musky odor, not highly disagreeable to the human nostrils, but evidently intended to deter other creatures from attacking them. The chrysalids are always attached by a b.u.t.ton of silk at the a.n.a.l extremity, and held in place by a girdle of silk about the middle. The chrysalids are, however, never closely appressed to the surface upon which pupation takes place.

There are about twenty-seven species of this genus found within the limits of boreal America. Our fauna is therefore much richer in these magnificently colored and showy b.u.t.terflies than is the fauna of all Europe, in which but three species are known from the Dardanelles to the North Cape and Gibraltar. The genus is wonderfully developed in the tropics both of the New and the Old World, and has always been a favorite with collectors, containing many of the largest as well as the handsomest insects of the order.

(1) =Papilio ajax=, Linnaeus, Plate II, Fig. 14, _larva_; Plate VI, Figs.

11, 12, _chrysalis_ (Ajax).

_b.u.t.terfly._--This insect, which is one of the most beautiful in our fauna, has been the subject of attentive study in recent years, and is now known to be seasonally polymorphic. We have given in Plate XLIV figures of several of the forms.

(_a_) Winter form =wals.h.i.+=; Edwards, Plate XLIV, Fig. 4, ?. In this form, which emerges from chrysalids which have been exposed to the cold of the winter, the black bands of the wings are narrower and a trifle paler than in the other forms, the tails of the hind wing tipped with white, and the crimson spot on the inner margin near the a.n.a.l angle forming a conspicuous bent bar. A variety of this form, with a more or less distinct crimson line parallel to the inner margin on the upper side of the hind wing, has been named _Papilio ajax_, var. _abbotti_, by Edwards.

Another winter form, for which I propose the name =floridensis=, is represented in Plate XLIV, Fig. 2, by a male specimen. It is characterized by the great breadth and intensity of the black bands on the upper side of the wings, which are quite as broad as in the summer form _marcellus_. I find this form prevalent in the spring of the year on the St. Johns River, in Florida. Expanse, 2.50-2.75 inches.

(_b_) Winter form =telamonides=, Felder, Plate XLIV, Fig. 1, ?. In this form the tails of the hind wings are somewhat longer than in _wals.h.i.+_, and are not simply tipped, but bordered on either side for half their length with white, and the red spots near the a.n.a.l angle do not coalesce to form a crimson bar, but are separate. The black transverse bands on the upper side are wider than in _wals.h.i.+_. Expanse, 2.75-3.00 inches.

(_c_) Summer form =marcellus=, Boisduval, Plate XLIV, Fig. 3, ?. In this form, which represents the second generation emerging in the summer and fall from chrysalids produced from eggs of _wals.h.i.+_, _floridensis_, and _telamonides_, the tails of the hind wings are greatly lengthened, being fully twice as long as in _wals.h.i.+_, the black bands are greatly widened, and there is but a single small spot of crimson (sometimes none) above the a.n.a.l angle of the secondaries. Expanse, 3.00-3.25 inches.

_Early Stages._--These are well known. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the papaw (_Asimina triloba_), and wherever this plant is found the b.u.t.terfly is generally common.

_Ajax_ ranges from southern New England, where it is very rare, west and south over the entire country to the foot-hills of the Rocky Mountains.

It is very common in the lower Appalachian region, and in southern Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee is especially abundant.

(2) =Papilio eurymedon=, Boisduval, Plate XLIV, Fig. 5, ? (Eurymedon).

_b.u.t.terfly._--This beautiful insect belongs to the same group as the four succeeding species. In the style of the markings it recalls _P.

turnus_, but the ground-color is always pale whitish-yellow or white, the tails of the hind wings are more slender, and the white marginal spots on the under side of the fore wings are fused together, forming a continuous band. There are other differences, but these, with the help of the plate, will suffice for the ready identification of the species.

Expanse, 3.50-4.00 inches.

_Early Stages._--The caterpillar resembles that of _P. turnus_, but may be distinguished by its paler color and the much smaller spots composing the longitudinal series on the back and sides, and by the different color of the head. It feeds upon a variety of plants, and is especially partial to _Rhamnus californicus_.

The species ranges from Mexico to Alaska, and eastward as far as Colorado. It is abundant in the valleys of the Coast Range, and I have found it very common in the canon of the Fraser River, in British Columbia, in the month of June.

(3) =Papilio rutulus=, Boisduval, Plate XLV, Fig. 1, ? (Rutulus).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The insect very closely resembles the following species in color and markings, but the female is never dimorphic as in _P. turnus_, and the marginal spots on the under side of the fore wings run together, forming a continuous band, as in _eurymedon_, and are not separate as in _P. turnus_. By these marks it may always be distinguished. Expanse, ?, 3.50-4.00 inches; ?, 3.75-4.25 inches.

_Early Stages._--These have been described with accuracy by W.H. Edwards in the second volume of his great work. The caterpillar differs from that of _P. turnus_ in many minute particulars. It feeds on alder and willow. It is the representative on the Pacific coast of its Eastern congener, the common Tiger Swallowtail.

(4) =Papilio turnus=, Linnaeus, Plate XLIII, Fig. 1, ?; Fig. 2, dimorphic form =glaucus=, Linnaeus, ?; Plate II, Figs. 15, 26, 28, _larva_; Plate VI, Figs. 1-4, _chrysalis_ (The Tiger Swallowtail).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The "lordly Turnus" is one of the most beautiful insects of the Carolinian fauna. The plate shows the figures about one third smaller than in life, but they are sufficient for the immediate identification of the species. The species is dimorphic in the female s.e.x in the southern portions of the territory which it occupies. The black form of the female was regarded for a long while as a distinct species, until by the test of breeding it was ascertained that some eggs laid by yellow females produced black females, and that, conversely, eggs laid by black females often produced yellow females. In Canada and northward and westward in northern lat.i.tudes the dark dimorphic female does not occur. A small yellow dwarfed form is common about Sitka, whence I have obtained numerous specimens. Expanse, ?, 3.00-4.00 inches; ?, 3.50-5.00 inches.

_Early Stages._--The egg is outlined on p. 4, Fig. 3. It is green or bluish-green, quite smooth, with a few reddish spots in some specimens.