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The Dog's-Head

Zerene cæsonia (Ze-re'ne cæ-so'ni-a) PLATE XVII, FIG. 5, 6 The wings are lemon-yellow above, bordered on the outer margin with black. On the hind wings the border is narrow, but on the fore wings suggests a head of a dog or of a duck, a prominent black spot on the medial vein serving as the eye. CATERPILLAR. -Length about three-fourths inch; its color is light or dark yellowish green; usually there are cross stripes of black or yellow, and each segment bears a cross row of papillæ, usually black.

Food-plants.--Lead-plant or false indigo and clover. It is certainly a new species of dog that is delineated in yellow against black on the wings of this butterfly. It looks far more like a duck with bill opened in the act of quacking than it does like a dog. However, it is a very alert-looking creature whether it be bird or beast. A large black eye adds much to its vivacious expression of countenance.

The dog's-head is abundant in the southwestern United States and extends to the Pacific and into Central America. It is sometimes found as far north as Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Wisconsin.

In its northern range it is three-brooded, and winters as a chrysalis. It loves to settle on the red-purple blossoms of the thistle, clover, and the milkweed; and as if in sympathy with the color of these flowers, the females of the late broods have the veins of the hind wings outlined in reddish purple. It is said that this butterfly is fond of the open pine woods, and has habits similar to those of our roadside butterfly, and that it congregates in large numbers on damp spots in roads and fields.

Its food-plant is largely Amorpha fructiosa, called sometimes lead-plant because of the superstition prevalent that wherever it occurs lead is to be found; whereas the truth is, wherever it is found there also are golden butterflies.