disippus

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A common and wide-spread species of butterfly, Limenitis disippus, feeding in the caterpillar state on the willow, poplar, and plum, and hibernating in the same state in cases made of rolled leaves. See Limenitis. It occurs in the United States as far north as Maine, in the West Indies, and in northern South America. The adult is supposed to mimic the archippus butterfly (Danais archippus), the larva of which feeds on asclepiads. See cut in preceding column.