The adult butterflies, more or less worn and faded from their long hibernation, appear in fields and pastures in May. They fly for several weeks sipping nectar from many kinds of spring flowers. The females search for the leaves of the elm, hop, nettle, false nettle, and perhaps other related plants on which they deposit their ribbed eggs either singly or in small groups, it often happening that one egg will be laid directly on top of another. About a week later the eggs hatch into small spinose caterpillars which begin feeding upon the leaves near by. They continue to feed and grow rather rapidly until they become full size. Each then fastens a bit of pink silk to the stem of the plant or some other support, in which it entangles its hind legs and hangs downward to become a chrysalis which is remarkable for its numerous protuberances and the beautiful silvery and golden spots along the middle of the back. Within these chrysalids the change from larva to butterfly takes place, usually in less than two weeks, so that this new brood of adults appears on the wing early in July. Eggs are laid by these for a second brood of caterpillars that feed upon the host plants in the same way as the others, and mature as butterflies late in August or early in September. These butterflies visit the fall flowers and suck the juices of fallen fruits, until the cold weather of autumn warns them to seek shelter for the winter. They now find crevices within the bark of trees or places in hollow logs or stone piles or other similar situations, where they close their wings together, so that only the bark-like under surface shows, and remain quiet for long periods. They hibernate in this way, coming forth again the following season to start the cycle for the new year. In regions where hops are grown commercially the chrysalids of these butterflies are often called "hop merchants." There is a quaint fancy that the price of the crop varies with the lustre of the golden spots upon the chrysalids. When these stand out conspicuously, according to this fancy, the hops are to sell high--bringing much gold to the owners. When these are inconspicuous the hops are to sell at a low price, with a corresponding diminution in the returns. But this fancy does not apply at all to the chrysalids when they are nearly ready to disclose the butterfly, for at this time they lose their metallic lustre. =The Hop Merchant or Comma= _Polygonia comma_