vanessa progne

1 definition found

vanessa progne - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Progne \Prog"ne\ (pr[o^]g"n[-e]), n. [L., a swallow,
     traditionally said to be fr. Progne (The sister of
     Philomela), who was changed into a swallow, Gr. Pro`knh.]
     (Zool.)
     (a) A swallow.
     (b) A genus of swallows including the purple martin. See
         Martin.
     (c) An American butterfly (Polygonia Progne syn. Vanessa   Progne
         ). It is orange and black above, grayish beneath,
         with an L-shaped silver mark on the hind wings. Called
         also gray comma.
         [1913 Webster]