Part 8

These insects may readily be distinguished from all others by their long projecting palpi, and by the fact that the males have only four feet adapted to walking while the females have six, a fact which seems to ally them to the _Erycinidæ_. On the other hand, the chrysalis is pendent as in the _Nymphalidæ_. There is but one genus of the group represented in our faunal region.

GENUS LIBYTHEA FABRICIUS (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES).

Small _butterflies_, the palpi enormously produced in comparison with other butterflies. The fore wings are strongly excavated on the outer margin, and produced at the end of the lower radial. The hind wing is upwardly lobed at the base, excised before the outer angle, and the outer margin is somewhat scalloped. The _egg_ is ovoid, nearly twice as high as wide, ribbed, every other rib being higher than the one beside it and increasing in height toward the top. The _caterpillar_ has a small head, overarched by the anterior swollen segments; it lives upon the hackberry (_Celtis_). The _chrysalis_ has the abdomen conical, the head pointed, with two raised ridges running from the head on either side to the middle of the first segment of the abdomen; between these ridges is a low tubercle.

There are numerous species found in all parts of the world, but only three occur within our limits. Of these we figure the one which is most widely distributed.

[Illustration: PL. LXXVII]

(1) _Libythea bachmani_ Kirtland, Plate LXXVII, ♂ (The Common Snout-butterfly).

The figure we give will enable the student to immediately recognize the insect.

It ranges from New England and Ontario southward and westward over the whole country as far as Arizona and northern Mexico.

FAMILY ERYCINIDÆ (THE METAL-MARKS).

This is a great family of small or rather less than medium-sized butterflies, which is found in both the eastern and western hemispheres, but is mostly confined to the American tropics, where there are known to be about a thousand species, some of them remarkably beautiful in their colors and markings. The males have the fore legs aborted as in the case of the _Nymphalidæ_, while the females have six legs for walking. In this respect they resemble the _Lycænidæ_. The chrysalids are not pendent as are those of all the insects which we have hitherto described in this book, but are held in place by a silken girdle, and are closely appressed to the supporting surface. The strongest mark of distinction from other butterflies is the fact that the precostal vein of the hind wing is located on the extreme inner margin of the wing and sends out a little free hook, very much as is the case in many of the moths. The antennæ are very long and slender, distinctly knobbed at the end. Many genera have the peculiarity when alighting of not folding their wings, but carrying them flat, and they have also the habit of hiding under leaves, like moths. Most of the species found in our region occur in the Southwestern States, two alone are found in the Eastern States.

GENUS CHARIS HÜBNER (THE METAL-MARKS).

There are nearly fifty species of this genus found in the American tropics. There are but two species in the eastern parts of the United States, and two others in California. The figures we give will enable any one to tell apart the two species found in the Atlantic region.

[Illustration: PL. LXXVIII]

(1) _Charis cænius_ (Linnæus), Plate LXXVIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Little Metal-mark).

Very small, brighter red on the under side than on upper. Wings both above and below spotted with small steely-blue metallic markings. Common in Florida, ranging northward to Virginia and westward to Texas. Expanse 0.75 inch.

(2) _Charis borealis_ (Grote & Robinson), Plate LXXVIII, Fig. 4, ♂ (The Northern Metal-mark).

Larger than the preceding species. Upper side sooty brown marked with blacker spots and a marginal and submarginal row of coppery red spots. On the under side the wings are light red with a multitude of small black spots arranged in transverse rows. The metallic spots of the upper side reappear below. Expanse 1.15 inch.

Range from New York to Illinois and Michigan and south to the Carolinas. Rare.

GENUS APODEMIA FELDER (THE MORMONS).

There are about ten species of this genus confined mainly to the Southwestern States and northern Mexico. Some, like the one we figure, are quite small, others are larger, spreading as much as 1.50 inch. They are rather gayly colored, usually with the wings on the upper side checkered or spotted with red, black, and white, and lighter on the under side. None of them have metallic markings on either side.

(1) _Apodemia palmeri_ (Edwards), Plate LXXVIII, Fig. 2, ♂ (Palmer’s Mormon).

One of the smallest species of the genus, mouse-gray, spotted with white above; on the under side whitish gray, laved with pale red at the base of the fore wings, the spots of the upper side reappearing on this side. Expanse 0.75-0.95 inch.

Ranges from Utah to Mexico.

GENUS POLYSTIGMA SALVIN & GODMAN

There is thus far but one species known to belong to this genus, which is marked off from all others by the fact that the males have normally developed fore legs as well as the females, and thus are the “exception” in the family, “which proves the rule.”

(1) _Polystigma nais_ (Edwards), Plate LXXVIII, Fig. 1, ♂, _Type_ (The Many-spot).

The lower side of the wings is pale red mottled with buff on the hind wings; the marks of the upper side reappear below and stand out boldly upon the paler ground. Expanse 1.00-1.25 inch.

_P. nais_ occurs from Colorado to Mexico, east of the Rocky Mountains.

FAMILY LYCÆNIDÆ (THE HAIR-STREAKS, COPPERS, AND BLUES).

Small _butterflies_. The males have the first pair of legs more or less aborted, and not adapted to walking. Many of the genera are brilliantly blue on the upper side of the wings, others are coppery red. In Africa there are numerous genera which mimic other butterflies in the form and color of their wings. The _eggs_ are turban-shaped adorned with ridges, minute eminences, and networks of raised lines. Under the microscope some of them look like sea-urchins after the spines have fallen off. The _caterpillars_ are slug-shaped, flat; and while most of them feed on vegetable matter a few feed on scale-insects and aphids, and some on the larvæ of ants. The latter are African and Oriental forms. The _chrysalids_ are attached to the place where the caterpillar has pupated by a cincture or girdle.

The family is very large and is represented in all parts of the world, but there are probably more species in the American tropics than in any other quarter of the globe, unless it be in the Malaysian Archipelago and New Guinea, from which a host of species have been described in recent years.

A multitude of refinements in classification have been invented by recent authors and a lot of generic names have been proposed which in this book we shall in part ignore, as they are based upon such slight points that nobody but a man armed with a big microscope can make them out. They puzzle common people, and this book is for laymen and not for the supertechnical.

GENUS EUMÆUS HÜBNER (THE BLUE-SPOTS).

Medium-sized or small. Dark in color, with the borders on the upper and lower sides and the hind wings below beautifully adorned with spots of metallic blue or green. There are three species in the genus, two of which occur in our territory, _E. atala_, which we figure, and _E. minyas_, which may be distinguished from the former by its larger size.

[Illustration: PL. LXXIX]

(1) _Eumæus atala_ (Poey), Plate LXXIX, Fig. 1, ♂, _under side_ (The Florida Blue-spot).

The figure accurately represents the lower side of this charming insect. Expanse 1.65-1.75 inch.

It is common in southern Florida and Cuba. The other species, _E. minyas_, which is much larger and equally beautifully marked, is found in southern Texas and thence ranges southward into Brazil.

GENUS THECLA FABRICIUS (THE HAIR-STREAKS).

Mostly small _butterflies_. On the upper side very often colored with iridescent blue, green, or purple, sometimes reddish or dark brown; on the under side marked with lines and spots variously arranged and often very strikingly colored. What has been said as to the _eggs_, _larvæ_, and _chrysalids_ of the family apply as well to this as to many of the following genera, and need not be here repeated.

While students of this group have subdivided extensively, and with scientific propriety have erected a number of genera which are acceptable to specialists, there seems to the writer no need for going into these things in this book, as most of the distinctions drawn are too fine to be appreciated by any but specialists.

(1) _Thecla halesus_ (Cramer), Plate LXXIX, ♂ (The Great Purple Hair-streak).

The upper side is deep purplish blue, as shown in our figure; on the lower side the thorax is black spotted with white, the abdomen orange-red; the wings warm sepia spotted with crimson at their bases, in the males glossed with a stripe of metallic green on the fore wings, and in both sexes adorned at the anal angle by spots of metallic green, red, and iridescent blue. Expanse 1.35-1.50 inch.

Common in Central America and Mexico, ranging north through the hotter parts of the Gulf States, and has been recorded from southern Illinois. Occurs in southern California and Arizona. The larva feeds on mistletoe.

[Illustration: PL. LXXX]

(2) _Thecla m-album_ Boisduval & Leconte, Plate LXXX, Fig. 1, ♂ (The White-M Hair-streak).

Smaller than the preceding species, bluer, and not inclined to greenish at base of wings on upper side; on under side fore wing crossed by a submarginal and a median line of white, continued on the hind wings, zigzagged at anal angle so as to look like an inverted M; near this is a rounded crimson patch; anal angle black glossed with blue. Expanse 1.35-1.45 inch.

Ranges from New Jersey and Wisconsin to Venezuela.

(3) _Thecla crysalus_ Edwards, Plate LXXX, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Colorado Hair-streak).

Upper side as in our figure, under side marked with white lines edged with brown. Orange spots of upper side reappear below, but at anal angle are transformed into red eye-spots pupilled with black and margined with metallic green. Expanse 1.50 inch.

Ranges from Colorado to eastern Arizona.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXI]

(4) _Thecla favonius_ Smith & Abbot, Plate LXXXI, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Southern Hair-streak).

On the under side the wings are marked much as in _T. m-album_, but in the region of the median nervules is a rather broad transverse carmine streak inwardly edged with dark lines. Expanse 1.00-1.15 inch.

Found in the Gulf States and as far north as South Carolina.

(5) _Thecla wittfeldi_ Edwards, Plate LXXXI, Fig. 2, ♀, _Type_ (Wittfeld’s Hair-streak).

On the lower side both wings are crossed beyond the middle by two parallel pale lines bordered with darker tints, and at the end of the cells have each a short whitish bar. The anal angle is adorned with blue scales, before which is a red eye-spot of large size, externally marked with black. Expanse 1.25-1.35 inch.

Found in the region of Indian River, Florida.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXII]

(6) _Thecla autolycus_ Edwards, Plate LXXXII, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Texas Hair-streak).

The carmine spots on the under side of the wings are not arranged across the median nervules as in _T. favonius_, but are located in the vicinity of the anal angle crowning the black crescents near the inner end of the outer margin. Expanse 1.15-1.30 inch.

Ranges from Missouri and Kansas to Texas.

(7) _Thecla melinus_ Hübner, Plate LXXXII, Fig. 2, ♀ (The Common Hair-streak).

This common little butterfly may easily be recognized by its plain slaty upper surface, marked by a large black spot crowned with crimson between the origin of the two tails on the hind wings. Expanse 1.10-1.20 inch.

The caterpillar feeds on hop vines. The insect is found throughout temperate North America, thence southward into Mexico and Central America on the highlands.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXIII]

(8) _Thecla grunus_ Boisduval, Plate LXXXIII, Fig. 1, ♂ (Boisduval’s Hair-streak).

Wings on the upper side are as shown in our figure, but tawnier. On the under side the wings are pale tawny with transverse marginal and submarginal rows of small dark spots on both wings. Two or three of the marginal spots near the anal angle are conspicuously black crowned with a metallic green crescent. Expanse 1.10-1.20 inch.

The larva feeds upon the leaves of the live-oak (_Quercus chrysolepis_). Found in California and Nevada.

(9) _Thecla edwardsi_ Saunders, Plate LXXXIII, Fig. 2, ♂ _under side_ (Edwards’ Hair-streak).

Our figure shows the under side; on the upper side the wings are dark brown glossed with plumbeous, with a pale sex-mark on the fore wing of the male near the costa. Expanse 1.15 inch.

The caterpillar feeds upon the young leaves of various kinds of oak. The species ranges from Quebec westward to Colorado and is not uncommon in New England, New York, and western Pennsylvania.

(10) _Thecla acadica_ Edwards, Plate LXXXIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Acadian Hair-streak).

The wings on the under side are pale wood-brown, with a black bar at the end of the cells, and submarginal and median bands of small black spots surrounded with white; on the hind wings there is a submarginal row of red crescents, growing smaller from the anal angle toward the outer angle. Near the anal angle are two conspicuous black spots separated by a broad patch of bluish green scales. Expanse 1.15-1.25 inch.

The caterpillar feeds upon willows. The insect ranges from Quebec to Vancouver Island.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXIV]

(11) _Thecla calanus_ Hübner, Plate LXXXIV, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Banded Hair-streak).

On the upper side resembling _T. edwardsi_, but warmer brown in color; on the under side wings are marked by fine white lines on the outer half, which are not broken as in _T. edwardsi_, but form continuous bands. Expanse 1.15 inch.

The larva feeds on oaks. The insect ranges from Quebec to Colorado and Texas, and is common in western Pennsylvania.

(12) _Thecla liparops_ Boisduval & Leconte, Plate LXXXIV, Fig. 2, ♀, _under side_ (The Striped Hair-streak).

Dark brown on the upper side. On the under side the lines are arranged much as in _T. edwardsi_, but farther apart, quite narrow, and scarcely defining the darker bands between them. The spots at the anal angle are obscure and blackish. Expanse 1.15 inch.

The larva feeds on oaks, willows, wild plum, and many other plants. The insect ranges from Quebec through the northern Atlantic States as far west as Montana and Colorado, but is never common.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXV]

(13) _Thecla damon_ (Cramer), Plate LXXXV, Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_; var. _discoidalis_ Skinner, Plate LXXXV, Fig. 1, ♂, _upper side_ (Olive Hair-streak).

In our plate we have given in Fig. 1 a representation of the upper side of the form called _discoidalis_, which in the central part of the fore wing is broadly marked with reddish fulvous. In Fig. 2 we have a representation of the under side of typical _T. damon_. With the help of these figures the student may recognize both forms of the species.

The caterpillar feeds on the red cedar (_Juniperus virginiana_). It is double-brooded in the North and triple-brooded in the South. The species ranges from Ontario to Texas over the whole eastern half of the United States.

(14) _Thecla simæthis_ (Drury), Plate LXXXV, Fig. 3, ♂ _under side_ (The Brown-margined Hair-streak).

Closely resembling in many respects the preceding species, especially on the upper side, but the white band on the hind wings is straight and the outer margins are heavily marked with bright reddish brown. Expanse 0.85-1.00 inch.

This pretty species ranges from Texas well into South America.

(15) _Thecla augustus_ Kirby, Plate LXXXV, Fig. 4, ♀ (The Brown Elfin).

Brown above, paler below. The fore wings on the lower side are marked by a straight incomplete median band; the hind wings by an irregular curved median band. Back of these lines toward the base both wings are darker brown. Expanse 0.90 inch.

The insect is found in New England, thence northward and westward into the British possessions.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXVI]

(16) _Thecla niphon_ (Hübner), Plate LXXXVI, Fig. 1, ♀, _under side_ (The Banded Elfin).

Our cut gives an excellent idea of the markings of the under side. On the upper side the insect is plain reddish brown. Expanse 1.10 inch.

The caterpillars feed upon pines. The insect ranges from Nova Scotia to Colorado in the Northern States, and is only found in pine woods, but is never very abundant.

(17) _Thecla irus_ (Godart), Plate LXXXVI, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Hoary Elfin).

Grayish brown on the upper side, on the under side of the same color, but paler on the outer margins and darker toward the base; small crescents appear on the outer margins of the hind wings below, or they may be absent. Expanse 1.10 inch.

The larva feeds on young wild plums just after the petals of the flower have dropped away. The species ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific in the latitude of New England.

(18) _Thecla henrici_ Grote & Robinson, Plate LXXXVI, Fig. 3, ♀ (Henry’s Hair-streak).

Very much like the preceding species, but with the outer half of the wings laved with reddish brown. The hind wings on the under side are blackish brown; on the basal half of the outer margin paler, the division between the dark and light shades being irregular and sharply defined. Expanse 1.00-1.10 inch.

This species, like the preceding, feeds on young plums. It ranges from Maine to West Virginia, and is not very common.

(19) _Thecla læta_ Edwards, Plate LXXXVI, Fig. 4, ♂ (Early Hair-streak).

Wings brown glossed with bright blue on the upper side; on the under side pale fawn, with a band of pale red spots on both wings about the middle, and a few similar spots on the outer and inner margins of the hind wings. Expanse 0.75-0.85 inch.

The species ranges from Quebec to southern New Jersey and westward and southward to West Virginia and Arizona. It is a rare species, and appears in the early spring.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXVII]

(20) _Thecla dumetorum_ Boisduval, Plate LXXXVII, Fig. 1, ♂, _under side_ (The Green White-spotted Hair-streak).

Dark fawn above; on the outer third of the wings often shaded with reddish; on the under side both wings are green, the fore wings with a short band of white spots on the outer third; the hind wings with a white spot on the costa beyond the middle and two or three conspicuous white spots near the anal angle. Expanse 1.10 inch.

The eggs are laid on the buds of _Hosackia argophylla_. The insect ranges from Oregon and California eastward as far as Colorado.

(21) _Thecla behri_ Edwards, Plate LXXXVII, Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_ (Behr’s Hair-streak).

On the upper side the wings are broadly reddish fulvous on the disk, with the costa and outer margins of both wings broadly dark brown or black. The under side is accurately shown in our cut, and therefore needs no description. Expanse 1.10 inch.

This species is also found in Oregon and California, and ranges as far east as Colorado.

(22) _Thecla titus_ (Fabricius), Plate LXXXVII, Fig. 3, ♂, _under side_ (The Coral Hair-streak).

On the upper side uniformly gray-brown, although occasionally specimens of the female sex have a few red spots on the hind wing at the anal angle. On the under side the hind wings have a conspicuous submarginal band of coral-red spots, as shown in our cut. Expanse 1.30 inch.

The caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the wild cherry and wild plum. The insect ranges from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains and from Maine to the latitude of northern Georgia.

(23) _Thecla clytie_ Edwards, Plate LXXXVII, Fig. 4, ♂ (Clytie).

The upper side of this pretty little insect is well delineated in our figure. On the lower side the wings are white, with the usual marginal and transverse markings quite small and faint. Expanse .90 inch. The species occurs in Texas, Arizona, and northern Mexico.

GENUS FENISECA GROTE (THE HARVESTER).

Small, bright orange-yellow on the upper side, the costal and outer margin of the fore wings and the basal half of the hind wings dark brown. On the under side more or less mottled with gray and brown, the markings of the upper side reappearing. _Egg_ sub-globular, much wider than high, marked with a multitude of fine and indistinct raised ridges disposed in the form of polygonal cells. _Caterpillar_ slug-shaped, covered with bristling spines, upon which it gathers the scales of the mealy bugs upon which it feeds. _Chrysalis_ brown in color, showing a remarkable likeness to the face of a monkey, a phenomenon which also appears in the case of its allies of the genus _Spalgis_ found in Africa and Asia, as the writer has pointed out.

Only one species of the genus is known.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXVIII]

(1) _Feniseca tarquinius_ (Fabricius), Plate LXXXVIII, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Harvester).

There is considerable variation in the size of the dark markings on the upper side of the wings, and in some specimens they almost entirely disappear. Expanse 1.30 inch. Ranges from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas, and through Mississippi valley.

GENUS CHRYSOPHANUS DOUBLEDAY (THE COPPERS).

Small _butterflies_ with the upper side of the wings some shade of coppery red or orange, often glossed with deep purple. On the under side the wings are marked with a multitude of spots and lines. _Egg_ hemispherical, flattened on the base, pitted above with polygonal or circular depressions. _Larva_ slug-shaped, thickest in the middle and tapering either way, head very small. _Chrysalid_ rounded at either end, and supported by a silken girdle a little forward of the middle.

The genus is found in both hemispheres. There are over a dozen species in the United States, five of which we have selected for illustration.

(1) _Chrysophanus xanthoides_ (Boisduval), Plate LXXXVIII, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Great Copper).

This is the largest species of the genus in America. On the under side the wings are creamy white, and the spots of the upper side reappear as black markings, which show forth very distinctly on the lighter ground. Expanse 1.50-1.65 inch.

The species is confined to the western half of the continent.

[Illustration: PL. LXXXIX]

(2) _Chrysophanus hypophlæas_ (Boisduval), Plate LXXXIX, Fig. 1, ♀ (The American Copper).

This is one of the commonest butterflies in the United States. Everybody has seen it flitting about upon lawns and in gardens. The figure we give is unmistakable. Expanse 1.00 inch.

The caterpillar feeds upon common sorrel (_Rumex acetosella_). The insect ranges from Hudson Bay to the Gulf States, but does not invade the hot belt about the Gulf.

(3) _Chrysophanus epixanthe_ (Boisduval & Leconte), Plate LXXXIX, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Least Copper).

The smallest species in the genus, confined to the north. The male above has the wings fuscous, shot with violet, with a few red spots near the anal angle of the hind wings. The female is pale gray above, more profusely marked with dark spots than the male. Below the wings are pale gray sprinkled with bluish scales at the base, marked as above. Expanse 0.85-0.95 inch.

Common from Newfoundland to British Columbia, never south of New England.

(4) _Chrysophanus thoë_ (Boisduval & Leconte), Plate LXXXIX, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Bronze Copper).