Part 9

The female differs from the male in having the fore wings bright coppery red, marked with a number of dark spots, three in the cell, one below it, and an irregular transverse band of them crossing the limbal area. The outer margin is heavily banded with fuscous. Below the fore wing is tawny red in both sexes, pale gray at the apex; the hind wings are bluish gray with a broad band of carmine on the outer margin. Both wings underneath profusely adorned with small black spots. Expanse 1.30-1.40 inch.

Ranges from Maine to Colorado, southward to northern Virginia.

[Illustration: PL. XC]

(5) _Chrysophanus helloides_ (Boisduval), Plate XC, Fig. 1, ♂ (The Purplish Copper).

The male has the wings on the upper side broadly shot with iridescent purple; the female, which is larger than the male, has the wings red, with less iridescence. Below the fore wings in both sexes are pale red, the hind wings reddish gray with a marginal row of brick-red crescents. Expanse 1.15-1.30 inch.

Ranges from northern Illinois to British Columbia.

GENUS LYCÆNA FABRICIUS (THE BLUES).

The _butterflies_ in this group are generally small, with the upper side of some shade of pale blue. On the under side the wings are paler in color, variously marked with spots and lines. The genus in recent years has been subdivided into smaller subgenera but as an ability to discriminate these involves a knowledge of minuter anatomical details, which is only possessed by specialists, the writer has not deemed it worth the while in a little manual like this to go deeply into these matters. The old name _Lycæna_, which has been in vogue for a century, and which is still applied to part of the group, is sufficiently characteristic. If we were reviewing all the species of the world, of which there are many hundreds in this assemblage of forms, we would be forced to use the minuter methods of classification. The _eggs_ are turban-shaped; the _caterpillars_ are slug-shaped, feeding on the petals and bracts of flowers or tender terminal leaves; the _chrysalids_ are short, rounded at either end, supported by a silken girdle and closely appressed to the supporting surface.

(1) _Lycæna couperi_ Grote, Plate XC, Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_ (Couper’s Blue).

On the upper side the wings of the male are pale shining blue with a narrow black border; of the female darker blue broadly margined with dusky. On the under side in both sexes the wings are brownish gray relieved with white spots, having dark pupils. Expanse 1.25 inch. It is a boreal form.

(2) _Lycæna aster_ Edwards, Plate XC, Fig. 3, ♂, _under side_ (The Aster Blue).

On the upper side the male is pale lilac-blue, the female darker blue, with a submarginal row of paler blue spots on the margin of the hind wing. On the under side the fore wings have a dark bar at the end of the cell followed on the limbal area with a curved band of small dark spots. This style of decoration is repeated on the hind wings, and in addition there is a marginal band of pale yellow oval spots, each surrounded by a fine black encircling line. Expanse 0.95-1.00 inch. The insect is known thus far only from Newfoundland.

(3) _Lycæna melissa_ Edwards, Plate XC, Fig. 4, ♀ (The Orange-margined Blue).

The male on the upper side is pale blue, with a narrow black marginal line and white fringes. The female is brown or lilac-gray with a series of orange-red crescents on the outer margin of both wings. The wings below are stone-gray with the usual spots, but on the hind wings the orange crescents are oblong tipped inwardly with black and outwardly with metallic green. Expanse 0.90-1.15 inch.

Ranges from Arizona to Montana.

[Illustration: PL. XCI]

(4) _Lycæna scudderi_ Edwards, Plate XCI, Fig. 1, ♂ (Scudder’s Blue).

Our figure gives a good idea of the upper side of the male, which is hard to discriminate from the same sex of _L. melissa_. The female is darker, and has only a few orange crescents on the outer margin of the hind wing on the upper side. On the under side the wings are shining white, the spots much reduced in size, the large orange spots found in _L. melissa_ being replaced by little ochreous spots very obscurely tipped externally by a few greenish scales.

The caterpillar feeds on lupine and allied plants. The insect is very common in the basin of the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. It abounds in central New York.

[Illustration: PL. XCII]

(5) _Lycæna pseudargiolus_ (Boisduval & Leconte), Plate XCI, Fig. 2, ♂; Fig. 3, ♀. Form _neglecta_ Edwards, Plate XCI, Fig. 4, ♂; Fig. 5, ♀. Form _lucia_ Kirby, Plate XCII, Fig. 1, ♂, _under side_. Form _marginata_ Edwards, Plate XCII, Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_; Fig. 3, ♂, _upper side_. Form _nigra_ Edwards, Plate XCII, Fig. 4, ♀ (The Common Blue).

This insect which is very common and may be found upon the wing from early spring until late in the autumn illustrates in a remarkable manner the phenomenon of polymorphism; that is to say, it has a number of forms, some of which are seasonal, some of which are sexual, some of which are climatic. It is in fact only through the labors of the late William Henry Edwards that some of the mysteries were cleared up, he having by breeding established the fact that some of the so-called species could be raised from eggs derived from one common stock. The great series of specimens upon which his conclusions were founded are in the possession of the writer, and have from time to time been supplemented by a vast amount of other material all of which confirms his teachings.

The forms _lucia_ and _marginata_ are winter forms, coming from chrysalids which have endured the long cold of the winter months and are the first to appear in spring. They are the only forms which occur in the far north near the Arctic Circle.

The forms _pseudargiolus_ and _neglecta_ are summer forms of the second and third generations, produced from eggs laid by _lucia_ and _marginata_. _Nigra_ is a dimorphic female form belonging to the summer broods and is melanic; that is to say, it is a form in which dark color prevails. Students of biology recognize a tendency in some animals to become black, while there is also a tendency to become white, or to produce albinoes. These tendencies in opposite directions in color are often observed in butterflies, and the melanic female of the species under consideration illustrates it. There is still another form, _piasus_, which occurs in Arizona and Mexico, and is climatic, or due to the influence of environment.

The winter forms are dwarfed and darkly marked on the under side as our figures show; the summer forms are larger, pale on the under side and dark on the outer borders above.

The species has a range in the expanse of wing of from 0.85-1.25 inch.

It occurs from Alaska to Florida, and from Anticosti to northern Mexico.

[Illustration: PL. XCIII]

(6) _Lycæna amyntula_ Boisduval, Plate XCIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Western Tailed Blue).

Male pale blue on upper side; female darker, the hind wings with a submarginal row of orange crescents pupilled with black. Expanse 1.00-1.25 inch.

Ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific in British America and southward as far as Colorado.

(7) _Lycæna comyntas_ (Godart), Plate XCIII, Fig. 3, ♂; Fig. 4, ♀ (The Eastern Tailed Blue).

Somewhat closely resembling the preceding, but appreciably smaller. Expanse 1.00-1.10 inch.

Ranges from the Saskatchewan to Costa Rica, and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains.

(8) _Lycæna isophthalma_ Herrich-Schäffer, Plate XCIII, Fig. 5, ♀ (The Dwarf Blue).

Light brown above in both sexes, with a row of dark spots on outer margin of hind wings; below pale brown profusely marked by light spots and bands, the dark marginal spots of the upper side reappearing, and defined by circlets of metallic scales. Expanse 0.75 inch.

Found in the Gulf States and the Antilles.

(9) _Lycæna exilis_ Boisduval, Plate XCIII, Fig. 6, ♂ (The Pygmy Blue).

The smallest of North American butterflies, closely resembling the foregoing, but distinguished by the white spot on fringe near inner angle of fore wing, and the white fringes of the same wing near apex. Expanse 0.65 inch.

The Pygmy occurs in the Gulf States and in tropical America.

(10) _Lycæna theona_ Lucas, Plate XCIII, Fig. 7, ♀ (The West Indian Blue).

Male shining lavender-blue; this color also glosses the dark outer borders of the wings; female white, with outer borders heavily blackish; fore wings shot with shining sky-blue at base. Hind wings near anal angle have conspicuous eye-spots both above and below. Expanse 0.80 inch.

Occurs in the Gulf States and throughout the tropics of the New World.

[Illustration: PL. XCIV]

(11) _Lycæna acmon_ Doubleday & Hewitson, Plate XCIV, Fig. 1, ♂ (Red-margined Blue).

In many respects resembling _L. melissa_, but somewhat smaller. Male on upper side brighter blue, and female not as brown as _L. melissa_, though darker than the male, her wings broadly shot with violet-blue. In both sexes a broad deep red submarginal band on hind wings, marked with black spots. Expanse 0.85-1.10 inch.

Ranges from Arizona to Washington and Montana. The larva feeds on _Hosackia_.

(12) _Lycæna ammon_ Lucas, Plate XCIV, Fig. 2, ♀, _under side_ (The Indian River Blue).

Male brilliant lilac-blue on upper side; female violet-blue with wide black borders on fore wings, and one or two conspicuous eye-spots near anal angle of hind wings, each surmounted by a carmine crescent. Expanse 0.95-1.10 inch.

Not uncommon in southern Florida; abundant in the Antilles and tropical America.

(13) _Lycæna marina_ Reakirt, Plate XCIV, Fig. 4, ♀ (The Marine Blue).

Male on upper side pale dusky lilac, the dark bands of the under side showing through on upper side. Female dark brown above, with wings at base shot with lilac-blue; the dark bands on the disk are prominent in this sex, especially on fore wings. Expanse 1.10 inch.

Occurs in Texas, Arizona, southern California, and southward. The larva feeds on alfalfa and allied plants.

(14) _Lycæna lygdamus_ (Doubleday), Plate XCIV, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Silvery Blue).

The upper side is well shown in our illustration. The under side is pale chocolate-brown, having on both wings a submarginal band of black spots encircled with white, similar spots at the end of the cells, and one or two also on the costa of the hind wing. Expanse 0.85-1.00 inch.

Ranges from Michigan to Georgia.

(15) _Lycæna heteronea_ Boisduval, Plate XCIV, Fig. 5, ♂; Fig. 6, ♀ (The Varied Blue).

The largest species of the genus. Male blue, female brown; the markings on upper side of latter recalling the female of the genus _Chrysophanus_. Expanse 1.25-1.40 inch. Below the wings are white marked with faint brown spots on the hind wings and more distinct spots on the fore wings.

Ranges from Colorado to California at suitable elevations among the mountains.

FAMILY PAPILIONIDÆ

(THE SWALLOW-TAILS AND ALLIES).

The _butterflies_ of this group are provided in both sexes with six legs adapted to walking. The internal vein of the hind wing is wanting, its place being taken by the submedian. _Caterpillars_ elongate, and in the genus _Papilio_ provided with _osmateria_ or protrusive forking scent-organs, which, when excited, they thrust forth from the pouch back of the head in which they usually lie concealed. _Chrysalids_ in all the genera more or less elongate, attached at anal extremity to a button of silk, and held in place by a silk girdle, but never closely appressed to the supporting surface as is the case in the _Erycinidæ_ and _Lycænidæ_.

SUBFAMILY PIERINÆ

(THE YELLOWS, SULPHURS, AND WHITES).

For the most part small or medium-sized _butterflies_, white or yellow in color, with dark marginal markings. The _eggs_ are spindle-shaped, marked with vertical ridges and horizontal cross-lines. The _caterpillars_ are cylindrical, relatively long, generally green in color, with longitudinal stripes. The _chrysalids_ are more or less pointed at the head, with the wing-cases greatly developed on the ventral side, forming a more or less keel-shaped projection upon this surface.

The subfamily is very large, and is well represented in the tropics of both the eastern and western hemispheres. Certain genera are also widely distributed in the colder regions of both the north and the south, among them the genus _Colias_, species of which occur from Greenland to Patagonia and from the North Cape to the Cape of Good Hope.

GENUS TACHYRIS WALLACE

(THE FLORIDA WHITE).

There are about seventy species in this genus, all of which are found in the Old World, except the one which occurs in our fauna, and which has a very wide range throughout the tropics of the New World.

[Illustration: PL. XCV]

(1) _Tachyris ilaire_ (Godart), Plate XCV, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀. Our plate gives such an excellent reproduction of the upper side of the wings of this species that no formal description seems necessary. A melanic form of the female sometimes occurs in which the wings are almost wholly dull blackish on both sides. Normally the under side of the wings in the female is pearly white marked with bright orange at base of fore wings. Expanse 2.50-2.75 inches.

Occurs in southern Florida and throughout tropical America.

GENUS PIERIS SCHRANK

(THE WHITES).

Medium-sized _butterflies_, generally white in color, marked on both upper and under sides with darker lines and spots. Antennæ clubbed; palpi short, compressed, with the last joint short and pointed. _Eggs_ spindle-shaped, with vertical raised ridges. _Caterpillar_ elongate, head hemispherical, feeding upon cruciferous plants. _Chrysalis_ attached by anal extremity and held in place by a silk girdle; concave on the ventral side, convex on the dorsal side, with a hump-like or keel-shaped eminence on the thorax. Head conical.

An extensive genus, confined principally to the northern hemisphere.

[Illustration: PL. XCVI]

(1) _Pieris monuste_ (Linnæus), Plate XCVI, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Great Southern White).

Our figure gives a perfect idea of the upper side of the wings. Hind wing on under side grayish saffron, crossed by a poorly defined pale brown transverse band of spots, the veins pale brown, between them pale brown rays on the interspaces. Expanse 1.65-2.35 inches.

Has a wide range in tropical America. Common in the Gulf States.

[Illustration: PL. XCVII]

(2) _Pieris protodice_ Boisduval & Leconte, Plate XCVII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Common White).

Our illustration of both sexes obviates the necessity for a description. Expanse 1.90-2.15 inches.

Ranges from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains, and from southern Canada to the Gulf States.

[Illustration: PL. XCVIII]

(3) _Pieris napi_ (Linnæus), variety _oleracea_ (Harris), Plate XCVIII, Fig. 1, ♂; variety _pallida_ Scudder, Plate XCVIII, Fig. 2, ♂; variety _bryoniæ_ (Ochsenheimer), Plate XCVIII, Fig. 3, ♀ (The Mustard White). (See p. 174.)

Occurs throughout temperate and boreal North America, ranging well up to the Arctic Circle; also occurs in the eastern hemisphere, ranging from north Africa to the North Cape, and all over temperate and subarctic Asia. There are a multitude of forms which have been named and described; we give but three of those found in America. _Oleracea_ is a winter form; _pallida_ is the common form; and _bryoniæ_ is a subarctic form found in Alaska, Siberia, and the Alps in Europe.

The species ranges from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Alaska to the northern boundaries of the Gulf States. Expanse 1.50-2.00 inches.

[Illustration: PL. XCIX]

(4) _Pieris rapæ_ (Linnæus), Plate XCIX, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Cabbage Butterfly). (See p. 174.)

This excessively common insect has been in comparatively recent years introduced from Europe. It first appeared about Quebec in 1860; since then it has come to occupy the continent, and wherever cabbages are grown hundreds of these butterflies may be seen. The loss to gardeners which it causes is estimated to run into millions of dollars annually. It feeds on all the _Cruciferæ_. The multiplication of _P. rapæ_ has been followed by the partial extinction of our native Pierids just as our birds have disappeared before the English Sparrow. Expanse 2.00 inches.

GENUS NATHALIS BOISDUVAL

Small yellow butterflies margined with black. Fore wings somewhat narrow and produced; antennæ quite short; upper radial vein in fore wing wanting. There are three species found in the subtropical regions of the New World, one of which invades our territory.

[Illustration: PL. C]

(1) _Nathalis iole_, Boisduval Plate C, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Dwarf Yellow).

This little species, of which we give excellent figures, cannot be mistaken. Expanse 1.00-1.25 inch.

It ranges from southern Indiana and Illinois to Arizona, southern California, and northern Mexico. The larva feeds on _Erodium cicutarium_ or pin-clover, and other _Geraniaceæ_.

GENUS EUCHLOË HÜBNER

(THE ORANGE-TIPS AND MARBLE-WINGS).

Small _butterflies_, white in color, with the apex of the fore wings dark brown, marked with spots and bands of orange-yellow or crimson; on the under side the hind wings are generally more or less mottled with green spots and striæ. _Eggs_ spindle-shaped; _caterpillar_ relatively long, with small head; _chrysalis_ with the head greatly produced, wing-cases compressed forming a keel-shaped projection.

(1) _Euchloë ausonides_ (Lucas), Plate C, Fig. 3, ♂, _under side_ (The Western Orange-tip).

On upper side wings at apex tipped with dark fuscous, and lack altogether the orange or red which is characteristic of most of the other species of the genus. On under side fore wings have a very pale greenish tint; hind wings marked with three irregular green bands, more or less broken up, forking in various directions. Expanse 1.65-1.90 inch.

Ranging from Arizona to Alaska and eastward to Colorado.

(2) _Euchloë genutia_ (Fabricius). Plate C, Fig. 4, ♂ (The Falcate Orange-tip).

Readily recognized by the hooked tip of the fore wings. The female has no orange marking on the tip. Single-brooded in the Northern States, but double-brooded in the Carolinas. Expanse 1.30-1.50 inch. The caterpillar feeds on _Sisybrium_, _Arabis_, _Cardamine_, and other cruciferous plants.

Ranges from New England to Texas.

[Illustration: PL. CI]

(3) _Euchloë sara_ (Lucas) Plate CI, Fig. 1, ♂ (Lucas’ Orange-tip).

There are numerous varieties of this beautiful insect. On the under side the hind wings are marked with irregular patches of greenish scales having a “mossy” appearance. Expanse 1.75 inch. Occurs in Pacific States.

(4) _Euchloë rosa_ (Edwards), Plate CI, Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_ (The Rosy Marble-wing).

Above pure white without any red at the tip of the primaries; a transapical black band, broken in the middle, and a small black bar closes the cell. Under side well shown in our figure except that there fails to appear a faint rosy tint in the hind wings which is characteristic of all specimens which we have examined. Expanse 1.35-1.40 inch. Found in Texas.

(5) _Euchloë hyantis_ (Edwards), Plate CI, Fig. 3, ♀, _under side_ (Edwards’ Marble-wing).

This species also is without orange at the tip of the fore wings; the wings on the under side are as shown in our figure, heavily marbled on the hind wings with dark green bands and spots. Expanse 1.65-1.85 inch. _Habitat_ California.

GENUS CATOPSILIA HÜBNER (THE GREAT SULPHURS).

Large _butterflies_; brilliant lemon-yellow or orange-yellow marked with a few darker spots and with a narrow band of brown, especially in the female, on the outer margin of the fore wings. Very quick in flight. _Eggs_ spindle-shaped and acutely pointed, vertically ribbed. _Caterpillars_ relatively long, head small, segments resembling beads strung together, surface covered with minute papillæ in transverse rows. _Chrysalis_ concave dorsally, head conical, projecting, wing-cases compressed, forming a wide keel-shaped projection on ventral side.

The genus is mainly tropical; one species, however, ranges as far north as Long Island and western Pennsylvania.

[Illustration: PL. CII]

(1) _Catopsilia eubule_ (Linnæus), Plate CII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Cloudless Sulphur).

Well depicted in our plate and requiring no special description. Expanse 2.50 inches. The caterpillar feeds on leguminous plants, preferably the species of _Cassia_.

GENUS KRICOGONIA REAKIRT

Medium-sized butterflies, whitish or yellow on upper side, with some dark markings, especially in the male; fore wings somewhat falcate.

The genus is confined to the New World; one species occurs in our territory.

[Illustration: PL. CIII]

(1) _Kricogonia lyside_ (Godart), form _terissa_ (Lucas), Plate CIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (Godart’s Sulphur).

Our plate gives a very good idea of this insect in both sexes, the male being always marked near the outer angle of hind wings by a short black bar. Expanse 1.90-2.10 inches.

Found in southern Texas and Mexico.

There are a number of forms of this insect, slightly variant.

GENUS MEGANOSTOMA REAKIRT (THE DOG-FACE BUTTERFLIES).

Closely resembling the insects of the next genus, from which they may be distinguished by the more pointed fore wings, and the fact that the rude outlines of the head of a dog are shown in yellow silhouette upon the fore wings. There are two species in our territory, one of which, _M. eurydice_ Boisduval, found in California, may be distinguished from the other by the splendid purplish iridescence of the fore wings of the male.

[Illustration: PL. CIV]

(1) _Meganostoma cæsonia_ (Stoll), Plate CIV, ♂ (The Southern Dog-face). (See p. 180.)

The sexes are much alike in this species, which ranges from Florida and the Gulf States northward as far as southern Illinois. Expanse 2.25 inches.

GENUS COLIAS FABRICIUS (THE SULPHURS).

Medium-sized _butterflies_, yellow, orange, and sometimes white or greenish yellow with dark-bordered wings, the borders generally heaviest in the female. _Eggs_ spindle-shaped, tapering at top and bottom, and attached to the surface where laid by a flat disk-like expansion; vertically and horizontally ribbed. _Caterpillars_ elongated; head small; body generally green, striped longitudinally. They feed upon leguminous plants, and especially upon the various species of clover (_Trifolium_) and _Astragalus_, though some boreal species are known to feed upon the foliage of huckleberries (_Vaccinium_) and willows.

The genus is large and is found on every continent except Australia. It is lacking in the very hot tropical regions of both the New and Old Worlds, but is found in Greenland and thence ranging south among the cordilleran uplifts to Patagonia. It is represented from Japan to Norway, and turns up at the Cape of Good Hope.

[Illustration: PL. CV]

(1) _Colias philodice_ Godart, Plate CV, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, _albino_, ♀ (The Common Sulphur).

This is the common “Puddle-butterfly” or “Clover-butterfly” which every child has seen gathered in swarms about moist places, or hovering by the score or hundreds over the blossoming clover fields. There are many variations both in size and color. The females are frequently albinoes, that is to say they are white, rather than yellow. Now and then melanic males turn up, but they are rare. In these the wings are black, of the same color as the borders in normal specimens. Expanse 1.25-2.25 inches.

Ranges from Canada to Florida and westward to the Rocky Mountains.

[Illustration: PL. CVI]

[Illustration: PL. CVII]

(2) _Colias eurytheme_ Boisduval, Plate CVI, Fig. 1, ♂; Plate CVII, ♀; form _keewaydin_ Edwards, Plate CVI, Fig. 2, ♂ (The Orange Sulphur). (See pp. 182 and 183.)

This is a form which is known to be very strongly polymorphic, having quite as many varieties and races as _Lycæna pseudargiolus_, for instance. _C. keewaydin_ is a large winter form, which has the wings strongly washed with orange; there is a small winter form called _C. ariadne_, which is also laved with orange, though not so strongly. There is another form called _C. eriphyle_, which belongs to the summer brood, which has no orange on the wings, but is plain yellow; and there are still other forms. Expanse 1.60-2.15 inches.

The Orange Sulphur has a wide range, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and from Canada to the northern portions of the Gulf States, though not invading the hotter parts of these states.