Chapter IV: Books About North American Butterflies (7)

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_Butterfly._--Quite small, superficially resembling _charon_. The female is paler and the ocelli are larger and more distinct than in _charon_. The distinguishing mark of this species is the irregular, dark, twice-strangulated band of the secondaries, bordered on both sides externally by whitish shades. This is shown in our figure. Expanse, 1.40-1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The species is Californian.

Genus OENEIS, Hübner

(=Chionobas=, _Boisd._)

(The Arctics)

"To reside
In thrilling region of thick-ribbed ice."

SHAKESPEARE.

_Butterfly._--The antennæ are short; the eyes of moderate size; the front full, protuberant; the palpi slender; the fore wings somewhat produced at the tip, with the outer margins rounded and the hind margins very slightly, if at all, sinuated. The nervules of the fore wings are slightly dilated toward the base; the hind wings are elongated, oval, with the outer margins evenly rounded. The color of these butterflies is some shade of brown; the outer margin is generally lighter than the base of the wing, and is marked with black spots, sometimes pupiled with white. The wings are generally marbled and mottled on the underside, and sometimes crossed on the middle of the hind wings by a broad band of darker color. The fringes are brown, checkered with white.

_Egg._--The egg is ovate-spherical, higher than broad, marked on the side from the apex to the base with raised sculptured ridges. These eggs are deposited, so far as we have been able to learn, on dried grass and the stems of plants in proximity to the growing plants upon which the young caterpillars are destined to feed.

_Caterpillar._--The head of the caterpillar when it emerges from the egg is somewhat larger than the rest of the body, but as it passes successive moults and attains maturity the relative thickness of the body increases, and the adult larva tapers a little from about the middle in either direction. The larvæ are pale green or brown, marked by darker stripes upon the back and on the sides, the markings on the sides being in most species more conspicuous than those on the back. The species all feed on grasses.

_Chrysalis._--The chrysalids are stout, very slightly angulated, and are formed, so far as we know, unattached, under stones and at the roots of grasses. When pupating, the caterpillar often makes for itself a slight depression or cell in the soil, in which a few threads of silk have been deposited, though not enough to justify us in calling the structure a cocoon.

This genus is composed of butterflies which are mainly arctic in their habitat, or dwell upon the summits of lofty mountains, where the summer is but brief. Only a few species are found at comparatively low elevations, and these in British America, or the parts of the United States immediately contiguous to the Canadian line. The most widely known of all the species up to this time is the White Mountain Butterfly, _OEneis semidea_, Say, a colony of which has existed probably ever since the glacial period upon the loftiest summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire. A number of species are found in the region of the Rocky Mountains. One species, _OEneis jutta_, Hübner, occurs in Maine, Nova Scotia, and parts adjacent. There are in all about a score of species of this genus recognized by authors as occurring in our fauna. In spite of the fact that these insects are boreal or arctic in their habits, Mr. W.H. Edwards has with marvelous skill and patience succeeded in obtaining the eggs and rearing at his home in Coalburg, West Virginia, a number of species. We are indebted to him for more of our knowledge of the generic characteristics of these insects, in their early stages, than had been ascertained hitherto during a century of investigation. His work is one of the beautiful triumphs of that enduring zeal which is a supreme quality in the naturalist. In their early stages all of the species show a close likeness to one another.

(1) =OEneis gigas=, Butler, Plate XXVII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Greater Arctic).

_Butterfly._--This, one of the largest species in the genus, occurs on Vancouver's Island. The butterfly hides among the dark mosses and upon the trunks of prostrate trees. The males are vigilant and inquisitive, and dart out suddenly when alarmed, or attracted by passing insects. The females have a slower and more leisurely flight and are more readily taken. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches.

_Early Stages._--Edwards has figured the egg and the caterpillar in its first three stages, but the remaining life-history of the species awaits investigation.

(2) =OEneis iduna=, Edwards, Plate XXVII, Fig. 4, ♂ (The Iduna Butterfly).

_Butterfly._--This insect, which even exceeds _OE. gigas_ in size, is found on the Coast Range in northern California. It is decidedly lighter on the outer third of the wings than the preceding species, the male being prevalently a pale yellowish-brown, with the basal and median areas of the fore wing dark brown. On the under side the wings are somewhat lighter than in the preceding species, and the transverse lines are more distinctly marked. Expanse, 2.00-2.30 inches.

_Early Stages._--These have been most beautifully delineated by Edwards in the third volume of "The Butterflies of North America."

(3) =OEneis macouni=, Edwards, Plate XXVII, Fig. 3, ♂ (Macoun's Arctic).

_Butterfly._--This species is closely allied to the two foregoing, but may be distinguished by the broad median band of dark brown traversing the under side of the hind wings, as well as by other peculiarities of marking. It lacks the bar of raised scales which is found in the male sex about the lower part of the cell of the fore wing in most of the species of the genus. It has been found thus far only on the north shore of Lake Superior and at the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains in the territory of Alberta. Expanse, 2.00-2.25 inches.

_Early Stages._--For a knowledge of these in all their minute details the reader is again referred to the pages of the indefatigable Edwards.

(4) =OEneis chryxus=, Westwood, Plate XXVII, Fig. 10, ♂ (The Chryxus Butterfly).

_Butterfly._--This species is widely distributed, being found in Colorado, British Columbia, and the vicinity of Hudson Bay. It is distinguished from other species by the darker brown color, which covers the basal and median areas of both the fore and hind wings, leaving a broad band of lighter brown on the outer margin. On the under side the wings are beautifully mottled with white and dark brown. _OEneis calais_, Scudder, is probably only a form of _chryxus_, which is somewhat lighter in color on the base of the wings. Expanse, 1.60-1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--The life-history is fully recorded in the pages of Edwards.

(5) =OEneis ivallda=, Mead, Plate XXVII, Fig. 9, ♂ (Mead's Arctic).

_Butterfly._--This species is easily distinguished from all others by the peculiar pale ashen-brown of the upper side of the wings. It is not a common species, and is apparently restricted to the mountains of Nevada, principally about Lake Tahoe, though it probably occurs elsewhere. Expanse, 1.90-2.10 inches.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

(6) =OEneis varuna=, Edwards, Plate XXVII, Fig. 8, ♂ (The Varuna Butterfly).

_Butterfly._--This species is much smaller than any of those which have thus far been mentioned. It is found in the prairie lands of Montana, North Dakota, and the parts of Canada adjacent. It is not uncommon about Calgary. It is light in color on the upper side of the wings, and on the under side it is mottled with brown, strongly marked with blackish blotches or shades. Expanse, 1.50-1.60 inch.

_Early Stages._--These await description.

(7) =OEneis uhleri=, Reakirt, Plate XXVII, Fig. 12, ♂ (Uhler's Arctic).

_Butterfly._--This species is found in Colorado. It is redder on the upper side than _varuna_, and the females are generally very richly ornamented with eye-spots on the outer borders of both the fore and hind wings. Expanse, 1.45-1.55 inch.

_Early Stages._--These have been most thoroughly described and beautifully delineated by Edwards.

(8) =OEneis jutta=, Hübner, Plate XXVII, Fig. 5, ♀ (The Nova Scotian).

_Butterfly._--This beautiful species, which is also found in Europe, is not uncommon in the State of Maine as far south as Bangor, and occurs also in Nova Scotia, and ranges thence westward to Ottawa and the Hudson Bay country. It is one of the more conspicuous species of the genus, the eye-like spots upon the wings having a very striking appearance. Expanse, 1.80-2.10 inches.

_Early Stages._--For a thorough knowledge of these the reader may consult the pages of Scudder and Edwards.

(9) =OEneis semidea=, Say, Plate XXVII, Fig. 11, ♂; Plate III, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 7, 15, _larva_; Plate IV, Figs. 4, 5, _chrysalis_ (The White Mountain Butterfly).

_Butterfly._--This species has thin wings, and is much darker in color than any of the species which have thus far been mentioned. It is restricted in its habitat to the summit of Mount Washington, in New Hampshire, and only reappears on the high mountains of Colorado and in Labrador. Its life-history has been very carefully worked out. It is to be hoped that entomologists and tourists resorting to Mount Washington will not suffer it to disappear by reason of too wholesale a capture of the specimens, which hover about the barren rocks on which the race has existed since the great continental ice-sheet melted away and vanished from the face of New England. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--The curious reader is again referred for a knowledge of these to the pages of Scudder and Edwards. They are similar to those of other species, and the generic description which has been given must suffice for all in this work.

(10) =OEneis brucei=, Edwards, Plate XXVII, Fig. 7, ♂ (Bruce's Arctic).

_Butterfly._--Though somewhat closely related to the last species, Bruce's Arctic may at once be distinguished from it by the broad dark band on the under side of the secondaries and the great translucency of the wings, which permits a label to be read through them. It is found in Colorado and in British Columbia at an elevation of from twelve to thirteen thousand feet above sea-level. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--All we know of these is contained in the pages of Edwards' great work.

(11) =OEneis taygete=, Hübner, Plate XXVII, Fig. 6, ♂ (The Labrador Arctic).

_Butterfly._--Much like _OE. brucei_, but the wings are not so translucent as in that species, and the broad mesial band on the under side of the hind wings is differently shaped, being more strongly directed outward just below the costa. The figure in the plate is from a specimen taken at Nain, in Labrador. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

There are eight or nine other species of _OEneis_ in our fauna, but they are all arctic, and most of them very rare. Those we have described and figured will give a good idea of the genus.

IN THE FACE OF THE COLD

When the full moon hangs high overhead, the snow creaks underfoot, the north wind roars with furious blast, and the trees of the forests crack in the frost with a report like that of cannon, then, hanging in its little nest on the bare branches of the wind-tossed trees, the tiny caterpillar of the Viceroy keeps the spark of life where men freeze and die. Nothing in the realm of nature is more wonderful than the manner in which some of the most minute animal forms resist cold. The genera _Erebia_ and _OEneis_, and many species of the genus _Brenthis_, are, as we have already learned, inhabitants of the arctic regions or of lofty Alpine summits, the climate of which is arctic. Their caterpillars often hibernate in a temperature of from forty to fifty, and even seventy, degrees below zero, Fahrenheit.

It has been alleged that caterpillars freeze in the winter and thaw out in the spring, at that time regaining their vitality. Thus far the writer is unable to ascertain that any experiments or observations have positively decided for or against this view. A number of recorded cases in which caterpillars are positively stated to have been frozen and to have afterward been found to be full of vitality when thawed are open to question.

The most circumstantial account is that by Commander James Ross, R.N., F.R.S., quoted by Curtis in the Entomological Appendix to the "Narrative" of Sir John Ross's second voyage to the arctic regions. The specimens upon which the observations were made were the caterpillars of _Laria rossi_, a moth which is found abundantly in the arctic regions of North America. I quote from the account: "About thirty of the caterpillars were put into a box in the middle of September, and after being exposed to the severe winter temperature of the next three months, they were brought into a warm cabin, where, in less than two hours, every one of them returned to life, and continued for a whole day walking about; they were again exposed to the air at a temperature of about forty degrees below zero, and became immediately hard-frozen; in this state they remained a week, and on being brought again into the cabin, only twenty-three came to life; these were, at the end of four hours, put out once more into the air and again hard-frozen; after another week they were again brought in, when only eleven were restored to life; a fourth time they were exposed to the winter temperature, and only two returned to life on being again brought into the cabin; these two survived the winter, and in May an imperfect _Laria_ was produced from one, and six flies from the other."

The foregoing account seems to verify more thoroughly the stories that have been told than anything else I have been able to discover within the limits of entomological literature, but does not conclude argument. It would be interesting in these days, when methods of artificial freezing have been so highly perfected, to undertake a series of experiments to prove or disprove, as the case may be, the view which has been held since the time of the ancients. There is here a field for nice investigation on the part of some reader of this book. In making the experiment it probably would be well to select the larvæ of species which are known to hibernate during the winter and to be capable of withstanding a great degree of cold.

The effect of cold suddenly applied to the chrysalids of butterflies at the moment of pupation is often to produce remarkable changes in the markings. The spots upon the wings of butterflies emerging from chrysalids thus treated are frequently rendered more or less indistinct and blurred. The dark markings are intensified in color and enlarged; the pale markings are also in some cases ascertained to experience enlargement. Many of the strange and really beautiful aberrations known to collectors have no doubt been produced by the action of frost which has occurred at the season when the larva was pupating. The species believed by the writer to be most prolific in aberrations are species which pupate early in the spring from caterpillars which have hibernated or which pupate late in the autumn. Some are species found at considerable altitudes above sea-level, where late frosts and early frosts are apt to occur. A number of very beautiful experiments upon the effect of cold upon the color of butterflies have been made in recent years, and some very curious phenomena have been observed. The writer has in his collection a considerable number of strikingly aberrant specimens which emerged from chrysalids treated to a sudden artificial lowering of the temperature at the critical period of pupation.

SUBFAMILY LIBYTHEINÆ (THE SNOUT-BUTTERFLIES)

"What more felicitie can fall to creature
Than to enjoy delight with libertie,
And to be Lord of all the workes of Nature,
To raigne in th' aire from th' earth to highest skie,
To feed on flowres and weeds of glorious feature,
To take whatever thing doth please the eie?"

SPENSER.

_Butterfly._--The butterflies of this family are very readily distinguished from all others by their long projecting palpi, and by the fact that the males have four feet adapted to walking, while the females have six, in which respect they approach the Erycinidæ.

Only one genus is represented in our faunal region, the genus _Libythea_.

Genus LIBYTHEA, Fabricius

(The Snout-butterflies)

_Butterfly._--Rather small in size, with the eyes moderately large; the antennæ with a distinct club at the end; the palpi with the last joint extremely long and heavily clothed with hair. The wings have the outer margin strongly excised between the first median nervule and the lower radial vein. Between the upper and lower radial veins the wing is strongly produced outwardly; the inner margin is bowed out toward the base before the inner angle. The costa of the hind wing is bent upward at the base and excised before the outer angle; the wing is produced at the ends of the subcostal vein, the third median nervule, and the extremity of the submedian vein. There is also a slight projection at the extremity of the first median nervule. Of these projections the one at the extremity of the third median nervule is the most pronounced. The cell of the primaries and of the secondaries is lightly closed.

_Egg._--The egg is ovoid, nearly twice as high as wide, with narrow vertical ridges on the sides, every other ridge much higher than its mate and increasing in height toward the vertex, where they abruptly terminate, their extremities ranging around the small depressed micropyle. Between these ridges are minute cross-lines.

_Caterpillar._--The caterpillar has the head small, the anterior segments greatly swollen and overarching the head. The remainder of the body is cylindrical.

_Chrysalis._--The chrysalis is of a somewhat singular shape, the abdomen conical, the head sharply pointed, a raised ridge running from the extremity of the head to the middle of the first abdominal segment on either side, and between these ridges is the slightly projecting thoracic tubercle. On the ventral side the outline is nearly straight.

The caterpillar feeds upon _Celtis occidentalis_. Three species are reckoned as belonging to our fauna. It is, however, doubtful whether these species are in reality such, and there is reason to believe that the three are merely varietal forms or races, no structural difference being apparent in any of them, and the only differences consisting in the ground-color of the wings.

(1) =Libythea bachmanni=, Kirtland, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♂, _under side_; Plate V, Figs. 23, 24, _chrysalis_ (The Snout-butterfly).

_Butterfly._--Easily distinguished from the following species by the redder color of the light spots on the upper side of the wings. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--The generic description must suffice for these. They have been frequently described.

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

(2) =Libythea carinenta=, Cramer, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 3, ♂ (The Southern Snout-butterfly).

_Butterfly._--Much like the preceding species, but readily distinguished from it by the paler yellowish-fulvous light markings of the upper side of the wings. Expanse, 1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--These have not been carefully described as yet.

_L. carinenta_ ranges from New Mexico into South America.

FAMILY II. LEMONIIDÆ

SUBFAMILY ERYCININÆ (THE METAL-MARKS)

"I wonder what it is that baby dreams.
Do memories haunt him of some glad place
Butterfly-haunted, halcyon with flowers,
Where once, before he found this earth of ours,
He walked with glory filling his sweet face?"

EDGAR FAWCETT.

_Butterfly._--Small, the males having four ambulatory feet, the females six, in which respect they resemble the Libytheinæ, from which they may readily be distinguished by the small palpi. There is great variety in the shape and neuration of the wings. The genera of this subfamily have the precostal vein on the extreme inner margin of the wing; in some genera free at its end, and projecting so as to form a short frenulum, as in many genera of the moths. In addition the costal vein sends up a branch at the point from which the precostal is usually emitted. This apparent doubling of the precostal is found in no other group of butterflies, and is a strong diacritical mark by which they may be recognized. They are said to carry their wings expanded when at rest, and frequently alight on the under surface of leaves, in this respect somewhat approaching in their habit the pyralid moths. Many of the species are most gorgeously colored; but those which are found within our region are for the most part not gaily marked. They may be distinguished from the Lycænidæ not only by the peculiar neuration and manner of carrying the wings, but by the relatively longer and more slender antennæ.

_Early Stages._--Comparatively little is known of these, though in certain respects the larvæ and the chrysalis show a relationship to the Lycænidæ, with which some writers have in fact grouped them, but erroneously, as the writer believes.

Almost all of the species are American, and the family attains its highest development in the tropical regions of South America.

Genus LEMONIAS, Westwood

_Butterfly._--Small, brightly colored, the sexes often differing greatly in appearance from each other. The eyes are naked. The palpi are produced, porrect; the last joint is short, thin, pointed, and depressed. The antennæ are moderately long, provided with a gradually thickening, inconspicuous club. The upper discocellular vein is wanting in the fore wing. The middle and lower discocellulars are of equal length. The hind wing has the end of the cell obliquely terminated by the middle and lower discocellular veins. The apex of the fore wing is somewhat pointed, the outward margin straight. The outward margin of the hind wing is evenly rounded.

_Egg._--Flattened, turban-shaped, with a small, depressed, circular micropyle, the whole surface covered with minute hexagonal reticulations.

_Caterpillar._--Short, flattened, tapering posteriorly; the segments arched; provided with tufts of hair ranged in longitudinal series, the hairs on the sides and at the anal extremity being long, bent outward and downward.

_Chrysalis._--Short, suspended at the anal extremity, and held in position by a silk girdle, but not closely appressed to the surface upon which pupation has taken place; thickly covered with short, projecting hair.

The citadel of this genus is found about the head waters of the Amazon, where there are many species. Thence the genus spreads northward and southward, being represented in the limits of our fauna by only a few species, which are found on the extreme southern borders of the United States.

(1) =Lemonias mormo=, Felder, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 7, ♂, _under side_ (The Mormon).

_Butterfly._--The wings on the upper side are dark ashen-gray, with the primaries from the base to the limbal area, and inwardly as far as the bottom of the cell and the first median nervule, red. The wings are profusely marked with white spots variously disposed. The under side is accurately depicted in our plate. Expanse, 1.10 inch.

_Early Stages._--These have not been studied.

The Mormon is found in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and California.

(2) =Lemonias duryi=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 10, ♀ (Dury's Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--The only specimen as yet known is the type figured in our plate. I doubt whether it is entitled to specific rank, and am inclined to believe it to be a form of the succeeding species in which red has replaced the greater part of the gray on the upper side of both wings. Expanse, 1.25 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The specimen came from New Mexico.

(3) =Lemonias cythera=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 4, ♀, _under side_; Fig. 5, ♂ (Cythera).

_Butterfly._--Distinguished from _L. mormo_ by the red submarginal band on the secondaries on the upper side, the greater prevalence of red on the primaries, and by the tendency of the spots on the under side of the secondaries, just after the costa, to fuse and form an elongate pearly-white ray. The submarginal spots on the lower side of the fore wings are smaller than in _mormo_. The sexes do not differ except in size. Expanse, 1.00-1.30 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

_Cythera_ is found in Arizona and Mexico.

(4) =Lemonias virgulti=, Behr, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 6, ♂ (Behr's Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--Much like the preceding species on the upper side of the wings, but darker. The hind wings on the under side are much darker than in _L. cythera_, and the pearly-white spots relatively smaller, standing out very distinctly on this darker ground. Expanse, .90-1.10 inch.

_Early Stages._--Undescribed.

_Virgulti_ is common in southern California and Mexico.

(5) =Lemonias nais=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 8, ♂; Fig. 9, ♀ (Nais).

_Butterfly._--The ground-color of the upper side is bright red, clouded with fuscous on the base of the hind wings and bordered with the same color. There is a small precostal white spot on the primaries near the apex. The wings are profusely marked with small black spots arranged in transverse series and bands. The fringes are checkered with white. On the under side the wings are pale reddish, mottled with buff on the secondaries. The black spots and markings of the upper side reappear on the under side and stand out boldly on the lighter ground-color. Expanse, 1.00-1.25 inch.

_Early Stages._--These are beautifully delineated in "The Butterflies of North America," vol. ii. The egg is pale green, turban-shaped, covered with hexagonal reticulations. The caterpillar is rather stout and short, the first segment projecting over the head. The body is somewhat flattened and tapering behind, covered with tufts of hairs projecting outward and downward on all sides, only the two rows of short tufts on the back sending their hairs upward. The color is mouse-gray, striped longitudinally on the back with yellowish-white, the tufts more or less ringed about at their base with circles of the same color. The chrysalis is blackish-brown, attached at the anal end, held in place by a girdle, but not closely appressed to the surface on which pupation has taken place, and thickly studded with small projecting hairs. The larva lives on the wild plum.

_Nais_ occurs from Colorado to Mexico east of the Rocky Mountains.

(6) =Lemonias palmeri=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 11, ♂ (Palmer's Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--Smaller than any of the preceding species. The ground-color of the wings is mouse-gray, spotted with white; on the under side the wings are whitish-gray, laved with pale red at the base of the fore wings. The white spots of the upper side reappear on the under side. Expanse, .75-.95 inch.

_Early Stages._--These are, so far as they have been worked out by Edwards, quite similar in many respects to those of the preceding species.

The range of the species is from Utah southward to Mexico.

(7) =Lemonias zela=, Butler, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 17, ♂; Fig. 18, ♀ (Zela).

_Butterfly._--The upper side of both sexes is delineated in the plate. On the under side the wings are pale red, marked with a few black spots, representing on the under side the markings of the upper side. Of these, the spots of the median and submarginal bands are most conspicuous. Expanse, 1.00-1.35 inch.

(_a_) =Lemonias zela=, Butler, var. =cleis=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 19, ♂; Fig. 20, ♀ (Cleis).

The pale variety, _cleis_, is sufficiently well represented in our plate to need no description. On the under side it is like _L. zela_.

The species occurs in Arizona and Mexico.

Genus CALEPHELIS, Grote and Robinson

_Butterfly._--Very small, brown or reddish in color, with metallic spots upon the wings. Head small; eyes naked; antennæ relatively long, slender, with a bluntly rounded club. Palpi very short; the third joint small, pointed. The accompanying cut shows the neuration.

_Early Stages._--Entirely unknown.

(1) =Calephelis cænius=, Linnæus, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 16, ♂ (The Little Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--Very small, reddish-brown on the upper side, brighter red on the under side. On both the upper and under sides the wings are profusely spotted with small steely-blue metallic markings, arranged in more or less regular transverse series, especially on the outer margin. Expanse, .75 inch.

_Early Stages._--The life-history is unknown.

_Cænius_ is common in Florida, and ranges thence northward to Virginia and westward to Texas.

(2) =Calephelis borealis=, Grote and Robinson, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 12, ♂, _under side_; Fig. 13, ♂ (The Northern Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--Fully twice as large as the preceding species. The wings on the upper side are sooty-brown, spotted with black, and marked by a marginal and submarginal series of small metallic spots. On the under side the wings are light red, spotted with a multitude of small black spots arranged in regular series. The two rows of metallic spots near the margins are repeated more distinctly on this side. Expanse, 1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

This rare insect has been taken from New York to Virginia, and as far west as Michigan and Illinois. The only specimen I have ever seen in life I took at the White Sulphur Springs in West Virginia. It settled on the under side of a twig of black birch, with expanded wings, just over my head, and by a lucky stroke of the net I swept it in.

(3) =Calephelis australis=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 14, ♂ (The Southern Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--The wings in the male sex are more pointed at the apex than in the preceding species, and in both sexes are smaller in expanse. The color of the upper side of the wings is dusky, on the under side pale yellowish-red. On both sides the wings are obscurely marked with dark spots arranged in transverse series. The marginal and submarginal metallic bands of spots are as in the preceding species. Expanse, 1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

_Australis_ ranges from Texas and Arizona into Mexico.

(4) =Calephelis nemesis=, Edwards, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 15, ♂ (The Dusky Metal-mark).

_Butterfly._--Very small,--as small as _coenius_,--but with the fore wings at the apex decidedly pointed in the male sex. The wings are dusky-brown above, lighter obscure reddish below. Both the primaries and the secondaries on the upper side are crossed by a dark median band, broader on the primaries at the costa. The metallic markings are quite small and indistinct. Expanse, .85 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

_Nemesis_ occurs in Arizona and southern California.

UNCLE JOTHAM'S BOARDER

"I've kep' summer boarders for years, and allowed
I knowed all the sorts that there be;
But there come an old feller this season along,
That turned out a beater for me.
Whatever that feller was arter, I vow
I hain't got the slightest idee.

"He had an old bait-net of thin, rotten stuff
That a minner could bite his way through;
But he never went fishin'--at least, in the way
That fishermen gen'ally do;
But he carried that bait-net wherever he went;
The handle was j'inted in two.

"And the bottles and boxes that chap fetched along!
Why, a doctor would never want more;
If they held pills and physic, he'd got full enough
To fit out a medicine-store.
And he'd got heaps of pins, dreffle lengthy and slim,
Allers droppin' about on the floor.

"Well, true as I live, that old feller just spent
His hull days in loafin' about
And pickin' up hoppers and roaches and flies--
Not to use for his bait to ketch trout,
But to kill and stick pins in and squint at and all.
He was crazy 's a coot, th' ain't no doubt.

"He'd see a poor miller a-flyin' along,--
The commonest, every-day kind,--
And he'd waddle on arter it, fat as he was,
And foller up softly behind,
Till he'd flop that-air bait-net right over its head,
And I'd laugh till nigh out of my mind.

"Why, he'd lay on the ground for an hour at a stretch
And scratch in the dirt like a hen;
He'd scrape all the bark off the bushes and trees,
And turn the stones over; and then
He'd peek under logs, or he'd pry into holes.
I'm glad there ain't no more sech men.

"My wife see a box in his bedroom, one day,
Jest swarmin' with live caterpillars;
He fed 'em on leaves off of all kinds of trees--
The ellums and birches and willers;
And he'd got piles of boxes, chock-full to the top
With crickets and bees and moth-millers.

"I asked him, one time, what his business might be.
Of course, I fust made some apology.
He tried to explain, but such awful big words!
Sorto' forren, outlandish, and collegey.
'S near's I can tell, 'stead of enterin' a trade,
He was tryin' to jest enter _mology_.

"And Hannah, my wife, says she's heerd o' sech things;
She guesses his brain warn't so meller.
There's a thing they call Nat'ral Histerry, she says,
And, whatever the folks there may tell her,
Till it's settled she's wrong she'll jest hold that-air man
Was a Nat'ral Histerrical feller."

ANNIE TRUMBULL SLOSSON.

MIMICRY

Protective mimicry as it occurs in animals may be the simulation in form or color, or both, of natural objects, or it may be the simulation of the form and color of another animal, which for some reason enjoys immunity from the attacks of species which ordinarily prey upon its kind. Of course this mimicry is unconscious and is the result of a slow process of development which has, no doubt, gone on for ages.

Remarkable instances of mimicry, in which things are simulated, are found in the insect world. The "walking-sticks," as they are called, creatures which resemble the twigs of trees; the "leaf-insects," in which the foliage of plants is apparently reproduced in animate forms; the "leaf-butterfly" of India, in which the form and the color and even the venation of leaves are reproduced, are illustrations of mimicry which are familiar to all who have given any attention to the subject.

Repulsive objects are frequently mimicked. A spider has been lately described from the Indo-Malayan region, which, as it rests upon the leaves, exactly resembles a patch of bird-lime. The resemblance is so exact as to deceive the most sagacious, and the discovery of the creature was due to the fact that the naturalist who happened to see it observed, to his surprise, that what he was positive was a mass of ordure was actually in motion. A similar case of mimicry is observable among some of the small acontiid moths of North America. One of these is pure white, with the tips of the fore wings dark greenish-brown. It sits on the upper side of leaves, with its fore wings folded over, or rolled about the hind wings, and in this attitude it so nearly approximates in appearance the ordure of a sparrow as to have often deceived me when collecting.

FAMILY III. LYCÆNIDÆ

(THE BLUES, THE COPPERS, THE HAIR-STREAKS)

SUBFAMILY LYCÆNINÆ

"Mark, while he moves amid the sunny beam,
O'er his soft wings the varying lusters gleam.
Launched into air, on purple plumes he soars,
Gay nature's face with wanton glance explores;
Proud of his varying beauties, wings his way,
And spoils the fairest flowers, himself more fair than they."

_Quoted as from Haworth by Scudder._

_Butterfly._--Small, in both sexes having all feet adapted to walking. There is exceeding diversity of form in the various genera composing this family. Many of the genera are characterized by the brilliant blue on the upper side of the wings; in other genera shades of coppery-red predominate. The hair-streaks frequently have the hind wings adorned with one or more slender, elongated tails. In Africa and in Asia there are numerous genera which strongly mimic protected insects belonging to the Acræinæ.

_Egg._--The eggs are for the most part flattened or turban-shaped, curiously and beautifully adorned with ridges, minute eminences, and reticulations. Some of them under the microscope strongly resemble the shells of "sea-biscuits" with the rays removed (see p. 4, Fig. 7).

_Caterpillar._--The caterpillars are for the most part slug-shaped, flattened. They are vegetable feeders, save the larvæ of two or three genera, which are aphidivorous, feeding upon mealy bugs or plant-lice.

_Chrysalis._--The chrysalids are short, compressed, attached at the anal extremity, with a girdle or cincture about the middle, closely fastened to the surface upon which pupation takes place.

Genus EUMÆUS, Hübner

_Butterfly._--Medium size or small; dark in color, with the under side and the borders of the upper sides beautifully adorned with spots having a metallic luster. The palpi are divergent, longer in the female than in the male. The antennæ are stout, rather short, with a gradually thickened club. The eyes are naked. The veins on the fore wing are stout. The accompanying cut gives a clear idea of the neuration.

_Early Stages._--Nothing is known of these.

Three species are reckoned as belonging to the genus, two of them being found sparingly in the extreme southern limits of our fauna.

(1) =Eumæus atala=, Poey, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 22, ♂, _under side_ (Atala).

_Butterfly._--Easily distinguished by the figure in the plate from all other species except its congener _E. minyas_, Hübner, which can be readily separated from it by its larger size. Expanse, 1.65-1.75 inch.

_Early Stages._--These await description.

_Atala_ is found in Florida and Cuba. _Minyas_ occurs in southwestern Texas, and thence southward to Brazil.

Genus THECLA, Fabricius

(The Hair-streaks)

"These be the pretty genii of the flow'rs,
Daintily fed with honey and pure dew."

HOOD.

_Butterfly._--Small or medium-sized; on the upper side often colored brilliantly with iridescent blue or green, sometimes dark brown or reddish; on the under side marked with lines and spots variously disposed, sometimes obscure in color, very frequently most brilliantly colored.

Various subdivisions based upon the neuration of the wings have been made in the genus in recent years, and these subdivisions are entitled to be accepted by those who are engaged in a comparative study of the species belonging to this great group. Inasmuch, however, as most American writers have heretofore classified all of these insects under the genus _Thecla_, the author has decided not to deviate from familiar usage, and will therefore not attempt to effect a subdivision according to the views of recent writers, which he nevertheless approves as scientifically accurate.

_Egg._--Considerable diversity exists in the form of the eggs of the various species included under this genus as treated in this book, but all of them may be said to be turban-shaped, more or less depressed at the upper extremity, with their surfaces beautifully adorned with minute projections arranged in geometric patterns.

_Caterpillar._--The caterpillars are slug-shaped, their heads minute, the body abruptly tapering at the anal extremity. They feed upon the tender leaves of the ends of branches, some of them upon the leaves of flowers of various species.

_Chrysalis._--What has been said concerning the chrysalids of the family applies likewise to the chrysalids of this and the succeeding genera. They lie closely appressed to the surface upon which they are formed, and are held in place by an attachment at the anal extremity, as well as by a slight girdle of silk about the middle. In color they are generally some shade of brown.

(1) =Thecla grunus=, Boisduval, Plate XXIX, Fig. 12, ♂ (Boisduval's Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The wings are brown on the upper side, lighter on the disk; in some specimens, more frequently of the female sex, bright orange-tawny. On the under side the wings are pale tawny, with transverse marginal and submarginal series of small dark spots on both wings. Two or three of the marginal spots near the anal angle are black, each crowned with a metallic-green crescent. Expanse, 1.10-1.20 inch.

_Early Stages._--These have, in part, been described by Dyar, "Canadian Entomologist," vol. xxv, p. 94. The caterpillar is short, flattened, the segments arched, the body tapering backward, bluish-green, covered with little dark warty prominences bearing tufts of hairs, obscurely striped longitudinally with broken, pale lines, and having a diamond-shaped shield back of the head. The chrysalis is thick and conformed to the generic type of structure. The color is pale green, striped and dotted with pale yellow on the abdomen. The caterpillar feeds in the Yosemite Valley upon the young leaves of the live-oak (_Quercus chrysolepis_).

The insect is found in California and Nevada.

(2) =Thecla crysalus=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 11, ♂ (The Colorado Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The wings on the upper side are royal purple, broadly margined with black. On the fore wings a broad oblique black band runs from the middle of the costa to the middle of the outer margin. At the inner angles of both wings are conspicuous orange spots. On the under side the wings are fawn, marked with white lines edged with brown. The orange spots reappear on this side, but at the anal angle of the hind wings are transformed to red eye-spots, pupiled with black and margined with metallic green. The hind wings are tailed. Expanse, 1.50 inch.

The variety =citima=, Henry Edwards, differs in being without the orange spots and having the ground-color of the under side ashen-gray. Specimens connecting the typical with the varietal form are in my possession.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

Found in southern Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and southern California.

(3) =Thecla halesus=, Cramer, Plate XXIX, Fig. 9, ♂ (The Great Purple Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The hind wings have a long tail, and are lobed at the anal angle. The wings are fuscous, iridescent bluish-green at the base. The body is bluish-green above. On the under side the thorax is black, spotted with white, the abdomen bright orange-red. The wings on the under side are evenly warm sepia, spotted with crimson at their bases, glossed with a ray of metallic green on the fore wings in the male sex, and in both sexes splendidly adorned at the anal angle by series of metallic-green and iridescent blue and red spots. Expanse, 1.35-1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--All we know of them is derived from the drawings of Abbot, published by Boisduval and Leconte, and this is but little. The caterpillar is said by Abbot to feed on various oaks.

It is very common in Central America and Mexico; is not scarce in the hot parts of the Gulf States; and is even reported as having been captured in southern Illinois. It also occurs in Arizona and southern California.

(4) =Thecla m-album=, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate XXIX, Fig. 10, ♂ (The White-M Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--Smaller than the preceding species; on the upper side somewhat like it; but the iridescent color at the base of the wings is blue, and not so green as in _halesus_. On the under side the wings are quite differently marked. The fore wing is crossed by a submarginal and a median line of white, shaded with brown, the median line most distinct. This line is continued upon the hind wings, and near the anal angle is zigzagged, so as to present the appearance of an inverted M. Near the outer angle of the M-spot is a rounded crimson patch. The anal angle is deep black, glossed with iridescent blue. Expanse, 1.35-1.45 inch.

_Early Stages._--All we know of this pretty species is based upon the account and drawings of Abbot made in the last century. We need better information. According to Abbot, the caterpillar feeds on _astragalus_ and different oaks.

This species has been taken as far north as Jersey City and Wisconsin, and ranges southward as far as Venezuela. Its citadel is found in the live-oak hummocks of the Gulf States and the oak forests on the highlands of Mexico and more southern countries.

(5) =Thecla martialis=, Herrich-Schäffer, Plate XXX, Fig. 18, ♀, _under side_ (The Martial Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The insect figured in the plate, which may easily be recognized by its under side, has been determined by Dr. Skinner to be the above species. My specimens coming from the Edwards collection are labeled _Thecla acis_, ♀. They were taken at Key West. A comparison with the under side of _T. acis_ (see Plate XXIX, Fig. 38) will reveal the great difference. Expanse, 1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

Habitat, southern Florida and Cuba.

(6) =Thecla favonius=, Abbot and Smith, Plate XXIX, Fig. 22, ♂ (The Southern Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The wings are dusky-brown above, with a small pale oval sex-mark in the male near the upper edge of the cell in the primaries. On either side of the second median nervule, near the outer margin of both wings, are bright orange-red patches, most conspicuous in the female. The hind wings near the anal angle are blackish, margined with a fine white line. On the under side the wings are marked much as in _m-album_, but in the region of the median nervules, midway between their origin and termination, is a rather broad transverse carmine streak, edged inwardly with dark lines. This is largest and most conspicuous in the female sex. Expanse, 1.00-1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--These have been described, in part, by Abbot and Smith and Packard. The caterpillar feeds on oaks.

_Favonius_ is found in the Gulf States, and as far north as South Carolina.

(7) =Thecla wittfeldi=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 19, ♀; Fig. 20, ♂, _under side_ (Wittfeld's Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The figures in the plate give a correct idea of both the upper and under sides of this insect. It is much darker in ground-color than any of its congeners. Expanse, 1.25-1.35 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The types which are in my possession came from the Indian River district in Florida.

(8) =Thecla autolycus=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 13, ♀ (The Texas Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--On the upper side resembling _favonius_, but with the orange-red spots on the wings much broader, ranging from the lower radial vein to the submedian in the fore wings. The carmine spots on the under side of the wings are not arranged across the median nervules, as in _favonius_, but are 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.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

This species is found in Texas, and is also said to have been found in Missouri and Kansas.

(9) =Thecla alcestis=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 14, ♀ (Alcestis).

_Butterfly._--Uniformly slaty-gray on the upper side of the wings, with the usual oval sex-mark on the fore wing of the male, and a few bluish scales near the anal angle. The ground-color of the wings on the under side is as above, but somewhat paler. A white bar closes the cell of both wings. Both wings are crossed by white lines, much as in _m-album_. The anal angle is marked with black, followed outwardly by a broad patch of iridescent greenish-blue scales. Between the end of the submarginal vein and the first median nervule is a black spot surmounted with carmine, edged inwardly with black; three or four carmine crescents similarly edged, but rapidly diminishing in size, extend as a transverse submarginal band toward the costa. Expanse, 1.25 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

_Alcestis_ is found in Texas and Arizona.

(10) =Thecla melinus=, Hübner, Plate XXIX, Fig. 31, ♂; Plate XXXII, Fig. 20, ♂; Plate V, Fig. 39, _chrysalis_ (The Common Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--Much confusion has arisen from the fact that this insect has received a number of names and has also been confounded with others. Fig. 31 in Plate XXIX represents the insect labeled _humuli_, Harris, in the Edwards collection; Fig. 20 in Plate XXXII represents the insect labeled _melinus_, Hübner. There is a very large series of both in the collection, but a minute comparison fails to reveal any specific difference. _Humuli_ of Harris is the same as _melinus_ of Hübner; and recent authors, I think, are right in sinking the name given by Harris as a synonym. This common little butterfly may easily be recognized by its plain slaty upper surface, adorned by a large black spot, crowned with crimson between the origin of the two tails of the secondaries. Expanse, 1.10-1.20 inch.

_Early Stages._--These are in part well known. The caterpillar feeds on the hop-vine. _Melinus_ is found all over temperate North America, and ranges southward into Mexico and Central America at suitable elevations.

(11) =Thecla acadica=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 15, ♂; Plate V, Fig. 35, _chrysalis_ (The Acadian Hair-streak).

_Butterfly._--The male is pale slaty-gray above, with some ill-defined orange spots near the anal angle, the usual oval sex-mark on the fore wing. The female is like the male above; but the orange spots at the anal angle of the hind wings are broader, and in some specimens similar spots appear on the fore wings near the inner angle. On the under side in both sexes the wings are pale wood-brown, adorned by a black bar at the end of the cells, submarginal and median bands of small black spots surrounded with white, and on the secondaries by a submarginal series of red crescents diminishing in size from the anal angle toward the outer angle. Near the anal angle are two black spots separated by a broad patch of bluish-green scales. Expanse, 1.15-1.25 inch.

_Early Stages._--For a knowledge of what is known of these the reader may consult the pages of Scudder and Edwards. The caterpillar feeds upon willows.

It is found all over the Northern States, ranging from Quebec to Vancouver's Island. It seems to be very common on Mount Hood, from which I have a large series of specimens.

(12) =Thecla itys=, Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 17, ♀ (Itys).

_Butterfly._--The only specimen of this species known to me is figured in the plate. It is the type. Of its early stages nothing is known. It was taken in Arizona. Expanse, 1.25 inch.

(13) =Thecla edwardsi=, Plate XXIX, Fig. 27, ♀ _under side_; Plate V, Fig. 29, _chrysalis_ (Edwards' Hair-streak).

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The Butterfly BookChapter IV: Books About North American Butterflies (7)

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