_Caterpillar._--The caterpillars are slug-shaped, their heads minute, the body abruptly tapering at the a.n.a.l 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 a.n.a.l 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The wings are brown on the upper side, lighter on the disk; in some specimens, more frequently of the female s.e.x, 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 a.n.a.l 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--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 a.n.a.l 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The hind wings have a long tail, and are lobed at the a.n.a.l 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 s.e.x, and in both s.e.xes splendidly adorned at the a.n.a.l 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-alb.u.m=, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate XXIX, Fig. 10, ? (The White-M Hair-streak).
_b.u.t.terfly._--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 a.n.a.l 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 a.n.a.l 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-Schaffer, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 18, ?, _under side_ (The Martial Hair-streak).
_b.u.t.terfly._--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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The wings are dusky-brown above, with a small pale oval s.e.x-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 a.n.a.l angle are blackish, margined with a fine white line. On the under side the wings are marked much as in _m-alb.u.m_, 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 s.e.x. 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--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 a.n.a.l 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--Uniformly slaty-gray on the upper side of the wings, with the usual oval s.e.x-mark on the fore wing of the male, and a few bluish scales near the a.n.a.l 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-alb.u.m_. The a.n.a.l 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=, Hubner, Plate XXIX, Fig. 31, ?; Plate x.x.xII, Fig.
20, ?; Plate V, Fig. 39, _chrysalis_ (The Common Hair-streak).
[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 130.--Neuration of _Thecla melinus_. (After Scudder.) Typical of subgenus _Uranotes_.]
_b.u.t.terfly._--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 x.x.xII represents the insect labeled _melinus_, Hubner. 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 Hubner; and recent authors, I think, are right in sinking the name given by Harris as a synonym. This common little b.u.t.terfly 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).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The male is pale slaty-gray above, with some ill-defined orange spots near the a.n.a.l angle, the usual oval s.e.x-mark on the fore wing. The female is like the male above; but the orange spots at the a.n.a.l 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 s.e.xes 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 a.n.a.l angle toward the outer angle. Near the a.n.a.l 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.