Viewed merely from a utilitarian standpoint, this study is one of the most important, far outranking, in its actual value to communities, the study of many branches of zoological science which some people affect to regard as of a higher order.
The legislature of Pennsylvania acted wisely in pa.s.sing a law which demands that in every high school established within the State there shall be at least one teacher capable of giving instruction in botany and in entomology. The importance of entomology, while not perceived by the ma.s.ses as yet, has been recognized by almost all the legislatures of the States; and not only the general government of the United States, but the governments of the individual commonwealths, are at the present time employing a number of carefully trained men, whose business is to ascertain the facts and instruct the people as to the best manner in which to ward off the attacks of the insect swarms, which are respecters neither of size nor beauty in the vegetable world, attacking alike the majestic oak and the lowliest mosses.
Genus LYCaeNA, Fabricius
(The Blues)
"Bright b.u.t.terflies Fluttered their vans, azure and green and gold."
SIR EDWIN ARNOLD.
_b.u.t.terfly._--Generally small, for the most part blue on the upper side of the wings, white or gray on the under side, variously marked with spots and lines.
What has been said in reference to the subdivision of the genus _Thecla_ may be repeated in regard to the genus which we are considering. It has been in recent years subdivided by writers who have given close attention to the matter, and these subdivisions are entirely defensible from a scientific standpoint. Nevertheless, owing to the close resemblance which prevails throughout the group, in this book, which is intended for popular use, the author has deemed it best not to separate the species, as to do so presupposes a minute anatomical knowledge, which the general reader is not likely to possess.
_Egg._--The eggs are for the most part flattened, turban-shaped (see p.
4, Fig. 7).
_Caterpillar._--Slug-shaped, as in the preceding genera, feeding upon the petals and bracts of flowers, or upon delicate terminal leaves.
_Chrysalis._--Closely resembling the chrysalids of the preceding genera.
This genus is very widely distributed in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Many of the species are inhabitants of the cold North or high mountain summits, while others are found in the tropics.
(1) =Lycaena fuliginosa=, Edwards, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 16, ?, _under side_ (The Sooty Gossamer-wing).
_b.u.t.terfly._--Dark gray on the upper side in both s.e.xes. On the under side the figure in the plate gives a correct representation of the color and markings. Expanse, 1.10 inch.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
The species occurs in northern California, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
(2) =Lycaena heteronea=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 13, ?; Fig. 14, ?; Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 19, ?, _under side_ (The Varied Blue).
_b.u.t.terfly._--On the upper side the male is blue, the female brown. On the under side the wings are white, with faint pale-brown spots on the hind wings and distinct black spots on the fore wings, more numerous than in _L. lycea_, which it closely resembles on the under side. It is the largest species of the genus, and the female reminds us by its markings on the upper side of the females of _Chrysopha.n.u.s_. Expanse, 1.25-1.40 inch.
_Early Stages._--These await description.
_Heteronea_ ranges from Colorado to California, at suitable elevations among the mountains.
(3) =Lycaena clara=, Henry Edwards, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 26, ? (The Bright Blue).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The figure in the plate is that of the type of the female, the only specimen in my collection. Expanse, 1.15 inch.
_Early Stages._--These are entirely unknown.
The type came from southern California.
(4) =Lycaena lycea=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 18, ?, _under side_ (Lycea).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The perfect insect is very nearly as large as _L.
heteronea_. The male is lilac-blue on the upper side, with the margins dusky. The black spots of the under side do not show through on the upper side, as in _L. heteronea_. The female is dusky, with the wings shot with blue at their bases, more especially on the fore wing. There are no black spots on the upper side of the wings in this s.e.x, as in _L.
heteronea_. On the under side the wings are whitish. The spots on this side are well delineated in our figure in Plate x.x.xII. Expanse, 1.30 inch.
_Early Stages._--These await description.
The b.u.t.terfly is found in the region of the Rocky Mountains, from New Mexico to Montana.
(5) =Lycaena fulla,= Edwards, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 24, ?; Fig. 25, ?
(Fulla).
_b.u.t.terfly._--Smaller than the preceding species. The upper side of the male is not lilac-blue, but ultramarine. The female is almost indistinguishable on the upper side from the female of _L. lycea_. On the under side the wings are pale stone-gray, with a black spot at the end of the cell of the primaries and a large white spot at the end of the cell of the secondaries. The other spots, which are always ringed about with white, are located much as in _L. icarioides_ (see Plate x.x.x, Fig. 29). Expanse, 1.15-1.20 inch.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
_Fulla_ occurs in northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
(6) =Lycaena icarioides=, Boisduval (=mintha=, Edwards), Plate x.x.x, Fig. 29, ?, _under side_ (Boisduval"s Blue).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The insect on the upper side closely resembles the preceding species in both s.e.xes. On the under side it may be at once distinguished from the following species by the absence on the margin of the hind wings of the fine black terminal line, and by having only one, not two rows of submarginal black spots. There are other marked and striking differences, and the merging of _L. daedalus_, Behr, with this species, which has been advocated by some recent writers, is no doubt due to their lack of sufficient and accurately identified material.
Expanse, 1.35 inch.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
This species, which is not common, is found in southern California.
(7) =Lycaena daedalus=, Behr, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 11, ?; Fig. 12, ?; Plate x.x.x, Fig. 28, ?, _under side_ (Behr"s Blue).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The wings of the male on the upper side are deep l.u.s.trous blue, with darker borders and white fringes. The wings of the female are brown, margined with reddish. The name oechaja was applied to this s.e.x by Dr. Behr, before it was known to be the female of his _L. doedalus_.
Expanse, 1.12 inch.
_Early Stages._--These have not yet been studied.
_Daedalus_ is common in southern California.
(8) =Lycaena saepiolus=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 15, ?; Fig. 16, ?
(The Greenish Blue).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side has the wings blue, shot in certain lights with brilliant green. The female on the same side is dusky, with greenish-blue scales at the bases of the wings, and often with reddish markings on the outer margin of the hind wings. On the under side the wings are gray or pale wood-brown, with greenish-blue at their base and a profusion of small black spots margined with white. Now and then the black spots are lost, the white margins spreading inwardly and usurping the place of the black. Expanse, .95-1.10 inch.
_Early Stages._--These await further study.
The species ranges from British Columbia to Colorado.
(9) =Lycaena pheres=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 37, ?; Fig. 42, ?, _under side_ (Pheres).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The male is pale shining blue above, with dusky borders.
The female is dusky, with a little blue at the base of the wings on the same side. Below, the spots on the fore wings are strongly defined; on the hind wings they are white on a pale stone-gray ground. Expanse, 1.20 inch.