The Butterfly Book Part 40

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).

_b.u.t.terfly._--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).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Dark plumbeous-brown on the upper side, with a pale s.e.x-mark on the fore wing of the male. On the under side the wings are paler and a trifle warmer brown, with their outer halves marked with numerous fine white broken lines arranged in pairs, with the s.p.a.ce between them darker than the ground-color of the wing. The usual black spots, green scales, and red crescents are found near the a.n.a.l angle on the under side.

_Early Stages._--For all that is known of these the reader will do well to consult the pages of Scudder. The caterpillar feeds on oaks.

The species ranges from Quebec westward to Colorado and Nebraska, being found commonly in New England.

(14) =Thecla cala.n.u.s=, Hubner, Plate XXIX, Fig. 26, ?; Plate V, Figs.

25, 27, _chrysalis_ (The Banded Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--On the upper side resembling the preceding species very closely, but a trifle darker, and warmer brown. On the under side the wings are marked by fine white lines on the outer half, which are not broken, as in _edwardsi_, but form continuous bands. Expanse, 1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--The caterpillar feeds on oaks. The life-history is described with minute exactness by Scudder in "The b.u.t.terflies of New England," vol. ii, p. 888.

This insect has a wide range, being found from the province of Quebec to Texas and Colorado. It is common in western Pennsylvania.

(15) =Thecla liparops=, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate XXIX, Fig. 28, ?, _under side_; Plate V, Fig. 28, _chrysalis_ (The Striped Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Dark brown on the upper side, grayish below. The lines are arranged much as in _T. edwardsi_, but are farther apart, often very narrow, scarcely defining the dark bands between them. The spots at the a.n.a.l angle are obscure and blackish. Expanse, 1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--Much like those of the allied species. Scudder, in "The b.u.t.terflies of New England," gives a full account of them. The caterpillar feeds on a variety of plants--oaks, willows, the wild plum, and other rosaceous plants, as well as on the _Ericaceae_.

It ranges through the northern Atlantic States and Quebec to Colorado and Montana, but is local in its habits, and nowhere common.

(16) =Thecla chalcis=, Behr, Plate XXIX, Fig. 36, ?; Fig. 37, ?, _under side_ (The Bronzed Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--On the upper side uniformly brown. On the under side dark, with a narrow submarginal and an irregular median transverse band, and a pale short bar closing the cell on both wings; a black spot at the a.n.a.l angle of the secondaries, preceded by a few bluish-green scales.

Expanse, 1.00-1.10 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

Habitat, California and Utah.

(17) =Thecla saepium=, Boisduval, Plate XXIX, Fig. 33, ?; Fig. 34, ?

(The Hedge-row Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Almost identically like the preceding species, except that the wings on the upper side are a trifle redder, on the under side paler; the lines on the under side of the wings are narrowly defined externally by white, and the a.n.a.l spots are better developed and defined on the hind wings. Expanse, 1.20 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

This species is found throughout the Pacific States, and I am inclined to believe it identical with _chalcis_. If this should be proved to be true the latter name will sink as a synonym.

(18) =Thecla adenostomatis=, Henry Edwards, Plate XXIX, Fig. 25, ? (The Gray Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Mouse-gray on the upper side, with a few white lines on the outer margin near the a.n.a.l angle; h.o.a.ry-gray on the under side, darker on the median and basal areas. The limbal area is defined inwardly by a fine white line, is paler than the rest of the wing, and on the secondaries is marked by a full, regularly curved submarginal series of small dark lunules. Expanse, 1.30 inch.

_Early Stages._--Undescribed.

Habitat, California.

(19) =Thecla spinetorum=, Boisduval, Plate XXIX, Fig. 21, ? (The Thicket Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Dark blackish on the upper side, with both wings at the base shot with bluish-green. On the under side the wings are pale reddish-brown, marked much as in the following species, but the lines and spots are broader, more distinct, and conspicuous. Expanse, 1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--This species is reported, so far, from Colorado, California, and Was.h.i.+ngton.

(20) =Thecla nelsoni=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 8, ?, _under side_; Fig. 13, ? (Nelson's Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Bright fulvous on the upper side, with the costa, the outer margins, the base, and the veins of both fore and hind wings fuscous. On the under side the wings are paler red, with an incomplete narrow white line shaded with deep red just beyond the median area, and not reaching the inner margin. This line is repeated on the hind wing as an irregularly curved median line. Between it and the outer margin on this wing are a few dark lunules near the a.n.a.l angle. Expanse, 1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--I cannot discover any account of these.

The species has been found in California and Colorado.

(21) =Thecla blenina=, Hewitson, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 9, ?, _under side_ (Hewitson's Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Brown on the upper side, in some specimens bright fulvous bordered with brown. On the under side the wings are pale red, shot with pea-green on the secondaries and at the base of the primaries. The markings of the under side are much as in the preceding species, but the line on the hind wing dividing the discal from the limbal area is broader and very white, and the spots between it and the margin more conspicuous. Expanse, 1.12 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

It is reported from Arizona and southern California. It has been named siva by Edwards, and the figure is from his type so labeled.

(22) =Thecla damon=, Cramer, Plate XXIX, Fig. 32, ?, _under side_; var.

=discoidalis=, Skinner, Plate XXIX, Fig. 29, ?; Plate V, Figs. 30, 31, _chrysalis_ (The Olive Hair-streak).

_b.u.t.terfly._--On the upper side bright fulvous, with the costa, the outer margins, and the veins of both wings blackish, darkest at the apex. On the under side the wings are greenish, crossed on the fore wing by a straight, incomplete white line, and on the hind wing by a similar irregular line. Both of these lines are margined internally by brown.

There are a couple of short white lines on the hind wing near the base, and the usual crescentic spots and markings on the outer border and at the a.n.a.l angle. Expanse, .90-1.00 inch.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 131.--Neuration of _Thecla damon_, enlarged. Type of subgenus _Mitura_, Scudder.]

_Early Stages._--These have been described by several authors. The caterpillar feeds on the red cedar (_Juniperus virginiana_, Linnaeus). It is double-brooded in the North and triple-brooded in the South.

_Damon_ ranges from Ontario to Texas over the entire eastern half of the United States.

(23) =Thecla simaethis=, Drury, Plate XXIX, Fig. 39, ?, _under side_ (Simaethis).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Resembling the preceding species, but the white band on the secondaries is straight, and the outer margins are heavily marked with brown. Expanse, .85-1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

This species occurs in Texas, Mexico, and southward.

(24) =Thecla acis=, Drury, Plate XXIX, Fig. 38, ?, _under side_ (Drury's Hair-streak).