The Butterfly Book Part 69

(1) =Phycana.s.sa viator=, Edwards, Plate XLVI, Fig. 14, ?; Fig. 15, ?

(The Broad-winged Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Accurately delineated in the plate. On the under side the wings are as on the upper side, but paler, and the secondaries are traversed from the base to the middle of the outer margin by a pale light-colored longitudinal ray, which is more or less obscured in some specimens, especially of the female. The light spots of the upper side appear indistinctly on the under side. Expanse, ?, 1.45 inch; ?, 1.60 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

It is not uncommon in the Gulf States, and has been found as far north as New Jersey, northern Illinois, and Wisconsin.

(2) =Phycana.s.sa howardi=, Skinner, Plate XLVI, Fig. 38, ? (Howard's Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The figure in the plate gives the upper side of the male, in which the discal streak is composed of light-colored scales of the same tint as the rest of the wing, in this respect resembling the allied _P. aaroni_. The under side of the wings is described by Dr. Skinner as follows: "Superiors with tawny central area and border same as upper side. There is a large triangular spot extending into the wing from the base. The tawny color above this spot is of a darker hue than that below and outside of it. Inferiors very light brown, generally with four or five very faint tawny spots in the central area." Expanse, ?, 1.50 inch; ?, 1.60 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The home of this species is Florida.

(3) =Phycana.s.sa aaroni=, Skinner, Plate XLVI, Fig. 37, ? (Aaron's Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--This small species, the male of which is figured in the plate, may be easily recognized from the figure there given. On the under side the fore wings are black at the base; the middle area of the wing is tawny, paler than on the upper side, and bordered as above, but the border below is cinnamon-brown and not fuscous. The hind wings on the under side are uniformly light cinnamon-brown, without any spots.

The female is like the male, but larger, the colors somewhat lighter and the markings not so well defined. Expanse, ?, 1.00 inch; ?, 1.25 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The specimens thus far contained in collections have all been taken about Cape May, in New Jersey, in the salt-marshes.

Genus ATRYTONE, Scudder

_b.u.t.terfly._--The antennae have a stout club, somewhat elongate, and furnished with a short crook at the end. The palpi are very much as in the preceding genus. The neuration is shown in the cut. There is no discal stigma on the fore wing of the male.

_Egg._--The egg is hemispherical, somewhat broadly flattened at the apex, covered with small cells, the inner surface of which is marked with minute punctulations.

_Caterpillar._--The caterpillar feeds upon common gra.s.ses, making a loose nest of silk for itself at the point where the leaf joins the stem. The head is small; the body is cylindrical, thick, tapering abruptly at either end.

_Chrysalis._--Covered with delicate hair; the tongue-case free.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 179.--Neuration of the genus _Atrytone_, enlarged.]

(1) =Atrytone vitellius=, Smith and Abbot, Plate XLVI, Fig. 6, ? (The Iowa Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side is as shown in the plate. The female on the upper side has the hind wings almost entirely fuscous, very slightly yellowish about the middle of the disk. The fore wings have the inner and outer margins more broadly bordered with fuscous than the male, and through the middle of the cell there runs a dark ray. On the under side the wings are bright pale yellow, with the inner margin of the primaries clouded with brown. Expanse, ?, 1.25 inch; ?, 1.45 inch.

_Early Stages._--Very little is known of these.

The species ranges through the Gulf States, and northward in the valley of the Mississippi as far as Nebraska and Iowa. It seems to be quite common in Nebraska, and probably has a wider distribution than is reported.

(2) =Atrytone zabulon=, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate XLVII, Fig. 37, ?; Fig. 38, ? (The Hobomok Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The upper side of both s.e.xes is shown in the plate. The color on the disk of the wings is, however, a little too red. On the under side the wings are bright yellow, with the bases and the outer margin bordered with dark brown. Expanse, ?, 1.25 inch; ?, 1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--The caterpillar feeds upon gra.s.ses. The life-history has been described with minute accuracy by Dr. Scudder.

The species ranges from New England to Georgia, and westward to the Great Plains. It is very common in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the valley of the Ohio.

Dimorphic var. =pocahontas=, Scudder, Plate XLVII, Fig. 39, ?. This is a melanic, or black, female variety of _zabulon_, which is not uncommon.

It is remarkable because of the white spots on the primaries and the dark color of the under side of the wings.

(3) =Atrytone taxiles=, Edwards, Plate XLVII, Fig. 31, ?; Fig. 32, ?

(Taxiles).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The fore wings on the under side of the male are bright yellow, black at the base, slightly clouded on the outer margin with pale brown. The hind wings on the under side in this s.e.x are still paler yellow, margined externally with pale brown, and crossed near the base and on the disk by irregular bands of pale brown. In the female s.e.x the fore wings on the under side are fulvous, marked much as in the male, but darker, especially toward the apex, where the subapical spots and two small pale spots beyond the end of the cell near the outer margin interrupt the brown color. The hind wings on the under side are pale ferruginous, crossed by bands of lighter spots, and mottled with darker brown. Expanse, ?, 1.45 inch; ?, 1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The range of this species is from Colorado and Nevada to Arizona.

(4) =Atrytone delaware=, Edwards, Plate XLVI, Fig. 24, ?; Fig. 25, ?

(The Delaware Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--No description of the upper side of the wings is necessary. On the under side the wings are bright orange-red, clouded with black at the base and on the outer angle of the fore wings.

Expanse, ?, 1.25-1.35 inch; ?, 1.35-1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--Very little is known of these.

The b.u.t.terfly is found from southern New England and northern New York as far south as Florida and Texas, ranging west to the Yellowstone and southern Colorado.

(5) =Atrytone melane=, Edwards, Plate XLVI, Fig. 7, ?; Fig. 8, ? (The Umber Skipper).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side somewhat resembles _A.

zabulon_, var. _pocahontas_; the female likewise closely resembles specimens of this variety. The wings on the under side are ferruginous, clouded with blackish toward the base of the inner angle, the light spots of the upper side being repeated. The hind wings on the under side are reddish, with a broad irregular curved median band of pale-yellow spots. In the female the band of spots is far more obscure. Expanse, ?, 1.30 inch; ?, 1.50 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

The insect is found in southern California.

Genus LEREMA, Scudder

_b.u.t.terfly._--The antennae are as in the preceding genus; the palpi have the third joint erect, short, conical. The neuration is represented in the cut. The male has a linear glandular streak on the upper side of the fore wing.

_Egg._--Hemispherical, covered with more or less regularly pentagonal cells.

_Caterpillar._--The caterpillar feeds upon gra.s.ses. The body is slender, tapering forward and backward; the head is small.

_Chrysalis._--The chrysalis is slender, smooth, with a tapering conical projection at the head, and the tongue-case long and free, reaching almost to the end of the abdomen.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 180.--Neuration of the genus _Lerema_, enlarged.]

(1) =Lerema accius=, Smith and Abbot, Plate XLVIII, Fig. 8, ?; Plate VI, Fig. 46, _chrysalis_ (Accius).