39 2 THE STUDY OF INSECTS. 



plants, especially those of Cormis, Cimicifnga, and Actino- 

 meris. They are frequently attended by ants for the sake 

 of the honey-dew which they excrete through tubes that 

 they push out from the seventh and eighth abdominal seg- 

 ments. 



The Tailed Blue, Evercs comyntas (E-ve'res co-myn'tas). 

 The butterflies of the genus Evercs can be distinguished 

 from our other blues by the presence of a small tail-like 

 prolongation of the hind wing. This is borne at the end of 

 vein VII. Our common species (E. comyntas) is distributed 

 over nearly all parts of North America. The male is dark 

 purplish violet above, bordered with brown ; the female is 

 dark brown, sometimes flecked with bluish scales. In the 

 Eastern United States this is the only species of the genus. 

 The larva feeds upon clover and other leguminous 

 plants. 



III. The Hair-streaks. The Hair-streaks are distinguished 

 from the other Lycaeninae by the fact that radius of the 

 fore wings is only three-branched. They are usually dark 

 brown, with delicate striped markings on the lower surface 



of the wings, which suggested the com- 

 mon name given above ; but some 

 species are brilliantly marked with me- 

 tallic blue or green. The hind wings 

 are also commonly furnished with deli- 

 cate tail-like prolongations (Fig. 466). 

 The fore wings of the male often bear 

 a small dull oval spot near the middle 

 of the costal part of the wing, the dis- 

 FIG. 4 66. 77u><-Ai caianus. ca j stigma, which is filled with the 

 peculiar scent-scales, known as andriconia. The males are 

 also distinguished by having a tuft of hair-like scales, the 

 beard, on the front ; this is wanting or very thin in the fe- 

 males. About fifty species occur in America north of 

 Mexico ; of these nearly twenty occur in the eastern half 

 of the United States. 



The Banded Hair-streak, TJiecla caianus (Thec'la cal'a- 



