THE HAIR-STREAKS. 



The Hair-streaks, Coppers, and Blues puzzle even 

 the professional. Legs ("more or less") and method of 

 hanging chr_ysalids are as in Erycinidae, but the Lycaenidae 

 have neither a costal nor a humeral vein in the hind wings. 

 Please do not ask any more questions just now but see 

 Plate XXXIII, which will give you a general notion of the 

 appearance of these creatures. The larvae are flat and 

 something like slugs. 



Thecla 



The larva of the Common or Gray Hair- 

 streak feeds on the developing seeds of hop. 



melinus r i TT ^ 



beans, Cynoglossum, Hypencum, and other 



plants. Plate XXXIII shows the adult. In the South- 

 east there are two species whose upper sides somewhat 

 resemble melinus: T. wittfeldi, which is larger and has 

 conspicuous blue scales at the rear angles of its hind wings ; 

 and T. favonius, which has a red spot on each fore wing. 



The larva of the Olive Hair-streak feeds 



Thecla 



on cedar, but not smilax as some books 

 say. The species is found in the East from 

 Ontario to Texas, and several varieties have been described. 

 Plate XXXIII shows that the adult is greenish below. 

 T. halesus (Illinois southward) is iridescent bluish-green 

 above on the thorax and basal half of the wings; below, 

 the front wings are nearly plain; all of the wings have a 

 crimson spot near the base and there are three rows of 

 green spots on each hind wing. T. m-album (New Jersey 

 and Wisconsin southward) is bluish on the inner half of 

 the upper surface but, below, each fore wing is crossed 

 by two lines of white, one of which is continued on the hind 

 wing and is M-shaped at the. rear. The larvag of both feed 

 on oak. 



In addition, the following have more or less safe (for the 

 Northeast) catch characters: 



Hind wings with long tails. 



T. cecrops: a red band across the lower surface of the 

 wings just beyond the middle; New Jersey and Indiana 

 .southward; larva unknown. T. calanus: a double row of 



