116 THE COMMONER BUTTERFLIES, 



as southern Wisconsin in the West and central New York 

 in the East. It hibernates as a chrysalis, and the but- 

 terfly, which is single-brooded, appears about the last week 

 in April, the females about a week later than the males, 

 though some do not make their appearance much before 

 June, after the middle of which month they disappear. 

 The eggs are regularly turban-shaped, deep green, with pale- 

 green raised reticulation, and are laid early in June, per- 

 haps earlier, at the base of the flower-stem of the food- 

 plant, and hatch in less than a week. The caterpillar feeds 

 upon the wild plum and possibly other plants, boring into 

 the fruit and inserting its body as far as needed until the 

 entire inside of the fruit is devoured. 



INCISALIA AUGUSTUS— THE BROWN ELFIN. 



(Thecla augustus.) 



Butterfly. — Upper surface of wings dark slate-brown, the fore 

 wings of the male with an obscure stigma at the end of the cell. 

 Under surface of fore wings reddish tawny at base, ochraceous 

 beyond, separated by a nearly straight extramesial brown stripe ; 

 of hind wings dark reddish tawny, much infuscated on basal 

 half, which is limited by a deeply indented line ; a series of faint 

 dusky dots in middle of outer half. Expanse about 1 inch. 



Caterpillar. — Onisciform. Head minute. Body naked, with 

 fine pile, carmine-red. Length ^ inch. 



Chrysalis. — Pitchy brown with sparsely-scattered fuscous spots, 

 on the abdomen forming two rows on each side ; tracery of raised 

 lines obscure fuscous; a slender dorsal ridge on mesothorax. 

 Length f inch. 



The butterfly inhabits shrubby rocky heaths, alights by 

 preference on dead vegetation or rocks, a protective resem- 

 blance to which will be found in its coloring, and at once 

 on alighting (like many other Hair-Streaks) slides the up- 

 raised hind wings repeatedly past each other, while it sidles 

 about in a twitching manner. It is a northern insect found 



