LEPIDOPTERA 261 



large in some cases that they occupy the greater part of the wing. One 

 of the more common species is the variegated tessellate, Hesperia tessel- 

 lata. This is distributed from the Atlantic to the Pacific and is the only 

 one common in the Eastern United States. In this species more than 

 one-half of the outer two-thirds of both fore and hind wings is white. 



A second group of skippers in this family is known as the skippers 

 with a brand. It includes the greater number of our small skippers as 

 well as some which are of fairly large size. All of our tawny skippers 

 together with some black and dark brown species belong here. The anten- 

 nae usually have a stout club with a short recurved 

 tip, the latter sometimes wanting. 



In the majority of our species the males can be rec- 

 ognized at a glance by a conspicuous patch crossing 

 the disk of the fore wings, which usually appears to the 

 naked eye like a scorched, oblique streak, and which 

 on this account is termed the brand (Fig. 456). The 

 brand is a complicated organ, composed of tubular ? IG - 456. — Atrytone con- 

 scales, the androconia, that are the outlets of scent- s - lcua " 

 glands, and of other scales of various shapes; in some species the 

 brand is wanting. 



This subfamily is an exceedingly difficult one to study. One hundred 

 and twenty-five species have been described from America north of 

 Mexico; and in many cases the differences between allied species are not 

 well marked. The following two are named merely as examples. The 

 first one is easily recognized. 



The least skipper, Ancyloxyipha niimitor. — ■ This skipper is the smallest 

 of our common species, and is also remarkable for lacking the recurved 

 hook at the tip of the antennae. The wings are tawny, broadly mar- 

 gined with dark brown. In some specimens the fore wings are almost 

 entirely brown. The larger individuals expand about 1 inch. The larva 

 feeds upon grass in damp places. 



The black-dash, Atrytone conspicua. — The male of this species is rep- 

 resented by Figure 456. It is blackish-brown with considerable yellow on 

 the basal half of the fore -wings. The brand is velvety black. This spe- 

 cies is distributed from Massachusetts to Nebraska. 



THE BUTTERFLIES 



The butterflies differ from moths in that they have clubbed antennae, 

 fly only in the daytime (except some species in the tropics), hold the 

 wings erect above the back when at rest, and have no frenulum. Some 

 moths present one or more of these characteristics, but no moth presents 

 all of them. Butterflies can be distinguished from skippers by the vena- 

 tion of the front wings. 



Among the many works treating of American butterflies the two 

 following are especially useful for the classification of our species, each 

 of these works is illustrated by many full-page plates representing the 

 insects in their natural colors: " How to Know the Butterflies, A Manual 

 of the Butterflies of the Eastern United States " by J. H. and A. B. Corn- 

 stock, and " The Butterfly Book, A Popular Guide to a Knowledge of 

 the Butterflies of North America " by W. J. Holland. 



The butterflies found in America north of Mexico represent five families. 



