THE COMMON BUTTERFLIES 241 



THE HAIR STREAKS 



These little butterflies are distinguished from others by the long 

 tail-like prolongations of the hind wings. They are usually dark 

 brown with delicate striped markings on the lower surface of the 

 wings; some species are brilliantly marked with metallic blue or 

 green. About fifty species occur in North America. A table for 

 determining the common species is given in How to Know the 

 Butterflies p. 217. 



The Gray Hair Streak.- — This frisky little brown butterfly has a 

 bright orange-spot on the hind wings and one or two white tipped 

 tails; it also has orange on the tip of its 

 antennae and its head. Its caterpillar is less 

 than a half an inch long and slug-shaped, 

 and is naked and reddish-brown. It feeds 

 upon the fruit and seeds of hop, hawthome, 

 hound's tongue and St. John's wort. 



The Banded Hair Streak. — This is our streak 



commonest hair streak. It frequents open- Expanse one and one- 

 . ^1 J ... 111 fifth inches. Color 

 mgs m the woods especially scrub oak clear- ^^^^ brown or black- 

 ings ; though dull in color it has on the inside ish; lower side of the 

 at the tip of the hind wings a blue patch J^ws^of^ bllck spots 

 with an orange patch on each side of it. margined with white. 

 T-, - -11 • 1 t, J t, 1-c • -u Blue spot with orange 

 Its caterpillar is slug-shaped, half an inch ^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^ g^^^g ^f 



long, grass-green in color and feeds on oak, it on the hind angle 

 hickory and butternut eating holes in the o e we 

 leaves; it winters as a newly-hatched caterpillar. 



THE COPPERS 



These are distinguished from the other gossamer wings by their 

 orange-red and brown colors. 



The Wanderer. — This lovely little butterfly is usually found near 

 alders. Its caterpillar is rather wide in the middle and pointed at 

 each end, about one-half inch in length; its color is brown marked 

 with brownish stripes. It differs from the caterpillars of other 

 butterflies in that it is not vegetarian, but lives instead, upon the 

 woolly plant-lice which infest the alder and thus is a very good 

 friend to this tree. 



The American Copper. — These jolly midgets flit about over 

 lawns almost always playing with each other and sometimes even 

 daring to play with us as we cross their path. The caterpillar is 



