848 I'HK BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



curving to a point in the middle, fiirnislied witli strongly recurved lateral arms ; clasps 

 scarcely so long as tlie upper organ, straight, not very slender, tapering throughout, 

 rounded at tip. 



Egg. Echinoid shaped, not quite so strongly tlattened as in Thocla; the surface 

 covered with minute polygonal cells, separated l)y coarse, stout walls, becoming coarser 

 and rather more elevated on the sides and liere occasionally raised into prominences. 

 Mlcropyle not sunken, inconspicuous. 



Chrysalis. Viewed from above, the outline of the body is much as in Thecla, but 

 the division between the thorax and abdomen is obliterated, or is only distinguishable 

 bv the slightly narrower shape of the thorax, which does not taper posteriorly, and the 

 curve of whicli is interrupted by the slightly and very liroadly protruding basal wing 

 prominences — the widest part of the thorax. Viewed laterally, the thorax, which occu- 

 pies half the body, is sei)arated from the abdomen by a small, rounded hollowing, is 

 most prominent just behind the middle of the mesonotum, in fi-ont of which it slopes 

 forward and downward, but little curved to the anterior extremity; the abdomen is 

 well and regularly arched, highest, and scarcely higher than the thorax, at the tliird 

 segment, the posterior extremity curving rapidly downward, well arched to the poste- 

 rior extremity, more rapidly than in Thecla, and yet with no part perpendicular; 

 tr.ansvei'sely the thorax is much as in Thecla; the abdomen is also much the same, but 

 a little more depressed and with the sides rather sloping tlian rounded, being some- 

 what obliquely compressed above; three-fifths of the tongue exposed; basal wing 

 prominences consisting of very broad, round, but little and gradually elevated swell- 

 ings. Inner portion of the posterior border of the wings produced posteriorly a 

 little. Whole body covered equally with an interlacing, not very delicate, obscure net- 

 work of scarcely raised lines, indistinct even under a .strong lens, their points of inter- 

 section not raised, but bearing straight, short, spicullferous hairs ; the latter are longer 

 in front than on the body generally. Hooklets as in Thecla, but the tip not so broadly 

 expanded nor so closely appressed to the stalk. 



This is a North American genus, composed, as far as I am aware, of 

 tlie single species here described, wliose geographical distribution will be 

 elsewhere detailed. It reaches its northernmost limits in New England. 



The butterfly is of the same size as the species of Thecla and of nuich 

 the same form, but with more angulated fore wings, and the males have 

 not the discal spot upon the fore wings. Above they are bluish l)i-own, 

 their hind ^ving8 with an orange spot between the base of the two tails, 

 enclosing one of black and both repeated beneath. The under surface 

 is gray with a transverse stripe, l)lack within, white without, crossing the 

 middle of the outer half of the wing, and toward the anal angle of the 

 hind winofs forraingr a small W. 



The insect is probably double brooded in the north and triple brooded 

 in the south, hibernating as a chrysalis. It is a long lived insect, and is 

 seen on the wing almost the whole season. The larva appears to feed on 

 a great variety of plants and the chrysalis state in the south lasts fourteen 

 days. 



The caterpillars closely resemble those of Thecla, and judging from 

 Abbot's drawings are of a pinkish color above, greenish below, with 

 dusky dorsal and lateral stripes, the latter consisting of a series of short 

 oblique dashes. 



