908 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



sphere, one in tlie Old World, and the others in the New, in both continents 

 extending- t'roni oeean to ocean, thus encircling the globe; its northern 

 limit in both worlds is abont Lat. 57" ; in America it extends sonth to Lat. 

 12° N. — almost to Sonth America, — while in Enrope it only reaches Lat. 

 43, and in Asia about five degrees further, to Kaschmir and northern China. 

 Besides which the genus reappears in India and the Malayan archipelago, 

 where several species are found. The transformations of several species 

 arc known ; one American form is found throughout New England. 



The butterflies may be distinguished from all other indigenous Lycae- 

 nidi by the presence of a thread-like tail at the tip of the lowest median 

 nervule of the hind wings : on the upper surface tlie wings are violet in the 

 male, dark brown suffused on the disc with the male colors in the female. 

 Beneath they are very pale brown with faint marginal markings over most 

 of the outer border ; these markings on the hind wings are intensified in 

 the median interspaces forming, especially in the lower one, a blackish 

 sf)Ot surmounted by a bright lunule ; there is also an extra-mesial series 

 of blackish spots or dashes, nearly straight on the fore wings, strongly 

 tortuous on the hind, besides a transverse dash at the tip of the cell and 

 on the hind wings a couple of roiuid spots near the base. 



The butterflies are polygoneutic, the paleogean and probably the neo- 

 gean species hibernating in curled leaves as full grown caterpillars and 

 transforming to chrysalids in May, about a fortnight before the first brood 

 of butterflies appears. The European butterfly, according to Speyer, 

 flies over sunny flowery spots in thickets and on mountain meadows and 

 is mostly found in hilly regions. The American species is found quite as 

 often on plains and river bottoms. The diu-ation of the egg is but three 

 or four days ; the caterpillars mature rapidly and tiie summer chrysalids 

 evolve their inmates more quickly than those of spring. The caterpillars 

 feed on a variety of Lcguminosae, the European species having been 

 found on Lotus, Anthyllis, Medicago, TrifoHum, Pisum and Onobrychis 

 and even on Rhamnus ; while ours are known to feed on Lespedeza, 

 Phaseolus, Desmodium, Galactia, Trifolium and Astragalus. The cater- 

 pillars of the European species are known to bore the husks and devour 

 the peas of Pisum ; and an entirely similar habit has been discovered in 

 one of the Californian species by Messrs. Wright and Riley, the latter of 

 whom writes me that Everes amyntula "lives within the pod of Astraga- 

 lus leucopsis, frequently in connection with a noctuid and a curculionid 

 larva and always leaves the pod to pupate. While it feeds normally upon 

 the young and tender seeds, it also shows quite a carnivorous propensity 

 and will eat its associates just mentioned when they are not too active or 

 large." 



The caterpillars are elliptical in form, flatter and more elongated than 

 in Cyaniris, with a flatter terminal segment, of a greenish color, with a 

 dark dorsal stripe and many oblique lateral lines. 



