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LYCAENINAK: CYANIRIS PSEUDARGIOLUS. 943 



Habits, flight, etc. Gossc, writiiijioftlicse butterflies says (Can. iiat., 

 123) :— 



They nre exceoillii^ly playful; ctmsinir i-at'li other thronirh the air, ami tlioiiirli often 

 atiglitiii$; on the jjroutul, reiiiaiiiing scarcely an in.stant before lliey are in llight ajiaiii, 

 flittlnj; about over one particular spot, ■which they seem reluctant to leave. Notwith- 

 stanillngthey are so restless, they are not (lltllcult of aiipronch, and are easily caught. 



It flies with an uncertain, tremulous, wanton uiotion, never in a 

 direct course, but hovering and quivering about one spot, never aligliting 

 without seeming to be very uncertain just where to go. If much alarmed 

 it will move ofl^ more rapidly, but still with the same wayward motion, 

 rarelv risine; as hio'h as one's head. The beats of its wines are much less 

 frequent and rapid than those of species of Incisalia among the Theclidi, in 

 company with which it often occurs. 



Its large wings and disproportionately slender body [says Edwards] give this 

 species a slower and more tortuous and tremulous flight than any other of our eastern 

 Lycaeuidae. On the Kanawha Kiver it is rather a common species during its season, 

 the males somewhat frequenting the roads, especially where tluy skirt the edges of the 

 woods, but very much preferring the l)roolvsides in the forest. Tlie females are rarely 

 to be seen in the satiie localities, but arc found in the more open woods among shrubs 

 and low plants. [And in another place he says they are] conspicuous from their 

 charming color, which, in the sunlight is intense [in the form violacea],as near as may 

 be like Salvia patens among flowers. 



Thev frequently congregate, especially the males before the females are 

 out, in clusters around damp spots extracting the moisture from the 

 ground, wings erect and tightly shut ; putrid or excrementitious animal 

 substances too, have great attractions for them. They are not at all timid, 

 allowing one to approach close to them and when disturbed circling about 

 the spot and speedily settling again. D'Urban tells of one that pitched 

 on his hand and remained there for some time while he was in a canoe by 

 the shore of a lake. They have been known to fly at night to the 

 electric light I 



When walking the wings are placed back to back, the hind pair not 

 concealing the lowest submarginal spot of the fore wings ; the antennae 

 diverge at right angles and are bent slightly downward below the plane of 

 the body ; the fore legs — at least those of the male — seem to be used in 

 some sense as feelers, their movements being at least twice as rapid as those 

 of the other legs. When resting, the wings are held in the same position, 

 but when moved by a breath of air, the fore wings droop a little so as to 

 bring the costal edge of the secondaries almost to the upper median ner- 

 vule : the antennae diverge at an angle of about 100° and viewed from 

 above are straight ; but from the side they are seen to curve forward con- 

 siderably close to the base, their main portion being parallel with the 

 bodv or raised at an angle of about 15° ; the club is curved very slightly 

 upward. At more complete rest the fore ■wings droop, bringing the costal 

 edges of all the wings together, and this position they frequently assume 



