1450 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



Distribution. Tliis genus of butterflies is peculiar to the north temper- 

 ate zone, and is rich in species — far more so in the New than in the Old 

 World, as we should expect from the occurrence of all the more closely 

 allied genera in Central America alone. In the Old World it extends 

 from the thirty-fifth to the sixtieth parallel, in America from the twenty- 

 eighth to the fiftieth. In both it extends from ocean to ocean, and from the 

 plains to a considerable height upon mountain sides — in the Alps to 5000, 

 in the White ISIountains to about 3000, in the Rocky Mountains to perhaps 

 9000 feet. A portion of the species found upon the east and west coast of 

 the Old World have been describedas distinct, but the best known, tages, is 

 said to be common to the two shores. In North America nearly all the 

 species of the west coast, and they are almost equally numerous with those 

 of eastern America, although not all described, are distinct from the species 

 on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, while many of the latter extend 

 north and south over the whole width of the belt in which the genus occurs. 



Of the New England species*, two or three have been found across the 

 continent and several of the others extend to the Great Plains. All extend 

 as far south as Georgia, and all but one to Florida. Two only are known 

 to extend to the northernmost parts of New England the others being con- 

 fined to the southern half. The species resemble each other very closely, 

 and require the closest study for their determination. 



General characteristics of the butterfly. The upper surface of 

 the wings is very dark brown, the hind wings uniform and immaculate ex- 

 cejJting where some of the spots of the under surface are faintly reproduced 

 above ; the fore wings generally grayish, often flecked with hoary scales, 

 especially in the outer part of the wings, and blotched obscurely with black- 

 ish and cinereous ; three transverse dark bands cross the wing, the outer a 

 submargiual one, generally formed of independent roundish spots less distinct 

 and not so dark as the other markings, the inner, an intramesial band, 

 which starts from the tijj of the costal nervure, and generally is but vaguely 

 defined, especially below, and is often wholly merged in the blackish 

 blotching of the base ; the middle is an extramesial, arcuate or sinuous series, 

 including some vitreous spots next its inner margin, and is composed of 

 more or less triangular, longitudinal, usually confluent dashes, pointed out- 

 wardly ; the vitreous spots are small and consist of four submarginal ones 

 in the narrow subcostal interspaces, two median ones, one in the upper part 

 of the cell near its extremity and one in each of the interspaces beyond the 

 cell ; the latter are usually absent and most of the others may be obsolete, 

 the only persistent ones being those in the middle submedian interspace, and 

 generally those in the upper median. 



The butterflies are of moderate size for Hesperidae, have ampler wings 

 than any other genera excepting those immediately contiguous, and the 



* Omitting mentiou of T. ausonius, uot yet really found witliin its limits. 



