1468 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



THANAOS PERSIUS.— Persius's dusky wing. 



[Six-spotted banded skipper (Jlaynard).] 



Nisoniades persU<.sSc\idd.,¥roc.Esi. inBt., Thanaos persitts Scudd., Butt., 309, fig. 94 



iii: 170(1863);— Sciidd.-Biirg.,Proc. Bost. soc. (1S81);— Fern., Butt. Me., 105-106 (18S4);— 



nat. hist., xiii; 286-287, fig. 1, u, I, r (1870);— Mayn., Butt. N. Engl., 54, pi. 7,figs. 77, 77a, 



Pack., Can. ent., iii : 113 (1871) ; — Liutn., (1886). 



Ent. notes, i : 33, pi. 7, figs. 3-4 (1872) ; — French, Nisoniades lucilius Mead, Can. ent., vii : 



Butt. east. U. S., 359-360 (1886). 103 (1875) . 



Erynnis persius Scudd., Syst. rev. Am. Figured by Glover, 111. N. A. Lep., pi. T, 



butt., 51 (1872). figs. 7, 13, iued. 



. . . All April's quick desire. 

 All June's possession, a most fearless earth 

 Drinking great ardors ; and the rapturous birth 

 Oi winged things. 



DowDEN.— ^w Autum7i Song. 



Imago (9: 1). Head covered above with dark, maroon-brown hairs often mingled 

 to a considerable extent, and in front largely, with pale or hoary hairs; beneath, the 

 hairs and scales are mostly ashen gray and a few pass along the hinder edge of the 

 eye without making a conspicuous streak ; curving tnf t outside of antennae black. 

 Palpi beneath gray by a nearly equal intermingling of dark brown, ashen brown and 

 sometimes pale or hoary scales, the darker ones predominating toward the distal ex- 

 tremity and then becoming pale tipped, excepting above, where the palpus is therefore 

 always darker than beneath ; the outer surface is also covered rather abundantly 

 with very long, black hairs, which project far outward; the terminal joint is nearly 

 uniform, very dark brown. Antennae very dark, slightly purplish, brown, the 

 extreme base of the stalk-joints slenderly and inconspicuously annulate with white 

 above, touched with conspicuous, white, basal patches in front, and at the base of the 

 antennae flecked with slightly longer, white scales; posteriorly, it is still more largely 

 flecked, often so as to be wholly white, with apical, brownish annulations which 

 become less distinct and sometimes obsolete toward the club, which it covers with a 

 uniform white patch; inferior surface of latter naked and dingy castaneous, becoming 

 brighter and more reddish toward the white patch and toward the tip which is wholly 

 castaneous. Tongue luteous at the extreme tip, luteo-fuscous near the tip and at 

 extreme base, but blackish throughout most of its extent. 



Thorax covered above with tlark maroon brown hairs; beneath with purplish brown, 

 mingled with slate brown, often pale-tipped hairs; legs dark brown tinged strongly 

 with purplish on the femora',and tibiae but with tufts of slate brown hairs beneath and 

 on the same surface occasionally flecked with ashen scales; the joints of the tarsi not 

 so dark and pale-tipped above, on the inferior surface toward the base and often on 

 the whole of the inner surface hoary or ashen. Epiphysis of fore tibiae luteous, 

 about four times as long as broad, densely clothed with short, microscopic hairs 

 arranged in longitudinal rows, which are directed inward, converging toward the 

 median carina. Spurs purplish, ashen or hoary on the surface next the leg and often 

 toward the tip, the extreme tip reddish. Spines reddish luteous. Claws similar, 

 sometimes even paler, but usually dusky, especially toward tip. Pad blackish. 



Wings above soft, blackish brown, on the fore wuigs a little grayish, especially in 

 the $ , and marked with blackish bands. Fore wings with a large roundish spot in the 

 upper half of the wing next the inner side of the intra-mesial band, often grayer or 

 more cinereous than any other portion of the wing and sometimes accompanied by 

 slight clouds of the same beneath, on the lower half of the wing. Basal half of the 

 wing usually lightly flecked, excepting generally the costal border, with infrequent, 

 exceedingly delicate white hairs ; outer half rather uniformly and more abundantly 



