1566 THE BUTTERFLIES OF NEW ENGLAND. 



a right angle. Prolegs very short and stout. The body is lilcewise provided with 

 longitudinal, suprastigmatal and infrastigniatal series of minute, smooth, glistening 

 lenticles, the sup rastigraatal slightly in advance of the infrastigniatal, somewhat be- 

 hind the spiracles, generally one to a segment in "each row, but occasionally double, 

 and not always uniform on both sides of the body; those of the infrastigmatal series 

 are larger than the spiracles ; there is also a transverse series of four equidistant 

 lenticles on the hindmost section of the penultimate segment, the outermost aligned 

 with the last spiracle; others are found on the sides of the first and second thoracic 

 segments. 



See also Fletcher's very excellent account of the external structure of this cater- 

 pillar, one of the best that have ever been given of any butterfly caterpillar (Can. 

 ent. , XX) . 



We come now to a genus which though rather poor in species is exceed- 

 ingly widely spread. Closely allied to a group of insects peculiar to south- 

 ern Africa and Madagascar it is found only in districts as far removed as 

 possible from that ; namely, in the northern half of the north temperate 

 zone of both hemispheres and south of the tropics in western America. 

 Three species are known in the Old World in a belt which extends across 

 the continent between Lat. 45° and 60° N. Two occur in the New AVorld, 

 one in Chili, the other across the northern continent between Lat. 45° 

 and (30° ; so that, contrary to what usually holds in groups common to the 

 two hemispheres, the generic belt is included between exactly similar lati- 

 tudes. 



The butterflies are small with rather slender and particularly long bodies. 

 The liind tibiae are not provided with the middle pair of spurs almost uni- 

 versally found among Hesperidae — a character by which this group can be 

 at once distinguished from all other New England skippers. They are 

 dark brown above, largely covered with roundish tawny spots, often con- 

 fluent on the fore wings, and less frequent, independent spots on the hind 

 wings ; the spots have no apparent regularity and give the wings a blotched 

 appearance. Beneath, the wings are paler, the spots of the fore wings 

 blurred, but those of the hind wings enlarged and distinct, paler than the 

 ground color and sometimes silvery. 



The metamorplioses of one of the European species is known and one of 

 the American partially. The European species is single brooded and hi- 

 bernates as a larva, transforming to chrysalis early in the season as in 

 Thanaos. Our New England species, however, appears to be double 

 brooded. According to Meyer Diir, the European butterfly is restless and 

 nimble and flies in light openings in forests and by the skirts of woods ; 

 our own affects similar spots, but is not particularly active. The European 

 caterpillar feeds on Plantago and grasses, while ours appears to feed only 

 on the latter. 



The egg is an interesting object, belonging to a little group in which 

 there is a passage from the structure in Pamphilidi generally to that of Hes- 

 peridi, the vertical ribs of the latter just beginning to appear, but without 

 the cross lines, and the reticulation of the former to be lost. 



