LYCAENIDAE: THECLIDl. 1823 



"great," a "small" and a "least," which in all probability refer respec 

 tively to halesus, m-album and cecrops. If, then, his "least" be cecrops, 

 as is certainly highly probable, then he bred the buttei-fly in Georgia May 

 20, after twenty days in chrysalis, from a caterpillar feeding "on the large 

 blue huckleberry," doubtless some species of Vaccinium. 



THECLA FABRICIUS. 

 THECLA LOR AT A. 



Thecla lorata Grote-Kob., Trans. Amer. eut. soc, i : 171-173 (1867). 



Imago. "Male. — Allied to Thecla falacer, Bdv. and LeC. Head black; eyes cir- 

 cled narrowly with white; antennae Ijlack, annulate with white, the 'clut)' entirely 

 black. Body above, black, the longer scales on thorax and abdomen with a paler 

 somewhat brassy tinge. Beneath the abdomen is whitish, the under thoracic squa- 

 mation is blackish gray ; legs mostly whitish, blackish outwardly, subannulate, the 

 tarsi touched with fuscous inwardly. 



"Upper surface of wings of a uniform tjlack or blackish, with a subdued brassy-brown 

 reflection which becomes prominent in certain lights. An ovate sexual spot on the disc of 

 primaries. Secondaries with two very unequal tails as in T. falacer, the lower the 

 longer, fringed with white. Base of the fringes, from anal angle to the lower 'tail,' 

 white, and at this place is a narrow, white, internal line in one specimen. Between 

 the 'tails,' the fringes, which elsewhere are dark, are tipped with white. 



"Under surface somewhat paler than upper, brownish black. An extra-ijasal com- 

 mon streak, composed of powdery dark blue scales, runs across both wings ; this is 

 slightly irregular, and is lost inferlorly among the longer scales which clothe the in- 

 ternal margin of the secondaries. Two sliort white lines on the disc of primaries 

 enclosing an incomplete darker shaded spot or space as in allied species. Beyond, an 

 interrupted, extra-discal, semilunated, white line, narrowly edged within by blackish 

 scales and preceded by dark interspaceal shadings. An incomplete, bluish-white, sub- 

 parallel, subterminalline, edged outwardly by blackish scales. Secondaries with two 

 short, parallel, wljite lines on the disc, enclosing an analogous space to that on disc 

 of primaries. An extra-discal semilunated and interrupted white line as on primaries, 

 preceded by dark interspaceal shades ; these are faintly edged within in one specimen 

 by white scales, so that here the white line may be said to be geminate, enclosing a dark 

 shade ; on the subcostal interspace the series is interrupted, the Hues being severed and 

 brought nearer to the base of the wing, a detached spot is thus formed as is usual. A 

 subterminal bluish white line, forming prominent lunules on the interspaces interiorly, 

 edges outwardly with black; along anal angle the black scales are followed by a 

 fulvous streak, this by first white then black scales. Outside of the black scales 

 edging the subtenninal line on the next interspace above, is a patch of powdery blue 

 scattered scales extending to the external margin ; on the interspace above is a distinct, 

 fulvous crescent, succeeded by black scales on the margin; the fulvous scales are 

 faintly continued on the next succeeding interspace, which also shows a few scattered 

 bluish-white scales. A narrow white line lies directly on the margin. Expanse, 1.2 

 inch. Length of body, .6 inch." 



No one seems to have found additional specimens of this species, de- 

 scribed from two males from Virginia, and accordingly I reproduce 

 the original description. Possibly the species is not distinct from T. 

 calanus, but I have never noticed in the latter the delicate line of blue 

 scales near the base of the wings beneath, which appears to be a character- 

 istic mark of the pi'esent form. 



