THE TRIBE OF THE HAIR-STREAKS 245 



white lines running across the under surface of both wings. 

 It occurs as far north as West Virginia and Kentucky and 

 ranges westward at least to the Mississippi Valley. 



The Gray Hair-streak 



Uranotes melinus 



This exquisite little creature is capable of surviving 

 under a great variety of climatic conditions. It ranges 

 from New Hampshire to Florida and Central America, 

 but apparently occurs only rarely north of the United 

 States. Perhaps the most distinctive feature in the female 

 is the orange spot just in front of a pair of tiny tails on each 

 hind wing, the rear one being curiously curved and about 

 three times as long as the other. In the male the shorter 

 tail is absent. The general color of the upper surface is a 

 dark bluish gray, relieved on the margin of each hind wing 

 by a few white dots and the orange spot already mentioned. 

 The under surface is much lighter gray, distinctly marked 

 with two dark brown lines near the margin, the outer line 

 little more than a row of spots and the inner line with a 

 white edge. {See plate, page 257.) 



These small butterflies lay tiny though beautiful eggs 

 upon a variety of plants. The eggs hatch into curious 

 little caterpillars that have the appearance of slugs with 

 small heads which can be extended as if the little creature 

 had really a rubber neck. The object of this extensile 

 head is seen when one finds the larvae feeding upon the 

 fruits or the seed-pods of its various food plants — haw- 

 thorn, hop, hound's-tongue, and St. John's-wort. The 

 caterpillar is able to thrust its jaws into the interior of the 



