THE TRIBE OF THE SMALLER SKIPPERS ^279 



rather than roundish or square. The chrysalids have the 

 tongue-case free at the tip and projecting beyond the tips 

 of the wing-cases. 



The Tawny-edged Skipper 



Thymelicus cemes 



This is one of the commonest and most widely distrib- 

 uted of all our Skippers. It is found from Nova Scotia to 

 British Columbia, south along the Rocky Mountains to 

 New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. It is apparently absent 

 west of the Rocky Mountains and along the Gulf Coast 

 except in Florida. Its life-history was carefully worked 

 out by Dr. James Fletcher, late entomologist to the 

 Dominion of Canada, and in the north may be summarized 

 thus: the butterflies come from the hibernated chrysalids 

 in May or June. They remain upon the wing for several 

 weeks so that worn specimens may be taken late in July 

 or, rarely, even early in August. The females lay eggs 

 upon grass blades. These eggs hatch about two weeks 

 later, the larvae eating their way out of the shells so slowly 

 that a whole day may be taken up by the operation. Each 

 little caterpillar weaves a silken nest for itself, in which it 

 remains concealed most of the time, reaching out to feed 

 upon adjacent blades of grass but retiring into the nest at 

 the least alarm. It is a sluggish little creature and grows 

 so slowly that in the north it may require more than two 

 months to become full fed as a larva. It is then abouf. 

 an inch long and has the characteristic outlines of the 

 other Skipper larvae, with a black head and a greenish 

 brown body. It now spins a cocoon, possibly using its 



