HESPEHID^. 177 



tliorax tapers backward, and the abdomen is thin and h)ng, contrast- 

 ing greatl}' with most of the skippers. The antennie are knobbed 

 bnt not pointed. The up2)er wings are yellowish-brown with a wide 

 l)lack margin. The lower wings are lighter or tan color with a 

 heavy black border extending along the upper margin around to the 

 inner angle and are fringed with yellow. This is a very common 

 butterfly in August over tlie eastern lialf of the United States. It 

 is fond of open fields, and tlie second crop of clover is a favorite 

 with it. 



LYCJ^NID^. 



Bines, Coppers, Hairstreuks. 



A large number of frail Init lovely little creatures comprise the 

 great family Lyccenidce. Most of the species belonging to this family 

 are small, our largest being about two Indies in expanse of wing. 

 The antennae are knobbed or clubbed, but not pointed as in the 

 family of Hesperidxv, and the knob is straight. The wings are fre- 

 quently delicate in structure and are large and flat in proportion to 

 the body, which is slender. Tlie thorax in a few species is robust 

 but is generally slight. All six legs are well developed and are used 

 in walking. The family is a very large one and insects belonging to 

 it are to be found in almost every land. The beauty of some of the 

 species is most extraordinary, comprising almost every conceivable 

 color and shade. Many of them are metallic blue, while others are 

 green, purple, red or golden, and some a combination of these. A 

 number bear on the lower wings curiously shaped tails. Were these 

 slight butterflies of large size some of them would rival the gorgeous 

 Morplios and the regal Papilios and Ornithopteras. They are to my 

 mind among the handsomest objects in nature. Some of them haunt 

 open grassy fields and meadows, others delight in low shrubbery on 

 the outskirts of forests, and still others prefer the woods and will 

 often congregate in numbers in sunny open spaces among the trees. 

 The flight of some, especially the more delicate, is slow and un- 

 steady, while others are swift flyers ; but their flight is not usually 

 long sustained. Their flight is generally low, and consequently they 

 are easily taken with the net. When they alight their wings are 

 most often closed tightly together over the back, and some have a 

 habit while at rest on a leaf or flower of working each of the lower 

 pair of wings alternately up and down. This habit, strange as it 



