178 MOTHS AND BUTTERFLIES. 



may seem, lias gone round the world, and when one is eollecting 

 perhaps on the other side of tlie globe he will see species allied to 

 those so well known in his native land, as they alight on the tropical 

 foliage go through the same antics. One is apt to exclaim, " Dear 

 me ! where did tliat little butterfly learn that trick ? " A fact like 

 this is \evy likely to set one wondering how such a habit is trans- 

 mitted and also why it should be so persistent in travelling so far. 



The larvie of these butterflies ai'e interesting from the fact that 

 thev are slug-like in their form and movements, their abdominal legs 



Ijarva of Lvcseiia. 



being so short that they cling very closely to their sup[)()rt and glide 

 rather tlian crawl. In tliis respect they resemble the larvte of 

 Limaco(le>< among the Bombyx moths. They also somewhat resemble 

 wood-lice, the head being small and capable of being retracted be- 

 neath the folds of the Hrst tlioracic segments. The body is not 

 adorned with tuljercles and filaments as in most of the larvte of 

 Limacodeii. Some of the species are said by Professor Comstock to 

 possess honey tubes tlu'ough wdiich honey dew is extracted for the 

 use of ants. Mam^ of the caterpillars are green in color and feed on 

 the leaves of forest trees, oak l)eing a favorite food plant. One of 

 our native s^)ecies is carniverous in the caterpillar stage and feeds on 

 plant-lice. \ few of the larvte are downj', but they are usually 

 naked. The claysalis is short, broad and thick and is convex on the 

 l)ack, rounded at Ijoth ends and flat beneath. It is attached by the 

 tail to a silken mat and has a band of silk about the middle, holding- 

 it closely to the substance to which it is fastened. The Lyecenidw 

 may be readily separated into three groups, the " lilues,'' includ- 

 ing many blue, purplish and bluish-brown insects; the "• ('op})ers,"' 

 in which many of the species are copper-red or brownish-i'cd ; 

 and the '' Hairstreaks,'' wherein a large number bear tails and are 

 of various colors, often ornamented with fine streaks of color beneatli. 

 Tlie United States are rich in insects belonging to this family, the 

 mountain regions of the Pacific coast being particularly so ; while 

 some of the most beautiful inhabit the valleys and table-lands of 

 Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. 



