LYC^NID.E. 197 



I have never been so fortunate as to find it. Tlie species inhabits 

 most of the coiintrv east of tlie Ivocky Mountains and soutli of ^lassa- 

 chusetts. 



A very delicately and prettily marked little butterfly is Tliecia 

 pceas, an iidiabitant of the southei'n and southwestern states. The 

 upper wings are sooty black, with no markings whatever in the 

 ordinary foi'm except that the upper edge of the wing is red, 

 althougli a specimen is occasionally taken with a few blue scales 



W^ 



Theela pceas. 



scattered near tlie base of tlie wings. The lower wings are also 

 black, witli a conspicuous wedge-shaped blue patch extending from 

 the base to near the lower margin, widening as it advances. Two 

 black spots are located near the base of the tails, with a fine grajdsh 

 blue line below them. In this species, as in most of the butterflies 

 of this genus, the lower pair of tails is tlie larger. Both pairs are 



Tliecla preas. Under side. 



black, tipped with white. The l)od}' is black. The under wings 

 are grayish brown, lighter toward the lower margin of the upper 

 wings, the red upper edge of the upper margin showing more dis- 

 tinctly from below. A reddish orange band composed of nearly 

 square spots placed close together extends two-thirds across the 

 upper wings, beginning at the outer tliird of the upper margin. This 



