CHAPTER VI. 



HESPERI ID/E. 



The Skippers. 



(HE Hesperiidcc constitute a distinct and 

 very interesting little group, falling natur- 

 ally at the end of the butterflies, and 

 serving as a kind of connecting-link between 

 them and the moths, which they some- 

 what closely resemble in many points. The Skippers 

 have stout bodies and rather thick wings; the heads are 

 broad, and the roots of the antennae distant. The 

 antennae themselves are either curved at the end, some- 

 thing like those of the Foresters and Burnets among the 

 moths, or terminate in a short hook. The flight of the 

 Skippers is not continuous, like that of a normal 

 butterfly, but in short, sharp jerks ; while at rest the 

 hind-wings are held in an almost horizontal position, the 

 fore-wings being kept nearly vertical. The shape of the 

 larvae and pupae also reminds us of the moths. The 4 

 larvae too feed under the shelter of leaves, which they 

 fasten together with threads of silk. The slender, un- 

 angled pupae are contained in rudimentary cocoons, also 



