CHAPTER VI. 



HESPERI ID/E. 



The Skippers. 



HE Hesperiidce 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 

 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 



