THE LYCENIANS. 273 



distinguished by the following characters. Six legs formed 

 for walking ; short antennae, gradually- 

 thickened towards the end ; wings entire, 

 hinder ones rounded, with a gutter on their 

 inner edge to receive the abdomen, and 



O ' 



the central mesh closed behind by an an- 

 gular vein ; caterpillars cylindrical, smooth 

 or downy ; not striped on the top of the 

 back ; suspending themselves by the tail 

 and a loop round the body ; chrysalids 

 somewhat gibbous or bulging, not angulated 

 at the sides, and conical at the upper ex- 

 tremity. 



We have several kinds of small six-footed butterflies, some 

 of which are found, during the greater part of the summer, 

 in the fields and around the edges of woods, flying low and 

 frequently alighting, and oftentimes collected together in little 

 swarms on the flowers of the clover, mint, and other sweet- 

 scented plants. Their caterpillars secure themselves by the 

 hind feet and a loop, when about to transform ; but they are 

 very short and almost oval, flat below and more or less 

 convex above, with a small head, which is concealed under 

 the first ring ; and the feet, which are sixteen in number, 

 are so short, that these caterpillars in moving seem to glide 

 rather than creep. The chrysalids (Fig. 103) are Fig. 103. 

 short and thick, with the under side flat, the upper /< *Bfv 

 side very convex, and both extremities rounded or 

 obtuse. They belong to a little group which may be called 

 Lycenians (LYOENAD.E), from the principal genus included 

 in it. 



The most common of these butterflies has generally been 

 mistaken for the European Lyccena Phlceas, but I am con- 

 vinced that it is distinct, and propose to call it the American 

 copper butterfly, Lyccena Americana (Fig. 104). The fore 

 wings on the upper side are coppery red, with about eight 

 small square black spots, and the hind margin broadly bor- 



35 



