ERrCISIDiE.- 



-INSECTS.- 



-LyC/ENID^. 



261 



other parta of South America. In this group the labial 

 palpi are generally elongated and clothed with short 

 hairy scales. The wings are generally large and den- 

 tated or angulated, and not ooellated beneath. The 

 fore wings have the costal vein always greatly swollen 

 at the base— a character which unites them in some 

 respects with some of the genera of the family Satyrid*. 

 The fore legs are small; those of the male are more or 

 less hairy and without tarsal articulations ; those of the 

 females are rather longer, and with the tarsal part 

 jointed; they have no claws. The larva is cylindrical 

 or spiny, or attenuated at the end, spiny on the head, 

 and sometimes ending in two anal points. The chry- 

 salis has several projections on the back; the head is 

 pointed and bifid; it is suspended by the tail. 



Familv— LIBYTHEID^. 



This consists of but one genus, which, however, has 

 a most extensive geographical range. There are species 

 in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. They are distin- 

 guished by the possession of extraordinary elongated 

 palpi, which are densely clothed with short hairs, por- 

 rected horizontally. The antennaj are short and gra- 

 dually clubbed. The fore wings are strongly angulated 

 below the tip; and the discoidal cell is closed in all the 

 wings by a very slender vein. The fore legs are short; 

 in the male they are brush-like and have tarsi desti- 

 tute of joints; in the females they are of the ordinary 

 shape. 



The caterpillar points out a degree of affinity which 

 this so-called family possesses with the Pieridce. It is 

 cylindrical, not spined, and slightly pubescent. It is 

 very delicately shagreened, and has pale longitudinal 

 stripes on the sides, very closely resembling those of 

 the Pieridte. The chrysalis, however, differs much, 

 being short, not angulated, and suspended by the tail. 



Family— ERYCINID^. 



This is a very extensive family of small butterflies, 

 of which there is but one British, indeed European 

 representative — the little Fritillary-like " Duke of Bur- 

 gundy," as Ncmcobius Lucina has been called. 



In this family the perfect insect has only four legs 

 adapted for walking. The larva is short, and shaped 

 like a wood louse. Plate 9, fig. 7, represents the 

 Calydna Calamysa. The figure is copied froni Jlr. 

 Hewitson's "Exotic Butterflies." South America is 

 the metropolis of this group; some of these — parti- 

 cularly the long-tailed groups — have a brilliancy of 

 colouring not exceeded by the species of any other 

 family of butterflies. 



Family— LYCjENID^. 



This is an extensive family of butterflies, the represen- 

 tatives of which in this countiy are commonly called 

 "Blues," "Coppers," and "Hair-streaks," from the pre- 



valent coloration or markings. The following are the 

 characters of the family. The head is moderate- 

 sized, and has often a small tuft of hairs at the base 

 of the antenuje ; the eyes are often hairy; the antenuK 

 are generally shorter than half the length of the costa 

 of the fore wings, are often ringed with white, and 

 terminated by an elongated distinct club ; the labial 

 palpi are rather elongated, the terminal joint is slender, 

 horizontal, and nearly naked : the wings are often 

 marked beneath with ocellated spots, as in our "Blues," 

 which derive their generic name Pobjommatus, oi' 

 Many-eyed, from this style of marking. The fore 

 wings have two or three branches only to the post- 

 costal vein. The discoidal cell is generally narrow, 

 owing to the distance between the costal and post- 

 costal veins ; the wings close over the back when at rest. 

 The hind wings have the outer margin often produced 

 into one or more slender tails near the anal angle. 

 The anal margin scarcely forms a groove for the recep- 

 tion of the abdomen. The discoidal cell is closed 

 by very slender disco-cellular veins. There are twelve 

 British species of Chrysophanus and Pobjommatus. 



The most distinguishing character of the family lies 

 in the fore legs, which are evidently smaller in jiropor- 

 tion than the rest, and nearly alike in size and shape in 

 the two sexes ; they are not brush-like in the males, 

 but are furnished with a long jointless tarsus, having 

 several curved booklets at the tip distinct from the 

 ungues. The fore legs of the females have the tarsus 

 jointed like the hind legs. The hind legs are slender 

 and scaly. The hind tibia has only one pair of spurs, 

 which are sometimes very small. 



The caterpillar is short, broad, flattened, usually 

 naked, and more or less closely resembling a wood-louse ; 

 hence their name Onisciform. The head is very small. 

 The body is occasionally covered with fine hairs, or has 

 the surface wrinkled. 



The ehrysallis is short, thick, and blunt at each end, 

 attached by the tail, and is girt by a silken thread across 

 the middle of the body. 



In the British islands we have five species of the 

 genua Thecla. Collectors call them Hair-streaks. The 

 female is sometimes more brightly coloured than the 

 male. Thus in the Thecla Quercus or Purple Hair- 

 streak, the female has a rich purplish blotch on the 

 wings. This species is common in the south of Eng- 

 land on oaks in July. 



The Thecla W. album, so called from the white W- 

 like streak on the anal angle on the under side of the 

 lower wings, is occasionally found in great numbers in 

 this country. 



The Thecla Ruhi or Green Hair-streak, is met with 

 in Jlay, flying about birch bushes. The larva feeds 

 on the bramble, from whose generic name {Rubus) the 

 insect derives its name; it feeds also on papilionaceous 

 plants. 



Family— HESPERIDiE {Skippers). 



This is a very extensive family of butterflies. Most 

 of them are small, or of moderate size, of obscure 

 colours, and often with transparent spots on the wings. 



