THE SKIPPERS. 415 
THE accompanying fine engraving represents the magnificent insect called the NEopro.eE- 
mus. It belongs to the genus Morpho, in which are contained some of the most resplendent 
beings to be found in the world, all being 
beautiful, and some endowed with a gorgeous- 
ness of coloring that is almost inconceivable. 
In the present species the upper wings are of 
the richest azure, glittering like burnished 
metal, and iridescent as the opal, but with 
far greater intensity of hue. In some lights 
the colors are sombre enough, being only pale 
gray and darkish brown; but when the light 
falls favorably upon the wings, their colors are 
truly magnificent. Around the edges of the 
wings is a broad belt of black, very deep 
towards the tips, and narrowing towards the 
angle. The under side is soft brown, decorated 
with many irregular stripes of yellowish gray, 
and besprinkled with a number of eye-like 
spots arranged in a tolerably regular row, three 
on each of the upper wings, and of nearly 
equal size, and four on each of the lower wings, 
one being very large and separate from the 
rest, and the remaining three small and close 
together. In the centre of each eye there is a 
little white spot, round which is a broad ring 
of black, then a narrower ring of buff, then a 
line of black, and lastly a gray line. NEOPTOLEMUS.—Morpho neoptolemus, (Natural size.) 

Just above the left-hand corner of the Thoas’ wing in the illustration on page 405, may 
be seen a little butterfly of simple coloring. This is one of the HArr-sTrREAK butterflies, 
belonging to another family called the Lyceenide. In this family are contained the beautiful 
blue butterflies so common in the fields, and whose exquisitely spotted under surface never 
fails to attract admiration. All the copper butterflies belong to the same family. 
The present species is a native of Demerara, and is very scarce, not yet having received a 
name in the scientific catalogue. The color of the upper wings is brown, with light streaks of 
blue radiating from the bases, and that of the lower wings is blue, edged with brown. Below 
it is brownish-gray, with a single narrow line of rusty-red crossing both pairs of wings, and a 
dash of the same color on the hinder edges. 
BEFORE taking a final leave of the butterflies, it is necessary to mention a family of 
Lepidoptera, which possess so many of the characteristics belonging to the butterflies, and so 
many of these belonging to the moths, that entomologists find some difficulty in placing them 
in their proper position, some considering them as members of the Rhopalocera, and others as 
belonging to the Heterocera. These insects are popularly known by the name of SKIPPERS, 
on account of their short and irregular flight. Several of these insects may be found mostly 
along hedge-banks towards the end of the day. They do not seem to fly very high, but 
pass in their peculiar jerking fashion along the banks, flitting in and out of the herbage 
with restless, eager movements, which can never be mistaken for the flight of any other 
insect. All these creatures have rather large heads, their antenne have a slight hook at the 
tip, and their wings are small when compared with the dimensions of the body, thus producing 
the peculiar flight. 
The second great division of the Lepidoptera is that of the Moths, distinguishable by 
means of the pointed tips of their antenne, which are often furnished with a row of projections 
on either side, like the teeth of acomb; and in the males are sometimes supplied with branching 
