HOW TO KNOW THE BUTTERFLIES 



The discal stigma of the fore wings is present in the males, 

 but is unusually inconspicuous. The under surface is nearly 

 as dark as the upper, especially on the basal half, which is 

 separated from the outer half by a wavy line; there are no 

 orange-colored spots on this surface. These are among the 

 earliest of our butterflies, appearing in the Northern States in 

 April and May ; they usually fly but little more than a month. 

 The three species can be separated by the characters given in 

 the table above. They are similar in size, expanding about 

 one inch. 



Caterpillar. — About one-half an inch long, and slug- 

 shaped ; head very small ; color of the body carmine red. 



Food-plant. — Unknown. 



It is strange that the food-plant of a carmine 

 red caterpillar should escape the attention of our 

 keen-eyed entomological observers of the East. 

 The one caterpillar described seems to have been 

 a specimen from Nevada, and it is quite possible 

 that the larvae of this species in the East may 

 have a different color. The brown elfin likes 

 a rocky hillside covered with blueberry, and is 

 likely to alight upon the rock or dead twigs 

 where its wings, brown above and below, pro- 

 tect it from observation. It occurs in New 

 England and southward to Virginia. It is sin- 

 gle-brooded, and hibernates as a chrysalis. This 

 species, like the other elfins, has no taillike proc- 

 esses on the hind wings, but has a graceful in- 



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