The Butterfly Book Part 46

(21) =Lycaena glaucon=, Edwards, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 31, ?, _under side_; Fig. 39, ? (The Colorado Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--Purplish-blue, closely resembling the preceding species, but having the black margin of the wings broader than in _L. enoptes_, with the dark crescents of the marginal series on the under side showing through as darker spots in the margins of the hind wings. The female has a band of orange spots on the margins of the secondaries. The two marginal rows of spots on the lower side of the wings are arranged and colored as in the preceding species. Expanse, 1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--Of these we must again confess ignorance.

_Glaucon_ ranges from Washington into California, and eastward to Colorado, where it is quite common in the mountain valleys.

(22) =Lycaena battoides=, Behr, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 11, ? (Behr's Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--On the upper side paler blue than the preceding species, with the hind margin tinged with reddish, shining through from below, and small crescentic dark spots. On the under side the wings are smoky-gray, with all the black spots, which are arranged as in the preceding species, greatly enlarged and quadrate, and a broad submarginal border of orange on the hind wings. The female is like the male, but with more orange on the upper side of the hind wings.

_Early Stages._--But little is, as yet, known of these.

The insect ranges from California and Arizona to Colorado.

(23) =Lycaena shasta=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 23, ?; Fig. 24, ? (The Shasta Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The figures in the plate give a fairly good idea of the upper side of this species in both s.e.xes, though the male is not quite so dark a blue as represented. On the under side the wings have the usual black spots, on a dirty-gray ground, and, in addition, on the hind wings there are a number of small marginal spots surmounted by metallic-colored bluish-green scales, somewhat like those found in some species of the genus _Thecla_. Expanse, 1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--So far as I know, these have never been described.

My specimens are all from Montana and Nevada. It is also reported from northern California, Oregon, and Kansas, though I question the latter locality.

(24) =Lycaena melissa=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 25, ?; Fig. 26, ?

(The Orange-margined Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The male on the upper side is pale blue, with a narrow black marginal line and white fringes. The female is brown or lilac-gray, with a series of orange-red crescents on the margins of both wings. On the under side the wings are stone-gray, with the usual spots, and on the secondaries the orange-colored marginal spots are oblong, tipped inwardly with black and outwardly by a series of metallic-green maculations. Expanse, .90-1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--We know very little about these.

It is found from Kansas to Arizona, and northward to Montana.

(25) =Lycaena scudderi=, Edwards, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 48, ?; Fig. 49, ?; Plate V, Fig. 41, _chrysalis_ (Scudder's Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The commonest Eastern representative of the group to which the preceding four or five and the following three species belong. On the upper side the male cannot be distinguished from _L. melissa_; the female is darker and has only a few orange crescents on the outer margin of the hind wing. On the under side the wings are shining white, the spots are much reduced in size, the large orange spots found in _L.

melissa_ are replaced by quite small yellowish or ochreous spots, and the patches of metallic scales defining them externally are very minute.

Expanse, 1.00-1.10 inch.

_Early Stages._--These are accurately described by Dr. Scudder in his great work, "The b.u.t.terflies of New England," and by others. The caterpillar feeds upon the lupine, and probably other leguminous plants.

It is widely distributed through the basin of the St. Lawrence, the region of the Great Lakes, and northward as far as British Columbia, being also found on the Catskill Mountains. I have found it very common at times about Saratoga, New York.

(26) =Lycaena acmon=, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 27, ?; Fig. 28, ? (Acmon).

_b.u.t.terfly._--The plate gives a good representation of the male and the female of this pretty species, which may at a glance be distinguished from all its allies by the broad orange-red band on the hind wings, marked by small black spots. On the under side it is marked much as _L.

melissa_. Expanse, .90-1.10 inch.

_Early Stages._--Unknown.

It is found from Arizona to Washington and Montana.

(27) =Lycaena aster=, Plate x.x.x, Fig. 40, ?; Fig. 46, ?; Fig. 47, ?, _under side_ (The Aster Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--On the under side this species is very like _enoptes_ and other allied species. The male looks like a dwarfed specimen of _L.

scudderi_. The female is dull bluish-gray above, with black spots on the outer margins of the wing, most distinct on the secondaries, and, instead of a band of orange spots before them, a diffuse band of blue spots, paler than the surrounding parts of the wing. Expanse, .95-1.00 inch.

_Early Stages._--These furnish a field for investigation.

The insect is reported thus far only from Newfoundland, from which locality I obtained, through the purchase of the Mead collection, a large and interesting series.

(28) =Lycaena annetta=, Mead, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 13, ?; Fig. 14, ?

(Annetta).

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | EXPLANATION OF PLATE x.x.xII | | | | 1. _Lycaena speciosa_, Henry Edwards, ?. | | 2. _Lycaena speciosa_, Henry Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 3. _Lycaena hanno_, Stoll, ?, _under side_. | | 4. _Lycaena isophthalma_, Herrich-Schaffer, ?. | | 5. _Lycaena exilis_, Boisduval, ?. | | 6. _Lycaena theonus_, Lucas, ?. | | 7. _Lycaena amyntula_, Boisduval, ?. | | 8. _Lycaena amyntula_, Boisduval, ?. | | 9. _Lycaena aquilo_, Boisduval, ?. | | 10. _Lycaena aquilo_, Boisduval, ?, | | _under side_. | | 11. _Lycaena battoides_, Behr, ?. | | 12. _Lycaena comyntas_, G.o.dart, ?, | | _under side_. | | 13. _Lycaena annetta_, Mead, ?. | | 14. _Lycaena annetta_, Mead, ?. | | 15. _Lycaena podarce_, Felder, ?. | | 16. _Lycaena podarce_, Felder, ?. | | 17. _Lycaena rustica_, Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 18. _Lycaena lycea_, Edwards, ?, | | _under side_. | | 19. _Lycaena beteronea_, Boisduval, ?, | | _under side_. | | 20. _Thecla melinus_, Hubner, ?. | | 21. _Nathalis iole_, Boisduval, ?. | | 22. _Nathalis iole_, Boisduval, ?. | | 23. _Euchloe creusa_, Dbl.-Hew., ?. | | 24. _Euchloe ausonides_, Boisduval, ?. | | 25. _Euchloe ausonides_, Boisduval, ?. | | 26. _Euchloe cethura_, Felder, ?. | | 27. _Euchloe cethura_, Felder, ?. | | 28. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, ?. | | 29. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, ?. | | 30. _Euchloe lanceolata_, Boisduval, ?. | | 31. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, var. _reakirti_, | | Edwards, ?. | | 32. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, var. _reakirti_, | | Edwards, ?. | | 33. _Euchloe pima_, Edwards, ?. | | 34. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, var. _julia_, | | Edwards, ?. | | 35. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, var. _stella_, | | Edwards, ?. | | 36. _Euchloe sara_, Boisduval, var. _stella_, | | Edwards, ?. | | 37. _Euchloe genutia_, Fabricius, ?. | | 38. _Euchloe genutia_, Fabricius, ?. | | 39. _Euchloe olympia_, Edwards, var. _rosa_, | | Edwards, ?, _under side_. | | | | [Ill.u.s.tration PLATE x.x.xII.] | +--------------------------------------------------------------+

_b.u.t.terfly._--The male closely resembles the male of _L. melissa_ on the upper side. The female is paler than the male, which is unusual in this genus, and has a "washed-out" appearance. On the under side the markings are very like those found in _L. scudderi_. Expanse, 1.15 inch.

_Early Stages._--Entirely unknown.

The types which I possess came from Utah.

(29) =Lycaena pseudargiolus=, Boisduval and Leconte, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 6, ?; Fig. 7, ?; Plate x.x.x, Fig. 32, ?, _under side_; Plate V, Figs. 36, 43, 44, _chrysalis_ (The Common Blue).

_b.u.t.terfly._--This common but most interesting insect has been made the subject of most exhaustive and elaborate study by Mr. W.H. Edwards, and the result has been to show that it is highly subject to variation. It ill.u.s.trates the phenomena of polymorphism most beautifully. The foregoing references to the plate cite the figures of the typical summer form. In addition to this form the following forms have received names:

(_a_) Winter form =lucia=, Kirby, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 1, ?; Plate x.x.x, Fig.

20, ?, _under side_. This appears in New England in the early spring from overwintering chrysalids, and is characterized by the brown patch on the middle of the hind wing on the under side.

(_b_) Winter form =marginata=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 2, ?; Fig. 3, ?; Plate x.x.x, Fig. 19, ?, _under side_. This appears at the same time as the preceding form. The specimens figured in the plate were taken in Manitoba. This form is characterized by the dark margins of the wings on the under side.

(_c_) Winter form =violacea=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 5, ?. This is the common winter form. The spots below are distinct, but never fused or melted together, as in the two preceding forms.

(_d_) Form =nigra=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 4, ?. The wings on the under side are as in _violacea_, but are black above. It is found in West Virginia and occurs also in Colorado.

(_e_) Summer form =neglecta=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 8, ?; Fig. 9, ?. This is smaller than the typical form _pseudargiolus_, also has the dark spots on the under side of the wings more distinct, and the hind wings, especially in the female, paler.

[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 136.--Neuration of _Lycaena pseudargiolus_, enlarged.

Typical of subgenus _Cyaniris_, Dalman.]

(_f_) Southern form =piasus=, Plate x.x.xI, Fig. 10, ?. This form, which is uniformly darker blue on the upper side than the others, is found in Arizona.

There are still other forms which have been named and described.

_Early Stages._--These have been traced through all stages with minutest care. The egg is delineated in this book on p. 4, Fig. 7. The caterpillar is slug-shaped, and feeds on the tender leaves and petals of a great variety of plants.

The range of the species is immense. It extends from Alaska to Florida, and from Anticosti to Arizona.