THE LYCAENINAE
Lycaena pseudargiolus is the common little blue butterfly found in every part of the United States except the far West. It is extremely subject to seasonal and geographic variations, seven or eight distinct varieties having been described. The wings of some specimens are almost black, others are a very pale blue, while still others combine the blue ground-color with a broad black border. The eggs are laid upon a great variety of plants; the caterpillars are very small and slug-shaped, and usually feed upon flowers instead of leaves. The caterpillar produces a sweet liquid which attracts ants, and it is said that these ants protect the caterpillar from minute parasitic flies which would otherwise destroy it.
Feniseca tarquinus, the Wanderer, is perhaps the most interesting of the so-called copper butterflies. The Wanderer’s wings are orange brown, spotted with black on the upper side. It is found all over the eastern half of the United States, extending well into the Mississippi valley. The butterfly is remarkable in that it does not frequent flowers, but flits about colonies of plant-lice, and lives upon the sweet excrement of these insects. The eggs are laid among the plant-lice also, and the caterpillar is carnivorous—the only caterpillar in North America which feeds upon plant-lice instead of plants. The chrysalis is small, brown in color, and bears a striking resemblance to the face of a miniature monkey.
Thecla melinus, the common Hair-streak, is a dark bluish gray, with a deep orange spot just in front of two tiny tails on the hind wing. It is found all over temperate North America. The turban-shaped eggs are usually deposited on the hop-vine; the caterpillar is a slug-like creature with a small head, which can be extended to a remarkable extent. The brown chrysalis lies close to the surface to which it is attached, being fastened both at the tail and by a slight silken girdle about the middle.