been estimated that every known species of plant has five or six species of insects which habitually feed upon it. Where the plant is one that is valuable to man and is grown for his use, the horticulturist or the farmer finds himself confronted, presently, by the ravages of these creatures, and unless he has correct information as to the best manner in which to combat them, he is likely to suffer losses of a serious character. We all have read of the havoc wrought by the Kansas locust, or grasshopper, and of the ruin brought about by insects of the same class in Asia and in Africa. We all have heard of the Hessian fly, of the weevil, and of the army-worm. The legislature of Massachusetts has in recent years been spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in the attempt to exterminate the gipsy-moth. The caterpillar of the cabbage-butterfly ruins every year material enough to supply sauer-kraut to half of the people. The codling-moth, the little pinkish caterpillar of which worms its way through apples, is estimated to destroy five millions of dollars' worth of apples every year within the limits of the United States. And what shall we say of the potato-bug, that prettily striped beetle, which, starting from the far West, has taken possession of the potato-fields of the continent, and for the extermination of which there is annually spent, by the agricultural communities of the United States, several millions of dollars in labor and in poisons?

A few facts like these serve to show that the study of entomology is not a study which deserves to be placed in the category of useless pursuits. Viewed merely from a utilitarian standpoint, this study is one of the most important, far outranking, in its actual value to communities, the study of many branches of zoological science which some people affect to regard as of a higher order.

The legislature of Pennsylvania acted wisely in passing a law which demands that in every high school established within the State there shall be at least one teacher capable of giving instruction in botany and in entomology. The importance of entomology, while not perceived by the masses as yet, has been recognized by almost all the legislatures of the States; and not only the general government of the United States, but the governments of the individual commonwealths, are at the present time employing a number of carefully trained men, whose business is to

ascertain the facts and instruct the people as to the best manner in which to ward off the attacks of the insect swarms, which are respecters neither of size nor beauty in the vegetable world, attacking alike the majestic oak and the lowliest mosses.

Genus LYCÆNA, Fabricius

(The Blues)

"Bright butterflies

Fluttered their vans, azure and green and gold."

SIR EDWIN ARnold.

Butterfly.-Generally small, for the most part blue on the upper side of the wings, white or gray on the under side, variously marked with spots and lines.

What has been said in reference to the subdivision of the genus Thecla may be repeated in regard to the genus which we are considering. It has been in recent years subdivided by writers who have given close attention to the matter, and these subdivisions are entirely defensible from a scientific standpoint. Nevertheless, owing to the close resemblance which prevails throughout the group, in this book, which is intended for popular use, the author has deemed it best not to separate the species, as to do so presupposes a minute anatomical knowledge, which the general reader is not likely to possess.

Egg. The eggs are for the most part flattened, turbanshaped (see p. 4, Fig. 7).

Caterpillar.-Slug-shaped, as in the preceding genera, feeding upon the petals and bracts of flowers, or upon delicate terminal leaves.

Chrysalis.-Closely resembling the chrysalids of the preceding

genera.

This genus is very widely distributed in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Many of the species are inhabitants of the cold North or high mountain summits, while others are found in the tropics.

(1) Lycæna fuliginosa, Edwards, Plate XXX, Fig. 16, 8, under side (The Sooty Gossamer-wing).

Butterfly.- Dark gray on the upper side in both sexes. On

the under side the figure in the plate gives a correct representation of the color and markings. Expanse, 1.10 inch.

Early Stages. - Unknown.

The species occurs in northern California, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.

(2) Lycæna heteronea, Boisduval, Plate XXXI, Fig. 13, 8; Fig. 14, ; Plate XXXII, Fig. 19, 9, under side (The Varied Blue).

Butterfly.-On the upper side the male is blue, the female brown. On the under side the wings are white, with faint palebrown spots on the hind wings and distinct black spots on the fore wings, more numerous than in L. lycea, which it closely resembles on the under side. It is the largest species of the genus, and the female reminds us by its markings on the upper side of the females of Chrysophanus. Expanse, 1.25-1.40 inch. Early Stages.-These await description.

Heteronea ranges from Colorado to California, at suitable elevations among the mountains.

(3) Lycæna clara, Henry Edwards, Plate XXX, Fig. 26, (The Bright Blue).

Butterfly.-The figure in the plate is that of the type of the female, the only specimen in my collection. Expanse, 1.15 inch. Early Stages.-These are entirely unknown.

The type came from southern California.

(4) Lycæna lycea, Edwards, Plate XXXII, Fig. 18, ô, under side (Lycea).

Butterfly. The perfect insect is very nearly as large as L. beteronea. The male is lilac-blue on the upper side, with the margins dusky. The black spots of the under side do not show through on the upper side, as in L. heteronea. The female is dusky, with the wings shot with blue at their bases, more especially on the fore wing. There are no black spots on the upper side of the wings in this sex, as in L. heteronea. On the under side the wings are whitish. The spots on this side are well delineated in our figure in Plate XXXII. Expanse, 1.30 inch. Early Stages.-These await description.

The butterfly is found in the region of the Rocky Mountains, from New Mexico to Montana.

(5) Lycæna fulla, Edwards, Plate XXX, Fig. 24, ô; Fig. 25, ? (Fulla).

Butterfly. Smaller than the preceding species. The upper