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The Hair-Streaks

The hair-streaks are distinguished from the other gossamerwinged butterflies by the fact that radius of the fore wings is only three-branched. They are usually dark brown, with delicate striped markings on the lower surface of the wings, which suggested to some person of vivid imagination the common name given above; but some species are brilliantly marked with metallic blue or green. The hind wings are also commonly furnished with delicate taillike prolongations. The fore wings of the male often bear a small dull oval spot near the middle of the costal part of the wing, the discal stigma, which is filled with the peculiar scent-scales known as androconia. The males are also distinguished by having a tuft of hairlike scales, the beard, on the front; this is wanting or very thin in the females. About fifty species occur in America north of Mexico; our most common species, which are described below, can be separated by the following table : A. Hind wings with a long, slender, taillike prolongation at the end of vein Cu,, and sometimes with a similar one at the end of vein Cu,.

B. Upper surface of wings conspicuously marked with blue scales.

C. The blue of the upper surface confined chiefly to the hind wings; lower surface of wings with a conspicuous red band on the outer half of wings. (C. cecrops),