How to Know the Butterflies

The Cornell classic that taught America to name what it saw: every eastern butterfly described from life, with its caterpillar, its food-plants, its habits — and how to pronounce its Latin.

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The Hoary-Edge (Achalarus lycidas A-chal'a-rus)

Achalarus lycidas (A-chal'a-rus lyc'i-das) PLATE XLIV, FIG. 4, 7 The upper surface of the wings is chocolate-brown, with a transverse row of yellow spots across the middle of the fore wings, resembling in this respect the silver-spotted skipper. But in this species the anal angle of the hind wings is rounded, and the greater part of the outer half of the lower side of the hind wings is white. Expanse of wings about two inches.

The common name refers to the large hoary patch on the outer margin of the lower side of the hind wings. This insect is found from Massachusetts to the Gulf of Mexico and in the Mississippi Valley. The larva feeds on tick-trefoil, Desmodium.

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