_Butterfly._--Medium size or small; dark in color, with the under side and the borders of the upper sides beautifully adorned with spots having a metallic luster. The palpi are divergent, longer in the female than in the male. The antennæ are stout, rather short, with a gradually thickened club. The eyes are naked. The veins on the fore wing are stout. The accompanying cut gives a clear idea of the neuration.
_Early Stages._--Nothing is known of these.
Three species are reckoned as belonging to the genus, two of them being found sparingly in the extreme southern limits of our fauna.
(1) =Eumæus atala=, Poey, Plate XXVIII, Fig. 22, ♂, _under side_ (Atala).
[Illustration FIG. 128.--Neuration of the genus _Eumæus_.]
_Butterfly._--Easily distinguished by the figure in the plate from all other species except its congener _E. minyas_, Hübner, which can be readily separated from it by its larger size. Expanse, 1.65-1.75 inch.
_Early Stages._--These await description.
_Atala_ is found in Florida and Cuba. _Minyas_ occurs in southwestern Texas, and thence southward to Brazil.
"These be the pretty genii of the flow'rs, Daintily fed with honey and pure dew."
_Butterfly._--Small or medium-sized; on the upper side often colored brilliantly with iridescent blue or green, sometimes dark brown or reddish; on the under side marked with lines and spots variously disposed, sometimes obscure in color, very frequently most brilliantly colored.
Various subdivisions based upon the neuration of the wings have been made in the genus in recent years, and these subdivisions are entitled to be accepted by those who are engaged in a comparative study of the species belonging to this great group. Inasmuch, however, as most American writers have heretofore classified all of these insects under the genus _Thecla_, the author has decided not to deviate from familiar usage, and will therefore not attempt to effect a subdivision according to the views of recent writers, which he nevertheless approves as scientifically accurate.
_Egg._--Considerable diversity exists in the form of the eggs of the various species included under this genus as treated in this book, but all of them may be said to be turban-shaped, more or less depressed at the upper extremity, with their surfaces beautifully adorned with minute projections arranged in geometric patterns.