C. L. Remington.
The Biology of Nearatic Lepidoptera. II. Foodplants and Pupa of Hemiargus isolus.
Psyche 59:129-130, 1952.

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PSYCHE
Vol. 59 Decemlber, 1952 No. 4
THE BIOLOGY OF NEARCTIC LEPIDOPTERA.
11. FOODPLANT AND PUPA OF HEMIARGUS ISOLUS BY CHARLES L. REMINGTON
Osborn Zoological Laboratory, Yale University In early July 1943, about 10 mi. S. of Abilene, Taylor Co., Texas, I discovered a lycaenid larva feeding on a large pod of mesquite, Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC. It was confined and fed, and on 18 July it pupated. The imago emerged on 25 July and proved to be HemUtrgus (Echinar- gzis) isolus (Reak.). This was of considerable interest, since the life-history and foodplants of this very common Blue were wholly unknown. During August and Septem- ber H. isolus was abundant in Prosopis groves, but no more larvae were found. While Prosopis may be the primary foodplant in the Southwest wherever it occurs, it obviously is not the only plant; H. isolus ranges far beyond the limits of Prosopis in the West and even appears to have endemic colonies east of the Mississippi (Remington, 1942). Other species of Hemiargus have been recorded feeding on Pro- sopis, Mimosa, Macroptilium, Chamaecrista, Abrus, Pith- ecolobium, Guilandina, Astragalus, and Medicago. The food- plant record for H. isolus in Klots' new book (19'51, p. 159) is based on a verbal communication from the writer. This being the first record of early stages of H. isolus, a brief description, prepared from the pupal shell, is given as follows: length 6.2 mm.; length of dorsum of abdomen (ignoring curvature) 4.0 mm.; width of abdomen just caudad of wing cases 1.9 mm.; length of maxillary sheath 2.2. mm. (extending 1.0 mm. beyond tip of sheath of pro- thoracic legs and 0.3 mm. beyond sheath of mesothoracic legs and exceeded by wing cases and antennae by 4.0 mm.) ; hairs very sparse, especially on dorsum, but of highly dis- tinctive shape - columnar and very rough in outline, not



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130 Psyche [December
strongly capitate, never slender or smooth, rarely spicu- lately branched; longest hairs less than 0.15 mm. long; spiracles of abdominal segments 11 and 111 very far laterad, touching margin of tergal plates, sparsely surrounded by hairs and by papillae, the latter most numerous caudad of spiracle ; three well-separated groups of booklets near end of abdomen ventrally: -a median ventro-caudal clump of about 30 hooklets on extreme end of last dorsal plate (terga IX-x?) and a pair of ventro-lateral clumps of about 23 booklets each, on anterior edge of last ventral plate (sterna VIII-x ?) .
The combination of characters given above distinguishes the pupa of H. isolus from all Lycaenidae known to me. The pupa was held firmly to its substratum by a strong girdle.
REFERENCES
KLOTS, A. B.
1951. A Field Guide to the Butterflies of North America, East of the Great Plains. 349 pp., 40 pis. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. REMINGTON, C. L.
1942. The Distribution of Hemiargus isola (Reakirt) East of the Mississippi River. Bull. Brooklyn Enit. Soc., 37: 6-8.




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