14 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the mesonotum ; some examples have the wing cases green tinted. Dur- 

 ation of this stage, in the few instances in which the butterfly emerges the 

 same season, from 30 to 60 days, but most chrysalids pass the winter. 



NOTES ON THE LARVA OF LYCAENA SCUDDERI. 



BY THE EDITwR. 



The announcement of the interesting discovery of honey tubes in the 

 larvae of L. pseudargiolus, and consequent attendance of ants, as detailed 

 by Mr. W. H. Edwards in the present issue, brought to our mind the fact 

 that we had observed ants attending the larvae of L. Scudderi some ten 

 years ago. We were under the impression that we had subsequently pub- 

 lished a description of the larva and drawn attention to this fact of ant 

 attendance, but on examination find that we omitted doing so, and take 

 this early opportunity of giving the results of our observations in con- 

 firmation of this curious discovery by Mr. Edwards. 



On the 22nd of July, 1867, we visited a locality where some three 

 weeks previous Lycaena Scudderi had been very abundant, our object 

 being to search for the larva of that species. After considerable effort 

 we succeeded in finding a larva on the common blue lupin ( Lupinus 

 perennis), which afterwards proved to be that of Scudderi. This larva 

 was feeding on the upper side of the leaf, and we were surprised at seeing 

 several ants actively running about the leaf and repeatedly over the body 

 of the caterpillar, without disturbing it in the least. The search being 

 continued, several more larvae were found, their discovery being made 

 comparatively easy from the invariable presence of these active attend- 

 ants, otherwise their color being so closely like that of the leaf, they 

 would have been very difficult to find. We were unable then to account 

 for the cause of the attendance of the ants, and for the placid behavior 

 of the larvae under the circumstances. Doubtless this species in the 

 larval state is furnished with similar secreting tubes to those described and 

 figured by Mr. Edwards as occurring in pseudargiolus. 



