40 THE entomologist's record. 



English names altogether, and possibly his Latin ones are not always 

 correct, which makes one shudder for violations of the law of priority. 

 A', cpiphron and H. actat'on (though in this case I know I am falling 

 into grievous error myself, for Heaven knows what, in the absence of 

 Tutt's Biitteyjiics, is the correct name of the Lulworth skipper), were 

 quite unknown, but on the other hand " L;/r. chrj/seia, purple-edged 

 copper," and " Lijc. rirnaiireae, scarce copper," were lecognised as 

 British, and " Lye. ci/iiion, the Mazarine blue," was found in " great 

 abundance near Sherbourne, in Dorset." It would be tedious to go 

 through the whole list, but I hope I have given sufhcient to show how 

 interesting it is to compare this venerable list of the English butter- 

 flies with one of the present day. As I have said, entomological pins 

 were unknown, and judging by the illustration of set insects the pins 

 then were considerably thicker than those in common use at the 

 present day. I .have often wondered how English entomologists came 

 to adopt the low setting, which is still, I fancy, very much in vogue. 

 I do not propose to advocate the general adoption of the Continental 

 method, however desirable it may be and most unquestionably is, but 

 it has one distinct advantage, that one has not to perform a gymnastic 

 performance to read the label hidden somewhere underneath the 

 specimen. 



An Entomological Riddle. 



By The Hon. N. CHARLES ROTHSCHILD, M.A., F.L.S. 

 The life history of Lycaena avion is still a mystery, and it is much 

 to be hoped that entomologists in this country, who have some spare 

 time, will give a portion of it at all events to attempting the elucidation 

 of this interesting problem. All that is really known of the life history 

 of this attractive butterfly can be summed up in a few words. The 

 eggs are laid on the wild thyme. The larvae eat this plant until they 

 have moulted three times, which takes place usually in the late summer 

 or early autumn, they then refuse to eat this foodplant, and in cap- 

 tivity wander about and perish. The painstaking researches of Mr. 

 Frohawk have further demonstrated that the insect hibernates as a 

 larva, and when full-fed pupates under the ground. Like the larv?e of 

 most Lycfenas that of L. avion is myrmecophilous, but it is absurd to 

 assume that any portion of the larval stage is really directly associated 

 with ants, as, were this the case, the numerous nests that have been 

 submitted to rigid and minute examination, must have yielded 

 examples of the larva, and none have been found. Mr. Frohawk 

 himself is, we believe, convinced that his original suspicions in 

 this direction are really unfounded. He, however, made one discovery 

 not hitherto, we believe, published, which he has kindly 

 permitted us to make known, namely, that the young larva of 

 avion after the third moult, will bore into fresh green peas, and 

 live a short time on that pabulum. Now were the larva of avion to 

 feed in a fashion at all analagous to that of other species of 

 Lycaenidae existing in this country, it is obvious that one or the other 

 of the investigators Avhen searching for it must have found it. The 

 imago is common in those localities where search has been made, and 

 the larvfe must be at least as common as the imagines, and considering 

 that the search has been made both by day and by night not only on 

 thyme but on the other plants growing in the immediate vicinity, it is 



