50 THE entomologist's record. 



These species have their special likes, foi' whilst /'. astrarc/ir hiunits 

 the edges of the woods, keeping close company with ' '(illdplirtis nihi, 

 that now abounds on the luiAvthorn blossoms, or, after midday, around 

 the beeches, /'. icdru.s loves a rough, grassy spot, and /'. bdlarinis 

 haunts the steep, open hillside, clothed with the vetches and trefoils on 

 which its larva feeds. These three species occur together again in 

 August, when the flowers of the thyme and marjoram are often covered 

 with the brilliant little creatures. 



There is considerable difference between the feuuiles of the two 

 broods of /'. hdlanjus, those of the early brood being especially brightly 

 tinted with the male coloration (=:al). rmiuns). This occurs, to a 

 certain extent, in l)oth broods, but is much more frequent and mort.' 

 strongly developed in the females of the spring brood. Many 

 marvellous aberrations have been captured here. At Queensdown 

 Warren (Rainham Station, L.C.D.R.), Mr. Tyrei' and ^Ir Sabine 

 have captured many remarkalile specimens (/V»^ lice, ii., p. 111), 

 and there are miles of similar country all over the hills. 



In July, /'. <-nri/(l(»i appears, but much less abundantly than its 

 brilliant neighbour. Usually it occurs at a period cpiite intermediate 

 between the appearances of the two broods of /'. Iirlldn/its. But this 

 is not always so. In cold summers, the appearance of J'. c(ii;/(l(»i is 

 often so much delayed that late specimens occur with the earliest 

 individuals of the second brood of /'. hdlaqnts. This is particularly 

 the case if we have a hot spring (which produces a very early first 

 brood of the latter species), followed by cold weather in June and 

 July, so as to delay the emergence of /'. rori/ihDi. Under such 

 circumstances, the later part of the only brood of /'. rdri/dmi and the 

 early specimens of the second brood of /'. hr/laniiis are to be seen 

 flying together. 



The great similarity of the larv;p of these species is accompanied 

 by a parallel similarity of the females, which resemble each other very 

 closely. Sometimes, and this is especially the case with /'. hdlanins, 

 the females are sprinkled Avith blue scales, and then these correspond 

 in tint with those of their respective males. When they are not 

 thus sprinkled, the black ground colour, the cleaner fringes the more 

 richly, orange-red spotted hind margins, and the less strongly spotted 

 underside of /'. hdlatym appear to offer the chief marks of distinction. 

 If there are any better ones, we should be pleased to hear of them. 



These are not the only " Blues " that haunt the chalk-hills. 

 Here and there a rough grassy bay runs for a short distance into the 

 Avood. From the middle to the end of June, these abound with 

 i'Hpidd iiiiniiiia, quietly ffitting in the sun or resting on the grass 

 culms at the close of the afternoon. The females of this little IMue 

 are much darker than the males, which are often quite plentifully 

 sprinkled with the pale blue scales. 



Xomiaih'ti scHiianfKs used to occur here. Nothing, however, has 

 been seen of it for about a qiuirter of a century, but there nuist be 

 hundreds of acres of suitable collecting ground on these hills, where 

 the foot of an entomologist has rarely, if ever, trod. Li/cafiia arum 

 was recorded by Lewin and Stephens as a Kentish insect, and, judged 

 by its Continental haunts, many suitable spots still occur. 



Yonder is a stretch of rough ground, covered with scabious, 

 bramble, ragwort, sainfoin and niunberless other chalk-loving plants 



