28(5 [AlRroh, 



Natural Ilistory of Syrlchthus alveolus. — Last summer, at the end of May and 

 beginning of June, I captured a score or more of these butterflies, and shut them up 

 in a glass cylinder with bramble sprays ; they would not, howcTer, spare me more 

 than seven or eight eggs, which were laid on June 2nd or 3rd. The larvae began to 

 hatch on June 12th, and by the 18th four had come out ; the rest died in the egg, 

 having begun, but not being able to complete, their liberation from the shell. Three 

 also of the four larvae, that had been safely hatched, soon died, but the survivor throve 

 and grew ; by July 9th, it was one-sixth of an inch long ; by 17th, nearly half-an-inch 

 long : about August 1st, it moulted for the last time, and soon attained its fidllength 

 of about five-eighths of an inch, afterwards increasing only in stoutness ; after the 

 end of August it remained apparently dormant for days together, eating only at 

 intervals ; and about September 20th it became a pupa. Meanwliile, on July 29th, 

 I had found another larva in the locality where I took the imago, which very nearly 

 corresponded in growth with my bred example, but it unfortunately died without 

 changing. Throughovit, observation of their appearance was very difficult, owing to 

 their habit of living in concealment, and, in fact, I believe the mortality wliich pre- 

 vailed among my small stock was owing to disturbance caused by attempts at peeping, 

 measuring, &c. 



Probably, in freedom, the perfect insect has some constant method of depositing 

 her eggs ; but the few I had, having been laid in confinement, seemed to be placed 

 on the upper or under sides of leaves, or on stems, indiifei'ently : however, I think the 

 newly -hatched lai"va (unless, perchance, as I have lately on reflection thought, it may 

 prefer the blossom) chooses the upper surface of a small leaf for its habitat, and, 

 settling itself along the midrib, at once spins several silken threads overhead for a 

 covering, and feeds under that by eating away the outer cuticle ; and when it has 

 made a blotch of some little extent, it moves away, and repeats the process on 

 another leaf: as it grows bigger, still choosing the upper surface of a leaf for its 

 stand point, it forms its covering by drawing down another leaf over it, fastening 

 the edges here and there with stout threads, and feeds away in the cave thus formed: 

 when, however, it has attained some size, it think it must come out of its cave and 

 eat the neighbouring leaves in the usual way, but I only once or twice saw either of 

 my lai-va3 thus exposed of its own choice ; the habit throughout the larval state is 

 to be very sluggish, and a great part of the time must be passed by the larva in resting 

 with its head curled round sideways towards its tail. 



In the very limited time I coidd devote to searching for larvre, I found numbers 

 of deserted caves, and only one tenanted, and this seemed to prove that my examples 

 in confinement acted pretty much as they would have, had they been at large ; as 

 mentioned above, I gave the butterflies bramble sprays to lay on, and I searched 

 brambles for the larvae, and came to the conclusion that stunted bushes witli small 

 leaves had the preference, the large juicy leaves of strong bushes apparently offering 

 no temptation. I did not omit to look for the other plants on which the larva 

 has been said to feed ; in the same locality were some half-dozen plants of mallow 

 {Malva moschata), but I am positive they bore no traces of larvae ; and there wee 

 not one plant of teazle. The wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, has been suggested 

 also as a likely plant, and I think it woidd probably occur wherever the butterfly is 

 seen ; but, as far as I feel justified in giving an opinion, I do not think there is any 

 need' to look for anything more than the hramhlef ltubii.<! fruficosus. 



