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THE KNTOMOLOGIST. 



normal number of eggs laid at a time is from three to five, as I 

 afterwards gathered some grass-stems in which I found fourteen 

 more eggs, all laid in rows in three different sheaths of five, five, 

 and four respectively. After depositing the butterfly gradually 

 raises the abdomen from the grass-stem, opens its wings, and 

 after resting about a minute flies off. 



I also captured six females for the purpose of obtaing more 

 eggs ; these, as well as others, I placed on growing plants of 

 P. pratense and H. inollis. On July 31st I examined the plants, 

 and found in the sheaths over fifty eggs, laid in a similar way to 

 those laid by the wild females, but not a single egg was laid on 

 any other part of the plant. 



In previous trials to obtain eggs I had only provided the 

 butterflies with younger growing plants without flowering stems, 

 and as this species will only deposit its eggs in the sheaths of 

 the flower-stalks, the cause of failure is at once apparent. 



The egg of H. linea measures g^, in. across its greater 

 diameter, of a compressed oval shape, about half the width in 

 height ; it is much more rounded in form than either H. actaon 

 or //. lincola. The micropyle is rather sunken and finely re- 

 ticulated, and the rest of the surface is covered with extremely 

 delicate reticulations of an irregular network pattern, which is 

 only practically visible in high light ; otherwise the shell has 

 the appearance of being smooth and glistening with rather an 

 opalescent lustre. 



When first laid it is pearly white, faintly tinged with prim- 

 rose-yellow. It remains unchanged for some days, and then 

 gradually becomes a deeper ochreous yellow, afterwards again be- 

 coming paler, of a greyish pearly hue, when the larva is clearly 

 visible through the delicate shell, its dark head showing as a 

 leaden blotch. 



Some of the wild eggs found on July 17th started hatching 

 on August 3rd ; those laid on that day (July 17th) began hatch- 

 ing on August 9th, remaining twenty-three days in the egg- 

 state. 



The young larva directly after emergence measures while 

 crawling ^J^^ in. long. The head is pale olive-ochreous, roughly 

 granular, and beset with a few white hairs ; eyes pale, surrounded 

 with blackish ; the clypeus outlined with dark brown. The body 

 is stoutest in the middle and tapering posteriorly ; on the first 

 segment is a dorsal, transverse, chitinous band of a similar 

 surface and colour as the head. The segments have five 

 subdivisions, the first on each segment being the widest ; the 

 second one runs below the spiracle, where it curves and runs off 

 to the anterior segmental division. There are three subdorsal 

 shining brown discs, each bearing a minute curved hair, placed 

 in a triangle on each segment above the spiracle, and two others 

 below ; a few minute simple hairs are scattered over the ventral 



