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LÉPIDOPTÉROLOGIE COMPAREE 



rather a matter of accident that the first success fell to my share 

 rather than to Air. Frohawk's. 



In, I thnik, 190;, Mr. Gillmer of Cothen, sent me eggs and 

 young larvae of L. alcon, and his observations confirmed by 

 mine showed that the young larva fed in the flowers of Gen- 

 tiana fneumonanîhe, or burrowed in the succulent tissues of its 

 young shoots, but we both, of course, faiied to get it beyond 

 the third instar. I refer to this m Ent. Record, Vol. XXX, p. 25. 

 I believe Mr. Gillmer published his observations, but I hâve lost 

 the référence. 



Mr. Oberthiir and Mr. Powell sent me larvae in 1916, but 

 I got no further with them. He and Mr. Powell ni 191 7 found 

 that the larva of L. alcon would imbibe the fluids of ant pupae 

 and Air. Powell saw an ant, supposed to be Tetramoriinn caes- 

 fitum carry off a young larva of L. alcon. At the same time, 

 Mr. Oberthiir and Mr. Powell sent me larvae in their third 

 instar, which I installed in nests of Myrmica and the followmg 

 notes were made in référence to their larvae : — 



Ail the larvae I hâve seen reached, whilst feedmg on the 

 Gentian, their third instar and got no further, with but one 

 exception, this was one of the larvae sent me in 1916. This larva 

 was in a gentian flower, that had been abandoned by its 

 brethren of probably equal âge. It was still in the third instar, 

 but was ready to moult. It did not do so but died. I was able, 

 however, to mount the skm of the third instar of the spécimen, 

 and also that of the fourth instar that it covered. I will refer 

 to this later. 



Sept, çth 1Ç17. Received from Mr. Powell at Rennes some 

 third stage larvae of Lycaena alcon, together with an account of 

 an ant carrying a larva a considérable distance, presumably 

 towards its nest, but before it got there it got hidden together 

 with its burden in some thick herbage and could not be traced 

 further. The weather was wet and stormy and no effort could 

 be made to get any sort of ant's nest to put any in. 



