Life History of Hesperia sidac, Esp. 565 
seems to be one egg only; and at any rate not more 
than one egg is laid at a “sitting.” 
Some of the flowers were over, the petals had fallen 
and the calices had closed up over the centres. On 
pulling these open I often found eggs inside. Most of 
the flowers were overrun with small beetles of several 
kinds and Thrips species, but these did not seem to 
interfere with the eggs. 
A little after 2 p.m. I saw another ? sidae busy on an 
isolated patch of Potentilla. She left when I came near, 
and, on carefully examining the flowers of this patch, I 
found no eggs, with the exception of two on a head 
closed up by the calyx. These had evidently been laid 
before her time by some earlier 2. However, whilst I 
was still searching, she returned, and I had the satisfaction 
of seeing her settle on the stem of a plant and lay an 
egg on the underside of a leaf nearly half-way between 
the flower head and the ground. This particular 2 had 
no doubt laid most (if not all) her eggs in this way, 
which would account for my finding none on the expanded 
flowers of the patch. 
The flower seems to be preferred as a resting-place for 
the egg. I found forty-five laid on the stigmata, one on the 
underside of a leaf, and, on examining a stock of plants 
I brought home, two more were found on the calyces of 
unopened flowers. Males are generally to be met with 
along a rather wide path running down the valley in 
which the Potentiula hirta grows. They apparently divide 
this path into sections, each male keeping pretty much to 
his section, up and down which he flies, or rests with 
expanded wings on a bush or flower on the narrow strips 
of prairie bordering the path. 
Should another male venture upon his section he will 
attack him, and a very rapid chase follows, It is almost 
impossible to keep the skippers in sight during such a 
chase. 
He will also attack any other skipper that may come 
by, or almost any fast flying butterfly, in fact, but in these 
cases the chase is soon abandoned. 
The pursuit of a 2 of his species is equally rapid, and 
may take him further away. The 2 2 are more often 
seen in the fields overgrown with wild stuff than on the 
path. 
TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1911.—PART III], (JAN.) PP 
