(> > [xliv 
from the beginning of this long period the signs of excitement 
became much less marked, while the rapping movements only 
took place occasionally. Finally the insects rose again and 
flew round in the same manner as before, similarly alighting 
two or three times for a few seconds. On one occasion, 
perhaps the first time after the long rest, they dived deeply 
into the grass, and I saw them fluttering together far down 
and almost hidden. They soon emerged, however, and finally 
alighting again, the male recommenced the rapping move- 
ments. On this occasion, however, the process was very brief, 
lasting for perhaps a quarter of a minute; they rose again 
and almost immediately darted into the long thick grass. 
Again I saw them fluttering far below the surface, but in a 
few seconds they had come to rest side by side on the under- 
side of a buttercup-leaf. Coitus had already taken place, and 
the extremities of the two abdomens were bent round into 
aU. The wings of both were closed and were hanging down- 
wards. The leaf on which they were resting was some inches 
below the top of the long grass. They were completely hidden 
and could only have been found by tracking them as I had 
done. They were now completely quiescent when the grass 
was disturbed in order to examine them more closely, when 
the buttercup-stem was picked, and even when I removed 
them, still side by side, between my finger and thumb. In 
this manner I carried them a few hundred yards and then 
took them home in a box and placed them in a cylinder with 
some green leaves, upon one of which they immediately took 
up a position similar to that which they had occupied on the 
buttercup-leaf. From 4.15 p.m., when coitus took place, they 
remained until 11.15 p.m., when I disturbed them in trying to 
ascertain whether pairing had come to end. Under ordinary 
circumstances it is improbable that they would have separated 
until the next day. 
“In one respect the observation is incomplete. Courtship 
had already begun, and had been going on for an unknown 
period when the butterflies were first seen. 
“In spite of this hiatus in our knowledge the observations 
here recorded throw much light on an obscure part of the 
natural history of this species. We now know by a direct 
