148 THE BOOK OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



closes its wings on a spot of bare ground. This it is 

 continually doing, and the colour and markings of the 

 under-surface of the wings harmonise so well with the 

 ground, that the insect, when it settles, seems suddenly 

 to have vanished. When bare ground or rock is absent, 

 it sometimes rests upon the fir-tree trunks where these 

 abound. Here we have clearly yet another instance of 

 resemblance to some natural object acquired as a means 

 of protection. 



Semele should be looked for on heaths, in rocky spots, 

 and in other similar uncultivated places, or on high 

 and poor pastures. It cannot be called a common 

 butterfly, though it appears to be distributed throughout 

 the British Isles, and is taken in most of the English 

 counties in suitable localities. 



The eggs are laid about July. The young larvae 

 hibernate at the roots of the grass when quite small, 

 re-appear in late spring, and are full-fed about June, in 

 which month the chrysalis may be found. The imago 

 emerges at the end of June or in July, and continues 

 on the wing till the beginning of September. 



The larva (Fig. 158) is about i$in. in length. It tapers 

 towards both extremities, but especially towards the anal 

 one, which is bifid. The body is practically smooth and 

 yellowish-drab in colour, speckled with very tiny dark 

 marks. There is an almost black medio-dorsal stripe, 

 followed by three other dark stripes on each side, the 

 second being widest and edged with black above and a pale 

 tint below ; the third, which is situated below the spiracles, 

 is very narrow. These stripes are continued on the head. 



The pupa is very smooth, rounded, and swollen, and 

 of a bright reddish-brown colour. The larva sometimes, 

 possibly always, changes to the pupa state below the 

 surface of the ground. 



