202 THE BOOK OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



usually met with on the chalk and limestone, L. minima 

 is widely distributed over Great Britain ; but it is not 

 present everywhere throughout the island. 



The eggs are laid about mid- June on the flower-heads 

 of the Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria). The young 

 larvae come out in less than a week, and feed by pre- 

 ference on the seeds. They are full-fed at the end of 

 July, and suspend themselves for pupation, but do not 

 turn till the beginning of the next June. The imago 

 comes out after two or three weeks, and lives but a 

 short time. 



The full-grown larva (Fig. 234), which is about Jin. 

 long and of the usual Lycana shape, is brownish flesh- 

 colour, some specimens having a pinkish tinge, some 

 inclining to chocolate. The dorsal stripe is of a deeper 

 tint than the ground-colour. On each side is a sub- 

 dorsal line consisting of a series of dark brown marks. 

 The edge of the lateral dilatation bears a whitish stripe, 

 which is continued round the anal extremity. The 

 caterpillar is covered with short, dark brown hairs ; the 

 head is black. 



The pupa (Fig. 235), which is not much more than 

 Jin. long, is sometimes, at least, not suspended. The 

 colour is light stone-colour, with tiny black specks. A 

 black, somewhat broken stripe runs down the back, and 

 is followed on each side by a row of short, oblique 

 black dashes. All parts of the body, except the cases of 

 wings, legs, and antennae, are covered with whitish hairs ; 

 the wing-cases are marked with grey. 



The costal and hind margins of the wings of the imago 

 (Figs. 236 and 237) are convex and entire; the fringe is 

 white and unmarked. The upper surface (Fig. 237) is 

 dull sepia-brown, sprinkled with silvery scales in the male; 

 the under-surface (Fig. 236) is pale grey, of a bluish tinge 



