BLUES. 



137 



Under side of Variety in Mr. Bcv.d's Collection. 



48. LARGE BLUE. The hind wings have 

 the hind margin very slightly scalloped. The 

 colour of all the wings is a dull heavy blue, 

 without any of that brilliancy that adorns 

 Icarus and Adonis ; the hind margin of all 

 the wings is black : in the fore wings, and 

 equally distant from the base and tip, is a 

 transversely oblong black discoidal spot, and 

 between this and the hind margin, though 

 still near the middle of the wing, is a trans- 

 verse series of seven longitudinally oblong 

 black spots : the hind wings have a mere 

 indication of three or four black spots near 

 the middle, and a series of five or six black 

 spots near the hind margin; these have a 

 pale circumscription ; the scalloped margin of 

 the hind wings is black, and the fringe of all 

 the wings white. The under side is pearly 

 gray, the base of the hind wings being silvery 

 blue, with a metallic lustre ; round the hind 

 margin of all the wings is a double row of 

 obscure black spots ; in addition to these, and 

 nearer the middle of the fore wings, are eight 

 intensely black spots, and thirteen similar 

 spots on the hind wings : all these have a 

 white circumscription. 



Obs. This butterfly is distinguished from 

 all other blues inhabiting this country by its 

 larger size, by its scalloped hind wings, by 

 the cluster of black spots in the middle of the 

 fore wings on the upper side, and by the 

 double series of black spots on the hind mar- 

 gin of all the wings, on the under side : these 

 are always unaccompanied by any tinge of 

 orange : the submedian white blotch is also 

 absent. 



LIFE HISTORY. Zeller tellaus that the egg 

 is laid on the wild thyme, and that the cater- 

 pillar feeds on that plant a statement copied 

 by myself in the previous editions of this 



history, and still, as yet, only partially con- 

 firmed. 



I am indebted to Mr. Merrin for eggs of 

 this species they were accompanied with the 

 following communication : " Having a f . 

 length succeeded in obtaining eggs of Lycaena 

 Arion, I am pleased to be able to send you six 

 of them four on as many sprigs of thyme, 

 and two on another piece. I followed a female 

 specimen last Saturday to a fine patch of 

 thyme, where I watched her for a quarter of 

 an hour, and distinctly saw her lay several 

 eggs. Some of these I afterwards took away, 

 and others I left, marking the plant for future 

 observations. I gathered a large number of 

 likely-looking pieces of thyme on the ground, 

 and on examining them afterwards at home 

 with a glass, found about twenty eggs. They 

 seemed to be generally laid singly on the 

 largest heads of flowers, and those which are 

 most pubescent seem to be preferred. Some- 

 times, however, I found two eggs on a head, 

 and in one case no less than six." Being from 

 home when the box containing these treasures 

 was so kindly despatched from Gloucester by 

 Mr. Merrin, a delay of some days occurred 

 before it reached my hands, and five out of 

 the six eggs had hatched ; the sixth was still 

 perfect, and was forthwith submitted to ex- 

 amination : I found this EGG to be a spheroid, 

 much depressed at the north pole, and con- 

 cave at the south pole, where it was very 

 slightly attached to the hairs of the calyx of 

 a flower of the thyme, on which it had been 

 deposited by the female parent. The surface 

 of the egg is reticulated, the network pro- 

 jecting, and thus communicating a cellular or 

 honeycombed appearance to the egg ; the cells 

 are shallow, much more so than those of a 

 honeycomb, and the surface rather more 

 resembling that of a cow's stomach ; the 

 septa dividing the cells are extremely thin, 

 and at every junction of septa is an elevated 

 process almost spine-like ; the array of these 

 is very conspicuous when the egg is viewed 

 in profile : the cells are of nearly equal size, 

 except at the north pole and in its immediate 

 vicinity, where they suddenly decrease in 

 size, and are, in fact, exceedingly small. The 



