68 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



The larva is brownish-green, with a dark brown head, and 

 pinkish dots on the back ; it is sometimes tinged with reddish. 

 It feeds on oak, and is full-grown in June. 



The Purple Hair-streak is common throughout Europe and 

 Western Asia, and is the only Hair-streak except Callophrys 

 rubi which is considered common in the British Islands ; it 

 appears, however, to be rare in most parts of Scotland. It 

 is always met with flying round oak trees, and sitting on the 

 leaves. 



Several other allied species are found on the continent feed- 

 ing on oak, besides Zephyrus quercus. One of these is Thecla 

 ilicis (Esper), to which we have already alluded (antea, p. 54), 

 and another is a much rarer and more local insect, found only 

 in Southern Europe, Lcsosopis roboris (Esper), which is about 

 the same size as Z. quercus and much resembles it, being 

 purplish-brown above in the male, but the hind-wings are tail- 

 less, and instead of " hair-streaks " beneath, we find rows of 

 sub-marginal orange and white spots, separated by a row of 

 black dots. 



We will now consider a series of beautiful and interesting 

 genera allied to Thecla and Zephyrus, and mostly including 

 tailed species, which inhabit the tropical regions of the Old 

 World. 



GENUS HELIOPHORUS. 

 HeliophontS) Geyer, in Hiibner, Zutr. Exot. Schmett. iv. p. 40 



(1832). 



Ilerda, Doubleday, List Lepid. Ins. Brit. Mus. ii. p. 25 (1847); 

 Hewitson, Illustr. Diurn. Lepid. p. 57 (1865); Schatz & 

 Rober, Exot. Schmett. ii. p. 267 (1892); De Niceville, Butt. 

 Ind. iii. p. 322 (1890). 



A genus of small extent, confined to the Indo-Malayan 

 .Region, and mo.t numerous in North India. They are tailed 



