BLUES. 



119 



precarious, because the egg would, in all 

 probability, perish with the pea-haulm, which 

 is rarely kept through the spring and early 

 summer. 



LOCALITIES. From an examination of the 

 long series in the British Museum, I find this 

 insect, like Pyrameis Cardui, to be distributed 

 over all parts of the habitable globe where 

 agriculture lias been introduced. In Britain 

 it is evidently only a straggler : it has never 

 been observed in Ireland, Scotland, or the 

 Isle of Man, and I know of but three records 

 of its occurrence in England. 



Hampshire. One specimen was taken by 

 Mr. Latour, near Christclmrch,not many miles 

 from Dorset, on the 4th of August, 1859 

 J. C. Dale. 



Sussex. Two specimens have been taken 

 at Brighton, on chalk downs facing the sea, by 

 Mr. M 'Arthur the first on the 4th of August, 

 1859, the other on the 5th of the same month ; 

 I have seen both the specimens, and have no 

 doubt whatever as to the species or the vera 

 city of the captor. During the year 1859, in 

 which these captures were made, the insect 

 was very abundant in the Channel Islands and 

 on the coast of France. I am indebted to 

 Mr. Thorncrott for my first information of 

 these captures. 



40. Silver-studded Blue (Lyccena JEgon). Male 

 and Female. Upper side. 



40. SILVER-STUDDED BLUE. On the upper 

 side the colour of the male is purple-blue, 

 shaded to black towards the hind margin ; of 

 the female smoky black, sometimes tinged 

 with blue, and generally having a transverse 



series of orange-coloured spots, diversified in 

 form, parallel with the hind margin. Thn 

 under side is bluish gray, with seven black 

 spots on the fore wings and eleven on tho 

 hind wings; all these spots have a pale cir- 

 cumscription; parallel with the hind margin 

 of th hind wings is a series of seven orange- 



Uuder side. 



coloured spots, each of which is bordered 

 above by a black crescent, and below by a 

 silver-blue spot; immediately above this series 

 the disk of the wing is of a pale gray ; the 

 fringe is white and unspotted. 



LIFE HISTORY. At page 241 of No. 5 8 of the 

 " Entomologists' Monthly Magazine," dated 

 March, 1869, Mr. Bucklerhas given a very com- 

 plete " natural history" of this little butterfly. 

 Trustingimplicitly to his well-known accuracy, 



I have copied it entire. The eggs were pro- 

 cured by Mr. C. G. Barrett, who had induced 

 a female L ,o lay them on twigs of heather. 

 " Considering the small size of this butterfly, 

 the EGG is rather large in proportion : it is 

 white in colour, of a circular form, flattened 

 and depressed in the centre both above and 

 below, ribbed and beaded boldly at the sides, 

 and from thence more finely by degrees to the 

 centre. The egg does not change colour, but 

 retains its pure dead-white appearance even 

 after the exit of the caterpillar; a small hole, 

 showing like a black spot on the side of the 

 shell, alone betraying the escape of the little 

 creature." In accordance with a suggestion 

 of Mr. Doubleday, who had observed the 

 female butterfly alighting on the common 

 bird's-foot trefoil (Ornithopits perpusillus), 

 Mr. Buckler offered the young caterpillars 

 that plant fur food, and found it so acceptable 



I 1 them, that he considers there is little doubt 

 of its being the natural food of the species. 

 "When first hatched, the CATERPILLAR is about 

 three-fourths of a line long, thick in proper- 



