BLUES. 



129 



scripti-m ; below the middle of the wing, and 

 extending towards the hind-marginal series of 

 compound spots, is a vague and indistinct 

 submedian white blotch. 



Varieties. The varieties of the upper side 

 are rather puzzling, owing to the greater or 

 less preponderance of the blue tint in the 

 females ; the males, on the contrary, are 

 almost uniformly blue. The under side is 

 subject to occasional variation, owing to the 

 combination and enlargement of the spots. 

 Two beautiful specimens, illustrating this 

 peculiarity, have been kindly lent me by 

 Mr. Bond purposely for this work, and are 

 figured on the preceding page. 



Obs. The specific name of Icarus for the 

 Common Blue dates 1774, and has been 

 adopted by Esper, and by our countrymen 

 Lewin and Haworth. Modern English no- 

 menclature has changed the name to Alexis, 

 but I think without sufficient reason, although 

 this also is an early name, having been pro- 

 posed in 1776. 



LIFE HISTORY. The EGGS are laid on 

 rest-harrow (Ononis spinosa), and the young 

 CATERPILLARS, when they emerge, feed on the 

 leaves of this plant, on which they may be 

 found resting much after the manner of a 

 Chiton, a shell which in form they somewhat 

 resemble. The head is very small, glabrous, 

 oblong, porrected in crawling, but otherwise 

 withdrawn into the second segment and 

 totally concealed ; the body is convex above, 

 flattened below, rounded at both extremities, 

 and dilated and lobed.at the sides; the divisions 

 of the segments are conspicuously marked ; 

 the spiracles are situated considerably above 

 the lateral margin, so much so that they might 

 be called sub-dorsal ; the posterior pair are 

 decidedly dorsal ; the whole surface is covered 

 with extremely minute warts, each of which 

 emits a hair. The colour of the head is in- 

 tensely black, of the body green sometimes 

 bright apple-green, at other times dull olive- 

 green ; there is a medio- dorsal stripe rather 

 darker, and a narrow lateral stripe below the 

 spiracles, but above the lateral lobes, much 

 paler, almost white ; between the dorsal and 

 lateral stripes there are, on each side of each 



segment, three pale oblique lines, their in- 

 clination being from the anterior to the pos- 

 terior margin of the segment ; the minute 

 warts are black ; the legs, claspers, and ventral 

 surface are of the same green hue as the body. 

 Towards the end of Julyit undergoes thetrans- 

 formation to a CHRYSALIS, which is rounded at 

 both extremities, and is without angles ; the 

 anal extremity is without the usual minute 

 hooks for attachment ; the region about the 

 head is furnished with minute bristles ; the 

 colour is dull green ; the head, extremity of 

 wing-cases, and ventral surface of abdomen 

 are tinged with brown. Newman. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. Throughout the 

 summer from May to October, perhaps more 

 particularly abundant in May and June. 



LOCALITIES. Mr. Birchall says it is com- 

 mon everywhere in Ireland ; he also reports 

 it from the Isle of Man. In Scotland it is 

 particularly large and brilliant. The speci- 

 mens brought from Rannoch by Mr. Thomas 

 Eedle are the largest I have ever seen ; so 

 intense is the blue of the males, that I could 

 not avoid thinking it was another species, but 

 Mr. Doubleday pronounces it identical with 

 our English species. Dr. Buchanan White 

 says that its range in Scotland extends from 

 the sea-level up to a considerable elevation in 

 the mountains. In England it is everywhere, 

 except in a few localities in Yorkshire : I 

 believe it has escaped the notice of the Halifax 

 entomologists. 



43. Clifden Blue (Lyccena Adonis). Tipper side 

 of Male. 



43. CLIFDEN BLUE. On the upper side all 

 the wings of the male are of the most beautiful 

 shining blue, with a slender white line on the 

 costal margin of the fore wings, and a slender 

 black line on the hind margin ; this black line 

 passes round the tip of the wing beneath the 

 white line, but vanishes at about half the 



