116 



ourselves that there were plenty of edusa for those who were fortu- 

 nate enough to have the opportunity and the inclination to go after 

 them. 



Of course there was no lack of "blues" in their special haunts; 

 there is always an abundance of them in the sheltered nooks along 

 the downs ; it is only a matter of degree, and this summer was cer- 

 tainly not at the top of the scale. Of the three species frequenting 

 the district, Lycczna corydon, Fb., was the most common, L. icarus, 

 Rott., was almost a rarity, and, although L. bellargus, Rott, appeared 

 only towards the latter part of our stay, it was never found in fresh 

 condition, no doubt owing to the very unsettled weather prevalent 

 at the time. Searching for varieties was quite laborious owing to 

 the paucity of material to work upon, but it was while engaged upon 

 this operation that a matter in connection with the resting habit of 

 Z. corydon came under my notice that interested me. In the 

 hollows where the "blues" do congregate a species of tinibellifercR 

 grows, and it is full of bud at the time when corydon is on the wing. 

 These immature flower-heads are of two forms : in those that are 

 most advanced the buds are almost white, and the spaces between 

 them give the idea of dark spots ; those that are further from matu- 

 rity have a mottled brownish hue. Now, if the male butterflies 

 always selected the most fully-developed heads to rest upon, and the 

 females always those that are less forward, the protection afforded 

 by the resemblance of their undersides, in each case, to the head on 

 which they were resting would be complete, but this is not so. 

 One frequently sees individuals of both sexes together on one head ; 

 the resemblance of the one, and the strong contrast of the other, is 

 then very striking. I have frequently seen a female sitting on a 

 light-coloured flower-head from a distance of at least a dozen yards, 

 have approached, removed, and examined it before becoming aware 

 of the presence of perhaps a couple of males on the same head, and 

 vice versa. One cannot help asking oneself the meaning of it. I 

 pondered much upon it, and the conclusion I arrived at was that, 

 although the butterfly, when about to rest, seeks the flower-heads by 

 reason of some natural instinct, it has no means of discriminating 

 between the light and dark-coloured heads. L. icarus is seldom 

 found on these flower-heads, but appears to find suitable protection 

 among the masses of dry grass stems, and is, indeed, a difficult object 

 to detect seated upon them as they wave to and fro in the gentle 

 breeze. 



Of the other butterflies there is little to be said. Vanessa cardui, 

 L., which, from the appearances in early spring we had some reason 

 to expect would be common in the autumn, was by no means so. I 

 probably did not see half a dozen individuals during my stay a*" 

 Eastbourne. V. urticce, L., was to be seen occasionally rejoicing in 

 the brief gleams of sunshine, but not an example of either V. io, L., 

 or V. atalanta, L., was observed, Polyonwiatus phloeas, L., so abun- 

 dant here last autumn, was this year quite scarce, and Ccenonympha 



