THE PEACOCK. 7 1 



basal area. Some specimens have a blue spot below the " eye " 

 on the hind wings, and the name cyanosticta has been proposed 

 for this form by Raynor. The under side is blackish, with a 

 steely sheen, and crossed by irregular black lines ; the fore 

 wing are tinged with brown on the inner area, and the central 

 dot and a series of dots beyond are ochreous ; the hind wings 

 have an ochreous central dot. 



In a state of nature the butterfly seems little given to variation. 

 In rearing from the caterpillar, however, some curious aberra- 

 tions occasionally crop up. In my early days of collecting I 

 raised a number of specimens from caterpillars selected from 

 a large brood ; every one of these butterflies was of a dull 

 brownish colour and had a greasy semi-transparent appearance. 

 I regret to add that I set them all at liberty as they did not 

 come up to my, then, standard of what a Peacock butterfly 

 should be. Now and then specimens are bred from collected 

 caterpillars, in which the eye spots are represented by a broad 

 white cloud-like suffusion on the fore wings, and by a pale 

 roundish patch on the hind wings ; in conjunction with this 

 the black costal spots of the fore wings are all more or less 

 united (see Plate 41). This extreme variety is known in 

 the vernacular as the " Blind Peacock," and as ab. belisaria 

 in science ; between it and the typical form there are all kinds of 

 intermediate modifications, and one of these is also shown on the 

 plate referred to. It may be interesting to remark that similar 

 varieties have been produced by subjecting the chrysalids at 

 a particular period to a very low temperature. Readers who 

 may wish to know more about " Temperature Experiments " 

 are referred to a pamphlet on the subject by Dr. Max Standfuss. 



The egg, an enlarged figure of which will be found on 

 Plate 39, is olive green in colour, and has eight ribs, which 

 start just above the base and turn over the top. The eggs 

 are laid in April or May in batches on the upper part of nettle 

 plants and under the young leaves. 



