EVEKES. 49 



They are reputed to be almost the same as those of the species 

 of Cupido, the larvae curving themselves round on the outside 

 of the flowers to which they are attached, and to which their 

 colours bear considerable resemblance, gnawing a hole through 

 the flower into the seed-vessel and clearing out the contents, 

 by no means, however, refusing the floral leaves (petals and 

 sepals), or even the tender foliage leaves, if hard pushed, but they 

 certainly seem to confine themselves largely to the flowers. Their 

 food-habit seems to be largely to restrict themselves to leguminous 

 plants, and, like the larvae of Cupido, they appear to hybernate nearly 

 or quite full-fed. Like most of their allies, the larvae are remarkably 

 sluggish throughout their lives. The young larvae also bear consider- 

 able cryptic resemblance to their foodplants (see preceding vol. p. 71). 

 The habit of producing " forwards " is usually highly developed. Scudder 

 observes (Butts. Neiv Engl., ii., p. 908) that the butterflies are 

 polygoneutic, the Palaearctic, and probably the Nearctic, species 

 hybernating in curled leaves as fully-grown larvae, transforming into 

 chrysalids in May, about a fortnight before the first brood of butter- 

 flies appears. "The duration of the egg is only three or four days ; the 

 larvae mature rapidly and the summer chrysalids evolve their inmates 

 more quickly than those of spring. The larvae feed on a variety of 

 leguminous plants, the European species having been found on Lotus, 

 Anthyllis, Medicago, Trifolium, Pisum and Onobrychis [and even on 

 Rhamnus] , whilst the American feed on Lespodeza, Phaseolus, Des- 

 modium, Galactia, Trifolium, and Astragalus. The caterpillar of the 

 European species is known to bore the husks and devour the seeds of 

 Pisum,, and an entirely similar habit has been discovered in the 

 Calif ornian amyntula, by Wright and Riley, the latter of whom 

 writes that the larva of amyntula lives within the pod of Astragalus 

 leucopsis, etc." 



Scudder's general statement (Butts. New Engl., ii., p. 908) that 

 " the transformations of several species are known," is rather mis- 

 leading. Of the species included in Everes, practically only the 

 general facts relating to the life-histories of E. argiades and E. 

 comyntas have been published. Of the others we seem to be in total 

 ignorance. 



The way in which the eastern Asiatic species have been treated by 

 authors leaves us in some doubt as to the actual range of the different 

 forms, and little enough is known of the American ones. Dyar 

 mentions as distinct E. comyntas, E. amyntula, and E. monica, for the 

 Nearctic region. De Niceville treats (Butts, of India, iii., p. 137), 

 dipora, Moore, praxiteles, Feld., hellotia, Men., parrhasius, Fabr., 

 comyntas, Godt., glandon, Prun., puer, Schrank, alcetas, Hb. (coretas, 

 O.), as co-specific with argiades, Pall., as well as the recognised 

 synomyms amyntas, tiresias, and yolysperchon ; whilst he notes 

 three other uncertain species — E. exiguus, Dist., described from a 

 single 2 taken at Singapore [and which de Niceville (op. cit., p. 141) 

 believes to be Catochrysops strabo] ; E. kala, de Nicev., described from a 

 single example taken at Shillong, and stated to be possibly co-specific 

 with fischeri, from which, however, it is very distinct ; and a third 

 species, E. umbriel, Dohty., also from a single $ taken in Burma = 

 potanini, Alph. (teste Bingham, Faun, lnd., ii., p. 379). 



Based on the characters of the genitalia, supported by the spotting 



