FAMILY HABITS IN BUTTERFLY LARV^— THE URBICOLIDS. 15 



leaves together, just as they grow upon the plant, and, retaining them 

 in the desired place by silken bands, live within the leafy bower." 



The nest-making of the Hesperiines is well-illustrated by those 

 •constructed by our two common British species Hesperia malvae and 

 Nisoniades tages. The young larva of Hesperia malvae chooses the 

 upper-surface of a small leaf of bramble, strawberry, potentilla, etc., 

 settles itself along the midrib, spins several silken threads overhead 

 for a covering under which it feeds ; as it grows larger, still choosing 

 the unper-surface of a leaf for its standpoint, it forms its covering by 

 ■drawing down another leaf over it, fastening the edges with stout 

 threads, leaving this cave when it gets older to feed on the leaves near. 

 These larval homes are not difficult to find on stunted bramble-bushes 

 with small leaves, the large juicy leaves of strong bushes apparently 

 offering little or no temptation. Sich describes most carefully the 

 tent-making in confinement from strawberry leaves (anted., vol. viii., 

 p. 232). -The larvse of our only Nisoniadid, Nisoniades tages, make 

 very different-looking tents. Low down on the leaves of Lotus corni- 

 -culatus, the young larva forms little caves by drawing together three 

 leaflets, with glistening threads, the two outer leaflets being drawn almost 

 close together, and the middle one bent over them like a curved roof, 

 so that the cave passes easily for a not quite expanded leaf. When 

 needed, the old case is abandoned and a new one made ; sometimes 

 several small leaves are involved, the inside being lined with a close 

 •carpet of silk, the part (ceiling or floor) used as a platform being 

 •especially thickly woven ; at this time the tent looks more like a little 

 ball of leaflets. 



Little is known of the hiding-habits of the larvae of the European 

 Hesperiines. The larva of Erynnis lavatherae, when of good size in 

 the spring, forms a little nest of partially-eaten leaves of Stachys recta, 

 held together by a few strong cables of silk, a sort of loose cocoon, and, 

 in confinement, always made a fresh one when new food was provided, 

 although the old one was never interfered with. The larva of Erynnis 

 ■alceae is said to live in a rolled leaf of Malca sylvestris or Althaea rosea, 

 and that of E. althaeae in a similar tube made of an Althaea leaf, or 

 •one of Marrubium. The larva of Hesperia carthanti also makes nests 

 of the leaves of Althaea officinalis and Malva sylvestris, that of H. ahem 

 •of the leaves of Potentilla cinerea, of H. serratulae of those of Potentilla 

 incana, that of Bremeria maculatus in leaves of Rubus idaeus or Spiraea. 

 Powellia sao also turns under the margins of the leaves of Rubus idaeus, 

 Potentilla verna, or Sanguisorba minor, whilst Muschampia proto spins 

 together the leaves of Phlomis fructicosa. The habit, therefore, is quite 

 general in our Palaearctic Hesperiines. 



Of the hiding-places made by the Nearctic species, it is reported 

 that the larva of Eudamus proteus makes its nest by cutting a slit into 

 a leaf of one of its many leguminous foodplants from the edge, and 

 rolls the flap thus formed around its body, working from the inside of 

 this roll, with its soft parts perfectly protected (Comstock). Scudder 

 •observes that the young larva of Epargyreus tityrus constructs its nest 

 by nearly severing from one side of a leaf of one of its leguminous 

 food-plants, a small roundish piece, and folding it over, so that the 

 undersurface of the fragment is uppermost, this roof being kept in place 

 by long silken strands attached to the edges of the fragment, and the 

 surface of the leaf beyond, in such a way as to arch the roof like a 



