CUPIDO MINIMUS. 115 



many times ; the insect appears to lay only one egg on a head, and 

 seems to show great discrimination in the fiower-heads chosen, often 

 settling on one, walking round it, and then flying off to another, or 

 even to a third before being satisfied, and never appearing content un- 

 less there are some buds on the head, avoiding those where the 

 blossoms have faded, leaving the calyx, the first food of the larva, dry ; 

 twice £ s were seen to settle on a flower-head of Hippoerepis, and, in 

 one case, the insect remained some time, but no egg was discovered ; 

 the egg-stage lasted in this case six days, eggs laid on June 27th, 1866, 

 hatching on July 3rd (Gedge). Eggs laid June 16th-18th, 1870, also 

 on Anthyllis vulneraria, appeared to be deposited low down on the 

 flowers, and, although hidden from casual observation, were not difficult 

 to detect by careful search (Hellins). Many eggs were obtained at 

 Eastbourne, on June 22nd, 1898, all being laid on the downy calyces 

 of Ornithopus perpusillus,* three being forced down edgewise between 

 the long hairs with which the calyces are covered ; Buckler says that 

 they are laid between the calyces, these were, by this time, well away 

 from the surrounding calyces, and fairly exposed on the calyx on which 

 they were placed (Postans). There was no trouble to find the rather 

 bright green eggs of this species low down on the calyces of the flower- 

 heads of Anthyllis (?) vulneraria, on the Albula Pass, August 18th-19th, 

 1908; they were somewhat easy to distinguish, possibly due to the 

 fact that, owing to the lateness of the season, the flower-heads were all 

 very mature (Tutt). On the Cotteswolds, as elsewhere, the eggs are laid 

 on the calyces of Anthyllis vulneraria : they can be found in nature 

 without much difficulty, the lovely pale green ova being fairly visible 

 to the naked eye, among the pale downy hairs of the calyces to which 

 they are attached ; sometimes a flower-head has two eggs, possibly 

 laid by two different females. On June 18th, 1906, in confinement, a 

 female laid one egg each on three flower-heads, but two eggs were found 

 on a fourth, although the latter had been laid quite separately, and were 

 some distance apart (C. J. Watkins). The eggs are laid in the flower- 

 heads of A. vulneraria, and, on the continent, on a red-flowered form, 

 whose specific distinction I am not clear about. Sometimes an egg is laid 

 on the corolla, but this is rare, the selected position is low down on the 

 outside of the calyx, where two adjoining calyces touch one another. 

 The egg is, however, laid on one calyx, and does not adhere to the 

 opposite one. Sometimes they are literally between the two calyces, 

 and they have to be separated before the egg can be seen, more usually 

 they are just at the top of the point of touching, and can be seen with- 

 out disturbing the flower. Sometimes they are lower down, when 

 there is a little space between the flowers. It seems necessary to the 

 butterfly in laying, that, not only should the ovipositor detect a suitable 

 spot, but the abdominal dorsum should find an opposing surface. 

 Whether this is necessary merely as a sensation or piece of information, 

 or whether the point d'appui is required for the due working of the 

 ovipositing machinery, may be matter for discussion ; many Lycamids 

 only lay their eggs in such situations, i.e., where the abdominal 

 dorsum comes in contact with an opposing surface (Callophrys rubi, 

 etc., see preceding vol., p. 100). The heads selected for laying are 

 those where the flowers are in full bloom, and only one egg is laid on 



* One wonders whether this is a slip of the recorder for Anthyllis vulneraria. 



