CUPIDO MINIMUS. 



125 



tortoise, the head being very small and retractile, and a lateral ridge 

 running all round, and giving the appearance of an upper shell. The 

 prothorax is the longest segment, and has a sort of triangular plate on 

 its middle, and the last three segments are slightly depressed. The 

 inner rows of dorsal tubercles are rather projecting, and thus form 

 between them a sort of dorsal hollow ; the second row has already been 

 noted as affecting the subdorsal line (Hellins). 



Vakiation of larva. — Hellins observes (Ent. Mo. Mag., vii., p. 186) 

 that, after the first moult, there is some little variation in colour in dif- 

 ferent individuals, some being more of a pinkish-brown, others more 

 of a chocolate colour ; the distinct dorsal stripe, of a deeper tint than 

 the ground colour, and commencing as a broad triangular mark on the 

 mesothorax, becomes gradually narrower up to the 7th abdominal, 

 where it widens out into a lozenge-shape, contracting again to a 

 narrow stripe on the 8th and 9th ; the tubercles show paler than the 

 rest of the ground colour, because the brown hairs on them being 

 divergent allow more of the paler skin to be seen. Just below the 

 second row of tubercles comes the subdorsal line, which is, in fact, 

 composed of a series of dark brown dashes, one on each segment 

 sloping backwards and downwards so as to let the tubercle stand out 

 in high relief ; along the edge of the lateral ridge runs a whitish 

 stripe, which is continued round the anal extremity ; the belly and 

 legs of the same colour as the back. The whole skin is studded with 

 short bristles of a dark brown colour ; the head is black and polished, 

 but with a streak above the mouth, and also the base of the papilla?, 

 yellow. x\fter this, and in the later instars, there is no change of 

 appearance, save that of growing paler and more unicolorous (perhaps, 

 as the bulk increases, more of the paler skin shows between the dark 

 bristles), until some specimens are of an ordinary flesh-tint, and others 

 of a brow T nish flesh-colour, and at this point the larva? assimilate well 

 with the changing colour of the corolla of their foodplant. After they 

 cease feeding they turn to a faint greenish-yellow. Chapman ob- 

 serves (antea, p. 119) that a number of fullfed larva? that he obtained at 

 Glion in July, 1908, were identical in markings, but these were faint 

 in some very pale specimens that one is almost tempted to call white, 

 whilst other larva? were of a red-brown in which the markings were 

 pronounced. Some two dozen which were sent to us from Glion were 

 noted on July 12th, 1908, as varying considerably in ground colour, 

 the greater number being pale greenish in ground colour, others greener 

 towards the anterior part of the body, yellower on the dorsum and 

 towards the posterior part, whilst others again incline to orange over 

 the whole area, but much modified in their general appearance by the 

 thick coating of little black hair-bases with which they are covered, 

 and which are particularly effective when the segments are contracted. 

 All the larva? have a reddish mediodorsal line (sometimes inclining to 

 orange, at others to pink), on either side of which is a faint, similarly- 

 tinted, subdorsal line, suggesting depressions in the centre of each 

 segment w T here the colour is most effective. The reddish supra- 

 spiracular line may be looked upon as a series of backward-directed 

 oblique lines from the mesothorax to the 6th abdominal if looked at 

 laterally, but, looked at dorsally, has all the appearance of a continuous 

 crenate or wavy line over these segments. The rather less strongly- 

 coloured subspiracular line is the edge of the lateral flange, on the 



