CUPIDO MINIMUS. 139 



asleep, 0. minimus pulls its fore wings back within the hindwings, like 

 the other " blues," showing only two of the spots on the forewings, 

 those being now nearly in a line with the outer margin of the hind- 

 wings. Smallman observes (in litt.) that, on June 8th, 1907, he 

 observed the insect sunning itself on various species of grass, having 

 its head down, and wings open, so as to make an angle of about 45° 

 with each other, the hindwings being kept far back, and the front 

 margins in line with the head; the antennae, he says, were kept on the 

 same level as the body, and at an angle of about 35° with each other; the 

 insects seem to settle so that the sun shines directly on their wings, 

 and, when sunning themselves, they keep almost quite still, but if 

 disturbed they fly a good way off; when flying, they are not very easy 

 to follow owing to their small size, dull colour, and fairly rapid flight. 

 A pair taken in cop. at 5.30 p.m., remained so until 10 p.m., but 

 separated before 8 o'clock next morning, and one wonders whether, in 

 nature, they remain paired all night. Donovan also speaks of its 

 quick flight, and the ease with which it is lost to sight when actively 

 on the wing. In its resting-habits it is very gregarious ; sometimes 

 many dozens may be seen in the space of a square yard, usually 

 resting head downwards on grass and other low plants in a sheltered 

 spot at sundown. Helps remarks that the imagines, at Horsley, were 

 observed to sleep on the undersides of the leaves of small shrubs on 

 the sheep leas, 50 or more being observed on a little seedling-beech, 

 about 3ft. in height, the afternoon being dull and lowering, and 

 nothing on the wing ; whilst Prideaux observes that, in dull weather, 

 he has observed them resting on tall grasses, but falling down out of 

 sight when disturbed ; he further notes that it is, in his experience, 

 unusual for them to associate with the other Lycamids in their 

 gregarious habits towards sundown. On the Cotteswolds, Watkins says 

 that the resting-habit for the night is chiefly with the head downwards, 

 the antennas apart and extended in front of the head, resting on the 

 culms of the grasses ; of a large number observed a few were resting 

 horizontally, or with head upwards, in almost every instance on blades 

 and not on stems of grass, the antennas, however, always extended in 

 front ; he adds that Polyommatm icarus rests at sunset in a similar 

 manner in the same place, but there were at least a dozen ('. minimus 

 to one P. icarus. Rehfous observes that he has noticed the insect in 

 the Geneva district flying among grass from 8-9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 

 on the move even if the sky be slightly clouded; it rests on grass near 

 the ground, the wings generally closed, but sometimes thrown open. 

 Zeller notes that at Tuors Pensch it rested in company, especially 

 on a tall herbaceous papilionaceous plant, with pale yellow blossoms. 

 Like so many of its congeners, the $ s of C. minimus are very fond of 

 drinking at runnels of water, or a puddle in the paths in the alpine 

 valleys, in the hot sun, holding their own with Plebeius argyrognomon 

 {argus), Agriades coridon, and the larger Erebias and Argynnids that 

 collect at such spots. Near Piora, on August 8th, 1907, we saw 

 freshly-emerged examples quite at home among such crowds of thirsty 

 butterflies as we had rarely seen before, refusing to be hustled by 

 Agriades coridon, or driven from their chosen position by Erebia 

 mnestra or Argynnis niobe. Keynes observed it most abundantly in 

 the Surenen-Thal, on June 27th, 1903, sometimes nearly a hundred 

 on a square foot of damp earth, whilst, in their habits, the insects 



