140 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



seemed rather like flies than butterflies, for, if disturbed, they hovered 

 round, without flying away. Zeller tells how, on June 9th, he found 

 over 100 on a spot of wet ground, with Hesperia alveolus, H. andromedae, 

 Nisoniades tages, and Fieri* napi. Rowland-Brown saw it in swarms 

 with Polyommatus eacheri, P. icarus, Cupido sebrus, Gyaniris semiargus, 

 Agriades bellargus, etc., on the little islets of rich black mud where the 

 historic little stream runs into the Eaux-Chaudes, above "the Baths," 

 at Digne, whilst Jones observed it, in July 1906, in hundreds together, 

 on the muddy roads near Arosa, and Jordan, near Zermatt, found it 

 exceedingly abundant on a small wet piece of moss by the roadside, on 

 a hot day ; 50 were counted, and there were possibly double that 

 number within two or three square inches. Powell notes it also as 

 fairly common on damp patches on the pathways with Cupido 

 sebrus, at Esteng, in the Alpes-Maritimes. Wheeler says that it 

 abounds with other blues in the neighbourhood of Berisal, with which it 

 congregates in great numbers on the moist places in the road, whilst in the 

 Val Tiniere behind Villeneuve, as at St. Georges in the Jura, he has seen 

 large manure-heaps almost covered by many hundreds of this species. 

 Blachier observes that, in the Geneva district, he has seen it collected 

 on the road and footpaths at damp spots, generally in company with 

 Cupido sebrus, Xomiades cyllarus, Hesperia malrae, Poirellia sao, and 

 Nisoniades tages. Dickore records it as fond of coming to wet places 

 in Hesse ; Kranz also says that, like other blues, the species loves the 

 moist places found in the roadways in Bavaria, whilst Schneider 

 observes the same habit in the species in Bohemia, and Richter in 

 Salzburg. It has exactly similar habits in Britain, for on Whit- 

 Monday, 1892, at Dursley, ('. minimus was in swarms sitting in rows 

 of a dozen or so on the damp mud in the roads, left by the rain the 

 previous day (Griffiths); whilst in June, 1906, on the very summit of 

 one of the Cotteswold hills, it was swarming on June 17th, and 

 appeared to be very partial to the rapidly-drying rough upland path 

 on which they Avere sunning, whilst one example was so devoted to a 

 heap of horse-droppings, that it allowed itself to be picked up with the 

 fingers (C. J. Watkins). Griffiths also notes that he once saw this 

 species resting on sheep's droppings, in the neighbourhood of Ports- 

 mouth, whilst Galvagni says that he noticed specimens resting on 

 animal excrement in the Langes-Thal, in the Brenner district. It is 

 somewhat uncertain in its appearance, sometimes occurring in great 

 numbers, at others being very scarce, and this is so, not only in Britain, 

 but on the continent, e.g., it is reported to occur in May, in some 

 years, in thousands on theSchonberg, near Freiburg, in Baden (Reutti); 

 whili-t it abounds in some years at Krefeld, in others being quite rare 

 (Rothke); and also in parts of Saxony (Steinert). Its peculiarly local 

 habits are very noticeable ; it will appear either in the same, or some 

 very near, place, year after year, congregating there to the exclusion of 

 other places in the neighbourhood ; thus it is at Cuxton, the South Fore- 

 land cliffs, etc., whilst Carr says that it abounds around Kingsdown 

 and Martin Mill, in sheltered places, live or six examples often being 

 seen in company Hying over low bramble bushes, and in most perfect 

 condition. We have already noted that it is sometimes enticed to 

 dowers, but this is not its usual habit. Steinert Bays, however, that 

 it is much attracted in its mountain localities in Saxony, by the 



