AGRIADES THETIS. 389 1 



into a loose tube for the body, the anal areas of the two hinclwings 

 being slightly expanded as it were to form a sort of opening to the 

 tube; the insect often sits on a leaf so that the body is quite horizontal, 

 and extended far beyond the leaflets to which the legs are clinging. 

 'When crawling, the body hangs freely below the hinclwings, and the 

 antennas are moved a good deal from side to side as the insect travels 

 slowly along; but when a ? is apparently seeking the right plant for egg- 

 laying, she works through grass and other low herbs, pushing, as it were, 

 her way among the undergrowth. If a ? be removed from a dark to a 

 sunny position, she opens her wings so that the light falls thereon, and 

 adopts the position already described when the insect is sunning in the 

 open. After being closed in a box for some 60 hours, four 2 s were 

 attracted at once by a lump of moistened sugar, and fed most greedily, 

 touching- the sugar with the ends of their antennas, and uncoiling their 

 tongues, which they soon inserted in a suitable place, remaining 

 motionless, two with the forew 7 ings depressed as much as when asleep, 

 the other two with the forewings rather more prominent, and so that 

 the discoidal of the forewings showed on the underside, as well as the 

 three upper spots of the submedian series. Although dull, the butter- 

 flies remained feeding for a full hour, but a glimpse of sun took them 

 off the sugar, and they separated to sit with expanded wings. When 

 disturbed in dull weather, the butterfly falls directly to the ground, 

 w T ith its wings drawn well in, and remains there for a few moments 

 before moving sideways to a place of safety ; if further disturbed, it 

 makes a series of short jumps, falling on its side each time. At the 

 end of a fine afternoon, it is really delightful to see dozens of these 

 beautiful insects of both sexes taking up a position on a flower, a dead 

 Ccntaurea stalk, or grass culm, so that their wings face the setting 

 sun, and make them conspicuous a long way off; then, as the sun goes 

 off the bank, they slowly close their wings, change their position, and 

 sit head downw T ards near the top of the plant on which they rested. 

 In dull and damp weather it is next to impossible to find the butter- 

 flies in their haunts, but if the sky be merely misty, or covered with 

 a light cloud so that the diffused sunlight makes itself felt, the butter- 

 flies of both sexes will sit immovable for a very long time with both 

 wings expanded in the direction of the sun, almost as if they were 

 "sunning" in the full sunlight. The choice of favourite spots for 

 roosting has often been remarked upon, and on the Kent and Surrey 

 downs, where the vegetation is of comparatively uniform character, 

 the observer, w 7 ith his back to the setting sun, is enabled to detect the 

 groups even at a considerable distance. This species, when roosting, 

 confines itself largely to the neighbourhood of its special Hippocrepis- 

 covered haunts, where it is usually joined by Polyommatus icarus and 

 oftentimes by JRumida phlaeas. Adkin describes (Proc. Sth. Loud. Knt. 

 Soc, 1891, p. 169) the way in which this species hides at night, noting 

 that, on fine early evenings, the imagines were found commonly at 

 rest on grass stems, knapweed flowers, etc., but when it was dull and 

 stormy, they rested in much more sheltered positions, chiefly low down 

 among the roots of the plants. The species seems to have a fairly 

 long individual life. Of four females captured on September 11th, 

 1909, one only in really fine condition, three died on the 20th, 21st, 

 and 22nd respectively, but the fine one lived till September 29th, and 

 seemed in very good health till the 26th ; it did not come with much 



