206 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



back, the imago of this species pulls back the forewings well 

 within the hindwings, leaving only the three spots of the sub- 

 median row and the discoidal spot of the forewings showing. The 

 three spots are in continuous series, not with the corresponding 

 submedian row on the hindwings, but, with the outer marginal row 

 of spots on the hindwings, i.e., the marginal row outside the 

 orange-coloured crescents, whilst the discoidal cell of the forewings is 

 in line with the submedian series of black spots on the inside of the 

 orange crescents of the hindwings. The antennae are at this time 

 projected in front at rather more than a right angle. When asleep 

 the head is usually downwards, the forewings are drawn so far within 

 the hindwings that the costse of both wings are in line and the fore- 

 wings are wholly hidden except for a small area at the extreme apical 

 point. The antennae are held in front, making an angle of about 90° 

 with the wings, and one of about 45° with each other. Smallman 

 states (in litt.) that towards the end of certain afternoons in June, 1907, 

 at about 5.45 p.m., the species was in great abundance, sunning lazily, 

 and scarcely moving if disturbed ; shortly after they were asleep on 

 the plant stems, the 2 s appearing to become inert rather before the 

 $ s. When busily feeding, a butterfly will move quickly round a 

 head of thyme or the capitulum of a composite flower, to get at the 

 nectaries of the different florets. It is a great flower-lover, 

 and, on the Kentish chalk-hills, scabious, centaurea, and the 

 various leguminous flowers — clover, lucerne, etc. — appear to be 

 the favourites, next to thyme, but, in the spring, in the 

 wood-clearings, the $ s also settle on the blue-bell flowers, in the 

 manner known so well with Celastrina argiolus. It is specially 

 attracted to thyme flowers at Cuxton, is very abundant at flowers of 

 lucerne and sainfoin above Gresy-sur-Aix, was common at Torre 

 Pellice at flowers of thyme, marjoram and Eupatorium, with swarms 

 of Rumicia phlaeas, Epinephele tithonus, E. ianira, Melanargia galathea,. 

 Erebia aethiops, Argynnis adippe, Dryas papliia, etc., whilst in the 

 Eoseg-thal also, it selected a large variety of flowers, but tlrvme was 

 here, too, easily first favourite ; Norris noticed that it particularly 

 affected sainfoin flowers at Hyeres. Slater observes (Ent. Rec, xii., 

 p. 84) that, on the Chiltern Hills, in August 1878, the imagines of 

 this species haunted by preference a very common white umbelliferous 

 flower, whose florets had small intervals between them, so that, when 

 seen from a little distance, it had an ocellated appearance ; he adds 

 that, when a " blue " settled on this flower and closed its wings, its 

 ocellated undersurface became almost invisible unless the insect 

 moved. :;: Bird records it as being attracted to flowers of Eupatorium 

 at Tintern ; Mason, that it affects flowers of lavender at Clevedon ; 

 and Moore that, at Harlech, he found it on sandbanks, frequent- 

 ing flowers of Euphorbia paralias and Eryngium maritimum. In 

 Scandinavia Rowland-Brown noted it on the flowers of an aromatic 

 plant, probably an Artemisia, in the valley of the Alten, near 

 Bossekop, but Sparre- Schneider observed it chiefly at Lotus and View, 

 flowers, in company with Rumicia j>hlaeas and Catastia auriciliella 

 in the island of Tromso ; no doubt almost any nectar-bearing 

 flower may be attractive to a species with such general tastes. 



* Compare Adkin's remarks on a resting-habit of Agriades coridon on 

 umbelliferous flowers at Eastbourne (Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc, 1894, p. 116). 



