LYCAENA ARION. 329 



a central group of four or five very small ones. These being of about 

 O*006fnm. in diameter, the outer ones about 0013mrn. and the others 

 graduated between these. The cells of the white or adventitious coat 

 are a little smaller near the micropylar area, but the average size is 

 about 0-023mm. across. They vary in form, in some places they are 

 hexagonal, in others square, there often being three or four parallel 

 tows of six to eight square cells. The white coating is here deeper 

 than usual, and fairly uniform in thickness throughout, there are 

 distinct columns at the angles of the cells, these columns are about as 

 high as the cells are wide, their tops are flattened at a general level, 

 but slightly notched as if each cell rib came separately to the top, or 

 was at least there separately represented (Chapman). 



The egg is figured on pi. xxxii., fig. 1, and the micropyle on the 

 same plate, fig. 2. 



The egg hatches in from six to seven days, the larva frequently taking 

 many hours in the process of eating a sufficiently large hole in the 

 crown to permit of its egress (Ray ward). 



Habits of Larva. — The young larva? feed most satisfactorily on 

 the flowers of wild thyme, but are most difficult to rear in confinement, 

 going on well till the end of July, when Buckler says they get restless, 

 as if in search of something that he had not given them, and that his 

 then disappeared, leading him to suggest that they might migrate at 

 that time to another foodplant. The new T ly-hatched larva eats a con- 

 siderable portion of the egg-shell; the extended larva is colourless, but 

 the intestinal canal, filled with an orange-coloured substance, like the 

 yolk of a duck's egg, is plainly perceptible (Newman). It at once 

 enters a flower of thyme (Merrin). 



A newly-hatched larva placed, on June 14th as soon as hatched, on 

 a fresh flower-head of thyme, attached itself so closely thereto and was 

 so similar in appearance, that it was distinguished with difficulty. It 

 fed well until the 14th when it w 7 as observed stretched out at full 

 length along the midrib on the upperside of a thyme-leaf, and being 

 in the same position next day, I concluded that it w T as preparing for 

 its first moult, an operation that w 7 as effected next day ; it died, how- 

 ever, directly afterwards (Porritt). 



Frohawk, on July 13th, in 1896, placed the newly-hatched larvaa 

 on thyme blossoms, and they soon began to feed ; the next day one 

 was observed eating into the base of the calyx, so that only the 

 last few posterior segments of the body were exposed. On the 18th 

 more w 7 ere observed feeding, and a good deal of frass was by this time 

 adhering to the blossoms, which were more or less eaten, especially 

 the petals ; on July 22nd only tw T o were found ; in these a remarkable 

 similarity exists between the buds of thyme blossom and the larvae 

 both in the colouring and the pubescence of each, so much so that it 

 requires very close examination to discern the little lame, and they 

 generally conceal themselves inside the bloom, making detection all 

 the more difficult, but generally a small hole is eaten through the 

 calyx, when the larva is seen with only the anal segments protruding. 

 Frohawk gives no information about the number of moults*, or he 



* Later be hints, "without much evidence, that the larvae of - 37oin. to '5625m. 

 found in June, 1906, were still in the third stadium, as they were when -125in. 

 long before hybernation. 



