COLLECTING BUTTERFLY LARViE. 41 



the crimson dorsal line and broader spiracular stripe render them very 

 like, the young curled- up leaves in the centre of the plant. 



The hybernating larvae of Polyommatus icarus are sometimes to be 

 found on Lotus corniculatus, when searching for cases of Coleopkora 

 discordella. 



In March and April the larvae of Aricia (Polyommatus) astrarche 

 feed on the undersides of the leaves growing on the young tender shoots 

 of Helianthemum vulgare, making marked brown blotches where they 

 feed, and thus betraying their whereabouts ; they are fullfed from the 

 middle to the end of May. 



Have a plant of Hippocrepis comosa ready to place the larvae of 

 Plebeius aegon upon, as soon as they leave their eggs, which they always 

 do either in the last few days of February, or the very first days of 

 March. 



The larvae of Pararge megaera are to be obtained, feeding on grasses 

 on the outskirts of woods, by wild hedgesides, etc., in March, the larvae 

 being fullfed, and pupating, in early May. 



April. — In late April, the nearly fullfed larvae of Polyommatus 

 icarus are to be found on Lotus corniculatus and Ononis arvensis. 



The larvae of Agriades (Polyommatus) bellargus are to be obtained on 

 Hippocrepis comosa in April and May ; they pupate about the middle 

 of May, and emerge in June. 



The very earliest larvae of Celastrina (Cyaniris) argiolus are to be 

 found just hatched at the end of the month, feeding in the buds or 

 flowers of holly ; later, in May and June, they attack the young tender 

 leaves and shoots, upon which they thrive. The larvae also feed well 

 on young ivy leaves, and on the tender leaves, and young green berries, 

 of Rhamnus frangula. 



The larval colonies of Melitaea aurinia are found, in April and early 

 May, on scabious and honeysuckle, but the eggs always appear to be laid 

 on the former. The larvae feed up well in confinement on honeysuckle. 



In confinement, the larvae of Melitaea aurinia appear to be very 

 susceptible to warmth, collecting in the hottest part of the cage, and 

 becoming lively when the sun is on them. They are much better fed 

 up, however, on a growing plant than in a breeding-cage. 



The larvae of Melitaea cinxia are to be obtained in their restricted 

 haunts in the Isle of Wight, towards the end of April ; they are 

 gregarious, and hence the capture of one or two at this time usually 

 means the capture of a brood. 



The larvae of Argynnids — Dry as paphia, Argynnis adippe, A. aglaia, 

 Brenthis euphrosyne, B. selene — should now be sought on various 

 species of Viola. They feed in the daytime, but are usually well-hidden. 



The larva of Brenthis selene feeds on Viola canina, appears to have 

 an aversion to the sun's rays, reposing either on the undersides of the 

 leaves, or on the stems shaded by the leaves, selects always the youngest 

 and tenderest leaves until near maturity, eating out large portions of 

 them, and making its whereabouts conspicuous. 



The larvae of Brenthis euphrosyne, approaching full-growth in April 

 and early May, are to be found by searching the leaves of Viola canina 

 and primrose, where there is much sign of the plants being eaten ; they 

 generally hide, and are to be found on the underside of a leaf, but, when 

 the sun is shining, love to bask in it, and are very active, retiring, how- 

 ever, as soon as. the sun disappears. 



Hedgesides, and the ridings of woods, will give larv* of Pararge 



