THE COLORATION OF BUTTERFLY LARViE. 65 



many occurred on the branch. I handed this twig to an entomological 

 companion, who was quite unable to discover the larva, although I 

 approximately indicated its position, and though, of course, recognising 

 it at once when pointed out. My discovering it was due to examining it as 

 a supposed bud, to see if an egg of L. boetica had been laid on or beside 

 it. The young larvae of many (all ?) Lycaenids have the setae of i and ii 

 long and curved, longer than the thickness of the larva usually, and they 

 stand up along its dorsum as a crest. This is a very conspicuous arrange- 

 ment, yet, in many instances, when the young larva is on the surface or 

 edge of a leaf, or at the margin of a calyx, boring through its tissue 

 into a flower, this fringe of hairs obscures the larva, even when 

 examined through a lens, by its resemblance in size, form, and colour- 

 ing, and in some degree in disposition, with the hairs of the plant. 

 The larger larvae of L. boetica were often easily seen, but often also 

 were very invisible. This depended a good deal on whether they were 

 amongst flowers or buds, or were moving or resting. From the second 

 instar onwards, they closely resembled in colour and texture the 

 calyces of the Adenocarpus intermedins, which was a very favourite 

 foodplant," and not infrequently disposed themselves so as to look like 

 a flower-bud. These buds, at first greenish, are varied with red- 

 brown, like the seed-vessels, and, like them, are clothed with sticky 

 glands. The larva varies much in colour as it gets older, generally 

 retaining an olive tint, due to a brown overlying green, and, in colour 

 and form, are inconspicuous amongst calyces and young seed-vessels. 

 They also, not infrequently, spin themselves slight cocoons, not 

 always, so far as I could satisfy myself, to pupate in. Another variety 

 of full-grown larva was dull yellow, obviously well-suited to assimilate 

 with yellow papilionaceous flowers. The great variety in tint of the 

 larvae is possibly related to the species having numerous foodplants, and 

 also, perhaps, to the exigencies of texture requiring the larva sometimes 

 to hide amongst buds, sometimes amongst flowers, and again, but this is 

 clearly contrary to its preferences, amongst pods or where there are no 

 buds or flowers. Lampides telicanus has almost identical habits and 

 much variation as a larva, brighter in colour and often variegated, L. 

 boetica being more unicolorous. It differed also in never presenting to us 

 a yellow larva, nor in making a cocoon except for pupation." Bearing 

 on this same subject, Sich writes (in litt.) : " It is well-known that the 

 calyces of Thymus serpyllum are usually of a purple tint and hairy, and the 

 young larva of Lycaena avion is also of this colour, and also very hairy. 

 When the little larva is half buried in a calyx, or, when on the calyx, 

 eating into the corolla, it is difficult to discover, even by aid of a lens." 

 He also adds further, "the pale green fullfed larva of Chrysophanus dispar 

 var. 7'utilus adheres closely to the leaf of the dock, Rum ex hydrolapatheum, 

 and, from its peculiar shape, casting little shadow, is remarkably well 

 hidden. It is rather yellower than the dock leaf, and might easily be 

 passed over as a spot of sunlight. Its dermal covering, moreover, 

 harmonises well with the leaf. Its skin is covered with little white 

 cup-hairs, which, to the unaided eye, look like white dots, resembling 

 somewhat the white points on the dock leaf, especially numerous about 

 the veins on the underside." The same observer's remarks on the 

 protection afforded to the larva of Nisoniades tayes, by the similarity of 

 its colour and shape to the leaves of Lotus corniculatus, are detailed at 

 length (postea, p. 272) and need not be here repeated. Turner thinks 



