THE RESTING HABITS OF BUTTERFLY LARV7E. 73 



leave their retreat at night (Nicholson, Ent. Rec, vii., 186) ; the lame 

 of Ruralis betulae live under the leaves of their foodplant by day and 

 feed by night (Russell, Ent. Rec, viii., p, 104) ; those of Enodia 

 hyperanthus hide down among the roots of grass by day coming up 

 only to feed at night (Wolfe, Ent. Rec, viii., p. 5). Still the longest 

 of these rests lasts but a short time, and bears little comparison with 

 either of the longer resting periods yet to be noticed. Before, however, 

 leaving this subject, one may enter into a little more detail. 



Scudder observes that many Satyrid and Argynnid larvae largely con- 

 fine their activities to the night-time and retire to some place of conceal- 

 ment during the day, the Argynnid larvae, with their dusky clothing, 

 retiring to the surface of the ground where they are least liable to be seen, 

 the Satyrid larvae remaining upon the stems of blades of grass or sedge 

 which form their food, and among which they rest concealed. Some larvae, 

 he says, retire to the underside of a leaf, e.g., Poly goniaf annus, Junonia 

 coenia, and Laertiasphilenor. With regard to the Argynnid larvae, Buckler 

 observes that the larva of Argynnis adippe takes its meals in a most 

 quick and hurried manner, and, if disturbed, runs off remarkably rapidly, 

 whilst the larva of A. aglaia also eats with great rapidity, retreating, as 

 soon as its meal is finished, below the leaves, &c. The larva of Brenthis 

 selene, too, almost appears to have an aversion to the light, hiding on 

 the underside of leaves, or on stems shaded by leaves, and feeding, as 

 far as possible, whilst thus hidden. Powell further notes that the 

 larvae of Brenthis euphrosyne, Argynnis elisa, and Dryas paphia, are 

 also naturally night-feeders, resting on the undersides of dead leaves 

 and on dead twigs near the foodplant during the daytime, although some- 

 times they come out and bask in the sunlight fully exposed. The resting- 

 habits of Satyrid larvae during this period are very interesting. When 

 young, the larva of Hipparchia semele remains rigid on its food, with its 

 head uppermost when feeding, which, at first, it does at intervals both by 

 day and mght, and continues to do so until it is about 1 inch long ; after 

 this it appears to feed only by night, remaining all day at rest on the 

 grass, with its head downwards, in comparative darkness, among the lower 

 part of the culms. This appears to be a common habit among Satyrid 

 larvae, for that excellent observer, Powell, notes (in litt.) that, among 

 the larvae of this group, in sensu latiore, those of Melanargia lachesis, 

 M. galatea, and M. syllius, hide low down in the grass tufts during the 

 day, when they are getting of fair size, feeding then only by night, but, 

 until the end of the second stadium, they rest on the grass culms and feed 

 by day ; and the same observer further reports that the larvae of Erebia 

 scipio,E.epistygne, E.zapateri, Satyruscirce,S. hermione, S. alcyone, Hip- 

 parchia prieuri, H. arethusa, H. neomiris, H. dryas, H. cordula, and 

 H. actaea, are all day-feeders up to the third stage, after which they appear 

 to be purely nocturnal feeders, resting and hiding by day, low down on, 

 or among, the grass culms and roots, whilst the larvae of Hipparchia 

 fidia and H. statilinus, feed by day, practically up to the end of the 

 3rd stage, when their colour changes, and they become night-feeders, 

 resting and hiding by day low down, like the larvae of their close 

 relatives. Without being quite sure as to the exact point when the 

 larvae of Epinephele ianira, E. ida, and E.pasiphae cease to be clay-feeders 

 and become night-feeders, resting the whole of the day, Powell notes 

 that the larvae of these species are day-feeders when quite young, and 

 nocturnal feeders later, the larvae resting low down on the plant, those 



