ADOPiEA FLAVA. 



113 



1903, at Reading (Butler) ; emerged July 11th, 1903, from larva found 

 near Steyning ; June 29th, July 21st- August 6th, 1903, in West Sussex 

 (Bird) ; July 16th, 1903, at Brockenhurst (Lawrence) ; July 22nd, 1903, 

 at Dorking (Oldaker) ; July 23rd-August 7th, 1903, worn, at Dawlish 

 (Browne); July 28th, 1903, at Westcliff (Whittle); July 18th, 1903, 

 at Clandon ; July 19th, 1903, at Tongwynlais (Shelley) ; July 25th, 

 1903, at Oxshott (Pickett); July, 1904, at Tongwynlais (Ansaldo) ; 

 July llth-21st, 1904, rather scarce, at Tintern and Llandogo (Bird); 

 July 12th, 1904, at Reading (Butler); July 15th, 1904, at North 

 Fambridge (Whittle); July 24th, 1904, in the Gloucester district 

 (Davis); August 1st, 1904, one $ at Aldbury Down (Barraud) ; July 

 16th, 1904, at Hazeleigh (Raynor) ; July 15th-22nd, 1904, at Mucking 

 (Burrows) ; July 15th-August 7th, 1904; July 20th-August 2nd, 1905, 

 in the Isle of Purbeck (Bankes) ; July 19th, 1905, at Hazeleigh 

 (Raynor) ; June 19th, 1905, at Swanage ; July 23rd, 1905, at Ashton 

 Wold; July 30th, 1905, at Drayton Beauchamp, very local and 

 almost extinct as the ground becomes more enclosed (Rothschild) ; 

 July 10th, 1905, at Reading (Butler). 



Habitat. — Though generally distributed this species is not found 

 everywhere, being sometimes unaccountably absent in localities where 

 one would expect to meet with it. These, however, are sufficiently varied. 

 In Britain, pastures and fields, meadows, rough grassy places on chalk- 

 hills and downs, bushy places on the outskirts of woods, open ridings 

 in woods, grassy ditch-sides in lanes, especially if flowery banks are 

 near, are among its favourite haunts. It also occurs on boggy ground 

 at Wotton-under-Edge and at Luton, on railway banks at Madeley, 

 and abounds on the slopes and on the salt-marshes near the seashore 

 in many of our eastern counties, swarming with Adopaea lineola in 

 Essex and Kent, and abounding on the undercliffs of, and grassy 

 slopes near the sea in, Dorsetshire with Thymelicits acteoii. Hawes 

 says that it is as common on the marshes near the sea at 

 Lymington as in the enclosures of the New Forest ; at Llandudno 

 it frequents the sandhills. It frequents similar places in the plains 

 of Central Europe, and rarely ascends into the mountains to a height 

 of more than about 5000ft., being particularly abundant in the lower 

 valleys of the Alps of Central Europe up to 4000ft., where it chooses 

 flowery banks and slopes, not disdaining the richer fare of lucerne or 

 clover field, often sharing these haunts with Adopaea lineola, Axujiades 

 sylvanus, Urbicola comma and Hesperia alveus. In France, Duponchel 

 says the species prefers clearings in woods, and of our old British 

 authors, Harris says it flies in woods, Lewin that it is met with on 

 heaths, commons, and in lanes, Donovan that it is most abundant on 

 the outskirts of woods, and Stephens that it frequents the borders of 

 woods and shrubby places. 



Habits. — The butterfly skips rapidly from one plant to another in 

 the sun, rarely resting long in one place, and usually choosing a leaf 

 of some bush on which to rest — hazel, dogwood, etc. — darting off 

 rapidly to take up a similar position on another leaf at some little 

 distance, elevating its upper and depressing its lower wings. When at 

 rest, the imagines put their wings right up over the back and remain 

 thus, and do this also when asleep, but when sunning, the hindwings 

 are depressed until they are almost horizontal, whilst the forewings 

 lie back on them in such a manner as to make almost an angle of 45° 



