FAMILY HABITS IN BUTTERFLY LARVAE THE SATYRIDS. 45 



to the roots of the foodplant by day, hiding in comparative darkness 

 among the lower part of the culms, e.g., the young larva of Hipparchia 

 semele remains rigid on its food, with its head uppermost, but later 

 remain? all day at rest near the roots of the grass, with its head down- 

 wards, and well hidden from sight. The habits of the larva of 

 Melanargia gala tea are similar, and so are those of M. lachesis and M. 

 syllius, which rest on the grass-culms both by day and night when 

 young, but, after the second stadium, hide low down in the grass tufts, 

 and come up to feed at night. Powell observes also (in litt.) that the 

 larvae of Erebia scipio, E. epistygne, E. zapateri, Satyr us circe, S. 

 hermione, S. alcyone, Hipparchia prieuri, H. arethusa, H. neomyris, 

 H. dryas, H. cordula, and H. actaea are all day-feeders up to the third 

 stage, after which they appear to be entirely night-feeders, hiding by 

 day among the grass culms and roots. The larvae of Hipparchia fidia 

 and H. statilinus remain exposed on their foodplants, till well towards 

 the end of their third stadia, feeding by day, but, after the third moult, 

 their colour changes, and they become night- feeders, hiding low down 

 like their near relatives. The larvae of Epinephele ianira, E. ida, and 

 E. pasiphae are also day-feeders when young, but become nocturnal 

 feeders later, the larvae resting low down on the plant, or, in the case 

 of the two last-named species, sometimes quite on the ground, leaving 

 the foodplant, and concealing themselves under dead leaves or twigs. 



Among the Nearctic species similar habits prevail. Edwards says 

 (Can. Ent., x., p. 107) that the young larva of Cissia eurytus, in its 

 first and second stadia, eats only the edges of blades of grass, and moves 

 about but little (a character that seems universal among the Satyrines). 

 At this time the larva feeds both by day and night, resting after 

 feeding wherever it may happen to be, extending its body along the 

 blade of the leaf, sometimes with the head uppermost, sometimes 

 downwards. In the later stadia it feeds only by night, rests on the 

 stems and not on the leaves, returning generally to the very foot of 

 the stalk, pushing its way headforemost as far as it can go down to the 

 base of one of the blades, turning back to feed again towards sundown. 

 When thus at rest, the caudal horns are kept nearly horizontal with the 

 resting surface. Scudder adds that the larvae of this species are shy and 

 fall to the ground at the least disturbance. The latter author quotes 

 Fyles as stating (Butts. New England, p. 154) that the young larva of (Eneis 

 jutta is very sluggish, feeds, at first, head downwards on the edge of a 

 blade, afterwards bites off the end of a blade, and, thereafter, feeds head 

 upward, from the bitten end, gradually retreating down the shortened 

 blade. Scudder adds that a larva he had, ate from the commencement 

 head upward, and fed both day and night. Of (E. semidea, he observes 

 (op. cit., p. 142) that the larva feeds upon Carex by night, concealing 

 itself under surface stones by day, and falling readily to the ground if 

 disturbed. 



The Satyrid larvae exhibit an uniform autumn- and spring-feeding 

 habit, the larval life extending, in many cases, from August until the 

 following June or July. Throughout the whole of the Palaearctic and 

 Nearctic areas, the Satyrids hybernate uniformly in the larval stage, 

 and we know of only one species, Pararge egeria, concerning which 

 this statement is not absolutely true, for, although the normal habit 

 of this species is to follow the remainder of the group and pass the 



