262 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



the tops of oak-trees, or around the outstanding branches, and is usually 

 particularly active high up the trees between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Later in 

 the afternoon they come lower down but fly just as freely, and hence are 

 even more conspicuous, and when they settle they can be readily 

 disturbed; even in the daytime the imagines frequently descend to the 

 lower branches of an outspreading oak, especially when they reach 

 nearly to the ground. We have seen dozens flying round such an oak, in 

 a meadow on the outskirts of Chattenden Woods, although the imagines 

 were equally abundant in the woods around the oaks on the top of the 

 hill where Apatura iris specially loved to congregate, and on the much 

 smaller trees by the side of the ridings in the lower parts of the wood, 

 nor does it always confine itself to oaks, for we have seen examples, 

 with those of Edwardsia w-album, circling, in the noonday sun, round 

 the tops of ash saplings. Its habits abroad are identical ; between 

 Eoche and Aigle, we saw many examples flying swiftly round the oak- 

 bushes growing on rough, steep, rocky slopes, occasionally darting off 

 to a nut-bush, resting with its tail to the sun, partly lowering its 

 wings and rapidly moving its hindwings to and fro like revolving discs, 

 and then darting off to a similar position to repeat the operation. 

 Near Susa, a rocky slope, covered with oak and chestnut, was its haunt, 

 and, strangely, the imagines appeared to prefer the chestnut on which 

 to sun. On the hills above Gresy-sur-Aix, at the end of July, 1905, 

 whilst hunting for Satyrus hermione on some isolated pear-trees growing 

 just below the ridge of the hill, above the woods, we observed dozens of 

 imagines flying round the tops of the trees about 2 p.m. Several were 

 captured, all $ s. Nor is this species proof against the attraction of 

 flowers, for Gillmer observes that, on July 10th, 1904, when it was in 

 unusual abundance in Klein- Zerbster Busch, 1904 being hot and dis- 

 tinctly a " querciis " year, it was especially attracted to the blossoms of 

 the bushes of Ehamnus frangula, just coming into flower, and plentifully 

 distributed throughout the clearings of the forest, at which there were 

 several hundreds of specimens, mostly males, although usually not 

 very abundant in the locality, where the bushes stood in the full sun. 

 The butterflies only flew up if one pushed against the bushes, and one 

 could select the finest specimens at leisure. No examples were to be 

 seen in the shady part of the forest, and the large clearings where they 

 occurred are almost entirely surrounded by oaks. This " swarming " 

 habit, in certain years, is not unusual, e.g., the species was exceedingly 

 abundant in certain parts of Germany in 1854, 1886, 1904, etc. Trimen 

 says very abundant, but flying very high round the oaks on Eanmore 

 Common, July 18th, 1857 ; Rodgers records it as swarming about the 

 large oaks in Sherwood Forest, August 2nd, 1857 ; Bayne observed it 

 swarming in mid- July, 1896, round small oaks in one of the New Forest 

 enclosures; Tetley observed it in countless numbers in August, 1902, 

 in the Llyfnant Valley, Montgomeryshire ; Gibbs says that it flew in 

 clouds around some young aspens and oaks, from July 23rd-25th, in 

 Bentley Wood; Dale observed it in swarms after 5 p.m., on July 18th, 

 1876, at Abbott's Wood; whilst Vaughan says that the insect swarmed, 

 in 1887, round the tops of some oak-trees in the wood near Craig-y- 

 pwl-ddhw, but the examples flew very high and were difficult to net. 

 Simes saw it very abundant, flying over oak and ash, in 1891, at 

 Lyndhurst ; Sheldon says that, in June and early July, 1893, the imagines 

 were in great numbers, flying over the oaks near Clovelly and Lynton. 



