LAMPIDES BOETICUS. 365 



occasional examples are observed in Britain, Germany and Switzerland, 

 Persia, Transcaucasia, the Pamir, and the eastern shore of the Old 

 World, in the more temperate parts of Japan, etc., but almost always 

 rarely and usually at irregular periods. At such times the immigrants 

 are generally observed in July, i.e., at a season when the climate 

 of temperate regions will allow this rapid-brooded species to succeed in 

 completing, at least, one emergence, before its progeny is exterminated, 

 this brood appearing on the wing from the end of August to October, 

 according to the meteorological conditions existing, during the time the 

 larvae are feeding up, in their adopted country ; in a warm summer 

 (1900) their metamorphoses do not occupy more than five or six weeks, 

 in a cold summer (1904) some eight or nine weeks. Whatever period is 

 taken makes little difference, for, bringing their subtropical habits into 

 higher latitudes, they attempt to do in the latter what they do habitually 

 in the former, viz., produce continual broods, and are exterminated accord- 

 ingly. In other words, the species is an immigrant in temperate regions, 

 is dominated by the climatic conditions existing in the countries it 

 reaches, finds a colder winter than it can possibly withstand, and so is 

 unable to maintain a footing. The $ is excellently described by 

 Reaumur (Mem., ii., p. 482), who observes that, at rest, it holds its 

 wings perpendicular to the plane on which it stands, but we owe 

 almost all our knowledge of what we may call its personal habits 

 to Graves, who writes : The newly-emerged female, resting on a 

 leaf or twig, fans the wings, the male flying wildly around and attacking 

 rivals with great vigour. As far as I can judge, having never seen 

 the whole of the process of pairing, the female does not hold the wings 

 at spread for so long a time as Langia telicanus or Tarucus theo- 

 phrastus. After coupling, the pair perch on leaves, where I have observed 

 them united more than once, flying off slowly and often dropping to leaves 

 on the same shrub at a lower level if disturbed. I have not, to the best of 

 my memory, seen the insect in cop. later than 2p.m. Of the flowers it 

 visits I may note that, in Syria, I once took L. boeticus near Aleih on 

 a thistle-head ; otherwise, I have usually seen it on broom, lablab, 

 lubiyeh or mash (Vigna sinensis) and sweet-pea, also (at Bludau, Anti- 

 Lebanon) on bramble-flowers. In Egypt I have seen it on sweet-pea, 

 lablab, lubiyeh, lythrum, alhagi or camel-thorn, flowers of the sunt 

 acacia (Acacia nilotica, Del.), and the fitneh (Acacia farnesiana, Willd.) 

 and once or twice on the blossoms of the lebbek (Albizzia). In 

 the Maryut steppe, generally on wild vetches, once on " 'Ansal " 

 (Asphodelus sp.), and in the desert wadis near Helwan on the flowers of 

 salt-wort (Salsola sp.) and on " Helga " (Alhagi and Astragalus sp. ?) The 

 flight of this insect is, as a rule, jerky and rapid, especially that of the 

 male, which usually moves upwards, often to a considerable height, in a 

 series of spirals, when rising or fighting a rival, but in rapid semicircular 

 or straight dashes, from one to two yards above the ground under ordinary 

 conditions. The insect is very pugnacious, attacking, in Egypt, such 

 large insects as Danais chrysippus or Pyrameis cardui, as well as its 

 fellow " blues." 1 should call it a very strong- winged insect for its 

 size ; its rapid jerky movements resemble those of Hypolycaena livia 

 more than those of Langia telicanus or L. eleusis. Tarucus theo- 

 phrastus is also a weaker flier, but, at times, has the Lampides boeticus 

 habit of flying wildly, and apparently aimlessly, about. L. boeticus 

 seldom rests long on flowers, but will often sun itself on leaves of bushep, 



