366 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



etc., for two or three minutes at a time, expanding each pair of wings 

 from right angles to about 30 degrees, and very often moving the hind- 

 wings up and down alternately while keeping the fore wings still. It 

 enjoys sunlight, and, when it has found a particular bush or plant that 

 pleases it, will, at times, make it, so to speak, its base, darting off and 

 returning again several times. The habits of the female resemble 

 those of the male, but it is, as far as my observations go, less rapid in 

 its flight, and I have once or twice seen females open their wings to 

 about two-thirds spread. The female uses the front legs in walking. I 

 have several times taken L. boeticus asleep on grass-stems, but, as a rule, 

 like Langia telicanus, it prefers the leaves of bushes, etc., from which I 

 have disturbed it shortly before sunset. The wings are drawn further back 

 — perhaps 10 degrees, as far as I can judge — than when resting by day. 

 The antennae are often moved slowly from side to side when the insect 

 is sunning itself. It is an early rising species but seems to retire 

 earlier than Tarucus theophrastus or Langia telicanus, which I have 

 seen flying as late as 5.30 p.m. in June at Cairo and Alexandria, 

 whilst I have never seen L. boeticus on the move much after 5.30 p.m." 

 T. B. Fletcher also notes (in litt.) that he observed a specimen at 

 rest at dusk, on a grass-stem, November 20th, 1899, at Hong-Kong. 

 Swinton states that, at Jerusalem, in June, 1896, it was observed 

 settling on the bushes in the gardens after the manner of a "hair- 

 streak." As to its habits in India, Niceville says (Butts. India, iii., 

 p. 206) that its flight is very rapid, but shortly sustained (except 

 when migrating?), and it frequently settles." He adds that " Colonel 

 Lang reports that at Naini Tal, large flights come up in April from 

 the plains, flying northwards. Mackinnon has remarked the same 

 thing at Masuri in the spring. If the species is given to migrating, 

 this habit would, in conjunction with the almost universal presence of 

 some spieces of plant, on which the larva can subsist, help to account 

 for its wide distribution in the Old World." Pryer says that his 

 observations in Labuan, Japan, etc., lead him to the conclusion that 

 it is locally confined to the neighbourhood of its foodplant, never 

 flying voluntarily very far therefrom, that, whilst occurring in southern 

 Japan all the year round, it is found in the more northern parts only in 

 the autumn, almost exactly the same, therefore, as in its most western 

 habitats. T. B. Fletcher observes that, in Ceylon, etc., it appears to 

 be everywhere common, but never abundant, i.e., one never sees any 

 large concourse of individuals as one sometimes sees in the case of 

 the other " blues," e.g., Langia telicanus. The butterfly usually flits 

 about fairly swiftly close to the ground, and is fond of flowers, so that 

 a good flower-garden usually attracts them. Trimen says that, in 

 Southern Africa, the species occurs throughout the year, frequenting 

 numerous leguminous plants when in flower, and is fond, among 

 others, of Virgilia capensis. He further notes that, though it is able 

 to fly with considerable swiftness, it seldom does so, but flutters about 

 the plants that chiefly attract it, repeatedly settling on the flowers or 

 leaves. Anderson says that the species is fairly common in Victoria 

 (Australia), though more prevalent in some seasons than others. The 

 occasional appearances of odd specimens of this species in Britain 

 have been such as to give no clue to its habits, but these occasional 

 visits are more frequent in the Channel Isles, where several examples 

 appeared in July, 1899, 1900, and 1904, which gave rise to home-bred 



