CELASTRINA ARGI0LUS. 427 



days after removal. In the pattern of underside, it approaches marginata 

 (Edwards). The peculiarity of this aberration is that, on the underside, all the 

 usual small spots are entirely absent, there being no marks whatever, except the 

 very faint discoidal lunules, and the series of marginal arches on the outer 

 borders of fore- and hindwings. 



It is, of course, practically identical with the eastern ab. obsoleta, 

 except that it has, distinctly marked, the marginal lunules on the 

 underside of all the wings. The absence and reduction of the spots 

 on the underside, as is well-known, are practically always characteristic 

 of the summer form. The general appearance of the underside of this 

 aberration of Edwards', in. our opinion, rather approaches neglecta than 

 marginata, so that it would appear that great extremes of temperature, 

 in either direction, during development, may tend to reduce the spotting. 



Egglaying. — Normally, in the spring, the eggs are laid on the 

 footstalks of flowers of holly, also on young shoots of ivy, in 

 August, just beneath the flower-heads of an umbel of ivy (Buckler) ; 

 eggs of 5 s of the first brood, found at Reigate and in South Devon, 

 were laid upon holly-twigs, on which they are deposited far more 

 indiscriminately than those of the second brood on immature ivy- 

 umbels, the base of the calyx, however, being chosen in most cases, 

 (Prideaux) ; the eggs are laid in April, in Sutton Park, on the under- 

 side of the calyx of buds of holly, singly, and beneath each bud, from 

 four to five eggs being divided amongst each cluster of flowers ; when 

 the flowers open, the petals fold entirely over the egg, hiding it 

 altogether from sight. It is interesting to note how " natural selec- 

 tion " has taught the insect to always lay its eggs on the calyx, for, 

 should it lay them a fraction of an inch higher up, they would be 

 almost certain to be destroyed, as, when the buds once open they are 

 very easily blown away by the wind ; the egg-stage lasted ten days in 

 1893, from April 22nd-25th to May 2nd-6th (Johnson) ; at Harwich, 

 the ? s of the spring brood deposit their eggs chiefly on the flower-buds 

 of holly and bramble, but, upon several occasions, they have also been seen 

 laying them on the flower-buds of bay and euonymus, and once, in June, 

 a larva was found on the flowers of escallonia (Mathew). Raynor says 

 that, on May 10th, 1901, at H.azeleigh, he observed a 2 flying round 

 a rhododendron bush, and, later, saw her settle, and deposit an egg on 

 one of the unexpanded flower-buds. Chapman observes that, on April 

 24th, 1904, at Ste. Maxime, Var, he observed a female laying eggs on 

 flower-buds of Cytisus junceus, i.e., on shoots that had as yet, only a 

 few flowers open ; whilst, again, on April 25th, 1907, at the same 

 place, he watched a $ lay an egg on the same plant ; she flew 

 about the plant and seemed about to alight on different spikes of buds, 

 but did not do so till after several refusals, and finally selected one 

 about half-way up the plant, one not at all hidden in the bush, yet 

 behind and below one or two others. Here she settled, and shortly 

 appeared about to lay an egg but did not do so, and for four or five 

 times she appeared to lay, or be about to lay, an egg, and finally she did 

 so, and then, raising her abdomen and assuming a resting position, sat 

 perfectly quiet for some seconds before flying off; she had previously 

 been on the move all the time with her wings over her back. The 

 position of the egg was amongst the smaller buds about |- inch from 

 the end, wedged down in a cranny between two buds, but unlike 

 that of Callophrys rubi, adhering only to the one on which its 

 base rested. Her fastidiousness was very marked, quite different 



