CELASTRINA ARGIOLUS. 469 



Kait- Smith records it at flowers of holly, at Pentwyn, and 

 Bath states that, in Sutton Park, the species chiefly flies about the 

 hollies, but is occasionally to be seen settling on flowers of mountain- 

 ash and crab-apple, the $ s appearing to emerge before the $ s, the 

 former usually just following the flowering of the holly, and generally 

 appear to exceed the 2 s in number, although, in 1888, the 2 s were 

 the more abundant, and observed flying round the tops of the hollies, 

 and remaining on the wing until 6.30 p.m., although most active just 

 before noon. He adds that a striking protective resemblance may be 

 noticed between the flowers of the holly and the butterfly when the 

 latter alights upon them, the spots on the undersurface of the wings 

 matching the little bunches of blossom. Clarke observes that, in the 

 hot June of 1868, the imagines of Polyommatus icanis and Celastrina 

 argiolus, evidently already the second-brood, were flying about, at 

 Taplow, in as great abundance at 7 a.m. as they usually are at 11 a.m. 

 This, of course, is exceptionally early for the butterfly to be active, 

 and even in the glorious sunshine of lovely Provence, on the very 

 borders of the Mediterranean, one rarely notices it at all in the 

 morning before 8 a.m. Mason notes that, at Clevedon, the butterfly 

 loves the flowers of Ceanothus, coming to and going from the blossoms 

 of a plant climbing on a wall, during the whole time that the sun was 

 shining between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., the colour of the flowers of this 

 beautiful plant being as nearly as possible that of the wings of 

 C. aryiolus. About noon on August 19th, 1906, several newly-emerged 

 rf s were observed flitting restlessly around the willows in the well- 

 known glen at Digne, just beyond the Baths, or chasing each other 

 assiduously, and only occasionally resting and sunning on the leaves. 

 Later, in the afternoon, they appeared to be attracted by the flowers 

 of Eupatorium on which they rested, with their wings closed, standing 

 upright on the flowers, the whitish undersides making them very 

 conspicuous when viewed sideways. Its habit of resting on leaves of 

 bushes, and walking about them, has also been repeatedly recorded by 

 German and Austrian lepidopterists. Of its soaring habits much has 

 been noted. It may frequent the hollies for purposes connected with 

 the food-supply of the next generation, but, in the Esterel, it flits 

 unceasingly over the tall tree-like heaths, the oaks, and other trees 

 and shrubs that cover the hillsides everywhere, whilst, at Digne, it 

 haunts the shrubby brooms which clothe the slopes in spring almost 

 to their summits in a cloud of golden beauty. In the British Isles 

 it has been noted as flying over and around Vedrus deodara at Coolfin 

 (Flemyng), yew-trees at Stonehouse (White), poplars in Westcombe 

 Park (Tutt), the beeches at Aylesbury (Greene), chestnut-trees in 

 Kensington (Mitford), lilac-trees also in Kensington (McArthur), lime- 

 trees at Nunhead, and about plum-trees at Peckham (Barrett), whilst, 

 in Jethou, it was observed flying over the tops of apple-trees in 

 June, 1890 (Luff); both sexes sporting round the flowers of holly and 

 sunning upon a neighbouring ilex at Harrow Weald (Rowland- 

 Brown), etc. In its more northern habitats in England we read of it 

 loving to fly over and around the tops of the highest hollies 

 at Grange (Shuttleworth), abundant among hollies in the Borrowdale 

 Road. (F. H. Day), flying freely round, and resting upon, the hollies at 

 Gibside in April, 1870 (Hedworth). It is further noted as being 

 abundant at Llanrwst, flying about the holly-bushes, and keeping 



