186 THECLA QUE RGUS. 



and the date of my first imago varies I see from 23rd 

 June (1865) to 15th July (1867) ; this year (1885), after 

 a great deal of hard work, I got one larva on June 9th, 

 just in its last moult, and Mr. Bignell beat out two on 

 June 11th. We were disappointed at not getting more, 

 but the early summer was very cold and backward, and 

 many larvse must have been killed ; two of these larvae 

 hid themselves for pupation June 14th to 18th, and I 

 bred the perfect insects July 14th to 16th. The egg 

 is of the shape common to the Lyccenidce, only larger 

 than that of any of our Blues ; for instance its wide 

 diameter compared with that of the egg of Argiolus is 

 as 4 to 3, and this of course indicates a considerable 

 increase of bulk ; it is round in outline, flattened, and, 

 with the exception of a central depression on the upper 

 surface, covered with irregular oblong reticulation, the 

 lines of which, much more prominent on the top than 

 with any of the Blues, on the sides become so exagge- 

 rated that at the knobs they stand out like spines, and 

 the egg looks quite like a rough Echinus in miniature ; 

 the under surface, which rests on the leaf (or stem), is 

 only granulated ; the shell under the reticulation 

 apparently has a very pale pinkish-brown tinge ; the 

 lines of the reticulation are whitish. 



The smallest larva of which I have any notes was 8 

 mm. long, just at the time of its last moult. I could 

 not find the cast skin and thought it had been eaten. 

 The full-grown larva was 16 mm. long, and not quite 

 5 mm. wide ; its figure is generally called onisciform, 

 but I know Mr. Buckler had come to reject this term 

 except for the larva of 0. Phlceas ; he thought the 

 flattened lateral ridge rendered the similitude inexact. 

 The head is small, rounded, and entirely retractile into 

 and under the second segment ; viewed from above the 

 second segment is the longest and tapers to the head ; 

 the width is almost even from segment 3 to 12, but 12 

 is a little narrower than the rest, 13 is much narrower 

 and tapers off roundly in almost a circular curve; 

 viewed sideways the back arches in a curve, highest at 



