190 polyommatus (lymna) arion. 



All these failures puzzled us much ; after three weeks' 

 feeding on the thyme flowers the larvae seemed to 

 want something else — what could it be ? We thought 

 of furze blossoms and tried them, but to no purpose. 

 The localities in which the butterfly occurs differ very 

 much in situation, some being inland, and some close 

 to the sea, and Professor Zeller's note mentions moist 

 open meadows at the foot of hills, and also lofty fir 

 forests, the only point of agreement being the occur- 

 rence of Thymus serpyllum in all of them, except, per- 

 haps this other characteristic, that they are all places 

 of rather troublesome access, and therefore not easy 

 to be thoroughly searched. Of late years too, the 

 butterfly seems dying out in England, whatever may 

 be the cause. Professor Zeller had not long before 

 his death promised Mr. Buckler he would make an ex- 

 pedition purposely to search for the larva in spring, 

 but that hope was doomed to disappointment ; we must 

 wait till someone can devote time to the investigation 

 in situ of the problem whether the larva feeds up before 

 winter (like P. Argiolus) or not till after hibernation 

 (like P. Adonis), and whether there is any real ground 

 for our surmise that there is any migration from thyme 

 to another food-plant. 



The egg seems to be deposited among the flowers of 

 Thymus serpyllum, it is circular in figure, and flattened, 

 covered all over, except a central depressed spot on 

 top, with fine raised, irregular reticulation, which in 

 profile stands out strongly ; colour of shell the blue- 

 green of a hedge-sparrow's egg, the reticulation trans- 

 parent white ; I have no measurements noted, only the 

 comparison that it is thrice the bulk of the egg of P. 

 Alsus. 



The newly-hatched larva is a stumpy, plump little 

 fellow, with small head ; at first dull greenish, but soon 

 pinkish-brown, head black ; after a moult I found it 

 about 4 mm. long, and more purple in colour. (J. H., 

 9, 10, 85.) 



