410 LAMPIDES B(ETICA. 



butterfly seems to have been restricted to the neighbourhood 

 of the town, as I made special expeditions to various parts of 

 the island and examined everywhere fields of lucerne, and 

 where possible rows of scarlet runners, but came across no 

 specimens beyond a radius of half a mile from home. Others 

 may have been more fortunate. I took a few specimens on a 

 patch of lucerne in Mr. Davey's field, just behind the College 

 Cricket Field, and believe that I have seen odd ones flying 

 wildly at the top of the Grange and in Brock Road. Mr. 

 Luff tells me that, besides taking specimens in his garden in 

 Burnt Lane, he hears of captures in Sark. This last locality 

 perhaps points to the route traversed by our visitors, who 

 must have migrated to us in the summer and deposited their 

 eggs on the peas or beans under cultivation. There are, in 

 and round the town, many gardens which are able to thus 

 afford temporary hospitality to such immigrants, whereas in 

 the country, it seems to me that greenhouses so occupy the 

 attention of farmers and cottagers, that kitchen gardens are 

 comparatively few and far between. L. Boetica we must 

 assume, came from abroad, but it is to be noted that it is 

 almost as rare in the north of France as with us. It is only 

 in the central and southern departments that it has a 

 permanent home. It is very rare in Switzerland, Germany 

 and Belgium. 



I need not attempt to describe this species to the meeting, 

 as I have brought examples to exhibit, but a word or two 

 may be interesting about its life history and geographical 

 range. It is commonly known as the " Pea-pod Argus " in 

 reference to its habits in the larval stage. In its southern homes 

 the insect is double-brooded, appearing in the early summer, 

 and again in late autumn. The eggs of this last brood are 

 laid on the twigs of the bladder senna, Colutea arborescens, 

 but do not hatch until the late spring, when the young seed 

 pods of the plant are ready for the larvae. The eggs appear 

 to be laid separately, and the larvas feed inside the seed pods, 

 though when they grow larger I have found them in 

 Switzerland, feeding after the manner of the Dianthcecia, 

 with only the first half of the body within and the lower half 

 hanging outside the pod. They also have a habit of coming 

 out in the day and sunning themselves on the surface of the 

 pod. This I noticed when searching for larvas of Tolas, the 

 magnificent " blue," which by feeding on Colutea arborescens, 

 gives this plant a special distinction in the eyes of all 

 collectors of continental butterflies. There seems to be some 

 uncertainty about their customary method of pupation. 



