THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



281 



least numerous in South America. Dr. 

 Staudinger's Catalogue includes 69 species 

 as belonging to the European fauna, but 

 several of these occur beyond Europe. 

 Kirby's Manual of European Butterflies 

 describes 57 species. Some of these are 

 of perhaps rather doubtful habitat. In 

 Britain we have only nine species, but some 

 even of these are not very easy for a begin- 

 ner to recognize, especially the females, 

 nor do they seem easy to tabulate. Mr. 

 Stainton's table is too long for insertion 

 here, and it does not include the females 

 which, in many cases, differ much from the 

 males. Particular attention is therefore 

 directed to the descriptions, which are 

 partly printed in italics and small capitals, 

 to call attention to those characteristics 

 that distinguish one species from another. 



jEGON, W.V., P.L.W., Fig. 3. 

 The Silver Studded Blue. 



iEGON, W.V., JE'gon, a Roman Shep- 

 herd. Cf. Virg. Eel. lii. 2."— A.L. 



ImagO. — PI. 20, Fig. 3. Male, purplish 

 blue, hind margin brownish black, very 

 narrow ; fringe white. Female, brownish 

 black, with a purple blush ; a row of orange 

 lunules at the hind margin of the hind wing, 

 most distinct towards the anal angle. 

 Underside, bluish grey, with black spots in 

 white rings ; no spots on the Jon-wing, between 

 the central spot and the base. An orange band 

 near the hind margin of all wings, with a 

 row of black spots in it. 



Larva. — "Bright yellow green, dorsal 

 stripe blackish brown, edged with whitish 

 from the third to the tenth segment ; sub- 

 dorsal stripe visible from the third to the 

 eleventh segments, as a greenish yellow line 

 running between two green ones, darker than 

 the ground colour. At the bottom of the 

 sides, along the lateral ridge, commencing on 

 the third segment, and continuing round the 

 anal extremity is a whitish line ; between 



the dorsal and sub-dorsal lines are pale 

 oblique lines of yellow green; head black." 

 (Condensed from Mr. Buckler's description 

 in Ent. Mo. Mag., Vol. I. page 241.) 



Pupa. — Less than half an inch long, 

 dull green, with a brown dorsal line, wing 

 cases rather long in proportion. 



Food Plants. — Mr. Buckler's larvae 

 fed on Birds-foot (ornithopus perpusiilus). 

 Mr. Owen, who copies Mr. Buckler's descrip- 

 tion of the larva, gives both Birds-foot 

 trefoil and Birds-foot ; but possibly this is 

 a mistake, for Mr. Newman, who also copies 

 Mr. Buckler, calls ornithopus perpusillus " the 

 common birds foot trefoil." The common 

 birds foot trefoil is Lotus comiculatus, a very 

 different plant. Mistakes are easily made 

 and perpetuated by copying carelessly. The 

 larvae may feed on other plants than the 

 Birds-foot, but no other appears to be 

 known to a certainty ; and the butterfly 

 should be much commoner if it fed on so 

 abundant a plant as Lotus comiculatus. 



Times of Appearance. — The 



butterfly emerges about the middle of July, 

 and continues on the wing for more than a 

 month. The eggs do not hatch till spring, 

 the dates given by Mr. Buckler being from 

 28th Feb. to about the end of March. The 

 larvae fed but slowly, changing their skin 

 for the last time from nth to 15th June, 

 and turning into pupae by the 24th, re- 

 maining in that state about three weeks. 



Habitat. — Widely distributed in 

 Britain, but perhaps sometimes overlooked 

 or mistaken for the second brood of the 

 Common blue, which it closely resembles on 

 the upper side. It has been taken in Scot- 

 land and Ireland. Abroad, it occurs all 

 over Europe and in Asia Minor. 



Variation. — Abnormal varieties of 

 JEgoyi are not common. An exceedingly 

 pale specimen is in the collection of Mr. C. 

 A. Briggs, who also possesses one with the 



