296 THE YOUNG 



by the wing rays. Female, brown, generally 

 much suffused with blue, especially towards 

 the base. A row of eyed spots with orange 

 lunules at the hind margin of the hind wing, 

 and a more or less distinct row of orange 

 spots round the hind margin of the fore- 

 wing. Underside similar to Corydon. 



Larva.— Green, the segmental divisions 

 and a sunk dorsal line, darker green ; a pale, 

 nearly white line above the projecting sides, 

 and several pale oblique lines on each side. 

 Head black. 



Pupa. — Dull green, with brownish mark- 

 markings, short and rather stout, nearly as 

 round at the anal extremity as at the head. 



Food Plants. — Newman gives " Rest 

 Harrow (Ononis spinosa)" as the only food 

 plant of the species, 0. spinosa is the Spiny 

 Rest Harrow, and is not by any means of 

 sufficiently general distribution to be the 

 sole food of this nearly ubiquitous ^species. 

 The Common Rest Harrow, or Wild 

 Liquorice (Ononis arvensis) is much more 

 abundant, and is one of the plants named 

 by other authors as the food of Icarus. 

 It also feeds on Birds-foot trefoil (Lotus 

 covniculatus) , and Clovers. Owen Wilson 

 also gives Black Medick and Milk-vetch. 

 Black Medick is Medicago lupulina, and there 

 are three species of Milk Vetch (Astragulas), 

 but none of them are of general distribution. 

 I would advise the young collector, who 

 wants the larva, to give special attention to 

 the Birds-foot trefoil, on which he will 

 certainly find it. 



Times of Appearance. — This butter- 

 fly may be seen on the wing in May and 

 soon becomes very plentiful, continuing 

 throughout June in great abundance, and 

 never entirely disappearing until Autumn 

 is far advanced. The eggs are laid in June, 

 and probably all through the summer. The 



NATURALIST. 



larvae from these eggs feed up rather : 

 quickly, and even by July, the second brood 

 may be taken. It is easily recognized by 

 its smaller size. Late in the year (Septem- 

 ber or October) very dwarfed specimens 

 are found, which may be a third brood, but 

 this appears very much to depend on cir- 1 

 cumstances. When the weather is unsuit- 

 able, but few even of the second brood 

 appear, and it is probable that the larvae 

 feed up or hybernate according to the 

 season ; the larvae that live over the winter 

 produce the largest forms. It is said the 

 Scotch specimens of this insect are much 

 larger and brighter than others, and this is 

 probably from the longer period in which 

 they remain as larvae. 



Habitat. — -Except a few places in York- 

 shire, this species is abundant all over the 

 British Isles. It frequents lanes, railway 

 banks, meadows and pastures, and similar 

 places. It is common all over Europe and 

 in Northern and Western Asia. 



Variation. — Icarus does not vary much 

 in a general way. Specimens occur occa- 

 sionally that are true hermaphrodites, hav- 

 ing the wings on one side male and on the 

 other female. A specimen is in Mr. Greg- 

 son's collection, which has the fore-wings 

 male, and the hind wings female. A very 

 extraordinary one was taken at Dover, in 

 August, 1877, and is now in the cabinet of 

 Mr. F. H. Briggs. It has the left side male, 

 and the right side female, except that about 

 two-thirds of the inner portion of the fore- 

 wing is of the male colour, leaving a strip 

 along the costa of the usual colour of thd 

 female. Mr. Mosley calls attention to the 

 curious fact that most of the old specimens 

 have the male colour on the right side, while 

 those of recent years have it on the left 

 Mr. Steven's has a very pale male, and Mr 

 C. A. Briggs a very blue female, and othei 

 varieties of the upperside exist in othe} 



