THE YOUNG 



opportunities should be afforded some well 

 qualified Entomologist to compare carefully 

 a larger number of the larvae of both species. 



Pupa. — Short and rounded, no projec- 

 tions, pale greenish brown in colour. 



Food Plants — Various papilionaceous 

 plants are named as the food of the larva of 

 this species. Stainton says "on species of 

 Vetch ; " Newman names " Bird's foot tre- 

 foil (Lotus comiculatus) , Kidney Vetch 

 (Anthyllis vulncraria,) and trefoil (Trifolium) ;" 

 Owen Wilson adds to these, "Tufted 

 Horse-shoe Vetch." 



Times of Appearance. — I have no 



personal knowledge of this butterfly, and 

 cannot satisfy myself from a comparison of 

 authorities whether it is single or double 

 brooded. Donovan says " it appears in the 

 winged state the first and second week in 

 July;" Stainton says "Vile — VHIe ; " 

 Kirby (European Butterflies; " V— VIII ; " 

 Newman, 'end of May, the whole of June, 

 and the beginning of July ; " Owen Wilson, 

 "end of May and July, July and August " 

 The first July here may be a misprint for 

 June, in which case he would agree with 

 Kirby. On the appearance of the larva 

 there is equal uncertainty. It was unknown 

 to Donovan. Stainton sa)s " V — VI." 

 Newman's larvae pupated about the 13th 

 June, but he does not say when he got them. 

 Kirby says " V — VI." Owen Wilson, " Sep- 

 tember to May (?) June." In Owen Wilson's 

 table he gives May, July and August for the 

 imago ; May, June, and July for the pupa ; 

 and from September to June for the larva. 

 The balance of evidence here seems to favour 

 the idea that there is but one brood, the 

 insect emerging at the end of May, or early 

 in June, and continuing to emerge for some 

 time, the larva hybernating small and feed- 

 ing up in the spring, reaching maturity at 

 various periods. 



Habitat.— Though called the Chalk 

 Hill blue, Corydon is much more widely 



NATURALIST. 311 



distributed in England than Adonis. It 

 is most plentiful in the South, but is 

 not uncommon in some places in Lan- 

 cashire in the West, though it does not 

 reach Yorkshire on the East coast. It 

 appears to be most abundant where there is 

 chalk, but several localities are given where 

 there is none. It is not named from either 

 Scotland or Ireland. On the Continent it 

 is found generally in the Central and 

 Southern portions of Europe, extending to 

 Spain on the one hand, and to South Russia 

 on the other, but not occuring in Turkey ; 

 Greece or Italy, nor does it extend to the 

 more Northern portions of the Continent. 



Variation. — Many remarkable aber- 

 rations of this species exist. Mr. Wellman 

 has a female taken at Croydon, with a small 

 patch of the male colour on the fore wings, 

 and a larger patch on the hind wings, but 

 I have heard of no hermaphrodite speci- 

 mens. On the underside, the spots some- 

 times run into streaks, and Mr. C. A. Briggs 

 has one in which they are almost all want- 

 ing. There are a great many named 

 varieties. Syngraflia, Kef, is a form of the 

 female which resembles the male, except 

 that there is a brownish band round the 

 the hind margin of all wings orange rings or 

 lunules. It is an alpine form. A specimen 

 is figured in Mosley's Illustrations, from 

 Mr. Steven's collection, as this form, but it 

 does not resemble those from the Swiss 

 Alps in my collection, having a dark hind 

 margin to the forewings only, which is 

 without orange marks. Appenina, Z., is a 

 pale form from the Italian mountains. His- 

 pana, H.S., from Spain, as the name implies, 

 is also a pale form, with spotted hind mar- 

 gin. Albicans, H.S., is still paler and occurs 

 in Andalusia. Corydonius, H.S., from the 

 mountains of Asia Minor, is violet blue. 

 Caucasica, Ld., from Armenia, is sky blue. 

 Other forms are named, but I know nothing 

 of them, viz. : — Liphys, Esp., Calathys, Jerm., 

 Aragonensis, Gerh., Cinnus et Parisiensis, Gerh- 



