59 
Pupa. — Very pale gTeyisli-oclireous, dusted unequally witli black- 
ish ; the wing-covers more greenish in tint. A fuscous line down the 
back ; some blackish spots on head and back ; two rows of blackish 
spots on each side of back of abdomen. About half an inch in length ; 
thickest and roundest in abdominal region ; head blunt. The pupal 
state lasts from ten to twelve days in the summer. 
Godart {loc. cit.) describes the larva in Europe as variegp.ted with red on 
the back, and as feeding in the pods of Colutea arhorescens, or of the com- 
mon green pea. I have not seen any examples so marked at the Cape. 
Mrs. WoUaston {Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., 5th series, vol. iii. p. 224, 1879) 
mentions the partiality of the " green " larvse of B optica for the common 
garden-pea both in St. Helena and Madeira ; and I have noticed the butterfly 
about that plant in Mauritius. 1 
Except in size, this well-known and beautiful Lycoina varies but little, 
the males differing slightly in depth of blue on the upper side, and the 
females in the development and distinctness of the discal and submarginal 
white lunules of the hind- wing ; while on the under side, in both sexes, the 
submarginal white stripe and the orange lunule of the superior hind- marginal 
black spot of the hind-wing present some variation. The specimen of 
Damoetes, Fab. {S?jst. Ent., p. 526, n. 350, 1775), which I examined in the 
Banksian Collection in the British Museum, is not separable from Bcutica. 
Examples that I captured near Algiers, in 1881, are slightly darker than the 
South- African specimens. 
Bcetica is generally distributed in Southern Africa, and occurs throughout 
the year, but is most numerous from October to April. It frequents numer- 
ous leguminous plants when in flower, and is fond among others of the 
" Keurboom " (Virgilia cape?isis). Though able to fly with considerable 
swiftness, it seldom does so, but flutters about the plants that chiefly attract 
it, repeatedly settling on the flowers or leaves. 
Not only has this butterfly an immensely wide geographical distribution, 
apparently including nearly the whole of the warmer parts of the Old World, 
but it is remarkable for having established itself in oceanic islands very 
remote from any continent. Mrs. Wollaston (loc. cit.) observes that it is 
" the most abundant of the few " [only four species noted] " Diurnal Lepi- 
doptera as yet found in St. Helena," and the lie v. T. Blackburn (as noted 
above) reared it from the larvae in the Hawaiian Islands. 
Inhabiting all Southern Europe, it extends sparingly into the north of 
France, and stragglers have been captured on the South Coast of England. 
Localities of LyccBJia Bcetica. 
I. South Africa. 
B. Cape Colony. 
a. Western Districts. — Cape Town. Genadendal, Caledon District 
{G. Hettctrsch). Knysna. Plettenberg Bay. Van Wyk's Vley, 
Carnarvon District {E. G. Alsto7i). 
1 Mr. A. G. Bntler records {Trans. Ent. Soc. Loncl., 18S2, p. 31) two specimens of the 
butterfly from the Hawaiian Islands, and gives the Rev. T. Blackburn's note of having 
bred it from larvae feeding in pods of what appeared to be a Melilotus. These Hawaiian 
larvas are described as of an " obscure olive-green," and as having the " dorsal and sub- 
dorsal lines and the region included obscurely rosy," — which latter character accords with 
Godart's description. The head is described as "testaceous, bearing a V-shaped mark 
which points backward," and the spiracles as "white." 
It thus seems evident that the larva varies considerably more than the imago does. 
