SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY 
115 
crown of its egg-shell. When it awakens in the spring, it 
then has to descend to the ground in search of its food plant, 
the tender young leaves and shoots of the Dog Violet (Viola 
canina), which forms its only food in the wild state. 
If the little larva is disturbed when hibernating, it at once 
falls to the ground and rolls into a ring, remaining so for one 
or two minutes and then crawls away to find some resting- 
place. Therefore, although it remains motionless throughout 
hibernation, it is ap¬ 
parently sensitive to 
annoyance, and at 
once becomes active. 
Egg Laying. I 
have frequently seen 
this butterfly de¬ 
positing its eggs in 
the New Forest in 
the chinks of the 
bark of tree trunks, 
chiefly Pines and 
Oaks, generally about 
four to rive feet above 
ground. When about 
to deposit, the female 
flies low over the 
ground until she finds 
an abundance of vio¬ 
let plants ; she then 
flies up and settles on 
a tree trunk and de¬ 
posits. The eggs are laid singly, a few dotted about here and 
there ; she then flies off to repeat the process. The eggs 
are usually laid during the latter part of July, and hatch 
in August. The egg state lasts about fifteen days. 
Egg. In proportion to the butterfly the egg is very small, 
being only 1 mm. high ; it is of a conical shape with about 
twenty-rive longitudinal keels ; about half of these rise above 
the crown and run to the base, the remainder rise at different 
points below the crown and also run to the base, the spaces 
between the keels being ribbed transversely. The colour is 
The Silver-washed Fritillary drying its wings 
after emergence. Sketched from life. New 
Forest, 11.30 a.m., 16.7.1919. 
