214 
LYCAENIDAE 
Life of Imago. Probably the life of this little butterfly does 
not exceed twenty days. 
Aberration. Aberration is chiefly confined to the spots on 
the under surface, which are liable to vary both in size and 
number. 
Examples of the spring brood, ab. polysperchon , are usually 
smaller and bluer than either the summer or autumnal broods, 
the male being of rather richer violet-blue than E. argiades. 
The female is more strongly powdered with blue over the 
basal lower half of the fore wing and central portion of the 
hind wing ; the anal angle orange spots are less distinct. 
Genus PLEBEJUS, Kluk, 1802 
THE SILVER-STUDDED BLUE 
Plebejus argus (Linn., 1758) = aegon. 
(Plate XX, facing page 225) 
In its favourite haunts this beautiful little Blue may usually 
be found in abundance, flitting about the Heath, Heather and 
other moorland vegetation. At the setting of the sun, large 
numbers sometimes resort to certain spots to pass the night, 
where they may be found either singly or in little gatherings 
at rest on the sprigs of Heather, or on Furze bushes, which 
seem to be a favourite site ; during dull weather also they 
resort to similar places. 
Haunts and Distribution. This locally-abundant little 
butterfly haunts chiefly the sheltered slopes and hollows of 
heaths, moorlands, and Heath-clad commons with a plentiful 
growth of Furze. It also occurs very locally on the chalk 
downs of the southern counties, but appears absent from 
many places in the south of both England and Wales. In 
Norfolk and Suffolk it is abundant on the heaths ; it also is 
found in Cheshire, Durham, Herefordshire, Lancashire, Lin¬ 
colnshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire. In Gloucestershire 
and Somersetshire, it is apparently scarce. It is locally dis¬ 
tributed in Scotland as far north as Perthshire. In Ireland 
