234 
LYCAENIDAE 
Portion of the side of 
the egg of the Adonis 
Blue (highly magnified). 
is double-brooded, appearing first in 
May and the greater part of June, and 
the second brood during the, latter part 
of August, throughout September, and 
later specimens in early October. 
Hibernation. This species passes the 
winter as a larva in either of its first 
three stages, according to the date of 
hatching. Those that hatch in early 
autumn attain their second moult and 
hibernate in their third stage, while 
those that hatch early in October feed 
for a short time only and hibernate in 
their first stage. It is the great differ¬ 
ence in the hibernation between L. coridon and L. bellargus 
that widely separates the habits of the two species, as in 
L. coridon the egg stage extends from seven to eight months, 
while in L. bellargus eggs laid in the summer remain only about 
eighteen days in the egg stage, but those laid in autumn are 
from thirty to forty days in the egg stage, according to 
temperature. 
Egg and Egg Laying. I have often watched this charming 
butterfly in the act of depositing eggs. Her flight is then 
slow and fluttering while she is choosing 
a suitable plant for the purpose, always 
the Horse-shoe Vetch, which apparently 
is the only natural food plant. When 
a plant suits her, she settles upon it 
and, curving her abdomen under one 
of the leaflets, deposits a single egg, 
then flies off in search of another plant 
and repeats the process. Sometimes 
an egg is laid on the upper surface of a 
leaflet or on the stem, but the under 
side of a leaflet is the normal site. 
The egg is 0*30 mm. high and 
0*50 mm. in diameter. Except in the 
case of L. coridon , it differs in shape 
Eggs of the Adonis Blue fr0m the e g§ s of a11 other British Blues, 
(x 43). It resembles L. coridon in the flatness 
