THE BLACK HAIRSTREAK 
285 
by a silken cincture round the middle and by the cremastral 
hooks to a pad of silk. In general form, and especially in 
colouring, it exactly resembles a small bird's dropping, which 
it undoubtedly mimics. Sometimes the pupae may be found 
on the vegetation growing near the bushes. The pupal state 
lasts about eighteen days. 
Imago. The sexual difference is distinct. 
Male. ( Upper Side.) The male has an indistinct dark oval 
mark of androconial scales at the end of the cell of the fore! 
wing, similar to that of 5 . w-albutn. The expanse of the wings 
is 37 mm. The male has the ground colour of a very dark brown 
with a purplish-bronzy gloss. On the hind wing is a sub¬ 
marginal series of three or four orange crescents ; at the anal 
angle is a small patch of silvery-bluish-white scales ; the short 
black tail is tipped with white and turned obliquely outwards. 
Female. ( Upper Side.) The female is similar to the male 
in colour on the upper surface, but has a faint row of sub¬ 
marginal orange spots on the fore wing and those on the 
hind wing are much more distinct than in the male. The 
female has no sexual mark in the cell of the fore wing. 
Male and Female. (Under Sides.) The ground colour on 
the under side of the male is golden-brown ; the fore wing has 
a transverse, irregular, bluish-white silvery line beyond the 
middle and an indistinct sub-marginal row of orange spots, 
each with a white-edged black dot. The hind wing has a: 
similar white line crossing two-thirds of the wing beyond 
the middle, it then becomes broken up into short streaks 
forming an incomplete W; there is also a sub-marginal band 
of rich orange, bordered on each side by a series of velvety 
black wedge-shaped spots, each outwardly edged with bluish- 
silver streaks; the white lines crossing the wings are finely 
edged inwardly with black. The fringes are black and white. 
On the under side, the sexes are similar. 
Life of Imago. This butterfly exists in the perfect state for 
about twenty days. 
Aberration. This species is subject to but little aberration. 
The orange bands sometimes are much broader in both fore 
and hind wings. The male rarely has any orange markings in 
the fore wings. A pale buff-coloured example has been 
recorded, but is of great rarity. 
