360 
HESPERIIDAE 
forming a tube in which it remains motionless throughout 
the winter months, until the middle of March. 
During hibernation another colour change takes place. 
Early in February, the larva is pale pearl-grey, with a semi¬ 
transparent appearance, and there is a clearly-defined, drab- 
coloured dorsal stripe. Later on in March the colour reverts 
to pale primrose-yellow with a pink-drab dorsal stripe; the 
sub-dorsal lines are separated by an almost pure white stripe. 
The larva does not feed after hibernation, and early in April 
it prepares for pupation by spinning together at the ends some 
five or six grass blades, forming a tent-like structure. Along 
one blade a slight carpet of silk is spun, and upon this the 
larva rests ; a cincture passes round its body. • After re¬ 
maining thus for four or five days, the larva pupates. The 
larval stage occupies 289 days. The larva measures 25 mm. 
in length and in shape is cylindrical throughout. It is solitary 
in its habits. 
Pupa. The pupa is 15 '90 mm. long, almost cylindrical in 
shape, but tapering to the last segment. The head is pointed ; 
the thorax is convex; the base of the abdomen is swollen 
and depressed round the waist; the abdomen is attenuated 
and terminates in a long, compressed, curved cremaster 
provided with long hooks. The colour is a very pale primrose- 
yellow, shading into pearly-grey and semi-transparent on the 
head, wings and anal segments. A dark dorsal line runs the 
entire length, starting at the base of the beak. There are 
also rust-red-coloured sub-dorsal lines and a similar lateral 
line. The general appearance of the pupa resembles a piece 
of dead, withered grass. It is attached by a cincture round the 
waist and by the cremastral hooks to a grass blade upon which 
a layer of silk is spun. The pupal state lasts forty-two days. 
Like the larvae of other Hesperiidae that live in tubes, 
C. palaemon casts its excrement sideways for a distance of a 
foot or more, a procedure which prevents fouling its abode. 
Imago. The sexual difference is slight. The average wing 
expanse in the male is 29 mm.; in the female, 31 mm. 
Male. (Upper Side.) The male has the ground colour of 
a purplish-bronze-black, powdered with yellow scales, chiefly 
along the costa and base of the fore wing. The fore wing is 
boldly checkered with fulvous-yellow spots; the hind wing 
