THE LULWORTH SKIPPER 
37 i 
Haunts and Distribution. The chief haunts of A. acteon 
are sheltered spots on the southern slopes of the hills, cliffs 
and coves of the Dorset coast ; it occurs also in similar resorts 
in Devon and Cornwall. Abroad its range extends inland 
over Central and Southern Europe, North-west Africa and 
Asia Minor. 
Time of Appearance. The Lulworth Skipper is single- 
brooded, appearing on the wing in July and August. 
Hibernation. Like its ally A. sylveslris, this little Skipper 
hibernates in the larval stage, entering into its torpidity soon 
after hatching and without feeding. Upon emerging from 
the egg, it almost immediately starts spinning itself up into 
a neat little, compact, pearl-coloured cocoon ; as the eggs are 
laid together in a row, the cocoons are generally connected, 
the ends being spun together, and are often spun over the 
empty egg-shells, as the larvae remain stationary where 
hatched. In these dense little cocoons within the rolled-up 
sheath, the larvae are amply protected for their long spell of 
torpidity, which extends over eight months. The larva 
awakens about the third week of April, and eats its way out 
of the tubular grass sheath, making a small hole through the 
side. When a number hibernate together, their exit holes 
resemble a number of pin-pricks. 
Egg and Egg Laying. The eggs are laid in the sheaths of 
the flower stems of grasses, chiefly the Heath False Brome 
Grass (Brachypodiutn pinnatum). They are laid in rows 
varying in number ; as many as fifteen were laid in one sheath. 
The egg is of an elongated oval shape, as long again as 
broad, and is usually concave on one side ; it is compressed, 
with the upper surface sunken in the centre, and with the 
base concave. The surface is very finely reticulated, giving 
the egg a rather granular appearance. 
Although this butterfly has been known to British ento¬ 
mologists for a century, and considerably longer on the 
Continent, and is abundant where it occurs, practically 
nothing was known concerning the egg until 1912, when I 
worked out its complete life-history. The egg stage occupies 
twenty-three days. 
Larva. Directly after leaving its hibernaculum in April, 
the little larva crawls rapidly about searching for a young, 
