ve insects. Mr. Stainton, speaking of the
different blues of Corydon and Adonis, happily observes that, "_Corydon_
{157} reminds one of the soft silvery appearance of _moonlight_, whilst
_Adonis_ recalls the intense blue of the sky on a hot summer's day."

_Caterpillar_ like that of Corydon.

The _butterfly_ is double-brooded, appearing first in May and again in
August. It is found on the same soils and in most of the localities with
the last, but is, I believe, more confined to the south.

* * * * *

THE COMMON BLUE. (_Polyommatus Alexis._)

(Plate XIV. fig. 4, Male; 4 _a_, Female.)

_Colouring_:--Upper side, male, lilac blue. Female, purplish blue about the
centre, brown towards the margins, but the proportions of blue and brown
are very variable--sometimes all the wings have a border of orange-red
spots, sometimes these are absent from one or both pairs of wings.

_Fringe_ in both sexes _white, uninterrupted by dark bars_.

_Under side_, male, marked as in fig. 4, and hardly to be distinguished
from under side of male Adonis, except by the ground colour, which is paler
and _greyer_ than in Adonis. Female, same pattern as male, but coloured
with warmer tints--more like male Adonis. {158}

This very pretty little insect is the blue butterfly one sees everywhere,
abounding in meadows, on heaths and downs, and not at all confined to
chalky soils, like some other "blues."

The _caterpillar_ is green, with darker stripe on the back, and white spots
on each side. It feeds on Bird's-foot Trefoil and other leguminous plants.

The _butterfly_ is to be found almost constantly from the end of May to the
end of September, being double-brooded.

* * * * *

THE SILVER-STUDDED BLUE. (_Polyommatus Aegon._)

(Plate XIV. fig. 5, male; 5 _a_, Female.)

_Colouring_:--Upper side, _male, purplish blue_ (rather deeper than that of
Alexis), with a rather broad black margin. Female, dark brown, sometimes
slightly tinged with blue, and bordered on the hind wings with dull orange
spots; but these are often absent.

Fringe white, _not_ barred with black. Under side, _near the margin of the
hind wings_, and between that and the orange border spots, are several
_metallic spots, of a bluish tint_, whence the insect has its name of
"Silver-studded." {159}

The _caterpillar_ is brown, with white lines. Feeds on broom and other
plants of the same order.

The _butterfly_