The eggs of the first brood are laid during May and June on the various grasses on which the caterpillar feeds.
The caterpillars that emerge from these are fully grown in July or early August, and go through their changes during the latter month; but the later ones hybernate during the winter, and are not full fed till the following May.
The colour of the larva is pale apple green, with a wide darker stripe down the back, two others along the sides, and two more between the latter and the dorsal stripe. All these five stripes are bordered with a whitish colour.
The chrysalis is bright apple green, dotted with white, and the wing cases are striped with a purple-brown line edged with white.
CHAPTER XV
THE HAIRSTREAKS, COPPERS AND BLUES
Family—Lycænidæ
This is a large family, including as it does no less than nineteen of the British species. These are all of small size, and are characterised by their short and jerky flights. They seldom rise much above the ground, and are consequently very easily caught.
The caterpillars of this family have all short and rather thick bodies, shaped very much like that of the wood louse—flattened beneath and very convex above.