The timescales of the optical variability of blazars. V. 3C 371

Optical photometric observations of the blazar 3C 371 are presented as part of an ongoing study of variations in blazars occurring on timescales of mi nutes to hours, which has been termed microvariability. The observations pr esented here provide further evidence of the classwide nature of this pheno menon. Timescales as short as these provide important clues about the natur e of blazars, and a discussion of the types of possible mechanisms responsi ble for producing these variations is given.