GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, Limited Thirteen* For the sk etc., a ESJ IW powae 20, Ha Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library EMORY UNIVERSITY [Issue. BEST. BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. much complexity of structure as the whole wing doe4 to the unassisted vision. A few of the highly varied forms they present are Bhown on Plate II. Pigs. 23 to 38 are selected from among the commoner forms, as seen hy a comparatively low power. The small stalk-like appendage is the part hy which the scale is affixed to the wing : it may he called the root. Pigs. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, show some very remarkable forms, which are, so far as has heeu ascertained, peculiar to butterflies of the male sex, though the use or reason of this masculine badge, only visible to highly magnifying optics, is neither known nor probably to be known at present; but singularly beautiful and curious they are to look at. The little balls at the end of threads are the root portion, and fit into cup-like sockets, placed here and there among the ordinary scales. The surface of these scales is beauti- fully ribbed and cross-ribbed, and at the upper end is a plume-like tuft of delic?le filaments. The curious scale aptly called, from its shape, the Battledore scale, and shown at fig. 22, also belongs to the male of various butterflies, especially those pretty little ones known as the Blues. Its surface is most curiously ornamented with rows of bead-like prominences. Probably one would imagine that in such wee specks as are these scales, one single layer of substance would suffice for their whole thickness (if we can talk of thick- ness, with objects almost immeasurable in their thin- ness). But such is net the case, for when scales have THE HONEY-SUCKER. jjtf been injured by rubbing we now and then find a part with tbe sculptured surfaces torn off on each side, Bhowing a plain central layer, so that at least three layers—two ornamented and one plain—go to form a filmy body, only a small fraction of the thickness of paper. But there are other portions of a butterfly to claim our interest besides its wondrous wings. On the creature's head are grouped together some most beautiful and important organs. The most pecu- liar of these is the long spiral '' sucker, which extracts the honied food from the blossoms to which its wings so gracefully waft it. This organ is shown, slightly magnified, at fig. 8, Plate II., and a most delicate piece of animai mechanism it is. Any human workman would, to a certainty, be not only puzzled, but thoroughly beaten, id an attempt to construct a tube little thicker than a horse-hair, yet composed throughout its length of two distinct pieces, capable of being separated at pleasure^ and then joined again so as to form an air-tight tuba This redoubtable problem, however, is solved in the construction of this curious little instrument that every butterfly carries. The junction of the two grooved surfaces that form the tube is effected by the same contrivance that re- unites the web of a feather when it has been pulled apart. We all know how completely it is made whole again, and on examining by what means this result ia Trough t about, we find that it is by the interlacing of a 28 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Rumber of small fibres or hairs, just as, on a larger scale, a pair of brushes adhere when pressed face to face ; and so in the butterfly's sucker, the two edges that join to form the tube are closely set with minute bristles that, when brought together, interlock so closely as to make an air-tight surface. Fig. 9, Plate II., is a transverse section taken near the base of the sucker, the small opening at the top being the food passage, those at the side the air-tubes that supply air for respiration and perhaps assist in suction. The tube is probably made with separable parts in order that if its interior should become at any time clogged by grosser particles drawn up with the flower nectar, it may be opened and cleansed by the insect; otherwise, the tube once rendered impassable, the insect would speedily starve, as this narrow channel is the only inlet for the creature's nourishment—its only mouth, in fact, for no butterfly possesses jaws to bite with, or can take any but the liquid food pumped up by suction through this pipe. At the end of the proboscis—or, as it is called scien tifically, the Haustellum1—there are visible in some butterflies a number of small projections, of the form shown at fig. 10, Plate II., which is a highly magnified figure of the end of the Eed Admiral's proboscis. These appendages are generally supposed to be organs of taste, 1 A word derived from the Latin, and meaning literally a f sucuer. LENSES OP EYE. 2 7 and to aid in the discrimination of food when the pipe la unrolled and thrust down deep into the nectary of a flower. The compound eye of a butterfly, wonderful as itc structure is, does not greatly differ from that of many other insects, being like them composed of an immenso number of little lenses set together to form a hemisphere large in comparison with the insect's head. A portion of one of these eyes forms a pretty and interesting object for the microscope, presenting a honey-comb ap- pearance, the hexagonal lines that mark the division of the lenses being most beautifully geometrical and regu- lar in their arrangement. More than seventeen hundred of these lenses have been counted in a single eye, and each of these is considered to possess the qualities of a complete and independent eye. If this be true, the butterfly may be said to be endowed with at least thirty-four thousand eyes ! There exist also, as in other insects, two simple eyes, placed on the top of the head, but so buried in down and scales as to be neither visible, nor useful for vision as far as we can perceive; probably the creature finds that his allowance of thirty-four thousand windows to his soul lets in as much light as he requires. Every one looking at a butterfly must have remarked its long horns, called antennae,1 which project from above th 3 eyes, like jointed threads, thickening—in some Antenna in the singular 23 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. species gradually, in. others sudderily—into a club 01 knob at tho extremity; a peculiarity which, it will Ik remembered, was pointed out at the commencement, ar> a prominent mark of distinction between butterflies and moths. "Very graceful appendages are these waving antenna, and evidently of high importance to their owner; but still, their exact office or function is unknown, notwith- standing that many guesses and experiments have been made with a view of settling that question. Investigators have perhaps erred, by assuming at the outset that these antennae must be organs of some sense that we ourselves possess; whereas, I think that there is much evidence to show that insects are gifted with a certain subtle sense, for which we have no name, and of which we can have as little real idea, as we could have had of the faculty of sight, had all the world been born blind. For example; if you breed from the chrysalis a female Kentish Glory Moth, and then immediately take her—in a closed box, mind—out into her native woods, within a short space of time an actual crowd of male Glories come and fasten upon, or hover over, Vho prison-house of the coveted maiden. Without this magic attraction, you might walk in these same woods for a whole day and not see a single specimen, the Kentish Glory being generally reputed a very rare moth; while as many as some 120 males have been thus decoyed to their capture in a few hours, by th Dorary substitute, adding a few more, or brighter stripes than nature had given it; or, again, if one whose great change was drawing near, should attempt to conceal its visible approach by painting over the fading hues of health, and plastering up the wrinkles of its outward covering, so soon to be thrown off altogether; instead of striving for inward strength and beauty, which would never decline, but be infinitely expanded in the but* terfly—and regarding the earthly beauty's wane as the dawn of the celestial. With these and similar reflections before us (which might be multiplied ad infinitum), we shall no longer look upon the caterpillar as a mere unsightly and troublesome reptile, the chrysalis as an unintelligible the artist and the butterfly. 37 curiosity, and tlie butterfly as a pretty painteil thing and nothing more; but regard them as together forming one of those beautiful and striking illustrations "with which the book of Nature has been so profusely en- riched by its Great Author ; not to be taken as sub- siituies for His revealed "Word, but as harmonious adjuncts, bringing its great truths more home to our understandings, just as the engravings in a book are not designed as substitutes for the text, but to elucidate and strengthen the ideas in the reader's mind. "While the poet draws from the butterfly many & pleasant similitude, and the moralist many a solemn teaching, the artist (who should be poet and moralist too) dwells upon these beings with fondest delight, find- ing in them images of joy and life when seen at large in the landscape, and rich stores of colour-lessons wher studied at home in the cabinet. The owners of many a name great in the arts have been enthusiastic collectors of butterflies. Our distin- guished countryman, Thomas Stolhard, was one of their devotees, and the following anecdote, extracted from his published life, snows how he was led to make them his special study :— He was beginning to paint the figuro of a reclining sylph, when a difficulty arose in his own mind how best to represent such a being of fancy. A friend who was present said, ' Give the sylph a butterfly's wing and then you have it.' ' That I will,' exclaimed Stotbard; 'and to be correct I will paint the wing 88 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. from the butterfly itself.' He sallied forth, extended his walk to the fields, some miles distant, and caught one of those beautiful insects; it was of the species called the Peacock. Our artist brought it carefully home, and commenced sketching it, but not in the painting room; and leaving it on the table, a servant swept the pretty little creature away, before its portrait was finished. On learning his loss, away went Stothard once more to the fields to seek another butterfly. But at this time one of the tortoise-shell tribe crossed his path, and was secured. He was astonished at the com- bination of colour that presented itself to him in this small but exquisite work of the Creator, and from that moment determined to enter on a new and difficult field—the study of the insect department of Natural History. He became a hunter of butterflies. The more he caught, the greater beauty did he trace in their infinite variety, and he would often say that no one knew what he owed to these insects—they had taught bim the finest combinations in that difficult branch oI art—-colouring. The above doubtless has its parallel in the experience of many artistic minds, whose very nature it is to ap- preciate to the full the perfections set forth in a butterfly, admiring— The velvet iiap which on his wings doth lie, The silken down with which his hack is dight, His broad outstretched horns, his airy thigh, Hia glorious colours and his glistening eye. SrENHEa how to catch a butterfly. 39 CHAPTER IV, BUTTERFLIES IN THE CABINET—HOW TO CATCH THEM—APPARATUS — GOING OUT—WEATHER — LOCALITIES—LOCAL BUTTERFLIES —INCOGNITOS—FIELD WORK—FAVOURITE STATIONS—BEWARE OF THE BRAMBLE. The mention of butterflies in the cabinet leads at once to the question, bow to get them there; or, in other words, How to catch a Butterfly. This is a question often less difficult to answer in words than in action, for many of our butterflies are gifted not only with strong prejudices against the inside of a net, but with very strong powers of escaping from that unpleasant situation. Still, by aid of proper ap- paratus, a sure eye and hand, and often, of a good pail of legs, there is no butterfly, however fleet and wary, Jiat we may not feel ourselves a tolerable match for. Firstly, then, as to the out-door apparatus required. This is simple enough, a net and pocket-boxes, with a few pins, being the only essentials.1 (1) As beginners in entomology are, I know, often glad to be informed of Bome reiable dealer l'rom whom to procure tlie apparatus required for the pursuit, I have pleasure in here giving the name of Mr. T. Cooke, of 30, Museum Street, (six doors from the British Museum), where all the apparatus mentioned in this work, and numerous other natural history articlesj are to he found; good and cheap, I believe. For the guidance of young aniatcj'xs, I will mention the prccs of u few of the more necesuarr 40 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Variously constructed nets are used, according fcc 2ancy, but the choice may lie between two chief forms • the Clap-net and the Ring-net. The former certainly gives more power in a fail uiase, but the latter has the advantage of being the article? I have myself purchased or examined at the ahove establishment. Cane .ing-nets, with stick, and ready for use, 2s.; ring-net, with three- jointed metal ring and screw-socket, 4.5. (si.; pocket collecting-boxes, corked. 3d jo Is. each; store-boxes, 10 in. by 8 in., corked top and bottom, 2s. 6d.\ dr,ing houses, for securely keeping setting-boards when in use, and con- taming eleven corked setting-boards and drawer for pins, &e., 10s. (si.; rneet cork for lining cabinets, 7 in. by in., Is. 6d. doz. sheets ; entomologa cal pins, three sizes, mixed, Is. oz., &c„ &c. NETS. 41 lighter, mare portable, and less conspicuous of the twa Both of these instruments are shown in the accompany ing figures. The clap-net (fig. 1) usually has the sticks that com. pose the framework made each in three separate pieces, joined by ferrules—a couple of light fishing-rods will do excellently, a piece of bent cane being substituted for the top joint. The manner in which the gauze is extended between, and fitted on, these rods will be sufficiently obvious on looking at the cut, which repre- sents the net half open. In taking an insect, one handle is held in each hand, the net opened wide, and thrown over, or made to intercept the insect, when, by suddenly closing the handles together, a closed bag is made, and the little prisoner is secured. The ring-net (fig. 2), which is the implement most generally in vogue, may be constructed in several ways. The cheapest, and at the same time a highly serviceable one, is made by getting from a tinman a tin socket of this form, the larger end fitting on to the end of a straight stick, and the two smaller tubes receiving the ends of a hoop of cane, which carries the net, it being passed through a loose hem round the top of the latter. The cane, taken out of tlio socket, can be rolled up closely with the net and carried in the pocket to the scene of action, while the handle may be a strong common walking-stick, a 42 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. most useful auxiliary in getting across country, and thus this net becomes really no incumbrance to the tourist, who may have other matters in hand besides butterfly hunting—perhaps sketching and botanizing-— when the larger clap-net becomes quite embarrassing. Another form of this net has the ring made of metal, and jointed in several places, so as to fold within a small pocketable compass, and arranged to screw into a brass socket on the top of the stick. This is a very com- mendable net—not so easily home-made as the last, certainly, but it can be readily procured complete from the London dealers (or "naturalists, as they style themselves). A net that has been a good deal used of late opens and shuts on the umbrella principle, and with the same celerity, forming a ring-net when open—when shut going into a case like that of an umbrella. Some entomologists, nervously sensitive to public opinion, are, however, somewhat shy of sporting these umbrella nets, for should rain perchance come down while he is on the road, the villagers may be astonished at the insane spectacle of a man scuttling along through the torrent and getting drenched through, while he car- lies a good-looking umbrella carefully under his arm for fear it should get wet; and if, on the other hand, the weather be fine, the carrying such a protective would seem an equally eccentric whim. But only the very thin- skinned would be driven from the use of a good weapon by such a harmless contingency as I have here supposed. equipments. 43 Other necessary equipments for the fly-catcher are two or three light wooden boxes, as large as can conve- niently he carried in the pockets, and having either the bottom, or, if deep enough, both bottom and top lined with a layer of cork, about one-eighth of an inch in thickness. A pin-cushion, well furnished -with entomological pins, should also he carried, and will be found to bo most accessible when suspended by a loop and button (or otherwise) inside the breast of the coat. The pins here mentioned, which are an important item among butterfly-collecting requisites, are of a peculiar manufacture—very small-headed, long and thin, but strong. Any good London dealer will supply them on application, or send them by post into the country. Armed with the above simple paraphernalia, viz. net to catch, boxes and pins to contain and detain, the insect hunter may sally forth on any fine summer's day, with a pretty sure prospect of sport, and the chance, at least, of a prize. Much depends, however, on the choice of a day, and the nature of the locality that is to form the hunting ground. As to weather, it must be remembered that winged insects have a great objection to face a north, or north- east wind, during the prevalence of which you will probably find hardly one stirring, however prolific the locality may at other times be.. Butterflies, as a rule, do not appear to he at all in. 44 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. fluenced by an eye for tbe picturesque and romantic in tbe choice of their favourite haunts. Often have I been disappointed in this way, finding a delicious spot, basking in sunshine, and bedight with all manner ol flowers such as a butterfly loves, yet with scarcely a stray butterfly to enliven it; while, on the other hand, a piece of the most unpromising flat waste land will be all alive with insect beauty. Those, for example, who would see those splendid creatures, the Swallow- tail butterfly and the large Copper (if this exists with Us at all now), must go to the dreary fen districts that form their almost exclusive haunts. It is, in fact, very hard to say what influences bring a swarm of butterflies together, to populate one parti- cular spot, to the utter neglect of others close at hand, and, to all appearance, just as eligible. Some species are most remarkable for their excessive localness (as it is called), or, limiting their range to an ex- eeedingly small circumscribed space; so much so, that some rare species have been known to haunt just one corner of one particular field, year after year, while not a single specimen could be found in all the neighbouring fields, though precisely similar, to all appearance. This phenomenon is quite inexplicable with regard to insects endowed so pre-eminently with locomotive powers as butterflies are. The local nature of his game should, however, induce the collector to leave no nook or corner unexplored when he is "working a district; as the passing ovei flINTS TO COLLECTORS. 45 (or rather, neglecting to pass over) a single field may lose him, the very species it would joy him most to find. I would also advise the beginner—and, indeed, all but the very experienced hands—to catch, not necessa- rily for slaughter, but for inspection, every attainable individual whose species he cannot positively declare to when on the wing, lest he pass by some rarities un- awares. Thus the valued Queen of Spain, and the much-disputed Dia Fritillaries, the Melitceas, the Brown Hair-streak, and (on the mountains) the rare Erebias, perhaps some new to this country,—any of these might be mistaken by a novice for some of the commoner brown species. Among the "Whites, too, the Black-veined White, that great prize, the Bath White, and the white varieties of the Clouded Yellow and Clouded Sulphur, might share the same fate, or fortune rather, of being reckoned as Cabbage Whites. Then, with the "Blues. Who is there that could at once distinguish with certainty the very rare Mhza- rine Blue {P. Acis) from the common Blues when on the wing 1 Perhaps it would turn out to be less rare than supposed, if all the Blues in a fresh locality were netted as they came near, and set at liberty after passing muster. Why, only last season a very curious Blue,1 rieves before observed in this -country, was captured near 1 Polyommatus Bceticiw. 46 uritish butterflies. Brighton by a collector, who, at tlic moment, thought it was only a Common Blue, so precisely similar did it look when flying. As to the manipulation of the net, it will be better to leave the young collector to find that out for himself, which, if ho has the use of his hands, he will quickly do when he gets into the field. He will soon perceive that with most of the swifter butterflies, it is of no use to make a rush at them. A surprise answers better than a charge; for they easily take alarm at open violence, and then go off straight ahead at a pace that renders pursuit, over bad ground especially, most trying, if not hopeless work. So the suaviter in modo principle is best here as elsewhere :—gently follow up and watch your butterfly till he pauses over or settles upon a flower, or whatever it may be; then, with caution, you can generally come within striking dis- tance without giving alarm, and one vigorous, weM aimed stroke usually settles the matter; if, after that, he is outside of your net instead of in, you will find it a difficult matter to get another chance, at least, with mosf of the larger and strong-flying kinds. But there is much diversity of disposition among these creatures, and some are unscared by repeated attacks. These points of cha- racter the collector will soon learn when he has been among these lively little people for a season. The different species have also their own favourite positions, on which they delight to perch- Thus the Clouded Yellow loves the low flowers 01 FAVOURITE PERCHES. 47 the railway-bank and the down; often seen toying sritj] a breeze-rocked flower as yellow-coated as himself, aa though he had mistaken it, in its Stuttering, for one of his mates. Then the Peacock and Red Admiral are attached to several plants of the composite order, such as the thistles, teazle, and above all (as far as I have observed), to that fine, stalwart plant that frequently abounds in thickets, &c., and known as Hemp Agrimony (Eupalo- rium cannabinum). I seldom, at the proper season, visit a clump of this growing in a sunny opening, without finding, besides a store of other insects, one or both of these grand butterflies enthroned on the ample purplish flower-heads, and fanning their gorgeous wings, after the custom of their genus, then launching into the air, and, after a few circling evolutions in that element, returning to the self-same flower-i eads, their chosen seats. Both of these flies are easily captured when in this position, as they allow a near approach, and can be without hindrance swept off by a rapid side-stroke of the net. The glorious Purple Emporor is celebrated for his predilection for a throne on the oak, though some other lofty trees, such as the ash, are occasionally honoured by the imperial presence; but his habits aftd locale will be referred to more particularly hereafter. That lovely butterfly, the Silver-washed Fritillary, a penchant for settling on the bramble, which jus 48 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. tifi.es the preference by proving itself the insect's besi friend; but withal a most provoking opponent to his would-be captor, who may get him safely within the net's mouth at the first stroke, when, ten to one, the trusty bramble-hooks clutch into the gauze, and effec- tually prevent the quick turn of the net that should close it, while the prisoner, seeing his chance, darts out with a sharp rustle that one's irritated feelings easily interpret into a derisive laugh. But experience will in time teach the fly-catcher th« required adroitness to avoid this humiliating defeat how TO kill a butterfly. 49 CHAPTER V. HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY—AN APOLOGY—A TEST FOR LUNACY —CHARGE OF CRUELTY AGAINST ENTOMOLOGISTS—THEIR JUSTI- FICATION ATTEMPTED PAINLESS DEATH CHLOROFORM SETTING BUTTERFLIES—CABINETS AND STORE BOXES—CLASSIFI- CATION—LATIN NAMES—SAVING TIME AND MONEY. Having complied with, the old adage, First catch your hare,5' the next point naturally is—how to cook it. So, having caught our butterfly, what are we to do with him t—a question that generally resolves itself firstly into now TO KILL a butterfly. This truculent sentence may, I fear, look like a blot on the page to some tender-hearted reader, and, in truth, this killing business is the one shadow on the otherwise sunshiny picture, which we would all gladly leave out, were it possible to preserve a butterfly's beauty alive; but this cannot be done, and yet we have made up our minds to possess that beauty—to collect butterflies, in short; there is but one way for it, and so a butterfly's pleasure must b< shortened for a few s 50 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. days, to add to our pleasure and instruction, perhaps foi years after. In the time of the great Bay, in such mean repute was the science of entomology held, mainly, I believe, on account of the small size of its objects, that an action at law was brought to set aside the will of an estimable woman, Lady Glanville, on the ground of insanity, the only symptom of which that they could bring forward in evidence was her fondness for collecting insects ! But this was some two centuries ago, and matters have greatly mended for the entomologist since then. Now he may collect butterflies, or other flies, as he pleases, without bringing down a commission "de lunatico on his head, but still the goodness of his heart is some- times called in question, and he has to encounter the equally obnoxious charge of cruelty to the objects of his admiration—that, too, from intelligent and worthy friends, whose good opinion he would most unwillingly forfeit. He, therefore, is naturally most anxious that those friends should be led to share his own conviction, that the pursuit of entomology—the needful butterfly hilling and all included—may be not only not cruel, but actually beneficent in theory and practice. So I will briefly try to act as apologist for the brotherhood of the net, myself included. In the first place, I will state roundly my sincere belief that insects cannot feel pain. This is no special plead- big, oi "making the wish the father to the thought, OUR RIGHT OYER INSECT LIFE. 51 but a conviction founded on an ample mass of evidencq on my own observations and experiments, and strength- ened by analogical reasoning. I wish I had space to :tay this evidence in full before the reader; but this being here impracticable, I will not damage the argu- ment by taking a few links out of a chain of facts which depend on their close connexion with each other for their strength and value. There is, however, one fact which may be taken by itself, and goes a long way in our favour, that I must mention here. Insects, when mutilated in a way that would cause excessive pain and speedy death to vertebrate animals, afterwards perform all the functions of life—eating, drinking, &c. with the same evident gusto and power of enjoyment as before. Plenty of striking instances of this are on record, and, as an example, I have seen a wasp that had been snipped in two, afterwards regale himself with avidity upon some red syrup, which, as he imbibed, gathered into a large ruby bead just behind the wings (where the stomach should have been); but really the creature's pleasure seemed to be only aug- mented by the change in his anatomy, because he could drink ten times his ordinary fill of sweets, without, of course, getting any the fuller. I could almost fancy a scientific epicure envying the insect his ever fresh ap- petite and gastronomic capabilities. After all that can be said on this subject, there will still probably be misgivings in the mind of many, both p O S* AS 52 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. as to tlio question of insect feelings and also as to our right to shorten their existence, even' by a painless death. As to the first point, we have now the means of giving any insect an utterly painless quietus, he it capable of feeling pain or no. In regard to the second, I think few will deny that man enjoys a vested right to make use of any of the inferior animals, even to the taking of their life, if the so doing ministers to his own well-being or plea- sure, and practically every one assumes this right in one way or another. Game animals are shot down (and they assuredly do feel pain), not as necessaries of life, but confessedly as luxuries. Fish are hooked, crabs, lobsters, shrimps perish by thousands, victims to oui fancies. Unscrupulously we destroy every insect whose presence displeases us, harmless as they may be to oui own persons. The aphides on our flowers, the moths .11 our furs, the beetles in our kitchens—all die by thousands at our pleasure. Then, if all this be right, are we not also justified in appropriating a little butterfly life to ourselves, and does not the mental feast that their after-death beauty affords us at least furnish an equal excuse for their sacrifice with any that can be urged in favour of any animal slaughter, just to tickle the palate or minister to our grosser appetites 1 To this query there can be, I think, but one fair answer, so wo may return with a better face to the question, How to lull k butterfly. PAINLESS DEATH. 53 I have alluded above to a painless mode of doing so, doubtless applicable to all insects. I know it answers admirably with the large moths, so tenacious of lifo under other circumstances. This potent agent is chloro- form, whose pain-quelling .properties are so well known as regards the human constitution. There is a little apparatus1 constructed for carrying this fluid safely to the field, and letting out a drop at a time into the box with the captured insect, taking care that the drop does not go on to the insect. Or a wide- mouthed bottle may be used, having at the bottom a pad of blotting-paper, or some absorbent substance, on which a few drops of chloroform may now and then be dropped. The insect being slipped into this, and the stopper or hand being placed over the bottle's mouth, insensibility (in the insect) follows immedi- ately, and in a few minutes, at most, it is completely lifeless. But the usual and quickest mode of despatch is by a quick nip between the finger and thumb applied just under the wings, causing, for the most part, instantaneoKi death: and this can be done through the net, when the 1 A very ingenious and neat contrivance—the invention of my friend Dr. Allchin, of Bayswater. It may be obtained of Messrs. Cooke & Son, Naturalists, 30, Museum Street, London, W.C. It is of brasa, with screw caps, the inner one having a small hole through which the chloroform can be used, drop by drop. The price is 4s. Also, the new Cyanide Killing-bottles, 1». 6'i. 5 2s. ready for use. ♦•54 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Inclosed butterfly shuts his "wings, as he usually does when the net wraps round him. Now take one of your thin pins, and pass it through the thorax of the butterfly, while open or shut, and put it into the corked lining of your pocket-box. So secured, the butterfly will travel uninjured till you reach home; but a heap of dead butterflies in a box together will, in the course of a lpng walk, so jostle together, as to entirely destroy each other's beauty, rubbing off all their painted scales, when, of course, they are as butter- flies no longer. When you get home, take out all the pins, excepting 6uch as may be stuck perpendicularly through the middle of the thorax, and as soon as possible proceed tc set your captures. Preparatory to this, some articles called setting-boards must be provided. A section of one of these is shown K.. the accompanying cut; but in reality they are made much longer, so as to accommodate a column of half-a iore*. In ltterflies or more; the breadth may vary, a© SETTING-OUT. 55 cording to the width of the butterflies that are to I* set thereon. The bottom is usually a thin slip of deal, on which ire glued two strips of cork, bevelled off towards the edges, with a slightly curved face. Sometimes, how sver, the whole board is made of soft pine, with s groove planed down the middle, and with care will answer pretty well; but the corked board is far preferable. The mode of "setting the insect with card "braces transfixed with pins, which retain the wings in their proper position, will be also readily seen by reference to the figure. A great point in setting is to tab jare that all the wings are symmetrically arranged, cv diverging from the body at equal angles on each side. Let the antennae also be carefully preserved, as on their integrity much of the specimen's value depends. It will be needless to say that any handling of the wings is to be avoided, as a touch will sometimes destroy their bloom. The setting-board, when filled, should be put away into a secure, dust-proof, and dry place, and in a few days, more or less, according to the dryness or otherwise of the atmosphere, the butterflies will have dried and set in their positions, and are then ready for transference to the store-box or cabinet. The choice of this receptacle is a serious question for the beginner, who is often in want of a guide to the ju licioua expenditure of his money, if money he mean* 56 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. fco spend in tliis pursuit. To preserve insects, it is nd absolutely necessary to' have either a cabinet or tho regularly-made store-hoxes 3 for, with a little contriv- ance, any close-shutting, shallow box may he extern- porized into a store-box. The bottom may either be lined with sheet-cork (such as is used by shoemakers)-— which, however, is a rather dear commodity—or com- mon wine-corks may be sliced up, and. cut into little square patches that may be attached in straight rows to the bottom of the box with strong gum or other cement. The first specimens, the nucleus of the future great col- lection, can be kept here well enough, till a real cabinet can be compassed. A cabinet, however, need not be bought all at once; it may be arranged to grow with the collection—and, it may be, with the collector too—by having one or two drawers made at a time3 till, in course of time, a suf- ficient number is obtained, when the whole may bo fitted into a case at a small additional expense, and then there is a first-rate cabinet complete 3 for, to make this plan really advantageous, the drawers should be well made and of good material. Of course, all the drawers must be made to the same gauge, to insure perfect fitting when the cabinet is made up. These drawers may be made by any clever joiner, hut as their construction is peculiar, and not easily described, it is necossary, either that the maker should be accus- tomed to this speciality, or that he be furnished with ft pattern, either by buying a single drawer at a dealer'a, SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT. 5^ ivhere that can he done, by borrowing one out of a friend's cabinet, or by making therefrom a good work- ing drawing (in section, &c.). The glasses wliich cover in th8 drawers should always have separate frames for the more perfect exclusion of du3t and mites. "Well seasoned mahogany or deal may be the material for the drawers, but on no account let them be of cedar, a material often used by ignorant or unprincipled makers, to the great detriment of the collection, and mortifica- tion of the collector, as resinous matter after a short time exudes from the pores of this wood, dropping down on to the glasses below in a gummy shower, and the effluvium seems to condense upon' the contained •nsects, whose wings are gradually discoloured and dis- figured by greasy looking blotches. The drawers are lined at bottom with cork, covered with pure white paper, which should be attached with thin paste. The butterflies are then to be arranged in the drawers in perpendicular columns, and in accordance with some system of classification. If there be room it is well to have a considerable number of specimens of each species, especially when it is one liable to much variation. At 'east one of each sex should always be given, and also one of each sex showing the under surface. When the chrysalis can be procured, that also should be pinned down with its fellow-butterfly, and a good coloured drawing of each caterpillar would be a valuable addition V) the aeries. Between the columns, lines should b* 58 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. ruled varying in distance according to the breadth of ■ the butterflies, and small labels should be pinned down at the foot of each species giving its specific name ; the name of the genus being placed at the head of the first species of the genus. The names of the families and sub-families under which the genera are classed are also generally given in their respective places. I have in this little work followed the system of classification used in the public collection of British butterflies at the British Museum, which seemed to me more intelligible and natural when applied to our very limited number of butterflies, than did the system of Doubleday adopted in the great world-wide collectior which exists in the private entomological room of the British Museum. The following table gives the first-mentioned arrange- ment of all the British species under their respective genera, sub-families, and families. The most authentic of the reputed species are also here inserted in theii proper places. Fam. PAPILI0NIDJ2. Sub-fam. PAPILIONIDI, Papilio Machaon. — Podalirius. Sub-fam. PIERIDI. Gonepteryx Rhamni. Co li as F.dusa. — Hyale. Aporia Cratsgi. Pieris Brasaicae, — Rap®. — Napi. -- Daplldiee. Sub-fam. PIERIDI—Continued Euchloe Cardamines. Leucophasia Sinapis. Fam. NYMPHALIDJi Sub-fam. SATYRIDI. Arge Galathea. Lasiommata Egeria. — Megaera. Hipparchia Semele. — Janira. — Tithonus. — Hyperantnua CLASSIFICATION. 59 Fata. M YMPHALIDJ2—Cont. Ebbbia Dlandina. — Ligea. —- Cassiope. cibnonympha DaVUS. Famphilus 8ab-fam. NYMPHALIDI. Limenitis Sybilla. Apatura Iris. Sub-fam. VANESSIDI. Cynthia Cardui. Vanbssa Atalanta. — Io. — Antiopa. — Polychloros. — Urticae. Gbapta C. Album. Sub-fam. ARGYNNIDI, Argynnis Paphia. — Aglaia. — Adippe. — Lathonia. — Euphrosyne. — Selene. — Dia. Melitjea Cinxia. — Athalia. — Artemis. Fam. ERYCINID^B. Nembobius Lucina, Fam. LYC^NIDiEJ. Thecla Betulae. — Pruni. — W. Album. — Quercus. — Rubi. Chbysophanos Phlaeas. — Cbrysei« — Dispar. PoLYOMMATts Bceticus. — Argiolus. — Alsus. — Aeis. — Arion. — Corydon. — Adonis. — Alexis. Ai^on. — Agestis. — Artaxerxes. Fam. HESPERIDuE. Pykgus Alveolus. Nisionades Tages. Steropes Paniscus. Pamphila Actaeon. — Linea. — Sylvanus. — Comma. It will be seen by tbe above list tbat seventy species are given as British. Of these, five species, viz. Papilio Podalirius, Erebia Ligea, Argynnis Dia, Chrysophanus Chryseis, and Polyommalus Boeticus, have been so rarely taken as to be refused a place among the regular denizens of our island. So that we can only reckon up the small number of sixty-five species of true British butterflies. These it now remains to describe individually, but, prior to entering on that task, I would say a few words 60 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. on tlie acquirement of scientific nomenclature and sya» tematic arrangement, a knowledge of which will facili tate even our recreations in natural history, while it ia absolutely essential to carrying out the really scientific study of any department. It is true, that the painting of a butterfly and the fragrance of a flower can give deep pleasure to a mind quite unconscious of their Latin names, their genus, order, or anything of the kind; hut the interest of natural objects is, I am sure, greatly augmented when we acquire some insight, however dimly, into the won- derful mechanism of creation's plan, its infinite grada- tion of forms, and their curious, subtle relationships, to which a good system of classification serves, in some degree, as an index. I say, in some degree, as a sys- tern framed in perfect accordance with that of nature is a discovery rather to he desired than hoped for, with the limited knowledge at present permitted to us. Though these Latin names are generally considered as unwelcome excrescences on the pages of popular natural history works, I would yet advise the young entomologist to master them for once, and accustom himself well to their use. He will not find the task a very difficult one, if I may judge from the repeated instances in which I have heard the almost infantile progeny of my naturalist friends glibly mouthing these redoubtable words, and applying them with the most precise accuracy. Am org collectors it is customary in familiar conver. LATIN NAMES. 61 gatiou to use only the second, or specific name of the insect's Latin title; thus, in speaking of the common Swallow-tailed Butterfly, they call it Machaon only, which at once distinguishes the one they mean from the other, or scarce Swallow-tailed Butterfly, which they would speak of as Podalirius. The Pearl-bordered Likeness Fritillary may he called Athalia, and so on. I think it will be allowed that these Latin names are not harder to learn, remember, or pronounce, than the long-winded English titles; and, when acquired, bring their possessor the advantage of being able to converse with precision on their subject with all naturalists, whether British or Continental; for these names of science are current in all European languages. Another piece of advice is : don't waste time in trying to puzzle out the meaning, the why or the wherefore of outterflies' scientific names. Now and then, certainly, they have some allusion to the insect's appearance, 01 to the plant on which it feeds; thus, for instance, GonepteryxRhamni, the entomological name of the Brim- stone Butterfly, means the Angle-winged (butterfly) of the Buckthorn, and this is very appropriate and descriptive; but in general there is no more connexion between the name and the character of a butterfly, than there is between a ship's name—the "Furious, the "Coquette, or the Pretty Jane, as it may be—and the moral disposition or personal appearance of the vessel that bears it. Also, don't ivaste money and encourage dishonesty, by 62 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. giving the absurdly large prices put upon British, 01 pretended British specimens of butterflies, or other insects that are rare in this country though common OJi the Continent j when, for all purposes of science, or the pleasure derived from their beauty, avowed Conti- nental specimens, at one-twentieth of the price, mil do just as well. In putting these into your cabinet, how- ever, always attach to the pin underneath the insect a labol, bearing some mark to denote the specimen J foreign odgm. swallow-tail. 03 CHAPTER VI. IRK BRITISH BUTTERFLIES SEPARATELY DESCRIBED. THE 3WALLOW-TAILED BUTTERFLY. (Papilio Machaon\ (Plate III. fig. 1.) There is no possibility of mistaking this noble insect for any other of our native species, after a. glance at its portrait. Its superior size, conjoined with the pos- session of a pair of long tails on the hind wings, would at once mark it distinctly, independently of the peculiar markings and colour. In the colouring of the wings, a broad simplicity prevails, the general ground-tint being a clear creamy yellow, with the bars and marginal bands of the deepest velvety black. The broad bands of black on the front wings are powdered towards the centre with yell/no scales, and those on the hind wings with blue scales. The only other colour on this side is a spot of rust-red at the inner angle of the hind wings. The under side is very similar in colouring to the upper, but the black markings are less decided and sharp, and there are several additional rust-red spots on the hind wings 64 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. The caterpillar, -which is a very handsome creatine, is found feeding on various umbelliferous plants ; among which, its chief favourites in this country appear to bo the "Wild Carrot (Daucus Carota), the Marsh Milk- parsley (Selinum palustre), and Fennel (Anethum Fceni- culum). In colour it is blight green, with velvet-black rings, which are spotted with red. A distinguishing mark of this caterpillar is a reddish-coloured forked appendage just behind its head, which, when the animal is alarmed, gives out a strong-scented fluid, supposed to be for the purpose of alarming some of its enemies. The chrysalis, again, is a very pretty object, especially when of its ordinary colour, which is a lively green, shaded in some parts into bright yellow; but there it a frequent variety marked only with various shades of brown and buff. Living specimens of both of these are before me at this moment, and when they assume the perfect state, I shall be curious to mark whether these differences are continued in the respective butterflies. These chrysalides are most interesting objects to keep during the winter months. As the spring advances, the colours of the butterfly begin to appear faintly through their thin green envelope, and the pattern of the upper wings, which only are visible, becomes at last distinctly perceptible, of course in miniature. When this is the case, wo should begin to watch for the release of the beautiful prisoner. If you visit his cage tlie first thing every morning (foi his exit most frequently takes place in the early part of Swallow-tail. 65 the day), you may be fortunate enough on one of these occasions, to find the creature either actually emerging, o? just out of his case ; cutting an odd figure, and evidently neither very proud of himself nor much at his ease, his wings being tiny things, hardly bigger tlian those of a humble-bee, and hanging limply from his compa- ratively ponderous and gigantic body; which they are nevertheless destined, ere many hours are over, to carry with most enviable celerity through the air. The rapid increase in size of these organs is a matter of marvel; you can literally see them grow, and within about an hour they will have reached their full expanse. The creature attaches itself, back downwards, to the lid of its cage, or to the under side of any convenient horizontal surface, that the wings, by their own weight, may aid in their dilatation, and that they may dry with- out creasing, as they will sometimes do, when the insect, being under a slippery bell-glass, for instance, is unable to reach the desirable point of suspension, which it always evinces extreme anxiety to do. By the time the sun is well out, our pet will have his wings thoroughly plumed for flight; and here a difficulty sometimes pre- sents itself to the entomologist. What is to be done with our new-born Machaon? It is probably a splendid specimen for the cabinet, and the collector may long ti grace his "series with its virgin splendours. Bu then there will creep over him the unwelcome sensation that it is a somewhat cowardly proceeding to foster a bright Veing into a life that might be all joyousnesa, F 66 British butterflies. and then, taking advantage of his domesticated position, to cut short that life, almost ere commenced, and to forbid those wondrous wings to carry their possessor to even one short day's enjoyment of sunshine and nectar, and the doubtlessly exalted pleasure of mere airy motion Yself. Eairly chasing down a butterfly is all weli enough; hut this is quite another thing. Every one must, however, choose for himself, as to talcing the sentimental or the entomological view of the matter. Each probably finds its followers, and to the occa- sional prevalence of the more tender sentiment, are probably owing many of those stray S wallow-Tails that urn up here and there in unlikely places. The chrysalides, for rearing, may be obtained in the autumn or winter, either from entomologists resident in the localities of the butterfly, or more generally and cer tainly from the London or Cambridge dealers, who will send them into the country by post for a few pence each. The flight of this species is rapid and powerful, and it has a habit of soaring loftily. In this country its head q larters are in the fens of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Huntingdonshire. It has been found in some abundance near Cambridge, Norwich, Yaxley, Whittlesea Mere, Burwell, and Hornsey Fens; also singly in Lancashire, at Battersea, Pulborough in Sussex, near Ashford in Kent, at Balcombe, Isle ol Wight, Hampshire, near Chatham, at Southend, Essex, «ad on the Cliffs of the South Coast. brimstone. 67 •From its local character, this is of course one of tha species that the collector can hardly expect to meet with, except he live in one of the districts given above as its head quarters. In these, however, it is abundant enough, and the first sight of a number of these gran£ insects on the wing must be enough to gladden the eye of any naturalist. This butterfly comes out first in May, and is met with from that time till August. THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY. (Gonepteryx lihamni.) (Plate III. fig. 2.) Though one of the commonest of our native butterflies, this, lite numberless other very common things, is also one of the loveliest, both in the graceful outline of its wings, and in the lively hue that overspreads their surface; charms the more to be appreciated, as this insect is one of the few that do not wait for the full bloom of summer ere they condescend to make their appearance, but hi tfie earliest, chill months of spring, and even in the dead winter season, the country rambler is sometimes gladdened by its gay flight; and in fact (here is not one winter month that is not occasionally enlivened by this flying flower, when a day of unwonted mildness and sunshine tempts it from its winter retreat *2 British buttekflies. Until very recently it had always "been stated by en- tomologists, that the Brimstone Butterfly was double- brooded (a term meaning that it went through two whole cycles of existence, from the egg to the perfect insect, in one year), one brood appearing in May, and the other in the autumn. But it is now established, on very satisfactory evidence, that one brood only is produced, and that, the autumnal one. A considerable number of these survive the vinter in some place of concealment, and coming out again in the spring form the so-called spring brood. Many of these hybernators are found to be in very fair condition in the spring, but in general they lack the perfect freshness and bloom of those taken in autumn ; the wings of those I have taken at this period are often semi-transparent, from having lost feather, and fro- quently are spotted and discoloured, as if by mildew; a sign probably of their owners having wintered in damp lodgings Mr. Douglas states that they get very fat and full of honey before consigning themselves to their long win- tor's sleep; evidently an instinctive provision against the waste of substance that must of necessity accom- "3any all, even the most sluggish vitality: in this respect following the same instinct that leads bears, and other hybernating animals, to fatten up to their utmost stretch Before retiring for the season. The eggs should be sought for in the month of May, or a little earlier or later, on the buds and young shoots VII. VIIT. XII. BRIMSTONE. 69 tif the two sp cies of Buckthorn ('Rhamntus Frangula and It. Catharticus). When examined with the micro- scope, these are found to he very pretty objects of conical form, with sculptured ribs on the sides. The caterpillar that results from these, when it grows up, is of a fine green colour, sliagrcened over with black points, and shading off into a paler line along the side. Its shape is represented at Plate I. fig. 2. It is found on the young buckthorn foliage that forms its food. The chrysalis is of the remarkable shape shown on Plate I. fig. 13, —green, marked with yellow. It remains in this state for about twenty days, when the perfect butterfly appears. The genera! colour of the male Brimstone Butterfly is a clear, brilliant yellow, much like that of the Daffodil, its contemporary ; and in the centre of each wing is a small spot of rich orange-colour. A very beautiful feature to be remarked in this butterfly is the silken mane, so to speak, composed of long hairs of silvery gloss and whiteness, which are arranged as if combed up from the sides of the thorax, so as tc meet in a crested form over the top. The female chiefly differs from the male in the ground colour of the wings, which are of a pale and very po- culiar greenish white tint, rather more deeply tinged with yellow at the extremities of the wings. As the male, from his colour, bears the name of "Brimstone, or "Sulphur, the complexion of hi* mate may be accurately compared to the tint of anothe» 70 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. sulphureous preparation, called by druggists milk of sulphur. The only noticeable variation this butterfly is subject to in this country is in the size of the orange wing- spots, which are sometimes greatly enlarged. In a well-marked variety, common in the south of Europe, Madeira, &e., this enlargement reaches a great development, nearly the whole of the upper wings being suffused with a deep orange, though in all other respects the insect does not differ torn our common form. This beautiful variety has been described as a different species under the name of Gonepteryx Cleopatra; but M. Boisduval has proved that they are identical, by rearing both the ordinary Rhamni and the Cleopatra from the same batch of eggs. The female Cleopatra does not differ materially from Rhamni. I look on this variety as very interesting, as a probable instance of the direct effect of increased warmth of climate in intensifying colour.1 Plentiful as this butterfly is in all the southern counties, and extending in more or less abundance as 1 Cleopatra, as Duponchel observes, is found in France, only in the hottest parts, and is first seen as we go southwards, about Avignon, but abounds most on the shores of the Mediterranean Why the two varieties Cleopatra and the common Rhamni fly together we cannot fully explain; but it is possible there may be a constitutional difference between individual insects, just as we see that of two Englishmen going to a hot climate, one will brown deeply, while the complexion of the other will hardly alter, though exposed to the very same ex influence. clouded yellow. 71 far northwards as the lake district, it there becomes scarce; and I can find no instance of its having occurred in Scotland. Of course, its prevalence in any district is naturally regulated by the abundance of its food-plants, the buckthorns. Gardens, fields, and lanes are equally the resort of this favourite insect; and there the newly-hatched spe- cimens are to be found on the wing from August to October. THE CLOUDED YELLOW, OE CLOUDED SAEEEOET. (Colias Edusa.) (Plate III. fig. 3, Male; 3a, Eemale.) This richly-coloured and nimble-winged fly is ever the darling of the collector. ISTone make a finer show in the cabinet, and few tempt pursuit more strongly than does this golden beauty when on the wing. For many years past, and up to quite a recent period, the appearance of this butterfly in any abundance was 7. phenomenon only occurring at uncertain periods, separated by intervals of several years. In one season, perhaps, hardly a solitary specimen would be seen, and in the very next, a swarm of them would spread Over the southern counties, delighting the fly-catcher and pur&ling the naturalist to find a sufficient reason for 72 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. this sudden "burst of insect-life. "Whether the eggs laj dormant for years, till hatched under peculiarly favour- able conditions ; or whether every now and then a few individuals were tempted to cross the Channel from the Continent by some attraction unknown to us, or were, nolens, volens, blown hither by the wind, and then deposited eggs which produced the next year's troop of butterflies; or, lastly, whether an agency was at work here, of whose nature we are entirely ignorant,—all these are questions that still remain to be answered. There is, I believe, no foundation for the opinion some- times held by entomologists, that this species prevails at regular periods, such as once in four, or once in seven years. In fact, for the last two or three years its per- manent residence and appearance among us seems to be established, while, at the same time, its northward range has been greatly extended, a considerable number having been taken even in Scotland—its existence in that country having been previously quite unheard of. The environs of London, especially on the south side, have been abundantly visited by this charming insect; but its tastes have a decidedly maritime, tendency, and wo find it has a marked preference for the South Coast; abounding, again, more especially towards the eastern end. Its favourite resorts are clover and lucerne fields, though dry flowery meadows, open downs, and the sides of railway-banks are also the scenes of its lively flight— %r Edusa has indeed a lively flight, and his puisuer Uas need of the "seven-league boots, with the hand of clouded 'yellow. 73 Mercury, to insure success in the fair open race, if tliat can be called a fair race at all, between a heavy biped, struggling and perspiring about a slippery hill-side, such as Edusa loves,—and a winged spirit of air, to whom up-hill and down-hill seem all one. In truth, the hest way to get Edusa is to watch and mark him down on a flower, then creep cautiously up till within range, raise the net quietly, and strike rapidly downwards over the insect, who usually darts upward when struck at; and, in nine cases out of ten, Edusa will he fluttering under the net. It is not the most heroic style of sport, this, but it fills the hoxes ad- mirably. The caterpillar is of a deep green colour, having od each side a white line, marked with yellow and orange It may be sought for in June and July, on various plants of the leguminous order, which form its food, such as Hone-such Trefoil ('Medicago lupulina), Lucerne (J/. Saliva), and Clover. The chrysalis is in shape between that of the Brim- stone, and Cabbage butterfly, green with a yellow stripe and rust-coloured dots. The butterfly seldom is seen on the wing till July, but August is its great season; and it lingers with ua till late in autumn. I remember the pleasure with which, on a chill, Btormy day in October, I watched the sports of a paii who were my sole companions while sketching, in h remote, rocky nook cf the South Velsh coast Very 74 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. battered and weather-worn were the pretty creatures, but still retaining much of the golden bloom of their summer dress. The Clouded Yellow has been found hybernating in the chink of an old wall at the end of February, but I am not aware of its coming out again in the spring, like the Brimstone. The ground tint of the wings is an exceedingly rich orange-yellow, or saffron colour, ouriounded by a border of very dark bro^vn, sometimes nearly black. This border is marked, in the male, with thin yellow lines, and in the female with paler yellow spots. There is a beautiful rose tint in the fringe of the wings and on their front edge. Underneath the wings are paler yellow taking a citron hue in some parts, and marked with black and brown; in the centre of the under wings is a brown- circled silvery spot. There is a peculiar and constant variety of the female, in which all the yellow portion of the upper surface is replaced by a greenish white tint; but in every other respect the insect agrees with the common form of Edusa. This interesting variety was formerly ranked as another species, under the name of G. Helice ; but it is a curious fact that no corresponding variety of the male has ever been observed; and last year I captured a pair together—a white female and common orange male—who were on those terms of tender intimacy which are generally supposed to betoken identity of spocioa. clouded sulphur. 75 Varieties of tlie female are also met with, of various Intermediate shades of colour between the white and the ordinary orange. Yet is it hot possible that all these varieties may be mules between G. Edusa and G. Hyale (the next species), the males of which are often seen pursuing the lady Edusas 1 but if so, as indeed it would be on any other hypothesis, it is hard to account for the unvarying character of the male. This butterfly is also called the Clouded Saffron. THE CLOUDED SULPHUR, OR PALE CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY. (Colias Hyale.) (Plate III. fig. 4.) We may, in general, -readily distinguish this elegant insect from the last species—the females of which it rather resembles in its markings—by the difference in the ground tint of the wings, which in this vary from primrose or sulphur yellow to a greenish white. There is, however, some risk of confounding this with the white variety of Edusa (Helice), a mistake often committed by young entomologists ; so it will be well to point out the most prominent distinction between the two; and this io easily done, by observing that in Edusa the dark border of the upper wings is of nearly 76 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Equal breadth along the whole of the outer maiglr^ and at the lower corner is continued inwards for a short die- lance ; whilst in Eyale this border narrows rapidly, and disappears before reaching the- lower corner of the wing. Also the dark border of the hind wings is much broader in Edusa than in Eyale. Here we have dis- tinctive marks, quite independent of the ground colour of the wings. The sexes of this butterfly are nearly alike in their markings, the chief difference being in the yellower ground tint of the males. The same localities—viz. the south and south-east coast, and the adjacent district—that are most prolific in its near relative, Edusa, likewise furnish this species in the greatest plenty; but this is by far the rarer species of the two, and, either by coincidence, or in obedience to some direct law, several successive periods of its abundance have been septennial, or have occurred once in seven years. Thus the years 1821, '28, '35, '42, '49, and '56 are noted in entomological records as having produced it in great numbers. On the coast of France, opposite to our own, it is one of the com in on butterflies, and it is net improbable ihat it frequently makes the passage of the Channel. The maritime habits of both this and Edusa are well known, and I have frequently seen the latter flying out to seawards, and coquetting with the waves, till the eye could follow the golden speck no longer. Taking ad Tintago then of a favouring wind, its naturally strorg black-veined. 77 and rapid flight would quickly take it across the few miles of sea that separate us from the Gallic shore. Uyale, whose flight is at least as strong as Edusa! s, and whose salt-water tastes are similar, doubtless acts In the same manner. The northward range of this species is more limited than that of Edusa, hut it has been taken singly near York, Manchester, and a few other northern localities. In the lucerne fields near Brighton, a dozen or more have been sometimes captured in one day. The caterpillar is of a sea-green colour, with four yellow lines, two along the back and one on each side; and is to be found, in June and July, feeding on lucerne and other plants of the same natural order. The chrysalis is very similar to that of Edusa, green, with a yellow stripe. In this country, the butterfly first appears in August; but on the Continent it seems to be double-brooded, being found in May as well a3 in August. THE BLACK-VEINED OE HAWTHOEN BITTTEEFLY. (.Aporia Cratocgi.) (Plate IV. fig. 1.) When on the wing, this species might easily be mis- by the inexperienced for the common Cabbag? 78 British butterflies. White; and, by virtue of this incognito, does iu all probability often escape from the terrors of the net, which would speedily entrap him, were his real cha- racter known to the young hunter; for this butterfly is one of those called, in entomological slang, "a goad thing"—a term expressive neither of superior excel- lence nor beauty, but meaning that the insect can't be met with everywhere, or every day, and when seen is always to be caught. A closer view, however, shows it to be very distinct from all the other "Whites; its decided black veinings on a milk-white ground, in conjunction with its large size, being sufficient for its immediate recognition. The outline of the wings, as well as the play of the veining lines on their surface, is extremely elegant. It will be observed, that instead of the feathered fringo that surrounds the wings of most butterflies, they are bordered in this species by a stout nervure, forming a sharp black outline, and giving a peculiarly chasto finish. The under side differs in no mentionable respect from the upper—a very rare circumstance in this tribe. .From being very sparingly coated with scales, the wings are semi-transparent, differing much in this respect from those of the Garden White butterflies. The female generally has the veins of the fore wings of a browner tint than in the males. This butterfly is one of the very local species, though its food plants are everywhere to be found, in morn or less abundance BLACK-VEINED. 79 The following localities, among others, have been recorded as producing it:—Heme Bay, and other parti of the Isle of Tlianet, plentifully; near Faversham, Kent; Horsham, Sussex; Hew Forest; Brington, in Huntingdonshire ; near Cardiff, South Wales, plentiful. The caterpillars are gregarious, feeding under cover of a silken web. The hawthorn and the sloe are its chief food plants in this country, but it is here too rare an insect to do much damage. Hot so, however, on the Continent, where it is extremely common, and is classed among noxious insects, committing great devastation among various fruit trees, especially the apple, pear, and cherry. But even in this country the insect is occasionally met with in great profusion, but only in isolated spots. Mr. Drane, writing from Cardiff to the Zoologist, says, "In the middle of April (1858) I found the larvae feed- :ug by thousands upon insulated shrubs of Prunns o'pinosa (Common Sloe), eating out the centres of the unexpanded buds, or basking in the sun upon theii winter webs. The body of the adult caterpillar is thickly clothed with whitish hairs, is leaden grey on the side and un- derneath, black on the back, and marked with two longitudinal reddish stripes. Found from the middle of April to the end of May. The chrysalis, shown at fig. 14, Plate I., is greenish white, striped with yellow and spotted with black. The butterfly appears in Juna. so british btjtteet\lie8. THE LAEGE GARDEN WHITE BUTTERFLY. (Pieris Brassicoe.) (Plate IV. fig. 2.) Why this butterfly should so far outnumber everj other native species (excepting, perhaps, the more rural Meadow Brown), is a question beyond our power to answer satisfactorily. Certainly, the food plants of the caterpillar—cabbages, cresses, and their tribe—are uni- versally met with; but then we find there are other insects whose food plant is equally plentiful and wide- spread, and yet they are nevertheless very rare or local. This is pre-eminently the domestic butterfly, abound- ing in suburban gardens, and at times penetrating into the smoky heart of London, and then even the young St. Giles's bird, whose eyes were never gladdened by green fields, gets up a butterfly hunt, and, cap (or rag) in hand, feels for the nonce all the enthusiasm of the chase in pursuit of the white-winged wanderer, who looks sadly lost and out of place in the flowerless, brick-and-mortar wilderness. This and the next species are the only British butter- flies who can be charged with committing any appre- ciable amount of damage to human food and property, In the winged state, indeed, it is utterly harmless (like all other butterflies); but not so the hungry caterpillar progeny, as the gardener knows too well when he looks LARGE GARDEN WHITE. 81 rt his choice cabbago rows all gnawed away into skeletons. In some seasons and places they multiply so iaordi nately and prodigiously as to deserve the title of a plague of caterpillars, and several remarkable instances of this phenomenon are on record. A note in the Zoologist, p. 4547, by the Eev. Arthur Hussey, gives us the following :— For the last two summers many of the gardens of this village have been infested by caterpillars to such an extent that the cab- bages have been utterly destroyed. When the time for changing to the chrysalis state arrived, the surround- ing buildings presented a curious appearance, being marked with long lines of the creatures travelling up the walls in search of a suitable place of shelter for undergoing their transformation. A great number of the caterpillars took refuge in a malt-house, from which they could not escape as butterflies, the result being that for several weeks the maltster swept up daily many hundreds of the dead insects. In 1842, a vast flight of white butterflies came over from the Continent to the coast about Dover, and spread- ing inland from thence, did an immense amount of damage to the cabbage gardens; but so effectually did the ichneumon flies do their work, that an exceedingly Email proportion of the caterpillars, resulting from thia flock of immigrants, went into the chrysalis state, nearly all perishing just before the period of change. Those small, silky, oval objects, of yellowish oolouii e? 82 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. frequently found in groups on walls and palings, are the cocoons of these useful little flies, spun round about and over the remains of the dead caterpillar their victim. "These, as Mr. Westwood observes, "ignorant persons mistake for the eggs of the cater- pillar, and destroy; thus foolishly killing their bene- factors. Happily these devastating caterpillars have plenty of enemies to prevent their continued multiplication, and to reduce their number speedily when it exceeds certain limits. Besides the ichneumons, mentioned above, the feathered tribes do much towards keeping them down. Mr. Haworth, in his Lejridoptera Britannica, says, with reference to this : Small birds destroy incredible numbers of them as food, and should be encouraged. I once observed a titmouse (Parus major) take five 01 six large ones to its nest in a very few minutes. In enclosed gardens sea-gulls, with their wings cut, are of infinite service. I had one eight years, which was at last killed by accident, that lived entirely all the while upon the insects, slugs, and worms which he found in the garden. The pretty egg of this butterfly is figured on Plate II. fig. 1 : it may be found commonly enough, with a little searching, on cabbage-leaves, either at the end )f May or beginning of August. The caterpillar, which, besides cabbages, consumes various other cruciferous plants,—also Tropaeolums, or, £s they are erroneously called, "Nasturtiums,"—is green, LARGE GARDEN WHITE. 83 shaded witli yellow on each side, and covered with black points, on each of which is situated a hair. By way of compensation for the damage it inflicts, it has been suggested that a durable green dye might be extracted from the caterpillars of cabbage butterflies, since it is extremely difficult to eradicate the stain made by a crushed caterpillar on linen. If this strange and novel dye should ever take its place among the vagaries of fashion, the shopkeepers could find a familiar French name, as the word chenille, applied to another commo- dity, means simply caterpillar, so chenille green would be the phrase for tho colour afforded by smashed caterpillars. The chrysalis (Plate I. fig. 15) may be found almost anywhere, laid up under ledges of garden walls, door- way, or any convenient projection, not too far from the creature's food. "Wanting an individual just now, to sit for his portrait, I had only to step out of my door, and within a hundred yards espied a candidate for the distinction, ready to hand, under the coping-stone of a gate-post. A female specimen of the butterfly is figured on Plate IV. fig. 2. The male may be readily distinguished by the absence of the black spots and dashes on the upper side of the front wings. The winged insect may be seen throughout the warm season from April to August. * 2 84 british butterflies. THE SMALL GARDEN WHITE. (Pieris Rapce.) (Plate IV. fig. 3.) Outwardly resembling the last in almost every respect but that of its inferior size, this species shares the gardener's malediction with its larger, but perhaps less destructive, relative ; for the caterpillar of Rapa^ though smaller, bores into the very heart of the cabbage, in- stead of being content with the less valuable outer leaves, as Brassicce is. Erom this pernicious habit the "French call this grub the ver du, cceur. The colour of this caterpillar is pale green, with a yellow line along the back, and a dotted one of the same colour on each side. The chrysalis is nearly like that of the last in shape, but of course smaller, and is of a more uniform brownish or yellowish tint. This butterfly occasionally multiplies immensely, and is given to migrating in vast armies to distant settle- mants, sometimes crossing the sea to effect this purpose. Here is an extract from a Kentish newspaper, de- scribing an occurrence of this phenomenon :— One of the largest flights of butterflies ever seen in this country, crossed the Channel from Eiance to Eng- land on Sunday last. Such was the density and extent of the cloud formed by the living mass, that if SMALL GARDEN WHITE. 85 completely obscured the sun from the people on hoard our Continental steamers, on their passage, for many hundreds of yards, while the insects strewed the decta in all directions. The flight reached England about twelve o'clock at noon, and dispersed themselves inland and along shore, darkening the air as they went. During the sea-passage of the butterflies, the weather was calm and sunny, with scarce a puff of wind stir- ring; but an hour or so after they reached terra firma, it came on to blow great guns from the S. W., the direction whence the insects came. A contemporary account states that these were the 3mall white butterflies (Pieris Rapce). The smaller butterfly with more dusky markings, formerly known as P. Metra, has been recently proven to be merely a variety of Rapce, a Mr. J. F. Dawson having reared a brood of caterpillars all exactly similar in appearance, which eventually produced every variety of P. Rapce and P. Metra. Mr. Curtis, in his "Farm Insects, mentions the capture, near Oldham in Lancashire, of a male specimen, which had all the wings of a bright yellow colour. Most juvenile butterfly hunters, unblest by scientific knowledge of insect life, imagine that this and the last owe their difference in size simply to their being old find young individuals of the same name; forgetting— or, rather, never having heard—that butterflies nevei grow in th6 slightest degree after once getting theii winged form only as caterpillars do they grow. 86 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. The male is distinguished from the female by having only one round black spot, or sometimes none, on each upper wing, whilst the female is spotted as in the engraving. The under side of the hind wings is dull yellow, lightly powdered with black scales. The butterfly is seen during nearly the whole of the Bummer, and is found almost everywhere. THE GREEN-VEINED WHITE BUTTERFLY. (Pieris Napi.) (Plate IV. fig. 4.) Is so called from the greenish tint that often borders the veins or nervures on the under side of the hind wing; hut the name is.not always an appropriate one, for a large proportion of the specimens met with have the veinings grey, and not at all green; hut the fact is, that the ground colour varies greatly, from creamy white to full huff, or bright clear yellow; in the latter case it is, that the minute black scales which border the course of the nervures, covering over the yellow, pro- duce a grey-green effect on the eye. The size also is very variable. I have a specimen that expands two inches and two lines across, from tip to tip, and have seen another not larger than a small Conner butterf.y—little more than one inch from tip GREEN-VEINED WHITE. 87 to tip. The intensity of the dark markings, on both the upper and under sides, is also subject to much variation. But, under all these circumstances, the presence oi dark cloudy veins on the under side—appearing, but less distinctly, on the upper side—will at once distin- guish it from the last species, the only one with which it can possibly be confounded. The male has only one round spot on the front wings; the female being marked as in the plate. Both in woods and cultivated grounds we meet with this butterfly commonly enough, most abundantly in May and July, though it may be found from April to August. The caterpillar feeds on the same tribe of plants as the two last, but is supposed to be especially attached to the Bape (Brassica Napus), whence its specific name. Its colour is green, with yellow spots round each spi- racle, which is itself tinged with red. Two varieties of this were formerly ranked as distinct ipocios, under the name of P. Sabellicoe and P. Napom, 88 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. THE BATH WHITE. (Pieris lhplidioe.) (Plate IY. fig. 5, Female.) Op all the members of this white-winged genus thai inhabit Britain, this is at the same time the most beau- tiful and the rarest. The capture of a Bath White is an entomological event. and the day thereof is a red- letter day in the fortunate captor's life. On the opposite coast of France, however, and gene- rally on the Continent, far from being a rarity, this is one of the commonest butterflies—a fact difficult for an English collector, removed by only a few miles of sea, to realise, or reconcile with the extravagant value and importance attached to a true British specimen. The' remark made under the head of the Black- veined White, as to that eluding the net of the novice, by its resemblance to a common kind, will apply with still greater force to this one; for I suppose there are few even of the tolerably experienced "hands who could tell this from the two last described insects, at a short distance. One curious circumstance bearing on this is, that a large per centage of the Bath White captures in this country have been made by juvenile beginners, who hunt and catch everything they see,. Common Whites and all BATH WHITE. 89 This fact sliould encourage the collector, especially when at work on the south-east coast, to net all the middle-sized Whites that come within reasonable dis- tance—of course letting them off again, if they are not of the right sort. The wing markings on both the upper and under sides are, though simple, extremely elegant and chaste. The female, which is the sex figured, has the upper wings beautifully spotted with black. The hind wings are bordered with a row of black spots, and clouded towards the centre with a faint tint-of the same. The male is distinguished by the absence of the black spot nearest to the lower margin of the front wing, and of the black marginal spots and grey cloud- ing of the hind wings. The markings of the undei surface, however, show through their substance rathei plainly. In both sexes, the ground colour of the wings is milk-white. But the chief decoration is reserved for the under surface, which is chequered, in a manner not easily described, with a soft but rich green tint upon white, relieved here and there by a few black touches. We are informed by Lewin, that it was named the Bath White from a piece of needlework executed at Bath, by a young lady, from a specimen of this insect, said to have been taken near that city. But the south-eastern corner of England, and more especially on the coast, seems to be the head-quarters of this valued fly,—lending probability to the supposition entertained BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. by many, that a large proportion of those taken here have migrated or been blown across the Channel ; though I believe it sometimes breeds here, and that the' caterpillars have, on one or two occasions, been found in this country. The butterfly has been taken several times at Dover, Margate, and other places on the Kentish coast; at Lewes; Whittlesea Mere, Cambridge; "Worcester, and near Bristol. The caterpillar, which is to be found in June and September, is bluish with black spots, a pale yellow line on each side, and two of the same colour on the back. M. Le Plastrier reared a number of them, feed- ing them on the leaves of the Wild Mignonette {Reseda luted). It also feeds on Weld {Reseda Luteola). The 'Jirysalis very much resembles that of the Small Garden White, and is totally unlike that of the next, the Orange-Tip, with which it has been by some ento- mologist united into another genus {Mancipium). Daplidice is a slow insect—slower than the Common Whites—and it is an easy matter to catch it, when recognized, which the peculiarly heavy flight migl.t aid one in doing. May and August are the months in which to look after this gem of the Pontia genus. orange-tip. 91 THE ORANGE-TIP BUTTERFLY. (Euchloe Cardamines.) (Plate V. fig. 1, Male; la, Female.) Few •vernal ramblers in tbe country, whether entomolo. gical or no, can fail to have noticed, and been charmed by, this merry blossom-like insect, as it gaily flits along by hedge-row and wood-side, pausing anon to taste its own sweet flowers of May, and looking, even when on the wing, so unlike any other of our native butterflies. Truly it is an exquisite and loveable little creature, this Orange-Tip—sometimes styled the "Wood Lady; but this latter title is somewhat awkward in its application, inasmuch as the lady insect is entirely without the characteristic orange adornment, and would hardly bo suspected as being the same species with her handsome lord. The male Orange-Tip needs no description, for the purpose of recognition, beyond that conveyed by his name; but as the female is loss known, and has been on several occasions mistaken for the rare Bath White (Daplidke), it will be well to point out her chief dis- tinguishing characters. The difference between the two insects certainly is obvious enough, when the two are teen together hut their written descriptions read rather alike. 92 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Tli.o female Cardamines has the wings white above with a greyish black tip, and a small oval, or crescent- shaped black spot (much smaller than that of Daplidice) near the centre of the front wings ; beneath, a wliit3 ground, with green marblings, that are much mow sharply defined than those in Daplidice. Hear the centre of the front wing is a clear black spot, corre- sponding in position with that on the upper surface, and not shaded off with green, as in Daplidice. "We speak of the green marblings of this species—and, to the naked eye, they do appear to be of quite a bright green—but under a microscope or powerful lens that colour disappears, being resolved into a combination of bright yellow and pure black scales, which, with the dazzling snow-white ground scales that surround them, form a microscopic tableau of extraordinary beauty. This can, however, only be seen by daylight,.for under artificial light the yellow, on which the whole effect depends, is entirely lost. The caterpillar is slightly hairy, and green, with a white stripe on each side. It has been generally stated that the Cardamine impatiens is the common food plant of this species, apropos of which I will quote the fol- lowing communication from Mr. Doubleday to the editor of the Zoologist:— In reply to your query about the food of the larva of Cardamines, I may say that I have found it upon several plants. I believe that Cardamine pratensit 'comm m c ickoo-flower) is the one on which the eggs OBANGE-TIP. 93 are most frequently deposited, but the greater part of the larvae must perish in this neighbourhood, because the fields are mowed before the larvae are full-grown. I have very often seen the larvae on the seed-pods of Erysimum Alliaria, and have several times found the ■pupae on the dead stems of this plant in winter; I think that it is the principal food of Cardamines at Epping; it also probably feeds on E. barbarca, and other similar plants. Some years ago we used to have a quantity of a large single rocket in the garden, and there was always a number of the larvae of Cardamines feeding on the seed-pods. Cardamine impatiens is so local a plant that it cannot be the common food of the larvae of Cardamines The chrysalis is of the very singular shape shown at iig. 17, Plate I., a shape quite unique among British butterflies, though that of the next slightly approaches it. It is to he looked for in autumn and winter on the dry, dead stems of the' plants named in the foregoing paragraph The perfect butterfly, which is very common through- out the country, is met with from the end of April to the end of May or beginning of June- 94 british butterflies. iilJi WOOD-WHITE BUTTERFLY, ('Leucophasia Sinapis.) (Plate V. fig. 2.) A glance at the figure of this graceful little butterfly (on Plate Y.) will suffice to distinguish it at once, and clearly, from all our other Whites. The most ordinary form of the insect is there represented, hut tnere are specimens occasionally met with that have the blackish spot at the tip of the wings very much fainter; and sometimes, as in one that I possess, this spot is totally wanting. The shape of the wings in these is also dif- ferent, being much rounder, and proportionately shorter, than in the ordinary shape. This difference in outline is, I believe, a sexual distinction, the more rounded form belonging to the female insect. The slender, fragile wings and the attenuated body of the Wood-white give it a look of almost ghostly lightness, and its manners befit its spectral aspect, for it seems to haunt the still and lonely wood glades, flitting about slowly and restlessly, and being seldom seen to settle. From its weak flight, it is a very easy insect to cap- ture. It appears to be addicted to eaily rising, twenty■ six specimens having been taken one morning befort 'breakfast by a gentleman at Grange, in North Lanca- sliire. wood-white marbled white. 95 The caterpillar is'green, striped on each, side with yellow; it feeds on the Bird's-foot Trefoil, and other leguminous plants. The chrysalis is shown on Plate I. fig. 18, and in shape somewhat approaches that of the Orange-tip. The butterfly appears in May and August, and though by no means a common or generally distributed insect, is found—and sometimes abundantly—in many locali- ties throughout the corutry, as far north as Carlisle; some of these are here given. "Woods in neighbour- hood of Brighton, Horsham (Sussex), Dorchester, Hew Forest, Exeter, Epping, West Wickham Wood, Monks- wood, Huntingdonshire, Plymouth, Wavendon, Wor- eester, Kent and Surrey, Teignmouth, Gloucestershire, Carlisle, Lake District, Leicester, Manchester, North Lancashire. Unknown in Scotland. THE MARBLED WHITE BUTTERFLY. (Arge Galuthea.) (Plate Y. fig. 3.) This highly interesting and elegant insect would, by the uninitiated, probably be classed among the last group of Butterflies—the Whites—fiom the similarity in its colours; but from all those it may be readily distinguished by having only four walking legs (instead of the six which all our other white butterflies possess), 96 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. and also by the eye-like spots most visible on the under Bide. The colouring may be described as consisting of nearly equal quantities of black and creamy-white, or pale yellow, so arranged as to form a marbled pattern of great richness. This description applies to the upper surface; on the under, the pale tint very much pre- ponderates, many of the black masses of the upper side being here reduced to mere lines. Many an entomologist, whose hunting ground has been limited to a small district, has collected for years without once seeing this pretty creature on the wing ; and then visiting another neighbourhood, perhaps not far distant, he will suddenly find it in profusion. I well remember the feelings of surprised delight with which, under these complishment, sometimes just as hopelessly impossible according to his majesty's humour of the moment. Cowardice is not one of his attributes, and if he has formed a preference for any especial spot, he will risk loss of liberty and life rather than forsake it. The old mode of capturing this prise was by a ring net fixed at the end of a pole some twenty or thirty feet long, and so sweeping him off- as he sat on his leafy throne, or in one of his evolutions when he quitted his seat for a turn in the air. This method still is practised, and succeeds occa sionally, but the weapon is an unwieldy one, both in use, and for carriage to the place of action; and science has now placed in our power another plan, by means of which I believe that by far the greater number of recent captures have been made. The plan alluded to, is to take advantage of the crea cure's royal taste for game—for in that light I take his predilection for decomposing animal matter, now a matter of notoriety; and so potent is the attraction of the haut-goul for the royal palate, that if any animal, or part of one, not too recently slaughtered, be sus- pended near the known haunts of the insect, ten to one but its savour will bring him down to earth to taste the luxurious morsel, and so engrossed does he become when thus engaged, that he may be swept off by the net without difficulty. In the space of two or three days large numbers of Emperors have been caught by mean a ETTRPLE EMPEROE. 115 of this novel and singular trap, and the seemingly coarse and ur.butterfly-like taste that leads them to it. The wings of the male only have that splendid glow of changing purple that gives him his name and honours, the empress having in its place a sober garb of brown; she, however, considerably exceeds her lord in dimensions and expanse of wing. From her stay-at- home habits, sitting all day in her oak-leaf bower, she is comparatively seldom seen or captured. I believe collectors generally take about ten males to one female. • On the under side the colouring of both sexes is Eimilar, and affords a striking contrast to the dark upper surface, having the white markings arranged as on the upper side, but rather broader; and, instead of the dark brown or purple, a lively pattern of orange- brown, greyish brown, and black. On the front wing is a purple-centred eye-spot, and a smaller one is seen near the lower angle of the hind wing. The firm, muscular appearance of the wings, gives promise of great strength in those organs, fully borne out in the powerful and bird-like flight of the creature, who has also a habit of soaring, about midday, to vast heights in the air, and there engaging in contests, sportive or pugnacious, with his brother, or rival. Emperors. In the cate)'pillar state also the Purple Emperor is a remarkable creature, of the form shown in Plate I. Gg. 5, bright green, striped with yellow on each sido, and bearing on his head a pair of horns or tentacles, i 2 116 british butterflies. Though the perfect insect is chiefly found on the oak, the caterpillar feeds generally on the broad-leaved Sallow, though it has been occasionally found on the Poplar. The chrysalis, which may be found on the same trees, suspended to the under side of a leaf, is shown at Fig. 22, Plate I. and is of a light green colour. The butterfly appears in July, and is found in oak woods in many localities of the South. The following are a few of these :—Hear Colchester, extremely abun- dant, Epping, Great and Little Stour Woods; Ketter- ing, Barnwell Wold, Northamptonshire; Bourne, Lin- coin; Leicester; Beading, Newbury, Berks; Hereford- shire; Forest of Dean, Monmouthshire; Warwick- shire; Suffolk; Monkswood, Hunts; Clapham Park Wood, Beds; Darenth Wood, Chatham, Tenterden; Ticehurst, Balcombe, Tilgate Forest, Arundel, near Brighton; Lyndhurst; Stowmarket; Isle of Wight. THE PAINTED LADY. (Cynthw Cardui.) (Plate YII. fig. 3.) We now come to a very natural group of butterflies, rich, and often gorgeous, in their colouring, and having, both in their perfect and preparatory states, many cha- PAINTED LADY. 117 racteristics in common, in point of liabits, as well as of appearance and construction. The caterpillars are all thorny, and the chrysalides are adorned with brilliant metallic (generally golden) spots, from which appearance was derived the name chrysalis,"1 since applied, but somewhat improperly, to the pupce of all butterflies. This golden effect is produced by a brilliant white membrane underlying the transparent yellow outer skin of the chrysalis, and it may be imitated, as dis- covered by Lister many years ago, by putting a small piece of black gall in a strong decoction of nettles; this produces a scum which, when left on cap-paper, will exquisitely gild it, without the application of the real metal. The present species is a highly elegant insect, well named the Painted Lady/ and in France the Belle Dame. The colouring of the upper surface is composed of black and very dark brown, with irregular markings of an orange red, tinged partially with a rosy hue. Near the tip of the front wings are several pure white spots. Beneath, the great beauty lies in the delicate pen- cilling of the hind wing with pearly greys and browns, and contrasted with this, the warm roseate blush and aurora tint on the upper wing. The caterpillar is thorny and brown, with yellow stripes down the back and sides. It feeds on various 1 8*e the meaning of Chrysalis and Aurelia, on page 13- 118 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. species of thistle, but sometimes also on tlie nettle and other plants. The chrysalis is brown and grey, with silver spots. The butterfly first appears about the end of July, and is seen till the end of September, and occasionally in October. I took a beautiful fresh specimen in October, while strolling through a nursery garden at Wands- worth. Those seen in early spring are hybernated specimens. The appearance of this butterfly in any given locality is a matter of great uncertainty, though it capriciously visits, and even abounds occasionally in almost every place. It is a bold insect, and, though agile in its move- ments, not difficult to catch, for, if disturbed or missed nt the first stroke, it returns to the charge quite fear- lessly. THE RED ADMIRAL. (Vanessa Atalanta.) (Plate VIII. fig. 1.) In grand simplicity and vividness of colour, the Red Admiral perhaps surpasses every other British butter- fly, and reminds one forcibly of some of the gorgeous denizens of the tropics. Intense black and brilliant scarlet in bands and borders are the two chief elements RED ADMIRAL. U9 of this splendour, relieved delightfully by the coo, white spots at the outer and upper corners, and by the choice little bits of blue at the inner and lower angles and near the margins. The painting of the under sur- face entirely beggars description. There is, in addition to the red band, a good deal of blue on the upper wing, and the lower wing is covered by an intricate em- broidery of indescribable tints—all manner of browns, and greys, and blacks, with golden and other hues of metals, are here pencilled and blended with magic effect. The caterpillar, which feeds on the common nettle, is thorny, yellowish grey in colour, with light yellow linef on each side and black markings. The chrysalis is brownish, with gold spots. The butterfly usually comes out in August, and may be met with till early in October. The hybernated speci- mens of this are more rarely seen than those of any of the other common Vanessas. Like others of its genus, the Eed Admiral is familiar, and even saucy, in its maimers, seeming to prefer the haunts of men to the solitudes that other insects love, flaunting boldly before our face in gardens and tigh« ways, where most we meet it. It is found commonly all over the country 120 british butterflies. THE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. (Vanessa Io.) (Plate YI1T. fig. 2.) The form and markings of tins species, so distinct from every other of our butterflies, will be seen by reference to the plate; and as to its colouring, I will not do it the injustice to attempt a description of its rich perfec- tion, more especially as almost every reader may hope to add the insect to his collection during his first year's hunting, and then he can study its beauties for himself The under side, however, presents a remarkable con- trast to the splendour of the reverse, being covered with shades and streaks of funereal blacks and browns. This affords a strange effect when the insect, sitting on a flower head, alternately opens and shuts the wings with a fanning motion, according to its custom. The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 6), which feeds grega- riously upon the nettle, is black, dotted with white, and thorny. The chrysalis is greenish, with gold spots. The butterfly, which is common in nearly every part of England, comes out in August and September, the individuals met with not unfrequontly in the spring having hybernated. Mr. Doubleday writes thus to the Zoologist regarding the winter retreats of butterflies of this genus:— Last peacock—cambeewell beatjty. 121 winter some large stacks of beech faggots, which had been loosely stacked up in our forest (Epping) ths preceding spring, with the dead leaves adhering to them, were taken down and carted away, and among these were many scores of Io, Urlicce, and Polychloros. In Scotland this is generally a very rare butterfly, but has latterly been abundant in Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. THE CAMBERWELL BEAUTY. (VanessaAntiopa.) (PlateVIII. fig. 3.) Many years ago, when Camberwell was a real village, luxuriating in its willows, the entomologists of the day were delighted by the apparition, in that suburb, of this well-named Beauty, whose name since then has always been associated with Camberwell—certainly not a promising place in the present day for a butterfly hunt, for, though it has its beauties still, they are not of the lepidopterous order, nor game for any net that the entomologist usually carries. Since then it has been found at intervals, and in very variable abundance, in a wide range of localities. The arrangement of colours in this butterfly is most remarkable and unusual, by reason of the sudden con- trast between the pale whitish border and the velvet depth of the colours it encloses. 122 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. The inmost portion of all the wings is a deep rich chocolate brown, then comes a band of black, including a row of large blue spots, and succeeded by an outer border of pale yellow tint, partially dappled with black specks. The caterpillar feeds on the willow (which accounts for its former appearance in Camberwell). It is thorny, black, with white dots, and a row of large red spots down the back. The chrysalis is very angular, and blackish with tawny spots. The butterfly comes out of the chrysalis late in the autumn, and is seen from August till October; but a great proportion of those observed in this country have survived the winter, and have been seen abroad again in the spring. It has been frequently seen feast- ing on over-ripe or rotten fruit, and at such times may be often surprised and captured with ease. Ho spot can be pointed out where one can expect to meet with this fine insect; but it has appeared singly at intervals in the following localities among others :—Scotland, Ayrshire; Durham; Scarborough; York; Darlington ;♦Sheffield; Manchester; Lake Dis- trict; Appleby; Coventry; Peterborough j Oxford ; Burton-on-Trent; Norfolk ; Lincolnshire ; Suffolk ; Bristol; Ely ; Shrewsbury ; Plymouth; Teignmouth ; Kent; Ashford; Bromley; Tenterden ; Eamsgate ; various places in neighbourhood of London; Epping ; Hampshire; Isle of "Wight; Lewes ; Worthing. iiarge tortoiseshell. 123 Or tho Continent this is a common butterfly, in fiiany places being the most abundant of all the Fanetsas. THE LARGE TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY (Vanessa Polychloros.) (Plate IX. fig. i.) The beginner often has a slight difficulty in finding a good and permanent distinction between this species and the next (V. Urticoe). At the first blush, the superior size of this seems to be a sufficient mark, and then the orange of the wings has usually a much browner, or more tawny hue, than that of Urticoe; but as I have seen specimens of Polychloros absolutely smaller than some very large Urticans, and as the colour of both occasionally varies, so that they approach each other in this respect also, it is evident we must look for some better mark of distinction; and here is one. In Polychloros, all the light markings between the black spots on the upper edge of the front wing are yellow, whereas in Urticce the outer one next the blue and black border is pure pearly white. The two other marks on the front edge are yellow. Polychloros has also, neat the lower corner of the front wing, an extra black spot, not found in Urticce. The blue tpots on the border are in this species almost confined to the hind wings. 124 british butterflies. The caterpillar generally feeds on the elm, whence the butterfly is occasionally called the Elm Butterfly, but it has also been found on the willow, and on tha white beam-tree. Mr. Boscher of Twickenham informs mo that the specimens he has bred from caterpillars fed on the willow have been all far below the average size. The caterpillar is thorny, and of a tawny colour, broadly striped with black along 932b side. The chrysalis is of a dull flesh colour, with golden spots. The butterfly makes its appearance in J oly and August, hybernated specimens being also frequently seen in the spring, from March till May. In some places and seasons it is not rare, but is very uncertain in its appearance, abounding most in the southern districts, and being almost unknown in Scot- land. It is fond of gardens and other frequented places. THE SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY (Vanessa Urticce.) (Plate IX. fig. 2.) This pretty species is much commoner than the last* being, in fact, the most plentiful of all the genus, and found everywhere, in gardens, by woedy road-sides and waste grounds, &c. Its markings are very similar to those of the last, but the colouring R much more gay and brilliant. SMALL TOBTOISESHELl.. 125 The distinguishing mark of this species—the pos- session of a pure white spot near the upper corner of the front wing—has been already pointed out under V. Polychloros. The blue crescent-spots of the border are much moro marked than in the last, and extend along the edge of the front wing. The orange colour also approaches a scarlet, and the yellow spots have a brighter hue than in Polychloros. The caterpillar, which is found feeding in large com- panies on the nettle, is of greyish colour, with a black line on the back, and brown and yellow stripes on the sides. Thorny, like rest of the genus. The chrysalis is generally of a brown hue, spotted with gold, but I have seen it gilded all oyer, making a very splendid appearance. Hybernated individuals of this butterfly are seen during the spring months, but the first emergence from the chrysalis takes place in June, and the insect is seen on the wing constantly from that time till October. The following interesting notice of the capture of a swarm of these butterflies in mid-winter, is quoted, from the Zoologist, p. 5000. The writer is a Mr. Banning, resident near Ballacraine, in the Isle of Man :— Whilst standing in my farm-yard on the day fol- lowing Christmas-day (1855), it being unusually fine and warm, I wa3 suddenly astonished by the fall of 126 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. more than a hundred of the accompanying butterflies (V. Urticce). I commenced at once collecting them, and succeeded in securing more than sixty. These I have fed on sugar spread over cabbage-leaves and bran until now, and, to all appearances, those which still survive (more than forty in number) are thriving well, and in good condition. THE COMMA BUTTERFLY. (Grapta C. Album) (Plate IX. fig. 3.) The singularly jagged outline of this butterfly at once distinguishes it from every other native species, though, did we not know it as a distinct species, it might have been taken for one of the two pievious species very much stunted, deformed, and torn, so similar is it in colour and the plan of its markings. The upper surface is deep fulvous, or rusty orange, and marked with black and dark brown. In different individuals, the under side varies greatly in its tints and markings, especially near the border of the wings, which are sometimes of a deep rich olive brcwn, some- times pale tawny. They all agree, however, in bearing in the centre of the hind wings the character from which the insect takes its specific name, viz. a white mark in form of the letter C, which has also been likened with less justice to a f whence its English name of Comma. COMMA. 12? The female is of a paler tint than the male, and the edges of the wings are less deeply scalloped and cut. The figure is that of a male. The caterpillar is tawny-coloured; hut the hack, for ahout the hinder half its length, is whitish; head black. The body is armed with short spines, and there are two ear-like tubercles projecting from the side of the head. It has been found feeding on the elm, willow, sloe, currant, nettle, and hop. The chrysalis is of the curious shape shown at fig. 24, Plate I.; of a brownish tint, with gold spots. The butterfly appears in July and August, and hy- bernated individuals in the spring, up till May. Its range seems to be nearly confined to the Midland and Western districts. It was formerly found near London, and in other places, whence it has now disappeared. The following localities are given for it:—Carlisle and the Lake district, York, Green Hammerton (York- shire), Doncaster, Broomsgrove (Worcestershire), War- wickshire, Peterborough, Scarborough, Barnwell Wold (Northamptonshire), Bristol, Gloucester, Dorchester. I found it very plentiful on the banks of the Wye, in 1858; and in the following May I took one in South Wales, at Pont-y-Pridd. In Scotland, Pifeshiro has been mentioned as a locality. Tliis is a rapid flyer, and not very easily caught whexi fresh on the wing. 128 british butterflies. THE SILVER-WASHED FEITILLARY (Argynnis Paphia.) (Plate IX. fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female.) The beautiful genus to which, this butterfly belongs ia distinguished by the adornment of silvery spots and streaks with whioh the under side of the hind wings is bedight; while the upper surface is chequered with black, upon a rich golden-brown ground, the device reminding one of those old-fashioned chequered flowers called fritillaries, whence the common name of these butterflies. Of all the British Fritillaries, this is, perhaps, the loveliest, from the exquisite softness and harmony of tie silvery pencillings on the iridescent green of the under side; though some of the others with bright silver spots are gayer and more sparkling. The two sexes differ considerably on the upper sur- face; the male being marked with black (as in the engraving) upon a bright orange-brown ground, while the female is without the broad black borders to the veins of the front wings, and the ground colour is suf- fused with an olive-brown tint, inclining sometimes to green. The black spots are also larger. Beneath, how- ever, both sexes are marked nearly alike with washy tlreaks of silver, and not with defined spots. DARK-GREEN ERITILLARY. 129 The caterpillar (fig. 7, Plate I.), as with all the Fritit laries, is thorny, with two spines behind the head longer than the rest; black, with yellow lines along the back and sides. It feeds on violet leaves, also on the wild raspberry and nettle. The chrysalis (fig. 16, Plate I.) is greyish, with the tubercles silvered or gilt. The butterfly is out in July and August, and is not rare in the woods of the South and Midland districts, but it also extends its range into Scotland. On the banks of Wye, about Tintern and Monmouth, I found it extremely abundant. It has been seen swarming in a teasel-field, near Selby, Yorkshire. Its predilection for settling on bramble sprays has been alluded to on page 47. THE DARK-GREEK FRITILLARY. (Argynnis Aglaia.) (Plate X. fig. 1, Male.) Tms is a handsomely-marked insect—orange-brown, chequered with black, above. Beneath, the front wing is coloured nearly as above, but bears near the tip several silvery spots. The hind wing is splendidly studded with rounded spots of silver, on a ground partly tawny, partly olive-green and brown. The male is the sex repro- K 130 british butterflies. sented, the female being darker above, both as to the ground colour and markings. The caterpillar, which feeds on the dog-violet, is very similar to that of the last; as also is the chrysalis. The butterfly is out in July and part of August, and may be seen in a variety of situations, from the breezy tops of heathy downs, to close-grown forest-lands in the valleys; and it seems to be distributed over the whole of the country, occurring in widely distant localities, from the south coast to Scotland. THE HIGH-BROWN FRITILLARY. (Argynnis Adippe.) (Plate X. fig. 2.) On the upper surface, this insect so closely resembles the last, that it is difficult in a description to discri- minate between them; but beneath, the two are dis- tinguished by the absence in Adippe of the silvery spots near the tip of the front wing; and though there is some similarity in the arrangement of the silver spot* on the hind wing, and in its general colouring, Adippe is distinguished by a row of rust-red spots, with small silvery centres, between the silver border spots and the next row inwards. By comparing the figures of the under sides of Adippe and Aglaia, these will be readily made out MGlt-BEOWN FEITIEBARY—QITEEN OF SPAIN. 181 The caterpillar is thorny, greyish, with black spots 011 the back, intersected by a white line. Feeds on the riolet. The chrysalis is reddish, spotted with silver. The butterfly appears in July, in many open places, in woods, and on heaths, in various parts of England, but most plentifully in the south. Like the last species, it is an active and wary insect on the wing, and requires considerable agility and'dexterity for its capture. THE QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY. (Argynnis Lathonia.) (Plate X. fig. 3.) This splendid little species is one of the prize-flies of the collector—that is, if the specimen be an undoubted native ; for while a Queen of Spain taken within our shores will command a considerable sum of money in the market, another, precisely similar, but brought over from the opposite French coast, may be bought for a very few pence; but the mode of carriage, you sec, makes all the difference, and the value of the insect depends entirely upon whether its own wings or a steam-boat have brought it over the Channel. So much for the fancy. When figured side by side with the other Fritillaries this species looks distinct enough from any of theui, K 3 182 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. but it has been several times confounded with smalt specimens of Adippe and with Euphrosyne, and its capture has thereupon been erroneously published; but this must have been the effect of a description imper- fectly written or read. It will be observed that the form of the front wings differs in this from the rest oi the Fritillaries, the outer margin being concave in its outline. The inner corner of the hind wings also is more sharply angular. Above, the colouring of the wings is similar to that of the others of the genus, tawny-brown and black. Beneath, the front wing has a group of silver spots neai the tip, the ground colour of the hind wing is yellowish, and the silver spots are proportionately larger than in the other species; near the margin of the hind wingt and parallel with its edge, are seven dark-brown spots with silver centres. The caterpillar is brown, striped with white, and yellowish tint; head, legs, and thorns, tawny coloured. It feeds on the wild heartsease, also on sainfoin and borage. The chrysalis is tinted with dull-'green and brown, and spotted with gold. The butterfly is said to be double-brooded- —one brood appearing in June, the other in September. The most likely places in which to look for it are clover fields in the south of England, and more especially on the south- east coast Though still classed among the rarest of British butterflies, it has been found in a great many rearj,-bordered fritillary. 133 localities. It has been taken at Brighton; Shoreham; Eastbourne; Dover; Margate; Ashford; Chatham; Exeter; Bristol; Harleston, near Norwich \ Colchester; Xavenham; Peterborough, THE PEAEL-BOEDEEED EEITILLAEY, (Argynnis Euphrosyne.) (Plate X. fig. 4.) This very common insect is considerably smaller than any of the preceding species, though small specimens of the last sometimes do not much exceed it in size. The upper surface is lively orange-brown, with black markings. Beneath, the hind wing is mapped out with black lines into various irregular spaces, all of which are filled with tints of dull yellow, ochreous, or reddish orange; excepting a row of silver spots on the border, one silver spot in the centre of the wing, and one triangu- lar one close to the root of the wing. The caterpillar is black, with white lines; and the pro-legs red. It feeds on various species of viola. The butterfly appears first in May, and there is another brood in autumn, about August. It frequents woods and hedgerows, being met with most profusely in the south; hut its range is extended into Scotland. In Ireland I believe it is unknown, 134 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. HIE SMALL PEABL-BOBDEBED EBITILLABY. (Argynnis Selene.) (Plate XI. fig. 1.) This butterfly, which is very nearly related to the last, often so closely resembles it in the marking of the upper surface, that even practised eyes are sometimes at a loss to distinguish the two, without a reference to the under side ; for on this side do the real distinctive marks lie, and chiefly on the hind wing. In addition to the silver border and central spots of Euphrosyne, this species has several other silvery or pearly patches distributed over the hind wing; and the reddish-orange colour adjoining the silver border in Euphrosyne is exchanged for dark chestnut-brown in Selene. In average size the two insects differ very slightly, though the name of this expresses an inferior size. The caterpillar much resembles that of the last, and feeds on violet-leaves. The chrysalis is greyish. The butterfly is double-brooded, appearing first in May and again in August. It is not so common an insect as Euphrosyne, but is met with in similar situa- tions, and has a range nearly co-extensive with that of the latter. glanville fritillary. 135 THE GLAXVILLE FEITILLAEY. (Meliicea Cinxia.) (Plate XI. fig. 2.) Thoush usually rather abundant where it occurs at all, this insect is one of the most local of all our butterflies, and I can only find recorded about a dozen places for it in the country. Of these, the Isle of Wight is the great metropolis of the insect, and there, in many place* round the coast, numerous colonies have been established This butterfly is distinguished from the next (M. Athalia), which it very much resembles, principally by the characters on the under surface. The hind wing (beneath) is covered with alternate bands of bright straw-colour and orange-brown, divided by black lines; and possesses in the marginal straw- coloured band a row of clear black spots. Another row of black spots crosses the centre of the wing. It will also be observed, that the hind wings have on their upper surface a row of black spots parallel with, and not far from, the margin. The colouring of the upper side is orange-brown with black markings. The caterpillar, which feeds on the narrow-leaved plantain, is thorny and black, with reddish head and legs. The chrysalis is brownish, marked with fulvous tint. A highly interesting account of the habits and IS6 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES, history of this "butterfly in all its stages has been sketched from the life by the Rev. J. F. Dawson (who has made an intimate acquaintance with a colony of the insect at Sandown, Isle of Wight), and will be found in the Zoologist, p. 1271. The butterfly first appears about the first or second week "in May, and thence continues till about the middle of June, seldom enduring till July. It is to be looked for in rough, broken ground, such as the Isle of Wight landslips, where plenty of the narrow-leaved plantain grows. Other localities for the Glanville Fritillary are, Folke- stone below West-Cliff (abundant); round Dover; Birchwood; Dartford, Kent; Stapleford, near Cam- bridge; Yorkshire; Lincolnshire; Wiltshire; Peterboro', Stowmarket; and in Scotland, at Falkland in Fifeshirn THE PEARL-BORDERED LIKENESS FRITILLARY. (Melitoea Athalia.) (Plate XI. fig. 3.) This is another very local butterfly, though rather more widely and generally distributed than the last, which, as before stated, it greatly resembles in appearance, especially on the upper side. greasy or marsh fritillary, 137 It may be characterised negatively as not having the rows of black spots found on both surfaces of Cinxia, though its colouring is very similar—fulvous (or orange- brown) and black above; straw-coloured, fulvous, and black beneath. The caterpillar is black, with rust-coloured spines; and feeds on various species of plantain. The butterfly is out from May to July, and is met with (if at all) on heaths, clearings in woods, &c. Localities, in some of which it is very plentiful, are, Caen Wood; Coorube Wood; Epping; Halton, Bucks; Bedford; Aspley Wood, Beds ; Plymouth, Teignmouth, Stowmarket, Dartmoor, Devonshire; Oxford; Wilt- shire; Colchester; St. Osyth; Tenterden; Eaversham; Deal; Canterbury. Yery rare in north of England. THE GREASY OR MARSH FRITILLARY. (Melitaea Artemis.) (Plate XL fig. 4.) The black markings on the upper side of this but- terfly closely approach those of the last two species, but the interstices, instead of being filled up with a uniform fulvous tint, as in those, are coloured in with several distinct shades, some with pale tawny yellow, others with deep orange brown. This latter tint forms a band parallel 138 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. to the outer margin of each wing, the "band on the front wings *ving a row of pale spots in it; that on the hind wings a row of black spots. Beneath, the upper wing has an appearance of the markings haying been smudged together, and a shining surface, as if it had been greased, whence the common name of the insect; the hinder wings are like those of the two last, yellowish, banded with brownish orange, the outer band of which bears a series of black spots each surrounded by a pah yellowish ring. The front edge of the front wing is slightly concave in its outline, about the middle,#whereas it is convex in Cinxia and Athalia. The caterpillar is black, with reddish brown legs. It is gregarious, feeding under protection of a web upon the leaves of plantain, devils-bit scabious, and some other plants. The chrysalis is drabbish, with darker spots, and is said to suspend itself by the tail from the top of a tent- lilce structure made of blades of grass spun together at the top. The butterfly appears in June (sometimes a little earlier or later), and frequents marshy meadows, moist woods, &c., but is a very local insect, abounding most in the south. The specimens, however, that I have seen from the north, are much larger, brighter, and more distinctly marked than the southerners. The nearest localities to London are, Hornsey, and Copthall Wood at the top Df Muswell Hill; West Wickham Wood, and High- duke of burgundy fritillary. 139 Beech Epping). It is also found near Brighton (plen tifully); Carlisle; Durham; Burton-on-Trent; York j Haverfordwest, S. W.; Cardiff, S. W.; Weston-super- Mare; Bristol; and a great number of other places dis- fcributed throughout the country. In Ireland at Ardra- han, co. Galway. Bare in Scotland. THE DUKE OE BUBGUNDY EBITILLARY. (Nemeobius Lucina.) (Plate XI. fig. 5.) Though this little insect bears the name of Fritillary, at the end of its lengthy and important title, it really belongs to a family widely differing from that of any of the true Eritillaries previously described, and it only shared their name on account of its similarity in colour and markings. The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 8), instead of being long and thorny like those of the true Eritillaries, is short,, thick, and wood-louse shaped. Its colour is reddish brown, with tufts of hair of the same colour. It feeds on the primrose. The chrysalis differs from that of the true Fritillaries as much as the caterpillar does, being of the form, and ouspended in the manner, shown at fig. 25, Plate I. The butterfly is chequered on the upper surface with 140 british butterflies. tawny, and dark brown or black. It appears in Ma> and June, and again in August, being found in woods, principally in tbe soutb, and its range is often confined to a small spot hardly fifty yards in diameter, within which it may be quite plentiful. The following aro among its recorded localities :—Carlisle; Lake District; "West Yorkshire; Eoche Abbey, Yorkshire; Peter- borough; Stowmarket; Pembury; Barnwell Wold, Northants ; Oxford; Blandford ; Worcester; Glouces- tershire; Bedfordshire; Epping; CoombeWood; Darenth Wood ; Boxhill; Dorking; Brighton; Lewes; Worth- ing ; Lyndhurst; Teignmouth. The males of all the members of the family to which this butterfly belongs, and of whicn this is the sole European representative—the ErycinidjE—have only four legs adapted for walking, whilst the females have six. THE BEOWH HAIE-STEEAK (Thecla Betulee.) (PlateXII. fig. 1, Male; 1 a, Female.) The genus to which this butterfly belongs, contains five British species, elegant and interesting insects, though not gaily tinted. They are most obviously distinguished from other small butterflies by the tail-like projection on the lower edge of their hind wings (though one of their BROWN HAIR-STREAK. 141 inimber, T. Rubi, has this very slightly developed). From each other they are best distinguished by the characters on their under surface, where they all bear a more or less distinct hair-like streak, whence their com- mon name—Hair-streak. The Brown Hair-streak is the largest of the genus, measuring sometimes an inch and two-thirds in expanse. The two sexes differ considerably on the upper surface, the male being of a deep brown colour, slightly paler near the middle of the front wing, while the female possesses on the front wing a large patch of clear orange. Both sexes have several orange marks upon the lower angles of the hind wings. Beneath, the general colour is tawny orange with duller bands, and marked with one white line on the front wing, and two parallel white lines on the hind wings. The caterpillar is green, marked obliquely with white ; it feeds on the birch and also on the sloe. The butterfly appears in August, continuing into Sep- teinber. It is generally distributed through the south, but is by no means an abundant insect. Mr. Stain- ton observes that it has a habit of flitting along in hedges just in advance of the collector ; but it is also found in oak woods in company with the Purple Hair- streak. Forty were taken in a season in woods near Henffeld, Sussex. Other localities are, Underbarrow Moss, West- moreland; Horth Lancashire, common in some parts; Preston; Valley of the Drvey, Montgomeryshire; 142 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Cardiff", S. W.; Barnwell Wold; Peterborough; Col- Chester; Epping; Darenth Wood; Coombe Wood; Brighton ; Tenterden ; Winchester; Woolmer Forest, Hants; Plymouth; Dartmoor ; Wallingford, Berks ; fpswich; Dorsetshire ; Norfolk Wiltshire ; Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire. THE BLACK HAIR-STREAK ( Thecla Pruni.) (Plate XII. fig. 2.) The upper side is very dark brown, sometimes almost black, and bearing near the hinder edge of the hind wings a few orange spols. This character will at once distinguish this from the next species (IF. Album"). On the under side of the hind wing is a broad band oj orange, having a row of black spots on its inner edge. The caterpillar is green, with four rows of yellow spots. It feeds on the sloe. The butterfly comes out about the end of June or in July. It is generally a very rare insect, but is occa- sionally taken in great plenty in certain spots. The Rev. W. Bree, writing to the Zoologist from the neigh- bourhood of Polebrook, North Hants, says, Thecla Pruni is very uncertain in its appearance. In 1837 it literally swarmed in Barnwell and Ashton Wolds ; I do not scruple to say that it would have been possible white letter hair-streaff. 143 to capture some hundreds of them, had one been so disposed; for the last few years it has appeared very sparingly indeed. It has also been found in the fol- lowing localities:—Overton Wood; Brington, Hunting- donshire; and Monks Wood, Cambridgeshire. THE WHITE LETTER HAIR-STREAK. {Theda IP". Album.) (Plate XII. fig. 3.) This is very much like the last in appearance, and has often been mistaken for it by inexperienced eyes. The points of difference are—on the upper side, the absence of the orange band at the hinder edge of the hind wings, and the presence of a bluish grey circumflex line at the inner angle; here aLc is sometimes a small orange dot;—beneath, the orangi mind forms a series of arches, bounded on the edge nearest the root of the wing by a clear black line instead )f the rounded black spots seen at this part in Pruni. The caterp 'Jdar, which feeds cm Che elm, is wood- louse shaped; pea-green, barred with yellow; head black. May be beaten off elm trees in May. The butterfly appears in July, and is found in various situations, sometimes flying high up round elm trees, sometimes descending to bramble hedges, or fluttering 144 British butterflies. at out in weedy fields a foot or two from tlie ground. P, was formerly a much, rarer insect than at present, and now its appearance in any given locality is a matter of much uncertainty. Mr. J. F. Stephens writes as follows to the Zoologist:— For eighteen years I possessed four bleached speci- mens only of Thecla W. Album, having vainly endea voured to procure others, when, in 1827, as elsewhere recorded, I saw the insect at Eipley, not by dozens only, but by scores of thousands ! and although I frequented the same locality for thirteen years subsequently, some- times in the season for a month together, I have not since seen a single specimen there; but in 1833 I caught one specimen at Madingley "Wood, near Cam- bridge. Other localities :—Near Sheffield; Eoche Abbey ; York; Peterborough; near Doncaster; Polebrook, Nor than ts ; Allesley, Warwickshire ; Brington, Hunt- ingdonshire; Yaxley and Monks Wood, Cambridge- shire; Needwood Forest, Staffordshire; Wolverston, near Ipsvrich; Chatham ; Southgate, Middlesex; Wesi Wi :kbam Wood ; Epping; Bristol purple hair-streak. 145 THE PURPLE HAIR-STREAK (Thecla Quercus.) (Plate XII. fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female) At once the commonest and the handsomest of the Hair-streaks, being found in almost every part of Eng- land where there is an oak wood, and looking like a small Purple Emperor, with its rich gloss of the im- perial colour. The male has all the wings, in certain lights, of a dark brown colour, but with a change of position they be- come illuminated with a deep rich purple tint, extend- ing over the whole surface excepting a narrow border, which then appears black. The female has the purple much more vivid, but confined to a small patch extend- ing from the root to the centre of the front wing. Beneath, the wings are shaded with greyish tints, crossed by a white line on each wing, and having two orange spots at the inner corner of the hind wing. The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 9), which feeds on the oak, is reddish brown, marked with black. The chrysalis, which is sometimes attached to the leaves of the oak, and at others is found under the surface of the earth at the foot of the tree, is a brownish object, of the lumpy shape shown in Plate I. fig. 28 (a form shared by the chrysalides of all the Hair-streaks), h 146 british butterflies. Tlie butterfly is seen in July and August;, flitting about in sportive groups round oak trees, and occa- sionally descending within reach of the net. It also affects other trees besides oaks, some thirty or forty at a time having been seen gambolling about one lima tree. It being so generally distributed, it will be need- less to particularize its localities. THE GREEN HAIR-STREAK. (Thecla Rubi.) (Plate XII. fig. 5.) This pretty little species is at once known from all other English butterflies by the rich bright green colour that overspreads its under surface. Above, the wings are deep, warm brown. The caterpillar is green, spotted and striped with white, and feeds on the bramble; also on the broom, and other plants of the same order. The butterfly appears first in May and June, and again in August, it being double-brooded. It is found flying about rough brambly hedges, and often settles on the outer leaves of low trees about a dozen feet from the ground. It seems to occur generally throughout the country, and extends into the southern parts of Scotland. It has been found in many localities clow to London. small copper butterfly. 147 THE SMALL COPPER BUTTERFLY. (Ch?*ysophanus Phlceas.) (Plate XIII. fig. 1.) We now arrive at a genus characterized by the splendid golden or burnished coppery lustre and tint of their tvings; of which, however, the present little species is the only one that remains to us, should the Largt Copper be really (as it is feared) extinct. This little, but lively representative of the genus, is one of our commonest and most widely distributed but- terfiies, flashing about in the sunshine, joining in a dance with the no less lively blues, or settling on the lilac flowers of the scabious, &c., whose soft tones set off to the best advantage the metallic effulgence of this little gem. The caterpillar feeds on sorrel leaves; is green, with three red stripes. The chrysalis and caterpillar both resemble in shape those of the Hair-streaks. The butterfly is supposed to be triple-brooded, coming out in April, June, and August ] and is so common, that no localities need he given. £ % 148 british butterflies. THE LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY. (Chrysophanus Dispar.) (Plate XIH. fig. 2.) A few years ago, this was the pride of British, en to- mology, for we were supposed to have the insect en- tirely to ourselves, it being unknown on the Continent, whilst it literally swarmed in some of the fens ol Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Then, from some cause, never satisfactorily explained, it almost suddenly disappeared, and, there is reason to fear, has become quite extinct in this country. Still, hopes are entertained that it may be surviving in some unexplored districts, and that it will again turn up. As comparatively very few persons have ever seen this splendid creature on the wing, the following commu- nication from one who has, quoted from the Intelligencer will be of interest to those who have not read it in that periodical. It is from the pen of Mr. E. C. F. Jenkins, Sleaford, Lincolnshire. He writes : I proceed to give you some account of my own acquaintance with that most beautiful insect, which, some thirty years ago, was so abundant in the unreclaimed feus about Whittlesea Mere, that I never expected to hear of its utter exter- mination. Its brilliant appearance on the wing in tlio sunshine I shall never forget, and to watch it sitting on LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY. 149 the flower of the Eupaiorium cannabinum and show the under sides of its wings, was something ever tc be remembered. I once took sixteen in about half an hour on one particular spot, where the above-mentioned plant was very plentiful; but unless the sun was very bright they were very difficult to find. In those days the larva was unknown, and I attribute the disappearance of the butterfly to the discovery of the larva, to the unceasing attacks of collectors, and to the burning of the surface-growth of the fens, which is done in dry weather when they are to be reclaimed. The two sexes of this butterfly differ very remark- ably in the appearance of the upper surface. This, in the male, is of an effulgent coppery colour, narrowly bordered with black, and having a black mark in the centre of each wing. The female is larger, has a redder tinge, with a row of black spots on the front wings, and the hind wings nearly covered with black, except- ing a band of coppery red near the margin, extending also more or less distinctly along the courses of the veins. Underneath, both sexes are nearly alike, the hind wing of a general light blue tint, with a red bar?d near the margin, and spotted with black. The caterpillar is green, darker on the back, and paler at the sides, it feeds on the water dock. The butterfly used to be found in July and August, being formerly especially abundant about Yaxley and Whitt-lesea Mere, and has been taken also at Benacre, Suffolk ; and Dardolph Fen, Norfolk. 150 british butterflies. Various reports of its capture, during the last two OS three years, have been published; but they all seem 'to require confirmation. This butterfly is now generally considered to be a large local variety of the continental one called Hippo- f&odj with which it closely agrees in its markings. THE BLUES. (Genus Polyommatus.) "We now arrive at a numerous genus of elegant and lively little insects, collectively known as the Blues, though some of them are not blue at all. In their manners, and the localities they inhabit, there is so much in common, that one description of these will answer for nearly every one of them; so that my small available space will be in great part devoted to pointing out the marks of distinction between the various species, ten in number, several of them closely resembling others in general appearance, and requiring some care in their discrimination. Their caterpillars, which are wood-louse shaped, or onisciform, generally feed on low plants, chiefly of the papilionaceous order; and the butterflies are found in dry meadows, on downs, and in open heathy places. .Clie first species, P. Argiolus, is, however, an exception ta the above, both in its food and haunts. AZURE BLUE. 151 Several species of this genu3 are often found toge- fchcr. For example, in the Isle of Wight, last August^ I took P. Argiolus, Corydon, Adonis, Alexis, and Agestis, all within about one hour, and a space of a few yards square in the corner of a field. THE AZURE BLUE BUTTERFLY (Polyommatus Argiolus.) (Plate XIII. fig. 3, Male; 3 a, Female.) Colouring:—Upper side, beautiful lilac blue—the male with a narrow black border (fig. 3), the female with a broad one, sometimes extending over the outer half of the wing (fig. 3 a). Under side, very delicate silvery blue, almost white, with numerous small black spots. N"o red spots. Caterpillar, green, with darker line on back. Feeds m the flowers of holly, ivy, and buckthorn. The butterfly appears in May, or sometimes in April, and again in August, frequenting woods and hedges, especially where holly and ivy abound. 1 noticed im- mense numbers about the ivied walls of Chepstow Castle. As the name "Azure Blue is in general use, I have retained it above, but that of Holly Blue, sometimes 152 British butterflies. applied to it, is preferable, as its colour is much less an azure blue than that of Adonis. Localities :—Common in the south, and found as fai north as Durham and the Lake District Not known in Scotland. THE BEDFORD BLUE, OR LITTLE BLUE. (Polyommatus Alms.) (Plate XIIL fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female.) This is the smallest of British butterflies, specimens being sometimes seen even smaller than those figured. Colouring : — Upper side, dark brown, distinctly powdered with blue near the root of the wing in the male, without blue in the female. Under side, pale grey- drab, bluish near the base, marked with rows of black spots in pale rings. No red spots. Caterpillar, green, orange stripe down back, and streaks of same colour on each side. The butterfly is out in May and June, and i3 some- times seen much later. It is generally met with on limestone or chalky soils; and, from a long list of localities I have looked over, it seems to be distributed over England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. mazarine blue. 153 THE MAZARINE BLUE (Polyommatus Acts,) (Plate XIII. fig. 5, Male; 5 a, Female.) Colouring :—Upper side, male, deep purple, or ntaza* rine blue, with a border of black (fig. 5); female, dark brown (fig. 5 a). Under sides of both sexes similar, pale greyish drab, tinged at the base with greenish blue, numerous black spots in white rings. No red spots. Though this elegant butterfly was frequently met with some years ago, it has lately become one of our rarest species, and I can give no locality where it can be now found. It has been reported as taken lately at Ventnor, Isle of Wight, and somewhere in South Wales, also in other places, but only singly. Collectors, on visiting any new district, should net all the Blues they are not quite sure are common ones, and this may perchance turn up among ihem sometimes. The caterpillar is said to feed on the flower heads at common Thrift (Armeria vulgaris). The butterfly may be looked for in J aly 154 british butterflies. THE LARGE BLUE. (Polyommatm Arion.) (Plate XIV. fig. 1.) This is tlie largest of all our Blues, and, next to the last, the rarest, though still taken in some numbers every year. Colouring :—Upper side, dark blue, granulated with black scales that give it a dull aspect, having a black border, and a series of large black spots across the front wing. Under side, greyish drab, suffused with greenish blue near the body; towards centre, many black Bpots in indistinct light-coloured rings, and a double border of the same. No red spots. The caterpillar is unknown. The butterfly appears in July, frequenting rough, flowery pasture-grounds, but is exceedingly local A famous place for it is Barnwell Wold, about a mile and a half from the village of Barnwell, near Oundle, Northamptonshire, where the insect was discovered by the Rev. W. Bree many years ago ; but it is less abun- dant there than formerly, from the repeated attacks of collectors, who catch all they can find. Other localities, mentioned in various works, are—Brington, Hunting- donshire; Shortwood, and some other spots, near Cheltenham; Charmouth, Dorsetshire; Dover; Downs THE CHALK-HILL BLUE. 155 near Glastonbury, Somerset; Downs near Marlborough, Wiltshire; Broomham, Bedfordshire; near Bedford • near "Winchester. THE CHALK-HILL BLUE. (Polyommatus Gory don.) (Plate XIV. fig. 2, Male; 2 a, Female.) Colouring:—Upper side, male, pale silvery greenish blue, with very silky gloss, and shading off into a broad black border. Female, dark smoky brown, with a leaden tinge, sprinkled near the body with greenish blue scales of the same colour as the males ; border of orange spots, more or less visible. TJnder side marked as in fig. 2 a, on a brown ground, with a row of red spots near border oi hind wing. The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 10) is green, striped with yellow on the back and sides. The chrysalis is brownish, and of the shape shown at fig. 29, Plate I. The butterfly is out in July and August, frequenting chalky downs, especially in the south, and where it does occur is often extremely abundant Occasionally it is found off the chalk, having been seen in Epping Forest, decidedly not a chalk district Other localities 156 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. are—Croydon ; Brighton; Lewes; Dover ; "Winches ter; Isle of Wight; Halton, Bucks ; Newmarket; Peterborough ; Norfolk; Suffolk; Berkshire; Oxford shiro; Wiltshire ; Gloucestershire. At Grange, North Lancashire, it Is the commonest "Blue, not on chalk, but limestone. THE ADONIS BLUE. [Pdyommaius Adonis.) (Plate XIV. fig. 3, Male ; 3 a, Female.) Colouring:—Upper side, male, brilliant sky- blue, without any lilac tinge, bordered by a distinct black Jine, W\.q fringe distinctly barred with blaclcish. Female, dark smoky brown, sprinkled near body with pun Mite scales the colour of those of male ; border of orange spots, more or less visible. IJnder side, male, marked as in fig. 3; border of red spots. Female, almost exactly like that of Corydon (fig. 2 a), but usually has the black spots on the front wing smaller. Thi3 is a most lovely little butterfly, the blue of ita upper surface being quite unapproachable among native bisects, Mr. Stainton, speaking of the different blues of Corydc n and Adonis, happily observes that, Corydon THE COMMON BLUE, 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 iay [ believe, more confined to the south. THE COMMON BLUE. (Pclyommatus 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 hy 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 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 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 JEgon.) (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, sear 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. the brown argus, 159 The caterpillar is brown, with white lines. "Feeds on broom and other plants of the same order. The butterfly appears in July and August, and is very frequently met with throughout the country on heaths, commons, and downs, both on sandy and chalky soils. In many places it is the commonest of the Blues. It has been found at Epping ; Coombe "Wood; Darenth Wood; Box Hill; Bipley, Surrey; Brighton; Lewes; Deal; Lyndhurst; Blandford; Brandon, Suffolk; Holt, .Norfolk ; Birkenhead; Bristol; Sarum, Wiltshire ; LymeKegis; Parley Heath, Dorsetshire; Manchester; York ; several places in Scotland. THE BROWH ARGUS. (Polyommatus Agestis.) (Plate XIY. fig. 6.) Though this butterfly and the next are classed among the Blues, from their possessing the same structure and habits, there is no trace of blue in the colouring of either sex, as in all the preceding species of Polyommatus. In this species the colour of both sexes on the upper side is a warm, dark brown, having on all the wings a border of dark orange spots. The female hardly differs from the male, except in having this border broader, and more extended on the front wing; where, 160 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. in the male, it is sometimes very indistinct. The undei side much resembles that of the female of Alexis, the border of orange spots being even more distinct on the front wing than on the hind one. It will be observed on referring to Plate XIY. that on the under sides of all the butterflies there figured, there is an irregular black spot situated near the front edge of the upper wing and midway in its length—this is called the discoidal spot. It will also be observed that the common Blue (fig. 4) has, on the area of the wing, be- tween the discoidal spot and the root of the wing, two spots, which are absent in this species. This forms a very ready mark of distinction, though it requires a good many words to explain it. The caterpillar, which feeds on Erodium Gicutarium, and perhaps on Helianthemum (Rock Cistus), is green, with pale spots on the back, and a brownish line down • the middle. The butterfly appears in May and June, and again in August, and is common in very many localities in the south, being particularly abundant on the downs of the south coast and the Isle of Wiaht THE ARTAXERXES. 161 THE ARTAXERXES BUTTERFLY. {Polyommatus Artaxerxes.) (Plate XIV. fig. 7.) Colouring, same as in the last species (Agestis); hut on the upper surface, the orange border-spots are often hardly perceptible on the front wing, and there is a distinct white spot in the centre of the frout wings. The under side also is precisely like that of Agestis, with the black spots removed from the centre of the white rings, which are thus changed into large white spots, as shown in the figure. There has been a great deal of discussion among entomologists, as to whether this be a distinct species, or only a variety of Agestis. I believe it to be the latter, but do not attach much importance to the ques- tion; and as this butterfly is found under the name of Artaxerxes, in almost every cabinet, and is rather a famous little insect, I have thought it best to give it a separate heading under its usual title, and collecting readers may still label it in their cabinet either as above, or as "P. Agestis, var. Artaxerxes, and probably will be equally right either way. The popular nature and limited extent of this work will not, however, admit of the subject being entered into scientifically Qnd I can only here state that I have w 162 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. Been specimens from various parts of the country, that include every intermediate variety between the ordinary Agestis of the south, and the Artaxerxes of Scotland. The Durham Argus, formerly called P. Salmacis, forms one of these gradations. Against the idea of Agestis and Artaxerxes being one species, it has been objected, that the former is double, the latter single brooded. What of that 1 Plenty of species that are double-brooded in the south of Europe are well known to become single-brooded in a more northern situation. The caterpillar is said to be exactly like that of Agestis. It feeds on Helianihemum vulgarc (Dock Gistus). The butterfly is found in July and August in several parts of Scotland^ and the north of England. Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, has been long noted for producing it. THE SKIPPERS. (Family—Hesperidce.) These curious little butterflies form a very natural group; in many respects, both of structure and habits, approaching the moths, and therefore placed at the end of the butterflies. They are of small size, but robust appearance, and not brightly coloured. Their flight is rapid, but of short continuance, and they seem to skip the shippers. 163 from flower ta flower: lience their name. They ara chiefly distinguished scientifically from other butterflies by the form of the antennae, which are more or less hooked at the tip (see one magnified on Plate II. fig. 14), by the great width of the head, and the dis- tance between the roots of the antennae, by their moth- like habit of rolling up leaves for their habitation when caterpillars, and by spinning a cocoon for the chrysalis. The caterpillars are shaped as in fig. 11, Plate I.; the chrysalides, as in figs. 26 and 27. There are seven British species. THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER. (Thymete Alveolus.) (Plate XV. fig. 1.) The ground colour of this smart little butterfly is very dark brown, or black, with a greenish hue over it, and it is sharply marked with squarish spots of creamy white. The fringe is also chequered with the same colours. Sexes similar in appearance. The caterpillar feeds on the wild Raspberry, also, it is said, on Potentilla alba, and P. anserina, and is greenish, with white lines The butterfly appears in May, and again in August, being double-brooded. It appears to be common in grassy wood-openings all over the country, extending also into the south of Scotland. m 2 164 british butterflies. THE DINGY SKIPPER (Phanaos Tages.) (Plate XV. fig. 2.) Certainly a rather "dingy butterfly, its colour being dull grey brown, with confused bands of darker brown ; near the border a row of whitish dots. Sexes similar. The caterpillar (fig. 11,' Plate I.) feeds on Bird's- foot Trefoil, and is pale green, with four yellow lines and rows of black dots. The chrysalis is shown at fig. 27, Plate I. The butterfly comes out in May and August, being double-brooded, and is found on bill-sides, dry banks, old chalk pits, &c. generally throughout the country, though it is less common than the last. It is also me; with frequently in Scotland. THE CHEQUERED SKIPPER. (Steropes Paniscus.) (Plate XV. fig. 3.) Sexes similar. Wings chequered with brownish black, and tawny orange above; beneath, in addition to the above colours, there are on the hind wing several bright THE shippers. 165 spots of pale buff distinctly outlined with dark brown— haying a much more ornamental effect than we generally meet with on the under surface in this family—the colouring on that side being usually faint and blurred so as to give a washed-out or wrong-sided appearance. The caterpillar is brown, striped and "collared with yellow; head black. It feeds on the Plantain, also on Dog's-tail Grass (Cynosurus cristatus). The butterfly appears in June, but is very local—being either found plentifully in a place or not at all. It has occurred at Barnwell, and Ashton "Wold, Northants; Kettering; Sywell Wood, near Northampton; near Peterborough; Clapham Park Wood, and Luton, Bed- fordshire; Bourne, Lincolnshire; Monks Wood, Hunts; White Wood; Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire; Stow- market; Milton ; Rockingham Forest; Dartmoor; Netley Abbey; Charlbury, near Enstone, Oxon. THE LULWORTH SKIPPER. (Pamphila Actceon.) (Plate XV. fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female.) This plainly-coloured little butterfly, prized by collet tors for its rarity, has, in the male sex, great general resemblance to that of the next species—the common P. Linea—but Actceon may be distinguished by having the wings clouded over u early the whole surface with 166 British butterflies. dull brown, baying something of a greenish cast. Tha female is, however, very different from that of Lima, having all the wings of uniform dingy brown, excepting a crescent-shaped row of tawny spots near the tip of the front wing, and a more or less distinct streak of the same colour near the centre. The male Actceon is further distinguished from the female by the possession of a blackish streak near the centre of his front wing. Beneath, the wings are clouded obscurely with tawny yellow and a dingy brownish tint, the yellow tinge pro- dominating in the male. The caterpillar is unknown. The butterfly appears in July and August, but is sc extremely limited in its local range that it i3 only to be met with, so far as is known, in three spots—all on the same line of coast—viz. Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire; the "Burning Cliff, about five miles nearer "Wey- mouth along the coast; and at Sidmouth, Devonshire. At the present time I believe the "Burning Cliff is the locality where the insect is found in the greatest plenty. It is to be looked for on the rough broken ground covered with weeds that slopes down to the shore on this coast. Mr. Humphreys states that in 1835 he saw it in great abundance at Shenstone, near Lichfield. the skippers. 167 THE SMALL SKIPPER. {[Pamphila Liitca.) (Plate XV. fig. 5, Male; 5 a, Female.) Upper side, uniform orange tawny colour, shaded into brown at the borders. The male (fig. 5) has an oblique blackish line near the centre of the front wing; this is absent in the female (fig. 5 a). The males of this butter- fly very much resemble those of the last rare species (.Actceon), but they may be distinguished by the middle part of the upper wing not being clouded with brown, as it is in Actceon. Under side, two shades of tawny colour, but not spotted. The caterpillar is green, with four white lines, and feeds on grasses. The butterfly appears in July, and is very common and widely distributed. THE LARGE SKIPPER (Pamphila Sylvanus.) (Plate XV. fig. 6, Male j 6 a, Female.) Upper side, dark rich brown, shaded and spotted with tawny or fulvous tint. The male is known by a dark- 168 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. brown, &ttr/i£-looki\±g streak near the centre of the front wings; the female being without this mark. Undei side, greenish, with indistinct yellowish spots. The caterpillar is green (darker on the back), and dotted with black; spotted with white underneath. It feeds on various grasses. The butterfly appears in May, and again in August or the end of July; and is very common in almost every locality, frequenting grassy places in and near woods, road-sides, &c. THE SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER. (Pamphila Comma.) (Plate XV. fig. 7, Male; 7a, Female. This butterfly closely resembles the last, especially on the upper side; which is, however, more brightly and clearly marked. But the chief distinction is to be found on the under side, which is marked, on a greenish ground, with clear-cut, square white spots. The male, as in the last species, is distinguished by the thin blackish bar placed obliquely on the front wing. The outline of this species also differs somewhat from that of the last, especially in the males. This difference will be better understood by comparing figs. 6 and 7 on the plate, than by description. SKIPPERS. 169 The caterpillar is dull-green and reddish, with a white collar, and spotted with white near the tail-end. It feeds on leguminous plants. The butterfly appears in July and August, but is only found in a limited number of localities, and these chiefly in the southern counties; hut where found at all, it is generally abundant. Among its localities are the fol- lowing:—Croydon; Brighton; Lewes; Dover; Lynd- hurst; Blandford \ Plymouth; Old Sarum, Wiltshire; Barnwell and Ashton Wolds, Northamptonshire; Hal- ton, Bucks; Newmarket; Gogmagog Park, Cambridge; Hull j Scarborough. 170 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. REPUTED BRITISH SPECIES- Oy Plate XVI. are grouped together figures of sis species of butterflies which are not admitted into our regular British lists, on account of the extreme rarity of their capture, or the fact of their not having been observed at all for several years past. They are all common species in various parts of the Continent, and some of them will probably occur again in this country. Papilio Podalirius.—The SCARCE SWALLOW- TAILED Butterfly (fig. 1).—There is no reasonable doubt that several individuals of this elegant butterfly were formerly taken in various parts of the country, but no captures have occurred for many years past. The caterpillar, also, was more than once found in the Xew Forest District, Hampshire. Generally a common insect on the Continent. reputed british species. 171 Parnassius Apollo.—The APOLLO Butterfly (fig. 2).—I have good reason for believing that a specimen of this splendid Alpine butterfly was captured in this country very lately, and it is not at all impossible that it may be some day found on our north country moun- tains, or those of the Lake District. It is a most beautiful insect, with its singular semi-transparent and partially glazed wings; the lower of which bear large eye-spots of crimson-scarlet. Erebia Ligea.—The ABE AN BROWN Butterfly (fig. 3).—Of this species, greatly resembling our E. Blandina, several specimens were formerly taken by some entomologists in the Isle of Arran, where, as also in other mountain districts, it may probably still exist; but its haunts have to be re-disCovered by some enter • prising butterfly-hunter. From Blandina, which it almost exactly resembles on the upper surface, it may be distinguished by the mark- ing of the under side of the hind wing, on which is an irregular, broken band of pure white, and between this and the margin a row of three distinct black eye-spots. Argynnis Tia.—WEAVER'S FRITLLLARY. — This species is so nearly like Euphro?yne or Selena, on the upper surface, that it readily might be, and perhapa 172 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. sometimes is, passed by as one of tliose common insects. Underneath it is chiefly recognised by the beautiful blush of silvery purple that extends in a band across the middle of ths hind wings, and more faintly tinges the front wings near the tip. There is little reason to doubt that this insect was really taken by Mr. Richard "Weaver at Sutton Park, near Tamworth j also by Mr. Stanley, near Alderley, in Cheshire. Chryscphanus Chryseis.—The PURPLE-EDGED COPPER Butterfly.—As this species has been admitted by that very careful and accurate entomologist, Mr. Stainton, into his Manual, I cannot refuse it a place here, though, from all the information I can gain, ita only claim to the name of British rests on a tradition of its having been taken a long time ago in Ashdown Forest, Sussex; and since then, by a dealer, in Epping Forest. It is a beautiful insect, coppery red, bordered with changeable purple, and I should be glad to see it fairly established in our lists. Polyommatus B^ticus.—The LONG-TAILED BLUE.—This Butterfly has been long known, as a southern insect, with a very wide range of distribution, abounding in the south of Europe and thence extending into India, Java, &c. Then last year it was seen in REPUTED BRITISH SPECIES. 173 Guernsey, and in August of the same year an indivi- dual was actually captured in this country, the scene of the event being somewhere on the chalk downs in the neighbourhood of Brighton, and the fortunate captor being Mr. McArthur, of that town. My friend and neighbour, Dr. Allehin, of Bayswater, was on the spot at the time, and saw the insect shortly after its capture The butterfly, which on the upper side has some- what of the aspect of a female Common Blue, will be at once recognised by its long tail-like appendages to the hind wings. Beneath, its plan of colouring is totally distinct from that of any of our native Blues (Poly- omrnati), being destitute of the numerous little eye-like spots, which are replaced by bands of fawn colour and white; but at the lower angle of the hind wings are two spots of glittering metallic green, reminding one, on a small scale, of the eye of a peacock's feather. The habits of the insect are those of our Common Blues—skipping about over grassy places, and for a Common Blue it would on the wing be readily mistaken. Collectors will in the coming season doubtless search the south coast district thoroughly, and many a Common Blue will be apprehended on suspicion. Should our little friend Baeticus continue his north- ward progress (as we have some reason to hope he may), we may find him regularly enrolled on the native lists, and gracing the ranks of that select little company entitled Our British Butterflies. REFERENCES TO PLATES. PREPARATORY STATES AND DETAILS. PLATE I. Fig. Caterpillars of— 1. Swallow-tailed Butterfly. 2. Brimstone B. 3. Meadow-brown B. 4. White Admiral. 5. Purple Emperor. 6. Peacock B. 7. Silver-washed Fritillaiy. 8. Duke of Burgundy Fritillary. 9. Purple Hair-streak. 10. Chalk-hill Blue B. 11. Dingy Skipper. Chrysalides of— 12. Swallow-tailed B. in. Brimstone B. 14. Black-veined White B. 15. Large Garden White B. 10. Silver-washed Fritillary. 17. Orange-tip B. 18. Wood-white B. 10. Marbled-white B. 20. Meadow-brown B. 21. White Admiral. 22. Purple Emperor. 2 h Large Tortoiseshell B. 24. Comma B. 25. Duke of Bu gundy Fritillary. 20. Small Skipper B. 27. Dingy Skipper B. 28. Purple Hair-streak B. 29. Chalk-hill Blue B. PLATE II. Fig. 1. Egg of Garden White B. 2. — Queen of Spain Fritillary. 3. — Large Heath B. 4. — Peacock B. 5. — Large Tortoiseshell B. 6. — Meadow-brown B. 7. — Wood Argus. 8. Head of Red Admiral B., mag- nified. 9. Section of sucker of ditto, mag- nified. 10. Papilla} on end of do. magnified. 11. Portion of Eye of Butterfly, magnified. 12. Antenna of Fritillary, magnified- 13. — Swallow-tailed B., magnified. 14. — Skipper B.magnified. 15. Base of Antenna, magnified. 16. Arrangement of Scales on Wing, magnified. 17. Plumed Scale, magnified. 18. Long form of ditto, magnified. 19. Another form of ditto, magnified. 20. — from Small White B., magnified. 21. — from Orange-tip B., magnified. 22. Bittledore Scale from Blue B., magnified. 23. Ordinary Scale from Garden White B., magnified. 176 REFERENCES TO PLATES. Fig. 24. Ordinary Scale from Wood White, magnified. 25. Ditto. 26. Ordinary Scale from Brimstone B., magnified. 27. Ditto. 28. Ditto. 29. Ordinary Scale from Common Blue B., magnified. 80. Ditto. 81. Ditto. Fig. 32. Ordinary Scale from Small Tor toiseshell B., magnified. 33. Ditto. 34. Ditto. 35. Ditto. 36. Ordinary Scale from Chalk hill Blue B., magnified. 37. Ordinary Scale from Apollo B., magnified. 38. Form common to Vanessa genus, magnified. BUTTEBFLIES. PLATE III. Fig. 3. Swallow-tail. 2. Brimstone. 3. Clouded Yellow, 3 a, female. 4. Pale Clouded Yellow. PLATE IV. 1. Black-veined White. 2. Large Garden White. 3. Small Garden White. 4. Green-veined White. 5. Bath White. PLATE V. 1. Orange Tip, 1 a, female. 2. Wood White. 3. Marbled White. 4. Wood Argus. 5. Wall. 6. Grayling. PLATE VI. 1. Meadow Brown, 1 a, female. 2. 1 arge Heath. 3. Ringlet. 4. Scotch Argus. 5. Mountain Ringlet. 6. Small Ringlet. 7. Small Heath. PLATE VII. Fig. 1. White Admiral. 2. Purple Emperor. 3. Painted Lady. PLATE Vlfl. 1. Bed Admiral. 2. Peacock. 3. Camberwell Beauty. PLATE IX. 1. Large Tortoiseshell. 2. Small Tortoiseshell. 3. Comma. 4. Silver-washed Fritillary, 4 a, fern. PLATE X. 1. Dark Green Fritillary. 2. High-brown Fritillary. 3. Queen of Spain Fritillary. 4. Pearl-bordered Fritillary. PLATE XI. 1. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. 2. Glanville Fritillary. 3. Pearl-bordered Likeness Fritillary 4. Greasy Fritillary. 5. Duke of Burgundy Fritillary. REFERENCES TO ELATES. 177 Fig. PLATE XII. 1. Brown Hair-streak, 1 a, female. 2. Black Hair-streak. 3. White Letter Hair-streak. 4. Purple nair-streak, 4 a, female. 5. Gieen Hair-streak. PLATE XIII. 1. Small Copper. 2. Large Copper, 2 a, female. 3. nolly, or Azure Blue, 3 a, female. 4. Bedford Blue, 4 a, female. 5. Mazarine Blue, 5 a, female. PLATE XIV. 1. Large Blue. 2. Chalk-hill Blue, 2 a, female. 3. Adonis Blue, 3 a, female. 4. Common Blue, 4 a, female. Pig. 5. Silver-studded Blue, 5 ce, female. 6. Brown Argus. 7. Artaxerxes Butterfly. PLATE XV. 1. Grizzled Skipper. 2. Dingy Skipper. 3. Chequered Skipper. 4. Lulworth Skipper, 4 a, female. 5. Small Skipper, 5 a, female. 6. Large Skipper, C a, female. 7. Silver-spotted Skipper, 7 a, xem. PLATE XVI. 1. Scarce Swallow-tail. 2. Apollo. 3. Arran Brown. 4. Weaver's Fritillary. 5. Purple-edged Copper. 6. Tailed-Blue. INDEX. FAQK iatwn>» 27 Apollo Butterfly 171 Apparatus 89 Arran Brown B 171 Artaxerxes B 161 Artist and Butterfly 87 Ba*h White B. S8 black-veined White B 7/ Blues,The(GenusPo/(/ommoti . XOH3BOH t) SATIN "BROWN POLISH, For Brown and Russia Leather Boots and Shoes. Invaluable for Travelling Bags, Harness, etc. CA UTION.—See the Name SA TIN on all the above. 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