COLEMAN’S BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

A cheap Edition of this Work, in boards, with plain Illustrations is also
published, price 1s.

B R I T I S H B U T T E R F L I E S

FIGURES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF

EVERY NATIVE SPECIES

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF

BUTTERFLY DEVELOPMENT, STRUCTURE, HABITS, LOCALITIES,

MODE OF CAPTURE, AND PRESERVATION

By W. S. COLEMAN

AUTHOR OF “OUR WOODLANDS, HEATHS, AND HEDGES”

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

PRINTED IN COLOURS BY EDMUND EVANS

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WITH COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS.

{v}

P R E F A C E.

A desire to extend the knowledge of, and by so doing to extend the
love for, those sunny creatures called Butterflies, has prompted the
author to undertake this little work, which, though making no pretence to
a technically scientific character, will, it is hoped, be found
sufficiently complete and accurate to supply all information needful to
the young entomologist as to the names, appearance, habits, localities,
&c. of all our British Butterflies, together with a general
history of butterfly life—the mode of capture, preservation, and
arrangement in cabinets—the apparatus required, &c. At the same
time it is so inexpensive as to be accessible to every schoolboy.

The subject is one which has formed the delight and study of the
author from early boyhood, and butterfly-hunting still preserves its
fascinations, redoubling the pleasure of the country ramble in summer.
{vi}

Should this volume be the means of inciting some to seek this source
of healthful enjoyment, and to join in the peaceful study which may be so
easily pursued by all dwellers in the country, it will have succeeded in
its purpose.

The whole of the illustrative portraits of the butterflies have
been drawn from nature by the author, and with one exception from
specimens in his own collection. At least one figure of each species (of
the natural size) is given; but in very many instances, where the sexes
differ considerably from each other, both are figured, and the under
sides are also frequently added.

The greater number of the caterpillars and chrysalides,
however, being rarely met with, the figures on the first plate are nearly
all borrowed from the splendid and accurate works of Continental
authors—chiefly from Hübner and Duponchel.

With great pleasure, the author here acknowledges his obligations, for
many biographical facts relating to butterflies, to those highly useful
periodicals, the Zoologist and the Entomologist’s Weekly
Intelligencer, the former devoted to general natural history, the
latter especially to entomology, and whose pages register a {vii}mass of
interesting and original communications from correspondents who, living
in wide-spread localities, and possessing varied opportunities of
observation, have gradually brought together, under able editorship, a
store of facts that could never have come within the personal
experience of any one man, however industrious and observant.

The capture during the past year of a new and interesting butterfly
for the first time in this country, is recorded in this volume, in which
the insect is also figured and described.

Bayswater, April 1860.

{1}

BRITISH BUTTERFLIES.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

WHAT IS A BUTTERFLY—BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS—BUTTERFLY
LIFE—THE EGG STAGE—SCULPTURED CRADLES—BUTTERFLY
BOTANY—THE CATERPILLAR STAGE—FEEDING UP—COAT
CHANGING—FORMS OF CATERPILLARS—THE CHRYSALIS—MEANING OF
PUPA, CHRYSALIS, AND AURELIA—FORMS OF
CHRYSALIDES—DIFFICULTIES OF TRANSFORMATION—INFLUENCE OF
TEMPERATURE.

Occasionally a missive arrives from some benevolent friend, announcing
the capture of a “splendid butterfly,” which, imprisoned under a tumbler,
awaits one’s acceptance as an addition to the cabinet. However, on going
to claim the proffered prize, the expected “butterfly” turns out
to be some bright-coloured moth (a Tiger moth being the favourite
victim of the misnomer), and one’s entomological propriety suffers a
shock; not so much feeling the loss of the specimen, as concern for the
benighted state of an otherwise intelligent friend’s mind with regard to
insect nomenclature. {2}

It is clearly therefore not so superfluous as it might at first
otherwise seem, to commence the subject by defining even such a familiar
object as a butterfly, and more especially distinguishing it with
certainty from a moth, the only other creature with which it can
well be confounded.

The usual notion of a butterfly is of a gay fluttering thing, whose
broad painted wings are covered with a mealy stuff that comes off with
handling. This is all very well for a general idea, but the characters
that form it are common to some other insects besides butterflies. Moths
and hawk-moths have mealy wings, and are often gaily coloured too;
whilst, on the other hand, some butterflies are as dusky and plain as
possible. Thus the crimson-winged Tiger, and Cinnabar moths get
the name of butterflies, and the Meadow brown butterfly is
as sure to be called a moth. So, as neither colouring nor mealy
wings furnish us with the required definition, we must find some concise
combination of characters that will answer the purpose.
Butterflies, then, are insects with mealy wings, and whose horns
(called “antennæ”) have a clubbed or thickened tip, giving them more or
less resemblance to a drum-stick. So the difference in the shape of
the antennæ is the chief outward mark of distinction
between butterflies and moths, the latter having antennæ of
various shapes, threadlike or featherlike, but never clubbed at the
tip.

Having thus settled how a butterfly is to be recognized at sight, let
us see what butterfly life is: how the creature lives, and has
lived, in the stages preceding its present airy form.

{3}

In like manner with other insects, all butterflies commence their
existence enclosed in minute eggs; and these eggs, as if shadowing
forth the beauty yet undeveloped whose germ they contain, are themselves
such curiously beautiful objects, that they must not be passed over
without admiring notice. It seems, indeed, as if nature determined that
the ornamental character of the butterfly should commence with its
earliest stage; form, and not colour, being employed in its decoration,
sculpture being here made the forerunner of painting.

Some of these forms are roughly shown on Plate
II. (figs. 1-7), but highly magnified; for as these eggs are really
very tiny structures, such as would fall easily through a pin-hole, the
aid of a microscope is of course necessary to render visible the delicate
sculpture that adorns their surface. The egg (fig. 1, Plate II.) of the common Garden white butterfly
(Pieris Brassicæ) is among the most graceful and interesting of
these forms, and also the most easily obtained. It reminds us of some
antique vessel, ribbed and fluted with consummate elegance and
regularity.

Others—such as those of the Large Heath butterfly (fig. 3), and
the Queen of Spain Fritillary (fig. 2), simulate curious wicker-work
baskets. The Peacock butterfly has an egg like a polygonal jar (fig. 4),
while that of its near ally, the large Tortoise-shell (fig. 5), is simply
pear-shaped, with the surface unsculptured and smooth {4}(fig. 5). The eggs
of the Meadow Brown (fig. 6), and the Wood Argus (fig. 7), are
globular—the former with lines on its surface like the meridian
lines on a geographical globe, and a pretty scalloping at the top that
gives a flower-like appearance to that portion; the latter has the whole
surface honey-combed with a network of hexagonal cells. Such are a few of
the devices that ornament the earliest cradle of the butterfly; but
probably those of every species would well repay their examination to any
one who possesses a microscope.

Prompted by a most remarkable instinct, and one that could not have
originated in any experience of personal advantage, the female butterfly,
when seeking a depository for her eggs, selects with unerring certainty
the very plant which, of all others, is best fitted for the support of
her offspring, who, when hatched, find themselves surrounded with an
abundant store of their proper food.

Many a young botanist would be puzzled at first sight to tell a
sloe-bush from a buckthorn-bush. Not so, however, with our Brimstone
butterfly: passing by all the juicy hedge-plants, which look quite as
suitable, one would think, she, with botanical acumen, fixes upon the
buckthorn; either the common one, or, if that is not at hand, upon
another species of rhamnus—the berry-bearing alder—which,
though a very different looking plant, is of the same genus, and shares
the same properties. She evidently works out the natural system of
botany, and might have been a pupil of Jussieu, had she not been tutored
by a far higher Authority.

{5}

This display of instinct would seem far less wonderful did the mother
butterfly herself feed on the plant she commits her eggs to. In that
case, her choice might have appeared as the result of personal experience
of some peculiar benefit or pleasure derived from the plant, and then
this sentiment might have become hereditary; just as, for example, the
acquired taste for game is hereditary with sporting dogs. Whereas the
fact is, that a butterfly only occasionally, and as a matter of accident
rather than rule, derives her own nectareous food from the flowers of the
plant, whose leaves nourish her caterpillar progeny. So that this, as
well as numberless other phenomena of instinct, remains a mystery to be
admired, but not explained by any ordinary rule of cause and effect.

Having thus efficiently provided, as far as board and lodging are
concerned, for the welfare of the future brood, the mother seems to
consider them settled for life, takes no further care of them, nor even
awaits the opening of the sculptured caskets that contain their tiny
life-germs; but, trusting them to the sun’s warmth for their hatching,
and then to their own hungry little instincts to teach them good use of
the food placed within their reach, she sees them no more.

But though abandoning her offspring to fate in this manner, it must
not be imagined that the butterfly mother takes her pattern of maternity
from certain {6}human mothers, and in a round of “butterfly’s
balls,” and such like dissipations, forgets the sacred claims of the
nursery. No, she has far other and better excuses for absenting herself
from her family; one of which is, that she usually dies before the latter
are hatched; and if that is not enough, that the young can get on quite
as well without her; for probably she could not teach them much about
caterpillar economics, unless, indeed, she remembered her own infantile
habits of lang syne, so totally different from those of her perfected
butterfly life.

The space of time passed in the egg state varies much according to the
temperature—from a few days when laid in genial summer weather, to
several months in the case of those laid in the autumn, and which remain
quiescent during the winter, to hatch out in the spring.

The eggs of butterflies, in common with those of insects in general,
are capable of resisting not only vicissitudes, but extremes of
temperature that would be surely destructive of life in most other forms.
The severest cold of an English winter will not kill the tender butterfly
eggs, whose small internal spark of vitality is enough to keep them from
freezing under a much greater degree of cold than they are ever subjected
to in a state of nature. For example, they have been placed in an
artificial freezing mixture, which brought down the thermometer to 22°
below zero—a deadly chill—and yet they survived with apparent
{7}impunity, and afterwards lived to hatch duly.
Then as to their heat-resisting powers, some tropical insects habitually
lay their eggs in sandy, sun-scorched places, where the hand cannot
endure to remain a few moments; the heat rising daily to somewhere about
190° of the thermometer—and we know what a roasting one gets at 90°
or so. Yet they thrive through all this.

For a short time previous to hatching, the form and colour of the
caterpillar is faintly discoverable through the semi-transparent
egg-shell. The juvenile Caterpillar, or Larva, gnaws his way through the shell into the world,
and makes his appearance in the shape of a slender worm, exceedingly
minute of course, and bearing few of the distinctive marks of his
species, either as to shape or colouring. On finding himself at liberty,
in the midst of plentiful good cheer, he at once falls vigorously to work
at the great business of his life—eating; often making his
first meal—oddly enough—off the egg-shell, lately his cradle.
This singular relish, or digestive pill, swallowed, he addresses himself
to the food that is to form the staple fare during the whole of his
caterpillar existence—viz. the leaves of his food-plant, which at
the same time is his home-plant too.

At this stage his growth is marvellously rapid, and few creatures can
equal him in the capacity for doubling his weight—not even the
starved lodging-house “slavey,” when she gets to her new place, with
carte blanche allowance and the key of the pantry; for, in the
course {8}of twenty-four hours, he will have consumed
more than twice his own weight of food: and with such persevering avidity
does he ply his pleasant task, that, as it is stated, a caterpillar in
the course of one month has increased nearly ten thousand times his
original weight on leaving the egg; and, to furnish this increase of
substance, has consumed the prodigious quantity of forty thousand times
his weight of food—truly, a ruinous rate of living, only that green
leaves are so cheap.

But the life of a caterpillar, after all, is not merely the smooth
continual feast he would doubtless prefer it to be; it is interrupted,
several times in its course, by the necessity nature has imposed upon him
of now and then changing his coat—to him a very troublesome, if not
a painful affair.

For some time previous to this phenomenon, even eating is nearly or
quite suspended,—the caterpillar becomes sluggish and shy, creeping
away into some more secluded spot, and there remaining till his time of
trouble is over. Various twitchings and contortions of the body now
testify to the mal-aise of the creature in his old coat, which,
though formed of a material capable of a moderate amount of stretching,
soon becomes outgrown, and most uncomfortably tight-fitting, with such a
quick-growing person inside it: so off it must come, but it being
unprovided with buttons, there’s the rub. However, with a great deal of
fidgeting and shoulder-shrugging, he manages to tear his coat down the
back, and lastly, by patient efforts, shuffles off the old rag; {9}when, lo!
underneath is a lustrous new garment, somewhat similar, but not exactly a
copy of the last, for our beau has his peculiar dress for each epoch of
his life,—the most splendid being often reserved for the last.

This change of dress (“moulting,” it is sometimes called) is
repeated thrice at least in the creature’s life, but more generally five
or six times. Not only does the outer husk come off at these times, but,
wonderful to relate! the lining membrane of all the digestive passages,
and of the larger breathing tubes, is cast off and renewed also.

After each moult, the caterpillar makes up for his loss of time by
eating more voraciously even than before, in many instances breaking his
fast by making a meal of his “old clo'”—an odd taste, first
evinced, as we have seen, in earliest infancy, when he swallowed his
cradle.

On Plate I. are shown the chief varieties of
form taken by the caterpillars of our British butterflies, and a glance
at these will give, better than verbal descriptions, a general idea of
their characteristics.

Their most usual shape is elongated and almost cylindrical, or
slightly tapering at one or both ends. Of these, some are smooth, or only
studded with short down or hairs; such are the caterpillars of the
Swallow-tail butterfly (fig. 1), of the Brimstone (fig. 2), Clouded
Yellows, and Garden, and other white butterflies. Others, of the same
general form, are beset with long branched spines, making perfect
chevaux-de-frise; such {10}are those of the Peacock, Red Admiral,
Painted Lady, and the Silvery Fritillaries.

The caterpillars of another large section have the body considerably
thicker in the middle (rolling-pin shaped), and the tail part two-forked,
or bifurcate. This form belongs to the numerous family that
includes the Meadow-brown (fig. 3), the Ringlets, and many others.

The bizarre personage, at fig. 4, turns to the graceful White
Admiral butterfly.

The Purple Emperor begins his royal career in the curious form shown
at fig. 5—a shape unique among British butterflies, as beseems that
of their sovereign; and he carries a coronet on his brow already.

All those beautiful little butterflies called the Hair-streaks (fig.
9), the Blues (fig. 10), and the Coppers, have very short and fat
caterpillars, that remind one forcibly of wood-lice—a shape shared
also by that small butterfly with a big name, the Duke of Burgundy
Fritillary (fig. 8), an insect very distinct from the Fritillaries above
mentioned with thorny caterpillars.

The legs of a caterpillar are usually sixteen in number, and
composed of two distinct kinds, viz. of six true legs, answering
to those of the perfect insect, and placed on the foremost segments of
the body; and of ten others, called “prolegs;” temporary
legs, used principally for strengthening the creature’s hold upon leaf or
branch.

Like the rest of its body, the caterpillar’s head widely {11}differs in
structure from that of the perfect insect, being furnished with a pair of
jaws, horny and strong, befitting the heavy work they have to get
through, and shaped like pincers, opening and shutting from side to side,
instead of working up and down after the manner of the jaws in vertebrate
animals. This arrangement offers great convenience to the creature,
feeding, as it is wont to do, on the thin edge of a leaf. It is a curious
sight to watch a caterpillar thus engaged. Adhering by his close-clinging
prolegs, and guiding the edge of the leaf between his forelegs, he
stretches out his head as far as he can reach, and commences a series of
rapid bites, at each nibble bringing the head nearer the legs, till they
almost meet; then stretching out again the same regular set of mouthfuls
is abstracted, and so on, repeating the process till a large
semi-circular indentation is formed, reaching perhaps to the midrib of
the leaf; then shifting his position to a new vantage ground, the
marauder recommences operations, another sweep is taken out, then
another, and soon the leaf is left a mere skeleton.

But a change, far more important than mere skin-shifting, follows
close upon the animal’s caterpillar-maturity, complete as soon as it
ceases to grow.

The form and habits of a worm are to be exchanged for the glories and
pleasures of winged life; but this can only be done at the price of
passing through an intermediate state; one neither of eating, nor of
flying, but motionless, helpless and death-like. {12}

This is called the Chrysalis or Pupa state.

Pupa is a Latin word, signifying a creature swathed, or tied
up; and is applied to this stage of all insects, because all, or some, of
their parts are then bound up, as if swathed.

The term Chrysalis is applicable to butterflies only, and,
strictly, only to a few of these—Chrysalis^[1] being derived from the Greek χρυσός (chrysos),
gold—in allusion to the splendid gilding of the surface in
certain species, such as the Vanessas, Fritillaries, and some
others.

In the older works on entomology we frequently meet with the term
Aurelia applied to this state, and having the same meaning as
chrysalis, but derived from the Latin word Aurum, gold.

Here the reader is again referred to Plate I.
for a series of the principal forms assumed by the chrysalides of our
native butterflies, and as these for the most part represent the next
stage of the caterpillars previously figured, an opportunity is afforded
of tracing the insect’s form through its three great changes; the whole
of the butterflies in their perfect state being given in their proper
places in the body of the work.

{13}

The complicated and curious processes by which various caterpillars
assume the chrysalis form, and suspend themselves securely in their
proper attitudes, have been most accurately and laboriously chronicled by
the French naturalist, Réaumur; but his memoirs on the subject, which
have been frequently quoted into the larger entomological works, are too
long for insertion here in full, and any considerable abbreviation would
fail to convey a clear idea of the process, on account of the intricacy
of the operations described. So I can only here allude to the difficult
problems that the creature has to solve, referring the reader to the
above-mentioned works for a detailed description of the manner of doing
so; or, better still, I would recommend the country resident to witness
all this with his own eyes. By keeping a number of the caterpillars of
our common butterflies, feeding them up, and attentively watching them
when full-grown, he will now and then detect one in the transformation
act, and have an opportunity of wondering at the curious manœuvres
of the animal, as it triumphs over seeming impossibilities.

By reference to the figures of chrysalides on Plate
I. it will be seen that there are two distinct modes of suspension
employed among them; one, by the tail only, the head hanging down freely
in the air:—in the other, the tail is attached to the supporting
object; but the head, instead of swinging loosely, is kept in an upright
position by being looped round the waist with a silken girdle.

To appreciate the difficulty of gaining either of the above positions,
we must bear in mind that, before doing so, the caterpillar has to throw
off its own skin, carrying with it the whole of its legs, and the jaws
{14}too—leaving itself a mere limbless,
and apparently helpless mass—its only prehensile organs being a few
minute, almost imperceptible hooks on the end of the tail; and the
required position of attachment and security is accomplished by a series
of movements so dexterous and sleight-of-hand like, as to cause infinite
astonishment to the looker-on, and, as Réaumur justly observes, “It is
impossible not to wonder, that an insect, which executes them but once in
its life, should execute them so well. We must necessarily conclude that
it has been instructed by a Great Master; for He
who has rendered it necessary for the insect to undergo this change, has
likewise given it all the requisite means for accomplishing it in
safety.”

If we examine a chrysalis we are able to make out, through the thin
envelope, all the external organs of the body stowed away in the most
orderly and compact manner. The antennæ are very conspicuous, folded down
alongside of the legs; and precisely in the centre will be seen the
tongue, unrolled and forming a straight line between the legs. The
unexpanded wings are visible on each side—very small, but with all
their veinings distinctly seen; and the breathing holes, called
spiracles, are placed in a row on each side of the body.

The duration of the chrysalis stage, like that of the egg, is
extremely variable, and dependent on difference of temperature. As an
instance of this, one of our common butterflies has been known to pass
only seven {15}or eight days in the chrysalis state; this
would be in the heat of summer. Then, in the spring, the change occupies
a fortnight; but when the caterpillar enters the chrysalis state in the
autumn, the butterfly does not make its appearance till the following
spring. Furthermore, it has been proved by experiment, that if the
condition of perpetual winter be kept up by keeping the chrysalis in an
icehouse, its development may be retarded for two or three years beyond
its proper time; while, on the other hand, if in the middle of winter the
chrysalis be removed to a hothouse, the enclosed butterfly, mistaking the
vivifying warmth for returning summer, makes its début in ten days
or a fortnight.

{16}

CHAPTER II.

“COMING OUT”—ICHNEUMONS—THE BUTTERFLY PERFECTED—ITS
WINGS—LEPIDOPTERA—MEANING OF THE WORD—MICROSCOPIC
VIEW—NEW BEAUTIES—MAGNIFIED “DUST”—THE HEAD AND ITS
ORGANS—THE TONGUE—THE EYES—THE ANTENNÆ—THEIR
USES—INSECT CLAIRVOYANCE—AN UNKNOWN SENSE—FORMS OF
ANTENNÆ—THE LEGS.

We now arrive at the last stage, the consummation of all this strange
series of transformations; for veritable transformations they are to all
intents and purposes; though some learned naturalists have
discovered—or imagined so—that the butterfly, in all its
parts, really lies hid under the caterpillar’s skin, and can be
distinguished under microscopical dissection; and that, therefore, the
so-called transformations are merely the throwing off of the various
envelopes or husks, as they become in turn superfluous, as a mountebank
strips off garment after garment, till lastly the sparkling harlequin is
discovered to view; or, in more exact language, they consider these
changes in the light rather of successive developments and emancipations
of the various organs than as their actual transformations. Still, it
seems to me, the difference is chiefly one of terms. The real wondrous
fact remains undiminished and {17}unexplained; that a creeping wormlike
creature, in process of time, is changed into a glorious winged being,
differing from the former in form, habits, food, and every essential
particular, as widely as any two creatures can well differ, as widely as
a serpent from a bird, for instance.

As the imprisoned butterfly approaches maturity, a change is
observable in the exterior of the chrysalis, the skin becomes dry and
brittle, usually darkens in colour, and if the enclosed butterfly be a
strongly marked one, the pattern of its wings shows through, often quite
distinctly.

When the fulness of time arrives, the creature breaks through its thin
casings, which divide in several places, and the freed insect crawls up
into some convenient spot to dry itself, and allow the wings to
expand.

All the organs are at first moist and tender, but on exposure to the
air soon acquire strength and firmness.

At the moment of emergence, the wings are very miniature affairs,
sometimes hardly one-twentieth of their full size when expanded; but so
rapid is their increase in volume, that they may actually be seen to
grow, as the fluids from the body are pumped into the nervures that
support the wing-membrane, and keep it extended.

In the more strongly marked, or richly coloured species, it is a
wonderfully beautiful sight to watch this expansion of the wings, and to
see the various features {18}of their painted devices growing under the
eye and developing gradually into their true proportions.

Generally within an hour the development is complete, and the wings,
having gained their full expanse and consistency by drying in the sun,
are ready for flight, and the glad creature wings his way to the fields
of air, and enters on that life of sunshine and hilarity which is
associated with the very name of “Butterfly.”

But not every chrysalis arrives at this happy consummation of its
existence. Supposing that you have reared and watched a caterpillar to
apparently healthy maturity, that it has duly become a chrysalis, and you
are awaiting its appearance in butterfly splendour—peeping into
your box some morning to see if the bright expected one is “out,” be not
surprised if in its stead you find the box tenanted by a swarm of little
black flies—an impish-looking crew. Whence came all these? Why they
and the empty chrysalis shell are all that remains of your cherished
prize; so look no more for the fair sunny butterfly, devoured ere born by
that ill-favoured troop of darklings who have just now issued from the
lifeless shell.

The truth is, that long since, perhaps in early larva-hood, the
creature’s fate was sealed; a deadly enemy to his race is ever on the
alert, winging about in the shape of a small black fly, in search of an
exposed and defenceless caterpillar. Having selected her victim, she
pierces his body with a sharp cutting instrument she is armed with, and
in the wound deposits an egg; the {19}caterpillar winces a
little at this treatment, but seems to attach little importance to it.
Meanwhile his enemy repeats her thrusts till some thirty or forty eggs,
germs of the destroyers, are safely lodged in his body, and his doom is
certain beyond hope. The eggs quickly hatch into grubs, who begin to gnaw
away at the unhappy creature’s flesh, thus reducing him gradually, but by
a profound instinct keeping clear of all the vital organs, as if knowing
full well that the creature must keep on feeding and digesting too, or
their own supply would speedily fail; as usurers, while draining a
client, keep up his credit with the world as long as they can.

Weaker grows the caterpillar as the gnawing worms within grow stronger
and nearer maturity. Sometimes he dies a caterpillar, sometimes he has
strength left to take the chrysalis shape, but out of this he
never comes a butterfly—the consuming grubs now finish
vitals and all, turn to pupæ in his empty skin, and come out soon, black
flies like their parent.

But, supposing that it has escaped this great danger, we now see the
creature in its completest form, as the

IMAGO, OR PERFECT BUTTERFLY.

The first term, Imago, is a Latin one, merely signifying an
image, or distinct unveiled form; as distinguished from the previous
larva, or masked state, and the pupa, or swathed and
enveloped state. The word imago then, in works on entomology,
always means the {20}perfect and last stage of insect life, and
is applied to all insects with wings—for it must be borne in mind
that no insect is ever winged till it reaches the last stage of its
existence.

If the progressive development of these lovely beings is so
marvellous, no less so is their structure when perfected, and of this
some general description must now be attempted.

In contemplating a butterfly, one feels that the mind is first engaged
by that ample spread, and exquisite painting of the wings that form the
creature’s glory; let therefore these remarkable organs have our first
attention.

Wherein do these wings chiefly differ from all other insect wings?
Certainly in being covered thickly with a variously coloured powdery
material, easily removed by handling. This apparent dust is composed, in
reality, of a vast number of regularly and beautifully formed
scales—feathers they are sometimes called, but they are more
comparable to fish scales than to any other kind of natural covering. The
general term Lepidoptera, applied to all butterflies and
moths, is derived from these scaly-wings; Lepis^[2] being the Greek for a
scale, and ptera meaning wings in the same
language.

The use of a tolerably powerful pocket lens will afford some
insight into the exquisite mode of painting

{21}

employed in these matchless pieces of decoration; but the possessor of
a regular microscope may, by applying it to some of our commonest
butterflies, open for himself a world of beauty, and feast his eyes on a
combination of refined sculpture with splendour of colouring; now melting
in softest harmony, then relieved by boldest contrast—a spectacle,
the first sight of which seldom fails to call forth expressions of
wonderment and warm delight; and, truly, little to be envied is the mind
untouched by such utter beauty as here displayed.

As an example of the method by which this admirable effect is
produced, let us take a small portion of the wing of the Peacock, a very
beautiful, though an abundant species, and one admirably adapted for
microscopic examination, and to illustrate the subject, from the great
variety of rich tints brought together in a small space, the part
selected being the eye-like spot at the outer corner of each upper wing.
Even to the naked eye this appears as a very splendidly coloured object,
yet but little of its exquisite mechanism can be discovered by the
unassisted organ. Something more is brought out by a moderately strong
lens: we then see the colours disposed in rows, reminding us of the
surface of Brussels carpet, or of certain kinds of tapestry work.

Now let us place the wing on the stage of a good microscope, with the
root of the wing pointing towards the light (that is the best position
for it); we shall then first perceive that the whole surface is covered,
or, so to {22}speak, tiled over with distinct, sharply cut
scales, arranged as in fig. 16, Plate II.,
with the outer or free edges of one row overlapping the roots of the
next. These roots being all planted towards the base of the wing, if we
place that end next the light (as above directed), the free edges of the
scales throw a strong shadow on the next row, which brings out the
imbricated effect most strikingly.

Beginning our observations at the outer edge of the wing, we first
notice a delicate fringe of scales or plumes, more elongated and pointed
than the surface scales, and of a quiet brown colour. This tint is
continued inwards for a short space, gradually lightening, when (as we
shift the field of view towards the centre of the wing) the colour of the
scales suddenly changes to an intense black; then a little further, and
the black ground is all spangled with glittering sapphires, then strewed
deep with amethyst round a heap of whitest pearls. Golden
topaz—(jewels only will furnish apt terms of comparison for these
insect gems)—golden topaz ends the bright many-coloured crescent,
and in the centre is enclosed a spot of profoundest black, gradating into
a rich unnameable red, whose velvet depth and softness contrast
deliciously with the adjacent flashing lustre; then comes another field
of velvet black, then more gold, and so on till the gorgeous picture is
complete.

Subject a piece of finest human painting to the scrutiny of a strong
magnifying glass, and where is the beauty thereof? Far from being
magnified, it will have wholly vanished: its cleverest touches turned to
coarse, repulsive daubs and stains.

{23}

Now, bring the microscope’s most searching powers to bear upon the
painting of an insect’s wing, and we find only pictures within pictures
as the powers increase; the very pigments used turn out to be jewels, not
rough uncut stones, but cut and graven gems, bedded in softest
velvet.

If by gentle rubbing with the finger-tip the scales be removed from
both sides of the wing (for each side is scale-covered, though generally
with a very different pattern), there remains a transparent membrane like
that of a bee’s or fly’s wing, tight stretched between stiff branching
veins, but bearing no vestige of its late gay painting, thus showing that
the whole of the colouring resides in the scales, the places occupied by
the roots of the latter being marked by rows of dots.

Hitherto we have been looking at these scales as the component parts
of a picture, like the tesseræ of mosaic work; but they are no
less interesting as individual objects, when viewed microscopically. To
do this, delicately rub off a little of the dust or scales with the
finger; then take a slip of glass, and pressing the finger with the
adhering dust upon it, the latter will come off and remain on the glass,
which is then to be placed under the microscope. These scales may be
treated either as opaque or transparent objects, and in both conditions
display exceeding beauty, some of these single atoms showing, by aid of
the microscope, as {24}much complexity of structure as the whole
wing does to the unassisted vision.

A few of the highly varied forms they present are shown on Plate II. Figs. 23 to 38 are selected from among the
commoner forms, as seen by a comparatively low power. The small
stalk-like appendage is the part by which the scale is affixed to the
wing: it may be called the root. Figs. 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, show some very
remarkable forms, which are, so far as has been 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 beautifully
ribbed and cross-ribbed, and at the upper end is a plume-like tuft of
delicate 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 thickness, with objects almost
immeasurable in their thinness). But such is not the case, for
when scales have {25}been injured by rubbing we now and then find
a part with the sculptured surfaces torn off on each side, showing 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 peculiar 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 animal
mechanism it is. Any human workman would, to a certainty, be not only
puzzled, but thoroughly beaten, in 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 tube. 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 reunites 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 is brought about, we
find that it is by the interlacing of a {26}number 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 scientifically,
the Haustellum^[3]—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 Red Admiral’s proboscis. These
appendages are generally supposed to be organs of taste, {27}and to aid in
the discrimination of food when the pipe is unrolled and thrust down deep
into the nectary of a flower.

The compound eye of a butterfly, wonderful as its structure is,
does not greatly differ from that of many other insects, being like them
composed of an immense 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 appearance, the hexagonal lines that mark the
division of the lenses being most beautifully geometrical and regular 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 antennæ,^[4] which
project from above the eyes, like jointed threads, thickening—in
some {28}species gradually, in others
suddenly—into a club or knob at the extremity; a peculiarity which,
it will be remembered, was pointed out at the commencement, as a
prominent mark of distinction between butterflies and moths.

Very graceful appendages are these waving antennæ, and
evidently of high importance to their owner; but still, their exact
office or function is unknown, notwithstanding 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
antennæ 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, the 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
the charms of a couple of lady “Glories,” shut up in a box.

{29}

Now, which of our five senses, I would ask—even if developed
into extraordinary acuteness in the insect—would account for such
an exhibition of clairvoyance as this?

May not, then, this undiscovered sense, whatever may be its nature,
reside in the antennæ? for it is a remarkable fact, that the very moths,
such as the Eggers, the Emperor, the Kentish Glory, &c., which
display the above-mentioned phenomenon most signally, have the antennæ
in the males amplified with numerous spreading branches, so as to
present an unusually large sensitive surface. This seems to point to some
connexion between those organs and the faculty of discovering the
presence, and even the condition, of one of their own race, with more,
perhaps, than a mile of distance, and the sides of a wooden box,
intervening between themselves and their object.

Whilst writing this, the current number of the “Entomologist’s Weekly
Intelligencer” has arrived, and I there read that Dr. Clemmens, an
American naturalist, has been lately experimenting on the antennæ of some
large American moths, for the purpose of gaining some information as to
their function. The article, though very interesting, is too long for
quotation here; but it appears that with the moths in question, a
deprivation of the whole, or even part of the antennæ, interferes with,
or entirely annihilates the power {30}of flight, so that the
creature when thus shorn, but not otherwise injured, if thrown into the
air seems to have no idea of using his wings properly, but with a
purposeless flutter tumbles headlong to the earth. Still this merely goes
to prove that the antennæ are the instruments of some important sense,
one of whose uses is to guide the creature’s flight; but as many wingless
insects have large antennæ, this evidently is not their only
function.

The antennæ are also often styled the “feelers;” but with our present
incomplete knowledge of their nature, the former term is preferable, as
it does not attempt to define their use as the word “feelers” does.

Considerable variety of form exists in the clubbed tip of the antennæ
in various butterflies, as will be seen by reference to Plate II., where three of the most distinct forms are
shown considerably magnified. Fig. 12 is the upper part of the antenna of
the High-brown Fritillary (Argynnis Adippe), the end suddenly
swelling into a distinct knob. Fig. 13 is that of the Swallow-tail
Butterfly (Papilio Machaon), the enlargement here being more
gradual; and fig. 14 is that of the Large Skipper Butterfly (Pamphila
Sylvanus), distinguished by the curved point that surmounts the club.
These differences in the forms of the antennæ are found to be excellent
aids in the classification of butterflies, and I shall therefore have
occasion to refer to them more minutely in describing the insects in
detail.

The stems of these organs are found to be tubular, {31}and at the point
of junction with the head the base is spread out (as shown at fig. 15),
forming what engineers call a “flange,” to afford sufficient support for
the long column above.

The legs are the last portions of the butterfly framework that
require especial notice, on account of a peculiar variation they are
subject to in different family groups.

It may be laid down as an axiom, that all true insects have six
legs, in one shape or another; and butterflies, being insects, are
obedient to the same universal rule, and duly grow their half-dozen legs;
but in certain tribes the front pair, for no apparent reason, are so
short and imperfect as to be totally useless for walking purposes, though
they may possibly be used as hands for polishing up the proboscis,
&c. So the butterfly in this case appears, to a hasty
observer, to have only four legs.

This peculiarity is a constant feature in several natural groups of
butterflies, and therefore, in conjunction with other marks, such as the
veining of the wings and the shape of the antennæ, its presence or
absence is a most useful mark of distinction, in classifying or searching
out the name and systematic place of a butterfly.

{32}

CHAPTER III.

WHAT BUTTERFLIES NEVER DO—GROUNDLESS TERROR—A
MISTAKE—USES OF BUTTERFLIES—MORAL OF BUTTERFLY
LIFE—PSYCHE—THE BUTTERFLY AN EMBLEM OF THE SOUL—THE
ARTIST AND THE BUTTERFLY.

Among the negative attributes of butterflies, I may state
positively, that no butterfly whatever can either sting or bite in the
least degree; and from their total harmlessness towards the person of
man, conjoined with their outward attractiveness, they merit and enjoy an
exemption from those feelings of dread and disgust that attach to many,
or, I may say, to almost all other tribes of insects; even to their
equally harmless near relatives the larger moths. At least, it has never
been my misfortune to meet with a person weak-minded enough to be afraid
of a butterfly, though I have seen some exhibit symptoms of the greatest
terror at the proximity of a large Hawk-moth, and some of the
thick-bodied common moths—”Match-owlets,” the country folk call
them.

Once, also, I listened to the grave recital—by a classical
scholar too—of a murderous onslaught made by a Privet Hawk-moth on
the neck of a lady, and how it “bit a piece clean out.” Of course
I attempted to prove, by what seemed to me very fair logic, that the {33}moth,
having neither teeth nor even any mouth capable of opening, but only a
weak hollow tongue to suck honey through, was utterly incapable of biting
or inflicting any wound whatever. But, as is usual in such cases, my
entomological theory went for nothing in face of the gentleman’s
knock-down battery of facts—ocular facts; he had
seen the moth, and he had seen the wound:
surely, there was proof enough for me, or any one else. So, I suppose, he
steadfastly believes to this day, that the moth was a truculent,
bloodthirsty monster; whilst I still presume to believe, that if any
wound was caused at the moment in question, it was by the nails of the
lady attacked, or her friends, in clutching frantically at the terrific
intruder; who, poor fellow, might have been pardoned for mistaking the
fair neck for one of his favourite flowers (a lily, perhaps),
while the utmost harm he contemplated was to pilfer a sip of nectar from
the lips he doubtless took for rosebuds.

Utilitarians may, perhaps, inquire the uses of
butterflies—what they do, make, or can be sold for; and I must
confess that my little favourites neither make anything to wear, like the
silkworm, nor anything to eat, like the honey-bee, nor are their bodies
saleable by the ton, like the cochineal insects, and that, commercially
speaking, they are just worth nothing at all, excepting the few paltry
pence or shillings that the dealer gets for their little dried bodies
occasionally; so they are of no more use than poetry, painting, and
music—than flowers, rainbows, and all such {34}unbusinesslike things. In
fact, I have nothing to say in the butterfly’s favour, except that it is
a joy to the deep-minded and to the simple-hearted, to the sage, and,
still better, to the child—that it gives an earnest of a better
world, not vaguely and generally, as does every “thing of beauty,” but
with clearest aim and purpose, through one of the most strikingly perfect
and beautiful analogies that we can find throughout that vast Creation,
where—

The butterfly, then, in its own progressive stages of caterpillar,
chrysalis, and perfect insect, is an emblem of the human soul’s progress
through earthly life and death, to heavenly life.

Even the ancient Greeks, with their imperfect lights, recognised this
truth, when they gave the same name, Psyche (Ψυχή), to the soul, or spirit of life, and
to the butterfly, and sculptured over the effigy of one dead the figure
of a butterfly, floating away, as it were, in his breath; while poets of
all nations have since followed up the simile.

And this analogy is not only a mere general resemblance, but holds
good through its minute details to a marvellous extent; to trace which
fully would require volumes, while in this place the slightest sketch
only can be given.

First, there is the grovelling caterpillar-state, {35}emblematical of
our present imperfection, but yet the state of preparation and increase
towards perfection, and that, too, which largely influences the future
existence.

Many troubles and changes are the lot of the caterpillar. Repeated
skin-shiftings and ceaseless industry in his vocation are necessary, that
within his set time he may attain full growth and vigour.

Then comes a mighty change: the caterpillar is to exchange his
worm-like form and nature for an existence unspeakably higher and better.
But, as we have seen, to arrive at this glory there is only one
condition, which is, that the creature must pass through another, and, as
it might seem, a gloomy state—one anything but cheerful to
contemplate; for it must cease to eat, to move, and—to the
eye—to live. Yet, is it really dead now, or do we, who
have watched the creature thus far, despair and call it lost? Do we not
rather rejoice that it rests from its labours, and that the period of its
glorification is at hand?

In the silent chrysalis state then our Psyche sleeps away
awhile, unaffected by the vicissitudes around it; and, at last, when its
appointed day arrives, bursts from its cerements, and rises in the air a
winged and joyous being, to meet the sun which warmed it into new life.
Now it is a butterfly,—bright emblem of pleasure
unalloyed.

This happy consummation, however, is only for the chrysalis which has
not within it the devouring worm, the fruit of the ichneumon’s egg,
harboured during the {36}caterpillar state—and emblem, in the
human soul, of some deadly sin yielded to during life, and which
afterwards becomes the gnawing “worm that dieth not.” For in this case,
instead of the bright butterfly, there issues forth from the
chrysalis-shell only a swarm of black, ill-favoured flies, like a troop
of evil spirits coming from their feast on a fallen soul.

If a caterpillar were gifted with a foreknowledge of his butterfly
future, so far transcending his inglorious present, we could imagine that
he would be only impatient to get through his caterpillar duties, and
rejoice to enter the chrysalis state as soon as he was fitted for it. How
short-sighted then would a caterpillar appear who should endeavour, while
in that shape, to emulate the splendour of the butterfly by some wretched
temporary 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 butterfly—and regarding the earthly beauty’s wane
as the dawn of the celestial.

{37}

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 curiosity, and the butterfly as a pretty painted 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 enriched by its Great Author;
not to be taken as substitutes 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 a 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, finding
in them images of joy and life when seen at large in the landscape, and
rich stores of colour-lessons when studied at home in the cabinet.

The owners of many a name great in the arts have been enthusiastic
collectors of butterflies. Our distinguished countryman, Thomas Stothard,
was one of their devotees, and the following anecdote, extracted from his
published life, shows how he was led to make them his special
study:—

“He was beginning to paint the figure 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 Stothard; ‘and to be
correct I will paint the wing {38}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 combination
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
him the finest combinations in that difficult branch of
art—colouring.”

The above doubtless has its parallel in the experience of many
artistic minds, whose very nature it is to appreciate to the full the
perfections set forth in a butterfly, admiring—

{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, how 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
apparatus, a sure eye and hand, and often, of a good pair of legs, there
is no butterfly, however fleet and wary, that 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.^[6]

{40}

Variously constructed nets are used, according to fancy, but the
choice may lie between two chief forms: the Clap-net and the
Ring-net.

The former certainly gives more power in a fair chase, but the latter
has the advantage of being the {41}lighter, more portable, and less conspicuous
of the two. Both of these instruments are shown in the accompanying
figures.

The clap-net (fig. 1) usually has the sticks that compose 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 represents 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 the 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}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 commendable 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 carries 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. {43}

Other necessary equipments for the fly-catcher are two or three
light wooden boxes, as large as can conveniently be 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 be carried, and will be found to be 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 be at all {44}influenced by an
eye for the picturesque and romantic in the 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 of 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 particular 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 exceedingly 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 over (or rather, neglecting to pass over) a single
field may lose him the very species it would joy him most to find.

{45}

I would also advise the beginner—and, indeed, all but the very
experienced hands—to catch, not necessarily 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
unawares. Thus the valued Queen of Spain, and the much-disputed
Dia Fritillaries, the Melitæas, 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 Mazarine Blue (P. Acis) from the
common Blues when on the wing? 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,^[7] never before observed in this country, was
captured near {46}Brighton by a collector, who, at the 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 he 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 distance without
giving alarm, and one vigorous, well-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 most 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 character 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 of {47}the railway-bank and the
down; often seen toying with a breeze-rocked flower as yellow-coated as
himself, as though he had mistaken it, in its fluttering, 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 (Eupatorium
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-heads, 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 Emperor 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 and
locale will be referred to more particularly hereafter.

That lovely butterfly, the Silver-washed Fritillary, has a
penchant for settling on the bramble, which {48}justifies the preference
by proving itself the insect’s best 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 effectually 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 the required
adroitness to avoid this humiliating defeat.

{49}

CHAPTER V.

HOW TO KILL A BUTTERFLY—AN APOLOGY—A TEST FOR
LUNACY—CHARGE OF CRUELTY AGAINST ENTOMOLOGISTS—THEIR
JUSTIFICATION ATTEMPTED—PAINLESS
DEATH—CHLOROFORM—SETTING BUTTERFLIES—CABINETS AND STORE
BOXES—CLASSIFICATION—LATIN NAMES—SAVING TIME AND
MONEY.

Having complied with the old adage, “First catch your hare,” the next
point naturally is—how to cook it. So, having caught our butterfly,
what are we to do with him?—a question that generally resolves
itself firstly into

HOW 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 be shortened for a few {50}days, to add
to our pleasure and instruction, perhaps for years after.

In the time of the great Ray, 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 sometimes 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 killing 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 pleading, or “making
the wish the father to the thought,” {51}but a conviction founded
on an ample mass of evidence, on my own observations and experiments, and
strengthened by analogical reasoning. I wish I had space to lay this
evidence in full before the reader; but this being here impracticable, I
will not damage the argument 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 augmented 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 appetite and
gastronomic capabilities.

After all that can be said on this subject, there will still probably
be misgivings in the mind of many, both {52}as to the 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, be 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
pleasure, 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 our
fancies. Unscrupulously we destroy every insect whose presence displeases
us, harmless as they may be to our own persons. The aphides on our
flowers, the moths in 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? To this query there can be, I think,
but one fair answer, so we may return with a better face to the question,
“How to kill a butterfly.”

{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 life under other circumstances. This potent agent
is chloroform, whose pain-quelling properties are so well known as
regards the human constitution.

There is a little apparatus^[8] 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 immediately, 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, instantaneous death: and this can be done
through the net, when the {54}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 long walk, so jostle together, as to entirely destroy each
other’s beauty, rubbing off all their painted scales, when, of course,
they are as butterflies no longer.

When you get home, take out all the pins, excepting such as may be
stuck perpendicularly through the middle of the thorax, and
as soon as possible proceed to “set” your captures.

Preparatory to this, some articles called setting-boards must
be provided. A section of one of these is shown in the accompanying cut;
but in reality they are made much longer, so as to accommodate a column
of half-a-dozen butterflies or more: the breadth may vary, {55}according to the
width of the butterflies that are to be set thereon.

The bottom is usually a thin slip of deal, on which are glued two
strips of cork, bevelled off towards the edges, with a slightly curved
face. Sometimes, however, the whole board is made of soft pine, with a
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 take care that all the wings are
symmetrically arranged, or diverging from the body at equal angles on
each side. Let the antennæ 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 judicious expenditure of his
money, if money he means {56}to spend in this pursuit. To preserve
insects, it is not absolutely necessary to have either a cabinet
or the regularly-made store-boxes; for, with a little contrivance, any
close-shutting, shallow box may be extemporized 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
common 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 collection, 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 time; till, in course of
time, a sufficient number is obtained, when the whole may be fitted into
a case at a small additional expense, and then there is a first-rate
cabinet complete; 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, but as their
construction is peculiar, and not easily described, it is necessary,
either that the maker should be accustomed to this speciality, or that he
be furnished with a pattern, either by buying a single drawer at a
dealer’s, {57}where that can be done, by borrowing one out
of a friend’s cabinet, or by making therefrom a good working drawing (in
section, &c.).

The glasses which cover in the drawers should always have separate
frames for the more perfect exclusion of dust 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
mortification 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
insects, whose wings are gradually discoloured and disfigured 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 least 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
to the series. Between the columns, lines should be {58}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 collection which exists in the private
entomological room of the British Museum.

The following table gives the first-mentioned arrangement 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 their proper places.

It will be seen by the above list that seventy species are given as
British. Of these, five species, viz. Papilio Podalirius,
Erebia Ligea, Argynnis Dia, Chrysophanus Chryseis,
and Polyommatus Bœticus, 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}on the acquirement of
scientific nomenclature and systematic arrangement, a knowledge of which
will facilitate even our recreations in natural history, while it is
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; but the interest of
natural objects is, I am sure, greatly augmented when we acquire some
insight, however dimly, into the wonderful mechanism of creation’s plan,
its infinite gradation 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 system framed in
perfect accordance with that of nature is a discovery rather to be
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.

Among collectors it is customary in familiar {61}conversation 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 be
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 butterflies’
scientific names. Now and then, certainly, they have some allusion to the
insect’s appearance, or to the plant on which it feeds; thus, for
instance, Gonepteryx Rhamni, the entomological name of the
Brimstone 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 waste money and encourage dishonesty, by {62}giving the
absurdly large prices put upon British, or pretended
British specimens of butterflies, or other insects that are rare in this
country though common on the Continent; when, for all purposes of
science, or the pleasure derived from their beauty, avowed
Continental specimens, at one-twentieth of the price, will do just as
well. In putting these into your cabinet, however, always attach to the
pin underneath the insect a label, bearing some mark to denote the
specimen’s foreign origin.

{63}

CHAPTER VI.

THE BRITISH BUTTERFLIES SEPARATELY DESCRIBED.

THE SWALLOW-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 possession 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 yellow
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}

The caterpillar, which is a very handsome creature, is found
feeding on various umbelliferous plants; among which, its chief
favourites in this country appear to be the Wild Carrot (Daucus
Carota), the Marsh Milk-parsley (Selinum palustre), and Fennel
(Anethum Fœniculum). In colour it is bright 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 is 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, we should
begin to watch for the release of the beautiful prisoner.

If you visit his cage the first thing every morning (for his exit most
frequently takes place in the early part of {65}the day), you may be
fortunate enough on one of these occasions, to find the creature either
actually emerging, or 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 than those of a humble-bee, and hanging
limply from his comparatively 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 without 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 presents 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 to grace his “series” with its
virgin splendours. But then there will creep over him the unwelcome
sensation, that it is a somewhat cowardly proceeding to foster a bright
being into a life that might be all joyousness, {66}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 itself. Fairly
chasing down a butterfly is all well enough; but this is quite another
thing.

Every one must, however, choose for himself, as to taking the
sentimental or the entomological view of the matter.

Each probably finds its followers, and to the occasional prevalence of
the more tender sentiment, are probably owing many of those stray
Swallow-Tails that turn 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 certainly 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 quarters 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 of Wight, Hampshire, near Chatham, at
Southend, Essex, and on the Cliffs of the South Coast. {67}

From its local character, this is of course one of the 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 grand 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 Rhamni.)

(Plate III. fig. 2.)

Though one of the commonest of our native butterflies, this, like
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 in the 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 there 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. {68}

Until very recently it had always been stated by entomologists, 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 winter 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 frequently 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 winter’s sleep; evidently an
instinctive provision against the waste of substance that must of
necessity accompany 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.

{69}

The eggs should be sought for in the month of May, or a little
earlier or later, on the buds and young shoots of the two species of
Buckthorn (Rhamnus Frangula and R. Catharticus). When
examined with the microscope, these are found to be 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, shagreened 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 general 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 to 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 peculiar 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 his mate may be accurately compared to the
tint of another {70}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,
&c., 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 from 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.^[9]

Plentiful as this butterfly is in all the southern counties, and
extending in more or less abundance as {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 specimens are to be found on the wing
from August to October.

THE CLOUDED YELLOW, OR CLOUDED
SAFFRON. (Colias Edusa.)

(Plate III. fig. 3, Male; 3A, Female.)

This richly-coloured and nimble-winged fly is ever the darling of the
collector. None 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 a 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 puzzling the naturalist to find a
sufficient reason for {72}this sudden burst of insect-life. Whether
the eggs lay dormant for years, till hatched under peculiarly favourable
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 sometimes
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 permanent 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 we 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—for Edusa has indeed a
lively flight, and his pursuer has need of the “seven-league boots,” with
the hand of {73}Mercury, to insure success in the fair open
race, if that 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 best 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 be fluttering under the net. It is not the most
heroic style of sport, this, but it fills the boxes admirably.

The caterpillar is of a deep green colour, having on 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 None-such Trefoil (Medicago lupulina), Lucerne (M.
Sativa), and Clover.

The chrysalis is in shape between that of the Brimstone, 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 us till late in autumn.

I remember the pleasure with which, on a chill, stormy day in October,
I watched the sports of a pair who were my sole companions while
sketching, in a remote, rocky nook of the South Welsh coast. Very {74}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, surrounded by a border of very dark brown, 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 C. 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
species. {75}

Varieties of the female are also met with, of various intermediate
shades of colour between the white and the ordinary orange.

Yet is it not possible that all these varieties may be mules between
C. Edusa and C. Hyale (the next species), the males of
which are often seen pursuing the lady Edusas? 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 is easily done, by observing that
in Edusa the dark border of the upper wings is of nearly {76}equal breadth
along the whole of the outer margin, and at the lower corner is
continued inwards for a short distance; whilst in Hyale 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 Hyale. Here we have distinctive
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 common
butterflies, and it is not improbable that 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 advantage then of a favouring wind, its
naturally strong {77}and rapid flight would quickly take it
across the few miles of sea that separate us from the Gallic shore.

Hyale, 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, but 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
as in August.

THE BLACK-VEINED OR HAWTHORN
BUTTERFLY. (Aporia Cratægi.)

(Plate IV. fig. 1.)

When on the wing, this species might easily be mistaken by the
inexperienced for the common Cabbage {78}White; and, by virtue of
this incognito, does in all probability often escape from the
terrors of the net, which would speedily entrap him, were his real
character known to the young hunter; for this butterfly is one of those
called, in entomological slang, “a good thing“—a term
expressive neither of superior excellence 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 fringe 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 chaste 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 more or less abundance. {79}

The following localities, among others, have been recorded as
producing it:—Herne Bay, and other parts of the Isle of Thanet,
plentifully; near Faversham, Kent; Horsham, Sussex; New 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. Not 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
larvæ feeding by thousands upon insulated shrubs of Prunus
Spinosa (Common Sloe), eating out the centres of the unexpanded buds,
or basking in the sun upon their winter webs.”

The body of the adult caterpillar is thickly clothed with
whitish hairs, is leaden grey on the side and underneath, 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 June.

{80}

THE LARGE GARDEN WHITE BUTTERFLY (Pieris Brassicæ.)

(Plate IV. fig. 2.)

Why this butterfly should so far outnumber every 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
universally met with; but then we find there are other insects whose food
plant is equally plentiful and widespread, and yet they are nevertheless
very rare or local.

This is pre-eminently the domestic butterfly, abounding 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 butterflies who can be
charged with committing any appreciable 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 {81}at his choice cabbage
rows all gnawed away into skeletons.

In some seasons and places they multiply so inordinately 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 Rev. 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 cabbages have been utterly destroyed.” When the time for
changing to the chrysalis state arrived, the surrounding 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 spreading 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 small
proportion of the caterpillars, resulting from this flock of immigrants,
went into the chrysalis state, nearly all perishing just before the
period of change.

Those small, silky, oval objects, of yellowish colour, {82}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 caterpillar, and destroy; thus
foolishly killing their benefactors.”

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 “Lepidoptera 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 or 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 of May or beginning of August.

The caterpillar, which, besides cabbages, consumes various
other cruciferous plants,—also Tropæolums, or, as they are
erroneously called, “Nasturtiums,”—is green, {83}shaded with 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 commodity, means simply
“caterpillar,” so “chenille green” would be the phrase for the
colour afforded by smashed caterpillars.

The chrysalis (Plate I. fig. 15) may be
found almost anywhere, laid up under ledges of garden walls, doorway, 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.

{84}

THE SMALL GARDEN WHITE. (Pieris Rapæ.)

(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
Rapæ, though smaller, bores into the very heart of the cabbage,
instead of being content with the less valuable outer leaves, as
Brassicæ is. From this pernicious habit the French call this grub
the ver du cœur.

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.

{85}

This butterfly occasionally multiplies immensely, and is given to
migrating in vast armies to distant settlements, sometimes crossing the
sea to effect this purpose. Here is an extract from a Kentish newspaper,
describing an occurrence of this phenomenon:—

“One of the largest flights of butterflies ever seen in this country,
crossed the Channel from France to England on Sunday last. Such was the
density and extent of the cloud formed by the living mass, that it
completely obscured the sun from the people on board our Continental
steamers, on their passage, for many hundreds of yards, while the insects
strewed the decks 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
stirring; 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 small white
butterflies (Pieris Rapæ).

The smaller butterfly with more dusky markings, formerly known as
P. Metra, has been recently proved to be merely a variety of
Rapæ, a Mr. J. F. Dawson having reared a brood of caterpillars all
exactly similar in appearance, which eventually produced every
variety of P. Rapæ 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 and young individuals of the same name;
forgetting—or, rather, never having heard—that butterflies
never grow in the slightest degree after once getting their winged form;
only as caterpillars do they grow. {86}

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 summer,
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; but
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;
but the fact is, that the ground colour varies greatly, from creamy white
to full buff, 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, produce 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 Copper butterfly—little more than one inch from
tip {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 of dark cloudy veins
on the under side—appearing, but less distinctly, on the upper
side—will at once distinguish 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 Rape (Brassica
Napus), whence its specific name. Its colour is green, with yellow
spots round each spiracle, which is itself tinged with red.

Two varieties of this were formerly ranked as distinct species, under
the name of P. Sabellicæ and P. Napæ.

{88}

THE BATH WHITE. (Pieris Daplidice.)

(Plate IV. fig. 5, Female.)

Of all the members of this white-winged genus that inhabit Britain,
this is at the same time the most beautiful 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 generally 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. {89}

This fact should encourage the collector, especially when at work on
the south-east coast, to net all the middle-sized Whites that come within
reasonable distance—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 clouding of the hind wings. The markings of the under surface,
however, show through their substance rather 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 {90}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, feeding
them on the leaves of the Wild Mignonette (Reseda lutea). It also
feeds on Weld (Reseda Luteola).

The chrysalis 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 entomologist united into another genus
(Manicipium).

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 might aid one in doing.

May and August are the months in which to look after this gem of the
Pontia genus.

{91}

THE ORANGE-TIP BUTTERFLY. (Euchloë Cardamines.)

(Plate V. fig. 1, Male; 1a, Female.)

Few vernal ramblers in the country, whether entomological 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 be 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 less known, and has been on several occasions mistaken for the rare
Bath White (Daplidice), it will be well to point out her chief
distinguishing characters. The difference between the two insects
certainly is obvious enough, when the two are seen together, but
their written descriptions read rather alike. {92}

The 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 white ground, with green marblings,
that are much more sharply defined than those in Daplidice. Near
the centre of the front wing is a clear black spot, corresponding
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 following 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 pratensis (common cuckoo-flower) is the one
on which the eggs {93}are most frequently deposited, but the
greater part of the larvæ must perish in this neighbourhood,
because the fields are mowed before the larvæ are full-grown. I have very
often seen the larvæ on the seed-pods of Erysimum Alliaria, and
have several times found the pupæ 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. barbarea, 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 larvæ of Cardamines
feeding on the seed-pods. Cardamine impatiens is so local a plant
that it cannot be the common food of the larvæ of Cardamines.”

The chrysalis is of the very singular shape shown at fig. 17,
Plate I., a shape quite unique among British
butterflies, though that of the next slightly approaches it. It is to be
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 throughout the country, is
met with from the end of April to the end of May or beginning of
June.

{94}

THE WOOD-WHITE BUTTERFLY. (Leucophasia Sinapis.)

(Plate V. fig. 2.)

A glance at the figure of this graceful little butterfly (on Plate V.) will suffice to distinguish it at once, and
clearly, from all our other Whites. The most ordinary form of the insect
is there represented, but there 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 different, 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 capture. It appears
to be addicted to early rising, twenty-six specimens having been
taken one morning before breakfast by a gentleman at Grange, in
North Lancashire. {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 localities throughout the country, as far north
as Carlisle; some of these are here given. Woods in neighbourhood of
Brighton, Horsham (Sussex), Dorchester, New Forest, Exeter, Epping, West
Wickham Wood, Monkswood, Huntingdonshire, Plymouth, Wavendon, Worcester,
Kent and Surrey, Teignmouth, Gloucestershire, Carlisle, Lake District,
Leicester, Manchester, North Lancashire. Unknown in Scotland.

THE MARBLED WHITE BUTTERFLY. (Arge Galathea.)

(Plate V. fig. 3.)

This highly interesting and elegant insect would, by the uninitiated,
probably be classed among the last group of Butterflies—the
Whites—from 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}and also by the eye-like spots most
visible on the under side.

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 preponderates, 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 circumstances,
I first made its acquaintance. The scene of the event was a grassy
opening in a wooded hill-side in Kent, and here were literally hundreds
visible at once, making the air all alive as they fluttered about in
sportive groups: it was a sight not to be forgotten; while a hundred
yards from this spot not a solitary one was to be seen, so closely
limited is the local range of this species.

The caterpillar, which feeds on grasses, like the rest of its
tribe, is green, with yellowish stripes on each side, and has a reddish
head and tail. The form is shown at fig. 3, Plate
I.—a form common to all the tribe to which this species
belongs.

July and August are the months when we should {97}look for this charming
butterfly, in wood clearings and meadows near woods.

Some of the localities in which it has been observed are: Isle of
Wight, Surrey Hills, Eastwell Park (Kent), Dover, Lewes, Brighton,
Epping, Gloucestershire, Kingsbury, Darenth Wood, New Forest, Rockingham
Park, Teignmouth, York, Barnwell Wold, South Wales. Not known in
Scotland.

THE SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY. (Lasiommata Egeria.)

(Plate V. fig. 4.)

Every one who has wandered through green woodland ridings, or coppiced
paths, must be familiar with a lively, spotted brown insect that trips
along just ahead of one, in a sociable way, for some distance, finding
time to turn aside into the leafy recesses on either side without losing
ground; then, having had enough of our company, mounting overhead, and
retracing its course in the same playful way, and soon lost in the
winding of the path.

This is the Speckled Wood, or Wood Argus Butterfly, a very pretty
insect on both sides, and receiving the latter name—Argus, “the
many-eyed”—from the rows of rich black eyes that grace its
pinions. {98}

Over nearly the whole of England it is to be met with commonly
wherever there is wooded ground; but in several parts of Scotland it is
quite unknown.

The prevailing colour of the wings is deep brown, spotted with various
shades of buff or lighter brown. The “eyes” are velvety black, with a
pure white centre-spot.

The caterpillar—a grass feeder—is dull green, with
broad white side stripes.

The chrysalis, which is of a beautiful grass-green colour, may
be found in winter, under trees, attached to blades of grass.

The butterfly is out from April to August.

THE WALL BUTTERFLY. (Lasiommata Megæra.)

(Plate V. fig. 5.)

The habits and movements of this pretty species much resemble those of
the last; but the Wall Butterfly is a more sun-loving insect, and rather
frequents road-sides and dry sunny banks. Still, there are many spots
where one sees both the Lasiommatas together.

The colours on the upper side are a rich tawny or fulvous
ground, with dark-brown markings, and pure {99}black eye-spots.
The under side of the hind wings is pencilled with sober colours, but in
a design of great beauty and delicacy; and especially to be admired are
the double-ringed “eyes,” a band of which runs parallel with the outer
margin of the hind wings.

The caterpillar feeds on grasses; is green, with three pale
lines down the back, and one more clearly marked on each side.

The butterfly appears in May, and again in August and
September; and is everywhere common throughout the country.

It is called the Wall Butterfly from its frequent habit of choosing a
road-side wall for a perch, whence, on the approach of man, it
darts off; returning again, however, on the departure of the obnoxious
person.

THE GRAYLING BUTTERFLY. (Hipparchia Semele.)

(Plate V. fig. 6, Female.)

This fine insect is the largest British species of the genus,
and also of the family, some of the females measuring two inches and
three-quarters from tip to tip across the expanded wings; and it also
exhibits more vivacity of colouring than most of its brethren.

Above, the wings are deep brown, marked with {100}broad patches of paler
colour, sometimes making a bright contrast in the female, but much duller
and more uniform in the male.

The female also exceeds her lord considerably in stature, and, in
fact, by her side he looks rather a mean and shabby fellow.

The device on the under side of the hind wings, though composed of the
plainest colours, is very ornamental; grey and brown are the prevailing
hues, disposed in mottled bars and stripes, reminding one of agates, or
some other ornamental stones.

This butterfly is not everywhere to be found, but haunts rocky places
and hill-sides, on a chalky or limestone soil. At St. Boniface’s Down, in
the Isle of Wight, I noticed it in such exceeding profusion last August,
that I could quickly have caught thousands, had I been so disposed.

Though a powerful-looking insect, its flight is by no means swift, and
it suffers itself to be captured without difficulty.

The caterpillar is dull pinkish about the back, with three
obscure grey-green stripes, a dark line on the sides, and greenish
beneath. It feeds on grasses, and has been said to undergo its
transformation to the chrysalis in the earth; but this point requires
confirmation.

The butterfly is seen from the middle of July till the
beginning of September.

The following are localities for it:—Bembridge and Ventnor (Isle
of Wight), Brighton, Lewes, New Forest, Exeter, Plymouth, Falmouth,
Truro, Bristol, Dorsetshire, Salisbury Plain, Winchester, Worcester,
Newmarket, Gamlingay, Isle of Arran, Arthur’s Seat (Edinburgh), Durham,
Darlington, Glasgow, Lake District.

{101}

THE MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY. (Hipparchia Janira.)

(Plate VI. fig. 1, Male; 1a, Female.)

Perhaps of all our butterflies this is the least attractive, being too
common to excite interest from its rarity or difficulty of attainment, as
other dingy butterflies do, and too plain and homely to win regard, in
spite of its commonness, as the beautiful “Small Tortoise-shell” and the
Common Blues do.

This is the sober brown insect that keeps up a constant fluttering, in
sunshine and gloom, over the dry pasture land and barren hill-side; and
perhaps it ought to find favour in our eyes, from this very fact of
keeping up a cheerful spirit under circumstances the most unfavourable to
butterfly enjoyment in general.

The colouring of the male, on the upper side, may be described
as a sooty brown, rather lighter about the eye-spot on the front
wing. {102}

The female is a little smarter in her attire, having an
orange-tawny patch on the front wing.

Beneath, both sexes are nearly alike; the general colour of the front
wing being fulvous, or orange-brown, with a cool-brown margin. The hind
wings are marked with tints of a duller brown, varying much in
distinctness in different specimens.

The caterpillar is green, with a white stripe on each side.
Feeds on grasses.

The butterfly abounds almost everywhere, from June till the end
of August.

THE LARGE HEATH BUTTERFLY. (Hipparchia Tithonus.)

(Plate VI. fig. 2, Male.)

Though much less abundant than the last, this is another very common
species, and met with throughout England and the south of
Scotland.

The ground tint above is a rich rust-colour, or
orange-brown, bordered with dark-brown; the base of the wings also
slightly clouded with the same; and on each front wing, near the tip,
there is a black eye-spot, with two white dots. So far,
both sexes are similar; but the male has, in addition, a bar of
dark-brown across the centre of the rust-coloured space, on the upper
wing. This sex is that figured on the plate. {103}

Underneath, there is a pretty arrangement of subdued colouring; that
of the front wings nearly resembling the upper side; the lower wings
clouded and spotted with russet-brown on a paler brown ground, the
dark rounded brown spots having white centres; but there
are no black eye-spots on the hind wings.

The caterpillar is greenish-grey, with reddish head and two
pale lines on each side and a dark one down the back.

The butterfly, a feeble flier and easily captured, appears in
July and August; its favourite resorts being heaths, dry fields, and
lanes.

It is sometimes called the Small Meadow Brown, and the
Gate-keeper.

THE RINGLET BUTTERFLY. (Hipparchia Hyperanthus.)

(Plate VI. fig. 3, Female.)

This is one of those butterflies in which Nature, departing from her
accustomed plan, has reserved the chief adornment of the wings for the
under surface, leaving the upper comparatively plain and
unattractive.

In both sexes the wings, above, are of a deep sepia brown, surrounded
by a greyish white fringe, and bearing several black spots in paler
rings, which rings are {104}much less distinct in the
male than in the female, the sex figured in the plate.

The under surface is of a soft russet ground, adorned with a wreath of
the ringlet-spots from which the insect takes its common name.
These are black eye-spots, white-centred and set in a clear ring
of pale tawny colour. The most usual form and proportions of these spots
are shown in the figure (with closed wings), but there are many varieties
met with, the following being the most remarkable that have come under my
notice.

One, and not a very uncommon one, has no light rings round the
black spots on the under side.

Another has the rings reduced to a range of mere light specks, the
black eye-spots being entirely absent.

Then again, another has the black pupils exceedingly large and
rich, forming a most elegant variety.

The spots on the upper side in the male are sometimes
quite imperceptible.

The ground colour of the upper side is occasionally of a pale
drab or fawn colour.

The caterpillar of this species is very like that of the last
in colouring, and feeds on the same grasses.

The butterfly, which is out in June and July, is a common and
widely distributed species, frequenting woods, shady corners of
hedge-rows, &c.

{105}

THE SCOTCH ARGUS BUTTERFLY. (Erebia Blandina.)

(Plate VI. fig. 4, Female.)

The genus Erebia, to which this species belongs, is composed of
a group of mountain butterflies, very numerous in the Alpine regions of
the Continent, seventeen species being described as inhabiting the Alps;
and, though only two have yet been discovered in this country (unless we
admit Ligea, formerly taken in the Isle of Arran^[10]), it is not at all improbable that
others may be waiting for us in some of the mountain districts, if we
will but look them up. Both tourists and, more especially, residents in
those localities should be encouraged by the hope of adding a new species
to our list to explore thoroughly the hill-sides and summits at various
seasons of the year, as many of the species, besides being extremely
local in their range, are only on the wing during a very short period of
the year.

The Scotch Argus is a pretty, though not brightly-coloured
butterfly.

The colour above is a deep rich brown, with a coppery or orange-red
band on each wing, and each band has several (three or four usually)
black eye-spots thereon.

{106}

On the under side, the front wings are nearly the same as on the upper
side, showing the red patch and eyes plainly; but the hind wings are
without the red patch, and are divided into broad bands of brownish
tints, very variable, having sometimes a tendency to chocolate colour,
sometimes to an olive or russet brown: but the stripe which is shown as
lightest in the engraving of the under side is almost always greyer than
the rest, having occasionally a purplish ash colour. On this band are
some minute specks, occupying the places of the upper surface eyes.

The number of eye-spots is very variable on both surfaces.

The female, which is the sex figured, is both larger than the male and
has the reddish band of a brighter colour.

The caterpillar, whose food plant is unknown, is stated by
Duncan to be “light green, with brown and white longitudinal stripes;
head reddish.”

The butterfly appears in August and September. A few years ago
it was esteemed a rare insect, but it has since been found in plenty in
some of the following localities, the list of which would doubtless be
largely added to by further research in the northern hilly districts, its
chosen haunts.

Near Edinburgh; near Minto, in Roxburghshire; Isle of Arran; Bræmar;
near Newcastle; Castle Eden Dene; Durham; Craven; Wharfedale. {107}

At Grange, in North Lancashire, this “rarity” is a common garden
butterfly, according to Mr. C. S. Gregson.

THE MOUNTAIN RINGLET BUTTERFLY. (Erebia Cassiope.)

(Plate VI. fig. 5.)

A few years ago this little butterfly was esteemed one of the greatest
of British rarities. The first well authenticated specimens were
discovered and captured in Westmoreland by that distinguished artist, T.
Stothard, R.A.; then for several years no more were taken, and the very
existence of the butterfly in Britain was questioned. Since that time,
however, its peculiar haunts among the mountains of Cumberland and
Westmoreland have been rediscovered, and great numbers have been captured
by various collectors. It is only found in very elevated situations,
flying about the moist, springy spots that abound on these mountain
sides, and in many spots the insect is very plentiful, within a limited
range.

Mr. Curtis says, “They only fly when the sun shines, and their flight
is neither swift nor continued, for they frequently alight among the
grass, and falling down to the roots, their sombre colour perfectly
conceals them.”

The following notice of their locality, &c. from {108}personal
observation, is quoted from a communication to the Intelligencer,
by a well-known entomologist, Mr. R. S. Edleston, of Manchester. He
says:—

“I and my friend, Mr. Hugh Harrison, in the middle of June made the
ascent to Sty Head Tarn; for the first time in my experience, the weather
was everything we could desire—calm and sunshine; this, combined
with the dry season of last year and the long drought for months during
this, enabled us to collect on ground in other years a dangerous morass.
The result was, we captured Cassiope in abundance, some of them in
superb condition, just emerged from the chrysalis. A very short time on
the wing suffices to injure them. They vary considerably in the
development of the black spots on the fulvous patch, almost obsolete in
some through all gradations to the fullest development; the patch varies
in like manner, and also in form; lastly, they vary in size.”

The caterpillar is yet unknown.

The butterfly has the wings above of a dark brown colour. Each
wing bears near its extremity a bar of deep but dull red, divided into
sections where the brown veins cross. In each section is usually a black
spot, but sometimes these are absent, and a few red spots take the place
of the bar. The hind wings are smoothly rounded in their outline, and not
toothed or scalloped as in the last species (Blandina). The
males generally appear towards the end of June, but a few
sometimes earlier. The females, however, come later. {109}being found in
July, and some even as late as August. The following localities for it
are recorded:—Rannoch, Perthshire; Lake District; Sty Head Tarn;
Langdale Pikes; Red Skrees Mountains, near Ambleside; Gable Hill. But
other stations for it will probably be added to our list in time.

THE MARSH RINGLET, OR SMALL RINGLET BUTTERFLY. (Cœnonympha Davus.)

(Plate VI. fig. 6.)

This species, which is another North-country butterfly, varies so much
in its colouring of sober drab or brown, with black eye-spots, that its
varieties have been described as distinct species under the names of
C. Polydama, Typhon, and Iphis, now, however, all
placed together under the name of Davus.

These variations appear to depend in great measure upon local
differences of elevation, latitude, &c.

From this excessive variability also it is very difficult to give a
clear general description of the markings, though the insect may
be distinguished from other British species that approach it in
appearance by the obscure yellowish-drab tint of the upper surface,
marked with indistinct eye-spots, and more especially by having on the
under surface of the hind wings an irregular {110}whitish
band across the centre, and outside of this a row of about six clearly
defined black eye-spots with white centres, situated each in a pale
ochreous ring.

The butterfly, which appears in June and July, is exclusively
met with in the North (including North Wales), and inhabits the moors and
marshy heaths, or “mosses,” in a great many localities in Scotland and
the northern counties. The following are among those recorded:—

Scotland.—Shetland Isles; Isle of Arran;
Pentland Hills; Ben Nevis; Ben Lomond, near Oban; Ben More.

England.—Lake District of Cumberland;
Yorkshire; Beverley; Cottingham; Hatfield Chase; Thorne Moor; White Moss,
Trafford Moss, Chat Moss, near Manchester; Chartly Park, near Uttoxeter;
Delmere Forest, Cheshire; between Stockport and Ashton; near Cromer, in
Norfolk; near Glandford Brigg, Lincolnshire.

Ireland.—Donegal mountains.

North Wales.—Between Bala and
Ffestiniog.

Ashdown Forest, in Sussex, has been given as a locality, on doubtful
authority, certainly; but from what I have seen and know of that district
and its productions, I think it is not at all impossible that
Davus may be really found there. We have there, at any rate, the
heath-covered, yet swampy, moorlands that the insect loves, and also in
plenty the plants one finds most abundant in the northern moorlands; such
{111}as Vacciniums, Cotton-grasses, the three
common Heaths, &c. &c. with great variety in the elevation, some
of the ground lying very high.

THE SMALL HEATH BUTTERFLY. (Cœnonympha Pamphilus.)

(Plate VI. fig. 7.)

This is the pretty little tawny-coloured butterfly that mixes with the
sportive group of “Blues,” Meadow Browns, &c. on heaths, downs, and
grassy fields.

The general colour of the upper surface is a tawny yellow or buff,
shaded with a darker tint of brown at the edges and at the bases of the
hind wings. On the under side it may be distinguished from C.
Davus by the absence of the clearly defined black eye-spots
which the latter has. It is usually much inferior in size to the
last.

The caterpillar, which feeds on the common grasses, is of a
bright apple-green colour, with three darker green stripes bordered with
a whitish tint, the largest stripe being that on the back.

The butterfly abounds all over the country, from June till
September.

{112}

THE WHITE ADMIRAL. (Limenitis Sybilla.)

(Plate VII. fig. 1.)

This elegant butterfly is one of those in which the choicest
ornamentation is bestowed upon the under surface, to the
comparative neglect of the upper. Above, a dark sepia-brown tint, banded
and spotted with white, is all that greets the eye; but beneath there is
a piece of the most exquisitely harmonious colouring, though the hues
that compose it are still of a subdued and secondary
nature;—silvery blue, and golden brown blended with a cooler brown
and black, are placed in vivacious contrast with bands and spots of pure
silvery white.

The caterpillar (Plate I. fig. 4), which
feeds on the Honeysuckle, is a pretty and singular looking creature;
general colour bright green, with reddish branched spines, and white and
brown side-stripes.

The chrysalis (Plate I. fig. 21) is also
a very beautiful and curious object, very knobby and angular, of dark
green general colour, and ornamented with bright silver spots and
stripes.

The butterfly is found from the end of June till the end of
July; its favourite resorts being oak-woods in the southern counties.
{113}

Localities:—Colchester; Epping; Hartley Wood, near St. Osyth,
Essex; near Rye, and in other parts of Sussex; at several places in Kent;
near Winchester; and in Black Park, where Dr. Allchin informs me he took
a large number in one day.

The superlatively graceful motions of this butterfly on the wing, as
it comes floating and sailing through the wood openings, have long been
celebrated; and the story has been often quoted from Haworth, of the old
fly-fancier, who, long after he had become too feeble and stiff-jointed
to pursue or net a butterfly, used to go and sit on a stile which
commanded a well-known resort of his favourite Sybilla, and there,
for hours together, would he feast his eyes on the sight of her
inimitably elegant evolutions.

THE PURPLE EMPEROR. (Apatura Iris.)

(Plate VII. fig. 2.)

By universal suffrage, the place of highest rank among the butterflies
of Britain has been accorded to this splendid insect, who merits his
imperial title by reason of his robe of royal purple, the lofty throne he
assumes, and the boldness and elevation of his flight.

A glimpse of this august personage on the wing is enough to fire the
collector with enthusiastic ambition {114}for his capture;
sometimes a matter of the easiest accomplishment, 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 prize 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 occasionally, 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 creature’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-goût for the royal palate, that if any
animal, or part of one, not too recently slaughtered, be suspended 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 means {115}of this novel and singular trap, and the
seemingly coarse and unbutterfly-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 similar, 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 caterpillar state also the Purple Emperor is a
remarkable creature, of the form shown in Plate I.
fig. 5, bright green, striped with yellow on each side, and bearing on
his head a pair of horns or tentacles. {116}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:—Near Colchester, extremely abundant, Epping, Great and
Little Stour Woods; Kettering, Barnwell Wold, Northamptonshire; Bourne,
Lincoln; Leicester; Reading, Newbury, Berks; Herefordshire; Forest of
Dean, Monmouthshire; Warwickshire; Suffolk; Monkswood, Hunts; Clapham
Park Wood, Beds; Darenth Wood, Chatham, Tenterden; Ticehurst, Balcombe,
Tilgate Forest, Arundel, near Brighton; Lyndhurst; Stowmarket; Isle of
Wight.

{117}

THE PAINTED LADY. (Cynthia Cardui.)

(Plate VII. 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 characteristics in common, in point of habits,
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,”^[11]
since applied, but somewhat improperly, to the pupæ 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 discovered 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 pencilling 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 {118}species of thistle, but
sometimes also on the 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 Wandsworth.

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 movements, not difficult
to catch, for, if disturbed or missed at the first stroke, it returns to
the charge quite fearlessly.

THE RED ADMIRAL. (Vanessa Atalanta.)

(Plate VIII. fig. 1.)

In grand simplicity and vividness of colour, the Red Admiral perhaps
surpasses every other British butterfly, 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 {119}of this
splendour, relieved delightfully by the cool 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 surface
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 embroidery 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 lines 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 specimens of this are more rarely seen
than those of any of the other common Vanessas.

Like others of its genus, the Red Admiral is familiar, and even saucy,
in its manners, seeming to prefer the haunts of men to the solitudes that
other insects love, flaunting boldly before our face in gardens and
highways, where most we meet it.

It is found commonly all over the country.

{120}

THE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. (Vanessa Io.)

(Plate VIII. fig. 2.)

The form and markings of this 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 perfection, 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 contrast 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 gregariously 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
unfrequently in the spring having hybernated.

Mr. Doubleday writes thus to the Zoologist regarding the winter
retreats of butterflies of this genus:—”Last {121}winter some large
stacks of beech faggots, which had been loosely stacked up in our forest
(Epping) the preceding spring, with the dead leaves adhering to
them, were taken down and carted away, and among these were many scores
of Io, Urticæ, and Polychloros.”

In Scotland this is generally a very rare butterfly, but has latterly
been abundant in Dumfriesshire and Kirkcudbrightshire.

THE CAMBERWELL BEAUTY. (Vanessa Antiopa.)

(Plate VIII. 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 contrast between the pale whitish border
and the velvet depth of the colours it encloses. {122}

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 feasting on over-ripe or
rotten fruit, and at such times may be often surprised and captured with
ease.

No 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 District;
Appleby; Coventry; Peterborough; Oxford; Burton-on-Trent; Norfolk;
Lincolnshire; Suffolk; Bristol; Ely; Shrewsbury; Plymouth; Teignmouth;
Kent; Ashford; Bromley; Tenterden; Ramsgate; various places in
neighbourhood of London; Epping; Hampshire; Isle of Wight; Lewes;
Worthing. {123}

On the Continent this is a common butterfly, in many places being the
most abundant of all the Vanessas.

THE LARGE TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY. (Vanessa Polychloros.)

(Plate IX. fig. 1.)

The beginner often has a slight difficulty in finding a good and
permanent distinction between this species and the next (V.
Urticæ). 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 Urticæ; but as I have
seen specimens of Polychloros absolutely smaller than some very
large Urticæ’s, 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
Urticæ 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, near the lower
corner of the front wing, an extra black spot, not found in
Urticæ.

The blue spots on the border are in this species almost confined to
the hind wings. {124}

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 the white beam-tree. Mr. Boscher of
Twickenham informs me 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 each side.

The chrysalis is of a dull flesh colour, with golden spots.

The butterfly makes its appearance in July 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 Scotland. It is fond of gardens and other frequented
places.

THE SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY. (Vanessa Urticæ.)

(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 weedy road-sides and waste grounds, &c.

Its markings are very similar to those of the last, but the colouring
is much more gay and brilliant. {125}

The distinguishing mark of this species—the possession 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 more 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 companies 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 over, 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 following Christmas-day
(1855), it being unusually fine and warm, I was suddenly astonished by
the fall of {126}more than a hundred of the accompanying
butterflies (V. Urticæ). 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 previous
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 brown, sometimes 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 , whence its English name of “Comma.” {127}

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; but the back, for about 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 hybernated
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 (Yorkshire), Doncaster, Broomsgrove
(Worcestershire), Warwickshire, 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, Fifeshire has been
mentioned as a locality.

This is a rapid flyer, and not very easily caught when fresh on the
wing.

{128}

THE SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY (Argynnis Paphia.)

(Plate IX. fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female.)

The beautiful genus to which this butterfly belongs is distinguished
by the adornment of silvery spots and streaks with which 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 the 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 surface; 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
suffused with an olive-brown tint, inclining sometimes to green. The
black spots are also larger. Beneath, however, both sexes are marked
nearly alike with washy streaks of silver, and not with defined
spots. {129}

The caterpillar (fig. 7, Plate I.), as
with all the Fritillaries, 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-GREEN FRITILLARY. (Argynnis Aglaia.)

(Plate X. fig. 1, Male.)

This 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 {130}represented, 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 discriminate between them; but
beneath, the two are distinguished 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 spots 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.
{131}

The caterpillar is thorny, greyish, with black spots on the
back, intersected by a white line. Feeds on the violet.

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 see, 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 them; {132}but it has been several
times confounded with small specimens of Adippe and with
Euphrosyne, and its capture has thereupon been erroneously
published; but this must have been the effect of a description
imperfectly written or read. It will be observed that the form of the
front wings differs in this from the rest of 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 near 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 wing, 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 localities. It
has been taken at Brighton; Shoreham; Eastbourne; Dover; Margate;
Ashford; Chatham; Exeter; Bristol; Harleston, near Norwich; Colchester;
Lavenham; Peterborough.

{133}

THE PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY. (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 triangular 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; but its range is extended into Scotland. In
Ireland I believe it is unknown.

{134}

THE SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY. (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 situations, and has a range nearly co-extensive
with that of the latter.

{135}

THE GLANVILLE FRITILLARY. (Melitæa Cinxia.)

(Plate XI. fig. 2.)

Though 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 places
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
{136}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, Folkestone below
West-Cliff (abundant); round Dover; Birchwood; Dartford, Kent;
Stapleford, near Cambridge; Yorkshire; Lincolnshire; Wiltshire;
Peterboro’, Stowmarket; and in Scotland, at Falkland in Fifeshire.

THE PEARL-BORDERED LIKENESS FRITILLARY. (Melitæa 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. {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; Coombe Wood; Epping; Halton, Bucks;
Bedford; Aspley Wood, Beds; Plymouth, Teignmouth, Stowmarket, Dartmoor,
Devonshire; Oxford; Wiltshire; Colchester; St. Osyth; Tenterden;
Faversham; Deal; Canterbury. Very rare in north of England.

THE GREASY OR MARSH FRITILLARY. (Melitæa Artemis.)

(Plate XI. fig. 4.)

The black markings on the upper side of this butterfly 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}to the outer margin of each wing, the band
on the front wings having 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 having 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 pale 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-like 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 of Muswell Hill; West Wickham Wood,
and {139}High-Beech (Epping). It is also found near
Brighton (plentifully); Carlisle; Durham; Burton-on-Trent; York;
Haverfordwest, S. W.; Cardiff, S. W.; Weston-super-Mare; Bristol; and a
great number of other places distributed throughout the country. In
Ireland at Ardrahan, co. Galway. Rare in Scotland.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY FRITILLARY. (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 Fritillaries 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 Fritillaries, 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 suspended in the
manner, shown at fig. 25, Plate I.

The butterfly is chequered on the upper surface with {140}tawny, and
dark brown or black. It appears in May and June, and again in August,
being found in woods, principally in the south, and its range is often
confined to a small spot hardly fifty yards in diameter, within which it
may be quite plentiful. The following are among its recorded
localities:—Carlisle; Lake District; West Yorkshire; Roche Abbey,
Yorkshire; Peterborough; Stowmarket; Pembury; Barnwell Wold, Northants;
Oxford; Blandford; Worcester; Gloucestershire; Bedfordshire; Epping;
Coombe Wood; Darenth Wood; Boxhill; Dorking; Brighton; Lewes; Worthing;
Lyndhurst; Teignmouth.

The males of all the members of the family to which this
butterfly belongs, and of which this is the sole European
representative—the Erycinidæ—have only four legs adapted for
walking, whilst the females have six.

THE BROWN HAIR-STREAK. (Thecla Betulæ.)

(Plate XII. 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 {141}number, 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 common
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 September. It
is generally distributed through the south, but is by no means an
abundant insect. Mr. Stainton 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 Henfield, Sussex. Other
localities are, Underbarrow Moss, Westmoreland; North Lancashire, common
in some parts; Preston; Valley of the Dovey, Montgomeryshire; {142}Cardiff,
S. W.; Barnwell Wold; Peterborough; Colchester; Epping; Darenth Wood;
Coombe Wood; Brighton; Tenterden; Winchester; Woolmer Forest, Hants;
Plymouth; Dartmoor; Wallingford, Berks; Ipswich; 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
spots. This character will at once distinguish this from the next
species (W. Album). On the under side of the hind wing is a
broad band of 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 occasionally taken in great plenty
in certain spots. The Rev. W. Bree, writing to the Zoologist from
the neighbourhood 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 {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 following
localities:—Overton Wood; Brington, Huntingdonshire; and Monks
Wood, Cambridgeshire.

THE WHITE LETTER HAIR-STREAK. (Thecla W. 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 also is sometimes a small orange
dot;—beneath, the orange band forms a series of arches,
bounded on the edge nearest the root of the wing by a clear black
line instead of the rounded black spots seen at this part in
Pruni.

The caterpillar, which feeds on the 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}about in weedy fields a
foot or two from the ground. It 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 specimens only of
Thecla W. Album, having vainly endeavoured to procure others,
when, in 1827, as elsewhere recorded, I saw the insect at Ripley, not by
dozens only, but by scores of thousands! and although I frequented the
same locality for thirteen years subsequently, sometimes 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 Cambridge.”

Other localities:—Near Sheffield; Roche Abbey; York;
Peterborough; near Doncaster; Polebrook, Northants; Allesley,
Warwickshire; Brington, Huntingdonshire; Yaxley and Monks Wood,
Cambridgeshire; Needwood Forest, Staffordshire; Wolverston, near Ipswich;
Chatham; Southgate, Middlesex; West Wickham Wood; Epping; Bristol.

{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 England where there is an oak wood, and
looking like a small Purple Emperor, with its rich gloss of the imperial
colour.

The male has all the wings, in certain lights, of a dark brown
colour, but with a change of position they become illuminated with a deep
rich purple tint, extending 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 extending 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). {146}

The butterfly is seen in July and August, flitting about in
sportive groups round oak trees, and occasionally 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 lime tree.
It being so generally distributed, it will be needless 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 close to London.

{147}

THE SMALL COPPER BUTTERFLY. (Chrysophanus Phlæas.)

(Plate XIII. fig. 1.)

We now arrive at a genus characterized by the splendid golden or
burnished coppery lustre and tint of their wings; of which, however, the
present little species is the only one that remains to us, should the
“Large 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 butterflies, 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
be given.

{148}

THE LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY. (Chrysophanus Dispar.)

(Plate XIII. fig. 2.)

A few years ago, this was the pride of British entomology, for we were
supposed to have the insect entirely to ourselves, it being unknown on
the Continent, whilst it literally swarmed in some of the fens of
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 communication 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, of 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
fens about Whittlesea Mere, that I never expected to hear of its utter
extermination. Its brilliant appearance on the wing in the sunshine I
shall never forget, and to watch it sitting on {149}the flower of the
Eupatorium cannabinum and show the under sides of its wings, was
something ever to 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 remarkably 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, excepting 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 band 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 Whittlesea Mere, and has
been taken also at Benacre, Suffolk; and Bardolph Fen, Norfolk. {150}

Various reports of its capture, during the last two or 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 Hippothoë, 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. The first species, P.
Argiolus, is, however, an exception to the above, both in its food
and haunts. {151}

Several species of this genus are often found together. 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. No red spots.

Caterpillar, green, with darker line on back. Feeds on 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. I noticed immense 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}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 far north as
Durham and the Lake District. Not known in Scotland.

THE BEDFORD BLUE, OR LITTLE BLUE. (Polyommatus Alsus.)

(Plate XIII. 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 is sometimes 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.

{153}

THE MAZARINE BLUE. (Polyommatus Acis.)

(Plate XIII. fig. 5, Male; 5 a, Female.)

Colouring:—Upper side, male, deep purple, or mazarine
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 them sometimes.

The caterpillar is said to feed on the flower heads of common
Thrift (Armeria vulgaris).

The butterfly may be looked for in July.

{154}

THE LARGE BLUE. (Polyommatus Arion.)

(Plate XIV. fig. 1.)

This is the 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 spots 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 abundant there than formerly, from
the repeated attacks of collectors, who catch all they can find. Other
localities, mentioned in various works, are—Brington,
Huntingdonshire; Shortwood, and some other spots, near Cheltenham;
Charmouth, Dorsetshire; Dover; Downs {155}near Glastonbury,
Somerset; Downs near Marlborough, Wiltshire; Broomham, Bedfordshire; near
Bedford; near Winchester.

THE CHALK-HILL BLUE. (Polyommatus Corydon.)

(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. Under side marked as
in fig. 2 a, on a brown ground, with a row of red spots
near border of 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}are—Croydon; Brighton; Lewes; Dover;
Winchester; Isle of Wight; Halton, Bucks; Newmarket; Peterborough;
Norfolk; Suffolk; Berkshire; Oxfordshire; Wiltshire; Gloucestershire. At
Grange, North Lancashire, it is the commonest “Blue,” not on
chalk, but limestone.

THE ADONIS BLUE. (Polyommatus 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 line, the
fringe distinctly barred with blackish. Female, dark smoky brown,
sprinkled near body with pure blue scales the colour of those of
male; border of orange spots, more or less visible.

Under 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.

This is a most lovely little butterfly, the blue of its upper surface
being quite unapproachable among native insects. Mr. Stainton, speaking
of the different blues of Corydon and Adonis, happily observes that,
“Corydon {157}reminds one of the soft silvery appearance
of moonlight, whilst Adonis recalls the intense blue of the
sky on a hot summer’s day.”

Caterpillar like that of Corydon.

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

THE COMMON BLUE. (Polyommatus Alexis.)

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

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

Fringe in both sexes white, uninterrupted by dark
bars.

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

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

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

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

THE SILVER-STUDDED BLUE. (Polyommatus Ægon.)

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

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

Fringe white, not barred with black. Under side, near the
margin of the hind wings, and between that and the orange border
spots, are several metallic spots, of a bluish tint, whence the
insect has its name of “Silver-studded.” {159}

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

The butterfly 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; Ripley, Surrey; Brighton; Lewes; Deal; Lyndhurst; Blandford;
Brandon, Suffolk; Holt, Norfolk; Birkenhead; Bristol; Sarum, Wiltshire;
Lyme Regis; Parley Heath, Dorsetshire; Manchester; York; several places
in Scotland.

THE BROWN ARGUS. (Polyommatus Agestis.)

(Plate XIV. 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}in the male,
it is sometimes very indistinct. The under 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 XIV. 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,
between 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 Cicutarium, 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 Wight.

{161}

THE ARTAXERXES BUTTERFLY. (Polyommatus Artaxerxes.)

(Plate XIV. fig. 7.)

Colouring, same as in the last species (Agestis); but 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 front 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 question; 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, and I can only
here state that I have {162}seen 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? 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 Helianthemum vulgare (Rock
Cistus).

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.

{163}

THE SKIPPERS. (Family—Hesperidæ.)

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 from flower to
flower: hence their name. They are chiefly distinguished scientifically
from other butterflies by the form of the antennæ, 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 distance
between the roots of the antennæ, 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. (Thymele 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.

{164}

THE DINGY SKIPPER. (Thanaos 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 hill-sides, dry banks, old chalk pits,
&c. generally throughout the country, though it is less common than
the last. It is also met with frequently in Scotland.

{165}

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 spots of pale buff distinctly
outlined with dark brown—having 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,
Bedfordshire; Bourne, Lincolnshire; Monks Wood, Hunts; White Wood;
Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire; Stowmarket; Milton; Rockingham Forest;
Dartmoor; Netley Abbey; Charlbury, near Enstone, Oxon.

THE LULWORTH SKIPPER. (Pamphila Actæon.)

(Plate XV. fig. 4, Male; 4 a, Female.)

This plainly-coloured little butterfly, prized by collectors for its
rarity, has, in the male sex, great general resemblance to that of the
next species—the common P. Linea—but Actæon may
be distinguished by having the wings clouded over nearly the whole
surface with {166}dull brown, having something of a greenish
cast. The female is, however, very different from that of
Linea, 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 Actæon 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 predominating in the male.

The caterpillar is unknown.

The butterfly appears in July and August, but is so extremely
limited in its local range that it is 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
Weymouth 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.

{167}

THE SMALL SKIPPER. (Pamphila Linea.)

(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 butterfly very much resemble those of the
last rare species (Actæon), but they may be distinguished by the
middle part of the upper wing not being clouded with brown, as it is in
Actæon. 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; 6 a, Female.)

Upper side, dark rich brown, shaded and spotted with tawny or fulvous
tint. The male is known by a {168}dark-brown,
burnt-looking streak near the centre of the front wings; the
female being without this mark. Under 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; 7 a, 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. {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; but where found at all, it is generally abundant. Among its
localities are the following:—Croydon; Brighton; Lewes; Dover;
Lyndhurst; Blandford; Plymouth; Old Sarum, Wiltshire; Barnwell and Ashton
Wolds, Northamptonshire; Halton, Bucks; Newmarket; Gogmagog Park,
Cambridge; Hull; Scarborough.

{170}

REPUTED BRITISH SPECIES.

On Plate XVI. are grouped together figures of
six 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 New
Forest District, Hampshire. Generally a common insect on the
Continent.

{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 mountains, 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 ARRAN 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
enterprising butterfly-hunter.

From Blandina, which it almost exactly resembles on the upper
surface, it may be distinguished by the marking 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 Dia.—WEAVER’S
FRITILLARY.—This species is so nearly like Euphrosyne or
Selene, on the upper surface, that it readily might be, and
perhaps {172}sometimes is, passed by as one of those
common insects. Underneath it is chiefly recognised by the beautiful
blush of silvery purple that extends in a band across the middle
of the 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; also by Mr. Stanley,
near Alderley, in Cheshire.

Chrysophanus 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, its 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 Bæticus.—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 {173}Guernsey, and in August of the same year
an individual 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. Allchin, 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 somewhat 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”
(Polyommati), 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 Bæticus continue his northward
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.”

{175}

REFERENCES TO PLATES.

PREPARATORY STATES AND DETAILS.

{178}

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NOTES