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Title: British Butterflies
Peeps at Nature, Book V.
Author: A. M. Stewart
Editor: Charles A. Hall
Release Date: April 30, 2020 [EBook #61981]
Language: English
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Transcriber's Note.
References in the book to its illustrations are by "Plate" with Roman
numerals. The illustrations themselves are labelled "Plate" with Arabic
numerals. A plate's number in Roman numerals is equal to a plate's
number in Arabic numerals. In several instances the author has spelled
words differently to the accepted way. That spelling is retained in
this transcription. The illustration on the book's cover is referred to
in the text as Plate 16.
PEEPS AT NATURE
EDITED BY
THE REV. CHARLES A. HALL
V. BRITISH BUTTERFLIES
IN THE SAME SERIES
EACH CONTAINING 16 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
(EIGHT OF WHICH ARE IN COLOUR)
LARGE CROWN 8VO. PICTURE COVER
BIRD LIFE OF THE SEASONS
COMMON BRITISH BEETLES
BRITISH MOTHS
WILD FLOWERS AND THEIR WONDERFUL WAYS
BRITISH LAND MAMMALS
BRITISH FERNS, CLUB-MOSSES, &c.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE GARDEN
ROMANCE OF THE ROCKS
THE NATURALIST AT THE SEA-SHORE
POND LIFE
REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS
PUBLISHED BY
A. AND C. BLACK, LTD., 4, 5 AND 6, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. 1
AGENTS
AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK
AUSTRALASIA OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
205 FLINDERS LANE, MELBOURNE
CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.
ST. MARTIN'S HOUSE, 70 BOND STREET, TORONTO
INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.
MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY
309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA
[Illustration:
PLATE 1.
1. Swallow Tail
2. Black-veined White
3. Large Garden White (Female)
4. Small Garden White (Male)
5. Green-veined White (Female)
6. Bath White (Male)
7. Orange Tip
8. Wood White (Male)
9. Pale Clouded Yellow]
BRITISH
BUTTERFLIES
BY
A. M. STEWART
CONTAINING 16 ILLUSTRATIONS, FIGURING
ALL THE SPECIES, VIZ.:
8 FULL-PAGE IN COLOUR
8 PAGES FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
A. & C. BLACK, LTD.
4, 5 & 6 SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W. 1
1918
_First published May, 1912_
INTRODUCTORY EDITORIAL NOTE
I take it that this little "Peep at Nature," needs no apology; the
exquisite coloured plates, produced direct from natural butterflies
by the three-colour process, are a sufficient justification of its
appearance.
The author is a practical entomologist of many years' standing. He
writes from the fulness of a rich experience in the fields. He justly
advocates the "Paisley" method of setting insects. I know it to be
the more expeditious, and less calculated to damage specimens, than
the ordinary process. His notes on the preservation of larvæ will be
welcome in many quarters.
The publishers desire me to express their indebtedness to Messrs.
Watkins and Doncaster, 36, Strand, W.C., for kindly arranging and
lending the specimens from which the coloured plates have been produced.
CHARLES A. HALL.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTORY EDITORIAL NOTE v
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS vii
I. THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A BUTTERFLY 1
II. THE CAPTURE AND PRESERVATION OF BUTTERFLIES 13
III. THE BRITISH BUTTERFLIES DESCRIBED 29
INDEX 88
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PLATE
I. SWALLOW-TAIL--BLACK-VEINED WHITE--LARGE
GARDEN WHITE--SMALL GARDEN WHITE--GREEN-VEINED
WHITE--BATH WHITE--ORANGE-TIP--WOOD
WHITE--PALE CLOUDED YELLOW[*] _Frontispiece_
FACING PAGE
II. METHOD OF SETTING WITH BRISTLE AND BRACES 9
III. "COP" OF 120'S COTTON ON STAND, AND SETTING-NEEDLE
FOR "PAISLEY" METHOD OF SETTING 16
IV. CLOUDED YELLOW--BRIMSTONE--SILVER-WASHED
FRITILLARY, ETC.[*] 25
V. GLANVILLE FRITILLARY--HEATH FRITILLARY, ETC.[*] 32
VI. "PAISLEY" METHOD OF SETTING 35
VII. APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING LARVÆ 38
VIII. RED ADMIRAL--PAINTED LADY--MILK-WEED, ETC.[*] 41
IX. MARBLED WHITE--MOUNTAIN RINGLET--SCOTCH
ARGUS, ETC.[*] 48
X. DARK GREEN FRITILLARY--HIGH BROWN FRITILLARY,
ETC. 51
XI. LARVA OF LARGE GARDEN WHITE--PUPA OF LARGE
GARDEN WHITE, ETC. 54
XII. SMALL HEATH--GREEN HAIRSTREAK--PURPLE HAIRSTREAK,
ETC.[*] 57
XIII. ADONIS BLUE--CHALK-HILL BLUE--LITTLE BLUE,
ETC.[*] 64
XIV. PUPA OF RED ADMIRAL--LARVA OF RED ADMIRAL,
ETC. 73
XV. BROWN ARGUS--AZURE BLUE--SILVER-STUDDED BLUE,
ETC. 80
XVI. LIFE-HISTORY OF SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY:
OVA--LARVÆ--PUPA--MALE INSECT (TO RIGHT)--FEMALE
(LEFT)--FOOD-PLANT (NETTLE)[*] _On the cover_
[*] These eight illustrations are in colour; the others are in black
and white.
BRITISH BUTTERFLIES
CHAPTER I
THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A BUTTERFLY
What is the difference between a butterfly and a moth, and how am I to
distinguish between them? is a question very often put to the student
of insect life--the entomologist.
Butterflies and moths both belong to the Natural Order, _Lepidoptera_,
or scale-winged insects. Butterflies may be distinguished as day
flyers, and the moths fly by night. The main physical difference
between them appears in the forms of the antennæ, or horns; in the
butterflies these organs are club-shaped at the extreme ends. But the
antennæ of the various species do not all follow a common pattern.
In some the knob is abrupt and much smaller, after the manner of a
drum-stick; in others, the thickening commences well down the shaft,
and is gradually increased until it very much resembles an Indian club.
The antennæ of the moths, on the other hand, show much diversity of
form, and in a great many species they are totally different in the
male and female. A very common and beautiful form is the feathered,
or comblike, antenna; another is long and threadlike, and some show
a combination of these two forms; others, again, seem to be striving
after the butterfly type, and approach the club shape. It should
be noted that not a few moths fly during the day, but it is rare,
exceedingly rare, to find a butterfly abroad after sundown. With a
little practice in observation, the novice soon learns to distinguish
between the two.
The stages of development of butterflies and moths are practically the
same: first the egg; next the caterpillar, or larva; then the pupa, or
chrysalis; and, lastly, the imago, or perfect insect.
The eggs of the Lepidoptera are surpassingly beautiful. Are they like
birds' eggs? Not at all! In the first place they are too minute for
comparison with the larger product of the birds; both in colour and
form they more nearly resemble small shells or pearls, as a great many
of them are beautifully opalescent, especially when empty. A good
hand-lens will reveal a great deal of their beauty, but the low power
of an ordinary compound microscope will be necessary to enable you
to see all the nice detail of pattern sculptured on their surfaces.
Each species of butterfly, or moth, produces eggs of particular shape
and ornamentation, so it is quite possible, in most cases, to say to
which species an egg belongs. How long the egg may remain unhatched
depends a good deal upon which butterfly's egg it is, the season of
the year, and the temperature. Not many butterflies pass the winter in
this country in the egg state, that season being usually passed either
as a half-fed hibernating caterpillar, or as a chrysalis; and in a
few cases it is only the female which passes the winter in some secure
retreat, to emerge again in the spring, and then deposit her eggs on
the fresh-growing verdure. But, generally speaking, eggs laid during
the summer hatch out in from ten to sixteen days. And it is well to
be on the lookout for the young larvæ even earlier, if you intend to
rear some species in confinement. If you have secured eggs to rear
from, watch them from day to day to see if they darken, as they often
assume a dark leaden hue immediately before hatching. This is a useful
warning, and serves as a hint to have plenty of fresh food ready for
the young family about to arrive.
The caterpillars are ravenous eaters; you will not notice this fact
particularly at first, because they are then such tiny creatures,
but in proportion to their size their eating capacity is enormous.
They grow at an exceedingly rapid rate and to such an extent that
they literally burst their skins! In a very short time--three or
four days--the old skin bursts and out comes Mr. Caterpillar with a
brand-new one. And this is the manner of their growth; several times
(five or six) this skin-shedding process is repeated. And then the
creature prepares for the last and final change before turning into a
butterfly.
There are one or two more points I would ask you to notice about our
caterpillar ere we pass on to consider his next stage. The legs are
generally sixteen in number. There are six true legs, one pair on each
of the first three body-segments behind the head; four more pairs near
the anal end, and the last segment carries another pair, known as the
"anal claspers." The first six may be said to represent the same legs
in the perfect insect. Note also the breathing holes, or spiracles,
placed in a row along either side of the larva. The head _seems_ to
carry very large eyes, but it does not really do so; the real eyes
are very minute, and it requires a good strong pocket-lens to make
them out. There are twelve of them all told, and they are not all of
equal size. There are six on either side of the mouth, and the three
larger ones on each side are not very difficult to find. The mouth is
furnished with strong mandibles for biting and chewing food, and also
contains the spinneret for the production of the silk used on various
occasions. All these details should be carefully noted--the head, the
eyes, the breathing spiracles, the mandibles, the fore-legs and claws,
and the hind- or pro-legs. Mark the totally different types of feet
which terminate these two sets of legs. You will need to use your lens
for this observation, and to enable you to see the beautiful structure
of the pro-leg foot, it will be necessary for you to examine it through
a compound microscope. It is well for the young entomologist to know
these more prominent features of a caterpillar's economy, if for no
other reason than to be able to answer the questions that are sure to
be put to him on these and many other points.
But only a small percentage of the larvæ that are born into the world
live to become butterflies; some seasons a larger number than usual
may escape, and then we have a butterfly year, but the relentless
ichneumon flies soon restore the balance. They, too, have their young
to provide for, and a strange mode of existence they have. Once you get
to know these ichneumons at sight, you will be astonished at the number
of them. All the summer through you will find them hawking about the
trees, bushes, nettles, and heather, and, indeed, wherever larvæ are to
be found, there, too, you will find these flies. There are many species
of them. Once a female has discovered a larva its doom is sealed. The
ordinary larva has very few defensive weapons; he may wriggle and
squirm and _look_ terrifying, but all the same the ichneumon sets
about her task of placing one or two, and in many cases a dozen or
two, of her eggs either upon or under his skin. These eggs soon hatch,
and the little white maggots pass their existence inside the doomed
creature, eating all the tissues away, at first avoiding the vital
organs, which they leave until the last. When they have reached their
allotted span, and are about to change to the pupa state themselves,
they soon finish off their victim, and all that remains of what might
have been a brilliant butterfly is a little shrivelled bit of skin and
a host of little--or it may be a few big--black, brown, or grey flies.
Sentiment apart, these parasitic flies are extremely useful. When you
consider the large number of eggs laid by a single female butterfly or
moth--from two to six hundred is a fair average--you will realize that
if this enormous progeny were to survive and go on increasing without
any check, the vegetation of the world would very soon prove quite
inadequate to support the vast army of caterpillars, to say nothing of
you and me.
You may at some time find a dozen or two larvæ of some particular
species of butterfly or moth, and at the time of collecting them they
may seem healthy and all right, but weeks afterwards you may discover
that only a very small number will change to chrysalids, the ichneumons
having had the rest. If you can catch and induce a female butterfly to
give you a batch of eggs in captivity, then you may be sure, providing
your treatment of them has been right, that all your brood will arrive
at the perfect state.
The next stage we have to consider we will pass over briefly. The
change from the larva to the chrysalis is always a very fascinating
performance to watch, not that one could sit and see the whole
performance right through from start to finish, the time occupied is
too long for that. Generally the process lasts a day or two, but by
watching at frequent intervals, where several individuals are engaged
at the same operation and each at its own stage of the work, it is
not difficult to follow the whole process of the transformation. Try
it with the larva of the Large Garden White butterfly, perhaps the
commonest, and therefore the easiest to procure; you will gather plenty
of "stung" or "ichneumoned" examples, but still a sufficient number
should be clean to serve your purpose.
We will not enter into all the details of the "spinning-up" process
and describe how an attachment is secured at the anal extremity, and
how our little friend "loops the loop." Some species, such as the
Tortoiseshell, get over this part of their difficulty by omitting the
loop altogether, and therefore hang head downward, suspended only by
the hooks and silk at the tail. Concealment during this stage is the
creature's only hope and chance of survival; other defence they have
none. Their colour may occasionally protect them by virtue of making
them harmonize beautifully with their surroundings. The ichneumons
seldom molest them during the chrysalis stage; but birds and small
animals have sharp eyes when foraging for food, so it is usually far
more difficult to discover these chrysalids than to find the feeding
caterpillars.
The time passed as a chrysalis is very variable; ten days to a
fortnight in summer is sufficient for many species; others pass
over the whole winter, like the spring brood of our common white
butterflies, so that these can be sought for during the winter months
under the overhanging portion of palings, walls, outhouses, and in
similar situations. The cold does not seem to injure them; it may, and
generally does, retard their emergence, and possibly has some effect on
the colours of the wings, but it cannot change their ultimate pattern.
Experiments have been tried with various chrysalids, part of a brood
being hatched out after being submitted to a very low temperature,
and another part of the same brood after being treated with a high
temperature. Speaking generally, the coloration of those subjected to
the cold treatment was brightened and intensified, and Nature does the
same thing in her own way. The early summer butterflies, which pass
through the winter as chrysalids, are almost invariably larger and
brighter than the midsummer or autumn brood of the same species.
But suppose our caterpillar to have successfully run the
gauntlet--ichneumon, bird, beast, and beetle--and to have become
a healthy pupa, and that the time has arrived when he must make
the last and greatest transformation in his short and interesting
career. Several days prior to his exit as a butterfly taking place, a
noticeable change occurs in the apparent colour of the chrysalis.
As a matter of fact it is not the chrysalis shell which is changing
colour, but the developing insect, the colours of which are beginning
to show through it, at first rather faintly; but latterly the pattern
of the wings can be distinctly seen, and the whole body surface gets
darker. When this stage is reached, the advent of our butterfly is not
long delayed. The hour chosen is usually early in the morning, so that
by the time the sun is high and the fresh perfumed flowers are nodding
in the breeze, our little butterfly has expanded and dried his wings,
and is now quite prepared for the beautiful and consummating act in the
wonderful drama of his existence.
[Illustration: PLATE 2
Method of Setting with Bristle and Braces]
While he is drying his wings and preparing for a life amongst sunshine
and flowers, we might spend a few minutes with him ere he leaves us,
and the more so, as now he looks his very best, arrayed in all his
new-found finery. Such wings! no wonder he looks proud as he slowly
opens and closes them, repeating this action over and over again as if
to prove their smooth working before he launches forth upon the air.
And the wonderful pattern of these wings is all built up of tiny scales
placed as regularly as the slates on a roof. Your pocket-lens will
show you much of this, but to examine the individual scales, their
various shapes and structure, you will require a compound microscope.
These scales are the "dust" you will find on your finger and thumb if
ever you pick up a butterfly in such an unscientific manner. You will
notice, too, that the under sides of the wings bear quite a different
design from the upper sides; this is nearly always the case, and in
many foreign butterflies this difference between the two sides is so
very remarkable as to be quite startling in its effect. Well I remember
an old sergeant-major, who had spent many years in India, and had done
a lot of "butterfly dodging" in his day, telling me of this wonderful
effect. He said one would come upon an open piece of meadow-land
blazing with flowers and butterflies, but, on being disturbed, the
whole crowd of insects would rise in the air, and then, he would say,
they looked like a different set altogether. When you capture a few
specimens of any species, examine closely the under sides, and in any
case, if you wish to preserve them, always set one of each sex with the
under side uppermost.
Next to the wings the head claims our attention; it supports three
very essential organs--the eyes, the horns, or antennæ, and the tongue,
or sucker.
The antennæ are undoubtedly the organs of smell, which is perhaps the
most highly developed sense in the Insect World. That the eyes are
a marvel of beauty, and that the tongue is a finely finished little
instrument for its work no one can question; but the sense of smell
has a much longer range than even the eye, with all its facets. And
you will generally find, in relation to the faculty which any animal
or insect has to exert most so as to procure its food and propagate
its kind, the organ of that faculty reaches the highest point of
development and service.
The eyes of the condor and the gannet must be marvellous in range and
penetrating power. I have watched scores of the latter birds sailing
and hovering 150 feet and more above a troubled sea. Suddenly there
would be a slight pause, and then a rocket-like dive right down into
the waves below. To see a fish on the surface from such a height would
be a great feat, but to see and catch one a dozen feet deep in a broken
sea as a gannet can do, is wonderful indeed.
With butterfly and moth the sense of smell is of the greatest
importance. Their vision is good, but short in range; so to find the
flowers wherein lies their food the sight is good, but the power to
detect them by scent must be far better. "Over the hedge is a garden
fair," and if a butterfly cannot see through the hedge, he can at least
smell through it. He could fly over it? Yes, but if his sense of smell
says there is nothing there for him, you see he is saved the time and
trouble; and his life is short.
"Assembling" and "treacling" for moths are two methods employed by
insect-hunters to secure an abundance of specimens otherwise difficult
to obtain, and in both cases it is this same wonderful sense of smell
which is the insect's undoing.
For "assembling," a captive virgin female is taken at dusk to the
locality where the species is likely to occur, and if males are
about they very soon make their appearance. The female being in a
gauze-covered box, they will swarm over it in their efforts to find
an entrance, and when thus engaged can be easily captured. As for the
subtle odour emitted by the lady, you or I could never detect it,
yet these moths come swarming from far and near. I once witnessed a
curious phase of this instinct on a hillside in Arran. My attention was
arrested by a number of males of _Bombyx Quercus_ (variety, _Callunæ_),
keeping near and flying over a certain spot, and, thinking a female
might be about, I went over to investigate. It was a female, but a dead
and crushed one; how it had met its end I could only conjecture; but
evidently, although the insect was mutilated, the scent still lingered,
and brought the males circling round. This large moth flies boldly
during the day, and in Arran the larvæ feed on the heather.
The eyes of a butterfly are large and of the usual insect
pattern--_i.e._, compound, being made up of a number of tiny lenses,
hexagonal in shape, like the honeycomb of the domestic bee. Roughly,
about three thousand of these lenses go to make up the two eyes. As
pointed out, their range of vision is comparatively short, but within
their range vision must be very keen--before, behind, above, and below.
I once saw a sparrow try to capture a Large Garden White in a street
in the town; he darted at it again and again, much in the manner of
the ordinary spotted flycatcher, but the butterfly seemed to have no
difficulty in evading him, and eventually he gave up the game.
A small portion of the eye makes a good slide for the microscope,
but the individual lenses are hardly visible through an ordinary
hand-glass. On the top of the head are one or two small simple eyes,
which do not look as if they could be of much service, but one never
knows, and the butterflies will not tell, although they have long
tongues.
The tongue is a very pretty structure; when not in use it lies coiled
up in spiral fashion like a watch-spring, and is then well protected by
two little side-covers called the "palpi." Needless to say, the tongue
cannot sting. No moth or butterfly has a stinging organ; the tongue
is too delicate for any "cut and thrust" work. It is not difficult to
mount a butterfly's tongue for the microscope, and its examination
well repays the trouble. Particularly noticeable under the microscope
are the little bell-shaped suckers placed in long rows near the tip.
If you wish to make and examine a cross section, take the head of
a freshly killed specimen and extend the tongue in a little melted
paraffin wax; when this is thoroughly set, cut it across in very thin
slices with a sharp razor; place one on a glass slide, then on to the
microscope stage, and there you are! You will soon discover that the
simple-looking tube is a very complicated affair, and quite a little
study in itself.
We will not linger over what remains of the anatomy of our butterfly.
The legs are six in number, but occasionally the first pair are useless
for walking, and only the middle and last pairs are fully developed.
Always remember the maximum number of legs for all insects is six.
Caterpillars may have more or less; they occur as footless grubs with
no legs at all, while some have as many as sixteen legs.
The last, or abdominal, section of a butterfly's body carries the
sexual organs; it is usually more slender in the males than in the
females.
CHAPTER II
THE CAPTURE AND PRESERVATION OF BUTTERFLIES
In the rearing of butterflies from eggs and in watching them all
through their larval stages, we learn a great deal concerning their
life and habits, and finally secure perfect specimens for the cabinet.
But the glories of the chase and the charm of the country ramble weigh
more in the balance with the naturalist, and the story of a captured
specimen is often far more interesting than the record of a bred one.
Of butterfly nets used in the chase there are many and varied patterns
in the market. I made my own and a better balanced one it would be hard
to find. Having seen and handled a few in my time, my experience has
been that they are mostly too heavy, have too many loose parts, and
their weight is badly distributed. Indeed, I saw one lately which felt
more like a hammer in one's hand. I think if you try to get one made
after the pattern here described and figured on p. 15, you will not be
disappointed with it.
Now, it is one of the avowed purposes of this little book to make the
study and collecting of butterflies cost _all_ the time a boy can
spare, and little, or, at least, not much in money. The requirements
for a ring folding net are 2 yards of steel wire, rather less than 1/8
inch in thickness (cost about threepence); three copper rivets and
washers, 3/16 inch by 3/8 inch long (cost one penny); one 1/4-inch iron
screw-head bolt and nut (one penny). Cut the wire into two pieces,
each 20 inches long, and two pieces 16 inches long. If you can get a
tinsmith friend to turn the eyes for you, so much the better; you will
thus avoid the most difficult part of the operation, but you would lose
some valuable lessons and the satisfaction of having made the whole
thing yourself.
The accompanying cut will show you how the eyes are turned and riveted,
and how the nut is fixed in the tube which the tinsmith will make
for you, and he will also solder the nut in the narrow end for a few
coppers. Or you can get him to make the whole concern, as I have done
for a friend of mine. I simply gave the tinsmith mine for a pattern,
and in a few days he handed me over an exact duplicate, and only
charged one shilling and sixpence for it.
[Illustration: DETAILS OF FOLDING-NET.
1, Ring open, about 16 inches diameter; 2, tin tube with nut soldered
in at narrow end; 3, net complete, showing wooden handle fitting
into tin tube. Detail A shows how eyes are turned; B, larger eye for
passing over screw; C, screw soldered in position.]
The net itself is easily made. You will need 1-1/2 yards of the best
and strongest muslin and a piece of stout twilled cotton, with which to
make the hollow binding round the wire for strength. This binding must
be at least 2 inches deep, so as to slip off and on the ring easily
when you wish to repair the ring or wash the net. Get green muslin if
you care for it; I tried green, too, but speedily gave it up, as I
found the white net more effective for seeing and handling moths in
after dark.
Do not shape the net down to too fine a point; rather make it more of a
cup-shape and nearly the depth of your arm. And, lastly, while we are
on the subject of the net, always carry a few strips of gum paper with
you on an excursion; they are very handy and effective for repairing a
damage, say, after contact with a bramble-bush.
Most butterflies are very impatient in the net, and strongly resent
their imprisonment, so either double your net over the instant a
capture is made, or catch the net by the neck, so to speak, with your
left hand, leaving your right free for the pinching process. Pinching
must be very carefully done, or your specimen may be spoiled. It can
be done only when the wings are closed; you give the insect a sharp
nip between your finger and thumb nails, right under the junction
of the wings and the body--_i.e._, on the under side of the thorax,
always taking care not to crush or mangle the specimen. Do not attempt
to actually kill it; just give a sufficient pinch to stun it; then
you may open the net, remove your specimen, and pin it in your
collecting box, which should be as nearly air-tight as you can make it,
and lined with sheet cork. Place some freshly pounded laurel-leaves
secured in a piece of muslin at one end of your box. The fumes given
off by the bruised leaves soon kill the insects. Don't use ammonia for
killing butterflies; it alters their colours, and, in fact, ruins some
altogether. Cyanide of potassium or laurel-leaves are the best killing
agents, and the latter are by far the safest for boys to handle, as
cyanide is very poisonous.
[Illustration: PLATE 3
"Cop" of "120's" Cotton on Stand, and Setting-Needle for "Paisley"
Method of Setting]
Specially-made entomological pins can be purchased from all dealers
in naturalists' requisites. Black enamelled pins are the vogue just
now, and they last longer than the silvered or gilt ones, and resist
"grease" better. Many insects, you should know, have a small, and
some a large, amount of oil in their bodies, which gradually makes
its presence seen, first in the abdomen, and later it spreads (if not
checked) to the wings. The oil, coming in contact with the white or
yellow pin, soon corrodes it through; the black enamel resists its
action longest. Try to check this "greasing" of your specimens on
its first appearance on the body, and if you notice it before it has
spread to the wings all may be well. Break the abdomen off at once, and
drop it into benzine, where you can let it remain a day or two. Then
transfer it to a box of fine dry plaster of Paris for another day or
so, and you will be surprised how beautiful and clean it will come out.
Another hint: Push a little pin into each body when broken off, and
attach a _white_ thread to the pin; now you can do what you like with
the body without touching it with your fingers; lastly, replace each
body, sticking it in position with a dab of entomological gum, to be
had from Messrs. Watkins and Doncaster, 36, Strand, W.C.
Supposing you have arrived home with a few butterflies, and wish to set
them. This is best done as soon as possible after they are killed. They
may remain unset a few days if kept damp and yet properly aired; you
must prevent them from hardening on the one hand, and getting mouldy on
the other, through too long and close keeping; so have a watchful eye
on them until set.
Setting-boards can be either bought or made. This is a question for
each worker to determine for himself. Some collectors may have special
facilities for making them, while others may have a profusion of pocket
money wherewith to buy them. When I was a boy I made my own. It was a
work of necessity. As a lad I had always so many specimens to set in
summer-time that it would have been sheer ruination to have bought all
the boards required.
On Plate II. you have an illustration of a setting-board, and the
photograph is in itself an indication of how butterflies are to
be set before being placed in the permanent collection. Note the
setting-bristle mounted in a cube of cork. This is used to hold the
wing in position while the card braces are being placed. The collector
can easily mount a bristle for himself. A cat, badger, or other whisker
will serve; do not try to push it through the cube of cork, but glue
it between two pieces; by doing so you will save your bristle from
being spoiled and make a firmer job.
Keep your old _thin_ postcards, from which to cut braces, and always
have a boxful of various sizes handy, and in the same box, in a
separate compartment, have an abundance of small, thin pins. Good
setting, like other operations, is largely a matter of practice. Be
careful not to injure the wings in any way, and place your braces on
them so that they will not leave marks. I find a common fault with
beginners is that they do not lower the specimen far enough down into
the groove of the setting-board, with the result that the wings are
bent and deformed by the braces pressing them down. See that the wings
of your specimens lie flat and naturally spread out over the surface of
the board on either side of the groove.
A setting-needle is sometimes an exceedingly useful tool. A very
neat one can be made in a few minutes with a goose quill, a little
sealing-wax, and the finest sewing-needle you can secure. Melt the wax
and fill one end of the quill for half an inch or so, heat the eye end
of the needle until nearly red-hot, and push it into the wax. This tool
is very useful for adjusting a wing as occasion demands.
Let your insects remain as long as possible on the boards; they should
be left on for a fortnight in warm, dry weather, but longer in the
spring and autumn. The wings of imperfectly dried specimens are liable
to spring up, or droop.
There is another method of setting Lepidoptera which only requires
to be more widely known to quickly supersede the use of braces and
bristle. It is sometimes called the "Northern" method, but I prefer
to call it the "Paisley," because it was first used in that town. Its
advantages are: Greater speed, less apparatus, less expense, and less
liability to damage the specimens. Instead of the usual setting-board,
a block is used--that is to say, your setting-boards are cut up into
short pieces, in length a little less than the width of the board.
Thus, a board 2-1/2 inches wide should be cut into pieces 1-3/4 inches
long. As no corked surface is needed these blocks can be made or bought
very cheaply; the usual cost, from a joiner, is about two shillings
per hundred. The only other requisite is a cop of very fine cotton
"120^8" or even finer if you can get it. This you will be able to
obtain from a cotton-spinner or his agent; by-and-by, as this method
of setting becomes more widely known the dealers will probably stock a
few of these fine cotton-yarn cops.[#] Plate III. will show you how to
construct a stand for the cop. The rest is easy. Pin your insect in the
same way as you would do for braces; place it on the block with wings
well down on its surface, holding the block in your left hand. Give
your cotton a turn round the extreme edge of the block, then bring it
directly above your insect. Now blow the wing on the left side as far
forward as you wish it to go, and, while it is held extended by your
blowing, bring the cotton down gently across it and there you have it,
secured in position. Give two or three extra turns to hold it safe and
repeat the operation for the other wing. If the wings should be stiff
and refuse to go far enough forward, secure them as far forward as they
will blow, with one turn of the cotton only, then gently assist them
farther with a setting-needle. When in a satisfactory position, give
the few extra turns of the cotton. I can set from sixty to one hundred
and twenty insects in an hour by this method.
[#] Readers desirous of adopting this most excellent method of setting,
and yet experiencing difficulty in getting suitable cotton-yarn,
should communicate with the author, Mr. A. M. Stewart, 38, Ferguslie,
Paisley.--EDITOR.
In removing an insect from a block, draw a sharp knife across the back
of the block and lift off _all_ the cotton at once. If the body of the
specimen being set needs support, as sometimes happens, give the cotton
two or three cross turns, and with your setting-needle raise the body
on to this as shown on Plate VI. One hint more: See that your lines
diverge from near the body at the bottom to near the tip of the wings
at the top; the reason for this is that if you have to slip the wing
forward under a turn of the thread it will not be damaged if the thread
is arranged as indicated, whereas if your thread be laid on, say, from
the outer bottom corner in towards the head, it would then scrape the
wing, and be sure to remove some of the scales, thus damaging the
specimen. The correct method is shown on Plate VI. With ordinary care
and usage a good cop should last a year or two.
After your insects are set, by whatever method, they need to be put
aside in a dry, airy place to harden, and be secured against the
ravages of mice and spiders. For their better protection, it is usual
to place them in a "drying case," which need not be an elaborate
affair. My drying case was constructed out of an empty box obtained
from the grocer; judging from the legend on the outside it had once
contained tins of preserved apples. This is set up on end with the
bottom removed and made into cross shelves. Light muslin cloth is
tacked on in place of the bottom, so as to admit air but exclude dust.
On the front, where the lid was originally nailed, is a hinged frame,
covered with the same material, acting as a door. This drying house is
not exactly pretty, but it has served its purpose admirably for many
years.
A representative of the larva of each species is now considered
essential to a complete collection of butterflies, and it is rendered
even more perfect if egg-shells and chrysalis cases can also be
included.
We now have a fairly easy and reliable process for preserving larvæ, a
process which any aspiring young collector can carry through without
much trouble or expense. It is really very simple and costs little.
True, one can purchase apparatus specially made for the work for ten,
or even five, shillings, but equally good results can be obtained with
the expenditure of a few pence and a little ingenuity. I strongly
advise young folk to make their own apparatus; by so doing they develop
resourcefulness, and a handy youngster is not likely to make a failure
of his life.
In the first place you will need a hot-air chamber. Any empty
toffee-tin will serve this purpose; one somewhere about 6 inches long
by 4 inches in diameter will be a handy size. Get a piece of copper
or soft iron wire, such as milliners use; give the wire two or three
turns round the tin, twisting it as tightly as you can: then give the
two free ends a turn or two round a gas-bracket near the burner, so as
to bring your tin, with the open end next you, just over the burner.
Or you may mount the tin over a spirit-lamp, in which event you will
not be troubled with soot gathering on the outside of your oven. You
now have an oven which you can make as hot as you want it by regulating
your flame; you will soon discover the right temperature in which to
dry a skin quickly without burning it. The skins of small, thin-skinned
caterpillars dry very quickly, whilst those of large moths, such as the
Oak Eggar, dry more slowly even with more heat.
Your next requirement is a glass blowpipe: this you can purchase at
the chemist's for a copper. Ask for a glass tube about a foot long and
a quarter of an inch in diameter. Now, this tubing is made of a very
soft and pliable kind of glass, and by heating it over a flame you
should have no difficulty in drawing out one end of the tube into a
fine point, not too long and not too abrupt; the illustration (Plate
VII.) will show you the right length of the point. Hold the end over
the gas-jet, keep turning it round, and in a minute it will become red
and soft; remove the end of the tube from the flame, grasp it with a
pair of forceps, and gently and steadily pull the heated portion until
it is drawn to a point of the required length. Nip off the part you
caught with the forceps, and your tube is ready. Or another way is to
heat the tube in the middle, and pull the two ends apart; this will
give you two blowpipes, and you can make a fine point to one for small
caterpillars and a wider aperture to the other for large ones. I used
to know a friendly chemist who would "point" as many tubes as I wanted
at his Bunsen burner in a few minutes. To complete your blowpipe, you
will need about 2 inches of a watch-spring--any watch-repairer will
give you a broken spring. The photograph on Plate VII. shows how the
piece of spring is placed and used; it is bent to the required shape
while heated, and bound in position with fine copper wire. The wire I
use is the same as that required for mounting dried larva skins; it can
be obtained at any shop where electrical appliances are sold; it is an
extremely fine wire covered with green silk thread.
Your larva-preserving outfit is completed with a sheet of
blotting-paper and an ordinary lead pencil. I will now describe the
process.
[Illustration:
PLATE 4.
1. Clouded Yellow (Male)
2. Brimstone (Male)
3. Silver-washed Fritillary (Male)
4. Dark-green Fritillary (Male)
5. High Brown Fritillary
6. Queen of Spain Fritillary
7. Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary
8. Pearl-bordered Fritillary
9. Greasy Fritillary]
There could be no better species to begin with than the caterpillar
of the Large Garden White butterfly; get one as nearly full-grown as
possible, lay it out on the blotting-pad before you, place the lead
pencil across it gently, but firmly, just behind the head, and roll it
towards the tail. This kills the larva instantly, and empties out its
internal organs by the anal orifice. Roll your pencil over it again
to make sure the skin is thoroughly clean inside; then insert your
blowpipe into the anal orifice, letting the spring down on the last
segment so as to hold the skin on; apply your mouth to the other end
of the blowpipe, blow the skin out gently, and insert in the hot-air
oven. Keep blowing gently for a few seconds; watch progress; touch the
skin with your finger to see if it is getting hard and dry. Don't blow
too hard and make it look like a bursting sausage; try to keep it as
natural in appearance as possible. In a few minutes it will be quite
hard and dry; when dry, raise the spring, and a slight touch with the
thumb-nail will liberate it from the blowpipe. The skin is now ready
for mounting on silk-covered wire or a thin dry twig with a little
entomological gum or seccotine. Our specimen is now ready to take its
place in the collection.
We now have to face the problem of storing the collection. It is
probably beyond the means of a young collector to purchase a cabinet
with drawers, costing ten shillings per drawer, and he will be well
advised to keep his specimens in store-boxes which he may be able
to make for himself. I made some very serviceable ones with scented
soap-boxes got from our grocer. Any size will do, but it is best to
have your boxes all of one size if possible, say 10 inches by 14 inches
by 4 inches. Get a few light deal boxes about these dimensions, nail
on the lids, paper them all over the outside with good stout brown
packing-paper having a glossy surface; paste it on with thin glue; set
aside a day or two to dry. When dry, take a sharp saw and cut the
boxes round the sides and ends, so that each box is divided into two
equal traylike halves. Glue a stout cardboard shell round the inside
of one half, and attach the other half by two small brass hinges. The
cardboard shell rises above the sides of the tray, and when the other
half of the box is folded over it "stays put," as the Yankee says;
and, in addition, you have a fairly air-tight construction. These
store-boxes fold after the manner of a book-form chess or draught
board. Each half requires to be lined on the inside with sheet cork,
which you can get from dealers in entomologists' sundries, and finally
covered with thin white paper. Such a store-box costs less than one and
sixpence. Keep two or three boxes for duplicate specimens, and as many
for your permanent collection. By-and-by you will want glass-topped
cases, but by the time you have arrived at that stage you should have
gained sufficient experience to enable you to know where to buy them.
See that every specimen before being transferred to your permanent
collection bears with it a small label setting forth the date and place
of capture, thus:
EPPING,
9/6/11.
_J. Roberts._
ABBEY WOOD, HERTS,
7/9/11.
_Robertson._
Keep these tickets as inconspicuous as possible and with the writing or
printing in such a position as to be easily read without requiring to
remove the insect.
The following list of British butterflies is thoroughly modern, and
in labelling your specimens you should adopt its nomenclature, and
also follow the order given in arranging your collection. Both Latin
and English names are included, but if you wish to be a thorough
entomologist you should accustom yourself to use the scientific names.
The Latin name is the same everywhere "from China to Peru." If you use
an English name of a butterfly in writing to a foreign collector he
will probably fail to recognize the species referred to, but if you
give the scientific name he will know it at once.
LIST OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES
ARRANGED IN THEIR FAMILIES AND GENERA, WITH THEIR SCIENTIFIC AND
POPULAR NAMES.
Family: PAPILIONIDÆ.
_Papilio machaon._
SWALLOW-TAIL.
Family: PIERIDÆ.
_Aporia cratægi._
BLACK-VEINED WHITE.
_Pieris brassicæ._
LARGE WHITE.
_Pieris rapæ._
SMALL WHITE.
_Pieris napi._
GREEN-VEINED WHITE.
_Pieris daplidice._
BATH WHITE.
_Euchloë cardamines._
ORANGE-TIP.
_Leucophasia sinapis._
WOOD WHITE.
_Colias hyale._
PALE CLOUDED YELLOW.
_Colias edusa._
CLOUDED YELLOW.
_Gonepteryx rhamni._
BRIMSTONE.
Family: NYMPHALIDÆ.
_Argynnis selene._
SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY.
_Argynnis euphrosyne._
PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY.
_Argynnis lathonia._
QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY.
_Argynnis aglaia._
DARK GREEN FRITILLARY.
_Argynnis adippe._
HIGH BROWN FRITILLARY.
_Argynnis paphia._
SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY.
_Melitæa aurinia._
GREASY FRITILLARY.
_Melitæa cinxia._
GLANVILLE FRITILLARY.
_Melitæa athalia._
HEATH FRITILLARY.
_Vanessa c-album._
COMMA.
_Vanessa polychloros._
LARGE TORTOISESHELL.
_Vanessa urticæ._
SMALL TORTOISESHELL.
_Vanessa io._
PEACOCK.
_Vanessa antiopa._
CAMBERWELL BEAUTY.
_Vanessa atalanta._
RED ADMIRAL.
_Vanessa cardui._
PAINTED LADY.
_Limenitis sibylla._
WHITE ADMIRAL.
Family: APATURIDÆ.
_Apatura iris._
PURPLE EMPEROR.
Family: SATYRIDÆ.
_Melanargia galathea._
MARBLED WHITE.
_Erebia epiphron._
MOUNTAIN RINGLET.
_Erebia æthiops._
NORTHERN BROWN, OR SCOTCH ARGUS.
_Pararge ægeria._
SPECKLED WOOD.
_Pararge megæra._
WALL BROWN.
_Satyrus semele._
GRAYLING.
_Epinephele janira._
MEADOW BROWN.
_Epinephele tithonus._
SMALL MEADOW BROWN.
_Epinephele hyperanthus._
RINGLET.
_Cænonympha typhon._
MARSH RINGLET.
_Cænonympha pamphilus._
SMALL HEATH.
Family: LYCÆNIDÆ.
_Thecla betulæ_.
BROWN HAIRSTREAK.
_Thecla w-album._
WHITE-LETTER HAIRSTREAK.
_Thecla pruni._
BLACK HAIRSTREAK.
_Thecla quercus._
PURPLE HAIRSTREAK.
_Thecla rubi._
GREEN HAIRSTREAK.
_Polyommatus dispar._
LARGE COPPER.
_Polyommatus phlæas._
SMALL COPPER.
_Lycæna bætica._
LONG-TAILED BLUE.
_Lycæna ægon._
SILVER-STUDDED BLUE.
_Lycæna astrarche._
BROWN ARGUS.
_Lycæna icarus._
COMMON BLUE.
_Lycæna bellargus._
CLIFDEN BLUE.
_Lycæna corydon._
CHALK-HILL BLUE.
_Lycæna argiolus._
AZURE BLUE.
_Lycæna semiargus._
MAZARINE BLUE.
_Lycæna minima._
LITTLE BLUE.
_Lycæna arion._
LARGE BLUE.
Family: ERYCINIDÆ.
_Nemeobius lucina._
DUKE OF BURGUNDY.
Family: HESPERIDÆ.
_Syrichthus malvæ._
GRIZZLED SKIPPER.
_Nisoniades tages._
DINGY SKIPPER.
_Hesperia thaumas._
SMALL SKIPPER.
_Hesperia lineola._
ESSEX SKIPPER.
_Hesperia actæon._
LULWORTH SKIPPER.
_Hesperia sylvanus._
LARGE SKIPPER.
_Hesperia comma._
SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER.
_Carterocephalus palæmon._
CHECKERED SKIPPER.
The remaining pages of this volume will be devoted to a description
of the species mentioned in the foregoing list, together with notes
on habits and other points. Assisted by the splendid coloured plates,
which are produced from actual specimens, and the notes in the
following pages, the young collector should have no difficulty in
identifying the specimens he secures.
CHAPTER III
THE BRITISH BUTTERFLIES DESCRIBED
THE SWALLOW-TAIL (_Papilio Machaon_), Plate I., Fig. 1.--I find, in
Scotland, where I live, that the first question put by friends looking
over one's insect treasures usually refers to this butterfly. "Is
that a British butterfly?" they ask; and on being assured that it is,
they tender the information that they never saw one like it in this
neighbourhood; and it takes much explanation to make them understand
how rare and local some butterflies and moths are.
Alas! he is our one and only Swallow-Tail--the connecting link between
our small island family and the great host of tropical and subtropical
Swallow-Tails that flaunt their gorgeous colours under sunnier skies.
And we hope he may long remain with us. The incentive to travel and
capture this butterfly in his native haunts is not so great as it may
have been half a century ago. For a few pence, or by exchange, the
larva or chrysalis can be had from a dealer, and with ordinary care and
attention it is not a difficult species to rear, and thus see alive.
That this species is already getting scarcer should be a warning to
all who are interested in the preservation of our native fauna. Its
extermination might not be a very difficult task; and although it is
common in many places on the Continent, its reintroduction into England
would certainly be attended with great trouble and difficulty.
Two years ago (1909) an experiment was made, under very favourable
conditions, to "naturalize" a colony of this fine butterfly at Easton,
near Dunmow, in Essex, the property of Lord Warwick. Lord Warwick and
Professor Meldola laid down a large number of chrysalids which duly
hatched, and, although the surrounding marsh land had been liberally
stocked with the food-plant, yet no eggs or larvæ were found after the
butterflies had passed their season, nor have any been seen since.
Doubtless the butterfly has many natural enemies, and when we consider
the draining, burning, and rush-cutting that go on in these fen lands,
it will be apparent that the time cannot be far distant when an effort
will need to be made, such as at Wicken, to provide "Cities of Refuge,"
for many of our rare and persecuted little friends. I speak for birds,
butterflies, flowers and ferns. An educated public taste would do more
for them all than any amount of Acts of Parliament.
The Swallow-Tail measures fully 3 inches across the expanded wings;
the prevailing tint is a pale primrose yellow, with bars and masses of
black, the latter powdered with yellow scales on the fore-wings, and
with pale blue on the hind-wings. There are also two red eye spots on
the inner angle of the hind-wings near the tails. The under side looks
not unlike a washed-out version of the upper, with a little more red on
the hind-wings.
The caterpillar, too, is very beautiful, being green in colour, belted
with black, and the black is studded with red spots. It thrives well on
various members of the carrot family--carrot, parsley, fennel, celery;
it has occasionally been found feeding on the common carrot leaves in
rural gardens in neighbourhoods where the insect abounds.
The chrysalis, in which form the insect passes through the winter,
is hung up in quite the orthodox manner, belted round the back and
attached at the tail. If you should find chrysalids in this position
during the winter months and wish to remove them, cut away the whole
support, and set them up again in your hatching cage, as you found
them. Always avoid unnecessary handling of these delicate objects.
There are certainly two, and probably three, broods during a favourable
summer, so this butterfly may be captured from May to August. Its
headquarters are in the Fen counties of Cambridge and Norfolk, and it
is found in many similar localities in fewer numbers.
BLACK-VEINED WHITE (_Aporia Cratægi_), Plate I., Fig. 2.--This
is one of the rarest of our butterflies, though why it should be so is
rather difficult to say. As it feeds upon hawthorn in the larval state
the puzzle is all the greater, as a commoner or more widely distributed
plant it would be hard to find. It may be also found on blackthorn,
cherry, plum, apple, and pear. It is not difficult to distinguish this
fine insect from all the other "Whites" on our list. The wings are
rather thinly scaled; you can note this by holding the insect up to the
light, and looking through the wing with an ordinary pocket-lens. Do
the same with its near neighbour, the Large Garden White, and you will
see a difference--the Black-Veined White is semi-transparent, while the
other is quite dense.
The almost black network of veins is another unmistakable feature, as
is the entire absence of a fringe to the wings. Two and a half inches
is the average expanse of the extended wings.
[Illustration:
PLATE 5.
1. Glanville Fritillary
2. Heath Fritillary
3. Comma
4. Small Tortoiseshell
5. Large Tortoiseshell
6. Camberwell Beauty
7. Peacock]
The caterpillar is rather hairy, dull-coloured underneath, black on the
back, with two lines of broad red spots running from head to tail. When
you find this caterpillar, you generally get a whole brood of them, as
they are gregarious and live under a web until nearly fully fed.
The chrysalis is of a bright straw colour, spotted and streaked with
black, and is not so angular as the chrysalis of the Large Garden White.
The butterfly is out in midsummer, and is rarely seen outside of the
most southern counties, and even there it seems to prefer the coast.
In Continental gardens it sometimes attacks the fruit-trees in such
numbers as to constitute a plague.
THE LARGE GARDEN WHITE BUTTERFLY (_Pieris brassicæ_) Plate I., Fig. 3,
is well known to everybody. Town and country seem to be the same to
him; indeed, I do believe he lives and thrives best in the town and
village gardens; only twice have I met with the larva in a really wild
situation, once finding a few caterpillars on a lonely shore in Arran,
and I once got a chrysalis on a beech-tree trunk on the border of a
large wood. Cabbage, kale, savoy, and cress, are the plants which the
female usually selects as the most suitable to lay her eggs on, but as
the caterpillars grow towards maturity there are few plants they will
not attack, especially if they are driven by hunger and a lack of their
usual food. The butterfly hardly needs description; suffice it to say
that the female, besides having a rather larger expanse of black at the
tip of the fore-wing, has also two black spots and a dash (see figure)
on the same wing. These are entirely wanting on the upper side of the
male, but are present on the under side. The male is a little smaller
than the female. Beyond question this butterfly is the most destructive
of all the British species; fortunately it is largely held in check by
ichneumon flies. Once I brought home a dozen or two caterpillars of
this species from an isolated locality on the Mull of Kintyre, hoping
to obtain some possible varieties. Not one butterfly did I hatch; they
had all been stung, and mostly by a large grey dipterous fly (Plate
XI., Fig. 4), although some few contained the little blackish imp which
is their usual parasite. This little fellow it is who spins the small
cocoons round the shrivelled skin of the victim (see Plate XI., Figs.
3, 5).
The eggs are laid singly or in small groups on the backs of leaves, and
are somewhat long; they are straw-coloured, and stand up on end, so
they are not difficult to find and collect, or destroy if too numerous.
The caterpillar is yellow, speckled with black, and slightly spiny;
it is also one of the easiest and most satisfactory to preserve. The
chrysalis may be found during the winter attached to walls and fences.
The butterfly is common throughout the summer.
SMALL GARDEN WHITE (_Pieris rapæ_), Plate I., Fig. 4.--This butterfly
is very like the last, but much smaller. Both species are generally
found together. On the wing and in the caterpillar state they find the
same nooks and corners in which to pass the winter as chrysalids.
[Illustration: PLATE 6
"Paisley" Method of Setting]
But the caterpillars are very different in appearance. In this species
the colour is a soft velvety green, with a faint yellow line down the
back. Stretched at full length on the midrib of a cabbage-leaf, it is
by no means a conspicuous object, and may be quite easily overlooked;
but if you see the leaves riddled with holes, and find excrement lying
between them and at the base, don't cease looking until you find the
culprit, sometimes deep in a cabbage, or on the back of the outer
leaves.
Other caterpillars besides those of the Large and Small Whites may
be present in force, notably those of the Cabbage moth (_Mamestra
brassicæ_), large stout caterpillars varying from green to black; they
are far too numerous, so have no compunction about destroying all you
find. The caterpillar is apt to lose its colour in preserving, as is
the case with all green caterpillars.
GREEN-VEINED WHITE (_Pieris napi_), Plate I., Fig. 5.--Unlike
the last two species, this White is more often found in the country
than the town, and in my experience it is only a casual visitor to
suburban gardens. I have never found the caterpillars there.
To distinguish it from the last species it is only necessary to examine
the under side, where both fore- and hind-wings are strongly veined
with greyish-black, the female particularly so. On the upper side the
veins are distinctly marked, but the line is finer.
In a rather wet meadow where Ladies' Smock abounds in early June, I
have seen this butterfly in profusion, and not at all easy to capture
when the sun was high. But when King Sol is sinking in the west, and
all decent butterflies have gone to rest, a turn through the same
meadow while the light still lingers reveals the Veined Whites all at
rest on the flower-heads of the Ladies' Smocks. It is then quite easy
to select a few of the best, and search for varieties, until in the
deepening twilight butterflies and flowers became so blended as to
present only a whitish blurr to the eye. There are two broods--one out
in June, the other in August.
The caterpillar is green, with yellow spots on the sides, and may be
found on various plants of the cruciferous order, the cress group in
particular. I have found it on the Ladies' Smock (_Cardamine pratense_)
and on the large-flowered Bitter Cress (_Cardamine amara_). For your
collection always mount at least one of each sex with the under side
uppermost. The specimen figured is a female; the male has only one
round spot on each fore-wing.
BATH WHITE (_Pieris Daplidice_), Plate I., Fig. 6.--This is the rarest
of all our Whites; indeed, it is doubtful if it breeds in this country
at all. A few specimens are taken annually on the south-east coast and
neighbourhood, and the likelihood is that they are migrants from the
Continent.
On the other hand, it is just possible that on account of its close
resemblance to the Green-Veined White when on the wing, it is often
passed over when mixed up with and flying amongst a number of that
species.
The sexes are easily distinguished by the female having the upper side
of the hind-wings broadly checkered with a double band of black spots,
which is entirely wanting in the male. The under side, however, of both
sexes is beautifully marbled in dark green on a creamy white ground.
The caterpillar is a dull green with yellow lines on back and sides,
and may be fed on cabbage or Dyer's Rocket. The chrysalis is very
similar to that of the Small Garden White.
The butterfly may be met with in May and June, and again in August and
September.
THE ORANGE-TIP BUTTERFLY (_Euchloë Cardamines_), Plate I., Fig. 7.--This
is the only member of its genus inhabiting this country, though there
are several others met with on the Continent. It has a wide range in
Britain and may be met with from Aberdeenshire to the south coast of
England, although it appears to be becoming scarcer and more local in
the northern half of the kingdom. The ground colour of the upper side of
the wings is white, with a large orange patch occupying almost the outer
half of the fore-wing, relieved by a black tip and a black spot. In the
female these black marks are larger, but the orange is entirely wanting.
The under side of the fore-wing is like the upper, but the under side of
the hind-wing is beautifully marbled in dark green, an effect obtained
by the commingling of black scales on a yellow ground.
The caterpillar is green, with a white line on the sides, and feeds on
various species of _Cardamine_; hence meadow-lands are its favourite
resorts, and there the curious sharp-looking little chrysalis may be
found hung up to some dead stem during winter.
The butterfly appears in early June and does not generally survive that
month.
THE WOOD WHITE BUTTERFLY (_Leucophasia sinapis_), Plate I., Fig. 8.
--This is the smallest and most fragile of our white butterflies. The
wings are white with a black tip on the fore-wing, and the under side
of the hind-wing clouded with black scales. The body is long, slender,
and a little flattened laterally. It is not a common species, and is
very local where it does occur. It has been found as far north as
the Lake District, and down to the south coast. It is unrecorded for
Scotland, but has been taken in Ireland.
The caterpillar is green, with yellow lines on the sides; it feeds on
various members of the pea family--Vetch, Trefoil, etc. It appears on
the wing in May, and sometimes a second brood occurs in August; so you
may look for the caterpillar in June and again in September.
THE PALE CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (_Colias Hyale_), Plate I.,
Fig. 9.--I think there can be little doubt that this fine butterfly
is on the increase with us; from all over the southern counties come
records of its comparative plenty. In the _Entomologist_ (October,
1911) I read of over one hundred being seen or captured by various
collectors. Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Bucks, are amongst the
favoured places, and Lucerne- or Clover-fields are the attractions.
[Illustration: PLATE 7
Apparatus for Preserving Larvæ]
The question of the migration of this and the following species
is still very far from being satisfactorily settled. That we do get
a swarm over from the Continent when conditions are favourable is a
matter of common knowledge, but whether we have resident and permanent
colonies of our own is still doubtful. In any case this year (1911)
has been a _Hyale_ year, and we give thanks. The ground colour of
this butterfly is a pale primrose-yellow. There is a broad black
border beginning at the tip of the fore-wing and continuing on to the
hind-wing, where it gradually dies out at the bottom angle; placed
on this band of black are a few yellow spots. There is also a black
spot on the fore-wing, and a faint orange spot near the middle of
the hind-wing. The under side is more of a yellow shade, and a line
of brown spots runs round the outer margin of both wings. There is a
silvery spot in the centre of the hind-wings, like a figure 8 bordered
with pinkish brown, and in fine fresh specimens the fringe is of the
latter colour. The female is a shade lighter in ground colour and also
shows more black.
The caterpillar may be looked for in June and July on Clover and
Lucerne; it is green, with yellow lines running along the back and
sides. The chrysalis is green with a single yellow line.
The latter half of August and the first half of September cover the
best period of its flight in this country; on the Continent there is a
spring brood.
THE CLOUDED YELLOW (_Colias Edusa_), Plate IV., Fig. 1.--As with
the last species, we have still much to learn of the habits of this
fine butterfly. Some years it is plentiful, while in others hardly
a specimen will be seen--and as for the caterpillars, we never hear
of them being successfully searched for. The probability is that
from a few spring visitors from the Continent we get a number of
descendants in August, when a great many more arrive from across the
Channel and mingle with them. The distribution of nearly all animals
is regulated by the food-supply, the climate, or their enemies; yet
none of these seem to satisfactorily account for the disappearance
and reappearance of _Edusa_ with us. It is a strong flying insect
with a roving disposition, and on quite a few occasions it has been
noted as far north as Arran and the Ayrshire coast, in Scotland. The
brilliant orange and black wings make its identity unmistakable. Not
so, however, with the light sulphur-coloured female variety, which
very nearly approaches the typical female form of _Hyale_, but it
may be distinguished by the broader black band on both fore- and
hind-wings, and a heavy sprinkling of black scales near the base of the
former, and all over the latter. The orange spot too, in the centre
of the hind-wing is deeper, and, being on a darker ground, looks much
brighter. There is no corresponding male variation.
The caterpillar is dark green, with a light line on each side, varied
with yellow and orange touches. It feeds on various plants of the pea
order--vetches, trefoils, clovers, etc. The chrysalis is brown spotted,
and is striped with a yellow line. The butterfly appears with us during
August and September.
[Illustration:
PLATE 8.
1. Red Admiral
2. Painted Lady
3. Milk Weed
4. White Admiral
5. Purple Emperor (Male)]
THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY (_Gonepteryx rhamni_), Plate IV., Fig. 2.--When
I glance at this beautiful butterfly, I always feel inclined to laugh,
not _at_ the butterfly--oh dear no!--but at a practical joke I once saw
through, much to the astonishment of a soldier friend. He had brought
home a large assortment of fine butterflies from India, and in going
over the stock my attention was arrested by the peculiar pattern on
one of them. For ground colour and outline it certainly resembled our
own Brimstone, but what weird markings! Turning the hand-glass on it
revealed the fact that it was _hand-painted_. I asked the sergeant
who did this, and then he suddenly remembered, and gave vent to a
loud guffaw. "The scamps, by Jove! That carries me back to a certain
mess-room at Darjeeling when this insect was handed over to me by a
certain young officer as a great rarity. He was sure there was not
another like it in the camp; and he was right. Lots of our fellows went
'butterfly dodging,' and had big collections to take home; but not
one of them had this one. They named it 'The Officer's Fancy.' Now, I
recollect seeing this same officer out sketching and fooling around
with a box of paints. It's clever, though, isn't it? He took us all
completely in." This was hardly to be wondered at! The colours had been
very delicately laid on, and the pattern adopted was of the eye-spot
and streak order, so that the whole effect was quite harmonious and in
good taste.
But the Brimstone requires no artificial aids to make it a warm
favourite with all butterfly lovers; if it lacks variety of colouring,
it more than makes up for it in the beautiful sweeping outlines of
the wings. No other butterfly on our list can show such sweet harmony
of line and contour. Like a breeze-blown daffodil, he greets us on
our early spring rambles, just when the opening blossoms and leafy
buds are all doubly welcome, in that we have missed their friendly
presence through the long days of winter. The female hibernates in
all sorts of out-of-the-way corners--in dense holly-bushes, piles of
brushwood, chinks of walls, etc., coming forth again in May or even
earlier to deposit her eggs on the Buckthorn and its allies. The
antennæ are rather short and more like a club than a drum-stick, while
the beautiful white silken mane along the back is quite a noticeable
feature. The female is of a much lighter tint than the male.
The caterpillar is green, with paler sides, along which runs a white
line: it may be found on the Buckthorn from May till July. The
chrysalis, which is supported on the tail and band principle, is green
and yellow, and rather oddly shaped. It hatches in the course of about
three weeks. This butterfly is a plentiful insect south of the Border,
but we have yet to record it for Scotland.
THE SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Selene_), Plate IV.,
Fig. 7.--Like all the members of its family the ground colour of
the wings of this insect is a reddish-brown, marbled and spotted
with black. For size it differs little from the next species, and
the upper surface of the two being so much alike, it is sometimes
difficult to distinguish between them. The under side (Plate X.,
Fig. 3), especially of the hind-wings, however, renders the task of
identification comparatively easy: the ground colour is a deeper brown
in this species and causes the pearl border to stand out in stronger
relief; besides, numerous other pearl spots brighten its surface. It is
a local butterfly, with a wide range of distribution both in England
and Scotland; and where it does occur it is generally common. In the
South it may be double brooded, but in the North the June flight is all
we see of it for the year.
The caterpillar is black, with an interrupted white line along the
back; the spines are brown; it feeds on the dog violet (_Viola
canina_). The chrysalis is ash-coloured.
THE PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Euphrosyne_), Plate IV.,
Fig. 8.--Perhaps this is the commoner of these twin butterflies,
though its range of distribution is much the same as the foregoing.
In its case, also, the under side of the _hind_-wings furnishes
us with the main points of distinction. Here the markings are a
warm mid-red shade on an ochreous ground; the pearl border is very
pronounced, and in the middle of the wing a single pearl reposes.
Nearer the body there is another smaller spot hardly so bright. If
you set several of these two species with the under side uppermost,
you will soon get quite familiar with the difference between them.
Plate X., Figs. 3, 5, shows this distinction.
The caterpillar is similar to the last species and prefers _Viola_ as
a food-plant, but I have found it in little colonies where it most
certainly must have fed on other plants, as _Violas_ of any species
were distinctly rare in the district, which is wet and marshy. For
Scotland there is a single brood in June, while in the South it is
double-brooded--May and August.
THE QUEEN OF SPAIN FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Lathonia_), Plate IV.,
Fig. 6.--This is, unfortunately, the rarest of all our Fritillaries;
unfortunately, because it is the most beautiful and brilliant. In
outline the fore-wing differs from that of the two preceding species,
being slightly concave on the outer margin, while the hind-wing bears
a slight trace of scalloping. But it is on the under side where
all the treasures lie. A row of seven pearl spots adorns the outer
margin of the hind-wing; then comes a row of small dark spots, each
with a pearl-spot in its centre; then a profusion of large and small
glittering patches completes this beautiful wing. The under side of the
fore-wing has only three (or sometimes a tiny fourth) pearl spots near
the tip. This butterfly is taken occasionally in clover-fields in our
south-eastern counties. The specimens taken there are possibly migrants
from the Continent.
The caterpillar is dark, with a white line on the back, yellow lines
on the sides, and is clothed with short red spines. It may be found on
_Violas_. As this insect is double-brooded on the Continent, it is well
to look out for it during the whole summer from May to September.
THE DARK GREEN FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Aglaia_), Plate IV., Fig. 4.--The
only claim this handsome species has to be called green lies in the
fact that the under side of the hind-wing has for its ground colour a
delightful tawny green. But the main attraction is the lovely rows of
pearl spots ornamenting the under side (Plate X., Fig. 1); and there
are four of these rows. One, and it is perhaps the finest, runs round
near the outer margin, and consists of nine gems; the next, a little
nearer the body, has eight, and is slightly irregular; the next row has
only three, rather widely apart; and the fourth, and last, has also
three very small ones quite near the base of the wing. The under sides
of the fore-wings have also their pearl spots. Near the outer margin
you will find a row with eight of them, beginning boldly near the tip;
they gradually fade until the last of the row is barely visible. On
some male specimens there are two silvery spots also near the tip, but
on other specimens these are absent. The under side of the fore-wing
has very little green to show; the tip of the wing is just tinted,
and this tint is carried along the costal margin. I have described
the under side in some detail, as I have seen it described as having
only three rows of spots on the hind-wing, and no pearl spots at all
on the fore-wing; and for another reason, I want you always to confirm
your captures by a good textbook, as by so doing you will learn some
valuable lessons in comparison and observation, and in noting details;
and also it will enable you, perhaps, to add some fine variations to
your collection.
The caterpillar lives on various species of wild _Viola_, and may be
found on them in the early summer, but as the butterfly has a wide
range of distribution, season and locality make it vary a good deal
in the time of its appearance. It has been found from the North of
Scotland to the South of England. July is the month to look for it.
I always find it more abundant near the coast. It is a bold flying
species, and often difficult to capture; but in good settled weather I
have taken it frequently at rest on thistle-tops _at sundown_.
THE HIGH BROWN FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Adippe_), Plate IV., Fig. 5.--In
this and the foregoing we have again two species very easy to confound,
and all the more so when we note that stable characters are somewhat
hard to find on the upper surface of the wings--in general the ground
colour in _Adippe_ is richer and darker, and the outer margin of the
fore-wing is not so rounded as in _Aglaia_, being either straight or
very slightly concave. The arrangement of the second row of spots,
which runs round near the outer margin of both wings, is different in
the two species, but they are very inconstant and even vary in the
sexes; so the _under side_ must be again consulted (Plate X., Fig. 2).
And here we have an unfailing test. In _Adippe_, on the _under side_ of
the hind-wing near the outer margin, there is a row of dark red spots
lined internally with black, and in the centre there is a small pearl
spot. These eyelike spots are never present in _Aglaia_. The general
green tint, too, of _Aglaia_ is absent in _Adippe_. The silvery spots
on the under side of the fore-wing of _Aglaia_ are rarely to be seen
in this species. In some females of _Adippe_ three shadowy spots are
visible near the tip. I have never seen these on a male; so we have it
that, in the great majority of specimens of _Adippe_, the under side
of the fore-wing is devoid of silvery spots. While _Adippe_ may be
fairly common in the South, it is by no means so widely distributed,
nor does it range so far north as _Aglaia_. In Scotland it is unknown.
The caterpillar is dark grey, with a whitish line along the back, and
is covered with rust-red spines. It feeds on _Viola_. The butterfly
appears in July.
THE SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY (_Argynnis Paphia_), Plate IV.,
Fig. 3.--This is the largest of our native Fritillaries, and is easily
distinguished from the others by an entire absence of the silvery spots
so characteristic of this genus. The upper surface of the male is of
a warm, orange-brown, streaked and dotted with black on both wings;
the under side of the fore-wing is much lighter, the spots on it are
smaller, and the tip is marked with olive; the hind-wing under side
bears a fine combination of pale olive with faint lavender and silver
streaks, while its outer margin is distinctly scalloped. The female
is quite different. In it the ground colour of the upper side of the
fore-wings is much paler, and the black streaks along the veins are
absent. The hind-wings have the same pale tint, but with a more decided
tinge of olive, while the under sides of both wings, and especially
of the hind ones, are pale olive green, and the scalloping round the
outer margin of both wings is more pronounced. In the female variety
_Valesina_, the upper surface has a dark olive ground shading out
towards the tip of the fore-wings. This, with the black spots lying on
it, gives the butterfly quite a black appearance at a little distance.
This variation is mostly found in the New Forest. The butterfly is
common in many districts of England, but is rare in Scotland.
The caterpillar is covered with long spines, nearly black, and has a
pale line along the back and sides; it feeds on Dog Violet and Wild
Raspberry. The chrysalis is rather stout, hangs by the tail, and is
greyish, with shining points. The perfect insect is out in July and
August.
THE GREASY FRITILLARY (_Melitæa aurinia_), Plate IV., Fig. 9.--This may
not seem a pretty or poetical name for a butterfly. Beauty, poetry,
and the "fitness of things," might have suggested a more appropriate
title; but, as Dickens has said, "the wisdom of our ancestors is not
to be disturbed by unhallowed hands," and as the technical name is in
this instance some compensation, we may have to let it go at that.
"Greasy" the butterfly is not, but only _looks_ as if it were, when
slightly worn; and, owing to some peculiarity in the arrangement of its
scales, this slight wearing is very soon accomplished. Happily it is
not a difficult insect to rear, and fine specimens without a suspicion
of greasiness in their appearance can thus be had for the cabinet.
This butterfly is quite distinct from any other British Fritillary,
inasmuch as it has two very distinct ground colours on the upper side
of its wings, a rich orange-brown and a pale ochreous yellow. The bands
of this latter shade are bordered with dark brown; a reference to the
coloured figure will show how these colours are disposed. It is a
rather variable species, and is widely distributed. It is found in
glens and damp meadows and is generally abundant where found, though
local.
[Illustration:
PLATE 9.
1. Marbled White
2. Mountain Ringlet
3. Scotch Argus
4. Speckled Wood
5. Wall Brown
6. Grayling (Male)
7. Meadow Brown (Female)
8. Small Meadow Brown
9. Ringlet
10. Marsh Ringlet]
The caterpillar is black, with a greyish line along the sides, and
a small white dot above this between each segment. The chrysalis is
ashen, with red and black spots; it is rather "dumpy," and may be
found on various low plants early in the summer, and again, in some
southern localities, in the autumn. Like nearly all the Fritillaries
the larvæ hibernate while very small, so it is best to leave them in
their natural state until fairly well fed. Narrow-leaved Plantain,
Scabious, and, some observers say, Foxglove and Speedwell, are its
favourite foods. The times of flight are May and August. In many Scotch
localities, Argyllshire, Ayrshire, etc., this species is abundant.
THE GLANVILLE FRITILLARY (_Melitæa Cinxia_), Plate V., Fig. 1.--This
little butterfly is one of the "threatened species." If due care and
discretion be not exercised, there is a possibility of its becoming
extinct in this country. "Threatened people live long," but it were
wise not to push our little friend too far; and wiser still if
collectors who live in or near its favourite haunts would not only try
to preserve it, but also make some attempt to spread its range into
other localities apparently suitable for its propagation. We have far
too few native butterflies to run the risk of losing any we have. And
as the food-plant is the Ribbed or Narrow-leaved Plantain, it follows
that even were this species as abundant as its food would warrant, it
could not possibly do any harm to anyone, either gardener or farmer.
The ground colour might be called Fritillary brown, relieved with the
usual black bands and spots; the hind-wings show a distinct row of
black spots on a light ground running round near the outer margin. But
the under side (Plate X., Fig. 4) is more striking and unmistakable,
especially that of the hind-wing. The fringe itself is dotted at
intervals with black; then follows a line of crescent spots on a
cream-coloured ground; a fulvous band scalloped with a black outline
traverses the wing, and on this band are dark spots edged with red.
Then there is a cream band with black spots, and a broken-up band of
fulvous spots edged with black. There is cream again next the body,
with a few more black spots. The under side of the upper wing is a
light orange-brown, and cream towards the tip, and bears a few black
spots.
The caterpillar is black, with dark red between the segments; head
and pro-legs red; spines short, crowded, black. The chrysalis is
stout, yellowish-grey, dotted with black, and is sometimes enclosed
in a loose web. The chrysalids I have reared always adopted this mode
of concealment and protection. I have also been much impressed with
the strong resemblance of the caterpillar to the flower-heads of the
Narrow-leaved Plantain, amongst which it lives. The Isle of Wight
appears to be the headquarters of the species, and it is found in a few
other localities on the mainland. It appears in May and June.
[Illustration:
PLATE 10
1. Dark Green Fritillary (under side)
2. High Brown Fritillary (under side)
3. Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary (under side)
4. Glanville Fritillary (under side)
5. Pearl Bordered Fritillary (under side)
6. Heath Fritillary (under side)]
THE HEATH FRITILLARY (_Melitæa Athalia_), Plate V., Fig. 2.--There is
more black, or dark brown, on the upper surface of this species, hence
the insect looks darker in general aspect than any of the foregoing
Fritillaries. The under side, too (Plate X., Fig. 6), is marked very
like _Cinxia_, but the light bands on the hind-wings are more of a
yellow tint, and the line of black spots through the central band are
wanting; the veins are also more prominent and black. Altogether it is
not difficult, on comparing the two under sides, to at once distinguish
them.
It is also a rather local species, being confined to the South of
England and Ireland. Both caterpillar and chrysalis are very like those
of the last species; the spines, however, are rust-coloured. It feeds
on Plantain. The perfect insect is out from May to July.
THE COMMA BUTTERFLY (_Vanessa c-Album_), Plate V., Fig. 3.--The
tatterdemalion of the family, it looks, indeed, as if some hungry
caterpillars had been dining on its wings, and had been scared away
in the middle of the feast, leaving all sorts of rags and tatters to
attest their visit. The costal margin is the only line left entire;
all the others are deeply scalloped and indented. Two tails form
the longest projections from the middle of the outer edge of the
hind-wings. The ground colour is a uniform rusty red, varied with black
spots arranged in the same order as in other species of this genus.
There is a dark border round the outer margin of both wings. The under
side is strikingly different from the upper, and looks extraordinarily
like a dry, withered leaf, the more so on account of its ragged
outline. In the middle of the hind-wing is a very clear comma-shaped
mark; from this the insect takes its name.
The caterpillar is yellowish on the back for the first five segments,
then white to the tail; under side brown. The spines are shorter than
in others of this group. It feeds on Hop, Elm, Gooseberry, Nettle,
Willow, and Sloe. The chrysalis is brown, with gilt points. The
butterfly appears in July and is rather local, being found mostly in
the Midlands and Wales. It has been recorded for Scotland, but not of
late years.
THE LARGE TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY (_Vanessa Polychloros_), Plate V.,
Fig. 5.--The ground colour of this handsome species is a tawny yellow,
marked with three large black patches along the costa of the fore-wing;
between these patches the colour is somewhat lighter. There are four
other black spots occupying the centre of the wing, which also has a
black border dotted with brown; hind-wing tawny, with one black patch
on the upper margin, but not extending inward to the body as a similar
spot does in the next species (_Urticæ_). The dark border is continued
along this wing, and is studded with blue spots edged with a paler
line. This species might be confused by the novice with the next,
but not if the two were together for comparison; then the points in
which they differ are seen to be distinct and permanent. In _Urticæ_
the light ground between the costal blotches is yellow and the outer
spot blue-white; there are only _three_ black spots in the centre of
the wing, the largest one being continued _down to the margin_, which
is not the case with the corresponding spot in _Polychloros_. On the
hind-wing the black patch continues downward towards the bottom angle
and inwards to the body, whereas this spot neither goes in nor down in
_Polychloros_. Lastly, the ground colour in _Urticæ_ is of a bright
red, almost a scarlet, with the blue spots extending into _both_ wings.
The caterpillar of _Polychloros_ is brown, spiny, and striped along the
back and sides; it feeds on Elm, Willow, and Cherry, during the summer
months. The butterfly appears in August.
It is by no means so common with us as its smaller and gayer cousin,
being confined mostly to the South of England. There are occasional
records for Scotland; I was present when a specimen was captured by a
friend on the coast of Argyllshire in the year 1887.
THE SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY (_Vanessa Urticæ_), Plate V.,
Fig. 4.--Among the many puzzling problems that naturalists have to
solve, few present greater attractions than those relating to the
migration and hibernation of animals. The birds have long claimed the
attention of ornithologists in this respect, but the insects have in a
great measure been neglected. However, there are signs of a revival.
Migratory and hibernating butterflies are well enough represented
in the British list to supply material for much patient and useful
research. The facts about them are not all known--not by any means.
We know, or fancy we do, that the dominating factor in both cases is
the food-supply, but that there are other and important elements to be
considered is beyond dispute. The Small Tortoiseshell is a hibernating
species, but why does it not deposit its eggs in the autumn, and go
the way of all flesh and butterflies? Could it not evolve a method of
securing its eggs so that the young caterpillars might have a fair
chance of survival when ushered into the world? Or has it found it
easier and safer to take care of these eggs itself during the long
winter months, and then, when returning spring once more brings the
Nettle-shoots above ground, launch forth upon the wing once more, to
seek and to find a home and a larder for its numerous children to be?
What would be the fate of these eggs if laid in the autumn? Who can
tell? Various enemies and agencies would be constantly at work seeking
to destroy them. The Nettles have all died down and left hardly a trace
behind. And what the rain and wind had not scattered far and wide, the
ants and beetles would account for.
The Small Tortoiseshell is perhaps the best known of all our coloured
butterflies, occurring, as it does, all over the country from Land's
End to John o' Groats. It is very like the last species, though smaller
and brighter; but as I pointed out the various distinguishing marks in
describing _Polychloros_, I need not go into them again.
The caterpillars feed in companies when young, spreading themselves
over the Nettles as they grow older. They are black on the back with
a checkered double line along the sides; across each segment is a
row of branched spines with numerous small simple hairs between.
The chrysalis hangs by the tail; it is grey-brown, with gilt points.
The eggs are laid in May, and the butterfly appears towards the end
of June, and continues more or less abundant until October, when the
females retire to some safe corner in old walls or outhouses, there to
await the passing of the winter.
[Illustration:
PLATE 11
1. Larva of Large Garden White
2. Pupa of Large Garden White
3. Ichneumon Cocoons
4. Dipterous Parasite of Large G. White
5. Ichneumon Flies hatched from 3
6. Pupa of Small Tortoiseshell
7. Larva of Small Tortoiseshell
8. Larva and Pupa of Glanville Fritillary
9. Larva of Greasy Fritillary]
THE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY (_Vanessa Io_), Plate V., Fig. 7.--This
beautiful species is too well known, and too distinct in its colour and
pattern to require any written description.
Few butterflies possess a name which so aptly describes them, and
to make a mistake in its identification is hardly possible. All its
efforts seem to have been exspended on the ornamentation of the upper
surface, for the under side has hardly an attractive note. Dark and
sombre though it be, it is well adapted for concealment during its
period of hibernation.
The caterpillar is black, with bands of white dots round each segment,
and the spines are larger than in the Small Tortoiseshell. It feeds
in batches on Nettles, from June to August. The chrysalis inclines to
green and has burnished spots. This species is common in England, and
is occasionally met with in the South and West of Scotland.
THE CAMBERWELL BEAUTY (_Vanessa Antiopa_), Plate V., Fig. 6.--Why does
not this handsome butterfly settle down amongst us, increase and
multiply, and thus swell the little band of real natives who gladden
the eye of the entomologist on his country rambles? It is a common
insect over most of the Continent, and most abundant in North America,
well up into Canada, where the winter is extremely severe. We have the
food-plant in abundance, yet it is questionable if ever the Camberwell
Beauty has been found in any but the winged state in this country.
Records there are of its capture year after year, but there never seems
to be progeny left by these occasional visitors. The wings are a dark
chocolate-brown, bordered with creamy white. Between the brown and the
white is a broad black band studded with blue spots; there are also
two white spots on the costal margin near the tip of the fore-wing.
It measures from 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 inches in expanse, North American
specimens being the largest.
The caterpillar is black, with white dots, and has a row of red spots
along the back. The pro-legs are also red, spines black. It feeds on
the Willow. The chrysalis is brown, with darker spots; its abdominal
points are sharp and angular. Single specimens of this species occur in
most seasons from August to October, generally in the South, but it has
been recorded for Scotland on several occasions.
THE RED ADMIRAL (_Vanessa Atalanta_), Plate VIII., Fig. 1.--He
must have been a poet who first conceived so appropriate a name for
this gallant rover. Possibly he was living long ago--
"When Britons truly ruled the waves,
In good Queen Bess's glorious days,"
or later, when Nelson's old "wooden walls" spread their bellying sails
to catch the breeze. Those were days of romance. Fancy the Admiral of a
super-Dreadnought--that big, black abortion of coal and iron--being
associated with a butterfly! We would rather peer into the future and
elect our aerial commander the "Red Admiral" of a fleet of graceful
aeroplanes. This would certainly be more appropriate.
[Illustration:
PLATE 12.
1. Small Heath
2. Green Hairstreak
3. Purple Hairstreak (Female)
4. White-letter Hairstreak
5. Black Hairstreak
6. Brown Hairstreak (Female)
7. Large Copper (Male)
8. Small Copper
9. Long-tailed Blue
10. Silver-studded Blue (Male)
11. Brown Argus
12. Common Blue (Male)]
The colours of this butterfly on the upper surface are singularly bold,
striking, and, withal, simple. They furnish a good test of colour
discrimination. I have heard them spoken of as "jet black," "intense
black," or "velvety black." If you take a specimen into a good light,
you will see that the whole area enclosed by the scarlet bands is
a deep coffee-brown, while outside the band, on the fore-wing, the
colour is black splashed with white, and there is a blue streak near
the outer margin. The under side is a marvel of beauty too complex and
wonderful for cold print. Common though this insect is all over our
island from August to chill October, who can say that he has discovered
his "retreat and hiding-place" from the storms and frosts of winter?
Indeed, there are those who boldly assert that the Red Admiral _does
not_ hibernate with us at all, and, consequently, we are indebted each
year for our supply to spring visitors from the Continent, which may be
the reason why in some years it is more abundant than in others.
The caterpillar is a powdery yellow-grey in colour, sometimes inclining
almost to black; a line of white spots appears on each side; there are
some darker markings along the back, and a row of branched spines light
in colour crosses the middle of each segment. You will generally find
it hiding within a curled Nettle-leaf during the day. The chrysalis is
grey, with a few shining points.
THE PAINTED LADY (_Vanessa cardui_), Plate VIII., Fig. 2, is
quite a suitable companion for a "Red Admiral," and they are often seen
in company, although _cardui_ is the earlier on the wing by at least a
fortnight, and often a month. The ground colour of the upper surface is
a rosy orange, varied with black and brown markings, while the white
spots near the tip of the fore-wing are almost similar to those of the
Red Admiral. Here, too, the under side is an exquisite bit of painting.
It reminds one of a frosted window done in harmonious secondary
colours. No doubt this subtle pattern must be protective, for you
will notice that when the insect is at rest with the wings shut, the
bright portion of the under side of the fore-wing is concealed. This is
decidedly a migratory species, and it is an open question whether it
hibernates in Britain. In Scotland we never see it until the autumn,
and occasionally it arrives in fair numbers. We had one extraordinary
swarm about the year 1880; I remember being on holiday at the time on
the Island of Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde. _Cardui_ was everywhere,
and even fighting for possession of the Thistle-tops. In 1911 I had to
be content with the sight of two specimens in Arran, but I heard of
several more.
Like the other _Vanessa_ caterpillars, the larva of this species is
thorny, brown, and bears lines and spots of yellow. It may be found on
Thistles and Nettles in May and June. The chrysalis is like that of
_Atalanta_ in colour, but hardly so stout.
THE WHITE ADMIRAL (_Limenitis Sibylla_), Plate VIII., Fig. 4.--This
butterfly is almost black on the upper surface, relieved by white bars
and spots, and there is a row of dense black spots near the outer
margin of the hind-wings. These white marks are carried through the
wings to the under side, but the ground there is formed of various
shades of brown, with some black dots and pencillings--while on the
under surface of the body, and spreading out from it on to the wings,
is a considerable region of a light sky-blue tint, very pleasing to the
eye.
The caterpillar feeds on Honeysuckle, and is a lively green; the spines
are reddish, those on the third, fourth, and sixth segments being
larger than the others. There is also a white line bordered with brown
along each side. The head is also red, with two lines of white down the
face. The chrysalis is dark green, with silvery dots and lines, and
bears grotesquely swollen lumps. This is a butterfly that I am afraid
is becoming scarcer year by year; it is confined to the South. It is
out in July.
THE PURPLE EMPEROR (_Apatura Iris_), Plate VIII., Fig. 5, is
undoubtedly the king of the forest glade. Wearing the regal purple,
he looks down upon the world from his lofty throne on the top of some
lordly oak. Somehow the build of this fine insect when seen in the hand
cannot fail to impress the beholder with a sense of muscular power. The
thorax is long, broad, and deep--more so than in any other British
butterfly--and the abdomen, head, and antennæ are in like proportion.
The wings are ample and in shape smart and serviceable. No loose scales
or fluffy hairs soften the firm compactness of his whole bearing. Dark
brown and purple alternate with the changing light all over the upper
surface; a dash or two of red, and one eye-spot on the bottom angle
of the hind-wing, with a bar and a few spots of white, are the main
additions to the changing hues of the purple. The under side has a
daring lightning flash of blue-white on a brown and olive ground on the
hind-wing. The fore-wing (under side) has various spots of black and
white on a darker ground, while there is also one eye-spot near the
outer angle. He is said to have a fondness for carrion, and this queer
taste is sometimes his undoing, as he is more readily captured when
indulging his appetite than when soaring round the crown of some lofty
oak.
But it is better still to seek for the caterpillars. These may be found
on low Sallows or Poplars. They are green, dusted with white, and have
oblique dashes of yellow on the sides; they taper considerably towards
the tail, while the head is adorned with a pair of horns. The chrysalis
is similarly coloured while alive, but when its inhabitant is gone
the colour vanishes with it, and all that remains looks like a little
bit of crumpled tissue paper. It may be found suspended to the under
side of a leaf of the food-plant. The butterfly is out in July in the
southern counties, and is oftener seen than captured.
THE MARBLED WHITE BUTTERFLY (_Melanargia Galathea_), Plate IX.,
Fig. 1.--We now come to a group of butterflies (the _Satyridæ_) quite
the reverse in build and habits from the Emperors and Admirals. Of
medium or small size, though the wings are ample, the body is small and
the muscular power is never great; hence they are soft and downy, never
fly far at a stretch, and are, although many of them common, very local
in their habits.
And the Marbled White is no exception to the group. His name may
suggest something hard, polished, and durable, yet he is anything but
that. I wonder what his name might have been had he been common north
of the Tweed, and not known in the South? To Sir Walter Scott, James
Hogg (the Ettrick Shepherd), or Professor Blackie, the similarity of
the black and white wings to the checking and soft, embracing folds of
their own beloved tartan plaids would at once have appealed to their
imagination, and henceforth they would have alluded to him as the
"Shepherd's Plaid" butterfly.
Creamy-white, with grey and black checking, and a few eye-spots on the
black band of the hind-wings complete his simple scheme of colour. The
under side is somewhat similar to the upper. Although common enough
where it is found, it is a very local and stay-at-home butterfly.
The caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with a red head and
tail. It tapers considerably towards both extremities. They are very
small when they hibernate. The butterfly is out in July and August.
THE MOUNTAIN RINGLET BUTTERFLY (_Erebia Epiphron_), Plate IX.,
Fig 2.--It is strange that this fragile little fellow should choose
the rough mountainside for his home. In a boggy hollow of Ben Lomond,
nearly 2,000 feet above the sea, buried in snow almost the whole winter
through, I know a colony of this butterfly which lives and flourishes
under these seemingly impossible conditions. Doubtless it could be
found on many more of our Highland hills.
The wings are a dark, fulvous brown, with an inconstant red bar near
the outer edge of both wings, and on this rusty bar are usually a few
small eye-spots, sometimes absent, or reduced to mere specks. The under
side is almost similar. It is a very easily damaged little creature,
requiring great care in handling, and I may add that in catching it is
always advisable to carefully select your specimens _on the ground_, as
quite a large percentage always appear to be rubbed, so soon do they
become unfit for the cabinet even in the height of their season, which
occurs during the first fortnight of July.
The caterpillar is said to be green, and feeds upon various grasses. It
is also found on the mountains of Cumberland and Westmorland.
THE SCOTCH ARGUS BUTTERFLY (_Erebia Æthiops_), Plate IX., Fig. 3.--Like
all butterflies, the Scotch Argus is seen at its best in its native
haunts. You feel it has a subtle kind of association with its
surroundings that defies definition. Seeing this species flirting
about in dozens in a dell where the air is heavily laden with the
perfume of Bog-myrtle and Honeysuckle, and where dragon-flies, bees,
hover-flies, wasps, and ants, raise a drowsy hum dear to the ear of
the entomologist, not to mention the hordes of bloodthirsty little
midges, tends to the formation of a mental impression, which we always
associate with this beautiful butterfly. It takes strange notions, too,
at times. I have found it often "at home" as described above, and,
again, I have come upon it solitary and alone on the bare hillside, far
from the madding colony amongst which it was born. Five such wanderers
I once encountered in a single day in August. All were on the move,
either seeking a lost home or lover, or possibly pastures new.
The breeding ground is generally some sheltered glade or open corner of
a wood. The butterfly is coloured a beautiful dark, velvety brown, with
a broad, irregular tawny red band near the outer margin of both fore-
and hind-wings. Within this band on the fore-wings are three black
spots, each having a tiny white spot in its centre, and the hind-wings
have in most cases a similar adornment; but as these spots are subject
to great variation, always aim at securing a good row for your cabinet
in order to show as many variations as you can find.
The under sides of the sexes differ from each other and are
distinctive. In the female the under side of the fore-wing is marked
very much the same as the upper side, but the whole colour scheme is
lighter, while the hind-wings are a lighter brown, with a pale lavender
band, distinctly iridescent and with just a trace of spots. The male,
though nearly the same in markings, is very much darker.
The caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with some lighter and
darker stripes. It is very like the grass it lives amongst. The eggs
are laid in the autumn, and the young caterpillars hibernate.
THE SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY (_Pararge Ægeria_), Plate IX., Fig.
4.--There must be something peculiar about this butterfly, which
always reminds me of a snake; it is curious how such an idea gets
into one's head and sticks there. I have a lot of preserved home and
foreign snakes, and not a few of them are checkered and marked like
this butterfly's wings; one large skin of a boa constrictor bears
a remarkable resemblance both in colour and spots. Nature seems to
delight in these eyelike markings--you will find them on the trout, the
peacock, the leopard, and on certain beetles, flowers, and birds' eggs.
Wherever you find them they are always beautiful and interesting, and
have a certain protective use.
The Speckled Wood is more easily recognized than described. The upper
side is of a dull brown, spotted with pale yellow, or (as in some
northern specimens I have taken) with white. There is one eye-spot near
the tip of the fore-wing, and a row of three, sometimes four, similar
spots in a submarginal row on the hind-wings. The under side is richer
and warmer in colour, having a purple tinge, while the eye-spots of
the hind-wings are nearly obsolete, but the spot on the fore-wing
is, if anything, brighter. It is a fairly common species, and
loves quiet, shady lanes on the edge of woodlands. In the South it is
double-brooded. The female is larger and brighter than the male. The
caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with lighter stripes. The
butterfly is out from May to August.
[Illustration:
PLATE 13.
1. Adonis Blue (Male)
2. Chalk-hill Blue (Male)
3. Little Blue
4. Azure Blue
5. Large Blue
6. Duke of Burgundy Fritillary
7. Grizzled Skipper
8. Dingy Skipper
9. Small Skipper
10. Lulworth Skipper
11. Large Skipper (Female)
12. Pearl Skipper (Male)
13. Checkered Skipper]
THE WALL BROWN BUTTERFLY (_Pararge megæra_), Plate IX., Fig. 5.--A
rather smaller butterfly than the last, with the same number and
arrangement of the eye-spots. The ground colour is, however, a light
tawny brown, with dark brown markings. There is a broad diagonal
bar across the fore-wings of the male. All the wings are bordered
with brown. The female has two zigzag lines in place of the bar, and
consequently has a lighter appearance; she is usually a bit larger
than her mate. The under side of the hind-wings is a beautiful study
in greys and browns, with the dainty little eye-spots double ringed.
This species is common on waste lands and roadsides throughout the
country; it is local in Scotland, but abundant where found, especially
in Ayrshire. There are two broods only in the South.
The caterpillar is light green, with lines on the back and sides, and
may be swept from grasses with the net in midsummer. The chrysalis is
short and stout, and is found suspended by the tail to a strong grass
stem.
The butterfly loves to rest on walls and stones which have been warmed
by the sun; hence the name the "Wall Brown."
THE GRAYLING BUTTERFLY (_Satyrus Semele_), Plate IX., Fig. 6.--This
fine butterfly is larger and bolder in flight than any other of this
group in our country. But you must always remember that butterflies
love the sunshine, and without its cheering presence they are all very
dull fellows indeed. Hence it is that a butterfly may appear, and
really is, difficult to catch on a bright, warm day; yet it may fall an
easy victim, and give but indifferent sport on a dull one. The Grayling
has a strong partiality for living near the sea, and is found all along
the west coast of Scotland, whether it be on a rock-bound shore or in
a sandy, sheltered bay. During July and August one is pretty sure to
encounter the Grayling sporting along just above high-water mark, and,
not infrequently, whole colonies of them. The lichen-covered rocks
above the shore are his favourite resting-place, and here he can sit
and bask in the sun, and once he has closed his wings he may be said to
have disappeared, so beautifully does the under side of his wings blend
with the colour of the surrounding rocks. He shows a certain amount of
wisdom, too, at times, for if you make a stroke at him with a net and
miss, he is off to sea, flit-flitting just above the water, and making
a wide detour before coming back to land.
The wings are brown, with an irregular light tawny band, in which, on
the fore-wing, are two eye-spots, and on the hind-wing only one. But
the finest ornamentation is on the under side of the hind-wings, which
bear a strong resemblance to a granite rock speckled with lichens.
The caterpillar, I think, feeds mostly at night, as I have found it
during the day under stones in hilly districts near the sea. It is
variable in colour--brownish to black, with a few lighter lines on the
back and sides, and it has a dirty putty-colour on the under side. It
feeds on grass in May. The butterfly is out from July to September. It
appears in August in Scotland.
THE MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY (_Epinephele Janira_), Plate IX., Fig.
7.--Perhaps this is the commonest of all our brown butterflies. On
roadside or hillside, moor or meadow, one can hardly fail to notice
this homely brown insect all through the summer rambles. The males
are smaller and dingier than the females. They have an obscure
reddish patch on the fore-wing which, with an eye-spot, relieves the
upper surface of dark brown. The females are brighter and often more
variable, the fulvous patch on their fore-wings being large and bright,
and even extending into a band on the hind-wings. There is occasionally
an inner patch of suffused yellow on the centre of the fore-wings; the
under side is a paler brown, with a decided band of grey-brown on the
hind-wing, which is also slightly scalloped.
The caterpillar is a delicate green, with a white line on either side,
and may be swept from moorland grasses in May and June. The chrysalis
is short and dumpy; pale papery grey, rather fragile, and is hung up by
the tail to a grass-stem. The butterfly is out practically all through
the summer.
THE SMALL MEADOW BROWN (_Epinephele Tithonus_), Plate IX., Fig.
8.--Also a common species, but does not so range far north. Wings, a
bright tawny red inclining to yellow, bordered with dark brown, with
an indistinct diagonal bar across the wings in the male. There is also
a black spot near the tip of the fore-wings containing two tiny white
spots; occasionally there are two small eye-spots on the hind-wings
also. The under side of the hind-wing is shaded with red-brown and pale
ochre, and bears a few small white spots surrounded by red rings. Under
side of the upper wing is pale tawny yellow with outer edge dark; there
is a black spot at the tip with _two_ white dots in it.
The caterpillar varies from green to grey-brown; there is a dark red
line along the back, and two light lines run along each side. It is
a grass-feeder, and prefers a drier situation than the last species.
Perhaps this is the reason for it being found in Ayrshire, the driest
and sandiest county in Scotland. July and August are the butterfly's
months.
THE RINGLET BUTTERFLY (_Epinephele Hyperanthus_), Plate IX., Fig.
9.--This is a common and not very attractive-looking butterfly. Its
colours, if it can be said to have any, are dingy in the extreme.
The upper surface is a dark sooty-brown hardly relieved by a few
faint eye-spots, which are very small and not always present. A
dirty white fringe completes the upper side. The under side affords
some compensation, however, for here we have the ringlets in some
variety--pale yellow for the outer ring, which encloses black with a
white spot in the centre. They are arranged three on the upper wing and
five on the lower. They vary in size, as will be seen from the figure
(Plate XIV., Fig. 9). It is not a very lively insect; it frequents dry
pasture-fields in Scotland, preferring those bordering the sea.
The caterpillar is like the last species, but a greener grey; it feeds
on grasses. The butterfly is out in July. When you do happen upon this
species, keep a sharp lookout for varieties, as it has quite a range of
well-known "sports"; the variation is mostly on the under surface.
THE MARSH RINGLET (_Cænonympha Typhon_), Plate IX., Fig. 10.--This
insect has to be sought for on the swampy moorlands and mountains of
the North. It is of a dingy fawn-colour, sometimes brighter, often as
if it had been held over the fire and "Peat-reekit." It is somewhat
remarkable what a number of creatures inhabiting this same region have
gradually come to assume a similar coloration. Many of the Highland
cattle on these moors have this dirty tawny-yellow tint; the deer and
the hare find protection under the same guise. The upper surface of
the Marsh Ringlet is varied with a few eye-spots, though I possess
specimens with no spots at all, while others have four on each of
the hind-wings and two on each of the fore-wings. The under side is
generally better marked by eyes, six forming a row round the outer
margin of each hind-wing, of which the first and last are usually the
largest; fore-wing under side--two eye-spots, the one nearest the tip
being the larger. There is also a light bar across this wing, and
this is continued on to the hind-wing, where it broadens out and is
irregular and often interrupted. The ground colour here is a subdued
green-grey, getting lighter towards the fringe. Females have more ample
and rounded wings than the males. I find the most comfortable way to
hunt this butterfly is with bare feet and legs, and the trousers well
tucked up, which will perhaps convey some idea of the nature of the
ground it loves to flit over. Splash, splash you go over the _Sphagnum_
and Cotton-grass, Heather and Marsh Wortleberry, while overhead the
eerie cries of the curlew and the lapwing remind the naturalist that
there are many young families hidden amongst the Heather, who will
rejoice when they see the last of him and that fearful net of his.
The caterpillar is green, with white lines, and feeds on Cotton-grass
in May. The butterfly appears towards the end of June.
THE SMALL HEATH BUTTERFLY (_Cænonympha Pamphilus_), Plate XII.,
Fig. 1.--This can be best described as a smaller and brighter edition
of _Typhon_; occasionally a _large_ specimen may even be mistaken for
a _small Typhon_, but you can always tell the smaller species by the
presence of only one eye-spot on the tip of the fore-wing, and no
eye-spots anywhere else. Its habits, too, are different, preferring, as
it does, a much drier and more pastoral country to sport over. And its
range is also wider, being found all over the country from June till
September.
The caterpillar is green and a grass-feeder. I have swept it from grass
in August.
THE BROWN HAIRSTREAK (_Thecla betulæ_), Plate XII., Fig. 6.--There are
five British species included in the very distinct group of interesting
little butterflies, to which this species belongs. All of them are
nearly black on the upper surface, but the undersides are exceedingly
chaste in pattern, if not showy in colour. The Brown Hairstreak is the
largest of the five. The male is a dark brown relieved by a lighter
spot edged with black on the fore-wing, and the bottom angle of the
hind-wing and the little tails are orange. The female has an orange
bar across the fore-wing. The under side (Plate XIV., Fig. 7) is a
tawny orange inclining to deep orange at the margins; a double white
irregular line edged with black runs across the hind-wings, and between
these lines the tawny shade is darker; the fringe is white.
The caterpillar is green, marked with diagonal yellow lines and tapers
considerably towards each extremity. It feeds on Birch and Blackthorn.
Though by no means a common insect, it is found in a great many
localities from North to South of England, but not in Scotland. The
butterfly is out in August.
THE WHITE-LETTER HAIRSTREAK (_Thecla w-album_), Plate XII., Fig. 4.--A
smaller and, on the upper surface, a blacker insect than the last.
Excepting for a small indistinct spot in the centre, and near the outer
margin of the fore-wing, the upper surface is devoid of markings of any
kind. The under side, however, provides all the distinctive features
necessary for identification. The colour is a cool brown-grey, the
fore-wing being traversed by a white line; the hind-wing has a similar
white line, which forms a W at the basal angle; under it is a broad
orange scalloped band, edged with black and white; the extreme outer
edge is black, and this black edging scallops into the orange band.
Tail black.
The caterpillar feeds on Elm; is pale green, with yellow bars and two
rows of whitish humps along the back. It may be got by beating the Elm
in early summer. The Butterfly appears in July, but is far from common,
York being about its northern limit.
THE BLACK HAIRSTREAK (_Thecla pruni_), Plate XII., Fig. 5.--About the
same size as the last, but many individuals are smaller. The ground
colour is almost black, but near the tail are two or three conspicuous
orange spots, which are not present in _w-Album_. The orange band on
the under side of the hind-wing is much bolder and is edged with black
spots on _both_ sides, the inner row of spots being partially ringed
with white; the white hairstreaks are fainter and slightly interrupted.
This is the rarest of the group, and confined to a few localities in
the South and South-East.
The caterpillar is green, with yellow spots and lines; it is found on
Sloe and Oak. The perfect insect is out in July.
THE PURPLE HAIRSTREAK (_Thecla quercus_), Plate XII., Fig. 3.--The
commonest and most widely distributed of the Hairstreaks extending well
into Scotland where, however, it is not common. The upper surface in
the male is shot with purple, while the female has a patch on either
fore-wing of a still more pronounced sheen. The under side (Plate XIV.,
Fig. 8) is a cool grey; the "hairstreak" is white and strongly defined
by an inner edging of dark brown. There are also two orange eye-spots
near the tail, which in this species is rather small.
[Illustration:
PLATE 14
1. Pupa of Red Admiral
2. Larva of Red Admiral
3. Larva of Small White
4. New Small Skipper
5. Pupa of Small White (showing hole through which ichneumons emerged)
6. Larva of White Admiral
7. Brown Hairstreak (under side)
8. Purple Hairstreak (under side)
9. Ringlet (under side)]
The caterpillar is a reddish-brown and grey mixture, with a lighter
angular pattern along the back, and a light line along the sides. It
feeds on Oak.
I once came upon a small colony of this little butterfly flying round
some Oak-trees in Argyllshire, but not one of them came lower than 15
feet from the ground, and after trying a variety of expedients I had to
retire discomfited without a single capture. A visit to the same spot
on subsequent days failed to reveal a single specimen. August was the
month. In the South it is out in June.
THE GREEN HAIRSTREAK (_Thecla rubi_), Plate XII., Fig. 2.--The
smallest of the British Hairstreaks and a fairly common species. Deep
dingy brown above, bright emerald-green below, traversed by white
hairstreaks, although in some specimens I have taken these white lines
are absent. An elusive little butterfly, as when it settles amongst
green herbage with the wings closed it is rendered almost invisible, so
well does it harmonize with its surroundings.
The caterpillar is green, spotted and striped with yellow; it feeds on
Bramble and Broom. The butterfly is out in June generally, but I have
found it in the closing days of May in a favourable season. In the
South a second brood appears in August. It reaches as far north as
Perthshire, and is frequently met with in the West Highlands.
THE LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY (_Polyommatus Dispar_), Plate XII.,
Fig. 7.--I am afraid there is now only one British locality where this
fine butterfly can be successfully pursued. Strange to say it is not
one of the few places where it was found so abundantly a century ago.
Neither is it any use going after it there with a net, or any other of
the usual appliances.
The correct place and method are no great secret, being, as it is, in
the very heart of London--to wit, Stevens' Auction Rooms, King Street,
Covent Garden. A cheque-book there is a more reliable, and, if properly
handled, sure means of bringing a specimen into one's collection. I
don't suppose there is anybody now alive who remembers having seen the
Large Copper flitting about its native Fen lands so long ago as 1850 or
thereabout, for the precise date is difficult to discover. The Large
Copper has become as extinct as the dodo or the great auk. Fortunately,
many specimens are still to be seen in old and well-preserved
collections, and not a few of these have already passed through the
hands of the auctioneer. There are various Continental "Coppers" which
more or less resemble the "dear departed." And it is as well that the
points of difference should be well known, as these foreigners can be
had for a few pence. _Dispar_ sells at as many pounds.
The male and female differ very much from each other, the male being
a clear scarlet copper tint, with black margins and a small black
spot in the centre of the fore-wing. The female is larger and not so
brilliant; the black marginal band on the fore-wing is broader, and
has a row of black spots in addition to the central black spot. The
hind-wings are much dingier, except for a brighter band round the
outer margin next the black outline. It was out in July and August in
the Fen lands of the south-eastern counties. Various causes have been
assigned as the reason for its disappearance. Draining of, and burning
rubbish on, these wastes, and the constant persecution the insect had
to endure from mercenary natives who, once they discovered there was
money in it--and the more money, doubtless, the scarcer it became--all
lent their quota of assistance towards finally exterminating this fine
butterfly.
THE SMALL COPPER BUTTERFLY (_Polyommatus Phlæas_), Plate XII.,
Fig. 8.--Less in size but hardly less brilliant in colour, the Small
Copper is not likely to share the fate of its larger relative. A
lively, restless, little imp it is, and has well earned the title of
"the flea," by which it is known in some districts.
As it is the "only Copper we possess now," a detailed description is
unnecessary, but I would direct the young collector's attention to the
fact that there are some nice variations of this common little species
apt to be overlooked, perhaps the most striking being a white form,
and another and commoner one having a row of blue spots on the upper
surface of the hind-wings.
The caterpillar feeds on various species of Sorrel, and is green with
three red lines.
There are several broods in the year, but it is generally more abundant
in the autumn. Found everywhere.
THE LONG-TAILED BLUE (_Lycæna Bætica_), Plate XII., Fig. 9.--While
there is no doubt this lovely little blue has been repeatedly taken
on our shores, the fact remains that we must still regard it as an
occasional visitor only. It may, and we all hope it will, yet be
classed amongst our resident fauna. From what we know of it, it seems
to have a more than usually wide range; it is recorded for Europe,
Africa, Western Asia, East Indies, and Australia. The male is a deep
blue, with two black spots just above the tails; the female shows more
brown. The under side is quite different from that of any of our native
blues, being barred and spotted in white, and two shades of fawn-brown,
with two green spots near the tail. A lookout for it may be kept all
along our south coast during July and August.
THE SILVER-STUDDED BLUE (_Lycæna Ægon_), Plate XII., Fig. 10.--In
all of the group to which this insect belongs, numbering about ten
species, the males differ very much in colour, especially on the upper
surface, from the females. The males are nearly always blue of various
shades, and the females brown and blue in varying proportions.
In _Ægon_, the male is a warm violet-blue, the outer margins being
bordered with black. The female is brown shot with blue, which becomes
more intense near the outer margin of the hind-wings, where there is
a row of orange spots touching an outer row of black spots; but these
two rows may be nearly or altogether absent. The under side (Plate
XV., Fig. 4) is banded with orange and black-spotted, the black spots
being ringed with white. The silver studs are on the outer margin
of the orange band, principally on the hind-wings. This is a fairly
abundant species all over England on dry soils, and has been met with
in Scotland. The caterpillar is green, sometimes brown, with a darker
line along the back and white lines on the sides. It feeds on Clover,
Vetch, Broom, and other leguminous plants. The butterfly is out in July
and August.
THE BROWN ARGUS (_Lycæna Astrarche_), Plate XII., Fig. 11.--Here is
a "blue" in which _both_ sexes are brown, a rather unusual thing. In
every other particular, however, it bears the family hall-mark. The
upper surface is dark brown, bordered with bright orange spots. The
under side (Plate XV., Fig. 6) is banded with orange and spotted with
black dots ringed with white. For the Scotch variety, _Artaxerxes_,
these spots are solid white, and there is in addition a _white
discoidal spot_ on the upper side of the fore-wing. This variety is
local in Scotland, but fairly numerous where found, generally near
the sea, and plentiful all along the Ayrshire coast in June and July.
It is said to feed on _Helianthemum_, but has probably many other
food-plants, such as the Hemlock Stork's-bill (_Erodium cicutarium_),
which is common where it flies.
The caterpillar is green, with a darker line along the back, and a pale
line on each side; head black and shining. There are many intermediate
forms between _Artaxerxes_ and the type.
THE COMMON BLUE (_Lycæna Icarus_), Plate XII., Fig. 12.--Known to
everyone who sees anything at all of the country. It is _the_ blue
butterfly, noticed even by those who hardly know a butterfly from a
bullfrog.
An intelligent little chap he is, too, with an eye for his own safety,
as I once found when I had the opportunity of observing quite a number
of them on a piece of waste ground near the sea. The weather was
dull and threatening rain, and not a butterfly was on the wing; but
I could see plenty of our common blue friend hanging on, with closed
wings, to the ends of rushes, grass-stalks, and on thistle-tops; but
always when I came within a step or two they adroitly changed their
position, putting whatever they were resting or hanging on between us,
just edging round the corner as it were, so as to be out of sight.
Apparently the idea of _flying_ away from an enemy was here considered
as too risky under the conditions which prevailed; the safest plan was
to hide, so hide they did. It was the funniest game of hide-and-seek
I ever played. I have since seen the small blue dragon-flies adopt
the same tactics on the rushes by the side of a pond. No wonder this
little fellow is so common. In the struggle for existence he has shown
himself able and well-fitted to survive; nevertheless I had a good time
amongst them that afternoon and boxed some fine varieties. The male
bears a warm shade of blue, and the female is from nearly black to
brown, with a blue blush spreading from the body outwards, both wings
being bordered with a row of orange and black spots, often on a ground
of white. Sometimes, too, there is a discoidal black spot edged with
white; but the females are very variable. The under side (Plate XV.,
Fig. 5) has the characteristic markings of the "blues," and, excepting
that the female is a little darker in ground colour, both sexes are
pretty much alike.
The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a light
yellow line on each side; it feeds on Trefoil and Clover. The perfect
insect is common everywhere from June till August.
THE CLIFDEN BLUE, OR ADONIS BLUE (_Lycæna Bellargus_), Plate XIII.,
Fig. 1.--It will be sufficient to point out the specific characters
of each of these blues without going into minute detail, which would
be wearisome, even if it were possible (which it is not) to paint in
words what Nature has painted so admirably on the butterflies' wings.
The male Adonis is a brilliant azure blue; fringe, deep and white, and
divided into sections by black lines. Female, brown to nearly black,
with a row of orange and black spots round the base of the hind-wing
and sometimes continued faintly into the fore-wing; it is browner on
the under side than the male. Both resemble the Common Blue very much,
but the spots are scarcely so numerous or so bold. The wings, however,
are generally more ample, those of the males being more rounded.
The caterpillar is green, with a darker line on the back, and a
yellow line on each side; spotted with orange on the back. This is
a fairly common species confined mostly to the South, where, being
double-brooded, it is out in June and August.
THE CHALK-HILL BLUE (_Lycæna Corydon_), Plate XIII., Fig. 2.--A larger
insect than the last, and the male an extremely pale iridescent blue,
which is shaded off at the margins into a black border, with a white
fringe checked with black. Female, dark brown, black and white checked
fringe; eye-spots nearly obsolete along the margin of both wings. Under
side in male almost white, shading to pale green, blue next the body
on the fore-wing; hind-wing, with a wash of pale brown for the ground;
spots black, outlined with white. A marginal row of orange spots is
confined to the hind-wing in the male, but extends to the fore-wing in
the female; the ground colour of it, however, is a pale fawn, which
sets forth the eye-spots beautifully.
The caterpillar is green, striped on the back and sides with yellow. A
decidedly southern species, frequenting the chalk downs of the South
and the Isle of Wight, or the limestone districts of the Midlands. It
is out in July and August.
THE AZURE BLUE OR HOLLY BLUE (_Lycæna Argiolus_), Plate XIII.,
Fig. 4.--This is a very dainty little butterfly of a deep sky-blue,
with rounded wings narrowly fringed with white, ticked with black. The
female has a broad, irregular, black border, occasionally extending
well into the wing. But the under side (Plate XV., Fig. 3) marks a
new departure, being of a very pale, shimmering blue, with only a
few small, black spots, which form an incomplete row on fore- and
hind-wings.
[Illustration:
PLATE 15
1. Brown Argus (var. _Artaxerxes_)
2. Brown Argus (var. _Artaxerxes_) (under side)
3. Azure Blue (under side)
4. Silver-Studded Blue (under side)
5. Common Blue (under side)
6. Brown Argus (under side)
7. Mazarine Blue (upper side)
8. Mazarine Blue (under side)
9. Chalkhill Blue (under side)
10. Large Blue (under side)
11. Little Blue (under side)]
The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a black
head. It feeds on the _flowers_ of Holly, Ivy, and Buckthorn.
Being double-brooded, the perfect insect appears first in April and
May, and again in August. It is generally distributed in England,
though commonest in the South; not known to occur in Scotland.
THE MAZARINE BLUE (_Lycæna semiargus_), Plate XV., Figs. 7 and
8.--Males, a very dark purple-blue--in fact, this is our darkest
"Blue," and shares the distinction with the Long-Tailed Blue of being
extremely scarce. Possibly those met with now are visitors from the
Continent. The blue deepens into a black border at the margins; fringe
short and white. Female, a uniform dark brown; under side a pale buff
colour, with an irregular row of black spots edged with white. There
are no orange spots on this species. It is said to feed on Thrift;
hence it is likeliest to be met with near the coast during July. Good
Continental specimens can be purchased cheaply, or got by exchange.
And I hold it is better to fill in your row with these, carefully
labelling them to indicate their source, than to have an empty space
always staring you in the face. Unless this species becomes more
common, the average collector's chance of capturing British specimens
is exceedingly remote.
THE LITTLE BLUE (_Lycæna Minima_), Plate XIII., Fig. 3.--The smallest
of our butterflies, the average expanse being only 3/4 inch. Male,
blackish-brown dusted with blue towards the base of the wings. Female,
solid brown; under side (Plate XV., Fig. 11) a pale salmon, blue
spotted as in _Argiolus_, with black outlined with white; no orange
spots on either sex.
The caterpillar is dull green, orange-striped on back and sides. It
feeds on Trefoils, etc. This species is local, but common all over the
British Isles, except in the extreme North. It is one of our early
species, appearing in May and June.
THE LARGE BLUE (_Lycæna Arion_), Plate XIII., Fig. 5.--This is the
largest of our "Blues" and the rarest of our really resident species,
and although it appears to be able to hold its own and maintain its
numbers fairly well, I would strongly urge collectors to at least let
all the "fair" and worn specimens retain their liberty. Again and again
I have seen specimens set up and sent out in exchange that should never
have been taken. Of a dark blue colour, black-bordered, _Arion_ can
always be recognized by the row of black spots across the middle of the
fore-wing; they are sometimes very large in size. There is occasionally
a row of black spots round both wings, just inside the margin. The
under side (Plate XV., Fig. 10) is a pale grey, gradually shading into
a bright blue-green next the body, profusedly spotted with black in
white rings.
The caterpillar, which feeds on Wild Thyme in the spring, is dark
rust-coloured. The butterfly is out in July, and is found mostly in the
extreme south-west counties.
THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY FRITILLARY (_Nemeobius Lucina_), Plate XIII.,
Fig. 6.--Very like a diminutive member of the Fritillary family, but
it has no real connection with it, and better still, it has a whole
family (_Erycinidæ_) and genus to itself, being the only one of its
kind found in Europe. The upper surface is a tawny orange, with dark
brown checkerings, while a row of marginal black spots runs round the
outer margins. The under side of the hind-wings has a double row of
pale, almost white, spots across the centre, and black spots, similar
to those on the upper side, round the edge.
The caterpillar is short and tapering, pale brown with a darker line on
the back, and a lighter one on the sides. It feeds on Primrose. This
species is said to be double-brooded in the South, out in June and
again in August as far north as Carlisle and the Lake District. Note:
the female has six perfect walking legs, the male only four, the front
pair being rudimentary, as with many of the larger butterflies.
THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER (_Syrichthus Malvæ_), Plate XIII., Fig. 7.--The
Skippers, of which there are eight species in this country, are often
referred to as the connecting-link between the butterflies and moths,
and not without some justification. The antennæ are somewhat short,
club-shaped, and _hooked_ at the extremity. The head is large, and
the antennæ spring from just above the eyes; their base is thus wide
apart. Compare a Skipper with a Blue in which the roots of the antennæ
almost touch. The body of the Skipper is stout and mothlike, and the
wings not so ample, and more angular than in the average butterfly. The
caterpillars live in a rolled leaf or several leaves spun together, and
pupate in a slight cocoon.
The Grizzled Skipper is a small butterfly measuring just over 3/4 of
an inch in expanse. The ground colour is nearly black, checkered with
white square spots, as is also the fringe. The under side is lighter.
The caterpillar is a rusty brown, with lighter lines on the back and
sides. The species is doubled-brooded, appearing in May and August,
and is generally distributed over the country as far north as the
South-West of Scotland.
THE DINGY SKIPPER (_Nisoniades Tages_), Plate XIII., Fig. 8.--This
is dull grey-brown, and very Quaker-like in its sombre garb, with a
lighter and a darker band across the wings. The under side is a pale
drab, with a few faint light spots. And truly one may be excused if at
times it is mistaken for a night-flying moth.
The caterpillar feeds on trefoil, and is green, with four yellow lines
and some black dots; it is very stout in the middle, tapering to either
end. This Skipper is also doubled-brooded, appearing in May and August,
generally on dry soils such as the chalk, or limestone, or, as in
Scotland, on the sand-dunes of Ayrshire, where it is locally common.
THE SMALL SKIPPER (_Hesperia Thaumas_), Plate XIII., Fig. 9.--Upper
side a uniform tawny-orange shade, with a dark brown or black border.
There is also a black dash across the fore-wing of the male, which is
absent in the female. On the under side there is a tawny patch along
the inner margin of the hind-wing, and the tip of the fore-wing is
light. These are good identification points, as they are fairly stable.
The caterpillar is green, with two white lines on the back and a yellow
line on either side. It feeds on grasses in the spring. The butterfly
appears in July and is common in England, but is not known in Scotland.
THE NEW SMALL SKIPPER (_Hesperia Lineola_), Plate XIV., Fig. 4.--Is
very like the last, so much so, that it had been taken for many years
by collectors and confused with _Thaumas_. There were few collections
that did not possess a mixed series. But once its identity was
established, it was soon placed in its rightful position. It may be
distinguished from _Thaumas_ by the absence of the fulvous patch on
the inner margin of the under side of the hind-wings, and also by the
absence of the light tip on the under side of the fore-wing. The black
dash across the upper side of the fore-wing of the male is fainter,
shorter, and more often altogether absent. The under side of the
hind-wing is a light buff without marks of any kind.
The caterpillar is a bronze-green, with four yellow lines on the back
and one on the sides; it feeds on grasses in damp meadows, mostly in
the south and south-eastern counties. The species is local, but common
where it occurs. Out in July and August.
THE LULWORTH SKIPPER (_Hesperia Actæon_), Plate XIII., Fig. 10.--An
extremely local species, being only found in two or three localities
on the south coast. It may be distinguished from the two preceding
Skippers, first, by its more dingy colour; second, by the female having
a semicircular row of light spots near the tip of the fore-wing. These
are very faintly visible in some males, but they have, in addition, a
black streak along the centre of the wing. The under side in both sexes
is similar, a pale dingy fawn, with no particular markings. The antennæ
are very short.
The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a double
line of yellow on each side. This species may be looked for on rough
ground facing the sea during July and August.
THE LARGE SKIPPER (_Hesperia Sylvanus_), Plate XIII., Fig. 11.--Upper
surface tawny-orange shading into darker at the margin of both wings;
on this dark margin are a few pale spots, mostly at the tip of the
fore-wing. The male has an almost black streak near the centre of the
fore-wing; this is not present in the female. The under side is a light
tawny olive, with pale lighter spots.
The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a light
stripe on the sides. It is a grass-feeder. This Skipper is abundant all
over England in May and again in August, but is rare in Scotland.
THE PEARL SKIPPER (_Hesperia Comma_), Plate XIII., Fig. 12.--This
species is not quite so large as the last. It is darker, and the
spot markings are much brighter and more decided. This is the case
especially on the under side, as there the spots are bright enough to
suggest pearls. Hence the name.
Note, too, the dark streak in the middle of the fore-wing of the male;
it is divided along the centre by a white line. This white line is
wanting in the Large Skipper. The dark streak is only on the upper
wings of the males. _Comma_ is also a more local and scarce insect,
being confined mostly to the South of England.
The caterpillar is greyish-red, and has a double dark line on either
side; it feeds on various Vetches and Trefoils. The butterfly is out in
July and August.
THE CHECKERED SKIPPER (_Carterocephalus Palæmon_), Plate XIII.,
Fig. 13.--The upper side of this butterfly is speckled and bordered
with tawny-orange spots on a dark brown ground. The under side has a
lighter ground colour, and the spots are outlined with dark brown.
The caterpillar is dark, almost black, with a yellow line on the sides,
and, as it hibernates over the winter, may be looked for in the spring.
It feeds on grasses and Plantain.
This is a very local species, and I am afraid, to judge from reports,
becoming rarer. The south and south-eastern counties are the favoured
localities.
THE MILKWEED BUTTERFLY (_Danais Erippus_; variety, _Archippus_), Plate
VIII., Fig. 3.--This is an American species, but an occasional visitor
to our shores, and, as it is a strong-flying species with the bump of
adventure abnormally developed, it is now met with in many lands where
it was at one time unknown. I have large fine specimens from Canada, so
it can stand the rigours of the Canadian winter; and if it should find
a suitable food-plant for the caterpillars here, we may hope, in the
near future, to add this fine butterfly to the select little band of
British butterflies.
INDEX
British Butterflies described, 29
Butterflies, antennæ of, 1, 10
capture and preservation, 13
eyes of, 11
how to kill, 16
list of British, 27
sense and smell, 10
sight, 10
tongues of, 12
Butterfly net, 14
Collection, storing of, 25
Drying-case, 22
Entomological pins, 17
FAMILIES OF BUTTERFLIES.
_Apaturidæ_, 28
_Erycinidæ_, 29
_Hesperidæ_, 29
_Lycenidæ_, 28
_Nymphalidæ_, 27
_Papilionidæ_, 27
_Pieridæ_, 27
_Satyridæ_, 28
"Grease," treatment of, 17
Ichneumons, 5
Larvae, preservation of, 22
_Lepidoptera_, 1
Life-story of Butterflies, 1
Pins, entomological, 17
Scales, 9
Setting boards, 18
bristle, 18
needle, 19
Paisley method, 20
with braces, 18
SPECIES OF BUTTERFLIES:
Blue, Adonis, 79
Azure, 80
Chalkhill, 80
Clifden, 79
Common, 78
Holly, 80
Large, 82
Little, 81
Long-tailed, 76
Mazarine, 81
Silver-studded, 76
Brimstone, 41
Brown Argus, 77
Camberwell Beauty, 55
Clouded Yellow, 39
Pale, 38
Comma, 51
Copper, Large, 74
Small, 75
Fritillary, Duke of Burgundy, 82
Dark Green, 44
Glanville, 49
Greasy, 48
Heath, 51
High Brown, 46
Pearl-bordered, 43
Queen of Spain, 44
Silver-washed, 47
Small Pearl-bordered, 42
Grayling, 65
Hairstreak, Black, 72
Brown, 71
Green, 73
Purple, 72
White-letter, 71
Meadow Brown, 67
Small, 67
Milkweed, 87
Orange-tip, 37
Painted Lady, 58
Peacock, 55
Purple Emperor, 59
Red Admiral, 56
Ringlet, 68
Marsh, 69
Mountain, 62
Scotch Argus, 62
Skipper, Checkered, 87
Dingy, 84
Grizzled, 83
Large, 86
Lulworth, 85
New Small, 85
Pearl, 86
Small, 84
Small Heath, 70
Speckled Wood, 64
Swallow Tail, 29
Tortoiseshell, Large, 52
Small, 53
Wall Brown, 65
White Admiral, 59
Bath, 36
Black-veined, 32
Green-veined, 35
Large Garden, 33
Marbled, 61
Small Garden, 34
Wood, 38
BILLING AND SONS, LTD., PRINTERS, GUILDFORD, ENGLAND
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