Project Gutenberg's The Butterflies of the British Isles, by Richard South
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Title: The Butterflies of the British Isles
Author: Richard South
Release Date: September 13, 2013 [EBook #43713]
Language: English
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UNIQUE AND POPULAR WORKS FOR ALL
NATURE LOVERS.
_Uniform with this Volume._
* * * * *
Wayside and Woodland
Blossoms
A Pocket Guide to British Wild Flowers
for the Country Rambler.
(_First and Second Series._)
With Clear Descriptions of 760 Species.
BY
EDWARD STEP, F.L.S.
And Coloured Figures of 257 Species by
MABEL E. STEP.
* * * * *
Wayside and Woodland
Trees
A Pocket Guide to the British Sylva.
BY
EDWARD STEP, F.L.S.
With 127 Plates from Original Photographs by
HENRY IRVING,
And 57 Illustrations of the Leaves, Flowers and Fruit by
MABEL E. STEP.
* * * * *
AT ALL BOOKSELLERS.
_Full Prospectuses on application to the Publishers_--
FREDERICK WARNE AND CO.
LONDON: 15, Bedford Street, Strand.
NEW YORK: 36, East 22nd Street.
THE WAYSIDE
AND WOODLAND
SERIES
THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE
BRITISH ISLES
[Illustration: _Pl._ 1. _Frontispiece._ Swallow-tail Butterfly. _Male
and female, with caterpillars and chrysalids._]
THE BUTTERFLIES
OF THE
BRITISH ISLES
BY
RICHARD SOUTH, F.E.S.
EDITOR OF
"THE ENTOMOLOGIST," ETC.
WITH
ACCURATELY COLOURED FIGURES
OF EVERY SPECIES AND MANY VARIETIES
ALSO DRAWINGS OF EGG, CATERPILLAR
CHRYSALIS, AND FOOD-PLANT
LONDON
FREDERICK WARNE & CO.
AND NEW YORK
1906
(_All rights reserved_)
PREFACE.
Few things add more enjoyment to a country ramble than a knowledge of
the many and varied forms belonging to the animal and vegetable kingdoms
that present themselves to the notice of the observing wayfarer on every
side.
Almost every one admires the wild flowers that Nature produces so
lavishly, and in such charming variety of form and colour; but, in
addition to their own proper florescence, the plants of woodland,
meadow, moor, or down have other "blossoms" that arise from them,
although they are not of them. These are the beautiful winged creatures
called butterflies, which as crawling caterpillars obtain their
nourishment from plant leafage, and in the perfect state help the bees
to rifle the flowers of their sweets, and at the same time assist in the
work of fertilization.
It is the story of these aërial flowers that we wish to tell, and hope
that in the telling we may win from the reader a loving interest in some
of the most attractively interesting of Nature's children.
There are many people, no doubt, who take an intelligent interest in
the various forms of animal life, and yet do not care to collect
specimens because, as in the case of butterflies for instance, the
necessity arises for killing their captives. Such lovers of Nature are
quite satisfied to know the names of the species, and to learn something
of their life-histories and habits. Still, however, there are others,
and possibly a larger number, who will desire to capture a few specimens
of each kind of butterfly for closer examination and study. It is
believed that this little volume will be found useful to both sections
of naturalists alike.
The author in preparing the book has been largely guided by a
recollection of the kind of information he sought when he himself was a
beginner, now some forty odd years ago.
In conclusion, he desires to tender his most sincere thanks to the
undermentioned gentlemen, who so kindly furnished him with eggs,
caterpillars, and chrysalids; or favoured him with the loan of some of
their choicest varieties of butterflies for figuring; without their
valued assistance many of the illustrations could not have been
prepared:--Rev. Gilbert Raynor, Major Robertson, Messrs. F. Noad Clark,
T. Dewhurst, C.H. Forsythe, F.W. Frohawk, A.H. Hamm, A. Harrison, H.
Main, A.M. Montgomery, E.D. Morgan, G.B. Oliver, J. Ovenden, G. Randell,
A.L. Rayward, E.J. Salisbury, A.H. Shepherd, F.A. Small, L.D. Symington,
A.E. Tonge, B. Weddell, F.G. Whittle, and H. Wood.
_Varieties_--Messrs. R. Adkin, J.A. Clark, F.W. Frohawk, and E. Sabine.
With kind permission of the Ray Society, figures of the following larvæ
and pupæ have been reproduced from Buckler's "Larvæ of British
Butterflies":--_P. daplidice_, _C. edusa_, _M. athalia_, _P. c-album_,
_S. semele_, _A. hyperanthus_, _C. typhon_, _C. pamphilus_, _C. rubi_,
_C. argiolus_, _A. thaumas_, _A. actæon_. Larva only--_L. sinapis_, _A.
selene_, _A. aurinia_, and _T. pruni_.
Figures of _A. cratægi_, _A. lineola_, and _C. palæmon_ have been made
from preserved skins.
For coloured plates, 1, 30, 42, 48, 58, 66, 98, 100, 112, 116, 118, and
the accurately drawn black-and-white figures, including enlargements,
the author is greatly indebted to Mr. Horace Knight.
INTRODUCTORY.
Butterflies belong to the great Order of insects called Lepidoptera
(Greek _lepis_, a scale, and _pteron_, a wing), that is, insects whose
wings are covered with minute structures termed scales. Moths
(Heterocera) also belong to the same order, and the first point to deal
with is how may butterflies be distinguished from moths? In a broad kind
of way they may be recognized by their horns (_antennæ_), which are
slender as regards the shaft, but are gradually or abruptly clubbed at
the extremity. For this reason they were designated Rhopalocera, or
"club horned," the Heterocera being supposed to have horns of various
kinds other than clubbed. As a matter of fact this method of separating
moths and butterflies does not hold good in dealing with the Lepidoptera
of the world, and it is from a study of these, as a whole, that
systematists have arrived at the conclusion that there is no actual line
of division between moths and butterflies. In modern classification,
then, butterflies are reduced from the rank of a sub-order, which they
formerly held, and are now dovetailed into the various newer systems of
arrangement between certain families of moths.
As regards British butterflies, however, it will be found that these
may be known, as such, by their clubbed horns. Only the Burnets among
British moths have horns in any way similar, and these are thickened
gradually towards the extremity rather than clubbed. Day-flying moths,
especially the bright-coloured ones, might be mistaken for butterflies
by the uninitiated, but in all these the horns will be found not at all
butterfly-like.
Although varieties of the species will be referred to in the descriptive
portion of the book, a few general remarks on variation in butterflies
may here be made. All kinds are liable to vary in tint or in the
markings, sometimes in both. Such variation, in the more or less
constant species especially, is perhaps only trivial and therefore
hardly attracts attention. In a good many kinds variation is often of a
very pronounced character, and is then almost certain to obtain notice.
Except in a few instances, where the aberration is of an unusual kind,
it is possible to obtain all the intermediate stages, or gradations,
between the ordinary form of a species and its most extreme variety. A
series of such connecting links in the variation of a species is of
greater interest, and higher educational value, than one in which the
extremes alone have a place.
In those kinds of butterflies that attain the perfect state twice in the
year, the individuals composing the first flight are somewhat different
in marking from those of the second flight. Such species as the large
and small whites exhibit this kind of variation, which is termed
seasonal dimorphism. The males of some species, as for example the
Common Blue and the Orange-tip, differ from the females in colour; this
is known as sexual dimorphism. The Silver-Washed Fritillary, which has
two forms of the female, one brown like the male, the other green or
greenish in colour, is a good example of dimorphism confined to one sex.
Gynandrous specimens, sometimes called "Hermaphrodites," are those which
exhibit both male and female coloration, or other wing characters; when
one side is entirely male and the other side entirely female, the
gynandromorphism would be described as complete.
The ornamentation on the under side of a butterfly differs from that of
the upper side, and is found to assimilate or harmonize in a remarkable
manner with the usual resting-place. It is therefore of service to the
insect when settled with wings erect over the back, in the manner of all
butterflies, except some few kinds of Skippers.
The number of known species of butterflies throughout the world has been
put at about thirteen thousand, and it has been suggested by Dr. Sharp
that there may be nearly twice as many still awaiting discovery. Dr.
Staudinger in his "Catalog" gives a list of over seven hundred kinds of
butterflies as occurring in the whole of the Palæarctic Region. This
zoological region embraces Europe, including the British Islands, Africa
north of the Atlas range of mountains, and temperate Asia, including
Japan. The entire number of species that can by any means be regarded as
British does not exceed sixty-eight. Even this limited total comprises
sundry migratory butterflies, such as the Clouded Yellows, the Painted
Lady, the Red Admiral, the Camberwell Beauty, and the Milkweed
Butterfly; and also the still less frequent, or perhaps more accidental
visitors, the Long-tailed Blue and the Bath White. Again, the Large
Copper is now extinct in England, and the Mazarine Blue does not seem to
have been observed in any of its old haunts in the country for over
forty years. The Black-veined White is also scarce and exceedingly
local.
The majority of the remaining fifty-seven butterflies may be considered
natives, and of these about half are so widely distributed that the
young collector should, if fairly energetic, secure nearly all of them
during his first campaign. The other species will have to be looked for
in their special localities, but a few kinds are so strictly attached to
particular spots, that a good deal of patience will have to be exercised
before a chance may occur of obtaining them.
A few remarks may here be made in reference to the names and arrangement
adopted in the present volume.
As will be adverted to in the descriptive section, the English names of
our butterflies have not always been quite the same as those now in
general use. There has, however, been far less stability in scientific
nomenclature, and very many changes in both generic and specific names
have been made during the past twenty years, more especially perhaps
within the last decade.
Genera are now founded by some specialists on characters which formerly
served to distinguish one species from another, whilst other authorities
merge several genera in one upon certain details of structure that are
common to them all.
Patient research into the entomological antiquities has revealed much
important material, some of which may furnish a new interpretation of
the Linnean classification of Lepidoptera.
The discovery of the earliest Latin specific name bestowed upon an
insect, is a labour which entails a large expenditure of time and
requires fine judgment. Great credit is therefore due to those who
undertake such investigations, the result of which may tend to the
establishment of a fixed nomenclature in the, probably not remote,
future, although it sadly hampers and perplexes students in the
meanwhile.
All things considered then, it has been deemed advisable not to make
many changes in specific names, and to retain the old genera as far as
possible. The arrangement of families, genera, etc., will be found to
accord with that most generally accepted both in England and on the
continent.
THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES.
PART I.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A BUTTERFLY.
As is the case with all other Lepidoptera, butterflies pass through
three very distinct stages before they attain the perfect form. These
stages are:--1. The egg (_ovum_, plural _ova_). 2. The caterpillar
(_larva_, _larvæ_). 3. The chrysalis (_pupa_, _pupæ_). The perfect
insect is called the _imago_ (plural _imagines_).
The Egg.
Butterfly eggs are of various forms, and whilst in some kinds the
egg-shell (_chorion_) is elaborately ribbed or fluted, others are simply
pitted or covered with a kind of network or reticulation; others, again,
are almost or quite smooth. If the top of an egg, such as that of the
Purple Emperor (Plate 28), is examined under a good lens a depression
will be noted, and in this will be seen a neat and starlike kind of
ornamentation. In the middle of this "rosette" are, present in all eggs,
minute apertures known as micropyles (little doors), and it is through
these that the spermatozoa of the male finds entry to the interior of
the egg and fertilization is effected. The changes that occur in the egg
after it is laid are of a very complex nature, and readers who may
desire information on this subject are referred to Sharp's "Insects,"
Part I., in the "Cambridge Natural History," where also will be found
much interesting and instructive matter connected with the caterpillar
and chrysalis, to which stages only brief reference can here be made.
The Caterpillar.
The second stage is that of the caterpillar, and in some species, such
as the Red Admiral, this is of very short duration, a few weeks only,
whilst in others, as for example the Small Blue, it usually lasts for
many months. There is considerable diversity both in the shape and,
where it is present, in the hairy or spiny clothing (_armature_) of
caterpillars. All, however, are alike in one respect, that is the body
is divided into thirteen more or less well-defined rings (_segments_),
which together with the head make up fourteen divisions. In referring to
these body-rings, the first three nearest the head, each of which is
furnished with a pair of true legs (_thoracic legs_), are called the
thoracic segments, as they correspond to the thorax of the perfect
butterfly. The remaining ten rings are the abdominal segments; the last
two are not always easily separable one from the other, and so for all
practical purposes they may be considered only nine in number. These
nine rings, then, correspond to the abdomen of the future butterfly. The
third to sixth of this series have each a pair of false legs
(_prolegs_), and there is also a pair on the last ring; the latter are
the anal claspers.
The warts (_tubercles_) are the bases of hairs and spines, and are to be
seen in most butterfly caterpillars, but they generally require a lens
to bring them clearly into view. These warts are usually arranged in two
rows on the back (_dorsal series_) and three rows on each side (_lateral
series_).
All the various parts referred to, or to be presently mentioned, may be
seen in Fig. 1, which also shows a peculiarity that is found in very
young caterpillars of the Orange-tip, and in some others of the "Whites"
(_Pieridæ_). The odd thing about this baby caterpillar is that the fine
hair arising from each wart is forked at the tip (Fig. 1, _a_), and
holds thereon a minute globule of fluid. When the caterpillars become
about half grown these special hairs are lost in a general clothing of
fine hair. Fig. 1, _b_, represents a magnified single ring of the
caterpillar, and this shows a spiracle and the folds of the skin
(_subsegments_). The manner in which such folding occurs is to be
observed in the higher study of larval morphology.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
Young caterpillar of Orange-tip highly magnified.
(_After Sharp._)]
On each ring, except the second (including now the three thoracic with
the nine abdominal; and so making twelve rings), the third, and the
last, there is an oval or roundish mark which indicates the position of
the breathing hole (_spiracle_). Through these minute openings air
enters to the breathing tubes (_tracheæ_), which are spread throughout
the interior of the caterpillar in a seemingly complicated kind of
network of main branches and finer twigs; air is thus conveyed to every
part of the body. In the event of one or two air-holes becoming in any
way obstructed, the caterpillar would possibly be none the worse; but if
all the openings were closed up effectually, it would almost certainly
die. Total immersion in water, even for some hours, is not always fatal.
Turning again to the "feet" of the caterpillar, it will be seen from
the figure that the true legs (_a_) differ from the false legs (_b_) in
structure. The former are horny, jointed, and have terminal claws; the
latter are fleshy, with sliding joints, and the foot is furnished with a
series of minute hooks which enable the caterpillar to obtain a secure
hold when feeding, etc. The false legs are also the chief means of
locomotion, as the true legs are of little service for this purpose. The
true legs, however, appear to be of use when the caterpillar is feeding,
as the leaf is held between them so as to keep it steady whilst the jaws
are doing their work.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.
(_a_) True and (_b_) false legs.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.
_a_, labrum; _b_, mandible; _c_, antenna; _d_, ocelli; _e_, maxilla;
_f_, labium; _g_, spinneret; _h_, labial palp.]
In the accompanying figure of the head of a caterpillar the mouth parts
are clearly shown. The biting jaws (_mandibles_) are slightly apart,
above them is seen the upper lip (_labrum_), and below them is the under
lip (_labium_ or _lingua_). The _maxillæ_ are very tiny affairs, but
they should be noted because in the butterfly they become the basal
portions of the two tubes which, when united together, form the sucking
organs (_proboscis_). The eyes, or ocelli as they are termed, are
minute, and are said to be of slight use to the caterpillar as organs of
sight, so that it probably has to depend on its little feelers
(_antennæ_) for guidance to the right plants for its nourishment.
Attention should also be given to the spinneret, as it is by means of
this that the silken threads, etc., for its various requirements are
provided; the substance itself being secreted in glands placed in the
body of the caterpillar. The palpi are organs of touch, and seem to be
of use to the caterpillar when moving about.
Immediately after hatching, many caterpillars eat the egg-shell for
their first meal; they then settle down to the business of feeding and
growing. It should be remembered that it is entirely on growth made
whilst in the caterpillar stage that the size of a butterfly depends. In
the course of a day or two the necessity arises for fasting, as
moulting, an important event, is about to take place. Having spun a
slender carpet of silk on a leaf or twig, the caterpillar secures itself
thereto, and then awaits the moment when all is ready for the
transformation to commence. After a series of twistings from side to
side and other contortions, the skin yields along the back near the
head, the head is drawn away from its old covering and thrust through
the slit in the back, the old skin then peels downwards whilst the
caterpillar draws itself upwards until it is free. The new skin,
together with any hairs or spines with which it may be clothed, is at
first very soft. In the course of a short time all is perfected, and the
caterpillar is ready to enter upon its second stage of growth. At the
end of the second stage the skin-changing operation is again performed,
and the whole business is repeated two or more times afterwards.
Finally, however, when the caterpillar has shed its skin for the last
time, the chrysalis is revealed, but with the future wings seemingly
free. These, together with the other organs, are soon fixed down to the
body by the shell, which results from a varnish-like ooze which covers
all the parts and then hardens.
Generally speaking, newly hatched caterpillars, though of different
kinds, are in certain respects somewhat alike, but the special
characters of each begin to appear, as a rule, after the first change of
skin (_ecdysis_), and these go on developing with each successive stage
(_stadium_) until the caterpillar is full grown. The form assumed in
each stage is termed the _instar_, therefore a caterpillar just from the
egg would be referred to as in the first instar; between the first and
second changes of skin, as in the second instar, and so on to the
chrysalis, which in the case of a caterpillar that moulted, or changed
its skin, four times before attaining full growth, would be the sixth
instar, and the butterfly would then be the seventh instar. In practice,
however, it is usually the stages of the caterpillar alone that are
indicated in this way.
The Chrysalis.
The term _chrysalis_ more especially applies to such of them as are
spotted or splashed with metallic colour, as, for example, the
chrysalids of some of the Fritillaries. The scientific term for the
chrysalis is _pupa_, which in the Latin tongue means "a doll or puppet."
[Illustration: FIG. 4.
Caterpillar of Small White, about to change to chrysalis.]
In passing to the chrysalis stage the caterpillars have sometimes to
make rather more preparations than in previous skin-changing provisions.
Those of the Swallow-tail, Whites, Orange-tip, and similar kinds have to
provide a silken girdle for the waist as well as a pad for the tail.
Chrysalids that hang suspended, head downwards, such as the Vanessids,
Fritillaries, etc., are attached by the cremaster--a hooked arrangement
on the tail (Fig. 5)--to a pad of silk; others, such as the Blues and
the Coppers, appear to be held in position on a leaf, or some other
object, by means of a fine girdle of silk, or sometimes a few silken
threads spread net-like above and below them--rudiments of a cocoon in
fact. Chrysalids of the Skippers are enclosed in a more or less complete
cocoon placed within a chamber, formed of a leaf or leaves of the
food-plant, drawn together by silken cables. Some of these chrysalids
are furnished with hooks on the tail as well as with a girdle for
suspension; but others have hooks only.
As almost all the chrysalids here considered are figured in the
illustrations, it will be unnecessary to refer in detail to their great
diversity in form, but a few general remarks on the structure of a
chrysalis may be made.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.
Enlarged view of cremaster, and a hook still more enlarged.
(_After Sharp._)]
If the upper (_dorsal_) surface of a chrysalis is examined, the thorax
and the body divisions will easily be made out, while, by looking at the
sides and the under (_ventral_) surface, the various organs, such as the
wings, legs, antennæ, etc., will be found neatly laid along each side of
the "tongue," or proboscis, which latter extends down the centre. All
these are separately encased, but by reason of the shell mentioned in
the remarks on the caterpillar, they appear to be welded together. When,
however, the butterfly is ready to emerge, the shell of the chrysalis is
split along the thorax and at the lower edge of the wing-cases, and the
insect is then able to release itself from the pupal trappings. This
breaking open of the chrysalis shell is termed dehiscence (_dehisco_,
"to split open"), and the manner in which it is effected varies in
different species. The emergence of a butterfly from the chrysalis is
always an interesting operation to observe, and every one should make a
point of watching the process, so that he may obtain practical knowledge
of how the thing is done. A photograph of it will be found in the
description of the Wall Butterfly.
The Butterfly.
Having safely cleared itself free of the chrysalis shell, the butterfly
makes its way to some suitable twig, spray, or other object, from which
it can hang, sometimes in an inverted position, whilst a very important
function takes place. This is the distention and drying of the wings,
which at first are very weak and somewhat baggy affairs, although the
colour and markings appear upon them in miniature. All other parts of
the butterfly seem fully formed, but the helpless condition of the wings
alone prevent it as yet from floating off into the air. In a remarkably
short time, after the insect has settled to the business, the fluids
from the body commence to flow and circulate through the wings, and
these are seen gradually expanding and filling out until they attain
their proper size. Occasionally there is some obstruction to the equal
distribution of the fluids, and when this occurs a greater or lesser
amount of distortion, or cockle, in the wing affected is the result.
When the inflation is completed the wings are kept straight out for a
time; they are then motionless, but all their surfaces are well apart.
The wings being now fully developed, the further flow of fluid appears
to be arrested. It has been stated by some authorities that this fluid
is fibrin held in solution, and that when the work of expansion has been
accomplished, the watery medium evaporates, leaving the fibrin to
harden, and so fasten together the upper and lower membranes of the wing
and to fix the veins, or nerves, in their proper position. Mayer, a
specialist on these matters, referring to the expansion of the wings,
remarks that the blood [the fluid previously mentioned] forced into the
freshly emerged wing would cause it to become a balloon-shaped bag if it
were not for fibres that hold the upper and lower walls closely
together. The fibres referred to, he states, are derived from those
hypodermic cells which do not contribute to the formation of scales, but
are stretched out from one wall of the wing to the other.
It may be well now to briefly consider some of the structural details
of the perfect butterfly, so a beginning will be made with the head
(Fig. 6). When looking at the head of a butterfly, the first thing to
attract the attention is the very large size of the compound eye (_a_),
which seems to take up the largest share of the whole affair. Although
so bulky and so complex in the matter of divisions, or facets, as they
are termed (the facets are not shown in figure), the power of sight is
not really very keen. A butterfly can see things in a general way
readily enough, but it seems unable to clearly distinguish one object
from another. When engaged in egg-laying, the female butterfly rarely
fails to place her eggs on a leaf or spray of the plant that the future
caterpillar will feed upon, and it has been suggested that in making
this unerring selection the insect is guided more by the sense of smell
than by that of sight.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.
=Head of Butterfly.=
_a_, compound eye; _b_, palp; _c_, antenna; _d_, proboscis.]
The horns (_c_) (_antennæ_), or feelers, as they are sometimes called,
which adorn the head, are now considered to be organs of smell. These
are composed of a number of rings or segments, which vary in the
different kinds of butterfly, as also does the shape of the terminal
rings forming what is known as the club. In Fig. 7, _e_ (Purple Emperor)
and _f_ (Marbled White) represent the gradually thickened club; in _g_
(Brimstone) and _h_ (Dark-green Fritillary) the clubs are more or less
abruptly formed. Our Skippers have well-developed clubs; these may be
hooked at the tip as in _i_ (Large Skipper), or blunt at the tip as in
_j_ (Chequered Skipper); at the base of the Skipper's antenna, that is
at the point where it is inserted in the head, there is a tuft of rather
long hairs.
Of the various mouth parts it will only be necessary to refer to the
suction-tube, Fig. 6, _d_ (_proboscis_), often called the "tongue,"
which is perhaps the most important, at least to the butterfly itself,
as this organ is, in a way, as useful to it in the perfect state as were
the very differently constructed strong biting jaws (_mandibles_) of its
caterpillar existence. These latter in the butterfly are only
microscopically represented, and the suction-tube of the perfect insect
is an extension of the maxillæ, which in the caterpillar are not
conspicuous. When not engaged in probing the nectaries of flowers for
the sweets they contain, the suction-tube is neatly coiled up between
the palpi (Fig. 6, _b_). Its great flexibility is due to the many rings
of which it is composed. Although seemingly entire, it is really made up
of two tubes, each being grooved on its inner side, and forming, when
the edges are brought together, an additional central canal, through
which the sweets from the flowers and other liquids are drawn up into a
bulb-like receptacle in the head, whence it passes into the stomach.
When it is remembered that the passage of sweet, and no doubt sticky,
fluid through the central tube would most probably result in its walls
becoming clogged, there is reason to suppose that the method of
construction permits of the canal being cleansed from time to time.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.
=Antennæ of Butterflies.=]
The important divisions of the body are the thorax and the abdomen. The
former is made up of three segments (named the pro-, meso-, and
meta-thorax), each of which, as in the caterpillar state, is furnished
with a pair of legs; the second and third, which are closely united,
each bear a pair of wings also. The legs, which in the butterfly are
adapted for walking at a leisurely pace, are made up of four main parts;
these are (a) the basal joint (_coxa_, _coxæ_), (_b_) the thigh
(_femur_, _femora_), (_c_) the shank (_tibia_, _tibiæ_), and (_d_) the
foot (_tarsus_, _tarsi_). The small joint uniting the coxa with the
femur is the trochanter (_tr._). The foot usually has five joints, the
last of which is provided with claws (_e_). The abdomen really consists
of ten rings or segments according to some specialists. Examined from
above, the female butterfly appears to have only seven rings and the
male butterfly eight. This discrepancy arises from the fact that in the
former sex two rings and in the latter one ring are withdrawn into the
body, and so are tucked away out of sight. The organs of reproduction
are placed in the terminal ring. The breathing arrangements are pretty
much as in the caterpillar, but the external openings are not so
apparent owing to the dense clothing of the body.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.
=Leg of Butterfly.=]
The beauty of a butterfly's wings is intimately connected with the form
and colour of the scales with which they are covered, as with a kind of
mosaic; but before the scales and their method of attachment, etc., are
referred to, something should be said about the wings themselves. The
various shapes of these organs of flight will be seen on turning to the
plates, where will be found accurate portraits of every species that
will be dealt with in the descriptive section later on.
A butterfly's wing consists of an upper and a lower membrane, with a
framework of hollow tubes, acting as ribs, between the two layers. Fig.
9, A, shows a fore and a hind wing of the Swallow-tail butterfly. The
point of attachment with the thorax is the base of the wing, and the
edge farthest from the base is the outer margin (_termen_); the upper
edge, or front margin, is the costa; and the lower edge is the inner
margin (_dorsum_). The point where the upper margin meets the outer
margin on the fore wing is the apex, but on the hind wing it is called
the outer angle; the angle formed by the junction of outer and inner
margins is the inner angle of the fore wing, but the anal angle of the
hind wing. The term _tornus_ is sometimes used for this angle on either
wing. Dividing the wings transversely into three portions, we have three
areas, termed respectively basal, central or discal, and outer. These
are terms used in descriptions of butterflies, and it will be useful to
remember them.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.
=Butterflies' Wings.=]
The ribs of a butterfly's wings are by some authors described as veins,
whilst others style the main ones nervures, and the branches nervules.
Fig. 9, B, represents the venation, or neuration of the Black-veined
White, and the numeral system of indicating the veins has been adopted,
as it is the most simple. In another method of referring to the
venation, and one that has been much in use, vein 12 of the fore wing
would be styled the costal nervure, or vein; veins 11, 10, 9 (absent in
figure), 8, and 7 would be the subcostal nervules 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; 6
would become the upper radial, and 5 the lower radial; 2, 3, and 4 would
be the median nervules 1, 2, and 3; vein 1 would be the submedian
nervure, or vein. On the hind wing, vein 1_a_ would be the internal
vein; 1 the submedian; 2, 3, and 4 the median nervules; 5 the lower and
6 the upper radials; 7 the subcostal, and 8 the costal nervures. Just
near the base of the hind wing will be noted a short recurved vein
(p.c.); this is the precostal vein, and so named because it comes before
the costal. It is always absent in some species. Comparing the venation
of A and B, it will be seen that in A the fore wing has 12 veins and the
hind wing 8 veins, whilst in B there are only 11 veins on the fore wing,
but the hind wing has one vein more than that of A. In the Black-veined
White, vein 9 is absent on the fore wing, and on the hind wing there is
one internal vein.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.
=Arrangement of Scales.=
(_After Holland._)]
Dust-like as they appear to the naked eye, the scales from a
butterfly's wing seen under the microscope are found to be exceedingly
interesting structures and very varied in shape. Dr. Sharp describes
them as "delicate chitinous bags." Chitin, it may be mentioned, is the
horny substance of which the chrysalis shell is formed, and this was
adverted to when discussing the chrysalis stage as a varnish-like ooze.
As seen on the wings, the scales are flattened and the upper and under
sides are then almost, or quite, brought together. They are attached in
lines on the membrane or covering of the wing by short stalks which fit
into sockets in the membrane. The arrangement of the scales, which has
often been stated to resemble that of the slates on a roof, is shown in
Fig. 10.
Colour is chiefly due to pigment contained in the scale or adhering to
the interior of its upper side. Pigments, according to Mayer, are
derived, by various chemical processes, from the blood while the
butterfly is still in the chrysalis. Some scales have minute parallel
lines (_striæ_) on their upper sides, and rays of light falling on these
are turned aside or broken up, and so produce changes in the colouring
of a wing, according to the angle from which it is looked at.
The males of many kinds of butterfly have special scales, which are
known as androconia, or plumules. It is believed that these are scent
organs. Whatever their particular use may be to the possessor, these
androconia enable the entomologist to distinguish male specimens from
females with great certainty. In the Fritillaries they are placed on one
or more of the median nervules (veins 2, 3, and 4) of the fore wing. In
the Meadow Brown and its kindred they form brands on the disc of the
fore wing. In the Skippers they are placed in a fold of the costa in
some species, and in other species they are clustered together, into
more or less bar-like marks, about the middle of the fore wings. Some of
these various shaped "plumules" are shown in the illustrations.
In the foregoing sketch of the life cycle of a butterfly, the object
has been to condense as much necessary information as possible into a
limited space. Many matters of importance to the student have not been
touched on, but it was considered that, as these were more especially
connected with a higher scientific phase of the subject than would here
be found helpful, they might be omitted.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.
=Butterfly Plumules.=
_a._ Tufted Plumule (Satyrs);
_b._ Bristle Plumule (Grizzled Skipper);
_c._ Hair Plumule (Dingy Skipper);
_d._ Jointed Plumule (Silver-studded Skipper);
_e._ Bladder Plumule (Common Blue);
_f._ Dotted Plumule (White-letter Hairstreak).
(_After Aurivillius._)]
Collecting.
Naturally the first matter for consideration, when the formation of a
collection of butterflies has been decided upon, is how to set about it.
Well, there are two methods of effecting our purpose. The specimens may
be purchased from a dealer in such things, or we may acquire an outfit
comprising net, boxes, and pins, and go in search of the insects
ourselves. Apart from its healthful and entertaining possibilities, the
latter method has very much to recommend it. In the first place, those
who are at all observant--and no true lover of Nature can be suspected
of being otherwise--will become acquainted with the objects under
natural conditions, and so be enabled to appreciate them more highly
than could be the case if they were obtained in any other way. The chief
purpose in making a collection of Natural History specimens should be
study of some kind rather than mere accumulation.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.
=Y-piece.=]
[Sidenote: Nets.]
The net may be a simple cane ring one of home construction, or the more
elaborate, but not necessarily more efficient, fabrication of
steel-jointed ring with grenadine bag and telescopic handle. A good
serviceable butterfly-net may be fitted up as follows. Procure a light
flexible cane, about 3 feet or so in length. Next, a Y-shaped holder
(Fig. 12) for the two ends of the cane will have to be made, and either
tin or brass may be used for the purpose. The latter is the better
metal, and the parts should be brazed and not soldered together. (If
difficulty is experienced in the manufacture of this article, it may be
obtained from any dealer in entomological requisites for a few pence.)
The bag may be made of leno, tarletan, or fine mosquito netting; the
latter is the most serviceable, and should be used wherever it can be
obtained. The size of the bag at the top, where it has a wide band to
take the cane, should not exceed the circumference of the cane ring when
fitted in the two arms of the Y-piece; the depth should be just a little
less than the length of one's arm, and the bottom should be rounded off
so that no corners are available for the butterflies to get into and
damage their wings. An opening about 3 inches in length is left in the
seam of the bag just under the Y-piece, so that the cane may be removed
and rolled up when the net is put out of action. The ring band should be
covered with some stouter material to prevent it from fraying, thin
leather is sometimes used for this purpose; the slit in the seam also
requires protecting on each side, and strengthening at the lower end by
a crosspiece. An ordinary walking-stick, with the ferrule end thrust
into the longer tube of the Y, will serve as a handle to the complete
net.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.
=Kite or Balloon Net.=]
The dealers adverted to above generally stock a variety of nets ready
fitted for use. Among these is a very useful pattern known as the kite
or balloon net (Fig. 13). This is made in two sizes, and as the writer
has used this kind of net for at least twenty years, he is able to speak
well of its merits. It does not need a stick for ordinary work, and the
long end of the socket should be about 9 inches in length.
The "ring" being made of four separate rods, in addition to the Y-piece,
some care will have to be taken when a balloon net is unshipped. It will
be found a good plan to leave the two short curved canes in the hem or
band of the bag, remove the two straight arms from the Y-piece and the
band, place these on top of the bag when folded, and then roll all up
together. A canvas or linen pouch or pocket, opening at one end, may be
made to contain the whole affair.
The umbrella-net, when in its case, looks very like the familiar "gamp."
Its chief merit is that it is quickly put up for use, and its principal
defect is that the stick, which crosses the mouth of the bag, frequently
damages the quarry.
Another implement of the chase known as the "Ortner" net is used pretty
extensively on the Continent. English entomologists who have used it
speak of it most favourably. Its great advantage over other nets is
found in the simple and rapid method of its adjustment for use.
In connection with nets it may be well to advise the wielder to remember
that carrying a threaded needle is a useful practice. Tears and rents
are apt to occur, and it is well to have the means of repair handy.
[Sidenote: Killing.]
Some collectors seem to be expert at killing butterflies by pressing the
sides of the thorax together. The method is not, however, as
satisfactory as one could wish, and so no more need be said about it.
For the happy despatch of insects, the cyanide bottle is frequently
used. All that has to be done is to clap the open bottle over the
captive while still in the net, then draw the gauze or what-not over the
mouth of the bottle until the bung can be inserted, and the whole affair
withdrawn from the net.
Cyanide of potassium is a deadly poison, and no inexperienced person
should attempt to charge a cyanide bottle himself. In fact, chemists are
not permitted to supply the poison to unknown customers. Under certain
conditions, however, a chemist might consent to make up a killing
bottle, and the following instructions may help him in doing this. A
fairly strong, clear glass bottle, holding about 4 to 6 ounces; the
mouth must be pretty wide, and closed with a well-fitting bung that has
been dipped in melted wax; if the bung is of fine grained cork, the wax
will not be needed. At the bottom of the bottle place a thick layer of
the cyanide, and over this pour plaster of Paris which has been mixed
with water and converted into a cream-like paste: one-third of the depth
of the bottle to be occupied by the poison and plaster, but only a thin
layer of the latter should cover the former.
Dealers who supply cyanide bottles (uncharged) also have in stock a
brass bottle for chloroform, which some people prefer as a killing agent
because it does not change the colour of insects as cyanide is
occasionally apt to do. In using this, the insect should be boxed, then
a drop of the chloroform may be allowed to run from the bottle over the
perforated lid or bottom of the box, and a finger put over the hole or
holes for a short time.
The majority of butterflies, if transferred to pill boxes from the net,
settle down quietly. In this way they may be taken to one's home and
there placed, boxes and all, into the ammonia jar, a simple but very
effective contrivance. To start one of these lethal chambers, procure a
good sized pickle jar, one of the brown earthenware kind, holding about
2 gallons. At the bottom put in several layers of stout blotting-paper,
and have ready a covering for the mouth of the jar. This covering may be
of skin, waterproof-apron material, or even thick brown paper. Before
turning the boxes into the jar, lift up the blotting-paper, drop in
about half a teaspoonful of strong liquid ammonia (·880) and replace
blotting-paper. Directly the boxes are in the jar, put on cover and tie
it down securely. If brown paper is used, a piece of pasteboard should
be put over it and a weight on top of that. Suffocation takes place
directly the gas reaches the insect, but it often happens that one or
more of the boxes exclude the gas longer than others. At the end of half
an hour all may be removed, but the insects will not hurt in any way if
left in all night.
The best kind of boxes for field work are those known as "glass
bottomed," as in these the captives can be examined and, if not wanted,
may be set free. It is always better to retain only those specimens that
we know are really useful, rather than to incur the necessity of
throwing away insects after we have deprived them of life.
[Sidenote: Pinning.]
If butterflies are pinned on the spot, a collecting box will be
required, and the most useful and convenient is one of an oval shape.
This should be made of zinc, and lined with cork that is held in place
by zinc clips. The cork should be kept damp when in use, and the water
used for damping should have a few drops of carbolic acid mixed with it
so as to prevent the formation of mould. Insects may remain in such a
box for several days without injury. This box will also be useful for
relaxing specimens that have been badly set, or have been simply pinned
during the busy season.
In the matter of pins, it is not altogether easy to make suggestions.
There are, perhaps, only two makers in this country of entomological
pins, and each of these supplies a large number of sizes. The selection
of suitable pins will largely depend on the method of setting adopted.
Black pins are, however, the best for butterflies, and are now used
almost exclusively.
In pinning a specimen care should be taken that the pin passes in a
direct line through the centre of the thorax. Insects that are properly
pinned set better, and have a neat appearance when arranged in the
collection. For regulating the height of specimens on the pin, a handy
graduated stage has been devised by Dr. Scarancke (see Fig. 14). Each of
the little rests are hollowed to receive the body of the insect, so
suppose we wish a quarter of an inch of the pin to show below the body
of a specimen, the pin is pushed through a perforation in the centre of
the rest groove marked "3/16" until the point touches the wooden base,
and we have the required length.
Beginners would, perhaps, find three sizes of pins quite sufficient for
almost every purpose--say, Nos. 10, 8, and 5 of one maker; or Nos. 9,
17, and 5 of the other. In each case the first size pin would be
suitable for small butterflies, the second size for all other
butterflies except quite the largest, for which No. 5 would remain.
English pins are sold by the ounce.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.
=Pinning Stage.=]
[Sidenote: Setting.]
Setting, as it is called, that is, spreading out and fixing the wings
so that all their parts are displayed, arranging the horns, etc., is
perhaps the most tedious work that the collector will be called upon to
perform. The various methods will be referred to, and he must then
decide as to which he will adopt. Each style may possibly be found to
have its difficulties at first; but time and patience will overcome
these, therefore he must be prepared for a good deal of troublesome
practice before he quite gets "the hang of the thing," and can set out
his specimens without removing a greater or lesser number of the scales.
First, as to the flat and high setting as practised by almost every
lepidopterist abroad and by some in our own country. Boards of the
pattern, shown in the illustration, will be required; also some tracing
cloth, and a pair of entomological forceps, bead-headed pins, etc. In
these boards, it will be noticed, the sides tilt outwards; this is to
allow for drooping of the wings, which generally occurs after insects
are removed from the "sets." In this case the wings would settle dead
flat, which is considered to be the acme of perfection in this style of
setting. Carlsbad or other foreign pins would be used for this kind of
work. They are of a uniform length, about one inch and a half, but vary
in thickness, and are usually sold by the 100 or 1000.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.
=Board for Flat-setting.=]
Manipulation of the specimen on these boards is as follows. Having
carefully pinned it, leaving the greater length of pin below the insect,
guide the pin carefully through the narrow opening (_a_ Fig. 15) and the
cork (Fig. 16) below to a suitable depth, so that the body of the insect
rests in the groove and the wings lie easily on the board. Then take two
strips of tracing cloth, glazed side downwards, and pin them on at the
end of each side of the setting-board (Fig. 17). The strip should be
just wide enough to cover all but the basal part of the wings. Now pass
the strips over the wings, press one side lightly with the fingers of
the left hand while the wings are moved into position with the setting
needle (a fine needle with eye end fixed into the stick of a small
penholder will do for this) from the uncovered base, a pin being
inserted below the fore wing while the hind wing is brought into
position, but when this has been done and another pin inserted to keep
it in place, as shown in the diagram, the first pin may be removed;
repeat the same operation on the other side. Other pins will be required
to keep the horns, etc., in place. In dealing with the next specimen the
strips will have to be turned back while it is fixed into position, then
proceed as before. An imaginary line following the inner margin of the
fore wings and passing through the pin on the thorax is an excellent
guide to uniformity in setting. The groove will prevent the pin leaning
to either side, but care should be taken that it does not incline either
forwards or backwards. The strip of tracing cloth may be used more than
once, but the roughness of the pin holes should be removed by drawing
the strip across the back of a knife.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.
=Longitudinal Section of Setting-board.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.
=Setting-board in use.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 18.
="Saddle" Setting-board.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 19.
=Setting-bristle.=]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.
=Brace and Band Modes of setting.=]
The setting-boards most frequently used in this country have sloping
sides, and are known as saddles (Fig. 18). Where tracing cloth is used,
the _modus operandi_ is exactly similar to that just described, but
small pins will do for pinning down the strips, as the saddles are made
of cork, or cork carpet, instead of wood.
The following method of setting butterflies on the English kind of
"board" or saddle is frequently adopted. Select a suitable saddle, that
is one that has the groove wide enough to take the body, and rather
wider than the wings when expanded. A setting bristle will then be
required. This is made, as shown in Fig. 19, by fixing a fairly long and
stout bristle, or a very fine needle, or a thin length of quill, in a
cube of cork; the cork cube has a stoutish and sharp-pointed pin pushed
through it as indicated. Having placed the first insect on the saddle
with its body comfortably resting in the groove and the wings flush with
the surface, the setting bristle is then brought into action. The point
of the pin is rested on the saddle directly in the rear of the hind
wing, and the top of the bristle touching the saddle in advance of the
front wing. Tilt the pin slightly forward until the bristle presses
lightly on the central area of the wings, then with the setting needle
push the wings into the required position, and at the same time drive
pin of bristle into the saddle. After the wings have been secured by
means of braces (triangular pieces of thin card or stout paper, with a
pin through the base of the triangle), proceed in the same way with the
other side. Finally, fix a brace to the tip and angle of each fore wing
to keep them from turning up in drying, and a pin or two may be required
for the horns if these are not in a good position. Instead of using
braces, a strip of transparent paper may be pinned over the wings beyond
the bristle, but in this case the bristle must be pressed across the
wings at a point nearer their base than in the previous method (see
lower figure in Fig. 20). In lieu of a setting bristle a length of
sewing cotton may be used. Tie a double knot at one end, and through
this pass the point of a pin in such a way that the cotton lies flush on
the saddle when in use. Insert the pin firmly in the saddle a little in
advance of the fore wing, then draw the cotton downwards across the
wings and hold it taut, with the fore finger of the left hand placed on
it just in rear of the hind wing. Whilst so held the wings can be got
into pose with the setting needle, and braces may then be applied as
previously directed.
Fig. 21 shows a specimen set by a method that is in vogue in the north.
Blocks of soft pine, grooved and bevelled as in the cork saddle, are
easily made. Down the centre of the groove there is a saw cut for the
point of the pin to enter, and nicks are cut along the bottom edge at
each end. One end of a length of cotton is knotted and fixed in a nick,
then a turn is taken over the wings on one side; these are placed in
position and secured by other turns of the cotton. The other side is
then treated in the same manner, and the end of the cotton fastened off
in one of the nicks. This is a quick and, in skilled hands, a very neat
method.
As specimens after being set will have to remain on the setting boards
or saddles for at least a fortnight, it will be necessary to protect
them not only from dust, but from possible attack by ants, cockroaches,
mice, etc. This is best ensured by placing the sets into a receptacle
called a setting or drying house. Dealers supply these, but the young
collector may have a knowledge of carpentry and could make one for
himself. The height and depth of such a construction would depend upon
the number and the width of the boards or saddles that would be put
therein. The width would be that of the length of the boards, which is
usually 14 inches. About a quarter of an inch of cork is cut off each
end of the saddles, and grooves are cut in the sides of the house for
these to run in. The back and the door should have a square of fine
perforated zinc inserted in them for ventilation. As an example of
holding capacity it may be well to note that a house with a height of 12
inches, and a depth of 6 inches, inside measurement, would take eighteen
2-inch boards if the grooves were cut at 2 inches apart, or twenty-four
boards of same width if 1-1/2 inch only were allowed between the
grooves.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.
=Cotton Method of setting.=]
In taking insects off the sets, the braces or strips should be removed
from the wings, and the pins from the horns, with care, as a good deal
of damage can be done in the performance of this operation, simple as it
seems to be. A little twist of a brace and away goes a patch of scales,
a side slip of a pin and off comes a horn.
Pending the arrival of that twelve or twenty drawer cabinet, the
beginner will probably be content to arrange his specimens in boxes. A
handy sized box is one measuring 14 inches by 10 when closed, and it
should have a cell for naphthaline.
Before putting the specimens away into boxes or drawers they should be
labelled with the date of capture, the locality, the name of the captor,
and any other detail of interest in connection with it. All these
particulars may be written on small squares of paper and put on the pins
under the specimens.
Cabinets or boxes containing insects should always stand where they are
free from damp, otherwise mould may make its appearance on the
specimens. Mouldy insects may be cleaned, but they never look nice
afterwards; so it will be well to bear in mind that prevention is better
than cure. Where drawers and boxes are not properly attended to in the
matter of naphthaline, mites are apt to enter and cause injury to the
specimens. If these pests should effect a lodgment, a little benzine
poured on the bottom of box or drawer will quickly kill them. The
benzine, if pure, will not make the least stain, and of course the
drawer or box must be closed directly the benzine is put in. Do this
only in the daytime.
Rearing butterflies from the egg is much practised, and is a very
excellent way. One not only obtains specimens in fine condition, but
gains knowledge of the early stages at the same time. The eggs of most
of the Whites, the Orange-tip, the Brimstone, and some others are not
difficult to obtain, but searching the food-plants for the eggs of many
of the butterflies is tiresome work, and not altogether remunerative.
Females may be watched when engaged in egg-laying, and having marked the
spot, step in when she has left and rob the "nest." The best plan is to
capture a few females and enclose them in roomy, wide-mouthed bottles,
or a gauze cage, putting in with them a sprig or two of the food-plant
placed in a holder containing water. The mouth of the bottle should be
covered with gauze or leno, and a bit of moistened sugar put on the top
outside. Either bottle or cage must be stood in the sunshine, but it
must be remembered that the butterflies require plenty of air as well as
sunshine, and that they can have too much of the latter.
PART II.
DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES.
The Swallow-tail (_Papilio machaon_).
The Swallow-tail butterfly is the only British member of the extensive
and universally distributed sub-family Papilioninæ, which includes some
of the largest as well as the most handsome kinds of butterfly. Our
species has yellow wings ornamented with black, blue, and red, and is an
exceedingly attractive insect. The black markings are chiefly a large
patch at the base of the fore wings, this is powdered with yellow
scales; a band, also powdered with yellow, runs along the outer or hind
portion of all the wings. There are also three black spots on the front
or costal margin, and the veins are black. The bands vary in width, and
that on the hind wings is usually clouded more or less with blue. At the
lower angle of the hind wings there is a somewhat round patch of red,
and occasionally there are splashes of red on the yellow crescents
beyond the band. The male and female are shown on Plate 2.
The eggs are laid on leaflets of the milk parsley (_Peucedanum
palustre_), which in the fenny home of the butterfly is perhaps the
chief food-plant of the caterpillar. This is one of the few eggs of
British butterflies that I have not seen. Buckler says that it is
globular in shape, of good size, greenish yellow in colour when first
laid, quickly turning to green, and afterwards becoming purplish.
The caterpillar when full grown, as figured on Plate 1, is bright green
with an orange-spotted black band on each ring of the body, and blackish
tinged with bluish between the rings. The head is yellow striped with
black. When it first leaves the egg-shell, which it eats, the
caterpillar is black with a noticeable white patch about the middle of
the body. After the third change of skin it assumes the green colour,
and at the same time a remarkable =V=-shaped fleshy structure of a
pinkish or orange colour is developed. This is the _osmaterium_, and is
said to emit a strong smell, which has been compared to that of a
decaying pine-apple. The organ, which is extended in the figure of the
full-grown caterpillar, is not always in evidence, but when the
caterpillar is annoyed the forked arrangement makes its appearance from
a fold in the forepart of the ring nearest the head. Other food-plants
besides milk parsley are angelica (_Angelica sylvestris_), fennel
(_Foeniculum vulgare_), wild carrot (_Daucus carota_), etc. From eggs
laid in May or June caterpillars hatch in from ten to twelve days, and
these attain the chrysalis state in about six or seven weeks. If the
season is a favourable one, that is fine and warm, some of the
butterflies should appear in August, the others remaining in the
chrysalids until May or June of the following year; a few may even pass
a second winter in the chrysalis. Caterpillars from eggs laid by the
August females may be found in September, nearly or quite full grown,
and chrysalids from October onwards throughout the winter. They are most
frequently seen on the stems of reeds, but they may also be found on
stems or sprays of the food-plants, as well as on bits of stick, etc. It
would, however, be practically useless to search for the late chrysalids
as the reeds are usually cut down in October, when the fenmen keep a
sharp look-out for them, and few are likely to escape detection in any
place that would be accessible to the entomologist.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 2.
=Swallow-tail Butterfly.=
1 _male_; 2 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 3.
=Black-veined White Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
On Plate 1 three forms of the chrysalis are shown. The figures are drawn
from specimens collected in Wicken Fen in October, 1905. Occasionally a
much darker, nearly black, form is found.
This butterfly was known to Petiver and other early eighteenth-century
entomologists as the Royal William. There is every reason to believe
that at one time it was far more widely distributed in England than it
now is. Stephens, writing in 1827, states that it was formerly abundant
at Westerham, and gives several other localities, some very near to
London.
During the last twenty-five years or so, the butterfly has been seen on
the wing, from time to time, in various parts of the Southern and
Midland counties. Caterpillars have also been found at large in Kent.
Possibly attempts may have been made to establish the species in certain
parts of England, and the presence of odd specimens in strange places
may thus be accounted for. Or such butterflies may have escaped from
some one who had reared them.
On the Continent the butterfly is common in woods as well as in meadows,
and even on mountains up to an elevation of 5000 feet. It occurs also,
but less commonly, at much higher altitudes. It therefore seems strange
that in England it should be confined to the low-lying fens of Norfolk
and Cambridgeshire. Such is the case, however, and a journey to one or
other of its localities will have to be made by those who wish to see
this beautiful creature in its English home.
It may be added that the geographical range of the butterfly extends
eastwards through Asia as far as Japan. A form, known as the Alaskan
Swallow-tail, is found in Alaska.
* * * * *
The following ten species belong to the Pierinæ, another sub-family of
Papilionidæ.
The Black-veined White (_Aporia cratægi_).
The Black-veined White (Plate 4) may be at once recognized by its
roundish white wings and their conspicuous veins, which latter are black
in the male butterfly, and in the female brownish on the main ones
(nervures) and black on the branches (nervules). As the scales on the
wings are denser in the male than in the female, the former always
appears to be the whiter insect. On the outer margin of the fore wings
there are more or less triangular patches of dusky scales, and these in
occasional specimens are so large that their edges almost or quite meet,
and so form an irregular, dusky border to the fore wings. These patches
are also present on the hind wings, but are not so well defined.
Sometimes the patches are absent from all the wings. The fringes of the
wings are so short that they appear to be wanting altogether. The early
stages are figured on Plate 3.
The egg is upright and ribbed from about the middle to the curiously
ornamented top, which appears to be furnished with a sort of coronet.
The colour is at first honey-yellow, then darker yellow, and just before
the caterpillar hatches, greyish. The eggs are laid in a cluster on the
upper side of a leaf of sloe, hawthorn, or plum, etc., in the month of
July.
The caterpillar when full grown is tawny brown with paler hairs
arising from white warts; the stripes along the sides and back are
black. The under parts are greyish. The head, legs, and spiracles are
blackish. Caterpillars hatch from the egg in August, and then live
together in a common habitation which is formed of silk and whitish in
colour. They come out in the morning and again in the evening to feed,
but a few leaves are generally enclosed in their tenement. In October
they seem to retire for the winter and reappear in the spring. During
May they become full grown and then enter the chrysalis state. The
butterflies are on the wing at the end of June and in July.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 4.
=Black-veined White Butterfly.=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 5.
=Large White Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids._]
The chrysalis is creamy white, sometimes tinged with greenish, and
dotted with black.
This butterfly was mentioned as English by Merret in 1667, and by Ray in
1710. Albin in 1731, who wrote of it as the White Butterfly with black
veins, figures the caterpillar and the chrysalis, and states that
caterpillars found by him in April turned to chrysalids early in May and
to butterflies in June. Moses Harris in 1775 gave a more extended
account of the butterfly's life-history, and what he then wrote seems to
tally almost exactly with what is known of its habits to-day. This
species has seemingly always been somewhat uncertain in its appearance
in England. Authors from Haworth (1803) to Stephens (1827) mention
Chelsea, Coombe Wood in Surrey, and Muswell Hill in Middlesex, among
other localities for the butterfly. It has also been recorded at one
time or another, between 1844 and 1872, from many of the Midland and
Southern counties. In 1867 it was found in large numbers, about
mid-summer, in hay fields in Monmouthshire. The latest information
concerning the appearance of the species in South Wales relates to the
year 1893, when several caterpillars and four butterflies were noted on
May 22 in the Newport district. At one time it was not uncommon in the
New Forest, but no captures of the butterfly in Hampshire have been
recorded during the last quarter of a century. At the present time it is
probably most regularly obtained in a Kentish locality, presumably in
the Isle of Thanet, which is only known to a few collectors. It may be
mentioned that some thirty years ago caterpillars of the Black-veined
White could be obtained from a Canterbury dealer at a few shillings per
gross.
The species is widely distributed, and often abundant, on the
Continent, and its range extends through Western and Northern Asia to
Yesso, Northern Japan.
The Large White (_Pieris brassicæ_).
This butterfly is probably almost as familiar to those who dwell in
towns as it must be to those who live in the country. It is perhaps
unnecessary to describe it in any detail, and it may therefore suffice
to say that it is white with rather broad black tips to the fore wings;
there are some black scales along the front margin of these wings, and
on the basal area of all the wings. The male has a black spot on the
front margin of the hind wings, and the female has, in addition, two
roundish black spots on the fore wings, with a black dash from the lower
one along the inner margin.
As there is a rather important difference between the specimens of the
spring (_vernal_) and the summer (_æstival_) broods, figures of a male
and a female of each brood, and showing the upper and under sides, are
given. Those on Plate 6 represent the spring form, which was at one time
considered to be a distinct species, and named _chariclea_ by Stephens.
Plate 9 shows the summer form. The chief point of difference is to be
noted in the tips of the fore wings, which in the spring butterflies are
usually, but not invariably, greyish; in the summer butterflies the tips
are black, as a rule, but not in every case.
Occasionally the black on tip of the fore wing in the female is
increased in width, and from it streaks project inwards towards the
upper discal spot. In some examples of the male there is a more or less
distinct blackish spot on the disc of the fore wings. Very rarely the
ground colour is creamy or sulphur tinted.
The greenish tinge about the veins, sometimes seen in these butterflies,
is due to some accidental cause, probably injury to the veins.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 6.
=Large White Butterfly (Spring Brood)=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 7.
=Small White Butterfly=
_Resting._]
The egg is yellowish in colour, somewhat skittle-shaped, and very
prettily ribbed and reticulated. On Plate 5 there are two figures of the
egg from enlarged drawings by Herr Max Gillmer, to whom I am greatly
indebted for the loan of them. In the figure on the right, the dark spot
at the shoulder of the egg represents the head of the young caterpillar,
and in that on the left is seen the caterpillar about to come out of the
egg. The head is already out, and the jaws have left their mark on the
egg-shell. Most caterpillars of the Whites, as well as those of other
butterflies, devour their egg-shells.
The eggs are laid in batches of from six to over one hundred in each
batch. They are placed on end, and on either side of a leaf, chiefly
cabbage. Herr Gillmer writes that he watched a female depositing her
eggs on a leaf of white cabbage in the hot sunshine, and found that she
laid twenty-seven in about nine minutes. A previous observer had timed a
female, and noted that she produced eggs at the rate of about four in
the minute. Caterpillars hatch from the egg in about seven days in the
summer. The caterpillar (Plate 5) when full grown is green tinged with
blue or grey above, and greenish beneath. There are numerous short
whitish hairs arising from little warts on the back and sides; the lines
are yellow. The caterpillars feed in July, and sometimes again in
September and October, on all plants of the cabbage tribe, and also on
tropæolum and mignonette. A number of these caterpillars may often be
seen crowded together on a cabbage leaf, and they sometimes abound to
such an extent that much loss is sustained by growers of this most
useful vegetable. A peculiarity of these caterpillars is that even when
not numerous, their presence is indicated by an evil smell that proceeds
from them. The unpleasantness of the odour is greatly intensified if the
caterpillars are trodden upon.
The chrysalis (Plate 5) is of a grey colour, more or less spotted with
black and streaked with yellow. It is often to be seen fixed
horizontally under the copings of walls, the top bar of a fence, or a
window-sill; but it sometimes affects the upright position when fastened
in the angle formed by two pales. A position that affords some measure
of protection from weather is generally selected.
Although this butterfly is almost annually to be seen, in greater or
lesser numbers, throughout the country, it is occasionally scarce,
either generally or in some parts of the British Islands. For example,
during the past year (1905) it was abnormally plentiful in Ireland, but
at the same time comparatively rare in England. It is a migratory
species, and no doubt its abundance in any year in these islands is
dependent on the arrival of a large number of immigrants. Possibly in
some years none of the migrant butterflies reach our shores, and that it
is largely to this failure the rarity of the species in such years is to
be attributed. Caterpillars resulting from alien butterflies may
absolutely swarm in the autumn of one year, but the eccentricities of an
English winter may be too much for the vitality of such of them as
escape their enemies, _Apanteles glomeratus_, and other so-called
"ichneumons," and reach the chrysalis state. So, with immigration on the
one hand and destructive agencies on the other, it may be understood how
it comes about that the Large White is sometimes abundant and sometimes
scarce.
This species seems to range over the whole of the British Islands, with
the exception, perhaps, of the Shetlands. Abroad, it has been found in
all parts of the Palæarctic Region, except the extreme north, and
Eastern Asia.
The Small White (_Pieris rapæ_).
The Small White butterfly (Plate 11) is, perhaps, more often in
evidence then its larger kinsman just referred to. It also is a migrant,
and although it never seems to be absent from these islands, in its
proper season, its great increase in numbers in some years is almost
certainly due to the arrival of immigrants.
The spring form of this butterfly, named _metra_ by Stephens, who,
together with others, considered it a good species, has the tips of the
fore wings only slightly clouded with black; and the black spots near
the centre of the wings are always more or less faint in the male.
Sometimes the central spot and also the blackish clouding of the tip are
entirely absent. The summer brood, on the other hand, has fairly
blackish tips and distinct black spots--one in the male and three in the
female, the lower one lying on the inner margin. Occasionally examples
of this flight bear a strong resemblance to the Green-veined White, the
next species. The wings are sometimes, chiefly in Ireland, of a creamy
colour, more especially in the female, or, more rarely, of a yellowish
tint. In North America, where this species was accidentally or
intentionally introduced some years ago, bright yellow forms are not
uncommon in some localities, and the variety is there known as
_novangliæ_.
In certain favourable years a partial third brood has occurred, but such
specimens are often small in size.
The egg (Plate 8) is at first pale greenish, but later on it turns
yellowish, and this tint it retains until just before the caterpillar
hatches out.
The caterpillar when full-grown has a brownish head and a green body;
the latter is sprinkled with black and clothed with short blackish hairs
emitted from pale warts. There is a yellowish line on the back, and a
line formed of yellow spots on the side. It feeds on most plants of the
cabbage tribe, and in flower gardens on mignonette and nasturtiums. It
is often attacked by parasites, and especially by the _Apanteles_,
referred to as destructive to caterpillars of the Large White.
The chrysalis may be of various tints, ranging from pale brown, through
grey to greenish; the markings are black, but these are sometimes only
faint. It is to be found in similar situations to those chosen by the
caterpillar of the last species, but often under the lower rail of a
fence or board of a wooden building. Where caterpillars have been
feeding in a garden, they often enter greenhouses, among other places,
to pupate; and where these structures are heated during the winter, the
butterflies sometimes emerge quite early in the year. Distributed
throughout the British Islands, except the Hebrides and Shetlands. It is
common over the whole of Europe, and extends through Asia to China and
Japan. In America, where it was introduced into the United States some
forty-five years ago, it has now spread northwards into Canada, and also
southwards.
The Green-veined White (_Pieris napi_).
This butterfly is not often seen away from its favourite haunts in the
country; these are woods, especially the sunny sides, leafy lanes, and
even marsh land. As in the case of the two Whites previously noticed,
there are always two broods in the year. The first flight of the
butterflies is in May and June, occasionally as early as April in a
forward season. These specimens have the veins tinged with grey and
rather distinct, but are not so strongly marked with black as those
belonging to the second flight, which occurs in late July and throughout
August. This seasonal variation, as it is called, is also most clearly
exhibited on the under side. In the May and June butterfly (Plate 13,
left side) the veins below are greenish-grey, and those of the hind
wings are broadly bordered also with this colour. In the bulk of the
July and August specimens (Plate 13, right side) only the nervures are
shaded with greenish-grey, and the nervules are only faintly, or not at
all, marked with this colour.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 8.
=Small White Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 9.
=Large White Butterfly (Summer Brood).=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
Now and then a specimen of the first brood may assume the characters
properly belonging to the specimens of the second brood; and, on the
other hand, a butterfly of the second brood may closely resemble one of
the first brood. As a rule, however, the seasonal differences referred
to are fairly constant. By rearing this species from the egg it has been
ascertained that part (sometimes the smaller) of a brood from eggs laid
in June attains the butterfly stage the same year, and the other part
remains in the chrysalis until the following spring, the butterflies in
each set being of the form proper to the time of emergence.
The strongly-marked specimens (Plate 14) are from Ireland, and are of
the first or spring brood. The seasonal variation in this species is not
so well defined in Ireland as in England.
A form of variation in the female, and most frequent perhaps in Irish
specimens, is a tendency of the spots on the upper side of the fore
wings to spread and run together, and so form an interrupted band.
Specimens with a distinct creamy tint on the wings are sometimes met
with, but such varieties, as well as yellow ones (var. _flava_, Kane),
are probably more often obtained in Ireland and Scotland than in
England. Occasionally male specimens of the second brood have two black
spots on the disc of the wing. Some forms of this butterfly have been
named, and these will now be referred to.
_Sabellicæ_ (Petiver), Stephens, has been considered as a species
distinct from _P. napi_, L. Stephens ("Brit. Entom. Haust.," I. Pl.
iii., Figs. 3, 4) figured a male and a female as _sabellicæ_, which he
states differs from _napi_ in having shorter and more rounded
yellowish-white wings. No locality or date is given in the text (p. 21)
for the specimens figured; but referring to another example which he
took at Highgate on June 4, he says that it agrees with his Fig. 2.
Probably, however, it was his second figure that he intended, the Fig. 4
of the plate, which is a female. This is rather more heavily marked with
dusky scales than is usual in specimens of the first brood, at least in
England, although it agrees in this respect with some Irish June
examples. Fig. 3 represents a male which certainly seems to be referable
to the spring form. Most authors give _sabellicæ_ as belonging to the
summer flight, but this does not seem to be correct.
Var. _napææ_ is a large form of the summer brood, occurring commonly on
the Continent, in which the veins on the under side of the hind wings
are only faintly shaded with greenish-grey. Occasionally specimens are
taken in this country in August, which both from their size and faint
markings on the under side seem to be referable to this form.
Var. _bryoniæ_ is an Alpine form of the female, and in colour is dingy
yellow or ochreous, with the veins broadly suffused with blackish grey,
sometimes so broadly as to hide the greater part of the ground colour.
This form does not occur in any part of the British Islands, but some
specimens from Ireland and from the north of Scotland somewhat approach
it.
All the early stages are shown on Plate 10.
The egg is of a pale straw colour when first laid, but it soon turns to
greenish, and as the caterpillar within matures, the shell of the egg
becomes paler. The ribs seem to be fourteen in number.
The eggs are laid singly on hedge garlic (_Sisymbrium alliaria_) and
other kinds of plants belonging to the Cruciferæ. The egg in the
illustration was laid on a seed-pod of hedge garlic, but the caterpillar
that hatched from it was reared on leaves of garden "nasturtium" and
wallflower.
The caterpillar when full grown is green above, with black warts,
from which arise whitish and blackish hairs. There is a darker line
along the back, and a yellow line low down on the sides. Underneath the
colour is whitish-grey. The spiracular line is dusky, but not
conspicuous, and the spiracles are blackish surrounded with yellow. It
has been stated that caterpillars fed upon hedge garlic and horseradish
produce light butterflies, and that those reared on mignonette and
watercress produce dark butterflies. Barrett mentions having reared a
brood of the caterpillars upon a bunch of watercress placed in water and
stood in a sunny window, but he does not refer to anything peculiar
about the butterflies resulting therefrom. He states, however, that from
eggs laid in June the earliest butterfly appeared within a month, and
the remainder by the middle of August, only one remaining in the
chrysalis until the following June.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 10.
=Green-veined White Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 11.
=Small White Butterfly.=
1, 2, 4 _male (spring)_, 3 _do. (summer)_; 5, 7, 8 _female (spring)_,
6, 9, _do. (summer)_.]
Caterpillars may be found in June and July and in August and September.
The chrysalis is green in colour, and the raised parts are yellowish and
brown. This is the most frequent form, but it varies through yellowish
to buff or greyish, and is sometimes without markings.
Generally distributed throughout the British Islands, but its range
northwards does not seem to extend beyond Ross.
In Europe it is generally common, and extends through Western and
Central Asia to Siberia, and, according to Leech, is found in North
Japan. In Amurland and Corea it is represented by the form _orientis_,
Oberth. It occurs in North-West Africa, the Canary Isles, and the
Azores. In America it is found in the Northern States and in California.
The Bath White (_Pieris daplidice_).
The Bath White (Plate 14) is such a rare visitor to this country, that
any one who captures a specimen may congratulate himself on the event.
During the whole of the last century not more than sixty specimens seem
to have been recorded as taken in England, and ten of these were
captured between 1895 and the present time. Nearly all of these were
netted on the south or south-eastern coast, and in the months of July or
August, but chiefly the latter. The occurrence of specimens in May or
June appears to be quite exceptional.
Although it might be passed over for a Green-veined White, or other
common butterfly, when seen on the wing, it is very different from any
of our other species when seen at close quarters. In the greenish
mottling of the under side of the hind wings, the male has some likeness
to the female Orange-tip, but on the Bath White the green is heavier and
less broken up. On the upper side of the fore wings the black markings
comprise a spot, sometimes divided, at the end of the cell, and a patch
on the tips of the wings; the latter enclose spots of the ground colour.
The markings of the under side show through blackish on the upper side
of the hind wings. The female differs from the male in having a black
spot between veins 1 and 2 of the fore wings, and the markings of the
hind wings are blacker, especially on the outer area.
The egg is stated by Buckler to be of a bright pinkish-red colour,
agreeing in this respect, as well as in size, with the anthers of the
flowers of mignonette, upon which plant it is laid in an upright
position. The shape is compared to that of an acorn without the cup, and
it has twelve or fourteen rather prominent ribs.
The full-grown caterpillar is bluish-grey, dotted with glossy black
warts, from each of which there is a short blackish hair. The lines
along the back and sides are yellow, or white spotted with yellow. Head
yellowish, dotted with black, and hairy. August and September. It feeds
on garden as well as wild mignonette (_Reseda_).
The chrysalis is at first similar in colour to the caterpillar, but it
afterwards becomes whitish. It has numerous black dots, and is marked
with yellow along the sides and on the back of the thorax.
The above descriptions are abridged from Buckler's more detailed
account of the life-history of this species. Of the caterpillars
resulting from thirty-three eggs, only two attained the chrysalis state,
in September. One of these turned black and died in November, and from
the other a butterfly emerged in the following June. The figures of
caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 12 are from Buckler's "Larvæ."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 12.
=Bath White Butterfly.=
_Caterpillar and chrysalis (after Buckler)._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 13.
=Green-veined White Butterfly.=
1, 2 _male (spring)_, 5, 6, _do. (summer)_; 3, 4 _female (spring)_,
7, 8 _do. (summer)_.]
It has been suggested that specimens taken in July and August are the
offspring of immigrants that arrive here in May, but there is no
conclusive evidence of this. It has, however, been proved that our
climate is not suitable for the permanent establishment of the species
here.
The earliest writers on English insects called this butterfly "Vernon's
Half Mourner," or "The Greenish Half Mourner." It was first mentioned by
Petiver, some two hundred years ago, and about that time only two
British specimens were known. One of these was taken in Cambridgeshire,
and one at Hampstead. According to Lewin, who wrote about it in 1795,
the name "Bath White" was given to the butterfly "from a piece of
needlework executed at Bath by a young lady, from a specimen of this
insect, said to have been taken near that place." In 1796 Donovan only
knew of the Bath specimen; and in 1803 Haworth mentions a faded specimen
taken in June at Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire.
The species is more or less common in many parts of Europe, but it seems
to be most at home and abundant in the south. Its range extends to North
Africa, Madeira, the Canary Isles, and the temperate parts of Asia,
including Northern China and Corea.
The Orange-tip (_Euchloë cardamines_).
This butterfly (Plate 17), as its name suggests, has a large patch of
orange colour on the outer third of its white, or creamy white, fore
wings, and the extreme tip is blackish; at least, this is so in the
male. The female is without the orange patch, and this is replaced by a
smaller one of blackish-grey. The lower portion of this patch is broken
up by the ground colour, and by white spots on the outer margin and
around the tips of the wings. The hind wings, in both sexes, appear to
be dappled with greyish-green, and this is caused by the green marking
on the under surface of the wings showing through. Some specimens,
chiefly from Ireland, have all the wings in the male, and the hind wings
in the female, distinctly tinged with yellow. The discal black spot
varies in size and in shape; often it is roundish, and sometimes it is
crescent-like. It is always larger in the female than in the male, and
may be entirely absent in the latter sex; but this probably occurs very
rarely. Usually the orange patch of the male extends very near to the
inner angle of the wing, but sometimes it is continued through to this
point. It ranges in colour from deep to pale orange, and occasionally to
almost yellow. Small specimens, some not more than one inch and a
quarter in expanse, occur from time to time. In these dwarfs the orange
patch does not reach beyond the black discal spot, which in normal
specimens it usually does. This small form has been considered a
distinct species, and the name _hesperidis_ has been proposed for it.
Female specimens with splashes or streaks of the male colour on the
upper or the under sides have been noted not infrequently; and more
rarely specimens with one side entirely male and the other entirely
female have been taken.
The egg (Plate 15), when freshly laid, is whitish, faintly tinged with
greenish; it soon changes to yellow, and, later on, turns orange and
then dark violet. When the latter colour appears, the little caterpillar
may be expected to hatch out very shortly. The eggs are placed upright
on the foot-stalks of the flowers, and may be readily found in June by
searching the blossom-clusters of hedge-mustard or cuckoo-flower.
The caterpillar, when mature, is dull bluish-green, with raised dots
and warts; from the former arise whitish hairs, and from the latter
longer blackish hairs. There is a white line, or stripe, along the
sides, and the underparts of the body are greener than the back. Both in
colour and marking the caterpillar agrees so closely with the seed-pods
of its food-plant that its detection is not always easy. A peculiarity
in very young caterpillars of this species, and also those of some of
the "Whites," is, that the hairs are forked at the tips, and bear
globules of moisture thereon (see figure and remarks on p. 3).
[Illustration: _Pl._ 14.
=Green-veined White (Irish).=
1 _male_; 2, 3 _female_.
=Bath White.=
4, 5 _male_; 6 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 15.
=Orange-tip Butterfly.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The caterpillars feed in June and July on lady's smock or cuckoo-flower
(_Cardamine pratensis_), charlock (_Brassica sinapistrum_),
hedge-mustard (_Sisymbrium officinale_), garlic mustard (_S. alliaria_),
rock-cress (_Arabis_), horseradish (_Cochlearia armoracia_), dame's
violet (_Hesperis matronalis_), watercress (_Nasturtium officinale_),
etc.
The chrysalis, as will be seen from the figure (Plate 15), is curiously
elongated, and tapers towards each end; the outline of the back is
curved, and the wing-cases bulge out into an angle about the middle of
the under side. The colour is pale grey or whitey-brown, sometimes with
a strong rosy tinge; the back is speckled with brownish, and has an
olive-grey dorsal line, and the veins of the wings are well defined.
This stage lasts, as a rule, from August of one year until May of the
following year. When the chrysalis is first formed, it is green, with
the wing-cases brighter, and this colour is sometimes retained. It has
been stated that the chrysalids assume the colour of their immediate
surroundings, and this may be so; but all that I have had under
observation were of the colours described above, although some were
fastened to green stem, others to muslin, and others, again, to glass.
Towards the end of May and in June is the usual time for this butterfly
to be on the wing. It has, however, been noticed as early as about the
middle of April, and as late as the middle of July, and rarely in August
and September. The specimens, seen in the last-mentioned months, may
have represented a second brood, and, if so, a very unusual event.
Possibly, however, they may have been specimens whose emergence had for
some reason not understood, been retarded. There is at least one record
of the insect remaining in the chrysalis for two winters.
Although generally distributed throughout England, Wales, and Ireland,
and occurring in Scotland as far north as the Caledonian Canal, it seems
to be more common in some districts than in others. Abroad, its range
extends over Europe, and through Asia as far east as Amurland and China.
The Wood White (_Leucophasia sinapis_).
The graceful little butterfly figured on Plate 19 is creamy white, with
a rather square black or blackish spot on the tip of the fore wings of
the male. In the female the spot is reduced to some blackish scales on
and between the veins. Occasionally there is a second brood in the year,
and the specimens of this flight have smaller and rounder black spots in
the males, and almost none at all in the females. Specimens of the
female sex entirely devoid of black marking are referable to var.
_erysimi_ (see fourth figure in second row, Plate 16). Series of each
brood are shown on Plate 16, which is reproduced from a photograph by
Mr. Hamm. The lower specimen in each series has been reversed to show
the seasonal variation of the under side. The row of specimens on the
left are of the first brood, and the second and last examples in this
series show the characters of var. _lathyri_--black tips to the fore
wings, and dusky band-like shades on the hind wings; the under sides of
the hind wings dull greenish--to which form a good many of our spring
specimens belong. The specimens of the second generation are referable
to var. _diniensis_. The species is sometimes referred to _Leptosia_,
Hüb.
The egg, which is figured on Plate 18, is yellowish-white in colour; it
is ribbed, and rather glassy in appearance. The caterpillars have been
known to hatch out about a week after the eggs were laid.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 16.
=Wood White Butterfly.=]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 17.
=Orange-tip Butterfly.=
1, 5 _male_; 2 _do. (Irish)_; 3, 6 _female_; 4 _do. (Irish)_.]
The caterpillar when full grown is, according to Hellins, "a beautiful
green, the front segments minutely dotted with black; dorsal line darker
green, edged with yellowish-green; spiracular line distinct, of a
fine clear yellow, edged above with darker green; spiracles
indistinguishable." The chrysalis in shape is something like that of the
last species, but the back is not curved, and the ends are less tapered.
The colour is a "lovely delicate green; the abdomen rather yellowish;
just in the spiracular region there runs all round the body a stout pink
rib, enclosing the greenish spiracles; from this a strong pink line
branches off, bordering the outer edge of the wing-case, and the
nervures of the wings themselves are delicately outlined in pink"
(Hellins). Sometimes the chrysalids are green without marking.
Mr. A.M. Montgomery, who on one occasion had four batches of eggs, and
the subsequent caterpillars, under observation, states that the
caterpillars hatched about June 2 from eggs laid about May 22. Pupation
took place about July 3, and, except from one batch that remained for
the winter in the chrysalids, the butterflies emerged between July 16
and 22. The food-plant in this case was bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus
corniculatus_). The yellow pea (_Lathyrus pratensis_) is a favourite
pabulum, but the caterpillar will also eat a vetch (_Vicia cracca_), and
probably many other plants belonging to the order Leguminosæ.
Caterpillars from the July butterflies would feed in August and
September.
This fragile-looking little species is somewhat local, but is not
altogether uncommon in some of its particular haunts. As its English
name implies, the butterfly is fond of the woods, or, perhaps, is rather
more partial to their shady rides and margins. On dull or wet days, it
settles on the under side of a leaf. The first brood is on the wing in
May, and the second--when this occurs, which is not every year--in July
and August. In Ireland, where it is abundant in the south and west,
there seems to be only one flight, and this is in June. It may be well
to remember that this butterfly does not like the pill-box, and will not
settle down quietly therein.
Possibly the Wood White had a much more general distribution in England
at one time than it now seems to have. It was not uncommon in parts of
Sussex some years ago, but there appears to be no record of its
occurrence there now. It is certainly much scarcer in the New Forest
than it used to be. However, it is still to be found, no doubt, in many
parts of England and Wales, but chiefly perhaps in the counties of
Berkshire, Devonshire, Cornwall, Worcestershire, Herefordshire,
Lancashire, and Cumberland. Also in the south and west of Ireland. It
occurs throughout Europe, Western and Central Asia, and its range
extends eastwards through Siberia, Amurland, China, and Corea to Japan.
The Pale Clouded Yellow (_Colias hyale_).
This usually scarce butterfly (Plate 21) is of a primrose-yellow
colour in the male, and, as a rule, almost white in the female;
sometimes the latter sex is of the yellow male colour. The outer margin
of the fore wings is broadly black in both sexes, but there are some
more or less united spots of the ground colour in the black towards the
tips of the wings, and below vein 3 the black is usually confined to the
outer margin. There is a black spot near the middle of the wing, and
some blackish dusting quite near the base of the wing. The hind wings
have a pale orange central spot, sometimes two spots, and the blackish
border on the outer margin is generally narrow, and often interrupted or
broken up into spots. The fringes of all the wings are pinkish, as also
are the antennæ. The egg is pearly yellowish-white when first laid; a
few days later the top becomes transparent, white, and glassy, shading
downwards into yellow, and then clear rosy orange; the base is pale, but
less transparent than the top. It has a number of transverse ribs,
ranging from nineteen to twenty-two. Before the caterpillar hatches out,
the egg changes to a purplish leaden colour.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 18.
=Wood White Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar (after Buckler)
and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 19.
=Wood White Butterfly.=
1, 4, 6 _male_; 3 _do. (var.)_; 2, 5, 7 _female_.]
The caterpillar in October, before hibernation, is about a quarter of an
inch long, and deep clover-green in colour; it has a number of pale,
shining warts along the back, from each of which there is a moderately
long black bristle, and there is a pale yellowish-white stripe above the
black spiracles. The head is pale ochreous green, with warts and
bristles as on the body. It rests upon a pad of silk spun on the centre
of a leaflet. When full grown the colour is clear light green, but has a
darkish velvety appearance, due to the entire surface being densely
sprinkled with black warts, the bristles from the warts on the back are
black, and those on the lower surface are white, the line above the
spiracles, which are white outlined with black, is made up of
lemon-yellow, orange-vermilion, and orange with an upper border of
white. The head, claspers, and legs are green. It feeds in June, and
again in August, on clover, trefoil, etc. The figure on Plate 20 is
after Hübner.
The chrysalis is very similar to that of the Clouded Yellow, the chief
differences are that the head-beak of the present species is straight
instead of being slightly upturned, and the tip of the wing-case extends
further down the body.
The above particulars of the early stages of the Pale Clouded Yellow are
adapted from Mr. Frohawk's account of the life-history of the species
(_Entomologist_, 1892 and 1893).
From eggs laid in September by a captured female, Mr. Williams reared
two butterflies in November of the same year. Other caterpillars from
the same batch of eggs hibernated and recommenced feeding in the spring,
but failed to attain the chrysalis state. Young caterpillars from eggs
obtained in August were successfully hibernated by Mr. Carpenter, and
many of these produced butterflies in the following May.
In rearing this species from eggs laid in the autumn, a fairly dry
treatment appears to be the best. Protect the young caterpillars from
frost, and do not water the plants during the winter. When they become
active again, about February, transfer them to other growing plants,
which should be kept ready for the change. Do not water the plants much,
or wet the foliage at all, and keep a sharp look-out for earwigs.
It seems pretty clear that this species passes the winter as a
caterpillar, and from the evidence available it appears equally certain
that the caterpillars would not survive an ordinary winter in this
country. Possibly, however, in very mild winters, or in certain warm
nooks on the south coast, some may be able to exist until the spring,
and then complete their growth and reach the butterfly state. In such
native-born butterflies the ancestral migratory habit may be lost, owing
to climate, and they would not, therefore, wander far from the spot
where they emerged from the chrysalis, but found a colony, which
probably would be cleared off sooner or later by the severity of an
English winter.
The Pale Clouded Yellow was not mentioned as an English butterfly
until Lewin wrote about it in 1795. He states that he only met with it
"in the Isle of Sheppey and on a hilly pasture-field near Ospringe in
Kent." He seems to have noted it in different years at both places.
Stephens, in 1827, referred to it as a rare British species, and from
that date until 1867 it seems to have been common only in 1835, 1842,
1857, and 1858. In 1868 it was abundant in the southern and eastern
counties, and was observed as far north as Lancashire and Yorkshire,
also in Ireland. It was common on the south coast in 1872, and rather
more so in 1875, when it spread into Essex and Suffolk, and also inland.
Until 1875 the butterflies seem only to have been noticed in the
autumnal months, but in that year specimens had been seen in May and
June. In 1876 the species was pretty plentiful, but after that date it
did not again occur in numbers until 1892, when it was recorded from
most of the southern and eastern counties. In 1893 one or two specimens
were reported as seen in April or May, but less than a dozen were
recorded as captured during the autumn of that year. Not much was seen
of the butterfly again until 1899, when a score or so were recorded from
Kent. Two or three specimens were seen on the south coast in June, 1900,
and the species was plentiful in the autumn of that year in many parts
of the country. Single specimens were seen in June, 1901, and in the
autumn the butterfly was again fairly common in several southern
counties, and abundant in parts of Essex. In 1902 a male was taken near
Dartford in March, and one example in May in a locality where two
specimens had been captured on October 20 of the previous year; six
males and one female were obtained between June 27 and July 12 at
Sheerness. The summer of 1902 was a cold one, and, with the exception of
four specimens at Folkestone in August, the species was not again seen
during that year or the following one; but in 1904 a good many specimens
were secured at Chatham in September, and one or two at Margate in
August.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 20.
=Pale Clouded Yellow Caterpillar.=
(_After Hübner._)]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 21.
=Pale Clouded Yellow.=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
When it occurs in this country the butterfly should be looked for in
clover and lucerne fields.
Common throughout the Palæarctic Region. It is probably a species of
Eastern origin, but with a tendency to spread westward.
The Clouded Yellow (_Colias edusa_).
In its typical colouring--orange with broad black borders--this
butterfly (Plate 22) will be recognized the first time it is seen. Both
sexes have a black spot about the centre of the fore wings, and a deep
orange spot near the middle of the hind wings--the latter is subject to
variation in size and shape. The female usually has the black borders
spotted with yellow, but in some examples these spots are almost (Plate
24, Fig. 1) or quite absent. Another form of the female, known as var.
_helice_ (Plate 24, Fig. 2), has the orange colour replaced by
yellowish-white, and in some years is not altogether uncommon. Between
this yellowish-white at one end of the colour range and the typical
orange at the other, specimens showing all the intermediate shades have
been obtained, chiefly by rearing the butterflies from eggs laid by a
female _helice_. One of these intergrades will be seen on Plate 24, Fig.
3. The males vary, especially bred ones, from "deep rich orange to the
palest chrome yellow; the marginal bands also vary in width; in many
examples the yellow nervules run through the borders of all the wings. A
large proportion of the males have the hind wings shot with a beautiful
amethystine blue" (Frohawk).
The egg (Plate 23) is oval, tapering towards each end, very pale
yellowish in colour at first, but afterwards becoming darker yellow, and
then pink. The eggs are laid, as shown in the figure, on the upper side
of a leaf of clover or lucerne, sometimes singly, but often in small
batches.
The caterpillar when full grown is deep green with minute black dots,
from which fine hairs arise, and a pink-marked yellow, or whitish,
spiracular line. The head is also green, rather downy, and small in
size. When first hatched the caterpillar is brownish, but soon changes
to greenish. It feeds on clover (_Trifolium_), trefoil (_Lotus_),
melilot (_Melilotus_), etc., in June and again in September or October.
The chrysalis is yellowish-green above, somewhat paler below; the
wing-cases are rather deeper in tint than the thorax and back, and have
a central black speck and a row of slender marks at the edges. The body
is marked with a splash of reddish and tiny black dots on the under
side. The beak-like projection from the head is dark green above and
yellow beneath.
The figures of the caterpillar and the chrysalis are taken from
Buckler's "Larvæ of British Butterflies," and the descriptions of these
stages by the same author have been followed.
The Clouded Yellow has a great fancy for clover or lucerne fields, and
should be looked for in such places in August and September. It is not
very difficult to rear from the egg, so that if a female is captured in
August (the spring ones should not be taken), it would be a good plan to
try to induce her to lay some eggs. The best method to succeed in this
is to pot up a growing plant of clover, and over this place a glass
cylinder with a muslin cover. (See further directions in the
Introduction, page 28.)
This butterfly, which was known, to the earliest English authors as the
"Saffron" or "Spotted Saffron," has always, no doubt, been erratic and
uncertain in its appearance in this country, sometimes becoming
increasingly abundant for three, four, or even five years in succession,
and then scarce or entirely absent for similar periods. The most recent
years of plenty, or when it was fairly common, were 1877, "the great
Edusa year," 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1899, 1900, and 1902. In some of
these years the Pale Clouded Yellow was also common.
In some of the warmer countries that this butterfly inhabits it has
certainly three, and possibly four, broods in the year. It is therefore
conceivable that at times its increase in numbers may become very great
in some particular area. At such times swarms of the surplus butterfly
population set out to seek fresh fields and pastures new. Some portion
of these flights reach our country from time to time, and this probably
always occurs in the spring of the year. The weather conditions being
favourable, the offspring of the visitors put in a welcome appearance in
the autumn, and not only gladden the heart of the entomologist, but add
a charm to the countryside which every one can appreciate.
The butterfly has probably occurred, at some time or other, in almost
every county in England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, extending even
to the Orkney Islands (1877).
Its home appears to be in North Africa and South Europe, whence it
spreads over the greater part of Europe and Western Asia.
NOTE.--According to Kirby, this butterfly should be called _Eurymus
hyale_, Linn., and the Pale Clouded Yellow be known as _Eurymus kirbyi_,
Lewis.
The Brimstone (_Gonepteryx rhamni_).
This butterfly (Plate 26) has the tips of the fore wings sharply
pointed, and there is a rather acute angle about the middle of the outer
margin of the hind wings. The colour of the male is bright sulphur
yellow, with a central orange spot on each wing, that on the hind wings
usually the largest; there is also a rusty dot at the outer end of the
upper veins and along the front margin of the fore wings towards the
tip. The female is greenish yellow, and is marked similarly to the male.
In both sexes the horns (_antennæ_) are reddish, and the long silky hair
on the thorax is a noticeable character. It is probably this insect to
which the name "butter-coloured fly," contracted into butterfly, was
first given; anyway, it is the only species to which the name applies so
well.
The egg. If the under sides of the leaves of buckthorn (_Rhamnus
catharticus_) or of the berry-bearing alder (_R. frangula_) are examined
in May or June, the eggs of this butterfly may be found thereon. They
are often placed on a rib of the leaf, but sometimes they are laid as
shown in the illustration (Plate 25). At first the colour is pale
greenish and rather glossy, but it soon changes to yellowish, and later
on, when the caterpillar has formed inside, to a dull purplish-grey.
The caterpillar when full grown is green, merging into bluish-green
on the sides, thickly powdered with shining black specks. There is a
pale line on each side below the spiracles. It feeds in June and July on
both kinds of buckthorn, and will generally be found resting along the
main rib of a leaf.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 22.
=Clouded Yellow.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 23.
=Clouded Yellow.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The chrysalis is bluish-green in colour and of a curious shape. The
sharp yellowish and brown beak-like projection in front and raised
brownish bases of the wing-covers, together with the humped thorax,
somewhat resemble a bird's head when seen from the front. Then, again,
the enlarged wing-cases, which are rather greener than the other parts,
in conjunction with the general outline, give a very good imitation of a
curled leaf.
The butterfly is very constant as regards colour and marking, but
occasionally the fore wings may be more or less suffused with orange,
and in this respect assumes the coloration of the South European species
known as _G. cleopatra_. The attempt has been made to establish the
last-named butterfly in Ireland, but the experiment seems to have been
only partially successful. Sometimes female specimens are found to have
splashes of the male colour on their wings. Occasionally their colour is
intermediate between their own proper tint and that of the male, and
more rarely the wings on one side may be yellow, as in the male, while
those on the other side are greenish, as in the female. Such specimens
are termed gynandrous examples, and sometimes hermaphrodites. The
latter, however, is not correct.
An unusual variation of the butterfly is shown on Plate 27. This has
large oval pale brownish-orange marks on the under side of the wings. It
was taken in the New Forest.
The Brimstone butterfly enjoys a longer existence in the perfect state
than any of the other British species, with the exception, perhaps, of
the Tortoiseshells and their allies. It leaves the chrysalis at the end
of July or beginning of August, and is usually quite common during the
latter month. After this it takes up its winter quarters, from which,
however, it may be tempted to come out whenever the day is sufficiently
warm and sunny for it to indulge in a few hours' flight. The fine
condition of some of the specimens that are seen in May or June has
suggested the possibility of such specimens having remained in the
chrysalis during the winter, but it is not at all probable that they do
so. It may be seen any sunny day from March, or even February, to June
in almost every English and Welsh county where its food-plant grows, and
locally in Ireland. The best time to take specimens is in the autumn,
when they are often to be seen in numbers flying along the rides in or
on the outskirts of woods, and also in clover fields.
Distributed over the whole of temperate Europe, and extending through
Asia to the far east and to North Africa.
* * * * *
The thirty butterflies now to be considered belong to the Nymphalidæ,
which has a larger membership than any other family of butterflies. It
is divided into several sub-families, but only four of these concern us;
these are Apaturinæ (1 species), Nymphalinæ (17 species), Danainæ (1
species), and Satyrinæ (11 species). The next butterfly is our only
representative of Apaturinæ.
The Purple Emperor (_Apatura iris_).
On account of its large size and the beautiful purple sheen over its
brownish-black velvety wings, this butterfly (Plate 29) is always
counted a prize by the collector. It is, however, only the male that
dons the purple, and he only when seen from the proper angle. The female
is without the purple reflection and her wings are browner, but the
white spots on the fore wings and the white bands on the hind wings are
rather wider than those of the male. Above the anal angle of the hind
wings, in both sexes, there is a black spot, ringed with tawny and
sometimes centred with white, and a tawny mark on veins 1 and 2. As will
be seen on turning to the figures on Plate 31, the under side of this
butterfly is exceedingly pretty. On the same plate there is a figure of
the rare variety known as _iole_ (for the loan of which I am indebted to
Mr. Sabine), in which most of the white spots are absent or obscured.
Intermediates between this extreme form and the type also occur, but all
such aberrations are uncommon.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 24.
=Clouded Yellow.=
1 _Female aberration;_ 2, 3, 4 _var. helice_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 25.
=Brimstone Butterfly.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The egg (Plate 28) may be looked for in August on the upper surface of a
leaf of the sallow (_Salix caprea_). According to Buckler, it is pale
olive green in colour, and cylindrical in shape; the height from base to
top being about equal to the width through from side to side. It has
about fourteen ribs.
The caterpillar in October, just before hibernation, is dingy green
roughened with numerous whitish warts from which arise short bristles,
some of the latter appearing to be tinged with reddish, and those along
the sides longer than those on the upper part of the body; the straight
lines along the back and the oblique ones on the sides are yellowish.
The head and the two horn-like projections, reminding one of the horns
of a slug, are reddish-grey and covered with warts and bristles. The
anal points (tails), which lie close together, are tipped with reddish.
It should be mentioned here that on emerging from the egg the young
caterpillar is without horns; these are not developed until the first
skin is thrown off, which event happens from eight to twelve days after
hatching.
The full-grown caterpillar is green, merging into yellowish towards the
anal points (tails); the oblique stripes on the sides are yellowish,
edged with reddish. The individual depicted on the plate took up a
position for change to the chrysalis on June 6. It spun a mat of silk to
the under side of a sallow leaf, and the next day it was found suspended
by the claspers, which were grasping the silken mat. On the fourth day
the chrysalis was fully developed, and from this a male butterfly
emerged on June 24, an unusually early date.
The chrysalis is whitish, more or less tinged with green, but having the
oblique lines on the sides whitish; the veins of the wings also show up
whitish.
The caterpillar was well known to entomologists in this country as far
back as 1758, when, in May, four were obtained from sallow at Brentwood
in Essex. It usually occurs on sallow, but an instance is recorded of it
refusing to eat this plant; it would probably have starved if willow,
upon which it fed up, had not been substituted. A full-grown caterpillar
was on one occasion found at Raindene in Sussex on poplar, which is a
well-known food of the species on the Continent. Now and then a
full-grown caterpillar has been met with in October, and Buckler reared
two in the autumn from the egg almost to the chrysalis stage, but they
died before the change was effected.
As befits his rank, the Emperor has lofty habits, and after quitting
the clump of sallow bushes, among which its transformations from egg to
the perfect insect were effected, it resorts to the oak trees, around
which it flies in July, and, when not so engaged, rests on a leaf of the
higher branches. To capture the butterfly, when seen at such times, is
not altogether an easy matter, as for the purpose the net must be
affixed to the end of a pole about 14 or 15 feet in length. The insect's
rather depraved taste for the juices of animal matter, in a somewhat
advanced stage of decay, is a fact well known to the professional
collector and others who have taken advantage of it to the monarch's
destruction. This method of attracting a butterfly for the purpose of
capture is, however, not exactly to be commended. It surely is a greater
pleasure to show one's friends a single specimen that has been captured
by dexterity with the net, than to exhibit fifty that were secured by a
device which is not only unsavoury, but unsportsmanlike. The female,
however, is not to be allured; she must be sought among the sallows, and
when seen is not easy to net, as she skims away over the tops of the
bushes and is difficult to follow.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 26.
=Brimstone Butterfly.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 27.
=Brimstone Butterfly.= _Underside (aberration)_.
=Common Blue.= _At rest_.]
Although most certainly not so common or so generally distributed as in
former times, the butterfly still occurs in the larger oak woods in most
of the midland, western, and southern counties of England, but is,
perhaps, most frequent in Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. In Wales it
is found in Monmouthshire. It has not been recorded from Scotland, and
only doubtfully from Ireland.
In Central Europe it is often abundant, and its range extends eastward
into Amurland, Central and Western China.
* * * * *
Now follow seventeen butterflies of the sub-family Nymphalinæ.
The White Admiral (_Limenitis sibylla_).
The "White Admirable Butterfly," as it was called by some of the older
English entomologists, needs only to be seen to be at once recognized
(Plate 33). The white markings on its blackish wings are somewhat
similar to those of the Purple Emperor. As in that butterfly, so, too,
in this, the most beautiful ornamentation is found on the under side.
The shape of the wing is, however, very different in the two
butterflies, and there is no probability of confusing one with the
other. A somewhat uncommon form is shown on Plate 31 (also kindly loaned
by Mr. Sabine); this is var. _nigrina_. Intermediates also occur, but
these, too, are also rather rare. The eggs, which I have not seen, are
stated to hatch in about fourteen days, and are laid in July. They have
been described as pale green in colour, and of the shape of an orange,
but flatter at the base and top.
The caterpillar (Plate 30) when full grown is dark green on the back
and lighter on the sides, roughened with yellow dots, and with a
yellow-marked white line above the feet. The bristly spines are reddish
with pinkish tips, and those on the second, third, fifth, tenth, and
eleventh rings are longer than the others. The first ring seems to be
without spines, but the brownish head is set with short ones, two on the
crown being rather longer and blacker than the others, and are inclined
backwards.
In the autumn, when still quite tiny, it constructs a winter retreat
(_hibernaculum_) (Plate 30) by fastening a growing leaf of sallow to a
twig with silken threads, and then, using more silk, it draws the edges
of the leaf together, and so forms a secure chamber wherein it can rest
until the following spring, when it quits the domicile and sets to work
on the tender foliage around it. At this time the caterpillar is
brownish in colour. The chrysalis is of the remarkable shape shown on
the plate. It is brownish, with purplish or olive tinge; behind the
rounded hump there is a patch of bright green, and above the wing-cases
a beautiful golden sheen. There are also other metallic spots and dots
on various parts. Altogether, it is one of the prettiest of British
butterfly chrysalids.
I am tempted here to quote Buckler's excellent description of the
pupation of this species, as it will serve to show the remarkable method
by which caterpillars are able to perform a seemingly impossible feat;
that is, to get absolutely free of the old skin whilst hanging head
downwards from the silken pad or button to which they attach themselves
by the anal claspers when preparing to pupate.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 28.
=Purple Emperor.=
_Egg enlarged; young and full-grown caterpillars; chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 29.
=Purple Emperor.=
1 _male_; 2 _female_.]
"When full fed the larva becomes rapidly paler, and then suspends
itself by the anal prolegs to a stem of the honeysuckle or other
surface, and hangs with its body downwards in a sinuous curve, with its
head bent a little upwards, facing the abdomen; it then remains
motionless for three days, becoming whitish on the abdomen, and
remaining very pale green on the thoracic segments. In the course of the
third day the creature seems to wake up, unbends its head, swings itself
to and fro a few times, then stretches itself downwards in a long
attenuated line, which causes a rupture of the skin close to the head;
the skin then is seen slowly to ascend, exposing the bare and soft
shining parts below, from which a flat and forked pair of horns grow out
perceptibly as one beholds this wonderful process; the skin continues to
glide slowly upwards, and as the soft parts become exposed, they are
seen to swell out laterally, and to assume the very singular projections
so characteristic of this chrysalis, the skin of the old head gliding up
the belly marks the progress of the disclosure, as the colour of the old
and new surfaces is at this time alike, the new being, however, rather
more shining and transparent. Occasionally during the bulging out of the
soft parts, a kind of convulsive heave or two occurs, but otherwise it
remains still until the creature is uncovered as far as the ninth or
tenth segment; it then curves its anal extremity by a sudden twist
laterally, and in a moment dexterously withdraws the tip of the anal
segment from the larval prolegs by an opening on the back of the skin at
that part. At this critical moment one has time to see that the naked
shining point is furnished with black hooks, and to apprehend a fall;
but in another moment the pupa has forcibly pressed the curved tip with
its hooks against the stem close to the previous attachment of the anal
prolegs, and now it is strongly and firmly fixed. The creature now seems
endowed with wonderful power and vigour; it swings boldly to and fro,
and undulates itself as if to gain longer swings, when presently the old
skin that remains is seen to burst away and fall off, the chrysalis
gradually becoming quiescent, the entire metamorphosis, from the first
waking to the last movement, occupying nearly seven minutes. In sixteen
days the perfect insect emerged."
Linnæus in 1767 wrote of the sexes of this butterfly as _sibylla_, or
rather _sibilla_, and _camilla_, but, as Kirby points out, three years
earlier the same author had given the butterfly the name _camilla_. It
is probable, therefore, that the latter name will have to be adopted for
our butterfly. Certain it is that the older British authors--Donovan,
Haworth, Stephens, etc., knew our species as _camilla_. The species
known on the Continent as _camilla_, and which, owing to the confusion
of names has been supposed to be British, will have to be called
_drusilla_, according to Kirby.
This species seems to be pretty much restricted to the southern and
eastern counties of England. In the New Forest, Hampshire, it is often
exceedingly abundant in July. So long ago as 1695 the butterfly was
known to occur in Essex, and the species is found in some woods in that
county at the present time. It has, however, quite disappeared from
several woodland localities in Kent and Sussex, where it formerly
occurred. It has been recorded from Shropshire and also from
Worcestershire, but both these counties appear to be beyond the normal
range of the species.
Almost all writers on our butterflies, from Haworth downwards, have
commented on the graceful flight of the White Admiral as it skims aloft
and alow through the woodland glades. This elegance of motion is still
retained even when the wings become sadly torn and frayed, probably by
contact with twigs and thorns.
Widely distributed throughout Central Europe. It is also found in
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
The Comma (_Polygonia c-album_).
The peculiar shape of the wings of this butterfly (Plate 35) might
cause it to be mistaken for a very tattered example of one of the
Tortoiseshells. The irregular contour of the outer edges of the wings
is, however, quite natural, and is subject to some variation in its
jaggedness. Their colour is deep tawny or fulvous, with brownish borders
on their outer margin. On the fore wings there are three black spots on
the front or costal area, and below the first, which is often divided,
there is a roundish black spot (sometimes double) just above the inner
margin; two, sometimes three, other spots lie between this and the third
costal spot. On the hind wings there are three black spots on the basal
half, and a series of pale fulvous spots before the brownish border;
these are inwardly edged with brownish, and sometimes this edging is
united with the marginal border. Similar spots are, in some specimens,
present in a like position on the fore wings also. On the under side the
wings are of various shades of brown, sometimes variegated with whitish,
or yellowish, and greenish, the latter often conspicuous; other
specimens are paler on the outer half than on the basal half, and,
except occasionally having a series of greenish or dusky spots on the
outer area, are without marking. These differences occur in both sexes.
The white comma or c mark, placed about the middle of the under side of
the hind wings, is rather stronger in the variegated specimens; but it
varies, generally, in shape as well as in size.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 30.
=White Admiral.=
_Young caterpillar with hibernaculum (h); caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 31.
1, 2 Purple Emperor; 3 var. _iole_.
4, 5 White Admiral, var. _nigrina_.]
Var. _hutchinsoni_, Robson, which has been renamed _pallida_ and
_lutescens_, differs from the typical form in having the ground colour
much lighter and brighter on the upper side and ochreous on the under
side. It is shown on Plate 35. The outline of the wings of this form,
which occurs in June and July, is said to be less jagged, and this may
be so as a rule, but it certainly is not always the case. Possibly this
is "The Pale Comma" of Petiver.
There are two broods of this species in the year, but the first or
summer flight of butterflies seems to depend upon a favourable season,
as also does the second or autumnal brood, at least as regards the
number of butterflies representing it. The late butterflies hibernate
and reappear in April, or even March, of the following year. It has been
stated that all the specimens appearing in the spring are of the form
with plain under sides.
From eggs laid between April 27 and May 6, Miss E. Hutchinson, writing
in 1887, says caterpillars hatched between May 5 and 11. They were "fed"
on currant and nettle mixed, and were full grown from June 17th till the
23rd. The first butterfly emerged on June 26, and the last on July 3,
and all were very fine and of the pale summer variety. Two of the
insects paired on June 30, and the female commenced laying on July 1,
and continued doing so till the 10th, when there were 120 ova.
Unfortunately, a very cold spell of weather began on July 12, and more
than half the eggs perished. The butterflies resulting from the
remainder appeared during August, from the 17th to the 27th, but they
would not pair, probably because, although they had emerged at an early
date, they properly belonged to the autumnal flight.
In 1894 Mr. Frohawk reared 200 of these butterflies from 275 eggs laid
by a female between April 17 and June 1 of that year. The caterpillars
were supplied with nettle only. The first butterfly emerged on June 30,
and the last on August 2. Of the whole number forty-one were of the
light fulvous form, var. _hutchinsoni_, and all the others of the dark
or typical form. With few exceptions, the light-coloured butterflies
were the first to emerge, and the major portion of these during early
July, and before any examples of the dark form had come out.
The egg is at first green in colour with ribs whiter, but changes before
the caterpillar hatches out to yellowish. In confinement the female
butterflies deposit their eggs singly or in chains of three or four;
probably the latter is the usual method of laying the eggs under natural
conditions.
The caterpillar when full grown is black, netted with greyish; the
spines on the second to fifth rings inclusive are yellowish, and those
on the back of the other rings are white; the back from ring 6 to ring
10 inclusive is broadly white, marked with black, and the upper surface
of the other rings is more or less yellowish. The head is black, marked
with ochreous; the crown is lobed, and on each lobe is a short club-like
knob.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 32.
=Comma Butterfly.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 33.
=White Admiral.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.]
The chrysalis is brownish tinged with pink; the wing-cases and the rings
of the body are edged with blackish; there is a greyish line along the
back of the body and a brownish stripe along the spiracles; at the point
where the body joins the thorax there are some silvery or golden spots.
The figures of caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 32 are after Buckler.
This butterfly seems to have disappeared from many localities in England
where it formerly flourished. About seventy or eighty years ago, for
example, it was plentiful in Epping Forest, in Herts, and in Dorset.
During the last half-century or so it has been common in certain parts
of many of the counties from Somerset to Durham and Cumberland, but
seems to have occurred only sparingly or singly in Norfolk, Suffolk,
Essex, Kent, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, and Devon. It still occurs now and
then in the Dover district, the most recent record being of one taken in
October, 1894; and it was reported from North Staffordshire in 1893.
Probably it is now almost entirely confined to favoured districts
embraced within the area represented by the counties of Herefordshire,
Worcestershire, and Monmouthshire, whence it may occasionally stray into
the adjoining counties, or even further afield.
This butterfly is often associated with hop gardens, but it is by no
means restricted to such places. The usual food-plants of the
caterpillars are hop (_Humulus lupulus_), nettle (_Urtica dioica_), and
currant (_Ribes_), but it is reported to eat gooseberry (_R.
grossularia_) and elm (_Ulmus_).
Abroad it has a very wide distribution in Europe, and extends through
Asia to Japan.
The Large Tortoiseshell (_Vanessa polychloros_).
Apart from its larger size, and somewhat different outline, this
butterfly may be known from the Small Tortoiseshell by its duller
colour, which is brownish-orange; on the fore wing there are, as a rule,
no blue crescents in the hind marginal border, but there is an extra
black spot placed between veins 1 and 2; on the hind wings a black spot
on the front area represents the black basal area seen on the Small
Tortoiseshell; and this is an important point of difference, although
the two species are not likely to be confused when both are well known.
The blue spots referred to as not usually present on the fore wings are
stated to occur in specimens emerging from chrysalids that have been
kept in a rather cold temperature for a certain length of time.
An aberration known as _testudo_ has the black spots of the fore wings
united, and forming blotches on the front and inner areas; the ground
colour of the fore wings is lighter, and the hind wings are blacker.
This form occurs at large on the Continent, but it is rare; it has also
been produced in the course of temperature experiments.
The only eggs of this butterfly that I have been able to obtain are the
batch figured on Plate 34. These were purplish with whitish ribs, but no
caterpillars hatched from them. Hellins, who squeezed a few eggs from a
freshly killed female, states that the colour apparently is a dull
green. The ribs vary from seven to nine in number.
The caterpillar in the adult stage is black, with a speckled dark
ochreous band traversed by a black central line on the back; the sides
are dappled with ochreous grey; the under parts are brown dappled with
darker, and merging into the black. The spines are dark ochreous tipped
with black, and the head is shiny black and bristly. (The figure is
after Buckler.)
These caterpillars live in large companies, often at the top of a
high elm tree, from which they may be dislodged by a well-aimed stick,
if this happens to be heavy enough to jar the branch when it reaches the
mark. Besides elm trees (_Ulmus_), they also may be found on willow and
sallow (_Salix_), aspen and poplar (_Populus_), white-beam (_Pyrus
aria_), and various fruit trees, especially cherry. Occasionally they
have been found on nettle, but the butterflies from these were small in
size. June is the best month for them.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 34.
=Large Tortoiseshell.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 35.
=Comma Butterfly.=
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 _male_; 7 _female (var. hutchinsoni)_.]
The chrysalis (Plate 34) is greyish, tinged with pink or reddish,
sprinkled with greenish, and shaded with brown and black; the back of
the body nearest the thorax is adorned with golden spots. I once
obtained a number of these chrysalids in July at Mill Hill; they were
found suspended by the tail from the edges of boards that formed a
rickety old cart-shed standing at one end of a field and beneath an elm
tree.
Although this butterfly is often common in the caterpillar state, the
perfect insect, which emerges in July and August, is more frequently
seen in the spring after hibernation than before that event. It probably
establishes itself in suitable quarters, in old trees, faggot stacks,
barns, etc., for its long rest during the winter, at an early period
after emerging from the chrysalis.
No doubt large numbers are destroyed by their great enemies, the
parasitic flies, chiefly perhaps the Hymenopterous _Apanteles_. An
observer states that from fifty chrysalids only one butterfly resulted,
all the others were found to be filled with parasites. In another case
of one hundred caterpillars, some collected when quite small, only one
was not "ichneumoned."
These butterflies, in common with most other Vanessids, do not pair
until the spring, but Barrett cites an instance of caterpillars, from
eggs laid by a female in early September, being reared until about 1/2
inch in length, when they apparently laid up for hibernation.
Lanes margined with trees, especially elms, or the verges of woods, are
the most likely places in which to find the butterfly. At one time and
another it has been observed in nearly every county of England and
Wales, and also in some parts of Scotland, but not in Ireland. It
appears to be more or less common in all counties around London,
extending to Somerset in the west; to Cambs, Norfolk, and Suffolk in the
east; and to Northampton and Warwick in the Midlands.
Abroad it is found throughout the greater part of Europe, Asia Minor,
and eastward to the Himalayas.
The Small Tortoiseshell (_Vanessa urticæ_).
This butterfly is one of the most ubiquitous as well as prettiest that
we have in this country. Its reddish-orange colour, marked with yellow
patches, black spots, and blue crescents, gives it a charming appearance
as it sits on a flower, or even on the ground, with wings fully expanded
to the sunlight. When the wings are closed up, however, the butterfly
seems to disappear, as the under side of the wings is quite sombre in
colour. The only bright spot on the under side is the yellowish central
area of the fore wing, and when the wings are held erect over the
insect's back this is not seen, but only the tips of these wings, which
are of the same dull colour as the hind wings.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.]
The ground colour is subject to modification as regards the shade of
red in the orange, and this may be intense or reduced to just a mere
tinge. Specimens have been taken on the wing in which the colour was
some shade of buff, and the same kind of colour change will sometimes
result from an over-long exposure to the action of ammonia. The black
markings vary in size, and sometimes those on the costal area are more
or less connected or even confluent (Fig. 22); a greater or lesser
amount of blackish suffusion on the hind wings (Fig. 23) generally
accompanies confluence of the costal spots on fore wings. The two black
spots between veins 2 and 4 occasionally enlarge and unite, or, on the
other hand, they decrease in size to vanishing point. Some specimens
have black scales between the second costal spot and the black spot on
the inner margin, and the space between these two spots may be entirely
covered with black and so form a central transverse band (var.
_polaris_). A modification of this form is shown on Plate 38, lower
figure. The yellow patch between the second and third costal black spots
is sometimes continued right across the wings to the yellow spot on the
inner margin, and in this respect resembles an Indian form of the
species named _ladakensis_. Dwarf specimens result, in most cases, when
the caterpillars have fed on hop (_Humulus_); at least, this is so in
confinement.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.]
The egg is at first green, but after a time becomes tinted with yellow
and the ribs stand out clear and transparent. The eggs are laid in a
cluster on the under side of a terminal leaf of a nettle plant in May
and again in July.
The adult caterpillar is yellowish, closely covered with black speckling
and short hairs; there is a black line down the centre of the back, and
this is bordered on each side by the clear ground colour. The spiracles
are black ringed with yellow, and there is a yellowish line above them.
The yellowish spines have black tips. Head black, hairy, and speckled
with yellow. Individuals of another company were almost entirely black,
the spines alone being tinged with yellow. These caterpillars are
gregarious from the time they hatch from the egg until about the last
stage.
The chrysalis is most often of some shade of grey and sometimes tinged
with pinkish. The points on the upper parts of the body are in some
examples metallic at the base, and occasionally the metallic lustre
spreads over the thorax and other parts as well.
There are two broods in the year, one in June, the other in August and
September. The latter brood, or at least some of the butterflies,
hibernate and reappear in the earliest sunny days of spring. They have
been seen on the wing as early as January and February (1896), and as
late as December.
The geographical range of this species extends through Europe and Asia
to Japan.
The Peacock (_Vanessa io_).
Unlike the last species referred to, this handsome butterfly is more
frequently seen in the autumn than after hibernation. It is not likely
to be mistaken for any other kind, for on its brownish-red velvety wings
it bears its own particular badge, the "peacock eyes." The marks on the
hind wings are more like the "eyes" on the tail feathers of the peacock
than are those on the fore wings, and the brownish-red on these wings is
confined to a large patch below the eye-mark, the remainder being
blackish, powdered with yellow scales on the basal area. Some specimens
have a blue spot below the "eye" on the hind wings, and the name
_cyanosticta_ has been proposed for this form by Raynor. The under side
is blackish, with a steely sheen, and crossed by irregular black lines;
the fore wings are tinged with brown on the inner area, and the central
dot and a series of dots beyond are ochreous; the hind wings have an
ochreous central dot.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 36.
=Large Tortoiseshell.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 37.
=Small Tortoiseshell.=
_Eggs enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
In a state of nature the butterfly seems little given to variation. In
rearing from the caterpillar, however, some curious aberrations
occasionally crop up. In my early days of collecting I raised a number
of specimens from caterpillars selected from a large brood; every one of
these butterflies was of a dull brownish colour and had a greasy
semi-transparent appearance. I regret to add that I set them all at
liberty as they did not come up to my, then, standard of what a Peacock
butterfly should be. Now and then specimens are bred from collected
caterpillars, in which the eye spots are represented by a broad white
cloud-like suffusion on the fore wings, and by a pale roundish patch on
the hind wings; in conjunction with this the black costal spots of the
fore wings are all more or less united (see Plate 41). This extreme
variety is known in the vernacular as the "Blind Peacock," and as _ab.
belisaria_ in science; between it and the typical form there are all
kinds of intermediate modifications, and one of these is also shown on
the plate referred to. It may be interesting to remark that similar
varieties have been produced by subjecting the chrysalids at a
particular period to a very low temperature. Readers who may wish to
know more about "Temperature Experiments" are referred to a pamphlet on
the subject by Dr. Max Standfuss.
The egg, an enlarged figure of which will be found on Plate 39, is
olive green in colour, and has eight ribs, which start just above the
base and turn over the top. The eggs are laid in April or May in batches
on the upper part of nettle plants and under the young leaves.
The mature caterpillar is velvety black with white dots, and the
divisions between the rings of the body are well marked. The spines are
black and rather glossy, and besides this clothing, the body is also
provided with short hair which gives the velvety appearance. The head
and a plate on the next ring, also the legs, are shining black; the
prolegs are blackish, tipped with yellowish. When quite young they are
greenish-grey, and although hairy are without spines. The caterpillars
usually feed in companies in June and July on the common stinging
nettle. They have also been found on hop. Once or twice I have reared
caterpillars of this butterfly, and also those of the Small
Tortoiseshell and the Red Admiral, on hop, but the result has been
disappointing, as the specimens produced were always small in size. The
individuals for these experiments were obtained from nettle, and were
generally about half grown at the time they were put on the hop diet.
The chrysalis is figured on Plate 39. Its colour may be pale greenish,
greyish, pale brown, or brownish-grey, but is usually stippled with
blackish, especially the antennæ and the outline of the wing-cases. Some
of the points on the thorax and the ring, or rings, next to it have a
metallic lustre. Two chrysalids among those resulting from my hop-fed
caterpillars were more or less suffused with the metallic sheen. It does
not seem to be very clearly known where the caterpillars retire to for
pupation. Those that I have found have been under a tent-like
arrangement of the lower nettle leaves. In confinement, however, I have
noted that in a roomy cage they all go to one end of it and suspend
themselves from the roof; in a large flower-pot they crowd together in
much the same way.
The butterfly is on the wing in August and September, and frequents
all and every kind of ground where flowering plants, especially the
taller kinds, are available; clover fields are attractive, and so also
are orchards. It passes the winter in some hollow tree trunk, wood
stack, or possibly buildings of some kind, and in the spring it again
comes forth. March and April are the usual months for its reappearance,
but in 1900 it was seen flying over the snow on February 17. The time
last mentioned is probably an unusual one, but it is interesting to note
that a very similar observation was made by Harris, who in 1778 wrote in
his remarks on this butterfly, "I have seen them flying in February,
when the snow has been on the ground."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 38.
=Small Tortoiseshell.=
1, 2 _female_; 3, 5 _male_; 4 _var._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 39.
=Peacock Butterfly.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
Usually the Peacock butterfly assumes the perfect state but once in the
year. There is, however, a record of half-grown caterpillars being found
in September, and that these produced butterflies in due course.
Although not always abundant, the butterfly is to be, or has been, found
in almost every part of the kingdom, excepting perhaps north of the
Caledonian Canal in Scotland. Around Bishop Auckland and in other parts
of the county of Durham, and also in Northumberland, it was common some
forty years ago, but it seems to be hardly ever seen there now. The same
applies to other northern localities where it was once plentiful. Its
distribution includes the whole of Europe, Asia Minor, Siberia,
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
The Camberwell Beauty (_Vanessa antiopa_).
This is a large and handsome insect; its chocolate-brown wings are
bordered with ochreous speckled with black scales. The border is
variable in width, and this is occasionally so wide that it partly or
completely hides the blue spots, which in the ordinary form are placed
on a dark band just before the ochreous border. Such specimens are known
as var. _hygiæa_ or var. _lintneri_ (Plate 41); but in the former form
the yellow spots on the front edge of the fore wing are absent, and in
the latter variety these spots are sometimes united and form a blotch.
One authority states that the proportion of these extreme variations in
nature is about 1 in 500. The same form may be produced by subjecting
summer chrysalids to a temperature of about 110 deg. Fahr. during three
to five consecutive days, the chrysalids being placed in this heat four
times a day, and for a period of one hour each time. Dr. Max Standfuss,
who has made many experiments with this and other butterflies, states
that the result of such treatment as that adverted to, and as regards
this species, has been the production of as many as seven of the
varieties among forty specimens. It would seem probable, then, that the
varieties occurring in the open are from chrysalids that received a
greater amount of heat than those that produce the ordinary butterfly.
It has been stated that the borders are ochreous, but this only applies
to the specimens seen in the summer or early autumn. The butterflies
hibernate, and when they leave their winter retreats in the spring, the
colour of the border is considerably paler and often even white. For
some time it was considered that white borders were a peculiarity of the
British Camberwell Beauty and stamped it a genuine native. Probably
there are some who may still hold this opinion. An example of each form
is represented on Plate 43, the upper one was taken in the spring, and
the other in the autumn. Both belong to Mr. J.A. Clark, to whom I am
indebted for their loan.
The egg is at first deep ochreous yellow, changing through olive brown
to red brown, and a day or two before the larva hatches out becoming
leaden grey. The ribs, which are eight or nine in number, are most
prominent below the top, and disappear before the base is reached. The
eggs are laid on twigs or stems in small batches of 30 or 40 up to large
ones of 150 to 250.
The caterpillar has been described by Mr. Frohawk, who gives a full
account of the life-history of this species in the _Entomologist_ for
1902 and 1903. The following is an abridgement of his description.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 40.
=Peacock Butterfly.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 41.
1, 3 =Peacock vars.=; 2 =Camberwell Beauty var.=]
The head is bilobed, having a deep notch on the crown, and of a dull
black colour, covered with black warts, each emitting a white hair. The
ground colour of the body is deep velvety black, and densely sprinkled
with pearl-white warts, each emitting a fine white hair, some being of
considerable length, and the majority slightly curved. Down the centre
of the back is a series of rich deep rust-red shield-like markings,
which commences on the third segment and terminates on the eleventh
segment. In the centre of the anal segment is a shining black dorsal
disc, much resembling the head; the legs are black and shining, and the
four pairs of prolegs are rust colour, with a polished band above the
feet, and the anal pair are black with pale reddish feet.
The caterpillars feed on sallow, willow, birch, and elm. They cover the
leaves of their food-plant with a silken web and live thereon in
companies, and do not separate until about to prepare for the chrysalis
state.
The chrysalis. The dorsal half of the head and wing points are black,
and the ventral half orange. Some of the points on the body are tipped
with orange. The whole surface is finely and irregularly furrowed and
granulated. The ground colour is pale buff, covered with fine fuscous
reticulations. The entire surface is clothed with a whitish-powdery
substance, giving a pale lilac or pinkish bloom to the chrysalis, which,
however, is easily rubbed off, the chrysalis then assuming a brownish
hue. Our figure of the chrysalis is after Holland.
Mr. Frohawk, who had female butterflies living under observation for
about three months, states that eggs were laid in April, May, and June.
Caterpillars from the first batch of 192 eggs hatched early in May,
nineteen days after they were laid. These were full grown by June 20,
and entered the chrysalis state soon after. The butterflies from these
commenced to emerge about the middle of July.
He says: "Both sallow and willow are equally suitable food for the
larvæ, and birch is readily eaten, even when willow has formed the sole
food until the last stage; they will feed on elm. Nettle was not
appreciated, and not touched by them during the last two or three
stages."
This butterfly appears to have first attracted the attention of the
earlier British entomologists about the middle of the eighteenth
century. Stephens, writing in 1827, remarks that "about sixty years
since it appeared in such prodigious numbers throughout the kingdom,
that the entomologists of that day gave it the appellation of the Grand
Surprise." Harris figured the butterfly under the name mentioned by
Stephens, and it has also been referred to by others as the "Willow
Beauty" and the "White Petticoat." Newman called it the
"White-bordered;" and from this, as well as from his description of the
butterfly, it would seem that he had not seen any specimen, caught in
Britain, with ochreous borders. Such specimens have most certainly been
captured in these islands, and occasionally in some numbers, as, for
example, in the autumns of 1872 and 1880. In the former year the
butterflies were seen or taken in a great many parts of the kingdom. The
single specimens that are taken now and then in the spring have
hibernated, and possibly they may have just come over from the
Continent. It is, however, equally possible that they may have arrived
in the country the previous autumn and passed the winter here. After the
invasion in the autumn of 1872, specimens were observed in January,
March, and April, 1873, at places widely apart. In 1881 single specimens
were taken in April in Surrey, Kent, and Brecknockshire; and in Essex
and at Hampstead in August. One or two specimens were taken in the
summer or autumn of the years 1884 to 1887 inclusive. In 1888 two were
captured in Essex in May; and in August, three in Kent, one each Surrey,
Hants, and Isle of Wight; and one in Kent in September. In 1889 a
specimen was taken in Surrey in April, one in Kent, and one in Cambs in
May; a few also in the autumn of that year. In 1891 a specimen was seen
at Balham in September. In 1893 one was taken in Epping Forest in April,
and one in South Devon in August. Single specimens were noted in
Oxfordshire, Lincolnshire, Berwick, and the Isle of Skye, in September,
1896, and one at Epsom in December of that year. In 1897 one was
recorded from Yorks (August), and one from Norfolk (September); and in
May, 1898, one was taken at Norwich. One or two were observed in August
or September, 1898 and 1899; and in 1900 there seems to have been an
invasion, on a small scale, of this butterfly in August into some of the
eastern and southern counties of England. It extended westward to
Somersetshire, and northward to Roxburghshire. A few were taken in
various southern localities, including south-east and north London, in
August and September of 1901. A specimen occurred in the Isle of Wight
in September, 1903, and one in September, 1904; and in the latter year
one was captured in August at Raynes Park in Surrey. In 1905 one
butterfly was taken at Harrow, Middlesex, on July 27; one at Norwich on
August 26, and one in Suffolk on September 29.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 42.
=Camberwell Beauty.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 43.
=Camberwell Beauty.=]
A full record of this fine butterfly in the British Islands would occupy
too much space, but the details given above will show something of its
erratic occurrence since 1880. It visits Ireland occasionally, but there
are no recent reports of its having been seen there.
Kane, in his _Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland_, mentions a
specimen taken in Co. Kerry, July 21, 1865; one from near Belfast [in
1875?]; and a third example seen by a friend "many years ago" near
Trillick, Co. Tyrone. The latter was "settled on the roadside, but not
captured, it being Sunday."
Distributed throughout the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere,
it is common in the Scandinavian Peninsula, whence probably our
specimens came; also in Germany. In some parts of the Continent it is,
however, almost as uncertain in its occurrence as in England.
The Painted Lady (_Pyrameis cardui_).
The usual colour of this butterfly is tawny-orange, but in some
specimens, especially fresh ones, there is a tinge of pink, or a rosy
flush; the markings are black, and there are some white spots towards
the tips of the fore wings. The black markings on the hind wings are
subject to variation in size, and sometimes they run one into the other.
Occasionally this union of the spots is accompanied by blackish
suffusion spreading more or less over the entire surface of the wings,
so that they appear blackish with tawny-orange patches or clouds. A
somewhat peculiar variety of the species, kindly lent by Mr. J.A. Clark,
is shown on Plate 49. Specimens of this form, or some modification of
it, have been obtained in England, but very rarely. Similar examples
have also been found in other parts of the globe. Fig. 24 represents
another interesting aberration of this butterfly.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 44.
=Painted Lady.=
_Caterpillar, chrysalis and protection-web._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 45.
=Painted Lady.=
1, 3, 4 _male_; 2, 5 _female_.]
The egg is at first green, and gradually becomes darker. It is
strongly ribbed from the base to the top, where the ribs become finer
and turn over towards the central hollow, at the bottom of which is the
micropyle. The fine cross-ribs form slight bosses at their junction with
the upright ribs. The eggs are laid on the leaves of the thistle, but
usually only one on a leaf.
The caterpillar is rather stout for its length. It has a dark greyish
head, which is covered with short bristles. The ground colour of the
body varies from greyish-green and ochreous-grey to blackish, and in the
darker colour is generally freckled with paler, sometimes yellowish.
There is a black line along the back, often edged with yellowish, and
sometimes much broken up; the lines on the sides are yellowish, but not
always distinct; the line below the yellow-ringed black spiracles,
however, is generally broad and yellowish in colour. Although thistles
(_Carduus_) appear to be the plants most frequently eaten by these
caterpillars, they have sometimes been found feeding upon mallow
(_Malva_), burdock (_Arctium_), viper's bugloss (_Echium_), and even
nettle (_Urtica_). They commence life by fixing up the edges of a leaf
so as to form a sort of pocket in which to conceal themselves, but as
they eat away the fleshy part of the leaf their retreat is easily
detected. The hiding-place, or dining-room, of a full-grown caterpillar
is shown on the plate; change to the chrysalis is often effected in a
somewhat similar structure.
The chrysalis is grey, ochreous-grey, or greenish; shaded or striped
with brownish. The raised points are burnished, and according to the way
light falls on them appear golden or silvery. This metallic effect is
also seen on other parts of the chrysalis, but chiefly on the back.
This butterfly is a notorious migrant. Its proper home is probably in
Northern Africa, and there it, at times, becomes so exceedingly numerous
that emigration is possibly a necessity in the interests of future
generations of the species. Whatever the cause of their leaving may be,
there is no doubt about the fact that the butterflies do quit the land
of their birth in great swarms. Almost any part of the world may become
the dumping-ground of this surplus stock. Our own islands are frequently
favoured in this way, and it is most likely that if this were not so,
this pretty butterfly would not be so common throughout Great Britain as
it is in some years. The natural habit of the species is to go on
reproducing its kind throughout the year, and those individuals that
arrive here most certainly endeavour to do this in their new home.
Unfortunately our climate is not, as a rule, a suitable one for those
caterpillars which hatch from the egg late in the season, and although
some may complete their growth, and even attain the perfect state, the
butterfly, so far as is known, does not hibernate as do the
Tortoiseshells and the Peacock. It may therefore be assumed that the
specimens seen in May or June of any year are not native born, but early
immigrants, and that it is from such aliens that the caterpillars and
butterflies observed later in the year are descended.
A curious habit of the Painted Lady, and also of the Red Admiral, is
that of continuing on the wing long after other kinds of butterfly have
retired to their resting-places for the night. Both have been seen
flying about at dusk, and have been recorded as attracted by light on
more than one occasion.
It has been noted that these butterflies, in early summer, usually occur
singly, and seem to become attached to some short stretch of ground,
over which they career to and fro with almost mechanical regularity.
They may be struck at with the net again and again, but do not desert
their beat. Even if caught and released again they appear to be
undismayed, and resume their interrupted patrol either at once or very
shortly afterwards. The later butterflies also are not afraid of the
net, and will repeatedly return to some favourite perch after being
struck at and missed.
Although the butterfly has been observed, sometimes in abundance, in
every part of the British Islands, even to the Shetlands, its occurrence
in any given locality is always uncertain. In some years it may be
fairly common in the early part of the year and very scarce later on.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 46.
=Red Admiral.=
_Eggs enlarged; young and adult caterpillars; chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 47.
=Red Admiral.=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
A North American species, _Pyrameis virginiensis_ (_huntera_), has been
once or twice, since 1828, reported as captured in England, but its
occurrence in this country can only be regarded as accidental.
The Red Admiral (_Pyrameis atalanta_).
The vivid contrast of black and scarlet in this butterfly will certainly
arrest the attention of even the least observant. But Nature, ever
excellent in her colour schemes, has toned down the glare of the scarlet
bands by the addition of some splashes and dots of white above them on
the fore wings, and some dots of black on those of the hind wings. Then,
by way of a finish, there is a delicate tracing of blue along the outer
margin of the fore wings, and a touch of the same colour at the angle of
the hind wings, the scalloped margins of all the wings being white
relieved by black points. On the under side the combination of colour on
the fore wings is much the same as above, but there is also some blue
tracing on the central area, and the tips harmonize with the hind wings,
which are mottled with various shades of brown, traversed by wavy black
lines, and have a more or less square pale spot on their front edges.
The ordinary variation in this butterfly consists of slight differences
in the tone of the red markings, which ranges from the normal scarlet in
one direction to almost crimson, and in the other to orange-yellow. The
bands on the fore wings may be broken up into two, or sometimes three,
distinct parts; and a specimen with the bands of hind wings marked with
yellow has been noted. There is often a white dot in the bands of the
fore wings, and this occurs in both sexes.
A somewhat rare variety is represented on Plate 49. It was reared from
one of three caterpillars casually picked up at Erith, and is now in Mr.
Sabine's collection. Somewhat similar specimens have been figured
elsewhere. One of these was bred from a caterpillar found at Ashton in
1867, and another was captured in Jersey in 1893. All these varieties
seem to be modifications of the form named _klemensiewiczi_ by Schille,
and which was figured by Esper as a variety of _atalanta_ in 1777. This
form has also resulted from temperature experiments on the chrysalis, of
the kind previously adverted to.
The egg when first laid is green in colour, but as the caterpillar
matures within the colour changes to greenish-black, with the ten ribs
showing up more or less transparent. The egg is laid in an upright
position on nettle leaves and young shoots, but not in batches like
those of the Tortoiseshell, etc.
The caterpillar varies in colour. Some are blackish freckled with white,
with two yellow stripes, sometimes broken up, on the sides; and the rows
of branched spines yellow, except those nearest the head, which are
black or tipped with black. Others are greyish, or grey marked with
yellowish-green. Others, again, are dark brownish, with the spines on
the back pale, and those on the sides black; or all the spines may be
shining black (Hellins).
The chrysalis is greyish, prettily ornamented with gold along the centre
of the back and on the thorax and head. The projections are also tinged
with metallic gloss. It is generally suspended under a canopy of nettle
leaves.
The caterpillars do not live in companies like those of the Peacock
and Tortoiseshells, but each individual constructs for itself a kind of
tent (see Plate 48) by spinning together the leaves of its food-plant,
the common stinging-nettle. Although the caterpillar is well concealed
in such hiding-places when newly made, it "gives itself away" when it
has partly consumed its home. It has been found on pellitory
(_Parietaria officinalis_), and also on hop (_Humulus_); but I have
found that caterpillars fed on hop alone always produce small
butterflies.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 48.
=Red Admiral.=
_Caterpillar's shelter-tent, and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 49.
1, 2 _Red Admiral var._
3, 4 _Painted Lady var._]
The caterpillars, which in a state of Nature are often badly
"ichneumoned," have been noted in England as early as the end of June
and as late as October. In the South of Europe they have been seen in
February.
The butterflies seen in spring and early summer, up to, say, the
beginning of July, are supposed to have wintered in this country, but
there is no positive evidence, that I can find, that the butterfly does
hibernate here. It is, however, most probable that they are arrivals
from abroad. The species is found throughout Europe and North Africa,
Northern Asia, and North America, and it may be suspected of migration,
although there is, perhaps, not such conclusive evidence on this point
as in the case of its cousin, the Painted Lady.
Anyway, unless we admit immigration, it seems difficult to understand
why this butterfly should suddenly become common in some British
localities from which it has been almost or quite absent for several
years. Again, we rarely hear of butterflies moving about at night, but
the Red Admiral, as well as the Painted Lady, are known to do this. If
it does hibernate in this country it is very late in taking up winter
quarters, as it is seen on the wing at the end of October, and sometimes
even in November; it has also been known to emerge from the chrysalis in
the latter month. It does not appear in the spring with other
hibernating species, and is rarely seen before the end of May, but June
seems to be about the normal time.
In the autumn it is fond of making excursions into the flower garden
and the orchard, where it takes toll from flower and fruit, an over-ripe
pear or plum being its special weakness. The blossoms of ivy, hop,
thistle, teazle, etc., are attractive, but a tree-stem that has been
bored by the caterpillar of the goat moth will be visited by nearly
every Red Admiral in the district. One observer mentions that he once
saw quite thirty of these butterflies gathered around one wounded birch
tree on Wimbledon Common. There was not room for all to imbibe at the
same time, but those unable to satisfy their desire at the moment were
content to sit around and await a favourable opportunity of joining in
the feast. The seductive fluid obtained from such trees is evidently
more potent than the nectar from flowers, as under its influence the
insect is so listless that it may be taken up between the finger and
thumb.
Its range extends throughout the British Islands, and seems to be very
similar to that of the Painted Lady.
The Silver-washed Fritillary (_Argynnis paphia_).
The wings of this fine butterfly are fulvous, with the veins and spots
black; the spots on the hind wings are band-like, and the central spots
on the fore wings are sometimes connected. The female is paler than the
male, and is without the heavy black scales (_androconia_) on veins 1,
2, and 3; the basal third of the fore wing, and a larger area of the
hind wing, tinged with greenish. The form of the female with all the
wings greenish is the var. _valesina_ (Plate 52), and between this and
the type there are various intergrades, one of which is shown on the
plate. Specimens with white spots on the fore wings, and chiefly in the
males, are sometimes not uncommon in the New Forest, as, for instance,
in the year 1893, when quite a large number were secured. Very much more
rarely white spots occur on all the wings (Plate 57, Fig. 1). In a very
remarkable male specimen, taken in the New Forest in 1881, the central
area of all four wings is black, and the veins beyond are broadly edged
with the same colour. A curious female aberration has the central black
spots much reduced or absent, whilst those on the outer margin are
united, and form elongate blotches between the veins, the upper one
being wedge-shaped. Aberrations of the _valesina_ form, similar to that
figured on Plate 57, Fig. 2, and Fig. 25 on next page, are not often met
with; the ground colour is greenish, but much suffused and clouded with
black. Now and then gynandrous specimens are obtained, the one side
normal male and the other side typical female, or var. _valesina_.
The egg when newly laid, in July, is whitish tinged with green, ribbed,
and cross-furrowed, the alternate ribs not extending to the top. As the
caterpillar matures, the egg-shell appears blackish and the ribs hoary.
The caterpillar when full grown is velvety black with two bright yellow
lines along the back; the spines are of a reddish-ochreous colour with
the extreme tips and branches black. There are only two on the first
ring, and these are inclined forward over the head. The chrysalis is of
a pale ochreous colour, streaked and mottled with brownish; the hollow
part of the back has a brilliant golden sheen, and the points on the
rest of the body are gold tipped. Suspended by the anal hooks to a
silken pad spun on a twig, rock, or other object in the vicinity of its
feeding-place, it is capable of much activity in the way of wriggling
when touched, and displays the beauty of its metallic adornment to the
greatest advantage when so engaged.
The caterpillar hatches in August, and after eating its egg-shell and
nibbling a leaf or two of dog-violet (_Viola canina_), goes into winter
quarters whilst in its second skin, and consequently very small; the
spines, which are such an imposing feature of the adult caterpillar,
have not yet appeared. In April, after feeding again, it moults the
second time, and the spines are then disclosed.
Sometimes caterpillars continue to feed in the autumn instead of
hibernating. This, at least, has happened to Mr. Frohawk on two
occasions, notably in 1893, when he had several individuals of a brood,
from eggs laid by a female of the _valesina_ form, that departed from
the usual custom of their kind by feeding and growing until they
eventually passed through all the stages and emerged perfect butterflies
in September and October of that year. Something similar occurred in a
brood that he was rearing in the autumn of 1895, but on this occasion
only one caterpillar continued to feed beyond the normal time.
The English name by which we now know this, the largest of the six
British Argynnids, seems to have been given to it by Moses Harris in
1778. Sixty years or so before that date it was called the "Greater
Silver-streaked Fritillary." Fortunately, in this case, as in others
where the vulgar tongue is entomologically concerned, the law of
priority does not apply, so that the name Silver-washed, which so well
expresses the underside ornamentation, may be retained.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.
=Aberration of var. valesina.=]
The butterfly is probably to be found in most of the Southern English
and Welsh counties, especially where there are extensive woods. In North
Devon, however, it occurs in places where there is not much in the way
of woodland. It is abundant in the New Forest, and also in some parts of
Ireland. Although it has been observed as far north as the Clyde, it is
scarce in North England and Scotland. The _valesina_ form is to be seen,
in July and August, in the New Forest every year, and sometimes in
numbers. This variety has been reported from Kent, Sussex, Devon, and
Dorset; also from "near Reading" and "the border of Hertfordshire."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 50.
=Silver-washed Fritillary.=
1, 3 _male_; 2, 4, 5 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 51.
=Silver-washed Fritillary.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
Abroad, the typical form is distributed through Europe and Asia to
China, Corea, and Japan. The _valesina_ variety is uncommon in Northern
Europe, but in some parts of China it seems to be the dominant form.
The High Brown Fritillary (_Argynnis adippe_).
Bright fulvous with black spots and veins. The female is not so bright
in tint as the male, and is without the thick patch of scales on veins 2
and 3. The series of black spots parallel with the outer margin of the
fore wing are normally six in number, but the third is usually small and
sometimes absent, whilst the fourth and fifth are often much larger than
others of the series. In the corresponding row on the hind wing the
first and third spots are sometimes wanting. On the under side the
silvery spots are generally as seen in Plate 54, but they are subject to
modification, and not infrequently are absent from the tips of the fore
wings, and sometimes from the outer margin of the hind wings also. A
very rare aberration has the central area of the fore wings black on the
upper and under sides; the hind wings are black above with fulvous
lunules on the outer margin, and the silvery spots on the under side are
reduced to five, and these are confined to the basal area. In another
remarkable form the hind wings above are similar to the last-mentioned
variety, but on the under side the silvery spots on the basal half are
united and form a large patch, which is divided by the nervures, and
there are no silvery spots on the outer margin. The variety shown on
Plate 57 has the under side of the hind wings buff in colour, the
markings on the outer margin are reddish-brown with a few silvery scales
towards the anal angle, and the basal silvery spots are confluent,
agreeing in the latter character with the preceding variety, and also
with var. _charlotta_ of the next species. In var. _cleodoxa_ the spots
on the under side are yellowish instead of silvery, but the red spots on
the outer area are sometimes silver centred; this form is only rarely
found in Britain. Possibly some of the reputed British examples of _A.
niobe_ may have been referable to _cleodoxa_, but what appears to be
more certain is that the actual occurrence of _niobe_ in England is
exceedingly doubtful.
The egg when newly laid is yellowish-green; it afterwards turns pink,
and then rosy red; during the winter it changes to greyish or
bluish-green. As a rule, the eggs are laid at the end of July, and the
caterpillars do not hatch until the following March or early in April.
In 1893, however, Mr. Frohawk had a few caterpillars hatch out between
the middle of August and September 20, from a number of eggs laid at the
end of June. One of these, fed up, pupated on October 13, and the
butterfly emerged on November 21. The majority of the eggs remained over
to the following spring. According to an observation made by Mr. W.H.B.
Fletcher, the caterpillar is fully formed soon after the egg is laid,
but remains within the shell all the winter.
The caterpillar, which feeds upon dog-violet, and also the sweet violet,
is figured on Plate 53. The head is pinkish-brown, covered with short
greyish bristles. Body black, incrusted with ochreous grey on the sides,
and on the back marked with ochreous grey on the hinder half of each
ring; dorsal line white. The branched spines are pinkish-brown.
The chrysalis is deep brown, freckled with paler; points along the
back of the body brilliant greenish-golden, as also are the four points
on the thorax. The wing-cases are rather paler. The foregoing brief
description was taken on July 10, and the butterfly emerged five days
afterwards.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 52.
=Greenish Silver-washed Fritillary.=
_Var. valesina, female._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 53.
=High Brown Fritillary.=
_Eggs enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
Barrett says, "Apparently found in most of the larger woods of the
southern counties, from Kent, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk on the east,
to Devonshire, Glamorganshire, and Merionethshire on the west; also in
similar situations through the north-western counties and the more
sheltered woods of the Midlands to Herefordshire, Shropshire,
Derbyshire, and Lincolnshire. Found in several localities in Yorkshire,
in the favoured Grange and Silverdale districts of Lancashire, and near
Lake Windermere in Westmoreland, its extreme northern boundary being
reached in Cumberland."
It is widely distributed over Europe, and its range extends into Asia
Minor and Amurland. In China and Japan it is represented by various
forms, the commonest of which is var. _locuples_.
The Dark Green Fritillary (_Argynnis aglaia_).
This butterfly is bright fulvous in the male, paler in the female; the
latter sex is blackish towards the base, and has paler spots on the
outer margin. The black marking is pretty much as in the previous
species, but the male has the black scales (_androconia_) on veins 1 and
2, and these are less conspicuous. The basal two-thirds of the hind
wings is greenish on the under side. The silvery spots are arranged in
fairly regular series, and there are no silvery centred red spots
between the two outer series. The blackish crescents on the outer margin
of the fore wings are edged with silver, but this is chiefly towards the
tips of the wings.
There is some variation in the tone of the ground colour, lighter or
darker than normal in both sexes; the female seems to be the most
variable in this respect, and sometimes, especially in the north,
examples of this sex are much suffused with blackish or greenish-black.
Occasionally the colour is quite pale, as shown in the middle figure on
Plate 61, and sometimes it is clouded with greyish. The black spots are
apt to run together, and so form bands and blotches. An example of this
kind of aberration is shown on the plate.
Var. _charlotta_ differs very little from the type on the upper side,
but on the under side of the hind wings the basal silvery spots are
united, as shown in the upper reverse side figure on the plate. This
variety was known to the entomologist of Haworth's time as the "Queen of
England Fritillary," and there is a figure of it in Sowerby's "British
Miscellany," which was published in 1806.
The egg is yellowish when first laid, and a day or two afterwards
violet-brown rings appear above the base and the apical half. It is
ribbed and finely cross-ribbed, and some of the ribs are continued to
the truncate and slightly depressed top.
When full grown the caterpillar is shining purplish-grey, thickly mixed
with velvety black; the grey is most in evidence between the rings and
along the lower part of the sides. There is a yellow stripe along the
middle of the back, and this has a central black line of irregular
width; along the lower part of the sides there is a row of reddish
spots, and these are connected by a fine yellowish line. The black
spines are branched, and, except on the first three rings, which have
only two rows, arranged in three rows on each side of the yellow stripe.
The head is glossy black, and, like the body, hairy. (_Adapted from
Buckler._)
It feeds in May and June on dog-violet, and has been reared on garden
pansy. The chrysalis has the head, thorax, and wing-cases black, very
glossy, and marked with pale brownish; the body is pale brownish, and
the points black. Suspended in a tent-like arrangement of leaves.
Moorlands, downs, sea-cliffs, and flowery slopes are the kind of
situations most to the fancy of this agile butterfly. It is on the wing
in July and August, and is much more easily seen than caught. However,
it is rather fond of perching on the taller kinds of thistles, and is
then not difficult to capture, if quietly approached. It is common
locally in most of the English and Welsh counties. In Ireland it seems
to be chiefly attached to the coast, and is plentiful in some of its
localities. In Scotland it occurs in many suitable districts, but Skye
is the only one of the isles from which it has been reported. Its
distribution extends through Europe and Asia to Amurland, China, and
Japan.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 54.
=High Brown Fritillary.=
1, 4, 5 _male_; 2, 3 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 55.
=Dark Green Fritillary.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The Queen of Spain Fritillary (_Argynnis lathonia_).
In shape and in general appearance this butterfly is not unlike a small
example of the Silver-washed Fritillary; the large silvery, or sometimes
pearly, blotches on the under side of the hind wings at once reveal its
higher British rank. When flying it has a curious resemblance to the
Wall, and sometimes it has been taken when the captor supposed that he
was netting a specimen of that plebeian butterfly. The black markings on
the upper side vary somewhat in size, and occasionally those on the
front area, or those on the inner area of the fore wings, are more or
less confluent; very rarely the wings are suffused with a steely-blue or
bronze colour. The specimens occurring in this country do not, however,
exhibit so much variation as has been observed in this butterfly abroad.
I have not seen any of the early stages. The figures of the caterpillar
and the chrysalis (Plate 58) are after Hübner, and the following
descriptions of the egg and other stages are adapted from the detailed
life-history of the species by Mr. Frohawk, published in the
_Entomologist_ for 1903:--
"The egg is one-fortieth of an inch high, of a rather straight-sided
conical form, widest at the base, where it is smooth and rounded off at
the edge. There are about forty longitudinal keels, irregularly formed
and of different lengths, some not reaching halfway up the side, and
others running the entire length from base to crown, where they
terminate abruptly, and form a series of triangular peaks round the
summit surrounding the granulated micropyle; the spaces between the
keels are finely ribbed transversely. When first laid it is of a very
pale lemon-yellow colour, inclining to ochreous, appearing almost white
in certain lights; the colour gradually deepens, becoming yellower with
a greenish tinge. On the fifth day the crown of the egg assumes a dull
grey, finally changing to a lilac-grey."
The female butterfly, when placed in the sunshine, laid about a hundred
eggs during the day--August 7. These were mostly placed singly on the
leaves or other parts of a plant of heart's-ease (_Viola tricolor_), but
some were laid on the gauze cover of the cage. All the caterpillars
hatched out on August 14.
The caterpillar when full grown is velvety black, densely sprinkled with
tiny white dots, each bearing a black bristle; there are six rows of
spines, which are of various shades of brown with yellowish bases and
shining black bristles; along the back there are two white streaks on
the fore part of each ring, and white warts emitting black bristles on
the hind part. The head is amber-coloured above, but black below, and is
covered with bristles like the body.
The chrysalis has the head, thorax, and wing-cases shining olive-brown;
the body chequered and speckled with olive-brown, ochreous, black, and
white. The spiracles are black and conspicuous, and the points on the
body are amber-coloured. The thorax and first two body rings have
brilliant burnished silver-gilt ornamentation.
The butterflies commenced to emerge on September 25, and between that
date and the 28th ten came out. Although he succeeded in rearing almost
all the caterpillars to the chrysalis, no less than eighty died in this
stage, and he states that "there is no doubt that the late autumn
English climate is quite unsuited for the existence of this species," as
well as for others that come to us from abroad.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 56.
1, 2, 3 _Pearl-bordered Fritillary vars._
4, 5 _Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary vars._
6, 7 _Heath Fritillary vars._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 57.
1, 2 _Silver-washed Fritillary vars._
3 _High Brown Fritillary var._]
Moses Harris, in 1775, gave this butterfly the name "Queen of Spain;" it
had been known to English entomologists from 1710 until then as the
"Lesser Silver-spotted Fritillary." Gamlingay in Cambridgeshire seems to
have been the only British locality in which it had been observed until
1795, when Lewin mentions a specimen taken in a Borough (London) garden
in August. All the Cambridge specimens had been captured in the month of
May. Stephens, writing in 1828 ("Ill. Brit. Ent. Haust.," i. 37), says--
"Previously to the year 1818, few cabinets possessed even a single
specimen; and from the very few known instances of its capture (six
only, according to Mr. Haworth), there is reason to believe that some of
the specimens at that time [1803] placed in collections were foreign;
but in the above remarkable year for the appearance of certain
papilionaceous insects, this species occurred simultaneously in several,
and very distant, parts, having been taken in August by Mr. Haworth at
Halvergate, in Norfolk; by Mr. Vigors in Battersea-fields; by myself at
Dover, and, during that and the following month, near Colchester;
Birchwood, Kent; and Hertford in plenty by others. At the latter place I
saw several specimens, but was not fortunate enough to secure any."
The butterfly has been taken, chiefly odd specimens, in many of the
eastern and southern counties, from Norfolk to Dover, and almost always
in the autumn. It has also occurred at Scarborough (1868), and at least
once in Ireland (1864).
The neighbourhood of Dover seems to have always been the most favoured
locality, and no less than twenty-five specimens were captured there in
1882. Several examples were also obtained at Dover in 1883, and a single
specimen in other parts of Kent in 1884 and 1885. The most recent
records are--Brighton, one example in 1892; Clifton, one in July, 1898;
Christchurch, one in August, 1899; Poole, one in 1901. There does not
seem to be any authentic record of the caterpillar having been observed
in Kent or any other British locality in which the butterfly has been
noted. This may possibly be due to its love of concealment.
There are two flights of the butterfly in the year, one in the spring
and the other in the autumn.
Females from the Continent may arrive on our east or south coasts in
May, and deposit eggs from which the autumn butterflies are developed.
Some of these might wander farther inland, but eggs would almost
certainly be laid on the spot. The fate of the caterpillars from
autumnal eggs would depend on the winter; if mild they, or at least some
of them, might manage to get through and attain the butterfly state
about May, but their doing so is rather doubtful.
The species is widely distributed and often common on the Continent, and
its range extends to Persia, Northern Asia, and North Africa. In Eastern
Asia it is represented by var. _isoea_.
The Pearl-bordered Fritillary (_Argynnis euphrosyne_).
Some authors consider the smaller Fritillaries to be generically
separable from the larger kinds, and place this and the next species in
the genus _Brenthis_, whilst the Queen of Spain is referred to the genus
_Issoria_, Hübner. Here, however, they are retained in _Argynnis_.
In colour and in the marking of the upper side the Pearl-bordered is
very like the High Brown, but, as will be seen from the figures, it is
much smaller in size, and the ornamentation on the under side is
different. There is one silvery spot at the base of the hind wings, a
larger one about the middle of the wings, and a row of spots on the
outer margin. The female is rather larger than the male, and darker at
the bases of the wings.
[Illustration: _Pl. 58._
=Queen of Spain Fritillary.=
_Caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 59.
=Dark Green Fritillary.=
1, 4 _male_; 2, 3, 5 _female_.]
Variation on the upper side consists of more or less black suffusion on
the basal or general area of the wings, and an increase in the size of
the black spots, resulting in the formation of bands or patches; or the
black spots may be much reduced in size, and some of them entirely
absent. Some of the more striking kinds of aberration, both above and
below, are represented on Plate 56, Figs. 1-3, and Plate 65, Figs. 1-4.
The usual colour is sometimes replaced by buff, and this may be
yellowish or whitish in tint; occasionally white spots appear on the
wings. The life-history of this butterfly is depicted on Plate 60.
The egg, which is laid in May or June, is whitish-green at first, and
afterwards turns brownish. It is distinctly ribbed, and the top is
somewhat rounded and hollowed in the centre.
The full-grown caterpillar is black, and the numerous minute hairs with
which it is clothed give it a velvety appearance. There is a
greyish-edged black line down the middle of the back, and the spines on
each side of this are whitish or yellowish, with the tips and the
branches black; all the other spines are black. A greyish stripe runs
along the lower part of the sides, and this is traversed from the fourth
to the last ring by a blackish line. Head black, shining, downy, and
slightly notched on the crown. The natural food-plant is dog-violet
(_Viola canina_), but the caterpillar will also eat garden pansy, and
has been known to nibble a leaf of primrose. It retires for hibernation
when quite small, and recommences to feed in March.
The chrysalis is brownish, with the raised parts of the thorax and head
greyish; the body is paler brown, and the points thereon are blackish.
This butterfly seems to be fairly common in woods throughout England
and Wales, and it is often abundant in some of the more extensive
woodlands, especially in the southern counties. It used to be plentiful
in Northumberland and Durham, but has become scarcer in those counties,
and in some others in the north of England. It occurs in Scotland, and
is not uncommon in Sutherlandshire, but Kane does not include it in his
Irish catalogue.
Clearings in woods are generally the best places in which to find this
pretty little Fritillary; but it also seems to have a fondness for the
margins of brooks and rills, where these run through or by the sides of
woods. Usually it is on the wing in May or June, but sometimes, in early
seasons, it puts in an appearance at the end of April. To entomologists
of a bygone age it was known as the "April Fritillary," but this name
would hardly be a suitable one for it in the present day. Very rarely a
few specimens have been taken in August; and there is at least one
record of caterpillars that had ceased feeding in July, in the usual
way, and were apparently settled down for hibernation, suddenly arousing
from their slumbers, and completing their growth in August.
Abroad, the species is distributed throughout Europe, except the extreme
south, and extends into Armenia, Northern Asia Minor, the Altai, and
Amurland. It is stated to be double-brooded on the Continent.
The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (_Argynnis selene_).
This butterfly differs from the last one referred to in having a rather
deeper colour on the upper side, and heavier black markings on the outer
margin of the hind wings. The female is slightly more orange in tint,
and has a series of pale spots on the outer margin of each wing. On the
under side the red markings are browner in tint, and there are more
silvery spots on the hind wings. Variation in colour and marking is
similar to that mentioned under the Pearl-bordered. On Plate 66 a white
spotted female and a specimen with the hind wings clouded with black are
represented. These are rather uncommon aberrations. The life-history of
this species is figured on Plate 62.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 60.
=Pearl-bordered Fritillary.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; partly grown caterpillar; chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 61.
=Dark Green Fritillary vars.=
1, 2, 4, 5 _male_; 3 _female_.]
The egg is at first greenish, then yellowish, and afterwards greyish,
and then becoming blackish towards the hollowed top. The ribs seem to be
eighteen or twenty in number; laid in June or July on plants of
dog-violet. On emerging from the egg the young caterpillar devours most
of the shell. It is then of a pale olive colour with brownish warts,
from each of which there is a pale and rather long jointed bristle; the
head is black. The full-grown caterpillar is smoky pink and
velvety-looking. There is a brownish line along the middle of the back.
The spines are "ochreous in colour, tinged with pink, and beset with
fine pointed black bristles." The upper ones are rather stouter than the
others, and the pair on the first ring, the only spines on this ring,
are rather more than twice the length of the others, and are directed
forward over the head, thus giving the appearance of a pair of horns;
the second and third rings have each four spines, which are rather finer
than those on the rest of the body, which are arranged in six rows. A
pale pinkish stripe runs along the lower part of the body; just above
the feet. Head black and notched on the crown (Buckler). The chrysalis
is brown on the thorax and the body; the wing-cases are more ochreous
and marked with black near the edge. There is a black V-mark on the
thorax, with a silvery spot on each side, one silvery spot on each side
of the head, and other metallic spots on the body near the thorax
(Buckler).
On the Continent there are two broods of the butterfly, and specimens
are occasionally seen in August in this country; one of these late
examples, taken by Mr. Barker in 1881, is shown on the plate (Fig. 6).
Sometimes one or two caterpillars of a brood in confinement will feed up
and attain the perfect state in August instead of settling down with
their companions for hibernation.
The butterfly in June and July frequents similar places to those
favoured by the Pearl-bordered, and its distribution in Britain is
somewhat similar, although it is a more local species. It seems,
however, to be commoner in Scotland than the Pearl-bordered, and has
been recorded at least once from Ireland.
Its range abroad extends farther east, as it is found in Corea.
The Heath Fritillary (_Melitæa athalia_).
The ground colour of this butterfly, sometimes called the
"Pearl-bordered Likeness" or "May Fritillary," is brownish-orange, and
the markings are black or blackish; the bases of the wings are clouded
with blackish, and the fringes are white checkered with black.
The ground colour varies in tint, and may be pale tawny or deep reddish.
The black markings are subject to modification in two directions; in one
leading up to almost complete disappearance from the central area, and
in the other they are much intensified and greatly obscure the ground
colour. Sometimes the whole of the wings, with the exception of a series
of orange spots on the outer area, are blackish. This form is known as
var. _navarina_. The left-hand figure at the bottom of Plate 68 shows an
aberration approaching this form, whilst the right-hand figure comes
close to var. _corythalia_. Specimens with all the wings thinly marked
with black, as in the fore wing of the variety last referred to, would
be referable to var. _obsoleta_.
According to Barrett, specimens from Essex have the ground colour on
the under side of the hind wing much yellower than are the same parts in
specimens from Sussex. I have not noticed this, but some Essex examples
that I have seen were much darker and more heavily marked with black on
the upper side, and especially on the hind wings, than any that I have
seen from other parts of England, except, perhaps, a few individuals
from North Devonshire. These Essex specimens reminded me very much of
_M. dictynna_, a Continental species, with which, it appears, the Heath
Fritillary was confounded by some of the old authors.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 62.
=Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar (after Buckler),
and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 63.
=Queen of Spain Fritillary.=
1, 2 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.]
There is a good deal of variation on the under side, but chiefly of a
minor character, and most often unconnected with variation on the upper
side. The following are more important varieties.
Var. _tessellata_, the Straw May Fritillary of Petiver, and figured by
him in 1717 and by Stephens in 1827, has the under side of the hind
wings entirely straw-coloured with black veins. There are three large
squarish yellow spots on the basal area, outlined in black; a yellow
central band, margined and traversed by black lines. On the outer margin
there is a series of yellow crescents, outlined in black.
Var. _eos_ of Haworth (the Dark Underwing Fritillary) is the _pyronia_
of Hübner and Stephens, and a modification of var. _corythalia_, Hübn.
On the under side the fore wings are fulvous, and have two black spots
in the discal cell, and a black band, intersected by the veins, on the
central area. On the hind wings the basal third is fulvous with eight
black spots; the central area is whitish intersected by the black veins.
On the yellow-tinged whitish outer area there is a series of
black-margined orange crescents; a row of black lunules precedes a thin
black line on the outer margin.
The egg is upright, ribbed, and pale whitish-green in colour. As the
caterpillar matures the shell becomes greyish. The eggs were laid in a
cluster on a leaf of cow-wheat (_Melampyrum pratense_) as shown in the
figure, but failed to hatch.
The full-grown caterpillar is black on the back, becoming olive tinged
on the sides and olive-brown underneath; the divisions between the rings
are olive. The whole of the upper surface, except a line along the
middle of the back, is dotted with white, and there are eleven
white-tipped orange or yellowish spines on each ring, except the last
two and the three nearest the head; the first and the last each have
four spines, the third has eight, and the second and the eleventh have
each ten spines. The head is black marked with white, and is clothed
with short, stiff, black hair or bristles (Buckler). The chrysalis is
pale whitish-ochreous, the markings on the wing-cases are black, and
those on the other parts are orange and black.
Cow-wheat appears to be the chief food of the caterpillar, but it will
also eat, and has been found on, foxglove (_Digitalis purpurea_) and
woodsage (_Teucrium scorodonia_). Plantain is also said to be a
food-plant, but Buckler says that his caterpillars would not eat this.
The caterpillars are rather shy in their habits, and, except when the
sun is shining brightly, require to be carefully looked for among their
food-plant and the dead leaves, etc., around. They hatch from the egg in
July, feed for a few weeks, and then hibernate in companies under a web.
In April and May they become active again, feed up quickly, and appear
as butterflies in June and early July.
The species is, unfortunately, becoming scarcer in England than it used
to be. It seems quite to have disappeared from some of the districts in
which it was formerly common. No doubt in one or two of its old and
well-known localities the butterflies, and perhaps the caterpillars
also, have been too freely taken, and its natural enemies have probably
completed the business. Clearings in woods or heathy borders of woods
are the kind of places this species appear to prefer. Its headquarters
in any given locality seems to be changed from time to time, so that the
exact spot where it will occur next year cannot be predicted from this
year's observations.
The butterfly seems to be unknown in Scotland, and has only been
recorded from Killarney in Ireland. In England it is to be found in the
counties of Essex, Kent, Surrey, and Devonshire.
Its geographical distribution extends through Europe into Asia Minor,
East Siberia, and Northern Amurland. In Corea and Japan it is
represented by a larger form known as var. _niphona_.
The Glanville Fritillary (_Melitæa cinxia_).
This butterfly is bright brownish-orange with black markings, as shown
on Plate 71. The under side of the hind wings and the tips of the fore
wings are very pale yellowish; the former with two black-margined
brownish-orange bands, and lines of black dots; the tip of the fore wing
is also dotted and marked with black. The female is slightly paler, and
the markings are often blurred.
There is variation in the black markings on the upper side. Sometimes
these are enlarged, but more often they are much reduced, and the
central one may be completely absent from all the wings. Connected with
the suppression of the middle black line above there is usually
aberration on the under side of the hind wings also, where the central
area is clear of black dots, and the basal area is fulvous, edged and
marked with black. Two very remarkable aberrations are represented on
Plate 65, Figs. 7, 8.
The eggs, which are yellowish-white, and sometimes tinged with green,
are laid in a cluster on the under side of the tip of a leaf of the
narrow-leafed plantain (_Plantago lanceolata_). The caterpillars hatch
in July and August, and hibernate in companies under a web. The mature
caterpillar is black with white dots, and black bristles arising from
greenish warts. The red head, which is notched on the crown, and the red
fore legs distinguish this at once from the caterpillars of the Heath,
or the Marsh Fritillary. It feeds in early spring on plantain, but seems
to prefer _Plantago maritima_ to _P. lanceolata_ when both are present.
The chrysalis is brownish in colour, and is ornamented with orange on
the thorax, and with orange points and black marks on the body. It may
be found in April and early May suspended from the lower parts of the
stems of the plantain or other plants around. Newman states that he
found "dozens of the chrysalids in company," but I have only
occasionally met with them, and always singly.
Quite early in the eighteenth century this butterfly had only been
observed in England in Lincolnshire, where, according to Ray, it was
common, and in a wood at Dulwich. Petiver, who mentioned the last-named
locality, calls it the "Dullidge Fritillary." Wilkes in 1773 wrote of it
as the "Plantain Fritillary," although he gives clover and grass, as
well as plantain, as the food of the caterpillar. Moses Harris in the
Aurelian (1779) calls the butterfly the "Glanville Fritillary," and
states that it was named after Lady Glanville, who was interested in
butterflies, and whose will was disputed on that ground. This fact will
serve to show that entomology as a pursuit was not much in vogue at that
time, and that those who collected butterflies, etc., were apt to be
regarded by their friends as being--well, just a "wee bit daft."
Both Wilkes and Harris, it may be remarked, seem to have been acquainted
with the caterpillar of this species as well as with that of the Marsh
Fritillary, and there seems little reason, therefore, to suspect that
they confused the two species. The localities given by the earlier
authors appear, however, to suggest that the butterfly they wrote about
may have been the Marsh Fritillary; but there is no direct evidence of
this.
Stephens in 1827 ("Illustrations of British Entomology," Haustellata,
vol. i. p. 34) wrote--
"This is a very local species, and is found in meadows by the sides of
woods; in Wilkes' time it was not uncommon in Tottenham wood; recently
the places where it has been chiefly observed have been near Ryde and
the Sandrock Hotel, Isle of Wight; in the latter place in plenty: also
at Birchwood, and near Dartford and Dover, and in a wood near Bedford. I
believe that it has been found in Yorkshire."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 64.
=Pearl-bordered Fritillary.=
1, 2, 3 _male_; 4, 5, 6 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 65.
1, 2, 3, 4 _Pearl-bordered Fritillary vars._
5, 6 _Marsh Fritillary vars._
7, 8 _Glanville Fritillary vars._]
There is no doubt that between 1858 and 1863 the butterfly was more
or less common on parts of the Kentish coast between Folkestone and
Sandgate, but it seems to be equally certain that the species has long
been absent from that part of England as well as from other localities
that have been mentioned, except the Isle of Wight, where it is still to
be found. It flies in May and June, and seems to have a preference for
the rougher parts of the undercliff; but I have seen butterflies and
caterpillars too on the higher slopes of St. Boniface. Whenever the
caterpillars are met with, it will be well to remember that only the
full-grown ones should be taken, as the smaller ones do not thrive very
well in confinement. A little self-denial in this matter will bring its
own reward in the shape of fine specimens for the cabinet, and the
pleasant reflection that the useless sacrifice of a number of
caterpillars has been avoided.
The butterfly is widely spread and generally common on the Continent,
and in the Channel Islands it is plentiful in Alderney and Guernsey. Its
range extends into Asia Minor, Central Asia, and Siberia.
The Marsh Fritillary (_Melitæa aurinia_).
This species, of which several forms are represented on Plate 73, is
subject to considerable variation in depth of colour, and also in size
and intensity of the markings, in all localities. The varieties here
referred to are more or less characteristic of the countries in which
they occur. To mention all the forms, or even those to which varietal
names have been given, would occupy more space than is available for the
purpose.
Reddish-orange or bright tawny, veins black, breaking up the yellow or
yellowish transverse bands; there are three or four transverse black
lines, the first and second, counting from the base of the wing, not
always distinct; basal area more or less suffused with black. On the
under side the fore wings are fulvous, with faint traces of the
upper-side markings; the hind wings are rather redder, especially on the
outer half, and have yellowish markings, comprising some spots towards
the base of the wings, a band beyond the middle, a series of black
centred spots, and crescents on the outer margin. The above applies more
particularly to the form of the butterfly occurring in England and
Wales.
The Irish form known as _præclara_ has the transverse band
straw-coloured, the red colour is more vivid, and the black veins and
cross-lines heavier; the area nearest the base of the wings is often
blacker.
In a form occurring in Scotland, and known as var. _scotica_, the black
is still more intense, and the straw-coloured markings are dull in
colour.
The egg is pale brownish and very glossy. It appears smooth towards the
rounded base, but is ribbed from just before the middle to the top. The
eggs are laid in batches on leaves of scabious, chiefly the Devil's bit
(_Scabiosa succisa_).
The full-grown caterpillar is black, with a number of tiny whitish
dots, each bearing a short black hair; short black spines are arranged
in nine rows from ring four, the first ring is only hairy, the second
and third have each two spines. The head is black, with a groove down
the front and short hairs on the sides. The true legs are black, and the
false legs and the under parts of the body are dull rust-coloured. The
caterpillars hatch from the egg in June or July, and towards the end of
August they construct silken webs, in which they establish themselves
for hibernation. Early in March they recommence feeding, and under the
influence of much sunshine feed up quickly. Besides wild scabious, they
will eat honeysuckle and the garden kinds of _Scabiosa_. The chrysalis
is pale buff, with orange points on the body; the wing-cases are marked
with black and orange. The chrysalids are suspended from a silken web,
which is attached to a leaf or drawn-together leaves. The early stages
are figured on Plate 70.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 66.
=Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary.=
1, 3, 4 _male_; 6 _do. (second brood)_; 7 _do. var._; 2, 5 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 67.
=Heath Fritillary.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar (after Buckler),
and chrysalis._]
Kane (_Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland_), referring to this
species, remarks: "This butterfly has been known to increase so
prodigiously that whole fields and roads became blackened by the moving
myriads of larvæ. An instance of this was observed by the Rev. S.L.
Brakey, near Ennis, Co. Clare, where he drove out to see a reported
'shower of worms,' and found as above described, the larvæ being so
multitudinous in some fields that the black layer of insects seemed to
roll in corrugations as the migrating hosts swarmed over each other in
search of food. The imagines that resulted from the starved survivors
were extremely small and faded in colour."
These caterpillars are destroyed in great numbers by Hymenopterous
parasites, chiefly _Apanteles_, and it is almost certain that a large
percentage of those collected will prove to have been stung.
The butterfly is on the wing in May and June, and seems to affect damp
meadows, marshy ground on the sides of hills, and such kind of places.
It does not necessarily occur wherever its food-plant is abundant, but
scabious is always found to be present in the haunts of the butterfly;
so if we know that the insect occurs in a particular district we should
probably get a clue to its exact whereabouts by noting the likely places
in that district where the food-plant flourishes.
Although it has seemingly disappeared from various English localities
where it was formerly common, the butterfly may be found in many parts
of the British Islands, but it is local and does not occur northwards
much beyond the Caledonian Canal.
Abroad it spreads over Europe to Northern Africa, and its range extends
eastward through Asia to Amurland and Corea.
* * * * *
The fine butterfly next in order is regarded as a member of the Danainæ
by most authors. Although its generic position seems to be established,
its proper place in the classification of butterflies is still unfixed;
and even the question of its trivial or specific name is not finally
settled. According to Kirby, this butterfly is _Anosia menippe_, Hübner,
and not the true _Papilio plexippus_ of Linnæus, nor the _P. archippus_
of Cramer. American authors, however, consider it to be the Linnean
_plexippus_, and give _menippe_ Hb. as a synonym. The species is here
retained in Danainæ, but Holland places it in Euploeinæ and Skinner in
the Family Lymnadidæ.
The Milkweed Butterfly (_Anosia plexippus_).
The butterfly figured on Plate 120 is brownish-orange, with black veins
and margins on all the wings. White spots are arranged in double rows on
the black outer margin of each wing, and there are seven other rather
larger white spots on the black apical patch of the fore wings. The male
has a patch of black scales, covering the scent pouch, close to vein 2
on the hind wings.
The egg is long, oval in shape, with over twenty low upright ridges and
many cross-lines; is of a pale green colour; and is laid singly on the
food-plant of the caterpillar (various kinds of milkweed, especially the
commonest kind, _Asclepias cornuti_), and usually upon the under surface
of the upturned apical leaves near the middle. The egg state lasts only
about four days (Scudder). The caterpillar has the head smooth and
rounded, yellow, conspicuously banded with black. Body cylindrical,
tapering a little in front, naked, but with two pairs of long and very
slender black thread-like filaments, one pair, the longer, on the second
thoracic, the other on the eighth abdominal segment. The body is white,
with numerous slender black and yellow, and especially black, transverse
stripes, repeated with considerable regularity on each of the segments,
so that there are nowhere any broad patches of colour (Scudder).
[Illustration: _Pl._ 68.
=Heath Fritillary.=
1, 2, 3 _male_; 4, 5, 6 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 69.
=Glanville Fritillary.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The chrysalis is stout and not elongated, largest in the middle of the
abdomen; where it is transversely ridged; elsewhere it is smooth and
rounded, with no striking prominences, but with little conical
projections at most of the elevated points, like those which half
encircle the body at the abdominal ridge, all of a golden colour except
the latter, which are situated in a tri-coloured band, black in front,
nacreous in the middle, and gilt behind (Scudder).
According to Dr. Holland, "the butterfly is considered to be
polygoneutic, that is to say, many broods are produced annually; and it
is believed by writers, that with the advent of cold weather these
butterflies migrate to the South [in America], the chrysalids and
caterpillars which may be undeveloped at the time of the frosts are
destroyed, and that when these insects reappear, as they do every summer
in North America, they represent a wave of immigration coming northward
from the warmer regions of the Gulf States. It is not believed that any
of them hibernate in any stage of their existence. This insect sometimes
appears in great swarms on the eastern and southern coasts of New Jersey
in late autumn. The swarms pressing southward are arrested by the
ocean." Within quite recent years it seems to have effected a settlement
in Australia, "and has thence spread northward and westward, until in
its migrations it has reached Java and Sumatra, and long ago took
possession of the Philippines. Moving eastward on the lines of travel,
it has established a more or less precarious foothold for itself in
Southern England.... It is well established at the Cape Verde Islands,
and in a short time we may expect to hear of it as having taken
possession of the continent of Africa, in which the family of plants
upon which the caterpillars feed is well represented."
So far as is shown by the published records, the actual number of
specimens of the Milkweed, or, as it is sometimes called, Monarch
butterfly, seen or caught in England between 1876, in which year it was
first observed in this country, and the present time, does not much
exceed thirty, and about one-third of these were obtained in September,
1885. In 1876 single specimens were captured at Neath, S. Wales;
Hayward's Heath and Keymer, Sussex; and Poole, Dorset. In 1896 single
specimens were reported as seen at Lymington, Hants, in May; Newlands
Corner, Surrey, in July; and the Lizard, Cornwall, in September. The
years in which the butterfly has been noticed in Britain are 1876, 1881,
1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1890, and 1896. It was first observed on the
Continent in 1877, when, according to Barrett, a specimen was taken in
La Vendée, France. In 1886, when half a dozen were recorded from
England, single specimens were obtained in Guernsey, and at Oporto and
Gibraltar. "More recently," Barrett states, "Mr. H.W. Vivian found it, I
believe not uncommonly, in the Canaries, and very kindly brought me a
specimen."
There seems to be no question that the species is migratory in its
habits, but exactly how it reaches this country is not definitely known.
Neither is it known whether the species, having arrived, is able to
reproduce its kind here. From the fact of its recurrence in England for
four years in succession, the possibility of its breeding in this
country might be assumed. One objection to any such inference, however,
is that it is a many-brooded species, but, with the exception of two
records in 1896, all British specimens were captured or seen in August,
September, or October, and none seem to have been observed in the
earlier months of those years in which the autumnal butterflies were
obtained.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 70.
=Marsh Fritillary.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar (after Buckler)
and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 71.
=Glanville Fritillary.=
1, 2, 4 _male_; 3, 5, 6, 7 _female_.]
The Milkweeds (_Asclepias_) are not indigenous plants, but, as
pointed out by the late Mr. J. Jenner Weir, _A. purpurescens_ and _A.
tuberosa_ are hardy in this country. He endeavoured to ascertain whether
these plants, or either of them, were grown in any of the gardens in the
Cornish locality where four fresh specimens were captured in September,
1885. I do not find that the desired information was furnished. Recently
I have ascertained that _A. cornuti_, which grows to a height of four
feet, is used as a border plant in some parts of England. It is commonly
known as Swallow-wort, and is esteemed for its fragrant pale purple
flowers.
* * * * *
We now come to the Satyrinæ, which, as regards the number of species
belonging to it, is a very large sub-family. In Great Britain, however,
there are but eleven species, and although some of these are rather
local, none are really scarce, and most are common.
The Marbled White (_Melanargia galatea_).
Older English names for the butterfly figured on Plate 75 are "Our
Half-mourner" (Petiver, 1717), "The Marmoris" (Wilkes), and "The
Marmoress" (Harris). The ground colour is white or creamy white, and the
markings are black. On the under side the markings are similar in design
to those on the upper side, but much fainter: the eye spots, which are
not always in evidence above, are well defined below, and especially so
on the hind wings. The female is generally whiter and larger than the
male, and has the basal half of the costa, or front margin of the fore
wing ochreous brown, and the markings on the under side of the hind
wings are tinged with the same colour.
Variation consists chiefly of increase or decrease in the size of the
black markings. At least one specimen is known in which all the wings
are uniform smoky black. This is in the collection of Mr. A.B. Farn, and
was captured near Rochester, Kent, in 1871. Between this extreme and
specimens with the black markings of typical proportions there are
various modifications; but striking aberrations are rare in this
country. Sometimes there is entire or partial absence of black pigment.
A remarkable example of this kind of aberration, taken on the cliffs
between Dover and Walmer some years ago, is described as of a clear
milky-white colour, and has not, either on the upper or under side of
the wings, the smallest speck of black. The ground colour is sometimes
decidedly yellow, and very occasionally brownish.
The life-history of this butterfly is figured on Plate 74.
The egg is whitish, opaque, with a dark speck on the apex; base
flattened and slightly hollowed; finely reticulated, but without
distinct striations or anything resembling ribs. The eggs are laid in
July, and are not attached to anything.
The caterpillar when full grown, is whity-brown in colour with brownish
lines. The head is brown, tinged with pink, and the tail-like points on
the last ring are pink. The head, as well as the body, is clothed with
short hair.
The chrysalis is also whity-brown with a pinkish tinge, browner
speckling on the wing cases, and the body is marked down the back with
yellow.
Hellins says, "It hibernates when very small, becomes full fed in June,
and changes to a pupa without suspending itself in any way, or making a
cocoon; I think it would hide itself, as my examples did; I found they
had got among the thick moss with which I had furnished the bottom of
their cage, and apparently made little hollows for themselves by turning
round."
Cock's-foot grass (_Dactylis glomerata_) and cat's-tail grass (_Phleum
pratense_) are given as food-plants, but the caterpillars in confinement
seem to eat any kind of grass that is supplied.
The butterfly is found in most of the Midland counties and in nearly
all of the Southern ones, but is especially common on the chalk downs of
the South-west. It does not occur in Ireland or Scotland, and seems to
be absent from the Northern counties of England except Yorkshire. In the
last-named county it was supposed to be extinct, but during the past ten
years it has been observed at Sledmere, and near Scarborough and
Helmsley. It is also reported to be not uncommon in three localities not
far from York.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 72.
=Milkweed Butterfly.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis
(after Smith)._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 73.
=Marsh Fritillary.=
1, 3, 5, 9, 10 _male_; 2, 4, 6, 7, 11 _female_.
1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9 _English_; 8 _Welsh_; 3, 5, 10, 11 _Irish_.]
The butterflies usually affect broken ground, rough fields, grassy
slopes near woods, or even sunny banks on the edges of cornfields.
Occasionally an odd specimen or two may be met with here and there, but
as a rule they seem to keep pretty much together, so that when one comes
upon a colony of these butterflies, the selection of a series on the
spot is quite an easy matter, and can be effected without destroying a
single specimen over and above the required number.
Abroad, this species is abundant in Central and Southern Europe, and its
range extends to Northern Asia Minor and Armenia.
The Small Mountain Ringlet (_Erebia epiphron_).
The typical form of this butterfly, _epiphron_, Knock, has the tawny
bands unbroken on the fore wings, and almost so on the hind wings; the
black dots on the hind wings of the female are often pupilled with
white, and more rarely this is so in the male also. It has been stated
that specimens occur in Perthshire which exhibit these characters. All
the British examples of the Small Mountain Ringlet that I have seen are
referable to the form known as _cassiope_, Fab. (Plate 77). The tawny,
or orange, bands are rarely so entire on the fore wings as in
_epiphron_, and are generally rather narrower; and that on the hind wing
is broken up into three or four rings. The black dots are usually
smaller and without white pupils. The female is somewhat larger and the
bands or rings paler.
Variation in the markings is extensive. The bands on the fore wings
become less and less complete, until they are reduced to a series of
mere rings around the black dots. The black dots decrease in size and in
number until they, together with the tawny marking, entirely disappear,
and a plain blackish-brown insect only remains. This extreme form has
been named _obsoleta_, Tutt. The earliest rings to vanish seem to be the
third on the fore wings and the first on the hind wings. Similar
modifications occur on the under side also, but there may be aberration
on the upper side of a specimen, and not, or at least not in the same
way, on the under side.
The egg, when first laid, is yellow, changing afterwards to fawn colour
with darker markings, especially towards the top. It is laid in July on
blades of grass. The larva hatches in about sixteen days.
The young caterpillar, before hibernation in October, is greenish, with
darker green and yellow lines. Head brownish. Feeds in July and after
hibernation on various grasses, among which _Poa annua_, _Festuca
ovina_, _Aira præcox_, and _A. cæspitosa_ have been specified as eaten
by caterpillars in confinement. A distinct preference, however, has been
shown for mat grass (_Nardus stricta_), and it has been suggested that
this may be the natural food. The full-grown caterpillar appears to be
undescribed.
The chrysalis is described by Buckler as being "little more than
three-eighths of an inch in length, rather thick in proportion, being
less dumpy in form than _hyperanthus_, but more so than _blandina_. The
colour of the back of the thorax and wing cases is a light green, rather
glaucous; the abdomen a pale drab or dirty whitish; a dark brown dorsal
streak is conspicuous on the thorax, and there is the faintest possible
indication of its being continued as a stripe along the abdomen. The
eye-, trunk-, antenna-, and leg-cases are margined with dark brown, and
the wing nervures are indicated by the same colours."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 74.
=Marbled White.=
_Eggs enlarged, caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 75.
=Marbled White.=
1, 2, 4 _male_; 3, 5, 6 _female_.]
As is indicated by its English name, this interesting little
butterfly only frequents high ground, and is rarely found below about
1500 feet. All its English localities are in the lake district of
Cumberland and Westmoreland. It seems to like boggy ground, and in such
places on Gable Hill, Red Skrees, and at Langdale Pikes, among others,
it is not uncommon. Previous to 1809 the species was unknown to occur in
Britain, but in June of that year specimens were captured by Mr. T.
Stothard on the mountains at Ambleside. Haworth, in 1812, referred to
these specimens as from Scotland, but the butterfly was not taken in
that country until 1844, when it was discovered by Mr. R. Weaver in
Perthshire. It is now known to occur, sometimes in abundance, on Ben
Nevis and other adjacent hills, also in suitable spots and the proper
elevation around Lochs Rannoch and Vennachar, as well as in the Tay
district and Argyleshire.
In Ireland it was taken by Mr. E. Birchall, in June, 1854, in a grassy
hollow about halfway up the Westport side of Croagh Patrick. About five
years ago Mr. W.F. de Vismes Kane met with the butterfly on Nephin,
Mayo, and he mentioned a specimen believed to have been taken on the
hilly slopes on the eastern shores of Lake Gill, Sligo.
Abroad the species is found in mountainous parts of South Germany,
Switzerland, France, North and Central Italy. The typical form,
_epiphron_, is more especially obtained in the Hartz and Alsatian
Mountains, Silesia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.
The Scotch Argus (_Erebia æthiops_ = _blandina_).
The butterfly figured on Plate 77 is deep velvety brown, appearing
almost black in very fresh male specimens. There is a broad fulvous band
on the outer area, but not reaching either the costa or the inner
margin; it is contracted about the middle, the upper part encloses two
white pupilled black spots, and the lower part has one such spot. The
hind wings have a narrow fulvous band, usually enclosing three white
pupilled black spots. The under side is more distinctly brown and not
velvety, band of fore wings similar to above; the hind wings have a
greyish band beyond the middle, with three small white pupilled black
spots on its outer edge; the basal area is often greyish also. The
female is generally less dark and velvety, the bands are rather wider,
more orange in colour, and the white pupils of the spots are more
conspicuous; on the under side the alternate dark and pale bands are
more striking, and sometimes the grey colour is replaced by ochreous,
which seems to constitute the aberration named _ochracea_, Tutt. The
spots on the fore wings, upper side, are often increased to four by the
addition of a small one between those previously mentioned. More rarely
there is an extra spot above the upper pair, and still less frequently,
and in the female sex, an additional pair is found below the usual lower
spot, thus making six in all. On the other hand, the only spots in
evidence may be the pair in the upper part of the band. The spots on the
hind wings range in number from two to five, but occasionally all are
absent. The fulvous bands on the fore wings may be reduced to rings
around the upper and lower spots respectively, and altogether wanting on
the hind wings. Such an aberration would be referable to _obsoleta_,
Tutt, which is considered to be very rare. There are many other
modifications, but these mentioned will serve to show the variable
character of this local butterfly.
The egg is ochreous white, or bone colour, finely freckled with pale
brown or pinkish-brown; it has a number of ribs, and is also
reticulated.
The caterpillar in its last skin is pale drab, the warts pale
whitish-brown, emitting short tapering bristles; dorsal stripe
blackish-brown, enclosed by two paler drab lines; subdorsal stripe paler
drab, becoming narrow towards the anal point, edged above with a
greenish-brown thread, and below with blackish or brownish dashes, that
almost form a continuous line; below this come two thin pale lines,
above the lower of which are the circular black spiracles; the under
parts and the legs are of a somewhat warmer tint of the ground colour of
the back. It changed on June 22nd to a pupa, unattached, but placed in
an upright position amongst the grass near the ground.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 76.
=Small Mountain Ringlet.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; young caterpillar._
=Scotch Argus.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 77.
=Small Mountain Ringlet.=
1, 4 _male_; 3 _female (English)_; 2, 5, 6, 7 _male (Scotch)_.
=Scotch Argus.=
8, 11 _male (Scotch)_; 9 _do. (English)_; 10, 12 _female (Scotch)_.]
The chrysalis has the body ochreous, with a darker stripe down the back,
and other lines; the eye covers are black, and the thorax, antennæ
cases, and wing covers are dingy, dark purplish-brown.
The above descriptions of caterpillar and chrysalis are adapted from
Buckler, whose figures of these stages are also reproduced on the plate.
_Aira præcox_, _A. cæspitosa_, and _Poa_ are the grasses that seem to be
the food of the caterpillar.
Mr. Haggart, of Galashiels, who had exceptional opportunities for
observing the habits of this butterfly in its natural home, gives a most
interesting account of it in the _Entomologist_ for November, 1895. He
writes--
"The haunt of this species is, almost without exception, the margin of a
plantation or wood where the different species of _Poa_ grow abundantly,
and always situated in such a position as to receive the first rays of
the rising sun. This last-mentioned fact is so plainly evident, that the
least observant cannot fail to notice it. The insect is truly sun
loving, and no collector need go in search of it with any thought of
success if the day be dull.
"It is most interesting to observe the extreme sensibility of the insect
to shine and shade. A very good day to illustrate this is one when heavy
clouds at intervals obscure the sun; the moment it disappears so also
does the butterfly, and no sooner does it shine forth again than, as if
by magic, scores of the insect are on the wing.
"The under side of the insect bears a marked resemblance to that of a
dead leaf, and I have often watched the males being deceived by withered
leaves lying among the moss. They would flutter down quite close to the
leaf, immediately rise with a disappointed air and fly a little further,
only to be deceived again and again.
"The ova are deposited amongst the _Poa_ grass, and hatch in September.
Towards the end of October the larvæ go down and hibernate throughout
the winter and spring, coming up to feed again in May; they are
generally full-fed about the end of June; and the insect appears in July
or August. The larvæ are nocturnal feeders, coming up to feed on the
grass just about dusk. The method of procuring the larvæ is by no means
enviable, even to the most ardent entomologist, as in the uncertain
light it necessitates crawling on one's hands and knees amongst the
grass, and there is always the risk of grasping those little brown slugs
in mistake, which resemble the larvæ very much in shape and colour. No
artificial light can be used, as the larvæ immediately drop down amongst
the grass if this is done. The only alternative, therefore, is to use
one's eyes to the best advantage until the darkness makes that
impossible.
"They are not difficult to rear in confinement if the larvæ are kept
properly supplied with food."
This butterfly, which as a British species was discovered in the Isle of
Arran in 1804, only occurs in the north of England and in Scotland. Its
localities in the latter country are Glen Tilt and other valleys in the
Perthshire highlands, Strathglass in Inverness, Altyre woods at Forres;
Selkirk, Roxburgh, and various parts of Argyleshire; around the Lowther
Hills, Dumfrieshire; also in Arran and the Isle of Skye. In most of the
places it is plentiful. In England it occurs in the counties of Durham,
Westmoreland, Cumberland, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. It is common in
Castle Eden Dene, Durham; at Grassington, in Yorkshire; at Witherslack
and Arnside, in Westmoreland; and at Grange and Silverdale, in
Lancashire.
Abroad, it is distributed through Central and Southern Europe, and its
range extends into Northern Asia Minor, Kurdistan, and Armenia; the
Altai and South Siberia.
It may be noted here that _E. ligea_ was supposed to have been taken in
Arran at the same time as _E. blandina_, that is in 1804. If this were
so, it would seem that the captor must have exterminated the species,
for, although the island has often been closely explored, no one has
been able to detect the "Arran Brown" again.
The Grayling (_Satyrus semele_).
On the upper side, this butterfly (Plate 78) is brown, more or less
suffused with black, and this is especially noticeable on the outer area
of the wings in the male, where it obscures the ochreous or
rust-coloured bands, which in the female are almost free from the
suffusion. The fore wings have two black spots, the upper one generally,
and the lower often, pupilled with white. On the hind wings the bands
are clear of blackish suffusion to a greater or lesser extent, and there
is one black spot towards the anal angle which may be pupilled with
white. Apart from its larger size and brighter bands, the female may be
distinguished from the male by the absence of the blackish brand on the
disc of the fore wings. On the under side, the fore wings are ochreous,
tinged with orange on the basal half or two-thirds; hind wings are
greyish, with darker markings, and an irregular white or whitish band
beyond the middle.
Variation is largely confined to the under side of the hind wings, and
these wings, as well as the costal edge and the tips of the fore wings,
are coloured and marked, in various localities that the butterfly
affects, so that the insects may be protected from their enemies when
resting.
On the upper side of the fore wings an additional spot is sometimes
present below one or other of the usual ones. The bands of the wings are
pale ochreous in some examples, and rust-coloured in others; but it is
not unusual for a specimen with ochreous bands on the fore wings to have
rust-coloured bands on the hind wings, or ochreous bands with
rust-coloured patches on the outer portion; these patches are most
frequently triangular in shape, and placed between the veins. Gynandrous
specimens also occur, but very rarely.
The egg is of a dull creamy tint, ribbed, and with a slight depression
on the top. The eggs were laid early in August, on blades and stems of a
kind of grass; also on the leno covering, and the sides of the glass jar
in which the female butterfly was enclosed.
The caterpillar when full grown "is drab, delicately mottled, with
longitudinal stripes broadest along the middle segments, viz. a dorsal
stripe of olive-brown, very dark at the beginning of each segment, with
a thin edging of brownish-white. Along the subdorsal region are three
stripes, of which the first is composed of a double narrow line of
yellowish-brown, the second wider of the mottled ground colour, edged
with paler above and with white below; the third of similar width is of
a dark grey-brown, edged above with black. The spiracular stripe is
broader and of nearly equal width, pale ochreous-brown, edged with
brownish-white both above and below; the spiracles are black. The head
is brown, and the principal stripes of the body are delicately marked
with darker brown" (Buckler).
The chrysalis is described as "obtuse, rounded, tumid, and smooth, the
abdominal rings scarcely visible, and wholly of a deep red mahogany
colour." It was "in a hollow space a quarter of an inch below the
surface, the particles of sand and earth very slightly cohering
together, and close to the roots of the grass, yet free from them." The
figures of caterpillar and chrysalis are drawn from those in Buckler's
"Larvæ of British Butterflies."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 78.
=Grayling Butterfly.=
_Males_, 1, 3 _(Chalk)_, 2 _(Heath); females_, 4 _(Heath)_; 5, 6
_(Chalk)_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 79.
=Grayling Butterfly.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis (both after Buckler)._]
The caterpillars hatch in August, hibernate when quite small, and feed
up in the spring and early summer. They live upon grasses, such as
_Triticum repens_, _Aira cæspitosa_, and _A. præcox_.
The butterfly delights in sitting rather than flying about cliffs and
sand-hills, heaths and downs, stony hillsides, dry fields, and even open
woodlands. It is fond of sunning itself on rocks, and by some of the old
Aurelians it was called the "Rock Underwing," no doubt in reference to
the pattern and colour of the under side. It was also known as the
"Tunbridge Grayling" some two hundred years ago, when it was said to be
"very rare about London." It has long since been ascertained to occur in
almost every county in England and Wales, as far north as
Sutherlandshire in Scotland, and is widely distributed in Ireland.
On the chalk downs and cliffs the butterfly has the under side of its
hind wings so admirably agreeing in colour and marking with the soil,
etc., that although one may watch it settle a few yards ahead, it is not
to be seen when one reaches the spot. Whilst we are intent on the search
the insect starts up, flies a short distance, and there repeats the
disappearing butterfly trick. The same remarks apply to those Graylings
that affect peaty or sandy heaths, etc. When the butterfly alights on
the ground--and it rarely gets on the wing unless disturbed--it
immediately closes its wings, and then allows them to fall more or less
on one side, so that the whole of one hind wing is presented to view. It
is said to have a fancy for the resinous sap that oozes from pine trees,
and has also been observed to visit the trunks that have been "sugared."
Abroad, it is found commonly throughout the temperate parts of Europe,
North Africa, and Northern and Western Asia.
The Speckled Wood (_Pararge egeria_).
Quite early in the eighteenth century Petiver met with the butterfly
shown on Plate 80 at Enfield, so he figured it as the "Enfield Eye" in
that curious old book entitled "Papiliorium Britanniæ Icones." Later on,
Wilkes named the butterfly the "Wood Argus," thus indicating its
favourite haunts, as well as a prominent character in its ornamentation.
Harris changed the name to the "Speckled Wood Butterfly," which seems
even more suitable.
The general colour is blackish-brown, and the spots are yellowish. The
fore wings have one white-pupilled black eye spot towards their tips,
and the hind wings have three such eye spots on the outer area. The male
has a long oblique patch of blackish scales on the middle of the fore
wings, which is, perhaps, more easily detected if the insect is held up
to the light. The female is usually slightly larger than the male, the
wings rather rounder, and the yellowish spots, are, as a rule,
distinctly larger. The typical or southern form of this butterfly has
the spots of a tawny colour, but it does not occur in Britain. Our form,
in all its modifications, belongs to _egerides_, Staudinger.
Occasionally, in the south of England, specimens are found in which the
spots are tinged with fulvous; others have almost white spots. The spots
are sometimes much reduced in size in the male, or greatly enlarged in
the female.
The egg is pale greenish, finely reticulated; as the caterpillar matures
within, the shell becomes less glossy than at first, and the upper part
is blackish.
The caterpillar has a green head, which is larger than the first ring
of the body (1st thoracic), covered with short fine whitish hairs, with
which are mixed a few dark hairs. The body is rather brighter green,
with darker lines, edged with yellowish, along the back and sides; the
skin is transversely wrinkled, the rings being subdivided, and the whole
of the body is clothed with fine whitish hair and a few dark hairs
arising from warts; the anal points are whitish and also hairy. It feeds
on various grasses, among which are _Triticum repens_ and _Dactylis
glomerata_.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 80.
=Speckled Wood.=
_Spring Brood:_ 1, 2 _male_; 3, 5 _female_.
_Summer brood:_ 4, 6 _male_; 7 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 81.
=Speckled Wood.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The chrysalis is pale green, tinged with yellowish or whitish; the edges
of the wing covers are brown, and there are whitish dots on the body.
According to Hellins the colour varies, and green chrysalids may be
covered all over with very fine smoky freckles. Barrett states that they
are occasionally brownish with darker brown lines. Suspended by the
cremaster from a silken pad.
From eggs laid in early May butterflies were reared at the end of June;
and from eggs laid at the end of June butterflies resulted during middle
August. Early July eggs produced perfect insects in early September, and
from caterpillars fed up in October butterflies were obtained in
November. These observations were not all made in the same year.
Barrett writes, "In the south of Surrey in 1862, the first emergence
took place in April in abundance, these specimens became worn and
disappeared, and a second emergence took place at the end of May, a
third at the end of July, and a fourth in September; the next year the
first emergence was in the third week in March, and again four broods
were observed, but this is not the case every year, three emergences
being probably the rule."
Mr. Joy has recorded that of caterpillars, resulting from a pairing
induced in captivity, in August, eighty per cent. hibernated as pupæ,
twenty per cent. as half-fed caterpillars. Butterflies from the winter
pupæ emerged in May, but the caterpillars that had gone through the
winter in that state did not produce butterflies until June. Possibly
something of this sort occurs in the open, and we may suppose that the
early and late spring butterflies are not separate broods, but early and
late emergences of one brood. Butterflies seen on the wing in November
may be a few individuals that, owing to favourable weather, have emerged
from chrysalids which under ordinary conditions would have remained as
such during the winter.
Shady lanes, rides in woods, as well as the borders of the same, are its
favourite haunts. It is not a sun-loving butterfly, but is generally
found to frequent places where the sun's rays are more or less
intercepted by a leafy screen. It seems to be more abundant in wet
seasons than in dry ones. It is generally distributed throughout England
and Wales, but more plentiful in southern and western counties than in
the eastern and northern. In Ireland, Kane says, it is "everywhere
abundant and double brooded." It is local in Scotland, and rare north of
the Caledonian Canal.
Abroad our form of the butterfly _egerides_ is found commonly in Central
and Northern Europe, except in the extreme north, and in Northern Asia
Minor and Armenia. The typical form, _egeria_ proper, occurs in
South-Western Europe, North Africa, and Syria.
The Wall Butterfly (_Pararge megæra_).
The butterfly now under consideration is figured on Plate 82. It is
bright fulvous in colour, with blackish-brown veins, margins, and
transverse lines. There is one white pupilled black spot on the fore
wings, and four of such spots on the outer area of the hind wings; the
fourth, which is generally blind, is placed at the end of the series
near the anal angle. The male has a very conspicuous sexual brand on the
central area. The under side of the fore wings is paler than above, but
the markings are similar, except that the brand is absent and the
margins are greyer; the hind wings on the under side are greyish marked
with brown and traversed by dark lines; there is a row of six eyed spots
on the outer area; that nearest the anal angle is double. The female has
more ample wings, and as the brand is absent on the fore wings in this
sex, the central black transverse lines are more distinct.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 82.
=Wall Butterfly.=
1, 2, 5 _male_; 3, 4, 6 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 83.
=Wall Butterfly.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.
The Wall Butterfly just emerged from the Chrysalis, and with wings
distended.]
Variation is chiefly in the size of the eyed spots; sometimes the
apical one of the fore wings has a smaller one attached to its lower
margin, or in the interspace (_i.e._ between the veins) above it or
below it; or both extra spots, which are usually without white pupils,
may be present. Very rarely the apical spot may be almost absent on one
fore wing, but well defined on the other. The central transverse lines
on the fore wings of the female are sometimes broad, and very
occasionally the space between the lines is blackish; blackish-banded
male specimens are also found in some localities, such as the slopes of
Dartmoor, Devon, as mentioned by Barrett.
The ground colour varies in tint, darker or lighter than normal, but
specimens of a bright golden yellow-brown, straw colour, or whitish are
known to occur, although such extreme aberrations are exceptional.
The egg is pale green when first laid, and in shape it is almost
spherical, but rather higher than broad; it is finely ribbed and
reticulated, but unless examined through a lens it appears to be quite
smooth.
The caterpillar when full grown is whitish-green, dotted with white.
From the larger of these dots on the back arise greyish bristles; the
three lines on the back (dorsal and subdorsal) are whitish, edged with
dark green; the line on the sides (spiracular) is white, fringed with
greyish hairs; anal points green, hairy, extreme tips white. Head larger
than the first ring (1st thoracic segment), green dotted with white and
hairy, jaws marked with brownish. It feeds on grasses.
The chrysalis is green, with yellow-tinted white markings on the edge of
the wing covers and ridges; the spots on the body are yellowish, or
sometimes white. Occasionally the chrysalids are blackish, with white or
yellow points on the body.
There are certainly two broods of this butterfly in the season, and in
favourable years there may be three broods. In an ordinary way the first
flight is in May and June, and the second flight in July and August. The
caterpillars feed on _Poa annua_, _Dactylis glomerata_, etc. Those
hatched in autumn hibernate more or less completely, and become full
grown in early or late spring according to the season. Sometimes,
however, they seem to feed during the winter, and assume the chrysalis
in March. Probably it is from such precocious caterpillars that the
butterflies sometimes seen in April result.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 84.
=Meadow Brown.=
1, 2, 3, 4 _male_; 5, 6, 7 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 85.
=Meadow Brown.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._]
The Speckled Wood, it was noted, prefers shady places; the present
butterfly is more partial to sunshine and plenty of it. As its English
name suggests, it is fond of basking on walls, but it does this also on
dry hedge banks, sides of gravel pits, tree-trunks--in fact, wherever it
can enjoy the full sunshine. It is not at all shy, and will be pretty
sure to introduce itself to the notice of the collector as soon as he
enters its domain. Although it now seems to be absent from certain
districts in which it was once abundant, it may still be regarded as a
generally common species in England and Wales, and even plentiful, in
some years, in the southern, eastern, and western counties; it appears
to be more local in North England. In Scotland it seems fairly
distributed, and not scarce in the south; its range extends to
Aberdeenshire. Kane states that it is everywhere abundant throughout
Ireland. Abroad it is common throughout Europe, except the extreme
north, and extends into North Africa, Asia Minor, and Armenia.
The Meadow Brown (_Epinephele ianira_).
The female is the _jurtina_ of Linnæus, and as he described this sex
before the male, under the impression that they were distinct species,
the law of priority, we are told, must be observed and the earlier name
be adopted.
This fuscous-brown butterfly of the meadows is marked, especially in
the female, with dull orange. The male, of which sex three specimens are
shown (Plate 84, Figs. 1-3), has a broad black sexual brand on the
central area of the fore wings, and a white pupilled black spot towards
the tips of the wings; this spot is usually encircled with orange, and
there is often more or less of this orange colour below it (Fig. 2
typical). The under side of the fore wings is orange with the costa
narrowly, and the outer margin broadly, greyish-brown to match with the
colour of the under side of the hind wings. The female is without the
black brand, and is more ornamented with orange, which generally forms a
broad patch on the outer area of the fore wings (Fig. 6), but it is
sometimes continued inwards, so that almost the whole of the discal
area--that is, nearly all but the margins, appears to be orange (Fig.
7); the hind wings have an indistinct paler band on the outer area, and
this is sometimes suffused or clouded with orange. On the under side the
pale band is more defined (Fig. 5). The apical spot of fore wings is
sometimes double, and a tendency to this variation is shown in Fig. 6,
but in the complete form there are two white dots (bi-pupillated). At
the other extreme, and generally in the male, the apical spot is
entirely absent (var. _anommata_), or is greatly reduced in size, and is
without the white pupil. Spots on the under side are as often absent as
present. They may be from one to five in number, and either simply black
dots or ringed with orange, as in Fig. 4. Occasionally the orange on the
upper side of the female gives place to a pale straw or even whitish
colour; and on the under side to whitish-grey.
Not infrequently a greater or lesser area of the wings is "bleached,"
and this seems to be due to absence of pigment in the scales on such
parts. This bleaching may affect the whole or a portion of one wing
only, or it may take the form of symmetrical blotches on each wing. All
such abnormal specimens of this, and of other species similarly
affected, are certainly of value to those who are interested in
teratology, but they seem to be out of place in a collection of
butterflies where the aim should be to show the true variation of
species rather than "freaks," which are the result of accident or
disease.
The egg, laid on a blade of grass as shown (Plate 85), is upright and
ribbed; the top is flattened, with an impressed ring thereon. Colour,
whitish-green inclining to brownish-yellow as it matures, and marked
with purplish-brown.
The caterpillar is bright green, clothed with short whitish hairs;
there is a darker line down the back, and a diffused white stripe on
each side above the reddish spiracles; the anal points are white. Head
rather darker green, hairy.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 86.
=Gatekeeper.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 87.
=Gatekeeper.=
1, 2, 6, 7 _male_; 3, 4, 5 _female_.]
The chrysalis is pale green, marked with brownish on the wing-covers,
the thorax is spotted with blackish, and the points on the body are
brownish. Suspended, and with the old skin attached, as shown in the
figure.
From its wide distribution and general abundance, this may be said to be
our commonest butterfly. It appears to be always on the wing, in dull
weather as well as in sunshine, and, except for a short interval in
early August, it is to be seen in hayfields, open places in woods, on
grassy slopes, or borders of highways and byways from June to September.
Although quite fresh specimens are fuscous-brown, the butterfly, after a
short time on the wing, loses the dusky tinge and becomes brown. It is,
therefore, always desirable to rear specimens for the cabinet from
caterpillars. These feed on grasses of various kinds in May, are easily
managed, and may be found in most hay meadows at night, when, of course,
a lantern will be needed to throw a light on the business of collecting
them.
The not infrequent occurrence of fresh specimens in the autumn is strong
presumptive evidence of at least an occasional second brood. Perhaps, as
has been suggested by Mr. R. Adkin, "a late emergence of _Epinephele
ianira_ is the rule rather than the exception," especially in the warmer
parts of the country.
The butterfly is found throughout England and Wales, Ireland, and
Scotland, including Isles of Lewis and Orkney. Abroad it occurs in all
parts of Europe except the most northern, Asia Minor, Armenia, North
Africa, and the Canary Isles.
The Gatekeeper (_Epinephele tithonus_).
Other English names in use at the present time for this butterfly
(Plate 87) are "Small Meadow Brown," "Hedge Brown," and "Large Heath,"
but the latter is more often applied to another species which will be
referred to later. Petiver called it the "Hedge Eye."
The general colour is brownish-orange, and the margins are
fuscous-brown; there is a black spot towards the tips of the fore wings,
and this, as a rule, encloses two white dots; one or both of these dots
sometimes absent in the male. The male differs from the female in its
rather smaller size, and in having a fuscous band on the central area;
the latter is broadest towards the inner margin, and in this part are
some patches of blackish androconial scales or plumules; at the upper
end of the band there is sometimes a fuscous cloud. Occasionally, one or
more small black spots, some with white pupils, are present below the
apical one. Four such spots are rare, but specimens with one or with two
are not uncommon. There is usually a white-pupilled black spot towards
the anal angle of the hind wing, but I have several males and females
that are without this spot. Sometimes there are as many as four spots on
the hind wings, but this is perhaps exceptional (Plate 113, Fig. 5). On
the under side of the hind wings there are often two white dots,
sometimes ringed with black, towards the costa, and two or three other
similar dots towards the anal angle; but the number of dots may be
reduced to two, one of which is near the costa, or be increased to six.
Colour changes, similar to those in the last species, occur, and the
orange colour, in both sexes, may be replaced by yellow (var. _mincki_,
Seebold), or by white (var. _albida_, Russell, Plate 119, Figs. 6, 7).
Such aberrations are very local and rare; a few have been obtained on
chalk hills in South Hampshire.
In an extraordinary aberration, taken in Sussex in 1897, the whole of
the dark brown colour of margins and band is replaced by pale
pinkish-ochreous, but the normal brownish orange remains. Other somewhat
similar specimens have been recorded.
The egg (Plate 86) is pale yellowish when first laid, becoming lighter
and irregularly blotched with reddish-brown, the upper blotches forming
a sort of band round the egg; as the caterpillar matures the shell
assumes a darker tinge, inclining to slaty, and the markings are less
distinct.
The caterpillar, when full grown, is pale ochreous, clothed with short
pale hair, and freckled with brownish; the line down the back is darker,
one on each side is paler, and that above the feet is yellowish. The
head is rather darker than the body, marked with brownish, and bristly.
According to Hellins, the newly hatched caterpillar is whitish-grey,
with rusty yellow lines on the back. In October, after the first moult,
it becomes green with a brownish head. In April the body is
greenish-grey, and the head pale greenish-brown. At the end of April it
moults for the last time, and is then pale ochreous generally, but some
caterpillars are darker than this, and some paler with a greenish-grey
tinge.
The chrysalis is whitish-ochreous, with dark brown streaks on the
wing-covers and some brownish spots and clouds on the back and sides.
Suspended from stem or blade of grass; the old skin remains attached.
The caterpillars feed at night on grasses, such as _Poa annua_,
_Triticum repens_, and _Dactylis glomerata_, from September to June. The
butterfly is on the wing in July and August. Although these butterflies
may be seen, sometimes in considerable numbers, where the rides are
grassy, in woods, they are perhaps more attached to hedgerows. Bramble
flowers are their special attraction, but they are not indifferent to
the blossoms of the wood sage (_Teucrium scorodonia_) or of marjoram
(_Origanum vulgare_).
Pretty generally distributed throughout England, it is often
exceedingly plentiful in the south and also in South Wales. In Scotland
the butterfly seems to be common in Kircudbrightshire, but not common in
other southern counties up to Argyle and Fife. Kane says that in Ireland
it is almost confined to the southern counties.
Abroad it is found throughout Europe, except the North-East, and its
range extends into Northern Asia Minor.
The Ringlet (_Aphantopus hyperanthus_).
The sombre-looking butterfly, of which several figures will be found on
Plate 89, has been known by its present English name since 1778, the
year in which Moses Harris published "The Aurelian." The Latin specific
name was written _hyperantus_ by Linnæus, but Esper corrected this to
_hyperanthus_. It has, however, been supposed that Linnæus really
intended to have written _hyperanthes_ (a son of Darius), and this form
of the name has been used, but Esper's emendation is here adopted.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.
=Var. lanceolata.=]
All the wings are sooty-brown, the male when quite fresh appearing
almost black, and the sexual brand is then difficult to see; there are
one or more black spots with pale rings, and sometimes white pupils, on
the fore wings, but these are always more prominent in the female than
in the male; in the latter sex they may be entirely absent. On the under
side there are generally two, sometimes three, ocellated spots on the
fore wings, and there are five such spots on the hind wings, the two
nearest the costa being double, and not very infrequently there is a
smaller spot near or attached to the lower edge of the double one. In
the matter of size of the spots on the under side there is a wide range
of variation, and at one end of this is var. _lanceolata_, Shipp, and at
the other var. _obsoleta_, Tutt, in which not a trace of any of the
spots remains. Specimens with a varying number of white dots, with or
without yellow rings, are usually referred to var. _arete_, but Fig. 6
on the Plate represents a modification of this variety, known as
_coeca_.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 88.
=Ringlet.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 89.
=Ringlet.=
1, 2, 3, 7 _male_; 4, 5, 8 _female_; 6 _var. cæca_, _male_.]
Occasionally, on the under side, there are transverse lines on the outer
half of all the wings, and the space between these lines is suffused
with whitish. The specimen showing these lines faintly (Fig. 3 on the
Plate) is from North Cumberland.
The early stages are figured on Plate 88.
The egg is yellowish-white at first, but soon turns to a pale brown. As
will be seen on comparing the enlarged figure of this egg with those of
the two previous species, it is quite different in shape, and is pitted
rather than ribbed. The eggs are not attached to anything, but are
allowed to fall down among the roots of the grass over which they are
deposited.
The caterpillar is described by Newman as pale wainscot brown in colour,
with a darker line down the back, and the head has three broad, slightly
darker but faint, stripes on each cheek. According to others it is
ochreous or brownish-grey, with a dark brown line on the back, a pale
one with darker edge on the sides, and a whitish stripe above the feet.
The chrysalis is ochreous-brown sprinkled with reddish-brown, and marked
with brown on the wing-covers. It lies low down among the tufts of
grass. The figures of caterpillar and chrysalis are from Buckler's
"Larvæ of British Butterflies."
The caterpillars feed upon various grasses, including _Poa annua_ and
_Dactylis glomerata_, growing about damp places in woodland districts.
They emerge from the egg in August, feed leisurely until October, when
they appear to hibernate. In March they resume feeding, but do not
attain full growth until June. The butterflies are on the wing in July
and August, and frequent lanes and the outskirts of woods. They usually
fly along the shady side, but they are not averse to the nectar of the
bramble blossom, and I have seen them taking a sip here and there
although they were fully exposed to sunshine all the time.
Wherever there are suitable haunts the butterfly may be found throughout
the greater part of England and Wales. It seems, however, to have
disappeared from some districts in Lancashire and Yorkshire where it was
formerly common. It is fairly plentiful in most of the southern counties
of Scotland, and its range extends north to Aberdeen. In Ireland it is
abundant in the south and the west, and seems to occur in most suitable
places; also common in certain localities in Donegal and Antrim. Abroad
it is distributed through Europe and Northern Asia eastward to Japan.
The Large Heath (_Coenonympha typhon_).
The butterfly now to be considered is a most variable one, both as
regards colour and marking. Several of the varieties have been named,
and in the time of Haworth down to Stephens, and even much later, at
least three of these were regarded as distinct species. In the present
day, however, it is generally accepted that all the varieties are forms
of one species, although two local races are recognized.
The typical form is _typhon_, Rottemburg, and _polydama_ (The Marsh
Ringlet) of Haworth (Plate 90, Figs. 1, 2, 5, 7-11). The colour ranges
from darkish-brown to a pale tawny; there is an ochreous ringed black
spot towards the tips of the fore wings, sometimes another similar spot
above the inner angle, and occasionally when both spots are present
there is an ochreous spot between them; the hind wings have from one to
three of these spots, but a larger number than three is exceptional. The
under side of the fore wings is either bright or dull fulvous, and the
spots are pretty much as above, but with white pupils, and there is a
whitish band before them; the under side of the hind wings is olive
brown on the basal two-thirds, covered with pale hair, and the outer
third is brownish merging into greyish on the outer margin; an irregular
white or whitish band limits the two areas; there are six ochreous
ringed black spots, with white pupils, but they are always rather small
in size. The female is much paler than the male.
This is the usual form in Northumberland, Cumberland, Yorkshire, and
Ireland; it also occurs in Lancashire, Westmoreland, and the South of
Scotland.
Var. _philoxenus_, Esper. This is _davus_ (Small Ringlet), Haworth, and
_rothliebii_, Newman (Plate 90, Figs. 3, 4, 6).
On the upper side the colour is dark brown in the male and rather paler
in the female; the spots are very distinct, ringed with fulvous; those
on the hind wings are generally three in number, and often five or six;
on the under side, the bands are whiter, and often broader, and the
spots are very black, large, and conspicuous.
This form is found on some of the mosses in Lancashire and Westmoreland,
in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, and in North Shropshire; but the most
characteristic examples of the form are chiefly obtained in the
first-named county, from which it was first made known, in 1795, as the
"Manchester Argus," or "Manchester Ringlet."
Var. _scotica_, Staudinger (_laidion_, Staud., but not of Borkhausen),
Pl. 90, Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5 male, 3 female, is the _typhon_ of Haworth, as
stated by Newman; the latter author, however, figures it as _davus_,
Fabricius, which is doubtful.
The ground colour is pale tawny, sometimes suffused with brownish,
greyish on the margin, and broadly so on the outer area of the hind
wings; the spots are often absent, and when present are rarely very
distinct. The female is much paler than the male. The under side of the
hind wings is somewhat similar to that of the typical form, but
sometimes the whole area is a uniform greyish; the spots are only rarely
at all distinct, and then only one, or perhaps two, on a wing, and not
infrequently they are entirely absent. This form occurs in Scotland,
especially in Aberdeenshire and Sutherlandshire, also in the Isle of
Arran, in the Orkney and Shetland Isles, and in the Outer Hebrides. Kane
states that he has met with single specimens at "Killarney, Westmeath,
Galway, and Sligo."
In some localities, such as Carlisle, Rotherham, and others in
Yorkshire, forms intermediate between the type and var. _philoxenus_ are
found; modifications of the type form in the direction of var. _scotica_
occur in Cumberland, Northumberland, and Co. Leitrim, in Ireland; and
forms approaching the type more nearly than var. _scotica_ are met with
in the Glasgow district, and at Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire.
The egg is very pale greenish-yellow at first, but the green fades,
brownish blotches appear, and some dark markings appear around the upper
part a short while before the caterpillar hatches out. It is finely
scored almost from the base to the top, which is depressed, and has a
raised boss in the centre, as in the egg of the Small Heath.
From some eggs sent to me in July, caterpillars hatched in August. They
fed on ordinary meadow grass, and in September were figured, when they
were about half an inch in length. Head shallowly notched in front,
green, roughened with whitish dots, eyes and jaws brownish. Body green,
roughened with white dots, with darker line down the back, and paler,
almost white lines along the sides, anal projections reddish (these were
greenish when younger).
The figure of the full-grown caterpillar is after Buckler, who
describes it as "of a bright green, with dark bluish-green dorsal line,
edged with pale lemon-yellow, the subdorsal and spiracular lines are of
the same pale yellow, but the subdorsal is edged above with dark
bluish-green, and between these two lines is an interrupted streak of a
darker colour, posteriorly with a slight tinge of reddish or pink, and
the caudal fork is tipped with pink."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 90.
=Large Heath.=
1, 3, 4, 6 _male_, 2 _female (Delamere)_; 7, 9 _male_,
5 _female (Arran)_; 8 _male (N. Salop)_; 10 _do. (Ireland)_;
11 _do. (Carlisle)_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 91.
=Large Heath.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._]
The chrysalis is bright green, with brown streaks on the edges and
centre of the wing-covers, and at the tip of the tail, turning dark
brown just before the butterfly emerges. (Figure and description after
Buckler.)
The eggs are laid in July on blades of grass, and the caterpillars hatch
out in that month and August. The food of the caterpillars is said to be
the beaked-rush (_Rhynchospora alba_); those that I had from Witherslack
eggs fed well upon ordinary grass until October, but they died during
the winter. After hibernation they recommence feeding, and are full
grown in May and June, when they pupate, and the butterflies appear at
the end of June and in July.
Barrett, writing of the butterfly in all its forms, says, "Its most
southern known locality in England is Chartley Park, Derbyshire, and it
is common in all 'mosses' of Lancashire and Cheshire--all moors about
Grange, and in Chat Moss, Risley Moss, Rixton Moss, Simondswood, Lindon
Moss, and Carrington Moss, as well as at Delamere Forest. In Yorkshire
abundant in Thorne Waste, not scarce in Wensleydale, and found on
Cottingham Moor, Hatfield Moors, and elsewhere. Northward it is found in
all suitable mosses and moors in Durham, Westmoreland, and Cumberland,
but seems to have been exterminated in Northumberland."
In Scotland it appears to be pretty generally distributed, and occurs
up to an elevation of some 2000 feet. Kane states that in Ireland it is
widely spread throughout, on the bogs and mountains. It is stated to
have occurred in North Wales a long time ago, but there are no recent
records from that country. Abroad it is found in Central and Northern
Europe, extending to Lapland, and through Northern Asia to Amurland. In
North America it is represented by two forms, which are not quite like
any of those occurring elsewhere.
The Small Heath (_Coenonympha pamphilus_).
To the ancient fathers the male of the butterfly on Plate 92 was known
as the "Selvedged Heath Eye," and the female was called the "Golden
Heath Eye." Harris figured it as "The Small Heath," or "Gatekeeper;" the
latter name being now associated with another species, it may be allowed
to drop out in the present connection.
The wings are pale tawny, with a brownish or greyish-brown border, of
variable width, on all the wings, and stronger in the male than the
female; there is a black spot towards the tip of the fore wing. The
under side resembles that of the last species in some degree, but the
eyed spots of the hind wings are not always prominent, often only white
dots, and may be absent altogether (Fig. 9).
Variation in this species is extensive, but not striking. The tint of
the ground colour may be reddish or yellowish; occasionally brownish or
greyish-brown specimens of the male occur, and more rarely
purplish-brown examples of the same sex have been found. Females, in all
cases paler, and generally larger than the male, are sometimes
whitish-ochreous in colour, and, very rarely, yellowish-white. The brown
border is also a variable character, and may be very dark and broad
(var. _lyllus_), or reduced to linear proportions. The apical spot on
the fore wings may be of fair size and very black, very pale and
indistinct (Figs. 8, 12), or entirely absent; it does not seem to be
pupilled with white (as it is on the under side), but sometimes there is
a pale speck in the centre. On the under side of the hind wings there is
variation in the width of the central whitish band-like patch, in some
specimens with unusually dark ground colour this patch is very broad; in
other examples, of normal coloration, the band is complete, and extends
to the inner margin. The white dots that normally do duty as ocelli are
not infrequently set in reddish-brown spots, and then become rather more
noticable (Fig. 14). This form is var. _ocellata_, Tutt.
The egg is green at first, afterwards becoming whitish or bone-colour;
later on a brownish irregular ring appears a little above the middle,
and there are various brownish freckles. It is finely ribbed, and the
top is depressed, forming a hollow with a central boss. Laid in a
cluster of four on a blade of grass, but this may have been accidental.
Others were deposited singly on muslin and on fine grass, all in
mid-June. The caterpillar is of a clear green colour, "with darker green
dorsal stripe, and a spiracular stripe not so dark; the anal points
pink" (Hellins).
The chrysalis is of "a delicate pale rather yellowish-green, with a
faintly darker green dorsal stripe, the edge of the projecting
wing-covers on each side whitish, outlined with a streak of
reddish-brown; the abdomen freckled very delicately with paler green;
the tip of the anal point, with a short streak of brownish-red on each
side; the wing-cases faintly marked with darker green nervures"
(Buckler).
The figures of caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 93 are from Buckler's
"Larvæ of British Butterflies."
Some caterpillars, from eggs laid in May or June, become full-grown in
four or five weeks, and appear as butterflies in August, but others do
not complete their growth until the following spring. Just exactly what
happens in the case of eggs from autumn females does not seem to be very
definitely ascertained. It has, however, been stated that caterpillars
hatching from eggs laid in August, attain the size of the slow-growing
contingent from May eggs, and then hibernate. Probably, therefore, it is
these that produce the July butterflies, and if so, the succession of
emergences may be something in this way: May and June butterflies from
May and June eggs (twelve months' cycle), July butterflies from August
eggs (eleven months cycle), August and September butterflies (partial
second brood) from May and June eggs (four months' cycle).
This interesting little butterfly is to be seen almost everywhere, but
it is perhaps most frequently to be found in grassy places in lanes, on
heaths and downs, railway banks, in rough meadows, etc. It occurs on
mountains even up to an elevation of 2000 feet. When flying in company
with the blues and coppers, all frolicking together over some patch of
long grass, the colour combination has an exceedingly pleasing effect.
They rest by day, and sleep at night on grass or rushes.
A common species throughout England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, as
far north as Nairn, also in the Outer Hebrides. Abroad its distribution
extends over Europe to South-West Siberia, Central and North-East Asia,
Asia Minor, and North Africa.
* * * * *
We now arrive at the Hairstreaks, Coppers, and Blues. These belong to
the Lycænidæ, a very large family of butterflies which is represented in
all parts of the globe. There are eighteen species in Britain, but at
least one of these is extinct and another is supposed to be so; two are
very rare, and the chances of meeting with either are probably about
equal.
The Brown Hairstreak (_Zephyrus betulæ_).
The butterfly is represented on Plate 94, Figs. 1-3. The male is
blackish-brown with a faint greyish tinge, and there is a conspicuous
black bar at the end of the discal cell of the fore wing, followed by a
pale cloud; there are two orange marks at the anal angle of the hind
wings. The female is blackish-brown, and has the black bar at end of the
cell, and an orange band beyond; there are usually three orange marks on
the hind wings at the anal angle, but sometimes there are only two. The
under side of the male is ochreous, but that of the female is more
orange; the fore wings have the black bar edged on each side with white,
and there is a white-edged, brownish triangular streak beyond, the outer
margin is tinged with reddish; on the hind wings there are two white
irregular lines and the space between them is brownish, the outer margin
is reddish, becoming broadly so towards the anal angle, where there is a
black spot. Variation is not of a very striking character. The shade
following the black bar at end of the discal cell on the fore wings in
the male is sometimes yellowish tinged, not infrequently fairly large,
and with two smaller spots below it. More rarely all three spots are
distinctly ochreous-yellow (var. _spinosæ_, Gerhard). A similar
aberration, but with the marks white instead of yellow, has been named
_pallida_, Tutt. The orange band in the female varies in width and in
length; occasionally it extends well below vein 2, and into the discal
cell within the black bar. I have one specimen in which the band is
broken up into three parts, and the upper one of these is but little
wider than the same spot in var. _spinosæ_, the other two being almost
exactly of the same size as in that variety.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 92.
=Scotch Large Heath.= 1, 2, 5 _male_; 3, 4 _female_.
=Small Heath.= 6, 9, 10, 14 _male_; 7, 8, 11, 12, 13 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 93.
=Small Heath.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The life-history is figured on Plate 95--the lower set of figures.
The egg is described by Newman "as a depressed sphere and white," and he
states, "it is attached to the twigs of blackthorn (_Prunus spinosa_) in
the autumn, often as late as the end of September or beginning of
October; it is not hatched until the spring."
The caterpillar is bright pale green, and the lines on the back and
sides are yellowish, as also are the oblique streaks on the sides and
the border of the ridge above the feet. There are some bristles along
the ridge on the back and also on that above the feet. It feeds on
blackthorn in May and June, and will eat the foliage of almost any kind
of plum. I have reared fine specimens from caterpillars which fed on
greengage.
The chrysalis is pale reddish-brown with a dark line down the middle of
the back and some pale oblique streaks on each side; the wing-cases are
freckled with darker brown. Barrett, quoting Fenn, says, "Suspended by
the tail and a silken girth to the stem of the food-plant close to the
ground." Those that I have seen pupated on or under leaves, and so far
as I could observe without any girth, and certainly not suspended.
Nearly two hundred years ago the male of this butterfly was known as the
Brown Hairstreak, whilst the female was called the Golden Hairstreak.
The caterpillar seems to have been observed in quite early times. It has
always been a local species, and although it appears to frequent
hedgerows occasionally, its haunts generally are open grounds in the
neighbourhood of woods, where blackthorn or sloe is plentiful. August
and September are the months for the butterfly, but it does not seem to
be very often observed on the wing, even in places where the
caterpillars are known to occur. When seen it is generally high up on,
or around, some oak tree. Occasionally, however, it visits the bramble
blossoms, and at such times becomes a fairly easy prey. The caterpillar
is obtained by beating sloe bushes.
Barrett, who seems to have worked out its distribution in England and
Wales pretty closely, remarks, "In the eastern counties it has been
taken occasionally in Norfolk and Suffolk, more frequently in Essex,
where, in Epping Forest, it has been fairly common; also in
Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, and Northamptonshire, in some plenty.
In very few localities in Kent, Sussex, Hants, and Dorset; rarely in
Gloucestershire, and possibly Somerset; but found in many Devonshire
localities, especially in the sheltered valleys around the Dartmoor
range, and in the charmingly wooded districts about Axminster and
Sidmouth; becoming common towards Dartmouth. It has also been found
commonly near Marlborough, Wilts, and plentifully in some parts of North
Wales; apparently rare in South Wales, but certainly existing in some
parts of the wooded districts skirting Milford Haven. Also recorded from
Worcestershire, and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire; and northward in the
favoured districts of Grange and Silverdale in North Lancashire, and
Witherslack in Westmoreland." As Surrey is not quoted in the foregoing,
it may be mentioned as one of the counties in which the species is
found. In Ireland Kane says that it is "abundant in certain localities
in Munster; and in Co. Galway at Claring Bridge, and Oranmore; Cork;
Killoghrum Wood, Enniscorthy; Blarney, Killarney."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 94.
=Brown Hairstreak.= 1, _male_; 2, 3 _female_.
=White-letter Hairstreak.= 4, 6 _male_; 5, 7 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 95.
=White-letter Hairstreak.= _Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._
=Brown Hairstreak.= _Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
It is distributed throughout Central and Northern Europe, except the
Polar region, and its range extends through Northern Asia to Amurland,
Ussuri, and China.
The Purple Hairstreak (_Zephyrus quercus_).
The butterfly (figured on Plate 96) has the sexes differently
ornamented, as in the last species. The male is strongly tinged with
purplish-blue, the veins are blackish; the outer margin of the fore
wings are narrowly, and the costa and outer margin of the hind wings are
broadly, bordered with black. The female is purplish-black, with two
patches of bluish-purple in the discal cell and space below; often there
is a smaller patch of the same colour between them, the whole forming a
large blotch interrupted by the blackish veins. Under side greyish with
blackish shaded white lines; two or three blackish clouds on the outer
margin of fore wings above the inner angle; these are sometimes edged
with orange; a black spot on anal angle of the hind wings, with an
orange one above it, and a black-centred orange spot between veins 2 and
3.
Variation in this species is exceptional. An aberration known as
_bella_, Gerhard, has a yellowish mark at end of the cell on the upper
side of the fore wings, and at least one such variety has been taken in
England. Sometimes the blotch on the female is rather blue than purple;
a male specimen with blue streaks on the costa of the fore wings has
been recorded, and Barrett mentions a gynandrous specimen in which the
right side was that of the male.
The egg is pale brown tinged with pink, and over this is a whitish
network. The caterpillar is reddish-brown and downy; a black line along
the back has a whitish edge, and there are whitish oblique stripes, with
blackish edge, on each side of the central line; the segmental divisions
are well marked, and the spiracles are blackish with pale rings. The
head, which, when the caterpillar is resting, is hidden within the first
body ring, is brownish and glossy, and there is a greyish shield-like
mark on the second ring. The chrysalis is red-brown, with darker
freckles; the body is downy, and there are traces of oblique marks
thereon. It does not appear to be fastened by the tail, but the cast
larval skin remains attached; there are a few strands of silk around and
about the chrysalis, but these are very flimsy, although they hold it in
position on the ground or under a leaf.
The eggs are laid in July or August on twigs of oak, but the
caterpillars, it is said, do not hatch out until the following spring.
In May and early June the caterpillars are full grown, and may be
obtained by beating or jarring the branches of oak trees in places where
the butterfly is known to occur. They have also been found on sallow.
This species frequents oak woods, or the borders thereof, in July and
August, and is often more easy to see than to capture, as it has a
tantalizing trick of flying around the upper branches of the trees.
Occasionally it resorts to lower growing aspens, probably to feast on
the honey dew, the secretions of Aphides, with which the leaves are
often covered in hot summers. It seems to be pretty generally
distributed in all parts of England and Wales, and in Scotland as far
north as Ross. In Ireland it appears to be more local, and has only been
recorded from the east and south.
It is found in all parts of Europe, except the northern.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 96.
=Purple Hairstreak.= 1 _male_; 2, 3 _female_.
=Black Hairstreak.= 4, 6 _male_; 5 _female_.
=Green Hairstreak.= 7 _male_; 8, 9 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 97.
=Black Hairstreak.= _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and
enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._
=Purple Hairstreak.= _Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._
=Green Hairstreak.= _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and
enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
The Black Hairstreak (_Thecla pruni_).
This butterfly is figured on Plate 96. In colour it is dark brown or,
when quite fresh, brownish-black; there are some orange marks on the
outer margin of the hind wings, and these are most distinct in the
female, in which sex there are orange spots on the fore wings also. The
male has a pale sexual mark at the end of the cell of the fore wings,
but this is less distinct than in the following species. The under side
is brown, with a bluish-white interrupted transverse line on each wing,
that on the hind wings angled before reaching the inner margin. All the
wings have an orange band on the outer margin, but on the fore wings of
the male this is often indistinct; there are some white-edged black
spots before it, and, on the hind wings, beyond it also.
The eggs are laid in July on the twigs of blackthorn, but the
caterpillars do not hatch until the following spring. The egg figured on
Plate 97 was reddish-brown and appeared rather shiny. The caterpillar is
described as yellowish-green, with a darker green furrow and purplish
ridges along the back; the latter are edged with whitish and the
divisions between the rings are yellowish. The head is pale brown. The
chrysalis, which is attached by the tail and has a silken thread around
it, is black, marked on the head and body with yellowish-white.
The caterpillars feed on blackthorn (_Prunus spinosa_) in a state of
nature, but will eat the leaves of damson in confinement. They may be
obtained in May, in their particular haunts, by beating sloe bushes with
a beating tray, or an inverted open umbrella, held under to intercept
the evicted caterpillars, etc.
This butterfly was not known as British until 1828, when a number of
specimens were captured at Monkswood in Huntingdonshire. These were sold
by the captor as _T. w-album_, which was then called the Black
Hairstreak. As soon as the mistake was detected, it was given out that
the specimens had been taken in Yorkshire, but this was only a ruse, as
_T. pruni_ has never occurred in that county. It is confined, so far as
Britain is concerned, to three or four of the midland counties. "Mr.
Herbert Goss, who has found it at Barnwell Wold, and in other wooded
districts of Northamptonshire, at intervals, for more than twenty years
past, says that it is fond of sitting on the flowers of privet
(_Ligustrum_), and of _Viburnum lantana_, in the woods, and sometimes is
to be found in numbers. Its time of emergence is very variable,
apparently regulated by the lateness of the spring--from June 17th to
the first week in July. Reared specimens made their appearance from June
13th to 27th. He writes, 'It was the greatest possible pleasure to see
them walking about the table while I was at breakfast.' In 1858 it was
found commonly at Kettering, and in 1859 at Oundle, and has been
recorded at Warboys Wood, Huntingdonshire, and in Buckinghamshire. One
specimen was taken at Brandeston, Suffolk, by the Rev. Joseph Green; and
Mr. Allis found it commonly in the Overton Woods and about St. Ives.
There is also a record in Monmouthshire, which may require confirmation.
This butterfly does not appear to be losing ground in this country, its
fondness for trees and lofty bushes rendering it difficult to capture"
(Barrett).
A writer in the _Entomologist_ for 1874 mentions Linford Woods, in
Bucks, as a locality where he had observed several specimens, mostly
females, on flowers of privet.
It is found throughout the greater part of Europe and also in Amurland
and Corea.
The White Letter Hairstreak (_Thecla w-album_).
The male of this butterfly (Plate 94) is blackish, with a small whitish
sex mark at end of the discal cell of the fore wing; there is a small
orange spot at the anal angle of the hind wings. The female agrees in
colour with the male, but the tails are longer, and there is no sex mark
on the fore wings. The under side is brownish, with a white line on each
wing, that on the hind wings forming a =W= before the inner margin; the
hind wings have a black-edged orange band on the outer margin which is
finely tapered towards the costa. Captured specimens are usually browner
than those that are reared from caterpillars.
The species does not exhibit much tendency to variation. The white lines
on the under side may be rather broad or very narrow, and that on the
hind wings is sometimes so broken up towards the inner margin that the
=W= character disappears; when absence of the anal orange spots on the
upper side is associated with the broken line, the form is known as
_butlerowi_. I have several males without the =W=, and some of these
have the orange spot above, whilst others are without it. Barrett refers
to a specimen in which there is "on the under side an extension of white
colour from the white line towards the margin, in the fore wings forming
a broad wedge-shaped band, but in the hind wings occupying the whole
space from the white line to the orange band."
The egg has been described as whitish in colour, and in shape something
like an orange with a depression on the top. The eggs are laid on twigs
of elm in July, and, according to some writers, remain thereon
throughout the winter. The caterpillar when full grown is
yellowish-green and covered with short hairs; the ridges on the back are
yellowish, and there are oblique whitish streaks on each side of the
darker dorsal line. The head is black. When about ready to assume the
chrysalis state, the whole body becomes purplish-brown. The chrysalis is
brownish, sometimes tinged with purple; covered with tiny bristles
except on the blackish wing cases, and there are two purplish lines on
the back. It is attached by the tail, and has a strand or two of silk
around it, generally on the under side of a leaf.
In a state of nature the caterpillar feeds on wych-elm (_Ulmus
montana_), but it will eat the leaves of the common elm (_Ulmus
campestris_). It is to be obtained in May and June by beating wych-elms
in localities where the butterfly is known to occur.
The butterfly is on the wing in July, and usually disports itself
around the elm trees, but it is fond of bramble blossoms, and may often
be netted when feasting on those flowers. It is a local species, but, as
a rule, plentiful enough in its localities. It is rare in Hampshire and
Dorsetshire, scarce in Sussex, and not found in many parts of Kent.
Ripley, in Surrey, was a well-known locality for it in the early part of
the last century, and the caterpillars were found there commonly quite
recently. In Essex it is generally common near Maldon. And, according to
Barrett, it is "plentiful in various parts of Suffolk; very scarce in
Norfolk; found more or less plentifully in Herts, Hants., Cambs., and
Northamptonshire; very rare in Nottinghamshire; but again to be found in
North Lincolnshire; and common in several localities near Doncaster,
Barnsley, and elsewhere in Yorkshire. This appears to be its northern
limit, and in this respect it contrasts curiously with _Thecla betulæ_
[The Brown Hairstreak], since it extends farther north in the east than
that species; yet in the west is recorded no farther than Cheshire and
Shropshire, where I found it thirty-five years ago upon Benthall Edge.
In Herefordshire it is recorded but rarely; more commonly in
Worcestershire; also in Derbyshire and Needwood Forest, Staffordshire;
common around Burton-on-Trent and elsewhere in Leicestershire; and in
Oxfordshire, Bucks, and Berks. But its metropolis seems to be Wiltshire,
where Mr. Perkins has found it around Marlborough and Savernake in
thousands, as well as in Gloucestershire." It has also been obtained in
Monmouthshire, but its extreme western limit seems to be
Weston-super-Mare, Somersetshire. Abroad it is widely distributed in
Europe, except the extreme north and south-west; its range extends into
Asia Minor, and to Amurland and Japan.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 98.
=Large Copper.=
1, 4, _male_; 2, 3, 5 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 99.
=Large Copper.=
_Caterpillar and chrysalis._]
_Thecla spini_ and _T. ilicis_, two species of Hairstreak butterflies
belonging to Central and Southern Europe, have been mentioned as
occurring in Britain by some of the earlier authors. There is not,
however, the slightest reason to suppose that either of them ever
occurred naturally in this country.
The Green Hairstreak (_Callophrys rubi_).
Both sexes of this butterfly (Plate 96) are brown with a faint golden
tinge above, and green on the under side. The male has a dark, or, when
the plumules are dislodged, pale sexual mark, which is oval in shape,
and placed at the upper corner of the discal cell in the fore wings.
Occasionally there are some orange scales at the anal angle of the hind
wings, and more rarely, and in the female, at the extremities of veins
two and three also. On the under side of some specimens, chiefly from
Northern localities, there is a transverse series of white dots across
all the wings; more often these are confined to the hind wings, and
sometimes they are almost or quite absent from all the wings. Now and
then the under side of the hind wings is found to be brown in colour,
and this change in colour has been ascribed to the action of moisture.
The life-history is figured on Plate 97.
The egg is greenish, reticulated with paler or with whitish-green; the
reticulation is somewhat rough on the side, but becomes finer towards
and on the top, which has the centre hollowed. Laid on the petals of the
common furze (_Ulex europæus_), and on leaves of rock-rose
(_Helianthemum chamæcistus_).
The caterpillar feeds in June and July. It is pale green, with a darker
line along the back, and yellow oblique stripes on the sides. Among the
plants that it has been found upon, or is known to eat, are dyer's
greenweed (_Genista tinctoria_), needle furze (_G. anglica_), broom
(_Cytisus scoparius_), dwarf furze (_Ulex nanus_), whortleberry
(_Vaccinium myrtillus_); also the berries of buckthorn (_Rhamnus_),
making holes through which the contents of the berry is extracted; buds
of bramble (_Rubus_), and of dogwood (_Cornus sanguinea_), are also
attacked in a similar way.
The chrysalis is clothed with tiny hairs, and when freshly formed is
green in colour, but becomes purplish-brown after a time. It appears to
be unattached to anything. I think, however, that there are generally a
few strands of silk around or about it, but these are so easily broken
when the chrysalids are removed that they escape observation. May and
June are the months for the butterfly, which occurs in various kinds of
situations, such as the outskirts of woods, high hedgerows, hill slopes,
and boggy heaths. I once saw it in abundance about the entrance from
Lynton to the Valley of Rocks. Its resemblance on the under side to the
leaves on which it perches is as baffling to the collector as is the
resting habit of the Grayling butterfly previously referred to. It seems
to be pretty generally distributed throughout the kingdom, but is rather
more local in Ireland than elsewhere, and it has not yet been recorded
from the Orkney or Shetland Isles. Its range extends throughout the
Palæarctic Region.
The Large Copper (_Chrysophanus dispar_).
The brilliant butterfly, figured on Plate 99, is of a coppery orange
colour. In the male the fore wings have two black dots in the discal
cell, the outer one linear, and the outer margin is narrowly blackish;
the hind wings have a linear black mark in the cell, and the outer
margin is narrowly edged with blackish and dotted with black. The female
is more conspicuously marked with black; there are two, sometimes three,
spots in the cell of the fore wings, and a transverse series of seven or
eight beyond; the outer margin is broadly bordered with black, and there
are generally two spots above the inner angle; the hind wings have a
black spot in the cell, and a series of black spots beyond, but the
whole basal three-fourths of these wings is often deeply suffused with
blackish; the outer margin is bordered and spotted with black. The sexes
are much alike on the under side, and have reddish-orange fore wings
with bluish grey outer margins, and black spots as on the upper side of
the female; the hind wings are bluish-grey, powdered with bluish towards
the base, and with whitish ringed black spots; five of these spots are
before the linear discal mark, and a series of nine or ten beyond; an
orange band on the outer margin has black dots on each edge.
Except as regards the size and the shape of the spots, especially in the
female, there appears to have been but little variation noted in this
species in England.
The two fine female specimens figured on the plate have a more or less
distinct wedge-shaped black spot in the basal end of the discal cell of
the fore wings. Dale mentions that he has an "almost entirely black"
example of the female in his collection.
The var. _rutilus_, which is the continental form of our butterfly, is
smaller in size, as a rule, the spots are not so large, and the orange
band is always narrower on the under side of the hind wings. It has been
averred that some of the British specimens are referable to this form.
Newman, writing about 1870, gave the following life-history
details:--"The egg is laid on the leaves of the great water-dock (_Rumex
hydrolapathum_) during the month of August, and the young caterpillars
(never, to the best of my belief, observed) probably emerge during the
following month, and hibernate very early at the base of the petioles.
"The caterpillar is full fed in June, and then lies flat on the
dock-leaf, rarely moving from place to place, and, when it does so,
gliding with a slug-like motion, the legs and claspers being entirely
concealed. The head is extremely small, and can be completely withdrawn
into the second segment: the body has the dorsal surface convex, the
ventral surface flat; the divisions of the segments are distinctly
marked, the posterior margin of each slightly overlapping the anterior
margin of the next, and the entire caterpillar having very much the
appearance of a _Chiton_; the sides are slightly dilated, the legs and
claspers are seated in closely approximate pairs, nearly on a
medio-ventral line. The colour is green, scarcely distinguishable from
that of the dock-leaf; there is an obscure medio-dorsal stripe, slightly
darker than the disk, and in all probability due to the presence of food
in the alimentary canal. The chrysalis is obese, blunt at both
extremities, attached by minute hooks at the caudal extremities, and
also by a belt round the waist." Newman adds, "My acquaintance with the
caterpillar and chrysalis was made very many years ago in Mr.
Doubleday's garden at Epping, where the very plant of _Rumex
hydrolapathum_, on which the caterpillars fed, is still in existence."
The caterpillar was described by Stephens, in 1828, as somewhat hairy,
bright green, with innumerable white dots. The same author states that
the chrysalis was "first green, then pale ash-coloured, with a dark
dorsal line and two abbreviated white ones on each side, and, lastly,
sometimes deep brown."
The figure of the caterpillar on Plate 98 is after Westwood, and that of
the chrysalis after Newman ("Grammar of Entomology").
Although he refers to it as "_hippothoë_," the Large Copper seems to
have been known to Lewin (1795), as he states that specimens had been
taken in Huntingdonshire. Haworth (1803) mentions its occurrence in the
fens of Cambridgeshire, and Stephens, twenty-five years later,
wrote:--"This splendid insect appears to be confined to the fenny
counties of Cambridge and Huntingdon, with the neighbouring ones of
Suffolk and Norfolk, unless the account of its capture in Wales by
Hudson be admitted; but this may probably be the following species
[_hippothoë_], which may, moreover, eventually prove synonymous with
_Ly. dispar_. In the first two localities it appears to occur in great
profusion, as several hundred specimens have been captured within these
last ten years by the London collectors, who have visited Whittlesea and
Yaxley Meres, during the month of July, for the sole purpose of
obtaining specimens of this insect."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 100.
=Small Copper.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalids._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 101.
=Small Copper.=
1, 2 _Typical male_; 3 _typical female_; 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
_varieties_; 7 _var. schmidtii_.]
Dale states that "the latest capture, consisting of five specimens,
appears to have been made in Holme Fen, by Mr. Stretton either in 1847
or 1848."
There is evidence that floods, which were not uncommon in the home of
the Large Copper, were not really injurious to the butterfly, and
therefore the occasional submergence of its feeding grounds can hardly
have been the cause of its almost sudden destruction. It seems more
probable that its disappearance was due to the draining of the fens, and
at least it is significant that the two events were almost coincident.
There are records of the butterfly having been taken in various odd
localities since it was last seen in fenland, but the latest of those
dates back to the year 1865. There seems to be no question that the
butterfly is now extinct in England, and, lamentable to relate, the
chief locality where we can hope to secure a specimen or two for our
collection is in the neighbourhood of Covent Garden, where the only
requirement for the capture will be a well-lined purse.
The continental form _rutilus_ is found in Germany, France, Northern
Italy, South-Eastern Europe (except Greece), Northern Asia Minor,
Armenia, and the Altai. The Asian form _auratus_ occurs in South-Eastern
Siberia, Amurland, Corea, Northern China, and Amdo.
* * * * *
Four other kinds of "Coppers" have been reported as occurring in
England: these are _Chrysophanus hippothoë_ and _C. virgaureæ_, both of
which have even had English names bestowed upon them, to wit, the
Purple-edged Copper and the Scarce Copper; _C. gordius_, and _C. circe_
(_dorilis_). These are only mentioned to afford an opportunity for
saying that there does not appear to be the least reason for considering
either of them to be a British butterfly. Kirby, Barrett, and others,
however, think it possible that the first two may have inhabited England
in ancient times.
The Small Copper (_Chrysophanus phlæas_).
This little butterfly is very smart, in activity as well as appearance.
In colour it is very similar to the last species, but both sexes are
spotted with black on the fore wings, the outer series of six spots
forming a very irregular row; the hind wings are black, with a wavy
orange-red band on the outer margin.
There is considerable variation, and it is, therefore, deemed advisable
to give a number of figures representing some of the more striking
aberrations. The three figures at the top of Plate 101 depict the normal
male and female; the latter sex is Fig. 3. For the loan of the other
specimens (Figs. 4-12) my thanks are due to Mr. E. Sabine, who has a
very fine and extensive series of varieties of this butterfly. Other
examples of aberration on the under side are shown on Plate 119. Blue
spots are sometimes found on the hind wings; these are placed near the
orange-red band, and occasionally they attain a good size. Specimens
much suffused with blackish sometimes occur; these are referable to var.
_eleus_, which is the usual summer form in some of the warmer countries
abroad. A very rare form is that known as _schmidtii_ (Fig. 7), in which
the ground colour of the fore wings and the band on the hind wings are
silvery white instead of orange or coppery-red. A modification of this
form which is hardly less rare has a creamy tint. Straw-coloured or pale
golden specimens are rather more frequently met with. The colour of the
hind wings in fresh specimens is sometimes steely-grey, but blackish is
the more usual hue; the band on the outer area, which as a rule agrees
in colour with the fore wings, varies in width a good deal, and
occasionally is more or less obscured by the blackish ground colour. The
arrangement, size, and shape of the black spots, both above and below,
are subject to much vagary, sometimes of a very striking kind, as, for
example, when the spots of the outer series on the fore wings are united
with the discal pair and form a large irregular blotch. A remarkable
specimen taken some years ago in the Isle of Wight had a small patch of
copper with a black spot in it on the under side. This gave one the idea
of a clumsy attempt at patching, but as I happened to take that
particular specimen, I know that it had not been tampered with.
Gynandrous specimens of this butterfly sometimes occur, but these are
very rare.
The egg is of a yellowish-white colour at first, and afterwards becomes
greyish; the pattern on the shell, which resembles network, is always
whiter.
The caterpillar is green and similar in tint to the leaf of dock or
sorrel upon which it feeds. It is clothed with short greyish hair which
arises from white dots; the dorsal line is brownish-olive, and the ring
divisions, especially along the back, are well defined. Head very small,
pale brownish, marked with blackish, drawn into the first ring of the
body when resting. The legs and prolegs are tinged with pink, and
sometimes the body is marked with pink.
The chrysalis is pale brown, sometimes tinged with greenish, and
freckled with darker brown; there is a dark line along the middle of the
thorax and body, the wing cases are streaked with blackish, and the body
is dotted with black. Attached by the tail and loose silken threads
around the body to a leaf or stem.
There seem to be three broods of this species in most years: the first
is on the wing in May, sometimes in April; the second in July or early
August; and the third in early October. It is not a difficult species to
rear from the egg, and as varieties appear to be most frequent in the
third brood, the eggs should be obtained from females of the second
brood. Dock and sorrel (_Rumex_) are the food-plants of the caterpillar,
and these are most useful in a growing condition.
The butterfly frequents all kinds of open situations, and is fond of
basking upon flowers, more particularly those of the Compositæ, from
which vantage ground it dashes with great alertness at any other small
butterfly that may happen to fly that way. Whether these seeming attacks
are really due to pugnacity, as has been stated by some writers, or are
merely of a sportive character, is not altogether clear. As, however,
the meeting of the two butterflies usually results, when both are Small
Coppers, in a series of aërial evolutions by the pair, it would seem
that there is a good deal of playfulness in the business. After the
gambol is over, one butterfly may dart off with the other in hot
pursuit, and then both move so rapidly that their course is difficult to
follow. If the butterfly intercepted happens to be a Blue or a Small
Heath, the Copper returns to the flower from which it started, and
prepares for another raid when the opportunity offers. It occurs
throughout the United Kingdom, but in Scotland it does not extend
northwards beyond the Caledonian Canal.
Abroad it is found throughout the Palæarctic Region, and is represented
in North America by the form _hypophlæas_.
The Long-tailed Blue (_Lampides boeticus_).
The male is purplish-blue suffused with fuscous, especially on all
margins except the inner one; there are two velvety black spots
encircled with pale blue at the anal angle of the hind wings, and a
slender black tail, tipped with white, appears to be a continuation of
vein 2. The under side is grey-brown, with numerous white wavy lines and
broader streaks; there is a whitish band on each wing before the outer
margin, and black spots as above, but these are ringed with metallic
blue.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 102.
=Short-tailed Blue.= _Eggs enlarged._
=Long-tailed Blue.= _Caterpillar and chrysalis (after Millière)._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 103.
=Long-tailed Blue.=
1 _male_; 2, 3 _female_.
=Short-tailed Blue.=
4, 6 _male_; 5, 7 _female_.]
I have not seen any of the early stages of this butterfly. The
caterpillar, which feeds upon the green seeds in pods of the Leguminosæ,
including the garden pea and the lupine, is figured on Plate 102. It is
described as being green or reddish-brown in colour, with a dark stripe
on the back, double oblique lines on the sides, and a white line below
the yellow spiracles; head black. The chrysalis is of a red or yellowish
colour, and dotted with brown. It has a silken girdle and is said to be
attached to a stem, as shown in the figure, but probably it is more
often fixed up among the withered leaves of the food-plant. Two of the
earliest known British specimens of this butterfly were taken by the
late Mr. Neil McArthur on August 4th and 5th, 1859, on the Downs at
Brighton; the third example was captured by Captain de Latour at
Christchurch, where it was flying about a plant of the everlasting pea
in his garden on August 4th of the same year. Newman has noted that in
that particular year the butterfly was very abundant in the Channel
Islands and on the coast of France. No other specimen seems to have been
observed in England until 1879, in which year one was taken at
Freshwater in the Isle of Wight on August 23rd. In 1880 a specimen was
captured in a garden near Bognor, Sussex, on September 12th. On October
2nd, 1882, one was obtained at West Bournemouth. Three were netted in
1893, one of these in late August, and one in the third week of
September, both in Sussex; the third was taken in Kent (inland) in
September. In 1899 a specimen was found at Winchester on September 1st,
and one at Deal on the 16th of the same month; each of these, curiously,
was sitting on a window. On August 2nd, 1904, one example was taken in a
garden near Truro, Cornwall. In addition to the above, single specimens
have been reported as taken at Brighton, July, 1890, and at Heswell,
Cheshire, in 1886 or 1887.
It will thus be seen that the occurrence of this butterfly in England is
exceedingly infrequent. The species is common in Africa and in Southern
Europe; thence it extends eastward through Asia to China and Japan, and
southwards to Australia. It is also found in the Sandwich Islands. It is
believed to be migratory in its habits, and it is supposed that the
occasional specimens that arrive in this country come to us _viâ_ the
west coast of Europe.
In its proper home there is a succession of broods of the butterfly, and
if by chance a few females were to visit this country in the early
summer, they most probably would lay eggs, and the caterpillars
resulting from these would almost certainly be able to feed up and
attain the perfect state here. So far there is no reason to suppose that
the caterpillar has ever occurred in England.
The Short-tailed or Bloxworth Blue (_Cupido argiades_).
The interesting little butterfly represented on Plate 103 was not
known to occur in Britain until 1885, when the Rev. O. Pickard Cambridge
made the startling announcement that his sons had captured two
specimens, a female on August 18th, and a male on August 20th of that
year, the scene of capture being Bloxworth Heath, Dorset. Shortly after
this fact was made public the Rev. J.S. St. John added a record of two
males that he had discovered in a small collection of Lepidoptera made
by Dr. Marsh, who stated that he had taken the specimens of _C.
argiades_ in 1874, close to a small quarry near Frome. In addition to
these a specimen, also recorded by Mr. Cambridge, was taken at
Bournemouth in August, 1885; one is reported to have been captured at
Blackpool, about 1860; and one at Wrington, about twelve miles north of
Bristol, in 1895 or 1896.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 104.
=Brown Argus.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis;
(a) Egg of "Scotch Argus" enlarged._
=Silver-studded Blue.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids._]
[Illustration: Pl. 105.
=Silver-studded Blue.= 1, 2, 3 _male_; 4, 5, 6 _female_.
=Brown Argus.= 10, 12 _male_; 7, 8, 9 _female_; 11, 13, 14
_male (Durham)_; 15 _male_, 16, 17 _female (Scotland)_.]
The following details of the early stages are obtained from Mr.
Frohawk's life-history of the species published in the _Entomologist_
for October, 1904. The egg (Plate 102, figured from a photomicrograph by
Mr. Tonge) is of a pale greenish-blue, but varies both in the extent of
the ground colour and in the structure of the reticulations, which are
white, resembling frosted glass.
The full-grown caterpillar (August 23rd) measures 3/8 inch in length. It
is of the usual wood-louse shape, with only a very shallow furrow on the
back, bordered on each side by a fringe of spinous bristles, which vary
in length; the whole surface is densely studded with shorter but
similarly formed whitish or brownish bristles. The ground colour is pale
green, with a darker green stripe along the centre of the back, and
fainter green oblique stripes on the sides. The head is black and
shining, and is hidden under the first ring when the caterpillar is not
feeding or moving about.
The caterpillars hatched on July 30th, from eggs that were laid in the
South of France on July 24th, and were reared on bird's-foot trefoil
(_Lotus corniculatus_), of which they ate the flowers, seeds, and
leaves.
The chrysalis, which is attached to the food-plant by a silk pad at the
tail and a thread round the body, is pale green and very finely
reticulated; the wing-cases are rather whiter green, sprinkled with
minute black specks, and the veins are white; there is a blackish line
along the centre of the back, but this is only well defined on the head
and thorax. The whole surface, except the wings, is sprinkled with
slightly curved and moderately long white hairs.
The butterfly emerges in about ten to fourteen days, according to
temperature.
The male is violet-blue with the veins rather darker; the outer margin
is narrowly bordered with blackish, and there are some black dots on the
outer margin of the hind wings; the fringes are white, and there is a
slender tail on the hind wings. The female is brownish, tinged with
violet towards the base; the hind wings have black spots on the outer
margin, and some of these are inwardly edged with orange; the tails are
slightly longer than those of the male.
All the available information concerning the occurrence of this species
in England has already been given. No doubt the localities from which
specimens were recorded have been closely investigated during the past
twenty years, but no further captures of this butterfly have been
recorded. This seems to indicate that it is not really indigenous, but
that its presence here may possibly have been due to accidental
introduction.
The spring form, _polysperchon_, is smaller than the specimens occurring
in the summer, but so far that form has not been seen in England.
The species is widely distributed over Central and Southern Europe, and
its range extends through Northern Asia to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
It is also represented in Northern and Central America by var.
_comyntas_, and has been recorded from Australia.
The Silver-studded Blue (_Lycæna argus_ = _ægon_).
The male of this butterfly (Plate 105) is purplish-blue with a black
border on the outer margins, and sometimes black dots on that of the
hind wings. The female is sooty-brown, powdered to a greater or lesser
extent with blue scales on the basal area; there is generally a series
of orange marks forming a more or less complete band on the outer margin
of the hind wings, and sometimes on the fore wings also. The under side
is bluish-grey in the male, and brownish-grey in the female; the black
spots are ringed with white, and on the fore wings there is one at the
end of the discal cell and a series of seven beyond; the hind wings have
from three to five spots before the discal spot, and a curved series of
seven beyond; there is a black-edged orange band on all the wings, and
beyond this on the hind wings there is a series of metallic blue centred
spots; hence the English name of the butterfly, given to it by Moses
Harris, which is certainly more suitable than Petiver's "Lead Argus."
In a general way the male is rather larger than the female, but this is
not invariably the case. The colour of the male varies in shade, and
very occasionally, perhaps, is of a lilac tint; the border varies in
width, and is sometimes reduced to a mere line. In the female the orange
marks may be of a brownish or yellowish tint, and now and then there may
be a series of wedge-shaped blue spots above these marks on the hind
wings. On the under side there is a good deal of modification of the
black spots as regards size and shape, and occasionally there is at
least one extra spot on the fore wings placed between the discal spot
and the base of the wing; white markings sometimes appear on the fore
wings between the outer series of black spots and the orange band, and
with this there is generally a white band in a similar position on the
hind wings. Female specimens with splashes of the male colour on one or
more of the wings have been obtained, and, more rarely, examples
entirely male on one side and female on the other have been recorded.
Frohawk states that the egg both in colour and texture, resembles white
porcelain; "all the depths produce a deep purplish-grey shade. The ova
are deposited singly, and adhere firmly to the receptacle."
Caterpillars hatched out from eggs, laid the previous summer, on April
1st to 3rd. They were reared on gorse (_Ulex europæus_), pupated towards
the end of June, and the first butterfly, a male, appeared on July 10th.
The caterpillar figured on Plate 104, when full grown, was
reddish-brown, finely dotted with white, and from each dot a tiny hair
arose; the stripe on the back and line on the side were black edged with
white, head black and shining. This caterpillar was found on the last
day of May, crawling on the ground under heather at Oxshott. It was then
about half-grown, and was reared on heather, pupated in due course, and
produced a female butterfly on July 11th.
The chrysalis, of which two figures are given, had a pale brownish and
rather shining head; the body was brown with a darker line on the back;
the thorax and wing-cases dull yellowish-green, the former rather
glossy. It was placed in an angle formed by a side and the floor of the
cage, lying quite flat and secured by silken threads, which, owing to
position, I was unable to examine. Some of the caterpillars that Mr.
Frohawk reared were pale green with a dark purplish stripe on the back.
Another food-plant is bird's-foot vetch (_Ornithopus perpusillus_).
The butterfly is on the wing in July and August, and seems to be more
often found on sandy heaths than elsewhere. It is especially common, in
some years, in the heather-clad districts of Surrey and Hampshire, as
well as other counties in England. In Norfolk and Suffolk it is said to
be common, but scarce in Gloucestershire and Somersetshire. Its range
extends through the greater part of England and Wales, and into Scotland
as far as Perthshire. Specimens from the northwest coast of Wales are
said to be larger than those from inland localities.
As regards Ireland, there is only Birchall's record, "The Murrough of
Wicklow, and near Rostrevor," in evidence of the butterfly occurring in
that country at all.
Abroad, it appears to range pretty well over the whole of Europe, and
through Asia eastward to Siberia, Corea, and Japan.
The Brown Argus (_Lycæna astrarche_).
Fore wings blackish or sooty-brown with a black discal spot, and a row
of reddish-orange spots on the outer margin of all the wings; the
fringes are white, sometimes with blackish interruptions. The under side
is greyish or greyish-brown, and the black spots are distinctly ringed
with white. On the fore wing there are seven of these spots, one at the
end of the cell, and the others in an irregular series beyond; the last
in this series is sometimes double, or it may be absent. On the hind
wings the spots comprise a series of four preceding the white discal
mark, and a series of seven beyond; the second spot in this series is
placed directly under the first, forming a colon-like mark, and this
character will help to distinguish the Brown Argus from the blackish or
brown females of the next species.
The female has larger orange markings, and the outline of the fore wings
is rather rounder on the outer margin, otherwise the sexes are very
similar.
The orange spots referred to in the male are sometimes absent towards
the tips of the fore wings, and in this respect lead up to the form
known as the Durham Argus (var. _salmacis_, Stephens), which is blackish
above and ochreous-brown below; the black spots on the under side are
much smaller then in typical specimens, and some may be absent
altogether. The male has a black discal spot, and the female a white
one, on the upper side of the fore wings; the hind wings have a red or
orange band on both surfaces. Sometimes the male also has a white spot
on the fore wings. Specimens with the orange spots on upper side almost
entirely absent are referable to var. _allous_.
_Artaxerxes_ is the form occurring in Scotland, and is known as the
"Scotch White Spot." Both sexes have a conspicuous white discal spot on
the fore wings, and the spots on the under side are white, and rarely
centred with black. In var. _quadripuncta_, Tutt, all four wings have a
white discal spot above. Occasionally an odd specimen with white discal
spots is found in the south.
Figures of the butterfly will be found on Plate 105, and of its life
history on Plate 104; the upper egg is that from a typical female, and
the lower one was laid by a female _artaxerxes_.
The egg, which is whitish, with a faint greyish tinge, is laid on the
upper side of a young leaf of the rock-rose (_Helianthemum
chamæcistus_). The caterpillar has a black shining head; the body is
green with whitish hairs, a pinkish line along the back, a whitish one
bordered with pinkish along the sides; the green colour becomes dingy as
the caterpillar matures. The chrysalis is obscure yellowish-green, the
front of the thorax is edged with pinkish, and there are bands of the
same colour on the back and sides of the body; the thorax and the
wing-cases are rather glossy. Held in position by a few silken threads
between leaves of the food-plant.
The ordinary form of the butterfly is on the wing in May and June, and
again in August. It is widely distributed throughout the southern half
of England, and also in Wales.
Although chiefly associated with rock-rose, especially in chalky
districts, it occurs too among stork's-bill (_Erodium cicutarium_), upon
which plant the caterpillar also feeds, in sandy places inland as well
as on the coast.
Caterpillars from the first flight of butterflies may be found in July,
and those from the second flight hibernate and feed up in April.
The butterfly has a marked liking for roosting on the flower stems of
long grasses, and quite a number may often be found resting together
towards sundown, or on dull days, in sheltered hollows. Sometimes
several specimens of this species and of the Common Blue may be found on
the same perch. It is rather less frequently seen in the Midland
counties, but it is more or less common in some parts of Derbyshire,
Yorkshire, and Lancashire.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 106.
=Common Blue.=
1, 2, 7, 10, 12 _male_; 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 107.
=Common Blue.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalids._]
The intermediate form, _salmacis_ and its modifications, is found in the
neighbourhood of Richmond, Yorks, and thence northward to the Scottish
border.
Var. _artaxerxes_ occurs in Scotland from Roxburgh to Aberdeenshire on
the east, and from Dumfries to the Clyde on the west. Kane records four
specimens from Co. Galway, and these are all that are known of the
species from Ireland. This form, together with the var. _salmacis_, are
not found anywhere outside the United Kingdom, and, it may be added, the
latter appears to be getting scarce--at least, in some of its old haunts
in Durham.
The species is distributed throughout the Palæarctic Region, except the
Polar parts.
The Common Blue (_Lycæna icarus_).
The male is blue, with either a tinge of violet or mauve in its
composition. Sometimes, though rarely, it assumes the brighter shade of
the Adonis Blue. All the wings are very narrowly edged with black on the
outer margins; the veins are generally pale, shining blue, sometimes
becoming blackish towards the outer margins, and occasionally continued
into the fringes, but not to their tips. The female is most often brown,
with some blue scales on the basal area of all the wings; there is a
black discal spot on the fore wings, and a series of orange crescents
before a row of black spots on the outer margin; the hind wings have an
outer marginal row of black spots, edged outwardly with white and
inwardly with orange.
On Plate 106, Fig. 1 represents a typical male, and Fig. 3 a typical
female, whilst the normal under sides of the sexes are shown in Figs. 10
and 11. The size of this butterfly ranges from one inch and a half to
three-quarters of an inch. The large specimens at the bottom of the
plate are from Scotland.
Scotch and Irish males often have some black spots on the outer margin
of the hind wings, as in Fig. 2, but this is from Ventnor in the Isle of
Wight. The female is sometimes of a uniform brown coloration, devoid of
blue scales, and, with the exception of slight traces of orange on the
outer margin of the hind wings, entirely without marking. On the other
hand, this sex is sometimes almost as blue as the male in colour (var.
_cærulea_), but the discal spot, outer marginal borders, and orange
markings are present. Occasionally the orange spots give place to yellow
ones. The discal spot on the fore wings may be encircled with
bluish-white scales, and now and then this spot on all the wings is
surrounded very distinctly with bluish-white. I have seen the latter
form from Durham and Ireland only, but it probably occurs in other parts
of the kingdom.
Quite a number of gynandrous specimens of this species have been
recorded, some of them being male on the right side and female on the
left, in others the reverse was the case.
On the under side the male is greyish and the female brownish,
consequently the white rings around the black spots show up more
distinctly in the latter sex. A not uncommon aberration is without spots
between the discal spot and the base of the fore wing; this is known as
_icarinus_. Another form that occurs fairly often has the lower basal
spot united with the last spot of the outer series, as in Fig. 9, this
is ab. _arcua_, and a modification, with the junction bar-like instead
of arched, has been named _melanotoxa_. Very rarely the whole of the
under side, except the outer margins, is free of spots (Plate 119). A
specimen exhibiting aberration in this direction is shown on Plate 118,
Fig. 6, whilst Figs. 1 and 3 show modifications of what is known as the
streaked form.
I am indebted to Mr. E. Sabine, of Erith, for the loan of all the fine
aberrations of the Blues figured on Plate 118.
On Plate 107 will be found figures of the early stages.
The egg, which is usually laid on the upper side of a terminal leaf of
bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_) or on rest-harrow (_Ononis
spinosa_), is whitish-green in colour, netted with glossy white.
The caterpillar is green, covered with short brownish hairs, with which
are mixed some longer ones; it is wrinkled on the side, ridged on the
back, and the line along the middle of the back is darker. Head black
and glossy.
The chrysalis is green, with the head, wing-cases, and sometimes the
hinder parts of the body, tinged with buff; thorax brighter green,
rather shiny; a darker line down the centre of the body.
The plants mentioned, and especially rest-harrow, are known to be the
food of the caterpillar, but eggs have also been found, in Scotland, on
red clover, plantain, burnet saxifrage, and yarrow. The caterpillars are
to be found, after hibernation, in April, and a second brood in June and
July. Those feeding on rest-harrow seem to prefer the blossom.
This caterpillar is stated to form a cocoon, but the only approach to
any such structure made by the seven individuals I had under observation
was in the case of two caterpillars that pupated among leaves of
_Lotus_, which were drawn together by the slenderest of threads. Four
effected the change at the bottom of the cage and seemed to be quite
free, one had climbed to the leno top of the cage and there spun a
silken carpet under itself, which drew the leno together, and so formed
a shallow cave in which the chrysalis rested. In every case the cast
skin was attached to the tail, and so remained after the butterflies
emerged.
The butterfly is to be found almost everywhere in the country, and its
distribution extends throughout the United Kingdom, except, perhaps, the
Shetland Isles. There appears to be only one flight in the north of
Scotland and Ireland, and this occurs in June and July. In England there
are two broods, and in some years probably three in the southern
counties. It may be seen on the wing, in greater or lesser numbers, all
through the season from May to September.
Abroad, the range extends over the whole of Europe to North Africa, and
through Western and Northern Asia to Amurland and China.
The Common Blue, as well as the Chalk Hill and the Adonis Blues, are to
be found, often commonly and sometimes in large numbers, in their
favourite haunts. Each of them is subject to a considerable range of
variation on the under side, and this seems to be of a similar character
in all. Very striking aberrations are, perhaps, not often obtained, but
still many modifications are to be found, and the possibility of a
really good thing turning up, induces one to give attention to the
business of overhauling these butterflies. A very good method of
conducting this kind of work is to first ascertain the places where they
chiefly congregate, and then to visit there on dull days or late in the
afternoon, when the butterflies are asleep or, at all events, resting.
They can then be easily examined as they sit on the long grass stems,
etc. (Plate 27), but only the under sides can be viewed in this way. So
to avoid passing over a good upper-side variety, it will be needful to
take each specimen between the finger and thumb of the right hand,
seizing the closed wings gently, but firmly, near their base, and then
quickly secure the thorax from underneath with thumb and index finger of
the left hand, when the upper as well as the under side becomes
available for inspection. There is no reason whatever to damage the
insects in any way, and those that are not required may be set free
again none the worse for their short detention. Work against the wind,
and to avoid a second interview, turn rejected specimens to the rear.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 108.
=Chalkhill Blue.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 109.
=Chalkhill Blue.=
1, 2, 8, 10 _male_; 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12 _female_.]
The Chalk Hill Blue (_Lycæna corydon_).
Although this butterfly (Plate 109) is, in England, fairly constant in
the matter of colour, and, as regards the male especially, differences
in tint are noticeable when series from various localities are ranged
side by side. Silvery-blue perhaps best expresses the general colour of
the male on the upper surface, sometimes very pale, and sometimes
faintly tinged with greenish. The blackish border on the outer margin of
the fore wings varies in width and in intensity; often there are
indications of eyed spots on this margin, and occasionally these spots
are quite distinct, although the whitish rings are not always clearly
outlined. The black border on the outer margin of the hind wings is
often narrow and external to a series of white-edged black spots, but
sometimes it is broad and obscures the spots; orange markings rarely
appear on this margin, but such aberrations have been taken on the
Dorset coast. The fringes are white chequered with blackish on the fore
wings, but with seeming continuation of the veins through those of the
hind wings. The female is sooty-brown above, with a black discal spot on
the fore wings, and sometimes on the hind wings also, and these spots
may be ringed with blue or bluish-white; the outer marginal borders are
hardly darker, and those on the fore wings are limited by a wavy pale
line, which may be faintly or strongly marked with orange, but orange
marking on these wings is rather the exception than the rule; on the
outer margin of the hind wings there are some black spots, edged
outwardly with white and inwardly with orange. The fringes are white
chequered with brown, and those of the fore wings are tinged with brown.
There are generally some blue scales at the base of the fore wings and
over a larger portion of the basal area of the hind wings, but
occasionally the whole discal area of the hind wings (Fig. 7, Plate
117), or of all the wings, var. _syngrapha_ (Fig. 8, Plate 117), is of
the male colour. The former is from Eastbourne and the latter from
Wiltshire. They are rather uncommon varieties, but intermediate forms
are more often met with in the same localities as well as in other parts
of England where the species occurs.
On the coast of Dorsetshire a very unusual form occurs. The border of
the outer margin is white instead of the usual black or blackish; the
inner limit of this border is, on the fore wings, defined by a dusky
shade, and the black nervules break up the border into six spots; on the
hind wings four or five of the white spots are centred with black dots.
The female has a similar border, but on the hind wings it is inwardly
edged with orange. It has been named var. _fowleri_, and I have seen one
example of this form without black dots in the marginal white spots of
the hind wings. On the under side variation is on somewhat similar lines
to that adverted to in the last species. On Plate 109, Fig. 8 represents
the typical under side of the male, and Fig. 7 that of the female. It
will be noticed that the male is greyer than the female. Some of the
ordinary aberrations are shown on the same plate, and some rarer ones
will be found on Plate 118, and of these Fig. 12, if without the basal
spot on the fore wings, would represent var. _lucretia_.
For figures of the early stages see Plate 108; that of the caterpillar
is after Buckler. The egg is flat on the top, with a slightly darker pit
in the centre (the micropyle); the sides are rounded, netted, and
studded, and the colour whitish-green. The above short description was
taken from one of a few eggs of this butterfly sent me in August last by
Mr. Ovenden, and the same egg has been figured.
Mr. Frohawk has described the egg more fully in the _Entomologist_ for
1900. With reference to the egg-laying of the butterfly he writes: "On
August 13th, 1900, I watched several females in the act of depositing,
on various stems of the usual stunted herbage to be found growing on
chalk downs. They frequently crawled among the plants for a distance of
about a couple of feet, occasionally curving the abdomen downwards among
the small plant-stems and grasses, and here and there depositing an egg.
I therefore dug up portions of the turf, potted it, and placed a couple
of females on each lot; they deposited ova on the 14th and 15th, on the
stems of various plants; a few were laid upon the brown dead trefoil
leaves, as well as on the living leaves; but the site generally chosen
is the intermingled stems of both plants and grasses. Another female,
placed upon a similar pot of plants, deposited about fifty ova on
September 10th, nearly all being placed upon the stems, and a few upon
the under side of the leaves of rock-rose; in all cases the eggs are
deposited singly."
The caterpillars do not hatch out until the following spring. According
to Buckler and Hellins, the only difference between the caterpillar of
this butterfly and that of the next species, _Adonis_, is that the
latter "has its ground colour deeper green, with the hairs or bristles
black, while _Corydon_ has the ground colour of a lighter, brighter
green (a green with more yellow in its composition), and the hairs light
brown."
The butterfly is common and often abundant in July and August, chiefly
the latter month, on chalk downs in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire,
Berkshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex; it is also found in the Newmarket
district of Cambridgeshire and on one chalk hill in Norfolk, according
to Barrett, who adds: "on the oolite as well as the chalk in Wilts,
Dorset, Gloucestershire, and Somerset; and on limestone at Grange and
Silverdale in North Lancashire, in Lincolnshire, Westmoreland, and
Cumberland. It has also been taken in Essex, Hants, Cornwall, and in one
locality in Glamorganshire."
Mr. Sydney Webb has stated that a dwarf form occurs pretty regularly in
a valley about two miles east of Dover, but that it only appears to be
found at odd times in other parts of England.
Abroad, the species is found in Central Europe, also in the Pyrenees,
Aragonia, and the Balkan Peninsula.
The Adonis Blue (_Lycæna bellargus_).
The butterfly on Plate 110 is the Clifden Blue of Moses Harris (1775),
so named because it was said to have been first observed at Clifden in
Bucks. The male is of a beautiful bright blue colour, but as in the same
sex of the previous two species, it is not quite constant in tint. In
some specimens we find a distinct mauve shade, and in others, but more
rarely, the blue colour is tinged with greenish (Plate 118, Fig. 11):
the veins become distinctly black on the outer margins, and appear to
run through the white fringes on all the wings. Often there are black
dots on the outer margin of the hind wings. The female is dark brown,
sometimes slaty-black, with orange spots or crescents on the outer
margins; these are often only faintly in evidence on the fore wings, and
sometimes this is the case on the hind wings also; there is a black
discal spot on the fore wings, and the fringes of all the wings are
white chequered with black. The bases of the wings are powdered with
blue, but this is more noticeable on the hind wings. On the under side
the fore wings of the male are greyish, and the hind wings
greyish-brown; all the wings of the female are brownish, with a faint
grey tinge in some specimens; the ornamentation is very similar to that
of the Common Blue. The two figures on Plate 110, showing specimens with
the wings closed, represent typical male and female, and the other
figures of under sides on this plate exhibit minor aberrations from
typical lines; examples of the more extreme variations will be found on
Plate 118, where also are figured some uncommon aberrations in the
colour of the male on the upper side.
There is often a tendency in the female to assume the colour of the
male, and this is usually seen on the hind wings, but occasionally on
the fore wings also. In the extreme form of this phase of variation,
var. _ceronus_, the whole of the upper surface, with the exception of
the orange-spotted borders, is almost as blue as that of the male. This
is a parallel aberration to that of the Chalk Hill Blue known as
_syngrapha_, but it seems to be somewhat rarer in this country.
Figures of the early stages will be found on Plate 111.
The egg is greenish-white, becoming rather greener in tint towards the
top, which is depressed; the netting is whitish and shining, and
somewhat rougher on the sides than towards and on the top.
Buckler describes the full-grown caterpillar as deep, full green in
colour, covered with tiny black speckles, bearing little black bristles,
which are longest on the dorsal humps and on the yellow-edged ridge
above the spiracles; on the top of each of the eight pairs of dorsal
humps is a deep bright yellow longitudinal dash, somewhat wider behind
than in front; these dashes form in effect two yellow stripes
interrupted by the deeply sunk segmental divisions; the line along the
back is darker than the ground colour, and the spiracles are black. The
head is dark brown, and there are two yellow dots on the first ring of
the body near the head.
The chrysalis, when first formed, is greenish-brown with the wing-cases
greenish, the whole afterwards becomes ochreous; the thorax and
wing-cases are rather glossy, and the body is slightly hairy. Buckler
states that some of his caterpillars buried themselves about half an
inch deep in the loose soil, and formed a weak sort of cocoon; others,
not having been supplied with soil that could be so easily penetrated,
retired under the stems of their food-plants, and in angles formed by
the branching stems spun a few weak threads to keep themselves in place.
The food-plant is the horseshoe vetch (_Hippocrepis comosa_). From eggs
laid in August, the caterpillars appear to hatch towards the end of
September, but do not feed up until the spring. Butterflies from these
caterpillars are on the wing between the middle of May and the middle of
June, thus occupying about nine months in passing through the various
stages from egg to perfect insect. From eggs laid in May and June the
butterflies appear in August and September. Although it is found in
similar kinds of situations to those affected by the last species, and
sometimes on the same grounds, it is more local, and almost confined to
the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. It is, however, rather common
at Ventnor and in some other parts of the Isle of Wight, and is found
near Winchester. Barrett states that it is abundant at Corfe Castle,
Dorset, and gives as localities for the butterfly Wotton-under-Edge, and
near Bristol, near Torquay, Sidmouth, and Seaton. Its range abroad
extends through Central and Southern Europe, to Armenia, Northern Asia
Minor, and Western Kurdistan. It is also found in North-West Africa,
where the males are greenish-blue with conspicuous black spots on the
outer margins of the hind wings; this is the var. _punctifera_.
The Holly Blue (_Cyaniris argiolus_).
About the beginning of the eighteenth century this butterfly (Plate
113) was known as the "Blue Speckt," but Harris, in 1775, changed the
name to the "Azure Blue." The male is a pretty lilac-tinged blue, with a
narrow black edging on the outer margin of the fore wings, often only in
evidence towards the tip, and a narrow black line on the outer margin of
the hind wings. The white fringes of the fore wings are distinctly
marked with black at the ends of the veins. The female is of the same
shade of blue, or sometimes much paler (var. _clara_, Tutt), with a
broad blackish border on the outer margin of the fore wings extending
along the front margin to about the middle; this border varies in width
and seems to be wider in summer specimens than in those of the earlier
flight; the discal mark on the fore wings is black, but this is
sometimes very faint; there is a series of black dots on the outer
margin of the wings.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 110
=Adonis Blue.=
1, 2, 4, 5, 9 _male_; 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 111
=Adonis Blue.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._]
Although the colour of the upper side is somewhat like that of the
Common Blue, it should not be confused with that species, as the under
side is very different both as regards the colour, which is
bluish-white, and the arrangement of the black spots. On the outer
margins of the wings in some specimens there are more or less distinct
traces of blackish crescents.
There is no considerable variation in this species, but the spots on the
under side are subject to slight modification in the matters of size and
shape; the borders also vary in width, and in the female the blue area
is thus sometimes much restricted. A gynandrous specimen has been
recorded, in which the right side is male.
The egg (Plate 112) is described as whitish or bluish-green in colour.
The full-grown caterpillar has a blackish head, the body is bright
yellowish-green with paler lines; eight rings from and including the
second are crested with two ridges of humps, between which lies the sunk
dorsal space; the whole skin of the body is velvety, with its surface
thickly covered with yellowish warty granules, each bearing a minute
bristly white hair. Sometimes the humps and the middle of the back are
marked with rose-pink.
The chrysalis is pale brownish-ochreous with a thin blackish-brown line
on the back of the brown freckled thorax; the body is marked with rather
blotchy arrow-head dashes, and some larger dark brown blotches; the
wing-cases are pale greyish freckled and outlined with brown, their
surface is smooth and rather more glistening than the other parts, which
are thickly studded with fine, short, brownish bristles. (Adapted from
Buckler.)
The following is a brief summary of a paper by Mr. R. Adkin (_Proc. S.
Lond. Ent. and Nat. Hist. Soc._ for 1896), in which he gives a most
interesting account of the earlier stages of the second brood of this
species.
At the time when the butterflies of the second brood are on the wing,
the flower-buds of the ivy (_Hedera helix_) are still young, and form
compact heads. The butterfly, having selected one of these heads,
settles upon its top, closes her wings over her back, and bending her
abdomen down and round underneath the buds, affixes an egg to the under
side of one of the slender single bud-stalks. In about a week the eggs
hatch. The young larva which in colour matches the buds very closely,
rests on the bud-stalk with its anterior segments, which completely
cover its head, pressed closely against the bud, and looks so exactly
like a slight swelling of the upper part of the stalk as to make
detection a matter of great difficulty, even with the aid of a fairly
powerful lens. The larva is very sluggish in its habits, seldom leaving
the head of the buds on which it is hatched, so long as sufficient food
remains for its nourishment, or occasionally when about to change its
skin. It appears to feed only at night, and its manner of feeding, which
is the same throughout its life, is to eat a round hole through the
outer shell of a bud, and pressing its head forward through it to clear
out the soft inside of the bud. In from four to six weeks it is
full-fed; it then quits the buds, and attaches itself by slender threads
to a leaf, and in a few days becomes a pupa, in which state it passes
the winter.
Normally the eggs of the spring butterflies are laid on the under side
of the calyces of flower-buds of holly (_Ilex_). The caterpillars feed
on the flower-buds and also on the young green berries. They are full
grown in about a month, change to chrysalids, and the butterflies emerge
in July and August. Among other pabula that have been mentioned are the
flowers of dogwood (_Cornus sanguinea_), berry-bearing alder (_Rhamnus
frangula_), and spindle (_Euonymus europæus_).
[Illustration: _Pl._ 112.
=Holly Blue.=
_Eggs enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 113.
=Holly Blue.=
1, 2, 6 _male_; 3, 4, 7 _female (spring)_; 5 _male_; 8, 9 _female
(summer)_.]
In confinement the caterpillars will eat young leaves of holly and
probably of ivy also, but where flower-buds are available they prefer
them and ignore the tender leaves.
The Rev. Gilbert Raynor, on May 18, 1901, observed a female deposit an
egg on an unopened flower-bud of rhododendron in his garden; and he also
mentions that he beat a number of the caterpillars of all sizes from
holly during the first week of July in the same year.
Mr. Dennis reported that on October 9, 1902, all stages of the species
were to be found at Earl's Colne, Essex.
Butterflies of the first flight are usually to be seen in April and May,
and of the second, which is perhaps only partial and may not be
represented at all, in July and August. Specimens have been observed as
early as the last week of March, and, as adverted to above, as late as
October. For a few years in succession the species may become
increasingly numerous, and then suddenly become quite scarce for a year
or two. Most probably this is the result of favourable or unfavourable
weather conditions.
The taller hollies, where these grow in gardens, open woody places, on
hillsides, or even in hedgerows, are frequented by these butterflies in
the spring; and the ivy-clad walls, etc., are their haunts in the
summer.
The species is widely distributed, and often common, over the whole of
the south of England and Wales. North of the Midlands, as well as in
Ireland, it is more local, and occurs, I believe, only in the first
brood. Possibly in the South of Ireland there may be a second brood.
Barrett states that there is no reliable record for Scotland.
Abroad, its range extends throughout Europe and Northern Asia, except
the Polar Regions, to China and Japan. It also occurs in North Africa.
The Small Blue (_Zizera minima_).
The butterfly on Plate 115 is sometimes referred to as the "Bedford
Blue" and also as the "Little Blue."
Both sexes are blackish, or sooty-brown; the male is powdered, more or
less, with silvery-blue scales. The under side is greyish-white with a
tinge of blue at the base of each wing, but chiefly on the hind pair;
the spots are black encircled with white. As will be seen on turning to
the plate, there is variation in size. Fig. 5 represents a giant race
occurring in some localities, and the particular specimen depicted was
taken, with many others, on the coast near Lymington, Hants; it seems to
be referable to var. _alsoides_, Gerhard. Variation on the under side is
usually in the direction of complete absence of spots, but Mr. Joy has
recorded a specimen with the spots on the hind wings extended into
streaks of considerable but varying length.
Figures of the early stages will be found on Plate 114.
The egg is pale greenish in colour, netted with whitish; it is laid in
June on the calyx of a flower-bud, generally low down, of the
kidney-vetch (_Anthyllis vulneraria_).
According to Buckler, caterpillars hatched on June 21 from eggs laid
between the 16th and 18th of that month, and at once commenced to feed
on the flowers of the kidney-vetch, and made their way to the seed, for
which they evinced a marked preference. When full grown, the caterpillar
is brownish, sometimes tinged with pink. The fine bristles are dark
brown; there is a darker line along the middle of the back, and a line
of dark marks on each side. The head is black and shining.
The chrysalis is described by Buckler as "dirty whitish-grey,
approaching to drab, palest on the back of the abdomen, greyish on the
head and thorax, both of which are marked with a black dorsal stripe,
which is a little interrupted; on either side is a subdorsal row of
short slanting black dashes. The pale ground colour is sprinkled with
some very minute black specks. The head, thorax, and abdomen are hairy
with bristly whitish hairs." Although the caterpillars feed up rather
quickly and are full grown and apparently ready to assume the chrysalis
state, they do not effect the change until the following May or June.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 114.
=Small Blue.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 115.
=Small Blue.= 1 _male_; 2, 3 _female_; 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 _male vars_.
=Mazarine Blue.= 9, 11 _male_; 10, 12 _female_.]
The butterfly emerges in about three weeks, so it will be seen that this
species continues the caterpillar existence for something over ten
months.
On the Continent there are two broods of the butterfly, and in England
there appears to be a partial second flight in some years, as, for
instance, in 1901, when captures in August were reported from Herts,
Kent, Surrey, and Wilts. Its haunts are warm and sunny grassy hollows
and slopes, and it is often common in such places on the chalk hills in
the south, from the end of May to the end of June. According to Barrett
it is scarce in the Eastern Counties; widely distributed but local in
the Midland and Western Counties, even to Devon, and in Wales, where
chalk or limestone is found; also in extremely restricted localities in
Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumberland, and Durham, and in various places in
Scotland, extending as far north as Aberdeen. In Ireland it is much more
plentiful, especially on the limestone of the west and on the coast
hills near Belfast, and even frequents the sand-hills of the Dublin
coast.
It is widely spread over Europe, except the Polar parts, and,
apparently, the south of Portugal and Spain; its range extends eastward
to Amurland, Mongolia, and China.
The Mazarine Blue (_Nomiades semiargus_).
The male is dull purplish-blue, narrowly bordered with blackish on the
outer margin; the female is dark brown. On the underside both sexes are
pale greyish-brown, with a bluish tinge at the base; there is a black
discal spot and a series of black spots beyond, all ringed with white.
The egg is described as being white in colour and small, and round in
shape.
The caterpillar is of a dingy yellowish-green, with darker lines on the
back and sides; there are fine hairs on the body, and the head and
spiracles are dark brown (Rühl).
It feeds in July and August on the flowers and seeds of thrift (_Armeria
vulgaris_), kidney-vetch (_Anthyllis vulneraria_), and melilot
(_Melilotus officinalis_).
The chrysalis is rather oval in shape, pale olive-green in colour when
first formed, in September, but olive-brown later; it is attached by the
tail to a stalk of the food-plant and has a silken girdle (Rühl).
This butterfly (Plate 115) is the _cymon_ of Lewin, who, writing in
1795, considered it very rare. In 1828 Stephens refers to it as scarce
and local, "found in chalky districts in Norfolk, Cambridge, Yorkshire,
and Dorsetshire; also near Brockenhurst and Amesbury, Hants; and on
Windlesham Heath, Surrey, towards the end of May and of July." Newman
(1871) adds Warwickshire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire,
Glamorganshire, Somersetshire, and Lincolnshire. Curtis gives
Leicestershire and Worcestershire. It seems to have been fairly common,
and even plentiful in some years around Glanville's Wotton, Dorset, but
has not been seen in that district since 1841; at Wotton-under-Edge,
Gloucester, it was not uncommon up to 1858; as late as 1864 it occurred
at Epworth, North Lincolnshire. Probably the latest captures in Britain
were the specimens taken in Glamorganshire in the years 1874-77. Tutt
mentions that the butterfly was taken near Cuxton in Kent, some
thirty-five years ago, but it has not since been seen in that locality.
Occurs in May and June and again in July and August over the greater
part of Europe; its range extends to Asia Minor, and eastward to
Siberia, Mongolia, and Amurland.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 116.
=Large Blue.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 117.
=Large Blue.= 1, 5 _male_; 2, 3, 4, 6 _female_.
=Chalkhill Blue vars.= 7 _female_; 8 _do. var. syngrapha_.]
The Large Blue (_Nomiades arion_).
The butterfly on Plate 117, Figs. 1-6, is the largest "Blue" found in
this country. All the wings on the upper side are deep blue, and their
outer margins are bordered with blackish; the discal spot, and a row of
spots beyond, are black; the hind wings have a row of black dots on the
outer margin, and sometimes, and especially in the female, there is a
series of black dots just beyond the central area; the fringes are
white. The under side is greyish tinged with blue towards the base of
each wing, but covering nearly the whole of the basal third of the hind
pair; the spots are black ringed or edged with white; on the fore wings
there are two in the discal cell and a row of six beyond; on the hind
wings there are four or five before the discal spot, and a series of
seven beyond; all the wings have a double marginal series, and some
black dots at the ends of the nervules. Sometimes the wings have a
purplish tinge, and this is more usually so in Gloucestershire
specimens. The chief variation is in the number and the size of the
spots; these are occasionally only faintly in evidence, but more rarely
perhaps those beyond the discal spot on the fore wings are of large size
and bar or wedge-like in shape; the smaller cell-spot is often absent. A
dwarf form is stated to occur at times in all localities.
The complete life-history of this species has yet to be ascertained; no
one seems to be acquainted with the caterpillar after hibernation.
Pretty much all that is known of the early stages has been worked out by
Mr. Frohawk, who has published some very interesting accounts of his
observations in the _Entomologist_ for 1899 and 1903, and from these the
following details have been obtained.
The egg (Plate 116) is bluish-white in colour, and is laid singly among
the buds of wild thyme (_Thymus serpyllum_).
Caterpillars hatched on July 10 from eggs received the previous day;
they were placed upon thyme blossoms and soon commenced to feed, one
being observed to eat its way into the base of the calyx so that the
forepart of the caterpillar was hidden. In its colouring and downy
covering the caterpillar so closely resembles the flower-buds of the
thyme that it is very difficult to detect. After the third moult (July
26) the colour is a uniform, dull, ochreous-pink; there are four rows of
long curved hairs, each row composed of a single hair on each ring from
the fourth to the ninth inclusive; the first three rings have each a set
of three subdorsal hairs, those on the first ring curving forwards; the
bases of the hairs resemble glass-like pedestals with fluted sides. The
head is ochreous with dark brown markings in front. The caterpillar at
this stage develops an aversion to thyme or any other plant offered to
it, and seems to be anxious to hide itself in the ground.
The chrysalis, which is figured on Plate 116 (after Frohawk), is
ochreous when first formed, but becomes darker gradually; the
wing-cases, however, remain of the original colour, but their hind
margins darken. From a chrysalis found on July 12 the butterfly emerged
on July 16.
There is some evidence in favour of the supposition that this
caterpillar is in some way dependent upon ants for nourishment after the
third moult, if not before, but what the exact requirement may be is not
known. Probably the circumstances connected with the discovery of the
chrysalis in 1905 by Messrs. Frohawk & Rayward may afford a valuable
clue to the direction in which their future investigation will have to
be conducted. We may hope, therefore, that the mystery that has so long
hung over the last stages of the caterpillar will be solved before very
long.
Lewin (1795) and Donovan (1796) both refer to this as a rare English
butterfly. The former states that it is on the wing in July, and is
found on high chalky lands in different parts of the kingdom, having
been taken on the cliffs in the neighbourhood of Dover, Marlborough
Downs, the hills near Bath, and near Clifden in Bucks.
Stephens, in 1828, wrote of it as "an insect of great rarity." He
mentioned the localities given by the older authors, and added that it
had been taken in the Mouse's Pasture, near Bedford, in rocky situations
in North Wales, and had been plentiful near Winchester.
Newman (1871) wrote, "Its 'metropolis,' if I may borrow an expression
from the revered fathers of British entomology, is in South Devon; it
has occurred in some abundance in Somersetshire, and on the Cotswold
Hills in Gloucestershire; from Gloucestershire we ascend to a Midland
county, Northamptonshire, in which county (at Barnwell Wold) a
considerable number have been taken." One specimen was reported from
Charmouth in Dorsetshire, and the butterfly has also been recorded from
Herefordshire, but these are matters of ancient history. At the present
time the species is only to be found in limited numbers in the
Cotswolds; it seems to have become much rarer than formerly in its South
Devon locality, _i.e._ Bolthead, near Plymouth; one never hears of it
now from Clovelly, in North Devon, where, according to Dale, it was once
reported to be abundant. In 1891 Messrs. Waterhouse obtained a fine
series of specimens in West Cornwall, and since that time the district
has been annually visited by an increasing number of entomologists.
Judging from the "big bags" that are made each year it would seem that
the butterfly has a very strong and widely distributed settlement in
those parts.
Abroad it is distributed throughout Europe, except the Polar and the
south-western parts, and is also found in Armenia, Bithynia, and South
Siberia.
* * * * *
Our next species belongs to the Nemeobiinæ, a sub-family of Lemoniidæ =
Erycinidæ. Only one member of the family is known to occur in Europe;
this is _Nemeobius lucina_.
As the fore legs of the male butterfly are aborted, and are therefore
useless for walking, the species would seem to come near the Nymphalidæ,
in which the fore legs of the butterflies, in both sexes, are reduced.
In its early stages, however, the species seems to be most nearly
related to the Lycænidæ.
The Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (_Nemeobius lucina_).
This butterfly is figured on Plate 120. The male is black, with three
transverse tawny bands on the fore wings; these are crossed by the black
veins, and so form series of irregular spots. Those on the outer margin
have black centres; on the hind wings there are three or four tawny
spots on the disc, and a series of black centred tawny spots on the
outer area. The female is similar to the male, but the tawny markings
are wider, so that the fore wings appear to be of this colour, with a
black patch at the base, two black irregular lines, and a series of
black spots on the outer margin. On the under side of the hind wings
there are two transverse series of whitish spots, and a series of black
spots on the outer margin. The wings of this sex are always broader than
those of the male, and the apex of the fore wings is not so distinctly
pointed. Variation is not usually of a very pronounced character, and in
a general way it consists mainly in a greater or lesser amount of black
in the male, and this more particularly on the hind wings, and an
increase in the tawny colour in the female; in the latter sex, outer
marginal black spots are sometimes absent from all the wings. Barrett
mentions two extreme aberrations. In one, a female, the usually dark
spaces, bands, and veins are of an exceedingly pale brown, suffused with
fulvous, so as to be comparatively indistinct; another example, a male,
has the basal area of the fore wings pale, and the first transverse dark
band absent.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 118.
1, 3 =Common Blue vars.=, _male_; 6 _do. female_.
2, 5, 8, 11 =Adonis Blue vars.=, _male_; 4, 7, _do. female_.
9, 10 =Chalkhill Blue vars.=, _female_; 12 _do. male_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 119.
1, 2, 3 =Small Copper vars.=; 4 =Adonis Blue var.=
5 =Common Blue var.=; 6, 7, 8 =Gatekeeper vars.=]
The eggs of this species are to be found at the end of May on the
under sides of the leaves of the cowslip (_Primula veris_), sometimes as
many as ten on one leaf, but as a rule there will only be one or two on
a plant. When laid, the egg is very glassy in appearance, but it
gradually turns to a pinkish-grey; and when the caterpillar is formed
inside, the shell becomes transparent, and its occupant can be clearly
seen. It eats a considerable portion of the shell in making its exit
therefrom, and afterwards consumes the remainder of the shell. When in
its last skin the caterpillar is brown, covered with short whitish hair,
among which are some longer dark brown or blackish hairs; the lines on
the back and sides are blackish, and there are black dots on the front
part of each segment or ring. Head, honey brown, notched on the crown;
eyes and jaws, brownish. It feeds from June to August on cowslip, but
will also eat primrose (_Primula vulgaris_), and hides among dead and
withered leaves beneath the food-plant (Plate 121).
The chrysalis is pale whity-brown, hairy above, with black dots; head
and the upper edge of the wing-cases streaked with black.
Occasionally a few butterflies emerge in August, but they usually remain
in the chrysalis until May or June.
This is a woodland species, and prefers the sunny but sheltered nooks
and glades, but also resorts to the broader rides and pathways. Flowers
do not seem to have any strong attraction for it, but it may often be
seen sitting on the foliage of a bush or sapling tree. It appears to be
pretty widely distributed, although to a certain extent local,
throughout the southern half of England, but seems to have almost or
quite disappeared from the counties of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, and
Essex. Dumfries is the only locality in Scotland from which it has been
reported.
Its distribution abroad is limited to Central Europe, Denmark, Livonia,
Southern Sweden, Central Spain, North Italy, and the Balkans.
Now follow the Skippers (Hesperiidæ), of which kind of butterfly we have
eight species in England. Of these the first two belong to the
Hesperiinæ and the others to the Pamphilinæ.
The Grizzled Skipper (_Hesperia malvæ_).
The wings of the butterfly figured on Plate 122 are blackish, ornamented
with numerous white spots, which are more or less square in shape, on
the fore wings. The fringes are chequered black and white.
The male differs from the female in having the front edge of the fore
wings folded towards the base, and these wings have scattered greyish
scales on the basal area; the central series of spots on the hind wings
are also more in evidence, and not infrequently unite and become
band-like. Variation consists in modification of the markings, chiefly
in a tendency of the spots to run together, culminating in var. _taras_,
Bergstr., in which the white spots of the fore wings are confluent and
form a large blotch. This variety was figured by Petiver in 1717, but
was not named by Bergsträsser until 1780. Haworth described it as
_lavateræ_, and Newman figured it under the same name.
On a small plant of Alpine strawberry, sent by the Rev. Gilbert Raynor,
were three eggs of this butterfly. These were pale green in colour,
ribbed, and delicately netted with cross-lines. On June 26, three
caterpillars were noticed on the upper side of the leaves, each on a
separate leaf, and under cover of a few coarse silken threads. They were
pale steely-grey, with black heads, and plates on the first and last
segments of the body.
As the supply of strawberry foliage was failing, the caterpillars
were given bramble on July 21, and the next day each was found enclosed
in a sort of envelope formed of a bramble leaf. They were then seemingly
in their last skin, whitish-green in colour, and covered with short
whitish hair; a whitish edged dark olive-brown line along the back, and
similar lines on the sides; between the rings the colour was pale
ochreous. The date of pupation was not noted, but on September 9, one of
the spun-together bramble leaves was opened, and a chrysalis found
within. This was pale brown, with dark brown or blackish marks along the
back and sides; the head and back were covered with dense pale
reddish-brown bristles; the wing, leg, and antennæ cases were greenish,
smooth, and shaded with brownish. Between the head and first ring of the
body above there was a deep furrow, with a black-centred white spot on
each side of it (Plate 123).
[Illustration: _Pl._ 120.
=Duke of Burgundy Fritillary.= 1, 2, 4 _male_; 3, 5 _female_.
=Milkweed Butterfly.= 6 _male_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 121.
=Duke of Burgundy Fritillary.=
_Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
Besides the plants adverted to above, the caterpillars will eat
raspberry (_Rubus idæus_) and cinquefoil (_Potentilla fragariastrum_ and
P. _reptans_).
The butterfly is pretty generally distributed in Great Britain, but does
not seem to be common in Ireland, as Kane only mentions two examples,
from Killarney. It is found in May and June on chalk downs and other
hillsides, especially in the hollows and sheltered nooks, also in and
around woods, and in rough fields. On dull days and at night it may be
found sitting, with the wings erect over the back, on various
seed-heads, etc.
The species is double brooded on the Continent, and occasionally a few
butterflies will appear in August, but such emergences depend on a
combination of favourable circumstances. In very forward seasons it has
been seen on the wing during the last week in April.
Its range extends over Europe and into Northern Asia.
* * * * *
As Barrett refers to the capture in Norfolk (May or June, 1860) of
several specimens of the Central and South European species, _H.
alveus_, Hüb., it maybe well to mention it here, if only for the purpose
of quoting his remarks thereon. After detailing the facts connected with
the occurrence, he states, "It seems undesirable now to introduce the
species to a place in the British list, but rather to record the
captures in question as specimens accidentally introduced with plants,
or else the result of a very exceptional act of migration."
The Dingy Skipper (_Thanaos tages_).
The wings are fuscous, with darker fuscous transverse bands on the
middle third of the fore wings; the space between these is sometimes,
and in both sexes, whitish; there are some whitish spots on the outer
band, usually towards the costa, but occasionally on the middle also,
and a series of white points on the outer margin of all the wings. The
hind wings have a whitish discal dot and a band beyond the middle, which
is almost parallel with the outer margin. The male has a well-marked
fold on the costa (Plate 122).
The egg is whitish-green when freshly laid; it afterwards changes in
colour to orange. The caterpillar is yellowish-green with a darker line
along the back and a paler line on each side; the spiracles are red and
edged with whitish. The head is pale brown, striped and marked with
purplish-black. The body, together with the head, is covered with a
short whitish pile. It feeds on bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus
corniculatus_) from June until August, when it hibernates. I have not
seen the chrysalis, but it has been described as dark green with the
body tinged with rosy red.
The butterfly is on the wing in May and June; in some seasons it has
been seen as early as the end of April. Very occasionally, perhaps,
there is a partial second flight in August. It has been reported as
plentiful at Lyme Regis in August.
I took one or two specimens about the middle of August, 1903, in the
New Forest district, and in the same month of 1905 one of two
caterpillars sent to me by Dr. Chapman pupated in August, and the
butterfly emerged some time in the autumn, as I found it dead in the box
early in October. Both the caterpillars had spun together sprays of the
food-plant as shown in the figure, Plate 123. One was removed for its
portrait to be taken, and it was supposed that the other bundle
contained a caterpillar also, and was not examined.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 122.
=Grizzled Skipper.=
1, 2, 7 _male_; 4, 5, 8 _female_; 3 _var. male_; 6 _do. female_.
=Dingy Skipper.=
9, 10, 12 _male_; 11, 13, 14 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 123.
=Dingy Skipper.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and its shelter._
=Grizzled Skipper.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and shelter; chrysalis
in cocoon._]
The butterfly affects open places in, or the edges of, woods in chalky
districts, also the slopes of chalk downs and other hillsides, as well
as railway banks and even rough fields. It evidently delights in
sunshine, and may often be seen basking on a stone or the bare earth.
When at rest at night or on dull days it sits on a dead seed-head or
grass glume, with the wings closed down over its back like a noctuid
moth, and is then difficult to detect until the eye becomes accustomed
to its appearance. It is widely distributed in Great Britain, but it is
more at home on chalk and limestone than elsewhere. In such localities
as the fens of Norfolk and Cambridge it is scarce, and seems to have a
rather limited distribution in Ireland, in which country Galway is its
headquarters, according to Kane.
Abroad, it is found throughout Europe, and its range extends to Western
Asia.
The Small Skipper (_Adopæa thaumas_).
All the wings are brownish-orange, with the veins darker and becoming
black towards the outer margins, especially on the fore wings. The male
has a black sexual mark (Plate 125).
Except that the colour varies in the direction of a pale golden tint
there is little in the way of aberration in this butterfly. At least one
gynandrous specimen has been recorded.
The following descriptions of the early stages (Plate 124), as well as
the figures of the caterpillar and the chrysalis, are from Buckler's
"Larvæ of British Butterflies":--
The egg "is of a long oval figure, half as long again as wide, the
shell glistening, devoid of ribs or reticulation; at first white, then
turning dull yellowish, and at last paler again, with the dark head of
the caterpillar showing through. The young caterpillar eats part of the
empty egg-shell."
The full-grown caterpillar is of a delicate light green, the stripe
along the back is rather bluish-green, with paler green central and side
lines; the spiracles are flesh-coloured, and below these there is a
somewhat creamy-white stripe. The head is deeper green than the body,
and roughened with minute points. It feeds in June on _Holcus lanatus_,
_Brachypodium sylvaticum_, and probably other kinds of soft grasses, and
its assimilation, both in colour and texture, with the blades of grass
is remarkable. Before changing to the chrysalis it encloses itself
within two or sometimes three leaves of the grass, joined together
longitudinally by lacing or spinning with white silk, the edges more or
less close to each other, and becomes completely hidden.
The chrysalis is secured in the silken chamber, head upward, by an
oblique cincture behind the thorax, and the anal tip fastened by a
fan-like spread of fine hooks at the extremity fixed in the silk. The
colour is similar to that of the caterpillar, and the lines are fairly
in evidence. Caterpillars that spun up on June 18 to 23 produced
butterflies on July 15 and 16.
Hellins states that eggs were laid in a row in a folded blade of grass
about July 29, and that the caterpillars hatched out on August 12.
According to Hawes, the caterpillar of this species does not hatch from
the egg until the following spring.
Although it does not seem to be very plentiful in fenlands, this
butterfly certainly has a partiality for damp places, whether in the
rides, or on the sides of woods, on hill slopes, or waste ground.
Wherever there is a fairly large growth of the taller soft grasses that
the caterpillars feed upon, there the butterfly may be found in July and
August throughout the greater part of England and Wales. Reported from
the Edinburgh district in Scotland; and in Ireland from Powerscourt and
near Cork.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 124.
=Small Skipper.=
_Caterpillar and chrysalis._
=Essex Skipper.=
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar._
=Lulworth Skipper.=
_Eggs enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 125.
=Small Skipper.= 1, 3 _male_; 2, 4 _female_.
=Essex Skipper.= 5, 7 _male_; 6, 8 _female_.
=Lulworth Skipper.= 9, 11 _male_; 10, 12 _female_.]
The Essex Skipper (_Adopæa lineola_).
This butterfly is very like the Small Skipper, but may be separated from
it, in both sexes, by the black under sides of the knobs of the antennæ.
The black sexual mark in the male is finer, shorter, and much less
oblique (Plate 125).
The egg (Plate 124) is pale greenish-yellow, oval in shape, flattened
above and below; the top is slightly depressed. The eggs are deposited
in July or August, in dried grass seed-heads and inside the sheath of a
leaf, and the caterpillars, according to Hawes, do not hatch until
April.
The caterpillar is green, with the incisions between the rings
yellowish; there is a darker green stripe on the back, and the lines on
the sides are yellow. The head is pale brown and striped with darker
brown. It feeds from April to June on coarse grasses, such as _Triticum
repens_. When full grown "it spins together the stems of the grass low
down, with a network of white silk for pupation" (Hawes). The chrysalis
is described as being long, yellowish-green in colour, and retaining the
dark dorsal stripe seen in the caterpillar.
No doubt this butterfly has been with us all the time, but it appears
to have escaped detection until the year 1888, when Mr. Hawes, in July
of that year, met with it in Essex. He, however, did not then consider
the three specimens that he had taken with _A. thaumas_ anything more
than queer varieties of that species, and it was not until January,
1890, that the fact of _A. lineola_ being British was published. Since
that time this Skipper has been found in a great many parts of Essex,
but chiefly along the coast, and in such localities as Benfleet, Canvey,
Dovercourt, Shoeburyness, Southend, etc. At Hadleigh it is often very
abundant. Other localities are Sheerness, Cliffe, and Gravesend, in
Kent. It has also been reported from near Sudbury, and from Harwich, and
Chappel in Suffolk; from Ashton Wold in Northamptonshire. In 1898 five
specimens, identified by the Rev. Gilbert Raynor, were taken near
Bedford. Barrett, who mentions Wicken Fen and Burwell among other
localities, says that it has a "partiality for the embankments which
protect the cultivated land from the inroad of the high tides which
flood the salt marshes. Here it flits about, or sits on the coarse
seaside grasses or on blossoms of thistle, or _Lotus corniculatus_,
indicating rather sluggish habits, yet flying swiftly when disturbed.
Further inland it seems to frequent chalky hillsides and marshes." It is
on the wing in July and August.
The species is found in all parts of the Palæarctic Region except the
most northern and the Canary Isles.
The Lulworth Skipper (_Adopæa actæon_).
Compared with the other two species on Plate 125, the coloration of this
butterfly is somewhat dingy; it is, however, enlivened, especially in
the female, by a short dash and a curved series of orange spots in the
upper half of the fore wings. The male has a black sexual mark which is
very similar to that of the Small Skipper. There seems to be very little
to note in variation, except that the orange markings referred to are
subject to modification, and in the male may be altogether absent. An
example taken at Swanage, in 1903, had the wings on the left side male,
and those on the right side female.
The egg, figured, from a photograph, on Plate 124, is whitish, faintly
tinged with yellowish.
The mature caterpillar is pale greyish, or yellowish, green, with the
dorsal vessel darker, and edged with a slender pale yellow line on
either side, and enclosing a pale longitudinal line along its middle. A
narrow yellowish line runs above on the side and a broader one below.
The two dorsal lines are prolonged as far as the middle of the head, and
run to the end of the flat anal shield, which is narrowly edged with
pale yellow. The head is greenish with two yellowish lines. The two
snow-white patches on the under side of the ninth and tenth rings of the
body are conspicuous as in _lineola_, _sylvanus_, and _comma_. This
white substance is spread out at the tail end of the caterpillar of
_actæon_, when it has formed its chrysalis case (Zeller).
Buckler, referring to four caterpillars found on _Brachypodium
sylvaticum_, June 11, states that they completed their growth on a diet
of _Triticum repens_. They ate out wedge-shaped portions from the sides
of the grass blades, and when they had finished their repast, they
crawled down to the middle of the blade, and there spun a coating of
white silk from one side to the other, causing the two edges of the
blade to draw together a little, and then in the silk-lined hollow they
rested until hunger obliged them to ascend the blade again for another
meal. About June 23 they had ceased to feed, and were beginning to
fasten themselves within more closely constructed retreats, formed where
two blades of grass obliquely crossed each other. The colour of the
chrysalis is similar to that of the caterpillar, and the lines are
faintly traceable. The butterflies appeared July 14 to 18, emerging at
night, and ready for flight in the morning.
This insect received its English name in 1832, when it was first
discovered in this country at Lulworth Cove, in Dorsetshire. It has
since been found to occur at Durdle Cove, and the Burning Cliff,
Weymouth, and the latter locality appears to be its most eastern limit.
Its range extends westward along the coast of Dorsetshire and Devonshire
to Sidmouth, Seaton, and Torquay; and there are records of its having
been observed in Cornwall. According to Mr. E.R. Bankes, as quoted by
Barrett, this butterfly is not confined to the coast line in Dorset, but
is to be found in two or three spots along the chalk range of the
Purbeck Hills, at a distance of four or five miles from the sea. He also
states that the species is only single brooded, that the best time for
it is from the beginning of July to the middle of August, and that the
food-plant of the caterpillar is _Brachypodium pinnatum_.
The blossoms of rest-harrow (_Ononis arvensis_) are said to be the
particular vanity of the butterfly, and it is seldom found visiting any
other flower. Abroad the species is not especially attached to the
sea-coast, but occurs inland throughout Central and Southern Europe, its
range extending to Asia Minor and Syria, and also to North-West Africa.
The Large Skipper (_Augiades sylvanus_).
The male has the discal area of the fore wings bright fulvous, and the
outer area broadly brown; the sexual mark is black; the hind wings are
tinged with fulvous on the disc, and have brighter fulvous spots. The
female is brown with a fulvous discal wedge on the fore wings, and an
angulate series of fulvous spots beyond; hind wings as in the male, but
spots rather more defined. In some examples of this sex the spots on the
fore wings are confluent, and the discal area is then fulvous as in the
male (Plate 126).
The egg is whitish or greenish-white, and is laid on a blade of grass.
Hellins states that from eggs laid about July 1 the caterpillars hatched
on July 13; they chose cocks-foot grass (_Dactylis glomerata_) for food,
and rested in the middle of a blade, fastening its edges across with
five or six distinct little ropes of white silk.
The young caterpillar figured on Plate 127 was on September 11 about
half an inch in length, and had been removed from the grass tube, also
shown, to be figured; the head was then pale brown, bordered and lined
with purplish brown; the body was darkish green, paler on the last ring,
and with darker lines on the back and sides. After hibernation (the
figure of this stage of the caterpillar is from Buckler), in May, the
caterpillar is about one inch long, pale green in colour; the skin is
thickly covered with very short dark brown bristles, "the head dirty
white with a dark brown stripe down the outer edge of each lobe, the
neck whitish-green" (Hellins).
The chrysalis was formed in the grass cocoon shown with it. The general
colour was brown with the wing-cases darker, and a darker suffusion on
the back.
The egg-laying of this butterfly has been observed by Mr. Ullyett, who
states that the female, having selected a suitable grass-stem, deposits
eggs in a line in a sheath formed by the leaf round the stem. The
caterpillars hibernate in tubes of grass, and feed up in the spring.
This butterfly has been supposed to be double brooded, but there does
not seem to be any direct evidence that this is so. It is on the wing in
grassy places on the slopes of downs and other hillsides, also in rides,
and on the margins of woods, from early June until well into July, and
sometimes even later in the year. It is found in most of our English
counties, and also in Scotland, south of the Forth. In Ireland it is not
uncommon in a meadow in Lord Kenmare's demesne, Killarney, and has been
recorded from the Morrough of Wicklow.
Abroad its distribution extends through Europe and Northern Asia to
China and Japan, and also to North Africa.
The Silver-spotted Skipper (_Augiades comma_).
This butterfly is very similar on the upper side to the Large Skipper,
but the spots, especially those nearest the front edge of the fore
wings, are yellower. On the under side the greenish tinge of the ground
colour, and the silvery spots, make the identification quite easy. The
black sex mark in the male is very similar to that of the last species
(Plate 126).
The males vary a little in the width of the marginal border, and in some
females there is almost as much fulvous on the discal area of the wings
as in the male; in the darkest females the spots always appear paler
than in fulvous specimens. On the under side the ground colour is
sometimes olive-brown rather than green.
The following account of the life-history of this butterfly is adapted
from Mr. Frohawk's article on the subject published in the
_Entomologist_ for 1901:--
In August, whilst watching some of the butterflies on the wing over a
patch of chalky ground covered with a short dense growth of various
grasses, etc., he noted a female hovering close over the plants.
Presently it settled on a tuft of hair grass (_Aira cæspitosa_), and
after walking over and among it a little time, she curved her abdomen
down, and deposited a single egg on one of the fine hair-like blades,
or, rather, spines, and close by, within an inch, another egg was found.
Afterwards some plants of this grass were potted up, and some females
placed on them. These deposited a large number of eggs upon the
grass-stems and blades.
The egg when newly laid is pearl white with the slightest
yellowish-green tinge, which very gradually turns deeper in colour,
assuming a pale straw-yellow on the sixth day, and so it remains until
January, when it becomes paler.
The caterpillar hatches out at the end of March or early in April. It
does not eat the empty egg-shell, but directly after leaving the egg it
starts spinning the fine grass together into a somewhat dense cluster an
inch or two above the ground. In this compact shelter the larva lives
and feeds upon the grass surrounding it, remaining almost always
completely hidden. Sometimes as many as three or four live together.
When full grown and about one hundred days old, the caterpillar is of a
dull olive-green colour, with a black collar on the first ring, and the
entire surface densely sprinkled with minute shining black warts, each
emitting a tiny amber-coloured spine with a cleft knobbed apex. The head
is blackish marked with ochreous lines. It still resides in a tube of
grass spun closely together, and feeds on any other kind of grass that
happens to be interwoven with the _Aira_. Just before pupation the
caterpillar often crawls restlessly about, but in some instances it does
not leave its place of feeding, and spins a strong, coarse network
cocoon among the grass close to the ground, weaving the gnawed loose
pieces of grass with the fine stems and blades, and therein pupates
during the latter part of July.
[Illustration: _Pl._ 126.
=Large Skipper.= 1, 3, _male_; 2, 4 _female_.
=Silver-Spotted Skipper.= 5, 7 _male_; 6, 8 _female_.
=Chequered Skipper.= 9, 10 _male_; 11 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 127.
=Large Skipper.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._
=Silver-spotted Skipper.=
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar._
=Chequered Skipper.=
_Egg enlarged and caterpillar._]
The chrysalis is secured in the cocoon by hooks at the tail and by
hooked bristles on the head; the head and thorax are pale olive mottled
with blackish; the body olive, spotted with dark olive, and inclining to
yellow on the ventral surface; below each spiracle is a short
longitudinal mark; the spiracles are amber-brown.
The butterfly is to be found in August on most of our chalk hills, but
has not been recorded from either Scotland or Ireland.
It is a very quick flyer and difficult to capture when on the wing, but
it is fond of sitting on low-growing thistles, and is then sometimes
easy to take. Abroad it occurs throughout Europe and Northern Asia to
China and Japan.
The Chequered Skipper (_Carterocephalus palæmon_).
The well-defined yellow or orange spots on the blackish-brown ground
colour distinguish this butterfly from all other British Skippers.
The variation is only of a minor kind, and chiefly in the direction of
an increase or a decrease in the number and the size of the spots.
Occasionally those on the central area of the fore wings are much
enlarged and more or less confluent; and the spots on the outer margin
of the hind wings are sometimes very small or entirely absent.
The following particulars of the early stages are abstracted from Mr.
Frohawk's life-history of the species (_Entomologist_, 1892):--
Living females received in June were placed on a growing plant of brome
grass (_Bromus asper_), and a few eggs were deposited, some upon the
blades of grass, others upon the gauze-covered glass jar in which the
plant was placed; they were laid singly, firmly adhering to whatever
laid upon. The first lot of eggs were deposited on June 14. The egg has
a pearly appearance, being whitish or yellowish-white in colour. Ten
days after the egg is deposited the young caterpillar emerges by eating
away the crown. Soon after hatching out the young caterpillar makes a
little tubular dwelling, drawing together the edges of the grass-blade
by spinning about three or four stout cords of silk, which quickly
contract, causing the edges to draw together, and sometimes to overlap,
forming a compact short tube; generally before spinning it nibbles off
the extreme edge of the blade where the silk is afterwards attached. It
feeds upon the blade both above and below its abode, devouring so much
that frequently only the midrib of the blade remains, and the tube only
just long enough to conceal it; it then shifts its quarters, and
prepares a new home.
On October 3, when one hundred and one days old, the caterpillar was
pale primrose-yellow, and the stripes of a slightly darker hue, the
white lateral line showing clearly, and spiracles brownish; the head
pale buff with a faint lilac tinge, with a black patch above the mouth
and brownish at the sides. In the previous stage the caterpillar was
whitish-green with a rather dark green line along the middle of the
back, this line bordered on each side by an almost white, very fine
line, followed by alternate darker and lighter lines, the lightest being
extremely fine; "then a subdorsal darker green line, bordered laterally
by a conspicuous whitish line, which is again bordered below by a paler
and indistinct green line, and a very faint spiracular whitish stripe,
on which the spiracles are placed; they are white, outlined by a dark
but indistinct ring; the under surface is whitish-green."
About the middle of October the hibernaculum was formed by spinning two
blades of grass together at the edges, so making a tube, in which the
caterpillar remained during the winter. On March 21 it left its retreat,
but did not seem to feed, and generally remained quiet, lying along a
grass-blade. On April 3 "it had drawn together with silk six blades of
grass at the ends, forming a tent-like structure, and along the surface
of one of the broadest a little carpet of silk was spun, upon which it
rested with its head uppermost; a silk cord also encircled its body
round the fourth segment." It assumed the chrysalis state on April 8,
and had then passed two hundred and eighty-nine days in the caterpillar
condition. The chrysalis measures five-eighths of an inch in length, is
fairly cylindrical, but tapering to the tail. "Dorsal view: the head is
pointed in front in the form of a short conical beak; the eyes are
rather prominent; the thorax is swollen in the middle, the widest part,
and then gradually tapers towards the last segment, which is elongated
and flattened. Lateral view: the beak is slightly upturned, the thorax
convexed, and the segment next to the thorax is rather swollen in the
middle, so forming a rather decided depression at the base of the
thorax, where the silken cord passes round; the body gradually tapering
to the last segment, which terminates in a long compressed curved
process furnished with long hooks; the wing-cases extend down two-thirds
its length, and only very little, if at all, swollen; the antennæ and
legs are but feebly modelled; the tongue is well defined, it is dusky at
the base, blending into black at the apex; the colour is of a very pale
primrose-yellow, shading into pearly grey, and semi-transparent on the
head, wings, and flap; a dark medio-dorsal line commences at the base of
the beak, and passes down the entire length, gradually fading off in the
anal extremity; it is blackest on the head and first abdominal segment,
and palest on the thorax, where it is light brown; there are two
rust-red subdorsal lines, which run parallel from the base of the
antennæ to the last segment; another similar line, united along the
inner margin of the wing, passes over two spiracles, and then runs
parallel with the subdorsal lines.... The antennæ and wings are faintly
outlined with dusky brown. In general appearance and colouring the pupa
closely resembles a piece of dead withered grass."
A female butterfly emerged on May 20, the transformation from egg to
perfect insect thus occupying about eleven months. This local butterfly
is on the wing in June; sometimes it is seen in the latter part of May,
and, more rarely perhaps, in July.
This species appears to have been first noticed as an inhabitant of
Britain in 1798, in which year specimens were taken in Clapham Park
Wood, Bedfordshire, by Dr. Abbott, who, four years later, also reported
the butterfly from White Wood, Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire. In 1823 it was
found to occur at Castor Hanglands, near Peterborough; and in 1841
Doubleday met with it, in large numbers, in Monk's Wood,
Huntingdonshire. Among other localities from which it has been reported
are Ropsley Wood, near Grantham, Notts, and Wychwood Forest,
Oxfordshire.
In its special localities, which, at the present time, are chiefly the
larger woods in Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, and Buckinghamshire, it
frequents the flowers of ground ivy (_Nepeta glechoma_) and of the bugle
(_Ajuga reptans_).
Abroad it is locally common in various parts of Central Europe; also
occurs in Finland, Central and Northern Russia, Dalmatia, Piedmont, and
in Labrador, and other parts of North America.
A CLASSIFIED LIST OF THE BRITISH BUTTERFLIES
=Papilionidæ.=
PAPILIONINÆ
Papilio machaon
PIERINÆ
Aporia cratægi
Pieris brassicæ
" rapæ
" napi
" daplidice
_Pontia daplidice_
Euchloë cardamines
Leucophasia sinapis
_Leptidia sinapis_
Colias hyale
_Eurymus kirbyi_
Colias edusa
_Eurymus hyale_
Gonepteryx rhamni
_Colias rhamni_
=Nymphalidæ.=
APATURINÆ
Apatura iris
NYMPHALINÆ
Limenitis sibylla
_Limenitis camilla_
Polygonia c-album
_Grapta c-album_
Vanessa polychloros
_Eugonia polychloros_
Vanessa urticæ
_Aglais urticæ_
Vanessa io
" antiopa
_Euvanessa antiopa_
Pyrameis cardui
" atalanta
Argynnis paphia
" adippe
" aglaia
" lathonia
" euphrosyne
_Brenthis euphrosyne_
Argynnis selene
_Brenthis selene_
Melitæa athalia
" cinxia
" aurinia
DANAINÆ
Anosia plexippus
SATYRINÆ
Melanargia galatea
Erebia epiphron
_Melampias epiphron_
Erebia æthiops
Satyrus semele
_Hipparchia semele_
Pararge egeria
" megæra
_Satyrus megæra_
Epinephele ianira
_Epinephele jurtina_
Epinephele tithonus
Aphantopus hyperanthus
_Hipparchia hyperanthus_
_Enodia hyperanthus_
Coenonympha typhon
_Coenonympha tiphon_
Coenonympha pamphilus
=Lycænidæ.=
LYCÆNINÆ
Zephyrus betulæ
_Thecla betulæ_
Zephyrus quercus
_Thecla quercus_
Thecla pruni
" w-album
Callophrys rubi
_Thecla rubi_
Chrysophanus dispar
_Polyommatus dispar_
_Lycæna dispar_
Chrysophanus phlæas
_Polyommatus phlæas_
_Lycæna phlæas_
Lampides boeticus
_Lycæna boeticus_
Cupido argiades
_Lycæna argiades_
Lycæna argus
_Lycæna ægon_
_Plebeius argus_
Lycæna astrarche
_Lycæna agestis_
Lycæna icarus
_Plebeius alexis_
_Polyommatus icarus_
Lycæna corydon
_Polyommatus corydon_
Lycæna bellargus
_Lycæna adonis_
_Polyommatus thetis_
Cyaniris argiolus
Zizera minima
_Lycæna minima_
Nomiades semiargus
_Lycæna acis_
_ " semiargus_
Nomiades arion
_Polyommatus arion_
_Lycæna arion_
=Lemoniidæ.=
NEMEOBIINÆ
Nemeobius lucina
=Hesperiidæ.=
HESPERIINÆ
Hesperia malvæ
Thanaos tages
_Nisoniades tages_
PAMPHILINÆ
Adopæa thaumas
" lineola
" actæon
Augiades comma
_Erynnis comma_
Augiades sylvanus
Carterocephalus palæmon
_Pamphila palæmon_
INDEX.
* Species so marked in this Index are _reputed_ British.
Adonis Blue, 170. _Plates_ 110, 111, 119
_Adopæa actæon_, 190, _Plates_ 124, 125;
_lineola_, 189, _Plates_ 124, 125;
_thaumas_, 187, _Plates_ 124, 125
Ammonia jar, 19
Androconia, 14
Angles of wings, 12. Fig. 9
_Anosia menippe_, 106;
_plexippus_, 106, _Plates_ 72, 120
Antennæ, 4, 9
_Apatura iris_, 56, _Plates_ 28, 29, 31;
var. _iole_, 57, _Plate_ 31
_Aphantopus hyperanthus_, 130, _Plates_ 88, 89;
var. _arete_, 131;
var. _cæca_, 131, _Plate_ 89;
var. _lanceolata_, 131;
var. _obsoleta_, 131
_Aporia cratægi_, 32. _Plates_ 4, 5
_Argynnis adippe_, 87, _Plates_ 53, 54, 57;
var. _cleodoxa_, 88;
var. _locuples_, 89;
_aglaia_, 89, _Plates_ 55, 59, 61;
var. _charlotta_, 90;
_euphrosyne_, 94, _Plates_ 56, 64, 65;
_lathonia_, 91, _Plates_, 58, 63;
_niobe_,* 88; _paphia_, 84, _Plates_ 50, 51, 52, 57;
var. _valesina_, 84, Plates 52, 57;
_selene_, 96, _Plates_ 56, 62, 66
Armature, 2
"Arran Brown," 117
_Augiades comma_, 193, _Plates_ 126, 127;
_sylvanus_, 192, _Plates_ 126, 127
Bath White, 41. _Plates_ 12, 14
Benzine, 28
Black Hairstreak, 143. _Plates_ 96, 97
Black-veined White, 32. _Plates_ 3, 4
Bloxworth Blue, 156, _Plates_ 102, 103
Board for Flat-setting, 22. Figs. 15-17
Brace and Band Modes of Setting, 24. Fig. 20
Brimstone, 54. _Plates_ 25, 26
Brown Argus, 161. _Plates_ 104, 105
" Hairstreak, 138. _Plates_ 94, 95
_Callophrys rubi_, 147. _Plates_ 96, 97
Camberwell Beauty, 73. _Plates_ 41, 42, 43
_Carterocephalus palæmon_, 195. _Plates_ 126, 127
Caterpillar stage, 2
Chalk Hill Blue, 127. _Plates_ 108, 109, 117
Chequered Skipper, 195. _Plates_ 126, 127
Chloroform Bottle, 19
Chorion, 1
Chrysalis, 6
_Chrysophanus dispar_, 148, _Plates_ 98, 99;
var. _rutilus_, 149;
_circe_,* 152;
_dorilis_,* 152;
_gordius_,* 152;
_hippothoë_,* 152;
_phlæas_, 152, _Plates_ 100, 101, 119;
var. _eleus_, 152;
var. _schmidtii_, 152, _Plate_ 101;
var. _hypophlæus_, 154;
_virgaureæ_,* 152
Classification, x
Clouded Yellow, 51. _Plates_ 22, 23, 24
Clubs of Antennæ, 9. Fig. 7
_Cænonympha pamphilus_, 136, _Plates_ 92, 93, var. _lyllus_, 136;
var. _ocellata_, 137, Plate 92;
_typhon_, 132, _Plates_ 90, 91, 92;
var. _davus_, 133;
var. _laidion_, 133;
var. _philoxenus_, 133;
var. _rothliebii_, 133;
var. _scotica_, 133
_Colias edusa_, 51, _Plates_ 22, 23, 24;
var. _helice_, 52, _Plate_ 24;
_hyale_, 48, _Plates_ 20, 21
Collecting, 16
Comma, the, 62. _Plates_ 32, 35
Common Blue, 163. _Plates_ 106, 107, 118, 119
Compound Eye, 9
Cremaster, 6. Fig. 5.
_Cupido argiades_, 156, _Plates_ 102, 103;
var. _comyntas_, 158;
var. _polysperchon_, 158
Cyanide Bottle, 19
_Cyaniris argiolus_, 172. _Plates_ 112, 113
Dark Green Fritillary, 89. _Plates_ 55, 59, 61
Dehiscence, 7
Dimorphism, viii
Dingy Skipper, 186. _Plates_ 122, 123
Drying House, 26
Duke of Burgundy, 182. _Plates_ 120, 121
Ecdysis, 5
Egg-stage, 1
Emergence of a Butterfly, 7
_Epinephele ianira_, 125, _Plates_ 84, 85;
_jurtina_, 125;
_tithonus_, 127, _Plates_ 86, 87, 119;
var. _albida_, 128, _Plate_ 119;
var. _mincki_, 128
_Erebia æthiops_, 113, _Plates_ 76, 77;
var. _obsoleta_, 114;
var. _ochracea_, 114;
_blandina_, 113;
_epiphron_, 111;
var. _cassiope_, 111, _Plates_ 76, 77;
var. _obsoleta_, 112; _ligea_,* 117
Essex Skipper, 189. _Plates_ 124, 125
_Euchloë cardamines_, 43, _Plates_ 15, 17;
var. _hesperidis_, 44
Eyes or Ocelli, 4
False legs of caterpillar, 4. Fig. 2A
Feelers, 4, 9
Feet, 3
Gatekeeper, 127. _Plates_ 86, 87, 119
Glanville Fritillary, 101. _Plates_ 65, 69, 71
_Gonepteryx rhamni_, 54. _Plates_ 25-27
Grayling, 117. _Plates_ 78, 79
Green Hairstreak, 147. _Plates_ 96, 97
Green-veined White, 38. _Plates_ 10, 13, 14
Grizzled Skipper, 184. _Plates_ 122, 123
Gynandromorphism, viii
Head of Butterfly, 8, Fig. 6;
of Caterpillar, 4, Fig. 3
Heath Fritillary, 98. _Plates_ 67, 68
Hermaphrodite, viii
_Hesperia alveus_, 185;
_malvæ_, 184, _Plates_ 122, 123;
var. _lavateræ_, 184;
var. _taras_, 184
Heterocera, vii
High Brown Fritillary, 87. _Plates_ 53, 54, 57
Holly Blue, 172. _Plates_ 112, 113
Horns, 9
Instar, 5
Killing, 18
Kite net, 7. Fig. 13
Labium, 4
Labrum, 4
_Lampides boeticus_, 154. _Plates_ 102, 103
Large Blue, 179. _Plates_ 116, 117
" Copper, 148. _Plates_ 98, 99
" Heath, 132. _Plates_ 90, 91, 92
" Skipper, 192. _Plates_ 126, 127
Large Tortoiseshell, 65. _Plates_ 34, 36
" White, 34. _Plates_ 5, 6, 9
_Leucophasia sinapis_, 46, _Plates_ 16, 18, 19;
var. _diniensis_, 46;
var. _erysimi_, 46;
var. _lathyri_, 46
_Limenitis sibylla_, 59, _Plates_ 30, 31, 33;
var. _nigrina_, 59, _Plate_ 31
Lingua, 4
Long-tailed Blue, 154. _Plates_ 102, 103
Lulworth Skipper, 190. _Plates_ 124, 125
_Lycæna adonis_, 170;
_ægon_, 158;
_argus_, 158, _Plates_, 104, 105;
_astrarche_, 161, _Plates_ 104, 105;
var. _artaxerxes_, 161;
var. _salmacis_, 161;
var. _quadripuncta_, 162;
_bellargus_, 170, _Plates_ 110, 111, 119;
var. _ceronus_, 170;
_corydon_, 167, _Plates_ 108, 109, 117, 118;
var. _fowleri_, 168;
var. _lucretia_, 168;
var. _syngrapha_, 168, _Plate_ 118;
_icarus_, 163, _Plates_ 106, 107, 118, 119;
var. _arcua_, 164;
var. _coerulea_, 164;
var. _icarinus_, 164;
var. _melanotoxa_, 164
Mandibles, 4, 10
Marbled White, 109. _Plates_ 74, 75
Margins of Wings, 12. Fig. 9
Marsh Fritillary, 103. _Plates_ 65, 70, 73
Marsh Ringlet, 132
Maxillæ, 4, 10
Mazarine Blue, 177. _Plate_ 115
Meadow Brown, 125. _Plates_ 84, 85
_Melanargia galatea_, 109. _Plates_ 74, 75
_Melitæa athalia_, 98; _Plates_ 67, 68;
var. _corythalia_, 98;
var. _eos_, 99;
var. _navarina_, 98;
var. _niphon_, 100;
var. _obsoleta_, 98;
var. _pyronia_, 99;
var. _tessellata_, 99;
_aurinia_, 103; _Plates_, 65, 70, 73;
var. _præclara_, 104;
var. _scotica_, 104;
_cinxia_, 101, _Plates_ 65, 69, 71
Micropyles, 1
Milkweed Butterfly, 106. _Plates_ 72, 120
Monarch Butterfly, 107
Mould and Mites, 28
Moulting, 5
Naphthaline, 27, 28
_Nemeobius lucina_, 182. _Plates_ 120, 121
Nervures and Nervules, 13
Nets, 16
Nomenclature, x
_Nomiades arion_, 179, _Plates_ 116, 117;
_semiargus_, 177, _Plate_ 115
Ocelli, 4
Orange-tip, 43. _Plates_ 15, 17
Painted Lady, 78. _Plates_ 44, 45, 49
Pale Clouded Yellow, 48. _Plates_ 20, 21
Palpi, 5, 10
_Papilio machaon_, 29. _Plates_ 1, 2
_Pararge egeria_, 120;
var. _egerides_, 120, _Plates_ 80, 81;
_megæra_, 122, _Plates_ 82, 83
Peacock, 70. _Plates_ 39, 40, 41
Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 94. _Plates_ 60, 64, 65
_Pieris brassicæ_, 34, _Plates_ 5, 6, 9;
var. _chariclea_, 34, _Plate_ 6;
_daplidice_, 41, _Plates_ 12, 14;
_napi_, 38; _Plates_ 10, 13, 14;
var. _bryoniæ_, 40;
var. _flava_, 39;
var. _napææ_, 40;
var. _orientis_, 41;
var. _sabellicæ_, 39;
var. _rapæ_, 36, _Plates_ 7, 8, 11;
var. _metra_, 37;
var. _novangliæ_, 37
Pinning, 20;
Pinning stage, 21, Fig. 14
Pins, 21
Plumules, 14
_Polygonia c-album_, 62, _Plates_ 32, 35;
var. _hutchinsoni_, 63, _Plate_ 35
Proboscis, 4, 9
Prolegs, 2
Purple Emperor, 56. _Plates_ 28, 29, 31
Purple Hairstreak, 141. _Plates_ 96, 97
_Pyrameis atalanta_, 81, _Plates_ 46-49;
var. _klemensiewiczi_, 82;
_cardui_, 78, _Plates_ 44, 45, 49;
_huntera_,* 81;
_virginiensis_,* 81
Queen of Spain, 91. _Plates_ 58, 63
Rearing from the Egg, 28
Red Admiral, 81. _Plates_ 46-49
Rhopalocera, vii
Ringlet, 130. _Plates_ 88, 89
Saddles, 24. Fig. 18
_Satyrus semele_, 117. _Plates_ 78, 79
Scales, 13. Fig. 10
Scotch Argus, 113. _Plates_ 76, 77
Seasonable Dimorphism, viii
Segments, 2
Setting, Methods of, 22-24
Sexual Dimorphism, viii
Silver-studded Blue, 158. _Plates_ 104, 105
Silver-washed Fritillary, 84, _Plates_ 50, 51
Small Blue, 176. _Plates_ 114, 115
" Copper, 152. _Plates_ 100, 101, 119
" Heath, 136. _Plates_ 92, 93
" Mountain Ringlet, 111. _Plates_ 76, 77
" Pearl-bordered Fritillary, 96. _Plates_ 56, 62, 66
" Skipper, 187. _Plates_ 124, 125
" Tortoiseshell, 68. _Plates_ 37, 38
" White, 36. _Plates_ 7, 8, 11
Speckled Wood, 120. _Plates_ 80, 81
Spinnerets, 4
Spiracle, 3
Stadium, 5
Subsegments, 3
Swallow-tail, 29. _Plates_ 1, 2
Thanaos tages, 186. _Plates_ 122, 123
_Thecla ilicis, spini_,* 147;
_pruni_, 143, _Plates_ 96, 97;
_w-album_, 144, _Plates_ 94, 95;
var. _butlerowi_, 145
Thoracic legs, 2
Tracheæ, 3
Tubercles, 2
Vanessa _antiopa_, 73, _Plates_ 41, 42, 43;
var. _hygiæa_, 73;
var. _lintneri_, 73;
_io_, 70, _Plates_ 39, 40, 41;
var. _belisaria_, 71, _Plate_, 41;
var. _cyanosticta_, 71;
_polychloros_, 65, _Plates_ 34, 36;
var. _testudo_, 66;
_urticæ_, 68, _Plates_ 37, 38;
var. _ladakensis_, 69;
var. _polaris_, 69
Venation, 12. Fig. 9
Wall, The, 122. _Plates_ 82, 83
White Admiral, 59. _Plates_ 30, 31, 33
White-letter Hairstreak, 144. _Plates_ 94, 95
Wings, 11. Fig. 9
Wood White, 46. _Plates_ 16, 18, 19
_Zephyrus betulæ_, 138. _Plates_ 94, 95;
var. _pallida_, 139;
var. _spinosa_, 139;
_quercus_, 141, _Plates_ 96, 97;
var. _bella_, 141
_Zizera minima_, 176. _Plates_ 114, 115
THE END.
* * * * *
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Transcriber's notes: |
| |
| Fixed various punctuation. |
| P. 71. 'wing' changed to 'wings'. |
| P. 137. 'emergencies' changed to 'emergences'. |
| P. 168. 'localties' changed to 'localities'. |
| P. 197. 'next to the thorax'. Added 'to'. |
| Emphasis Notation: _Italic_ and =Bold=; |
| Mathematical Notation: Whole and Fractional Part: 3-5/8. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
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