British Butter­flies

Swallow-Tail Butterfly

Vinago Machaon.—Fig. 1.

Linn. Donovan, vi. 75, pl. 211.—Lewin’s Insects of Great Britain, pl. 34.

This elegant insect is the largest of our indigenous butterflies, the female being sometimes found to measure upwards of three inches and a half between the tips of the wings. The base of the upper wings is black, powdered with yellow; a large portion of the apex is of the same colour, and adorned with a row of eight semicircular yellow spots, parallel with the outer margin, which is narrowly edged with yellow: the central portion of the wings is yellow, spotted with black, the latter colour forming three large patches towards the anterior margin, and running in a broad line along the nervures. The basal half of the under wings is yellow, except the inner side, which is black, and covered with yellow hairs, and the curved nervure on the under side of the discoidal cell, which is defined by a black streak: the other nervures are dusky. Beyond the yellow portion there is a broad black band, ornamented with a series of imperfectly defined blue spots, and a row of six large yellow crescents externally; the outer edge is also yellow, interrupted with black at the nervures. On the hinder angle of each of the under wings there is a large round spot of red, streaked with light blue anteriorly, and nearly surrounded by a black ring. The under side resembles the upper, the most considerable differences being in the yellow outer border of the upper wings, and the presence of two or three faint red spots behind the discoidal cell, and another on the outer edge of the under wings. The body is black above, and clothed with yellow hairs, the latter forming a line on each side of the thorax; the under parts are chiefly yellow.

The caterpillar is not of large size compared with the perfect insect. It is smooth, of a greenish colour, with the incisures and a band on each segment deep black, spotted with red; the retractile organ on the neck of the latter colour.¹² (Plate III. fig. 1.) It is a solitary feeder, and usually frequents umbelliferous plants, preferring fennel, and the wild carrot. It also feeds on the latter plant in a cultivated state, and sometimes occasions considerable injury to it in France, where the insect is very common, and hence known in certain districts by the name of Grand Carottier. The chrysalis is green, with a streak of yellow along each side, and an irregular row of yellow spots on the back.

Although somewhat local in Britain, this species seems to be pretty widely distributed throughout the southern parts of England, and has been found as far north as Beverley in Yorkshire. It probably does not extend beyond that place, as it certainly has never been observed in Scotland; nor have we heard of its occurrence in Ireland. The fenny districts of Cambridgeshire produce it in considerable abundance; it has been often found in Norfolk, and occasionally in Hampshire and Middlesex. Ray observed it both in Sussex and Essex; and in the days of Wilkes (who has given a good representation of the caterpillar), it was rather plentiful near Westram in Kent. It is generally diffused over the continent of Europe: it occurs plentifully in Egypt and Syria; and specimens are said to have been brought to this country from the Himalayan mountains. It appears in this country about the end of May, and sometimes continues till the middle of August.

Scarce Swallow-Tail Butterfly

Papilio Podalirius.—Fig. 2.

Linn.—Donovan, iv. 1, Pl. 109.—Lewin, Pl. 35.

The ground colour in this conspicuous insect is yellow; the anterior edge and outer margin of the upper wings are black, and there are six transverse tapering bands of the same colour on each, the third and fifth from the base scarcely reaching the middle, and the fourth and sixth not extending to the hinder margin. The under wings are likewise marked with several parallel black streaks; a large portion of the hinder extremity, as well as the elongated tail, are of the same colour, and there is a series of large blue crescents near the margin, which is itself edged with yellow. The anal angle of each of the hinder wings is ornamented with a red spot, bounded in front by a black crescent, and behind by an oval black spot bearing a curved streak of blue. The markings on the under side do not differ materially from those of the surface, the principal difference consisting in a reddish line between the two largest bars on the under wings. The body is yellow, black on the back, and having a row of black spots on each side of the abdomen.

The caterpillar is widest at the head, and tapers considerably to the hinder extremity. It is smooth, of a bright green colour, with three longitudinal white lines, and indistinct oblique white streaks, spotted with red on each side of all the segments, except that next the head and tail. It feeds chiefly on the various species of the genus Prunus, seeming to be most partial to the sloe-thorn.¹³

Numerous notices are on record of this species having occurred in Britain, but all of them have been found, on strict investigation, to be of so unsatisfactory a nature, as to leave it in some measure doubtful whether it is really indigenous. In some instances, the preceding insect appears to have been mistaken for it; and in others, examples have been introduced into collections as British, without that fact having been fully ascertained. Mention is first made of it by Ray, who states that he found it during his tour in Italy; and also, if he recollected rightly (ni male memini, is the expression) in England. Berkenhout has admitted it into his Synopsis; and it is figured by Donovan, Lewin, and others, among our native species. In a list of rare British Insects, published in 1827, there is an announcement of its having been discovered in the New Forest; but subsequent inquiry has thrown suspicion on the authenticity of this account. The Rev. F. W. Hope informs Mr Stephens (Illus. of Brit. Ent. 145), that he possesses a specimen of P. Podalirius which was taken at Netley, Salop. This statement has not, as far as we know, been controverted, and seems to form the only unexceptionable authority for regarding the insect as an inhabitant of this country. It is very common in some parts of France, where it is named Le Flambe, from a supposed resemblance in the pyramidal shape of the black stripes to the form of flames.

Brimstone Butterfly

Gonepteryx Rhamni.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Rhamni, Linn.—Donovan, v. 1, Pl. 145.

This insect, and a few others, were first formed into a distinct genus by Dr Leach, on account of the peculiar shape of the wings, which are large and angulated.¹⁴ The antennæ are rather short and robust, thickening gradually near the summit into an obtuse club: the palpi project a little beyond the head, and are compressed, the radical joint longest and curved, the terminal one minute and conical: all the legs are perfect, and alike in both sexes; the claws bifid (Pl. I. fig. 13.). Under wings grooved to receive the abdomen.

The male is entirely bright sulphur-yellow above, and the female greenish-white, both sexes with a small round orange spot near the middle of each wing, those on the upper wings being smallest, and a few minute rust-coloured dots along the outer edge. The under side is paler than the upper, and the central spots rust-brown round the margin, and pale in the centre. The body is black above, and clothed with fine white silky hairs; the under parts and the legs yellow. The antennæ are reddish, and the anterior part of the head and thorax are faintly tinged with rose-colour.

The caterpillar is elongated and naked, of a light green colour, with numerous black scaly dots on the back, and a pale line along each side of the belly. It is said to feed on the buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), and the berry-bearing alder (R. frangula). It changes into a short angular chrysalis with a single conical beak, which is attached by the tail, and has a loose girth round the middle.

This insect is generally distributed over the southern parts of England; it likewise occurs pretty far to the north, as it is abundant at York, end has been observed by Mr Wailes on the magnesian limestone district near Newcastle, and by Mr Wilson on the banks of Windermere. It has not, however, been noticed in Scotland, a circumstance perhaps to be attributed to the rarity of the plants from which the larvæ derive their sustenance. It very often survives the winter; and its early appearance (sometimes before the middle of February), together with the gay tint of its colour, and the graceful outline of its wings, render it one of the most interesting heralds of the “grata vice veris et Favonii.” Mr Knapp says,

The very first butterfly, that will

———aloft repair,
And sport and flutter in the fields of air,

is the sulphur butterfly, which, in the bright sunny mornings of March, we so often see under the warm hedge, or by the side of some sheltered copse, undulating and vibrating like the petals of a primrose in the breeze.¹⁵

There are two broods, the first appearing in May and June, the last in autumn. It occurs in great profusion in all the continental countries of Europe, and often in company with another species so closely resembling it, that the one might readily be taken for a variety of the other. The latter is named G. Cleopatra, and presents scarcely any other distinctive mark, but a suffusion of bright orange-red on the middle of the primary wings of the male. Mr Curtis has figured, with bis usual accuracy and elegance, what he regards as a variety of G. Rhamni, taken many years since in the neighbourhood of London, and possessing characters almost intermediate between the two species.

Clouded Yellow Butterfly

Colias Edusa.—Bottom Fig.

Colias edusa, Fab.—Donovan, vii. Pl. 238, Fig. 2, female, and ii. Pl. 43 (C. hyale), male.—Pap. Electra, Lewin, Pl. 32.—Clouded yellow or Saffron B., Harris’ Aur. C. Helice, Haworth, Jermyn, var.

In the form of the antennæ, oral organs, and most other parts from which generic characters are usually drawn, Colias presents no very important difference from the preceding genus. The wings, however, are of a different shape, the primary pair being triangular, and the secondary ones rounded. The species are not very numerous, and none of them, even of the exotic kinds, are beyond the middle size. They are remarkable for the uniformity of their tints, the ground colour being some shade of yellow, often tinged with green, and a portion of the wings more or less marked with black. This general resemblance has Jed to some confusion in their synonymy. The male of C. edusa is fulvous above, or pale orange-yellow; the upper wings with a wide black border at the extremity, which is waved on its inner edge, and a rounded spot of the same colour in the middle of each. The hinder wings are likewise margined with black, the ground colour slightly mixed with green, and there is on each a round discoidal spot of deep yellow. On the under side, the upper wings are pale tawny on the disk, and greenish at the extremity, with a central black spot, and an obsolete series of blackish spots parallel with the outer edge: the under wings greenish, with a central silvery ocellus, having another small one adjoining, and a curved row of faint rust-coloured dots posteriorly. The body is yellowish-green, dusky on the back: the antennæ reddish. The female is distinguished chiefly by having a few yellow spots on the black marginal band of the upper wings. Examples of this sex sometimes occur. in which the parts usually yellow, are greenish-white, a circumstance which has led some authors to describe it as distinct, under the name of C. helice. Varieties of both sexes have been found in Britain, of a considerably smaller size and paler colour than ordinary specimens, and presenting at the same time so many other minute points of difference, that they have been figured and described as examples of the species named chrysotheme by continental naturalists.¹⁶

The caterpillar is deep green, with a white line along each side of the belly, marked with yellow spots and minute bluish dots. On the Continent it is found chiefly on the Cytisus austriacus, but as, that plant is not indigenous to Britain, it probably feeds in this country on some diadelphous herb pertaining to the same natural order. The butterfly occurs in the south of England in considerable plenty in particular years, while in others scarcely an example is to be met with. It seems to prefer the vicinity of the sea, having been found more copiously than elsewhere along the south-east coast, particularly in the neighbourhood of Dover. It is likewise seen occasionally in the midland counties. Over foreign lands C. edusa is characterised by a very extensive range. It is well known in most portions of the continent of Europe. Mr Burchell found it in the south of Africa, and Mr Swainson has seen specimens from the mountains of Nepaul.

Pale Clouded Yellow Butterfly

Coltas Hyale.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Hyale, Linn. Donovan, vii. 238, Fig. 1.—Curtis, Brit. Ent. vi v. 242.—Pale Clouded Yellow, Harris’ Aurel.—Lewin, Pl. 33.

This fine species is generally somewhat larger than the preceding, the male of a fine sulphur-yellow (sometimes, however, nearly white); the female white, faintly tinged with sulphur. The upper wings are greyish’ at the base, marked with a black spot near the middle anteriorly, and having at the extremity a broad black border, which is attenuated at the hinder angle, and almost divided by a series of nearly continuous spots down the middle. The under wings have a large orange spot on the disk, with a small one attached to it: the margin next the upper wings is dusky, and there are a few dusky spots remote from the outer edge, and nearly parallel with it. Beneath, the upper wings are whitish-yellow, suffused with orange at the tip, having a discoidal black spot with a yellow centre, and a row of small dusky marks at some distance from the outer margin: the under wings dull orange, with a large and small silvery spot in the centre, cinctured with rust-red, and a curved row of small black spots. The fringe of the wings and the antennæ are rose-red.

The caterpillar is green, with two white lines on the sides, each segment marked with two irregular transverse series of black spots. (Plate III. fig. 2.) Its appropriate food is said to be the Coronilla varia, but in this country it must often content itself with other fare, and probably has recourse to different kinds of diadelphous plants. The butterfly is considerably rarer than C. edusa; and, like that species, is. found chiefly on the sea-coast in the south-east corner of the island, as in Kent, Sussex, and Suffolk. There is a pale variety, nearly pure white, of which examples of both sexes have occurred, chiefly in the vicinity of Dover. Indeed, the insect may almost be said to be a maritime fly, so rarely has it been noticed at any distance from the sea-coast.

Scarce Clouded Yellow Butterfly

Colias Europome.—Fig. 2

Stephen’s Illus. ii. Pl. 1*, Figs. 1, 2, and 3.—Eurymus Europome; Clouded Sulphur, Swainson’s Zool. Illus. 2d ser. No. 15.—Haworth, Lep. Brit. 13. No. 12.

Both sexes of this fine insect are of a fine sulphureous-yellow above; the male bas the hinder margin of both wings deeply edged with black, an ovate spot of that colour on the disk of the anterior, and an obsolete fulvous spot on that of the pesterior; the border on the latter is irregularly sinuated within: beneath the anterior wings are paler, with the tips rather deeper, the discoidal spot is whiter, with a black or dusky iris, and parallel with the hinder margin is a very obsolete row of dusky spots; the posterior wings are of a deeper yellow, minutely irrorated with black, with a discoidal silvery ocellus, having a fulvescent iris, and a secondary silver spot adjacent; they have also an obsolete row of dusky spots parallel with the hinder margin, and forming a continuous series with those of the anterior wings, and a larger somewhat triangular fulvescent spot on the upper edge. The female differs in having the black border of the hinder margin of the anterior wings, irregularly spotted with yellow, and in wanting the border to the posterior wings, having in its place some obsolete triangular dusky spots. Both sexes have the extreme edge, both above and below, and the cilia, rose-colour.

Having never seen authentic specimens of this insect, we have introduced the description of the author by whom it was first made known to the public as British. Many doubts have been expressed as to its being strictly indigenous, and perhaps the evidence which at first led to its being regarded in that light, might not unjustly be considered somewhat inconclusive. But since the means of identifying the species became accessible to all, several announcements have been published of its having been found in England. It has been observed near Ipswich, in Suffolk, and also in Sussex.

Has been noticed in the meadows near the confluence of the Avon and Severn, flying with great swiftness, in August, but it is a rare insect.¹⁷

Common Cabbage Butterfly

Pontia Brassicæ.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Brassicæ, Linn.—Don. xiii. 29, 446.—Lewin, Pl. 25.—Large Garden White, Harris.

In this well known insect the wings are white above, with a large patch of black, somewhat indented on its inner edge, on the tip of the anterior pair: the male has no other mark on the upper surface, except a black spot near the middle of the anterior edge of the secondary wings; but the female, besides the spot just mentioned, has two others on the disk of the upper wings, and an elongated patch at their hinder margin. On the under side, both sexes are nearly alike; the colour inclines to yellow, especially on the hinder wings, which appear as if sprinkled with black, owing to an intermixture of dark-coloured scales; the upper wings bear two conspicuous black spots on each, and there is an indistinct dusky mark on the anterior margin of the hinder pair. The fringe of the wings is yellowish, slightly waved with black. The body and antennæ are white beneath, and black above, the former clothed with hoary pubescence on the thorax. Males sometimes occur spotted with black on the upper wings, somewhat in a similar manner to the female.

The caterpillar is green, having a narrow line of yellow along the back, and another on each side of the belly; the body pretty thickly covered with black tubercular points, each of them with a hair in the centre. Besides consuming the different varieties of the common cabbage (brocoli, cauliflower, &c.), this destructive caterpillar has been often found to attack the turnip, and its voracity is so great, that these useful vegetables would often be completely destroyed, were it not for the numerous enemies which prevent its superabundant increase. Of these, the most formidable are the parasitical ichneumons, especially the minute species formerly described, and others allied to it. The small birds likewise destroy great numbers. Haworth says,

I once observed a titmouse (Parus major) take five or six large ones to its nest in a very few minutes. In inclosed gardens, sea-gulls, with their wings cut, are of infinite service. I had one eight years, which was killed by accident, that lived entirely all the while upon the insects, slugs, and worms he found in the garden. Poultry of any sort will soon clear a small piece of ground; but unless they are of the web-footed kind they do much mischief, by scratching the earth.

But perhaps the most effectual method would be to destroy the parent flies when they first begin to appear in May, before they have had time to deposit their eggs.

The butterfly is first seen on the wing about the middle of May. but in the south of England it often appears much earlier. It occurs abundantly in all parts of Britain, and seems to be equally plentiful throughout Europe.

Small White Butterfly

Pontia Rapæ.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Rapæ, Linn.—Lewin, Pl. 26.—Pap. alba media, Raii, Hist. Insect.—Small Garden White, Harris.

The expansion of the wings is from one inch and eight lines to two inches five lines; it is therefore considerably smaller than the preceding, to which in other respects it bears a strong resemblance. The upper surface is white, slightly inclining to yellow; the primary wings have a dusky spot at the tip, extending a short way along the anterior border; in the male there is a single rounded spot on the disk, and two in the female, with an oblong patch behind, a in the same sex of P. Brassiæ; the hinder wings with the usual black mark on their anterior border. Beneath, the anterior wings bear two discoidal black spots, the tip is yellow, and the base slightly sprinkled with dusky; the under wings are rather bright yellow, with dark scales intermixed, making them appear as if powdered with black dust; on the anterior edge at the base, there is a narrow streak of orange-yellow.

Although this butterfly bears so much resemblance to the large cabbage species, the complete distinction of the two is well evinced by the appearance of the respective caterpillars. That of P. Rapæ is light-green, with a pale line along the back, and a whitish streak, somewhat punctured with yellow, on each side of the belly. It feeds on cabbages, turnips, &c. and is often found associated with the larva of P. Brassicæ in devastating our garden produce. It generally insinuates itself between the folded leaves in the centre of cabbage and cauliflower plants; hence it is named in France ver du cœur. The butterfly is very common in all parts of this country, and in most quarters of Europe. It appears in the end of April or beginning of May, and a second flight takes place in July. But the insect is at all times so abundant, that there is probably a succession of broods throughout the summer and autumn. The markings vary considerably.

Early White Cabbage Butterfly

Pontia Chariclea.—Fig. 1.—Male.

Stephen’s Illust. Haust. i. Pl. 3, fig. 1. , fig. 2.

This insect is in general considerably less than the preceding species; the anterior wings have a similar patch on the tip, but it is of a light brown, approaching to ash-colour, clouded with black internally, especially in the female, and having no strongly marked indentations on its inner side; the fringe yellowish-white. On the underside, the tip of the primary wings is yellow, and the secondary pair entirely deep yellow, very thickly sprinkled with minute black points; in other respects there is no appreciable difference from P. Brassicæ.

Said to occur in the beginning of May, and again in the end of June. It has hitherto been observed chiefly in Hertford and Derbyshires; and Mr Wailes thinks that he has seen it in the neighbourhood of Newcastle.

Howard’s White Butterfly

Pontia Metra.—Fig. 2.

Stephen’s Illus. Haust. i. 19.

The wings of this insect expand from 20 to 25 lines. The colour is entirely yellowish-white, the base of the wings blackish, and the tip of the anterior pair, which is more acute than in the allied species, slightly suffused with light brown: in the male there is a single dusky spot, and in the female two, which, however, are always very obsolete, and sometimes, as in the variety figured, entirely wanting. The hinder wings are wholly white, with the usual dusky spot anteriorly. The tip of the upper wings is yellow beneath, and two faint spots are observable on the disk; the hinder wings beneath rather bright yellow, especially on the anterior edge at the base, and sprinkled with black points. The fringe of the Wings is nearly pure white.

Occurs early in April, and there appears to be a second brood in June. It has been noticed chiefly in the south of England, but is probably to be found in most parts of the country.

Found near Newcastle early in spring, but whether specifically distinct I have been unable to satisfy myself: thus much I may say, I never took it in the autumn.

—G. Wailes, Esq.

Dusky-Veined White Butterfly

Pontia Sabellicæ.—Fig. 3.

Stephens, Illust. Haust. i. pl. III* fig. 3 ; fig. 4 .—Pap. Bryoniæ, Godart, Ency. Meth. No. 146.

Upper surface of the wings, which are short and considerably rounded, yellowish-white; the base, anterior margin, and the tip, dusky black, all the nervures with a broad stripe of the same colour, the male having a single dusky spot towards the tip, and the female two. On the under side, the hinder wings, and the tip of the anterior pair, are tinged with sulphur-yellow, and ail the nervures are broadly margined with dusky.

The larva of this insect, which may eventually prove to be a distinct species, is not known. The fly has been frequently taken in the vicinity of London.

Not rare in some seasons near Newcastle.

—G. Wailes, Esq.

Green-Veined White Butterfly

Pontia Napi.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Napi, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 27.—Donovan, viii. 23. pl. 280. fig. 1.—Green-veined white, Harris.

The wings of this species expand from 17 to 22 lines; the colour white, inclining to yellow. The tip of the primary wings is dusky, and in the male there is around black spot near the middle, not very remote from the outer margin, the female having two such spots on each wing. The hinder wings are free from marks, except the ordinary dusky spot on the anterior margin. On the under side, the tip of the primary wings, and the whole of the secondary pair, are sulphur-yellow, the nervures strongly marked with a dilated line of dusky green; and there are two black spots on the upper wings, near the hinder margin. The body and antennæ are nearly as in the preceding species.

The caterpillar feeds on tetradynamous plants, particularly those belonging to the genus Brassica. It is of a dull green colour, lighter on the sides, with yellow stigmata, and covered with white warts, which are blackish at the tip, and tufted with short hairs. The chrysalis is greenish-yellow, the angles very acute and prominent.

This butterfly is one of the most common species both in this country and throughout Europe. Its first time of appearance is about the middle of May, and it is again abundant in the beginning of July. it presents numerous variations in its size and markings, of which it is unnecessary to give a particular account. One of the most remarkable has been regarded as a species by Esper and others, and described under the name of Napææ. It is of larger size than ordinary specimens of P. Napi, the upper wings with a black spot, the tip and some triangular patches being of the same colour: the secondary wings rather pale, and having only the three first nervures dilated and greenish. This variety seems to occur not unfrequently.

Bath White Butterfly

Mancipium Daplidice.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Daplidice, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 28.—Donov. vi. 47, pl. 200.—Bath White, Lewin, l. c.—Green chequered White, Haworth, Curtis, B. E. i. pl. 48.

The male of this rare British insect is nearly white above; the superior wings have a large blackish patch at the tip, interrupted by large spots of white, and a dusky spot near the middle, with a faint white streak across the centre of it. The secondary wings are unspotted in this sex, but in the female they are widely bordered with black, which is sinuated and divided by large spots of the ground-colour of the surface: the female has likewise an additional black spot on the upper wings, near the hinder angle, and is usually larger than the male. The markings on the under side of the primary wings nearly correspond to those on the upper side, but instead of being black, they are greenish. The hinder wings are green beneath, sprinkled with minute black points, with a row of large white spots on the hinder margin, an irregular cross band of white, and three spots of that colour towards the base. The antennæ are whitish, variegated with black.

The caterpillar frequents the different species of Brassica; also wild Mignonette (Reseda lutea), Thlaspi arvense, and other cruciferous plants. It is of a dull blue, according to Gedart’s description, bordered with yellow, and covered with black points; the head clear green, with yellow spots and black points. The chrysalis is at first greenish, but afterwards becomes grey.

Although recorded from a remote period as a native of Britain, this insect still continues to be classed among our rarest kinds. It is noticed by Ray as having been found near Cambridge: it has likewise occurred at Hampstead in Middlesex, and in the neighbourhood of Bristol. More recently it has been taken, both by Mr Stephens and Mr Le Plastrier of Ramsgate, in the meadow under Dover Castle, in the month of August. We are told by Lewin, that it was named the Bath White, from a piece of needlework, executed at Bath by a young lady, from a specimen of this insect. said to be taken near that place.

Orange-Tip Butterfly

Pontia Cardamines.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Cardamines, Linn.—Donovan, v. pl. 169.—Lewin, pl. 30.—Orange-tip, or Lady of the Woods, Harris, Aurel. pl. 32.—Pontia Cardamines, Steph. Illus.—Mancipium Cardamines, Hubner.

This delicate and warmly tinted species seems to occur in considerable plenty in all parts of Britain, and it is not unfrequent in Ireland. Its ordinary time of appearance is near the end of May, but when the weather is mild it is on the wing much sooner, especially in the southern parts of England, where it has been sometimes seen by the middle of April. It frequents lanes and open glades in woods, and sometimes enlivens our gardens by its gay and fitful flight. The sexes are so dissimilar, that they were mistaken by Ray and some other authors for distinct species. The expansion of the wings varies from an inch and a quarter to nearly two inches. The primary wings are white, dusky at the base, with a small black crescent-shaped spot in the middle, and an interrupted patch of black round the tip: the outer half of the wing is deeply tinged with orange in the male, but there is no trace of that colour in the female. The hinder wings are alike in both sexes; on the upper side they are dusky at the base, the outer margin bears a few blackish points, and the surface presents faint traces of the markings on the under side; the latter consist of irregular marmorated spots of green, powdered as it were with yellow. The antennæ are white, with dark rings.

The caterpillar feeds on several cruciferous plants, especially those of the genus Cardamines; also on Turritis glabra, Brassica campestris, &c. It is of a green colour, with a whitish line along each side, just above the insertion of the legs. The chrysalis is also greenish-yellow.

Wood White Butterfly

Leucophasia Sinapis.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Sinapis, Linn.—Donovan, vii viii. pl. 280.—Pontia Sinapis, Leach, Jermyn.—Wood White, Harris’ Aur. pl. 29.—Leucophasia Sinapis, Steph.—Leucoph. Loti, Rennie.

The present genus (named from λευκος, white, and φατις, an apparition or appearance), is distinguished by the structure of the palpi, which are short and flat, with the basal joint large and conical, the second short and quadrate, and the third or terminal one minute, and almost globular; and by the shape of the wings, which are very narrow, and almost elongate-oval, the surface wholly covered with scales. The antennæ have an abrupt compressed club, and the legs, which are alike in both sexes, terminate in bifid claws.

It is much the smallest of cur white Butterflies, and the narrow elongated wings give it, as has been well remarked, something of the appearance of a Dragon-fly. The colour is nearly milk-white, the base of all the wings somewhat dusky, and the tip of the anterior pair with a large brown spot. On the under side the latter are faintly tinged with green at the tip, and the costa is sprinkled with black points from the middle to the base. The under side of the hinder wings is tinged with yellowish-green, and sprinkled with ashy points, which form indistinct clouds and bands.

The caterpillar is usually found on the Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and Meadow Vetchling (Lathyrus pratensis). It is green, with a deep yellow line along each side of the body.

There are two broods of the butterfly each season, one in May, the other in the end of July. Although an abundant species in most parts of Europe, it is rather scarce in Britain. In certain localities, however, it has been found in plenty;—as in Darenth wood, Hartley and Bromley woods, Essex; also in Surrey, Kent, Devonshire, &c. We have not heard of its occurrence in Scotland. It has been taken by Mr Heysham near Carlisle, the most northern locality hitherto ascertained.

Apollo Butterfly

Parnassius Apoll.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Apollo, Linn.—Haworth.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 433.—Crimson-ringed Butterfly, Haworth.—Doritis Apollo, Fab.—Steph.

In this genus the antennæ are rather short, with the club narrow, nearly oval, and not compressed, palpi rather long, and rising considerably beyond the head; wings nearly free from scales, especially at the apex, where they are transparent, the hinder pair concave on their inner edge. The females are provided with a small corneous bag, at the hinder extremity of the abdomen. The caterpillars have the power of protruding a retractile tentaculum from the neck, similar to that found in the larvæ of the genus Papilio, formerly described; but, unlike the latter, they form a kind of cocoon when about to change into chrysalides, by connecting a few leaves together by means of silken threads.

The expansion of the wings is nearly three inches; the colour white, slightly tinged with yellow, each of the upper wings bearing five pretty large black spots, and each of the hinder ones two large round crimson spots, with a white pupil, surrounded externally by a black circle. The extremity of the wings is naked and transparent, appearing as if varnished, pretty thickly sprinkled with minute black dots, which form a faint flexuose cross band at some distance from the margin, and parallel with it. The base and anterior edge of the primary wings are covered with black dots; the abdominal margin of the hinder pair with similar points and long whitish hairs, as far as the extremity of the abdomen, beyond which there is a curved patch of black. The markings on the under side nearly correspond to those just described: some of the black spots on the upper wings, however, have occasionally a red mark in the centre; and on the hinder pair there are four red spots, bordered with black, forming a kind of cross-band near the base, while the anal black patch often has a red streak in the middle. The body is black, with whitish hairs on the abdomen, and reddish ones on the front of the thorax: the antennæ white, with a black knob.

The caterpillar is of a beautiful velvet-black colour, with two rows of deep orange spots on each side, one near the back, the other towards the belly: the incisures are glossed with blue, and the whole body is clothed with short black hairs. It feeds on the Orpine (Sedum telephium), and various kinds of Saxifrage, particularly Saxifraga pyramidalis.

This insect was first introduced into our British lists, in consequence of it having been supposed, through some mistake, that a few continental specimens in the possession of Lord Seaforth, were procured from the Island of Lewis, one of the Hebrides. Since that time, it has been oftener than once figured and described as a British species; but no authentic instance is on record of its having been observed by any one—a circumstance which may fairly be assumed, in the case of such a marked and conspicuous object, as a sufficient indication that it is not an inhabitant of this island. We have been assured, however, that it was noticed on the wing last summer in some part of the west coast; and, though inclined to think that this must be a mistake, we willingly avail ourselves of the excuse which it affords for retaining in the mean while such an ornamental insect among our indigenous species. On the Continent, it inhabits the Alps, Cevennes, the mountains of Auvergne, and various parts of Norway and Sweden, in considerable numbers. Its flight is said to Le slow and heavy.

Black-Veined White, or Hawthorn Butterfly

Pieris Cratægi.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Cratægi, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 24.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 454.—Hawthorn Butterfly, Kirby & Spence.

In this genus the antennæ are rather slender, and the club is formed gradually: the palpi have the two lowest joints robust, the radical one being twice the length of the second, while the terminal one is about the length of the second, and very slender: the upper wings are nearly diaphanous, being sparingly clothed with scales; the claws are strong and bifid, and have a slender appendage on the outside at the base.

The black-veined white is one of the few butterflies that cannot be mistaken for any other species, and it is remarkable for having both sides very similar, which is scarcely the case in any of the other British Papilionidæ. In this respect, as well as in the semitransparent wings and short cilia, it approaches Doritis (Parnassius, pl. 11, fig. 1.) The same characters will distinguish it at once from Pontia, which it is further separated from by the equal length of the second and third joints of the palpi, and the shortness of the former joint compared with the basal one. The strong nervure that surrounds each wing has never before been noticed.¹⁹

The English name sufficiently describes this species, and readily distinguishes it from all its associates. It is about the size of the Common Cabbage Butterfly, the wings somewhat transparent, and of a uniform white colour, with the nervures black. There is also a black line round the outer edge of the wings, and generally a few dusky triangular marks on the outer margin of the upper pair. The caterpillars are black for some time after they are hatched, but soon become partially clothed with hairs, and striped with reddish-brown on each side of the body. (Fig. 3, Pl. III. represents a full-grown caterpillar of this species.) They are gregarious, and live for a time under a net-work of silk, which they spin for their protection. Their favourite food is the leaves of the Hawthorn, but they likewise attack fruit-trees, and have been known to commit considerable damage in orchards. This butterfly is by no means generally distributed through England, and is wholly unknown in Scotland; but it has occurred plentifully in the following places, and is occasionally observed elsewhere:—New Forest, Hampshire, Chelsea, Coombewood, Enborne, Berkshire, Dorsetshire. It is by no means a scarce insect on the Continent; and Pallas relates that he saw such extensive flights of them in the vicinity of Winofka, that he at first conceived them to be flakes of snow. The female, indeed, is very prolific, and covers her eggs, which she deposits on the extremity of a hawthorn branch, with a coating of varnish, so effectually weather-proof, that they remain in security (sometimes, it is said, for several years), till circumstances favour the exclusion of the larvæ. The chrysalis is very obtuse anteriorly, and of a yellow colour, streaked and spotted with black. (Pl. III. fig. 4.)

Duke of Burgundy Fritillary

Nemeobius Lucina.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Lucina, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 15.—Donovan, vii. 70. pl. 242. f. 2.—Duke of Burgundy Fritillary, Harris.—Hamearis Lucina, Hübner.—Curtis, B. E. vii v. 316.—Nemeobius Lucina, Stephens.—Horsf.

This and several of the following genera may be readily distinguished from any of the preceding, by having the anterior legs more or less imperfect, being very short, and destitute of tarsal joints, by which they are rendered unfit for walking. In the present instance, this imperfection is found only in the male, the fore-leg of the female presenting the ordinary structure. Nemeobius (from νεμος, a grove, and βιος, life), is further characterised by having the club of the antennæ rather large and abruptly formed; palpi very short and horizontal, the second joint much the longest, and the third, or terminal one, minute and oval. The anterior wings are nearly trigonate, and the inferior rounded; the posterior tibiæ without spurs, and the claws simple. The species above referred to, is the only one known to inhabit Britain. The expansion of the wings seldom much exceeds fourteen or fifteen lines. The surface is dark brown, the upper Wings with three transverse series of irregular spots of light yellow or straw colour, the outer or marginal row having a black mark in the centre of each spot: the hinder wings have likewise an irregular transverse series of yellow spots, and the margin is similar to that of the other pair. The under side is much paler than the upper, approaching sometimes to orange, the superior wings with several light spots on the disk, interspersed with black streaks, and a series of light spots along the margin, with a small dusky mark in the centre of each; besides having the margin similar, the hinder wings have two pale bands, composed of continuous oval spots, the outer one edged internally with black. The antennæ are white, marked with black above, the club black, tipped with orange.

According to Hübner, the caterpillar is long, oval, and depressed, resembling those of the Lycænæ, which, from their resemblance to wood-lice (Onisci), ure named onisciform. It is of a pale olive-brown colour, with a large black dot on each segment, and the head and legs rusty-red. It feeds on the Cowslip and Primrose. The butterfly appears to be somewhat local, but it occurs not unfrequently. Coombe and Darenth woods have occasionally afforded it in abundance, and it has been found in most of the south-eastern counties of England. We have not heard of its occurrence to the north of Carlisle, in the neighbourhood of which it has been taken by Mr Heysham.

Pearl-Bordered Likeness

Melitæa Athalia.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Athalia, Esper.—Pap. Dictynna, Lewin, pl. 14. fig. 5, and 6.—Pearl-bordered Likeness, Harris.—Melitæa Athalia, Stephens.

The expansion of the wings is from sixteen lines to two inches: the colour tawny orange, marked with black, the latter running in several undulating lines across the surface, the base blackish. Beneath, the anterior wings are pale brownish-yellow, with a few transverse streaks of black; the posterior pair with several pale angular spots near the base, edged with black; behind this there is a continuous curved band of large pale spots, also edged with black; and near the margin two series of black crescents. The fringe is yellowish-white, spotted with black.

The caterpillar is black and spiny, with two rows of small white dots on each segment, and tubercles of a similar colour on the sides. It feeds on the narrow and broad leaved plantain, and also, according to Wilkes, on the common heath. The butterfly is not uncommon in Devonshire, and many other parts of the south of England; but it appears to be very rare in the north. It presents several varieties, of which the most remarkable is that named P. Pyronta by Hübner, represented on our 13th Plate, fig. 1. It has the upper wings blackish at the base, with a few yellow spots, the rest of the surface, as far as the black border, likewise yellow, the nervures alone being black. The hinder wings are entirely dark brown, with a row of small yellow spots towards the margin, and a few others in the male near the base. The under side of the upper wings is yellow at the base, with large spots of black, the middle also black, and the extremity yellow; of the hinder pair, black at the base, with yellow spots, and a broad central band of white intersected by black veins. This beautiful variety has been found near London.

Greasy Fritillary

Melitæa Artemis.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Artemis, Fabr.—Lewin, pl. 15.—Pap. maturna, Esper. Greasy Fritillary, Harris,—Melitæa Artemis, Stephens, Illus. Haust. i. p. 32.

The ground-colour of the surface is deep brownish-yellow, the primary wings with black transverse undulating lines, and light yellow spots: the secondary pair with three bands, the intermediate one tawny orange, with six small black spots, the others irregular, and of a light yellow. Beneath, the primary wings are somewhat glossy, paler than above, but the markings nearly similar; the hinder pair fulvous, having three bands of pale yellowish spots, edged with black, that next the base very irregular, the central one curved, and the other consisting of semicircular spots placed along the margin; between the central and marginal band, the row of spots formerly mentioned is distinctly marked, and each is surrounded with light ochre-yellow. The fringe of the wings is yellow, interrupted with black on the anterior wings only. The other parts are nearly as in the allied species.

The caterpillar feeds on the two common species of Plantain, and also on the Devil’s-bit Scabious. The body is black above, armed with spines of the same colour, and the under side is yellow. A line of very minute white dots is drawn along the back, and another on each side. The legs are reddish. The butterfly first appears on the wing towards the middle of May, and, like most of the Fritillaries, it presents a considerable number of varieties. It owes its English name to the glistening appearance of the wings, especially on the under side, which look as if they had been rubbed over with grease. It appears to occur in most of the southern counties of England, and is said to be particularly abundant near Brighton, and at Enborne in Berks. It likewise occurs pretty far to the north, as we are informed by Mr Andrews that it has been found near Durham; and P. J. Selby, Esq. has taken it near Belford, in the county of Northumberland.

Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary

Melitæa Silene.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Silene, Fabr. Haworth.—Melitæa Silene, Jermyn, Steph.—Pap. Euphrasia, Lewin, pl. 13.—Small pearl-bordered Fritillary, Haworth.

Rather smaller than the preceding, which it greatly resembles on the surface: the characters by which it is distinguished on the under side, consist in the ground colour of the secondary wings being ferruginous, or rust-brown, with the transverse band at the base and middle not of so light a yellow as in M. Euphrosyne: in having three silvery spots in the central band, and five others, three of which are placed in a line on the anterior border, and the other two near the inner edge; in having only six triangular spots of silver on the border; and, lastly, in having the ocular spot towards the base black, with a red pupil.

The caterpillar is described as being black and spiny, the one-half of the spines yellow, and the sides of the body marked with a light-coloured stripe. The butterfly is of frequent occurrence, but seems to be less generally distributed than the preceding. In Scotland it is much scarcer than M. Euphrosyne.

Not at all rare near Newcastle, appearing in the beginning of July, while M. Euphrosyne usually appears in the beginning of June.

—G. Wailes, Esq.

Both these species are abundant near Durham.

—G. Andrews, Esq.

Glanville Fritillary

Melitæa Cinxia.—Fig. 2.

Pap. cinxia, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 14.—Haworth, 36.—Glanville Fritillary, Harris.—Melitæa cinxia, Steph.

Bears considerable resemblance to the preceding species, but is usually larger, and the markings are dissimilar. The colour is orange-tawny above, and the whole surface is reticulated and spotted with black, the posterior wings having a series of five or six black spots, forming a row parallel with the hinder margin, and at some distance from it. Beneath, the colour is much paler than above, the primary wings with a few transverse black streaks, and a series of black crescents towards the tip; the hinder pair with three irregular bands of pale spots, edged with black, and a row of black spots, with an ochreous iris. The fringe is whitish-yellow, spotted with black.

The caterpillars are black, with rows of white dots on the incisures, and along the sides; the head and prolegs rust-red. They feed on the Narrow—eaved Plantain (Plantago lanceolata), Mouse-ear Hawk-weed, and the Common Germander Speed-well (Veronica chamædrys). They generally issue from the egg towards the end of the autumn, and pass the winter before they undergo their final metamorphosis. To protect themselves against the rigour of that season, they assemble in little colonies, and form a kind of tent, by drawing together a few of the leaves of the plant on which they feed, and covering the whole with a web of silk. The butterfly appears in June, but in this country it is by no means of frequent occurrence. It has been found, however, rather plentifully in the Island of Wight, also near Dover, and in a few other places in the southern parts of England. It is abundant on the Continent.

Pearl-Bordered Fritillary

Melitæa Euphrosyne.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Euphrosyne, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 13.—Donovan, xi ix. pl. 312.

The expansion of the wings varies from 18 to 22 lines. All the wings are of a reddish-yellow colour above, blackish near the base, and variegated with transverse streaks or spots of black; each of them having a row of black spots towards the apex, and a band of the same colour along the outer margin, which forms on the inner side a triangular point in the centre of each areolet, and encloses a row of pretty large round spots, corresponding to the ground colour of the surface. The primary wings are rather bright yellow beneath, the black spots smaller than the corresponding ones on the surface, and the tip spotted with light yellow. The hinder wings bear several large yellowish-white spots at the base, some of them slightly glossed with silver, the spaces between being rust-red; the latter colour forms a large spot in the middle, ornamented with a central ocellus. Beyond this, there is a long quadrate silvery spot, forming part of a very irregular band of yellowish-white; the space between which and the hinder margin is variegated with rust-brown and yellow, and a row of dark spots. The hinder margin is adorned with a row of large triangular silvery spots, bounded on all sides by a deep black line. The fringe of the wings is yellowish, spotted with brown; the antennæ ringed with white, and the knob tipped with reddish-brown. Several varieties occur, of which the most remarkable are those having only one silvery spot on the disk of the inferior wings; and such as have the basal half of the upper wings black, spotted with yellow, and their under side marked with large black spots.

The caterpillar is black and spinose, with macular lines of orange along the back. It feeds on different kinds of Violet, particularly the Dog’s Violet, and Viola lutea. he butterfly is apparently distributed over the whole island, as we have seen notices of its occurrence in most parts of England; and numerous specimens have been received from Perthshire, Ross-shire, Sutherland, and others of the more northern counties of Scotland, while it is not rare throughout the lowlands. It is a double-brooded species, first appearing in the end of May, and again In autumn.

High Brown Fritillary

Argynnis Adippe.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Adippe, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 10.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 448.—High Brown Fritillary, Harris.

The wings generally expand about two inches and a half, and are of a bright yellow, inclining to brown on the upper surface, with transverse undulating streaks, and round spots of black, together with a series of black crescents near the outer margin, which is itself black. On the under side, the primary wings are of a lighter hue, without the black external border, and having a few silvery spots near the tip; the secondary pair are brownish-yellow, with about twenty-four silvery spots, six or seven of them placed irregularly near the base, the others forming two transverse bands, one near the centre, somewhat interrupted in the middle, the other lying along the outer margin, and composed of triangular spots edged internally with rust-red; between the central and external band there is a series of small round rusty-brown spots, most of them having a silver pupil. The body is blackish above, with reddish hairs, and pale yellow beneath; the antennæ brownish, with the extremity of the club brownish-yellow.

The caterpillar is reddish, becoming olive-green with age, having a white dorsal line and white dots on the sides. It feeds on the pansy and sweet smelling violet (Viola odorata).

Not so plentiful as either of the following species, but found occasionally in many places in the southern parts of England. It is observed on the wing in the end of June and in July, and generally frequents heaths and the borders of woods. Many varieties have been described, some of them having the upper wings almost wholly black.

Queen of Spain Fritillary

Argynnis Lathonia.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Lathonia, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 12.—Donovan, iii, pl. 73.—Queen of Spain Fritillary, Harris.

The surface is yellowish-brown, with numerous insulated black spots, most of them of a rounded form. Beneath, the ground colour of the primary wings is paler than above, but they are marked with black in a similar manner, and have a few silvery spots towards the tip. The under side of the secondary wings is ornamented with upwards of twenty silvery spots, very unequal in size, seven of them of a semicircular shape, forming a row near the hinder margin, before which there is a transverse series of ocellated spots of a brownish colour with a silver pupil. The fringe is pale yellow, interrupted with black. The caterpillar, according to Godart’s account, is greyish-brown, spinose, with a white line along the back. It is solitary, and feeds on the Heart’s ease (Viola tricolor), a kind of Saintfoin (Hedysarum onobrychis), and Anchusa officinalis.

Although abundant in all the middle and southern countries of Europe, this butterfly is among the rarest inhabiting Britain. It is sometimes not seen for many successive seasons, while in others specimens have been procured in several places. This was the case particularly in 1818, a year which appears to have been especially favourable to the increase of many species, which in ordinary seasons are seldom to be met with. The following localities may be mentioned:—Gamlingay and Wisbeach, Cambridgeshire; Castle-meadow, Dover; Halvergate, Norfolk; Stoke near Nayland, Suffolk; Birchwood, Kent.

Dark Green Fritillary

Argynnis Aglaia.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Aglaia, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 11.—Donovan, ix. pl. 302.—Dark Green Fritillary, Harris.

Very like the preceding on the upper side, but usually rather paler, the individual figured being a dark coloured example of the female. The principal marks of distinction are to be found on the under side of the wings, which are of a fine yellowish-green, especially the hinder pair; the anterior with several silver spots on the hinder margin; the posterior with six or seven scattered silvery spots near the base, a curved band near the middle, and another consisting of seven spots of equal size parallel with the hinder margin, without any intervening row of ocellated spots. The anterior margin of the costal areolet, a portion of the abdominal one, and that lying next to it, are also glossed with silver.

The caterpillar feeds on the dog’s violet. It is brownish-black, yellowish on the back, and having a row of quadrate red spots along the sides, one on each segment, excepting the two next the head. The chrysalis is reddish, with waved streaks of brown.

This is rather a plentiful species in most parts of the country. It is said to be abundant throughout the south of England, and we have often procured specimens from the middle and northern districts of Scotland. It is rather rare, however, in the neighbourhood of Newcastle; but occurs abundantly near Durham, in the beginning of July. It has been occasionally observed in the vicinity of Edinburgh, but it must be regarded as somewhat scarce in that neighbourhood, as well as throughout the south of Scotland.

Silver-Washed Fritillary

Argynnis Paphia.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Paphia, Linn.—Donovan, vii. pl. 247, 5.—Lewin, pl. 9.

This species is usually of a larger size than either of the two preceding, but it bears considerable resemblance to them in the colour and markings of the surface. The upper side is a bright yellowish-brown (tinged with green in the female), variously streaked and spotted with black. Beyond the middle of all the wings, there are three series of black spots, which are of a rounded form in the two innermost rows, and angular in the marginal one. The primary wings are paler on the under side, many of the black spots indistinctly marked, and the tip slightly tinged in certain places with green. The secondary wings are green, with a brassy lustre, and ornamented with four transverse streaks or irregular bands of silver-white, the two next the base abbreviated, and the fourth occupying the hinder margin; the space between the two hinder bands is tinged with yellow, and bears traces of the two superficial rows of spots. The body is covered with hairs the colour of the wings, changing into yellowish-green in certain fights. The under side of the antennæ, and the apex of the club, are ochre-yellow.

The caterpillar is light brown, yellowish on the back, with two dark lines along the sides; the spines are long and hairy, and two placed on the first segment just behind the head, are considerably longe. than the rest. (See Plate III. Fig. 5.) It feeds on the dog’s violet and raspberry. The perfect insect is not uncommon in nearly all parts of England, and is found also in Scotland, but much less frequently.

Comma Butterfly

Vanessa C-album.—Fig. 1.

Papilio C-album, Linn.—Donovan, vi. 45, pl. 199.

This is the smallest species of the genus inhabiting Britain, and differs considerably from the others in the form of the wings. The colour of the upper side is reddish-yellow, generally darker in the male than in the female, irregularly spotted with black, and having the hinder margin dark brown; two of the largest spots on the upper wings are placed on the anterior border, the others, four or five in number, occupy the disk; on the under wings there are usually three irregular black spots or patches. The colour of the under side is dark brown, often inclining to yellow, the basal half of the wings and the apex being darkest; on the paler portion of the anterior pair there is an obscure band of green, and two indistinct rows of greenish ocelli may be traced across both wings, not very far from the outer margin: the hinder wings have a short curved line of pure white near the middle, resembling the letter C reversed, from which the species derives its name. The antennæ are black above, and brown with white rings beneath; the club tipped with yellow.

The colour of the caterpillar is brownish-red, with a broad dorsal band of white extending from before the middle to the hinder extremity. The head is nearly heart-shaped, and bears two large hairy tubercles, one on each side, resembling ears. It consumes the foliage of various trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, such as the elm and willow, the currant, hazel, honeysuckle, and the common nettle. The fly is by no means of frequent occurrence in Britain, at least in certain years, and does not appear to extend far north, although we have heard or its having been seen in Fifeshire in Scotland. It has been found abundantly near Hertford, in Suffolk, in the neighbourhood of York, and occasionally in most of the midland counties of England. The first brood appears in the end of June or beginning or July, and the second in September. Such as are produced late in the year, are usually of a much paler colour than those of the early summer. The insect is very common in most parts of the Continent, and is known in the French provinces, and has been described by Geoffroy, under the name of Robert le diable!

Great Tortoise-Shell

Vanessa polychloros.—Fig. 2.

Pap. polychloros, Linn.—Donovan, viii. 69, pl. 278.

This species bears considerable resemblance to V. Urticæ in its colour and markings, but it is usually much larger, the expansion of the wings sometimes exceeding two inches and a half. The upper side is dark orange, inclining to ochre-yellow towards the anterior margin, and at the sides of some of the spots. The upper wings have two large quadrate black spots, like abbreviated bands, on the anterior margin; two smaller spots, placed obliquely, towards the base; two small rounded ones on the disk, and another near the hinder angle. The hinder wings are marked with a single black spot of considerable size near the middle of the anterior margin. Both wings have a deep border of black externally, ornamented with a series of crescents, which are pale in the anterior pair, but blue in the others, and bounded by two parallel lines of pale yellow. On the under side, the basal half of all the wings is dark brown, the remainder yellowish-grey, finely marked with undulating lines of brown, and an obscure row of bluish crescents towards the tip. Three pale spots are observable on the anterior part of the upper wings, and one near the middle of the hinder pair.

The caterpillar is bluish or brownish, with a lateral stripe of orange; the spines are slightly branched and yellowish. While young, these larvæ live together under a silken web, which they spin for their protection; but they disperse after they have changed their first skin. They feed on the willow and elm, and also on some kinds of fruit-trees, particularly the cherry. The chrysalis is flesh-coloured, with golden spots near the neck.²⁰

Although abundant in most parts of the continent of Europe, the Great Tortoise-Shell (or Elm Butterfly, as it is sometimes called), cannot be ranked among the most common of our day-flying Lepidoptera; at least, it is scarce in many districts, and appears in plenty in others only in certain years. It occurs in all the southern counties of England, and in the Isle of Wight; we have traced it as far north as Dunkeld, and have seen notices of its having been frequently observed in many of the intermediate counties. There seems to be but one flight in the season, which usually takes place about the middle of July. On the Continent, it appears both in spring and towards the close of summer.

Peacock’s Eye

Vanessa Io.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Io, Linn.—Donovan, vi. 67 65, pl. 206.

The colour of this elegant insect is deep brownish-red, inclining to purple, with a large eye-like spot on each wing. On the anterior wings, this spot is placed near the apex, and is composed of a yellow crescent on the inner side, a semicircular patch of blue externally, and a large reddish-brown pupil, which becomes darker anteriorly, where it unites with the black margin. On the outer side of the pupil, there are three small spots of a whitish-blue colour, forming an irregular line with two others placed in the red portion of the wing. The ocellus is bounded internally by a triangular patch of black, next to this is a yellow spot, succeeded by a black triangular one, which does not reach the anterior margin; the latter towards the base is yellowish, with transverse lines of black. The ocellus of the hinder wings consists of a large black central patch, spotted with blue, and encircled by a zone of pale silky-brown, which is bounded anteriorly by a large black crescent. The under side of the wings is shining dark-brown, with transverse undulating lines of deep black, the five bluish-white spots of the upper wings appearing as pale points, and another similar spot is observable in the middle of the hinder wings. The body is blackish, and clothed with rust-coloured hairs: the legs dull yellow.

The caterpillar feeds on the two common species of stinging nettle. It is of a shining black colour, with numerous white points somewhat disposed in transverse lines, and having the hinder legs rust-red.

This highly beautiful insect, which the earliest of our British naturalists styles “omnium regina,” is much less extensively distributed than the preceding species. Although abundant in most parts of England, there appear to be certain districts even in the south where it is not common, and it gradually becomes scarce as we advance northwards. The most northern place where it has occurred in plenty, is the vicinity of York, and it probably does not extend beyond the Frith of Forth. Throughout the south of Scotland, indeed, it is seldom seen, although it has been stated, through some mistake, to be a common species in that quarter. We know it to have occurred sparingly near Edinburgh, and also in Roxburghshire and Dumfriesshire.

Camberwell Beauty

Vanessa Antopa.—Fig. 2.

Papilio Antiopa, Linn.—Donovan, iii. 45, pl. 89.—Lewin, pl. 1.—The Willow Butterfly, Wilke’s English Butterflies, pl. 118.—Curtis, B. E. ii v. 96.

This is one of the largest of our indigenous butterflies, the expansion of the wings sometimes exceeding three inches. The upper side of both wings is a uniform deep purplish-brown, having the appearance of velvet, bounded externally by a broad band of velvet-black, in which are placed a series of pretty large violet-blue spots, of an oblong shape on the hinder wings, but usually with a tendency to a crescent form in the anterior pair: beyond this there is a broad cream-coloured border, slightly waved on the inner side, and sprinkled with minute black points, especially on the salient angles. The anterior border has two cream-coloured spots beyond the middle, and is mottled with yellow towards the base. The under side is shining dark brown, with transverse waved lines of deep black, and as mall yellowish spot near the middle of each wing, and two larger ones on the anterior border.

The caterpillar, like most of those belonging to this genus, is gregarious, and consumes the foliage of various trees, particularly the birch, willow, and poplar. The colour of its body is black, with a series of spots along the back, and the eight intermediate legs red.

Mr Curtis says,

This fine species is rendered rare and remarkable in this country by its periodical appearance, the cause of which has never hitherto been ascertained. The most probable conjecture is (as Mr Haworth has observed), that

their eggs in this climate, like the seeds of some vegetables, may occasionally lie dormant for several seasons, and not hatch until some extraordinary. but undiscovered coincidence awake them into active life.

Until four or five years since, V. Antiopa had not been seen for nearly forty years, when it was exceedingly abundant in different parts of the kingdom. In the year 1819, a few were taken in Suffolk, and Mr Samouelle captured one the following spring that had lived through the winter, since which period it bas not been seen. It has received its English name from having been first observed at Camberwell, whither it might have been attracted by willows, upon which the larvæ feed. The butterfly is found in the beginning of August. It frequents woods, and is strong and rapid in flight.²¹

This species has been once taken in Scotland, near Beith in Ayrshire.

James Wilson, Esq.

Small Tortoise-Shell

Vanessa Urticæ.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Urticæ, Linn. &c.

The prevailing colour of the upper side is orange-red, inclining to yellow, especially on the anterior margin; the latter is marked with three large quadrate black spots, placed obliquely, beyond which there is a small white mark; towards the middle of the hinder margin there is another large black spot, and two small round ones on the disk; the hinder margin is widely bordered with black, and ornamented with a series of blue crescents, and two undulating lines of pale yellow: the basal half of the under wings is black, the rest orange-red, except the hinder margin, which resembles that of the anterior wings. On the under side the anterior wings are pale yellowish, with three large patches of dark brown towards the base; the tip mottled with brown and marked with an indistinct row of dusky crescents: the basal portion of the under wings is dark-brown beneath, with a small white dot in the middle, the rest light-grey, mottled with brown, and marked with an indistinct row of bluish-black triangular spots. The body and base of the wings are clothed with long brownish hairs, and the antennæ are variegated with white.

The caterpillars of this species feed on the nettle, and for some time after they are excluded from the egg, live together in little family associations, but disperse as soon as their increasing size renders a larger supply of food necessary. They are of a blackish colour, with four yellowish stripes, two along the back, and one on each side; the body beset with strong branched spines.

This is by far the most common insect of the genus, occurring abundantly in all parts of England, and extending to the northern extremity of Scotland. Considerable numbers pass the winter in a torpid state, and issue from their retreats on the first warm days of March. In the south of Scotland, where it is known by the name of the Devil’s Butterfly, and Witch’s Butterfly, we have occasionally observed it on the wing even before that period, and it has been noticed in the Isle of Wight on the 8th of January.²² There appear to be at least two broods annually, one in June, and another in September. In the south of Europe it is likewise a prevalent species, and in Italy it continues on the wing in fine weather the whole winter. Its metamorphoses are admirably delineated by Swammerdam under the name of the Common Dutch Day Butterfly.²³

Painted Lady

Cynthia Cardui.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Cardui, Linn.—Donovan, ix. pl. 292.—Lewin, pl. 6.—Vanessa Cardui, Samou.—Curtis.—The Painted Lady, Wilkes, pl. 107.—Harris, Aur. pl. 11.

The genus Cynthia approaches so closely to the foregoing, that if it is held to be distinct, it can only be regarded with propriety as a subgenus. The chief difference is in the form of the wings, which in Cynthia are scarcely angular, and the hinder pair are rounded and simply scolloped without any projecting lobe. The club of the antennæ is very short and abrupt, and the palpi are long, gradually narrowing to a point. The upper wings of the only species found in Britain are tawny-brown at the base, the middle ochre-red, inclining to carmine, with a very irregular transverse patch of black, and a large portion at the apex black, adorned with five white spots, the inner one largest, and placed obliquely, the others somewhat rounded, and the two in the middle rather minute. Near the margin there is an indistinct series of white crescents, beyond this a row of faint yellow spots, and the fringe is white, interrupted with black. The secondary wings are tawny brown at the base and inner side, and black anteriorly, the remaining portion ochrey-red, spotted with black, the latter forming three rows behind; the first consisting of five round spots, some of them indistinctly ocelliform; the second of a series of crescents, and the third of pretty large patches placed on the projecting points of the hinder border. The anal angle is ornamented with a pretty large black spot, with a streak of blue behind. On the under side, the primary wings are whitish at the base, and have a large spot of that colour anteriorly, in addition to those that correspond to the upper side; the tip is light brown, the two smallest spots encircled with black, which makes them resemble ocelli; and the whole disk is tinged with a beautiful tint of carmine, deepest towards the base, and intermixed with ochre-yellow externally. The under side of the hinder wings is delicately variegated with light-brown, greyish-white, and yellow; the darker portions intersected with white ramifications, in such a manner as to produce in some places the appearance of leaves springing from a stem. Towards the hinder extremity there is a row of five ocelli, the outer one small and obsolete, that next to it and the innermost one being largest, and powdered with blue in the middle, the intermediate two powdered with green: a row of purplish-blue crescents is placed behind these, and the extreme margin is brownish-yellow. The body is clothed with reddish-brown hairs above, and with white beneath.

The caterpillar is very spiny, of a brownish-grey colour, with interrupted yellow lines along the sides. It is solitary, in this respect differing from all those of the genus Vanessa except V. atalania, and feeds on different species of thistle, also on the nettle, mallow, artichoke, and several other plants. The chrysalis is nearly of the same hue as the larvæ, and thickly spotted with gold.

This species is generally scarce, but appears in certain indefinite periods in considerable numbers. It was very abundant near London in 1826, but has been less frequently met with since. “Near Durham, but not common,” G. Andrews, Esq. In Scotland it is seen occasionally throughout the southern division of the country; and we once saw several individuals in the Edinburgh Botanical Garden, in the end of March, which bad evidently just issued from their winter retreat. It is very widely spread, being found in America, the two extremities of Africa, and in Java.

Red Admiral

Vanessa Atalanta.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Atalanta, Linn.—Donovan, viii. pl. 260.—Lewin, pl. 7.—Pap. major nigricans, &c. The Admiral, Ray’s Ins. 126.—The Admirable, Albin, p. 3—Admiralis Atalanta, the Alderman, Rennie.

The upper side of this beautiful insect is deep black, with a fine silky gloss: the upper wings have a broad band of red running from the anterior margin obliquely across the surface nearly to the hinder angle, where it is considerably incurved, beyond which are six white spots, small and rounded, except the two at the anterior margin, of which the inner one is large and quadrate, and the other somewhat crescent-shaped; beyond these there is a faint bluish streak parallel with the apical margin: the under wings have a broad border of red behind, in which there is a series of small angular black spots, and two semicircular patches of blue at the inner angles. On the under side of the anterior wings the oblique band is ochreous-red, becoming paler at the hinder extremity; towards the base of the wing there is a narrow waved streak of blue, and two others of red, one of which is united to the central band; beyond the latter are two irregular blue streaks, and the extreme tip of the wing is of a tawny colour, in which are two of the smaller white spots surrounded with a dusky ring: the hinder wings are finely marbled with undulating lines and spots of black, brown, and yellowish-grey, the latter forming a large patch near the middle of the anterior edge. The fringe of the wings is white, interrupted with black.

The caterpillar is solitary, and feeds on the nettle. It prefers the seed of that plant to the leaves, and usually protects itself from the weather by drawing a few leaves around it, which it secures by silken threads. It is greenish, or nearly black, with a macular line of yellow along each side.

It is common in England, and occurs in some plenty apparently in all parts of Scotland. It is most frequently seen towards the end of autumn, and delights to alight on the flower of the dahlia, or some late flowering aster. It is found in all parts of Europe, in the United States of America, and the countries of Africa skirting the Mediterranean. In the East Indies, and in the island of Teneriffe, it is replaced by a very closely allied insect, which beautifully exemplifies the nice and occasionally almost imperceptible gradations by which nature sometimes passes from one species to another. The latter is named V. vulcania, and the distinctive marks which it presents are so slight, that they might seem rather between those few days that intervene from the end a casual modification of the characters of V. atalanta, than the indication of any specific difference; yet the two have a totally different range of geographical distribution.²⁴

A popular writer speaking of V. atalanta says,

This insect very rarely appears until late in September, and then so perfect and fresh in its plumage, as to manifest its recent production from the chrysalis. In some years they abound, and we may see twenty of these beautiful creatures expanding and closing their brilliant wings under the fruit trees on our walls, or basking upon the disc of some autumnal flower; and at another, perhaps, hardly a specimen is to be obtained; nor do they seem, like the wasp, to be scarce or abundant according to the deficiency or plenty of the season, but influenced by other causes. Many of our butterflies are produced by successive hatches, supplying the places of those which have been destroyed, and here it is difficult to mark the duration of an individual; and others, as the nettle, peacock, and wood tortoise, in many instances survive the winter, hidden in some recess or sheltered apartment, appearing in the spring time-worn and shabby. But V. atalanta appears only in the autumn, not as a preserved creature, but as a recent production; and hence we can ascertain the duration of its life to be comprised only of September to the end of October, by which time its food in our gardens has pretty well disappeared. Some sheltered wall, garnished with the bloom of the ivy, may prolong its being a little longer, but the cold and the dampness of the season soon destroy it, rendering the life of this creature, the most beautiful of our lepidopterous tribes, of very brief duration.²⁵

White Admiral

Limenitis Camilla.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Camilla, Linn.—Curtis, Brit. Ent. iii, pl. 124.—Donovan, viii vi. pl. 244.—Lewin, pl. 8.—White Admiral, Petiver and Curtis.—The White Admirable, Harris’ Aurelian, pl. 30.

Antennæ thickening gradually from near the middle almost to the apex, the club being slender and elongated; palpi not approximating at the tip, the basal joint shortest and nearly oval, the second one very long, and the terminal one elongate-ovate, ending suddenly in a point; wings not much longer than broad, rounded and entire; eyes pubescent; legs alike in both sexes, the anterior pair short and slender, the tarsus formed of a single joint ending in a small claw, the other claws nearly resembling those of Vanessa. Caterpillar with obtuse fleshy projections on the back, fringed with hair (Pl. III. fig. 7). Chrysalis bifid at the head, and suspended by the tail.

This elegant insect is about the size of larger specimens of the Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly, the expansion of the wings being nearly two inches. The colour is dull black above, variegated with obscure dark spots. Both wings are traversed by a broad oblique white band, which is very irregular on the upper pair, being widely interrupted in the middle, and divided by the nervures into separate spots, the anterior portion directed inwards; where the band is interrupted, there is a minute white spot, and a larger one on a line with it externally; two others are placed near the tip, and a fourth midway between the white band and the base of the wing. On the hinder wings the band is attenuated towards the anal angle; on the latter is a patch of rust-red surrounding two black spots, and two rows of obscure dark spots occupy the space between the band and the hinder extremity. The prevailing colour on the under side, is brownish-yellow; all the white spots of the upper side are visible, with the addition of a few others, and most of them have a faint pearly lustre. The base of the hinder wings, and under side of the body, are pale blue, and the yellowish-brown portions are streaked and spotted with black. The fringe is white, spotted with black; the antennæ rust-brown on the tip and under side.

The caterpillar, which does not appear to have been observed in England, is described by the continental naturalists as green, with the head, dorsal appendages, and sides of the belly reddish. The honeysuckle is its favourite food.

Like the preceding species, this insect must be placed among cur rarer British Butterflies. Some of the south-eastern counties of England formerly produced it in tolerable plenty, but of late years it has been nowhere abundant, although it has been noticed in a considerable number of places. The following localities may be cited:—Woods near Rye, Sussex, New Forest, Coombe-wood, Hartley-wood, Essex, Berkshire, and Suffolk. It does not appear to inhabit the north of England nor Scotland. Few butterflies are greater favourites with aurelians than this, and none have been more highly eulogized for the gracefulness of their flight.

Mr Haworth says,

The graceful elegance displayed by this charming species when sailing on the wing, is greater perhaps than can be found in any other we have in Britain.

Another writer says,

In its beautiful flight, when it skims aloft, it rivals the Purple Emperor, which it strongly resembles in appearance. It seems, however (unlike the latter), to avoid the sunbeams, for it frequents the glades of woods, where it rapidly insinuates itself by the most beautiful evolutions and placid flight through the tall underwood on each side of the glades, appearing and disappearing like so many little fairies.²⁶

The insect is not rare on the Continent, where there likewise occur four others pertaining to the genus, some of them very closely resembling the present species.

Purple Emperor

Apatura Iris.

Pap. Iris, Linn.—Donovan, pl. 37. —Lewin, pl. 16.—The Purple Emperor, Harris.—Purple Highflyer, Wilkes.

Antennæ long, the club elongate-ovate and concave: palpi long, and projecting beyond the head, where they meet and form a kind of beak; the basal and terminal joints nearly of equal length, the latter conical, the intermediate one very long, slender, and curved: wings somewhat triangular, the edge of the primary pair nearly entire, the others slightly scolloped: eyes not pubescent; the anterior legs small and imperfect in both sexes. The caterpillar has the head divided behind into two long horns (Pl. III. fig. 6). The chrysalis has the head piece bifid, and is suspended by the tail.

The surface of the wings, in the species above named, is dark brown, changing when seen in certain lights into purplish-blue of a very rich tint. This brilliant reflection is not visible in the female, and that sex is also distinguished by the wings being of a paler brown, and having two additional white spots towards the outer extremity of the upper wings. In both sexes there are four macular patches of white on the upper wings, the two outermost consisting of two small spots each, the two innermost more continuous, but somewhat curved and interrupted at the nervures. The largest of these patches is placed in a line with a bar of white, which traverses the under wings in an oblique direction, emitting a salient angle near the middle of its. outer edge. Midway between this band and a pale tawny streak which circumscribes the wings not far from the margin, there is a round black spot surrounded by a ring of ochre-red: a streak of the latter colour is also observable at the anal angle, and on the extremity of the adjoining nervure. On the under side, the upper wings are rust-brown, inclining to black in the middle, with a large ocellus towards the hinder angle, and two black spots not far from the base, in addition to the white marks corresponding to those on the upper side; the under wings have the transverse white band rather broader than above, and the ocellus appears smaller; the base and hinder portion are greyish, with something of a pearly lustre, and a faint undulating brown line runs along the margin. The body is black above, the under side and legs greyish-white.

Both the caterpillar and chrysalis are pale green; the horns of the former reddish at the tip, and having a yellow stripe down the outer side. It feeds on the common sallow and oak.

This fine insect, which is highly prized by collectors both for its beauty, and the difficulty with which it is obtained, has been occasionally found in many of the southern counties of England, but it does. not extend far to the north. It has been found in some plenty in Coombe-wood, Great and Little Stour Woods, in Essex, Dodnash and Raydon Woods, in Suffolk, &c. Owing to the strength and thickness of its wings it is enabled to fly with greater velocity than any other British butterfly, and to maintain a lofty and continuous flight almost like the soaring of a bird of prey. Its habits have been so well described by Haworth in his Lepidoptera Britannica, that we cannot refrain from extracting the passage.

The Purple Emperor of the British Oaks is not undeservedly the greatest favourite of our English Aurelians. In his manners likewise, as well as in the varying lustre of his purple plumes, he possesses the strongest claims to their particular attention. In the month of July he makes his appearance in the winged state, and invariably fixes his throne upon the summit of a lofty oak, from the utmost sprigs of which, on sunny days, he performs his aerial excursions; when the sun is at the meridian, his loftiest flights take place, and about four in the afternoon he resumes his station of repose. He ascends to a much greater elevation than any other insect, sometimes mounting higher than the eye can follow; especially if he happens to quarrel with another Emperor, the monarch of some neighbouring oak: they never meet without a battle, flying upwards all the while, and combating with each other as much as possible, after which they will frequently return again to the identical sprigs from whence they ascended. The wings of this fine species are of a stronger texture than those of any other in Britain, and more calculated for that gay and powerful flight which is so much admired by entomologists. The females, like those of many other species, are very rarely seen on the wing; in three days I captured twenty-three (nine of them in one day), and never took a female at all. The males fly very high, and are only to be taken by a bag-net, fixed to the ends a rod twenty or thirty feet long. There have been instances, though very rare, of their settling on the ground near puddles of water, and being taken there. When the Purple Emperor is within reach, no fly is more easily taken; for he is so very bold and fearless, that he will not move from his settling-place until you quite push him off; you may even tip the ends of his wings, and be suffered to strike him again.

The Grayling

Hipparchia Semele.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Semele. Linn.—Donovan, viii. pl. 259 .—Lewin, pl. 17.—The Gravling Butterfly, Harris.

One of the larger species, the expansion of the wing sometimes reaching two inches and six lines. The greater part of the surface is brown, varying greatly in the intensity of the shade. Towards the hinder edge of the anterior wings, the female has a wide and irregular band or patch of pale yellow, extending nearly across the surface, in which are placed two remote ocelli, with a white pupil and black iris; the male has merely a yellowish patch round each ocellus. The basal half of the hinder wings, as well as the posterior border, is brown in both sexes, the intermediate portion being pale or reddish-yellow, more or less obscured with dusky, and having a small ocellus with a white pupil towards the anal angle. On the under side, the anterior wings are tawny at the base, the anterior and posterior margins brownish, the latter marked with white; the disk is pale-yellow, and the two ocelli are conspicuous: the posterior wings are clouded with white and dark brown, the basal half darkest, and the dark part terminating near the middle, in an irregular sinuated line; there is likewise a small ocellus corresponding to that on the opposite surface.

The caterpillar and chrysalis are both light-green, the former with brownish legs.

The butterfly frequents rocky and stony places, and occurs rather plentifully in such situations in most parts of the country. The rocky sides of Arthur’s Seat, and similar localities throughout the south of Scotland, afford it in considerable plenty in certain years, and we have seen several examples from Sutherland and other northern counties. Among the numerous localities cited by English entomologists, we may mention Newmarket, Dartmoor, Nacton Heath in Suffolk, and Lexden Heath in Essex. In the neighbourhood of Newcastle, Mr Wailes informs us that it is almost confined to the magnesian limestone, and another correspondent states that it is not unfrequent in stony places near Durham, and in Castle Eden Dean, during the month of July.

Wall Butterfly

Hipparchia Megæra.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Megæra, Linn. Donovan, viii. pl. 279.—Orange Argus, Lewin, pl. 21.—Great Argus, Wilkes.—Wall Butterfly, Harris.

The greater part of the anterior wings is orange-yellow inclining to brown, with the hinder margin, and several transverse irregular bands on the disk, dark-brown; each wing with a large ocellus towards the tip, with a black iris and white pupil, sometimes having a smaller one adjoining. The hinder wings are dark-brown, with two transverse patches or bands posteriorly, that next the margin broadest, and bearing a row of ocelli, varying from three to five in number, the lateral ones frequently without a pupil. Beneath, the upper wings are pale, with the brown bands faintly marked; the ocellus, however, is large, and surrounded with a brown ring; the under pair nearly ash-grey, sprinkled with black points, and traversed by two narrow undulating brown lines, between which and the hinder margin there is a curved series of six ocelli, that next the anal angle being double; behind this there is a waved band of pale yellow. The fringe of the wings is whitish and brown alternately.

The caterpillar is pubescent, of alight green, with a whitish line on each side.

Far from being a scarce species, and apparently found in all parts of the country. It occurs in April, July, and August.

Marbled White Butterfly

Hipparchia Galathea.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Galathea, Linn.—Donovan, viii. 15, pl. 258. Lewin, pl. 28.—Wilkes’ English Butterflies, pl. 100.

The colours of this handsome species are black and greenish-yellow, each of them occupying almost equal portions of the surface. The upper wings have a large somewhat oval yellow spot at the base, three large patches of the same colour near the middle, divided into spots by the black nervures, two small ones near the anterior angle, and a row of small points parallel with the margin; the fringe of the latter with alternating spots of black and yellow. There is likewise a large yellow spot at the base of the under wings, a broad irregular band of the same colour in the middle, traversed by the black nervures, and a row of small yellow spots near the hinder extremity. The under side is paler than the upper, the greenish-yellow colour greatly predominating, all the wings having a row of large triangular marks on the hinder margin. There is a small ocellus near the tip of the upper pair, and five others on the binder wings, forming an irregular row, interrupted a little beyond the middle; that next the anal angle is double. The body is black above, and densely clothed, as well as the base of the wings, with yellowish hairs. Varieties occur in which one of the colours occupies greater part of the wing: that in which the black predominates has been taken near Dover;²⁷ in the other, which has been named Leucomelas, the secondary wings are entirely white beneath.

The caterpillar is yellowish-green, with a dark line along the back, and another on each side. The head is reddish-brown, and there are two small spines of the same colour on the hinder extremity. It is found in May on the Timothy grass (Phleum pratense).

This pretty butterfly is regarded as very local, but its localities are pretty widely scattered over the south of England. It is usually found in moist glades, or in bogs and marshy ground, but sometimes frequents places of a very different description. The following are a few of the stations in which it has been observed in greatest plenty. Near Dover, Teignmouth, woods at Baylham Hall, Ipswich, Darenth Wood, &c. It is likewise abundant near York, which is probably its most northern residence, as it is not known to occur in Scotland.

Large Heath

Hipparchia Tithonus.—Figs. 2 & 3.

Pap. Tithonus, Linn.—Pap. Piloselle, Fabr.—Donovan, xii, pl. 405.—The Gate Keeper, Harris’ Aurel., pl. 44.

Upper wings ochre-red, or reddish-yellow, with the base brown, and the anterior and outer sides widely margined with dark brown. On the outer anterior angle of the reddish-yellow portion of the wing there is a pretty large round ocellated spot of black, with two minute white points in the centre. The hinder wings are likewise brown, with a large reddish-yellow mark in the centre, which bears a minute ocellus on the side nearest the anal angle. On the under side, the upper wings are coloured as above, but the hinder pair are greyish-brown, with a very irregular cross band of light grey behind the middle, in which there are usually four minute white points approximating in pairs, and surrounded by a brown cloud. The male is considerably smaller than the female, more deeply coloured, and has a brown cloud in the middle of the coloured portion of the fore wings.

The caterpillar, which feeds on the annual meadow grass (Poa annua), is of a green colour, with a reddish line on each side, and a brown head. The butterfly appears in June, and is of frequent occurrence in England, and many places in the south of Scotland

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Hipparchia Ægeria.—Fig. 4.

Pap. Ægeria, Linn.—Donovan, xiv. 77, pl. 498.—Lewin, pl. 19.—Wood Argus, Wilkes.—Speckled Wood Butterfly, Harris.

The upper side is brown, the anterior wings with ten or eleven pale yellow spots on each, placed irregularly, and having a black ocellus with a white pupil towards the apical angle. The hinder wings have one or two yellow spots anteriorly, and a row of eyes parallel with the hinder margin. These are four in number, and consist of a round black spot, with a white pupil, surrounded by a yellow ring; the anterior one being much smaller than the others, and without a pupil. The fringe of both wings is pale yellow, the dark colour of the wing interrupting it at the nervures, and making it appear like a series of crescents. The under side of the wings is pale yellow, clouded and streaked with brown; the hinder pair with undulating transverse lines, and a row of five pale dots, encircled with brown, the space between which and the outer margin is sometimes glossed with violet. The upper and under sides of the body are concolorous with the corresponding faces of the wings.

The caterpillar is covered with a matted pubescence of a green colour, and marked on the sides with yellow or whitish lines. It feeds on various grasses, but prefers the common couch-grass.

The Speckled Wood Hipparchia is a vernal species, the first flight taking place in the beginning of April. This is succeeded by two others, one in June, the other in August. It appears to extend over all Britain. It is included in a list of Papilionidæ found near Dover;²⁸ we have received it from the north of Scotland, and have often seen it in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, in Roxburghshire, and other southern counties, and it is far from scarce in most parts of England. From the notices we have received, however, it appears to be rather scarce in the vicinity of Newcastle and Durham.

Meadow-Brown Butterfly

Hipparchia Janira.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Janira, Linn. .—Pap. Jurtina , Linn.—P. Jurtina, Donovan, ix. 69. pl. 320.—Lewin, pl. 18.

This species is considerably larger than the preceding, the wings of the female sometimes expanding nearly two inches. The ground colour is brown, varying considerably in shade, but usually darkest in the male. In that sex, the upper wings are in general entirely brown, with a small ocellus towards the apex encircled with reddish-yellow; but in the female, there is a large transverse patch of ochre-yellow beyond the middle of the wing, in which is placed a large black ocellus, with a white pupil, and the space between this patch and the base is very obscurely tinged with reddish-yellow. The hinder wings are usually unspotted in the male, but those of the female have frequently an obscure yellowish mark in the middle. The under side of the primary wings is tawny-orange, with a paler band not far from the hinder margin, in which is placed an ocellus, as on the upper surface, sometimes having a double pupil. The hinder wings are tawny-brown from the base to the middle, where the colour terminates in an angular line: the space beyond this is pale, excepting the margin, which is of the same colour as the base. The pale portion sometimes bears two or three small black eye-like spots, and the whole surface seems as if dusted with black.

Both the caterpillar and chrysalis are light green, the former with a white line along each side, and the latter streaked with brown. It feeds on several common grasses, particularly the Smooth-stalked Meadow-grass (Poa pratensis). The butterfly is first seen on the wing in the beginning of June, and, next to the White Cabbage species, may perhaps be regarded as the most common insect of its tribe inhabiting Britain. Mr Kapp says,

Amid the tribes of insects, particularly influenced by seasons, there are a few which appear little affected by common events: the Brown Meadow Butterfly, so well known to every one, I have never missed in any year; and in those damp and cheerless summers when even the White Cabbage Butterfly is scarcely to be found, this creature may be seen in every transient gleam, drying its wings, and tripping from flower to flower, with animation and life, nearly the sole possessor of the field and its sweets. Dry and exhausting as the summer may be, yet this dusky butterfly is uninjured by it, and we see it in profusion hovering about the sapless foliage. In that arid summer of 1826. The abundance of these creatures was so obvious as to be remarked by very indifferent persons.²⁹

Mountain Ringlet

Hipparchia Cassiope.—Fig. 3.

Fabricius.—Pap. Mnemon, Haworth, Entom. Trans.—Stephens’s Illus. Haust. vol. i. pl. 8.—P. melampus, Herbst.—P. Alecyone, Borkh.

Much less than the preceding species, the wings expanding about 16 lines. The colour is dark brown, with a silky gloss, the upper wings having a red band towards the apex, somewhat interrupted at the nervures, and marked with a row of from three to five black spots: the short band of the hinder wings consists of a few continuous red marks, each bearing a small black spot. The under side of the anterior wings differs from the upper only in having the disk more or less tinged with rust-red: the hinder wings are ash-brown beneath, at least in one of the: sexes, having three black spots behind, surrounded by a reddish iris. The fringe of the wings is brown; the antennæ black above and white below.

This species is readily distinguished from any of its associates by its inferior size. The red band on the wings varies greatly, and in some instances it is without black dots in the upper pair. The insect is very local in this country, almost the only localities being in the mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmoreland. On the continent, it inhabits Switzerland, and the mountainous countries of the south of France, in considerable plenty.

The Ringlet Butterfly

Hyparchia Hyperanthus.—Fig. 4.

Pap. Hyperanthus, Linn.—Donovan, viii. pl. 271.—The Ringlet, Harris’ Aurel. pl. 35.

The whole upper surface is of a uniform brown colour, generally without eye-like spots, but not unfrequently having two or three on each wing not very distinctly formed. The under side is pale brown, the anterior wings with two or three ocelli towards the tip, which are sometimes large and conspicuous, especially in the females, and occasionally almost obliterated: the hinder wings have usually five ocelli, variable in size, two of them placed close together towards the anterior margin, and three others in a line behind, the inner one being usually smallest. The body and base of the wings are clothed with dark-brown hairs; the fringe is light grey; and the antennæ variegated with white, and having the club of a rust-red colour.

The caterpillar feeds chiefly on the Annual Meadow-grass in this country: on the Continent it is also found on the Millium effusum. It is greyish-white, with a narrow brown line on the back; sometimes, however, it is entirely blackish.

This sombre-coloured, but not inelegant butterfly, is pretty abundant in all parts of Britain, frequenting meadows, the open parts of woods, and the sides of corn-fields. The variations which it presents in the magnitude and number of the ocelli are very numerous.

Arran Brown Butterfly

Hipparchia Ligea.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Ligea, Linn.—Stephens’ Illust. of Brit. Ent. Haust. vol. 1. pl. 6.

In this species, the expansion of the wings is from eighteen to twenty-two lines. The colour of the upper side is brown, and there is an abbreviated reddish band towards the extremity of each wing. On the upper pair, this band bears four black ocelli, with white pupils; the latter, however, are wanting in the male. The hinder band likewise bears three ocelli, presenting the same sexual difference. The under side is somewhat paler than the upper, the markings on the anterior wings not differing materially from those on the surface: the most striking peculiarity of the hinder pair is an, irregular white band, widest near the anterior edge, which extends nearly across the wing; behind this are three round spots, composed of a red ring enclosing a black ocellus, with a white pupil. All the wings are surrounded with a white fringe, spotted with brown. The antennæ are white beneath.

The caterpillar is green, blackish on the back, and having longitudinal white stripes on the sides.

The butterfly is very rare in this country. We have not heard of any other locality than the Isle of Arran, where it was first found by Sir Patrick Walker and A. MacLeay, Esq. It is not an uncommon species in several northern countries of Europe, frequenting meadows and woods.

Scotch Argus Butterfly

Hipparchia Blandina.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Blandina, Fabricius.—Donovan, xii. 87. pl. 426.

The colour is brown, generally of a very deep shade, sometimes approaching to black. Each of the upper wings has a red band externally, which usually bears four ocelli, with bluish-white pupils, the two foremost being united; one of them is occasionally obsolete, and they likewise vary in number. The red band on the hinder wings is short and indistinct: it is somewhat interrupted at the nervures, and has usually three small black ocelli, with white pupils. The markings of the upper wings nearly correspond on both sides; but the hinder pair, beneath, are crossed behind the middle by a broad irregular band of grey, inclining to blue, in which one or two minute ocelli are visible. In addition to this band, the female has the base of the wings and the hinder margin greyish. The fringe is light brown in the male, but inclining to white in the female, and interrupted with brown.

The caterpillar is light green, with brown and white longitudinal stripes; head reddish. The egg is ribbed, and of a whitish colour, speckled with brown.

This insect was first discovered in the Island of Arran many years ago, and has been found abundantly since in many parts of the country. It occurs in some plenty over a district of considerable extent in Dumfriesshire—near Minto in Roxburghshire—occasionally near Edinburgh, and probably in most of the southern counties of Scotland. In England, it has been found abundantly in Castle Eden Dean; and Mr Wailes informs us that it exists in profusion in one or two places in the magnesian limestone district not far from Newcastle.

Scarce Small Ringlet Butterfly

Hipparchia Davus.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Davus, Fab.—Pap. Hero, Donovan, vi. pl. 186.—Lewin, pl. 23, figs. 5. & 6.

The expansion of the wings is from 15 to 20 lines; the colour of the surface obscure ochrey-yellow, inclining to brown, the fringe and interior edge of the hinder wings dull white: towards the hinder margin of the upper wings, there are usually two ocelli without pupils, and a curved row of three or four others, likewise without any central dot, not far from, the hinder margin of the secondary pair. Beneath, the upper wings are brighter yellow than above, the apex greyish-white, each with a cross band of white beyond the middle, and exterior to it two remote ocelli, having a black iris and a white pupil, and occasionally a small imperfect one between them. The secondary wings underneath are very pubescent, greenish-brown from the base nearly to the middle, where that colour terminates in an irregular line, and is succeeded by a narrow and very unequal white band, usually interrupted; the space behind this is light brown, inclining to yellow, and ornamented with six ocelli, consisting of a black iris with a small silver-white pupil, and surrounded externally by a yellowish-white ring. In number and size the ocellated spots vary considerably, and the anal one on the secondary wings is sometimes double.

This scarce insect frequents marshes and moist heaths, and has occurred more frequently than elsewhere in the vicinity of Manchester, and on Shorn Moor in Yorkshire. Ashdown Forest has also been cited as a locality.

Marsh Ringlet Butterfly

Hipparchia Polydama.—Fig. 2.

Hip. Iphis & Polydama, Steph. Jermyn.—Pap. Typhon; Scarce Heath, Haworth.—Pap. Polydama, Haworth, Jermyn.—Pap. Tiphon, Esper.

This species is about the size of the preceding, to which it is very closely related. The colour of the surface is rusty ochre-yellow, obscured with brown, the anterior wings frequently with one or two blind ocelli towards the hinder margin; the secondary wings greyish-white on the abdominal edges and round the outer margin, and fringed with rather long whitish hairs, usually bearing a blind ocellus near the anal angle, and occasionally one or two others on a line with it. Underneath, the primary wings are greenish-brown at the base, rather bright yellowish-brown in the middle, and greyish at the apex, marked at some distance from the hinder margin with an abbreviated white bar, beyond which are generally two remote ocelli, with a minute silver-white pupil and black iris, encircled by a whitish ring; one of these ocelli sometimes obsolete. The basal half of the hinder wings is brown, with long greenish hairs; beyond this there is a very irregular whitish band, sometimes interrupted, the space beyond which is greyish-brown (often with a fulvous cloud in the female near the middle), and five or six ocelli, some of them usually small and indistinct, and the anterior one sometimes placed in the white band. The antennæ are brown above, ringed with white, the club tawny.

Caterpillar and chrysalis dark green, the former with a dark line along the back.

This insect, which may ultimately prove to be only a variety of the preceding one, occurs not unfrequently on marshy heaths in the months of July and August. Mr Wailes finds it frequently in such situations near Newcastle: it also occurs near York, in North Wales, &c. It was seen in great abundance last summer in Sutherlandshire, as well as in others of the more northern counties of Scotland; and we have received it from Argyll and Perthshire.

Small Heath Butterfly

Hipparchia Pamphilus.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Pamphilus, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 23.—The Small Heath or Gate Keeper, Harris, Aurel. pl. 21.—Golden Heath Eye, Petiver.

This pretty little butterfly is very common in all parts of the country, on heaths and upland pastures. It appears first in the beginning of June, and there is a second flight in September. The expansion of the wings is usually about 13 or 14 lines: the colour of the upper side light ochre-yellow, the outer margin of the wings slightly dusky, and surrounded with a fringe of rather long whitish hairs. The primary wings on the under side are ash-coloured on the anterior edge and at the tip, the latter ornamented with a conspicuous black oceilus, with a white pupil, and a pale ring externally: the situation of this ocellus is indicated on the upper side by a dusky spot. The secondary wings are pubescent, greenish-brown at the base, the centre ash-coloured, and the hinder part brownish-grey, with a few whitish points encircled by a yellow ring, which, however, are always indistinct, and often obliterated. The antennæ are brownish, with white rings.

Both the caterpillar and chrysalis are greenish; the former somewhat dusky on the back, and having a white line on each side. It feeds on the Crested Dog’s-tail Grass (Cynosurus cristatus).

Besides the above species of Hipparchiæ, the names of two others have been inserted in our indigenous lists, viz. H. Hero and H. Arcanius, on the doubtful authority of a single specimen of each, said to have been found many years ago by Mr Palstead. As both species are abundant on the continent, extending even to the more northern parts of Sweden, it is not improbable that they may likewise inhabit this country, and we have therefore subjoined their distinctive characters.

Brown Hair-Streak

Thecla Betulæ.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Betulæ, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 42.—Donovan, viii vii. pl. 250. —Brown Hair-Streak, Harris.

This is the largest British species of the present group, the expansion of the wings sometimes reaching eighteen lines. The colour of the upper side is dark brown, with a silky gloss, the fringe whitish; towards the middle of the anterior wings there is a blackish ill-defined mark, usually with a faint yellow cloud beyond it in the male, and a large kidney-shaped orange patch in the female. The secondary wings in both sexes are covered with fine silky hairs internally, and the two projecting lobes at the anal angle are marked with reddish-yellow. The under side is entirely tawny yellow, inclining to red at the hinder extremity, particularly of the posterior wings, with two narrow transverse undulating white lines, edged with black, the anterior one abbreviated, and forming only a dusky streak on the upper wings, edged, with white. The antennæ are ringed with white and the apex of the club is rust-red.

The caterpillar is green, with yellow streaks along the back, and transverse rays of the same colour on the sides. It feeds on the common birch, blackthorn, plum, &c. The fly appears about the beginning of August, but it is not often met with in this country, although abundant in most other parts of Europe. The following English localities may be mentioned, a few of which have afforded it in some plenty. Coombe-wood, woods near Ipswich, Reydon Wood, Andover, Dartmoor, Devonshire.

Purple Hair-Streak

Thecla Quercus.—Figs. 3 & 4.

Pap. Quercus, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 43.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 460.—The Purple Hair-Streak, Harris.—Thecla Quercus, Steph., Jermyn, &c.

Rather a smaller species than the preceding, the extent of the wings being generally from thirteen to fifteen lines. The colour of the upper side is dark brown, the entire surface in one of the sexes faintly glossed with purple, and in the other there isa large oblong patch of deep glossy blue at the base of the upper wings, divided posteriorly into two branches, the hinder one being prolonged towards the anal angle. On the under side the wings are pubescent, of an ash-grey colour, with a silky lustre, and traversed by a continuous undulating white streak, edged with brown anteriorly; beyond this there is a double series of faint whitish crescents, with a few dusky dots on the primary wings, and the secondary pair are ornamented with two fulvous spots, one on the anal angle, and the other forming an ocellus with a yellow iris and a black pupil.

The caterpillar, which invariably feeds on the oak, is of a greyish-brown colour, with a dark brown head; the incisures and a row of dots along the back yellow.

The most common species of Thecla in this island, especially in the southern districts of England, where it may be found abundantly in every oak wood. It extends northwards in considerable plenty as far as Newcastle, in the neighbourhood of which, Mr Wailes informs us that it is far from uncommon. Beyond that locality, however, it seems to become scarce, and in Scotland it may be regarded as a rare species. The only Scotch examples that we have seen were from Roxburghshire, and the oak woods in the vicinity of Inverary in Argyllshire.

Black Hair Streak

Thecla Pruni.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Pruni, Linn.—Ochsenheimer, Pap. Eur., tom. i.—Polyommatus Pruni, Godart, Lepid. de France.—Thecla Pruni, Curtis, Brit. Ent. vi. pl. 264,

Expansion of the wings somewhat more than an inch, the surface brownish-black, the upper wings with a small oblong spot near the middle anteriorly, and the hinder pair with a series of three or four crescent-shaped red marks near the posterior border. The under side is yellowish-brown; the primary wings with a transverse silvery line towards the hinder margin, beyond which, and parallel with it, there is a series of reddish spots, each of them bounded by a small black streak; the secondary wings have an irregular silvery line nearly. across the middle, behind this a row of black spots, edged with white anteriorly, and a marginal series of black crescents.

The caterpillar is green, with longitudinal whitish rays, and numerous short transverse lines. The head, as in all the larvæ of this group, is small, and of a yellow colour, with two black points in the form of eyes. (Plate III. Fig. 8.)

This species has been very often confounded with the following, which is of much more frequent occurrence in this country, and has been generally regarded as the true T. Pruni. Authentic indigenous examples of the latter were, we believe, first figured and described by Mr Curtis, who states that the insect was found by Mr Seaman, in Yorkshire, in such abundance, that it is now to be seen in almost every cabinet. It is well known on the Continent, in some parts of which it is rather common.

White Letter Hair Streak

Thecla W-album.—Fig. 2.

Pap. Pruni, Lewin. pl. 44.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 437.—Thecla Pruni, Jermyn.—Stephen’s Illus. Haus. i. 77.—Dark or Black Hair Streak, Harris.—Polyommate W-blanc, Godart, Hist. des Pap. de France.—Pap. W-album, Hubner.

Upper side dark brown, with a silky gloss, the upper wings of the male having a greyish spot near the middle, towards the anterior border. The under side is light brown, with a narrow transverse slightly interrupted white line, placed towards the hinder margin in the primary wings, but near the middle in the secondary pair, and forming two acute angles posteriorly, in such a manner as to resemble the letter W; behind this there is an irregular band of orange-red, widest towards the anal angle, and bounded on the inner side by a black line, which is sometimes edged internally with white; the margin itself, as well as the projecting tailed point, is black, sometimes tipped with white.

The caterpillar is green, with three spots of deep red on each of the posterior segments of the belly, and a double series of small dots along the back. When about to undergo its metamorphoses it becomes brown. According to some authors it feeds on the elm, while others mention the black thorn as its appropriate food.

This insect, as already mentioned, has been described by most British Entomologists as the P. Pruni of Linnæus, who does not appear to have been acquainted with it. Of late years it has occurred in great plenty in some districts, but in general it may be accounted scarce, particularly in the northern parts of the kingdom. Mr Stephens says,

The boundless profusion with which the hedges, for miles, in the vicinity of Ripley, were enlivened by the myriads that hovered over every flower and bramble blossom, last July (1828), exceeded any thing of the kind I ever witnessed. Some notion of their numbers may be formed, when I mention that I captured, without moving from the spot, nearly 200 specimens in less than half an hour, as they successively approached the bramble-bush, where I had taken up my position. How to account for their prodigious numbers I am perfectly unable, as the same fields and hedges had been carefully explored by me at the same and different periods of the year for several preceding seasons, without the occurrence of a single specimen in either of its stages; and it is worthy of remark, that the hedges to the north and north-west of the village, were perfectly free, although the brambles, &c. were in plenty.³¹

Green Hair-Streak

Thecla Rubi.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Rubi, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 44.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 443.—The Green Butterfly, Wilkes, pl. 116.—The Green Fly, or Bramble Fly, Harris.

Expansion of the wings about an inch, the surface of a uniform brown tint in both sexes, with the nervures somewhat darker, the female sometimes having a faint whitish oval dot near the middle of the upper wings, not far from the anterior border. The under side is

fine green, with a transverse row of white dots, often more or less obliterated, behind the middle of the secondary wings.

The caterpillar is pubescent, light green or greenish-yellow, with a row of triangular yellow spots on each side, and a white line just above the feet. It feeds on brambles, broom, and many other plants. The fly appears in the end of May, and beginning of June; a second brood takes flight in August. It is not a very common species, but its ascertained localities indicate that it is pretty generally distributed throughout England and the southern division of Scotland. It occurs in Darenth Wood, Bromley Thickets in Essex, in Devonshire, &c. We have seen many specimens from the neighbourhood of Raehills, and other parts of Dumfriesshire, and have observed the butterfly occasionally in some of the central districts of Roxburghshire, “Keswick, and some of the Yorkshire Wolds,” G. Wailes, Esq.

Large Copper

Lycæna dispar.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Curtis, Brit. Ent. i. pl. 12.—Pap. dispar, Haw.—Pap. Hippothoë, Donovan, vii. pl. 217.—Lewin, pl. 40.—Lycæna Hippothoë, Jermyn.—L. dispar, Swainson’s Zool. Illus. pl. 132.

The male of this fine insect is bright shining copper colour above, with a black margin round all the wings, which is crenated in the hinder pair; the base of the primary, and the abdominal margin of the secondary wings is likewise blackish, and on the disk of the former are two small black spots, and near the middle of the latter a narrow curved black streak. The female has the upper wings broadly margined behind with black, two or three spots of the same colour arranged longitudinally on the disk, and a transverse row of six or seven black spots a little beyond the middle; the hinder wings are almost entirely black, except the nervures, and a broad band near the apex, which are coppery red. Beneath, both sexes are similar; the upper wings coppery, but with less lustre than the surface, having three black spots placed longitudinally, and a transverse row beyond the middle, all of them surrounded with a yellow ring; near the posterior margin there is another transverse series of simple black spots, beyond which the colour is ash-grey, inclining to blue; the under wings are ash-coloured, slightly tinged with light blue, and having a bright coppery band at the hinder margin, with a row of black spots on each side of it; before this there is an irregular row of black spots, cinctured with bluish-white, then a transverse black streak, and five remote black spots near the base. The fringe round the external margin and abdominal edge of the wings is white.

The caterpillar is described to be of a green colour, with white dots, and is said to feed on a kind of dock.

Mr Curtis says,

This splendid species was first discovered in Wales by the celebrated botanist Hudson. It has subsequently been captured in considerable abundance by Messrs Standish, who went to Wittlesea Meer, Huntingdonshire, in expectation of finding it. They inform me that the end of July is undoubtedly the right season for this insect, although they met with it the beginning of August, flying among reeds, about the centre of the Meer near Yaxley; that it is very active, and in windy weather conceals itself amongst the highest reeds. Upon these the caterpillar probably feeds, as they found the butterfly upon that plant just emerged from the chrysalis, drying its wings.³²

Donovan states that the specimens from which his figures were drawn, were obtained from Scotland.

Scarce Copper

Lycæna Virgaureæ.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Virgaureæ, Linn.—Donovan. v. 173 172, .—Lewin, pl. 41, fig. 1 and 2, .—Steph. Illus. Haust. i. pl. 9, fig. 1 and 3, . fig. 2, .

This species is rather less than the preceding, the male brilliant copper colour above, inclining to yellow, the wings margined externally with black, and the hinder pair having a few black spots near the posterior edge. On the under side, the primary wings are pale yellow, with three simple black spots before the middle, placed longitudinally; behind this, there is a very irregular transverse row of black dots and the hinder margin is clouded with dusky; the secondary wings are dusky towards the base, with about twelve or fourteen small black spots, five of them remote from each other placed before the middle, the rest forming an irregular cross band, behind which there is a series of white marks. The wings of the female are thickly spotted and clouded with black above.

The caterpillar is pubescent, and of a dull green, with a yellow dorsal line, and pale green streaks on the sides. It lives on the golden rod (Solidago virgaurea), and some other similar plants. The insect is very rare in this country, and does not appear to have been found for many years. Donovan says that a specimen was once taken in. Cambridge; the Isle of Ely, and Huntingdonshire, are likewise said to have afforded it; and Lewin states that he once caught two individuals in marshes, but without mentioning the precise locality.

Purple-Edged Copper

Lycæna Chryseis.—Fig. 1.

Hesperia Chryseis, Fabr.—Pap. Chryseis; Purple-edged Copper, Haworth.—Sowerby, B. M. 1st. pl. 13.—Lycæna Chryseis, Jermyn, Steph.

Fulgid copper colour above, the base and outer margin of all the wings brown, glossed with purple, and the centre of each wing marked transversely with a short, slender, black streak. The disk of the anterior wings beneath is orange, the anterior margin ash-grey; and over the surface there are numerous ocellated spots, with a black pupil and white iris, three of them towards the base placed longitudinally, and the rest forming two irregular bands, of which the marginal one is somewhat obsolete: the posterior wings on the under side are glossed with blue at the base, and bear numerous scattered ocellated dots, forming irregular transverse rows towards the apex; the latter ornamented with an orange band. The fringe is brown at the base, and white externally.

This is also a very rare insect in Britain. The only localities which we have heard of, are those cited by Miss Jermyn, viz. Epping Forest, Essex, and Ashdownham in Sussex.

Dark Under-Wing Copper

Lycæna Hippothoë.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Hippothoë, Linn.—Lycæna Hippothoë, Stephens.—Dark Under-winged Copper, Haworth.

Expansion of the wings from 15 to 17 lines the colour of the surface bright fulvous, with a narrow external black border, which is entire in the primary wings, but crenated internally in the secondary: besides this, there is a minute transverse black mark in the middle of each wing. The superior wings are yellowish beneath, inclining to ash colour, with numerous black spots cinctured with white; the inferior pair ash-coloured, with many ocellated dots, and a fulvous band posteriorly, spotted on each side with black. In the markings on the upper side, the female resembles the same sex of the preceding species; but the hinder wings are entirely black, except a posterior band of yellow, crenated on its outer side.

Only one or two specimens of this insect have been found in Britain, and they seem to have been procured from the county of Kent. In France it is not very scarce, and frequents meadows and marshy places.

Common Copper

Lycæna Phlæas.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Phleas, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 41.—Donovan, xiii. pl. 466.—The Copper Butterfly, Harris.—Lycæna Phlæas, Jermyn, Stephens.

Upper wings fulgid copper colour, the posterior margin black, and the disk of each wing bearing from 8 to 10 black spots, two of them arranged longitudinally towards the base, the rest transversely in a zig-zag band, some of them confluent. The hinder wings are brownish-black, with a coppery band posteriorly, dotted with black on its outer edge. The under side of the primary wings is spotted in a similar manner to the upper side, but the colour is paler, and the hinder margin greyish, with three black crescents internally: the secondary wings drab coloured beneath, with many indistinctly marked dots, and a posterior tawny band.

This is the smallest species of the genus, the expansion of the wings seldom exceeding 12 or 14 lines, and differs from the others in both sexes being nearly alike. It is liable to considerable variation in its markings, and specimens have been found in which those parts of the surface usually copper colour were nearly pure white. It is rather common in all parts of Britain, and seems to breed several times in the year. It likewise occurs in Asia and in North America. The caterpillar is said to be clear green, with a yellow dorsal stripe, and to feed on the Sorrel.

Azure Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Argiolus.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Pap. Argiolus, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 36. figs. 4, 5, 6.—Donovan, xiv. pl. 481.—The Azure Blue Butterfly, Harris.

Expansion of the wings about 13 or 16 lines; the surface of the male delicate light blue, slightly tinged with lilac, the wings narrowly edged behind with black; the female lighter blue above, with a broad dusky border in the primary wings, and a transverse series of spots of the same colour near the hinder edge of the secondary pair. Beneath, the colour is grey, faintly tinged with blue, the upper wings with a slender curved spot or streak in the middle, and a posterior band of five or six narrow black streaks, that next the anterior margin placed by itself: the hinder wings marked in a similar manner, with the addition of several scattered spots towards the base. The fringe on the superior wings is white, interrupted with black when seen from above, but on the hinder pair, and on the under side of all, it is nearly white. The number of spots varies greatly in different individuals; at times they are very distinctly marked, and frequently many of them are obsolete, or entirely obliterated.

The caterpillar is pubescent, of a greenish-yellow, deepest on the back; the head and legs black. It is found on the Buckthorn and Holly.

The butterfly, which appears twice in the year, viz. in May, and near the end of July or in August, is plentiful in many parts of England. It is of frequent occurrence in Kent, Somersetshire, Hampshire, and Devonshire; also near London, and in Norfolk and Suffolk. It is rather scarce in the north, although it is found not unfrequently near Newcastle, in places where hollies abound; and also in Castle Eden Dean.

Bedford Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Alsus.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Alsus; Donovan, ix. pl. 322. fig. 1.—Lewin, pl. 39. f. 3, 4.—Bedford Blue, Leach.—Small Blue Butterfly, Haworth.

This is the smallest of British Butterflies, the wings sometimes not exceeding 10 lines between the tips, and seldom surpassing an inch. The surface is brown, with a silky gloss, one of the sexes slightly tinged with blue, especially at the base of the wings. The under side is ash coloured, with a discoidal black crescent, edged with white, on each wing, and a transverse series of ocellated dots towards the hinder margin; on the hinder wings this series is very irregular, and there are several scattered spots towards the base. Fringe of the wings white.

This delicate little butterfly, the smallest of the European Polyommati, seems to occur, but not in great abundance, in most parts of the kingdom. Numerous localities, scattered over the southern parts of England, have been cited for it. Mr Wailes informs us that it is common on the magnesian limestone district near Newcastle: it is also found in woods near Durham; and we have seen specimens from most of the southern counties of Scotland.

Mazarine Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Acis.—Fig. 4.

Polyommatus Acis, Stephens.—Pap. Cymon, Lewin, pl. 38. f, 6. & 7.—Polyom. Cymon, Jermyn.—Lycæna Cymon, Leach—Pap. Argiolus, Hübner.

Expands about 13 or 14 lines, the male deep blue above, glossed with violet, having a narrow black border to all the wings, and a white fringe. The female is dark brown above, with the base of the wings faintly tinged with blue, and the fringe greyish. The under side is ash-grey, inclining to blue at the base of the wings, the anterior pair of the latter with an oblong spot, cinctured with white, near the middle, and a band of ocelli behind it, usually most numerous in the male. On the disk of the posterior wings there is also a streak of black, two or three spots anteriorly towards the base, and a very irregular band of ocelli, having a black pupil and white iris, behind the middle.

Rather a scarce species, and usually found to frequent chalky districts. It has occurred in Norfolk, Dorset, and Yorkshire; also in Surrey, Cambridge, &c.

Large Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Arion.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Arion, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 37.—Donovan, vi. pl. 184 .

Considerably larger than any of the preceding, sometimes measuring an inch and a halt across the wings. The upper side is pale violet-blue, with a broad dusky border round the hinder margin of all the wings, the male having a group of black spots on the disk of the upper pair, of which the interior one is transverse and somewhat curved, and the female has a similar group on the disk of all the wings. The under side is ash-coloured, inclining to brown; the anterior wings with two ocelli towards the base, an irregular band of 6 or 7 others behind the middle, and a row of lunules, with a small white mark adjoining each: the posterior wings bluish at the base, where there are four scattered spots, the disk bearing a black lunule, behind which there is an interrupted band of eight large ocelli; the posterior margin ornamented with a row of triangular or crescent-shaped black spots’; fringe white spotted with brown beneath.

This beautiful insect, which is extremely rare in Britain, and not of frequent occurrence on the Continent, is said by Lewin to have been taken on Dover Cliffs, Marlborough Downs, and on the hills near Bath. Miss Jermyn mentions the commons at Broomham in Bedfordshire, and certain places in North Wales, as having afforded it. More recently it was found by Mr Dale in the neighbourhood of Bedford.

Alcon Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Alcon.—Fig. 2.

Polyommatus Alcon, Latreille.—Hesperia Alcon, Fabr.—Pap. Alcon, Hubner.

Surface of the male violet-blue, with a rather wide brown border to all the wings, and a dark crescent on the disk of the upper pair; of the female dusky brown, tinged with blue towards the body. Under side greyish in both sexes, with a central crescent-shaped spot, bordered with white, on each wing; behind this there is a curved row of rather large rounded black spots, and two exterior rows of triangular marks, all of them encircled with white; the basal half of the hinder wings is tinged with blue, and bears a few scattered spots in addition to those corresponding to the markings of the superior wings: fringe white, spotted with brown.

As this insect appears to have been found only once in this country, and is not figured by any British author, we have been obliged in this instance to deviate from our usual practice, and introduce a figure taken from a foreign specimen. It does not entirely correspond to Mr Stephens’s description of the supposed indigenous example discovered by Mr Jones in Buckinghamshire; and should the latter be found, as has been conjectured, to be only a variety of P. Arion, we must exclude the present species from our native catalogues.

Chalk-Hill Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Corydon.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Corydon, Donovan, vii iv. pl. 131 236. f. 1. .—Stephens Illus. 1. 88.—Lewin, pl. 36.—The Chalk-Hill Blue Butterfly, Harris.

One of the larger species, generally measuring 17 or 18 lines across the wings. The surface of the male is a very light silvery blue, with a fine silky lustre, the hinder margin of all the wings having a blackish band, surmounted in the hinder pair by a series of dusky, somewhat ocellated spots: the surface of the female brown, each wing with a pale central spot, having a black pupil in the primary wings. The under side of both sexes is similar, but the secondary wings in the female are more deeply coloured, and the spots larger and more distinctly marked: the anterior wings whitish, marked nearly as in P. Arion: the hinder ones of a similar colour, greenish at the base, the ocellated spots arranged in two curved bands, that next the base consisting of four, the second, which is placed rather behind the middle, of eight; in the centre, between these bands, there is an angular white spot; and on the hinder margin a series of black spots, with a white iris surmounted by a streak of orange, and a triangular black spot, with its apex directed inwards; an oblong white patch connects this series with the central band. Fringe white, spotted at regular intervals with brown; on the under side of the secondary wings entirely white.

Somewhat restricted in its distribution, but occur ring in certain localities in great profusion. It chiefly frequents districts where chalk abounds, and from having been long found in plenty on a range of hillocks between Dartford and Darenth Wood, it has received the name of “Chalk-Hill Blue.” It inhabits the vicinity of Dover, the Isle of Wight, “Little Blakenham, Moulton, and Eriswell in Suffolk;” stone-quarries near Peterborough, &c. &c. The caterpillar, of which we have never seen any description, has been stated to feed on Wild Thyme.

Common Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Alexis.

Pap. Alexis, Hubner.—Pap. Icarus, Lewin, pl. 38.—Pap. Argus, Donovan, iv. pl. 143. (two upper figs. )—Blue Butterfly, Harris.—Pap. Hyacinthus, Lewin, pl. 37. f. 4–6. var.—Polyom. Thestylis, Jermyn, var.

About the size of the preceding, which it very much resembles, but is readily distinguished by the colour of the surface, which is bright lilac-blue in the male, and by the fringe of the wings being white and unspotted. The hinder border is narrowly margined with black; the anterior edge of the upper wings is white, and the hairs on the body and base of the wings incline to that colour. The female is generally brown above, powdered with blue towards the base of the wings (sometimes, however, the surface is entirely purplish-blue), and ornamented with a posterior fulvous band, somewhat ocellated on the hinder pair, each lunule having a central black spot. Beneath, brownish-ash colour, with the base inclining to green, the upper wings usually having two ocelli near the body, a slender central streak lying transversely, and a curved row of ocelli near the middle, succeeded by a continuous row of dusky crescents, edged with reddish-yellow externally; and beyond this there is a row of small dusky spots on a whitish ground, the margin itself being black. The posterior wings generally with four ocelli near the base, an angular white spot near the middle, frequently having a black streak in its centre, a curved band of 8 or 9 ocelli, succeeded by a series of markings similar to those on the superior wings, but the crescents and fulvous patches larger and more conspicuous; a white blotch near the middle unites the band of ocelli with the fulvous crescents.

This species is so variable in its markings, and even in the form of the wings, that some entomologists are of opinion that more than one distinct species may be included under the name. It is a very abundant insect, and, unlike the rest of its associates, is distributed over the whole country. It frequents pasture-lands and grassy meadows, first appearing in England about the end of May, but not generally in Scotland till the middle or end of June. There is a second brood in August. The caterpillar is pubescent, and of a green colour. It appears to be polyphagous, but probably subsists chiefly on grasses.

Clifden Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Adonis.—Figs. 1 & 2.

Hesperia Adonis Fab.—Pap. Adonis, Lewin, pl. 38. fig. 1–3.—Pap. Argus, . Donovan, iv. pl. 143. f. 1.—Polyommatus Adonis, Steph. Jermyn.—Clifden Blue, Harris.

Expansion of the wings 14 or 15 lines, the surface of the male of the purest and most beautiful azure, or silvery blue, changing with the light into lilac, the hinder margin of all the wings edged with a black line, beyond which there is a white fringe, distinctly spotted with brown both above and below. The female is brown above, slightly glossed with blue at the base, having a small discoidal black spot on the primary wings, and on the others a posterior fulvous streak, with slightly ocellated spots, sometimes continued across the margin of the upper wings. On the under side, the colour is brownish-grey, with the base of the wings greenish-blue, the markings disposed nearly as in P. Corydon, but the discoidal white spot is small, forming only a transverse streak.

Of frequent occurrence in many parts of England, especially in the southern counties. It occurs in most of the localities cited for the preceding species, and, like it, appears to be partial to districts in which chalk is found. The downs near Brighton, Moulton and Dalham in Suffolk, Newport, Coombe Wood, &c. afford it in considerable numbers.

Silver-Studded Blue Butterfly

Polyommatus Argus.—Fig. 3.

Pap. Argus, Linn.—Lewin, pl. 39. fig. 5–7.—Silver-studded Blue, Harris.— Pap. Idas, Linn.—Polyom. Argus, Jermya, Steph.

Male deep blue above, inclining to lilac, with a broad black band round the hinder margin of all the wings, the nervures likewise more or less of that colour; the costa and fringe white, the latter occasionally obscured with brown at the base. The under side is bluish-grey, the blue becoming more intense at the base, adorned with numerous ocellated spots; on the hinder margin of the posterior wings there is an interrupted orange-tawny band, containing six bright silvery-blue spots, crowned with a series of black crescents. The female is entirely brown above, with a tawny marginal band, which is obsolete on the interior wings.

The caterpillar is dull green, with the head and legs blackish, a ferruginous line along the back, and oblique ones of the same colour, bordered with white, on the sides. It feeds on broom, sainfoin, and various kinds of trefoil. The butterfly is rather common in many parts of the south of England, and is found as far north as York, where: it is not rare. It must be very scarce, however, northwards of that city, and it probably does not occur at all in Scotland.

Brown Argus Butterfly

Polyommatus Agestis.—Fig. 1.

Pap. Agestis, Hubner.—Pap. Idas, Lewin, pl. 39. f. 1–2.—Donovan, x ix. pl. 322. f. 2.—Polyom. Idas, Jermyn.—Polyom. agestis, Stephens.

Expands about an inch, the colour in both sexes dark-brown, with a fine silky gloss, all the wings having a posterior band of deep red spots, and the primary pair a small black spot in the centre: the fringe varied with white and brown. The under side is greyish-brown, with numerous ocellated spots, and a rufous band corresponding to that on the surface; the hinder wings with a white blotch on the disk.

Readily distinguished from the females of any of the preceding species, by the wings being without any tinge of blue, either above or below, and from either of the following, by wanting the white spot on the disk of the interior pair. It occurs in some plenty in Sussex, Kent, Dorset, Somerset, and many other parts of England, appearing first in June, and again in August.

Durham Argus

Polyommatus Salmacis.—Figs. 2 & 3.

Polyommatus Salmacis, Stephens.

Silky brown above, with a macular posterior band of orange-red on all the wings, somewhat obsolete in the male, and a white spot on the disk of the primary wings, which, however, is occasionally wanting in both sexes, but especially in the female. The fringe is white, slightly variegated with brown at the base. The colour of the’ under side is greyish-brown, the anterior wings with a discoidal white spot, beyond this a curved band of similar spots, with a minute dusky pupil, succeeded by a band of orange spots, bounded on both sides by a dusky crescent, surmounted with white, the outer margin defined by a dusky line: the hinder wings have a similar marginal band, several scattered white spots towards the base, a larger one near the centre, and a very irregular row behind the middle, with a broad white central patch connecting it with the yellow band. Most of these spots have a minute dusky pupil in the male, but Hf eared more conspicuous in the female.

Found in some plenty at Castle Eden Dean, near Durham, and also on the magnesian limestone district near Newcastle, where it occurs in considerable numbers in July.

Artaxerxes Butterfly

Polyommatus Artaxerxes.—Fig. 4.

Hesperia Artaxerxes, Fabr.—Pap. Artaxerxes, Lewin, pl. 38. f. 8, 9.—Donovan, xvi. pl. 541.—Polyom. Artaxerxes, Jermyn, Steph.

Dark brown above, glossy, each of the anterior wings with a discoidal white spot, and all of them with an orange-red band posteriorly, but very indistinct on the upper wings. On the under side, the markings of the wings do not differ materially from those of P. Salmacis, excepting in this, that the spots are nearly all without a black pupil. In some specimens, a minute white spot is observable on the disk of the posterior wings on the upper side.

The history of this little butterfly is somewhat curious. The only locality known, tor a long period, was Arthur’s Seat, near Edinburgh, and it is only of late that it has been found elsewhere. Fabricius appears never to have seen a specimen, the description in his System being taken from a drawing by Mr Jones of Chelsea. It was long much valued by the English collectors, some of whom, we are informed by Donovan, were in the habit of placing a drawing of the insect in an obscure corner of their drawers, that their cabinet might obtain credit for possessing an object of such rarity! Others undertook a journey to Edinburgh, chiefly with the view of procuring specimens. It occurs in such plenty on Arthur’s Seat, that all the English cabinets, and the principal foreign ones, are now abundantly supplied from that locality. It has likewise been taken among the Pentland Hills, at Flisk in Fifeshire, near Queensferry, and in the vicinity of Jardine Hall, Dumfriesshire. It appears in July. The examination of an extensive series of specimens of the two preceding insects, will probably lead most people to the belief, that the marks which have caused them to be regarded as specifically different, are far from being stable or satisfactory. The appearance of the caterpillars, both of which are unknown, will afford the most likely means of determining the point.