Chapter VI (1)

THE BRITISH BUTTERFLIES SEPARATELY DESCRIBED.

THE SWALLOW-TAILED BUTTERFLY. (_Papilio Machaon._)

(Plate III. fig. 1.)

There is no possibility of mistaking this noble insect for any other of our native species, after a glance at its portrait. Its superior size, conjoined with the possession of a pair of _long_ tails on the hind wings, would at once mark it distinctly, independently of the peculiar markings and colour.

In the colouring of the wings, a broad simplicity prevails, the general ground-tint being a clear creamy yellow, with the bars and marginal bands of the deepest velvety black. The broad bands of black on the front wings are powdered towards the centre with _yellow_ scales, and those on the hind wings with _blue_ scales. The only other colour on this side is a spot of rust-red at the inner angle of the hind wings.

The under side is very similar in colouring to the upper, but the black markings are less decided and sharp, and there are several additional rust-red spots on the hind wings. {64}

The _caterpillar_, which is a very handsome creature, is found feeding on various umbelliferous plants; among which, its chief favourites in this country appear to be the Wild Carrot (_Daucus Carota_), the Marsh Milk-parsley (_Selinum palustre_), and Fennel (_Anethum Foeniculum_). In colour it is bright green, with velvet-black rings, which are spotted with red. A distinguishing mark of this caterpillar is a reddish-coloured forked appendage just behind its head, which, when the animal is alarmed, gives out a strong-scented fluid, supposed to be for the purpose of alarming some of its enemies.

The _chrysalis_, again, is a very pretty object, especially when of its ordinary colour, which is a lively green, shaded in some parts into bright yellow; but there is a frequent variety marked only with various shades of brown and buff. Living specimens of both of these are before me at this moment, and when they assume the perfect state, I shall be curious to mark whether these differences are continued in the respective butterflies.

These chrysalides are most interesting objects to keep during the winter months. As the spring advances, the colours of the butterfly begin to appear faintly through their thin green envelope, and the pattern of the upper wings, which only are visible, becomes at last distinctly perceptible, of course in miniature. When this is the case, we should begin to watch for the release of the beautiful prisoner.

If you visit his cage the first thing every morning (for his exit most frequently takes place in the early part of {65} the day), you may be fortunate enough on one of these occasions, to find the creature either actually emerging, or just out of his case; cutting an odd figure, and evidently neither very proud of himself nor much at his ease, his wings being tiny things, hardly bigger than those of a humble-bee, and hanging limply from his comparatively ponderous and gigantic body; which they are nevertheless destined, ere many hours are over, to carry with most enviable celerity through the air.

The rapid increase in size of these organs is a matter of marvel; you can literally see them grow, and within about an _hour_ they will have reached their full expanse. The creature attaches itself, back downwards, to the lid of its cage, or to the under side of any convenient _horizontal_ surface, that the wings, by their own weight, may aid in their dilatation, and that they may dry without creasing, as they will sometimes do, when the insect, being under a slippery bell-glass, for instance, is unable to reach the desirable point of suspension, which it always evinces extreme anxiety to do. By the time the sun is well out, our pet will have his wings thoroughly plumed for flight; and here a difficulty sometimes presents itself to the entomologist. What is to be done with our new-born Machaon? It is probably a splendid specimen for the cabinet, and the collector may long to grace his "series" with its virgin splendours. But then there will creep over him the unwelcome sensation, that it is a somewhat cowardly proceeding to foster a bright being into a life that might be all joyousness, {66} and then, taking advantage of his domesticated position, to cut short that life, almost ere commenced, and to forbid those wondrous wings to carry their possessor to even one short day's enjoyment of sunshine and nectar, and the doubtlessly exalted pleasure of mere airy motion itself. Fairly chasing down a butterfly is all well enough; but this is quite another thing.

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

Each probably finds its followers, and to the occasional prevalence of the more tender sentiment, are probably owing many of those stray Swallow-Tails that turn up here and there in unlikely places.

The chrysalides, for rearing, may be obtained in the autumn or winter, either from entomologists resident in the localities of the butterfly, or more generally and certainly from the London or Cambridge dealers, who will send them into the country by post for a few pence each.

The flight of this species is rapid and powerful, and it has a habit of soaring loftily.

In this country its head quarters are in the fens of Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Huntingdonshire. It has been found in some abundance near Cambridge, Norwich, Yaxley, Whittlesea Mere, Burwell, and Hornsey Fens; also singly in Lancashire, at Battersea, Pulborough in Sussex, near Ashford in Kent, at Balcombe, Isle of Wight, Hampshire, near Chatham, at Southend, Essex, and on the Cliffs of the South Coast. {67}

From its local character, this is of course one of the species that the collector can hardly expect to meet with, except he live in one of the districts given above as its head quarters. In these, however, it is abundant enough, and the first sight of a number of these grand insects on the wing must be enough to gladden the eye of any naturalist.

This butterfly comes out first in May, and is met with from that time till August.

* * * * *

THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY. (_Gonepteryx Rhamni._)

(Plate III. fig. 2.)

Though one of the commonest of our native butterflies, this, like numberless other very common things, is also one of the loveliest, both in the graceful outline of its wings, and in the lively hue that overspreads their surface; charms the more to be appreciated, as this insect is one of the few that do not wait for the full bloom of summer ere they condescend to make their appearance, but in the earliest, chill months of spring, and even in the dead winter season, the country rambler is sometimes gladdened by its gay flight; and in fact there is not one winter month that is not occasionally enlivened by this flying flower, when a day of unwonted mildness and sunshine tempts it from its winter retreat. {68}

Until very recently it had always been stated by entomologists, that the Brimstone Butterfly was "double-brooded" (a term meaning that it went through _two whole cycles of existence_, from the _egg_ to the _perfect insect_, in _one year_), one brood appearing in May, and the other in the autumn.

But it is now established, on very satisfactory evidence, that _one brood only is produced, and that, the autumnal one_. A considerable number of these survive the winter in some place of concealment, and coming out again in the spring form the so-called spring brood. Many of these hybernators are found to be in very fair condition in the spring, but in general they lack the perfect freshness and bloom of those taken in autumn; the wings of those I have taken at this period are often semi-transparent, from having lost feather, and frequently are spotted and discoloured, as if by mildew; a sign probably of their owners having wintered in damp lodgings.

Mr. Douglas states that they get very fat and full of honey before consigning themselves to their long winter's sleep; evidently an instinctive provision against the waste of substance that must of necessity accompany all, even the most sluggish vitality: in this respect following the same instinct that leads bears, and other hybernating animals, to fatten up to their utmost stretch before retiring for the season.

{69} The _eggs_ should be sought for in the month of May, or a little earlier or later, on the buds and young shoots of the two species of Buckthorn (_Rhamnus Frangula_ and _R. Catharticus_). When examined with the microscope, these are found to be very pretty objects of conical form, with sculptured ribs on the sides.

The _caterpillar_ that results from these, when it grows up, is of a fine green colour, shagreened over with black points, and shading off into a paler line along the side. Its shape is represented at Plate I. fig. 2. It is found on the _young_ buckthorn foliage that forms its food.

The _chrysalis_ is of the remarkable shape shown on Plate I. fig. 13,--green, marked with yellow. It remains in this state for about twenty days, when the perfect butterfly appears.

The general colour of the male Brimstone Butterfly is a clear, brilliant yellow, much like that of the Daffodil, its contemporary; and in the centre of each wing is a small spot of rich orange-colour. A very beautiful feature to be remarked in this butterfly is the silken mane, so to speak, composed of long hairs of silvery gloss and whiteness, which are arranged as if combed up from the sides of the thorax, so as to meet in a crested form over the top.

The female chiefly differs from the male in the ground colour of the wings, which are of a pale and very peculiar greenish white tint, rather more deeply tinged with yellow at the extremities of the wings.

As the male, from his colour, bears the name of "Brimstone," or "Sulphur," the complexion of his mate may be accurately compared to the tint of another {70} sulphureous preparation, called by druggists "milk of sulphur."

The only noticeable variation this butterfly is subject to in this country is in the size of the orange wing-spots, which are sometimes greatly enlarged.

In a well-marked variety, common in the south of Europe, Madeira, &c., this enlargement reaches a great development, nearly the whole of the _upper_ wings being suffused with a deep orange, though in all other respects the insect does not differ from our common form. This beautiful variety has been described as a different species under the name of _Gonepteryx Cleopatra_; but M. Boisduval has proved that they are identical, by rearing both the ordinary _Rhamni_ and the _Cleopatra_ from the same batch of eggs.

The female _Cleopatra_ does not differ materially from _Rhamni_. I look on this variety as very interesting, as a probable instance of the direct effect of increased warmth of climate in intensifying colour.[9]

Plentiful as this butterfly is in all the southern counties, and extending in more or less abundance as {71} far northwards as the lake district, it there becomes scarce; and I can find no instance of its having occurred in Scotland.

Of course, its prevalence in any district is naturally regulated by the abundance of its food-plants, the buckthorns.

Gardens, fields, and lanes are equally the resort of this favourite insect; and there the newly-hatched specimens are to be found on the wing from August to October.

* * * * *

THE CLOUDED YELLOW, OR CLOUDED SAFFRON. (_Colias Edusa._)

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

This richly-coloured and nimble-winged fly is ever the darling of the collector. None make a finer show in the cabinet, and few tempt pursuit more strongly than does this golden beauty when on the wing.

For many years past, and up to quite a recent period, the appearance of this butterfly in any abundance was a phenomenon only occurring at uncertain periods, separated by intervals of several years. In one season, perhaps, hardly a solitary specimen would be seen, and in the very next, a swarm of them would spread over the southern counties, delighting the fly-catcher and puzzling the naturalist to find a sufficient reason for {72} this sudden burst of insect-life. Whether the eggs lay dormant for years, till hatched under peculiarly favourable conditions; or whether every now and then a few individuals were tempted to cross the Channel from the Continent by some attraction unknown to us, or were, _nolens_, _volens_, blown hither by the wind, and then deposited eggs which produced the next year's troop of butterflies; or, lastly, whether an agency was at work here, of whose nature we are entirely ignorant,--all these are questions that still remain to be answered. There is, I believe, no foundation for the opinion sometimes held by entomologists, that this species prevails at _regular_ periods, such as once in four, or once in seven years. In fact, for the last two or three years its permanent residence and appearance among us seems to be established, while, at the same time, its northward range has been greatly extended, a considerable number having been taken even _in Scotland_--its existence in that country having been previously quite unheard of.

The environs of London, especially on the south side, have been abundantly visited by this charming insect; but its tastes have a decidedly maritime tendency, and we find it has a marked preference for the _South Coast_; abounding, again, more especially towards the eastern end. Its favourite resorts are clover and lucerne fields, though dry flowery meadows, open downs, and the sides of railway-banks are also the scenes of its lively flight--for _Edusa_ has indeed a lively flight, and his pursuer has need of the "seven-league boots," with the hand of {73} Mercury, to insure success in the fair open race, if that can be called a fair race at all, between a heavy biped, struggling and perspiring about a slippery hill-side, such as _Edusa_ loves,--and a winged spirit of air, to whom up-hill and down-hill seem all one.

In truth, the best way to get _Edusa_ is to watch and mark him down on a flower, then creep cautiously up till within range, raise the net quietly, and _strike rapidly downwards_ over the insect, who usually darts _upward_ when struck at; and, in nine cases out of ten, _Edusa_ will be fluttering under the net. It is not the most heroic style of sport, this, but it fills the boxes admirably.

The _caterpillar_ is of a deep green colour, having on each side a white line, marked with yellow and orange. It may be sought for in June and July, on various plants of the leguminous order, which form its food, such as None-such Trefoil (_Medicago lupulina_), Lucerne (_M. Sativa_), and Clover.

The _chrysalis_ is in shape between that of the Brimstone, and Cabbage butterfly, green with a yellow stripe, and rust-coloured dots.

The _butterfly_ seldom is seen on the wing till July, but August is its great season; and it lingers with us till late in autumn.

I remember the pleasure with which, on a chill, stormy day in October, I watched the sports of a pair who were my sole companions while sketching, in a remote, rocky nook of the South Welsh coast. Very {74} battered and weather-worn were the pretty creatures, but still retaining much of the golden bloom of their summer dress.

The Clouded Yellow has been found hybernating in the chink of an old wall at the end of February, but I am not aware of its coming out again in the spring, like the Brimstone.

The ground tint of the wings is an exceedingly rich orange-yellow, or saffron colour, surrounded by a border of very dark brown, sometimes nearly black. This border is marked, in the male, with thin yellow _lines_, and in the female with _paler yellow spots_. There is a beautiful rose tint in the fringe of the wings and on their front edge. Underneath the wings are paler yellow, taking a citron hue in some parts, and marked with black and brown; in the centre of the under wings is a brown-circled silvery spot.

There is a peculiar and constant _variety of the female_, in which all the yellow portion of the upper surface is replaced by a _greenish white_ tint; but in every other respect the insect agrees with the common form of _Edusa_. This interesting variety was formerly ranked as another species, under the name of _C. Helice_; but it is a curious fact that no corresponding variety of the male has ever been observed; and last year I captured a pair together--a white female and common orange male--who were on those terms of tender intimacy which are generally supposed to betoken identity of species. {75}

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

Yet is it not possible that all these varieties may be mules between _C. Edusa_ and _C. Hyale_ (the next species), the males of which are often seen pursuing the lady _Edusas_? but if so, as indeed it would be on any other hypothesis, it is hard to account for the unvarying character of the male.

This butterfly is also called the Clouded Saffron.

* * * * *

THE CLOUDED SULPHUR, OR PALE CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY. (_Colias Hyale._)

(Plate III. fig. 4.)

We may, in general, readily distinguish this elegant insect from the last species--the females of which it rather resembles in its markings--by the difference in the ground tint of the wings, which in this vary from primrose or sulphur yellow to a greenish white.

There is, however, some risk of confounding this with the white variety of _Edusa_ (_Helice_), a mistake often committed by young entomologists; so it will be well to point out the most prominent distinction between the two; and this is easily done, by observing that in _Edusa_ the dark border of the upper wings is of nearly {76} equal breadth along the whole of the outer margin, and _at the lower corner is continued inwards for a short distance_; whilst in _Hyale_ this border _narrows rapidly, and disappears before reaching the lower corner of_ the wing. Also the dark border of the hind wings is much broader in _Edusa_ than in _Hyale_. Here we have distinctive marks, quite independent of the ground colour of the wings.

The sexes of this butterfly are nearly alike in their markings, the chief difference being in the yellower ground tint of the males.

The same localities--viz. the south and south-east coast, and the adjacent district--that are most prolific in its near relative, _Edusa_, likewise furnish this species in the greatest plenty; but this is by far the rarer species of the two, and, either by coincidence, or in obedience to some direct law, several successive periods of its abundance have been septennial, or have occurred once in seven years. Thus the years 1821, '28, '35, '42, '49, and '56 are noted in entomological records as having produced it in great numbers.

On the coast of France, opposite to our own, it is one of the common butterflies, and it is not improbable that it frequently makes the passage of the Channel. The maritime habits of both this and _Edusa_ are well known, and I have frequently seen the latter flying out to seawards, and coquetting with the waves, till the eye could follow the golden speck no longer. Taking advantage then of a favouring wind, its naturally strong {77} and rapid flight would quickly take it across the few miles of sea that separate us from the Gallic shore.

_Hyale_, whose flight is at least as strong as _Edusa's_, and whose salt-water tastes are similar, doubtless acts in the same manner.

The northward range of this species is more limited than that of _Edusa_, but it has been taken singly near York, Manchester, and a few other northern localities. In the lucerne fields near Brighton, a dozen or more have been sometimes captured in one day.

The _caterpillar_ is of a sea-green colour, with four yellow lines, two along the back and one on each side; and is to be found, in June and July, feeding on lucerne and other plants of the same natural order.

The _chrysalis_ is very similar to that of _Edusa_, green, with a yellow stripe.

In this country, the _butterfly_ first appears in August; but on the Continent it seems to be double-brooded, being found in May as well as in August.

* * * * *

THE BLACK-VEINED OR HAWTHORN BUTTERFLY. (_Aporia Cratægi._)

(Plate IV. fig. 1.)

When on the wing, this species might easily be mistaken by the inexperienced for the common Cabbage {78} White; and, by virtue of this _incognito_, does in all probability often escape from the terrors of the net, which would speedily entrap him, were his real character known to the young hunter; for this butterfly is one of those called, in entomological slang, "_a good thing_"--a term expressive neither of superior excellence nor beauty, but meaning that the insect can't be met with everywhere, or every day, and when seen is always to be caught.

A closer view, however, shows it to be very distinct from all the other "Whites;" its _decided black veinings on a milk-white ground_, in conjunction with its large size, being sufficient for its immediate recognition.

The outline of the wings, as well as the play of the veining lines on their surface, is extremely elegant. It will be observed, that instead of the feathered fringe that surrounds the wings of most butterflies, they are bordered in this species by a stout nervure, forming a sharp black outline, and giving a peculiarly chaste finish.

The under side differs in no mentionable respect from the upper--a very rare circumstance in this tribe. From being very sparingly coated with scales, the wings are semi-transparent, differing much in this respect from those of the Garden White butterflies.

The female generally has the veins of the fore wings of a browner tint than in the males.

This butterfly is one of the very local species, though its food plants are everywhere to be found, in more or less abundance. {79}

The following localities, among others, have been recorded as producing it:--Herne Bay, and other parts of the Isle of Thanet, plentifully; near Faversham, Kent; Horsham, Sussex; New Forest; Brington, in Huntingdonshire; near Cardiff, South Wales, plentiful.

The caterpillars are gregarious, feeding under cover of a silken web. The hawthorn and the sloe are its chief food plants in this country, but it is here too rare an insect to do much damage. Not so, however, on the Continent, where it is extremely common, and is classed among noxious insects, committing great devastation among various fruit trees, especially the apple, pear, and cherry.

But even in this country the insect is occasionally met with in great profusion, but only in isolated spots. Mr. Drane, writing from Cardiff to the _Zoologist_, says, "In the middle of April (1858) I found the _larvæ_ feeding by thousands upon insulated shrubs of _Prunus Spinosa_ (Common Sloe), eating out the centres of the unexpanded buds, or basking in the sun upon their winter webs."

The body of the adult _caterpillar_ is thickly clothed with whitish hairs, is leaden grey on the side and underneath, black on the back, and marked with two longitudinal reddish stripes. Found from the middle of April to the end of May.

The _chrysalis_, shown at fig. 14, Plate I., is greenish white, striped with yellow and spotted with black.

The _butterfly_ appears in June.

* * * * *

{80}

THE LARGE GARDEN WHITE BUTTERFLY (_Pieris Brassicæ._)

(Plate IV. fig. 2.)

Why this butterfly should so far outnumber every other native species (excepting, perhaps, the more rural Meadow Brown), is a question beyond our power to answer satisfactorily. Certainly, the food plants of the caterpillar--cabbages, cresses, and their tribe--are universally met with; but then we find there are other insects whose food plant is equally plentiful and widespread, and yet they are nevertheless very rare or local.

This is pre-eminently the domestic butterfly, abounding in suburban gardens, and at times penetrating into the smoky heart of London, and then even the young "St. Giles's bird," whose eyes were never gladdened by green fields, gets up a butterfly hunt, and, cap (or rag) in hand, feels for the nonce all the enthusiasm of the chase in pursuit of the white-winged wanderer, who looks sadly lost and out of place in the flowerless, brick-and-mortar wilderness.

This and the next species are the only British butterflies who can be charged with committing any appreciable amount of damage to human food and property. In the winged state, indeed, it is utterly harmless (like all other butterflies); but not so the hungry caterpillar progeny, as the gardener knows too well when he looks {81} at his choice cabbage rows all gnawed away into skeletons.

In some seasons and places they multiply so inordinately and prodigiously as to deserve the title of a plague of caterpillars, and several remarkable instances of this phenomenon are on record.

A note in the _Zoologist_, p. 4547, by the Rev. Arthur Hussey, gives us the following:--"For the last two summers many of the gardens of this village have been infested by caterpillars to such an extent that the cabbages have been utterly destroyed." When the time for changing to the chrysalis state arrived, the surrounding buildings presented a curious appearance, being marked with long lines of the creatures travelling up the walls in search of a suitable place of shelter for undergoing their transformation. A great number of the caterpillars took refuge in a malt-house, from which they could not escape as butterflies, the result being that for several weeks the maltster swept up daily many hundreds of the dead insects.

In 1842, a vast flight of white butterflies came over from the Continent to the coast about Dover, and spreading inland from thence, did an immense amount of damage to the cabbage gardens; but so effectually did the ichneumon flies do their work, that an exceedingly small proportion of the caterpillars, resulting from this flock of immigrants, went into the chrysalis state, nearly all perishing just before the period of change.

Those small, silky, oval objects, of yellowish colour, {82} frequently found in groups on walls and palings, are the _cocoons_ of these useful little flies, spun round about and over the remains of the dead caterpillar their victim. "These," as Mr. Westwood observes, "ignorant persons mistake for the eggs of the caterpillar, and destroy; thus foolishly killing their benefactors."

Happily these devastating caterpillars have plenty of enemies to prevent their continued multiplication, and to reduce their number speedily when it exceeds certain limits. Besides the ichneumons, mentioned above, the feathered tribes do much towards keeping them down. Mr. Haworth, in his "_Lepidoptera Britannica_," says, with reference to this: "Small birds destroy incredible numbers of them as food, and should be encouraged. I once observed a titmouse (_Parus major_) take five or six large ones to its nest in a very few minutes. In enclosed gardens sea-gulls, with their wings cut, are of infinite service. I had one eight years, which was at last killed by accident, that lived entirely all the while upon the insects, slugs, and worms which he found in the garden."

The pretty _egg_ of this butterfly is figured on Plate II. fig. 1: it may be found commonly enough, with a little searching, on cabbage-leaves, either at the end of May or beginning of August.

The _caterpillar_, which, besides cabbages, consumes various other cruciferous plants,--also Tropæolums, or, as they are erroneously called, "Nasturtiums,"--is green, {83} shaded with yellow on each side, and covered with black points, on each of which is situated a hair.

By way of compensation for the damage it inflicts, it has been suggested that a durable green dye might be extracted from the caterpillars of cabbage butterflies, since it is extremely difficult to eradicate the stain made by a crushed caterpillar on linen. If this strange and novel dye should ever take its place among the vagaries of fashion, the shopkeepers could find a familiar French name, as the word _chenille_, applied to another commodity, means simply "caterpillar," so "_chenille green_" would be the phrase for the colour afforded by smashed caterpillars.

The _chrysalis_ (Plate I. fig. 15) may be found almost anywhere, laid up under ledges of garden walls, doorway, or any convenient projection, not too far from the creature's food. Wanting an individual just now, to sit for his portrait, I had only to step out of my door, and within a hundred yards espied a candidate for the distinction, ready to hand, under the coping-stone of a gate-post.

A _female_ specimen of the butterfly is figured on Plate IV. fig. 2. The _male_ may be readily distinguished by the _absence of the black spots and dashes on the upper side of the front wings_.

The winged insect may be seen throughout the warm season from April to August.

* * * * *

{84}

THE SMALL GARDEN WHITE. (_Pieris Rapæ._)

(Plate IV. fig. 3.)

Outwardly resembling the last in almost every respect but that of its inferior size, this species shares the gardener's malediction with its larger, but perhaps less destructive, relative; for the caterpillar of _Rapæ_, though smaller, bores into the very heart of the cabbage, instead of being content with the less valuable outer leaves, as _Brassicæ_ is. From this pernicious habit the French call this grub the _ver du coeur_.

The colour of this _caterpillar_ is pale green, with a yellow line along the back, and a dotted one of the same colour on each side.

The _chrysalis_ is nearly like that of the last in shape, but of course smaller, and is of a more uniform brownish or yellowish tint.

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

"One of the largest flights of butterflies ever seen in this country, crossed the Channel from France to England on Sunday last. Such was the density and extent of the cloud formed by the living mass, that it completely obscured the sun from the people on board our Continental steamers, on their passage, for many hundreds of yards, while the insects strewed the decks in all directions. The flight reached England about twelve o'clock at noon, and dispersed themselves inland and along shore, darkening the air as they went. During the sea-passage of the butterflies, the weather was calm and sunny, with scarce a puff of wind stirring; but an hour or so after they reached _terra firma_, it came on to blow great guns from the S. W., the direction whence the insects came."

A contemporary account states that these were the small white butterflies (_Pieris Rapæ_).

The smaller butterfly with more dusky markings, formerly known as _P. Metra_, has been recently proved to be merely a variety of _Rapæ_, a Mr. J. F. Dawson having reared a brood of caterpillars all _exactly similar_ in appearance, which eventually produced every variety of _P. Rapæ_ and _P. Metra_.

Mr. Curtis, in his "Farm Insects," mentions the capture, near Oldham in Lancashire, of a male specimen, which had all the wings of a _bright yellow_ colour.

Most juvenile butterfly hunters, unblest by scientific knowledge of insect life, imagine that this and the last owe their difference in size simply to their being old and young individuals of the same name; forgetting--or, rather, never having heard--that butterflies never grow in the slightest degree after once getting their winged form; only as caterpillars do they grow. {86}

The male is distinguished from the female by having only _one round black spot_, or sometimes none, on each _upper_ wing, whilst the female is spotted as in the engraving. The under side of the hind wings is dull yellow, lightly powdered with black scales.

The _butterfly_ is seen during nearly the whole of the summer, and is found almost everywhere.

* * * * *

THE GREEN-VEINED WHITE BUTTERFLY. (_Pieris Napi._)

(Plate IV. fig. 4.)

Is so called from the greenish tint that _often_ borders the veins or nervures on the _under_ side of the _hind_ wing; but the name is _not always_ an appropriate one, for a large proportion of the specimens met with have the veinings grey, and not at all green; but the fact is, that the ground colour varies greatly, from creamy white to full buff, or bright clear yellow; in the latter case it is, that the minute black scales which border the course of the nervures, covering over the yellow, produce a grey-green effect on the eye.

The size also is very variable. I have a specimen that expands two inches and two lines across, from tip to tip, and have seen another not larger than a small Copper butterfly--little more than one inch from tip {87} to tip. The intensity of the dark markings, on both the upper and under sides, is also subject to much variation.

But, under all these circumstances, the presence of dark cloudy veins on the under side--appearing, but less distinctly, on the upper side--will at once distinguish it from the last species, the only one with which it can possibly be confounded.

The _male_ has only _one round spot_ on the _front_ wings; the _female_ being marked as in the plate.

Both in woods and cultivated grounds we meet with this butterfly commonly enough, most abundantly in May and July, though it may be found from April to August.

The _caterpillar_ feeds on the same tribe of plants as the two last, but is supposed to be especially attached to the Rape (_Brassica Napus_), whence its specific name. Its colour is green, with yellow spots round each spiracle, which is itself tinged with red.

Two varieties of this were formerly ranked as distinct species, under the name of _P. Sabellicæ_ and _P. Napæ_.

* * * * *

{88}

THE BATH WHITE. (_Pieris Daplidice._)

(Plate IV. fig. 5, Female.)

Of all the members of this white-winged genus that inhabit Britain, this is at the same time the most beautiful and the rarest. The capture of a Bath White is an entomological "event," and the day thereof is a red-letter day in the fortunate captor's life.

On the opposite coast of France, however, and generally on the Continent, far from being a rarity, this is one of the commonest butterflies--a fact difficult for an English collector, removed by only a few miles of sea, to realise, or reconcile with the _extravagant_ value and importance attached to a true "British specimen."

The remark made under the head of the Black-veined White, as to that eluding the net of the novice, by its resemblance to a common kind, will apply with still greater force to this one; for I suppose there are few even of the tolerably experienced "hands" who could tell this from the two last described insects, at a short distance. One curious circumstance bearing on this is, that a large per centage of the Bath White captures in this country have been made by juvenile beginners, who hunt and catch _everything_ they see, Common Whites and all. {89}

This fact should encourage the collector, especially when at work on the south-east coast, to net all the middle-sized Whites that come within reasonable distance--of course letting them off again, if they are not of the right sort.

The wing markings on both the upper and under sides are, though simple, extremely elegant and chaste. The _female_, which is the sex figured, has the upper wings beautifully spotted with black. The hind wings are bordered with a _row of black spots_, and clouded towards the centre with a faint tint of the same.

The male is distinguished by the absence of the black spot nearest to the lower margin of the front wing, and of the black marginal spots and grey clouding of the hind wings. The markings of the under surface, however, show through their substance rather plainly.

In both sexes, the ground colour of the wings is milk-white. But the chief decoration is reserved for the under surface, which is chequered, in a manner not easily described, with a soft but rich green tint upon white, relieved here and there by a few black touches.

We are informed by Lewin, that it was named the Bath White from a piece of needlework executed at Bath, by a young lady, from a specimen of this insect, said to have been taken near that city. But the south-eastern corner of England, and more especially on the coast, seems to be the head-quarters of this valued fly,--lending probability to the supposition entertained {90} by many, that a large proportion of those taken here have migrated or been blown across the Channel; though I believe it sometimes breeds here, and that the caterpillars have, on one or two occasions, been found in this country.

The butterfly has been taken several times at Dover, Margate, and other places on the Kentish coast; at Lewes; Whittlesea Mere, Cambridge; Worcester, and near Bristol.

The _caterpillar_, which is to be found in June and September, is bluish with black spots, a pale yellow line on each side, and two of the same colour on the back. M. Le Plastrier reared a number of them, feeding them on the leaves of the Wild Mignonette (_Reseda lutea_). It also feeds on Weld (_Reseda Luteola_).

The _chrysalis_ very much resembles that of the Small Garden White, and is totally unlike that of the next, the Orange-Tip, with which it has been by some entomologist united into another genus (_Manicipium_).

_Daplidice_ is a slow insect--slower than the Common Whites--and it is an easy matter to catch it, when recognized, which the peculiarly heavy flight might aid one in doing.

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

* * * * *

{91}

THE ORANGE-TIP BUTTERFLY. (_Euchloë Cardamines._)

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

Few vernal ramblers in the country, whether entomological or no, can fail to have noticed, and been charmed by, this merry blossom-like insect, as it gaily flits along by hedge-row and wood-side, pausing anon to taste its own sweet flowers of May, and looking, even when on the wing, so unlike any other of our native butterflies. Truly it is an exquisite and loveable little creature, this Orange-Tip--sometimes styled the Wood Lady; but this latter title is somewhat awkward in its application, inasmuch as the "_lady_" insect is entirely without the characteristic _orange_ adornment, and would hardly be suspected as being the same species with her handsome lord.

The _male Orange-Tip_ needs no description, for the purpose of recognition, beyond that conveyed by his name; but as the _female_ is less known, and has been on several occasions mistaken for the rare Bath White (_Daplidice_), it will be well to point out her chief distinguishing characters. The difference between the two insects certainly is obvious enough, when the two are _seen_ together, but their written descriptions read rather alike. {92}

The female _Cardamines_ has the wings white _above_, with a greyish black tip, and a _small oval_, or _crescent-shaped black spot_ (much smaller than that of Daplidice) near the _centre_ of the front wings; _beneath_, a white ground, with green marblings, that are much more sharply defined than those in _Daplidice_. Near the centre of the front wing is a _clear black spot_, corresponding in position with that on the upper surface, _and not shaded off with green, as in Daplidice_.

We speak of the _green_ marblings of this species--and, to the naked eye, they do appear to be of quite a bright green--but under a microscope or powerful lens that colour disappears, being resolved into a combination of bright yellow and pure black scales, which, with the dazzling snow-white ground scales that surround them, form a microscopic tableau of extraordinary beauty. This can, however, only be seen by daylight, for under artificial light the yellow, on which the whole effect depends, is entirely lost.

The _caterpillar_ is slightly hairy, and green, with a white stripe on each side. It has been generally stated that the _Cardamine impatiens_ is the common food plant of this species, _apropos_ of which I will quote the following communication from Mr. Doubleday to the editor of the _Zoologist_:--

"In reply to your query about the food of the larva of _Cardamines_, I may say that I have found it upon several plants. I believe that _Cardamine pratensis_ (common cuckoo-flower) is the one on which the eggs {93} are most frequently deposited, but the greater part of the _larvæ_ must perish in this neighbourhood, because the fields are mowed before the larvæ are full-grown. I have very often seen the larvæ on the seed-pods of _Erysimum Alliaria_, and have several times found the _pupæ_ on the dead stems of this plant in winter; I think that it is the principal food of Cardamines at Epping; it also probably feeds on _E. barbarea_, and other similar plants. Some years ago we used to have a quantity of a large single rocket in the garden, and there was always a number of the larvæ of _Cardamines_ feeding on the seed-pods. _Cardamine impatiens_ is so local a plant _that it cannot be the common food of the larvæ of Cardamines_."

The _chrysalis_ is of the very singular shape shown at fig. 17, Plate I., a shape quite unique among British butterflies, though that of the next slightly approaches it. It is to be looked for in autumn and winter on the dry, dead stems of the plants named in the foregoing paragraph.

The perfect butterfly, which is very common throughout the country, is met with from the end of April to the end of May or beginning of June.

* * * * *

{94}

THE WOOD-WHITE BUTTERFLY. (_Leucophasia Sinapis._)

(Plate V. fig. 2.)

A glance at the figure of this graceful little butterfly (on Plate V.) will suffice to distinguish it at once, and clearly, from all our other Whites. The most ordinary form of the insect is there represented, but there are specimens occasionally met with that have the blackish spot at the tip of the wings very much fainter; and sometimes, as in one that I possess, this spot is totally wanting. The shape of the wings in these is also different, being much rounder, and proportionately shorter, than in the ordinary shape. This difference in outline is, I believe, a sexual distinction, the more rounded form belonging to the female insect.

The slender, fragile wings and the attenuated body of the Wood-white give it a look of almost ghostly lightness, and its manners befit its spectral aspect, for it seems to _haunt_ the still and lonely wood glades, flitting about slowly and restlessly, and being seldom seen to settle.

From its weak flight, it is a very easy insect to capture. It appears to be addicted to early rising, _twenty-six_ specimens having been taken _one morning before breakfast_ by a gentleman at Grange, in North Lancashire. {95}

The _caterpillar_ is green, striped on each side with yellow; it feeds on the Bird's-foot Trefoil, and other leguminous plants.

The _chrysalis_ is shown on Plate I. fig. 18, and in shape somewhat approaches that of the Orange-tip.

The _butterfly_ appears in May and August, and though by no means a common or generally distributed insect, is found--and sometimes abundantly--in many localities throughout the country, as far north as Carlisle; some of these are here given. Woods in neighbourhood of Brighton, Horsham (Sussex), Dorchester, New Forest, Exeter, Epping, West Wickham Wood, Monkswood, Huntingdonshire, Plymouth, Wavendon, Worcester, Kent and Surrey, Teignmouth, Gloucestershire, Carlisle, Lake District, Leicester, Manchester, North Lancashire. _Unknown in Scotland._

* * * * *

THE MARBLED WHITE BUTTERFLY. (_Arge Galathea._)

(Plate V. fig. 3.)

This highly interesting and elegant insect would, by the uninitiated, probably be classed among the last group of Butterflies--the Whites--from the similarity in its colours; but from all those it may be readily distinguished by having _only four walking legs_ (instead of the _six_ which all our other white butterflies possess), {96} and also by the _eye-like_ spots most visible on the under side.

The colouring may be described as consisting of nearly equal quantities of _black_ and _creamy-white_, or _pale yellow_, so arranged as to form a _marbled_ pattern of great richness. This description applies to the upper surface; on the under, the pale tint very much preponderates, many of the black masses of the upper side being here reduced to mere lines.

Many an entomologist, whose hunting ground has been limited to a small district, has collected for years without once seeing this pretty creature on the wing; and then visiting another neighbourhood, perhaps not far distant, he will suddenly find it in profusion. I well remember the feelings of surprised delight with which, under these circumstances, I first made its acquaintance. The scene of the event was a grassy opening in a wooded hill-side in Kent, and here were literally hundreds visible at once, making the air all alive as they fluttered about in sportive groups: it was a sight not to be forgotten; while a hundred yards from this spot not a solitary one was to be seen, so closely limited is the local range of this species.

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

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

Some of the localities in which it has been observed are: Isle of Wight, Surrey Hills, Eastwell Park (Kent), Dover, Lewes, Brighton, Epping, Gloucestershire, Kingsbury, Darenth Wood, New Forest, Rockingham Park, Teignmouth, York, Barnwell Wold, South Wales. _Not known in Scotland._

* * * * *

THE SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY. (_Lasiommata Egeria._)

(Plate V. fig. 4.)

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

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

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

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

The _caterpillar_--a grass feeder--is dull green, with broad white side stripes.

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

The _butterfly_ is out from April to August.

* * * * *

THE WALL BUTTERFLY. (_Lasiommata Megæra._)

(Plate V. fig. 5.)

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

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

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

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

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

* * * * *

THE GRAYLING BUTTERFLY. (_Hipparchia Semele._)

(Plate V. fig. 6, Female.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

{101}

THE MEADOW BROWN BUTTERFLY. (_Hipparchia Janira._)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * * * *

THE LARGE HEATH BUTTERFLY. (_Hipparchia Tithonus._)

(Plate VI. fig. 2, Male.)

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

The ground tint above is a _rich rust-colour_, or _orange-brown, bordered with dark-brown_; the base of the wings also slightly clouded with the same; and on each front wing, near the tip, there is a _black eye-spot_, with _two white_ dots. So far, both sexes are similar; but the _male_ has, in addition, a _bar of dark-brown across the centre of the rust-coloured space_, on the upper wing. This sex is that figured on the plate. {103}

Underneath, there is a pretty arrangement of subdued colouring; that of the front wings nearly resembling the upper side; the lower wings clouded and spotted with russet-brown on a paler brown ground, the _dark rounded brown spots_ having _white_ centres; but there are _no black_ eye-spots on the hind wings.

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

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

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

* * * * *

THE RINGLET BUTTERFLY. (_Hipparchia Hyperanthus._)

(Plate VI. fig. 3, Female.)