British Butterflies: Figures and Descriptions of Every Native Species

THE SKIPPERS. (Family—Hesperidæ.)

These curious little butterflies form a very natural group; in many respects, both of structure and habits, approaching the moths, and therefore placed at the end of the butterflies. They are of small size, but robust appearance, and not brightly coloured. Their flight is rapid, but of short continuance, and they seem to skip from flower to flower: hence their name. They are chiefly distinguished scientifically from other butterflies by the form of the antennæ, which are more or less hooked at the tip (see one magnified on Plate II. fig. 14), by the great width of the head, and the distance between the roots of the antennæ, by their moth-like habit of rolling up leaves for their habitation when caterpillars, and by spinning a cocoon for the chrysalis. The caterpillars are shaped as in fig. 11, Plate I.; the chrysalides, as in figs. 26 and 27. There are seven British species.

THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER. (Thymele Alveolus.)

(Plate XV. fig. 1.)

The ground colour of this smart little butterfly is very dark brown, or black, with a greenish hue over it, and it is sharply marked with squarish spots of creamy white. The fringe is also chequered with the same colours. Sexes similar in appearance.

The caterpillar feeds on the wild Raspberry, also, it is said, on Potentilla alba, and P. anserina, and is greenish, with white lines.

The butterfly appears in May, and again in August, being double-brooded. It appears to be common in grassy wood-openings all over the country, extending also into the south of Scotland.

THE DINGY SKIPPER. (Thanaos Tages.)

(Plate XV. fig. 2.)

Certainly a rather "dingy" butterfly, its colour being dull grey brown, with confused bands of darker brown; near the border a row of whitish dots. Sexes similar.

The caterpillar (fig. 11, Plate I.) feeds on Bird's-foot Trefoil, and is pale green, with four yellow lines and rows of black dots.

The chrysalis is shown at fig. 27, Plate I.

The butterfly comes out in May and August, being double-brooded, and is found on hill-sides, dry banks, old chalk pits, &c. generally throughout the country, though it is less common than the last. It is also met with frequently in Scotland.

THE CHEQUERED SKIPPER. (Steropes Paniscus.)

(Plate XV. fig. 3.)

Sexes similar. Wings chequered with brownish black, and tawny orange above; beneath, in addition to the above colours, there are on the hind wing several bright spots of pale buff distinctly outlined with dark brown—having a much more ornamental effect than we generally meet with on the under surface in this family—the colouring on that side being usually faint and blurred so as to give a washed-out or wrong-sided appearance.

The caterpillar is brown, striped and "collared" with yellow; head black. It feeds on the Plantain, also on Dog's-tail Grass (Cynosurus cristatus).

The butterfly appears in June, but is very local—being either found plentifully in a place or not at all. It has occurred at Barnwell, and Ashton Wold, Northants; Kettering; Sywell Wood, near Northampton; near Peterborough; Clapham Park Wood, and Luton, Bedfordshire; Bourne, Lincolnshire; Monks Wood, Hunts; White Wood; Gamlingay, Cambridgeshire; Stowmarket; Milton; Rockingham Forest; Dartmoor; Netley Abbey; Charlbury, near Enstone, Oxon.

THE LULWORTH SKIPPER. (Pamphila Actæon.)

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

This plainly-coloured little butterfly, prized by collectors for its rarity, has, in the male sex, great general resemblance to that of the next species—the common P. Linea—but Actæon may be distinguished by having the wings clouded over nearly the whole surface with dull brown, having something of a greenish cast. The female is, however, very different from that of Linea, having all the wings of uniform dingy brown, excepting a crescent-shaped row of tawny spots near the tip of the front wing, and a more or less distinct streak of the same colour near the centre.

The male Actæon is further distinguished from the female by the possession of a blackish streak near the centre of his front wing.

Beneath, the wings are clouded obscurely with tawny yellow and a dingy brownish tint, the yellow tinge predominating in the male.

The caterpillar is unknown.

The butterfly appears in July and August, but is so extremely limited in its local range that it is only to be met with, so far as is known, in three spots—all on the same line of coast—viz. Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire; the "Burning Cliff," about five miles nearer Weymouth along the coast; and at Sidmouth, Devonshire. At the present time I believe the "Burning Cliff" is the locality where the insect is found in the greatest plenty. It is to be looked for on the rough broken ground covered with weeds that slopes down to the shore on this coast.

Mr. Humphreys states that in 1835 he saw it in great abundance at Shenstone, near Lichfield.

THE SMALL SKIPPER. (Pamphila Linea.)

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

Upper side, uniform orange tawny colour, shaded into brown at the borders. The male (fig. 5) has an oblique blackish line near the centre of the front wing; this is absent in the female (fig. 5 a). The males of this butterfly very much resemble those of the last rare species (Actæon), but they may be distinguished by the middle part of the upper wing not being clouded with brown, as it is in Actæon. Under side, two shades of tawny colour, but not spotted.

The caterpillar is green, with four white lines, and feeds on grasses.

The butterfly appears in July, and is very common and widely distributed.

THE LARGE SKIPPER. (Pamphila Sylvanus.)

(Plate XV. fig. 6, Male; 6 a, Female.)

Upper side, dark rich brown, shaded and spotted with tawny or fulvous tint. The male is known by a dark-brown, burnt-looking streak near the centre of the front wings; the female being without this mark. Under side, greenish, with indistinct yellowish spots.

The caterpillar is green (darker on the back), and dotted with black; spotted with white underneath. It feeds on various grasses.

The butterfly appears in May, and again in August or the end of July; and is very common in almost every locality, frequenting grassy places in and near woods, road-sides, &c.

THE SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER. (Pamphila Comma.)

(Plate XV. fig. 7, Male; 7 a, Female.)

This butterfly closely resembles the last, especially on the upper side; which is, however, more brightly and clearly marked. But the chief distinction is to be found on the under side, which is marked, on a greenish ground, with clear-cut, square white spots. The male, as in the last species, is distinguished by the thin blackish bar placed obliquely on the front wing. The outline of this species also differs somewhat from that of the last, especially in the males. This difference will be better understood by comparing figs. 6 and 7 on the plate, than by description.

The caterpillar is dull-green and reddish, with a white collar, and spotted with white near the tail-end. It feeds on leguminous plants.

The butterfly appears in July and August, but is only found in a limited number of localities, and these chiefly in the southern counties; but where found at all, it is generally abundant. Among its localities are the following:—Croydon; Brighton; Lewes; Dover; Lyndhurst; Blandford; Plymouth; Old Sarum, Wiltshire; Barnwell and Ashton Wolds, Northamptonshire; Halton, Bucks; Newmarket; Gogmagog Park, Cambridge; Hull; Scarborough.

REPUTED BRITISH SPECIES.

On Plate XVI. are grouped together figures of six species of butterflies which are not admitted into our regular British lists, on account of the extreme rarity of their capture, or the fact of their not having been observed at all for several years past. They are all common species in various parts of the Continent, and some of them will probably occur again in this country.

Papilio Podalirius.—The SCARCE SWALLOW-TAILED Butterfly (fig. 1).—There is no reasonable doubt that several individuals of this elegant butterfly were formerly taken in various parts of the country, but no captures have occurred for many years past. The caterpillar, also, was more than once found in the New Forest District, Hampshire. Generally a common insect on the Continent.

Parnassius Apollo.—The APOLLO Butterfly (fig. 2).—I have good reason for believing that a specimen of this splendid Alpine butterfly was captured in this country very lately, and it is not at all impossible that it may be some day found on our north country mountains, or those of the Lake District. It is a most beautiful insect, with its singular semi-transparent and partially glazed wings; the lower of which bear large eye-spots of crimson-scarlet.

Erebia Ligea.—The ARRAN BROWN Butterfly (fig. 3).—Of this species, greatly resembling our E. Blandina, several specimens were formerly taken by some entomologists in the Isle of Arran, where, as also in other mountain districts, it may probably still exist; but its haunts have to be re-discovered by some enterprising butterfly-hunter.

From Blandina, which it almost exactly resembles on the upper surface, it may be distinguished by the marking of the under side of the hind wing, on which is an irregular, broken band of pure white, and between this and the margin a row of three distinct black eye-spots.

Argynnis Dia.—WEAVER'S FRITILLARY.—This species is so nearly like Euphrosyne or Selene, on the upper surface, that it readily might be, and perhaps sometimes is, passed by as one of those common insects. Underneath it is chiefly recognised by the beautiful blush of silvery purple that extends in a band across the middle of the hind wings, and more faintly tinges the front wings near the tip.

There is little reason to doubt that this insect was really taken by Mr. Richard Weaver at Sutton Park, near Tamworth; also by Mr. Stanley, near Alderley, in Cheshire.

Chrysophanus Chryseis.—The PURPLE-EDGED COPPER Butterfly.—As this species has been admitted by that very careful and accurate entomologist, Mr. Stainton, into his "Manual," I cannot refuse it a place here, though, from all the information I can gain, its only claim to the name of "British" rests on a tradition of its having been taken a long time ago in Ashdown Forest, Sussex; and since then, by a dealer, in Epping Forest. It is a beautiful insect, coppery red, bordered with changeable purple, and I should be glad to see it fairly established in our lists.

Polyommatus Bæticus.—The LONG-TAILED BLUE.—This Butterfly has been long known, as a southern insect, with a very wide range of distribution, abounding in the south of Europe and thence extending into India, Java, &c. Then last year it was seen in Guernsey, and in August of the same year an individual was actually captured in this country, the scene of the event being somewhere on the chalk downs in the neighbourhood of Brighton, and the fortunate captor being Mr. McArthur, of that town. My friend and neighbour, Dr. Allchin, of Bayswater, was on the spot at the time, and saw the insect shortly after its capture.

The butterfly, which on the upper side has somewhat of the aspect of a female "Common Blue," will be at once recognised by its long tail-like appendages to the hind wings. Beneath, its plan of colouring is totally distinct from that of any of our native "Blues" (Polyommati), being destitute of the numerous little eye-like spots, which are replaced by bands of fawn colour and white; but at the lower angle of the hind wings are two spots of glittering metallic green, reminding one, on a small scale, of the "eye" of a peacock's feather.

The habits of the insect are those of our Common Blues—skipping about over grassy places, and for a Common Blue it would on the wing be readily mistaken.

Collectors will in the coming season doubtless search the south coast district thoroughly, and many a Common Blue will be apprehended on suspicion.

Should our little friend Bæticus continue his northward progress (as we have some reason to hope he may), we may find him regularly enrolled on the native lists, and gracing the ranks of that select little company entitled "Our British Butterflies."

REFERENCES TO PLATES.

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NOTES