PLATE 15
1. Brown Argus (var. Artaxerxes)
2. Brown Argus (var. Artaxerxes) (under side)
3. Azure Blue (under side)
4. Silver-Studded Blue (under side)
5. Common Blue (under side)
6. Brown Argus (under side)
7. Mazarine Blue (upper side)
8. Mazarine Blue (under side)
9. Chalkhill Blue (under side)
10. Large Blue (under side)
11. Little Blue (under side)

The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a black head. It feeds on the flowers of Holly, Ivy, and Buckthorn.

Being double-brooded, the perfect insect appears first in April and May, and again in August. It is generally distributed in England, though commonest in the South; not known to occur in Scotland.

The Mazarine Blue (Lycæna semiargus), Plate XV., Figs. 7 and 8.—Males, a very dark purple-blue—in fact, this is our darkest “Blue,” and shares the distinction with the Long-Tailed Blue of being extremely scarce. Possibly those met with now are visitors from the Continent. The blue deepens into a black border at the margins; fringe short and white. Female, a uniform dark brown; under side a pale buff colour, with an irregular row of black spots edged with white. There are no orange spots on this species. It is said to feed on Thrift; hence it is likeliest to be met with near the coast during July. Good Continental specimens can be purchased cheaply, or got by exchange. And I hold it is better to fill in your row with these, carefully labelling them to indicate their source, than to have an empty space always staring you in the face. Unless this species becomes more common, the average collector’s chance of capturing British specimens is exceedingly remote.

The Little Blue (Lycæna Minima), Plate XIII., Fig. 3.—The smallest of our butterflies, the average expanse being only 3/4 inch. Male, blackish-brown dusted with blue towards the base of the wings. Female, solid brown; under side (Plate XV., Fig. 11) a pale salmon, blue spotted as in Argiolus, with black outlined with white; no orange spots on either sex.

The caterpillar is dull green, orange-striped on back and sides. It feeds on Trefoils, etc. This species is local, but common all over the British Isles, except in the extreme North. It is one of our early species, appearing in May and June.

The Large Blue (Lycæna Arion), Plate XIII., Fig. 5.—This is the largest of our “Blues” and the rarest of our really resident species, and although it appears to be able to hold its own and maintain its numbers fairly well, I would strongly urge collectors to at least let all the “fair” and worn specimens retain their liberty. Again and again I have seen specimens set up and sent out in exchange that should never have been taken. Of a dark blue colour, black-bordered, Arion can always be recognized by the row of black spots across the middle of the fore-wing; they are sometimes very large in size. There is occasionally a row of black spots round both wings, just inside the margin. The under side (Plate XV., Fig. 10) is a pale grey, gradually shading into a bright blue-green next the body, profusedly spotted with black in white rings.

The caterpillar, which feeds on Wild Thyme in the spring, is dark rust-coloured. The butterfly is out in July, and is found mostly in the extreme south-west counties.

The Duke of Burgundy Fritillary (Nemeobius Lucina), Plate XIII., Fig. 6.—Very like a diminutive member of the Fritillary family, but it has no real connection with it, and better still, it has a whole family (Erycinidæ) and genus to itself, being the only one of its kind found in Europe. The upper surface is a tawny orange, with dark brown checkerings, while a row of marginal black spots runs round the outer margins. The under side of the hind-wings has a double row of pale, almost white, spots across the centre, and black spots, similar to those on the upper side, round the edge.

The caterpillar is short and tapering, pale brown with a darker line on the back, and a lighter one on the sides. It feeds on Primrose. This species is said to be double-brooded in the South, out in June and again in August as far north as Carlisle and the Lake District. Note: the female has six perfect walking legs, the male only four, the front pair being rudimentary, as with many of the larger butterflies.

The Grizzled Skipper (Syrichthus Malvæ), Plate XIII., Fig. 7. —The Skippers, of which there are eight species in this country, are often referred to as the connecting-link between the butterflies and moths, and not without some justification. The antennæ are somewhat short, club-shaped, and hooked at the extremity. The head is large, and the antennæ spring from just above the eyes; their base is thus wide apart. Compare a Skipper with a Blue in which the roots of the antennæ almost touch. The body of the Skipper is stout and mothlike, and the wings not so ample, and more angular than in the average butterfly. The caterpillars live in a rolled leaf or several leaves spun together, and pupate in a slight cocoon.

The Grizzled Skipper is a small butterfly measuring just over 3/4 of an inch in expanse. The ground colour is nearly black, checkered with white square spots, as is also the fringe. The under side is lighter.

The caterpillar is a rusty brown, with lighter lines on the back and sides. The species is doubled-brooded, appearing in May and August, and is generally distributed over the country as far north as the South-West of Scotland.

The Dingy Skipper (Nisoniades Tages), Plate XIII., Fig. 8. —This is dull grey-brown, and very Quaker-like in its sombre garb, with a lighter and a darker band across the wings. The under side is a pale drab, with a few faint light spots. And truly one may be excused if at times it is mistaken for a night-flying moth.

The caterpillar feeds on trefoil, and is green, with four yellow lines and some black dots; it is very stout in the middle, tapering to either end. This Skipper is also doubled-brooded, appearing in May and August, generally on dry soils such as the chalk, or limestone, or, as in Scotland, on the sand-dunes of Ayrshire, where it is locally common.

The Small Skipper (Hesperia Thaumas), Plate XIII., Fig. 9. —Upper side a uniform tawny-orange shade, with a dark brown or black border. There is also a black dash across the fore-wing of the male, which is absent in the female. On the under side there is a tawny patch along the inner margin of the hind-wing, and the tip of the fore-wing is light. These are good identification points, as they are fairly stable.

The caterpillar is green, with two white lines on the back and a yellow line on either side. It feeds on grasses in the spring. The butterfly appears in July and is common in England, but is not known in Scotland.

The New Small Skipper (Hesperia Lineola), Plate XIV., Fig. 4.—Is very like the last, so much so, that it had been taken for many years by collectors and confused with Thaumas. There were few collections that did not possess a mixed series. But once its identity was established, it was soon placed in its rightful position. It may be distinguished from Thaumas by the absence of the fulvous patch on the inner margin of the under side of the hind-wings, and also by the absence of the light tip on the under side of the fore-wing. The black dash across the upper side of the fore-wing of the male is fainter, shorter, and more often altogether absent. The under side of the hind-wing is a light buff without marks of any kind.

The caterpillar is a bronze-green, with four yellow lines on the back and one on the sides; it feeds on grasses in damp meadows, mostly in the south and south-eastern counties. The species is local, but common where it occurs. Out in July and August.

The Lulworth Skipper (Hesperia Actæon), Plate XIII., Fig. 10. —An extremely local species, being only found in two or three localities on the south coast. It may be distinguished from the two preceding Skippers, first, by its more dingy colour; second, by the female having a semicircular row of light spots near the tip of the fore-wing. These are very faintly visible in some males, but they have, in addition, a black streak along the centre of the wing. The under side in both sexes is similar, a pale dingy fawn, with no particular markings. The antennæ are very short.

The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a double line of yellow on each side. This species may be looked for on rough ground facing the sea during July and August.

The Large Skipper (Hesperia Sylvanus), Plate XIII., Fig. 11. —Upper surface tawny-orange shading into darker at the margin of both wings; on this dark margin are a few pale spots, mostly at the tip of the fore-wing. The male has an almost black streak near the centre of the fore-wing; this is not present in the female. The under side is a light tawny olive, with pale lighter spots.

The caterpillar is green, with a dark line on the back, and a light stripe on the sides. It is a grass-feeder. This Skipper is abundant all over England in May and again in August, but is rare in Scotland.

The Pearl Skipper (Hesperia Comma), Plate XIII., Fig. 12. —This species is not quite so large as the last. It is darker, and the spot markings are much brighter and more decided. This is the case especially on the under side, as there the spots are bright enough to suggest pearls. Hence the name.

Note, too, the dark streak in the middle of the fore-wing of the male; it is divided along the centre by a white line. This white line is wanting in the Large Skipper. The dark streak is only on the upper wings of the males. Comma is also a more local and scarce insect, being confined mostly to the South of England.

The caterpillar is greyish-red, and has a double dark line on either side; it feeds on various Vetches and Trefoils. The butterfly is out in July and August.

The Checkered Skipper (Carterocephalus Palæmon), Plate XIII., Fig. 13.—The upper side of this butterfly is speckled and bordered with tawny-orange spots on a dark brown ground. The under side has a lighter ground colour, and the spots are outlined with dark brown.

The caterpillar is dark, almost black, with a yellow line on the sides, and, as it hibernates over the winter, may be looked for in the spring. It feeds on grasses and Plantain.

This is a very local species, and I am afraid, to judge from reports, becoming rarer. The south and south-eastern counties are the favoured localities.

The Milkweed Butterfly (Danais Erippus; variety, Archippus), Plate VIII., Fig. 3.—This is an American species, but an occasional visitor to our shores, and, as it is a strong-flying species with the bump of adventure abnormally developed, it is now met with in many lands where it was at one time unknown. I have large fine specimens from Canada, so it can stand the rigours of the Canadian winter; and if it should find a suitable food-plant for the caterpillars here, we may hope, in the near future, to add this fine butterfly to the select little band of British butterflies.