Butterflies and Moths Part 22

The caterpillar (Plate VIII, fig. 5) is a very peculiar creature. Its body is green, with seven oblique yellowish stripes on each side, and it has a pair of horns attached to its head.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 76.--THE PURPLE EMPEROR--UNDER SIDE.]

The chrysalis (Plate VIII, fig. 10) may be found in June, suspended to the under side of a leaf. It is of an apple-green colour, and still exhibits the oblique stripes which we observed in the caterpillar.

This insect is not to be found in either Scotland or Ireland, but is more or less abundant in many of the oak woods of the midland and southern counties of England. Among the numerous favoured localities, we may mention Colchester, Forest of Dean, Northamptonshire, Ipswich, Huntingdonshire, Buckinghamshire, Epping, Lyndhurst, and the Isle of Wight.

CHAPTER XIV

_THE BROWNS AND HEATHS_

Family--SATYRIDae

This family contains eleven British species, often spoken of collectively as the 'Browns,' since in most of them the prevailing tints are various shades of brown. They are decidedly dingy in comparison with the beautiful b.u.t.terflies we have been previously observing; but to this statement we must allow one marked exception, for the family includes the beautiful Marbled White, which stands out prominently among its fellows for brilliancy and boldness of colour.

The caterpillars of the 'Satyrs' have no spines, but their bodies are covered with very minute hair-bearing warts that give them a soft velvety appearance. The hinder extremity tapers off considerably, and terminates in two points.

The chrysalides are not angular like those of the preceding species, and though generally suspended by the tail, are sometimes found quite free among leaves and gra.s.ses on the ground.

The perfect insects are rather feeble fliers, and generally take so little notice of intruders that they are easily caught in the hand.

Their wings are devoid of angles, and they have only four perfectly developed legs.

_The Marbled White_ (_Melanargia Galatea_)

Our first member of this family is the exception to which we have already alluded as a relief to the general dinginess of the 'Browns.'

Its colours above are cream and black, arranged as shown in Plate V, fig. 2. The under side (fig. 77) is marked with white, black, and greenish grey, with a row of eye-like spots parallel with the hind margin of the hind wings.

This b.u.t.terfly is not known in Scotland or Ireland, nor is it to be found in several of the northern counties of England. Its chief haunts are the waste cliffy grounds of the southern and some of the midland counties of England, where it is usually restricted to certain small districts. In some places it is really a common insect, and among these may be mentioned Brighton, Horsham, Dover, Folkestone, Margate, Gravesend, New Forest, parts of Gloucestershire, Cambridgeshire, and Devonshire, also in the Isle of Wight and South Wales.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 77.--THE MARBLED WHITE--UNDER SIDE.]

The perfect insect is out in July, during which month the eggs are deposited on various gra.s.ses, or indiscriminately on leaves and stems in gra.s.sy spots.

The caterpillar feeds on gra.s.ses; and, being still small at the end of the autumn, hybernates during the winter among the stems of gra.s.s. It feeds again in April, and is fully grown by the end of May. Its colour is a dull green or brownish, with a darker stripe down the back, and lighter stripes along the sides. Its spiracles are black.

The chrysalis is pale brown, marked with lines of a slightly darker shade. It may be found among gra.s.s stems, without any attachment, during the month of June.

_The Small Ringlet_ (_Erebia Epiphron_)

On account of the very limited range of this b.u.t.terfly, only those who have the opportunity of visiting its haunts can have any practical acquaintance with its natural history. It is almost exclusively confined to the lake district in England, to a few mountainous localities in Scotland, and to one or two similar localities in Ireland. Its strong partiality for elevated situations has earned for it the popular name of Mountain Ringlet.

The colour of the upper surface (Plate V, fig. 3) is a dark brown, with a broad band of rusty brown, parallel with the hind margin of each wing, and broken by the wing rays. Each division of these bands has often a black central spot, but frequently these are entirely absent. The colouring of the under side is very similar but less defined, and the rusty spots of the hind wings are very small.

The b.u.t.terfly is out in June and July. The caterpillars, which are green, with white stripes along the sides, feed on various gra.s.ses. They hybernate during the winter, and change to the chrysalis state in the following May or June.

_The Northern Brown_ (_Erebia aethiops_)

The colour of this species (Plate V, fig. 4) is a rich dark brown, with rust-coloured and black spotted bands arranged something like those of the last. The markings, however, are very variable. There are usually four black spots on the band of the fore wings, but the first two of these are always united, and centred with white. The third is often very small or entirely wanting.

The under side of the fore wings is marked something like the upper, but the hind wings on this side are grey, with two broad bands of a darker colour.

As its popular name implies, this b.u.t.terfly is a northerner. It is common in Scotland, where it flies in elevated spots. In England it is confined to the mountainous districts of the north.

The perfect insect is at large in July and August, during which time the eggs are deposited on various gra.s.ses or on low-growing herbage in gra.s.sy spots.

The caterpillar is of a brown colour, and has a narrow black stripe down the middle of the back, and two other stripes, lighter than the ground colour, one on each side. At about the end of June it turns to a chrysalis of a brownish colour.

The food plants of this species include a number of common gra.s.ses.

_The Speckled Wood or Wood Argus_ (_Pararge Egeria_)

Most of our b.u.t.terflies delight in the hot sun, and are to be seen on the wing only when it is shining brightly. This fact is particularly noticeable on a bright day with occasional heavy clouds. While the sun's rays are pouring uninterruptedly on the landscape, numbers of these light-lovers are to be observed flitting about; but when the dense shadow of a pa.s.sing cloud creeps over the ground they rapidly disappear from view, having settled down to rest on leaves and stems. Then, as soon as the shadow pa.s.ses away, the air is again enlivened with their sports and flittings.

The Wood Argus is a marked exception to this rule. It delights in the cool shade of the narrow paths of woods, where it slowly flies up and down the lonely footpath, taking but little heed of strangers that intrude on its haunts, and seldom venturing into the full blaze of the sun unless pursued. Even on dull days it continues its solitary flight, and may even be seen on the wing while a soft rain is bathing the dripping foliage.

The upper surface of this pretty b.u.t.terfly is shown on Plate V, fig. 5, and the under side in the accompanying woodcut. Both sides are prettily marked with various shades of brown and buff, and adorned with white-centred dark eye-spots which have earned for it the name of Argus.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 78.--THE WOOD ARGUS--UNDER SIDE.]

It first appears on the wing in April, and may be seen from this month continuously to the end of August.

The food plants probably consist of many species of gra.s.ses, the c.o.c.k's-foot (_Dactylis glomerata_) and couch gra.s.s (_Agropyron repens_) being among the number, and the eggs are laid on or in the neighbourhood of these during the summer months.

The caterpillar of this species is of a dull greenish or brownish colour, and it has two whitish stripes (sometimes three) down the middle of the back, and similar stripes along each side. It hybernates during the winter, and is full grown in March, when it changes to a dull green or brownish chrysalis, which is streaked with black, and has a few white dots on the back.

It has been stated that the b.u.t.terfly is on the wing from April to August, and, according to some authorities, there are no less than three broods during this time, following each other in rapid succession. It is common throughout England and Ireland, and is known in parts of Scotland.

_The Wall b.u.t.terfly_ (_Pararge Megaera_)

Belonging to the same genus is another very familiar b.u.t.terfly--the Wall--which receives its popular t.i.tle from its peculiar habit of frequently resting on walls and stony banks. It is one of the first, if not _the_ first, to take to the wing in the morning, and is generally the last to seek its hiding place in the evening. I have seen it actively flying about during August, as early as 7.30 in the morning, and found it still flitting from one spot to another along the western side of a wall as late as 8 in the evening, as if in search of a convenient shelter for the fast approaching night.

This pretty 'Brown' must be familiar to the reader, and the coloured drawing on Plate V (fig. 6) will at once serve for purposes of identification without the necessity of a wordy description. It may be mentioned, however, that the male (the s.e.x figured) is smaller than the female, and is further distinguished by a broad dark oblique band pa.s.sing across each fore wing.

The Wall is a double-brooded b.u.t.terfly, the first brood appearing in May, and the second in August. The caterpillars which produce the latter may be found on the c.o.c.k's foot (_Dactylis glomerata_) and other gra.s.ses in June, while those of the former are hybernators; and the chrysalides of the two broods may be found in April and July respectively.

The colour of the caterpillar is green, with a slightly darker stripe down the middle of the back, a pale stripe along each side, and another similar stripe about midway between these two.

The chrysalis is green with the exception of the more prominent parts of its surface, which are almost white.