Larger ImagePl.78.Grayling Butterfly.Males, 1, 3(Chalk), 2(Heath); females, 4(Heath); 5, 6(Chalk).
Pl.78.Grayling Butterfly.Males, 1, 3(Chalk), 2(Heath); females, 4(Heath); 5, 6(Chalk).
Pl.78.
Grayling Butterfly.
Males, 1, 3(Chalk), 2(Heath); females, 4(Heath); 5, 6(Chalk).
Pl.79.Grayling Butterfly.Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis (both after Buckler).
Pl.79.Grayling Butterfly.Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis (both after Buckler).
Pl.79.
Grayling Butterfly.
Egg enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis (both after Buckler).
The caterpillars hatch in August, hibernate when quite small, and feed up in the spring and early summer. They live upon grasses, such asTriticum repens,Aira cæspitosa, andA. præcox.
The butterfly delights in sitting rather than flying about cliffs and sand-hills, heaths and downs, stony hillsides, dry fields, and even open woodlands. It is fond of sunning itself on rocks, and by some of the old Aurelians it was called the "Rock Underwing," no doubt in reference to the pattern and colour of the under side. It was also known as the "Tunbridge Grayling" some two hundred years ago, when it was said to be "very rare about London." It has long since been ascertained to occur in almost every county in England and Wales, as far north as Sutherlandshire in Scotland, and is widely distributed in Ireland.
On the chalk downs and cliffs the butterfly has the under side of its hind wings so admirably agreeing in colour and marking with the soil, etc., that although one may watch it settle a few yards ahead, it is not to be seen when one reaches the spot. Whilst we are intent on the search the insect starts up, flies a short distance, and there repeats the disappearing butterfly trick. The same remarks apply to those Graylings that affect peaty or sandy heaths, etc. When the butterfly alights on the ground—and it rarely gets on the wing unless disturbed—it immediately closes its wings, and then allows them to fall more or less on one side, so that the whole of one hind wing is presented to view. It is said to have a fancy for the resinous sap that oozes from pine trees, and has also been observed to visit the trunks that have been "sugared."
Abroad, it is found commonly throughout the temperate parts of Europe, North Africa, and Northern and Western Asia.
Quite early in the eighteenth century Petiver met with the butterfly shown on Plate80at Enfield, so he figured it as the "Enfield Eye" in that curious old book entitled "Papiliorium Britanniæ Icones." Later on, Wilkes named the butterfly the "Wood Argus," thus indicating its favourite haunts, as well as a prominent character in its ornamentation. Harris changed the name to the "Speckled Wood Butterfly," which seems even more suitable.
The general colour is blackish-brown, and the spots are yellowish. The fore wings have one white-pupilled black eye spot towards their tips, and the hind wings have three such eye spots on the outer area. The male has a long oblique patch of blackish scales on the middle of the fore wings, which is, perhaps, more easily detected if the insect is held up to the light. The female is usually slightly larger than the male, the wings rather rounder, and the yellowish spots, are, as a rule, distinctly larger. The typical or southern form of this butterfly has the spots of a tawny colour, but it does not occur in Britain. Our form, in all its modifications, belongs toegerides, Staudinger. Occasionally, in the south of England, specimens are found in which the spots are tinged with fulvous; others have almost white spots. The spots are sometimes much reduced in size in the male, or greatly enlarged in the female.
The egg is pale greenish, finely reticulated; as the caterpillar matures within, the shell becomes less glossy than at first, and the upper part is blackish.
The caterpillar has a green head, which is larger than the first ring of the body (1st thoracic), covered with short fine whitish hairs, with which are mixed a few dark hairs. The body is rather brighter green, with darker lines, edged with yellowish, along the back and sides; the skin is transverselywrinkled, the rings being subdivided, and the whole of the body is clothed with fine whitish hair and a few dark hairs arising from warts; the anal points are whitish and also hairy. It feeds on various grasses, among which areTriticum repensandDactylis glomerata.
Larger ImagePl.80.Speckled Wood.Spring Brood: 1, 2male; 3, 5female. Summer brood:4, 6male; 7female.
Pl.80.Speckled Wood.Spring Brood: 1, 2male; 3, 5female. Summer brood:4, 6male; 7female.
Pl.80.
Speckled Wood.
Spring Brood: 1, 2male; 3, 5female. Summer brood:4, 6male; 7female.
Pl.81.Speckled Wood.Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.81.Speckled Wood.Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.81.
Speckled Wood.
Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
The chrysalis is pale green, tinged with yellowish or whitish; the edges of the wing covers are brown, and there are whitish dots on the body. According to Hellins the colour varies, and green chrysalids may be covered all over with very fine smoky freckles. Barrett states that they are occasionally brownish with darker brown lines. Suspended by the cremaster from a silken pad.
From eggs laid in early May butterflies were reared at the end of June; and from eggs laid at the end of June butterflies resulted during middle August. Early July eggs produced perfect insects in early September, and from caterpillars fed up in October butterflies were obtained in November. These observations were not all made in the same year.
Barrett writes, "In the south of Surrey in 1862, the first emergence took place in April in abundance, these specimens became worn and disappeared, and a second emergence took place at the end of May, a third at the end of July, and a fourth in September; the next year the first emergence was in the third week in March, and again four broods were observed, but this is not the case every year, three emergences being probably the rule."
Mr. Joy has recorded that of caterpillars, resulting from a pairing induced in captivity, in August, eighty per cent. hibernated as pupæ, twenty per cent. as half-fed caterpillars. Butterflies from the winter pupæ emerged in May, but the caterpillars that had gone through the winter in that state did not produce butterflies until June. Possibly something of this sort occurs in the open, and we may suppose that the early and late spring butterflies are not separate broods, but early and late emergences of one brood. Butterflies seen on the wing inNovember may be a few individuals that, owing to favourable weather, have emerged from chrysalids which under ordinary conditions would have remained as such during the winter.
Shady lanes, rides in woods, as well as the borders of the same, are its favourite haunts. It is not a sun-loving butterfly, but is generally found to frequent places where the sun's rays are more or less intercepted by a leafy screen. It seems to be more abundant in wet seasons than in dry ones. It is generally distributed throughout England and Wales, but more plentiful in southern and western counties than in the eastern and northern. In Ireland, Kane says, it is "everywhere abundant and double brooded." It is local in Scotland, and rare north of the Caledonian Canal.
Abroad our form of the butterflyegeridesis found commonly in Central and Northern Europe, except in the extreme north, and in Northern Asia Minor and Armenia. The typical form,egeriaproper, occurs in South-Western Europe, North Africa, and Syria.
The butterfly now under consideration is figured on Plate82.It is bright fulvous in colour, with blackish-brown veins, margins, and transverse lines. There is one white pupilled black spot on the fore wings, and four of such spots on the outer area of the hind wings; the fourth, which is generally blind, is placed at the end of the series near the anal angle. The male has a very conspicuous sexual brand on the central area. The under side of the fore wings is paler than above, but the markings are similar, except that the brand is absent and the margins are greyer; the hind wings on the under side are greyish marked with brown and traversed by dark lines; there is a row of six eyed spots on the outer area; that nearest the anal angle is double. The female has more ample wings, and as the brandis absent on the fore wings in this sex, the central black transverse lines are more distinct.
Larger ImagePl.82.Wall Butterfly.1, 2, 5male; 3, 4, 6female.
Pl.82.Wall Butterfly.1, 2, 5male; 3, 4, 6female.
Pl.82.
Wall Butterfly.
1, 2, 5male; 3, 4, 6female.
Pl.83.Wall Butterfly.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.83.Wall Butterfly.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.83.
Wall Butterfly.
Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Variation is chiefly in the size of the eyed spots; sometimes the apical one of the fore wings has a smaller one attached to its lower margin, or in the interspace (i.e.between the veins) above it or below it; or both extra spots, which are usually without white pupils, may be present. Very rarely the apical spot may be almost absent on one fore wing, but well defined on the other. The central transverse lines on the fore wings of the female are sometimes broad, and very occasionally the space between the lines is blackish; blackish-banded male specimens are alsofound in some localities, such as the slopes of Dartmoor, Devon, as mentioned by Barrett.
Fig. 26.The Wall Butterfly just emerged from the Chrysalis, and with wings distended.
Fig. 26.The Wall Butterfly just emerged from the Chrysalis, and with wings distended.
Fig. 26.
The Wall Butterfly just emerged from the Chrysalis, and with wings distended.
The ground colour varies in tint, darker or lighter than normal, but specimens of a bright golden yellow-brown, straw colour, or whitish are known to occur, although such extreme aberrations are exceptional.
The egg is pale green when first laid, and in shape it is almost spherical, but rather higher than broad; it is finely ribbed and reticulated, but unless examined through a lens it appears to be quite smooth.
The caterpillar when full grown is whitish-green, dotted with white. From the larger of these dots on the back arise greyish bristles; the three lines on the back (dorsal and subdorsal) are whitish, edged with dark green; the line on the sides (spiracular) is white, fringed with greyish hairs; anal points green, hairy, extreme tips white. Head larger than the first ring (1st thoracic segment), green dotted with white and hairy, jaws marked with brownish. It feeds on grasses.
The chrysalis is green, with yellow-tinted white markings on the edge of the wing covers and ridges; the spots on the body are yellowish, or sometimes white. Occasionally the chrysalids are blackish, with white or yellow points on the body.
Larger ImagePl.84.Meadow Brown.1, 2, 3, 4male; 5, 6, 7female.
Pl.84.Meadow Brown.1, 2, 3, 4male; 5, 6, 7female.
Pl.84.
Meadow Brown.
1, 2, 3, 4male; 5, 6, 7female.
Pl.85.Meadow Brown.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
Pl.85.Meadow Brown.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
Pl.85.
Meadow Brown.
Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
There are certainly two broods of this butterfly in the season, and in favourable years there may be three broods. In an ordinary way the first flight is in May and June, and the second flight in July and August. The caterpillars feed onPoa annua,Dactylis glomerata, etc. Those hatched in autumn hibernate more or less completely, and become full grown in early or late spring according to the season. Sometimes, however, they seem to feed during the winter, and assume the chrysalis in March. Probably it is from such precocious caterpillars that the butterflies sometimes seen in April result.
The Speckled Wood, it was noted, prefers shady places; the present butterfly is more partial to sunshine and plenty of it.As its English name suggests, it is fond of basking on walls, but it does this also on dry hedge banks, sides of gravel pits, tree-trunks—in fact, wherever it can enjoy the full sunshine. It is not at all shy, and will be pretty sure to introduce itself to the notice of the collector as soon as he enters its domain. Although it now seems to be absent from certain districts in which it was once abundant, it may still be regarded as a generally common species in England and Wales, and even plentiful, in some years, in the southern, eastern, and western counties; it appears to be more local in North England. In Scotland it seems fairly distributed, and not scarce in the south; its range extends to Aberdeenshire. Kane states that it is everywhere abundant throughout Ireland. Abroad it is common throughout Europe, except the extreme north, and extends into North Africa, Asia Minor, and Armenia.
The female is thejurtinaof Linnæus, and as he described this sex before the male, under the impression that they were distinct species, the law of priority, we are told, must be observed and the earlier name be adopted.
This fuscous-brown butterfly of the meadows is marked, especially in the female, with dull orange. The male, of which sex three specimens are shown (Plate84,Figs. 1-3), has a broad black sexual brand on the central area of the fore wings, and a white pupilled black spot towards the tips of the wings; this spot is usually encircled with orange, and there is often more or less of this orange colour below it (Fig.2typical). The under side of the fore wings is orange with the costa narrowly, and the outer margin broadly, greyish-brown to match with the colour of the under side of the hind wings. The female is without the black brand, and is more ornamented with orange, which generally forms a broad patch on the outer area of the forewings (Fig.6), but it is sometimes continued inwards, so that almost the whole of the discal area—that is, nearly all but the margins, appears to be orange (Fig.7); the hind wings have an indistinct paler band on the outer area, and this is sometimes suffused or clouded with orange. On the under side the pale band is more defined (Fig.5). The apical spot of fore wings is sometimes double, and a tendency to this variation is shown in Fig.6,but in the complete form there are two white dots (bi-pupillated). At the other extreme, and generally in the male, the apical spot is entirely absent (var.anommata), or is greatly reduced in size, and is without the white pupil. Spots on the under side are as often absent as present. They may be from one to five in number, and either simply black dots or ringed with orange, as in Fig.4.Occasionally the orange on the upper side of the female gives place to a pale straw or even whitish colour; and on the under side to whitish-grey.
Not infrequently a greater or lesser area of the wings is "bleached," and this seems to be due to absence of pigment in the scales on such parts. This bleaching may affect the whole or a portion of one wing only, or it may take the form of symmetrical blotches on each wing. All such abnormal specimens of this, and of other species similarly affected, are certainly of value to those who are interested in teratology, but they seem to be out of place in a collection of butterflies where the aim should be to show the true variation of species rather than "freaks," which are the result of accident or disease.
The egg, laid on a blade of grass as shown (Plate85), is upright and ribbed; the top is flattened, with an impressed ring thereon. Colour, whitish-green inclining to brownish-yellow as it matures, and marked with purplish-brown.
The caterpillar is bright green, clothed with short whitish hairs; there is a darker line down the back, and a diffused white stripe on each side above the reddish spiracles; the anal points are white. Head rather darker green, hairy.
Pl.86.Gatekeeper.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.86.Gatekeeper.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Pl.86.
Gatekeeper.
Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis.
Larger ImagePl.87.Gatekeeper.1, 2, 6, 7male; 3, 4, 5female.
Pl.87.Gatekeeper.1, 2, 6, 7male; 3, 4, 5female.
Pl.87.
Gatekeeper.
1, 2, 6, 7male; 3, 4, 5female.
The chrysalis is pale green, marked with brownish on the wing-covers, the thorax is spotted with blackish, and the points on the body are brownish. Suspended, and with the old skin attached, as shown in the figure.
From its wide distribution and general abundance, this may be said to be our commonest butterfly. It appears to be always on the wing, in dull weather as well as in sunshine, and, except for a short interval in early August, it is to be seen in hayfields, open places in woods, on grassy slopes, or borders of highways and byways from June to September.
Although quite fresh specimens are fuscous-brown, the butterfly, after a short time on the wing, loses the dusky tinge and becomes brown. It is, therefore, always desirable to rear specimens for the cabinet from caterpillars. These feed on grasses of various kinds in May, are easily managed, and may be found in most hay meadows at night, when, of course, a lantern will be needed to throw a light on the business of collecting them.
The not infrequent occurrence of fresh specimens in the autumn is strong presumptive evidence of at least an occasional second brood. Perhaps, as has been suggested by Mr. R. Adkin, "a late emergence ofEpinephele ianirais the rule rather than the exception," especially in the warmer parts of the country.
The butterfly is found throughout England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, including Isles of Lewis and Orkney. Abroad it occurs in all parts of Europe except the most northern, Asia Minor, Armenia, North Africa, and the Canary Isles.
Other English names in use at the present time for this butterfly (Plate87) are "Small Meadow Brown," "HedgeBrown," and "Large Heath," but the latter is more often applied to another species which will be referred to later. Petiver called it the "Hedge Eye."
The general colour is brownish-orange, and the margins are fuscous-brown; there is a black spot towards the tips of the fore wings, and this, as a rule, encloses two white dots; one or both of these dots sometimes absent in the male. The male differs from the female in its rather smaller size, and in having a fuscous band on the central area; the latter is broadest towards the inner margin, and in this part are some patches of blackish androconial scales or plumules; at the upper end of the band there is sometimes a fuscous cloud. Occasionally, one or more small black spots, some with white pupils, are present below the apical one. Four such spots are rare, but specimens with one or with two are not uncommon. There is usually a white-pupilled black spot towards the anal angle of the hind wing, but I have several males and females that are without this spot. Sometimes there are as many as four spots on the hind wings, but this is perhaps exceptional (Plate113,Fig.5). On the under side of the hind wings there are often two white dots, sometimes ringed with black, towards the costa, and two or three other similar dots towards the anal angle; but the number of dots may be reduced to two, one of which is near the costa, or be increased to six. Colour changes, similar to those in the last species, occur, and the orange colour, in both sexes, may be replaced by yellow (var.mincki, Seebold), or by white (var.albida, Russell, Plate119,Figs. 6, 7). Such aberrations are very local and rare; a few have been obtained on chalk hills in South Hampshire.
In an extraordinary aberration, taken in Sussex in 1897, the whole of the dark brown colour of margins and band is replaced by pale pinkish-ochreous, but the normal brownish orange remains. Other somewhat similar specimens have been recorded.
The egg (Plate86) is pale yellowish when first laid, becoming lighter and irregularly blotched with reddish-brown, the upper blotches forming a sort of band round the egg; as the caterpillar matures the shell assumes a darker tinge, inclining to slaty, and the markings are less distinct.
The caterpillar, when full grown, is pale ochreous, clothed with short pale hair, and freckled with brownish; the line down the back is darker, one on each side is paler, and that above the feet is yellowish. The head is rather darker than the body, marked with brownish, and bristly.
According to Hellins, the newly hatched caterpillar is whitish-grey, with rusty yellow lines on the back. In October, after the first moult, it becomes green with a brownish head. In April the body is greenish-grey, and the head pale greenish-brown. At the end of April it moults for the last time, and is then pale ochreous generally, but some caterpillars are darker than this, and some paler with a greenish-grey tinge.
The chrysalis is whitish-ochreous, with dark brown streaks on the wing-covers and some brownish spots and clouds on the back and sides. Suspended from stem or blade of grass; the old skin remains attached.
The caterpillars feed at night on grasses, such asPoa annua,Triticum repens, andDactylis glomerata, from September to June. The butterfly is on the wing in July and August. Although these butterflies may be seen, sometimes in considerable numbers, where the rides are grassy, in woods, they are perhaps more attached to hedgerows. Bramble flowers are their special attraction, but they are not indifferent to the blossoms of the wood sage (Teucrium scorodonia) or of marjoram (Origanum vulgare).
Pretty generally distributed throughout England, it is often exceedingly plentiful in the south and also in South Wales. In Scotland the butterfly seems to be common in Kircudbrightshire, but not common in other southern counties up to Argyleand Fife. Kane says that in Ireland it is almost confined to the southern counties.
Abroad it is found throughout Europe, except the North-East, and its range extends into Northern Asia Minor.
The sombre-looking butterfly, of which several figures will be found on Plate89,has been known by its present English name since 1778, the year in which Moses Harris published "The Aurelian." The Latin specific name was writtenhyperantusby Linnæus, but Esper corrected this tohyperanthus. It has, however, been supposed that Linnæus really intended to have writtenhyperanthes(a son of Darius), and this form of the name has been used, but Esper's emendation is here adopted.
Fig. 27.Var. lanceolata.
Fig. 27.Var. lanceolata.
Fig. 27.
Var. lanceolata.
All the wings are sooty-brown, the male when quite fresh appearing almost black, and the sexual brand is then difficult to see; there are one or more black spots with pale rings, and sometimes white pupils, on the fore wings, but these are always more prominent in the female than in the male; in the latter sex they may be entirely absent. On the under side there are generally two, sometimes three, ocellated spots on the fore wings, and there are five such spots on the hind wings, the two nearest the costa being double, and not very infrequently there is a smaller spot near or attached to the lower edge of the double one. In the matter of size of the spots on the under side there is a wide range of variation, and at oneend of this is var.lanceolata, Shipp, and at the other var.obsoleta, Tutt, in which not a trace of any of the spots remains. Specimens with a varying number of white dots, with or without yellow rings, are usually referred to var.arete, but Fig.6on the Plate represents a modification of this variety, known ascœca.
>Pl.88.Ringlet.Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids.
Pl.88.Ringlet.Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids.
Pl.88.
Ringlet.
Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalids.
Larger ImagePl.89.Ringlet.1, 2, 3, 7male; 4, 5, 8female; 6var.cæca,male.
Pl.89.Ringlet.1, 2, 3, 7male; 4, 5, 8female; 6var.cæca,male.
Pl.89.
Ringlet.
1, 2, 3, 7male; 4, 5, 8female; 6var.cæca,male.
Occasionally, on the under side, there are transverse lines on the outer half of all the wings, and the space between these lines is suffused with whitish. The specimen showing these lines faintly (Fig.3on the Plate) is from North Cumberland.
The early stages are figured on Plate88.
The egg is yellowish-white at first, but soon turns to a pale brown. As will be seen on comparing the enlarged figure of this egg with those of the two previous species, it is quite different in shape, and is pitted rather than ribbed. The eggs are not attached to anything, but are allowed to fall down among the roots of the grass over which they are deposited.
The caterpillar is described by Newman as pale wainscot brown in colour, with a darker line down the back, and the head has three broad, slightly darker but faint, stripes on each cheek. According to others it is ochreous or brownish-grey, with a dark brown line on the back, a pale one with darker edge on the sides, and a whitish stripe above the feet.
The chrysalis is ochreous-brown sprinkled with reddish-brown, and marked with brown on the wing-covers. It lies low down among the tufts of grass. The figures of caterpillar and chrysalis are from Buckler's "Larvæ of British Butterflies."
The caterpillars feed upon various grasses, includingPoa annuaandDactylis glomerata, growing about damp places in woodland districts. They emerge from the egg in August, feed leisurely until October, when they appear to hibernate. In March they resume feeding, but do not attain full growth until June. The butterflies are on the wing in July and August, and frequent lanes and the outskirts of woods. They usually flyalong the shady side, but they are not averse to the nectar of the bramble blossom, and I have seen them taking a sip here and there although they were fully exposed to sunshine all the time.
Wherever there are suitable haunts the butterfly may be found throughout the greater part of England and Wales. It seems, however, to have disappeared from some districts in Lancashire and Yorkshire where it was formerly common. It is fairly plentiful in most of the southern counties of Scotland, and its range extends north to Aberdeen. In Ireland it is abundant in the south and the west, and seems to occur in most suitable places; also common in certain localities in Donegal and Antrim. Abroad it is distributed through Europe and Northern Asia eastward to Japan.
The butterfly now to be considered is a most variable one, both as regards colour and marking. Several of the varieties have been named, and in the time of Haworth down to Stephens, and even much later, at least three of these were regarded as distinct species. In the present day, however, it is generally accepted that all the varieties are forms of one species, although two local races are recognized.
The typical form istyphon, Rottemburg, andpolydama(The Marsh Ringlet) of Haworth (Plate90,Figs. 1, 2, 5, 7-11). The colour ranges from darkish-brown to a pale tawny; there is an ochreous ringed black spot towards the tips of the fore wings, sometimes another similar spot above the inner angle, and occasionally when both spots are present there is an ochreous spot between them; the hind wings have from one to three of these spots, but a larger number than three is exceptional. The under side of the fore wings is either bright or dull fulvous, and the spots are pretty much as above, but with white pupils,and there is a whitish band before them; the under side of the hind wings is olive brown on the basal two-thirds, covered with pale hair, and the outer third is brownish merging into greyish on the outer margin; an irregular white or whitish band limits the two areas; there are six ochreous ringed black spots, with white pupils, but they are always rather small in size. The female is much paler than the male.
This is the usual form in Northumberland, Cumberland, Yorkshire, and Ireland; it also occurs in Lancashire, Westmoreland, and the South of Scotland.
Var.philoxenus, Esper. This isdavus(Small Ringlet), Haworth, androthliebii, Newman (Plate90,Figs. 3, 4, 6).
On the upper side the colour is dark brown in the male and rather paler in the female; the spots are very distinct, ringed with fulvous; those on the hind wings are generally three in number, and often five or six; on the under side, the bands are whiter, and often broader, and the spots are very black, large, and conspicuous.
This form is found on some of the mosses in Lancashire and Westmoreland, in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, and in North Shropshire; but the most characteristic examples of the form are chiefly obtained in the first-named county, from which it was first made known, in 1795, as the "Manchester Argus," or "Manchester Ringlet."
Var.scotica, Staudinger (laidion, Staud., but not of Borkhausen), Pl.90,Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5♂, 3♀, is thetyphonof Haworth, as stated by Newman; the latter author, however, figures it asdavus, Fabricius, which is doubtful.
The ground colour is pale tawny, sometimes suffused with brownish, greyish on the margin, and broadly so on the outer area of the hind wings; the spots are often absent, and when present are rarely very distinct. The female is much paler than the male. The under side of the hind wings is somewhat similar to that of the typical form, but sometimes the whole area is auniform greyish; the spots are only rarely at all distinct, and then only one, or perhaps two, on a wing, and not infrequently they are entirely absent. This form occurs in Scotland, especially in Aberdeenshire and Sutherlandshire, also in the Isle of Arran, in the Orkney and Shetland Isles, and in the Outer Hebrides. Kane states that he has met with single specimens at "Killarney, Westmeath, Galway, and Sligo."
In some localities, such as Carlisle, Rotherham, and others in Yorkshire, forms intermediate between the type and var.philoxenusare found; modifications of the type form in the direction of var.scoticaoccur in Cumberland, Northumberland, and Co. Leitrim, in Ireland; and forms approaching the type more nearly than var.scoticaare met with in the Glasgow district, and at Pitcaple in Aberdeenshire.
The egg is very pale greenish-yellow at first, but the green fades, brownish blotches appear, and some dark markings appear around the upper part a short while before the caterpillar hatches out. It is finely scored almost from the base to the top, which is depressed, and has a raised boss in the centre, as in the egg of the Small Heath.
From some eggs sent to me in July, caterpillars hatched in August. They fed on ordinary meadow grass, and in September were figured, when they were about half an inch in length. Head shallowly notched in front, green, roughened with whitish dots, eyes and jaws brownish. Body green, roughened with white dots, with darker line down the back, and paler, almost white lines along the sides, anal projections reddish (these were greenish when younger).
The figure of the full-grown caterpillar is after Buckler, who describes it as "of a bright green, with dark bluish-green dorsal line, edged with pale lemon-yellow, the subdorsal and spiracular lines are of the same pale yellow, but the subdorsal is edged above with dark bluish-green, and between these two lines is an interrupted streak of a darker colour, posteriorly with a slighttinge of reddish or pink, and the caudal fork is tipped with pink."
Larger ImagePl.90.Large Heath.1, 3, 4, 6male, 2female (Delamere); 7, 9male, 5female (Arran);8male (N. Salop); 10do. (Ireland); 11do. (Carlisle).
Pl.90.Large Heath.1, 3, 4, 6male, 2female (Delamere); 7, 9male, 5female (Arran);8male (N. Salop); 10do. (Ireland); 11do. (Carlisle).
Pl.90.
Large Heath.
1, 3, 4, 6male, 2female (Delamere); 7, 9male, 5female (Arran);
8male (N. Salop); 10do. (Ireland); 11do. (Carlisle).
Pl.91.Large Heath.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
Pl.91.Large Heath.Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
Pl.91.
Large Heath.
Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis.
The chrysalis is bright green, with brown streaks on the edges and centre of the wing-covers, and at the tip of the tail, turning dark brown just before the butterfly emerges. (Figure and description after Buckler.)
The eggs are laid in July on blades of grass, and the caterpillars hatch out in that month and August. The food of the caterpillars is said to be the beaked-rush (Rhynchospora alba); those that I had from Witherslack eggs fed well upon ordinary grass until October, but they died during the winter. After hibernation they recommence feeding, and are full grown in May and June, when they pupate, and the butterflies appear at the end of June and in July.
Barrett, writing of the butterfly in all its forms, says, "Its most southern known locality in England is Chartley Park, Derbyshire, and it is common in all 'mosses' of Lancashire and Cheshire—all moors about Grange, and in Chat Moss, Risley Moss, Rixton Moss, Simondswood, Lindon Moss, and Carrington Moss, as well as at Delamere Forest. In Yorkshire abundant in Thorne Waste, not scarce in Wensleydale, and found on Cottingham Moor, Hatfield Moors, and elsewhere. Northward it is found in all suitable mosses and moors in Durham, Westmoreland, and Cumberland, but seems to have been exterminated in Northumberland."
In Scotland it appears to be pretty generally distributed, and occurs up to an elevation of some 2000 feet. Kane states that in Ireland it is widely spread throughout, on the bogs and mountains. It is stated to have occurred in North Wales a long time ago, but there are no recent records from that country. Abroad it is found in Central and Northern Europe, extending to Lapland, and through Northern Asia to Amurland. In North America it is represented by two forms, which are not quite like any of those occurring elsewhere.
To the ancient fathers the male of the butterfly on Plate92was known as the "Selvedged Heath Eye," and the female was called the "Golden Heath Eye." Harris figured it as "The Small Heath," or "Gatekeeper;" the latter name being now associated with another species, it may be allowed to drop out in the present connection.
The wings are pale tawny, with a brownish or greyish-brown border, of variable width, on all the wings, and stronger in the male than the female; there is a black spot towards the tip of the fore wing. The under side resembles that of the last species in some degree, but the eyed spots of the hind wings are not always prominent, often only white dots, and may be absent altogether (Fig.9).
Variation in this species is extensive, but not striking. The tint of the ground colour may be reddish or yellowish; occasionally brownish or greyish-brown specimens of the male occur, and more rarely purplish-brown examples of the same sex have been found. Females, in all cases paler, and generally larger than the male, are sometimes whitish-ochreous in colour, and, very rarely, yellowish-white. The brown border is also a variable character, and may be very dark and broad (var.lyllus), or reduced to linear proportions. The apical spot on the fore wings may be of fair size and very black, very pale and indistinct (Figs.8,12), or entirely absent; it does not seem to be pupilled with white (as it is on the under side), but sometimes there is a pale speck in the centre. On the under side of the hind wings there is variation in the width of the central whitish band-like patch, in some specimens with unusually dark ground colour this patch is very broad; in other examples, of normal coloration, the band is complete, and extends to the inner margin. The white dots that normally do duty as ocelli arenot infrequently set in reddish-brown spots, and then become rather more noticable (Fig.14). This form is var.ocellata, Tutt.
The egg is green at first, afterwards becoming whitish or bone-colour; later on a brownish irregular ring appears a little above the middle, and there are various brownish freckles. It is finely ribbed, and the top is depressed, forming a hollow with a central boss. Laid in a cluster of four on a blade of grass, but this may have been accidental. Others were deposited singly on muslin and on fine grass, all in mid-June. The caterpillar is of a clear green colour, "with darker green dorsal stripe, and a spiracular stripe not so dark; the anal points pink" (Hellins).
The chrysalis is of "a delicate pale rather yellowish-green, with a faintly darker green dorsal stripe, the edge of the projecting wing-covers on each side whitish, outlined with a streak of reddish-brown; the abdomen freckled very delicately with paler green; the tip of the anal point, with a short streak of brownish-red on each side; the wing-cases faintly marked with darker green nervures" (Buckler).
The figures of caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate93are from Buckler's "Larvæ of British Butterflies."
Some caterpillars, from eggs laid in May or June, become full-grown in four or five weeks, and appear as butterflies in August, but others do not complete their growth until the following spring. Just exactly what happens in the case of eggs from autumn females does not seem to be very definitely ascertained. It has, however, been stated that caterpillars hatching from eggs laid in August, attain the size of the slow-growing contingent from May eggs, and then hibernate. Probably, therefore, it is these that produce the July butterflies, and if so, the succession ofemergencesmay be something in this way: May and June butterflies from May and June eggs (twelve months' cycle), July butterflies from August eggs (eleven monthscycle), August and September butterflies (partial second brood) from May and June eggs (four months' cycle).
This interesting little butterfly is to be seen almost everywhere, but it is perhaps most frequently to be found in grassy places in lanes, on heaths and downs, railway banks, in rough meadows, etc. It occurs on mountains even up to an elevation of 2000 feet. When flying in company with the blues and coppers, all frolicking together over some patch of long grass, the colour combination has an exceedingly pleasing effect. They rest by day, and sleep at night on grass or rushes.
A common species throughout England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, as far north as Nairn, also in the Outer Hebrides. Abroad its distribution extends over Europe to South-West Siberia, Central and North-East Asia, Asia Minor, and North Africa.
We now arrive at the Hairstreaks, Coppers, and Blues. These belong to the Lycænidæ, a very large family of butterflies which is represented in all parts of the globe. There are eighteen species in Britain, but at least one of these is extinct and another is supposed to be so; two are very rare, and the chances of meeting with either are probably about equal.
The butterfly is represented on Plate94,Figs. 1-3. The male is blackish-brown with a faint greyish tinge, and there is a conspicuous black bar at the end of the discal cell of the fore wing, followed by a pale cloud; there are two orange marks at the anal angle of the hind wings. The female is blackish-brown, and has the black bar at end of the cell, and an orange band beyond; there are usually three orange marks on the hind wings at the anal angle, but sometimes there are only two. The under side of the male is ochreous, but that of the female is more orange; the fore wings have the black bar edged oneach side with white, and there is a white-edged, brownish triangular streak beyond, the outer margin is tinged with reddish; on the hind wings there are two white irregular lines and the space between them is brownish, the outer margin is reddish, becoming broadly so towards the anal angle, where there is a black spot. Variation is not of a very striking character. The shade following the black bar at end of the discal cell on the fore wings in the male is sometimes yellowish tinged, not infrequently fairly large, and with two smaller spots below it. More rarely all three spots are distinctly ochreous-yellow (var.spinosæ, Gerhard). A similar aberration, but with the marks white instead of yellow, has been namedpallida, Tutt. The orange band in the female varies in width and in length; occasionally it extends well below vein 2, and into the discal cell within the black bar. I have one specimen in which the band is broken up into three parts, and the upper one of these is but little wider than the same spot in var.spinosæ, the other two being almost exactly of the same size as in that variety.