THE “SHOWN TO THE
CHILDREN” SERIES
1. BEASTS
With 48 Coloured Plates by Percy J. Billinghurst. Letterpress by Lena Dalkeith.
2. FLOWERS
With 48 Coloured Plates showing 150 flowers, by Janet Harvey Kelman. Letterpress by C. E. Smith.
3. BIRDS
With 48 Coloured Plates by M. K. C. Scott. Letterpress by J. A. Henderson.
4. THE SEA-SHORE
With 48 Coloured Plates by Janet Harvey Kelman. Letterpress by Rev. Theodore Wood.
5. THE FARM
With 48 Coloured Plates by F. M. B. and A. H. Blaikie. Letterpress by Foster Meadow.
6. TREES
With 32 Coloured Plates by Janet Harvey Kelman. Letterpress by C. E. Smith.
7. NESTS AND EGGS
With 48 Coloured Plates by A. H. Blaikie. Letterpress by J. A. Henderson.
8. BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
With 48 Coloured Plates by Janet Harvey Kelman. Letterpress by Rev. Theodore Wood.
9. STARS
By Ellison Hawks.
THE “SHOWN TO THE CHILDREN” SERIES
Edited by Louey Chisholm
BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS
1. Silver-washed Fritillary
2. Pearl-bordered Fritillary
Butterflies and
Moths
SHOWN TO THE CHILDREN
BY
JANET HARVEY KELMAN
DESCRIBED BY
REV. THEODORE WOOD
FORTY-EIGHT COLOURED PICTURES
LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK
NEW YORK: THE PLATT & PECK CO.
A large number of the butterflies and moths in this book were drawn from insects in Mr. R. J. M. M‘Kerrell’s private collection, and the artist wishes to thank him most cordially for his great kindness.
PREFACE
IN this little book I want to tell you something about the common butterflies and moths which you may find in almost all parts of the country. But, first of all, I think that perhaps I had better say something about what we generally call their “life-history.”
Of course you know that butterflies and moths are not butterflies and moths to begin with. They enter the world in the form of eggs, just as birds and fishes do. These eggs are often very beautiful indeed. You may find them on the leaves of different plants, sometimes on the upper side and sometimes on the lower side. And if you look at them through a good strong magnifying-glass—or, better still, through a microscope—you will find that some are shaped like little sugar-loaves, and some like acorns, and some like tiny melons, while they are nearly always covered with raised patterns which one might almost think must have been cut by fairy chisels.
In course of time these eggs hatch, and out come a number of little caterpillars, which at once begin to eat the leaves of the plant on which the eggs were laid. They have most wonderful appetites, and hardly ever stop feeding all day long. The consequence is, of course, that they grow very quickly; and in a few days’ time they find that their jackets are much too tight for them. Then a most curious thing happens. Their skins split right down the back, and they wriggle and twist about, and rub themselves against the surrounding objects, till at last they manage to creep out of them altogether and appear in new ones, which had been gradually forming underneath the old!
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get new suits of clothes, or new frocks, as easily as this?
As soon as their change of garments is over, the little caterpillars begin to feed again, as hungrily as before. But after about a week their new skins are too tight for them, and they have to change them again! This very often happens six or seven times before they are fully fed. But at last they stop eating, throw off their skins once more, and appear as chrysalids.
You may often find these chrysalids on fences and walls, and also on the stems and leaves of bushes and low plants. Sometimes they are suspended by the tips of their tails from little silken pads, which the caterpillars spin for that purpose; and sometimes they are held upright by silken belts round the middle of their bodies. They cannot see, for they have no eyes; and they cannot eat, for they have no mouths; and of course they cannot move about. All that they can do, if you touch them, is just to wriggle their tails from side to side. And there they remain, sometimes for weeks and sometimes for months, till the time comes for the perfect butterflies to make their appearance.
Then, one day, the skins of the chrysalids split open, and out creep the butterflies. But if you were to see them now you would never guess what they were, for their wings are so tiny, and so crumpled up, that you can hardly see them. They climb up to some firm foothold, however, and then remain perfectly still; and by slow degrees the creases straighten out, and the wings become larger and larger, and stronger and stronger, till at last they reach their full size and strength, and the butterflies, perfect at last, are able to fly away.
That is the “life-history” of a butterfly; and moths are developed in just the same way, except that very often their caterpillars spin silken cells, which we call “cocoons,” and turn to chrysalids inside them. And the chrysalids of moths, remember, are often known as “pupæ.”
Then there are one or two other things about these insects that I should like to tell you. One is that their wings are covered all over with very tiny scales.
Of course you know that if you catch a butterfly, and let it go again, your fingers are covered with a kind of mealy dust. And if you look at a little of this dust through a microscope you will find that it is made up of thousands and thousands of the smallest possible scales, all most beautifully chiselled and sculptured, and each with a slender little stalk at the base. And if you look at a piece of the butterfly’s wings through the microscope, you will see that these scales are arranged upon it in rows, which overlap one another just like the slates on the roof of a house.
All the colour of a butterfly’s wing is in these scales, and if you rub them off you will find that the wing itself is as transparent as that of a bluebottle-fly or a bee.
Then a great many butterflies and moths have a “trunk” or “proboscis” coiled up underneath the head. This is really a long tube, and when the insects are hungry they poke it down into a flower, and suck up the nectar through it. You can see this trunk quite easily if you look sideways at such a butterfly as a “scarlet admiral” or a “peacock.”
Then there is just one thing more.
No doubt you would like to know how to tell butterflies from moths. Well, just look at their feelers or “antennæ,” as they are often called. You will see that those of butterflies are thickened at the very tips, while those of moths are not. Besides this, the body of a butterfly is nipped in at the middle much more than that of a moth. And when a butterfly is at rest it always folds its wings together over its back, while moths nearly always spread them out, or allow them to hang down, or wrap them round their bodies.
THEODORE WOOD.
LIST OF PLATES
1. Silver-washed Fritillary
2. Pearl-bordered Fritillary
1. Small Tortoise-shell
2. Large Tortoise-shell
1. Peacock Butterfly
2. Peacock Caterpillar
3. Red Admiral Butterfly
1. Painted Lady
2. Marbled White
1. Speckled Wood
2. Wall
1. Meadow Brown
2. Ringlet
1. Large Heath
2. Small Heath
1. Green Hair Streak
2. Purple Hair Streak
1. Small Copper
2. Common Blue
1. Brown Argus
2. Clifton Blue
1. Chalk-hill Blue
2. Little Blue
1. Azure Blue
2. Brimstone
1. Clouded Yellow
2. Pale Clouded
1. Swallow-tail
2. Swallow-tail Caterpillar
1. Orange Tip, male
2. Orange Tip, female
1. Large White
2. Large White Caterpillar
3. Small White
4. Small White Caterpillar
5. Green-veined White, under-side
1. Grizzled Skipper
2. Dingy Skipper
3. Large Skipper
4. Small Skipper
1. Eyed Hawk
2. Eyed Hawk Caterpillar
1. Poplar Hawk
2. Poplar Hawk Caterpillar
1. Lime Hawk
2. Lime Hawk Caterpillar
1. Death’s Head
2. Death’s Head Caterpillar
1. Privet Hawk
2. Privet Hawk Caterpillar
1. Elephant Hawk
2. Elephant Hawk Caterpillar
3. Small Elephant Hawk Moth
1. Humming-Bird Hawk
2. Bee Hawk
3. Currant Clearwing
4. Hornet Clearwing
1. Common Swift
2. Ghost Swift, male
3. Ghost Swift, female
1. Goat Moth
2. Goat Caterpillar
1. Wood Leopard
2. Green Forester
3. Six-Spot Burnet
1. Cinnabar
2. Cinnabar Caterpillar
3. White Ermine
1. Garden Tiger
2. Garden Tiger Caterpillar
3. Cream Spotted Tiger
4. Cream Spotted Tiger Caterpillar
1. Gold-Tail
2. Gold-Tail Caterpillar
3. Pale Tussock
4. Pale Tussock Caterpillar
1. Lackey
2. Lackey Caterpillar
3. Vapourer, male
4. Vapourer Caterpillar
5. Vapourer, female
1. Oak Eggar
2. Drinker
3. Drinker Caterpillar
1. Lappet
2. Lappet Caterpillar
1. Swallow-tail Moth
2. Swallow-tail Caterpillar
3. Emperor
4. Emperor Caterpillar
1. Brimstone
2. Canary-Shouldered Thorn
3. Pepper and Salt
1. Willow Beauty
2. Large Emerald
1. Bordered White, male
2. Bordered white, female
3. Magpie
4. Magpie Caterpillar
1. Spring Usher
2. Winter Moth, male
3. Winter Moth, female
1. Mottled Umber, male
2. Mottled Umber, female
3. Mottled Umber Caterpillar
1. Garden Carpet
2. Yellow Shell
3. Pebble Hook-tip
1. Puss
2. Puss Caterpillar
1. Lobster
2. Lobster Caterpillar
1. Buff Tip
2. Buff Tip Caterpillar
1. Figure of Eight
2. Peach Blossom
3. Grey Dagger
1. Large Yellow Underwing
2. Red Underwing
1. Pine Beauty
2. Old Lady
1. Pink-barred Sallow
2. Angel-shades
3. Silver Y
1. Beautiful Yellow Underwing
2. Orange Underwing
3. Burnished Brass
BUTTERFLIES AND
MOTHS
PART I
BUTTERFLIES
PLATE I
THE SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY (1)
THE Fritillaries are handsome golden-brown butterflies, with black blotches and streaks on the upper surface of all the wings, and a number of beautiful silvery spots upon the lower surface of the hinder ones. Nine different kinds are found in Great Britain, but one of these—the “Queen of Spain”—is very rare indeed, and several others are very “local”; that is, they are only found in a few places, so that you are not likely ever to see them. But the Silver-washed Fritillary is common in almost every large wood. You may see it flying about on any warm sunny day in July and the early part of August. And it is very fond indeed of resting with outspread wings on bramble blossoms, while it eagerly sucks up their sweet juices.
The caterpillar of this beautiful butterfly feeds upon violet leaves. It is rather a curious-looking creature, for it is covered all over with thorny spikes, two of which, placed just behind the head, are a good deal longer than the others. In colour it is black, with yellow lines along the back and sides. About the end of May it hangs itself up by its tail to the stem of a bramble-bush, or some other low shrub, and turns into a fat, humpy, grey chrysalis, spotted all over with silver and gold.
PLATE I
THE PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY (2)
This butterfly is only about half as big as the “silver-washed fritillary,” for its wings hardly ever measure more than an inch and three-quarters across. It is very common indeed in woods, where you may see it flitting about in almost every open space, first in May, and then again in August. Sometimes, too, you may notice it flying along a hedgerow by the roadside. The caterpillar, which feeds upon the leaves of the dog-violet, is black, with white dots and lines, and the chrysalis is greyish-brown, with paler spots upon the sides.
There is another fritillary, called the “Small Pearl-bordered,” which is very much like this butterfly. But you can easily tell the one from the other. All that you have to do is to look at the lower surface of the hind-wings. For in the Pearl-bordered Fritillary there are only nine silvery spots on these wings, while in the small Pearl-bordered there are no fewer than seventeen.
This butterfly also lives in woods, and the two may often be seen flying about together.
1. Small Tortoise-shell
2. Large Tortoise-shell
PLATE II
THE SMALL TORTOISE-SHELL (1)
This is one of the very commonest of all our British butterflies, and you may see it in almost any month of the year, for it first of all appears early in July, and remains on the wing till about the middle of October. Then it seeks some retired nook, and falls fast asleep until April or the beginning of May, when it leaves its retreat and returns to active life for four or five weeks more. And even in the middle of winter a warmer day than usual will often wake it up for an hour or two from its long slumber, and you may see it flying about, and evidently enjoying the sunshine.
If you want to find the caterpillars of this pretty butterfly, you must look for them on nettle leaves, where you may often see them feeding together in batches of seventy or eighty. They are grey in colour, with a black line running along the back and brown and yellow stripes along the sides, and are covered all over with short, stiff, bristly hairs. When they have reached their full size they wander away from their food-plants, hang themselves up with their heads downwards from a twig, or the side of a wall or a paling, and turn into spiky brown chrysalids, which are covered almost all over with shining golden spots.
PLATE II
THE LARGE TORTOISE-SHELL (2)
As a rule, you can easily tell this butterfly from the last by its size, for it is generally nearly half as big again. But just now and then a Large Tortoise-shell is no bigger than a “small tortoise-shell,” and then it is not always easy to distinguish the one from the other. So remember that a Large Tortoise-shell never has any white spots upon its wings at all, while the “small tortoise-shell” always has two, one of which is placed close to the tip of each of the front pair.
Large Tortoise-shells are not nearly so common as small ones, but in some years they are much more plentiful than in others. They appear in July or August, sleep all through the winter, and then fly about again during April and May. The caterpillars generally feed upon the leaves of elms, though they will also eat those of willow and apple and pear trees. They are brown in colour, with a broad black stripe along each side, and are covered with thorny black bristles. About the middle of June they turn into flesh-coloured chrysalids, marked with a number of bright golden spots, which you may sometimes find hanging by their tails on tree-trunks and park palings.
1. Peacock Butterfly 2. Peacock Caterpillar
3. Red Admiral Butterfly
PLATE III
THE PEACOCK (1 and 2)
You cannot possibly mistake this beautiful insect for any other British butterfly, for on each of its four wings it has a large eye-like spot, very much like the markings on the tail of a peacock. But the under-side of the wings is quite differently coloured. It is almost as black as charcoal. And the consequence is that when the butterfly sits on the trunk of a tree, with its wings folded over its back, you cannot possibly see it unless you look at it sideways.
Peacock butterflies are very common in August and September, and again in spring, after they have passed through their long winter sleep. They are very fond of sitting on thistle blossoms when the sun is shining, with their wings widely spread. And you may often see them resting on ivy bloom, or sipping the sweet juices of over-ripe plums. During the winter they hide away in outhouses, and sheds, and faggot-stacks. The caterpillars, which feed in large companies on nettle leaves, are black in colour, sprinkled with little white dots, and are quite as thorny as those of the two tortoise-shells. Look for them in June and July. The chrysalids are green, with their heads and bodies rather brighter than their tails, and with a number of gold spots.
PLATE III
THE RED ADMIRAL (3)
I really think that this is the very handsomest of all our British butterflies; for its wings are of the glossiest possible black above, with spots of the purest possible white, and streaks of the brightest possible scarlet. And on their lower surface so many different tints of grey and pink and brown and red are mingled together that I cannot possibly describe them. All that I can do is to advise you to try to catch one of these butterflies and look at it for yourself; and if you do, I am quite sure that you will say that you have never seen a more beautiful insect.
Red Admiral butterflies are nearly always very common from August till October, and again in April and May, and are quite as fond of ivy bloom and the juices of ripe fruits as peacocks. On almost any warm sunny day you may see them flying about in gardens, or on the borders of woods. Their thorny caterpillars, which are yellowish-grey in colour with black markings, and with light yellow lines on each side, may be found feeding on nettle leaves, though not in large companies like those of peacocks and small tortoise-shells. The chrysalids are brown, with gold spots.
1. Painted Lady
2. Marbled White
PLATE IV
THE PAINTED LADY (1)
In days of old this was not at all a common insect. But in the year 1877 a vast swarm of Painted Ladies came flying across the Straits of Dover, and spread to almost all parts of England. And since then this pretty butterfly has been a good deal more plentiful. But it is much commoner in some years than it is in others. If you want to find it, the very best place to look is a field of red clover in full blossom. The next best place is a field of lucerne. And the next best place to that is a good steep railway bank covered with flowers. But you may often see it resting on thistles and teasels with peacocks and small tortoise-shells.
The caterpillar of this pretty butterfly feeds upon thistle leaves; and for the first fortnight of its life it lives in a sort of little chamber, which it makes by fastening the tips of several leaves together by means of silken threads. It is covered all over with thorny bristles and is brown in colour, with yellow stripes down the back and sides. If you want to find it, you should look for it in June. And when it is fully fed it turns into a brown and grey chrysalis, marked with a number of silver spots. The butterfly comes out in August, and lives till the following May.
PLATE IV
THE MARBLED WHITE (2)
Although its colours are only glossy black and creamy-white, this is one of the prettiest of all our British butterflies. But it is quite possible to live all one’s life in the country without ever seeing it, because it is so very “local.” In one field, perhaps, or on one little patch of ground on a grassy hillside, it may be very common indeed, and you may often see fifteen or twenty of the graceful little insects flying about together. And yet you may hunt for miles and miles in every direction, and not see a single one anywhere else.
If you ever happen to find the caterpillar of this butterfly, you can recognise it at once by its colouring, for it has a pale green body with a yellow stripe running along each side, and a reddish head. And besides this there are two reddish spikes at the end of the body, forming a sort of projecting tail. It feeds on different kinds of grasses in September, and then again, after its long winter sleep, in April and May. Look out for the butterfly in July and the early part of August.
1. Speckled Wood
2. Wall
PLATE V
THE SPECKLED WOOD (1)
As you walk through a wood on a bright sunny day at the end of April, or in the beginning of May, you may often see a dark brown butterfly marked with a number of paler spots, which flits along just in front of you for some little distance, and then mounts up over your head and flies back the way it came. This is a Speckled Wood butterfly, or Wood Argus, as it is sometimes called. Argus, as perhaps you know, was a heathen god, who was supposed to have a hundred eyes. And his name has been given to the butterfly on account of the row of eye-like spots which runs along the margin of the hinder wings.
The caterpillar of this butterfly, which is a pretty little green creature with a white stripe along each side, and a dark brown one along its back, feeds on different kinds of grass, first in August and September, and then again in March. Before it enters into its long winter sleep it throws off its skin no less than five times and appears in a new one, which has been forming underneath the old coat. And, strange to say, it always eats its own cast skins! The chrysalis is of a beautiful bright green colour, and you may sometimes find it fastened to grass blades growing beneath trees in woods.
PLATE V
THE WALL BUTTERFLY (2)
I think that you must know this butterfly very well indeed by sight, for it is extremely common in all parts of the country. Indeed in May, and again in August, you can hardly walk along a lane, or through a grassy meadow, without seeing it in dozens whenever the sun is shining. It is called the “Wall” butterfly because it is very fond of resting for a moment or two on the top of a roadside wall. But it seems to have very sharp eyes, for if you walk towards the butterfly it is almost sure to fly swiftly away, only to return to the same spot as soon as you have passed by.
Like that of the “speckled wood,” the caterpillar of this butterfly is green in colour, and feeds upon different kinds of grasses. But you can always tell it by the fact that it has three pale lines running along its back instead of one dark brown streak, as well as a rather broader one along each side. The chrysalis is bright apple-green, with a few yellowish-white spots, and you may sometimes find it suspended by its tail from a blade of grass.
1. Meadow-Brown
2. Ringlet
PLATE VI
THE MEADOW-BROWN (1)
In almost all parts of the country, this is the very commonest of our British butterflies. From the beginning of June until quite the end of August you may see it in hundreds and hundreds, flying about in meadows, or along grassy banks by the roadside. And even on dull, gloomy days, when all other butterflies are hiding away in some snug retreat, it flits to and fro just as gaily as if the sun were shining brightly.
This is one of the butterflies in which the female is not quite like the male. For instead of having just a small dark spot with a white ring round it on each of the front wings, she has a large black spot with a little white dot in the middle. And round this is a patch of tawny yellow, which occupies nearly a quarter of the whole wing.
The eggs of the Meadow-brown butterfly are laid on different kinds of grass. When they hatch, the little caterpillars feed for about ten days, and then hide away among the roots, where they remain fast asleep until the following spring. In colour they are bright green, with a white stripe on each side, and when they are fully fed they turn into pale green chrysalids, marked all over with purple-black spots.
PLATE VI
THE RINGLET (2)
You can easily see why this butterfly is called the Ringlet, for on the lower surface of its wings it has a number of eye-like spots which are generally so close together that they form a sort of chain, made up of several rings. But the odd thing is that these spots vary very much indeed both in size and number. Generally there are eight quite large ones on each side, three on the front wings and five on the hind ones. But sometimes there are nine, and sometimes there are seven; and just now and then there are only three or four very tiny ones, while you may sometimes catch a Ringlet butterfly which has no spots at all. The upper surface of the wings is always dark smoky brown all over, with only a few very faint spots of a lighter colour.
The best place in which to look for Ringlet butterflies is in grassy paths through woods, where it is sometimes very common indeed. The caterpillars, which feed upon different kinds of grass, are very much like those of the “large heath.” But they only come out to feed during the night, so that if you want to find them you will have to look for them with a lantern. They are fully fed about the beginning of June, and the butterfly makes its appearance in July.
1. Large Heath
2. Small Heath
PLATE VII
THE LARGE HEATH (1)
This butterfly is very nearly as plentiful as the “meadow-brown,” and you can hardly walk along a lane or through a meadow without seeing it. The male is rather different from the female, for he is a good deal smaller, and has a band of dark brown running down from just above the middle of the front wings to the centre of the hind margin.
The caterpillar of this butterfly feeds upon couch-grass. It is greenish-grey in colour, with a reddish head, and has two pale lines running along each of its sides, and a dark one along its back. When it has reached its full size it spins a kind of little silken pad upon a blade of grass, from which it hangs itself up with its head downwards. Two days later it throws off its skin and turns into a fat little greenish-white chrysalis, marked with a number of dark streaks and blotches. Look for the caterpillar in May and the early part of June, for the chrysalis at the end of June, and for the butterfly in July and August.
PLATE VII
THE SMALL HEATH (2)
Of course you know this butterfly very well indeed by sight, for it is extremely common everywhere on heaths and downs and in grassy fields and in lanes from the beginning of June until the end of September. You may often see it gambolling about in company with “meadow-browns” and the pretty little blue butterflies, which are generally so common at the same time of the year. It is quite a small insect, for it only measures about an inch and a quarter across the wings; but in Scotland, strange to say, it is generally a good deal larger than it is in England.
The caterpillar of this butterfly is a little apple-green creature, with a darker stripe edged with white running along its back, and another along each of its sides. It feeds upon grass, and when it is fully fed it spins a kind of silken belt round a grass-stem, fastens itself to it with its head hanging downwards, and then changes into a bright green chrysalis with a short purple stripe, bordered with white, on each side.
1. Green Hair Streak
2. Purple Hair Streak
PLATE VIII
THE GREEN HAIR-STREAK (1)
The Hair-streaks are pretty little butterflies which you can very easily tell by sight. For, in the first place, they always have a pale streak, or a row of little white dots, scarcely thicker than a hair, running across the lower surface of the wings. That is why they are called “Hair-streaks.” And, in the second place, the hind-wings have a pair of little tails, something like those of the swallow-tail butterfly, only of course very much smaller.
Five different kinds of these butterflies are found in the British Islands, but only two of them are at all common. For the Green Hair-streak you should look on heaths, in open spaces in woods, on grassy banks by the roadside, and in other places in which brambles grow. You can easily tell it from all the other Hair-streaks by the bright green colour of its lower surface, and also by its small size, for it only measures about an inch across its outspread wings. The caterpillar, which is light green or greenish-yellow in colour, with a row of triangular yellow spots running along each side, feeds on bramble shoots and blossoms. You may find it in July, and the butterfly makes its appearance in May and June, and sometimes again in August.
PLATE VIII
THE PURPLE HAIR-STREAK (2)
This is the commonest of the Hair-streak butterflies, for there is scarcely a wood in which oak trees grow in which you may not find it. But it is quite easy to walk through a wood without seeing it, for it nearly always flies at some little height from the ground. And besides this it is very fond of sitting on leaves and basking in the sun, not moving for some little time unless it is disturbed. The male is much handsomer than the female, for the whole upper surface of the wings, except just the margin, is of the richest possible purple, which seems to shine and glisten in the light, while in his mate there is only a purple blotch in the middle of the wings.
The caterpillar of this butterfly is a most odd little creature, and really looks much more like a little fat slug. It is reddish-brown in colour, with a number of black marks upon its back. You may sometimes find it clinging to oak leaves, on which it feeds. When it is fully grown it generally descends to the ground, buries itself just below the surface, and turns into a fat little brown chrysalis, from which the butterfly appears in July.
1. Small Copper
2. Common Blue
PLATE IX
THE SMALL COPPER (1)
This is a very pretty little butterfly indeed, for the upper surface of its front wings is of the richest and most glossy reddish-brown, just like the colour of burnished copper, with nine black spots in the middle, and a narrow blackish border. The hind-wings are dark brown, with a broad band of copper running along the margin. It is very plentiful indeed, and you may see it in hundreds by the roadside, or on heaths and in waste places, darting to and fro in the hot sunshine, gambolling with the pretty little “blue” butterflies, or resting on the lilac blossoms of scabious plants. And it has no less than three broods in each year, the first appearing in April, the second in June, and the third in August and September.
The caterpillar of this pretty little butterfly is bright green in colour, with a red stripe running along each side, and another along its back. It feeds on the leaves of sorrel plants, and turns into a whitish chrysalis speckled with black and brown.
Perhaps you may wonder why this insect is called the “Small” Copper. The reason is that there used to be a much larger butterfly, which was very much like it, and which was called the “Large Copper.” But this has not been taken for a great many years.
PLATE IX
THE COMMON BLUE (2)
Everybody knows the pretty little “Blue” butterflies, which one sees playing about in such numbers in meadows and by grassy roadsides, all through the summer and the early part of the autumn. But there are several different kinds of these insects, and that which one generally sees is the Common Blue. The male and the female are not quite alike, for the wings of the male are lilac blue all over, while those of the female are much browner, with a row of orange spots running along the hind margin. And the under surface of the male is grey, while that of the female is brown. But, strange to say, “Blues” are sometimes found with the colouring of the male on the wings of one side, and that of the female on those of the other!
The caterpillar of this pretty little butterfly is rather hairy, and is bright green in colour, with a dark stripe running along the back, and a row of little white spots on each side. It feeds on bird’s-foot trefoil, rest-harrow, and other low plants, and turns into a small green chrysalis tinged with brown.
1. Brown Argus
2. Clifton Blue
PLATE X
THE BROWN ARGUS (1)
Although this pretty little butterfly belongs to the family of the “blues,” it has no trace of blue in its colouring at all, but is dark brown above, with a row of orange spots along the margin of both the front and the hind-wings, and either grey or reddish-brown below. It is very common in most places, and more especially on chalky downs, where you may often see it gambolling about in company with two or three “common blues.” And you may also see it flitting about in almost any meadow, just when the hay is ready for cutting. It appears twice in the year, first in May, and then again in August.
In shape, the caterpillar of this butterfly is rather like a fat little slug. It is covered with short white hairs, and is green in colour, with a dark brown stripe along the back, and a narrow pink streak on either side. You may sometimes find it feeding upon the leaves of the hemlock, stork’s-bill, and sun-cistus. And when it has finished growing it turns into a little green chrysalis with a deep pink stripe on each side.
PLATE X
THE CLIFTON BLUE (2)
This is one of the loveliest of all our British butterflies, for the upper side of the wings of the male is of the brightest and most vivid blue, like that of the sky on a glorious summer’s day, with a white line running along the front margin, and a black line along the hind one. The female, however, is not nearly so handsome, her wings being smoky brown all over, with only just a few blue scales on the parts nearest to the body. The lower surface of the wings, both in the male and the female, is greyish-brown, with a number of black spots edged with white.
If you want to see this beautiful butterfly, you must hunt for it either in May or in August on the chalky downs in the south of England, and in the Isle of Wight. But it is one of the “local” butterflies, and although you may find it quite commonly in one or two places, you may search for it elsewhere for years, and yet never meet with it at all.
The caterpillar of the Clifton Blue, or “Adonis Blue,” as it is sometimes called, is green, with yellow streaks. It feeds on trefoils and vetches, and other low plants.
1. Chalk-hill Blue
2. Little Blue
PLATE XI
THE CHALK-HILL BLUE (1)
You cannot possibly mistake the male of this butterfly for any other insect, for the upper surface of both its front and hind-wings is of the most beautiful silvery greenish-blue colour, shading off into a blackish band along the hind border. In fact, as a great naturalist once said, it always makes one think of a bright moonlight night, while the “Clifton blue” reminds one of the sky on a clear summer’s day. But the female is so exactly like that of the “Clifton blue” that it is hardly possible to tell the one from the other.
This lovely butterfly is hardly ever found except on chalky downs, and is commonest in the south of England. It flies in July and August. If you want to find the caterpillar, you must look for it in May and the early part of June. It feeds upon bird’s-foot trefoil and kidney-vetch, and looks rather like a fat little green woodlouse, with six yellow stripes upon its back and sides; and if you look at these stripes closely, you will see that they are really made of rows of tiny yellow spots. About the middle of June it fastens itself to the stem of its food-plant by spinning a silken band round its body, and then turns into a greenish-brown chrysalis.
PLATE XI
THE LITTLE BLUE (2)
This is a very tiny insect indeed. In fact, it is by far the smallest of all our British butterflies, and you might easily pass it by, over and over again, without noticing it, for it is not at all brightly coloured. The female is dark brown above, without any orange spots on the hind-wings, and even the male has only a faint tinge of blue in the middle of his wings. Underneath, both male and female are plain greyish-drab, with rows of tiny black spots enclosed in whitish rings. So you will have to look for it very carefully indeed if you want to see it. It is double-brooded—that is, it makes its appearance twice in the year, first in May, and then again in August. And you may see it flying about in meadows and on heaths, more especially in chalky or limestone districts.
The caterpillar of this odd little butterfly, like that of the chalk-hill blue, is shaped like a tiny woodlouse, and is green in colour, with an orange stripe running along its back, and another on each side. It feeds upon kidney-vetch, or “woundwort,” as it is sometimes called, and turns into a little yellow chrysalis, marked with three rows of black spots.
This butterfly is sometimes known as the Bedford Blue.
1. Azure Blue
2. Brimstone
PLATE XII
THE AZURE BLUE (1)
I do not know why this pretty butterfly is called the “Azure” Blue; for azure is a very bright blue indeed, and yet the insect is not nearly so brilliantly coloured as the Clifton blue. Indeed, it is lilac in colour, rather than blue. But sometimes it is called the “Holly Blue,” and that is a very much better name for it; for one often sees it flying along by the side of holly hedges, while the caterpillar feeds upon holly blossoms, as well as upon those of buckthorn and ivy. It is the first of all the “blues” to appear in the spring, and you may sometimes see it even in April. And generally there is another brood towards the end of the summer.
You can easily tell the female of this butterfly from the male, for her front wings have a broad black border, while that on the wings of her mate is very narrow indeed. The caterpillar is greenish-yellow in colour, with a black head and black legs, and a bright green streak running along the middle of the back. When it has reached its full size it turns into a small yellowish-brown chrysalis.
PLATE XII
THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY (2)
This very handsome insect is common in almost all parts of the country, and is one of the very first butterflies to be seen in the spring. On warm, sunny days in March, or even in February, you may often meet with it. For it is one of those butterflies which “hibernate”—that is, it comes out of the chrysalis in the summer or early autumn, and then sleeps all through the winter in some snug retreat, from which it is always ready to come out for an hour or two when the weather is a little warmer and finer than usual.
The male Brimstone is a good deal handsomer than the female, for his wings are of a bright daffodil colour, while those of his mate are pale greenish-yellow. The caterpillar feeds on the young leaves of buckthorn bushes, and is dull green in colour, sprinkled all over with tiny black spots, from each of which sprouts a slender white bristle, and the chrysalis, which is fastened by a silken belt round its body to a twig of the food-plant, is bright apple-green marked with yellow and purple-brown.
1. Clouded Yellow
2. Pale Clouded
PLATE XIII
THE CLOUDED YELLOW (1)
I wonder if you have ever seen this very handsome butterfly alive. Very likely you have not, for although just now and then it is very common indeed, it nearly always becomes quite scarce for several years afterwards, and you may look for it summer after summer without seeing it at all. It makes its appearance in August and September, and the best places in which to look for it are clover and lucerne fields near the seaside. But it is also very fond of flying about on railway banks; and if you try to chase it there you will find that you will have to run very hard indeed if you want to catch it! In fact, one butterfly collector used to say that it was of no use trying to do so unless one wore a pair of seven-leagued boots!
The caterpillar of the Clouded Yellow butterfly is of a bright grass-green colour, with a white line on each side, marked with yellow and orange. It feeds on the leaves of lucerne, trefoils, and clover in June and July, and then changes into a green chrysalis shaped something like that of a “large white,” with a pale yellow stripe on each side, and a number of black and reddish-brown spots.
PLATE XIII
THE PALE CLOUDED YELLOW (2)
Sometimes this butterfly is known as the Clouded Sulphur. It appears in the same places, and at the same time of the year, as the “clouded yellow,” but is hardly ever quite as common. Generally, indeed, you may see ten or twelve “clouded yellows” to one Pale Clouded Yellow. You can easily tell it by its much paler colour, for its wings are quite light yellow instead of rich orange, while sometimes one meets with a Pale Clouded Yellow which is really almost white. And, besides that, the black border of the upper wings, instead of being nearly the same width all the way along, is very broad at the top and very narrow at the bottom, while even in the male it is marked with several yellow spots.
This pretty butterfly is quite a seaside insect, and sometimes it may be seen fluttering over the waves a long way out from the shore. Indeed, there seems to be very little doubt that now and then it flies right across the Straits of Dover, and reaches this country from France!
The caterpillar of the Pale Clouded Yellow is olive-green in colour, sprinkled with black dots, and with two yellow lines along its back and another on each side. It feeds on clovers and trefoils.
1. Swallow-tail
2. Swallow-tail Caterpillar
PLATE XIV
THE SWALLOW-TAIL (1 and 2)
This is the finest of all our British butterflies, and a most beautiful creature it is as it flits to and fro in the sunshine. But I am afraid that you are not very likely to see it alive, for it is only found in the fens of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, while even there it is not as common as it used to be. But if ever you spend a summer holiday in the Norfolk Broads you may, perhaps, see one of these lovely butterflies flying swiftly past you.
The caterpillar is almost as handsome as the butterfly. It is bright green in colour, with velvety-black rings, which are spotted with red. And just behind its head it has an odd little forked organ, from which it pours out a drop of liquid when it is frightened. This liquid has a very nasty smell, and no doubt it prevents birds from feeding upon the caterpillar.
This caterpillar feeds upon hog’s fennel, wild carrot, and marsh milk-parsley. When it has reached its full size it climbs up the stem of a reed, fastens itself to it by spinning a kind of silken belt round its body, and turns into a yellowish-green chrysalis, from which the butterfly appears during the following summer.