PART I. Butterflies

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.

PLATE XV

THE ORANGE TIP (1 and 2)

You must often have noticed this very pretty insect flying about in the spring, for it is quite common in almost all parts of the country. And you cannot possibly mistake the male for any other butterfly, because of the large patch of orange-yellow at the tips of the front wings. But the female is without this orange patch, so that you might easily take her for one of the small white butterflies. If you can look at her closely, however, you will notice that in the middle of her front wings she has a small black spot shaped just like the crescent moon, and that the lower surface of her hind-wings is marbled with yellowish-green.

The caterpillar of this pretty butterfly feeds upon cuckoo-flower, or “lady’s smock,” as it is sometimes called, and also upon hedge-garlic, tower mustard, and yellow rocket. In colour it is green, with a white stripe running along each side of its body. When it is fully fed it fastens itself by a silken belt to the stem of its food-plant, and turns into a long, slender, greenish-brown chrysalis, shaped like a bow, from which the butterfly appears in the following May.

1. Orange Tip, Male 2. Orange Tip, Female]

PLATE XVI

THE LARGE WHITE (1 and 2)

This is a very common butterfly indeed, and even in towns you may often see it flying about. Indeed it is much too common, for its caterpillars feed upon the leaves of cabbages and cauliflowers, to which they sometimes do most terrible mischief. I dare say that you have seen these plants so stripped by the caterpillars of “Garden Whites,” as these butterflies are often called, that they look just like skeletons, only the mid-ribs and the veins being left remaining. And in some summers these caterpillars are so plentiful that hardly a single cabbage or cauliflower escapes.

You can easily recognise this butterfly by its size; and you can tell the female from the male by the two black spots and the narrow black streak upon her front wings. The caterpillar is green in colour, shaded on each side with yellow, and is dotted all over with tiny black spots, from each of which springs a hair. When it has reached its full size it leaves its food-plant, fastens itself to a wall, or a fence, or a door-post, or the trunk of a tree, and turns into a rather stout bluish-white chrysalis, sprinkled with blackish spots. The butterfly may be seen in May, and again in August.

PLATE XVI

THE SMALL WHITE (3 and 4)

This butterfly is even commoner than the last. Indeed, two butterflies out of every three which you see on a warm summer’s day are almost sure to be Small Whites, and they are always very plentiful indeed in gardens, where their caterpillars often do a great deal of mischief. You can easily tell them from the caterpillars of the “large white,” for they are pale green in colour, with a yellow line running down the middle of the back, and a dotted line of the same colour on either side. And instead of having short, stiff hairs all over their bodies, they are covered with a kind of very soft down. They, too, feed upon cabbages and cauliflowers, but instead of eating away the outer leaves only, like those of the “large white,” they bore their way right into the very heart of the plants, and often quite spoil them for use as human food. Very often, too, you may find them feeding on the leaves of nasturtiums, and also on those of mignonette.

This butterfly, like the last, appears in the early spring, and again in summer, and you can tell the female from the male by the two black spots upon her front wings. The chrysalis is sometimes green in colour, and sometimes yellow, and sometimes light or reddish-brown.

1. Large White 2. Large White Caterpillar 3. Small White 4. Small White Caterpillar 5. Green-veined White, under-side]

PLATE XVI

THE GREEN-VEINED WHITE (5)

From a little distance you might very easily mistake this butterfly for a “small white”; for it is of just the same size, and the upper surface of its wings is marked in almost exactly the same way. But if you happen to see it sitting with its wings closed, you will notice at once that the veins on the lower surface of the hinder pair are streaked with green or grey. It is not quite as common as the “small white,” but you may see it flying about in almost any part of the country in May, and again in August.

This butterfly lays its eggs on hedge-garlic, and also on winter-cress and sometimes on water-cress. They are most beautiful little objects if you look at them through a microscope, for they are shaped just like little tiny sugar-loaves, with ridges running down them from the top to the bottom, and smaller ridges crosswise between them. The caterpillars which hatch out of them are darker green above and lighter green below, with a row of little black spots on either side, each of which is enclosed in a yellow ring; and the chrysalis is green, sprinkled all over with the tiniest possible black spots.

PLATE XVII

THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER (1)

Skipper butterflies are common enough in almost all parts of the country; yet very few people ever seem to notice them. The reason is that they hardly look like butterflies at all. They look much more like little grey or brown moths. Yet they are really butterflies, for if you look at them closely you will see that their feelers have little knobs at the tips. And that is one of the marks of a butterfly.

It is very easy to see why these little insects are called “Skippers,” for they seem to skip from flower to flower in a manner quite unlike the flight of any other butterfly. And the Grizzled Skipper is one of the commonest of them all. You may see it darting about in May, and again in August, in open grassy places in woods. But it only seems to live for a short time, so that although it may be flying about in numbers one day, two or three days later it will have quite disappeared. The caterpillar is sometimes green and sometimes brown in colour, with paler lines along its back and sides. It feeds for a few weeks on bramble-leaves, and then turns into a dull white chrysalis spotted with black.

1. Grizzled Skipper 2. Dingy Skipper 3. Large Skipper 4. Small Skipper]

PLATE XVII

THE DINGY SKIPPER (2)

This little butterfly certainly deserves its name. One cannot call it a pretty insect, for it is just dull, dingy brown all over, with just a faint grey band running across the middle of the wings. So unless you look very carefully for it you are not likely to see it. It does not live in woods, like the “grizzled skipper,” but flies about on flowery chalk banks in the sunshine, first in May, and then again in August. And sometimes you may see it in numbers in an old chalk-pit, never resting on one flower for more than a very few moments, but skipping about in the most active way from one blossom to another.

The caterpillar of this little butterfly feeds on the bird’s-foot trefoil, that low plant with yellow flowers which grows so commonly on chalky banks. If you should ever happen to find this caterpillar you can tell it at once by its colour, which is pale green, with two yellow stripes running along each side of the body, and over each stripe is a row of little black dots. When it has finished growing it turns into a fat and rather bunchy little chrysalis, which is dull green in front and rosy-red behind.

PLATE XVII

THE LARGE SKIPPER (3)

The Large Skipper is one of the commonest of all these queer little butterflies, and you may see it in dozens and dozens, skipping actively about from flower to flower on grassy banks by the roadside, and in open places in woods. The male is not quite like the female, for he has a rather large streak of dark brown running across his front wings, which look as if they had been scorched down the middle. And the body of the female is so very stout that she certainly looks much more like a moth than a butterfly.

If you want to find the caterpillar of this insect you must look for it on different kinds of meadow-grass. It has a big brown head and a dull green body, with a dark line running along the back dotted with black. And underneath, on the hinder part of its body, it has a number of white spots. When it is fully grown it fastens three or four grass-stems together by means of silken threads, and then turns to a rather long and thin chrysalis of a pale brown colour between them. Look out for the butterfly on bright sunny days in May, and again in August.

1. Eyed Hawk 2. Eyed Hawk Caterpillar]

PLATE XVII

THE SMALL SKIPPER (4)

This queer little butterfly, which is about half the size of the “large skipper,” is very nearly as common. But it only makes its appearance once in the year instead of twice, generally about the middle of July. The best places in which to look for it are grassy banks by the sides of lanes and open places in woods. But it is so small that unless you look very carefully you will most likely pass it by. The male butterfly is not quite like the female, for he has a thin black line running along the middle of his front wings.

This butterfly lays its eggs on different kinds of grass, and when they hatch, the little caterpillars feed for a few weeks, and then find their way into some snug retreat, in which they sleep all through the autumn and winter. Early in the spring they come out from their hiding-places and begin to feed again; and by about the beginning of June they are ready to turn into chrysalids. If ever you should happen to find them you may know them at once, for they are green in colour, with six white stripes running all the way along their bodies. And besides this they are quite fat in the middle, and quite thin at the head and the tail.