BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



25 



of equal width throughout, with the eye-spots 

 placed on it, and the submarginal band is 

 reddish. It is found at a high elevation in the 

 Swiss Alps and in the Tyrol. 



C. pamphilus, Linn. The Small Heath. 

 PI. Xll. fig. 5. Under side 5a. is very common 

 everywhere, flj'ing in meadows, lanes, etc., 

 from May to September. The caterpillar is 

 green, with a dark dorsal and white lateral 

 stripe. It feeds nearly all the Summer on 

 grasses, especially Cynosuvus cristatus. The 

 chrysalis is green, with three black longitudinal 

 stripes on the wing-cases. 



C. tiphon, Rott. The Marsh Ringlet is 

 larger than the last species. The fore wings are 

 light fulvous or brownish, and greyish towards 

 the margins. The hind wings are darker. There 

 is a round dot near the apex of the fore wings 

 surrounded by a 5rellow ring, and on the hind 

 wings there is a submarginal row of similar 

 dots, also surrounded with yellow. The under 

 side is bright fulvous, with greyish yellow apex 

 and borders. The apical ej'e-spot is centred 

 with white, and there may be another similar 

 spot below it. The hind wings are brownish, 

 suffused with yellow, greyish j'ellow on the 

 margins, with a submarginal row of eye-spots 

 in yellowish white rings, and a central whitish 

 streak beginning at the costa. The butterfly 

 is found in moist mountain meadows, including 

 the Northern parts of the British Isles, and 

 is local, but common where it is found. It 

 appears in May and July. The larva feeds 

 on Carex. Var. philoxenus, Esp. PI. XII. 

 fig. 7. Under side 7a. only occurs in the North 

 of England and in Holstein. It differs from 

 the type in having larger and more numerous 

 eye-spots. Var. laidion, Bkh. PI. XII. fig. 6. 

 is a form peculiar to Scotland and Ireland. 

 It has the eye-spots of the under side ab- 

 sent or very small. 



FAMILY 



HESPERID^. 



Small butterflies with a short, stout body 

 and large head. The wings are small, with 

 thick nervures, and when at rest the hind wings 

 are held horizontally and the fore wings ob- 

 liquely. The colour of the wings is brown, 

 greyish brown, or fulvous, with or without 

 spots. The fore wings are triangular and 



somewhat pointed, and have the discoidal cell 

 closed only by a fine nervure. The antennae 

 are placed wide apart. They are gradually 

 expanded into an elongated club, generally 

 curved. The legs are all fully developed, and 

 the posterior tibiae are furnished with four 

 spurs, except in Carterocephalus, in which there 

 are only two. The larvae are cylindrical, 

 smooth or pubescent, with a large globular, 

 slightly grooved head, and a slight constriction 

 between the head and the body. They live 

 in rolled-up leaves, which they spin together, 

 and the pupae are enclosed in a slight cocoon. 



Genus Spilothyrus, Boisd. 



Body short and stout, and extending only 

 slightly beyond the hind wings. The terminal 

 joint of the palpi is smooth and short. The 

 club of the antennae is short and pyriform, not 

 curved. The fore wings have the costa curved 

 in the male. The wings are marked with trans- 

 parent spots. The fringes are not chequered. 



S. alceae, Esp. Larva PI. XII. fig. 8a. 

 This butterfl}' is generally distributed in Central 

 and Southern Europe, but is not found in 

 Britain. It appears in May and August, and 

 frequents lanes. The butterfl}' is dark brown, 

 with four transparent spots on the outer part 

 of the fore wings, and a dark central band. 

 The hind wings have three dark bands. The 

 under surface is like the upper, but lighter, 

 and is marked with several central white 

 spots. We have figured the caterpillar, which 

 feeds in June and September on the leaves 

 of mallow. 



S. altheae, Hiibn. is very like the last 

 species, but has more of a greenish shade, and 

 there are two white spots on the middle of 

 the hind wings. The under side is more green- 

 ish gre}^ with distinct light-coloured nervures. 

 It is found in May and August in Central and 

 South-Eastern Europe. 



S. lavaterse, Esp. is light greenish grey, 

 the fore wings with a central band of white 

 spots, bordered with dark brown on the inner 

 side, and there are a few white spots near 

 the apex. The hind wings have a dark central 

 and basal band and white spots. The under 

 side is like the upper, but very pale, almost 

 white. The butterfly appears in July and 

 August, and is common in Southern Germany, 



