BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



27 



a broad central white band. The under side 

 of the fore wings is paler, spotted as above, 

 with yellowish brown borders. The hind wings 

 are reddish brown, with a submarginal row 

 of small white spots, a larger central row, and 

 three small ones at the base. The butterfly 

 is found in May and July in Central and 

 Southern Europe, the Hartz Mountains, Bo- 

 hemia, Bavaria, etc. 



Genus Nisoniades, Hubn. 



AntennEE with a fusiform hooked club. The 

 fore winss with a fold on the costa in the 

 male and the marginal fringes not chequered 

 with black. 



N. tages, Linn. The Dingy Skipper. PL 

 XII. fig. 8. (Female) is widely distributed 

 throughout Europe, and is common in many 

 parts of the British Isles. It frequents hill- 

 sides, rough fields, and open places in woods, 

 and likes to sit on the ground or on low flowers 

 in the heat of the sun. With us it is most 

 common in chalk and limestone districts. The 

 butterfly appears in May, but on the Continent 

 there is another brood in August. The larva 

 is dull green, with a brown head, yellow dorsal 

 and lateral lines, and yellow spiracles. It feeds 

 on Erxnoium campestre, Lotus comic itlatus, and 

 Ibcris in May and September. 



Genus Hesperla, Boisd. 



Body thick, reaching beyond the hind wings. 

 Terminal joint of the palpi obliquely raised. 

 Hind tibiae with four spurs. Small butterflies, 

 mostly fulvous in colour, usually with a black 

 line just below the discoidal cell of the fore 

 wings in the male. The larvae have the neck 

 constricted and the anal plate projects beyond 

 the claspers. They are single-brooded, and 

 hibernate as larvae, feeding in Spring on 

 grasses. They make a slight cocoon between 

 leaves for the pupa. 



H. thaumas, Hufn. The Small Skipper. 

 PI. XII. fig. II. Fem:.le iia. The underside 

 of the hind wings is uniform greenish ashy, 

 with the inner margin fulvous. It is common 

 in the South of England and in the County 

 of Wicklow in Ireland, but does not occur in 

 Scotland. It frequents lanes and pastures from 

 June to August. The caterpillar is green, with 

 a darker dorsal and whitish lateral stripes. It 

 feeds on grasses in May and June. 



H. lineola, Ochs. The Scarce Small 

 Skipper closely resembles the last species, but 

 the club of the antennae is orange, with a black 

 tip, and the streak on the fore wings of the 

 male is straighter and less distinct. The under 

 side of the hind wings is more uniform, being 

 without the fulvous inner margin as in thaumas. 

 This butterfly appears in July, and is less widely 

 distributed than thaumas in Britain. The larva 

 feeds on grasses. 



H. actaeon, Esp. The Lulworth Skipper. 

 PL XII. fig. 12. Female 12a. frequents dry 

 places among hills in Central Europe in July 

 and August. It is found in a few localities 

 on waste ground near the sea on the South- 

 West Coast of England, but is not known to 

 occur in any other part of the British Isles. 

 The caterpillar is pale green, with a dark 

 dorsal line edged with yellow, and two yel'ow 

 lines on each side. It feeds on Brachy od'u i 

 pinnatum, Triticum repcns, and Poa annua at nignt. 



H. sylvanus, Esp. The Large Skipper. 

 PL XII. fig. 13. Female 13a. frequents lanes, 

 heaths, rough pastures, etc., in June and 

 August. It is abundant in most parts of Eng- 

 land, but local in Scotland, and very rare in 

 Ireland. The under side resembles that of 

 the next species, which we have figured, but 

 is paler, and the spots yellowish and indistinct. 

 The larva is pale bluish green, with a darker 

 dorsal stripe and brown head. It feeds on 

 grasses in May. 



H. comma, Linn. The Pearl Skipper. 

 PL XII. fig. 14. Female 14a. Under side 14b. 

 is found in July and August. It is unknown 

 in Scotland and Ireland, but common in some 

 localities in England, especially in the chalk 

 districts of the South and East. The larva 

 is olive-green with a linear white spot on 

 each side of tlie tenth and eleventh segments. 

 The head is black. It feeds on Coronilla and 

 other Leguminosa. 



Genus Cyclopides, Hubn. 



Antennae with the club short and not curved. 

 Body slender. Fore wings broad. Hind wings 

 with the hind margin not nmch curved. The 

 only European species is : — 



C. morpheus. Pall. This butterfly is dark 

 brown above, with a light yellow spot on the 

 costa of the fore wings, and another rather 



