28 



BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



less distinct below it. Between these and the 

 hind margin are a few indistinct light spots. 

 The female has the spots more distinct than 

 the male, and sometimes has an extra one in 

 the discoidal cell. The hind wings are uni- 

 form dark brown in both sexes. On the under 

 side the fore wings are dark brown, with a 

 marginal row of small yellow spots, and several 

 similar ones near the apex. The hind wings 

 are pale orange, with two rows of large white 

 oval spots in dark brown rings, and one or two 

 similar ones at the base. It frequents damp 

 meadows near woods in many parts of Central 

 Europe, but does not occur in Britain. The 

 larva feeds on grasses in May. 



Genus Carterocephalus, Lederer. 



Body stout. Terminal joint of the palpi 

 curved. Posterior tibifc with only two spines. 

 Marginal fringes dark, except at the tips, where 

 they are yellow. The butterflies are single- 

 brooded. The larvae feed on grasses. 



C. palaemon. Pall. The Chequered Skipper. 

 PL XII. fig. 15. Under side 15a. appears in 

 May and June. It frequents open glades and 

 woodland paths, and is local both in England 



and on the Continent. In England it is found 

 chiefly in the Midlands, and is unknown in 

 Scotland and Ireland. The caterpillar is 

 cylindrical, dark brown or grey, and finely 

 pubescent, with two yellow dorsal stripes. The 

 head is round and black, with an orange band 

 behind it. It feeds on Plantago major and on 

 grasses in April. 



C. Sylvius, Knoch. The fore wings are 

 light fulvous in the male, with a marginal 

 row of small black spots, and four larger black 

 spots between these and the base. In the 

 female there is a dark brown marginal band 

 replacing the small spots, and the other spots 

 are larger and confluent. The hind wings are 

 dark brown in both sexes, with fulvous spots 

 arranged almost as in palamon. The under 

 side of the fore wings is light fulvous, and 

 the hind wings greenish grej', both with spots 

 as above. The butterfl]/ appears in May 

 and June in woods in North Germany, includ- 

 ing Brunswick and the Hartz Mountains, 

 and in North-Eastern Europe. The larva is 

 dirty flesh-colour, with reddish dorsal and 

 lateral lines and black spiracles. It feeds on 

 grasses in April and May. 



