PLATE XIX. 
No. 1.—The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly (Melitea 
No. 5.—The Heath Fritillary Butterfly (Melitea 
Cinwia). Athalia). 
No. 2.—The Under side of the Glanville Fritillary No. 6.—The Under side of the Heath Fritillary But- 
Butterfly. terfly. 
No. 3.—The Caterpillar of the Glanville Fritillary No. 7.—The Caterpillar of the Heath Fritillary But- 
Butterfly. terfly. 
No. 4.—The Chrysalis of the Glanville Fritillary No. 8.—The Chrysalis of the Heath Fritillary But- 
Butterfly. terfly. 
Tue genus Melitwa. The insects contained in this genus, according to the system I am 
following, were long since separated from the genus Argynnis by Continental entomologists, on 
account of the absence of the pearly or silvery patches from the under surface of the wings. 
It is but recently, however, that this arrangement has been followed in English collections, 
though such an arrangement, with other modifications in the classification of the Fritillaries, 
was suggested by Mr. Westwood in my former work, published in 1841. Of the three species 
now assigned to the genus, the following are the chief characteristics. The antennz are of mo- 
derate length, and have the club of a rather elongated form. The palpi are rather long, point- 
ing upwards, and diverging at the points. The wings are tawny, with transverse black bands, 
and black streaks down the nervures. The continuous black bands may be cited as a cha- 
racter which distinguishes the species of small fritillaries still retained in the genus JZelitea 
from those transferred to Argynnis: the last having the bands broken up into detached marks 
or rounded spots. The insects now assigned to the genus A/elitwa are distinguished moreover 
by the absence of the silvery marks as before stated, and by a greater degree of correspondence 
between the markings of the upper and nether surfaces. The front pair of legs are spurious, 
or unsuited to walking, in both sexes ; those of the female having, however, jointed tarsi, while 
those of the male are without joint in this portion, and much more covered with hair. The 
larvee have fleshy tubercles, furnished with spines. They feed on herbaceous plants, especially 
the common Plantain, or the Devil’s-hit Scabious ; and are, it is said, always hatched in the 
autumn, living through the winter in clusters, protected by a web, and attaining their full 
growth in early spring. The Chrysalis is suspended by the tail. 
Melitea Cinwia (the Glanville Fritillary, No. 1) is the rarest of the three British species, 
and is extremely local. Where it does occur, however, it is generally found rather abundantly, 
especially in some localities in the Isle of Wight. The Rev. J. F. Dawson, in a communication 
to the “ Zoologist,” has given a very interesting account of the habits of this pretty insect as 
he has observed them at Sandown, where, as it would appear from his account, they only fre- 
quent wild portions of the cliffs, in which cultivation does not threaten their haunts with un- 
suitable innovations. The eggs are generally deposited on the leaves of the narrow-leaved 
Plantain in low and protected situations, where the young brood when hatched pass the winter 
beneath the protection of a family awning of silky webbing. In the spring, when the growing 
caterpillars disperse, they invariably seek the higher ground, as more sunny and better suited 
to the development of the Chrysalis ; which is generally found suspended to the lower portions 
