COMMON BLUE. 136 



This butterfly is out in June, aud there is a second brood in August. 



The caterpillar is found the end of April, and in July and August. 



It is said to feed on the wild strawberry, [Fragaria vesca,) the wild 

 liquorice, and different kinds ol' grasses. 



The Common Blue averages in the expense of its wings from a little 

 over an inch to an inch and a quarter. The fore wings are of a fine 

 lilac blue, margined on the outer edge with a thin black line; the 

 fringe white. A similar description applies to the hind wings. 



Underneath, the front wings are of an ash-colour; towards the base 

 is one occellated spot, and beneath it a black line, then another spot, 

 then a transverse row of six others, and then two rows of smaller and 

 fainter ones; the lower ones of each row with some pale orange marks 

 between them ; these are succeeded by a narrow black thin line at the 

 edge of the white fringe. The hind wings are irrorated about the base 

 with silvery blue, and are spotted very much in the same way as the 

 fore wings, but there is a bidentate spot below the centre, and the 

 orange spots outside this are large, continuous, and distinct, following 

 the margin of the wing. The body is clothed wtth long downy hair, 

 of a bluish white colour. 



In the female the blue of the fore wings is almost wholly obscured 

 with blackish brown, which latter colour forms a distinct border at the 

 outer edge, within it being a row of orange spots more or less distinct 

 in different specimens: the fringe is white. The hind wings' are similarly 

 marked, except that the black edge is supplanted by a narrow black 

 line, within which is a blue one, with a row of black spots continuous 

 with the orange ones. 



Underneath, the markings resemble those in the male, but they are 

 brighter and more distinct. 



The caterpillar is of a bright green colour, with a dark line along 

 the back, adjoining which are rows of yellow spots. 



This species is much subject to variety, both in the number and size 

 of the eyes on the under surface of the wings, and the markings on 

 the upper, and hence has acquired many an "alias," as shewn by its 

 synonyms and supposed distinctions. 



Some individuals exhibit the double appearance of the male and the 

 female, viz., the wings on each side representing each sex. 



Others have the sides not correspondingly alike. 



Some differ in form from the rest, the tips of the wings in the 

 females being rounded, or acute. 



Some females have the upper wings nearly as blue as in the male, 

 with a black spot, while in others they are nearly entirely blackish 

 brown. 



