THE FAERY YEAR 



rival for, make no mistake, butterflies can battle 

 revelling in the warmth of the air, the nectar of the 

 flower. All we know is that Nature, for some hidden 

 reason, whilst fortifying the butterfly against the siege 

 of cold, has arranged that it shall only live its full 

 life in the sunlight. 



With butterflies, as with moths, there are excep- 

 tions to the general rule. The little blue, which 

 has been flying about during the past fortnight 

 in seemingly aimless way, is the azure or holly 

 blue butterfly, not the common blue butterfly 

 of full summer. Its flights are further afield than 

 those of the common blue. It flies erratically over 

 bushes and trees, where the common blue travels 

 rather from flower to flower or grass head to grass 

 head in the meadow. This azure blue, like other 

 butterflies, is evidently a sun worshipper. But I 

 have seen it quite alert, moving over and nicely 

 examining a leaf, or flying strongly during sunless 

 hours late in April or early in May. This holly 

 blue, not the orange tip, is the first butterfly to hatch 

 from the chrysalis inTspring. It is possible that a 

 few large white or cabbage white butterflies hatch 

 out as early as or earlier than the azure blue ; but 

 I doubt it, for I believe that both those butterflies 

 hibernate in England, which may account for the 

 very early specimens. 



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