Marbled White 



THE MARBLED WHITE BUTTERFLY (Melanargia 

 Galathea\ Plate IX., Fig. i. We now come to a group 

 of butterflies (the Satyrid<e) quite the reverse in build 

 and habits from the Emperors and Admirals. Of 

 medium or small size, though the wings are ample, the 

 body is small and the muscular power is never great ; 

 hence they are soft and downy, never fly far at a 

 stretch, and are, although many of them common, 

 very local in their habits. 



And the Marbled White is no exception to the group. 

 His name may suggest something hard, polished, and 

 durable, yet he is anything but that. I wonder what his 

 name might have been had he been common north of 

 the Tweed, and not known in the South ? To Sir Walter 

 Scott, James Hogg (the Ettrick Shepherd), or Professor 

 Blackie, the similarity of the black and white wings to 

 the checking and soft, embracing folds of their own 

 beloved tartan plaids would at once have appealed to 

 their imagination, and henceforth they would have 

 alluded to him as the " Shepherd's Plaid " butterfly. 



Creamy-white, with grey and black checking, and a 

 few eye-spots on the black band of the hind-wings 

 complete his simple scheme of colour. The under side 

 is somewhat similar to the upper. Although common 

 enough where it is found, it is a very local and stay-at- 

 home butterfly. 



The caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with a 

 red head and tail. It tapers considerably towards both 

 extremities. They are very small when they hibernate. 

 The butterfly is out in July and August. 

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