The British Butterflies Described 



variety of colouring, it more than makes up for it in 

 the beautiful sweeping outlines of the wings. No other 

 butterfly on our list can show such sweet harmony of 

 line and contour. Like a breeze-blown daffodil, he 

 greets us on our early spring rambles, just when the 

 opening blossoms and leafy buds are all doubly welcome, 

 in that we have missed their friendly presence through 

 the long days of winter. The female hibernates in all 

 sorts of out-of-the-way corners in dense holly-bushes, 

 piles of brushwood, chinks of walls, etc., coming forth 

 again in May or even earlier to deposit her eggs on the 

 Buckthorn and its allies. The antennae are rather 

 short and more like a club than a drum-stick, while the 

 beautiful white silken mane along the back is quite a 

 noticeable feature. The female is of a much lighter 

 tint than the male. 



The caterpillar is green, with paler sides, along which 

 runs a white line : it may be found on the Buckthorn 

 from May till July. The chrysalis, which is supported 

 on the tail and band principle, is green and yellow, and 

 rather oddly shaped. It hatches in the course of about 

 three weeks. This butterfly is a plentiful insect south 

 of the Border, but we have yet to record it for Scotland. 



THE SMALL PEARL-BORDERED FRiTiLLARY(y?ry/j 

 Selene], Plate IV., Fig. 7. Like all the members of its 

 family the ground colour of the wings of this insect is 

 a reddish-brown, marbled and spotted with black. For 

 size it differs little from the next species, and the upper 

 surface of the two being so much alike, it is sometimes 

 difficult to distinguish between them. The under side 

 4* 



