The British Butterflies Described 



and deep more so than in any other British butterfly 

 and the abdomen, head, and antennae are in like pro- 

 portion. The wings are ample and in shape smart and 

 serviceable. No loose scales or fluffy hairs soften 

 the firm compactness of his whole bearing. Dark 

 brown and purple alternate with the changing light all 

 over the upper surface ; a dash or two of red, and one 

 eye-spot on the bottom angle of the hind-wing, with a 

 bar and a few spots of white, are the main additions to 

 the changing hues of the purple. The under side has a 

 daring lightning flash of blue-white on a brown and 

 olive ground on the hind- wing. The fore-wing (under 

 side) has various spots of black and white on a darker 

 ground, while there is also one eye-spot near the outer 

 angle. He is said to have a fondness for carrion, and 

 this queer taste is sometimes his undoing, as he is more 

 readily captured when indulging his appetite than when 

 soaring round the crown of some lofty oak. 



But it is better still to seek for the caterpillars. 

 These may be found on low Sallows or Poplars. They 

 are green, dusted with white, and have oblique dashes 

 of yellow on the sides ; they taper considerably towards 

 the tail, while the head is adorned with a pair of horns. 

 The chrysalis is similarly coloured while alive, but 

 when its inhabitant is gone the colour vanishes with it, 

 and all that remains looks like a little bit of crumpled 

 tissue paper. It may be found suspended to the under 

 side of a leaf of the food-plant. The butterfly is out in 

 July in the southern counties, and is oftener seen than 

 captured. 



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