Grizzled Skipper 



member of the Fritillary family, but it has no real con- 

 nection with it, and better still, it has a whole family 

 (Erycinid*) and genus to itself, being the only one of 

 its kind found in Europe. The upper surface is a 

 tawny orange, with dark brown checkerings, while a 

 row of marginal black spots runs round the outer 

 margins. The under side of the hind-wings has a 

 double row of pale, almost white, spots across the 

 centre, and black spots, similar to those on the upper 

 side, round the edge. 



The caterpillar is short and tapering, pale brown 

 with a darker line on the back, and a lighter one on the 

 sides. It feeds on Primrose. This species is said to 

 be double-brooded in the South, out in June and again 

 in August as far north as Carlisle and the Lake 

 District. Note : the female has six perfect walking 

 legs, the male only four, the front pair being rudi- 

 mentary, as with many of the larger butterflies. 



THE GRIZZLED SKIPPER (Syrichthus Mah<e) y 

 Plate XIII., Fig. 7. The Skippers, of which there are 

 eight species in this country, are often referred to as 

 the connecting-link between the butterflies and moths, 

 and not without some justification. The antennae are 

 somewhat short, club-shaped, and hooked at the ex- 

 tremity. The head is large, and the antennae spring 

 from just above the eyes ; their base is thus wide apart. 

 Compare a Skipper with a Blue in which the roots of 

 the antennae almost touch. The body of the Skipper 

 is stout and mothlike, and the wings not so ample, 

 and more angular than in the average butterfly. The 



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