SATYRS. 



101 



30. The Small Heath (Caenonympha Pamphilus). 

 Upper eide. 



Under side. 



30. THE SMALL HEATH. The wings are 

 rounded ; the hind margin of the fore wings 

 is simple, of the hind wings waved; the colour 

 of the upper side is pale delicate fulvous, the 

 hind wings being slightly darker than the fore 

 wings, and the hind margin of all the wings 

 being also darker ; near the apical angle of 

 the fore wings is a circular brown spot. On 

 the under side the fore wings have the disk 

 fulvous, the tip ochreous, and the hind margin 

 gray ; the ochreous area at the tip contains a 

 circular black spot with a white pupil and a 

 pale ochreous circumscription, and again en- 

 closing this is a second ring, rather darker, 

 yet very indistinct ; the hind wings have the 

 basal area dark brown, their marginal area 

 gray ; the division between these areas is 

 irregular, but very decidedly marked ; the 

 gray or marginal area has a median transverse 

 darker cloud, in which the position of a series 

 of ocellated spots is indistinctly indicated by 

 mere dots. 



LIFE HISTORY. The EGGS, which are ob- 

 long, with a truncated base by which they are 

 attached, are laid on the leaves of the small 

 mat-grass (Nardus stricta) and several other 

 species of grass, in May and June ; the CATER- 

 PILLAR emerges in fourteen or fifteen days, and 

 is full fed in about thirty days, or at the end 

 ot July; it then rests in a perfectly straight 

 j/osttion, reposing on the stalk of the grass. 



The head is subglobose, and slightly broader 

 than the second segment ; the body is some- 

 what fusiform, gradually attenuated towards 

 the anal extremity, where it terminates in two 

 short points directed backwards : the dorsal 

 surface of each segment is divided transversely 

 iuto narrow sections, and these sections, being 

 covered with minute scabrous points, give it 

 the appearance of being finely shagreened ; 

 the colour of the head is opaque green, the 

 mouth and ocelli almost black ; the body is 

 delicate apple-green, with a clearly defined 

 and moderately wide medio-dorsal darker 

 stripe, bordered on both sides by a narrow 

 paler stripe ; on each side, and including the 

 spiracles, is a broader and less clearly defined 

 dark green stripe, bordered towards the ventral 

 surface by a narrow but very distinct bright 

 yellow-green stripe; the spiracles are wains- 

 cot-brown, and each emits towards the head a 

 faint nebulous paler line, reminding one of the 

 tail of a comet ; about equidistant from the 

 dark medio-dorsal stripe and the yellow-green 

 subspiracular stripe is a third stripe of two 

 tints, its dorsal margin dark gi-een, its ventral 

 margin yellow-green; the anal points are pink ; 

 the legs are tinged with pink ; the claspers 

 are concolorous with the ventral surface. When 

 full grown my specimen spun a little band of 

 white silk round a stalk of the common knot- 

 grass (Polt/gcnum aviculare), and, suspending 

 itself therefrom by the anal claspei s, changed 

 to an obese CHRYSALIS, suspended by anal 

 hooks ; the head of the chrysalis is broadly 

 truncate, the thorax dorsally rounded, the 

 colour vivid apple-green, and delicately irro ra- 

 ted with white dots; the costa of the wing- 

 cases is decorated with a double stripe, the 

 outer portion of which is purple-brown, the 

 inner white. Newman. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. The caterpillar of 

 this insect, as already described, is to be found 

 full fed at the end of July, and the chrysalis 

 immediately afterwards. I have taken the 

 butterfly in every month from May to October, 

 both inclusive, but have found it especially 

 abundant in June. 



LOCALITIES. This common butterfly occurs 

 on all our heaths and rough pastures. Mr. 



