BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



length of the costa The wing-rays are black 

 towards the hind margin ; the fringe is snowy 

 white, with a black spot opposite the end of 

 every wing-ray that is, five in the fore wings 

 and seven in the hind wings. The upper side 

 in the female is smoky brown, occasionally 

 with blue reflections, and having a series of 

 spots, more or less distinct, parallel with the 

 hind margin ; these spots have a somewhat 

 compound character, the upper border being 

 orange, the centre black, and the lower border 

 white ; on the fore wings is a transverse 

 linear discoidal spot, black with whitish mar- 

 gin, but always faint and indistinct The 

 under side is grayish brown in 1 oth sexes ; all 

 the wiugs have a transverse median discoidal 

 spot in the fore wings ; this is black with 

 white circumscription ; in the hind wings it is 

 white, with a very slender black median line ; 

 on the fore wings are nine other black spots, 

 and on the hind wings eleven, all of which 

 have a white circumscription ; there is also a 

 series of compound spots parallel with the 

 hind margin; the centre of each is orange, 

 with a black mark above and below the 

 orange, and a white circumscription ; a sub- 

 median shapeless white blotch extends from 

 near the middle of the hind wing nearly to 

 its hind margin. 



LIFE HISTORY. Fabricius describes the 

 caterpillar as of a green colour, and as having 

 dorsal series of fulvous spots. Freyer some- 

 what improves this brief description, by fixing 

 the number of spots at twelve in each series, 

 of which there are two ; and adds that there 

 is a yellow stripe on each side. It feeds on 

 leguminous plants. I regret my inability to 

 give any more information respecting an 

 insect that is in every collection. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. I have never 

 found the caterpillar or chrysalia The per- 

 fect insect is on the wing in May or June. 



LOCALITIES. Unknown in Ireland, Scot- 

 land, or the Isle of Man. In England it is 

 a southern species, and almost peculiar to the 

 chalk. I give a few localities. 



Buckinghamshire. Drayton Beauchamp 

 H . H. Crewe ; Halton Joseph Greene. 



Devonshire. On the chalk and limestone 



formations, but not in the Plymouth district ; 

 Torquay; common at Chapel Hill and Anstey's 

 Cove ; Seaton ; Sidmouth J. J. Reading. 



Dorsetshire. Knowle Hill, Buckland New- 

 ton, Portland, Lul worth, Blandford Race- 

 course J. C. Dale. 



Gloucestershire. Scarce at Wootton-under- 

 Edge, but occurred there in 1861, 1865, and 

 1869 V. R. Perkins ; taken in the gully at 

 Durdham Downs in 1868, but not reported 

 since W. H. Grigg; Clifton Alfred E. 

 lludd. 



Hampshire. Near Winchester J. C. Dale. 



Kent. In profusion about Dover Castle 

 and all the hollows at Folkestone H. Ramsay 

 Cox ; not uncommon G. H. Raynor ; Chil- 

 ham Park and Dane Court, near Chilham 

 H. A. Slowell ; in chalky lanes and railway 

 cuttings, local but abundant W. 0. Ham- 

 mond ; lane leading from Dartford to Darenth 

 thousands have been taken in this and 

 some neighbouring localities for the unworthy 

 purpose of making butterfly pictures. E. 

 Newman. 



Surrey. Abundant at Mickleham, and on 

 the chalk downs about Guildford, and on the 

 south side of the Hog's Back E. Newman. 



Sussex. Mailing Hill, Bible Bottom, East 

 Dean, <kc., abundant E. Jenner ; Holl ing- 

 bury Coombe W. Buckler ; Beeching Chalk- 

 pit at end of May, and again in August, 

 plentifully J. H. White ; plentiful near 

 Lewes, on chalk C. V. C. Levett ; downs 

 near Brighton W. H. Draper. 



Wight, Isle of. Ventnor, Apse Down, 

 Freshwater, generally distributed on the 

 downs F. Bond ; common in places on the 

 chalk, as near Carisbrook Castle, <kc. J. 

 Pristo ; St. Boniface Down J. C. Dale. 



44. CHALK-HILL BLUE. In the male the 

 wings are of a pale silvery blue, gradually 

 shading off to smoky black towards the hind 

 margin, where the black forms a hind-mar- 

 giual band in the fore wings ; there is a 

 slender white line along the costal margin, 

 and within this is a black line not very 

 distinct or clearly defined ; the wing-cases 

 also are black towards the margin : in the 



