BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



is tawny fulvous, transversely haired with 

 smoky brown, the distribution of whicb colour 

 differs greatly in the sexes ; in both sexes 

 there is a large and conspicuous circular black 

 spot near the apical angle of the fore wings ; 

 this has invariably a snow-white pupil ; the 

 hind wings have a series of three nearly 



Un ler side of Female. 



circular black spots parallel with the hind 

 margin, and two of these those nearest the 

 anal angle are always white-pupilled. The 

 underside is beautifully mottled and marbled 

 with different shades of fulvous brown; nearly 

 parallel with the hind margin is a series of 

 six small circular white -pupilled black spots, 

 each of which is surrounded with four rings, 

 the first and third of which are fulvous, the 

 second and fourth dark brown. The male 

 differs from the female in being smaller, and 

 in having a broad, oblique, dark brown band 

 extending from the middle of the fore wing 

 to the middle of its inner margin. The eyes 

 are hairy. 



LIFE HISTORF. This species is double- 

 brooded : the EGGS which produce the first 

 brood of CATERPILLARS are laid on the cock's 

 foot grass (Dactylis glomerata) and several 

 other species of grass at the end of May ; 

 the caterpillar is full fed about the middle of 

 July, when it rests by day in a nearly straight 

 position on a blade of grass, feeding chiefly by 

 night. The head is subglobose, exserted, and 

 wider than the second segment, which is 

 restricted in front. The body is somewhat 

 fusiform, gradually decreasing to each ex- 

 tremity ; it is decidedly convex above, and 

 somewhat flattened beneath; the dorsal surface 

 is transversely wrinkled, the wrinkles dividing 

 each segment into six sections, of which the 

 anterior is the largest j the body terminates in 



two parallel points directed backwards ; une 

 entire surface, both of head and body, is 

 covered with minute warts, which impart a 

 scabrous appearance to the caterpillar ; each 

 wart emits a short bri^tl*, ; on each side below 

 the spiracles is a decided but inconspicuous 

 sk infold. The colour is apple-green, the head 

 arid an indistinct narrow medio-dorsal stripe 

 bring rather darker ; the latter appears to be 

 little more than the food in the alimentary 

 canal showing through the cuticle ; it is some- 

 times entirely absent ; there is a lateral stripe 

 of a rather paler colour, and also a narrow 

 and very indistinct stripe exactly intermediate 

 between the medio-dorsal and lateral stripes ; 

 the minute warts are generally, but not in- 

 variably, white ; the bristles either black or 

 white ; the legs are semitransparent and 

 almost colourless; the claspers are concolorous 

 with the body, and the anal points are tipped 

 with pink. My specimens changed to chry- 

 salids, suspended by the tail, on the 14th of 

 July; the CHRYSALIS is rather obese; the head 

 is broad and rather square, but slightly 

 notched or excavated in the middle, the angles 

 being almost right angles ; the thorax dorsally 

 humped and keeled, laterally angled at the 

 base of the wing-cases ; the dorsal surface of 

 the body has a lateral series of six points 

 on each side. The colour is apple-green ; the 

 angles of the head, the lateral and dorsal angles 

 of the thorax, and five equidistant raised dots 

 on each side of the dorsal surface of the body, 

 are white, tinged with yellow. Newman. 



TIME OF APPEARANCE. The caterpillar 

 may be found hybernating throughout the 

 winter, the chrysalis in April, and the butter- 

 fly in May : the second brood of caterpillars 

 occur in June, the chrysalids in July, and 

 the butterflies in August. 



LOCALITIES. Mr. Birchall informs us that 

 this butterfly is generally abundant through- 

 out Ireland ; it also appears in the Manx list, 

 which he has kindly sent me. Dr. Buchanan 

 White says "it was formerly common near 

 Perth ; he has heard of no specimen being 

 taken since 18GO,in which yearit was common. 

 The series of cold summers following that year 

 seem to have destroyed the species ; though 



