BRITISH BUTTERFLIES 



He is a gem, though he does not flash with gemmy 

 colours ; is of the live bijoutry of nature. He flies in 

 the fizzling heat of an out and out August day ; whips 

 from flower to flower, mixing the nectar of birdsfoot 

 trefoil with the nectar of hawk-bit ; and, after a few 

 sips, will settle on the ground or on a leaf, draw-to 

 those muscular little wings, clean horns with legs, and 

 unroll and clean his trunk too. 



He is scrupulous in this as are most butterflies. 

 Comfort, not cleanliness for its own virtuous sake, 

 and not fastidiousness or nicety, is the secret of all this 

 wiping of trunk and horns, and perhaps of face, too, 

 after a course of sweetmeats. All the same, it is a 

 very pretty thing to see the pearl skipper purify himself 

 between the feasts. Then, whisk ! he is up and off, 

 chasing or chased by another pearl skipper at such a 

 hot pace that the eye cannot always follow the com.' 

 bat ants or lovers, whichever they be. 



Pearl skipper and large skipper, which we might call 

 blood relations, first cousins even though, unlike 

 first cousins in human relationship, they are not suffered 

 by Nature to intermarry have come from some 

 common ancestor have evolved, if this term says 

 more. I cannot understand how any one can doubt 

 that these two skippers, that all the skippers, were 

 at the start one skipper ; or the blue butterflies or 

 arguses one blue butterfly or one argus ; that is to say, 



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