XXVII 

 BUTTERFLIES IN BED 



" On the Infinitely Little." 



grassy, heathery clearing in " eye " from public view is protection 



the Surrey birch wood has been of the butterfly from enemies of prey 



the playground of butterflies for weeks by inconspicuity, or by assimilation to 



past. A few battered meadow-brown surroundings (gross words to use of a 



butterflies of July, their poor wings sylph like the Large Heath ! but I know 



worn as jagged as those of the comma, not how to avoid them here). My 



linger on, but their junketings are notion is that there is no night enemy 



nearly over. The Ringlet and the Large that need be cheated if it could be 



Heath butterflies succeeded them before cheated thus. Protection of butterfly 



the end of the month, and occupy the beauty against weather this, I think, 



bramble-bushes by day and night, is the meaning of the withdrawn "eye." 



Last year, though I pryed closely in I admit that, if you set out to look for 



their woodland haunts in another dis- butterflies at rest and matching their 



trict among hazel, oak, and brake environment, you will find them. The 



fern I could find very few Large Heath Small Skipper butterfly sleeping on the 



butterflies settled for the night. Lately spear-thistle looked greeny-grey, I 



I have discovered many on the bramble- noticed, matching his perch. We 



bushes in the birch wood. Like watched a Meadow Brown, disturbed 



Meadow Brown, Grayling, and other by large raindrops, perch on a birch 



butterflies, the Large Heath, settling for twig, and put away his " eye," and we 



the evening and night, always draws agreed he would pass for a dead leaf, 



down its folded upper wings, so that But other Small Skippers, small and 



the conspicuous spot or eye on the back large kinds, slept on seeding grass heads 



of them is hid. One effect of this is to and the matching was not close ; and, 



make the Large Heath a trifle obscurer after all, is a Meadow Brown so very 



at rest on the bramble leaf than it like a dead birch leaf when you come to 



would be with the wing up. think of it ? 



But I do not believe the real explana- More striking was the case of the 



tion or object of this withdrawal of the Golden Y moth, the pretty insect which 



137 



