THROUGH THE YEAR 15 



to share the soil with it, hummed at eleven in the 

 morning with honey-bees and bumble-bees ; and, 

 looking closer, I found that it had drawn to itself 

 many other insect visitors. The first I saw was the 

 loveliest. It was the beehawk moth, with red- 

 banded body and transparent wings like a dragon- 

 fly's. 



It hangs in the air round the spikes of bugle after 

 the style of the humming-bird hawk moth which I 

 saw near the little Arab village of Marsa, in North 

 Africa, early in April. Visiting blossom after blossom, 

 it plunges into each its long proboscis, or nectar 

 gatherer. It is quite easy to approach, and I 

 believe that one might stroke it on its silky body 

 whilst it is poised and busy in its nectar search. 



But the bugle field in the morning sun drew other 

 visitors than the bees and the beehawk moth fresh 

 from its chrysalid. I soon found the bright little 

 brown butterfly, the Duke of Burgundy fritillary, 

 on the wing fresh from the chrysalid that morning. 

 We cannot mistake a fritillary fresh from the chry- 

 salid for one that has been out a few days : the 

 bloom that lies over the colouring and curious pat- 

 tern of fritillary wings is brushed off in a matter of 

 hours ; it really is ephemeral. 



The two early skipper butterflies were flitting all 

 over the bugle field, though not so often sipping of 

 its sweets ; these are the dingy skipper and the 

 grizzled skipper. The grizzled skipper is among the 

 prettiest of English butterflies ; it is a little black, 

 brown, and grey or white speckled insect that flits 



