INSECTS AT WORK AND PLAY. 



125 



SMALL TORTOISESHELL 

 BUTTERFLY. 



sects, but by 

 no means easy 

 to photograph. 

 The specimen 

 represented 

 above was fig- 

 ured in an East 

 Anglian garden 

 in the autumn. 



Although the 

 small tortoiseshell butterfly is said to be much 

 less common in this country than it used to 

 be, I know many nettle-clad tracts of land 

 where it may fairly be described as abundant. 



In a sheltered spot near my home I have 

 watched members of the species on fine day- 

 during nearly every month of winter entering or 

 leaving a number of old rabbit burrows in which 

 they hibernated. 



Curiously enough, during each of my five or 

 six visits to the Fame Islands I have found 

 specimens of this insect, alive or dead, in every 

 room of the ruins of St. Cuthbert's Tower. I 

 suppose the explanation must be that they are 

 carried across the four or five miles of sea from 

 the mainland by adverse winds, and seek refuge 

 within the substantial stone walls of the ancient 

 building. 



The courtship of these butterflies is exceed- 



