HOW TO KNOW THE INSECTS 



spends the win- 

 ter in the winged 

 state. That the 

 butterflies are a 

 pair there is no 

 doubt ; indeed, 

 3'ou have only to 

 glance at them, 

 as they fl}', to 

 see which is the 

 wooer and which 

 is the wooed. 

 One is distinctly 

 daffodil yellow, 

 the other is 

 paler, being- 

 more of a prim- 

 rose shade. The 

 latter is the fe- 

 male, and in the 



BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLIES LOVE-MAKING. 



51 



illustration she 

 is seen on the 

 upper side of 

 the leaf, while 

 her d a ff o d i 1 

 suitor rests on 

 the lower side ; 

 tV)r even after 

 all his bold man- 

 oeuvres in the 

 sunlight chase of 

 his lady-love, he 

 is not brave with 

 liis i)r oposal ; 

 l)erhaps he fears 

 lest his suit may 

 be rejected ! 



JOHX J. W.VRD. 



HOW TO KNOW THE WILD ANIMALS 



By DOUGLAS ENGLISH, B.A., F.R.P.S. 



Author cf "Wee Tim'rous Beasties." etc. 



THE LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE 



With Photographs by the Author 



THE Long-tailed Field Mouse is one of 

 the commonest, if not the common- 

 est, wild animal in this country. I 

 have already described the progress of the 

 infant of this species until the time when 

 it has found its legs — about a fortnight 

 after its birth. For another fortnight it 

 remains an ill-balanced, leggy, bulbous 

 little beast, with a huge head and blob- 

 bery mouth. After this it gradually fills 

 out, and in about four months' time has, 

 in all but cf)lour. attained to ])erfect 

 Mousehood. I have not been able to 

 determine accurately how long it is before 

 the brindle sepia of the adolescent is ex- 

 changed for the tawny rufous of the adult ; 

 but I have little doubt that the colour 

 change varies somewhat with the season, 

 and that a Field Mouse born early in 

 the year will be a " red " Mouse earlier 



than one born late. There are changes, 

 also, which seem to depend on the locality 

 and food supply. There is a general 

 tendency in Field Mice to develop a 

 yellow patch on the chest, and the name 

 " Yellow-necked Mouse " has been aj^jilied 

 to large, full-blooded individuals in which 

 this patch, spreading backwards and cross- 

 ways, forms a handsome collar and jicndant. 

 I am not sure that there are sufficient 

 grounds for classing the Yellow-necked 

 Mouse as a distinct sub-species, and I 

 am equally diffident as to the standing 

 of other varieties which liave been as- 

 signed to various islands round the coast. 

 There can be no question, however, as 

 to the interest of these records, and it 

 is curious to find that the St. Kilda and 

 Hebridean Field Mice are lar^^cr than the 

 ordinary l^ritish and Irish tyi)os. 



