"" ' RINGLET AND SMALL HEATH 



the wings. The female is the Hghter of the two sexes, 

 and some males are almost black. The slow, fluttering 

 flight, preference for shade or dull weather, and great 

 love for sipping nectar from bramble blossoms, are 

 features of interest. 



Small Heath. — {Ccononympha pamphilus.) The Large 

 Heath (C typhon) is restricted to moors of the North, 

 so that its smaller relative must now claim attention. 

 It is the last of the Family Nymphalidce with which we 

 have to deal. The Small Heath is an accommodating little 

 species, as it may often be found resting on some kind of 

 herbage, and may thus be examined at close quarters. 

 It haunts grassy waysides, heaths, commons, and similar 

 places, and is a very familiar butterfly on our country 

 expeditions. May sees the mature insect on the wing, 

 but it is later in the year, when birds are listless and the 

 long days are nigh, that the frolicking little fellow is 

 more frequently met with. The green egg becomes 

 paler as incubation advances, and is deposited on a grass 

 blade. The bright green larva has a dark stripe down the 

 back, and others of lighter colour. The general effect 

 of the pupa is various shades of green, with darker 

 markings. The wainscot-brown of the imago is orna- 

 mented above with a spot of black, encircled with white, 

 near the tip of the forewings. The under side of the 

 hind wings is greyish-brown, but the forewings below 

 are much ruddier than on the upper surface. 



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