SMALL BLUE— GRIZZLED SKIPPER 



blackish, with inner surfaces of blue, but the female is the 

 former self-colour all over the upper sides of the fore 

 wings. The under surface somewhat resembles that 

 of the Holly Blue, but the smaller size is a distinguish- 

 ing feature, and the spots are much more clearly 

 defined. 



The Mazarine and Large Blues need not detain us, 

 and the Duke of Burgundy Fritillary is of such local 

 distribution that we can proceed to the last Family, 

 HesperiidcB, which contains the interesting Skippers. 



FAMILY HESPERIID^ 



Grizzled Skipper. — {Hesperia malvce.) This, in my 

 opinion, is the most attractive of the Skippers, and for- 

 tunately it is of frequent occurrence. It delights in 

 sheltered commons, downs, and heaths, and tow-ards 

 evening large numbers may be discovered at rest on 

 various kinds of plants, the wings being held erect over 

 the back. The inexperienced observer might reasonably 

 conclude that it was a moth rather than a butterfly, by 

 reason of this habit. Early May sees it upon the wing, 

 and the pale green eggs are strongly netted. The larva 

 has a black head attached to a hairy steel-grey body, and 

 it appears to hide in a drawn-in leaf when about to pupate. 



The prettily chequered wings of both sexes have an 



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