pillars hibernate when young, and feeding up in the spring, enter the chrysa- 

 lid state the beginnning of May. The April butterflies are probably produced 

 from some of the second brood of caterpillars, which hybernate when almost 

 full-fed, and enter the chrysalid state in March. 



This is a common butterfly throughout the greater part of Europe, North 

 Africa, and Western Asia. In the British Isles it is distributed more or less 

 abundantly, with the exception of the Isle of Man and the extreme north of 

 Scotland, the Isle of Skye being its northernmost limit. 



It frequents shady lanes and woods, and is particularly fond of stormy 

 weather, appearing in Dorsetshire in the wet summer of 1879, in the greatest 

 abundance, but very sparingly in the dry summers of 1870 and 1887. The 

 shady woods and wet climate of Dunegan, in the Isle of Skye, seems especi- 

 ally adapted to its requirements. 



It was figured and described as long ago as 1 633, by old Moufet; and also 

 described in 1667, by Dr. Merrett in his '' Pinax." Petiver in 1717, figured 

 it in his " Papiliorium Britannise Icones," calling it the Enfield Eye, from 

 the place he first observed it in. Lewin in his " Insects of Great Britain " 

 writes, " This butterfly is peculiar to woods, and may be seen flying as early 

 as the middle of April. This brood is from the caterpillars that have lived 

 through the winter, and have changed to chrysalis at the end of March, in 

 which state they remain for about twenty days, when the flies are perfected. 

 The caterpillars feed on grass, and go through the different changes exceed- 

 ingly quick, so that there are not less than three distinct broods of the flies 

 in one summer." 



HIPPARCHIA MEG^ERA. 

 The Wall. 



MEGJERA, Linn. Megse'ra, one of the Furies. Virg. ,<En. XII. 846. 



This is called the Wall Butterfly, from its fondness for settling on walls. 

 It has also a partiality for banks and roadways. It belongs to the section 

 Lira of Hubner. 



The wings expand from one inch and three quarters to a couple of inches, 

 and are of a brownish colour with a very large patch of a fulvous yellow on 

 forewings, with transverse brown lines. Near the tip of each forewing is a 

 large eye-like spot with a white pupil ; and the hindwings have a row of from 

 three to five eye-like spots varying in size, the middle ones with white pupils. 

 The male has a broad oblique stripe on the forewings. The underside of the 

 hindwings is beautifully freckled with yellowish grey and brown. It is very 

 similar to Mara, Linn., which has been erroneously recorded as British ; and 

 I possess a variety taken by Mr. Pretor, in August, 1856, at Sandesfoot 



