220 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



by it in Britain, j'eavs ago, probably largely in consequence of 

 the partial cultivation of its haunts. A valley some half-mile 

 in width, the sides gently undulating up one or two hundred 

 feet to its vine-clad crest on one side, and to the locally famous 

 Budapest national playground, the Kammerwald, on the other. 

 Except for a narrow strip at the bottom of varying width, the 

 slopes were taken up by cultivation, and produced, in addition to 

 grapes, luxuriant crops of wheat, barley, rye, sainfoin, potatoes, 

 and maize ; the remaining uncultivated portion being the 

 present stronghold of C. dispar. Centuries ago this had been no 

 doubt a quaking, undrained, reedy bog, where the food-plant flour- 

 ished luxuriantly and the outflow from which found its way to 

 the mighty Danube close by. Modern improvements had 

 changed all this ; down the centre ran a ditch, willow-planted, 

 which had drained the water off, and into this ditch emptied at 

 intervals smaller channels, each one of which played its part in 

 the general scheme. This drainage system had converted the 

 surface, leaving it moist indeed, but firm and covered with 

 a thick crop of coarse grass, intermixed with flowering plants, 

 amidst which the great waterdock grew abundantly in places. 



The sun shone brightly that J.une morning, and we had not 

 got ten yards from the railway station, when slowly flying along 

 the grassy side of a ditch I saw my first large " copper " in the 

 flesh, var. rntilus of course, but a very different object to the 

 rather puny butterfly one usually gets from a dealer if a speci- 

 men is purchased ; for, next to our own peerless type, the Buda- 

 pest is certainly one of the finest, if not the very finest, form to 

 be found anywhere. My largest male and female expand 

 respectively 44 mm. and 45 mm., as against the 46 mm. and 

 49 mm. expanse of my largest British specimens. 



There is no mistaking C. var. rutilns on the wing for any 

 other European butterfly ; the unique coloration identifies it at 

 once. It has very similar habits of flight to the other European 

 species of the genus, the males usually flying briskly but not 

 fast over the long grass, with a jerky movement common to most 

 of the Lycaenidffi, searching for the females ; if another male is 

 approached, either flying or settled on the grass, the two will 

 rise in the air and fight together for a few moments, then 

 separate and each pursue its way. It does not seem to be partial 

 to resting on, or sucking at, the numerous flowers that grow 

 in its haunts. I saw two or three specimens at rest on one 

 flower or other, but these were quite the exception ; it is very 

 fond of, especially during the afternoon, settling on a grass 

 stem, and opening its wings to their full extent to enjoy the 

 gratifying warmth of the sun's rays. It is then a magnificent 

 object, brilliant beyond one's power of imagination, a patch of 

 living, sparkling, ruddy gold ; but even a study of the brilliant 

 upper side does not reveal all the glory of C. dispar. If you see 



