THE GLANVILUE FRITILLARY. IOI 



The GlanYille Fritillary (Melitcea cinxia). 



This butterfly is bright brownish-orange with black markings, 

 as shown on Plate 71. The under side of the hind wings and 

 the tips of the fore wings are very pale yellowish ; the former 

 with two black-margined brownish-orange bands, and lines of 

 black dots ; the tip of the fore wing is also dotted and marked 

 with black. The female is slightly paler, and the markings are 

 often blurred. 



There is variation in the black markings on the upper side. 

 Sometimes these are enlarged, but more often they are much 

 reduced, and the central one may be completely absent from all 

 the wings. Connected with the suppression of the middle 

 black line above there is usually aberration on the under side of 

 the hind wings also, where the central area is clear of black 

 dots, and the basal area is fulvous, edged and marked with 

 black. Two very remarkable aberrations are represented on 

 Plate 65, Figs. 7, 8. 



The eggs, which are yellowish-white, and sometimes tinged 

 with green, are laid in a cluster on the under side of the tip of a 

 leaf of the narrow-leafed plantain {Plantago lanceolata). The 

 caterpillars hatch in July and August, and hibernate in com- 

 panies under a web. The mature caterpillar is black with white 

 dots, and black bristles arising from greenish warts. The red 

 head, which is notched on the crown, and the red fore legs dis- 

 tinguish this at once from the caterpillars of the Heath, or the 

 Marsh Fritillary. It feeds in early spring on plantain, but 

 seems to prefer Plantago maritima to P. lanceolata when both 

 are present. 



The chrysalis is brownish in colour, and is ornamented with 



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orange on the thorax, and with orange points and black marks 

 on the body. It may be found in April and early May sus- 

 pended from the lower parts of the stems of the plantain or 



