12 2 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



November may be a few individuals that, owing to favourable 

 weather, have emerged from chrysalids which under ordinary 

 conditions would have remained as such during the winter. 



Shady lanes, rides in woods, as well as the borders of the 

 same, are its favourite haunts. It is not a sun-loving butterfly, 

 but is generally found to frequent places where the sun's rays 

 are more or less intercepted by a leafy screen. It seems to be 

 more abundant in wet seasons than in dry ones. It is generally 

 distributed throughout England and Wales, but more plentiful 

 in southern and western counties than in the eastern and 

 northern. In Ireland, Kane says, it is " everywhere abundant 

 and double brooded. It is local in Scotland, and rare north 

 of the Caledonian Canal. 



Abroad our form of the butterfly egerides is found commonly in 

 Central and Northern Europe, except in the extreme north, and 

 in Northern Asia Minor and Armenia. The typical form, egeria 

 proper, occurs in South -Western Europe, North Africa, and 

 Syria. 



The Wall Butterfly (Pararge megcera). 



The butterfly now under consideration is figured on Plate 82. 

 It is bright fulvous in colour, with blackish-brown veins, 

 margins, and transverse lines. There is one white pupilled 

 black spot on the fore wings, and four of such spots on the outer 

 area of the hind wings ; the fourth, which is generally blind, is 

 placed at the end of the series near the anal angle. The male 

 has a very conspicuous sexual brand on the central area. The 

 under side of the fore wings is paler than above, but the mark- 

 ings are similar, except that the brand is absent and the margins 

 are greyer ; the hind wings on the under side are greyish marked 

 with brown and traversed by dark lines ; there is a row of six 

 eyed spots on the outer area ; that nearest the anal angle is 

 double. The female has more ample wings, and as the brand 



