142 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Barrett mentions a gynandrous specimen in which the right side 

 was that of the male. 



The egg is pale brown tinged with pink, and over this is a 

 whitish network. The caterpillar is reddish-brown and downy ; 

 a black line along the back has a whitish edge, and there are 

 whitish oblique stripes, with blackish edge, on each side of the 

 central line ; the segmental divisions are well marked, and the 

 spiracles are blackish with pale rings. The head, which, when 

 the caterpillar is resting, is hidden within the first body ring, is 

 brownish and glossy, and there is a greyish shield-like mark on 

 the second ring. The chrysalis is red-brown, with darker 

 freckles ; the body is downy, and there are traces of oblique 

 marks thereon. It does not appear to be fastened by the tail, 

 but the cast larval skin remains attached ; there are a few 

 strands of silk around and about the chrysalis, but these are 

 very flimsy, although they hold it in position on the ground or 

 under a leaf. 



The eggs are laid in July or August on twigs of oak, but 

 the caterpillars, it is said, do not hatch out until the following 

 spring. In May and early June the caterpillars are full grown, 

 and may be obtained by beating or jarring the branches of oak 

 trees in places where the butterfly is known to occur. They 

 have also been found on sallow. 



This species frequents oak woods, or the borders thereof, in 

 July and August, and is often more easy to see than to capture, 

 as it has a tantalizing trick of flying around the upper branches 

 of the trees. Occasionally it resorts to lower growing aspens, 

 probably to feast on the honey dew, the secretions of Aphides, 

 with which the leaves are often covered in hot summers. It 

 seems to be pretty generally distributed in all parts of England 

 and Wales, and in Scotland as far north as Ross. In Ireland it 

 appears to be more local, and has only been recorded from the 

 east and south. 



It is found in all parts of Europe, except the northern. 



