1 84 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



Now follow the Skippers (Hesperiidae), of which kind of 

 butterfly we have eight species in England. Of these the first 

 two belong to the Hesperiinae and the others to the Pamphilinae. 



IVtL^ The Grizzled Skipper (Hesperia malvte). ,S7 ??!J^ 



. The wings of the butterfly figured on Plate 122 are blackish, A<ik 

 ' ' ornamented with numerous white spots, which are more or less • 

 square in shape, on the fore wings. The fringes are chequered 

 black and white. 



The male differs from the female in having the front edge 

 of the fore wings folded towards the base, and these wings 

 have scattered greyish scales on the basal area ; the central 

 series of spots on the hind wings are also more in evidence, 

 and not infrequently unite and become band-like. Variation 

 consists in modification of the markings, chiefly in a tendency 

 of the spots to run together, culminating in var. taras, Bergstr., 

 in which the white spots of the fore wings are confluent and 

 form a large blotch. This variety was figured by Petiver in 

 17 1 7, but was not named by Bergstrasser until 1780. Haworth 

 described it as lavaterce, and Newman figured it under the same 

 name. 



On a small plant of Alpine strawberry, sent by the Rev. 

 Gilbert Raynor, were three eggs of this butterfly. These were 

 pale green in colour, ribbed, and delicately netted with cross- 

 lines. On June 26, three caterpillars were noticed on the upper 

 side of the leaves, each on a separate leaf, and under cover of a 

 few coarse silken threads. They were pale steely-grey, with black 

 heads, and plates on the first and last segments of the body. 



As the supply of strawberry foliage was failing, the cater- 

 pillars were given bramble on July 21, and the next day 

 each was found enclosed in a sort of envelope formed of a 

 bramble leaf. They were then seemingly in their last skin, 

 whitish-green in colour, and covered with short whitish hair ; 



