18 BUTTERFLIES 



PLATE IX 



THE COMMON BLUE (2) 



Everybody knows the pretty little " Blue " butter- 

 flies, which one sees playing about in such 

 numbers in meadows and by grassy roadsides, 

 all through the summer and the early part of 

 the autumn. But there are several different 

 kinds of these insects, and that which one gener- 

 ally sees is the Common Blue. The male and the 

 female are not quite alike, for the wings of the 

 male are lilac blue all over, while those of the 

 female are much browner, with a row of orange 

 spots running along the hind margin. And the 

 under surface of the male is grey, while that of 

 the female is brown. But, strange to say, 

 " Blues " are sometimes found with the colouring 

 of the male on the wings of one side, and that 

 of the female on those of the other 1 



The caterpillar of this pretty little butterfly is 

 rather hairy, and is bright green in colour, with 

 a dark stripe running along the back, and a row 

 of little white spots on each side. It feeds on 

 bird's -foot trefoil, rest-harrow, and other low 

 plants, and turns into a small green chrysalis 

 tinged with brown. 



