2 BUTTERFLIES 



creature, for it is covered all over with thorny 

 spikes, two of which, placed just behind the 

 head, are a good deal longer than the others. 

 In colour it is black, with yellow lines along the 

 back and sides. About the end of May it hangs 

 itself up by its tail to the stem of a bramble-bush, 

 or some other low shrub, and turns into a fat, 

 humpy, grey chrysalis, spotted all over with silver 

 and gold. 



PLATE I 

 THE PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY (2) 



This butterfly is only about half as big as the 

 " silver-washed fritillary," for its wings hardly ever 

 measure more than an inch and three-quarters 

 across. It is very common indeed in woods, 

 where you may see it flitting about in almost 

 every open space, first in May, and then again 

 in August. Sometimes, too, you may notice it 

 flying along a hedgerow by the roadside. The 

 caterpillar, which feeds upon the leaves of the 

 dog-violet, is black, with white dots and lines, 

 and the chrysalis is greyish-brown, with paler 

 spots upon the sides. 



There is another fritillary, called the "Small 

 Pearl-bordered," which is very much like this 

 butterfly. But you can easily tell the one from 

 the other. All that you have to do is to look at 

 the lower surface of the hind wings. For in the 



