34 BUTTERFLIES 



PLATE XVII 

 THE LARGE SKIPPER (3) 



The Large Skipper is one of the commonest 

 of all these queer little butterflies, and you may- 

 see it in dozens and dozens, skipping actively 

 about from flower to flower on grassy banks by 

 the roadside, and in open places in woods. The 

 male is not quite like the female, for he has a 

 rather large streak of dark brown running across 

 his front wings, which look as if they had been 

 scorched down the middle. And the body of the 

 female is so very stout that she certainly looks 

 much more like a moth than a butterfly. 



If you want to find the caterpillar of this insect 

 you must look for it on different kinds of meadow- 

 grass. It has a big brown head and a dull green 

 body, with a dark line running along the back 

 dotted with black. And underneath, on the hinder 

 part of its body, it has a number of white spots. 

 When it is fully grown it fastens three or four 

 grass-stems together by means of silken threads, 

 and then turns to a rather long and thin chrysalis 

 of a pale brown colour between them. Look 

 out for the butterfly on bright sunny days in 

 May, and again in August 



