214 



England, but scarcer in the north, and apparently unknown in Northumber- 

 land. In Scotland, it occurs only in the south, and is not common. It is 

 also a scarce and local species in Ireland, but more common in the Isle of 

 Man. It was first described and figured as British by James Petiver, in 

 1717, in his "Papilionum Brittannise Icones, Nomina, etc./' and recorded 

 as occurring at Hampstead, under the name of the " Cloudy Hag/' 



Moses Harris, in his "Aurelian/, 1778, writes, "The caterpillar of this 

 fly has never yet been discovered in this country. The moths delight to fly 

 in woods, and lanes near woods : their actions are somewhat remarkable, and 

 not unworthy of notice, for whenever they settle, which is very frequent, as 

 they are never long on the wing, they are sure to turn half-way round, so 

 that if they settle with their heads from us, they turn till their heads are 

 toward us, and sometimes till they have turned quite round. When on the 

 wing, they have a kind of skipping motion, which is effected by reason of 

 their closing their wings so often in their passage, and whenever they settle 

 they also close their wings. They are found in the months of May and 

 August, as there are two broods a year. The male is much the less." 



Lewin, in his "Insects of Great Britain," 1795, writes, "This is a very 

 common butterfly. There are two broods of them in the summer : the first 

 makes its appearance the middle of May, and the second is on the wing in 

 August. It frequents, woods, heaths, and lanes. Its flight is very short ; 

 but when on a bush or shrub, it is almost constantly in motion, skipping or 

 leaping from leaf to leaf. Prom this habit, common to all the flies of this 

 section, it derives the appellation of Skippers." 



Donovan, in his " Natural History of British Insects," Vol. VIII., published 

 in 1799, writes, " Pabricius has no reference to any author for a figure of this 

 species, nor is it described by Linnaeus ; this is the more remarkable, as the 

 species is found in great abundance in the months of May and June in this 

 country, and is not uncommon by any means in Sweden and Germany." 



An allied species Vitellius, Abbott and Smith, Lep., Georgia, 3 f. 17, is 

 stated by Mr. Haworth, in the "Entomological Transactions," 1812, to have 

 been caught in Bedfordshire by the Eev. Dr. Abbott, although he added that 

 he possessed specimens of the same from Georgia, in America. Of the female 

 two specimens were taken at Barnstaple, in Devonshire, by Mr. W. Eaddon 

 (or supposed to be), and communicated to Mr. Stephens, who published a 

 figure of this presumed species in his " Illustrations," in 1828, and gave it 

 the name of Bucephalus, or the Large-headed Skipper. 



Mr. Stephens, after describing it goes on to say, " Taken in the neighbour- 

 hood of Barnstaple, in Devonshire, by W. Eaddon, who possessed two speci- 

 mens of the insect, which he assures me were captured by himself in the 



