PLATE 12.
1. [Small Heath]
2. [Green Hairstreak]
3. [Purple Hairstreak] (Female)
4. [White-letter Hairstreak]
5. [Black Hairstreak]
6. [Brown Hairstreak] (Female)
7. [Large Copper] (Male)
8. [Small Copper]
9. [Long-tailed Blue]
10. [Silver-studded Blue] (Male)
11. [Brown Argus]
12. [Common Blue] (Male)
The colours of this butterfly on the upper surface are singularly bold, striking, and, withal, simple. They furnish a good test of colour discrimination. I have heard them spoken of as “jet black,” “intense black,” or “velvety black.” If you take a specimen into a good light, you will see that the whole area enclosed by the scarlet bands is a deep coffee-brown, while outside the band, on the fore-wing, the colour is black splashed with white, and there is a blue streak near the outer margin. The under side is a marvel of beauty too complex and wonderful for cold print. Common though this insect is all over our island from August to chill October, who can say that he has discovered his “retreat and hiding-place” from the storms and frosts of winter? Indeed, there are those who boldly assert that the Red Admiral does not hibernate with us at all, and, consequently, we are indebted each year for our supply to spring visitors from the Continent, which may be the reason why in some years it is more abundant than in others.
The caterpillar is a powdery yellow-grey in colour, sometimes inclining almost to black; a line of white spots appears on each side; there are some darker markings along the back, and a row of branched spines light in colour crosses the middle of each segment. You will generally find it hiding within a curled Nettle-leaf during the day. The chrysalis is grey, with a few shining points.
The Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui), [Plate VIII.], Fig. 2, is quite a suitable companion for a "Red Admiral," and they are often seen in company, although cardui is the earlier on the wing by at least a fortnight, and often a month. The ground colour of the upper surface is a rosy orange, varied with black and brown markings, while the white spots near the tip of the fore-wing are almost similar to those of the Red Admiral. Here, too, the under side is an exquisite bit of painting. It reminds one of a frosted window done in harmonious secondary colours. No doubt this subtle pattern must be protective, for you will notice that when the insect is at rest with the wings shut, the bright portion of the under side of the fore-wing is concealed. This is decidedly a migratory species, and it is an open question whether it hibernates in Britain. In Scotland we never see it until the autumn, and occasionally it arrives in fair numbers. We had one extraordinary swarm about the year 1880; I remember being on holiday at the time on the Island of Cumbrae, in the Firth of Clyde. Cardui was everywhere, and even fighting for possession of the Thistle-tops. In 1911 I had to be content with the sight of two specimens in Arran, but I heard of several more.
Like the other Vanessa caterpillars, the larva of this species is thorny, brown, and bears lines and spots of yellow. It may be found on Thistles and Nettles in May and June. The chrysalis is like that of Atalanta in colour, but hardly so stout.
The White Admiral (Limenitis Sibylla), [Plate VIII.], Fig. 4. —This butterfly is almost black on the upper surface, relieved by white bars and spots, and there is a row of dense black spots near the outer margin of the hind-wings. These white marks are carried through the wings to the under side, but the ground there is formed of various shades of brown, with some black dots and pencillings—while on the under surface of the body, and spreading out from it on to the wings, is a considerable region of a light sky-blue tint, very pleasing to the eye.
The caterpillar feeds on Honeysuckle, and is a lively green; the spines are reddish, those on the third, fourth, and sixth segments being larger than the others. There is also a white line bordered with brown along each side. The head is also red, with two lines of white down the face. The chrysalis is dark green, with silvery dots and lines, and bears grotesquely swollen lumps. This is a butterfly that I am afraid is becoming scarcer year by year; it is confined to the South. It is out in July.
The Purple Emperor (Apatura Iris), [Plate VIII.], Fig. 5, is undoubtedly the king of the forest glade. Wearing the regal purple, he looks down upon the world from his lofty throne on the top of some lordly oak. Somehow the build of this fine insect when seen in the hand cannot fail to impress the beholder with a sense of muscular power. The thorax is long, broad, and deep—more so than in any other British butterfly—and the abdomen, head, and antennæ are in like proportion. The wings are ample and in shape smart and serviceable. No loose scales or fluffy hairs soften the firm compactness of his whole bearing. Dark brown and purple alternate with the changing light all over the upper surface; a dash or two of red, and one eye-spot on the bottom angle of the hind-wing, with a bar and a few spots of white, are the main additions to the changing hues of the purple. The under side has a daring lightning flash of blue-white on a brown and olive ground on the hind-wing. The fore-wing (under side) has various spots of black and white on a darker ground, while there is also one eye-spot near the outer angle. He is said to have a fondness for carrion, and this queer taste is sometimes his undoing, as he is more readily captured when indulging his appetite than when soaring round the crown of some lofty oak.