The Scotch Argus Butterfly (Erebia Æthiops), [Plate IX.], Fig. 3.—Like all butterflies, the Scotch Argus is seen at its best in its native haunts. You feel it has a subtle kind of association with its surroundings that defies definition. Seeing this species flirting about in dozens in a dell where the air is heavily laden with the perfume of Bog-myrtle and Honeysuckle, and where dragon-flies, bees, hover-flies, wasps, and ants, raise a drowsy hum dear to the ear of the entomologist, not to mention the hordes of bloodthirsty little midges, tends to the formation of a mental impression, which we always associate with this beautiful butterfly. It takes strange notions, too, at times. I have found it often “at home” as described above, and, again, I have come upon it solitary and alone on the bare hillside, far from the madding colony amongst which it was born. Five such wanderers I once encountered in a single day in August. All were on the move, either seeking a lost home or lover, or possibly pastures new.
The breeding ground is generally some sheltered glade or open corner of a wood. The butterfly is coloured a beautiful dark, velvety brown, with a broad, irregular tawny red band near the outer margin of both fore- and hind-wings. Within this band on the fore-wings are three black spots, each having a tiny white spot in its centre, and the hind-wings have in most cases a similar adornment; but as these spots are subject to great variation, always aim at securing a good row for your cabinet in order to show as many variations as you can find.
The under sides of the sexes differ from each other and are distinctive. In the female the under side of the fore-wing is marked very much the same as the upper side, but the whole colour scheme is lighter, while the hind-wings are a lighter brown, with a pale lavender band, distinctly iridescent and with just a trace of spots. The male, though nearly the same in markings, is very much darker.
The caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with some lighter and darker stripes. It is very like the grass it lives amongst. The eggs are laid in the autumn, and the young caterpillars hibernate.
The Speckled Wood Butterfly (Pararge Ægeria), [Plate IX.], Fig. 4.—There must be something peculiar about this butterfly, which always reminds me of a snake; it is curious how such an idea gets into one’s head and sticks there. I have a lot of preserved home and foreign snakes, and not a few of them are checkered and marked like this butterfly’s wings; one large skin of a boa constrictor bears a remarkable resemblance both in colour and spots. Nature seems to delight in these eyelike markings—you will find them on the trout, the peacock, the leopard, and on certain beetles, flowers, and birds’ eggs. Wherever you find them they are always beautiful and interesting, and have a certain protective use.
The Speckled Wood is more easily recognized than described. The upper side is of a dull brown, spotted with pale yellow, or (as in some northern specimens I have taken) with white. There is one eye-spot near the tip of the fore-wing, and a row of three, sometimes four, similar spots in a submarginal row on the hind-wings. The under side is richer and warmer in colour, having a purple tinge, while the eye-spots of the hind-wings are nearly obsolete, but the spot on the fore-wing is, if anything, brighter. It is a fairly common species, and loves quiet, shady lanes on the edge of woodlands. In the South it is double-brooded. The female is larger and brighter than the male. The caterpillar is a grass-feeder, and is green, with lighter stripes. The butterfly is out from May to August.
PLATE 13.
1. [Adonis Blue] (Male)
2. [Chalk-hill Blue] (Male)
3. [Little Blue]
4. [Azure Blue]
5. [Large Blue]
6. [Duke of Burgundy Fritillary]
7. [Grizzled Skipper]
8. [Dingy Skipper]
9. [Small Skipper]
10. [Lulworth Skipper]
11. [Large Skipper] (Female)
12. [Pearl Skipper] (Male)
13. [Checkered Skipper]
The Wall Brown Butterfly (Pararge megæra), [Plate IX.], Fig. 5.—A rather smaller butterfly than the last, with the same number and arrangement of the eye-spots. The ground colour is, however, a light tawny brown, with dark brown markings. There is a broad diagonal bar across the fore-wings of the male. All the wings are bordered with brown. The female has two zigzag lines in place of the bar, and consequently has a lighter appearance; she is usually a bit larger than her mate. The under side of the hind-wings is a beautiful study in greys and browns, with the dainty little eye-spots double ringed. This species is common on waste lands and roadsides throughout the country; it is local in Scotland, but abundant where found, especially in Ayrshire. There are two broods only in the South.