Shady lanes, rides in woods, as well as the borders of the same, are its favourite haunts. It is not a sun-loving butterfly, but is generally found to frequent places where the sun's rays are more or less intercepted by a leafy screen. It seems to be more abundant in wet seasons than in dry ones. It is generally distributed throughout England and Wales, but more plentiful in southern and western counties than in the eastern and northern. In Ireland, Kane says, it is "everywhere abundant and double brooded." It is local in Scotland, and rare north of the Caledonian Canal.
Abroad our form of the butterfly egerides is found commonly in Central and Northern Europe, except in the extreme north, and in Northern Asia Minor and Armenia. The typical form, egeria proper, occurs in South-Western Europe, North Africa, and Syria.
The Wall Butterfly (Pararge megæra).
The butterfly now under consideration is figured on Plate [82.] It is bright fulvous in colour, with blackish-brown veins, margins, and transverse lines. There is one white pupilled black spot on the fore wings, and four of such spots on the outer area of the hind wings; the fourth, which is generally blind, is placed at the end of the series near the anal angle. The male has a very conspicuous sexual brand on the central area. The under side of the fore wings is paler than above, but the markings are similar, except that the brand is absent and the margins are greyer; the hind wings on the under side are greyish marked with brown and traversed by dark lines; there is a row of six eyed spots on the outer area; that nearest the anal angle is double. The female has more ample wings, and as the brand is absent on the fore wings in this sex, the central black transverse lines are more distinct.
Larger Image
Pl. 82.
Wall Butterfly.
1, 2, 5 male; 3, 4, 6 female.