This plainly-coloured little butterfly, prized by collectors for its rarity, has, in the male sex, great general resemblance to that of the next species—the common P. Linea—but Actæon may be distinguished by having the wings clouded over nearly the whole surface with
dull brown, having something of a greenish cast. The female is, however, very different from that of Linea, having all the wings of uniform dingy brown, excepting a crescent-shaped row of tawny spots near the tip of the front wing, and a more or less distinct streak of the same colour near the centre.
The male Actæon is further distinguished from the female by the possession of a blackish streak near the centre of his front wing.
Beneath, the wings are clouded obscurely with tawny yellow and a dingy brownish tint, the yellow tinge predominating in the male.
The caterpillar is unknown.
The butterfly appears in July and August, but is so extremely limited in its local range that it is only to be met with, so far as is known, in three spots—all on the same line of coast—viz. Lulworth Cove, Dorsetshire; the "Burning Cliff," about five miles nearer Weymouth along the coast; and at Sidmouth, Devonshire. At the present time I believe the "Burning Cliff" is the locality where the insect is found in the greatest plenty. It is to be looked for on the rough broken ground covered with weeds that slopes down to the shore on this coast.
Mr. Humphreys states that in 1835 he saw it in great abundance at Shenstone, near Lichfield.
THE SMALL SKIPPER. (Pamphila Linea.)