Many an entomologist, whose hunting ground has been limited to a small district, has collected for years without once seeing this pretty creature on the wing; and then visiting another neighbourhood, perhaps not far distant, he will suddenly find it in profusion. I well remember the feelings of surprised delight with which, under these circumstances, I first made its acquaintance. The scene of the event was a grassy opening in a wooded hill-side in Kent, and here were literally hundreds visible at once, making the air all alive as they fluttered about in sportive groups: it was a sight not to be forgotten; while a hundred yards from this spot not a solitary one was to be seen, so closely limited is the local range of this species.
The caterpillar, which feeds on grasses, like the rest of its tribe, is green, with yellowish stripes on each side, and has a reddish head and tail. The form is shown at fig. 3, [Plate I].—a form common to all the tribe to which this species belongs.
July and August are the months when we should
look for this charming butterfly, in wood clearings and meadows near woods.
Some of the localities in which it has been observed are: Isle of Wight, Surrey Hills, Eastwell Park (Kent), Dover, Lewes, Brighton, Epping, Gloucestershire, Kingsbury, Darenth Wood, New Forest, Rockingham Park, Teignmouth, York, Barnwell Wold, South Wales. Not known in Scotland.
THE SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY. (Lasiommata Egeria.)
([Plate V]. fig. 4.)
Every one who has wandered through green woodland ridings, or coppiced paths, must be familiar with a lively, spotted brown insect that trips along just ahead of one, in a sociable way, for some distance, finding time to turn aside into the leafy recesses on either side without losing ground; then, having had enough of our company, mounting overhead, and retracing its course in the same playful way, and soon lost in the winding of the path.
This is the Speckled Wood, or Wood Argus Butterfly, a very pretty insect on both sides, and receiving the latter name—Argus, "the many-eyed"—from the rows of rich black eyes that grace its pinions.