The butterfly is supposed to be triple-brooded, coming out in April, June, and August; and is so common, that no localities need be given.
THE LARGE COPPER BUTTERFLY. (Chrysophanus Dispar.)
([Plate XIII]. fig. 2.)
A few years ago, this was the pride of British entomology, for we were supposed to have the insect entirely to ourselves, it being unknown on the Continent, whilst it literally swarmed in some of the fens of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire. Then, from some cause, never satisfactorily explained, it almost suddenly disappeared, and, there is reason to fear, has become quite extinct in this country. Still, hopes are entertained that it may be surviving in some unexplored districts, and that it will again "turn up."
As comparatively very few persons have ever seen this splendid creature on the wing, the following communication from one who has, quoted from the Intelligencer, will be of interest to those who have not read it in that periodical. It is from the pen of Mr. E. C. F. Jenkins, of Sleaford, Lincolnshire. He writes: "I proceed to give you some account of my own acquaintance with that most beautiful insect, which, some thirty years ago, was so abundant in the unreclaimed fens about Whittlesea Mere, that I never expected to hear of its utter extermination. Its brilliant appearance on the wing in the sunshine I shall never forget, and to watch it sitting on
the flower of the Eupatorium cannabinum and show the under sides of its wings, was something ever to be remembered. I once took sixteen in about half an hour on one particular spot, where the above-mentioned plant was very plentiful; but unless the sun was very bright they were very difficult to find. In those days the larva was unknown, and I attribute the disappearance of the butterfly to the discovery of the larva, to the unceasing attacks of collectors, and to the burning of the surface-growth of the fens, which is done in dry weather when they are to be reclaimed."
The two sexes of this butterfly differ very remarkably in the appearance of the upper surface. This, in the male, is of an effulgent coppery colour, narrowly bordered with black, and having a black mark in the centre of each wing. The female is larger, has a redder tinge, with a row of black spots on the front wings, and the hind wings nearly covered with black, excepting a band of coppery red near the margin, extending also more or less distinctly along the courses of the veins. Underneath, both sexes are nearly alike, the hind wing of a general light blue tint, with a red band near the margin, and spotted with black.
The caterpillar is green, darker on the back, and paler at the sides, it feeds on the water dock.