Butterflies and Moths

Lepidoptera The Camberwell Beauty Butterfly – Vanessa Antiopa The reader will be fortunate if he succeeds in netting a specimen of this highly prized British butterfly. It derives its popular name from the fact that a few were taken in Camberwell about a hundred and fifty years ago; and since that time it has been […]

Lepidoptera The Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly – Vanessa Urtica Urtica (Plate III, fig. 9) may be distinguished from Polychloros by the absence of the black spot in the anal angle of the fore wings of the latter. It has also a white spot near the tip of each fore wing-between the black border and the first […]

Lepidoptera The Twin-spot Carpet Moth – Larentia Didymata Fig. 195.-The Twin-spot Carpet. The Twin-spot Carpet is common throughout Great Britain, and the beginner is likely to meet with it in June and July during his first season. Our illustration represents the male, the fore wings of which are greyish brown, crossed by several dark lines, […]

Lepidoptera The Buff Tip Moth – Phalera Bucephala The first of our two examples of this small family is the common and destructive Buff Tip. The perfect insect is represented on Plate X, fig. 9, and is too well known to require a lengthy description. During June and July it may be seen resting on […]

Lepidoptera The Pale Clouded Yellow Butterfly – Colias Hyale The ground colour of this butterfly (Plate II, fig. 2) is very variable. It is usually a sulphury yellow, and on this account the insect is commonly known as the Clouded Brimstone; but sometimes the yellow is exceedingly pale-almost white-and tinged with green. A very large […]

Lepidoptera The Silver-studded Blue Butterfly – Lycana Agon The upper surface of the male (Plate VI, fig. 11) of this species is purple blue, with a black border on the hind margins of all wings. The female (fig. 12 of the same plate) is of a very dark smoky-brown colour, often with a bluish tinge, […]

Lepidoptera The Silver-washed Fritillary Butterfly – Argynnis Paphia This beautiful and noble butterfly is the largest of the Fritillaries, and the most powerful on the wing. During the latter part of June and throughout July it may be seen gracefully sweeping through the trees and undergrowth of woods, often settling down on a favourite flower […]

Lepidoptera The Peacock Butterfly – Vanessa Io This is another of our commonest and most beautiful butterflies. Its general appearance is such that it cannot possibly be mistaken for any other. The upper side (Plate IV, fig. 1) is rendered conspicuous by the beautiful eye-like marks at the costal angles of all four wings; and […]

Lepidoptera Family Hyberniida Moths Passing over the family Ligiida, which contains only one British moth, the Horse-chestnut, we come to the small but interesting family, Hyberniida. Of this we have six species, five of which favour us during the bleakest months of the year. Two of them visit us in October and November, and even […]

Lepidoptera The Common Emerald Moth – Hemithea Strigata Fig. 182.-The Common Emerald. One of the commonest of the Emeralds is Strigata, which may be found in June and July in all parts of England, as well as in some localities in Scotland and Ireland. Its wings are of a dull green colour, the front pair […]