Lepidoptera The Small Heath Butterfly – Canonympha Pamphilus
The last member of the family Satyrida is the well-known Small Heath, that may be seen almost all over the British Isles on heaths, meadows and moors, from May to September.
The upper surface of this butterfly (
Plate VI, fig. 2) is a tawny yellow, with a dark brown border, and a spot of the same dark tint near the tip of each fore wing. The under side is much like that of the last species, but there are no eye spots on the hind wings.
The eggs of the first brood are laid during May and June on the various grasses on which the caterpillar feeds.
The caterpillars that emerge from these are fully grown in July or early August, and go through their changes during the latter month; but the later ones hybernate during the winter, and are not full fed till the following May.
The colour of the larva is pale apple green, with a wide darker stripe down the back, two others along the sides, and two more between the latter and the dorsal stripe. All these five stripes are bordered with a whitish colour.
The chrysalis is bright apple green, dotted with white, and the wing cases are striped with a purple-brown line edged with white.