g; this is absent in the female (fig. 5 _a_). The males of
this butterfly very much resemble those of the last rare species
(_Actaeon_), but they may be distinguished by the middle part of the upper
wing not being clouded with brown, as it is in _Actaeon_. Under side, two
shades of tawny colour, but _not spotted_.

The _caterpillar_ is green, with four white lines, and feeds on grasses.

The _butterfly_ appears in July, and is very common and widely distributed.

* * * * *

THE LARGE SKIPPER. (_Pamphila Sylvanus._)

(Plate XV. fig. 6, Male; 6 _a_, Female.)

Upper side, dark rich brown, shaded and spotted with tawny or fulvous tint.
The _male_ is known by a {168} dark-brown, _burnt_-looking streak near the
centre of the front wings; the female being without this mark. Under side,
greenish, with _indistinct_ yellowish spots.

The _caterpillar_ is green (darker on the back), and dotted with black;
spotted with white underneath. It feeds on various grasses.

The _butterfly_ appears in May, and again in August or the end of July; and
is very common in almost every locality, frequenting grassy places in and
near woods, road-sides, &c.

* * * * *

THE SILVER-SPOTTED SKIPPER. (_Pamphila Comma._)

(Plate XV. fig. 7, Male; 7 _a_, Female.)

This butterfly closely resembles the last, especially on the upper side;
which is, however, more brightly and clearly marked. But the chief
distinction is to be found on the _under side_, which is marked, on a
greenish ground, with _clear-cut, square white spots_. The male, as in the
last species, is distinguished by the thin blackish bar placed obliquely on
the front wing. The outline of this species also differs somewhat from that
of the last, especially in the males. This difference will be better
understood by comparing figs. 6 and 7 on the plate, than by description.
{169}

The _caterpillar_ is dull-green and reddish, with a white collar, and
spotted with white near the tail-end. It feeds on leguminous plants.

The _butterfly_ appears in July and August, but is only found in a limited
number of localities, and these chiefly in the southern counties; but where
found at all, it is generally abundant. Among its localities are the
following:--Croydon; Brighton; Lewes; Dover; Lyndhurst; Blandford;
Plymouth; Old Sarum, Wiltshire; Barnwell and Ashton Wolds,
Northamptonshire; Halton, Bucks; Newmarket; Gogmagog Park, Cambr