Although common in some localities, this butterfly is not widely distributed. It is confined to some of the southern and midland counties of England, and is particularly partial to the chalk districts of the south-east. On the chalk downs of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex it is moderately common. It is on the wing during July and August. The caterpillar feeds on certain leguminous plants, among which are the bird's-foot (_Ornithopus perpusillus_) and the bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_). _The Chequered Skipper_ (_Carterocephalus Palaemon_) This is another local insect, more so even than the last, but it sometimes appears in profusion in certain limited districts. Kettering, Oundle in Northamptonshire, and Monk's Wood in Huntingdonshire are places where it has been taken freely. It appears in June. The wings are chequered with very dark brown and orange. The fore wings are bordered with small rounded yellow spots, and beside these there are about nine very conspicuous yellow spots on the fore wing and three on the hind wing. The arrangement of these markings may be seen in fig. 17 of Plate VII. The caterpillar feeds on the greater plantain (_Plantago major_). PART IV COMMON BRITISH MOTHS CHAPTER XVII _SPHINGES_ We have already observed the chief features by which we are able to distinguish between butterflies and moths (page 56), so we shall devote the present division to a description of the characteristics and life histories of some of the latter insects. The number of British butterflies is so limited that space could be found for a brief description of every species, but with moths the case is very different. There are about two thousand known British species of this division of the Lepidoptera, and every year adds some newly discovered insects to this long list; we shall therefore have to content ourselves with making a selection of these for individual mention. In doing this I shall endeavour to provide the young entomologist with a fairly representative list--one that will enable him to become more or less intimately acquainted with all the principal divisions of the _Heterocera_; and his attention will be drawn especially to many which may be described as 'common' or 'generally distributed,' so that during his first few seasons at collecting he may be enabled to identify and study a fair proportion of his captures. Occasionally, however, one of the rarer species will be described in order to illustrate some striking characteristic. We shall commence with the tribe of _Sphinges_ or _Hawk Moths_. This group consists of three families--the _Sphingidae_, including the largest of the 'Hawks,' and the 'Bee Hawks,' the _Sesiidae_ or 'Clearwings,' and the _Zygaenidae_, including the 'Foresters' and the 'Burnets'--numbering in all about forty species. Family--SPHINGIDAE