The caterpillar of this butterfly, which is a pretty little green creature with a white stripe along each side, and a dark brown one along its back, feeds on different kinds of grass, first in August and September, and then again in March. Before it enters into its long winter sleep it throws off its skin no less than five times and appears in a new one, which has been forming underneath the old coat. And, strange to say, it always eats its own cast skins! The chrysalis is of a beautiful bright green colour, and you may sometimes find it fastened to grass blades growing beneath trees in woods. PLATE V THE WALL BUTTERFLY (2) I think that you must know this butterfly very well indeed by sight, for it is extremely common in all parts of the country. Indeed in May, and again in August, you can hardly walk along a lane, or through a grassy meadow, without seeing it in dozens whenever the sun is shining. It is called the “Wall” butterfly because it is very fond of resting for a moment or two on the top of a roadside wall. But it seems to have very sharp eyes, for if you walk towards the butterfly it is almost sure to fly swiftly away, only to return to the same spot as soon as you have passed by. Like that of the “speckled wood,” the caterpillar of this butterfly is green in colour, and feeds upon different kinds of grasses. But you can always tell it by the fact that it has three pale lines running along its back instead of one dark brown streak, as well as a rather broader one along each side. The chrysalis is bright apple-green, with a few yellowish-white spots, and you may sometimes find it suspended by its tail from a blade of grass. [Illustration: PLATE VI 1. Meadow-Brown 2. Ringlet] PLATE VI THE MEADOW-BROWN (1) In almost all parts of the country, this is the very commonest of our British butterflies. From the beginning of June until quite the end of August you may see it in hundreds and hundreds, flying about in meadows, or along grassy banks by the roadside. And even on dull, gloomy days, when all other butterflies are hiding away in some snug retreat, it flits to and fro just as gaily as if the sun were shining brightly. This is one of the butterflies in which the female is not quite like the male. For instead of having just a small dark spot with a white ring round it on each of the front wings, she has a large black spot with a little white dot in the middle. And round this is a patch of tawny yellow, which occupies nearly a quarter of the whole wing. The eggs of the Meadow-brown butterfly are laid on different kinds of grass. When they hatch, the little caterpillars feed for about ten days, and then hide away among the roots, where they remain fast asleep until the following spring. In colour they are bright green, with a white stripe on each side, and when they are fully fed they turn into pale green chrysalids, marked all over with purple-black spots. PLATE VI THE RINGLET (2)