The Butterflies of the British IslesSouth, Richard
Science
The Butterflies of the British Isles
South, Richard
Butterflies -- Great Britain; Butterflies -- Great Britain -- Identification; Lepidoptera -- Great Britain
Quite early in the eighteenth century this butterfly had only been
observed in England in Lincolnshire, where, according to Ray, it was
common, and in a wood at Dulwich. Petiver, who mentioned the last-named
locality, calls it the "Dullidge Fritillary." Wilkes in 1773 wrote of it
as the "Plantain Fritillary," although he gives clover and grass, as
well as plantain, as the food of the caterpillar. Moses Harris in the
Aurelian (1779) calls the butterfly the "Glanville Fritillary," and
states that it was named after Lady Glanville, who was interested in
butterflies, and whose will was disputed on that ground. This fact will
serve to show that entomology as a pursuit was not much in vogue at that
time, and that those who collected butterflies, etc., were apt to be
regarded by their friends as being--well, just a "wee bit daft."
Both Wilkes and Harris, it may be remarked, seem to have been acquainted
with the caterpillar of this species as well as with that of the Marsh
Fritillary, and there seems little reason, therefore, to suspect that
they confused the two species. The localities given by the earlier
authors appear, however, to suggest that the butterfly they wrote about
may have been the Marsh Fritillary; but there is no direct evidence of
this.
Stephens in 1827 ("Illustrations of British Entomology," Haustellata,
vol. i. p. 34) wrote--
"This is a very local species, and is found in meadows by the sides of
woods; in Wilkes' time it was not uncommon in Tottenham wood; recently
the places where it has been chiefly observed have been near Ryde and
the Sandrock Hotel, Isle of Wight; in the latter place in plenty: also
at Birchwood, and near Dartford and Dover, and in a wood near Bedford. I
believe that it has been found in Yorkshire."
[Illustration: _Pl._ 64.
=Pearl-bordered Fritillary.=
1, 2, 3 _male_; 4, 5, 6 _female_.]
[Illustration: _Pl._ 65.
1, 2, 3, 4 _Pearl-bordered Fritillary vars._
5, 6 _Marsh Fritillary vars._
7, 8 _Glanville Fritillary vars._]
There is no doubt that between 1858 and 1863 the butterfly was more
or less common on parts of the Kentish coast between Folkestone and
Sandgate, but it seems to be equally certain that the species has long
been absent from that part of England as well as from other localities
that have been mentioned, except the Isle of Wight, where it is still to
be found. It flies in May and June, and seems to have a preference for
the rougher parts of the undercliff; but I have seen butterflies and
caterpillars too on the higher slopes of St. Boniface. Whenever the
caterpillars are met with, it will be well to remember that only the
full-grown ones should be taken, as the smaller ones do not thrive very
well in confinement. A little self-denial in this matter will bring its
own reward in the shape of fine specimens for the cabinet, and the
pleasant reflection that the useless sacrifice of a number of
caterpillars has been avoided.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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