Lepidoptera The Duke Of Burgundy Butterfly – Nemeobius Lucina
The family Erycinida has only one British representative, commonly known as the Duke of Burgundy Fritillary, but although this butterfly certainly resembles the Fritillaries in general appearance (see figs. 9 and 10 of
The upper side is chequered with black and tawny brown, the fringe is white and barred with dark brown, and a row of tawny spots with black centres border the hind margins. The under side has two rows of white spots, one near the base, and the other across the centre of each wing.
The male has only four legs adapted for walking, but the female has six.
The butterfly is out in May and June, and frequents the paths and open spaces of woods, chiefly in the south of England, but it has been taken in some of the northern counties.
The caterpillar (
When fully grown, the caterpillar secures itself to a leaf or stem by means of its anal claspers and a silken cord round its body, and changes to a short, thick, hairy and light-coloured chrysalis (Plate VIII, fig. 11), which is marked with several black spots. In this state it spends the winter, and emerges early in the following summer.