BRITISH AXD EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AXD MOTHS. 



fond of settling on moist places, especially 

 woodland paths, and is most easy to catch in 

 the forenoon. Later in the day it soars among 

 the tree tops, and alights on the higher branches. 

 The hibernated larva is found in May on 

 Popultis tremula, and passes into the chrysalis 

 on the leaves. It is easy to find, as it is 

 always suspended from the middle of a leaf, 

 and stands out prominently against the sky. 

 The young caterpillars hibernate among masses 

 of dead leaves which they have spun together, 

 and may be found thus in the Winter or Spring. 



L. Sibylla, Linn. The White Admiral. 

 PI. VI. fig. 3. Under side 3a. Larva 3b. Pupa 

 3c. is everywhere commoner than the last spe- 

 cies. It is very local in the Southern counties of 

 England. The butterfly frequents shady woods 

 in June and July. Occasionally varieties are 

 met with in which the white band and marks 

 on the wings are partially or completely ab- 

 sent. We have figured two such varieties on 

 PI. VII. (figs I & 2). The caterpillar has 

 a number of small branched pink spines on 

 the back. It is hatched in August, and after 

 hibernating appears in May on Lonkera xy- 

 losteum. The clu'ysalis is green, with silvery 

 spots, and is suspended from the under surface 

 of the leaves. 



L. Camilla, Fabr. is very like sibylla, 

 but the ground colour is deep black, with a 

 bluish lustre, and a row of bluish dots near 

 the hind margin. The under side is reddish 

 brown, with a single submarginal row of black 

 dots. This species is found in woods and 

 bushy places on the Continent south of 51", 

 and is common in the Tyrol. The butterfly 

 appears in June and July. The larva is dis- 

 tinguished from that of sibylla by the white 

 dots on the head and the larger fleshy tubercles. 

 It also feeds on honeysuckle in May. 



Genus Vanessa, Fabr. 



These are handsomely coloured butterflies 

 of medium or large size, with broad wings. 

 The hind margins are concave, and deeply 

 dentated, or with prominent angular projections. 

 The hind wings are produced in the middle 

 of the hind margins. The under surface is 

 usually pale, and streaked with brown. The 

 larvae are cylindrical, covered with long 

 branching spines, and live, mostly, gregariously 



on nettles. Some species, however, live singly 

 among leaves spun together. They are gene- 

 rally double-brooded. The pupae have two 

 points on the head, and generally metallic spots 

 on the sides. The butterflies frequent gardens 

 and woods, and feed upon the juice of trees. 

 Some species hibernate. 



V. levana, Linn, is a small butterfly, which 

 frequents moist woods in many parts of Central 

 and Southern Europe, but is not British. 

 The wings are fulvous, with several rows 

 of small black spots at the base, and larger 

 ones near the centre and at the apices, where 

 there are one or two white spots in addition. 

 The under side is varied with brownish red 

 and violet, with paler yellow lines and nervures. 

 The laiva is black, with black or brown spines, 

 a pair of which are situated on the head, a 

 character by which the young caterpillars can 

 be distinguished from those of V. urtica. They 

 feed gregariously on nettles in June and 

 August. Var. prorsa, Linn. PI. VII. fig. 4. is 

 the Autumn brood of levana. The wings 

 are brownish black, wdth an interrupted white 

 central band on the fore wings, and a well- 

 defined central band on the hind wings. The 

 nervures are yellowish white. The larvae 

 feed in the Autumn on nettles, and the pupag 

 produce levana in the Spring. A form inter- 

 mediate between levana and prorsa has been 

 described as porima, Ochs. It is considered 

 to be developed in consequence of the Autimin 

 pupffi being retarded by cold weather. 



V. c-album, Linn. The Comma Butter- 

 fly. PI. VII. fig. 5. Under side 5a. Larva 5b. 

 has a wide range, but is very local in Britain, 

 being most common in the Midlands. The 

 butterfly appears in the Spring and again in 

 August, and frequents hedgerows and hop- 

 fields. The larva lives singly in June and 

 August upon nettle, hop, hazel, elm, cur- 

 rant, etc. 



V. polychloros, Linn. The Large Tor- 

 toiseshell. PI. VIII. fig. i. Larva la. Pupa 

 lb. is found in the Midland and South-Eastern 

 counties of England, but appears to be ab- 

 sent from Scotland and Ireland. It is met 

 with from June to September, and is fond of 

 sitting on the trunks of trees and sucking 

 the sap. The larva feeds gregariously on 

 nettle, elm, poplar, willow, etc. 



