PYRAMEIS. 



99 



Vanessa cardui, Kirby, Eur. Butterflies and Moths, p. 13, pi. 7, 

 figs. 3, a-d (1878); Lang, Butterflies Eur., p. 15S, pi. 42, 

 fig. 2 (1882), Barrett, Lepid. Brit. Isl., 1., p. 149, pi. 21 

 (1S92). 

 The Painted Lady was formerly considered to be an insect of 

 rather irregular appearance in England, but it has apparently 

 become more abundant of late years, for although it is com- 

 moner in some seasons than in others, it is now nearly always 

 to be found in suitable localities, when looked for. It is, how- 

 ever, less frequently to be seen in gardens, &c, than P. atalanta, 

 preferring waste ground, where it likes to settle on thistles, and 



Variety of the Painted Lady {Pyrantels cardtti). 



other tall flowering plants. It is one of the most interesting 

 Butterflies known, for it is literally almost cosmopolitan ; and, 

 with the exception of the Arctic Regions and South America, 

 there is scarcely a country in the world where it may not be 

 found. The Australian and New Zealand specimens, however, 

 differ a little, and are sometimes called P. kershawii (McCoy), 

 but are hardly to be considered truly distinct. A closely-allied 

 species, P. virginiensis (Drury), or, as it is often termed, P. 

 huntera (Fabr.), Is found in North America ; it is easily dis- 

 tinguished from P. cardui by the sub-marginal row of small 



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