The Red Admiral 181 



I have found the butterfly in mid-winter under- 

 neath stones which were half buried in the frozen 

 ground. The butterflies in the fall creep edge- 

 wise in the crevices leading underneath these rocks, 

 and sleep there all winter so that they are usually 

 the first butterfly one sees in the spring. A real 

 warm spell in winter time will sometimes induce 

 them to come forth and flit around in the sunshine, 

 under the belief that winter is over. The butter- 

 fly wings are dark purplish-brown above, with the 

 band along the scalloped margin of bufl" color. Ad- 

 joining, or rather just beyond, the bufl" edge is a 

 row of bluish spots. The butterfly spreads about 

 three and one-half inches at most. 



THE RED ADMIRAL 



This is another angel-wing, the caterpillars of 

 which feed on the nettles and hops (Fig. 161). 

 After the Red Admiral comes the cosmopolitan 

 Painted Beauty. This butterfly is right up to date 

 so far as paint and powder are concerned, but if she 

 does the turkey trot or the tango, she does them while 

 flitting through the air and without a partner. The 

 Painted Beauty (Fig. 162) in color is very nmch 

 like the Red Admiral, although tlie markings are 



