24 THE GENERA AND SPECIES OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 
It rose as I approached, and having no net with me, I made a sweep at it with my hat, but 
unsuccessfully. I waited for its return, which occurred again in about the same time, notwith- 
standing the alarm it must have received, but I was again unsuccessful, and, my companion 
becoming impatient, we pursued our journey, without renewing the attempt, which I have often 
regretted. 
The Caterpillar, which is considerably larger than that of /”. Jo, is beautifully marked with 
red, at the base of the spines, as shown at No. 7. It feeds on the Willow, and is to be looked 
for in July. The perfect insect appears in August, the females often surviving the winter, and 
depositing their eggs in the following spring ; in which case they reappear as early as April. 
This fine insect has been found as far North as Ayrshire, but is a rarity im any locality 
except at intervals of eight or ten years, when it appears in some abundance. About eighty 
years ago it was so plentiful, after a long absence, that it received the name, among collectors, 
of the “Grand Surprise ;” and its appearance at Camberwell, one season many years ago, caused 
it to be known as the “ Camberwell Beauty,’—a name it still retains. The English specimens 
are said to differ from those of the Continent, in having the borders of the wings nearly white, 
instead of cream colour. But this observation may have been made on specimens long preserved 
in Collections, and probably faded to some extent, as the specimen which 1 saw alive, as 
described above, had the borders in question of a remarkably rich and deep cream colour. 
This fine insect 1s the Papilio Antiopa of Linneeus, who appears to have adopted the specific 
name from that of a mythical personage, as in many other instances. The descriptive or other- 
wise characteristic denominations of more modern systems of classification appear to great 
advantage when compared with the arbitrary nomenclature of the infancy of the science, as 
exhibited in this and other instances. 
