PLATE XIII. 
No. 1.—The Great Tortoise-shell Butterfly (Vanessa No. 4.—The Caterpillar of the Great Tortoise-shell 
Polychloros). Butterfly. 
No. 2.—The Great Tortoise-shell Butterfly, showing No. 5.—The Chrysalis of the Great Tortoise-shell 
the under side. Butterfly. 
No. 3.—An unusually small specimen of the Great 
Tortoise-shell Butterfly. 
VANESSA POLYCHLOROS (the Great Tortoise-shell Butterfly, No. 1). This fine insect has 
all the characters well defined that distinguish the genus Vanessa ; such as the sharp and con- 
spicuous palpi, and the projecting angles of the wings. The Great Tortoise-shell is sometimes 
very abundant, more particularly round London ; but in other seasons scarcely a specimen is to 
be found, especially towards the North. This fine insect is described as appearing in July, and 
those specimens which are occasionally seen in the early spring are generally considered to con- 
sist of such only as have survived the winter in a semidormant state, like those of the allied 
species, V. urtice and V’. Jo. This has been considered the more probable, as the spring speci- 
mens often present a worn and faded appearance. That some do survive the winter in the way 
supposed is certain, as that degree of longevity is a characteristic of the entire genus, and has 
not been observed as a conspicuous peculiarity in any other genus of British Butterflies. Last 
spring, however, I had an opportunity of observing the appearance of a number of beautifully 
perfect specimens of V. polychloros, evidently just issued from the Chrysalis, proving that a late 
brood occurs in favourable seasons, which remain in the Chrysalis till the following spring, 
emerging from the pupa case on the first sunny days in March or April. On the 29th of March, 
1858, I noticed a remarkably fine specimen of V. polychlovos expanding its wings in the morning 
sun on the gravel path in front of my study window. It was evidently quite fresh from the 
Chrysalis, its wings not having acquired that firmness of texture which a little more exposure to 
the sun soon imparted to them. I observed, too, that the colour was paler and more beautiful 
than in autumnal specimens ; in fact of a slightly different tone, being decidedly more approach- 
ing to a pure orange ; which is in fact rather a rich orange buff than the usual tawny brown ; 
and the difference appears to be permanent, for many specimens appeared, and I afterwards re- 
marked that those which had been some days on the wing still preserved that lighter and more 
delicate tone of colour. The dark spots, too, are of a deep ruddy brown, rather than dusky 
black like those that have eclosed in the autumn. Indeed, at a hasty glance these spring 
specimens might be taken for a new species, or at all events, a very distinct variety. Some 
Chrysalides which I collected in the previous autumn, when they were very abundant, eclosed 
in my butterfly vivarium about the same time that I observed the specimens in the garden ; and 
among those which came out in confinement many were remarkably small as well as pale. One 
of these is represented at Figure 3. 
The underside of V. polychloros (No. 2) forms a fine contrast in tone of colour and in its 
very different kind of markings to those of the upper surface. The fine waved streaking of 
dark brown and black, on the gray, ochreous, or darker brown ground is very striking ; and the 
