PLATE XIV. 
No. 1.—The Small Tortoise-shell Butterfly (Vanessa No. 4.—The Chrysalis of the Small Tortoise-shell 
Urtice). Butterfly. 
No. 2.—The Underside of the Small Tortoise-shell No. 5.—The Comma Butterfly (Grapta C-album). 
Butterfly. No. 6.—The Under side of the Comma Butterfly. 
No. 3.—The Caterpillar of the Small Tortoise-shell No. 7.—The Caterpillar of the Comma Butterfly. 
Butterfly. | No. 8.—The Chrysalis of the Comma Butterfly. 
VANESSA URTIC.H (the Small Tortoise-shell, No. 1). This brightly-marked species is some- 
times distinguished as the Nettle Tortoise-shell, in allusion to the plant which furnishes the food 
of the Caterpillar, and in contradistinction to /. polychloros, which in a similar manner is often 
termed the Elm Tortoise-shell. It is much more common than J’, polychloros ; indeed it may be 
said to be common everywhere. Its sparkling colours, red, white, and yellow, with tesselations 
of blue, make a charming appearance in our gardens as early as the first sunny days of 
February, and sometimes even earlier. Linnzus has called these beautiful insects on their first 
appearance at this early season, “deceptive heralds of the spring ;’ for on the recurrence of 
cold weather they again take to their retreats where they have passed the winter in a semidor- 
mant state ; and are seen no more till the next burst of fine weather. In the south of Europe, 
however, they remain on the wing throughout the mild winter of that more genial climate. 
This insect is distributed in every part of the British Isles, even to the extreme north of Scot- 
land, where it is popularly known as the Devil’s, or Witches’ Butterfly. The underside, shown 
at No. 2, slightly resembles the underside of V. polychloros ; but the fore wings have a large 
space of a pale ochreous tone, by which they may be easily distinguished. This pretty insect 
varies considerably in its markings ; specimens occurring sometimes in which the two upper 
patches of black at the front edge of the fore wings are joined while the two small round spots 
behind them are entirely absent. In this curious variety the dark portion of the hind wings 
extend nearly to the edge, the light red band and the dark border with the blue scallops being 
absorbed in it. There are also extremely small varieties, which are often more brightly coloured 
than the larger specimens. The Caterpillar, No. 3, feeds on the common nettle, and appears in 
the beginning of June, and again in August ; the perfect insect appears in July and September ; 
some of the last brood survive the winter, as stated above. The Chrysalis is represented at 
No. 4. 
The genus Grapts. This genus contains only a single British species, separated from Vu- 
nessa principally on account of the deep indentation of the margins of the wings, and some 
slight anatomical distinctions in the Caterpillar. The Chrysalis exhibits deep indentations in 
its form, which accord in character with those of the perfect insect, and serve to distinguish it 
from those of the Vanessw, which in other respects it resembles, and is suspended by the tail in 
a similar manner. 
Grapta C-album (the Comma, No. 5). This pretty species is becoming much more scarce 
than formerly. Our elder Entomologists describe it as abundant near London, and many of 
