162 



GREAT TORTOISE-SHELL. 



Vanessa polychloros. 



PLATE XVII. Fig. 2. 



Pap. polychloros, Linn — Donovan, viii. 6.0, pi. 278. 



This species bears considerable resemblance to 

 V. Urticce in its colour and markings, but it is usual- 

 ly much larger, the expansion of the wings some- 

 times exceeding two inches and a half. The upper 

 side is dark orange, inclining to ochre-yellow towards 

 the anterior margin, and at the sides of some of the 

 spots. The upper wings have two large quadrate 

 black spots, like abbreviated bands, on the anterior 

 margin ; two smaller spots, placed obliquely, towards 

 the base ; two small rounded ones on the disk, and 

 another near the hinder angle. The hinder wings 

 are marked with a single black spot of considerable 

 size near the middle of the anterior margin. Both 

 wings have a deep border of black externally, orna- 

 mented with a series of crescents, which are pale in 

 the anterior pair, but blue in the others, and bounded 

 by two parallel lines of pale yellow. On the under 

 side, the basal half of all the wings is dark brown, 

 the remainder yellowish-grey, finely marked with 



