Peacock Camberwell Beauty 



hairs between. The chrysalis hangs by the tail ; it is 

 grey-brown, with gilt points. The eggs are laid in 

 May, and the butterfly appears towards the end of June, 

 and continues more or less abundant until October, 

 when the females retire to some safe corner in old walls 

 or outhouses, there to await the passing of the winter. 



THE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY (Vanessa Ici) y Plate V., 

 Fig. 7. This beautiful species is too well known, and 

 too distinct in its colour and pattern to require any 

 written description. 



Few butterflies possess a name which so aptly describes 

 them, and to make a mistake in its identification is 

 hardly possible. All its efforts seem to have been ex- 

 spended on the ornamentation of the upper surface, for 

 the under side has hardly an attractive note. Dark and 

 sombre though it be, it is well adapted for concealment 

 during its period of hibernation. 



The caterpillar is black, with bands of white dots 

 round each segment, and the spines are larger than in 

 the Small Tortoiseshell. It feeds in batches on Nettles, 

 from June to August. The chrysalis inclines to green 

 and has burnished spots. This species is common in 

 England, and is occasionally met with in the South and 

 West of Scotland. 



THE CAMBERWELL BEAUTY (Vanessa Antiopa^ 

 Plate V., Fig. 6. Why does not this handsome butter- 

 fly settle down amongst us, increase and multiply, and 

 thus swell the little band of real natives who gladden the 

 eye of the entomologist on his country rambles ? It 

 is a common insect over most of the Continent, and 



55 



