RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY. ' 143 



These he gathered and put in a safe place, and during the 

 summer it was a great pleasure to him to watch the outcoming 

 of these resplendent insects. Just before they were ready to 

 emerge, the colours of their wings could be seen through the 

 thin case which covered them, and with this warning he was 

 often able to catch the insect at the instant of their appearance. 

 Not long afterwards he found a colony of the caterpillars of 

 the red admiral butterfly, a large black insect with crimson 

 bands round its wings, and the under surface marbled with 

 the most delicate tracery of brown and grey. As far as size 

 and beauty go, these two butterflies may be said to be the 

 gems of the entomologist's cabinet. They are common 

 enough in the south, and the young entomologist may look 

 forward to catching or breeding them his first year. 



RED ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY. 



The afternoon was exceedingly hot, and the sun blazed 

 from a cloudless sky, and birds'-nesting and butterfly-hunting 

 was tiring work. The scent of the hay made the air fragrant, 

 and the sharp whisk of the scythes of the mowers in those 

 meadows which were not yet cut, was the only sound which 

 disturbed the evening stillness. 



Crossing one of the commons which are to be met with 

 everywhere in the enclosed districts of Norfolk, they saw a 

 little brown bird fly out of a hole in a low hedge bank. Very 

 cleverly hidden there, in a hole covered with a clump of prim- 

 rose flowers, was a winchat's nest. It contained five blue eggs 

 spotted with rusty red at the large end. Taking two of these 

 they went on their way, and presently entered a thick and 

 tangled wood, where the underwood was so close that they 

 could with difficulty make their way through it. The brambles 

 and briars were breast high, and the ground was ankle deep in 





