OF HARTING. 397 



The Large Tortoiseshell ( Vanessa polycJiloros\ some- 

 times also called the Elm Butterfly, and the Small 

 Tortoiseshell ( Vanessa uvticce) differ little from each 

 other in their general colour and markings, but the 

 latter is the brighter of the two, and, as a rule, the 

 smallest. The caterpillars of both, like those of all 

 the genus, are clothed with spines, and the golden 

 decorations of the chrysalides are sometimes unusually 

 splendid. The perfect insects, which are generally 

 distributed, emerge in the early part of summer, and 

 may not only be seen throughout the remaining 

 months of the season till late in the autumn, but in 

 early spring also, the specimens, however, which sur- 

 vive the winter have often lost their freshness, and 

 present a faded, battered appearance. A remarkable 

 fact in the history of Vanessa urticce came to our 

 knowledge many years back, but although it was 

 made known to the readers of a local periodical 

 shortly afterwards, we have yet to learn that any 

 other observer has witnessed a recurrence of the phe- 

 nomenon, although we may reasonably assume that 

 it is not an exceptional one in the economy of this 

 insect, but that, on the contrary, it may be common 

 to the whole order. The circumstance alluded to is 

 related in the following extract from the " Chichester 

 Magazine" for June, 1837. 



" In the month of May, 1832, I was in pursuit of 

 Lepidopterous insects in a beautiful green lane, or 

 rather a wide foot-path between two hedgerows, where 

 the rays of the sun were somewhat powerful at mid- 

 day. Butterflies were flitting and zigzagging plenti- 

 fully throughout the whole length of the lane. The 

 Orange-tip and Small Tortoiseshell were the most 

 abundant, the former in its undulating course dis- 

 playing alternately the variegated green and white of 

 the secondary wings, and the brighter orange cloud of 

 the primary ones, and I was amusing myself in con- 

 trasting its desultory flight with the more vigorous 



