VANESSA, 93 



This has always been a very scarce Butterfly in England, and 

 very uncertain in appearance. In some years a good many 

 specimens are met with, and then, again, several years may 

 elapse without more than one or two being seen. The old 

 authors sometimes called it the "Grand Surprise," because 

 about the year 1789 it appeared suddenly in unusual abun- 

 dance. It was also called the Camberwell Beauty from having 

 been first observed in England at that place in 1748. Curi- 

 ously enough, it was unusually common in England exactly a 

 century later, in 1848. All the English specimens are remark- 

 able for their white borders,* whereas in the European speci- 

 mens the border is almost always decidedly yellow. The 

 Butterfly is also common in North America, but the American 

 specimens are generally considerably larger, with the border ot 

 a more brownish-yellow than in the European ones. It fre- 

 quents woods, avenues, gardens, and detached trees, and is an 

 insect of powerful flight, but is very fond of settling on fallen 

 fruit. Once, on the Continent, I was walking along a road 

 which was bordered with bird-cherry trees, and strewn with 

 the ripe fallen cherries. The fruit was very attractive to 

 these Butterflies, which were flying backwards and forwards 

 in numbers between the road and a small river, which ran 

 nearly parallel to it at no great distance. 



It used to be said that no British specimens were ever taken 

 with yellow borders; but a few yellow-bordered ones have 

 occasionally been met with of late years. In these cases it is 

 reasonable to suppose that they were specimens which had 

 either been introduced from the Continent, or reared from 

 Continental larvae and then set at liberty, in which case they 

 would almost certainly fall a prey to the first prowling ento- 

 mologist who happened to notice them. 



* This form also occurs, though much more rarely, on the Continent ; 

 and Lang specially notes its occurrence, with specimens of other Butter- 

 flies closely resembling British examples, in Albania. 



