THE VANESSA. 297 



exhibits a broad black border, with a series of yellow 

 crescents close to the edge of the wing, and within 

 these several cloudy spots of detached shining blue 

 scales, whilst the anal angle of the wing presents a 

 red spot with a crescent of similar blue scales. 



The caterpillars which we find so abundantly on 

 nettles in the summer, and which produce some of 

 the prettiest of our indigenous Butterflies, hang 

 themselves up simply by the tail ; and it is remarkable, 

 that the perfect insects, not only of these, but of most, 

 if not all the Butterflies which suspend themselves in 

 this way, have the anterior feet rudimentary, so that 

 they walk upon four feet. One of the commonest of 

 these is the Tortoise-shell Butterfly ( Vanessa Urtica), 

 a beautiful and active insect, which may be frequently 

 seen sunning itself on the ground or on plants with 

 its wings open, but raising and lowering them alter- 

 nately, a movement which, in conjunction with its 

 bright colours, gives it an exceedingly lively appear- 

 ance. The Peacock Butterfly (V. lo) is another 

 common but beautiful species, distinguished by the 

 large eye-spots on its wings ; but the most remarkable 

 species is the so-called Camberwell Beauty (V. An- 

 tiopa), of which the wings are of a dark purplish 

 tinge, with a broad cream-coloured or yellow border, 

 and within this a series of delicate blue spots. The 

 caterpillar lives on various trees, principally willows, 

 birch, poplars, and elms, and the perfect insect 

 appears twice in the year, early in the spring and in 

 the summer ; but it is a singular circumstance, that 

 frequently not a single specimen will be seen for 

 many seasons, and then suddenly the insect will 

 occur in great abundance. Several species of Vanessa 

 and allied genera are remarkable for this irregularity 



