248 POPULAR ENTOMOLOGY. 



season. It has been mentioned before, that some Butterflies 

 exist through the winter ; specimens of the Peacock and 

 Tortoise-shell are seen taking flight on a sunny day in March, 

 or even earlier ; but if caught, they will invariably prove 

 very shabby specimens, giving unquestionable signs of hav- 

 ing survived the winter in some sequestered retreat, instead 

 of appearing fresh from the cocoon, 



" No longer reptile, but endowed with plumes." 



The Small Tortoise-shell has been found in the Isle of 

 Wight as early as the 8th of January, and it is supposed 

 that great numbers of this species pass the winter in a torpid 

 state; in Italy it is seen throughout the cold season. Other 

 insects may also be observed through the winter. Gilbert 

 White, in the ' Natural History of Selborne/ says, " Ivy 

 is the last flower that supports the Hymenopterous and 

 Dipterous insects ; on sunny days, quite to November, they 

 swarm on trees covered with this plant, and when they dis- 

 appear, probably retire under the shelter of its leaves, con- 

 cealing themselves between its fibres and the trees which it 

 entwines. Gnats, Flies of several species, and some Moths, 

 are stirring at all times when winters are mild, and are of 

 great service to those soft-billed birds which never leave us. 



