LEPIDOPTERA. 85 



those of the silver-washed are slashed obliquely towards the lower angle. The 

 Queen of Spain (A. lathonia), a much rarer insect, and the two elegant little pearl- 

 bordered fritillaries (A. euphrosyne and A. selene) are also British. The greasy 

 fritillary (Melitcea aurinia) brings us to another genus, the members of which 

 closely resemble those of the former, but are as a rule smaller. So many figures of 

 all the British species have been published, that detailed description is superfluous. 

 The greasy fritillary inhabits low-lying marshy meadows in various localities in 

 England, where the larvae feed on the plantain. The heath fritillary (M. athalia) 

 is a very similar though very local species ; while the glanville (M. cinxia) is rare 

 in Britain, where it is confined to the Isle of Wight. Many handsome species of 

 this genus are found in all the more northern regions of the world, but undoubtedly 

 the most numerous occur in the South- Western United States. The magnificent 

 fritillary A. childreni, which measures nearly 5 inches from wing-tip to wing- tip, 

 is indigenous to the Himalaya. Closely allied to the fritillaries is the map-butter- 

 fly (Araschnia levana) of Central Europe. It presents two very distinct forms, 

 one of which (A. levana) appears in the spring, the other (A. prorsa) later on in 

 the summer, while an intermediate form (A. porima) is also recognised. The form 

 known as the spring brood, figured on p. 90, is fulvous red with scattered black 

 spots, presenting also three white spots near the tip of the wing. The summer 

 brood (Fig. 4) has black wings with a red marginal line, having besides a broad 

 broken white bar across the wings and some white spots near the margin. The 

 larvae feed on the nettle in June and September. The insect, though common on 

 the Continent, has not been taken in England. The curiously-shaped butterfly 

 known as the common (Polygonia c-album), was formerly much more common in 

 England than it is at present. The wings are rufous w r ith black spots, and very 

 strongly emarginate along the edges, and angular. The white c-shaped spots on 

 either hind -wing beneath render it not easily mistaken for any other British 

 species. 



The handsome butterflies known as tortoiseshells (Vanessa) are amongst the 

 most widely distributed of the family, though confined to the Northern Hemisphere. 

 Most inhabit the more temperate regions of Europe, Asia, and America, although a 

 few occur in India, Ceylon, the Malay Peninsula, and Mexico, The caterpillars 

 feed on plants and trees, and are usually dark and spinous. The chrysalis, angular 

 and distinguished by its brilliant lustre, is suspended by the tail, and forms a beautiful 

 object. The large tortoiseshell (V. polychloros), so common in woods in England, 

 is usually found settling upon the trunks of trees, in summer and autumn. The 

 w r ings are rich fulvous-red, blotched and margined with black, and having a 

 narrow broken vein of blue just before the outer fringe. The larvae feed on the 

 leaves of various trees, and the chrysalis is pale pink relieved with golden 

 blotches. The small tortoiseshell (V. urticce), whose jet-black spiny larva feeds 

 on the nettle, is amongst the commonest British butterflies. The peacock 

 butterfly ( V. io), well known on account of the large eye - like blotches 

 on the upper and under - wings, is figured in all its stages in the illustration 

 on p. 86. The larvae also feed upon the nettle; and the insect is found 

 throughout Europe and Northern Asia as far as Japan, but not in Northern Africa, 

 One of the handsomest, and at the same time of the rarest, of British butterflies, 



