BRIMSTONE 



the wing, but they soon develop in readiness for the young 

 larva to partake of its first meal. The egg, larva, and 

 pupa must be sought for on the underside of a leaf, and 

 the three colour changes of the former are pale green, 

 yellowish, and purplish-grey. The larva is green, 

 profusely specked with polished black. The bluish- 

 green pupa is worthy of examination, not only because of 

 its curious shape, but also by reason of its similarity to 

 a contorted leaf. The male is the lighter-coloured of the 

 two sexes, but both have a small orange spot on each of 

 the four wings. The pointed tips to both pairs of wings, 

 and the rounded formation, are salient features, and 

 when at rest, with the organs of flight tightly closed, there 

 is small wonder that, on seeing one thus for the first 

 time, a friend remarked that it resembled " a beech leaf 

 dipped in sunhght." 



FAMILY NYMPHALID^ 



Small Tortoiseshell. ^ — {Vanessa urticce.) The hand- 

 some Purple Emperor, White Admiral, Comma (so- 

 called because of a curious mark on the under side of the 

 hindwings), and rare Large Tortoiseshell come next in 

 scientific sequence, but they must give way to the much 

 more familiar species V. urticce. This latter belongs, 



as will be seen, to a different family from the insects 



13 



