PAINTED LADY— RED ADMIRAL 



an artist's brush, and the nature lover's constant admira- 

 tion. The green egg is laid on a thistle leaf. As it 

 develops it darkens considerably, and in due course the 

 hairy larva appears. It is of solitary disposition, so much 

 so indeed that it constructs a silky apartment in which to 

 reside. As, however, the larva often eats away its 

 '■' environment," it would appear to defeat the object it 

 had in view. The pupa, as well as the larva, varies in 

 colour, and the former is richly shot with metallic lustre 

 on various parts of the shroud. The perfect insect is 

 freckled and spotted with black, brown, and white 

 markings on a tawny-orange ground, and there is not a 

 great deal of difference between the sexes. The under- 

 side of the wing is much lighter all over, and the spots 

 on the hind wings are repeated at the rear, having dark 

 centres ringed with white. 



\ f 



R,ecl Admiral. 



Red Admiral. — {Pyrameis atalanta.) This lover of 



garden flowers and ripe fruit (Fig. 4) revels in the Autumn 



sunshine, and is so vividly contrasted in its rich bands 



c " 17 



