THE TORTOISE-SHELLS 151 



(Vanessa urticse), Plate XV., Fig. 1, so 

 called because the colour and arrangement 

 of its pattern are not unlike the markings 

 of tortoise-shell. It cannot be mistaken foi 

 any other home species except the rarer 

 Large Tortoise - shell ( Vanessa polychloros), 

 and the former may always be distinguished 

 by the pure white spot next the tip of each 

 forewing, and the tiny blue crescents which 

 form an edging upon all the wings. Its 

 larger relative has a yellow spot, and the 

 crescents are confined practically to the 

 hindwings. One would fancy that an insect 

 so brightly coloured would fall a prey to the 

 first bird which encountered it ; but it is not 

 so. Brilliant as are the hues of the upper 

 surface red, orange, yellow, white, brown 

 and blue the lower is painted in sober 

 shades, so as to resemble rough, dark bark. 

 The instant a Small Tortoise-shell alights on 

 a tree or post and closes its wings, it seems 

 to vanish. A like arrangement is found in 

 the case of most bright-hued species, and 

 those which frequent open spaces. 



Probably the most radiant of our British 

 butterflies is the Ked Admiral (Pyrameis 



