402 INSECTS AT HOME. 



golden lustre. I would here take the opportunity of advising 

 any of my readers who possess a microscope, to examine care- 

 fully the scales of every lepidoptcrons insect that they capture, 

 taking- a few from both surfaces of the wings. If care be taken, 

 these lovely objects can be removed without damaging the 

 beauty of the wings. The under surface of the lower wings is 

 beautifully mottled with various shades of broAvn and yellow, 

 and near the edges are four rounded spots in a row, the two 

 exterior spots being twice as large as the others. Each of the 

 large spots is composed of a glittering green centre, surrounded 

 by warm brown. Eound tlie brown is a stripe of yellow, and 

 the whole is surrounded with a bold black line. The two 

 smaller spots have no black outline. 



In its larval state, the Painted Lady feeds on the thistle 

 {Carduus arvensis), from which the insect derives its specific" 

 name of Cardui. It prefers the young and tender leaves of 

 the plant, and draws their edges together, so as partially to 

 enclose itself in the leaf. When it changes into a pupa, it 

 suspends itself by the tail, and there remains until it emerges 

 in its perfect form, somewhere about August. 



In its habits, the Painted Lady much resembles the pre- 

 ceding insects, becoming developed in the autumn of one year, 

 but not pairing until the spring of the next year. It is fond 

 of flitting about in search of honey-bearing flowers, and 

 especially frequents the teazle, on which flower the Eed 

 Admiral, the Great Tortoiseshell, and the Peacock Butter- 

 fly often bear it company. I have taken all those insects 

 plentifully on teazles in Bagley Wood, near Oxford. 



As in the case with other Butterflies, the Painted Lady is 

 wonderfully intermittent in its appearance, sometimes being 

 absent or extremely scarce for several years, and then appearing 

 in swarms for a year or two in succession. I well remember 

 the year in which I first saw this beautiful insect in any 

 number. I had in my cabinet one solitary, battered specimen, 

 the only one that I had ever seen since I had begun to collect. 

 One avitumnal day 1 went to Bagley Wood, and near the road 

 saw a Painted Lady fly into a gravel-pit. I went after it at 

 best speed, jumped into the pit, and found it absolutely full of 

 Painted Ladies. The Butterflies had taken some strange fancy 

 to the place, and were flying through it almost in streams. 



