3^ Natural History of the 



Description. — The general colour of the upper side of the 

 wings of this species is a deep chocolate brown, but with the hind 

 and side margins ornamented with a cream coloured border. 

 Between the cream-colour and the chocolate there is a second 

 border consisting of a band of velvet black with a number of 

 violet-blue spots. On the front margin of the anterior wing there 

 are two yellowish spots on the outer half. The under sides of 

 the wings are dark brown with some curved lines of black. There 

 is also a small yellow spot near the middle of each wing on the 

 under side, and two others on the border. It is, further, to be 

 'Observed, that the white border on the upper side is sprinkled with 

 minute black spots, and that there are some similar small spots, 

 but of yellow on the front part of the wing in addition to the 

 two larffe ones mentioned. 



o 



This species lives through the winter, and no doubt those I saw 

 on the mountain had not long since left their hybernating retreats. 

 The caterpillar is black with a series of red spots on the back, and 

 with each articulatioa of the body armed with tufts of spines. It 

 feeds upon the leaves of the poplar and willow, and according to 

 some authors, on those of the elm. In a paper read before the 

 Cleveland Academy of Natural Sciences, in 1854, by Prof. Kirt- 

 land, "On the Diurnal Lepidtoptera of Northern and Middle 

 Ohio," it is stated that " Vanessa Antiopa — though a species in- 

 troduced from Europe, has become very common. It often in its 

 perfect state survives over the winter, and may be seen flying dur- 

 ing the first days of spring. The larva, which often feeds on the 

 foliage of the Lombardy poplar, excited strong prejudice some 

 years since against such trees, from an erroneous belief that their 

 tenant was venomous like Cleopatra's asp." 



This caterpillar goes into the chrysalis state in July, and shortly 

 after the new brood of butterflies may be seen flying about. It is 

 said that there is a second brood of caterpillars, and the butter- 

 flies from them, on the approach of cold weather, retire into win- 

 ter quarters, and come out again in the next spring. 



The chr).salis is of a grey colour dappled with black, shaped 

 something like the body and head of a grasshopper, without the 

 wings and legs. It has a double row of spines on its vental 

 «ide, and is suspended by the small end to the under side of a rail? 

 branch of a tree, or other convenient support. 



It is said this species has been introduced into America from 

 Europe, and perhaps entomologists are in possession of knowledge 



