18 CATALOGUE OF BUTTERFLIES. 



here (South Shields) for fifteen years, and saw it for the first 

 time here in September, 1872." Mr. Hedworth says, '' One at 

 Dunston in 1872," and in 1874 ''Two batches of larvae were 

 found at Dunston." Mr. Brady writes, '' I have only seen one 

 in Durham — in 1891." I have scarcely seen the insect since 

 1860, until 1893, when it was not uncommon, and I have not 

 seen the larvse at all since the earlier date. It would be im- 

 possible for the merest tyro to mistake the larvse for those of 

 UrticcBf which are of somewhat similar habit. Those of lo are 

 quite black, spotted with white, and all the more conspicuous 

 for being bright and shining, as though they were wet. 



17. Vanessa Antiopa (Linn.). Cambeewell Beauty. 



Vanessa Antiopa. Staint. Man., vol. 1, p. 38. 

 ,, ,, !N'ewm. Brit. Butt., p. 58. 



,, ,, Barrett's Lep. Brit. Is., vol. 1, p. 140. 



,, ,, Meyrick, Handbook of British Lepi- 



doptera, p. 333. 



Laeva. Buck., vol. 1, pi. viii., fig. 4; "Wils., pi. iii., fig. 4. 



This large and beautiful species visits these counties on most 

 of those rare occasions when a wandering horde strikes our 

 shores. Mr. Wailes evidently thought it was a native, and did 

 not believe in what has been called the "blown-over" theory. 

 The earliest record I have of its appearance here is in the notes 

 of the late William Backhouse, who, "about the year 1820," 

 found it in vast numbers on the sands at Seaton Carew washing 

 up by the tide. Many were dead but some were still living. 

 Commenting on this occurrence Mr. Wailes says, * ' it were more 

 reasonable to suppose that these specimens had been blown from 

 the land than that they had crossed a sea at least 500 miles 

 wide." He goes on to argue from the colour of the border of a 

 specimen Mr. Backhouse showed him that they must have been 

 of British origin, as this had ' ' the white border so characteristic 

 of our British specimens, which is replaced by yellow in nearly 

 all the Continental and American specimens." He also referred 

 to a friend who professed to have been familiar with the species, 



