68 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



in the west ; to Cambs, Norfolk, and Suffolk in the east ; and 

 to Northampton and Warwick in the Midlands. 



Abroad it is found throughout the greater part of Europe, 

 Asia Minor, and eastward to the Himalayas. 



The Small Tortoiseshell (Vanessa tirticce). 



This butterfly is one of the most ubiquitous as well as prettiest 

 that we have in this country. Its reddish-orange colour, 

 marked with yellow patches, black spots, and blue crescents, 

 gives it a charming appearance as it sits on a flower, or even 



Fig. 22. 



on the ground, with wings fully expanded to the sunlight. When 

 the wings are closed up, however, the butterfly seems to dis- 

 appear, as the under side of the wings is quite sombre in 

 colour. The only bright spot on the under side is the yellowish 

 central area of the fore wing, and when the wings are held erect 

 over the insect's back this is not seen, but only the tips of these 

 wings, which are of the same dull colour as the hind wings. 



The ground colour is subject to modification as regards the 

 shade of red in the orange, and this may be intense or reduced 

 to just a mere tinge. Specimens have been taken on the wing 

 in which the colour was some shade of buff, and the same kind 

 of colour change will sometimes result from an over-long 



