70 THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



The adult caterpillar is yellowish, closely covered with black 

 speckling and short hairs ; there is a black line down the centre 

 of the back, and this is bordered on each side by the clear 

 ground colour. The spiracles are black ringed with yellow, and 

 there is a yellowish line above them. The yellowish spines 

 have black tips. Head black, hairy, and speckled with yellow. 

 Individuals of another company were almost entirely black, the 

 spines alone being tinged with yellow. These caterpillars are 

 gregarious from the time they hatch from the egg until about 

 the last stage. 



The chrysalis is most often of some shade of grey and some- 

 times tinged with pinkish. The points on the upper parts of 

 the body are in some examples metallic at the base, and 

 occasionally the metallic lustre spreads over the thorax and 

 other parts as well. 



There are two broods in the year, one in June, the other in 

 August and September. The latter brood, or at least some of 

 the butterflies, hibernate and reappear in the earliest sunny 

 days of spring. They have been seen on the wing as early as 

 January and February (1896), and as late as December. 



The geographical range of this species extends through 

 Europe and Asia to Japan. 



The Peacock (Vanessa io). 



Unlike the last species referred to, this handsome butterfly 

 is more frequently seen in the autumn than after , hiberna- 

 tion. It is not likely to be mistaken for any other kind, 

 for on its brownish-red velvety wings it bears its own particular 

 badge, the " peacock eyes." The marks on the hind wings are 

 more like the " eyes " on the tail feathers of the peacock than 

 are those on the fore wings, and the brownish-red on these 

 wings is confined to a large patch below the eye-mark, the 

 remainder being blackish,. powdered with yellow scales on the 



