VANESSA. 
257 
*' Male and female. Upperside : both wings rich dark chestnut, the outer margin broadly and 
evenly white or pale straw-coloured, more or less densely striated with black ; along the inner 
edge of this border is a black band, broader than the pale margin in the hind wing, narrower 
in the fore wing, bearing a series of rich shining blue oval spots between the veins, which 
become obsolete towards the anal angle of the hind wing. Fore wing with two short sub- 
costal white or pale straw-coloured bars, the costa striated with the same colour. Underside : 
both mngs with the outer border as above, but paler and more densely striated, all the rest 
of tlie wing black, densely striated with deeper black ; sometimes with a more or less 
prominent ochreous spot at the lower end of the cell. Fore wing with the subcostal bars as 
above, but less distinct. Hind wing with a narrow black irregular discal line." (de Nice- 
ville, I. c.) 
" Larva. Black, with white dots ; from the fifth to the eleventh segments is a row of dorsal light 
red spots. The spines are black or dark brown ; it feeds on SalLv alba, sometimes on nettle 
or on birch, in the spring and early summer." {Lang, I. c.) 
For a more detailed description of this larva see Buckler's, * Larvae of British 
Butterflies,' i. pp. 52-54. I took this species at Hakodate in August and in 
Oiwake (Central Japan) in October. It has the habit of settling on the 
road, and, when disturbed, taking a short flight and returning to the same 
spot. 
In China V. antiopa only occurs, so far as I am aware, in the western 
portion of the country, where it is found not uncommonly at high altitudes. 
Except that the yellow border is just a trifle brighter and more thickly 
sprinkled Avith black scales, the Japanese and Chinese specimens do not 
differ fi-om European examples. 
Distributed throughout the temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere. 
Vanessa urticSB. (Plate XXV. fig. l, var.) 
Papilio urticce, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. x. p. 477 (1758) ; Esper, Schraett. i. pt. i. pi, xiii. 
fig. 2 (1777) ; Hubner, Eur. Schmett. i. figs. 87-89 (1793 ?). 
Vanessa tirJica, Godart, Enc. Meth. ix. p. 306 (1819) ; Lang, Butt. Eur. p. 173, pi. xl. 
fig. 3 (1884) ; Prycr, Rhop. Nihon. p. 26, pi. vi. fig. 8 (1888). 
Vanessa connexa, Butler, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1881, p. 851. 
" Expands from 2-0 to 2-3U inches. Hind margins of all the wings dentate ; the fore wings have 
only one angular j)rojection. All the wings are reddish orange, with rather narrow dark 
border enclosing a row of bright blue lunules. The fore wings have three black spots on the 
costa, two small ones in the centre, and one larger one on the inner margin, not two as in the 
preceding species [y-albmn'] : the space between the costal spots is yellow ; external to the 
third one is a white spot ; there is also a yellow patch external to the inner marginal spot. 
Hind wings blackish at the base, on the costa a large black spot with a yellow patch placed 
externally to it. Underside: the markings have much the character of V. polychlorus and 
V. xanthomelas, but are much lighter." {Lamj, 1. c.) 
