141 



state, and then, when the circumstances are favourable, they appear in large 

 numbers. 



The caterpillars of the Painted Lady are almost as uncertain in their ap- 

 pearance as the butterflies. They have been found freely in July, and one 

 observer, Mr. West (see " Entomologist/' Vol. III., page 303), noticed that 

 none were to be seen between July 26th and September 16th, when they 

 again appeared freely. Another observer, Mr. Wilkinson (see " Entomo- 

 logists' Monthly Magazine", Vol. XVII), records unusual numbers of the 

 caterpillars in the end of July, 1879, and again the beginning of October. 

 Most of the latter changed into chrysalides between the 18th and 20th of 

 of October, and one of them emerged as a perfect butterfly on November 

 20th, as fine in every respect as those bred in August. The rest failed in 

 the attempt to come to maturity. Mr. Gervais F. Matthew (see " Entomo- 

 logists* Monthly Magazine," Vol. XVIII. , page 93), records the caterpillars 

 as being very plentiful in Turkey, throughout September, October, and 

 November, 1878, between united leaves of mallow; and also at Malta, in 

 March, 1879. Albin, in 1749, records the finding of a caterpillar on the 

 22nd of June. 



Vanessa cardui is a most cosmopolitan species. It occurs all over the 

 British Isles, inclusive of the Shetlands; and Mr. W. F. Kirby, in his 

 Diurnal Catalogue, gives the World as its range. Specimens from India and 

 South America can scarcely be distinguished from those occurring in this 

 country. On the American continent it enjoys a very wide range, extending 

 from the Hudson's Bay territory to Venezuela. In the Old World its range 

 extends from Norway to the Cape of Good Hope; and it has also been re- 

 corded from such far distant lands as Australia, New .Zealand, and the Sand- 

 wich islands. It appears to be little affected by climate, as it occurs both at 

 Sierra Leone (the hottest part of Africa), and at Moose Fort (lat. 50 20 N) 

 iu North America, where snow lies on the ground for eight months of the 

 year, and during five months of which the thermometer does not rise above 

 freezing point, and sometimes sinks as low as 52° F. As it is a strong flyer, 

 and of a roving disposition, it may, like Banaus plexippus , have extended its 

 area in comparatively recent times. 



Nearly everywhere it appears to be common, and in many places, especially 

 in the South of Europe, it is one of the most abundant butterflies. Here it 

 is sometimes observed in countless swarms, and the air is sometimes filled 

 with the butterflies. These vast swarms apparently appear in early summer, 

 | and generally travel in a north-easterly direction. The year most remarkable 

 : for these swarms was the wet, sunless, and ungenial year of 1879. In this 

 year, a winter of exceptional severity was followed by a sunless and chilly 



