148 



considered by him as a small and very odd variety of V, cardui, and which 

 he has very handsomely added to my cabinet."-— J. C. Dale. 



Another example is recorded in the "Entomologist," Vol. IX., p. £55, as 

 being taken by Miss Carew, on the 20th September, 1876, at Antony, near 

 Torpoint, South Devon. The editor adds, "The above notice is interesting, 

 as showing how insects from far distant localities frequently occur as foreign 

 visitors to this country. There are several previous records of the occurrence 

 of this butterfly in Britain, chiefly from our southern coast." 



VANESSA AT AL ANT A. 

 Red Admiral. 



Atalanta, Linn. Atalan'ta, a celebrated beauty, native, of Arcadia, who 

 made ail her lovers race with her, on the penalty of death if they could not 

 catch her. Ovid, Met. X., 598. 



In grand simplicity and vividness of colour, the Red Admiral perhaps sus- 

 passes every other British butterfly, and reminds one forcibly of some of the 

 gorgeous denizens of the tropics. Intense black and brilliant scarlet in bands 

 and borders are the two chief elements of this splendour, relieved delightfully 

 by the pure white spots at the outer and upper corners, and by the pretty 

 blue spots at the inner and lower angles and near the margins. On the 

 underside the hind-wings are brown and beautifully mottled with black and 

 grey, with a large triangular pale spot in the middle of the costal margin, and 

 two transverse and wedge shaped discoidal black marks. Near the margin 

 of the wing is a row of four obscure eye-like patches. In some specimens the 

 red bar of the fore-wings bears a small white dot near its hinder extremity : 

 these are apparently the females. The width across the wings varies from 

 two and a half to three inches. 



Varieties are scarce. Two are figured in Mosley's " Varieties of British 

 Lepidoptera." One, bred by Mr. Eedle, has the scarlet bands replaced by 

 pale yellow shading to orange. The other, bred by Mr. Vaughan, has the 

 bands much paler than usual and abruptly shortened at the anal angle. One 

 in Mr. Robson's collection has deep orange bands, that on the hind margin 

 of the lower wings being without the usual black spots. The underside 

 varies still more than the upper, but is not easily described ; however, the 

 red band is much larger, and more of a blotch, the blue is more suffused, and 

 the hind-wings are without the usual mottling, and with the pale shade at the 

 hind margin much wider. In a specimen bred in 1867, and figured in the 

 " Entomologist," Vol. XI., the scarlet markings of the upperside of the 

 anterior wings are partially suffused with yellow, and the white spots towards 



