60 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



at the extremity of each branch, which 

 develope into two branches the succeeding 

 summer. The leaves are of a leathery tex- 

 ture, and yellowish-green color, are also in 

 pairs, and being persistent give the plant its 

 evergreen character. The flowers are pro- 

 duced in early spring, they are small and in- 

 conspicuous, appearing in twos or threes at 

 the extremities, or in the forks of the branches. 

 They are unisexual and dioecious, that is, the 

 staminate and pistillate flowers are on dif- 

 ferent plants. The corolla is absent, and in 

 the staminate flowers the anthers are 

 curiously fixed on the four small ovate scales 

 forming the calyx, they open by small pores 

 to allow the pollen to escape. The pistillate 

 flowers produce each a single berry contain- 

 ing a solitary seed. The name Viscum is the 

 old Latin appellation of this plant in allusion 

 to the viscid tenacious pulp of the berries, 

 and album is from their white color. The 

 common name Mistletoe, which has an end- 

 less variety of spellings, is derived by some 

 from the old Saxon " mistel " different, and 

 " tan " a twig, because it was a different kind 

 of plant from that on which it grew, others 

 maintain that it is from " mist," dung, liter- 

 ally the branching or twiggy dung-plant, and 

 the same idea is perpetuated in its common 

 name in various other countries, which has 

 doubtless arisen from the supposed origin of 

 the plant out of the excreta of birds, which 

 has been already alluded to. 



BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



By J. E. Robson ; with figures from life by 

 S. L. Mosley. 



(Assisted by Contributors to the Y. N.) 



Genus III, Pyrameis Hubn. 



This is a small genus only numbering about 

 a dozen species, and some authors do not 

 recognize it, or only recognize one portion of 

 it as deserving separation from the closely 

 allied genus Vanessa. Besides the U shaped 

 mark mentioned in our table, its members. 



may be known by being less angulated on 

 the hind margin of the wings than those of 

 the Vanessa. The antennae too are more ! 

 clubbed. While there are these differences 

 (and other minor ones) in the perfect insects, 

 the larvae differ in a striking manner in their 

 habits, those of Pyrameis being solitary, and 

 often, as in Atalanta concealing themselves by j 

 drawing the edges of a leaf together. On the 

 other hand the larvae of the genus Vanessa are 

 gregarious, the eggs being laid in batches and ! 

 the whole of the larvae from one batch 

 remaining together throughout life. Mr. 

 Doubleday points out some curious facts in 

 relation to these insects which we regret we 

 cannot quote at length. The most important 

 passage is '• I have dwelt particularly on the 

 the geographical distribution of this genus, so 

 poor in species, yet so universally distributed, 

 presenting two distinct sections, species of 

 which are known to co-exist in almost every 

 part of the world except the southern parts 

 of Africa and America ; never, except in 

 Australia, presenting more than two species 

 in the same district, and those generally of 



different sections. As it [P. cardui] dies ; 



out, if I may use the expression, in the 

 equatorial and southern parts of America, it 

 is replaced first by one species, then by , 

 another, and if those species co-exist, one is 

 sure to be rare, for this co-existence is only 

 found in the very limits of their respective || 

 territories." (Doub. and West Genera of 

 Diurnal Lepidoptera.) 



Two species (of different sections) occur in 

 Britain, which are very easily distinguished. 

 Colour Black and pale fulvous. P. cardui, 

 ,, ,, and bright scarlet. P. atalanta Si 



21. CARDUI. Linn. PI. n, Fig. i. 



I I 



The Painted Lady. 



Cardui, L., Cardui, feeds on Thistle {Car- r 

 duus Natuus)." A. L. j t 



Imago. — Plate ii, Fig. i. Forewing pale Ik 

 fulvous with various black blotches, the tip IL 

 all black except the U shaped row of white p, 

 spots, Hindwing, similar in color to the fore- t 



