COMMA BUTTERFLY. 
161 
Tlie antennae are black above, and brown with white 
rings beneath ; the club tipped with yellow. 
The colour of the caterpillar is brownish-red, 
with a broad dorsal band of white extending from 
before the middle to the hinder extremity. The 
head is nearly heart-shaped, and bears two large 
hairy tubercles, one on each side, resembling ears. 
It consumes the foliage of various trees, shrubs, and 
herbaceous plants, such as the elm and willow, the 
currant, hazel, honeysuckle, and the common nettle. 
The fly is by no means of frequent occurrence in 
Britain, at least in certain years, and does not ap- 
pear to extend far north, although we have heard of 
its having been seen in Fifeshire in Scotland. It 
has been found abundantly near Hertford, in Suffolk, 
in the neighbourhood of York, and occasionally in 
most of the midland counties of England. The first 
brood appears in the end of June or beginning of 
July, and the second in September. Such as are 
produced late in the year, are usually of a much 
paler colour than those of the early summer. The 
insect is very common in most parts of the Conti- 
nent, and is known in the French provinces, and has 
been described by Geoffroy, under the name of Ro- 
bert le diable ! 
L 
