LEPIDOPTEIiA. 
73- 
eater should turn into a chrysalis, the parasitic guests 
are thinking of changing too, so they burst through the 
skin of their host, and leave him to perish. 
In the Nymphalidce the imago has only four legs fitted 
for walking, the first pair being rudimentary. This dis¬ 
tinguishes the family from all others, with the single 
exception of the only species of the family of Erycynidoe , 
the Nemeobius Vatina , the male of which has only four 
legs fitted for walking, though the female has the nor¬ 
mal number of six. The Peacock, R,ed Admiral, Tor¬ 
toiseshells, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, Painted 
Lady, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, 
&c., belong to this family. Many are brilliantly^ coloured,, 
as the Admirals and Peacocks. The magnificent Red 
Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta '), a drawing of which will 
be seen on Plate III., Fig. 1, is common everywhere. The 
perfect insect generally appears in August. The larva 
is of a yellowish grey colour, with a pale yellow lateral 
line, and the segment beset with hairs. It feeds on the 
common nettle, changing into a chrysalis in the sum¬ 
mer, and into the perfect insect the end of August or be¬ 
ginning of September. The chrysalis has brilliant golden 
yellow patches on the sides, and is a very pretty object. 
The specimens which appear early in the summer are 
those which have hibernated in the winter. The autumn 
or late summer specimens are the best for the collectors, 
box. Rivalling the R,ed Admiral in point of beauty and 
brilliancy of colours, the glorious Peacock (Vanessa Io) 
claims a notice, with wings of deep red, margined with 
brown, chiefly conspicuous for the large eye-like spots,, 
variously and beautifully coloured, which adorn the 
wings. The perfect insect appears in July, but speci- 
