THE RED ADMIRAL 
*37 
male, having less constitutional resistance, seldom, if ever, 
survives. Capt. E. B. Purefoy carried out some very interesting 
observations on the hibernation of V. atalanta in his butterfly 
garden in Kent, in 1908. When most of the weather was 
very warm during October, and after it had turned cold, a 
number of the butterflies became quite torpid while clinging 
to the bark of trees, which they greatly resembled. They 
remained in a very exposed position and declined to use the 
shelters provided for other hibernating butterflies. At Christ¬ 
mas, in January, and again in March, they experienced terrible 
weather. Twice the whole roof nearly collapsed under the 
weight of snow and the tem¬ 
perature dropped to zero. 
During February, two of the 
butterflies were seen flying 
strongly and three others sur¬ 
vived the whole winter. Bright 
days always brought some of 
them to activity. 
Egg Laying. The normal 
time of egg laying is the latter 
half of June, when I have 
frequently watched the fe¬ 
males depositing. They select 
the terminal leaves of the 
Stinging Nettle for their eggs. 
The female flies from one plant 
to another in quick succession, 
only resting for a few seconds each time to deposit an egg, 
and only one on a plant ; each egg being laid on the upper 
surface of one of the smaller leaves. 
Egg. The egg is very small in proportion to the butterfly, 
and is oblong in shape. There are from eight to ten (usually 
nine) longitudinal keels running the entire length of the egg, 
and these are much elevated on the crown ; they are fluted, 
white and glassy. The spaces between are concave and 
faintly ribbed transversely. The colour of the egg when first 
laid is light green, gradually changing to a rather more 
yellowish-green, with the central portion rather darker, 
caused by the development of the larva ; just before hatching 
