THE PURPLE EMPEROR 
179 
Life of Imago. Hibernated individuals of this butterfly live 
for about nine months. 
Aberration. As in the case of other species of Vanessidae, 
striking aberrations of the Comma are but seldom met with. 
Very occasionally the costal blotches are confluent, and the 
hind wings blackish with only marginal fulvous rays between 
the nervures. On the under side, the usual white C is some¬ 
times replaced by a white F. Specimens have occurred with 
the ground colour of a pale straw-yellow, and in extreme 
cases of great rarity, examples having the ground colour 
pearl-white have been captured. 
Genus APATURA, Fabricius , 1807 
THE PURPLE EMPEROR 
Apatura iris (Linn., 1758). 
(Plate XV, facing page 180) 
This is one of the largest and most handsome of the British 
butterflies ; it also rivals all others in its powerful, swift, 
graceful and lofty flight. 
Haunts. Shortly after emergence from the pupa amid the 
foliage of a Sallow bush, the male ascends one of the tallest 
Oak trees in the vicinity and takes his perch on one of the 
topmost branches, and then at frequent intervals he takes 
wing and with great ease and grace flies over and around the 
tree-top, or glides away to a neighbouring tree to perform 
his aerial evolutions. Should another male appear on the 
scene, they meet and chase one another, sometimes ascending 
to a great height, and after their battle descend to their 
perches. 
Apparently this butterfly has a special fancy for a particular 
branch or even a certain leaf, so much so that the same twig 
