No spot can be pointed out where one can _expect_ to meet with this fine insect; but it has appeared singly at intervals in the following localities among others:--Scotland, Ayrshire; Durham; Scarborough; York; Darlington; Sheffield; Manchester; Lake District; Appleby; Coventry; Peterborough; Oxford; Burton-on-Trent; Norfolk; Lincolnshire; Suffolk; Bristol; Ely; Shrewsbury; Plymouth; Teignmouth; Kent; Ashford; Bromley; Tenterden; Ramsgate; various places in neighbourhood of London; Epping; Hampshire; Isle of Wight; Lewes; Worthing. {123} On the Continent this is a common butterfly, in many places being the most abundant of all the _Vanessas_. * * * * * THE LARGE TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY. (_Vanessa Polychloros._) (Plate IX. fig. 1.) The beginner often has a slight difficulty in finding a good and permanent distinction between this species and the next (_V. Urticæ_). At the first blush, the superior size of this seems to be a sufficient mark, and then the orange of the wings has usually a much browner, or more tawny hue, than that of _Urticæ_; but as I have seen specimens of _Polychloros absolutely smaller_ than some very large _Urticæ's_, and as the colour of both occasionally varies, so that they approach each other in this respect also, it is evident we must look for some better mark of distinction; and here _is_ one. In _Polychloros_, _all_ the light markings between the black spots on the upper edge of the front wing are _yellow_, whereas in _Urticæ_ the _outer one next the blue and black border is pure pearly_ WHITE. The two other marks on the front edge are yellow. _Polychloros_ has also, near the _lower corner of the front wing, an extra black spot_, not found in _Urticæ_. The blue spots on the border are in this species almost confined to the hind wings. {124} The _caterpillar_ generally feeds on the elm, whence the butterfly is occasionally called the "Elm Butterfly," but it has also been found on the willow, and on the white beam-tree. Mr. Boscher of Twickenham informs me that the specimens he has bred from caterpillars fed on the _willow_ have been all far below the average size. The caterpillar is thorny, and of a tawny colour, broadly striped with black along each side. The _chrysalis_ is of a dull flesh colour, with golden spots. The _butterfly_ makes its appearance in July and August, _hybernated_ specimens being also frequently seen in the spring, from March till May. In some places and seasons it is not rare, but is very uncertain in its appearance, abounding most in the southern districts, and being almost unknown in Scotland. It is fond of gardens and other frequented places. * * * * * THE SMALL TORTOISESHELL BUTTERFLY. (_Vanessa Urticæ._) (Plate IX. fig. 2.) This pretty species is much commoner than the last, being, in fact, the most plentiful of all the _genus_, and found everywhere, in gardens, by weedy road-sides and waste grounds, &c.