In many books this species is spoken of by its English name Camberwell
Beauty. It is so called because it was first observed in the
neighborhood of Camberwell in the county of Surrey, England. It seems
that in that country it is a very rare species. This is a bit curious
considering the fact that in America it is so extremely abundant. In
his attractive little book quoted above, Mr. Adams begins the
discussion of this species with this statement: "This is the crowning
glory of the British butterfly collector's cabinet, and a happy man is
he who gets a perfect specimen of an insect which is at once so rare
and so beautiful." And later in the same discussion is this further
statement concerning the scarcity of the species: "In neither the
larva nor the pupa state has the insect been found, we believe, in
this country where its appearance occurs, except just here and there a
single specimen or two, at long and uncertain intervals. About eighty
years ago it was seen in many parts of the kingdom and again in 1819,
but not since then although almost every year one or more specimens
are taken or seen."
A curious fact in regard to the Mourning-cloak, as found in England,
is that the border around the wings seems to be much more generally
white than it is with us. J. O. Westwood in his book on British
butterflies describes the margin as of a white or whitish color and
other writers speak of the same fact. Kirby in his "Butterflies and
Moths" makes this comparative statement: "The border is whitest in
British specimens, and perhaps yellowest in American ones." He speaks
of it also as one of the rarest British species. It is sometimes
called by the common name the White Border and also occasionally the
Grand Surprise, appellations which bear out what has been said above
both in regard to the color of the border and the rarity of the
insect.
[Illustration: THREE MORE ANGLE-WINGS
Upper surfaces at left; under surfaces at right, slightly reduced
The Buckeye (_see page 188_)
The Painted Beauty (_see page 163_)
The Cosmopolitan (_see page 166_)]
[Illustration: _From a drawing by W. I. Beecroft_
_See pages 112, 171_
THE MOURNING-CLOAK
Caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account