The perfect insect usually emerges early in the morning. It dries its wings for a few hours whilst resting on the old nettle-leaves which formed its home when a larva. The increasing warmth of the sunshine soon hardens the wings sufficiently to allow the new-born butterfly to fly away. This insect is very common in most situations from January till April. It lives through the winter, appearing again on fine days towards the end of August. During the spring and early summer these hibernated individuals occur in great profusion, a few specimens always remaining until the earliest of the new ones have emerged; so that about December we may occasionally observe both hibernated and recent specimens together. In the autumn these butterflies may be seen feeding on the flowers of the scabious and the white rata, thus preparing for their long winter sleep. In the spring, however, the insect is most abundant in the vicinity of the nettle-plants, where the females are busily engaged depositing their eggs. I have noticed that this insect possesses the power of emitting a distinct grating or hissing noise, evidently closely resembling the sound, which has been observed to be emitted by several European species of the genus.[50] This sound is only made when a specimen is roused from a semi-torpid condition; and it is thought that it may be useful to the insect for the purpose of intimidating intruders during its period of hibernation. This butterfly is a rapid flier and may often be seen pursuing a straight course high above the tree-tops, apparently migrating in search of fresh breeding-grounds. It appears to have a singular liking for hill-tops, and a specimen which has selected one of these places will keep on returning to the same spot, after being repeatedly frightened away. In such situations, if the weather be calm and sunny, we may frequently see two specimens engaged in aerial battle. They fly upwards, and coursing round each other with great velocity, almost disappear in the clear blue sky. A few seconds later the two insects, gently fanning their wings in the warm sunshine, are again seen in their respective places. VANESSA ITEA, Fabr. (_Papilio itea_, Fabr., Syst. Ent., p. 498, n. 238 (1775); Donovan Ins. New Holland, pl. 26, fig. 1 (1805). _Vanessa itea_, Godart, Enc. Meth. ix. p. 321, n. 57 (1819); White in Taylor's New Zealand, pl. 2, figs. 2, 2 (1855). _Bassaris itea_, Hubner, Samml. Esot. Schmett. (1816-24). _Pyrameis itea_, Doubleday, Gen. Diurn. Lepid., p. 202 (1849).) (Plate XII., fig. 3, fig. 4 under side.) This beautiful butterfly is, I believe, fairly abundant in the northern portions of the North Island, but becomes scarcer southwards of Napier and New Plymouth. In the {108}South Island I believe I once saw a specimen at Nelson, but beyond that I can find no record of its occurrence there.