90
THE LEPIDOPTERA OF ESSEX.
year [1695], I found several larvae eating the leaves of the common
broad and round-leaved sallow (Ray ; H.I. 118).
Vanessa urticae, L. Small Tortoiseshell.
Geographical Distribution—Europe, North and West Asia, local forms in East
Asia. Throughout Britain. One of the most widely distributed and commonest
species.
Larva—Variable yellowish-grey, black line on back, broad brown stripe and
yellow line on sides ; spines black or yellow, with black tips. Food—Nettle.
Imago—June to June ; hibernating.
Particularly abundant throughout the county. In June bright,
newly emerged, and tattered, hibernated individuals are frequently to
be seen together—a great contrast.
Westwood figures a specimen with a supplemental hind wing,
abnormally small, but with the usual markings and coloration, fixed
to the base of the hind wing (Butterflies of Great Britain, pl. vii. fig.
1, and T.E.S.L. 1879, pl. vi. figs. 2, 2a). This monstrous specimen
was caught flying near Epping by Mr. H. Doubleday (Stephens;
I.B.E. Haust i. 148), and was sent to Stephens by Mr. Samuel
Hanson, on March 3rd, 1828. It is now in the Stephensian Collec-
tion in the National Museum at South Kensington.
Vanessa io, L. Peacock.
Geographical Distribution—Throughout palaearctic region, except extreme north
and south. Throughout Britain.
Larva—Black, with minute white dots ; spines, black. Food—Nettle ; feeds
exposed, generally gregarious. Imago—August to June ; hibernating.
Common everywhere, but apparently less so in Essex now than
formerly.
Vanessa antiopa, L. Camberwell Beauty.
Geographical Distribution—Palaearctic region, North and Central America.
Throughout Britain, but rare and uncertain.
Larva—Black, with grey pubescence, row of light-red spots on back through
which passes thin black line ; spines black. Food—Willow, birch, nettle. Imago
—August to June ; hibernating.
Rare and uncertain. Comparatively common in 1872, fairly so in
1880, very rare since.
" The fine species figured ... is rendered rare and remark-
able in this country by its periodical appearance, the cause of which
has hitherto never been ascertained : the most probable conjecture