4 Is Vanessa Polychloros
given in the 'Entomologist' vi. 88:—"In the spring of last
year I took the larvae of what I considered to be V. Urticae
feeding on nettles, and from time to time added other larvae
of Urticae in the same breeding-cage kept for nettle-feeders
only; to my surprise a number of the imagos resembled
Polychloros in colour and markings, keeping the size of Urticae.
I submit them to you for your your remarks. There was no
apparent difference in the larvae that I observed while feeding.
—James A. Tawell, Earl's Colne, March 11th, 1872." The
late Mr. Newman headed this note "Polychloros Larvae feeding
on Nettle," and described the butterflies as follows :—"These
specimens have a wonderful similarity to Urticae, which they
do not at all exceed in size; still the colour is nearer to that
of Polychloros than that of Urticae ; and the black spot at the
anal angle of the fore wing is present, as in Polychloros; the
white spot on the costa of Urticae is absent, also as in Poly-
chloros." Some of these specimens were presented to
Mr. Newman, and, as we are informed by Mr. B. T. Lowne,
are now in the collection of the Entomological Club.—Ed.]
Discussion.
The President stated that Mr. White's query was, in his
opinion, very suggestive, but he was disposed to think that
it was hardly based upon a sufficiently broad view of the
true' state of affairs with respect to the genus under con-
sideration.
The facts are that our native "Tortoiseshells" are repre-
sentatives of a genus comprising about two dozen or more
species ranging throughout Europe, Asia, and North and
South America; or, in other words, throughout the greater
portion of the Palaearctic, Nearctic, Neotropical, and Oriental
zoological regions. Now V. Polychloros and V. Urticae are two
of a group of species more or less resembling them in colour
and marking, this group being linked by a large number of
intermediate forms with our C-album or "Comma" butterfly.
He had thought the matter of sufficient interest to draw up
the following list of species, showing the transition in
question:—