That the habit of lethargy in cold and of resting upon the bark of trees is practically universal with this species is shown by a statement quoted by H. G. Adams in his book, "Beautiful Butterflies," published in England in 1871. The writer quoted says: "In a wood on the summit of the Drachenfels, when the wind was rather keen, I found numbers resting on the backs of fallen trees in a state of stupor. They made no attempts to escape and when thrown into the air their wings barely opened or flapping feebly eased their fall or enabled them to seek repose on the stem of a rotten trunk."
Its Rarity in England
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.
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])
