Beneath, the great beauty lies in the delicate pencilling of the hind wing with pearly greys and browns, and contrasted with this, the warm roseate blush and aurora tint on the upper wing.
The caterpillar is thorny and brown, with yellow stripes down the back and sides. It feeds on various
species of thistle, but sometimes also on the nettle and other plants.
The chrysalis is brown and grey, with silver spots.
The butterfly first appears about the end of July, and is seen till the end of September, and occasionally in October. I took a beautiful fresh specimen in October, while strolling through a nursery garden at Wandsworth.
Those seen in early spring are hybernated specimens.
The appearance of this butterfly in any given locality is a matter of great uncertainty, though it capriciously visits, and even abounds occasionally in almost every place.
It is a bold insect, and, though agile in its movements, not difficult to catch, for, if disturbed or missed at the first stroke, it returns to the charge quite fearlessly.
THE RED ADMIRAL. (Vanessa Atalanta.)