Original text from Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, 1840 pp131-133

Notice of the Capture of Argynnis Aphrodite in Warwickshire.
By The Rev. W. T. Bree, M.A.

I have the pleasure of announcing to the entomological read ere of the 'Magazine of Natural History,' the capture of an insect in this county which I believe to be hitherto entirely unheard of as a British species, — the Argynnis Aphrodite. A single example of this fine insect was taken by James Walhouse, Esq., of Leamington, in Ufton Wood, a few miles from that town, in the summer of 1833, and was kindly presented to my son, in whose possession it now is, by Moreton J. Walhouse, Esq., the brother of the captor.

In thus announcing this interesting addition to our native Fauna, I am prepared to expect that entomologists may be a little sceptical on the subject, if they do not altogether disbelieve the fact. We know but too well that dealers will, without scruple, play all sorts of tricks—frauds, I ought to say,—by attempting to pass off foreign articles for native ones, whenever it may suit their purpose. We know too, that even honest collectors are not absolutely exempt from occasional mistakes, and that, accordingly, a stray exotic does now and then creep into the British cabinet quite surreptitiously. Again we are told, and I believe told truly, that insects are not unfrequently imported, either in the egg, larva, or perfect state, with timber or other suitable merchandise. And lastly, we hear of Lepidopterous insects in the winged state, being blown over from the continent to our shores, if they have not undertaken a voluntary voyage thither. Bearing these circumstances in mind, and wishing as far as possible to anticipate objections, I deemed it right to obtain, and trust I shall be excused for stating, all the particulars I could learn relative to the subject of the present article. Let us sift the evidence, then, and see how the above objections bear upon the case before us.

And first for fraud: the specimen of Argynnis Aphrodite now before me, let it be remembered, has never been in the hands of a dealer, nor in the possession of any other person except Mr. Walhouse and his brother, from whom, as already said, my son received it. These gentlemen are men of the highest respectability, quite above all suspicion of intentional deception. I may add, too, that at the time the insect was taken, Mr. Walhouse was only just beginning to pay attention to Entomology. The immediate object of his visit to Ufton Wood was for the purpose of taking Argynnis Paphia; and so little acquainted was he at that time with our British Papiliones, that in the first instance he even doubted whether this specimen of Arg. Aphrodite were anything more than the usual sexual distinction of Argynnis Paphia. I mention this circumstance in order to show that Mr. Walhouse was not at first aware of the prize he had taken, and therefore can hardly be suspected of having been actuated by the false feeling, which might induce a dishonest person to pretend to have been the discoverer of a new British species.

But acquitting these gentlemen (as we do entirely) of anything like wilful misinformation, may we not suppose that they have fallen into a mistake, and have inadvertently allowed a foreign specimen to gain admission among their British ones? This is a fair question, and deserves consideration.— Mr. James Walhouse is now in India, and cannot conveniently be examined in the matter. On his leaving this country his collection of insects remained in the possession of his brother, Mr. Moreton Walhouse. Now I have narrowly crossexamined this gentleman as to the possibility of a foreign specimen having found its way into their collection of native insects; and he assures me, in reply, that they possessed no foreign insects whatever, till long after the time when Argynnis Aphrodite was taken. And, what is more to the purpose, Air. Moreton Walhouse informs me, that although he was not in company with his brother at the capture of Argynnis Aphrodite, he yet himself saw the specimen as soon as it was brought home, while the wings were yet limber, and before the specimen was set. Both gentlemen also were immediately aware of the great dissimilarity of the insect to any other with which they were acquainted, though they knew not what to make of it. Under these circumstances, therefore, I cannot withhold my own belief of the fact, that the individual specimen of Argynnis Aphrodite now before me, was actually taken at Ufton Wood, as above stated.

But next comes the question of importation; in answer to which it is sufficient to state that Ufton Wood is situated in a thinly-populated part of the country, remote from any port or large mercantile town, a spot, therefore, extremely unlikely to have been the depository of an insect accidentally transmitted from abroad among articles of foreign produce.

Lastly, as Argynnis Aphrodite is a native of North America, (and not, I believe, of the European continent), the notion that the specimen had, either by accident or design, made its way across the Atlantic, and settled down, in a state of good preservation, as nearly as may be in the centre of our own island, is too improbable to be seriously entertained for a moment.

I regret that Mr. Walhouse omitted to record the precise date of the capture of Argynnis Aphrodite; but as it occurred during the season when Argynnis Paphia was on the wing, it must, most probably, have been in July or August. We may conclude also that the period of flight, with both insects, is the same.

The accompanying figures (Sup. 11i. PI. x.) supersede the necessity of entering into a minute description of the insect. It is larger than Argynnis Paphia, and of the same rich fulvous colour, checkered and spotted with black, on the upper surface. The black spots and markings on the second pair of wings are niether so large nor so strongly developed as in the corresponding wings of that species, and of Aglaia and Adippe; to which latter species our insect more nearly approaches on the under surface, having the second pair of wings adorned with numerous silver spots on a buff-coloured ground, which is dark towards the base of the wings, and becomes lighter towards the lower extremities, with a marginal row of semicircular silver spots. In the grouping of our British species I should feel disposed to place Argynnis Aphrodite between Argynnis Paphia and Argynnis Adippe, possessing, as it does, some characters in common with each, while it is yet abundantly distinct from either.