Butterflies and Moths (British)Furneaux, William S.
Science
Butterflies and Moths (British)
Furneaux, William S.
Butterflies -- Great Britain; Moths -- Great Britain
The eggs are very similar to those of _Rapae_, resembling ribbed and
striated sugar loaves; and the larvae are of the same rich glaucous
green, but may be identified by the black spiracles surrounded by yellow
rings. In our gardens we may find both eggs and larvae on mignonette and
horse-radish; the other food plants of this species include the
water-cress (_Nasturtium officinale_), winter cress (_Barbarea
vulgaris_), rape (_Brassica Napus_), cuckoo-flower (_Cardamine
pratensis_), and Jack-by-the-hedge (_Sisymbrium Alliaria_).
The pupa is greenish, and marked with small black dots.
_The Bath or Green-chequered White_ (_P. Daplidice_)
There is no doubt that many butterflies migrate from one country to
another across the seas; and as the Bath White is very common on the
other side of the Channel, and has been taken very sparingly in England
almost exclusively in the south-east, it is highly probable that the
majority of those that have been captured here are specimens that have
taken a voluntary trip across the water, or have been blown over during
rough weather.
This butterfly is one of our greatest rarities, and the capture of a
specimen in England is an event that must necessarily be recorded in our
entomological literature. It seems that _Daplidice_ has bred in England,
for its caterpillars have been found at large on one or two occasions,
so I will give a short description of the various stages of the insect,
with a hope that some of my readers may be fortunate enough to meet with
it.
The female butterfly is shown on Plate I, fig. 6. From this it will be
observed that each of the fore wings is tipped with a rather large
smoky-black blotch, in which are four white spots. A double spot of the
same colour also occupies a place near the centre of the wing, and
another smaller and round one lies near the anal angle. The hind wings
are clouded with grey, and bordered along the hind margin with distinct
smoky-black spots.
The male may be distinguished from the female by the absence of the spot
near the anal angle of the fore wings, and of all the clouds and spots
of the hind wings. Nevertheless the latter have a decidedly clouded
appearance, but this is due to the markings of the under surface showing
through them.
The under side of both sexes is most beautifully marked--the fore wings
resembling the upper sides, but the hind pair chequered with a beautiful
soft green on a pale yellow ground.
The eggs of this insect are deposited during April and May, and again in
August or September--for it is, like the other 'Whites,'
double-brooded--on two species of Wild Mignonette (_Reseda lutea_ and
_R. luteola_).
[Illustration: FIG. 65.--THE BATH WHITE--UNDER SIDE.]
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