Not fewer than one hundred and sixty-six different kinds of butterflies are referred to this genus. “They are diffused,” says Dr. Boisduval, “nearly over the whole globe, but are particularly abundant in the intertropical countries of the old continent. Considering the extent of the New World, it produces comparatively few species. The most remarkable inhabit Africa, the Indian continent and Archipelago, and New Holland. Such of the caterpillars as are known, feed almost exclusively on the _cruciferæ_, _residaceæ_, _tropioliæ_, and _caparideæ_. Our _P. Cratægi_ is the only one in Europe which lives on trees; but it is probable that many exotic kinds are of the same habits. The prevailing colour among these lepidoptera is white, more or less pure, with a black border, variable in width, but seldom wanting. There are likewise species in which the ground colour is yellow or even orange, while in others it is blackish or blue, &c. The inferior face of the posterior wings generally differs considerably from the upper, and is often very agreeably varied with brilliant colours. The sexual differences, in certain species, are very conspicuous, particularly on the surface; in others, they are much less so, the females being distinguished from the males only by a somewhat wider border, or by having the upper wings more rounded at the apex[32].” PIERIS EPICHARIS. PLATE VI. Figs. 1 and 2. _Godart, Boisd._--Pap. Hyparete, _Fabr._--Pap. Eucharis, _Drury’s Insect._ Pl. 10, fig. 5, 6.--_Cramer_, Pl. 201, fig. B, C ♂; Pl. 202, fig. C ♀. This pretty insect belongs to a sub-division which inhabits the continent of India and the adjacent islands. The wings, which expand about three inches, are white, very faintly tinged with blue, with a broad black border, interrupted by a series of rather larger oval spots, the same as the ground colour on the upper wings, but flesh-colour on the under; the nervures, on the former, defined by a dilated black line: in the female, this is likewise the case with the inferior wings. Under side of the primary wings similar to the surface, except three marginal spots towards the apex, which are yellowish in the male and of a bright yellow in the female; secondary wings bright yellow beneath, the nervures black, and along the hinder border a row of large oval, or somewhat heart-shaped, scarlet spots, placed in a white circle; body whitish. Common in Bengal, and many places in the more eastern parts of Asia. [Illustration: PLATE 6. _1. & 2. Pieris Epicharis._ _3. P. Philyra._ India. Amboina. _Lizars sc._] PIERIS PHILYRA. PLATE VI. Fig. 3. _Godart, Boisd._--Pap. Hyparete, _Cramer_, Pl. 210, fig. A, B, and Pl. 339, fig. E, F.