The Insect World: Being a Popular Account of the Orders of Insects; Together with a Description of the Habits and Economy of Some of the Most Interesting SpeciesFiguier, Louis
Science
The Insect World: Being a Popular Account of the Orders of Insects; Together with a Description of the Habits and Economy of Some of the Most Interesting Species
Figuier, Louis
Insects
The _Pieris rapæ_, or Small White Butterfly, differs but little from
the preceding except in size. The caterpillar, which lives on the
cabbage, turnip, mignonette, nasturtium, &c., is green, with three
yellow lines. It does not do these much harm. In France it is called
_le ver du coeur_ (the heartworm), because it penetrates in between
leaves pressed closely together.
The _Pieris napi_ (Fig. 146), the Green-veined White, is very like the
two preceding, but the wings, the lower one especially, have
underneath broad veins, or bands, of a greenish colour. The _Pieris
callidice_, the wings of which are white spotted with black, is common
in the Alps of France, in Savoy and Switzerland, and in the Pyrenees.
Its caterpillar lives near the regions of perpetual snow, on small
cruciferous plants.
[Illustration: Fig. 146.--Pieris napi.]
[Illustration: Fig. 147.--Anthocharis cardamines.]
The Orange-tips have, in the males, the extremity of the upper wings
of a beautiful orange yellow. The rest of the wings is white in the
only British species (Fig. 147), which is to be seen in meadows from
the end of April till the end of May, and sulphur-coloured in some
other species.
One species, extremely common, and which appears with but short
interruption from the beginning of spring till the end of autumn, is
the Brimstone Butterfly (_Rhodocera_ [_Gonepteryx_] _rhamni_). The
wings are a lemon yellow, with an orange-coloured spot in the middle
of each, and the front border terminated in a series of very small
iron-coloured spots. The body of the butterfly is black with silvery
hairs.
[Illustration: Fig. 148.--Thecla betulæ.]
The _Colias edusa_, or Clouded-yellow, so called from the colour of
the upper part of its wings, is not uncommon in meadows and fields in
early autumn throughout Europe. The upper side of the wings is of a
marigold yellow; the upper ones having towards the middle a large spot
of black. At the extremity of each wing is a broad black band,
continuous in the case of the male, interrupted by yellow spots in the
female. The back of the body is yellow; the legs, as well as the
antennæ, rosy.
The family of the _Lycænidæ_ comprises a great number of species, some
of which we will mention.
The _Theclæ_, or Hair-streaks, which the French call _Petits
Porte-queues_, on account of the tails which grace the hind margin of
the hind wings, inhabit woods, their larvæ feeding, according to the
species, on the birch, the oak, the plum-tree, the bramble, &c.
The _Thecla betulæ_ (Fig. 148), or Brown Hair-streak, is somewhat rare
in this country.
The Purple Hair-streak (_Thecla quercus_, Fig. 149), which Geoffroy
calls the "_Porte-queue bleu à une bande blanche_," is not rare in
woods; but it is very difficult to catch, as it flies nearly always by
couples at the tops of trees. We still further represent here the
Black Hair-streak (_Thecla pruni_, Fig. 150), and the Green
Hair-streak (_Thecla rubi_, Fig. 151).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account