226 



Wiite Butterflies of Britain, 



The most common and conspicuous of our white butterflies 

 belong to the genus P6nti«, with which I shall begin. Mr. 

 Stephens forms two divisions of it ; the first having an obtuse 

 angle at the tip of the fore wings, while the hinder wings are 

 uniform in colour or not variegated on their under surface ; 

 the second having the tip of the fore wings rounded, and the 

 hinder wings variegated beneath. 



I. — Fore wings mth an obtuse angle at the tip ; hinder wings 

 of one colour on the under surface. 



1. The common large cabbage butterfly (Pontia ^rassicae) 



(Jig, 55,) measures 



2^ in. , across the 



wings, whose upper 



surface is milk-white; 



the tips marked with 



a black band, irre- 

 gularly jagged on the 



inner edge (a a), and 



having a black spot 



{bb) on the upper 



edge of the hinder 



wings. The under 



surface of the fore 



wings is white, with a yellow band at 'the^tips, and two black 



spots on the disc of each ; the [upper surface in the male 



having two corresponding spots which are wanting in the 



female. The under surface of the hinder wings is yellow, 



thickly studded with minute black points. 



2. The early cab- 

 bage butterfly ( Pontia 

 Charicle« Steph.) {fig. 

 56.)isexceedinglylike 

 the preceding, though 

 there are a few points 

 of distinction. It 

 usually appears much 

 earlier than P. ^ras- 

 sicae, and is consider- 

 ably less in size ; the 

 wings expanding only 

 2^ in., while the black 

 band at the tip of the 



wings is paler, and not jagged on the inner margin [a a), 



and the outer margin is fringed with yellowish white. In the 



