38 



Cabbag-e Butterfly, which are usually abundant in late autumn on fences 

 about cabbage gardens and turnip fields If one of these chrysalids be 

 examined, it will be seen how carefully the tongue, feelers, and legs are 

 folded over the breast and tightly packed together within its " mummy" 

 case. 



But of all the chrysalids which are 

 alive in the fall, only a few are living in 

 the spring. For many years observers 

 have noted this fact, and my custom 

 has been to prove it for myself every 

 spring My walk this March afternoon 

 was back along the farm lane, where I 

 have always found chrysalids in early 



spring. I knew exactly where to look pig. 44-A Cabbage Butterfly Mummy or 



for them, for I had watched the full- Cbrysaiis siung up to k rail. 



g'rown caterpillars, or " worms," last 



autumn leave the cabbage, turnip, and rape plants upon which they had 

 been feeding, crawl up the posts of the wire fence to the underside of the 

 capping board, and change to mummy-like chrysalids, each securely 

 fastened to the board by a silken pad at its hind end, and by a slender 

 silken band about its middle. I found some of the chrysalids where I 



had seen them last fall ; but 

 a few of these had been killed 



by the grubs of little four- 

 winged flies that had stealth- 

 ily placed eggs within the 

 chrysalids before winter set 

 in. The greater number had 

 been snatched away during 

 the winter by birds who had 

 found out their hiding places. 

 If one of these chrysalids 

 is brought into a room in 



early spring, it will not be 

 long- before another wonder- 

 ful change takes place. It 

 will first show slight signs of 

 movement, then its skin will 

 crack open along the back, 

 and soon a white butterfly 

 will come out. At first its 

 body will be soft and weak, 

 and its wings small and 

 shriveled ; but in a few hours 



Fio. 45.— Cabbage Butterfly, (a) Male, at rest, wings erect ; ^]^g bodv will beCOme firm 

 (b) female. j ..u • Ml u fill J 



and the wmgs will be filled 

 out and expanded, ready for flight. As soon as the March snows have 

 melted, many of the white butterflies may be seen flying about, lured by 

 the bright sunshine into leaving their comfortable winter-quarters for 



