THE COMMON BUTTERFLIES 



225 



and sassafras. It has eye spots on its thorax. This species is 

 common in the Southern States. For figure see p. 254. 



The Blue Swallowtail. — This is another black velvety butterfly 

 with a blue shimmering sheen playing over its wings in the sun- 

 shine. The fringe on the outer margin of its wings is alternately 

 black and white and each wing may have a row of whitish spots 

 just inside the border. The expanse of wings is from three and one- 

 half to four and one-half inches. Its caterpillars feed upon Dutch- 

 man's Pipe, Virginia snake-root, and black bindweed. It is a 

 common species in the South and might be taken for the green- 

 clouded species except that it has no orange spots on the hind 

 wings. 



THE PIERIDS 

 THE WHITES 



The Cabbage Butterfly. — This is the white butterfly com.mon near 

 every garden in which grows cabbage or its near relatives. We 

 had native species of cabbage 

 butterflies which did compara- 

 tively little damage to gardens, 

 although they were found quite 

 commonly prior to 1 8 70 ; but this 

 emigrant Pieris rapce came to us 

 from Europe getting its foothold 

 in New York State in 1868. 

 Now it has driven out all of 

 our native species; they have 

 literally taken to the woods and 

 are found only occasionally flit- 

 ting about the wild cruciferous 

 plants. The velvety-green cat- 

 erpillar of the cabbage butterfly 

 is very destructive and is well 

 known. It feeds on other cruci- 

 ferous garden-plants but pre- ^ ^^^ Cabbage Butterfly 

 J. Expanse an men and three-quarters, 



ters cabbage. Color white with black spots. Male 



above, female below. 



THE ORANGE-TIPS 



The orange-tips are seldom seen; they are sm.alHsh white 

 butterflies marked with black and have the lower sides of the wings 



