186 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. 



which are left after the rain, a half dozen small yel- 

 low butterflies appear, dispersing ae we approach, but 

 soon returning to continue their dance in midair as 

 soon as our backs are turned ; these are the Colias 

 Philodice* which in the caterpillar state live on the 

 leaves of the clovers. The caterpillar is an inch long 

 and grass-green ; we will generally see it stretched 

 along the stem of a clover leaf. I have drawn the 

 yellow butterfly beside the pretty vista which it 

 might have seen if it had not devoted itself so ex- 

 clusively to the uninteresting puddle in the middle of 

 the road. The view is of one of the southern Cats- 

 kill Mountains, called Big Indian, not very far from 

 Shandaken. 



The little white butterfly which we may occasion- 

 ally see is called the cabbage but- 

 terfly (Pisris rapce).\ This is 

 the plague of the farmer, for its 

 green caterpillar bores to the 

 heart of his cabbages. The esrsrs 



o oo 



are laid on the under side of the 

 leaves and hatched in about ten 

 days ; the caterpillars then feed upon the young 

 green leaves for about twenty days, at the ex- 



* Eurymus Philodice, Scudder. 



f First introduced into this country in New York, 1868. 



