DESCRIPTIVE NOTICES OF CONSPICUOUS SPECIES 91 



It is easily recognized by the brimstone-coloured 

 wings, each of which has an angular projection. 



The expansion of the wings is about 2J inches. The 

 male has the wings of a bright brimstone colour ; in 

 the female the wings are paler, of a whitish brimstone ; 

 in both sexes near the centre of each wing is a small 

 orange spot. 



The larva is dark green, rather velvety-looking, with 

 a pale line on each side. It may be found in June on 

 the shining dark green leaves of Wiamnus catharticus 

 (common buckthorn), or on the paler leaves of Rhamnns 

 frangula. 



The perfect insect emerges from the pupa at the 

 beginning of August, and it tends to enliven the wood- 

 land scenery during many an autumn ramble, now 

 sitting on the purple flowers of the thistle now on the 

 blue flowers of the devil's-bit scabious. A warm, sunny 

 day in October, we may still see stragglers of this 

 species ; after which they retire into outhouses, hollow 

 trees, woods, stacks, etc., where they remain dormant 

 during the winter ; but the first warm, sunny days in 

 February and March entice it from its winter retreats, 

 and when we see these butterflies threading their way 

 along some sheltered lane they seem to us the happy 

 harbingers of spring. 



FAMILY I. PAPILIONID.E. Subfamily Pieridi. 



COLIAS EDUSA. THE CLOUDED YELLOW 

 BUTTERFLY. 



(Plate I., Fig. 1.) 



A beautiful insect, common in some years in the 

 south of England, Jbut" comparatively [seldom occurring 



