586 



THE CABBAGE BUTTEEFLY 

 (Pontia, or Pieris Brassicce.) 



WHEN the colewort and cauliflower are nearly mature, the 

 perfect insect of this Caterpillar is found depositing her 

 eggs upon the leaves. The heat of the sun soon vivifies 

 them and brings forth the Caterpillars, which imme- 

 diately proceed to consume the vegetables on which 

 they received being. They bear the heat of the sun 

 without inconvenience, but cannot endure long rains, 

 and in wet weather they soon disappear. There are 

 several species of this Butterfly, but the common white, 

 with a black spot on each of the under wings, is the 

 earliest seen in our gardens. It lays its eggs in May ; 

 and its Caterpillars, which are soon hatched, feed together 

 till the end of June, when they go into the pupa state, 

 from which the perfect Butterfly appears in July. The 

 eggs laid by the second brood of Butterflies produce 

 Caterpillars which feed during the remainder of the 

 summer, and remain in the pupa state all the winter, to 

 be hatched the following spring. 



From the astonishing fecundity of these insects, it may 

 be wondered that they do not, in the course of time, com- 

 pletely overspread the face of the earth, and totally con- 

 sume every green plant. This would certainly be the case 



