1 86 COMMON BRITISH INSECTS. 



surface of the body is thickly covered with tiny black 

 projections or warts, each tipped with a slender white 

 point. 



BELOW is represented one of the prettiest of our 

 Butterflies both in colour and form, the CLOUDED 

 YELLOW (Colias edusa]. 



All those who have studied the Lepidoptera must 

 have been struck with the marvellous variety and 

 contrast of colour that can be produced by one or two 

 hues. This insect is nothing more than black and 



orange, and yet is a 

 singularly handsome 

 one. The upper wings 

 are warm orange, edged 

 with a deep border of 

 black, in which are a 

 few pale orange spots 

 in the female, the black 



Colias edusa. male. . , r , 11* 



band of the male being 



unspotted. There is also a bold black spot near the 

 upper edge. The lower wings are coloured in much 

 the same way, except that the orange is pale, and 

 approaching to yellow. There is, however, a warm 

 orange spot on the disc. Both pairs of wings are 

 edged with a very warm border of orange, brighter and 

 warmer in the upper than in the lower pair. Beneath, 

 the colour is yellow, warming into orange on the disc 

 of the upper wings, and the spot on the lower wings 

 is brown, with a white centre. 



This handsome Butterfly is widely spread, and 

 occasionally occurs in considerable numbers, especially 



