198 THE NICIPPE BUTTERFLY. 



undulated, ferruginous, oblique lines ; head and 

 thorax above, blackish ; antennae beneath, white, 

 with black incisures ; the feet are whitish ; the abdo- 

 men is black, each side furnished with a yellow line ; 

 the venter with yellow incisures. 



This insect is said by Cramer to inhabit Virginia, 

 in the United States ; but it is also found in Pennsyl- 

 vania, and in all the southern states. It is subject to 

 some little variations ; the fine fulvous spot near the 

 base of the inferior surface of the upper wings is 

 sometimes white ; and the oblique lines under the 

 inferior wings differ considerably in width and dis- 

 tinctness. 



The genus Pieris of Schrank is one of the many 

 genera into which the extensive genus PapUio of 

 Linnaeus has been separated. The generic character, 

 as restricted by this author, is as follows : The feet 

 are nearly equal ; the nails of the tarsi, very apparent, 

 bifid, or unidentate ; the inferior wings dilated beneath 

 the abdomen, so as to form a groove. 



These butterflies are natives of various regions of 

 the globe ; some of them are very frequent in almost 

 every field, and must have been noticed by the most 

 casual observer, flitting, in a devious direction, over 

 the herbage ; and, on meeting with a companion, 

 mounting aloft in the air, with a hurried and irregular 

 movement. Some species occasionally alight, in great 

 numbers, on moist places on roads. 



The caterpillar is destitute of the retractile tentacula 

 of the neck ; and the chrysalis is of an angulated 

 form, attached to a fixed object by a thread passed 

 around the body, the head being upwards. 



