SMALL GARDEN WHITE. 85 



completely obscured the sun from the people on board 

 our Continental steamers, on their passage, for many 

 hundreds of yards, while the insects strewed the decks 

 in all directions. The flight reached England about 

 twelve o'clock at noon, and dispersed themselves inland 

 and along shore, darkening the air as they went. 

 During the sea-passage of the butterflies, the weather 

 was calm and sunny, with scarce a puff of wind stir- 

 ring ; but an hour or so after they reached terra firma, 

 it came on to blow great guns from the S. W., the 

 direction whence the insects came." 



A contemporary account states that these were the 

 small white butterflies (Pieris Rapce). 



The smaller butterfly with more dusky markings, 

 formerly known as P. Metra, has been recently proved 

 to be merely a variety of Rapce, a Mr. J. F. Dawson 

 having reared a brood of caterpillars all exactly similar 

 in appearance, which eventually produced every variety 

 of P. Rapce and P. Metra. 



Mr. Curtis, in his " Farm Insects,' 7 mentions the 

 capture, near Oldham in Lancashire, of a male specimen, 

 which had all the wings of a bright yellow colour. 



Most juvenile butterfly hunters, unblest by scientific 

 knowledge of insect life, imagine that this and the last 

 owe their difference in size simply to their being old 

 and young individuals of the same name ; forgetting 

 or, rather, never having heard that butterflies never 

 grow in the slightest degree after once getting their 

 winged form ; only as caterpillars do they grow. 



