SEPTEMBER 



51 



three pairs of true legs. Further back are four pairs of 

 prop legs, and, on the last segment of all, still another pair. 

 The commonest butterfly is the white cabbage butter- 

 fly, which is frequently seen even in city streets. As the 

 name indicates, the caterpillar of it feeds on cabbages and 



does them much harm. 

 In default of anything 

 better, one of these and 

 a hektograph drawing of 

 the same for each child 

 will serve to show the 

 peculiarities of its class. 



Like all butterflies, ex- 

 cept the skippers, it has 

 knobbed feelers, large 

 compound eyes, and a 

 coiled tongue on its head, 

 and a chest to which three 

 pairs of legs and two pairs 

 of wings are attached. 

 These wings are covered with scales, and are held verti- 

 cally when the insect is at rest. Usually, therefore, the 

 under side is less conspicuously colored than the upper. 

 Still, it must be remembered that a dull-colored butter- 

 fly would be more noticeable than a brighter one when 

 feeding on brilliant flowers. The cabbage butterfly, 

 which is now one of our commonest, was not known in 

 this country until just before the Civil War ; but it found 

 here conditions so favorable for its development that it 

 is now encountered all over the United States. 



Mr. Cabbage Butterfly, Mrs. Cabbage 

 Butterfly, and chrysalis. 



