SMALL AND GREEN-VEINED WHITES 



butterfly-life. As a rule, this species first occurs upon 

 the wing during mid-April, but in 1921 a very early 

 specimen was captured on the wing at Letchworth on 

 February i6th which is a record date worth noting. 

 The pale greenish egg merges into yellow, and then back 

 to the former just previous to incubation. The larva 

 lives upon similar food-plants to the species last dealt 

 with, but is perhaps a little less restricted to feeding upon 

 plants of the cabbage tribe. Fortunately, it is preyed 

 upon by ichneumon flies, which help to reduce its 

 numbers and act as natural balance-keepers. In some 

 seasons it becomes a serious pest, and handpicking over 

 cabbages is recommended. The pupa exhibits con- 

 siderable variety of colour, and a favourite resort in which 

 it may be found attached is an outhouse or fence. This 

 species may be described as a small edition of Pieris 

 brassicce, excepting that the Spring specimens have the 

 black markings less pronounced, or absent. In the 

 Summer brood, however, the black tips to the forewings, 

 and the one spot in the male and three in the female, are 

 much more noticeable. 



Green - Veined White. — {Pieris napi.) This pretty 

 insect (Fig. 1) is of common occurrence, and shows a 

 preference for grassy tracks bordering hedgerows. It 

 possesses a strong swinging flight, and as one after another 

 of the airy creatures come sailing along, a very attractive 

 sight is witnessed. It is, like its two relatives already 

 described, double-brooded, and late April or early May 

 sees the first specimens upon the wing. The pale 

 coloured, skittle-shaped egg is deposited singly on 



cruciferous plants, and the green larva has a dark Une 



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