GARDEN PESTS IN NEW ZEALAND 



the other, brownish-yellow, with dark lines on the back and sides. From 

 about February to November the insect lies in the ground as a pupa. 

 The latter can be recognised by a curved process arising from the head 

 and lying along the body. The moth flies rapidly during the last and 

 earlier months of the year; it is a large, conspicuous insect, about 1-|- 

 inches long, with greyish-brown mottled wings, while the abdomen is 

 conspicuously barred with white, red and brown. Arsenate of lead 

 against the young caterpillars during November to February would act 

 as an efficient control. 



CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY (Pieris rapce). This butterfly (Fig.. 

 10, 7) is a recent importation, having been first noted at Napier in 

 1930. Since then it has spread with marvellous rapidity throughout 

 the North Island, and has appeared in the South Island, in the vicinity 

 of Timaru. 



The caterpillars of this insect are particularly severe in their 

 attacks upon the foliage of cabbages and cauliflowers, though they also 

 feed upon many other related plants, such as lettuce and radish, besides 

 cruciferous weeds. The caterpillars of the white butterfly are not to be 

 confused with those of the diamond-backed moth, already described. The 

 full-grown white butterfly caterpillar is a conspicuous insect, and 

 measures up to an inch and a-quarter in length ; it is easily distinguished 

 by its leaf-green colour and velvet-like appearance, while down the 

 centre of the back is a narrow orange stripe, and on each side a 

 brownish line formed of little spots. The chrysalis measures about 

 three-quarters of an inch long, having a pointed process from the head, 

 and a keel-like ridge on its back, while the colour varies according to 

 the surroundings with which the chrysalis blends; it is not protected by 

 a cocoon of silk, and may be found upon the food plant or any other 

 support near by. 



The butterfly itself is a very conspicuous insect, measuring about 

 two inches across the expanded wings. The female is of a yellowish- 

 white colour, with darker to blackish markings at the fore-angles of the 

 front wings, while there are two similar spots on the surface of the same 

 wings, and one on the hind pair. The male is whitish, with a dull 

 greyish-green or bluish hue, marked much as the female, except that 

 there is only a single spot on the surface of each wing. 



^ The eggs (Fig. 10, 7b) are bottle-shaped, and stand erect upon the 

 leaf surface, where they are laid singly, and not in batches; they are 

 visible to the naked eye. The eggs hatch within a week after being laid. 

 There are several generations each year. 



The cabbage butterfly can be controlled by the use of lead arsenate. 

 It has been found effective when planting out to first dip the seedlings 

 in lead arsenate at the rate of lib. in 50 gallons of water, to which 

 lib. of laundry soap is added as a spreader. During the growth of the 

 crop the same strength of arsenate and soap can be applied as a spray. 



MAGPIE MOTH (Nyctemera annulate). - - One of the commonest 

 and most conspicuous day-flying insects of the garden and field is the 

 magpie moth. It is black in colour, relieved by .an orange-banded 

 abdomen and whitish spots on the wings, two on each of the front wings 

 and one on each hind one. Its black, hairy caterpillars, commonly 



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