THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY. 393 



under side of the lower wings beautifully mottled with green. 

 The insect is as plentiful as it is beautiful, and may be 

 captured in almost every meadow or lane in the early summer. 

 It does not fly very fast, and generally keeps rather low, so 

 that there is no difficulty in taking it. The caterpillar feeds 

 on various cruciform plants, and its colour is opaque green. 



On Woodcut XL. Fig. 1 may be seen a drawing of a very 

 well-known insect, the Brimstone Butterfly {Gonepteryx 

 rhamni), the 'popvilar name being d&rived from the beautiful 

 deep yellow of the male. The female is very much paler, as if 

 the colour had been washed out of her, and in both sexes there 

 is a little orange-red spot on each wing, the position and shape 

 of which are indicated in the illustration. In this genus the 

 wings are boldly angled at their tips, from which circumstance 

 the name of Gonepteryx, or ' angle-winged,' has been given to 

 it. The antennae have a peculiar curve downwards, which can 

 be seen by viewing the insect sideways. 



This is one of our earliest Butterflies, sometimes making its 

 appearan ce even m winter, should the sun happen to shine 

 brightly. I see, by reference to my notes, that I took it at 

 Oxford in February. These early specimens are, in fact, the 

 Butterflies which are developed in the autumn of the preceding- 

 year, and which had retired to some secluded spot wherein to 

 hibernate. The warmth and light of a bright, sunshiny day 

 awake them from their torpor, and tempt them into the open air. 



I believe that such early Butterflies only live a few hours, 

 because the exertion of flight causes them to need food, and no 

 food is to be found at that time of year. It is a remarkable 

 fact, noticed by Mr. Xewman, that, although both sexes of the 

 Brimstone Butterfly are developed in the autumn, they take 

 no notice of each other unless they happen to survive to the 

 following spring. The larva of this Butterfly feeds on the 

 buckthorn {Rhamnus), from which it derives its specific name 

 of Rhamni. The colour of the larva is green, but the surface 

 of the body is thickly covered with tiny black projections or 

 warts, each tipped with a slender white point. 



On Woodcut XL. Fig. 2, is represented one of the prettiest 

 of our Butterflies, the Clouded Yellow {Golias edusa). 



