ë 
Che Canadtan Entomologist. 
ON SOME OF OUR COMMON INSECTS. 
——_ 
Ill, CABBAGE BUTTERFLIES. 
BY THE EDITOR. 
The next species of Péeris on our list—the Rape Butterfly (P. rape, 
Linn.,) though an European insect, is rapidly becoming one of our com- 
monest and most destructive species, especially in the Eastern portion of 
the Dominion. The history of its arrival near Quebec in some ocean 
steamship, its discovery by Mr. Couper in 1859, its capture in abundance 
at Quebec by Mr. Bowles, in 1863, and its subsequent rapid spread in all 
directions is probably well known to all our readers. It is needless, then, 
for us to dwell upon it here; we may merely state further that it had 
reached the city of New York in 1869, Halifax, N. S., in 1871, and last 
year it had come as far west as Belleville and Trenton, Ont. We fully 
expect to see it at Port Hope this year ! 
The Rape Butterfly, like the preceding species, is white, with a black 
dash at the tip of the forewings, a black spot on the front margin of the 
Fig. 8. hind wings, and in the male (Fig. 8) 
one black spot in the middle of the 
forewings, but in the female (Fig. 9) 
two. The under surface of the 
forewings, in both sexes, is marked 
by wo spots, corresponding to 
those on the upper surface in the 
female ; in other respects the wings 
are much alike on both sides, except that beneath there is a tint of yellow 
at base and tip. Occasionally ma/e specimens are found of a bright yellow 
colour, like our common Sulphur-yellow Butterfly (Colas philodice) ; to 
