4 o 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP 



palaearctica of P. Camilla, It is also very closely 

 allied to P. rapae. The ground colour is some- 

 what purer white than in P. rapae, and the spots 

 blacker and more defined. The black shading at 

 the apices of the f.w. is more extended than in 

 P. rapae in a downward direction. The yellow 

 tint on u.s. has a much greener tinge than in P. 

 rapae. The $ has the f.w. marked as in P. rapae 

 9 . It may be merely a local race of P. rapae, but 

 Grunigrshomail considers it distinct. 



Hab. It was first taken by Grumgrshomail in 

 the mountains of Darwaz and Karategin in South- 

 Eastern Bokhara at 9,000 feet in June. 



17. P. ergane H.G. 904-7 (1*27). Lg. B.E., 

 p. 30, pi. VI. fig. 5 ; narcaea Yen, 



33-37 mm. 



Wings white in the $ , apex f.w. with a patch of 

 greyish black much more square in shape than 

 that seen in P. rapae. Sometimes one small spot 

 below this, but generally not any. 2- with two 

 spots on f.w. and one on costa of h.w. U.s. in 

 both sexes without spots, apices of f.w. and the 

 h.w. pale yellowish dusted with grey towards base. 

 It is very close to P. rapae, of which it may be a 

 local race. 



Hab. Dalmatia and Greece, IV. and VII. 

 Bithynia, VI. and VII. Transcaucasia. 



18. P. rapae Lin. Syst. Nat, x. 468 (1758). 

 Lg. B.E. p. 30, pi. VI. fig. 4 ; XV. fig. 3 (larva). 

 41 The Small White." 



39-50 mm. 



Wings white. F.w. dusky at the tip, but not so 

 dark as in P. brassicae, nor square as in P. ergane. 

 $ with a black spot near centre of wing, 2 with 

 another spot in addition nearer to in. rnarg. Base 

 generally shaded with black, more especially in 2 . 

 H.w. rounded, white with a small dusky blackish 

 costal spot. U.s. f.w. yellowish at apex and with 

 two black spots in both sexes. H.w. pale ochre, 

 more tinged with yellow than in P. brassicae. 



Hab. The Palaearctic Eegion, excepting the 

 Polar portion. Seasonal dimorphism exists in 

 this, as well as in the other species of the genus. 

 There is probably a succession of broods throughout 

 the season, varying in number according to latitude 

 and also altitude, so that in many parts of the 

 region the dimorphism is not so apparent as in the 

 more northern portion, as, for instance, in Britain. 

 Mr. H. Williams, of Southend, in Essex, England, 

 who has paid much attention to this and the next 

 species, has kindly provided me with the following 

 note : — " Both sexes of the spring brood of P. rapae 

 are very lightly marked in Essex, the central spot 

 on the male upper forewing being practically 

 obsolete, whereas in the second emergence both 

 males and females are well marked on the upper 

 sides, and the females are of a more pronounced 

 ochreous tint, and the undersides of both sexes are 

 of a deeper yellow than in the first brood.'" Mr. 



Elwes, in Tr. Ent. Soc, 1899, iii. 316, says :— " In 

 Germany, France, and Spain the difference (be- 

 tween the first and second brood) is rather greater 

 (than in England), and in Germany, Poland, and 

 occasionally in England, we have an aberration of 

 the female which is distinctly yellow both on the 

 upper and under sides. In Algeria, where I found 

 it common in the Province of Constantine, and as 

 far south as Biskra in April and May, and also at 

 Gibraltar in April, some of the males are without 

 a trace of the black spot in cell 4 of the fore- 

 wing on the upper side. This is also the case in 

 the one taken at Biisk (Altai)." 



Larva. Green, pubescent, with one dorsal and 

 two lateral lines of yellow. On Cruciferae. Gene- 

 rally very common, and often destructive. Pupa. 

 — Ashy speckled with black, often tinged with 

 reddish. 



a. var. orientalis Oberth., mandscJivrica Speyer. 

 " The forewings in the $ speckled throughout 

 their whole area with black. This variety seems 

 to be an accidental form. Hab. Mongolia, 

 Hakodadi, Japan." (R. k. H., p. 124.) I have 

 received a pair of P. rapae from Vladimar Bay 

 (Amur), taken in August, 1897, by Mr. Lambert. 

 The & resembles that of typical P. rapae summer 

 form, but is larger and more strongly marked. 

 The 2 answers somewhat to R. & H.'s descrip- 

 tion as above, but the black does not extend 

 further than to the middle of f.w. The apical 

 blotch and spots are very large. I take these 

 specimens to represent the form orientalis, which 

 appears to be a distinct local variety. R. & H., 

 in their appendix, p. 713, re-describe orientalis so as 

 to exactly correspond to my specimen. The only 

 point of difference is in the size, which is given as 

 smaller than typical rapae ; this, however, may be 

 an error. Hab. — Different localities in the Amur 

 and Corea are given, and the date from mid July 

 to end of August. 



b. var. similis Kroulikowsky. " 1st generation 

 considerably larger than type. Forewings greyish 

 at the apex, the dis. spots small, grey, often want- 

 ing in the male. The 2 frequently pale yellowish, 

 Hab. Kasan. April— May." R. & H. 124. 



c. " var. inessanensis Zell. Summer brood with 

 very large black spots. The grey colouring of the 

 apices of the wings shaded almost to black- 

 Underside h.w. scantily powdered with black. 

 Hab. Sicily." R. & H. 124. 



d. var. mannii Mayer. Stett. Ent. Zeit. 1851. 

 p. 151. (? Sp. prop, an P. rapae et erganes hibr. 

 Staud. Cat., p. 3). The apical spot of the forewings 

 deeply indented internally. H.w. beneath with 

 the nervures shaded along their course as in P. 

 napi var. napaeae — from which indeed it requires 

 some care to separate. Hab. Tuscany, Parnassus, 

 Turkey, Dalmatia, Podolia. IV., V. 



e. var. minor Costa. " A smaller form. 37-39 

 mm. Hab. Tuscany." R. & H. 125. 



/. var. leucotera Stefanelli. Bull. Ent. Soc. Ital. 



