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GENUS I. BUTTERFLIES. 



SEC. IV. SP. XXX. LARGE GARDEN WHITE. 



PI. 25. 



Brafiicas. JJnnœus. 



Large Garden White. Harris. 



This is a very common and deftruclive infect in our gardens, the caterpillars 

 being very numerous, and great devourers of the cabbage and cauliflower plants 

 from June to October. The butterflies make their firft appearance on the 

 •wing the middle of May, and lay their eggs on the under fide of the cabbage 

 leaf, in clufters, about the end of the fame month. The caterpillars come forth 

 in a few days after. They feed together till the end of June, by which time 

 they are moftly full fed, as at fig. 1. They then travel about in fearch of a 

 convenient place to fix themfelves under, for fhelter to the chryfalis. When 

 they have found one to their liking, they fallen the tail with a web, and carry a 

 ftrong thread of the fame round the body near the head. Thus firmly fecured 

 they hang a few hours, when the chryfalis is perfectly diverted of the caterpil- 

 lar's fkin, and appears as at fig. 1. In fourteen days after this change, the fly 

 is on the wing, fporting in the air as a new creature. The caterpillars from 

 this flock arrive at their full growth, and change to chryfalides, in September; in 

 which (late they remain through the winter, till the beginning of May following. 

 The male differs from the female in colour and fpots, fee fig. 3 ; and for the 

 figure of the female fee fig. 4. The under fide is at fig. 5. This pelt to our 

 gardens may be found in the winter months hanging under the copings of gar- 

 den walls, pales, or any other place that affords fhelter to the chryfalides. The 

 deftroying one of thefe is of more utility than taking fifty of the {linking cater- 

 pillars from the plant they are on. 



