GENUS PIERIS 99 



The key, or dominating characteristic of Castoria is the round 

 dark patch in the fore wing of both male and female, as shown on 

 the plate. The wings of both sexes are white upon the upperside, 

 except the small apical and marginal markings as shown, and on 

 the underside the veins of both sexes are margined with brown, 

 and slightly tinted with yellow, the wings of the female being 

 somewhat darker or more strongly tinted than those of the male. 

 Castoria, and half a dozen others are by some considered as vari- 

 eties of Napi, a European butterfly, and it may be possible to con- 

 sider all butterflies as related in some degree one with another. 

 Castoria, as delineated on the plate, is Castoria, and as such I 

 figure it, regardless of what its ancestry may have been, or of 

 what its present relations may be with other species. 



Castoria has about the same range as Pallida, but not inhabiting 

 the mountains to any extent ; I have found it more common about 

 the Bay of San Francisco than anywhere else. 



48. Pieris Rapae. 



Plate VI ; Figures 48, b, bb, c, cc. 



Fig. 48, Male, San Bernardino, Cal., 1895 ; Author. 



a, Male, underside, San Bernardino, Cal., 1895 ; 



Author. 



b, Female, San Bernardino, Cal., May, 1883 ; Author, 

 bb, Female, San Bernardino, Cal., 1902 ; Author. 



c, Female, underside, San Bernardino, Cal., 1896; 



Author, 

 cc. Female, underside, San Bernardino, Cal., 1896; 



Author. 

 Rapas is a European species, where it is known as "the cabbage 

 butterfly," and was introduced into the Eastern States in 1863; 

 thence it traveled westward and was taken in Nebraska about 

 1881, and the first one to be taken in California is the second fig- 

 ure, b, on this plate, in May, 1883. Fig. bb is the normal female 

 at recent date; fig. c is a peculiarly shaded specimen, the cell of 

 hind wing being dark ; cc is the normal female. 



At the present time Rap.-e flies probably over the whole of the 

 West Coast, and will, evidently become a great pest, from its 

 habits of laying its eggs on cabbage plants. It is worthy of note 

 that this European species is the only one of the Pieris family to 

 feed on cultivated plants ; all our native species prefer the wild 



