THE CLOUDED YELLOW 25 



PLATE XIII 

 THE CLOUDED YELLOW (1) 



I wonder if you have ever seen this very hand- 

 some butterfly alive. Very likely you have not, 

 for although just now and then it is very common 

 indeed, it nearly always becomes quite scarce for 

 several years afterwards, and you may look for 

 it summer after summer without seeing it at all. 

 It makes its appearance in August and September, 

 and the best places in which to look for it are 

 clover and lucerne fields near the seaside. But 

 it is also very fond of flying about on railway 

 banks ; and if you try to chase it there you will 

 find that you will have to run very hard indeed 

 if you want to catch it! In fact, one butterfly 

 collector used to say that it was of no use trying 

 to do so unless one wore a pair of seven-leagued 

 boots ! 



The caterpillar of the Clouded Yellow butterfly 

 is of a bright grass-green colour, with a white 

 line on each side, marked with yellow and orange. 

 It feeds on the leaves of lucerne, trefoils, and 

 clover in June and July, and then changes into 

 a green chrysalis shaped something like that of 

 a "large white," with a pale yellow stripe on 

 each side, and a number of black and reddish- 

 brown spots. 



