28 BUTTERFLIES 



PLATE XV 



THE ORANGE-TIP (i and 2) 



You must often have noticed this very pretty 

 insect flying about in the spring, for it is quite 

 common in almost all parts of the country. And 

 you cannot possibly mistake the male for any 

 other butterfly, because of the large patch of 

 orange-yellow at the tips of the front wings. 

 But the female is without this orange patch, so 

 that you might easily take her for one of the 

 small white butterflies. If you can look at her 

 closely, however, you will notice that in the middle 

 of her front wings she has a small black spot 

 shaped just like the crescent moon, and that the 

 lower surface of her hind wings is marbled with 

 yellowish-green. 



The caterpillar of this pretty butterfly feeds 

 upon cuckoo-flower, or "lady's smock," as it is 

 sometimes called, and also upon hedge garlic, 

 tower mustard, and yellow rocket. In colour it 

 is green, with a white stripe running along each 

 side of its body. When it is fully fed it fastens 

 itself by a silken belt to the stem of its food-plant, 

 and turns into a long, slender, greenish-brown 

 chrysalis, shaped like a bow, from which the 

 butterfly appears in the following May. 



