172 PROCEEDINGS OF THE [AugUSt, 1887. 



NOTE ON PIERIS RAPiE. 



BY PROF. LEWIS R. GIBBES. 



The European Cabbage Butterfly, Pieris rapce, made its appearance in 

 Canada and the Northern States, more than twenty years ago, and has since 

 been spreading westerly and southerly in the United States. In October last, 

 Mr. S. H. Scudder of Cambridge, Mass., who has been studying the progress 

 of the new comer through our country, sent me a card of queries, relative to 

 its appearance in this neighborhood, and from my letter in reply to his que- 

 ries I make the following extracts, which^ I lay before the Society, as some 

 contribution to the natural history of this State, with respect to the range 

 of this lepidopter, and of a few others. 



" The year 1870 was remarkable for the number of Lepkloptera to be seen in 

 Charleston, and also for the variety of species present. In that year I took 

 three individuals of Libytliea never seen by me before or since. Among all 

 these species, I saw no P. rapm although I was not unacquainted with its ap- 

 pearance, having fortunately at hand, a few English specimens, and also English 

 figures and descriptions in Jardine's Naturalists' Library. In 1873, I observed 

 them as not uncommon in this City, and recognized them at once while fljing, 

 as distinct from their congeners, P. nionusia and P. protodice, both of which I 

 have taken in this City. Now supposing the early broods of 1873 to have been 

 produced from eggs of the preceding year, or that the insect had already ap- 

 peared in the surrounding country, before I had observed it in this City, mj 

 only region for observation, I think we may fix 1872 as the year of its appear- 

 ance in this vicinity, without an error of more than one year, earher or later. I 

 have seen it, I think every year since, more abundantly in some than in others, 

 either because my attention was then more dii-ected towards them, or because 

 as in 1870, some years were more productive, if not of animal life in general, at 

 least of species and individuals of Lepidoptera, As to your third query I fear 

 the little I have given you is all that you will get ; I know of no one in this 

 State, who takes any interest in these matters, though there may be such ; and 

 as to opportunities for publishing, there may be said to have been none. 

 ****** In 1876, on 16th April, I saw a caterpillar en- 

 veloping itself for its chrysalis state ; the next day when it had completed its 

 work, hanging from the underside of the siU of a window of one of the outbuild- 

 ings near our College, I cut off the strip of wood to which it was attached, with 

 chisel and maUet, carried it indoors, and suspended it in a glass vessel. Im- 

 ago appeared on 2d of May, and to my surprise proved to be Vanessa antiopa, 

 which I had considered as whoUy northern. In April, 1879, I took a single in- 

 dividual in the suburbs, the only other I have seen. I suppose it may be con- 

 sidered southern but rare. In 1885, a relative sent me from Beaufort, S. C. , what 

 was considered " a strange butterfly ". On opening the letter I recognized 

 it immediately as Heliconia charitonia, which I had never before seen. Have 

 you heard of its being taken so far north before ? " 



In Mr. Scudder's last letter to me, of the 8th inst., he says that his paper is 



