802 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



imagines appear about eighteen or twenty days 

 after the entrance of the larva into the pupal 

 state. — I am, dear Sirs, Yours very truly, C. 

 H. H. Walker. 



Liverpool, July 5th, 1880. 



[The ichneumons sent, and for which we 

 are obliged, are some species of Microgaster, 

 but the different members of this genus come 

 so very near together that it is extremely 

 c ifficult to name the species with any degree 

 of certainty, unless we were in a position to 

 compare the specimens with the Holliday 

 types, which are now in Dublin. Your speci- 

 mens are very near to, if not identical with 

 the one that infests Melitm Artemis, viz: — 

 Microgaster ov'uldrum. We will submit your 

 specimens to more competent authority at the 

 first opportunity.— Eds.] 



BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



By J. E. RoBSON ; with figures from life by 

 S. L. Mqsley. 



(Assisted by Contributors to the Y. N.) 



S RAPJE, Linn. PI. 5, Fig. 1. 

 Small White. 



Rapm, from the Turnip (Brassica rapa). 



ImagO.— Plate 5, Fig. 1. Male and 

 female. Fore wing white, with black tip, 

 the costa edged with darker scales. There 

 is generally one black spot beyond the centre. 

 Hind wing white, a black spot on the costa. 

 Female similar, but it has two black spots on 

 the fore wing beyond the middle, and a black 

 dash on the inner margin. 



Larva.— Fiate 5, Fig. ia. Apple green, 

 paler underneath ; a narrow yellow sub-dor- 

 sal line, and yellow spots between the 

 : piracies. 



Pupa.— Plate 5, Fig ib. Variable ; pale 

 green ; whitish grey, Sec. ; spotted with black. 

 It is said to assimilate in hue to the color of 

 the place on which it is fixed. 



Pood Plants.— Various cruciferae, and 



tfopselium, and mignionette. 



Time of Appearance— The imago 

 emerges in April or May ; the eggs are laid 

 on the under side of the leaves of the food 

 plant, and hatch in about three weeks. The 

 larva? are not gregarious. The second brood 

 emerges in July. The eggs of this brood 

 hatch in about a fortnight, the larvae feed 

 about a month, and the pupae remain over 

 the winter, 



Habitat. — Of general distribution 

 throughout Britain, and from the food plants 

 being much cultivated, it is common about 

 the suburbs of towns. It occurs all over 

 Europe, except in the polar regions, in 

 Northern Asia, and in North America. 



Variation. — Rapa varies much in the 

 size and intensity of the black markings, 

 while the ground color ranges from pure 

 white to sulphur yellow. In some specimens 

 the spots are large, the tip mark large, and 

 the entire wing darkened with black scales ; 

 in others the spots and marks are very small, 

 or altogether wanting. Several varieties are 

 named. Manii, Mayer — Nelo, Bork ? occurs 

 about the Balkans and in Dalmatia, and may 

 be a hybrid between Rapx and Ergane. It is 

 smaller and yellower than the type. Mera, 

 Steph., is not very easy to separate from the 

 normal form, even with Stephens' descrip- 

 tion, but it would appear that he called the 

 yellower form Rapoe, and the whiter Mep'a. 

 Lcucotera, Stef., is an Italian form with which 

 we are not acquainted. Noranglice, Scudd., 

 is canary yellow. This species was not known 

 in Canada till about 1858 or 1859, but it has 

 already assumed quite a distinct hue, though 

 odd specimens similar in color have occurred 

 in Britain. We believe the variety aurea is 

 identical with this. 



Allied Species.— Ergane, H-C, already 

 named as occurring in Dalmatia, on the 

 Balkans, <~c., is very close to Rapcc. It is 

 greyer in color, and" the spots are fainter, the 

 female having only one. Mr. Kirby in his 

 European Butterflies, considers Ergane only 

 a variety of Rap%\ and certainly if a specimen 



