State Agricultural Society. 
543 
Cabbage Worm, or Turnip Butterfly, Pier is Papce, Linn. 
(Lepidoptera. Papilionidae.) 
Bating the leaves of the cabbage and turnip, and often gnawing into the compact 
heads of the former; a cylindrical green worm with a pale yellow line along the 
middle of its back and a row of yellow dots along each side, growing to over an inch 
in length; its pupa, naked, angular, gray, freckled with black dots, held in a loop 
on tluT under side of rails, boards, etc., and producing a white butterfly about two 
inches wide, its wings with black spots. 
Since the preceding account of our native white butterfly, Pieris 
oleracea. was written, a closely similar but much more destructive 
cabbage butterfly has invaded our State, and has suddenly become so 
excessively multiplied and numerous, that it is no exaggeration to 
say it is now threatening to annihilate the cabbage crop. A new 
insect enemy of such importance has, of course, received my particu¬ 
lar attention, and the present volume of Transactions having been 
delayed in its issue, I am enabled herewith to present, from the 
observations I have made, a history ot this insect and its transforma¬ 
tions, which will be found more full and exact than any account which 
has before appeared, correcting some errors of previous observers, aaid 
containing several new and interesting facts in the habits and 
economy of this important accession to the insect fauna of our 
country. 
During the fore part of the year 1870, our white butterfly made its 
appearance in the usual manner. One or more of them might be seen 
almost every day flying about our gardens and yards. On the second 
day of August four white butterflies were hovering about and alight¬ 
ing around me in my garden, when one of them was noticed with 
much surprise as having a round black spot near the middle ot its 
fore wings. Conjecturing it to be the spotted variety of our white 
butterfly, and anxious to secure the specimen, I hastened to obtain a 
net for its capture ; but on being approached, to my great regret it 
flew wildly away. Next day, however, two similar specimens were 
noticed and captured, and on examination were discovered to be the 
European Pieris Papas. And on the following days these spotted 
butterflies occurred more aud more common, whilst our white butter¬ 
fly immediately vanished, not one of them being seen either in the 
gardens or the meadows. And this foreigner became more and 
more abundant till the close of the season, doing immense injury to 
the cabbage crop in all our gardens, greatly surpassing every other 
insect depredator upon this vegetable which we have previously 
known in our country. Around the city of New York and in New 
Jersey it began to attract public notice about the middle ol Julv 
