THE MARBLED WHITE 
59 
mottlings of black and white. During dull weather and at 
night it rests on the flower-heads of grasses and other coarse 
vegetation, as well as on the blossoms and leaves of bramble. 
Thistles appear to be its favourite flowers. 
Time of Appearance. The Marbled White is single brooded ; 
it appears on the wing in July and the first half of August. 
Hibernation. This species passes hibernation in the larval 
state, but only for a comparatively short period, as the larvae 
generally start feeding in 
January when it is suffi¬ 
ciently mild. 
Egg Laying. This butter¬ 
fly has a very unusual habit 
of dropping its eggs at ran¬ 
dom amongst thegrass, with¬ 
out attempting to attach 
them to anything; they 
simply fall among the grass 
blades. The usual method 
of depositing is for the egg 
to be jerked with consider¬ 
able force ; it is expelled 
sideways, i.e. it leaves the 
ovipositor sideways so that 
it is at right angles to the 
abdomen ; it there remains 
attached for a few seconds 
and is then either jerked 
away or simply drops to the 
ground among the grass 
stems. 
The Marbled White at rest. 
Sketched from life. 
Egg. The egg is i mm. high and of equal width, being 
almost spherical in shape. It is of an opaque milk-white 
colour and in general structure and colour (under the micro¬ 
scope) it resembles a miniature ostrich's egg. Directly it is 
extruded and before it falls, it is greenish-white, but it almost 
at once turns white and then drops to the ground. The egg 
stage lasts twenty days. 
Larva. Upon hatching, the young larva eats round the 
crown of the egg, cutting out a large circular lid, and pushes 
