THE BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY 155 
butterflies are young Large Whites, but that is a 
mistake. Large Whites are a bigger species, and 
butterflies do not grow. 
The other butterfly, now over the hedge, is a 
Brimstone (Gonepteryx Rhamni), and a male. I 
think the Brimstone is one of the loveliest of the 
upwards of seventy species of British butterflies. 
The male is of a beautiful sulphur colour, with a 
deep orange spot on each of his four wings. The 
female has wings much less conspicuously coloured. 
They are greenish-white, merging into a yellowish 
tint at the extremities of the wings. The specimen 
we have seen must have spent the winter in some 
snug place of concealment. To be correct in our 
language, we should say it has hibernated. Brim- 
stones “come out’”’ in autumn ; they have but one 
brood in the year, and any that are seen in spring 
have survived the winter. Hibernated specimens 
usually show marks of wear and tear; we get the 
most perfect specimens out of the new autumn 
brood. The caterpillar of the Brimstone feeds on 
the Buckthorn, one species of which (Rhamnus 
frangula) grows well in this neighbourhood. 
We will make for the pond at the corner of the 
lane, and then cross the field to the quarry ; but I 
must ask you to notice one more plant of the 
hedge-bank—the Garlic Mustard (see p. 145). It 
grows here in profusion ; its flowers are quite small 
in comparison with those of the Broad-leaved 
Garlic which I showed you the other day, and it has 
not the appearance, the structure, or the habits 
of a lily. 
Ah! we have disturbed a Blackbird (Turdus 
