Part 7

The caterpillar lives on the _Aristolochia pistolochia_. Sometimes the colour is reddish-yellow, at other times brown or dull yellowish-green, with numerous rows of black lines often interrupted; the body bearing six rows of fleshy spines, of an orange yellow hue, and ciliated with black at the extremity.

The insect is found in Languedoc, in the neighbourhood of Digne, &c.

GENUS PIERIS.

According to the definition which it has been found necessary to give to this genus in general works on the lepidoptera, it includes a very extensive range of species, and may be said to be represented in this country by the white butterflies, which British authors generally place in the genus _Pontia_. In this extended acceptation, however, it comprehends individuals somewhat diversified in appearance, and which may be assumed as the types of particular groups or sub-divisions, perhaps of sufficient importance ultimately to become genera, if a corresponding dissimilarity be found to characterise their different states and metamorphoses. The antennæ are of moderate length or slightly elongated, the articulations pretty distinct, the club obconic and compressed; palpi thickly covered with fascicles of long hairs, the terminal joint at least as long as the penultimate: wings of ordinary size, the discoidal cell closed; the under pair partially embracing the abdomen: eyes naked, head rather small.

The caterpillar is elongated, and nearly cylindrical, pubescent, and marked with longitudinal rays; the head small and rounded. Chrysalis terminating in a single conical point anteriorly, attached by the tail and a medial band.

Not fewer than one hundred and sixty-six different kinds of butterflies are referred to this genus. “They are diffused,” says Dr. Boisduval, “nearly over the whole globe, but are particularly abundant in the intertropical countries of the old continent. Considering the extent of the New World, it produces comparatively few species. The most remarkable inhabit Africa, the Indian continent and Archipelago, and New Holland. Such of the caterpillars as are known, feed almost exclusively on the _cruciferæ_, _residaceæ_, _tropioliæ_, and _caparideæ_. Our _P. Cratægi_ is the only one in Europe which lives on trees; but it is probable that many exotic kinds are of the same habits. The prevailing colour among these lepidoptera is white, more or less pure, with a black border, variable in width, but seldom wanting. There are likewise species in which the ground colour is yellow or even orange, while in others it is blackish or blue, &c. The inferior face of the posterior wings generally differs considerably from the upper, and is often very agreeably varied with brilliant colours. The sexual differences, in certain species, are very conspicuous, particularly on the surface; in others, they are much less so, the females being distinguished from the males only by a somewhat wider border, or by having the upper wings more rounded at the apex[32].”

PIERIS EPICHARIS.

PLATE VI. Figs. 1 and 2.

_Godart, Boisd._--Pap. Hyparete, _Fabr._--Pap. Eucharis, _Drury’s Insect._ Pl. 10, fig. 5, 6.--_Cramer_, Pl. 201, fig. B, C ♂; Pl. 202, fig. C ♀.

This pretty insect belongs to a sub-division which inhabits the continent of India and the adjacent islands. The wings, which expand about three inches, are white, very faintly tinged with blue, with a broad black border, interrupted by a series of rather larger oval spots, the same as the ground colour on the upper wings, but flesh-colour on the under; the nervures, on the former, defined by a dilated black line: in the female, this is likewise the case with the inferior wings. Under side of the primary wings similar to the surface, except three marginal spots towards the apex, which are yellowish in the male and of a bright yellow in the female; secondary wings bright yellow beneath, the nervures black, and along the hinder border a row of large oval, or somewhat heart-shaped, scarlet spots, placed in a white circle; body whitish.

Common in Bengal, and many places in the more eastern parts of Asia.

PIERIS PHILYRA.

PLATE VI. Fig. 3.

_Godart, Boisd._--Pap. Hyparete, _Cramer_, Pl. 210, fig. A, B, and Pl. 339, fig. E, F.

The figure above referred to represents the under side of the female of this handsome species. The male is of a bluish-white above, surrounded with a black external margin, and having a black patch on the tip of the anterior wings, divided by an arched row of white oval spots; the female nearly black above, the inner half of the wings dull white, the apex with white oval spots: on the under side both sexes are black, with the inner half of all the wings yellow, sprinkled with minute black points; the upper pair having a small white spot at the extremity of the discoidal cell, and a posterior row of yellow oval spots largest towards the anterior margin; the under pair with seven long wedge-shaped reddish-brown spots behind the middle, becoming somewhat lighter posteriorly, making the hinder part of the wing from the middle of the discoidal cell sometimes appear entirely of that colour, with dilated black nervures and a black border.

Inhabits Amboina, New Guinea, &c. _Pieris Plexaris_, described by Godart (_Encyc. Meth._ p. 151) from a figure in Donovan’s Insects of New Holland, is regarded by a recent author as a variety.

PIERIS BELISAMA.

PLATE VII. Fig. 1.

_Godart, Boisd._--Pap. Belisama, _Cramer_, Pl. 258, fig. A, B, C, D.

_P. Belisama_ is another of these handsome and warmly tinted species which abound in Eastern Asia and the adjacent islands. It is generally about a third larger than our common cabbage butterflies, but smaller examples frequently occur; the male yellowish-white above, with the whole of the outer angle and the costa of the anterior wings black; the limb of the hinder pair of the same colour. Female with the greater portion of the upper wings black, the remainder pale ochreous. Under side of the upper wings black in both sexes, with a group of yellow spots on the apex, and a small transverse whitish streak at the extremity of the discoidal cell; the same side of the under wings bright yellow, inclining to orange, with a black posterior border dentated on the inner side, and bearing a row of rounded yellow spots; at the base there is a transverse red stripe lying parallel with the margin; body whitish; antennæ black.

Occurs plentifully in Java, Amboina, Sumatra, &c.

GENUS ANTHOCHARIS.

A section of _Pieris_ has lately been established as a genus under the above name, founded, however, on characters not of a very decided description. The most important one perhaps is the shape of the chrysalis, which is boat-shaped, or equally attenuated to both extremities, somewhat arched, and without lateral points. The antennæ of the perfect insect are short, with the articulations distinctly marked, the club rather abrupt and forming an ovoid compressed mass. The common British species _Mancipium Cardamines_ is referred to it, and this insect may be regarded as a characteristic example of the kinds which it includes. Like the _Orange-tip_, the majority have a patch of bright red on the tips of the anterior wings, and the under side of the posterior is often beautifully marked with green and pearl white. Several other species, besides that just mentioned, are natives of Europe, but their principal resort seems to be the intertropical countries of Africa.

ANTHOCHARIS DANÆ.

PLATE VII. Fig. 2.

_Boisd._--Pap. Danæ, _Fabr., Donov. Insects of India_, Pl. 1, fig. 2.--Pap. Eborea, _Cramer_, Pl. 352, fig. C, D, E, F.--Pieris Danæ, _Godart_.--Pontia Danæ, _Horsfield, Insects of Ind. Comp._, p. 141, 68.

Surface of the male pure white; the upper wings having a large triangular patch of bright carmine at the extremity bounded on the inner side by a black oblique band, and narrowly margined with the same colour externally, where the nervures are likewise black; there is likewise a black point at the extremity of the discoidal cell: under wings with a black border, variable in breadth, and occasionally macular. Under side impure white, with a black streak at the extremity of all the discoidal cells, those on the hinder wings divided by a reddish brown point; the apex of the upper wings fulvous-red, divided by a curved row of blackish spots, continued across the under wings as far as the anal angle. The female differs from the male in having a large space at the base of the wings dusky, and the marginal hand wider, and better defined on its inner edge.

Males sometimes occur in which the marginal band is entirely wanting in the hinder wings.

Found in the East Indies, at the Cape of Good Hope, &c.

GENUS IPHIAS, _Boisd._

The two conspicuous insects which at present compose this genus, were wont to be referred either to Pieris or Colias. They have certainly a close relation to both, as well as to _Anthocharis_, but the following characters seem to warrant their separation; antennæ long, gradually increasing into a club which is truncated at the extremity; palpi contiguous and compressed, thickly covered with scales cut of equal length, the terminal joint minute and truncated; head clothed with rather long projecting scaly hairs; thorax robust; abdomen much shorter than the inferior wings; wings very large and strong, the discoidal cell closed. The caterpillar is attenuated at both extremities and shagreened on the surface, the chrysalis much arched and fusiform at both ends.

IPHIAS LEUCIPPE.

PLATE VII. Fig. 3.

Pap. Leucippe, _Fabr. Cramer_, Pl. 36, fig. A, B, C.--_Donovan, Insects of India._--Pieris Leucippe, _Godart_.

One of the largest of the _Pierides_, frequently measuring upwards of four inches between the tips of the wings; anterior pair bright fulvous red, clouded at the base with greenish yellow, the nervures and all the exterior parts black, the female with a row of fulvous spots parallel with the external margin, and not far from it; posterior wings citron-yellow, having a dentated or macular black border in the female, usually preceded by a curved line of spots of the same colour; but in the male marked with only one or two black spots towards the external border. Under side deep fulvous in both sexes, sprinkled with black points and marked with short transverse dusky lines, which are greatly most numerous in the female; head and thorax brown; abdomen citron-yellow; antennæ black, the extremity of the club reddish.

It is a native of Amboina; we have seen no particular account of the caterpillar, but it is no doubt similar to that of _T. Glaucippe_, which is described by Dr. Horsfield as of a green colour with a white lateral ray. It feeds on a species of _Capparis_.

GENUS CALLIDRYAS.

This genus is composed of a selection of species from Colias, to which it bears a very close relation. It is not long since it was proposed by Dr Boisduval, who thinks that the following characters entitle it to this distinction. Palpi approximating and very much compressed, clothed with short hairs and dense scales, the terminal joint conical and much shorter than the preceding one; antennæ thickening gradually from the base to the apex, which is distinctly truncated; body robust, the abdomen much shorter than the inferior wings; the latter forming a groove which completely embraces the under side of the abdomen. The caterpillars are naked and somewhat attenuated at both extremities; the chrysalis arched, or boat shaped, with the extremities drawn out to a narrow point; always attached by the tail and a transverse band.

According to the manner in which they have been respectively constituted, _Callidryas_ therefore is best distinguished from Colias by the antennæ, which in the latter terminate in an obconical club; and from _Rhodocera_ (including _Gonopteryx_ of Dr. Leach), which has these organs likewise truncated, by the shape of the wings, which never present acute angular projections. The prevailing colour of the species is yellow, from deep orange to the palest sulphur yellow. The females are usually of a paler hue than the males, and the sexual differences are strongly marked in other particulars. On the under side of the wings there are almost invariably one or two small spots, near the middle, of a silvery or rusty-brown hue; these are either wanting or very minute in the males, while they are distinctly marked in the females. The former sex, in the majority of species, presents a very peculiar character in having the anterior edge of the under wings provided with a kind of pulverulent glandular sac, which varies much in size and colour in different species.

A great similarity prevails among the different species of _Callidryas_, and they are consequently difficult to determine. They inhabit the intertropical regions of the two continents.

CALLIDRYAS EUBULE.

PLATE VIII. Fig. 1.

Pap. Eubule, _Linn. Cramer_, Pl. 120, F, C.--Caterpillar, _Stoll’s Supp. to Cramer_, Pl. 3, fig. 1, A.--Callidryas Eubule, _Boisd. Species general_, i. 613.

This insect so closely resembles _C. Marcellina_ that it is possible they would still have continued to be confounded, as they were by the earlier entomologists, had not the different appearance of the caterpillar indicated their essential distinction. In the male the surface of the wings is a fine citron-yellow, with a narrow border of a deeper hue; the fringe of all the wings marked at remote intervals with small rust-coloured spots. Beneath the colour is red, or brownish-yellow; the upper wings with a double ferruginous spot at the extremity of the discoidal cell, and a brownish zig-zag ray towards the outer margin; the under wings likewise with two rounded discoidal spots, silvery in the centre, and surrounded by a rust-coloured ring; there are likewise several undulating brown lines running across the surface more or less distinctly defined. The female is bright yellow inclining to orange, the inferior wings much rounded, and having an orange-coloured fringe interrupted with transverse brown stripes. The position and appearance of the discoidal spots similar to what has been described in the male: the under side deep ochre yellow. Body yellow, with greenish hairs on the thorax; antennæ, and terminal joint of the palpi, rose-colour mixed with brown.

The caterpillar (Pl. VIII. fig. 2) is green, covered with small black granules, and having a yellow line along each side, surmounted by another of a blue colour. It feeds on the different kinds of _Cassia_. The chrysalis (Pl. VIII. fig. 3) is likewise green, changing ultimately to brown.

The butterfly is very common in Guiana, Brazil, and many other parts of America.

GENUS TERIAS.

We owe the establishment of this genus to Mr. Swainson. It includes a considerable number of species, the greater proportion of which have been but lately discovered. They are small insects, of delicate structure, and usually of a light yellow colour, with the apex of the upper wings deep black. The caterpillars, as far as we are acquainted with them, are attached to leguminous plants, and live between the tropics both of the old and new world. The most important generic characters are the following: antennæ of moderate length, the articulations pretty distinct, terminating in an ovoid or conical club, which is slightly curved downwards, and compressed laterally: palpi very short, the terminal joint half the length of the preceding one, naked, and a little salient; abdomen slender and compressed, nearly as long as the inferior wings; wings of delicate texture, the costal line a good deal arched towards the base. Caterpillars slender, linear, and pubescent; chrysalis a little arched, and somewhat compressed, terminating in a point anteriorly.

TERIAS MEXICANA.

PLATE VIII. Fig. 4.

_Boisd. Spec. gen._ p. 655. Pl. iii. C, fig. 1.

This insect was discovered not long since in Mexico, and is considered rare. The colour of the surface is very bright citron-yellow, the upper wings with a broad black border externally, which ends in a quadrangular expansion a little before the middle of the internal margin. The under wings have the outer border prolonged into an acute angle, forming a kind of rudimentary tail, and the anterior half is widely bordered with black. The primary wings are pale citron-yellow on the under side, with a central black point, and have the outer border near the fringe tinged with red; the secondary pair yellow, speckled with ferruginous particles, and having a black point in the centre, the extreme angle marked with a ferruginous spot, and the posterior half with four or five other spots of the same colour, having sometimes a tendency to form an irregular transverse band. The above description applies to the male; the female has the surface of the wings whitish-yellow, with the black border broader, and the anterior margin of the secondary wings widely orange-yellow. The expansion varies from twenty to twenty three lines.

GENUS EUPLŒA.

This and several of the following genera may be readily distinguished from any of the preceding by having the anterior legs, in both sexes, short and imperfect, the tarsi not being distinguishable into five joints, but generally consisting of a single piece with several crowded spines at the extremity. In the present genus there is a slight indication of an articulated structure, but very indistinct, and there are scarcely any projecting points in the room of claws. The antennæ, which are placed very close to each other at the base, terminate in a pretty thick club elongated and somewhat curved. The palpi, which stand considerably apart from each other, are short, not rising above the head, densely clothed with hair-like scales which completely conceal the joints: of the latter the terminal one is minute and globular ending in a point, the second long and thick, the radical one about one-third its length. Outline of the upper wings triangular: claws simple. Chrysalis suspended by the tail, and never supported by a band round the middle.

EUPLŒA LIMNIACE.

PLATE IX. Fig. 1.

Danais Limniace, _Godart_.--Pap. Limniace, _Cramer_, Pl. 59, fig. D, E.--Pap. Similis, _Fabr._

Expands nearly four inches; surface of the wings deep black, entirely covered with stripes and spots of shining light green, more or less mixed with white: towards the base of the wings the green colour is arranged in longitudinal stripes, externally in rounded spots, becoming smaller at the hinder margin where they form a regular row. The design on the under side is similar, but the ground colour of the under wings and a large space at the apex of the upper are pale brown, and the green marks are usually pale; the sinuosities fringed with white, the projections on the margin of the hinder wings forming a pretty acute angle; thorax and breast black, with numerous white points; abdomen yellowish beneath.

Rather extensively distributed over the eastern countries of Asia, and the adjacent islands.

EUPLŒA PLEXIPPE.

PLATE IX. Fig. 2.

Danais Plexippe, _Godart_.--Pap. Plexippus, _Linn., Fabr._--Pap. Genutia, _Cramer_, Pl. 206, fig. C, D.

This insect affords an example of a pretty extensive and beautiful group which is strikingly characterised by the prevalence of a peculiar colour and uniformity of design in the markings. The ground colour is a rich chestnut-brown, varying considerably in the intensity of the shade, the wings widely margined on the outside with black, more or less interrupted with white spots; the black colour sometimes running along the nervures in a broad stripe. They are common both to the old and new world, and many of them are very abundant. _E. Plexippe_ occurs in the East Indies and China, also in the islands of Java, Ceylon, &c. and often appears in great plenty The colour is light chestnut-brown, approaching to fulvous, the whole external border of the wings with a broad black band, dilated at the apex of the superior pair so as to occupy the whole angle; this band bears two rows of small unequal white spots, and the black space at the summit of the upper wings has a broad oblique band of pure white, angular on the edges, and formed by the confluence of five spots; between this and the middle of the costa is a small group of white spots: all the nervures black and dilated. The under side differs in having the space between the white patch at the apex of the upper wings and the external margin ashy-brown; in having the ground colour of the inferior-wings pale fulvous, and the nervures of the same wings narrowly edged with white. The abdomen is nearly of the same colour as the wings; the thorax, breast, and head black, punctured with white; antennæ black, the extremity of the club rust-red.

GENUS IDEA.

The above genus is of very limited extent, comprehending only four species. They are, however, somewhat remarkable insects, both on account of their size, and the manner in which their colours are distributed. The wings are slightly transparent and of a greyish white, with black stripes running along all the nervures, and occasionally forming blotches on the surface. The nearest approach to this mode of colouring among other tribes is presented by certain species of Euplœa, and particularly by _Pap. dissimilis_, which on this account, has been termed the Idea-likeness butterfly. The most conspicuous of its generic characters are the slenderness of the antennæ, which are so slightly thickened towards the apex as to appear nearly filiform, and the elongated oval form of the wings: in other respects Idea nearly conforms to the genera with which it is associated. The palpi have the terminal joint minute and conical, the second long and thickest in the middle, the radical one net half its length. The tarsal division of the anterior legs is dilated, and furnished with two or three unequal spines.

IDEA AGELIA.

PLATE X. Fig. 1.

Pap. Idea, _Linn. Fabr. Cramer_, Pl. 193, fig. 1, A, B, and pl. 362, fig. D.--_Donovan’s Insects of India._

Varying in size from upwards of six inches across the wings to nearly four and a half. The surface is of a greyish white, with the nervures and posterior border black; the latter sinuated internally, and divided by a series of large spots of a whitish colour, and generally an oval shape; between each of the nervures, and beyond the middle of the wing, is a longitudinal black stripe: the primary wings are moreover marked rather before the middle with four irregular black spots, the anterior one on the costa, the other three forming an abbreviated arched band. The under side does not differ materially from the upper, but the black stripes are rather broader, and there is a large irregular patch in the discoidal cell. The body is whitish with a black line along the back, the thorax having two black central lines and two short transverse ones at their extremity: the breast is marked with oblique black lines, and a row of dusky points runs along each side of the abdomen: antennæ black.

The insect is a native of Java, Amboina, and other Asiatic islands.

IDEA DAOS.

PLATE X. Fig. 2.

_Boisd. Spec. gen._ Pl. 24, fig. 3.