Egg.—The egg is spindle-shaped, with vertical raised ridges.
Caterpillar.—Elongate, the head hemispherical, very slightly, if at all, larger in diameter than the body. The caterpillars feed upon cruciferous plants.
Chrysalis.—Attached by the anal extremity, and held in place by a silk girdle; slightly concave on the ventral side; convex on the dorsal side, with a distinct or pointed hump-like projection on the thorax. At the point where the thoracic and abdominal segments unite in some species there is in addition a distinct keel-shaped eminence, and at the head the chrysalis is furnished with a short conical projection.
[a]Fig. 141.]—Neuration of the genus Pieris.
(1) Pieris monuste, Linnæus, Plate XXXV, Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♁ (The Great Southern White).
Butterfly.—The upper side of the wings, depicted in the plate, requires no comment. On the under side the black marginal markings of the primaries reappear as pale-brown markings. The hind wing is pale yellow or grayish-saffron, crossed by an ill-defined pale-brown transverse band of spots, and has the veins marked with pale brown, and interspersed between them pale-brown rays on the interspaces.
Early Stages.—What we know of these is derived principally from Abbot through Boisduval, and there is opportunity here for investigation.
The species has a wide range through tropical America, and is not uncommon in the Gulf States.
(2) Pieris beckeri, Edwards, Plate XXXIV, Fig. 8, ♂; Fig. 9, ♁ (Becker's White).