(1) Tachyris ilaire (Godart), [Plate XCV], Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀. Our plate gives such an excellent reproduction of the upper side of the wings of this species that no formal description seems necessary. A melanic form of the female sometimes occurs in which the wings are almost wholly dull blackish on both sides. Normally the under side of the wings in the female is pearly white marked with bright orange at base of fore wings. Expanse 2.50-2.75 inches.
Occurs in southern Florida and throughout tropical America.
Genus PIERIS Schrank
(The Whites).
Medium-sized butterflies, generally white in color, marked on both upper and under sides with darker lines and spots. Antennæ clubbed; palpi short, compressed, with the last joint short and pointed. Eggs spindle-shaped, with vertical raised ridges. Caterpillar elongate, head hemispherical, feeding upon cruciferous plants. Chrysalis attached by anal extremity and held in place by a silk girdle; concave on the ventral side, convex on the dorsal side, with a hump-like or keel-shaped eminence on the thorax. Head conical.
An extensive genus, confined principally to the northern hemisphere.
PL. XCVI
(1) Pieris monuste (Linnæus), [Plate XCVI], Fig. 1, ♂; Fig. 2, ♀ (The Great Southern White).
Our figure gives a perfect idea of the upper side of the wings. Hind wing on under side grayish saffron, crossed by a poorly defined pale brown transverse band of spots, the veins pale brown, between them pale brown rays on the interspaces. Expanse 1.65-2.35 inches.
Has a wide range in tropical America. Common in the Gulf States.