THE ORANGE-TIP BUTTERFLY. (Euchloë Cardamines.)
([Plate V]. fig. 1, Male; 1a, Female.)
Few vernal ramblers in the country, whether entomological or no, can fail to have noticed, and been charmed by, this merry blossom-like insect, as it gaily flits along by hedge-row and wood-side, pausing anon to taste its own sweet flowers of May, and looking, even when on the wing, so unlike any other of our native butterflies. Truly it is an exquisite and loveable little creature, this Orange-Tip—sometimes styled the Wood Lady; but this latter title is somewhat awkward in its application, inasmuch as the "lady" insect is entirely without the characteristic orange adornment, and would hardly be suspected as being the same species with her handsome lord.
The male Orange-Tip needs no description, for the purpose of recognition, beyond that conveyed by his name; but as the female is less known, and has been on several occasions mistaken for the rare Bath White (Daplidice), it will be well to point out her chief distinguishing characters. The difference between the two insects certainly is obvious enough, when the two are seen together, but their written descriptions read rather alike.
The female Cardamines has the wings white above, with a greyish black tip, and a small oval, or crescent-shaped black spot (much smaller than that of Daplidice) near the centre of the front wings; beneath, a white ground, with green marblings, that are much more sharply defined than those in Daplidice. Near the centre of the front wing is a clear black spot, corresponding in position with that on the upper surface, and not shaded off with green, as in Daplidice.
We speak of the green marblings of this species—and, to the naked eye, they do appear to be of quite a bright green—but under a microscope or powerful lens that colour disappears, being resolved into a combination of bright yellow and pure black scales, which, with the dazzling snow-white ground scales that surround them, form a microscopic tableau of extraordinary beauty. This can, however, only be seen by daylight, for under artificial light the yellow, on which the whole effect depends, is entirely lost.
The caterpillar is slightly hairy, and green, with a white stripe on each side. It has been generally stated that the Cardamine impatiens is the common food plant of this species, apropos of which I will quote the following communication from Mr. Doubleday to the editor of the Zoologist:—
"In reply to your query about the food of the larva of Cardamines, I may say that I have found it upon several plants. I believe that Cardamine pratensis (common cuckoo-flower) is the one on which the eggs