The identification of this species with _N. felicia_, Poey, which is found in Cuba, is doubtfully correct. The two species are very closely allied, but, nevertheless, distinct from each other.
Genus EUCHLOe, Hubner
(=Anthocharis= _of authors_)
(The Orange-tips)
"When daffodils begin to peer, With, heigh! the doxy over the dale, Why, then comes in the sweet o" the year; For the red blood reigns in the winter"s pale."
SHAKESPEARE.
_b.u.t.terfly._--Small b.u.t.terflies, white in color, with the apical region of the primaries dark brown, marked with spots and bands of yellowish-orange or crimson. On the under side the wings are generally more or less profusely mottled with green spots and striae.
[Ill.u.s.tration FIG. 143.--Neuration of the genus _Euchloe_].
_Egg._--Spindle-shaped (see p. 4, Fig. 6), laterally marked with raised vertical ridges, between which are finer cross-lines.
_Caterpillar._--The caterpillar, in its mature stage, is relatively long, with the head small.
_Chrysalis._--With the head relatively enormously projecting; wing-cases compressed, and uniting to form a conspicuous keel-shaped projection, the highest point of which lies at the juncture of the two ends of the silk girdle where they are attached to the supporting surface.
There are numerous species of this genus, and all are exceedingly pretty.
(1) =Euchloe sara=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 28, ?; Fig. 29, ?
(Sara).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The wings on the upper side in both s.e.xes are shown in the figures above cited. On the under side the hind wings are marked with dark irregular patches of greenish-brown scales loosely scattered over the surface, and having a "mossy" appearance.
There are several forms which are regarded by recent writers as varieties and may probably be such. Of these we give the following:
(_a_) Variety =reakirti=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 31, ?; Fig. 32, ?
(Reakirt"s Orange-tip) =flora=, Wright, Plate x.x.xIV, Fig. 4, ?; Fig. 5, ?. This form hardly differs at all from the form _sara_, except in being smaller, and having the margins of the hind wings marked with dark spots at the ends of the veins.
(_b_) Variety =Stella=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 35, ?; Fig. 36, ?
(Stella). The females of this form are prevalently yellowish on the upper side of the wings; otherwise they are marked exactly as the preceding variety.
(_c_) Variety =julia=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 34, ?; Plate x.x.xIV, Fig. 6, ?, _under side_ (Julia). The only distinction in this form is the fact that the black bar dividing the red apical patch from the white on the remainder of the wing is broken, or tends to diminution at its middle.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
The species, in all its forms, belongs to the mountain States of the Pacific coast. _Flora_, Wright, is regarded by Beutenmuller, who has given us the latest revision of the genus, as identical with _sara_. It comes nearer the variety _reakirti_ than any other form, as will be seen by an examination of the plates which give figures of the types.
Expanse, 1.25-1.75 inch.
(2) =Euchloe ausonides=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 24, ?; Fig. 25, ?; Plate x.x.xIV, Fig. 3, ?, _under side_ (Ausonides).
_b.u.t.terfly._--On the under side the fore wings are greenish; the hind wings are marked with three irregular green bands, the outer one forking into six or seven branches toward the outer and inner margins. Expanse, 1.65-1.90 inch.
_Early Stages._--The larva and chrysalis are described by Edwards in "The b.u.t.terflies of North America," vol. ii. The caterpillar is pale whitish-green, with dark-green longitudinal stripes on the side and back. It feeds on cruciferous plants.
_Ausonides_ ranges from Arizona to Alaska, and eastward to Colorado.
(3) =Euchloe creusa=, Doubleday and Hewitson, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 23, ?; Plate x.x.xIV, Fig. 2, ?, _under side_ (Creusa).
_b.u.t.terfly._--Similar to the preceding species, but smaller, the white more l.u.s.trous on the under side, and the green markings on the under side of the wings heavier. Expanse, 1.20-1.40 inch.
_Early Stages._--We know very little of these.
The species is reported from California, Colorado, and Alberta. I possess a singular varietal form or aberration from Arizona, in which the black spot on the upper side of the primaries fills the outer half of the cell.
(4) =Euchloe rosa=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 39, ?, _under side_ (Rosa).
_b.u.t.terfly._--Pure white, without any red at the tip of the primaries.
The transapical black band is broken in the middle, and a black bar closes the cell. The under side is well represented in the plate.
Expanse, 1.35-1.40 inch.
_Early Stages._--Entirely unknown.
The species is found in Texas.
(5) =Euchloe cethura=, Felder, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 26, ?; Fig. 27, ?; form =morrisoni=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xIV, Fig. 1, ? (Cethura).
_b.u.t.terfly._--This delicate little insect, for the identification of which the plates will abundantly serve, has been regarded as existing in two varietal forms, one of which has been named after the indefatigable collector Morrison, whose death is still lamented by the elder generation of American entomologists. The varietal form is characterized by the heavier green markings of the under side of the wings. Expanse, 1.25-1.40 inch.
(6) =Euchloe pima=, Edwards, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 33, ? (The Pima Orange-tip).
_b.u.t.terfly._--This beautiful and well-marked species, the most brilliant of the genus, is yellow on the upper side in both s.e.xes. The red of the upper side appears on the lower side. The hind wings are heavily marked with solid green bands. Expanse, 1.50 inch.
_Early Stages._--Unknown.
The only specimens thus far known have come from Arizona.
(7) =Euchloe genutia=, Fabricius, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 37, ?; Fig. 38, ?; Plate II, Fig. 5, _larva_; Plate V, Fig. 59, _chrysalis_; Fig. 6, p. 4, _egg_ (The Falcate Orange-tip).
_b.u.t.terfly._--This species is readily recognized by the decidedly falcate tip of the fore wings. The first brood appears in early spring.
It is single-brooded in the Northern States, but is double-brooded in the western portions of North Carolina, where I have taken it quite abundantly late in the autumn. Expanse, 1.30-1.50 inch.
_Early Stages._--The life-history is well known. The caterpillar feeds on _Sisymbrium_, _Arabis_, _Cardamine_, and other cruciferous plants.
It ranges from New England to Texas, but is not found, so far as is known, in the regions of the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific coast.
(8) =Euchloe lanceolata=, Boisduval, Plate x.x.xII, Fig. 30, ?
(Boisduval"s Marble).
_b.u.t.terfly._--The figure gives a correct idea of the upper surface of the male. The female on the upper side is marked with light-black spots on the outer margin near the apex. On the under side in both s.e.xes the apex of the primaries and the entire surface of the secondaries, except a small spot on the costa, are profusely sprinkled with small brown scales. The veins of the hind wing are brown. Expanse, 1.65-1.95 inch.
_Early Stages._--The caterpillar, which feeds upon _Turritis_, is green, shaded on the sides with pale blue, striped laterally with white, and covered with transverse rows of minute black points, each bearing a short black bristle. We know nothing of the other stages.
The species ranges from northern California to Alaska.