THE WHITE BUTTERFLY

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18025, 28 February 1933, Page 8

THE WHITE BUTTERFLY

*' J ' ' COXFUBION WITH MOTH NO SIMILARITY EXISTS *:■' ' ■ : ' REPLY TO A. AND P. ASSOCIATION .• •. i. ■ &,i, " 'l There is .90. similarity in habit or app between butterfly *t ttt meeting '?•; t the cinnabar moth was doing much .to, the white iwtUrfly, aftl that, as these two insects ,. l sm behened t to S»e similar in appearliLMm theyhave been of the same i.- It. ■ whs also suggested' that great care should be' exercised by the . , Gpwrament in introducing new paraThe instructor an agriculture, Mr. M. A; A. BUefc, has replied to the association ioWw>llhlir ; Hr parasites .introduced *■*’" iiofc über * t^ § f MntU it had beah pYOVed that they would HHhjfck-iibtliiug ©lra&rimnic- importance. From these, it ; :!thwwi- ie w certain amount . butter* sttcgntuue made, I bw gud If you would take an

> liberating any parasite to attack any Weed or fungoid or insect pest, the most exhaiisite aud scrupuously careful tests are carried out, over h period of years if necessary, to ensure that it will not under any circumstances attack any plant or insect-of economic importance 111 this country. The white butterfly most definitely was hot deliberately imported. It seems probable .that it was brought into the country accidentally by some moans from Hawaii.

“Neither the cinnabar moth nor its caterpillar attack any plant of economic importance. Eggs and larvae of the cinnabar moth have been distributed in Various parts of the East Coast, but, so far I have hot seen, either the adult moth or the caterpillar in this district. I should therefore be very grateful for information from anybody who has seen

L “it is the larva (caterpillar) of the white butterfly that attacks cabbages and other cruciferous crops. 'The white butterfly itself does no damage, as it feeds on the nectar of flowers, quite possibly including ragwort, and most certainly on lucerne and clover stands in flower. This may lead to the erroneous belief that it attacks such plants. . “Finally, there is not the slightest similarity between .the cabbago white butterfly and the cjimabar moth, nor between their respective caterpillars, as reference to the attached descriptions will show.”—Yours, etc., M. A. BLACK. Appended to the letter were the fol- 1 lowing extracts from the Journal of 'Agriculture:— ' CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY (PIERIS RAPAE)

‘-The Adult. —The average expanse ol Wings is 50 mm. though a good deal of variation dccurs. There is a distinctive

sexual, difference in color and marking. The riiale is glaucous white, with grey to blade markings. Dorsally, there is a single black spot near the middle of each fore wing, and a black spot on the costa of each hind whig. The female is creamy white to yellow-buff, with •gjfey to black markings. Dorsally, there are. two .black spots oh each of.liie foi-c wings, and one bluclc spot on each hittd wing.

“Eggs —"The 'eggs, which measure from 0.9 mm. to 1 mm. from base to apex, and 0.45 at their widest diameters (about one-;third of the distance from the top to the bottonl), are just big enough to be seen, are deep yellow in color, and have ridges running both lenghtwise and crosswise. They are glued singly to either side of the leaf, but are generally to be found on the under surface. They hatch in from three to five Jays, according to temperature conditions prevailing. In all, several hundred are laid by a single female.

“Larvae.—Shortly after hatching, the young larvae commences feeding on the plant tissue, and eats out small areas on the under leaf surface. Prior to moulting in any stage it attaches itself to the leaf with a few threads. There are five moults, and hence five larval stages. The adult larva is an intense leal-green, except for a slender orange stripe down the middle of the back, and another broken stripe along each side Of the body, which is formed by a pair of elongate yellowish spots near each spiracle. The caterpillar has a'velvety appearance, dye 'to numerous close-set snort, white and black hairs that form a kind of white bloom over the body. When full-grown the larva hunts for a favbrablfe ‘place to pupate, and, though many may pupate on the host plant, the

majority apparently are found on adjoining fence®, buildings, or trees. "Pupae.—The pupa measures 19 mm. long. The head is beaked in front, and the thorax strongly angulated by a central dorsal keel, which rises acutely at the middle, and declines to the abdomen; it then again rises gently and curves to the anal segment, terminating in 11 long cremaster ( furnished with hooks. The coloring varies considerably, though it usually harmonises with its surroundings, being highly sensitive to backgrounds.

CINNABAR MOTH. (TYRIA JACOBAKA)

Adult.-—The moth, which measures about |in. long when the wings are closed, is black in colour with crimson wing markings; the forowings are black with a crimson stripe along the full length near the lore margin, and two crimson spots close to the outer margin, while the hindwings are completely crimson with a narrow black margin.

“Eggs.—The eggs are globular, and laid in clusters on the underside of leaves of the food plant; they are yellowish in colour at first, but turn brownish in a few days. Larvae.—The caterpillars are distinctly marked with alternating broad blackish and narrow orange bands, and are sparsely clothed with long pale hairs. When fully fed they are about 1 inch in length., *

Pupae.—The pupa is rather plump and about -ginch long. It is more or less blunt at. both ends, reddish to blackish brown in colour, and is sometimes enclosed in a loosely spun silken cocoon.