Introduced to Canada from Europe sometime around 1860, the cabbage white butterfly’s erratic-looking flutter enlivens all of North America from early spring through fall.
Along our creek, the brilliant, yellow-streaked and green caterpillar emerges from its egg to feed.
Soon, wrapped in protective casing called a chrysalis, the caterpillar undergoes an extraordinary metamorphosis into a white butterfly.
Fully-formed females emerge with two black wing spots, and males with just one.
We’ll often see two cabbage whites engage atop a low plant, commencing a rising spiral chase through the air, perhaps a fast-fluttering courtship to renew this perennial metamorphosis.
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August 28, 2010 at 12:08 am
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