The Moths of the British Isles Second Series/Chapter 9
HYDRIOMENINÆ.
The Vestal (Sterrha sacraria).
The fore wings are pale yellow inclining to ochreous, and the front edge is more or less tinged with the same colour as that of the oblique stripe from the tips of the wings to the middle of the inner margin. In the type, this stripe is purplish-brown, but in ab. labda, Cramer, it is crimson, and in ab. atrifasciaria, Stefan, it is blackish. In ab. sanguinaria, Esper, the ground colour is pinkish. The hind wings are always white. (Plate 54, Figs. 1 and 2.)
From 1857, in which year the first specimen recorded as British was captured in September at Plymouth, to 1874, one or more examples of this interesting migrant seem to have occurred during the autumns of most years, in some part of the British Isles, but chiefly in the South of England. The years in which it was apparently unrecorded were 1860, 1861, 1870, 1872, and 1873. Since 1874 there have been very few records. In 1879 a male specimen was taken at Chingford, Essex, August 17th, and a female (ova obtained) on September 1st; a specimen occurred at Christchurch, Hants, October, 1893; a male was obtained in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, September, 1895, and one was secured at Timoleague, Co. Cork, in August, 1898; one was accounted for at Malvern, Worcestershire, in August, 1901; a female in fine condition was captured, as it flew in the sunshine over a Cambridgeshire meadow, in the autumn of 1906. Mr. H. M. Edelsten obtained a male specimen in South Devon, on September 12, 1908. The largest number of specimens appears to have been recorded in 1867, when nearly thirty were secured, and of these four were taken in May in the Isle of Wight, where also two females were captured on August 14th and 16th, and one specimen on September 3rd. Six or seven occurred during August in Lancashire, and three in Perthshire, also in August.
The long caterpillar is variable, but is usually some shade of green above, inclining to whitish beneath, and yellowish between the rings; the lines along the back are paler green, reddish, and olive green. It feeds on low-growing plants, such as knotgrass and dock, and has been reared from the egg in August and September. If eggs were obtained in May it would be possible to raise two generations of moths, or, perhaps, even three, during the year.
The species is an inhabitant of Southern Europe and North Africa, and its range extends to India, Madeira, and the Canaries. In Central Europe, including the British Isles, its occurrence is always a more or less casual event.
Note.—It is possibly incorrect to assign this species to Sterrha, Hübner, which is adopted by some authors for the Acidaliid ochraria. There is, however, considerable doubt among authorities about accepting the Hübnerian genus, but Herrich-Schäffer's genus Sterrha appears to be valid and is here employed. If it has to give way, Pseudosterrha, Warren, or Rhodometra, Meyrick, may have to be used.
Lythria purpuraria has long been reported as a British species, but there does not appear to be any very convincing record of its capture in the British Isles. It is widely distributed in Europe, and generally common. As it is a sun-loving insect, it could hardly escape detection if it occurred in any part of our isles. A note by Mr. V. R. Perkins, in The Zoologist for 1861, p. 7449, should, however, not be overlooked. This refers to the capture, on June 18th, of two male specimens that were disturbed from broom, "not far from the city of Perth, by Mr. D. P. Morrison."
Lead Belle (Ortholitha plumbaria).
Two ordinary examples of this species are shown on Plate 54, Figs. 4, 5. The ground colour is greyish, ranging in one direction to whitish, and in the other to brownish; on the fore wings there are three cross lines, usually reddish-brown in colour, but sometimes dark brown inclining to blackish; the first of these lines is always slender and sometimes very indistinct; the second is often shaded on its outer edge, and the third on its inner edge, with brownish; occasionally the space between the second and third is more or less dusky, especially on the lower half; sometimes these two lines approach each other very closely on the inner margin; the short oblique streak from the tip of the wing to the wavy submarginal line, and also the blackish central dot, are far more distinct in some specimens than in others.
The long stick-like caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, often striped with darker brown or blackish. It feeds on furze (Ulex) and broom (Cytisus), from August to April. The moth is out in May and June, earlier or later according to the season, and is to be found almost everywhere that its food plants flourish.
The Mallow (Ortholitha cervinata).
The fore wings of this species are normally ochreous brown, inclining to reddish, but sometimes the general colour is of a light chocolate tint, and in such specimens the slender white lines edging the dark markings, and the white wavy submarginal line, are more distinct; the central band-like marking occasionally tapers towards the inner margin. (Plate 54, Figs. 6, 7.)
The long caterpillar (figured from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, Plate 52, Fig. 1) is of a greenish colour, inclining to yellowish between the rings; there are indications of darker lines on the middle of the back and along the sides; the usual dots are whitish and the spiracles black; in some specimens the central line on the back is pinkish. It hatches from the egg in March or April, and feeds until June on mallow (Malva sylvestris); will also eat hollyhock.
The moth appears in September and October, and is sometimes seen in November. It hides under the mallow, and other plants around, and is not much inclined to move during the day, but it becomes active in the evening, and then flies pretty briskly. The occurrence of this species in any locality will, of course, largely depend upon the presence of the food plant, but it seems to be widely distributed throughout the greater part of the British Isles. It is, however, most frequent in the southern half of England.
Shaded Broad-bar (Ortholitha limitata).
To the earliest British entomologists this species (Plate 54, Figs. 8 and 9) was known by the English name given to it by Moses Harris, which is here revived. Haworth's popular name for the insect is the "Small Mallow," but this seems less suitable.
The fore wings are usually ochreous brown in colour, with a darker brown band, the inner area of which is often paler. The ground colour, however, varies considerably, in some examples tending to whity brown, and in others to a smoky hue. The whitish hind wings are generally more or less dusky clouded, chiefly from the base of the wing to the dark brown or blackish cross shade; but sometimes these wings are entirely blackish, with just a trace of a pale cross stripe.
The caterpillar is greyish, with a pinkish tinge and black dots; there are three lines along the back, the central one slaty blue, and the others ochreous, shaded on each side with pale brown; a pinkish irregular ridge runs low down along the sides. It feeds on clover, vetch, grass, etc., from September to June. (Plate 52, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
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The moth is out in July and August, and is often common in fields and grassy places, generally throughout the greater part of the British Isles. In ancient times it was dubbed the "Aurelian's Plague." The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Ortholitha moeniata.—Except that one specimen was said to have been taken near Baron Wood, Carlisle, some years prior to 1855; and another, in 1866, near York; there is no evidence that this species is an inhabitant of the British Isles.
Chalk Carpet (Ortholitha bipunctaria).
In this species (Plate 54, Figs. 11 and 12) the ground colour of the fore wings is white (inclining to bluish-white in some specimens), more or less stippled and scored with greyish brown; the cross band is darker grey brown, and there are two black dots placed :-wise (sometimes united) in the paler central space of the band. Hind wings, smoky grey, with a darker shade across the middle, and a pale one parallel with the outer margin. In some rare instances, the ground colour of the fore wings is entirely white, and the band exceedingly dark; but specimens with the general colour, slaty-black and the band and basal patch grey, are extremely rare; Barrett mentions one such example, from Box Hill, Surrey, in Mr. R. Adkin's collection.
The caterpillar is whity brown, more or less tinged with pink, dotted with black, and lined with grey along the back, the sides, and the under surface. It feeds, at night, on clover and trefoils, from September to June. (Plate 52, Fig. 3, after Hofmann.) The moth is out in July and August, and in suitable localities, such as chalk downs, lime-stone hills, etc., is generally plentiful throughout England and South Wales. It does not appear to have been noted in Ireland, or in Scotland, except that it has been recorded from the Isle of Arran.
Oblique Striped (Mesotype virgata).
The sexes of this species are shown on Plate 54, Figs. 3 ♂, 10 ♀. The fore wings are greyish, inclining to whitish or to brownish, with two white-edged oblique bands, which in the lighter coloured specimens are broad and show up conspicuously, but in the darker are narrower and much less distinct.
The caterpillar is brownish, but varies in tint, in some cases inclining to pink; there are three lines along the back, the central one dark green or brown, and the others more or less yellowish; a blackish or dark grey line low down along the sides. It feeds on yellow bedstraw (Galium verum), and may be reared on other kinds of Galium. There are two broods, one in May and June, and the other in August and September.
The moth, which frequents sand-hills and shelving banks by the seaside, is found resting upon its food plant or other vegetation around, in May and June, and again in July and August.
The species has a wide distribution, and occurs in suitable localities around the coasts of England (except the north-east), and on the west coast of Wales. It also inhabits the Breck sand district of Norfolk and Suffolk, and has been found on chalk downs and hills in the south of England, and in Cambridgeshire and Berkshire. In Ireland, it has been recorded from the counties of Down and Kerry.
Abroad, its distribution spreads to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
Drab Looper (Minoa murinata).
The grey brown or ochreous brown wings of this delicate, but unattractive little moth (Plate 55, Figs. 1 and 2), are silky in texture. After it has flown for a time, the wings become paler, and lose most of their sheen.
The thick-set, roughish caterpillar is reddish brown, dotted with pale ochreous; there is a slender white line along the middle of the back, and black oblique streaks on the sides; a blackish wavy line along the area of the spiracles is bordered below with yellowish. It feeds on wood spurge (Euphorbia amygdaloides) and also, I have reason to believe, on petty spurge (E. peplus), a rather common weed in some gardens, from July to September. In forward seasons the moth, which flies in the sunshine, has been noted in late April, but May and June are the best months for it. In the New Forest, and elsewhere, it has occurred in August. On one occasion I remember that, in a garden at Brockenhurst, several specimens were taken in the autumn, and it was supposed that they resulted from eggs laid by a damaged female that had been captured in the woods and turned out into said garden. It has been taken at gas lamps, at Dorking among other places.
The species has been recorded from Pembrokeshire, Glamorganshire, and Monmouth, in South Wales; and it appears to be found in most of the counties of England southwards from Worcester, Hereford, Gloucester, Oxford, and Bucks. Except that it has been doubtfully recorded from Stowmarket, Suffolk, it does not seem to be found in the eastern counties; and I cannot find that it has been noted from Devon or Cornwall.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Chimney-sweeper (Odezia atrata).
This white-tipped but otherwise plain black moth (Plate 55, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀) is very constant, and except that specimens after having been on the wing for a day or two become sooty brown, there is nothing much to note. It is the fringe at the tip of the fore wings rather than the tip itself that is white, and this sometimes extends for a short distance along the fringe of the outer margin. Haworth's English name for this insect (his chærophyllata) was "The Looping Chimney Sweeper" in reference to its caterpillar, and to distinguish it from his "Chimney Sweeper," "Chimney Sweeper's Boy," and other oddities in the vernacular among the Psychids.
The caterpillar, which feeds in the spring on flowers of the earth-nut (Conopodium denudatum, or Bunium flexuosum), is green, and paler on the sides than on the back; there are three darker green lines along the back, the central one merging into reddish on the last ring, and the others narrowly edged on each side with white; a whitish stripe runs below the red spiracles.
The moth is a sun lover, and flits about flowers growing among or near its food plant, in June and July.
The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, but it does not appear to have been noted north of Moray in the last-named country. It is always very local, frequents moist fields, borders of woods, and even waysides.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The Grey Carpet (Lithostege griseata).
The more or less greyish moth, shown on Plate 55, Fig. 3, varies in tint, some specimens being decidedly more grey than others. At the apex of the fore wings is a short blackish dash, and from this a curved dusky line may be traced to the inner margin. The female has the wings rather shorter than those of the male.
The slender, dark-lined, greenish caterpillar feeds on the seed pods of flixweed (Sisymbrium), and treacle mustard (Erysimum), in July and August. When reared in captivity it will thrive on other kinds of Cruciferæ.
The moth is out in June, sometimes late May; it is exceedingly local in Britain, and only occurs in the Breck district, where it was first met with about fifty years ago. Tuddenham, in Suffolk, is a noted locality, as also is Thetford, in Norfolk.
The Treble-bar (Anaitis plagiata).
This is a greyish white species, of which specimens of both generations are shown on Plate 55, Figs. 6 ♂, 7 ♀ (1st generation), Fig. 8 ♂ (2nd generation). The chief variation is in the cross central bars of the fore wings, which are sometimes much widened, and occasionally joined from the middle to the inner margin; or the space between these two bars is more or less filled up with dark grey. On the other hand, the bars are sometimes very faint, but such aberrations are perhaps most frequent in the second generation, which consists of smaller specimens.
The long caterpillar is brown, inclining to reddish or to greenish, with several darker and paler lines on the back and a yellowish line low down along the sides. It feeds on St. John's wort (Hypericum) in June and July; the caterpillars, hatching in the autumn, are not mature until the following April.
Usually there are two generations of the moth, the first appearing in May and June, and the second in August and September. The species is pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, extending to the Hebrides and the Orkneys; and will probably be found in all localities where its food plant occurs freely. It affects cliffs and sandhills by the sea, rough places on chalk slopes, and sometimes the moths fly up in numbers as we walk over the herbage in such spots.
The range abroad extends to Western India and Japan.
Manchester Treble-bar (Carsia paludata).
In general character this species somewhat resembles that last considered. It is, however, much smaller, and there are reddish clouds on the outer marginal area.
This reddish shading is more or less absent in the type, which is otherwise less variegated than var. imbutata, the form to which our British specimens are almost entirely referable. (Plate 55, Figs. 9 and 10.)
The caterpillar is of somewhat stoutish build, and reddish brown in colour; three darker lines along the back, and yellow stripe low down along the sides, the latter edged above with black on the front three rings, and blotched with pinkish on the middle rings; the head is rather paler than the body, and the dots on the latter are yellow. It feeds on cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idæa) and cranberry (V. oxycoccos), and seems to have a preference for the flowers of these plants: April to June.
The moth is out in July and August among the Vaccinium in its swampy haunts on the heaths and moors of the north of England, and Scotland, even to the Shetlands. McArthur took a specimen in the Isle of Lewis in 1901. It also occurs in Ireland. In England it does not seem to have been noted south of Staffordshire.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
The Streak (Chesias spartiata).
The most striking features of this shining brownish coloured species are the oval-shaped marks on the disk of the fore wings, and the long whitish streak running to the tips of the wings. (Plate 57, Figs. 3 ♂, 4 ♀.)
The long caterpillar (Plate 56, Fig. 2) is deep green, with a darker line along the middle of the back, and whitish lines along the sides and the under surface; the spiracles are reddish, encircled with black, and the head is flecked with brown. It feeds in the spring on broom (Cytisus scoparius).
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The moth is out in September and October, and secretes itself during the day, but may be found at night flying about the broom bushes for a short time, and later on it sits upon the twigs. It occurs in almost every part of the British Isles where the food plant of the caterpillar is well established.
Broom-tip (Chesias rufata).
A noticeable character in this glossy, greyish moth (Plate 57, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀) is the black mark on the upper part of the second cross line of the fore wings (which probably suggested the English name "Chevron" given to the species by Donovan); following the mark is a reddish or ochreous flush, extending to the tips of the wings.
The long, green caterpillar inclines to bluish above, and to paler green beneath; a darker line along the middle of the back, then a slender whitish line edged with darker green, and between this and the white spiracular line there is another slender whitish line. It feeds, in August and September, on broom; when full grown it enters the earth, and there turns to a reddish brown chrysalis, the wing cases of which are greenish. I am indebted to Mr. A. J. Scollick for the caterpillar and chrysalis figured on Plate 56, Figs. 1, 1a.
The moth emerges the following year, from May to July, but its time of appearance is uncertain, and it may come up in early spring or not until early autumn. Sometimes it will remain in the chrysalis for two winters.
In England the species occurs in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Berks, Hants, Devon, Somerset, Hereford, Worcester, Stafford, Leicester, Cheshire (rare in the last five), Cumberland and Yorkshire (recorded once from each county), Norfolk, Suffolk; also Glamorgan, and other parts of South Wales. In Scotland it is found in the south, but is more frequent from Perthshire to Moray. Probably occurs in other British localities where there is plenty of broom.
The Barred Tooth-striped (Lobophora (Trichopteryx) polycommata).
The general colour of the species represented on Plate 57, Figs. 5 ♂, 6 ♀, is greyish, inclining to ochreous or to whitish; but occasionally it is clouded with dark greyish on the basal area, and there is a broad band of the same colour on the outer marginal area; in such specimens the central band becomes less conspicuous.
The caterpillar (Plate 59, Fig. 2) feeds in May and June, on privet, at first on the leaf buds, and afterwards on the expanded leaves. It will also eat ash and honeysuckle. In colour it is rather deep green, with three fine lines along the back, the central one darker than the ground colour, and the others whitish and irregular; a whitish stripe low down along the sides; two points on the last ring of the body. The chrysalis (Plate 59, Fig. 2a), which is enclosed in an oval earthen cocoon, is dark yellowish brown, inclining to blackish on the wing cases.
The moth may be found at night, in March and April, sitting on the privet hedge, and may then be easily boxed, as it seems very disinclined to fly at that time, but earlier in the evening it flits along the hedgerows, and is equally easy to net. When resting, however, one is able to select just the finest specimens.
The species appears to be very local in Britain, but it occurs in the Brighton, Lewes, and Emsworth districts of Sussex; Hants, Wilts (Salisbury), Somerset, Devon (Sidmouth), Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire (Malvern), North Lancashire, Cumberland, Northampton, Berks, Essex, and Kent. In Scotland it has been reported from Clydesdale and Arran, but has not been noted from Ireland.
The Early Tooth-striped (Lobophora (Trichopteryx) carpinata).
The whitish fore wings of this species are tinged with grey or greenish grey, the cross lines and bands vary in intensity, and, as a rule, are more distinct and complete in the female than in the male. A form of not infrequent occurrence in Scotland (ab. fasciata, Prout) has blackish bands, which show up in strong contrast with the general whitish colour of the wings. The ordinary form is represented on Plate 57, Fig. 7 ♂, and Fig. 8 on the same plate shows the named variety referred to.
The caterpillar is green, with rather darker lines along the back, and a yellow stripe low down along the sides; the two points on the last ring are also yellow. It feeds, in June and July, on honeysuckle, sallow, birch, and alder. The moth is out in April and May, and seems to be more or less common in woodlands throughout the greater part of the British Isles. In Scotland it appears to be most plentiful from Perthshire northwards to Sutherlandshire, but it has not been reported from the Orkneys, Shetlands, or Hebrides. (Early stages are shown on Plate 59, Figs. 3-3b.)
The boles of trees are favourite resting places, and upon them, and also upon gate-posts, etc., the moth is often met with in the daytime.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia.
Yellow-barred Brindle (Lobophora (Trichopteryx) viretata).
The general colour of the fore wings is olive green, varying from pale to dark, the wavy cross lines are blackish, dotted with black, and sometimes there are whitish lines between them; those on the central area are often united by a blackish cloud, and so form a band, and not infrequently the basal area is also blackish marked. (Plate 58, Figs. 3 and 4.) The ground colour is very apt to fade if the insect is exposed to moisture of any kind, as, for instance, when pinned in a damp collecting box, but I have one bred specimen of a reddish ochreous colour, and I am assured that it was of this tint when it emerged from the chrysalis. An old English name was "The Brindle-barred Yellow."
The thick-set caterpillar is green, more or less tinged with pinkish; three interrupted pink lines on the back, the central one sometimes inclining to purple, and broken up into spots; the head is brown, sometimes marked with purplish, and there are two tiny points on the last ring of the body. It varies in the green tint and also in marking. It feeds on flowers and leaves of holly, ivy, dogwood, privet, etc., in June and July, and in some sheltered southern localities again in September and October.
The moth is out in May and early June, and where a second generation is developed, in August and early September. It sits in the daytime on tree-trunks, but more especially those with smooth bark; the stems of holly are a favourite resting place, but at Box Hill I have occasionally seen a specimen on the trunk of a beech tree. Barrett states that it also rests on the trunks of fir trees, and that it is then very easily seen. Night is its time of activity, and it is then attracted by light.
The species seems to be widely distributed, but locally and not generally common, throughout England, Wales, and Ireland; it has only been recorded from Rosemount, Ayr, and one or two other localities in the south of Scotland.
The range abroad extends to Western India, Amurland, and Japan.
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The Seraphim (Lobophora halterata).
Fore wings whitish, with two greyish bands on the basal area; first and second lines greyish, variable in width, and sometimes only represented by marks on the front or inner margins; there is a black central dot, and the outer area beyond the submarginal line is clouded with dark grey, especially on the upper half. Sometimes the wings are so thickly stippled with the darker colour that they appear to be greyish, with interrupted and indistinct whitish cross lines. A rather frequent form has the fore wings tinged with ochreous, and of this tint is ab. zonata, Thnbg., which has the basal bands and outer marginal border blackish, the central area being without cross lines. (Plate 57, Figs. 9 ♂ and 10 ♀.)
The caterpillar is green, darker below and between the rings; the most distinct markings are two yellow lines along the back; head, notched; body wrinkled, and with two points on the last ring. It feeds on aspen, and other kinds of poplar, in June and July.
The moth appears in May, and continues out well into June, especially in its northern localities. It rests on the trunks of poplar trees, or on the stems of bushes around, and is sometimes easily alarmed, and flies off on the collector's approach, whilst at other times it sits quietly, and may be easily boxed. At dusk it may be seen flying around the poplars.
Widely distributed in the southern half of England, and only found where poplars, chiefly aspens, are well established. From Worcester its range extends northwards to Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Cheshire; and it has been recorded from Yorkshire and Cumberland; also from Glamorganshire, South Wales. In Scotland it seems not to have been noted in the south, but is found more or less frequently from Perthshire to Sutherlandshire. Rare in Ireland.
Abroad, its range extends to Amurland and Japan.
The Small Seraphim (Lobophora (Mysticoptera) sexalisata).
This is a much smaller species than the last. The fore wings are whitish, with brownish-grey, or blackish-grey, cross lines and bands; the central most distinct towards the front margin, where it encloses a black dot; hind wings greyish, with black central dot. (Plate 58, Figs. 1 and 2.)
The green, much wrinkled caterpillar has three whitish lines or stripes along the back, and in some examples there is a white line low down along the sides; the head, which inclines to yellowish, is notched, and there are two pinkish points on the last ring of the body. It feeds on sallow in August and September.
The moth is to be found in May and June, and, in some years, again in July and August. It inhabits woods and hedgerows where sallow is plentiful, but, perhaps, is obtained more freely in fens. Occasionally it may be beaten from the hedges, but it is active on the wing just before the close of day, and then disports itself over and about the sallow bushes. It occurs in suitable localities in most of the eastern and southern counties of England, and has been reported from some of the northern ones, and from Glamorganshire, in South Wales. Kane states that it has been found in the north, south, east, and west of Ireland, but is always local and scarce.
Note.—Prout considers this species to be the sexalata of Retzius (1783).
Winter Moth (Cheimatobia brumata).
In orchards and gardens wherein are fruit trees one may have noticed that the trunks of the trees have broad bands around them. If these bands are examined, they will be seen to be covered with a sticky compound, which has been put there for the purpose of trapping the almost wingless females of the Winter Moth, as they crawl up the tree after emergence from the chrysalis. In spite of such devices, and other precautionary measures taken to safeguard the trees from attack, the foliage of apple, pear, etc., will not be quite free from the caterpillars of this species in their season.
The male has greyish brown fore wings, which are crossed by rather darker lines, and a dark, more or less distinct, central band (ab. hyemata, Huene). The ground colour is very much darker in some specimens than in others, and examples of a sooty brown colour are not infrequent; Barrett mentions an almost buff-coloured specimen. In the female, the tiny affairs representing wings are brownish, with indications of a darker band towards the outer margin of the front pair.
A small, purplish brown form, reared in January, 1882, from caterpillars found in Cumberland, feeding on sweet gale (Myrica gale), was described as a new species under the name myricaria, Cooke (Entom., xv. 57). This has been referred by Staudinger to C. boreata, as a form of that species, but it is probably an aberration of C. brumata.
The caterpillar is green, with a stripe of darker green along the back; on each side of this are two white lines, and along the black spiracles is a pale yellowish line; head, green, sometimes marked with blackish. It feeds on the foliage of trees and bushes, and sometimes abounds in April and May.
The moth appears during the winter months, and has been noted as early as October and as late as February. (Plate 58, Figs. 8-10.)
Generally distributed throughout the British Isles.
Northern Winter Moth (Cheimatobia boreata).
This species is generally larger than the last-mentioned. The fore wings are marked somewhat as in that species, but they are paler in colour and more glossy; hind wings whitish and glossy. In the female, the wings are useless for flying, but still they are larger than those of brumata. The front pair have a blackish band. (Plate 58, Figs. 6 and 7 ♂, 5 ♀; ova. Plate 59, Fig. 1.)
The caterpillar is greenish, with a greyish stripe along the back, another edged above with yellow along the black spiracles, and a greyish line between the stripes; the head is black. It feeds, in May and June, on birch, and the moth does not appear until October or November.
At one time considered to be a purely northern species: the earliest known British specimens, four in number, having been captured at Petty Pool, Delamere, Cheshire, on October 31, 1848. It is now known, however, to have a wide distribution in the south of England. Northwards, its range extends throughout England and Scotland up to Moray. It is found in South Wales; also in Galway, Monaghan, and Connemara, in Ireland.
The Tissue (Triphosa dubitata).
The fore wings of this glossy species (Plate 60, Figs. 1, 2) are pale brown, tinged more or less strongly with rosy or purplish; there are numerous darker and paler cross lines, the most distinct and constant being the blackish basal, and the two forming the edges of the central band; the latter are marked with black; the submarginal line is whitish, wavy, and sometimes broken up into dots. The species varies considerably in tint, some specimens inclining to pale greyish brown, others to smoky brown. Hind wings, whitish grey, with several darker grey cross lines; in dark specimens these wings are smoky grey. Ab. cinereata, Stephens, is a small pale greyish form, almost without rosy tinge and with fewer cross lines.
The caterpillar (Plate 62, Fig. 1) is yellowish green with darker green stripes and lines. In another form there are four pale yellowish lines along the back and a yellow stripe low down along the sides. It feeds on buckthorn (Rhamnus), the leaves of which it fastens together with silk, and so forms a retreat. It will also eat sloe and bird-cherry (Prunus padus).
The moth is out in August and through the autumn, when it sometimes visits the flowers of ivy, ragwort, etc.; after hibernation it is again seen, perhaps even more frequently, in April and May, and is then occasionally found at sallow catkins. The species seems to have been noted from nearly all the English counties, but becomes rare from Yorkshire northwards. In Wales, and in Ireland, it is apparently widely distributed, but in Scotland it seems confined to southern localities, and is only rarely met with.
Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland, China, and Japan.
The Scarce Tissue (Eucosmia (Calocalpe) certata).
This species is very similar to the last, but the wings are not glossy, only reddish on the outer margin, and the black marked lines edging the central band of the fore wings are less irregular, the inner ones usually being much straighter. On the under side of the hind wings of the male is a fold enclosing hairs; this is on the inner margin, just above the anal angle. (Plate 60, Fig. 3 ♀.)
The thickset caterpillar (Plate 62, Fig. 3, after Hofmann) is greyish inclining to greenish; four white lines along the back, the central pair enclosing a dark line, the others are bordered below with dark greyish; the black spiracles are set in yellowish blotches, and the plates on first and last rings are brown; head, reddish-brown, glossy (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on the barberry (Berberis vulgaris) and the holly-leaved barberry (B. aquifolium) grown in gardens, in June and July. The moth is out in May and June, but in favourable seasons has appeared in late April. When on the wing at night it is freely attracted by light, but otherwise not often noticed. The species has occurred in many of the English counties from Devon to Durham, but it seems to be only common in the eastern counties, and most frequent perhaps in Suffolk. It has been recorded from South Wales, but is seemingly absent from Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The Scallop Shell (Eucosmia undulata).
Wings pale greyish, sometimes ochreous tinted, and crossed by numerous dark-grey wavy lines inclining to blackish on the front margin of the fore wings; the waves of the central pair of lines on the fore wings often meet and so form a series of rings; sometimes the space between the eighth and twelfth lines is of a dusky hue, and occasionally it is distinctly darker and band-like; the outer margin of all the wings is brownish and traversed by a wavy white line. The male has tufts of blackish hair in a fold on the inner margin of the hind wing, this is noticeable on the upper side, but is best seen from the under side. (Plate 60, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀.)
The somewhat dumpy caterpillar is reddish-brown with four yellowish lines along the back; a greyish stripe along the sides, and a creamy stripe along the black spiracles; head, pale brown and glossy. It feeds on sallow, aspen, and bilberry, and may be found from August throughout the autumn in spun-together leaves at the tips of the shoots. (Plate 62, Fig. 2.)
The moth is out in June and July, and occurs in woods where there is a good growth of bilberry, or in marshy spots where sallow bushes abound.
In England the species is widely distributed over the southern and eastern counties; its range extends through the Midlands to Cheshire, Lancs., and Westmorland, rarely in Lincoln and Yorks., and once recorded in Durham; it occurs in Wales and in Scotland, but only in the more southern part of each country. It is not plentiful in Ireland, but widely distributed. The range abroad includes Amurland.
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The Brown Scallop (Scotosia vetulata).
The male is always smaller than the female, and is noticeable for its long body with tuft of hairs at the extremity. The wings in both sexes are dingy brown, or greyish brown, and the usual lines on fore wings are blackish, the space between first and second often dusky. (Plate 60, Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar is short and stout, and in form very like that of the winter moth; the back and a central dorsal stripe are black, the latter bordered with white, the sides are yellow; the spiracular line is black, broken, and unconnected; the spiracles are black; the head is black, and the edge of the first ring of the body is yellow. (Crewe.) It feeds, in May and June, on purging buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), and is to be found between two or more leaves, which it spins together as a hiding place.
In June and July the moth may sometimes be obtained by beating bushes of buckthorn, or the herbage below and around; this plan works best when operated just before dusk. As a British insect it is only found in England, and is most frequent in the southern and eastern counties, but widely distributed in the west to Worcester, and has been found in Lancashire, Westmorland, and Yorks. In the last-named county, caterpillars were obtained freely at Askham Bogs in 1900.
When Stephens wrote of this insect in 1831 he noted its occurrence "in a lane near Fulham." Even so recently as 1906 I obtained specimens on the Putney side of Wimbledon Common.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia.
The Dark Umber (Scotosia rhamnata).
The blackish oblique band on the fore wings of this ochreous brown species (Plate 60, Fig. 7 ♂, 8 ♀) is sometimes indicated only by the blackish lines, the space between them being hardly darker than the general colour. Sometimes all the wings are suffused with blackish brown, and in such specimens the only distinct marking is the whitish submarginal line.
The caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellow; the hind wings are marked with purple, and a stripe of the same colour runs along under the spiracles. In another form the general colour is greyish with a reddish-brown stripe along the back, and series of spots of the same colour along the sides. It may be found in May and June, concealed between leaves that it has fastened together to form a retreat.
The moth flies in late June and in July, and may be disturbed in the daytime from buckthorn bushes. It is widely distributed, and often common in the South of England, but is rare in the north; and has also been recorded from South Wales.
Note.—This species has been referred to transversata, Hufnagel, and as this is an earlier name it may have to be adopted. According to Prout, both this and the preceding species should be placed in the genus Philereme, Hübner.
Small Phœnix (Eustroma silaceata).
In its typical form (Plate 63, Fig. 3) the blackish band of the fore wings is entire, but in ab. insulata, Haworth (Fig. 4), this band is interrupted by two whitish lines along the median veins, and so divided into three or four portions, the smaller section placed between the lines; occasionally, the dividing lines assume stripe-like proportions, and the main portions are consequently smaller in size and further from each other, but one "island" still remains. In another form, the lower outer corner is distinctly separate from the costal portion; thus the band is broken into four parts.
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The long caterpillar is green, with a reddish-brown stripe along the back; this is broken up into spots, except on the first three rings; there are some reddish-brown spots on the sides. It feeds on various kinds of willow herb (Epilobium), and enchanter's nightshade (Circæa lutetiana) in July, and sometimes in August and September.
The moth should be looked for in beech and other woods amongst the food plants, from which, and the surrounding herbage, it is readily evicted. It flies at twilight, and later on, when it has been known to visit the sugar patch; it is also attracted by light. It is out in May and June, and specimens of a second generation sometimes occur in the South. The species occurs locally throughout England, probably Wales, and in Scotland up to Ross. In Ireland, it is widely distributed and locally common in the North, but apparently not noted in the South.
Netted Carpet (Lygris reticulata).
The white veins and white lines passing through the blackish blotches at the base and on the front margin of the fore wings, give these wings a curious netted appearance; the hind wings are smoky grey, with two white lines which appear to be continuations of the white second line and sub-marginal of the fore wings. (Plate 61, Fig. 1.)
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, and more or less tinged with pinkish, especially on the sides; three lines on the back, the central one reddish, the others whitish; a central line along the pinkish spiracles. It feeds at night on yellow balsam (Impatiens noli-me-tangere), preferring the flowers, seeds, and young foliage, and rests by day on the undersides of the leaves: September and October. (Plate 64, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in July and August, and, of course, will only be found in localities where the balsam flourishes; these are very limited, and in Britain are confined to Westmorland and the northern border of Lancashire, and North Wales. The species was first introduced as British in 1861, when the late Henry Doubleday recorded the capture of three specimens in August, 1856, on the border of one of the lakes in Westmorland, by his friend the late Thomas H. Allis. It seems that other specimens had been taken at the same time, but these passed into collections as the "second brood of silacearia." The caterpillar is said to have been found in North Wales, but has been more frequently obtained in the English Lake District.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Corea, and Japan; but in the three last-named countries it is chiefly represented by var. ærosa, Butt., a large form.
The Phœnix (Lygris prunata).
The English name here retained was given to this species (Plate 63, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀) by Harris, in 1775, but in 1782 he changed it to "Clouded Carpet."
In ground colour the fore wings are pale brown, more or less clouded with darker brown, or with reddish-brown; the basal patch, central band, and blotch on outer margin below the tip of the wing, are all chocolate brown clouded with blackish and edged with white. Hind wings, whitish, suffused with smoky grey, except on front area; three dusky whitish-edged wavy lines, inclining to blackish on the inner margin. The egg (Plate 67, Fig. 3) is yellowish when laid, and then changes to purplish with a whitish bloom.
The caterpillar is green, varying to brownish; along the middle of the back is a series of purplish-edged, brown-centred, whitish, triangular markings; the third ring is swollen, and has a black collar. It feeds at night on the foliage of red and black currant, also on gooseberry, and may be found in April and May, earlier or later according to season, sitting by day upon the bushes.
The moth flies in July and August, and occurs in gardens, but is said to be partial to sloe bushes and hedges. It is always more or less local, although it is distributed over the greater part of the British Isles.
This species occurs in the Northern United States of America.
The Chevron (Lygris testata).
The fore wings of this rather variable species (Plate 63, Figs. 5-7) are yellowish or reddish grey, with a darker basal patch and central band; a reddish blotch below the tip of the wing is edged with white, and the central band is also outwardly edged with white. Hind wings, whitish, with two lines, and dusky hind marginal border, the latter sometimes inclining to reddish. Occasionally, the fore wings are entirely pale ochreous, and the basal patch and the central band only very slightly darker, but the limiting lines are reddish, and the patch under the tip of the wing is bright orange red. Var. insulicola, Staud., from the isles of Scotland, has the fore wings rather narrower, and suffused with purplish brown or deep violet grey; the hind wings are smoky grey. The female is usually smaller than the male, and often more yellow in colour.
Eggs, whitish brown, mottled with darker. The early stages are shown on Plate 67, Figs. 2-2b.
The long caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, with three lines along the back, the central one dark brown, and most distinct at each end; the others are white, irregularly shaded above with reddish; another white line along the region of the spiracles. It feeds, in May or June (earlier or later in some seasons), on sallow and birch. The moth is out in July and August, and frequents heaths and bogs more especially, but is also found in or around woods, and I have captured male specimens as they flew along hedgerows bordering fields, at dusk, in Middlesex. The female is rarely seen on the wing.
The species, which ranges through Central and Northern Europe to the Ural and Altai, is generally distributed throughout the British Isles; it is found also in the Atlantic States of America.
Northern Spinach (Lygris populata).
The fore wings are yellow, with a reddish or purplish-brown basal patch, central band, and small patch on outer margin below tip of the wing, the central band more or less clouded or mottled with yellow. Hind wings, whitish, tinged with yellow. The female is usually smaller, the colour generally paler, and the markings frequently only represented by cross lines. Specimens from the Isle of Arran have the ground colour of fore wings more or less dappled with brown of the same tint as that of the central band and other markings; the hind wings are tinged with a smoky hue. In other parts of Scotland the brown colour becomes more and more general, until the fore wings are uniformly brown, and the hind wings dusky. On the mountains in the north nearly black specimens occur, and these seem to be referable to ab. musauaria, Freyer. (Plate 63, Figs. 8-10.)
The long caterpillar is variable in general colour, brown, mottled with greyish, pale grey, reddish brown, or yellowish green; all have darker or whitish lines along the back, and whitish or pinkish triangles or X-marks. It feeds, in May and June (earlier in some localities, and later in others), on bilberry, crowberry, and sallow; it may also be reared on willow.
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The moth is out in July and August, and may be found on the leaves and among the sprays of Vaccinium myrtillus growing in woodlands (especially the more ancient), bogs, and moorlands.
The species is widely spread, and generally abundant in suitable districts, over the greater part of the British Isles; but it seems to be more or less casual in England south of the Midlands, although its range runs through Gloucestershire and Somerset into Devon. In the last-named county it sometimes swarms at Martinhoe, on the edge of Exmoor.
The distribution abroad includes Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Labrador, and North America.
The Spinach (Lygris associata).
The fore wings are pale ochreous, more or less clouded with darker; three brownish cross lines. Hind wings, paler, with indication of cross lines on the inner margin. Fringes of all the wings chequered with brown, most distinct on the fore wings. (Plate 65, Figs. 1, 2.)
The long caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish; three lines along the back, the central one dark green and the others whitish; there is also a whitish line low down along the sides. It feeds at night, in May and June, on currant (Ribes rubrum and R. nigrum), and may be found on the underside of a leaf in the daytime. (Figured on Plate 67, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.)
During July and August the moth flies in the evening, and after dark it often comes to any bright illumination. It is essentially a garden insect, and where currant bushes are there also spinach is often grown; hence it was probably connected with the vegetable rather than the fruit when Haworth named it spinachiata. The species seems to be found more or less frequently in suitable spots through England. In Wales it has been recorded from Glamorganshire, and from Rhyl, Flintshire; in Scotland, Renton states that it is common in Roxburgh gardens; and it is also noted from Paisley. It has been doubtfully recorded from Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Barred Straw (Cidaria pyraliata).
In certain respects this species (Plate 65, Figs. 3-5) is not unlike that last referred to. The fore wings are yellowish straw-colour, the cross lines are brownish, but the central two are closer together, especially on the inner margin, than they are in associata, and are straightly oblique from the angle, or elbow, below the front margin; there is often a line of brownish dots between the second line and the outer margin, and the fringes are brown, not chequered. Occasionally there are darker clouds on the second line, at the angle, and such clouds sometimes appear in the central space. Not infrequently the markings are very faint. Staudinger and others refer this species to dotata, L., but there seems to be some doubt in the matter.
The caterpillar feeds, in April and May, on the common cleavers or goose-grass (Galium aparine) of our hedgerows, etc., but it also eats G. mollugo and other kinds of bedstraw. It is to be found low down on the stems.
The moth may be disturbed from the herbage along hedges and ditches in lanes, and the borders of woods, but it seems most partial to the former.
The species is generally distributed, and often plentiful, in the southern half of England; but although widely spread in the northern half, it is only common locally. It occurs in Wales, both North and South; is common in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale, and is said to be found on the Aberdeenshire coast and in West Ross. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and sometimes abundant; but more frequent on the coast than inland.
The distribution abroad includes Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata).
This very pretty, and most distinct, little species (Plate 65, Figs. 6, 7) does not vary very greatly; there is certainly some modification in the general colour, and in that of the markings, but in both it is only a matter of tint.
The caterpillar is somewhat wrinkled, and in colour is green, with three greyish lines along the back, the central one double; the ring divisions are yellow, and there is a yellow line low-down along the sides. It feeds at night, in May and June, on the leaves of wild rose, and does not object to the garden kinds. (Plate 69, Fig. 3, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in June and July. It hides by day under leaves in hedges, and although not often induced to get on the wing at that time, the male commences its evening flight at an early hour. It is generally a common species in England and Wales; it occurs here and there through Scotland, up to the Orkneys; and although somewhat local, it is common enough, where found, in Ireland.
Broken-barred Carpet (Cidaria corylata).
The fore wings have an olive-brown basal patch and central band, both are edged with white, wavy lines, and the band is contracted below the middle. (Plate 65, Fig. 9), and often broken at this point (Fig. 10); the inner marginal portion sometimes very small; the space between the basal patch and central band is pale brown, and so also is the outer marginal area; but there are dark clouds and white marks beyond the white wavy submarginal line. Variable in tint and in marking, the variety generally known as albocrenata, Curtis (Plate 65, Fig. 8), is perhaps most frequent in Perthshire and Sutherland. Two other examples of the Scottish form, which Staudinger has named effusaria, are depicted on Plate 61, Figs. 8, 9.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish; three stripes on the back, the central one reddish brown and broad, but only distinct at each end, the other paler green; spiracles, white, placed in a reddish-brown stripe, which is sometimes broken up. It feeds on sloe, birch, oak, and the foliage of other trees, and may be found from July to September, and even later.
The moth is out in May and June, and is to be beaten from hedges, or may be found at rest on tree-trunks, palings, etc.
Generally distributed, but not extending to the Scottish Isles.
Abroad, the range spreads to Amurland and Japan.
Common Marbled Carpet (Cidaria truncata).
Six examples of this very variable species are shown on Plate 66, and these have been selected to illustrate the more important forms. There are a number of modifications of each of the forms, and several of these have been named. Fig. 1 of our plate represents the typical form, and this is Haworth's centumnotata (Common Marbled Carpet); Fig. 2 is ab. commanotata of Haworth (Yellow Marbled Carpet); Fig. 3 is ab. perfuscata, Haworth (The Brown Marbled Carpet), and Fig. 4 is a modification of the same form. A specimen from Arran is shown in Fig. 5; this example agrees fairly well with that figured in Wood's Index as concinnata from Arran. In his description of the form, Stephens does not mention fulvous bands in his type. Fig. 6 shows a specimen from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, which appears to be a modification of the typical form of truncata, but it has some of the character of concinnata. The latter, it may be mentioned, is considered by Mr. L. B. Prout to be a distinct species, and as the genitalia have been found, on examination by Mr. Pierce, to differ from these organs in truncata and immanata, there seems to be reason to accept it as such.
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The caterpillar is long, slender, and wrinkled, especially on the sides; the ground colour is green, inclining to yellowish; three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellowish; sometimes a rosy stripe, or a series of dashes along the sides; the points on the last ring are green, or rosy. It feeds, in the autumn and again in the spring after hibernation, on sallow, birch, hawthorn, bilberry, wild strawberry, etc. It will also eat rose, but as the specimens resulting from caterpillars reared on rose are frequently small, such food is probably unsuitable; garden strawberry, on the other hand, is an excellent pabulum. A photograph of the caterpillar by Mr. H. Main is shown on Plate 69, Fig. 1. There is a second brood in late June and in July. The first generation of the moth is out in May and June, and the second emerges in the autumn; specimens, possibly of a third generation, have been seen in December in favourable localities.
The species, which frequents woods and hedgerows, and is pretty generally common, is to be found almost everywhere throughout the British Isles. It has not, however, been noted from Shetland.
The distribution abroad extends to Amurland, China, and Japan.
Dark Marbled Carpet (Cidaria immanata).
This is another exceedingly variable species (Plate 66), and here again six examples have been chosen to illustrate something of the range of aberration. Figs. 7 and 8 are of the typical form, and Figs. 9 and 10 show the form marmorata, Haworth (Marbled Carpet); while Figs. 11 and 12 represent specimens from Shetland, and are referable to the island race known as pythonissata, Millière; neither of the specimens figured, however, quite agrees with the type of this form, but Fig. 12 does so fairly well. In some specimens the general colour of the fore wings is tawny or rust-colour, or they are strongly suffused with that tint (ab. ferruginea, Prout). I have such examples in my series of specimens from Lewes and the Shetlands. Ab. thingvallata, Staud., from Iceland, has the fore wings white, with black basal patch and central band, and I have seen at least one example from Yorkshire that closely approached this variety.
The caterpillar is not very unlike that of the last species, but it is rounder in appearance, the general green colour is paler, and the points on the last ring are blunt. It feeds from April to June on sallow, birch, bilberry, and wild strawberry. (Plate 69, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.) The moths are out in July and August, and may be found resting on tree-trunks, rocks, or stone walls; at night, when it is active on the wing, it is said to be often seen in numbers on the flowers of the rush, and this habit has been noted more particularly in Scotland.
The species affects woods and moors, and appears to be found more or less commonly throughout the British Isles.
Marsh Carpet (Cidaria sagittata).
The fore wings of this very distinct species are brown, with white-edged black bands at base and across the central area, the latter with a strong projection on its outer edge, almost reaching a white spot on the outer margin; sub-marginal line whitish, often only traceable on the front edge. The central band is always narrowed below the middle, sometimes divided, and occasionally this part of the band is finely cut off from both upper and lower portions. (Plate 68, Figs. 7, 8.)
The caterpillar is yellowish green, merging into pinkish on the sides; the pink is edged below with black, and this is followed by a dark olive stripe; rings 1-3 and 10-12 are wrinkled, whilst all the others are ridged across the back and along the sides. It feeds, in August and September, on the unripe seeds of meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum), also on T. minus, and, according to Barrett, on old withered leaves of columbine.
The moth is out in July, occasionally at the end of June, and occurs locally in "Fenland."
Doubleday introduced it as British in the Zoologist for 1848. He there states, "A single example of this pretty species was obtained last season near Peterborough, but I believe it was not in very good condition. A splendid female was sent to me from the same neighbourhood this week (July 15, 1848)."
In 1853 and 1854 the species was discovered in the fens of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire. Later it was found to inhabit the fens of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is still obtained in the Cambridge fens from Bottisham to Chatteris. Outside "Fenland" it has been recorded from Worcestershire (Bewdley Forest) and Warwickshire (Rugby).
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Red-green Carpet (Cidaria siterata).
The general colour of the fore wings of this species (Plate 68, Figs. 1-4) is greyish green, with more or less of rosy suffusion; the basal patch and central band are darker green, and the latter is outwardly edged with whitish below the front margin, and towards the inner margin. The female has rather more ample wings, and is generally of a darker hue, but in both sexes the basal patch and central band are blackish; the hind wings are dark greyish brown, inclining to blackish in some females, and there is a blackish central dot and two or three curved lines.
The long caterpillar is yellowish green, with an interrupted red line along the middle of the back; two green points on last ring are usually pink-tipped. It feeds on oak, birch, ash, sloe, apple, etc., in July and August.
The moth occurs in woodlands, but is not easily disturbed in the daytime from its lurking-place in bush or tree. In the autumn it may be found at ivy-bloom, and in the spring, after hibernation, has been taken at sallow.
The species appears to be widely distributed over England and Wales, Scotland up to Moray, and Ireland.
Autumn Green Carpet (Cidaria miata).
Somewhat similar to the last, but the general colour of the fore wings is paler, inclining to whitish, and the basal patch and central band are pale green tinged with greyish; there is no rosy suffusion, but the wavy sub-marginal line is distinctly white. The hind wings are greyish white, with black discal dot, and dark-grey curved lines. (Plate 68, Figs. 5, 6.)
The caterpillar is pale green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings, and with a more or less distinct dark-green line along the middle of the back; the points on the last ring are pinkish brown, and there is a line of the same colour along the centre of the under surface of the body.
It feeds on alder, birch, oak, sallow, etc., and may be beaten out from June to August.
The moth is out in September and October, when it may be obtained at ivy-bloom, and in the following spring, after hibernation, it visits sallow catkins.
The range in the British Isles agrees pretty closely with that of the last species, but in Scotland it extends to the Hebrides and to the Orkneys.
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Note.—According to Prout, sagittata is not a Cidaria, as its larva is of a very different form; and siterata and miata are referred to Chloroclysta, Hübner.
Grey Pine Carpet (Thera variata).
In its typical form, the fore wings of this species are greyish, and from this the colour ranges through various tints of greyish brown to smoky brown or blackish; sometimes these wings are shades of ochreous brown. The usual markings are a basal patch, more or less clearly defined, and a central band, and these may be either brown or blackish; the band varies in width, is not infrequently narrowed or contracted below the middle, occasionally broken at this point, and more rarely only represented by a small angular spot near the front margin.
Four examples are shown on Plate 70, and of these 1 and 2 represent our ordinary form obeliscata, Hübner (Shaded Broad Bar, of Newman). Fig. 6 is a blackish banded specimen of the obeliscata form, and Fig. 3 is the almost entirely blackish form obliterata, White (scotica, Staud.), which is not uncommon in the Paisley district, and other parts of Scotland, and also occurs in a modified form in some pine-woods in the South of England.
The long caterpillar (Plate 71, Fig. 1), which feeds on the needles of Scots pine in April and May, also in July, and sometimes in September, is bright green, with three whitish lines along the back, the central one broad, and a yellowish line low down along the sides; the green roundish head is lined with white.
The moth is generally common in pine-woods throughout the greater part of the British Isles. The May-June flight is the most abundant, but there is occasionally a good sprinkling of moths in the autumn.
Abroad, the area of distribution includes Eastern Siberia, Corea, China, and Japan.
Chestnut-coloured Carpet (Thera cognata).
This is a generally smaller species than that last referred to, and it is more glossy in appearance. The fore wings are brown, sometimes grey-brown, more or less tinged with reddish, and the basal patch and central band are darker; these markings are usually white-edged, and there is a wavy whitish submarginal line. Hind wings whitish, tinged with smoky grey. Specimens from the Hebrides are strongly purplish; and Kane states that some he reared from Sligo caterpillars are more richly coloured than any that he has seen from Scotland. (Plate 70, Figs. 9 ♂ 12 ♀.)
The bright green caterpillar is stouter than that of the last species. It is of a bluish hue along the back, and marked with three lines, the central one greenish and the others whitish and broad; there are sometimes reddish markings low down on the sides, just edging the broad white spiracular line. It feeds in May and June, earlier or later in some seasons, on juniper; it turns to a dark-green chrysalis in a frail cocoon spun up among the litter under the juniper bushes.
The moth is to be found in July and August among juniper growing in the hilly and maritime haunts of the species in North England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
This species, long known as simulata, Hübner, has been referred to cognata, Thunberg, and as this is an earlier name it will have to be used.
Pine Carpet (Thera firmata).
The pale reddish-grey fore wings have a rather darker central band and round-edged basal patch, but the latter is often indistinct, and the band, which is always deeply indented about the middle of its inner edge, is sometimes not well defined. The hind wings are whitish, tinged more or less with greyish or pale brownish, but always paler than in any form of T. variata, with which it is often confused. (Plate 70, Figs. 10, 11.)
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The caterpillar is bluish-green above, and green beneath; three lines along the back, the central one a darker tone of the ground colour, the others whitish; head reddish, marked with brown on each cheek. It feeds in April and May (June in Scotland) on Scots pine; Barrett states that there is a second brood in August. (Plate 71, Fig. 2.)
The moth is out in September and October, and may be disturbed from the pine boughs, or occasionally seen resting on the trunks, but it is more frequently met with at night when it flies naturally, and has been known to visit the sugar patch. Barrett, who considered this species to be double brooded, gives June and July for the first flight of moths. Certain it is that moths have been reared even as late as October from Spring caterpillars. As adverted to, the pale reddish forms of T. variata are sometimes confused with T. firmata, but in addition to other differences indicated above, it may be noted that in the male of the latter the antennæ are bipectinated except towards the tips. Most of the pine woods throughout England seem to produce this delicate insect more or less frequently; the same remark applies to Wales. In Scotland it is found up to Aberdeen, and also in the Hebrides. The only localities mentioned by Kane for Ireland are in counties Westmeath, Dublin, and Fermanagh.
Juniper Carpet (Thera juniperata).
On Plate 70, Figs. 4 and 5 represent the sexes of the typical form of this species, the small and rather more strongly marked Scottish form is shown by Figs. 7 and 8. In these small forms a noticeable character is the brownish band on the fore wings, between the central band and the outer margin; this band is only indicated by a dusky greyish shade in the larger form. Most of the examples of the small form from the Isle of Hoy have also a dark central line on the hind wings. The central band of the fore wings is often broken below the middle, in both forms.
The caterpillar is yellowish green, inclining to a black tinge on the back, along which are three lines, the central one dark green, and the others yellow and rather broad; a whitish stripe low down along the sides is sometimes marked with yellow and red, and there is a red thread above it; head, pink tinged; two points on last ring of the body. It feeds in July and August, on juniper. The moth is out in October and November, and may be found plentifully flying at night about the juniper bushes.
Berkshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex appear to be the only English counties in which it is established, and it is probably most plentiful in the last named. It has, however, been recorded from Suffolk, Lancashire, York, and Durham; also from Carnarvonshire in North Wales. It is more widely spread throughout Scotland, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, where the moths fly in July. Only doubtfully reported from Ireland.
Water Carpet (Lampropteryx suffumata).
The fore wings are whitish, more or less clouded with brownish, with dark brown, inclining to blackish, basal patch and central band. The variation tends in two opposite directions; in the one the general colour is so clouded and suffused with blackish-brown, that the entire fore wings become almost entirely of that colour (ab. piceata, Stephens), N. England and Scotland; the other extreme is ab. porrittii, Robson, in which the central band and basal patch are black, and the white ground colour is almost free of brown clouding; the last named occurs at Dover in Kent, and Huddersfield, Yorks. On Plate 72, Fig. 1 shows the typical form, Fig. 3 ab. piceata, and 2 ab. porrittii. The caterpillar varies from greyish, with pinkish or greenish tinge, to ochreous brown; the upper surface is rather darker than the under, and there is a series of dark V-shaped marks and arrow-heads on the back of rings 4-8; there is a whitish central stripe on 1-3, and a dark one on 9-12; head, brownish, marked with black. It feeds on goose-grass (Galium aparine), and other kinds of bedstraw, in May and early June. It seems to thrive best, however, on the goose-grass. (Plate 74, Fig. 1, after Hofmann.)
The moth may be found in weedy lanes and along hedgerows, pretty well throughout England, Wales, Scotland to Moray, and Ireland. It cannot, however, be said to occur in all suitable places, as although it may be found in some plenty in one lane or hedgerow in a district, it may be quite absent in similar spots just around. Wherever it is noted one year it may be almost certainly obtained there in subsequent years. April and May are the months in which it is usually seen, but it has been taken in June in late seasons, and occasionally in July.
Large Twin-spot Carpet (Coremia (Ochyria) quadrifasciaria).
The ground colour of the fore wings of this species is most often of a pale reddish brown, but sometimes it inclines to grey brown; the outwardly angled central band is often black, but more frequently perhaps the middle area is pretty much of the ground colour or greyish, with a black dot in the upper portion, and limited by two black lines which approach, or join, in the lower half. A dusky basal blotch is not always present, but it is sometimes well in evidence, as also is a dusky shade before the whitish submarginal line; frequently there are two blackish or brownish dots on the upper part of this line, and a third dot above them, but nearer the outer margin. (Plate 72, Figs. 4, 5.)
The caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, finely freckled with grey, and with greyish V-shaped marks on the back; three greyish lines along the back, the central one broken, and the others most distinct at each end. It feeds on bedstraw (Galium) and other plants, such as primrose, groundsel, etc., from August to April. The moth is out in June and July, and should be looked for on tree-trunks growing around the borders of woods or in lanes near by. It may also be beaten out of hedgerows in the vicinity of woods.
A very local species and only found with us in the southern half of England. Its chief haunts appear to be in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Hants, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Norfolk (the Breck sand district); thence its range extends through Hertford, Buckingham, and Berkshire to Gloucester, where, however, it is scarce, as it is also in Lincoln. Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Corea and Japan.
Red Carpet (Coremia (Ochyria) munitata).
The typical form (Plate 72, Fig. 6) has pale greyish fore wings, and these are crossed by a black-edged purplish central band. In var. hethlandica, Prout (Fig. 7), the ground colour is ochreous and the band is reddish; this form is frequent in the Shetlands.
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with greyish clouds around white dots, tinged with pink between the rings; three lines along the back, the central one grey inclining to blackish, broken on three of the hinder rings, and edged with whitish; the others are double, wavy, brownish, a whitish stripe bordered above with grey along the area of the spiracles; head, ochreous, dotted with dark brown (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on lady's mantle (Alchemilla), chickweed, groundsel, etc., from September to May.
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The moth is out in July and August, and in England is only found in the mountain districts of Yorkshire and the more northern centres. It has been reported from the high-lying district on the border of Cheshire, between Macclesfield and Buxton (Day), and from Llantrissant, Glamorganshire, S. Wales (Evan John). Generally distributed through Scotland and the Isles. Widely spread, but local, and not always common, in Ireland.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland and North America.
Dark-barred Twin-spot Carpet (Coremia (Ochyria) unidentaria).
Portraits of three examples of this species will be found on Plate 75, Figs. 1-3. The ground colour of the fore wings is whitish tinged with pale ochreous or greyish; the central band is blackish with darker wavy lines running through it near the edges, and not infrequently the middle area is greyish, either on the upper half, or throughout from front to inner margins; a narrow patch at the base of the wings is of the same colour as the central band, and is followed by a reddish-brown streak; as a rule, there is an irregular reddish-brown line, commencing in a cloud on the front margin, and sometimes stripe-like, beyond the pale edging of the central band; in ab. coarctata, Prout, the central band is much narrowed; the two black dots on upper part of the outer margin, generally well in evidence, are occasionally united, but sometimes they are very tiny. The hind wings are whitish, more or less sprinkled with dusky scales, chiefly on the basal two thirds, and crossed by dark-grey wavy lines.
Sometimes the central band and the basal patch of the fore wings are dull reddish-brown, inclining to purplish. This form which has been referred to corculata, Hufnagel, is pretty generally distributed abroad, but is apparently only of local occurrence in the British Isles.
The caterpillar is very similar to that of the next species, it feeds on the same kinds of plants, and during the same months of the year. (Plate 74, Fig. 2.) The first generation of moths is on the wing in May and June, and the second in August.
The species is widely distributed in England and Wales, often plentiful in some districts in the southern half of the former country, scarce and more local northwards from Yorkshire. Widely spread in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale in Scotland, but less frequent than ferrugata; this also seems to be the case in Ireland. The range abroad extends to North America.
Note.—It is to be regretted that the names by which this and the following species have been known for many years may have to be changed. It has been claimed that the reddish-banded form of unidentaria, Haworth, is identical with ferrugata as figured by Clerck, Icones, Plate XI. Fig. 14, and is also referable to corculata, Hufnagel, both earlier names. If the red form referred to is adopted as the ferrugata of Clerck, then that name will supersede unidentaria, Haworth, and the species now known as ferrugata, Clerck, will become spadicearia. Authorities, however, are not agreed upon this point, so the question still remains open.
Red Twin-spot Carpet (Coremia (Ochyria) ferrugata).
Five examples of this variable species are shown on Plate 72, Figs. 8-12. The ground colour of the fore wings is usually greyish, more or less ochreous tinted, but sometimes inclining to whitish; the basal patch and the central band are reddish brown, the latter usually entire in southern specimens, but frequently broken up (ab. spadicearia, Borkhausen), especially in northern examples. A bright, ochreous form, with the central band much streaked, occurring in Scotland, has been referred to ab. salicaria, Haworth. Occasionally the central band is dark purplish. The hind wings are whitish, more or less suffused with smoky grey, and lined with the same; the outer margin is bordered with smoky grey.
The caterpillar is ochreous brown, mottled with greyish, and marked with pale diamonds and black spots on the back of the middle rings; there are wavy lines along the sides. It feeds in June and July, and also in September and October, on various low plants: knotgrass, dandelion, bedstraw, garden marigold, and ground ivy (Nepeta) being especially useful in captivity. The moth is usually double-brooded, at least in the southern half of England, the first flight occurring in May and June, and the second in July and August.
The species is generally distributed, and often common, over the greater part of England and Wales, but somewhat local north of the Midlands and through Scotland to Aberdeen; widely spread in Ireland.
Flame Carpet (Coremia (Ochyria) designata).
The ground colour of this rather common woodland species (Plate 75, Figs. 4-6) is pale grey, varying to whitish, or sometimes faintly brownish tinged. The purple band on the fore wings is always broadly edged in front with black, but the black outer edging is irregular, and sometimes only distinct towards the front margin of the wings; it varies in width, and in tint, being, in some specimens, faint purplish grey.
The caterpillar is ochreous, inclining to greyish on the back, which is marked with whitish lines on the front rings, and with ochreous diamonds and black dots on the other rings; there is also a row of black spots low down along the sides; head, brownish, freckled with black. It feeds, in June and July, probably, in a wild state, on some kind of "cress," growing in the moister parts of woods; in confinement, it will eat cabbage, horseradish, and wallflower, among other kinds of Cruciferæ. There is a second brood in August and September. (Plate 74, Fig. 3, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and again in August. It is fond of resting on tree-trunks in woods, especially where the ground is moist, but it may also be beaten out of hedges and bushes. It is most plentiful in the southern half of England, but is spread over the greater part of the British Isles, including the Orkneys.
Abroad, its range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Japan, and North America.
The Beech-Green Carpet (Amoebe olivata).
The species, depicted on Plate 75, Figs. 9, 10, when quite fresh has the fore wings greenish, and the central band more or less tinged with brown, in some specimens with blackish; the inner edge of the band is not so clearly defined as the outer, the latter being followed by a narrow whitish wavy band; a series of black dots edged with white represent the submarginal line. Hind wrings, smoky grey, with a pale band beyond the middle, and a pale line nearer the outer margin.
The roughened caterpillar (Plate 73, Fig. 1) is ochreous brown, mottled with darker brown, and lined with grey; the raised dots are black, each with a short bristle. It feeds at night on bedstraw (Galium), in the spring to May, after hibernation.
The moth is out, as a rule, in July and August, but sometimes much earlier. I reared specimens during the last week in May, 1907, from caterpillars sent from Torquay by Mr. Walker. It lurks among the vegetation growing on banks, and the hedgerows of lanes, etc.
In the south of England the species chiefly affects the coasts of Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall; but it occurs locally in and around beech woods of Kent, and is more frequent in those of Berks, Oxford, and Bucks. From Somerset it spreads through the western counties, including part of Wales, to Lancashire. It is, however, most common among the hills and rills from Yorkshire northwards. In Scotland it is local in Roxburgh, widely distributed, and sometimes abundant in Clydesdale and throughout the Highlands to Sutherland. It has also been noted from Arran. Local in Ireland, but apparently abundant in some parts.
Green Carpet (Amoebe viridaria).
This species (Plate 75, Figs. 7, 8), also, has green fore wings, with a rather deeper green central band and basal patch. The former is limited by white lines marked with black, conspicuously so on the front and inner margins; there are also black marks on the front edge of the basal patch, and at the tips of the wings. The green colour quickly fades to a yellowish or sandy tint.
The wrinkled caterpillar is olive brown, with bristle-bearing black dots; the back has a dark central line, and is adorned with reddish V-shaped marks except on the end rings. It feeds in the spring, after hibernation, on bedstraw (Galium), but it is said to eat sorrel, dead-nettle (Lamium), etc.
The moth is out in June, earlier in the south, and later in the north. It hides among herbage during the day, and may occasionally be seen resting on tree-trunks, etc., then feeding just before dark about hedges, and on commons and heaths. Specimens have been noted in some years in September.
Except that it has not been detected in the Shetlands, the species seems to be found in all parts of the British Isles.
Striped Twin-spot Carpet (Malenydris salicata).
Portraits of a male and a female of this species will be found on Plate 75, Figs. 11 ♂ and 12 ♀. The fore wings are greyish white, crossed by several darker grey wavy lines; the central band is rather darker, and in some specimens there is also a darker basal patch. In an almost unicolorous form the fore wings are wholly suffused with darker; Kane, who states that such specimens occur with the paler form in Ireland, refers the aberration to unicolorata, Gregson.
The caterpillar is brownish, with three whitish lines along the back, and a pinkish line low down along the sides. It feeds, at night, on bedstraw (Galium), in September and October, but may be found on the plants in the daytime. (Plate 73, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and in some localities again in August and September. It is fond of sitting on rocks, and also on tree-trunks.
Except that it has been found, not infrequently, on Dartmoor and Exmoor, in Devon, and has also been once noted from Dorset, the species in England is chiefly an inhabitant of the northern counties. It occurs in Wales, but almost exclusively in the north. In Scotland it appears to be widely distributed throughout; and in Ireland it occurs locally in all four provinces.
Mottled Grey (Malenydris multistrigaria).
The fore wings in the typical form of this species are grey, with a slight brownish tinge; basal patch, central band, and shade before the whitish submarginal line, sometimes darker. (Plate 77, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀.) In some specimens the central band is very much darker (ab. virgata, Tutt); and in some parts of south-west Yorkshire a blackish form (ab. nubilata, Tutt) is not uncommon. (Plate 77, Fig. 3.)
The caterpillar is ochreous grey, with three brownish lines along the back, and two other lines on each side, the upper one yellowish, wavy, and edged above with dusky. It feeds on bedstraw (Galium) in May and June. (Plate 73, Fig. 3.)
The moth is out in March and April, and keeps pretty much to the shelter afforded by its food plant or other herbage around in its favourite haunts, which are damp woodlands, heaths, and mosses. Occasionally, however, it may be seen on the lower parts of fences, tree-trunks, rocks, etc. About dusk it may be found sitting on grass and other vegetation, and at such times is not much disposed to fly away from the collector.
Pretty generally distributed throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys.
Twin-spot Carpet (Malenydris didymata).
The fore wings in the male are pale greyish, more or less tinged with ochreous brown, and crossed by a dark grey, inclining to blackish, central band; the base of the wings is often banded with dark grey, as also is the outer marginal area; on the latter, above the middle, are twin black spots, and there is a black spot or streak above nearer the tip of the wing. The female is smaller, paler, often whitish, and sometimes pale ochreous; the latter form is prevalent in the Shetlands; the central band is the only distinct cross marking in this sex. On the moorlands in the north of England a blackish form of the male occurs (ab. nigra, Prout), and this is very similar to ab. nubilata of the previous species; ab. ochroleucata, Aurivillius, is uniformly greyish brown, with a white submarginal line, and I have a specimen near this from Durham.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish on the back, and to pinkish on the sides; three lines along the side, the central one dark green, and the others whitish. It feeds on primrose, red campion (Lychnis diurna), bilberry, etc., as well as on the flowers of coarse grasses; in North Devon I found it in profusion at night, on the blossoms of a wood-rush (Luzula), growing in a sheltered wood near the sea. April and May, later perhaps in the north. (Plate 77, Figs. 4-6 ♂, 7-9 ♀.)
The moth is out in July and August, and is common in almost every part of the British Isles.
November Moth (Oporabia (Epirrita) dilutata).
The more usual forms of this common autumnal species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 2, Plate 78. Fig. 3 is a small example of the pale form, ab. christyi, Prout, which, in many respects, is very similar to autumnata, Guenée, a form of the next species. Fig. 4 is a female approaching ab. obscurata, Staud., and Fig. 5 shows the uniformly blackish ab. melana, Prout. In some pale-coloured specimens the only conspicuous marking is a broad central band which is almost black in colour (ab. latifasciata, Prout).
The eggs (Plate 76, Fig. 1a) were yellowish when laid, but soon changed to crimson red.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to whitish below, often marked, more or less distinctly, with purplish red, as a central line, or series of spots, along the back, and sometimes as bands on the ring division. It feeds on the foliage of trees, such as elm, oak, birch, etc., also on fallow, hawthorn, sloe, apple, plum, and other fruit trees. April to June. (Plate 76, Fig. 1.)
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The moth is out in October and November in the South, but earlier in the North. It is an inhabitant of woodlands, and may be disturbed from bushes, trees, and sometimes may be seen on the trunks of the latter, and on fences. At night it flies lazily and will occasionally visit ivy then, and even sugar, but is more frequently attracted by light.
The species is pretty generally common throughout England and Wales, Scotland up to Moray, and Ireland.
The Autumnal Moth (Oporabia (Epirrita) autumnata).
Three examples of this species are shown on Plate 78. Figs. 6 ♂ and 7 ♀ represent the typical form except that the male should be rather more silvery white in the ground colour of the fore wings, and the cross bands more distinctly separated. Fig. 8, also a female, is very close to ab. sandbergi, Lampa, in the character of the central cross bands of the fore wings. Ab. gueneata, Prout (autumnata, Guenée, not Borkhausen), is a form with the typical coloration, but with fainter cross bands.
The caterpillar is somewhat similar to that of the last species, but there is a yellowish tint in the general green coloration, and it is rarely marked with reddish. It is found chiefly on birch, alder, fir, and larch, but will eat hawthorn, and probably the foliage of other shrubs and trees. May and June.
The moth is out in September and October, sometimes later. It may be dislodged from trees in the daytime, but it seems to be rarely noticed at rest on the trunks.
The species is so often confused with that previously mentioned that its distribution in our islands has not, so far, been clearly ascertained. However, it certainly occurs in the following northern counties of England—Lancashire (Liverpool district); Cheshire (Delamere Forest); Yorkshire (Cleveland district); North Durham (Birch woods); Cumberland (Carlisle). In Scotland it is found in Clydesdale, Perthshire, where it was first noted by Weaver in 1851, Kincardineshire, Aberdeen, and probably further north; in Ireland at Belfast and Enniskillen. Prout notes that he has seen a specimen from Swansea in South Wales.
Small Autumnal Carpet (Oporabia (Epirrita) filigrammaria).
This is most probably a small moorland form of O. autumnata, but it rarely assumes the silvery white typical coloration of that species. A male specimen and two examples of the female are depicted on Plate 77, Figs. 10 ♂, 11, and 12 ♀.
The caterpillar, which feeds in the spring on bilberry and heather, is green, with yellow lines, a line of darker green between the two central yellow lines along the back; head, green, inclining to brown above.
The moth appears in August and early September, and may be found on the moors, resting on rocks, stones, and even on the ground, as well as on the stems of its food plants.
As a British species it was first recorded by Weaver, who obtained it in the Isle of Arran in 1841; but Edleston, writing in 1842, states that he had taken specimens off stone walls near Staley Bridge, in the Manchester district, "every year for the last three years." It appears to be peculiar to the British Isles and is found in suitable localities from North Staffs., through Cheshire, Lancs., Yorks., and northwards over England and Scotland to the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland it is known to occur in Antrim, Derry, Mayo, Galway, and Limerick.
The Welsh Wave (Venusia cambrica).
This moth, of which two portraits are given on Plate 78, Figs. 9 ♂, 10 ♀, is known also by the English name of "Cambric Wave." It was not ascertained to be an inhabitant of Britain until 1839, when it was figured and described by Curtis from specimens obtained in Cardiganshire in Wales.
In its typical form the fore wings are white, inclining to greyish, with a number of brownish or dark-grey cross lines; two pairs on the central area are marked with black. Sometimes the wings are greatly suffused with smoky grey, and this tint in examples from the Sheffield and Rotherham districts of Yorkshire assumes a much darker hue, so that all the markings are obscured, but the veins are blacker.
The caterpillar is green, marked with some irregular reddish blotches; a yellowish line along the back. It feeds in August, earlier or later in some seasons, on mountain ash (Pyrus aucuparia), and the moth, which rests by day on tree-trunks, is out in July and early August. The haunts of the species are chiefly in hilly localities of the northern counties of England, but it has also been reported from Gloucestershire (Cotswolds), Somersetshire (Weston-super-Mare), and Devon (Dulverton). In Wales it occurs in Merionethshire, as well as in Cardiganshire; and in Scotland it spreads from Roxburghshire, where it is locally common among mountain ash, through Clydesdale to Inverness. It is widely distributed in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Japan and North America.
Grey Mountain Carpet (Entephria cæsiata)
The typical greyish form, with blackish wavy cross lines and dark central band, is shown on Plate 80, Fig. 1 ♂ and 2 ♀. Figure 3 represents a specimen from Shetland in which the band is sooty black (ab. annosata, Zetterstedt = nigristriaria, Gregson). The interesting blackish suffused form from the Isle of Arran (Fig. 4) leads up to a still blacker variety, occurring in the same isle, and also in the Shetlands, in which the whole of the fore wings is nearly as dark as the central band of Fig. 3, and the hind wings are also much darkened; such specimens are referable to ab. glaciata, Germar. Ab. prospicuata, Prout = gelata, Staud., is a form with the fore wings whitish, and the base and the central band thereof blackish; some Shetland specimens closely approach this pretty variety.
The caterpillar is green, with a brownish line along the middle of the back, and a series of pinkish or purplish-red oblique streaks which nearly meet at the central line and so form V-shaped marks; a whitish or yellowish stripe low down along the sides, sometimes edged above with reddish. In some examples the general colour is reddish brown. It feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on bilberry, ling, and heath in a wild state, but may be reared on knot-grass or sallow.
The moth is out from June until early August, and may be found resting, often in numbers, on rocks and stone walls in mountain and moorland districts, from Herefordshire, northwards through England, North Wales, and over the whole of Scotland, including the isles, and Ireland. Kane states that in the latter country melanic forms, such as those from Yorks, etc., are nowhere met with.
Yellow-ringed Carpet (Entephria flavicinctata).
The general colour of the fore wings of British specimens of this species (var. obscurata, Staud.) is slaty grey; the basal, central, and outer marginal cross bands are thickly sprinkled with yellowish-brown, and it is this feature that at once separates this species (Plate 80, Figs. 5, 6) from that last referred to.
The bristly caterpillar is green, chocolate, or red brown, but always of a dull shade; on the back is a series of black V-shaped marks, and a central dark, slender line; the front part of each V-mark filled up with pink or lilac, forming a triangle, the apex of which is yellow; a yellowish stripe low down along the side (adapted from Fenn). It feeds in the spring till April, after hibernation, on saxifrage (Saxifraga aizoides, S. hypnoides, etc), and also on stonecrop (Sedum), and is most partial to the flowers of these plants.
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The moth flies throughout the summer, possibly in two generations, as, when reared in confinement, moths appear in May, and from eggs obtained from these, caterpillars feed in June and July, and attain the perfect state in August. Like the last species, its chief resting-places are the rocks, in its favourite haunts, in gorges among the hills and moorlands. It has been recorded from few parts of northern England, but one specimen is said to have been taken in Dovedale, Derbyshire. In Lancashire it has been noted as scarce about Clougha; and in Yorkshire one example was taken on Malham Moor in August, 1876, and one at Hutton Buscel Moor, near Scarborough, July 16, 1891. It is more plentiful in Scotland; in Clydesdale it is local, but not uncommon, the localities mentioned being Lochgoilhead, and watercourses above Ardentinny; more frequent in Perthshire, thence to Sutherland, and it occurs also in the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland, it is found in Co. Antrim; and Mr. Thomas Greer informs me that it is common at Murlough Bay, Fair Head.
Silver-ground Carpet (Xanthorhoë montanata).
Figs. 7 and 8 on Plate 80 represent the most usual form of this species, which is variable in the amount of clouding on the fore wings and in the intensity of the cross marking. In some specimens, chiefly from southern localities, the fore wings are almost clear white, and the central band is broadly blackish (Fig. 9). Shetland specimens, on the other hand, are much clouded or suffused with ochreous brown, and the central band is greyish brown (ab. shetlandica, Weir (Fig. 10)). Then there is variation in the central band, which is often entire, but more frequently broken up by bandlets; or it may be considerably narrowed, especially from the middle to the inner margin, and not altogether rarely it is completely severed below the middle, and the lower part almost or quite absent. A specimen with all the wings smoky leaden-grey, and the central bar of the fore wings pale grey-brown, was taken near Longfleet in Wiltshire, in the summer of 1881.
The caterpillar is wrinkled, with a ridge along the sides; in colour it is pale brown, inclining to purplish with blackish dots; three lines along the back, the central one dark greyish, the others paler and broader; below the latter the sides are greyish tinted with a lower edging of pale yellowish brown. It feeds at night on bedstraw, and various low-growing herbage, including grass. August to April.
The moth is out in June and July, sometimes earlier in the south. It is generally distributed, and, as a rule, common, in woodlands, lanes, etc., throughout the British Isles.
Garden Carpet (Xanthorhoë fluctuata).
Of this common frequenter of our gardens four examples are depicted on Plate 80. Figs. 11 and 13 are the more frequent forms, but specimens with the central band complete, as in Fig. 12, are not uncommon. Chiefly, but by no means exclusively, in Southern localities, some examples have the ground colour almost pure white; often the wings are more or less suffused with dark grey (ab. neapolisata, Millière), and this is especially the case in Scotland, where, in Aberdeenshire and in Shetland, a blackish form, ab. thules, Prout, occurs. Fig. 14 represents a specimen of this form from Aberdeen. Somewhat rarely, the central band is only indicated by a small spot on the front area of the wing (ab. costovata, Haworth), and more often the band is much narrowed or otherwise modified in the direction of that aberration. Fig. 4, Plate 61, shows an extreme example of this form. Specimens vary in size from rather under one inch to one inch and a half in expanse.
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Garden Carpet at rest.
(Photo by H. Main.)
Fig. 4.
Garden Carpet at rest.
(Photo by H. Main.)
The caterpillar varies in colour from dark grey through yellowish green to obscure green, but the underside is always paler; on the back there is a series of pale blotches, and some black spots on the middle rings; the head is rather paler than the general colour, and marked with black. It feeds, at night, on cabbage, horseradish, wallflower, white arabis, and many other kinds of Cruciferæ; and it is said to eat the foliage of gooseberry and currant. June—October.
There are certainly two broods, and possibly more, as the moths occur in greater or lesser numbers throughout the year, from late April to October, but it seems to be most plentiful in May and June, and in August and September.
Generally distributed over the British Isles. It is also an inhabitant of North America.
The Galium Carpet (Xanthorhoë galiata).
The more usual forms of this species are represented on Plate 81, Figs. 1, 2. Fig. 3 is the portrait of a form occurring in Yorkshire, Sussex, and probably elsewhere, in which the central band is blackish and solid-looking; this seems to be referable to unilobata, Haworth. Besides varying in tint of ground colour, and in the amount of freckling or mottling, there is modification in the width of the central band.
The caterpillar is brown, dotted with black, and striped with blackish brown on the back, and with pale brown on the sides; the head is light brown, sprinkled with black, and marked with a dark V. It feeds on bedstraw in late June and July, and there is a second brood in August and September. The figure of the caterpillar on Plate 79, Fig. 3, is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.
The moth is out in June, sometimes later in the north and earlier in the south, where it occurs as a second generation in August. It is chiefly found in chalk and limestone districts, and may be easily put up from the herbage among which it secretes itself during the day. In the seaboard counties of England, from Kent to Cornwall, it is especially common on the coast, but is also to be met with in suitable inland localities in these counties, and also in Surrey, Middlesex, Herts, Bucks., and Oxford. It is always rare on the eastern side, but on the west, including Wales, it is more or less frequent from Somerset and Wilts. to Westmorland. Not uncommon in Yorkshire, principally in the West Riding, and an odd specimen has been recorded from Durham. Somewhat rare in Scotland, but it has been noted in Berwick, Wigtown, Arran, Clydesdale, and Perthshire. In Ireland it is local, although often plentiful on the coast.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia.
Wood Carpet (Xanthorhoë (Epirrhoë) rivata).
The broad, clear white borders of both edges of the dark central band of the fore wings, coupled with the clearer white of the hind wings, and the generally larger size of the moth, should distinguish this species from its very close ally, X. sociata; but it must be added that some forms of the latter species approach the present one exceedingly close. (Plate 81, Figs. 4, 5.)
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The caterpillar is brown or olive-brown, dotted and freckled with white; three lines on the back, the central one black, the others whitish, not seen on rings 5-8, which have dark V-shaped marks enclosing white ones; sometimes there is a V-mark instead of lines on ring 4; head, large, pale brown sprinkled with blackish, and marked with a blackish V, the apex of which appears to meet the central line of the body. It feeds, at night, in July and August, on bedstraw (Galium mollugo, and G. verum), but will thrive very well on cleavers or goose-grass (G. aparine). The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a cocoon of silk coated with earth, is reddish brown, thorax and wing-cases paler, shining. A coloured drawing of the caterpillar, kindly lent, with others, for this volume, by Mr. A. Sich, has been used for the figures on Plate 79, Figs. 2, 2a; but the description of the caterpillar, and also of the chrysalis (Fig. 2b), are from material that Mr. Pope, of Exeter, was good enough to furnish. In captivity a second brood may be reared in August.
The moth is out in July and early August, and although local, is not uncommon in bushy places on downs, etc., also in lanes, in chalk districts, in most of the southern and eastern counties. In the north of England it is far more local and uncommon, but is known to occur in Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Cumberland, and has been recorded from Durham. It is found in Wales, and in Scotland has been noted as very local in Roxburghshire and rare in Clydesdale and Arran. Kane states that in Ireland it is "very rare and local."
Common Carpet (Xanthorhoë (Epirrhoë) sociata).
The white ground colour of this species is nearly always obscured, to a greater or lesser extent, by greyish markings and suffusions on the basal area; the outer margin is broadly bordered with dark grey, and the white band between this and the dark-grey central band is intersected throughout its length by a grey line. As shown on Plate 81, Figs. 6, 7, the central band varies in width; it is often contracted below the middle, sometimes completely severed at this point, and in ab. degenerata, Haworth, both portions are much reduced in width. Figs. 8 and 9 represent two specimens from the Isle of Lewis; these brownish-grey examples are var. obscurata, South. There are intermediate modifications leading up to a form in which the whole of the central third of the fore wings is whitish, with the usual cross lines dingy grey, and some tiny clouds of the same colour around the black discal spot.
The caterpillar is very like that of the last species referred to, but it is rather smaller in size and rougher in appearance. There is variation in the general colour, from pale fawn through greenish-brown, to dull or bright green, and sometimes the markings are tinged with reddish (Hellins).
It feeds on bedstraw, in June and July, and a second brood occurs in September. The figure of the brownish, inclining to reddish, chrysalis (Plate 79, Fig. 4), is from a photo by Mr. H. Main, and is twice the natural size.
The moth is out in May and June, and, in the South especially, again in August and September. It is generally distributed over the British Islands, but so far has not been noted from the Shetlands.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
According to Prout, the earliest name for this species is alternata (Müller).
Small Argent and Sable (Xanthorhoë (Epirrhoë) tristata).
On Plate 81 are shown three examples of this variable species. Fig. 10 represents the typical form from N. Devon. Fig. 11 is a black-marked specimen from Yorkshire, and Fig. 12 depicts a smoky-brown marked specimen from Clydesdale, in which the ground colour has a brownish tinge. All these have the central band more or less entire, but this character may be broader or narrower, and is sometimes divided into two parts, and these reduced to very small proportions; the white projections into the outer marginal border of all the wings is not infrequently enlarged, in some cases so much so that the borders are separated into two parts, and also reduced in width.
The caterpillar is grey brown, ochreous brown between the rings and on the underside; a dark line along the back, and a dark-edged, pale line on each side; a black dot on each ring at the junction of the dark upper and pale lower areas; head, grey-brown, with blackish freckles. It feeds, in July and August, on bedstraw, preferring the heath kind (Galium saxatile), but will eat the large hedge kind (G. mollugo).
The moth is out in June, or from late May, and in some parts specimens are seen in August. Its haunts are moors and upland heaths, and its British distribution extends from Dartmoor and Exmoor, in Devon, through Western England and Wales to Westmorland. It appears to be very local in Somerset, Gloucester, Hereford, Shropshire, and Cheshire; from Staffordshire and Derbyshire northwards, and through Scotland, it becomes more plentiful; and has been recorded from the Shetlands. In Ireland it is local, but common where it occurs.
Sharp-angled Carpet (Xanthorhoë (Euphyia) unangulata).
This species (Plate 82, Figs. 1, 2) may be recognized by the distinctly angled outer edge of the blackish central band, which is thrown into strong relief by the usually broad white stripe following it. Wilkes, who figured the moth in 1742, called it the "White Stripe." By some authors the species is referred to amniculata, Hübner.
The caterpillar is pale whity brown, with a slightly darker but indistinct line along the centre of the back, and a black spot on the middle rings; a pale line on the sides is edged with dark grey; head, brown, marked with black. It feeds, in July and early August, on chickweed (Stellaria media).
The moth, which is partial to hedges and easily disturbed therefrom, is out in June and July, and even later in some seasons. The earliest hatched caterpillars reared in confinement sometimes attain the moth state in August of the same year. Although certainly local, the species has a wide distribution in the southern half of England, and is not uncommon in some localities. Its range extends into Wales, and also northwards to Cumberland and Westmorland, but it is generally very much scarcer in the north than in the south. In Ireland it is known to occur locally in counties Antrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Waterford, Kerry, and Galway, but, as a rule, only sparingly.
Abroad, the distribution includes North Amurland and North America.
Cloaked Carpet (Euphyia picata).
An older English name for this species (Plate 82, Figs. 4, 5) is "The Short Cloak Carpet," Harris (1782), but that given to it by Haworth is here adopted. It is also the biangulata of Haworth, Stephens, and others.
As will be observed on referring to the figures, the outer edge of the blackish central band of the fore wings is twice angled just above the middle; the basal area and the outer marginal border are dark greyish brown, more or less tinged with olive; the whitish ground colour only shows distinctly as a strip immediately beyond the central band, and from this an irregular streak runs to the tips of the wings; some white wavy cross-lines through the outer border are often obscure.
The stoutish caterpillar is yellowish brown, or sometimes reddish brown; there is a series of blackish or dark-brown spots along the back, and a stripe of dusky freckles along each side; lower down are two slender wavy lines enclosing a dusky stripe; head, yellowish-brown mottled with darker brown. It feeds, at night, on chickweed and other kinds of Stellaria, in August and September. One of the mouse-ear chickweeds (Cerastium glomeratum) has also been mentioned as a food plant, and for rearing the caterpillars this would perhaps be useful, as common chickweed, unless in a growing state, is difficult to keep in a suitable condition for larval requirements.
The moth, which is partial to a hedgerow as a hiding-place, is out in June and July, and may be sometimes reared as a second generation in September.
The species is somewhat local, but it is not scarce in many parts of England; its range does not appear to extend northwards beyond Worcestershire on the western side, although it has been recorded from North Wales; on the eastern side it is found up to Norfolk.
The Argent and Sable (Eulype hastata).
About one hundred and sixty years ago Wilkes figured this species as "The Mottled Beauty," but Harris in 1778 gave it its present English name. On Plate 82 are shown two examples of the typical form (Figs. 7, 8), also two specimens of the small form (Figs. 10, 11), var. subhastata, Nolcken (= hastulata, Hübner); the latter form in Britain occurs chiefly in Sutherlandshire and the Isle of Lewis. As regards variation there is, in the small form, a tendency to an increase of black; whilst in the typical form there is a considerable reduction of the black marking—so much so occasionally that of the central black band only a few dots remain around the discal spot, and perhaps a speck or two below it, and a dot or two on the inner margin (ab. demolita, Prout).
The rather stumpy caterpillar is dark olive-green, inclining to blackish, and somewhat shiny; the skin along the sides puckered and marked with ochreous; a black line along the middle of the back; head, black and glossy. It feeds, in July and August, later in the north, on birch, Vaccinium, chiefly uliginosum, and sweet gale (Myrica). It spins together the leaves at the tips of the twigs, and so forms a cocoon-like habitation. The moth is out in May and June, and even July in the north. It flies in the afternoon sunshine around and over birch trees, and occasionally alights on the leaves. It has been taken in Kent, and more frequently in Essex and Suffolk, but it is more plentiful in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and from Surrey to Dorsetshire and Wiltshire; also in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and on high ground in North Wales, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire; its range extending through Cheshire and Lancashire to Cumberland and Northumberland, but only odd specimens have been reported from the last-named county and from Durham. The egg and the caterpillar are shown on Plate 79, Figs. 1 and 1a.
It is widely distributed, and often common in places, throughout Scotland. In Ireland it is local, but has occurred plentifully in some of its haunts in that country; Kane states that var. subhastata has not been noted.
The range abroad spreads to Amurland, China, Iceland, Labrador, and North America.
Beautiful Carpet (Mesoleuca albicillata).
The English name of this species (Plate 82, Fig. 13) is exceedingly appropriate; few of our native moths exhibit such a pleasing combination of colour and marking. It varies but very little in a general way, but a specimen taken in York some years ago has the fore wings dark leaden grey instead of creamy white (ab. suffusa, Carrington), and very rarely the ground colour inclines to yellow.
The stoutish caterpillar (Plate 76, Fig. 2) is green with reddish marks along the back; a white line low down along the sides is edged below with purplish red on the first three rings; the last ring, and the claspers, tinged with purplish red. It feeds at night on bramble and raspberry, in August and September, occasionally earlier or later. In the daytime it rests on the underside of a leaf. When full grown it forms a cocoon just under the surface of the soil, or among rubbish (in the cage), and therein changes to a dark reddish-brown chrysalis (Plate 76, Fig. 2a).
The moth is out in June, sometimes in late May, and occasionally there seems to be a few individuals about in August. The species is a denizen of the woodlands, and is generally to be found in the more open parts of woods where its food plants are well established. It is widely distributed over England and Wales, but most frequent in the south of the former country. In Scotland, it is local in Roxburghshire and Wigtownshire; and it occurs in many parts of Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The Purple Bar (Mesoleuca ocellata).
The whitish fore wings of this species (Plate 82, Fig. 12) are often tinged with pale ochreous brown on the lower two-thirds of the outer marginal area, and this tint sometimes invades the central portion of the bluish-black central band. Rarely the ground colour is almost entirely white, and the central band is very slender (ab. coarctata, Prout), and perhaps rather more frequently the band is completely severed below the middle.
The caterpillar, which feeds at night on bedstraw (Galium mollugo and G. verum), is pale ochreous brown, or pale pinkish brown, netted with darker brown; on the back are a reddish ochreous central line, and some reddish edged pale V-marks: June and July, and sometimes again in the autumn.
The moth is out in June and early July, occasionally in late May in some southern localities. Individuals of a second emergence sometimes appear in August and September. It rests by day on tree-trunks or in hedges, and flies at night. Widely distributed over the British Isles, but, except perhaps in the highlands of Scotland, not very common.
Blue-bordered Carpet (Mesoleuca bicolorata).
The more usual form of this pretty little species is shown on Plate 82, Figs. 3 and 6. In the type the central band is only represented by a spot on the front margin of the fore wings; in ab.parvula, Retz = rubiginata, Hübner, there is also a portion of the band showing on the inner margin. Ab. plumbata, Curtis, from Scotland has the central band entire and the ground colour inclining to creamy white. In ab. fumosa, Prout, the usual white parts of the wing are smoky or dark lead colour (Fig. 9). Barrett mentions a form with all the wings smoothly smoky black; markings of the fore wings olive brown, margined with slender stripes of smoky white.
The long, thin, caterpillar is green, with a darker stripe along the back, and a yellowish green stripe on each side; two points on the last ring. It feeds on alder, birch, sloe, and crab; also in orchards and gardens on plum and apple: April to June.
The moth is out in July and August. It appears to occur most freely in districts where alder is plentiful, but it is not uncommon in country lanes, especially where these are rather moist. It is one of the earliest Geometrid moths to get on the wing, as it is generally active well before dark. Decidedly more common in some districts than in others, but it may be said to be generally distributed.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, and Japan, but the ab.fumosa is only known from Britain.
Pretty Chalk Carpet (Melanthia procellata).
From almost any well-grown hedgerow, in which traveller's joy, or old-man's beard (Clematis vitalba) is plentiful, throughout the southern counties of England, this species (Plate 82, Fig. 14) may be disturbed by the beating stick. It is generally to be met with in July and early August, but may be obtained in forward seasons, or in sheltered localities, at the end of June.
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On the fore wings the dark, slender and wavy cross lines are more distinct in some specimens than in others, and occasionally the blackish blotch on the front margin is traversed by a white line, sometimes by two lines.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, with three darker brown lines along the back, the central one slender, spotted with black on the middle rings; usual dots, black, encircled with white; head, marked with a reddish brown triangle. It feeds on Clematis in August and September.
Distribution of the species abroad extends to Amurland, and in Japan, Corea, and China it is represented by the darker inquinata, Butler.
The Rivulet (Perizoma affinitata).
The whitish band crossing the brownish fore wings is generally fairly wide, sometimes broad, but occasionally it is very narrow; the reduction in width is mainly the result of brownish suffusion of the outer half of the band, leaving the inner half white. Kane mentions a smoky form from Co. Derry, in which the band is absent, and refers this to ab. unicolorata, Gregson. In a specimen from Sligo in my series, the band is tinged with brownish throughout. The hind wings are usually smoky brown, with a paler central band, but in some specimens, referable to ab. turbaria, Stephens, the basal two-thirds are whitish. The moths also vary in size (Plate 83, Figs. 1 and 2).
The caterpillar is pinkish-ochreous inclining to brown; three pinkish lines along the back, and a similar line along the blackish spiracles; a dark plate on the first and last rings. It feeds in the capsules, on the seeds, of red campion (Lychnis dioica), and will eat those of the white L. vespertina: July to September. When eggs can be obtained early, it is possible to rear moths from them in August of the same year.
The moth is out in June and July, in some southern districts in late May.
As it conceals itself during the day among its food plant, or other vegetation around, it may be put up therefrom by gently stirring the herbage; but it flies freely about sundown, and is then easily netted.
The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland, up to Moray. In Ireland it is local and not plentiful, and the same is the case in the North of England.
Small Rivulet (Perizoma alchemillata).
This species (Plate 83, Figs. 3 and 6) is exceedingly close to the last mentioned, but in a general way it is to be distinguished by its greyish-brown coloration. A stippled whitish stripe before the central band, usually only faintly indicated in affinitata, is fairly distinct as a rule. Although the outer edge of the central band is rather more irregular, the middle tooth is not so prominent as in affinitata.
The rather plump caterpillar is purplish above and yellowish green below; three yellow lines on the back, the central one broad; the spiracles are black, and a little above them is another yellow line; head, black and glossy, and there are black shining plates on the first and last rings of the body, that on the first ring divided by the yellow central line (adapted from Porritt). It feeds, in August and September, in the seed capsules of hemp nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit), sometimes on the rarer G. ladanum, and is said to eat woundwort (Stachys) occasionally.
The moth is out in June and July, and, as in the case of the last species, may be stirred up from among its food plant or the surrounding vegetation, in lanes, and around wood borders. The species is widely distributed over the British Isles, except that it seems not to have been noticed in Scotland, north of Moray, although it occurs in the Hebrides.
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Sandy Carpet (Perizoma flavofasciata).
The pale ochreous-brown, or sandy, markings on the white fore wings of this species readily distinguish it from either of its allies. Variable in size, and also in the brownish tint of the markings; the central band is usually contracted below the middle, and not infrequently it is completely severed at this point. It is the decolorata of Hübner, and although more generally known by that name, the earlier flavofasciata, Thunberg, will have to be adopted for this species. (Plate 85, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀.)
The stoutish caterpillar is pale reddish ochreous with browner lines; head, brown and shining, plate on first and last rings of the body brown. It feeds on the flower buds, and on the immature seeds, of the red campion (Lychnis dioica), and the white campion (L. vespertina), but is more partial to the first named; in Ireland it is said to feed on bladder campion (Silene inflata).
In July and August, or even later, the moth may be beaten out of hedgerows, sandy banks, and borders of woods, and sometimes disturbed from patches of the campion growing in thickets; in such places it is on the wing about sundown.
Although local to some extent, it appears to be common enough in most of the counties of England and Wales. In Scotland, it is more or less generally common in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale, and is said to have been an inhabitant of Perthshire (Moncrieffe Hill). It appears to be very local in Ireland, but is recorded from Antrim, Derry, and Kerry, and noted as common at Larne in the first-named county.
Grass Rivulet (Perizoma albulata).
Although some English specimens approach the larger and whiter typical form, the species as it occurs in the British Isles is generally greyer, var. griseata, Staudinger; two examples of this form are shown on Plate 83, Figs. 10 and 11. In the Shetland Isles, the species assumes a darker coloration, and is either well marked on the fore wings, as in Fig. 14, or almost plain, as in Fig. 13 (ab. thules, Weir), which is an extreme aberration of the form subfasciaria, Boheman. In other examples of a deep leaden grey, or brown tint, the central area is no darker than the rest of the wing. In the Isle of Lewis a white form with faint markings is prevalent, and this leads up to a clear white aberration devoid of markings, ab. niveata, Stephens, = hebudium, Weir.
The wrinkled caterpillar, which feeds, in July and August, on the seeds of the yellow rattle (Rhinanthus crista-galli), and lives in the capsule, is whitish, inclining to greenish, dotted with black, and striped with dark green on the back and sides; head, black and glossy; plates and first and last rings of the body dusky. (Plate 84, Fig. 1.)
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later. It occurs chiefly in dry meadows where the yellow rattle flourishes, and is to be seen on the wing, often in large numbers, in the late afternoon about sundown. Generally abundant in suitable places, throughout the British Isles.
The Barred Rivulet (Perizoma bifasciata).
Haworth described two forms of this species, and a specimen of each is shown on our Plate 83. Fig. 4 represents bifasciata (bifaciata, the Double-barred Rivulet), and Fig. 5 depicts unifasciata (the Single-barred Rivulet). The chief difference appears to be that in the type (bifasciata) the "rivulets" are white and distinct, thus bringing out a dark band between the central one and the base of the wing.
The stoutish caterpillar is pale brown, inclining to ochreous on the back, along which are three lines, the central one greyish, and the others whitish shaded with greyish; a whitish stripe low down along the sides; the usual dots are black, and the spiracles are black, margined with ochreous (adapted from Fenn). In September and October it feeds in the seed capsules of Bartsia odontites, and is often plentiful; Mr. G. F. Mathew records obtaining nearly five hundred from three small bundles of the food plant gathered in the Harwich district.
The moth is out in July and August, but is not often seen in the daytime, and is not taken very frequently, even when flying at night, but it comes to light, and visits flowers.
From chrysalids obtained from caterpillars reared in 1900, Mr. Robert Adkin bred ten moths in 1901, eleven in 1902, two in 1903, five in 1904, and two in 1905.
The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, and the south of Scotland, but it is most frequent in the south of England. Not much is known of it in Ireland, but it has been noted from counties Dublin, Louth, and Derry.
Heath Rivulet (Perizoma minorata).
The British form of this species (Plate 83, Figs. 9, 12) is rather smaller and darker than typical minorata, Treitschke, and as Stephens has figured and described it as ericetata, this name should be adopted for our native race.
The white fore wings have a greyish basal patch and three bands of the same colour; the outer one is traversed by a more or less distinct wavy whitish line; the band nearest the basal patch is sometimes very faint; more rarely the markings are absent from the central area of the wings (ab. monticola, Staud.), and a specimen approaching this form has been taken in Perthshire.
The caterpillar is pale green with a dark-green edged ochreous brown stripe along the middle of the back, and green stripes on each side; the usual dots are black, and the plates on first and last rings are brown, as also is the head. It feeds, in September, on the seeds of eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis).
The moth is out in July and August, and is found very locally, flying in the late afternoon among its food plant, on the moorlands and pasture-grounds of Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, and Westmorland; and has been reported from Hawkshead, in Lancashire. In Scotland, it is common in suitable parts of Roxburghshire and several localities in Clydesdale; thence widely spread to the Orkneys. Only noted from the Mourne Mountains in the north-east of Ireland, but probably to be found in other parts of that country.
Pretty Pinion (Perizoma blandiata).
This species (Plate 83, Figs. 7, 8) is also known as adæquata, Borkhausen, the name under which it is catalogued by Staudinger. As a rule the central band on the whitish fore wings is only represented by a round, or sometimes triangular, blackish spot on the front margin, a smaller blackish mark on the inner margin, and some dusky clouding between these two portions. In specimens from the Hebrides the band is more or less complete, and in some of them it is very much narrowed, especially towards the inner margin (ab. coarctata, Prout).
The caterpillar is green, with three crimson lines, the outer ones bent inwards to the central one on the middle of each ring; two lines above and one below the yellowish spiracular line are pink; head green, tinged and freckled with pink. It feeds in September on the flowers and seeds of the eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis).
The moth is out from late May to July, and its habits are similar to those of the last species. In Scotland it appears to be commoner than in other parts of the British Isles, its range extending from Clydesdale to the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetland; but it has been recorded from Cumberland, and once from Durham. In Wales it has been taken at Dolgelly, in Merionethshire. Prout states that in 1902 he secured two specimens near Cwm Bychan, and that the species has since been captured regularly in the locality. It is widely distributed throughout Kerry and Galway, and also recorded from Cork and Derry, in Ireland.
The Barred Carpet (Perizoma tæniata).
This species is shown on Plate 85, Fig. 3. There are two forms of the central band of the fore wings, which in the type as figured by Stephens is broad, but is narrow in ab. arctaria, Herrich-Schaeffer = angustifasciata, Staud. The colour of the bands may be greyer or browner than in the specimen figured, and the ochreous general colour of the fore wings is more tinged with brown in some specimens than in others.
The rather bristly caterpillar is light brown with a pinkish tinge; the back is marked with browner diamonds and some black dots, and there is a yellow stripe along the sides. It feeds on moss (Hodgkinson, Entom. xxviii. 241) growing in damp places, hibernates when quite small, and reappears about April, when it seems to prefer the fruit of the moss, but will also thrive on chickweed. The moths appear from the end of June, and may be found, but in wasted condition, up to early September.
The species is extremely local, and in its secluded haunts may be found on the trunks of holly and yew trees, or it may be disturbed from the branches of such trees, or from hedgerows, etc.
In Britain the species seems to have been first noted in Castle Eden Dene, Durham (1825), and subsequently in Cumberland (Flimby, near Maryport), Westmorland, Lancashire (Arnside and Silverdale), Yorkshire (Scarborough), Derbyshire (Dovedale), Arthog in North Wales, and Tintern in Monmouthshire. The only English locality for it south of Monmouth is Watersmeet, near Lynton, in North Devon. In Scotland, it has been noted from Rannoch and Pitlochrie, in Perthshire, and from Dalmallin, in Argyllshire. It has a wide distribution in Ireland, and is common in some parts of that country, as at Killarney, Co. Kerry, and Rockwood, in Sligo.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland; it is represented in Japan by fulvida, Butler, and in North America by basaliata, Walker.
Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata).
This very common and generally distributed species is subject to a good deal of variation in the tint of ground colour, and also in the greater or lesser amount of black marking. On Plate 85 six specimens are shown; Figs. 4, 5 represent the more frequent form in most localities, but in many districts ab. infuscata, Gumppenberg (Fig. 6), is hardly less common; in some specimens the central band is entirely blackish, and occasionally the middle area of the band is partly or wholly whitish. Sometimes the wings are uniformly yellow without markings, but such aberrations are scarce, or have not been noted often. A small form occurring in the Hebrides and the Shetlands, var. atlantica, Staud., has the wings generally darkened; Figs. 7-9 depict three specimens from the Isle of Lewis. Portraits of two very local Irish forms will be found on Plate 61; one is ab. hibernica, Prout (Fig. 5), and the other approaches the dark ab. isolata, Kane (Fig. 6).
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The eggs, which are laid loosely, are yellowish or pale straw colour (Plate 84, Fig. 3a). Caterpillar, stoutish, green inclining to yellowish; three lines on the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellowish, as also are the ring divisions; a pale wavy line low down along the sides. In some examples the general colour is pale greyish-brown, inclining to reddish brown. It feeds on grass, dock, chickweed, and various low-growing plants, from August to May, and is often abundant in hay meadows (Fig. 3, Plate 84, is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich). The moth occurs throughout the summer, and is very plentiful (often a pest) in almost every hedgerow and most bushy places.
July Highflyer (Hydriomena furcata).
Some idea of the variable character of this species (sordidata, Fab., and elutata, Hübner) may be formed from the selection of half a dozen examples shown on Plate 86. The typical form has the fore wings greyish, with dark bands as in Fig. 1, and a modification without the dark bands seems to be ab. cinereata, Prout. In the form sordidata, Fabricius, the general colour of the fore wings is greenish, and the bands are dark; ab. obliterata, Prout, is of the same colour, but the bands are absent. Ab. fusco-undata, Donovan, has the general colour reddish, with dark bands; without dark bands it becomes testaceata, Prout. Blackish or sooty forms are referable to infuscata, Staud. (Fig. 4). Frequently in the green forms, and less often in the reddish, there is a broad whitish central stripe, and a narrow one on the basal area; in the green form again the basal and central areas are occasionally crossed by red bands, and this is one of the prettiest forms of the species and, so far as I know, occurs only in the large sallow-feeding race; it possibly represents ab. fusco-undata, which is most frequent in the smaller moorland race.
The egg (Plate 87, Fig. 1b) when figured, February 8, 1908, was whitish as regards the shell, but the interior was dark greenish. In April the caterpillar appeared to be formed, but it did not leave the shell until early in May.
The full-grown caterpillar (Plate 87, Figs. 1, 1a) is brownish, inclining to blackish; whitish between the rings, white lines along the back and sides, and tinged with red along the spiracular region. It feeds, in May and June, on sallow, willow, poplar, hazel, bilberry, and heather. The moth is out in July and August, but I have seen the small bilberry-feeding form (Plate 86, Figs. 5, 6) on a corner of Exmoor, North Devon, in great profusion in late June, whilst in the same district the sallow-feeding, larger form appeared about a fortnight later, at which time specimens among bilberry were not numerous, and rather shabby in appearance.
Except perhaps in the Shetlands, this species is to be found in all parts of the British Isles. It is very common in hedgerows, and around the margins of woods; the smaller race frequents woods where bilberry is established, and also occurs on mountains and moors.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, China, Japan, and also to North America.
May Highflyer (Hydriomena impluviata).
The typical and commoner form of this species is shown on Plate 86, Figs. 7 and 8. The ground colour, usually pale green, is sometimes almost white, but more frequently it is tinged with greyish brown, thus leading up to the blackish ab. infuscata, Prout (Figs. 9, 10).
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The caterpillar is brownish grey, or purplish grey, dotted with black and dappled with dark brown; of the three lines along the back, the central one is black and swells out on the middle of each ring, the others are pale; a clear stripe of the ground colour below the black spiracles, and a slender line above them. The general colour is sometimes pale pinky brown or ochreous. It feeds on alder throughout the summer and autumn, and may be found in its domicile of spun-together dry leaves even in November, and sometimes later. Occasionally, a few caterpillars will feed up quickly, and attain the moth state in July or August, but the bulk do not become chrysalids until later in the year, and the moths emerge therefrom in May and early June. (Plate 87, Fig. 2.)
The species seems to occur, more or less freely, wherever there are alders throughout the greater part of the British Isles.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
Ruddy Highflyer (Hydriomena ruberata).
This species is most readily distinguished from the last by the short oblique black streak on the tips of the rather narrower fore wings; there are also black streaks between the veins and below the tips of the wings, as in the last species, but they are generally shorter and often hardly traceable.
The ground colour ranges from pale grey (sometimes with a green tinge), through brownish grey to reddish brown; usually central and outer marginal bands of a darker shade are present, but these characters may be very indistinct or entirely lost in the general coloration. (Plate 86, Figs. 11 and 12.)
The caterpillar is pale brown, dappled with grey; three dark greyish lines along the back; spiracles and the usual dots black, the latter with fine hairs; head, reddish brown, plates on first and last rings of the body light brown. It feeds, at night, during the summer and autumn, on sallow and willow, spinning together the leaves at the top of a twig to form a retreat during the day.
The moth is found in hedges, woods, and on heaths, in May and June; it may be occasionally beaten out of sallow bushes, but flies in the early evening, and is then more readily obtained. The species is widely distributed, but not generally common, in England and Wales, and in Scotland to Perthshire and probably further north, as it is found in Orkney, where specimens are numerous but rather small in size, and the caterpillars, according to McArthur, feed on heather as well as on sallow. Decidedly uncommon in Ireland, but it has been met with, in most instances singly, in Armagh, Tyrone, Westmeath, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.
Royal Mantle (Anticlea cucullata).
This species (Plate 88, Fig. 1) is also known as sinuata, Hübner. The white fore wings have a blackish patch at the base and a blackish mark on the front margins beyond the middle; the former is separated into two parts by a pale reddish-brown band, and there is a reddish band, most distinct on the front area, beyond the black mark; in some specimens these bands are greyish.
The caterpillar is green, sometimes inclining to yellowish, with two black or purplish stripes, enclosing a broader pale yellow one, along the back; head, green, freckled with black. It feeds on the flowers of bedstraw (Galium mollugo, and G. verum), in July and August, or later in some seasons.
The moth is out in late June and in July, and occasionally may be disturbed from its food plant or the surrounding herbage. About dusk it is on the wing, and later is attracted by light. It seems to occur in most of the English counties from Kent to Cornwall; also in Berks., Oxon., Herts, and the eastern counties. Always local, and except in the east, where it is found in the Breck-sand area, most frequent in chalky localities. Barrett notes a specimen from Knowle, Warwickshire, and there are at least two records from Scotland (Perthshire). In Ireland, Mr. W. F. de V. Kane took one example from a wall in co. Clare, and another has been recorded from Galway.
The range of the species abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland; and it is represented in Corea and Japan by A. yokohamæ, Butler.
The Shoulder Stripe (Anticlea badiata).
The ground colour of the fore wings is pale ochreous brown, inclining to whitish; there are three dark-edged black cross-lines, the first of them sharply bent below the front margin, the second is rather oblique, and the third is wavy and often not clearly defined towards the inner margin; the outer marginal area is broadly bordered with pale reddish brown or dark purplish brown, there is a black streak from the more or less indistinct, whitish submarginal line to the tips of the wings, and a white mark about the middle of the line; the ground colour is most in evidence on the central area of the wings, but even here it is frequently reduced to a slender band, or occasionally only a patch near the front margin of the wing. (Plate 88, Figs. 2-4.)
The caterpillar (Plate 89, Fig. 1) is green, inclining to yellow between the rings; the spiracles are black, and there is sometimes a pinkish brown or purplish stripe along their area. Varies in general colour, and also in marking. It feeds, at night, on wild rose, and may be beaten from the bushes from May to July. When full grown it forms an oval cocoon in the earth, and therein changes to a chrysalis (Plate 89, Fig. 1a), which is dark reddish brown, inclining to blackish on the thorax, wing-cases, and the front edges of the body rings.
The moth appears in March and April, and may be obtained from almost any hedgerow, where wild rose is plentiful, throughout the British Isles, except that it seems not to extend north of Moray in Scotland.
Barberry Carpet (Anticlea berberata).
The fore wings are greyish or whitish, tinged with grey; there are two dark-edged black lines on the basal half, and a black line beyond the middle of the wings; the latter has a conspicuous tooth in its upper half, but the lower wavy half is indistinct; there is a black streak in the tip of the wing. (Plate 88, Figs. 5, 6.)
The stout and roughened caterpillar is brown, with indistinct darker stripes along the back; the head is brown, checkered with darker brown. It feeds, in June and July, on barberry (Berberis vulgaris); there is a second brood in late August and September.
The moth is out in May and early June, and again in August. Although it certainly has been noted from other parts of England, the species seems at present to be confined to the eastern counties. Barrett gives Somerset also.
The Flame (Anticlea rubidata).
The markings on the reddish fore wings of this species (Plate 88, Figs. 9 and 10) are somewhat similar to those of the last mentioned, but there is no black streak in the tips of the wings, and the upper part of the outer black line is not toothed. The lower central area is often greyish, and the reddish ground colour is sometimes obscured.
The caterpillar is pale brown, sometimes greyish or greenish tinged, with obscure darker diamond-shaped marks on the back; a black central line, indistinct on the middle rings; under side striped and lined with pale and dark brown; head, with a black V-shaped mark. It feeds, in July and early August, on bedstraw (Galium mollugo and G. verum), and will eat cleavers or goosegrass (G. aparine) in confinement.
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The moth flies in June and July, and in the daytime may be readily disturbed from hedges in localities on the chalk in the southern half of England and Wales, especially in the seaboard counties from Kent to Cornwall. It has been recorded from Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and once from the Isle of Arran (Entom. xv. 250).
The Streamer (Anticlea nigrofasciaria).
The two examples of this species depicted on Plate 88 show the ordinary form with the central area of the fore wings greyish brown (Fig. 7, Essex), and a New Forest specimen in which the central area is whitish (Fig. 8).
The long caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish between the rings; a purplish, or reddish-brown, stripe along the back is broken up into spots on the middle rings. It feeds on the flowers and leaves of wild rose, and can be found or beaten out in May and June. (Plate 89, Figs. 2, larva, 2a, ova.)
The moth is out in April and early May, and is often seen at rest on palings, etc., but it occurs chiefly in hedgerows, along which it flies at dusk.
This species (also known as derivata, Borkhausen) is pretty well distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it seems to be local.
Dingy Shell (Euchœca obliterata).
This pale ochreous brown species (Plate 91) is in the male (Fig. 1) more or less sprinkled and shaded with darker brown, and the three brown cross lines are consequently often obscure, and rarely as distinct as in the female (Fig. 3).
The green caterpillar has a yellow line running down the middle of a black stripe along the back, and this stripe is bordered on each side with yellow, and broken up by the yellow ring divisions; head, with a black spot on each side. It feeds, in July and August, on alder.
The moth is out in June and early July, and will be found in almost every locality in England where the alder flourishes, most plentifully, perhaps, on the eastern and western sides. It has been recorded from North and South Wales, but it does not seem to have been noted from Ireland or Scotland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
Small White Wave (Asthena candidata).
The delicately lined white moth shown on Plate 91, Figs. 5 ♂ and 6 ♀, is chiefly a woodland species. It is generally common in the south of England, occurs more or less frequently throughout the northern half, and is widely distributed in Wales. In Scotland, it is said to be locally common in Clydesdale, and to be found in Arran and in Perthshire. It is plentiful at Dromoland, co. Clare, Ireland, not uncommon in parts of Galway, and once recorded from Wicklow.
The caterpillar is found, in July and August, on birch, hazel, and wild rose. In general colour it is green, inclining to bluish at each end, and tinged with yellowish along the ridge on the sides; the back is marked with crimson. (Plate 90, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes July, and individuals of a second generation occasionally appear in August or September.
Small Yellow Wave (Asthena luteata).
This pretty little species (Plate 91, Figs. 2 and 4) has the pale yellowish wings marked with ochreous brown lines, which vary in thickness, and a dash of the same colour on the fore wings, from the central pair of lines to the middle of the outer margin.
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The caterpillar, which feeds in August and September, on maple, and in the northern counties on alder, is green, inclining to whitish between the rings.
The moth is out in June and early July, sometimes from mid May in warm localities. It is widely distributed over England and Wales, and in the southern counties of England it occurs in hedges wherever the maple grows, but in the midlands and northwards it is chiefly found among alder. In Scotland it is local and rare in Clydesdale, and is known to occur in Perthshire.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.
Waved Carpet (Asthena testaceata).
The typical, greyish-dusted, white form is depicted on Plate 91, Figs. 7 ♂ and 9 ♀. Mr. E. R. Bankes states (Entom., xl. 33) that in one restricted area in mid-Kent this species varies in the direction of melanism, and he describes two forms as under: ab. intermedia has the usual coloration, but the wings are thickly dusted with dusky brown, chiefly along the front edge of the fore wings, and the cross lines are more distinct than in the type. In ab. goodwini all the wings have the whitish ground colour largely obscured by dusky brown powdering.
The rather spindle-shaped caterpillar is purplish brown, inclining to greenish on the sides and below at each end; on the back of the middle rings are whitish V-marks, and the last three rings incline to purplish red above (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on the young leaves of alder, birch, and sallow, in July and August. The moth is out in June, and hides by day among the bushes, but may be seen occasionally on tree-trunks. Its haunts are in damp woods and plantations, and it occurs in most of the English and Welsh counties, although it is rarely common, except in the south of England. In Ireland it has been noted as scarce in counties Wicklow, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
Blomer's Rivulet (Asthena blomeri).
The earliest British specimens of this species (Plate 91, Figs. 8 ♂ and 10 ♀) were taken in Castle Eden Dean, Durham, and among the first to detect these was Captain Blomer, after whom Curtis named the species in 1832. It is still found in that locality, but is also known to occur in Cumberland, Lancs., Yorks., Derby, Staffs., Merionethshire, Worcester, Hereford, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Wilts., Oxford, and Bucks.
The slender caterpillar is yellowish green, generally marked with pinkish-brown on the back, but most or all such markings may be absent. It feeds, on wych elm (Ulmus montana) (Plate 90, Fig. 1), in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, earlier or later in some seasons. As a rule, it sits on the trunks of beech trees, but I have seen it on the stems of cherry and fir, though hardly ever on wych-elm. Occasionally, newly emerged specimens have been noted on the leaves of dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis).
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
Lime-speck Pug (Eupithecia oblongata).
The characteristic features of this white, or greyish white, species (Plate 93, Figs. 1 and 4) is the bluish grey blotch on the front margin, in the lower end of which is the black discal spot. Occasionally, the blotch is much reduced in size, but it is usually large, and sometimes there are indications of a dusky stripe from it to the inner margin.
When freshly laid, the egg is whitish, but changes to pale orange. The caterpillar (Plate 92, Figs. 2, 2a) is greenish, with more or less connected reddish marks on the back, or green inclining to yellowish, or bluish, without markings. It feeds through the summer on flowers of ragwort, knapweed, scabious, yarrow, golden rod, etc.
The moth, which is often common in gardens, is out from May to August, and specimens of a second brood occur in September and October.
It is widely distributed over the British Islands, but in Scotland it does not, apparently, extend north of Perthshire.
Foxglove Pug (Eupithecia pulchellata).
The fore wings are pale ochreous brown with a dusky basal patch limited by a black line; a greyish central band inclining to blackish near the costa, and clouded with ochreous below the middle; the black-and-white edges are wavy; a reddish stripe across the wing before the central band, and a similar, but more irregular, one beyond the band. The hind wings are whitish grey, with several dark-grey bands (Plate 93, Figs. 7 ♂, 10 ♀).
In var. hebudium, Sheldon, from the Hebrides, the usual reddish stripes are replaced by narrower dark-brown ones; the space left by the reduction in width is white, giving the insect a decidedly grey appearance.
The caterpillar lives in the flowers of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and feeds therein upon the stamens and the immature seeds. It enters by boring through the side walls, and then secures the longer lobe of the blossom to the shorter upper one with a few silken threads. Tenanted flowers have a rather faded look and are easily detected. July is the best month, but the caterpillar may be found earlier as well as later.
The moth is out in May and June, and is found in almost every part of the British Isles where the foxglove is common.
Toadflax Pug (Eupithecia linariata).
Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, neater and more glossy looking. The central band of the fore wing is blacker, without ochreous clouding below the middle, and the edges are not wavy. The hind wings are darker, and the only distinct band is a whitish one beyond the middle (Plate 93, Figs. 3, 6).
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with a series of dull olive or rust coloured spots or bars along the back, bordered on each side by a dusky olive line; in some examples the markings are absent (Crewe). It feeds in the flowers of yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), and may be reared on flowers of the snapdragon (Antirrhinum). It is hardly necessary to examine each blossom separately to find the caterpillar, except, perhaps, to make sure when doubtful about the quarry being there. Probably, a handful of the flower sprays gathered in August or September in any locality in the southern half of England where the food plant abounds would furnish moths in the following May or June. The Linaria should be secured on a dry day for choice, but when brought home it need not be put in water; just throw it into an airy breeding cage, and hopefully await emergence of the perfect insects in due course. Sometimes caterpillars attain the moth state the same year.
The range of the species in England extends to Durham, but it seems to be rather uncommon from the Midlands northwards. It is found in Wales, and has been recorded once from Scotland (Inverurie), and once from Ireland (Dublin).
Marbled Pug (Eupithecia irriguata).
The fore wings are whitish and rather shining, the discal spot is black and very distinct, but the dark grey-brown markings, which are only well defined on the front and outer marginal areas, vary in intensity (Plate 93, Fig. 9).
The long, slender and roughened caterpillar is dull yellowish green; three lines along the back, the central one reddish and expanded on the middle rings, the others yellowish; head, reddish. It feeds on oak, in late May and in June. The moth is out in April and May, and is sometimes found on fences or palings in the neighbourhood of oak woods, but may be jarred from the oak boughs, on the undersides of which it usually sits.
The New Forest in Hants is, perhaps, the best British locality for the species, but it has been found in Dorset (Glanville's Wootton), Devon (Exeter district, Tiverton, etc.), Sussex (Abbots Wood, St. Leonard's Forest, etc.), Wilts. (Savernake Forest); also oak woods in Surrey, Berks., Gloucester, Hereford and Glamorgan. On the eastern side it occurs in Suffolk (Bury and Needham), and Norfolk.
Dwarf Pug (Eupithecia pusillata).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 93, Fig. 12) are pale greyish white, discal spot black, cross lines irregular dark grey inclining to brownish, usually most distinct on the front margin.
The long, slender caterpillar is orange-red or dull ochreous green; three dusky olive lines along the back, the central one often only distinct on the front rings; a yellow line low down along the sides. It feeds, in June and early July, on spruce (Picea excelsa). The moth is out in May and June, and rests by day among the branches of the spruce.
The species is very local, but is found in Kent (West Wickham, etc.), Surrey (Mickleham district), Hants (New Forest), Devon (Exeter district, Plymouth), Wilts. (Watlington district), and Suffolk.
Ochreous Pug (Eupithecia indigata).
Captured specimens of this pale greyish-ochreous-brown species nearly always have a washed-out appearance, and even freshly emerged examples are unattractive. In some specimens, cross lines are more or less traceable on the fore wings; in others four or five tiny dusky dots will be noted on the front edge; as a rule, the only clearly defined character is the black discal spot (Plate 96, Fig. 1).
The long caterpillar is greenish-yellow or yellowish-red; three lines on the back, the central one brownish, but often only distinct on the front rings; the others, and also one low down along the sides, yellowish; head, reddish (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in June and July, on pine and larch, or may be reared on juniper.
The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes there seems to be another emergence in the latter part of the summer. It frequents pine-woods, where it rests upon the trunks and branches of the trees.
Generally distributed over the whole of England; has been found in South Wales, and occurs in Perthshire, in Scotland. In Ireland, it has been noted from Tyrone, Derry, and Galway.
Pinion-Spotted Pug (Eupithecia insigniata).
The greyish white fore wings have a blackish basal line, and three slender double lines between this and the outer margin; three blotches on the front margin of the wings, the middle one blackish, the others brown with dashes of the same colour below; discal spot, black and streak-like (Plate 96, Fig. 2).
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The long, slightly roughened caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings; reddish marks on the back connected by a slender line of the same colour; head, green, flecked with reddish. It feeds, on apple, eating flowers and leaves, in May and June. Also said to eat hawthorn and sloe. The moth is out in April and May, but it is rarely met with in the open. If, however, one is lucky enough to capture a female, and fertile eggs are obtained, moths should hardly fail to result. From these the stock might go on increasing year by year for quite a long period. Ten specimens presented to the National Collection of British Lepidoptera in 1904, by the late Mrs. Hutchinson, were bred in April of the previous year, and were the direct descendants of a female captured in 1874, at Grantsfield, Herefordshire.
Other counties in England from which the species has been recorded are—Worcester (Birchwood), Gloucester, Somerset, Wilts., Hants (Hayling Island), Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Berks., Bucks., Huntingdon, Cambridge (once bred from mixed larvæ beaten from hawthorn on the "Gogs"), Suffolk (beaten from hawthorn at Brandon, Tuddenham, etc.), and Norfolk.
As insigniata, Hübner, is claimed to be at least two years older than consignata, Borkhausen, the former name will have to be adopted for this species.
Netted Pug (Eupithecia venosata).
This moth has also been named by the old authors "the Pretty Widow Moth." On Plate 93 are shown four examples; the typical form (Fig. 2), in which the fore wings are pale greyish, with black cross lines, two of which are edged with whitish; var. fumosæ, Gregson = nubilata, Bohatsch (Fig. 5)—the Shetland race—is brownish grey, with the markings obscure; Fig. 8 represents a variegated modification of the last form, for which the name bandanæ was proposed by Gregson; Fig. 11 depicts another specimen, which in its light-brown colour closely approaches the Orkney form var. ochracæ, Gregson = orcadensis, Prout.
Specimens from North Devon have a rather darker tone of the typical coloration, and those from North Wales and from Ireland incline to brownish.
The rather stumpy caterpillar is greyish brown above, and pale greenish or yellowish below; three darker brown lines along the back; head, blackish. It is found from late June to early August, in the seed capsules of catchfly (Silene inflate, S. maritima, etc.). Plate 92, Fig. 4, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.
The moth is out in May and June, and is widely distributed over the British Isles.
Pimpinel Pug (Eupithecia pimpinellata).
A portrait of this species, which, as a British insect, was first noted in Suffolk nearly sixty years ago, will be found on Plate 95, Fig. 1. The fore wings are pale brownish, except on the front edge, which is greyish; the black discal spot is distinct and rather long; the median vein and its branches are dotted with black, and most of the cross lines are only distinct on the front margin, where they are blackish; the rather wavy whitish submarginal line is sometimes marked with blackish. In some specimens the costal half of the fore wings is greyish, and the other portion only tinged with pale brownish.
The long caterpillar is green, with three purplish lines along the back, the central one wider and more distinct than the others; the head is purple. Sometimes purple, with two lines of a deeper shade on each side of the back (Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers of burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella). The moth is out in June and July, and in the late afternoon is occasionally put up from among its food plant or the herbage around, but such specimens are rarely worth keeping, unless of the female sex, when eggs may be obtained.
The species has a wide distribution in England, especially in the southern half; it occurs in Wales, and also in Ireland, but not in Scotland.
Thyme Pug (Eupithecia distinctaria).
This delicately marked species, better known, perhaps, as constrictata, Guenée (Plate 95, Fig. 4), has the fore wings whitish grey, with three slender blackish curved cross lines, and some less distinct greyish ones; the outer margin is slightly darker, and traversed by a wavy whitish line; discal spot black and conspicuous.
I have not seen specimens from the Hebrides, but, according to Barrett, these have a more decided grey tint.
The rather long, wrinkled caterpillar is dark green, inclining to yellowish between the rings, with a broad purplish red line along the back. It feeds on the flowers of wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), in August and September.
The moth is out in June and July, and inhabits dry places where there is an abundant growth of wild thyme. It is easily alarmed, and quickly rises on the wing from its hiding-place among the herbage.
The species is, or has been, found in most of the southern counties of England, from Sussex to Cornwall, on the western side from Somerset to Westmorland, including North Wales and the Isle of Man; also recorded from Buckinghamshire, Yorkshire (Richmond), and Northumberland. In Scotland it occurs chiefly on the west to Ross, and in the Hebrides; in Ireland it is widely spread, but most frequently met with on the coast.
Bleached Pug (Eupithecia expallidata).
The ample wings light brown in colour, with large black discal spot, and smaller black marks on the front edge of the fore wings, distinguish this species (Plate 95, Fig. 7) from its closest British allies.
The caterpillar feeds, in September and October, on flowers of golden rod (Solidago virgaurea), but it will thrive on those of michaelmas daisy, and probably the asters of the garden. It varies in ground colour, but this is usually some shade of green, and there are brownish spots and lines on the back.
The moth is out from late June until August, and may be put up from among golden rod during the day, or netted as it flies about the plant in the gloaming.
It is rather local, but occurs in most of the southern counties of England, from Kent to Devonshire, and westward from Somerset to Hereford and South Wales; also recorded from North Lancashire. Rare in Scotland, and only noted from Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. Reported from a few localities on the coast in Ireland.
Currant Pug (Eupithecia assimilata).
This species (Plate 95, Fig. 9) is similar in marking to that next mentioned, but the wings are shorter and rounder; the fore wings are a trifle redder in tint, and the white mark at the termination of the submarginal line is usually more conspicuous.
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The rather slender caterpillar, figured on Plate 92, Fig. 6, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, is yellowish green, inclining to yellow between the rings; three darker green lines on the back, the central one most distinct, the others rather broad and not well defined; sometimes the central line is tinged with brown, as also is the front edge of each ring. It feeds on currant and hop, and is said to eat the leaves of gooseberry also. The first brood is in June and July, and the second in the autumn. The moth is out in May and June and in August. It frequents gardens, and hides among the foliage, or occasionally sits on walls or palings; from hedges where the wild hop grows freely it may be beaten out in the daytime, but it flies in the twilight, sometimes in numbers, around the hop bines.
Widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Ross; in Ireland it has been noted from Tyrone, Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Sligo.
Wormwood Pug (Eupithecia absinthiata).
The fore wings are reddish or purplish brown; cross lines indistinct, but represented on the front edge by black marks; discal dot black, submarginal line whitish interrupted, often indistinct, except above the inner margin (Plate 95, Figs. 3, 6, 10). The short, stout, and roughened caterpillar varies in colour, and may be yellowish green, deep rose colour, or dirty reddish brown; a series of lozenge-shaped reddish spots on the back, faint towards each end (often absent in green forms); oblique yellow stripes on the sides form borders to the marks on the back (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on the flowers of ragwort, golden rod, aster, yarrow, hemp agrimony, etc. The moth is out in June and July.
The species is generally common in the south of England, and is widely distributed over the rest of that country, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland its range extends to Moray.
Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland.
Ling Pug (Eupithecia goossensiata).
The fore wings are rather narrower and more pointed at the tips than those of the last species; the ground colour of the fore wings is of a paler reddish brown, and frequently tinged with greyish; the hind wings are usually greyish-brown (Plate 95, Figs. 2, 12). The caterpillar, which feeds in August and September on the flowers of heath (Erica), and ling (Calluna), is pinkish with dusky marks on the back, most distinct on the middle rings; a yellowish line low down along the side has dusky marks upon it; head, dusky olive, marked with white (adapted from Crewe).
It may be mentioned here, that knautiata, Gregson, which was described as a distinct species, is by some authorities considered to be a form of this species, whilst others refer it to absinthiata. The caterpillar is stouter than that of goossensiata, varies in colour from whitish to green, and even purplish-brown, but not to pinkish; it feeds on the flowers and seeds of Knautia arvensis. The moth is out in June and July, and occurs on heaths and moors throughout England, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland, it is obtained freely in some parts of the south, and its range extends to the Orkneys.
This species is the minutata of Guenée and other authors, but this name, being a synonym of absinthiata, will have to be discarded in favour of goossensiata, Mabille (1869).
Campanula Pug (Eupithecia denotata).
The faint reddish tinged pale-brown fore wings distinguish this species (Plate 95, Fig. 5). The blackish marks on the front edge are minute, the cross lines are usually indistinct and often absent; the discal spot, however, is black and conspicuous, and the whitish submarginal line is very wavy. In general colour, the caterpillar is pale brownish; lines and marks on the back, dark brown or blackish. It feeds on the seeds of the nettle-leaved bell-flower (Campanula trachelium), and may be reared on the flowers of the various kinds of Campanula grown in gardens: August and early September. The moth is out in July, but is rarely seen in a state of nature. Caterpillars, however, are not uncommon, where the food plant is plentiful, in several of the English counties from Worcestershire southwards to Kent and Cornwall; also in Norfolk.
This species is the campanulata of most British authors.
Jasione Pug (Eupithecia jasioneata).
Except that the ground colour inclines to dark greyish brown, and the cross markings are rather more in evidence, this species is somewhat similar to that last mentioned, pale specimens especially (Plate 95, Figs. 8, 11). The caterpillar feeds in the seed heads of sheep's bit (Jasione montana), is very like that of denotata (campanulata), and occurs in the same months. Possibly this insect, which is regarded as purely British, may eventually be reduced to varietal rank. As pointed out by Mr. Prout, it is in its paler form not easily separable from atraria, Herrich-Schaeffer, a mountain form of denotata, Hübner. Whether species or variety, it is equally interesting to the student of British Lepidoptera from the fact that, up to the year 1878, it seems to have been unknown to entomologists. From its close allies, it stands out more distinctly than do absinthiata and goossensiata from each other, and the latter can hardly escape a similar fate if jasioneata is degraded.
The moth is out in May and June, but it is very rarely seen at large, though caterpillars are found locally in Devon and Somerset, England; at Barmouth, in Merionethshire, North Wales; and in Cork and Kerry, Ireland. Possibly, it awaits discovery in several other parts of the British Isles, and almost certainly in the west of England. In ascertaining new localities for the species, the best method of investigation would be to search for the caterpillars.
White-spotted Pug (Eupithecia albipunctata).
This greyish brown species (Plate 97, Fig. 1) will be recognised by the white spot at the lower end of the whitish submarginal line on the fore wings; not infrequently there is a second white spot placed on the line about the middle, and sometimes a third near the front margin; the hind wings have a white dot at the anal angle, and, occasionally, a second is placed a little beyond. Ab. angelicata, Barrett, occurring with the type in the north of England, is blackish with the discal spot and the veins showing blacker, but without white spots. (Plate 96, Fig. 9.) The caterpillar is pale lemon yellow, or yellowish green; three brown lines along the back, the central one with brown marks upon it; some brownish marks on the sides. Variable in general colour, and the markings sometimes absent. It feeds on the flowers of angelica (Angelica sylvestris), hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), and other Umbelliferæ. It has also been reared on a diet of elder leaves: August, September, or even later. Our figure (Plate 92, Fig. 5) is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich. The moth emerges in May and June, sometimes earlier in confinement, and then a second generation has resulted in July.
Widely distributed in England, in many localities the caterpillars are not uncommon, although the moth may never be seen at large. Also occurs in South Wales, in Scotland to Aberdeenshire; and in Ireland it has been found in Sligo and Cork.
Common Pug (Eupithecia vulgata).
This pug varies in colour from pale grey brown through reddish brown to blackish. In some of the lighter coloured specimens, the darker cross lines and the whitish submarginal lines are all well defined; more frequently, perhaps, most of the markings are indistinct or absent, but the small black discal dot and a white spot above the outer angle of the fore wing remain fairly clear. (Plate 97, Figs. 4, 7, ab. subfuscata, Haw.) The caterpillar (Plate 92, Fig. 3) is brownish, inclining to reddish, dotted with white; a series of dirty green marks along the back, and a pale yellow wavy line low down along the sides. It feeds on the leaves of sallow, hawthorn, bramble, bilberry, ragwort, golden-rod and various other plants. There are at least two broods in the year, one in June and July, and the other in the autumn. The moth flies in May and June, and again in August, and is often common, almost everywhere, over the greater part of the British Isles.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
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Golden-rod Pug (Eupithecia virgaureata).
The fore wings of this obscurely marked species (Plate 97, Fig. 10) are pale greyish brown inclining to ochreous; the discal spot is black, the veins are marked with dark brown and white, and the whitish submarginal line terminates in a white spot above the inner angle.
The caterpillar varies in colour from grey brown or purplish grey to reddish brown; a series of blackish triangular spots on the back, and yellowish oblique stripes on the sides. It feeds on the flowers of the golden-rod (Solidago virgaurea), in the autumn; also on ragwort (Senecio). The moth is out in May and early June, but in captivity there is apparently a second emergence in July and early August. The caterpillars from which these smaller and rather darker specimens result, hatch from the egg in May and feed on the flowers of beaked parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris).
Widely distributed in England, Wales and Ireland.
The range abroad extends to north-east Siberia; and the species has been recorded from Japan.
Triple-spotted Pug (Eupithecia trisignaria).
The most noticeable markings on the rather shiny, pale-brown fore wings of this species (Plate 97, Fig. 13) are the black discal spot and two blackish clouds above it on the front margin.
The stoutish caterpillar is green, with three darker green lines along the back, and a wavy yellowish line low down along the sides; head, black. It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers and seeds of angelica and cow-parsnip, but the former is its chief food.
June and July are the months for the moth, but it is rarely met with in the open. The only English counties in which the species has been noted are Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Devon in the south; from Herefordshire in the west its range extends through Worcester, Warwick, Leicester, and Derby to Lancashire and York. In Scotland, Renton records it as common at Hawick, in Roxburghshire; and it was recorded from Argyllshire in 1902. Hardly known in Ireland.
Larch Pug (Eupithecia lariciata).
This species (Plate 97, Fig. 3) is very like that next referred to, but the fore wings are rather longer, the ground colour is whiter, and the dark-grey or blackish cross lines are rather more angled and slanting; the hind wings are paler, and especially so on the front margins.
The long caterpillar is bright green, with a darker green line along the back, merging into reddish on the last ring; sometimes reddish ochreous with the line along the back brownish. It feeds, in June and July, on larch, and will also eat spruce.
The moth is out in May and early June, and may be jarred from larch trees, or sometimes be found at rest on their stems.
As a British species, it was first met with in Surrey, in 1862, then it was noted in Sussex, and shortly afterwards in Yorkshire. At the present time, it will probably be found in any locality where larch is plentiful.
Grey Pug (Eupithecia castigata).
Although, as the English name suggests, this insect is greyish, there is always a tinge of ochreous in the composition of its general colour (Plate 97, Fig. 6). Not infrequently the ground colour is decidedly brownish in tint. The markings vary in clearness, but are most distinct in the paler forms. A blackish form occurs in the north of England, and in the Clydesdale district of Scotland, and was formerly known as the "Paisley Pug."
The longish caterpillar (Plate 92, Fig. 1) is pale or dusky olive, varying to reddish brown, with a series of darker marks on the back. It feeds, from August to October, on the foliage of almost any plant.
The moth is out in May and June, and occasionally a few specimens emerge in the autumn. Generally distributed over the British Isles, but apparently not noted in the Orkneys and Shetlands.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.
Plain Pug (Eupithecia subnotata).
The fore wings of this species are pale ochreous brown, inclining to pale reddish on the outer marginal area; the most distinct markings are a pale cross band beyond the black discal dot, and a pale winding submarginal line. The hind wings are smoky grey, with whitish wavy cross lines, the most distinct being the outer (Plate 97, Fig. 9). The stoutish and somewhat stumpy caterpillar is green, or pale yellowish brown, with three darker lines and marks on the back; a yellowish line low down on the sides. It feeds on flowers and seeds of orache (Atriplex), and goosefoot (Chenopodium): August and September. Figured on Plate 94, Figs. 1, 1a, from coloured drawings by Mr. A. Sich. In July, the moth may be disturbed from its food plant or adjacent herbage, or it may be seen resting on palings or fences. It flies at night, and will come to light.
Not uncommon in many places in the southern half of England, and found in the rest of the country, chiefly on the coast, to Hartlepool in Durham, also in Wales. Once recorded from south Scotland, and only noted from the coast near Dublin, in Ireland.
Scarce Pug (Eupithecia extensaria).
The conspicuously marked insect represented on Plate 97, Fig. 12, is, so far, only known to occur, in Britain, on the coasts of Norfolk and Yorkshire. It was first discovered in the latter county more than thirty years ago; about twelve years later it was found on the Norfolk coast, and caterpillars were also obtained from the sea wormwood (Artemisia maritima) in the autumn.
The long caterpillar, which feeds on the flowers and foliage of its food plant, is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dusky and the others whitish; a white stripe low down along the sides is edged below with rosy brown. It will thrive on the cultivated southernwood or "lad's love" (Artemisia abrotanum).
The moth is out in June and July, and may be found in its haunts among the sea wormwood, not only on the coast of Norfolk, but quite possibly, here and there, in suitable places on the east coast from Essex to the Humber. Caterpillars may be obtained in August and September.
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Edinburgh Pug (Eupithecia helveticaria).
The two examples of this species on Plate 96, Figs. 3, 4, are from the Pentland Hills, Scotland, and are referable to anglicata, Millière. In this form, which is smaller than the type, the fore wings are grey brown, more or less tinged with reddish, and sometimes inclining to purplish; the whitish edged dark cross lines, especially the basal first and second, are usually distinct, and the veins are often marked with black and white. Ab. arceuthata, Freyer, a paler grey form, occurs in Buckinghamshire, and has also been reported from Surrey. The specimens from the latter county, at least those from the Dorking district, were subsequently referred to E. satyrata.
The stoutish and rather rough caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others white; a broad yellowish stripe low down along the sides. It feeds on juniper, in June and July, and sometimes again in September and October. The moth is out in April, May, and June, and a second brood may appear in August and September. The species seems to occur among juniper, in Scotland, from Roxburghshire to Sutherland. It is local in North Lancashire, has been reported from near Llandudno, North Wales, and, as adverted to above, occurs in Bucks.
Satyr Pug (Eupithecia satyrata).
Four specimens are depicted on Plate 96. Fig. 5 represents the typical pale brownish grey form, in which the cross lines are indistinct, and the veins are marked with white and dusky. Fig. 6 shows the rather browner, moorland ab. callunaria, Doubleday, and Figs. 7 and 8 depict two forms of the Shetland race, known as var. curzoni, Gregson. A much rarer form than any of the above is the pale brownish ab. pernotata, Guenée (cauchyata, Meyrick).
The caterpillar is greenish with a series of purplish-brown edged, dusky green, Y-shaped marks along the back; above the yellow spiracular line is a row of slanting purplish blotches; sometimes the general colour is paler, and the markings on the back and sides rosy; occasionally, the whole of the back is rosy (adapted from Crewe). It feeds on the flowers of knapweed (Centaurea nigra), scabious, hawkweed (Hieracium), heath, sallow, etc., etc.: August and September.
The moth is out in May and June, and is found in woodlands, and on heaths and moors. It is widely distributed over the British Isles.
Bordered Pug (Eupithecia succenturiata).
The fore wings are white, clouded and suffused with dark grey on all the margins. The greyish clouding sometimes covers the whole area of the wings, except a very limited space under the black discal spot (ab. disparata, Hübner). Plate 97, Figs. 2, a specimen from Lancs., 5, one from Surrey.
The caterpillar is reddish brown, paler in some specimens than in others; a series of blackish spear-head marks along the back, connected by a blackish line, and a dusky line on each side; a whitish line along the spiracles. It feeds, in September and October, on mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), and yarrow (Achillea). It may be reared on garden Chrysanthemum. Chrysalis, dark buff, inclining to brown; wing cases olive green; figure 7 on Plate 92 is from a photo by Mr. Main, and is enlarged to twice the natural size.
The moth is out in July and early August; it is not readily put up from its hiding-place among herbage, but at night, when on the wing, it will come to light.
The species is most frequent, perhaps, on the coast, but it is widely distributed over England and Wales. Rare in Ireland, and only noted from counties Armagh, Louth, and Dublin; Kane states that he met with it in some numbers on Lambay Island. Once reported from Ayrshire, Scotland.
The Surrey specimen (Fig. 5) appears to be referable to exalbidata, Staudinger, a form occurring chiefly in Asia, but occasionally found in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
Tawny Speckled Pug (Eupithecia subfulvata).
Two forms of this species are shown on Plate 97. Fig. 8 represents the reddish typical form, and Fig. 11 (from Lancs. coast) the dark ab. oxydata, Treitschke. Between these two extremes, there are various intermediate forms, showing more or less distinct cross lines.
The caterpillar is reddish brown, with a chain of oval, olive-brown spots along the back; there are also two brownish interrupted lines; the spiracular line is white. Sometimes the general colour is ochreous brown, or grey brown. It feeds, in September and October, on yarrow, and will thrive on tansy, and the flowers of garden chrysanthemum.
The chrysalis of this species is said to differ from that of E. succenturiata in being of a rich red colour, inclining to buff on the wing cases.
In July and August, the moth may sometimes be seen resting on fences, but it is more frequently hidden away among herbage. At night it will visit flowers, especially those of the ragwort.
The species is widely distributed over England and Wales, and in Scotland up to Moray. In Ireland, it is found on the coast from Louth to Cork.
By some entomologists, subfulvata, Haworth, and its variety, oxydata, are set down as forms of the preceding species.
Shaded Pug (Eupithecia scabiosata).
The grey, or greyish-brown lined, whitish species shown on Plate 97, Fig. 14, has been known by three names in Britain. It was named and described by Stephens, in 1831, as piperata (The Speckled Pug), from a specimen, or specimens, taken at Riddlesdown, near Croydon, Surrey; later, it was supposed to be the subumbrata, of the Vienna Catalogue (1776), and certainly of Guenée. The name given to it by Borkhausen, in 1794, appears to be the correct one, and is here adopted.
Crewe describes the caterpillar as yellowish green, with three dark lines on the back, the outer one not clearly defined; a yellow line on each side of the head, and of the last ring of the body.
It feeds on flowers of one of the hawkbits (Leontodon hispidus), and hawk's-beard (Crepis taraxacifolia), etc., from July to September. In June and early July, the moth may be started up from the herbage, as the collector walks over rough ground inland, or more frequently on the coast. It also occurs in fens, marshy places in woods, etc.
The species occurs in Bucks., Berks., Surrey, and in the seaboard counties from Norfolk in the east to Gloucestershire in the west, also in South Wales; in the north it is found in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. It is not common in Scotland, but has been reported from various parts, extending from Wigtown to Argyll and Aberdeen. In Ireland it is also a coast insect, from Donegal to Cork.
Haworth's Pug (Eupithecia haworthiata).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 98. Fig. 2) are pale greyish, with dark cross lines, and still darker narrow bands; hind wings, similar, but markings less distinct. Resembles the last species in size, but the wings are somewhat rounder, darker, and not so silky in appearance; the body, near the thorax, is ochreous brown. Also known as isogrammaria, Herrich-Schaeffer, but haworthiata, Doubleday, is stated by Prout to be the older name.
In July and August the caterpillar (Plate 90, Fig. 3) may be found in the flower-buds of the traveller's joy or old man's beard (Clematis vitalba). It is green, with a bluish or pinkish tinge, and there are generally three darker stripes along the back, but these are sometimes absent; occasionally the ground colour is yellowish.
The moth is out in June and July, and may be seen flying about clematis in the sunshine, but such specimens are not often worth taking. It is easily reared from caterpillars, which will thrive on flowers of garden Clematis, and may be obtained by the score, either by beating, or by searching for discoloured or black-specked flower buds of the traveller's joy.
The species is most frequent in the south of England, but it occurs in all the eastern, some of the midland, and also in the northern counties to Lancashire and Yorkshire; in the last-named county, Porritt states that the caterpillars were found in profusion on Clematis near Wadworth, Doncaster, in 1901, It inhabits South Wales and Ireland.
Abroad, the species ranges to Amurland and China.
Valerian Pug (Eupithecia valerianata).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 98, Fig. 3) are brownish grey, with indistinct darker cross lines, and a wavy whitish submarginal line; the latter is sometimes not clear, except towards the inner angle.
Caterpillar, rather short, bright green, with three darker green lines along the back; a whitish line low down along the sides, and the ring-divisions are yellow. It feeds, in July and August, on flowers and seeds of all-heal, or cat's valerian (Valeriana officinalis).
The moth is out in May and June; its haunts are in fens, marshes, and damp spots affected by its food plant, but, as a rule, is only found in the caterpillar state. A local, but widely distributed species in England; occurs also in Wales and in Ireland.
Lead-coloured Pug (Eupithecia plumbeolata).
The small, obscurely marked species, represented on Plate 98, Fig. 1, has the fore wings whitish grey, sometimes assuming a yellowish tinge; a number of rather wavy, darker cross lines, and a more or less clearly defined pale band beyond the middle; discal spot always tiny and rarely distinct.
The stumpy caterpillar is yellowish green, with three purplish-red lines along the back, the central one swollen on each ring, and the others irregular; sometimes the back is suffused with purplish-red. It feeds on the flowers of cow-wheat (Melampyrum) in July and August.
The moth is out in May and June, and is readily induced to fly out from among cow-wheat, or the other herbage around. It may be found in most of the English counties, wherever its food plant abounds; in South Wales; in Scotland to Argyll and Aberdeen, and in Ireland from Cork to Donegal.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Marsh Pug (Eupithecia pygmæata).
This species (Plate 98, Fig. 4) may be distinguished from haworthiata, which it approaches in size and general appearance, by its more pointed fore wings and the white dot at the inner angle of these wings.
The long, thin caterpillar is yellowish green; a pale olive line along the middle of the back, connecting a series of urn-shaped blotches of the same colour; two pale olive, irregular lines on each side. It feeds, in June and July, on flowers of stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later; examples of a second brood have been obtained in August and September. It flies in the afternoon, but only when the sun shines, and where the food plant grows freely.
The species occurs in all the eastern counties of England, in Bucks., and in the northern counties to Cumberland and Northumberland. In Wales it has been recorded from Colwyn, Denbighshire; in Scotland it is widely spread to Perthshire; it is local and scarce in Ireland.
Slender Pug (Eupithecia tenuiata).
The fore wings are rather rounded; grey, more or less tinged with brownish, and with ochreous or reddish brown along the front edge; the latter with dusky clouds upon it; the cross lines are dark grey brown and fairly distinct, and the discal spot is black (Plate 98, Fig. 5). A large grey form from Moray, in Scotland, has been named cineræ, Gregson.
Caterpillar, rather stumpy, and dingy yellowish green in colour, the sides and middle of the back rosy; a series of dusky spots, edged by black lines or short streaks, along the back; and a row of pinkish oblique stripes on the sides. It feeds, in the spring, in sallow catkins, and the moths may often be bred in numbers, in June and July, from those catkins which fall most readily from the bushes when we go "a sallowing." Moths frequently rest on the stems, and where there is a clump of well-grown sallows, a good series may be obtained.
The species is partial to fens and marshy places, and is found in such situations over the greater part of the British Isles.
Maple Pug (Eupithecia inturbata).
The fore wings are greyish brown, with many darker cross lines; the outer margin is darker and traversed by a pale line; discal dot, dark grey and not very distinct (Plate 98, Fig. 6). This species was long known as subciliata, Guenée, but is now referred to inturbata, Hübner.
In May and June the caterpillars may be beaten from maple, which is apparently the only food plant, and of which they have a decided preference for the flowers. When full grown the larva is yellowish green with a purplish stripe along the back, and whitish lines along the sides.
The moth may be jarred from the branches of the maple in July and August; it is occasionally seen resting on fences, etc. It seems to be found in England and Wales, in most places where there is a mature growth of maple.
The Angle-barred Pug (Eupithecia innotata).
The greyish-brown fore wings of this species (Plate 98, Fig. 7) are crossed by darker oblique lines, which are angled on the front margin; the submarginal line is white and irregular, especially at each end.
Caterpillar, ochreous grey, inclining to pinkish, marked on the back with white-edged, purplish- or reddish-brown blotches, and on the sides with reddish or purple spots; a whitish line low down along the sides. It feeds on the flowers of wormwood and mugwort (Artemisia), from August to October.
The moth, which is uncommon and very local in England, is out in July. It occurs in Devonshire (Exeter district), Kent (Wye), Essex (Shoeburyness), Lincolnshire (Skegness, etc.), Worcestershire (Malvern), Lancashire and Cheshire (coast sand-hills, Macclesfield, etc.), and Durham (Hartlepool).
Ash Pug (Eupithecia fraxinata).
Very similar to the last mentioned, but smaller, and the markings are less distinct (Plate 98, Fig. 8).
The caterpillar is variable, but generally some shade of green, occasionally purplish red; lines on the sides yellowish, and sometimes there are dusky purplish marks on the back. It feeds, in August and September, on ash, and is said to eat Artemisia, Laurustinus, and the flowers of scabious. The moth is out in late June and July, and sometimes a second generation appears in the autumn.
This species, which by some entomologists is considered to be a form of E. innotata, is widely distributed over England, south Scotland, and Ireland. Tamarisciata, Freyer, is also considered by some authorities to be a form of E. innotata.
Some moths reared from larvæ obtained, in 1905, from Tamarisk, in Cornwall, have been referred to tamarisciata.
Narrow-winged Pug (Eupithecia nanata).
The rather variable species represented on Plate 99, Figs. 1 and 2, will easily be recognised by its long pointed fore wings, which in colour are whitish grey, darkened by brownish cross-stripes; a whitish spot before the small, black discal dot.
The long, thin, caterpillar, which feeds on ling or heather in the autumn, is whitish with a greenish tinge: the sides are marked with red, and there are some reddish spots on the back.
On almost all heather-clad ground throughout the British Isles, this pretty little moth will be found, more or less commonly, during the months of May and early June, and sometimes there is a second flight in July and August.
Brindled Pug (Eupithecia abbreviata).
The ochreous grey fore wings of this species (Plate 99, Fig. 3) are crossed by dark, bent lines, and marked with black on the veins; the central area is sometimes whitish, and generally paler than the ground colour.
Caterpillar, slender, ochreous brown in colour, with browner lines and redder V-shaped marks on the back. It feeds on oak, in June and July. The moth is not uncommon in oak woods, in April and May, and may be beaten from the boughs in the daytime, and not infrequently found resting on the trunks. Generally distributed, but in Scotland not noted north of Perthshire.
Oak-tree Pug (Eupithecia dodoneata).
This species (Plate 99, Fig. 5) differs from the last in being smaller, paler in colour, more distinctly marked, and with a rather larger and more conspicuous discal spot.
The caterpillar feeds, in June and July, on young leaves of oak, the flowers of the evergreen oak (Quercus ilex), and hawthorn. It is orange, or ochreous red, with blackish marks connected by a line of the same colour along the back, and yellowish stripes and lines on the sides.
The moth is out in May and early June, and occurs in some of the woods in most of the southern counties of England, and on the west to Worcestershire. It has been recorded from Yorks. and Cumberland; from Glamorganshire, South Wales; and from counties Armagh, Dublin, Wicklow, and Sligo, in Ireland.
Mottled Pug (Eupithecia exiguata).
In some respects this species (Plate 99, Fig. 4) is not unlike E. abbreviata, but the general colour of the fore wings is pale grey inclining to brownish; a good character is the blackish band before the submarginal line, which is interrupted by patches of the ground colour, one above, and the other below, the middle; the submarginal line is whitish towards the inner margin.
Caterpillar, long and thin; dark green; a series of yellow dotted reddish marks on the back, and a yellow-edged reddish line low down along the sides. It feeds, in the autumn, on hawthorn, sloe, currant, sallow, ash, etc.
The moth is out in May and June, and is sometimes seen at rest on the stems and branches of trees, fences, etc., and may be beaten out of hedgerows.
Widely distributed throughout England, Wales, Scotland to Perthshire, and Ireland.
Juniper Pug (Eupithecia sobrinata).
Two specimens are shown on Plate 99: Fig. 6 represents a more or less typical example from the Surrey downs, and Fig. 7 a pale form from Forres in Scotland. The species varies in tint of ground colour, and in the strength of marking, in all its localities; but in Scotland there is a greater tendency to pale forms than in England. Mr. H. McArthur, during the present year, obtained an extensive and most variable series from heather, at Aviemore, in Inverness. A pale-brownish tinged white pug found in Kent and the Isle of Wight, at one time referred to E. ultimaria, Boisduval, and afterwards known as stevensata, Webb, is really, according to Prout, anglicata, Herrich-Schaeffer. Whether this is a form of the present species or specifically distinct is still left in doubt, but personally I believe it to be a variety.
The dark-green, sometimes reddish marked, caterpillars may be beaten from juniper bushes, from April to early June. The moth is out from late July to early October, and may be found in nearly all parts of the British Isles where the food plant occurs, and occasionally in localities from which juniper appears to be absent.
Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis (Eupithecia) pumilata).
Double-striped Pug, at rest.
(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
Fig. 5.
Double-striped Pug, at rest.
(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
This species varies a good deal in the tint of the ground colour and the cross markings. Three forms are depicted on Plate 99: Fig. 8 is a typical male, and Fig. 9 shows a female with distinct red bands (ab. rufifasciata, Haworth); both specimens are from Surrey. The greyish example without red markings (Fig. 10) is from Ireland, and approaches ab. tempestivata, Zeller, in form.
The caterpillar ranges in colour from yellowish-green to reddish; on the back there is a dark-green or blackish line, and often a series of marks of the same colour; the lines on the sides are yellowish. It feeds chiefly in or on the flowers of furze, broom, holly, clematis, hawthorn, etc., from May to September. There are certainly two broods, possibly more. The specimens of the first, or spring, generation are usually larger in size and more strongly marked than those of the summer brood.
The moth is most frequent, perhaps, in April, May, July, and August, but it may be met with in either of the months from April to November. Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, including the Hebrides and the Orkneys.
Cloaked Pug (Eucymatoge togata).
Over sixty years ago, this fine pug (Plate 99, Figs. 11 and 12) was detected in England. It was first noted in a plantation of spruce fir at Black Park, Buckinghamshire, in mid-June, 1845, and for many years this was the only known British locality. At the present time it is obtained more or less regularly in the New Forest, and has been recorded, chiefly in single specimens, from Wiltshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire, and Durham. It is not uncommon in Scotland up to Inverness, but is most plentiful in Perthshire.
Kane (Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland) states that it is spreading over an extensive area in Ireland, as a result of the planting of spruce fir.
The caterpillar, which feeds in the spruce cones, and eats the immature seeds, is dingy white with a pinkish tinge, and suffused with blackish above; the lines along the back and sides, when present, are whitish but not distinct; head, and raised dots on the body, black; a brown plate on the first ring: July and August. Cones containing caterpillars may be secured by visiting a known locality for the species towards the end of August, especially immediately after a gale.
The moth may be dislodged from its resting place among the branches of the spruce in June, sometimes earlier or later.
V-Pug (Chloroclystis coronata).
This is "Phalæna" v-ata, Haworth, and also the V-Pug of that author. A later English name for the species is "The Coronet Pug," an Anglicism for the Latin specific name, and has reference to the black upper part of the outer cross line which is twice angled and bears a fanciful resemblance to a coronet; the lower angle is, however, most distinct, therefore Haworth's English name seems most suitable as it indicates the V-mark, which is a noticeable character of this delicate green species. (Plate 100, Fig. 1.)
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with three reddish lines along the back, the central one most distinct and sometimes forming triangular marks, or lozenges. The ground colour varies, and may be greener, yellower, or occasionally greyish; and the markings are not always present.
There are two generations, the first in June and July, and the second in the autumn, and in confinement a third brood is sometimes obtained. The blossoms of various plants are eaten, but those of hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), golden-rod (Solidago), clematis, and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), are perhaps favourites. Hawthorn and bramble have also been mentioned as food plants.
The moth is out in most of the months from May to August, but seems to be most frequent in the first named.
Generally distributed in the southern half of England, extending into South Wales, rare in Yorkshire and in Roxburghshire, Scotland. Widely distributed in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Japan.
Green Pug (Chloroclystis rectangulata).
Of this variable species five examples are shown on Plate 100. Figs. 2 and 3 represent the typical and more usual forms; 3 varies in the direction of ab. subaerata, Hübn., and Fig. 4 is the greyish ab. cydoniata, Bork. Ab. nigrosericeata, Haworth (Fig. 6), is blackish with white submarginal line; and an intermediate form (Fig. 5) may be referable to ab. sericeata, Haworth.
The stumpy caterpillar is of a pale yellow green colour, with a more or less distinct reddish or dark-green line along the back, and reddish ring-divisions. It feeds in flowers of the wild apple or crab, and of apples and pears grown in orchards and gardens. It is found in April and May, and the moth is out in June and July.
The species is common throughout the greater part of England and Wales, and its range extends to Ross in Scotland. It has a wide distribution in Ireland.
Bilberry Pug (Chloroclystis debiliata).
As a British insect, this species (Plate 100, Figs. 7 and 8) was first found in Devonshire, and was then known by the English name of "The Devon Pug." As the yellowish green caterpillar, marked with a darker line along the back and a yellowish one low down on the sides, feeds on bilberry, in April and May, and is by no means confined to Devonshire, the popular name here adopted is more suitable.
When quite fresh the moth, which is out in June and July, has a very delicate tinge of green, but this quickly fades out, leaving a pale greyish white insect. In the typical form (Fig. 7) the black central lines are fairly well defined, but in ab. nigropunctata, Chant (Fig. 8), the lines are represented by a series of dots.
The species is common in some of the sheltered hollows among the hills in Devon and Somerset, and I used to find it in abundance in the Martinhoe district, in the former county. The moths were rarely disturbed from the food plant during the day, but towards dusk they flew in numbers around small trees of mountain ash. Other counties in which it is known to occur are—England: Cornwall, Worcester, Staffordshire, Leicester, and Lancashire (formerly on Chat Moss). Wales: Glamorgan and Pembroke. Scotland: Aberdeen. Ireland: Wicklow, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, and Sligo.
Dentated Pug (Collix sparsata).
At one time this greyish brown species (Plate 102, Figs. 1, 2) was known by the English name of "Broom Scallop," but it is now usually referred to, in the vulgar tongue, as the Dentated Pug. The hind wings have their outer margins toothed rather than scalloped, and the insect has nothing to do with broom.
The rather long caterpillar is pale green, with four white lines along the back, and one on each side; a whitish stripe along the black spiracles. Head, pale brown, rather flat above. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds on the yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris), in July and August, or even later. Fens and marshy woodlands are the haunts of the moth, which is out in June and early July. It hides among the coarser vegetation, and is not always easily disturbed therefrom; neither is it often noticed when on the wing at night, although it is sometimes found at the flowers of buckthorn.
Localities for the species are the fens of Cambridge and Norfolk, the boggy parts of the New Forest, Hants; Dorset (Bloxworth and Hyde, etc.); Cheshire (Delamere Forest); Yorkshire (bogs near York, and Thorne Waste).
The range abroad extends to Japan.
Dark Spinach (Pelurga comitata).
The darker banded, pale ochreous species shown on Plate 102, Figs. 3 ♂, 4 ♀, varies in the colour of the band to brownish; the central area of this band is almost always pale ochreous or whitish, to a greater or lesser extent.
Caterpillar, stout and roughened; ochreous inclining to reddish, and tinged above with greenish; a series of V-shaped marks along the back, yellow oblique darker on the sides, and a greyish edged pale wavy line low down along the sides. The figures 2, 2a, on Plate 94 are from coloured drawings by Mr. A. Sich.
It feeds in the autumn on the flowers and seeds of various kinds of goosefoot (Chenopodium), also on Orache (Atriplex). The moth is out in July and August, and may be found among its food plants and other low herbage growing in waste places, more particularly those on sandy coasts. Around the borders of market gardens, especially those in the south of London, and in Kent and Surrey, it is often very common. The species probably occurs more or less freely in suitable places almost throughout the British Isles.
Its range abroad extends to East Siberia.
Slender-striped Rufous (Phibalapteryx lapidata).
The rather pointed fore wings are pale brownish, and are crossed by several fine wavy and rather darker lines, and three more distinct, slightly curved lines, one of which is at the base and two are on the central area. The outer margin of the hind wings, which are pale brown, more or less shaded with dusky, is irregular. (Plate 102, Fig. 6.)
Caterpillar, whitish-yellow above, inclining to pale buff below; lines of grey freckles along the back and sides, the lower one broader and darker; head, grey, freckled with darker. According to Hellins, who reared it from the egg, it feeds in May and June, on traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba). The natural food is doubtful, but is said to be grass, whilst Kirby states that in the South of France the caterpillar eats evergreen oak.
The moth is out in September and early October, and is found in Scotland on the hills, in rough grassy and rush-covered spots, at elevations ranging from 300 to 800 feet. In Ireland, it is not uncommon in Antrim, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, and Limerick. Barrett states that a specimen has been taken at Shap Fell in Westmorland.
Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia.
Many-lined Moth (Phibalapteryx polygrammata).
The female example of this species, represented on Plate 102, Fig. 5, is from Germany; the male is somewhat paler and the central markings less distinct. This form is var. conjunctaria, Lederer, and most of the specimens formerly obtained in the Cambridgeshire fens, chiefly Burwell and Wicken, were referable to it. The species has not been seen in its old fenland haunts for very many years, and it is probably now extinct in Britain. Specimens have been in the past (and still continue to be) recorded from other British localities, but these on investigation are found to be cases of mistaken identity. C. vittata = lignata bears a strong likeness to P. polygrammata, and is often confused with it, but in the latter the outer band does not run to the tips of the fore wings, as it does in the former species.
Small Waved Umber (Phibalapteryx (Coenocalpe) vitalbata).
At first sight this moth (Plate 102, Fig. 7) might be mistaken for a small specimen of the Waved Umber (Hemerophila abruptaria), but it will be noted that the dark stripe on the fore wings starts from the middle of the inner margin, and runs to just below the tips of the wings; the outer margin of the hind wings is not wavy, and the antennæ of the male are not pectinated.
The caterpillar, which feeds on traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba), in June-July, and in September-October, is greyish brown, with three blackish lines along the back, the central one broader than the other two, especially on the middle of each ring, where it swells out into a black spot.
In May and June, and again in August, the moth may be disturbed from the food plant growing in masses in hedgerows, etc. It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, westward to Herefordshire and South Wales, and eastward to Suffolk. Forsythe states that it is local in the Lancaster district.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The Fern (Phibalapteryx (Coenocalpe) tersata).
The general colour of this species (Plate 102, Fig. 8) is pale brown, with a tendency to reddish in some specimens, and to greyish in others.
Caterpillar, pale brownish inclining to ochreous; on each side of an irregular blackish line along the centre of the back is a pale yellowish line, and there are white spots on the back of the middle rings. It feeds on Clematis, in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, and will be found in similar localities to those mentioned for the previous species, and, except that it has not been recorded from Lancaster, its range in England is much about the same.
The distribution abroad extends to Japan.
Oblique Carpet (Coenocalpe vittata).
This species, also known as lignata, Hübner, is usually pale brown in ground colour, tinged with ochreous or pinkish; the darker oblique stripes vary in width and in intensity. (Plate 102, Figs. 9 ♂, gen. 1; 10 ♂, gen. 2.)
The caterpillar is of a yellow-green colour, inclining to ochreous brown on the upper portions of the middle rings; a darker irregular line along the back, and a whitish line on each side, the latter edged above and below with a fine black line; below the spiracles is a pale pinkish brown stripe. Varies in the tint of ground colour and in the markings. It feeds, after hibernation, on bedstraw (Galium palustre, G. saxatile, etc.), and caterpillars from eggs laid in June may be reared on clematis, wild or cultivated.
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later, and a second generation appears in August and September; the individuals of the later brood are often smaller than those of the first brood. Its haunts are fens, marshes, and water-meads, but in Middlesex I have taken a specimen or two flying along a weedy ditch. Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but not noted in Scotland north of Moray.
The Gem (Percnoptilota fluviata).
Also known in the vulgar tongue as "The Narrow-barred Carpet." As will be seen on reference to Plate 102, the male (Fig. 12) is pale brown with a dark central band; and the female (Fig. 11) is purplish brown, the central band rather blackish, and on it is the discal mark, a black centred white spot. The specimens figured are rather small.
The following aberrations have been named—ab. marginata, Mathew, with the fringes of all the wings conspicuously pinky-grey; ab. olivacea, Mathew, a form of the female with olive brown fore wings; ab. obsoleta, Mathew, a form of the male with the dark central band nearly or quite absent.
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The caterpillar is greyish, sometimes tinged with pink, and sometimes with green; three dusky lines on the head and first three rings of the body, a series of blackish outlined, whitish marks on the middle rings, and blackish marks on the other rings, which are pale in colour; a blackish line above the black-edged spiracles is broken up into dashes on the middle rings. Several other forms of the caterpillar, which is a variable one, have been described by Hellins. The food comprises groundsel, knotgrass, chrysanthemum, and various other plants. There are several generations during the year, and in hot weather the caterpillars feed up rapidly, so quickly indeed that in about a month the whole round of changes from egg to moth is effected. The species is migratory in habit, and there is little doubt that the specimens taken in this country in late spring or early summer are immigrants; those examples obtained later in the year are probably the descendants of such aliens. It is more frequently noted from southern England, chiefly from the seaboard counties, but it has been recorded from Lancashire and Yorkshire; also from Wales, and from several parts of Ireland: April to November.