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Title: The Moths of the British Isles, First Series
       Comprising the Families Sphingidae to Noctuidae

Author: Richard South

Release Date: January 5, 2013 [EBook #41782]

Language: English

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[Illustration]

  Pl. 1.
     1. SPURGE HAWK: _caterpillar_.
  2, 3. SILVER-STRIPED HAWK: _caterpillar_.
     4. OLEANDER HAWK: _caterpillar_.

THE MOTHS

OF THE

BRITISH ISLES

BY

RICHARD SOUTH, F.E.S.

AUTHOR OF "THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES" EDITOR OF "THE
ENTOMOLOGIST," ETC.

FIRST SERIES

COMPRISING

_THE FAMILIES SPHINGIDAE TO NOCTUIDAE_

WITH ACCURATELY COLOURED FIGURES OF EVERY SPECIES AND MANY VARIETIES ALSO
DRAWINGS OF EGGS, CATERPILLARS, CHRYSALIDS AND FOOD-PLANTS

LONDON

FREDERICK WARNE & CO.

AND NEW YORK

1907

(_All rights reserved_)

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN

       *       *       *       *       *

PREFACE.

Compared with our butterflies, the number of moths found in the British
Isles is very large. Like the butterflies, moths too are dependent upon
plant life, and almost every kind of herb, bush, or tree, will be found to
nourish the caterpillars of one or more species of moth.

Not only the field botanist, but every rambler in the country must
constantly come across moths or caterpillars that will probably interest
him, and of which he would be glad to learn something about their habits,
life-history, and the position they occupy in the arrangement and
classification of Natural History objects.

In the preparation of this little book on our moths, the author has
proceeded closely on the lines adopted when dealing with the butterflies in
his previous volume. That is, the chief aim has been to place before the
nature lovers as much information concerning these creatures as could be
condensed into moderate limits.

Lengthy descriptions were out of the question, but what might be considered
an omission in this way, is amply compensated for by the life-like
portraits of typical examples of the moths themselves, and in many cases of
their more important varieties. Technicalities have been avoided as far as
possible, the main object being to provide a guide to the identification of
our moths, together with a simple account of the whole or a part of their
earlier stages.

The author is fully aware that this method of treatment only enables him to
touch the fringe of the subject, as it were, but he has been content to
deal with it in this way, as it appeared to be the kind of information that
would most nearly meet the requirements of the majority.

The author desires here to express his thanks to Mr. Robert Adkin, F.E.S.,
for the loan of specimens of _L. coenosa_, _E. ilicifolia_, _D. harpagula_,
_N. albula_, _N. centonalis_, _D. barrettii_, _D. caesia_, _P.
xanthomista_, _T. extrema_, _L. favicolor_, _L. vitellina_, and _H.
palustris_. To Mr. Alfred Sich, F.E.S., for the use of drawings of the
caterpillars of _D. tiliae_, _S. fagi_, _L. bicoloria_, _P. ridens_, _A.
auricoma_, _A. rumicis_, _A. aceris_, _N. brunnea_, _M. oleracea_, _A.
tragopogonis_, _T. gothica_, and _T. incerta_. To Mr. H. L. Sich for the
loan of drawings of the caterpillars of _D. euphorbiae_, _D. galii_, _D.
chaonia_, and _P. dictoea_. For the material figured on Plate 148, except
the larva of _L. putrescens_, kindly sent by Mr. Walker, of Torquay, he is
indebted to Mr. H. M. Edelsten, F.E.S.

Except where otherwise mentioned, the illustrations of moths and
caterpillars at rest are from photographs by "A Forester."

To Mr. Horace Knight he is very greatly obliged for the care bestowed upon
the drawings of ova, larvae, and pupae, the bulk of which were made from
living examples; also the coloured drawings for Plates 1, 45, 63, 68, 73,
75, 80, 84, 90, 108, 119, 123, 140, 146, 149, and 153. The only figures
copied from any previous publication are those of the caterpillars of _S.
fuliginosa_, _D. sanio_, _D. pulchella_, _A. corticea_, _A. strigula_, _N.
plecta_, and _N. augur_ (Wilson's "Larvae Brit. Lep."); and among the
moths, the varieties of _A. caia_; _D. mendica_ (4 Yorks.), Trans. Ent.
Soc. Lond., 1889; _S. walkeri_, Curtis, and _N. subrosea_, Stephens.

  RICHARD SOUTH.

       *       *       *       *       *

PREFACE TO THE PRESENT EDITION.

A new edition of this volume having become necessary, it was deemed a
fitting opportunity to bring the subject matter somewhat in line with our
present knowledge of the Nomenclature, Habits, and Distribution of the
Species considered therein. With this end in view, the new facts have been
incorporated in the text so far as this was possible. Matter that could not
be accommodated in this way has been presented in the form of an Appendix.

The changes in the names of genera are not numerous, and in every case
where such change has been made, the name used in the first edition has
been placed in brackets--_i.e._ _Pieris daplidice_ of the 1st edition
becomes in the present one _Pontia (Pieris) daplidice_.

By this treatment it has been found convenient to utilise the old Index
and, at the same time, to provide a Specific Index for those who prefer to
consult the volume by its aid.

       *       *       *       *       *

{1}

THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES.

PART I.

INTRODUCTORY.

As mentioned in "Butterflies of the British Isles," there is, speaking
generally, no clear line of division between moths and butterflies, and, as
Dr. Sharp, in "Insects," puts the case, "the only definition that can be
given of Heterocera [moths] is the practical one that all Lepidoptera that
are not butterflies are Heterocera." Now, it happens that all the
butterflies occurring in these islands have the tips of the horns
(_antennae_) clubbed; and, although there is much variety in the structure
of the horns of our moths, none of them have the tips knobbed.

Like the butterflies, moths pass through the stages of egg, caterpillar,
and chrysalis before they attain the perfect state (_imago_), and the
duration of the several stages is just as variable. The majority assume the
moth condition but once in the year, but some species have two, or even
three, generations in the twelve months, whilst others occupy twenty-four
months in completing the life cycle. In one or two species the chrysalis
stage may last four, five, or even six years.

Diversity of form and structure is considerable in the early stages as well
as in the perfect insects, and this is shown in the {2} selection of
life-history details figured on the black and white plates in this volume.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.

CONVOLVULUS HAWK-MOTH AND FLOWER OF NICOTIANA.

(Photos by W. J. Lucas.)]

Except that it is generally less prominent, the head, with the various
parts thereof, is pretty much the same as in the butterflies. In a few
families, however, the "tongue" (proboscis) is only rudimentary or even
entirely absent; while in others it is very long. The Convolvulus Hawk-moth
has the proboscis of such length that it is able to reach the deep-seated
nectary of such tubular flowers as those of _Nicotiana affinis_. In the
illustration the "tongue" of the moth and the sweet-scented tobacco blossom
are shown on exactly the same scale.

Fig. 2 represents some forms of antennae found in moths. A, {3} thickened
and spreading out towards the tip (_dilate_); B, simple, thread-like
(_filiform_) structure, without teeth, hairs, or bristles; C, fringed with
fine hairs (_ciliate_); D, fringed with fine hairs, and with longer
bristles at the joints (_setose ciliate_); E, the fringe in tufts
(_fasciculate_); F, toothed, with fine hairs on the teeth (_dentate
ciliate_); G, toothed with hairs in tufts from the teeth (_dentate
fasciculate_); H, I, with double rows of hair scales (_bipectinate_); in I
the projections are continued to the tip, and are themselves fringed with
fine hairs, giving the antennae a very feather-like appearance--the term
"plumose" is sometimes used to describe this form of antennae; in H the
pectinations do not reach the apical fourth, which is simple. J, the
_lamellate_, that is, the undersides of the rings or joints are made up of
minute plates.

[Illustration: FIG. 2.

ANTENNAE OF MOTHS.]

[Illustration: FIG 3.

CONNECTING BRISTLE AND CATCH.]

The wings of a moth are practically identical with those of a butterfly
(see diagram "Butterflies of the British Isles," p. 12). Normally the fore
wings have twelve ribs or veins, and the hind {4} wings eight, but in some
genera a rib, or perhaps two, may be absent from the fore or the hind
wings; or an extra rib, sometimes two, may be found on the hind wings.
These modifications, and others, of the general plan of neuration have been
employed as a basis upon which to found genera, or to group them together
in classification.

[Illustration: FIG. 4.

THE JUGUM, OR YOKE.]

Fig. 3 shows the arrangement by which the upper and lower wings of a moth
are united in flight. The bristle (_frenulum_) arising from the base of the
hind wing is held in place by the catch (_retinaculum_) on the costal
nervure of the fore wing. It will be noticed that the bristle of the male
is longer and firmer than that of the female. The latter, moreover, is
usually made up of two or more strands; the catch, too, in the female is on
the median instead of the costal nervure. These structures are found on the
under side of the wings of most moths, but they are absent in all
butterflies. The Emperor, Kentish Glory, and Eggars may be mentioned as
examples of moths lacking the connecting bristle, but all these have
feather-like antennae, which terminate in a point. The Burnets have the
antennae gradually thickened towards the tip (A. Fig. 2), and in this
respect are somewhat butterfly-like, but these moths have a frenulum.

The hind wings of the Swifts, and a few others grouped with them, have
twelve veins, and these moths have a _jugum_, or yoke (see Fig. 4). This is
a flap-like projection from the inner margin, near the base, of the fore
wing; it may serve to connect the wings when the insect flies, but it does
not seem to be capable of giving much help in that way. {5}

[Illustration: FIG. 5.

WINGS AND BODY OF A MOTH.

_h._ Head; _th._ Thorax; _col._ Collar; _lap._ Lappet; _ab._ Abdomen.
_b.l._ basal line; _b.s._ basal streak; _i.l._ inner line;
_c.s._ claviform stigma; _o.s._ orbicular stigma; _c._ central shade;
_r.s._ reniform stigma; _o.l._ outer line; _a.p._ apical patch;
_s.m._ submarginal line.]

[Illustration: FIG. 6.

PALE TUSSOCK-MOTH AT REST.]

In describing a moth various markings, etc., have to be referred to, and as
it may assist the reader more easily to locate the usual position of such
characters the accompanying diagram has been prepared. The lines crossing
the fore wings from the front edge, or margin (_costa_), to the inner edge,
or margin (_dorsum_), are generally styled transverse lines; the short one
is the basal; the first long one is the inner, or antemedial; the second is
the outer, or postmedial; and the third is the submarginal, or subterminal.
The whole wing, less the margins, is sometimes called the disc; but it is
more convenient to divide the fore wing into three parts, naming that
between the base of the wing and the first line the basal area; the space
between the first and second lines the central or median area, and the part
beyond the second line the outer area. The more or less round or oval rings
or dashes on {6} the central area are the stigmata, and these characters
occur more especially in the Noctuidae. The hind wings usually have a fine
short line, crescent, or spot, at the end of the cell, as in the
butterflies, and there is generally a line or band beyond.

Immediately behind the head and covering the front part of the thorax is a
tippet-like arrangement of scales; this is the collar. On each side of the
thorax there is a shoulder lappet (_patagium_) which has its base on the
front part of the thorax also. Both tippet and lappet are often peculiarly
ornamented, and the former is sometimes strikingly coloured. The thorax is
sometimes crested, and more frequently the body is furnished with tufts of
erect hair scales.

The number of moths occurring in the British Islands is well over two
thousand. The majority of these hardly ever find favour with the collector.
This is probably owing in a large measure to the fact that they belong to a
division of the moth tribe which has been dubbed Micro-lepidoptera. It
happens, however, that quite a number of the species included in that
division are actually larger than many kinds that were placed in the other
contingent styled Macro-lepidoptera. According to the most recent
authorities the division of moths into two such main groups as those
adverted to is entirely fictitious and misleading. Possibly, when this new
order of things is more generally understood the so-called "Micros" will
receive their proper share of attention.

In the older systems of classification the Clear wings (Sesiidae) were
associated with the Hawk-moths (Sphingidae), but the former family is now
considered to be more closely connected with the Tineidae. The Goat-moth
(_Cossus ligniperda_) has been removed from among the Bombyces, its name
changed to _Trypanus cossus_, and placed in the family Trypanidae, which is
relegated to the neighbourhood of the Tortricidae. The Burnets
(Zygaenidae), together with _Heterogenea limacodes_ and _H. asella_
(Cochliopodidae), also _Macrogaster castaneae_ and _Zeuzera pyrina_
(Cossidae {7} part) are removed by Meyrick to the Psychina, a group placed
between that author's Pyralidina and Tortricina. The Swifts (Hepialidae)
are grouped with Micropterygidae, which are considered to be primitive
forms of Lepidoptera originating in the Caddis-flies or Trichoptera--a
division of the Order Neuroptera.

Except that the Cymbidae and Arctiidae are placed just before the Noctuidae
instead of after the Geometridae, the arrangement of families, genera, and
species adopted in the present work is very much the same as that in the
1901 edition of Staudinger's Catalogue. Many British entomologists are now
interested in the lepidopterous insects of the Palaearctic, or at least the
European, fauna, of which our islands furnish but a relatively small number
of species. Others, who at the present time are perhaps but beginners, may
very possibly desire, later on, to extend their collections and their
knowledge by making entomological expeditions to various parts of the
continent. It seemed therefore desirable that in an introductory book on
British moths its method of arrangement should at least be founded on some
generally accepted system. {8}

FIELD WORK.

[Illustration: FIG. 7.

DRINKER-MOTH AT REST.]

Several methods of moth collecting are in vogue, but space will only permit
of a few of those most frequently practised being here referred to, and
those suitable for day work will first be considered. Although small woods
should not be neglected, large tracts of woodland afford the moth hunter
the best chance of success in searching for those species that usually sit
during the daytime on the trunks of trees. Many of the moths that rest in
this way so admirably blend with their surroundings that they may easily be
overlooked; others by their resemblance to feathers, birds' excrement,
etc., are also apt to escape detection. Tree trunks, too, abound in
moth-like scars, blotches, and knobs, so that the beginner will frequently
fail to readily distinguish a moth from such objects, or from the others
mentioned. A little practice will soon enable him to tell {9} which is
which without having to very closely investigate, or perhaps even touch the
suspected object.

[Illustration: FIG. 8.

SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR AT REST.]

As a general rule it is no doubt best to confine ourselves to one thing at
a time, if the results are to be satisfactory and the work well done. In
the present case, if he feels that way, the collector can relieve the
monotony of trunk searching by operating in another direction at the same
time. Some moths prefer to repose on the branches, or on the leaves of
trees, others among the herbage under trees; these may be disturbed from
their lurking places and caused to fall or take wing by jarring the boughs
or brushing the undergrowth with a stick.

[Illustration: FIG. 9.

BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING AT SUGAR.]

Palings, especially old ones and those enclosing wooded parks, etc., are
often frequented by numbers of moths. These should be examined as early as
possible in the morning, although {10} a later looking over may not be
unprofitable. When, however, the wind is dead on them, or where they stand
exposed to full sunshine, few insects will be found upon them. Various
species are to be obtained from open post and rail fences, and even iron
hurdles sometimes yield a good moth or two. Walls are not to be despised,
and of course rocks on the moorlands, and the cliffs by the sea afford
suitable resting-places for many kinds of moth. As a matter of fact the
eyes of the entomologist should always be peering about, as a valuable
prize may turn up in the most unexpected places. Hedgerows and bushes in
lanes, or bordering fields and woods, afford harbour to many species of
moths, and some kinds, not necessarily the commonest, may now and then be
beaten from them freely. Herbage on hill or down sides, and on the moor and
moorlands is also a favourite hiding-place, as too is the marram grass,
etc., on the coast sandhills.

[Illustration: FIG. 10.

PURPLE CLAY MOTH AT REST.]

[Illustration: FIG. 11. THE COXCOMB AT REST.]

As the day draws to a close and the night advances, the moths awaken, and
first one kind and then another rises on the wing. These, as they fly in
the lanes, about the borders or along the rides of woods, and over the
vegetation in meadow, {11} fen, or moor, should furnish ample employment
and keep the collector actively engaged until the time arrives for a first
round of the trees upon which he has spread a dainty repast for the
night-flying Noctuidae, and those members of the Arctiidae and Geometridae,
etc., that frequently look in where sweets are to be obtained.

[Illustration: FIG. 12.

A RIDE IN THE NEW FOREST.]

[Illustration: FIG. 13.

MOTHS AT A SUGAR PATCH.]

This sugaring business is perhaps the most exciting phase of collecting.
Having prepared a fine compound of coarse brown or "foots" sugar, treacle,
and beer, by boiling down these ingredients to a suitable liquid condition,
this is taken to the scene of action in a sugaring tin, a receptacle fitted
with a brush which is fixed in the screw-on top; or the attracting medium
may be carried in any kind of convenient bottle providing a paintbrush
(sash tool) and a jampot or some such article accompany it. Arrived on the
ground, preferably a wood, a ride is selected along each side of which are
convenient trees. A glade such as that in the New Forest, photographed by
Mr. W. J. Lucas, and reproduced in Fig. 12, is an ideal pitch. Just before
using, a very small quantity of rum may be added to the mixture, but if
"foots" can be obtained the rum is not required. In the autumn I have found
a drop or two of the essence of {12} jargonelle pear, or of ribstone
pippin, an effective addition. Now comes the initial stage in the night's
venture, the "sugar" is put on each tree in a streak extending downwards
about a foot from the level of one's chin; if thin enough to spread easily
the mixture is almost certain to run further down the trunk. Whilst
employed in this somewhat messy preliminary we meditate on the possible
result, and hope that if visitors are not numerous they may at least be
select. Lighting the lantern, the first round of inspection of the sugar
patches is made, but this may not be altogether encouraging; on only one
tree are there any moths and these but three in number, and not uncommon
kinds (see Fig. 13). The second and even the third rounds do not {13} give
the satisfactory results we had anticipated, and we feel inclined to retire
discomfited; but as a sort of forlorn hope we try once again, and this time
we secure one or two really good things. Another night moths arrive quite
early and in large numbers, chiefly commoners, but with a sprinkling of the
better sorts among them. Just what meteorological or other conditions are
most conducive to a successful sugaring expedition I have never been able
to ascertain. Often blanks have been drawn when the weather has seemingly
been the most favourable, and quite as frequently good bags have been made
when exactly the reverse was thought to be more likely. If the natural
attractions {14} in the way of flowers and "honey dew" abound, the insects
may possibly ignore the most tempting bait we can contrive for them. There
is much uncertainty in this favourite method of collecting, and whether
sugar is put on tree trunks, foliage, palings, rocks, or stones, or smeared
on rags, and these hung up on barbed wire fences; or daubed on heads of
thistles or bunches of grass heads tied together, one must be prepared to
accept the disappointments that are inevitable, however careful we may be
in the selection of "suitable evenings." It may be added that newly sugared
trees are generally less attractive than those that are frequently painted
with the mixture.

[Illustration: FIG. 14.

CATERPILLAR OF EYED HAWK-MOTH.]

Caterpillars that feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs may {15} be
obtained by beating. The collector with one hand holds an open and inverted
umbrella, or a Bignall tray made expressly for the purpose, under a branch,
whilst with the other hand, armed with a stick, he strikes the branches
from above in the direction of the receiver held below. In conducting such
operations some collectors are far too energetic. It should be remembered
that it is not hard thrashing, but a sudden jar that dislodges the
caterpillars most readily.

[Illustration: FIG. 15.

CATERPILLAR OF PRIVET HAWK-MOTH.]

Although oft-times a somewhat slow process, and to some temperaments,
perhaps, rather tedious work, searching for larvae is not unremunerative
when the quality of the material obtained in this way is considered. Some
kinds sit in the daytime, or feed, fully exposed, upon the upper sides of
the leaves or on the twigs of trees, shrubs, and low herbage; these are not
difficult to see. Other kinds conceal themselves under the leaves or on the
twigs hidden by the foliage, and these have to be sought for, because many
of them cling so tightly to whatever they may be upon that hardly anything
short of a fatal blow with the beating-stick will cause them to relax their
hold. Others, again, spin two or more leaves together, and in the {16}
habitation thus formed they remain throughout the day. The latter are more
easy to see than the more readily evicted contingent. All we have to do is
to stand under the branches and look upwards and outwards, when the united
leaves and the form of the caterpillar between them will be detected. Some,
of course, will be high up and out of reach in the ordinary way, but there
will be others more accessible. Then, at night, especially in the early
spring, we may search, aided by the beam of an acetyline lamp, the plants
and undergrowth in wood rides and clearings, borders of woods, and lanes,
for caterpillars that are arousing from hibernation. Throughout all
searching operations for larvae the chance finding of eggs under leaves or
on twigs or buds is always probable. Cocoons in addition, among the leaves
of trees and on stems of low plants and the trunks of trees, may also be
revealed.

[Illustration: FIG. 16.

CATERPILLAR OF PALE TUSSOCK-MOTH.]

Furnished with a trowel--the ordinary garden kind will do, but the flatter
pattern, sold by dealers, is better--the collector may take a turn at
digging at the roots of trees for chrysalids. No doubt there are many kinds
to be obtained in this way, but I cannot say much for the practice, as my
own efforts have not been very highly rewarded. Not a single species was
ever obtained by digging that I could not have secured more easily in some
other way.

Methods of setting, and after-manipulation have been fully discussed in
"Butterflies of the British Isles."

       *       *       *       *       *

{17}

PART II.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SPECIES.

HAWK-MOTHS.

About sixty species belonging to this family, scientifically known as the
Sphingidae, are recorded from the Palaearctic region, and of these
twenty-seven are found in Europe. About ten only can be considered as true
natives of the British Isles; seven others, though found here, are
distinctly aliens, and their visits, at least as regards some of them, to
our islands, exceedingly irregular.

Most of the moths are of large size, many of the caterpillars are of noble
proportions, and in both stages they are not difficult to find, if looked
for in suitable places and in their proper season. The caterpillars of
several kinds, owing to the exposed way in which they feed or rest, are
especially noticeable on bush and hedgerow; the chrysalids, although
subterranean, are often freely obtained by turning up the soil around
trunks of trees, or under plants, upon which the caterpillars feed.

THE LIME HAWK-MOTH (_Dilina_ (_Mimas_) _tiliae_).

The four specimens shown on Plate 3 represent the more or less ordinary
form of this moth. The pale pinkish grey, or reddish brown, fore wings are
sometimes tinged with greenish in the paler forms; the irregular shaped
band crossing the {18} central area of the wings is olive green, usually
dark, and generally edged with whitish. This band is sometimes entire
(typical), but more frequently it is broken about the middle. The outer
third of these wings is more or less greenish or mottled with green, and a
mark near the tip is whitish.

Variation is chiefly connected with the modifications that occur in the
upper or lower, sometimes both, portions of the central band; the lower
seems to be the first to disappear, then the upper passes through various
stages of reduction until it becomes simply a spot or dot about the centre
of the wing. Specimens are occasionally found or reared, in which every
trace of the band has departed from one or both fore wings. The greenish
outer border of the wings is inwardly margined with darker, well defined
and band-like in some examples, but less clearly marked, or even absent, in
others. Near the base of the fore wings are often two dusky greenish cross
lines. The hind wings, generally pretty much of the same ground colour as
the fore wings, have a dusky band-like shade of variable width on the outer
third; sometimes these wings are entirely dusky, approaching blackish. Very
rarely specimens are bred in which there is no trace of green colour. Such
an example was reared by Mr. Frohawk in April, 1882, from a caterpillar he
found in Surrey. In this aberration all the markings (normally green) are
light burnt-sienna red, the usual whitish blotch at the tip of the fore
wings is pink; ground colour also pink, slightly tinged with grey in
places. So variable is this moth in colour and markings, that in some
collections at least one cabinet drawer is given to it so that the range of
aberration may be adequately shown. Already about eighteen colour
modifications have been named, and at least eight band variations have also
received names.

The egg is similar in general appearance to that of the next species (see
Plate 4). Dr. Chapman states that it is more densely covered with an
indiarubber-like gum, and this may cause it to seem darker than the eggs of
the Eyed and the Poplar Hawk-moths. The eggs are laid singly or in pairs on
the underside of elm or lime leaves.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 2.
  LIME HAWK-MOTH.
  _Caterpillar and chrysalis._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 3.
  LIME HAWK-MOTH.

{19} The figure of a nearly full-grown caterpillar (Plate 2) is from a
drawing in colour by Mr. A. Sich. Shortly, the caterpillar may be described
as green, roughened with yellow points, and with seven yellow oblique
stripes on the sides, each edged above with purplish and reddish; the
spiracles are ringed with reddish, and the curved horn is blue, inclining
to yellowish beneath and at the tip; the roughened shield on the last ring
of the body is reddish, marked with yellow. Head triangular, smoother than
the body. Quite in its infancy, the caterpillar is a long, thin creature;
the horn, which is divided at the tip, is covered with short, stiff hairs,
and appears blackish; later on the horn becomes reddish, and the side
stripes appear on the body. Although alder, birch, and several other shrubs
and trees have been mentioned, there is no doubt that the foliage of elm
and lime is the chief food of the caterpillar in a state of nature. Found
in July and August.

The chrysalis is dark reddish, and somewhat rough. As a rule, it is
enclosed in a very fragile cell which the caterpillar makes for itself
after burrowing a few inches underground and near the trunk of an elm or a
lime tree. There are, however, records of the chrysalis having been found
in crevices of bark high up on elm trees.

In May and June the moth emerges, usually in the afternoon, and may
sometimes be found on the trunks of trees, or on palings near limes and
elms. When at rest the fore wings are so arranged over the hind ones that
they, in conjunction with the upturned body, give the insect more the
appearance of a bunch of immature leaves than of a moth.

The species is widely distributed throughout the southern counties of
England, and in some of them, more especially around London, it is common.
In the Midlands it seems to be {20} scarce, and apparently does not occur
further north than Yorkshire, from which county there is only a single
record. It is common in Europe, except in the more northern and southern
parts, and its range extends eastwards into Siberia.

THE POPLAR HAWK-MOTH (_Smerinthus_ (_Amorpha_) _populi_).

On Plate 5 are three slightly different examples of this moth. In colour it
is most frequently ashy grey, with a brownish central band, and other
markings; there is a white spot on the fore wings and a conspicuous red
patch at the base of the hind wings. The female is generally paler than the
male, and often has a pinkish tinge. Specimens of a pale buff colour are
sometimes obtained, and these are most often of the female sex, although
male examples of this form are not unknown. Among unusual aberrations is
one described as having the wings, legs, thorax, and abdomen of a colour
between brick-red and chocolate, suffused with a whitish bloom as on ripe
plums. Another had the hind wings unadorned with red. Specimens from
Aberdeenshire and Sutherlandshire are smaller than English examples, and
the males are almost always more brightly and distinctly marked.

A very large number of Gynandrous, or "hermaphrodite" specimens have been
recorded, several of them from Britain; in most of these the
gynandromorphism is bilateral, that is the insect is wholly male on one
side, and entirely female on the other. In some the right side is male, in
others the left side; the opposite side in each case being female. Much
information on this subject and on Hybridism of the Sphingidae will be
found in Tutt's "British Lepidoptera," vol. iii.

The pale shining green eggs are laid, generally singly, but sometimes in
twos, threes, or more, on either surface of a leaf of poplar or sallow. Now
and then batches of eggs may be found, and these have probably been laid by
females that were crippled on emergence, or had been afterwards injured in
some way and so were unable to fly.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 4.
  POPLAR HAWK-MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 5.
  POPLAR HAWK-MOTH.

{21}

[Illustration: FIG. 17.

EGGS OF POPLAR HAWK-MOTH.]

When full grown the caterpillar is green, roughened with yellow points,
oblique stripes on the sides yellow, spiracles reddish, horn of the general
colour, sometimes tipped with reddish. Head triangular in shape, but not
pointed on the top. A reddish spotted form of the caterpillar is not very
uncommon. In its very early life the head is rather triangular than
rounded, as is the head of the young caterpillar of the previous species,
and also that of the Eyed Hawk. Feeds on poplar, aspen, sallow, and willow,
and may be found from July to September and sometimes October. Chrysalis
blackish, rougher than that of the Lime Hawk. It lies in the ground so
close to the surface that it is often exposed when the garden borders under
or near poplars are raked over. The moth appears in May and June as a rule,
but in backward seasons it may not emerge until July or even August.
Caterpillars from eggs laid in early May are likely to feed up and attain
the perfect state in late July, and eggs resulting from these will pass
through the caterpillar state to that of chrysalis by about {22} September.
Three broods have been obtained in one year, but this is exceptional and
under a forcing method of treatment. The early stages are figured on Plate
4. This is certainly the commonest of our Hawk-moths, and it seems to occur
throughout our islands, except that in Scotland it is not recorded further
north than Sutherland and Ross. Wherever there are poplars, sallows, or
willows, there too most probably will be this caterpillar in its season;
the moth also will be almost certainly seen by any one who may care to keep
an eye on the stems of poplars or adjacent fences at the right time.
Sometimes the insect will introduce itself to the household, after
lighting-up time, much to the alarm of those who, not aware of the harmless
character of their visitor, look upon it with considerable suspicion.

Distribution abroad--Europe (except the polar regions and Greece), Armenia
and the Altai.

THE EYED HAWK-MOTH (_Smerinthus ocellatus_).

Except that there is sometimes an absence of rosy tinge on the fore wings,
and that the brownish markings may be lighter or darker, this species does
not depart very greatly from the typical form shown on Plate 7.

Cross pairings between the Eyed-hawk and the Poplar-hawk are not altogether
difficult to obtain, but the female _populi_ pairs more readily with male
_ocellatus_ than the female of the last named species will with the male of
_populi_. Very few such cross pairings have been noted in a wild state, but
several cases of the kind are known to have occurred in captivity. The
results are hybrid moths, and these have some of the characters of each
parent, and have received distinctive names. Thus the offspring of
_ocellatus_ [male] x _populi_ [female] are the _hybridus_, Steph., whilst
that of _populi_ [male] x _ocellatus_ [female] are referable to _inversa_,
Tutt.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 6.
  EYED HAWK-MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 7.
  EYED HAWK-MOTH.

{23}

The eggs, which are generally laid singly or in pairs on either side of a
leaf, sometimes on a stalk, are yellowish-green in colour. The shell is
said to be netted, but under a fairly strong lens this does not show. About
four hundred is probably the average number for a female to lay in a state
of nature, but they seem not to deposit so many when reared from the egg in
confinement. As the moth, except under stress of circumstances, places her
eggs on the foliage of trees and bushes in selected positions, the business
of egg laying takes about six nights to perform. Even when she is unable to
fly she will crawl from twig to twig and glue an egg here and there on the
leaves, but rarely more than two on a leaf. On a small sallow bush in my
garden, I once counted eighty-four eggs on the lower leaves and the main
stem. Green, inclining to yellowish or greyish, is the colour of the
full-grown caterpillar. It is roughened with white points, and has seven
whitish oblique stripes on the sides. These stripes are edged in front with
darkish green and occasionally tinged with violet. The horn is bluish,
merging into green towards the dark tip, and roughened with white points.
Head triangular in shape, the top pointed; face tinged with bluish.
Sometimes bright red spots appear on the sides in some examples of the
caterpillar. In the quite young stage the head is usually rounded; the
horn, which appears reddish, is about one third the length of the
caterpillar.

Sallow, willow, and apple are the more general food plants, but poplar and
privet have been reported. I have sometimes found the larva on _Salix
repens_, and also on crab-apple (_Pyrus malus_). It may be found in July
and August. In some years, when the moths emerge in May, caterpillars are
found as early as June, and this is followed by the occurrence of the
caterpillar again, as a second brood, in August and September. When quite
mature the caterpillar enters an inch or two into the soil, and there forms
a weak sort of cell in which it shortly afterwards turns to a brown, or
blackish-brown, smooth and {24} rather glossy chrysalis. The early stages
are figured on Plate 6.

The moth usually emerges in June, earlier or later, according to season.
Under very favourable circumstances some of the moths will leave the
chrysalis in May and give rise to a second generation in July. An
unfavourable year, on the other hand, retards emergence, and the moths do
not come up until late June or mid-July; such has been the case this year
(1907).

Generally distributed and by no means uncommon throughout the southern half
of England, but somewhat local northwards. It has been recorded from the
most southern counties of Scotland, and Kane states that in Ireland it is
widely distributed but usually scarce.

The method of folding down its wings in repose is very similar to that of
the previous two species.

THE DEATH'S-HEAD HAWK MOTH (_Acherontia (Manduca) atropos_).

The fine moth represented on Plate 8 is the largest species found in the
British Isles, although in measurement from tip to tip when the wings are
expanded it does not exceed that of the next species, both varying in this
respect from 4-1/2 to 5 inches. It is, however, a stouter bodied insect,
and its wings are broader. The colour and markings are so well shown in the
illustration that a description is unnecessary. Beyond a greater or lesser
intensity of the paler markings on the fore wings and the thorax, also some
modifications in the black band of the hind wings, there is nothing very
striking in the way of variation. Perhaps the most important aberrations
are connected with the inner black band of the hind wings, which may be
much widened and diffuse, or, on the other hand, entirely absent.

When full grown, the caterpillar attains a length of nearly 5 inches, and
is of considerable thickness throughout. Usually {25} the general colour is
some shade of green, varying to yellowish, but in some examples it is
brown, more or less tinged with violet; others again are of a blackish hue.
The seven oblique side stripes are purplish or violet brown, edged with
yellowish; they are absent from the three rings nearest the head; the
rough, double curved horn is of the body colour. The greenish forms are
sprinkled with violet dots, and the brownish forms with white ones. Most
frequently found on the leaves of potato; it feeds also on the "tea-tree"
(_Lycium barbarum_), woody nightshade (_Solanum dulcamara_), and snowberry
(_Symphoricarpus_). Fig. 1, Plate 9, represents the brown form of the
caterpillar.

When ready to enter the chrysalis state, the caterpillar burrows from 2 to
4 inches below the surface of the soil, and there forms a large chamber,
the walls of which are not very substantial and are easily broken. After
resting therein for a week, or two, it turns to a dark brownish, rather
glossy, chrysalis. (Plate 11, Fig. 1). The earthen cocoon, frail as it is,
seems to be a protection to the chrysalis, guarding it from too much
moisture on the one hand, or dryness on the other. I always found that when
chrysalids from caterpillars that I have obtained were left undisturbed the
moths emerged well enough; but when they were turned up out of the ground
by the potato diggers, and, of course, without covering, they were almost
certain to perish if the attempt were made to keep them through the winter.
In the latter case, the only chance was to endeavour to induce the moth to
emerge as soon as possible by bringing them under the combined influence of
warmth and moisture.

This species was known to Mouffett, who figured it in 1634, but it does not
appear to have received an English name until 1773, when Wilkes figured it
as the "Jasmine Hawk Moth." Moses Harris, in 1775, called it the "Bee Tyger
Hawk Moth," but three years later he changed the name to the Death's Head,
the name by which it is still known, although in some {26} parts of
England, as well as in Ireland, it is referred to as the "bee robber." In
connection with the latter name, it may be mentioned that the moth's
"tongue," or proboscis, is short, and not adapted for obtaining sweets, of
which it is very fond, from long-tubed flowers, consequently it filches
honey from the bees, and, with this object, has been known to enter
bee-hives, at least those of the old straw-skep pattern. The moth is also
said to have a liking for the sap exuded by wounded trees. Although the
species may, perhaps, be with us in certain favoured localities every year,
it does not often occur, in any stage, in numbers sufficient to attract
general attention. I have not searched the chronicles of _Atropos_ in
Britain earlier than 1864, but from these it seems that the species was
widely distributed and generally common in 1865, 1868, 1878, 1885, 1896,
and 1900. More or less common in certain localities in 1867, 1869,
1870-1872, 1877, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1893, 1895, 1899, 1911, and 1917. In the
other years it was scarce, or apparently absent.

The moth is always very much less in evidence than the caterpillar, or even
the chrysalis. Sometimes the former is seen in May or June, or even
earlier, and it has been supposed that these precocious specimens have
hibernated after emergence from the chrysalis here during the previous
autumn. The question of hibernation need not be entertained, but there may
be doubt as to whether the specimens are British born or aliens. I am
inclined to the latter view. The moths are often noted at sea long
distances from land. A specimen was captured on board a vessel in the North
Sea on April 28, 1903, and it was still alive, although it had been roughly
dealt with, on May 8 of that year. In 1899 a moth was taken at Chester,
about the middle of May, and one on June 20 at Chichester. Probably,
although undetected, other specimens were also about the country, and maybe
at even earlier dates than those recorded. However, during the year larvae
and pupae were found, at the end of July, at Chilton, Suffolk, and at
Bridgwater, Somerset, and in early August in Somerset, and at Dover. A moth
was captured in August at Marlow, Bucks., one was taken at Christchurch on
September 19, one at Reigate, September 25. Several specimens occurred in
Devon and Cornwall in the autumn, and at Deal early in October. Larvae were
found, too, from the second week in September to the end of that month in
several parts of the country. Moths seem to have been reared in early
September from the early August caterpillars; whilst the September
caterpillars attained the perfect state towards the end of the month and in
October. Two pupae, found at Penarth on September 12, produced moths in
from four to six days afterwards; four other chrysalids, obtained in Hants
about mid September, yielded moths between September 21 and the beginning
of October.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 8.
  DEATH'S-HEAD HAWK MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 9.
  1. DEATH'S-HEAD HAWK-MOTH.
    _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; and caterpillar._
  2. CONVOLVULUS HAWK-MOTH CATERPILLAR (DARK FORM).

{27} From the foregoing there can be no question that there are at least
two generations of the moth in some years, and in our own country, but we
have even clearer evidence of this in the records of 1900, when a moth was
taken in the spring at Ayton, Berwickshire, another at Worsborough Bridge
on June 18, and a third at Kilmarnock, on a bee-hive, July 11. Caterpillars
were found during late July and August in South Scotland and various parts
of England, and moths were reared from some of these. In September and
October caterpillars were found more commonly, and two or three moths were
captured, in various places, between August 19 and October 9; others,
reared from September caterpillars, emerged from October 30 to November 24.

By the rustic, and possibly the uninitiated generally, the moth is looked
upon as something uncanny. This is probably due to the fact that the
creature, when handled, emits a peculiar sound that has been described as a
shrill squeak. According to Kirby, the statement made by Rossi that the
sound is produced by air from the air-sacs being forced through the {28}
proboscis, has been verified. Another dread-inspiring character of the
insect is the marking on the thorax, which has been likened to a skull and
crossbones. The squeak is said to have the effect of quieting the bees,
they being under the impression that it proceeds from their queen.

It has been taken at some time or another in almost every part of the
British Isles, right up to and including the Shetlands. Except that it has
not been observed in the more northern parts, the species is found
throughout Europe, North and South Africa, the Canary Islands, and the
Azores. It is also represented in Southern India, extending to the Malays,
and in China, Corea, and Japan.

CONVOLVULUS HAWK-MOTH, _Herse_ (_Sphinx_) _convolvuli_.

The older writers on British moths called this the "Unicorn" or "Bindweed
Hawk." The fore wings are whitish grey, mottled with darker tints, and, in
the male, clouded with blackish about the middle of the wing; the central
third is limited inwardly by a double blackish, wavy line, and outwardly by
an irregular, toothed, whitish line; running from one to the other are two
black streaks between the veins, and a similar streak nearer the costa is
waved upwards to the tip of the wing. The hind wings are whitish grey, with
a black stripe near the base, and two blackish bands between the stripe and
the outer margin. The thorax agrees in colour with the fore wings; the
tapered body has a broad grey stripe, enclosing a central black line along
the back, broad red and black and narrow white bands on each side (Plate
10).

The egg has been described as bright green in colour, and smaller than that
of the Privet Hawk. A female moth captured at Brighton on July 18, 1898,
deposited twenty-five eggs on _Convolvulus arvensis_ up to July 20, and the
next day a further eight were counted. The moth died on the 22nd.
Caterpillars hatched out July 27-28. These were whitish green, with a rough
blackish horn; after second moult they became green, with a darker green
stripe along the back, but without oblique side stripes.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 10.
  CONVOLVULUS HAWK-MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 11.
      1. CHRYSALIS OF DEATH'S-HEAD HAWK-MOTH.
      2.      "    "  CONVOLVULUS   "     "
  3, 3a. CATERPILLAR AND CHRYSALIS OF PINE HAWK.

{29} In its more usual form the caterpillar, when full grown, is bright
apple-green, narrowly streaked with black; oblique stripes on the sides
yellowish; horn reddish, tip black. Head green, with black stripes. In some
examples the side stripes are edged above with bluish black; in others
there are blackish, more or less square, spots on the back, and patches on
the sides. Sometimes the general colour is blackish brown, with ochreous
bands and streaks. (This form is figured on Plate 9). When it occurs in
these islands it is generally found on the small bindweed (_Convolvulus
arvensis_), but it will eat _C. sepium_ and _C. soldanella_, and also the
cultivated kinds.

Referring to the caterpillar in Britain, Moses Harris, in 1775, wrote, "I
never heard of but two that were ever found--one by Mr. South [or Smith] of
Hampshire, which, he said, was green, and appeared in other respects so
like the privet that he was deceived. He fed it on the leaves of the lesser
bindweed. It changed into the chrysalis in the earth, in July, and the moth
was produced in September" (Dale).

The caterpillar figured by Harris is of the brown form, so we see that even
at this early date something was known of the life history of this moth and
the variation of the caterpillar. Since that date and up to 1894 only very
few larvae appear to have been found in our islands. Barrett states that it
is doubtful if more than twenty had then been recorded. In 1895
caterpillars were obtained in Cornwall (four) and in Kent (two). Then for
five years little or nothing was reported about this stage, although the
moth seems to have occurred in varying numbers each year. In 1901, August
and September, over one hundred were reported, rather more than half of
which were taken from a hedgerow, overgrown with _C. sepium_, in {30}
Northumberland; twenty-six were obtained on the bindweed growing on
Lancashire sandhills, thirteen or fourteen in Essex, and others in
Bedfordshire, Kent, Hants, Dorset, and Devon.

Mr. Bell-Marley obtained thirty eggs, September, 1897, and although these
were kept in a cold room, thirteen caterpillars hatched, September 21. They
were supplied with _Convolvulus arvensis_ and _C. soldanella_, and seemed
to relish one as much as the other. Seven died during the first three
moults. The bindweeds being nearly over, seedlings were raised by forcing,
but before these were ready the larvae had been on short commons, and just
immediately before the seedlings came to hand, had been twenty-four hours
without food. On these tender seedlings and some endive the remaining
larvae, six in number, attained full growth in December. Two subsequently
died in the first half of that month, and the others went under the soil.
Only one, however, managed to assume the chrysalis state.

A small caterpillar, about one week old, described by Paymaster-in-Chief G.
F. Mathew ("Notes on Lepidoptera from the Mediterranean," _Entom._, xxxi.
115), was 1-3/4 inch long, pale glaucous green in colour, and thickly
covered with raised white dots; oblique side stripes white, bordered above
with dark green. On September 26, 1897, this caterpillar, which had been
found on September 18, was nearly full grown, and the writer goes on to
state that when gathering bindweed he obtained either eggs or tiny
caterpillars at the same time, and he eventually found that he had eight of
them altogether. They fed up rapidly, as a caterpillar, hatched about
September 27, had gone down on October 18. Owing to accident, four produced
deformed chrysalids, but each chrysalis resulting from the others was
perfect and healthy on February 15, 1898. The large reddish-brown chrysalis
is figured on Plate 11, and it will be noted that the "tongue" case forms a
curious bent projection not unlike the handle of a pitcher. To give some
idea of the irregular way in which this migratory species visits our
islands, it will suffice to note the records only since 1894. Previous to
that year it was common, more or less generally, in 1846, 1868, 1875, 1885,
and 1887.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 12.
  1. PRIVET HAWK-MOTH.
  2. PINE HAWK-MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 13.
  PRIVET HAWK-MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._

{31} In 1895 an invasion seems to have effected a landing in the autumn, on
the south-west coast, chiefly, perhaps, in the Portland district, where
some fifty individuals were captured between August 12 and October 7;
twenty-three were caught near Bournemouth in August and September; sixteen
were taken at Christchurch, August 11 to October 2; and eight were recorded
from Milford. Several were reported from Devon, but only two from Cornwall,
although four larvae were found in October at Port Wrinkle in the latter
county. At Cork, in Ireland, ten specimens were obtained in October.
Eastward, the captures in September were Norfolk (seven), Essex (one),
Lincoln (one). Odd specimens were taken here and there in Kent, Surrey, and
Herts. Several were reported from Gloucestershire, and one from South
Wales. The northward extension was evidenced by the capture of one example
at Alnwick, in Northumberland, in September, and of two in Aberdeenshire,
one as early as August 31, the other September 9.

The moth was almost a defaulter in 1896, but in 1897 about forty specimens
were taken, twenty-seven of which occurred in the Scilly Isles and eleven
at Portland (August 14 to September 16). One example was reported from
Yorkshire and another from Sutherlandshire, both in September.

A female was taken at Brighton, July 18, 1898, and in the autumn of that
year a good many specimens were obtained in various parts of England but
chiefly in the south. Portland again heading the list with over fifty
(August 4 to October 3) and a number were taken in the Isle of Wight during
September. Captures in 1899 seem to have been only pretty good. Portland
twenty, August 25 to September 20, perhaps less than a dozen in other parts
of England and one in Scotland, all in September {32} or October. In 1900
one specimen was taken at an Eastbourne electric light, and one at
Portpatrick in Scotland, both end of August. There appears to have been an
arrival of moths in this country in early June, 1901. Captures were
reported from Portland (June 2), Bedford, and S. W. London. Larvae and
pupae were found in many parts of England, as already mentioned. Then in
August, from about the 14th to September, moths were captured throughout
the greater part of England; in some places caterpillars were also obtained
in August, chrysalids in September. After a lull towards the end of the
latter month, moths suddenly appeared again during the first week in
October. Several observers remarked that whereas the August to September
moths were mostly females, large in size, and not in the best condition,
the later moths were chiefly of the male sex, small in size, and fine in
condition. It would seem therefore that these late specimens were the
descendants of the early August moths and represented a second generation
on British soil and the grandchildren of the June immigrants. Or, possibly,
the August-September moths were fresh immigrants, and the October specimens
their offspring.

The species was observed in several English counties during August and
September, 1911; and again in 1915. In 1917 it seems to have been more
widely spread over our islands, as specimens were reported from Ireland and
even Shetland.

Plants with tubular flowers, such as those of petunias, and the
sweet-scented white tobacco (_Nicotiana affinis_) are its especial
favourites, but it also visits the blossoms of pentstemon, geranium
(chiefly the scarlet variety), etc. It does not settle on the flowers but
inserts its long "tongue" into the tubes as it hovers on the wing in front
of them. Just at twilight it commences operations, but it may be seen
pursuing its investigations well on into the night (see Fig. 1, p. 2).

Distributed over Europe, Asia, and Africa. {33}

THE PRIVET HAWK (_Sphinx ligustri_).

A specimen of the female sex is figured on Plate 12. The white clouding or
mottling on the pale brown colour of the fore wings varies in intensity and
is sometimes tinged with pink, especially at the base of the wings; often
it is only noticeable at the tips of the wings and on the outer area; the
blackish suffusion from the inner margin through the central area and the
black streaks between the veins are rather more constant. On the hind wings
the pinkish tinge between the black bands may be faint or entirely absent;
the central black band varies in width, and is sometimes so much expanded
that it absorbs the basal half of the first band.

When full grown the caterpillar measures about three inches in length and
has a very substantial appearance. It is of a pretty green colour, with
seven oblique white stripes, each of which has a purplish front edging; the
spiracles are yellowish. The head is rather more grass green and marked
with black in front. The curved horn is blackish on the upper side and
yellowish below. The colour of the caterpillar in its younger stage is
yellowish, due to the presence of yellow dots, it also has some tiny hairs;
the horn, which is bristly and slightly forked at the tip, is a conspicuous
feature at this age on account of its length and dark colour as compared
with that of the creature itself. Just before changing into the chrysalis,
a brownish tinge is assumed, and very rarely caterpillars of a pinkish or
purplish tint have been found.

It feeds on privet (_Ligustrum vulgare_) in July and August; often to be
seen resting on the upper part of the longer sprays of the food plant.
Sometimes a dozen or more may be found on one short strip of privet hedge.
They are much subject to the attack of ichneumons. Other food plants are
lilac, ash, lauristinus, and some other shrubs. Mr. Step informs me that on
{34} August 18, 1907, he found three larvae feeding on teasel at Ashtead.

The caterpillar will burrow some depth underground before constructing its
pupal chamber. The chrysalis, which is reddish, or blackish-brown in
colour, is figured with the other stages on Plate 13.

The moth usually emerges the following June or July, but there are at least
two records of its remaining in the chrysalis during two winters.

The southern portion of England appears to be the principal British home of
this moth. It is more or less scarce in the midlands and northwards. In
Scotland it has only been recorded from southern counties, and in his
"Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland," Kane states that he has no
certain record of its occurrence in that country. Widely distributed
through central and southern Europe, extending northwards to south Sweden
and Finland, and eastwards to Amurland, China, and Japan.

THE PINE HAWK (_Hyloicus pinastri_).

Stephens, writing of this species in 1828, remarked that about thirty years
before that date, a specimen "was taken in June at Colney Hatch Wood, and a
second in the neighbourhood of Esher." He also gives Rivelston Wood, near
Edinburgh, as a locality, on the authority of Dr. Leach. A specimen was
stated to have been seen in Cumberland in 1827 or 1828, and up to the year
1877 four other examples were reported, each from a different part of
England. In the year last mentioned a specimen was recorded from
Woodbridge, Suffolk, as taken in a rectory garden the previous midsummer
(since ascertained that the moth was first seen there in 1875); an example
was also found at rest on a tree trunk at Tuddenham, near Ipswich, in July,
1877, and one was reared on August 5, 1876, from a {35} chrysalis found
near Horham Rectory, Wickham Market, Suffolk. In 1878-9, caterpillars were
met with at Leiston, Suffolk; the moth was found in the pine woods around
Aldeburgh, 1881, and as many as forty specimens were taken in July and
August, 1882, and rather more than twenty in August, 1919. In 1895, Lord
Rendlesham, when driving through the fir woods in the neighbourhood of
Woodbridge, noted two specimens in almost the same spot where he had taken
some moths in 1892-93. Mr. F. Mellusson, writing from this district (August
2, 1895), stated that fifteen specimens had been taken, and that others
could have been captured; also that about one hundred larvae were then
feeding in confinement. He also mentioned that 1895 was the fourth year out
of five that the insect had occurred there. A male moth was found at rest
on an oak trunk near Southwold, Suffolk, on July 29, 1900. On August 13,
1906, the Rev. A. P. Waller saw a worn specimen on a pine trunk in the
rectory garden at Woodbridge. He also noted a pupa on September 30, 1917.
(Plate 12, Fig. 2.)

The mature caterpillar, which feeds on pine needles, is green, with a
yellowish-edged reddish line along the middle of the back and a creamy line
on each side of this; the interrupted line below the reddish spiracles is
yellowish or ochreous. Head yellowish brown; horn blackish brown; both are
glossy. It enters the earth and there turns to a reddish brown chrysalis;
this is rather glossy, somewhat darker above than below, and appearing
blackish between the rings; the rough "tongue" sheath is short and attached
throughout to the case; the tail spike is roughened, and has a blunt point
on each side of it (Plate 11, Figs. 3, 3a).

It has been recorded that caterpillars hatched from the egg early in
August, pupated in October, and the moths emerged the following May-July.

The perfect insect sits upon tree trunks, chiefly pine, often well within
reach, although sometimes its position is fourteen or {36} fifteen feet up
the trunk. At night it visits flowers, and seems to be most partial to
those of the honeysuckle.

Suffolk seems to be the British home of this species, but odd specimens
have been reported since 1860 from Romsey, Hampshire; Hinton St. George,
Somersetshire; Herefordshire; Isle of Mull (two caterpillars); and
Bournemouth.

The range of this species is through Northern and Central Europe southwards
to Northern Spain and Italy, and eastward to the Caucasus. In Japan it is
represented by var. _caligineus_, Butler, which differs but little from
typical _pinastri_.

THE SPURGE HAWK (_Deilephila_ (_Hyles_) _euphorbiae_).

The fore wings are pale grey, more or less tinged with pinkish and marked
with olive at the base, towards the middle of front margin, and a tapered
band running from the inner margin to the tip of the wing; the lower part
of the basal patch is blackish. Hind wings pinkish with black basal patch
and a band before the outer margin; a white patch at anal angle (Plate 15,
Fig. 1).

The caterpillar feeds, August and September, on spurge (_Euphorbia
paralias_, and _E. cyparissias_). When full grown the head is crimson red,
marked on the crown with black; the body is black, but so thickly sprinkled
with yellow dots that much of the black colour is obscured; the larger
spots are often crimson, but sometimes they are yellow, or even cream
coloured; the stripes along the back and below the yellow spiracles are
crimson, as also are the legs and feet; the spiny horn is crimson with a
black tip. In a younger stage the head and the horn are orange, the latter
black tipped; the body is yellow with patches of black around the paler
yellow spots on the back. Chrysalis pale brownish, minutely dotted with
black; the head and thorax are marked with blackish, and the rings of the
body have narrow, interrupted, blackish bands; the wing and antennae cases
are covered with fine short blackish streaks; tail spike blackish, somewhat
flattened, and the acute point black (Plate 1, Fig. 1; 14, Figs. 2, 2a).

[Illustration]

  Pl. 14.
  1, 1a. BEDSTRAW HAWK-MOTH.
  2, 2a. SPURGE HAWK-MOTH.
  _Caterpillars and chrysalids._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 15.
  1. SPURGE HAWK-MOTH.
  2. BEDSTRAW HAWK-MOTH.
  3. STRIPED HAWK-MOTH.

{37} The moth usually emerges in June or July of the year following
pupation, but it may come out the same year; on the other hand, it has been
known to remain in the chrysalis for two winters. Dr. Chapman has noted the
emergence of the moth eighteen days after the pupa was formed.

Little, if anything, appears to have been known of this species as an
inhabitant of Britain until 1806, when Mr. Raddon, who was staying at
Instow, in N. Devon, had a caterpillar brought to him by a fisherman. From
that time, and up to 1814, a large number of the caterpillars were obtained
from _Euphorbia paralias_ growing on Braunton Burrows, a long stretch of
sandhills on the north Devonshire coast, accessible from Barnstaple or
Ilfracombe, which, when I visited the locality some twenty-five years ago,
was greatly favoured by rabbits. One would suppose that the Spurge Hawk
caterpillars must have been pretty abundant at the time Raddon made his
observations, as he states in a note on the subject published in the
Entomological Magazine for 1835, that on leaving the ground one evening at
dusk he hastily cut an armful of spurge, which he took home and put in
water. Next morning he "found the food covered with not less than a hundred
minute larvae about a day or two old." This must have happened prior to
1814, because the species seems to have entirely disappeared about that
year. The Rev. E. N. Bloomfield, in his catalogue of the Lepidoptera of
Suffolk, mentions a moth bred from a larva found near Landguard Fort about
1865. He adds that the food plant was then abundant there. At a meeting of
the Entomological Society of London held in October, 1876, a letter was
read from Mr. Higgins concerning the reported finding of the caterpillars
of this species in a locality near Harwich in 1873. It was stated that the
spurge (_Euphorbia paralias_), had not only been {38} seen in the
particular spot, but in other parts of the same district also.

In the _Entomologist_ for 1893 there is a very circumstantial account of
the finding of eighteen or nineteen Spurge Hawk caterpillars on the Cornish
coast in the autumn of 1889. From these, eight moths resulted in May-July,
1890, and one in June, 1891.

Although the occurrence of the moth in Britain has been more frequently
recorded, probably in error for the Bedstraw Hawk, there are at least two
that are undoubtedly authentic. One of these refers to a specimen taken in
a private garden near Southampton (_Entom._, 1872), and the other was
captured by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett as it flew at early dusk in a garden
at King's Lynn, Norfolk, in September, 1887. Some idea of the scarcity of
_bona fide_ English specimens may be gained from the fact that about
thirteen years ago, two of Raddon's bred specimens were sold by auction at
Stevens, when six guineas was given for one, and ten shillings more for the
other.

Its distribution abroad extends through Central and Southern Europe into
Asia Minor, and it is represented by local races in other parts of Asia.

THE BEDSTRAW HAWK (_Deilephila_ (_Celerio_) _galii_).

On Plate 15, Fig. 2, will be found a portrait of this moth, which the
ancient fathers of British entomology dubbed the "Spotted Elephant"--at
least, Harris, in 1778, figured its caterpillar under this name. Later it
was called the "Galium Hawk-moth." The olive-brown fore wings have a
tapered, creamy-white stripe running obliquely from the inner margin near
the base to the tip of the wing; the lower edge of this stripe is almost
straight, but the upper edge is irregular; the outer margin of the wings is
greyish. Hind wings creamy {39} white, the basal area and a band before the
outer margin black; the space enclosed is blotched, and sometimes tinged
with pinkish red; but the extreme inner portion is almost pure white. Head
and thorax are olive-brown, edged with white; the abdomen is olive-brown,
with a whitish line along the middle of the back, and ornamented with black
and white on the sides.

The full-grown caterpillar varies in colour from greenish olive to pale
olive-brown, reddish brown, or sometimes blackish; the spots on the back
are yellowish, edged with black, but occasionally these are absent. It
feeds in August and September, on the bedstraws (_Galium verum_, _G.
mollugo_, etc.), preferring the yellow-flowered kind that flourishes on
sandhills by the sea (_G. verum_, var. _maritimum_). It can be reared very
well on willow herb (_Epilobium_) and on fuchsia.

When ready for the change it burrows underground, and, where the soil is
sandy and light, it works down pretty deeply before making the frail cell,
in which it turns to a reddish-brown chrysalis with blackish markings,
somewhat similar to those of the next species; the anal spike is blackish,
rather flattened, terminating in a sharp point (Plate 14, Figs. 1, 1a).
Haworth in 1812 mentioned caterpillars from Devonshire, and although single
specimens of the moth seem to have been taken here and there in various
years between that date and 1854, in only one year during that period was
it reported from several parts of the country. This was in 1834, when four
moths were captured in August, and eight or nine others seen at Yarmouth;
caterpillars were also found on the bedstraw growing on the Denes. Odd
examples of the moth were observed that year in Lincolnshire,
Somersetshire, and in the Isle of Wight. In 1855-56, caterpillars were
obtained in August on the sandhills at Deal, and, in September, at
Devonport in the first-named year. A moth was taken in May, 1857, and,
later in that year, specimens were captured at Deal, {40} Brighton, and
Taunton. Three moths were recorded in 1858; and in 1859 caterpillars were
plentiful on the south-east coast, common on the Cheshire coast, also
reported from Devon, Cambs., London, and Darlington; over a score were
found within a short distance of Perth. A good many moths were also taken.
The species was especially abundant in 1870, in which year caterpillars
were collected in hundreds. It seems to have been widely distributed
throughout England, and was again found in Perthshire. Perhaps not more
than three specimens were taken between 1872 and 1888, but in the rainy and
cold summer of the latter year, the moths seem to have invaded the country
in great force, and were reported from many parts of England, and also from
Aberdeen in Scotland, and from Howth in Ireland. Caterpillars, too, were
plentiful on the coast sandhills of Kent, Cheshire, and Lancashire, and
also in the Eastern Counties.

In March, 1889, Mr. Elisha had moths emerge from chrysalids of the previous
year. These had been placed in a temperature ranging from 60 to 70 degrees,
and the moths came out in from fourteen to sixteen days after commencing
the forcing process. Some half a dozen chrysalids that I had in 1888, from
Lancashire caterpillars, were allowed to remain in the earth, which was
contained in a large-sized flower-pot; the moths emerged in May and June,
1889, all but one being perfect specimens.

In 1894 Mr. Harwood obtained five caterpillars on the Essex coast, and in
1897 the Rev. A. Miles Moss found a few, and observed traces of others, on
the Lancashire coast, but, apart from these records, very few moths or
caterpillars of this species appear to have been noted in the country since
1888, and we still await the advent of another _Galii_ year. So far the
periods of scarcity between the seasons of plenty have been twenty-five,
eleven, and nineteen years.

The range of this insect extends through Europe and Asia to {41} Siberia
and Amurland. It is represented in North America by the Galium Sphinx
(_Celerio intermedia_, Kirby = _chamaenerii_, Harris), which so greatly
resembles it that only an expert could readily distinguish one from the
other.

THE STRIPED HAWK (_Phryxus_ (_Deilephila_) _livornica_).

Owing to some confusion between this moth (Plate 15, Fig. 3) and the North
American Striped Morning Sphinx (_D. lineata_), which also seems to have
had a place in the cabinets of the earlier British entomologists, the
localities given by authors previous to 1828 are doubtful. Haworth,
however, in 1803, mentions Cornwall, and Stephens, in his remarks on this
species, refers to a specimen from Norfolk; one taken off the mast of the
Ramsgate steam vessel at Billingsgate, in June, 1824; and three specimens,
one of which he figured, captured near Kingsbridge, Devonshire.

In 1846 thirteen of these moths were recorded from various parts of England
and Ireland, and probably many others were in these islands that year.
Between May 12 and 26, 1860, twenty specimens were taken in the south of
England, and more than half of them in Devonshire. In 1862 a specimen
occurred at Worthing on April 16, and one at Herne Hill on April 29; others
were taken between May 2 and May 18 on the south and south-west coasts, and
at Colchester. Over a score of specimens were recorded in 1868, chiefly in
August, and from localities ranging from Cornwall to Yorkshire. The year
1870 was a good one for the species, and moths were reported from England,
Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Fully fifty specimens were obtained, mostly
in May, and caterpillars were also found. In 1904 the moth occurred in May,
at several places in the south and south-west of England, also in
Gloucestershire, Wales, and at Carlisle; in September of this year a
specimen was taken on the pier at Dover, and another on a small {42}
headland at Barry, in Glamorgan. Some of the early captured females
deposited eggs; caterpillars resulting therefrom were fed on vine, and at
least one moth was reared in September.

A good many specimens visited the south of England, more particularly South
Devon, in June, 1906, but the species was reported as occurring in large
numbers on rhododendron blossom near Cork in Ireland from June 9 to 13 or
14. In August and September the moth was reported from Kent, Sussex, Hants,
Dorset, Devon, Somerset, and South Wales; such specimens probably being the
offspring of the early immigrants. During the past forty years the barren
seasons for the Striped Hawk appear to have been only ten. The dates of its
occurrence have been somewhat erratic. One was captured in 1887 in the
month of February, one on March 27 in 1903, but the moth has been observed
in each month from May to September inclusive, although May, June, and
August would seem to have been the more favoured. The caterpillar has not
been seen often in England. Mr. Farn recorded six or seven from Ryde in
July, 1870; they were feeding on vine and centaury in a garden. One spun up
in the leaves at the bottom of the box on July 27, but the web was so
fragile that the caterpillar fell out, and changed to the chrysalis state
on the 30th. The moth emerged on August 26. In the same year several
caterpillars occurred in Devon and Cornwall, and one of these was found on
July 11 in a mangold-wurtzel field in the Exeter district. It was
afterwards reared on fuchsia, and produced a moth on August 18. Nine others
were reported from a nursery garden at Plymouth; they were fed up on
dock--the plant upon which they had been found--and the moth was reared
later in the year. In 1902 Mr. Jager received a caterpillar from Starcross
about July 20, and this attained the moth state on September 27. A
caterpillar, believed to be of this species, was found in a sunny garden at
Lewes in Sussex, July 20, 1906. {43}

According to Hellins the eggs are light green in colour, and the
caterpillars hatch out in about three weeks. When it first emerges from the
egg-shell the caterpillar is dirty white without spots, and the head and
horn are black. The adult is dark green or black dotted with yellow; three
yellow lines on the back and two rows of black-ringed yellow spots, with
some black spots above them; each yellow spot is tinged with pink on the
upper portion. Head black, marked with yellow; horn reddish, with the tip
black. Sometimes the rings of the body are banded.

It feeds in June and July on vine, fuchsia, dock, and probably other
plants. It may be noted that the foliage of house vines are stated to be
unsuitable food. The blossoms of numerous plants are visited by the moths
in the evening, among which are delphinium, petunia, honeysuckle, tobacco,
rhododendron, valerian, and silene.

In the daytime it has been found resting on walls, windows, and also the
curtains; on grass turf, railway metals, fences, and on plants and shrubs.

The distribution of this species is somewhat similar to that of the
Silver-striped Hawk-moth, but it extends into Western China and is
represented in North America.

THE SILVER-STRIPED HAWK (_Hippotion (Chaerocampa) celerio_).

Referring to this species in 1828 Stephens wrote: "The first recorded
specimen of the perfect insect was taken flying in Bunhill-fields
burying-ground so long ago as 1779: and the specimen now exists in a high
state of preservation in Mr. Haworth's collection, having been purchased by
him at the dispersion of that of Mr. Francillon. Subsequently to the above
capture the larvae have been found several times in Cambridgeshire.... Two
or three were also taken about fifteen {44} or sixteen years since in a
garden at Norwich, and were kept until they changed to pupae; but
unfortunately, in that state their metamorphosis ended. One of these pupae
I have in my collection. Of late, however, the perfect insect has occurred
more than once, and in totally different parts of the country. Three
specimens, as I am informed by the Rev. F. W. Hope, were taken near Oxford
several years ago. In August, 1826, an injured one was found resting on a
wall near Birmingham; and last summer a second was secured not far distant
from the same locality; the latter I have in my possession. Again, Mr.
Marshall informed me in March last, that, on his way to Manchester, he met
with an individual who possessed upwards of a dozen living pupae, which
were procured from larvae found in that neighbourhood during last season."

Humphrey and Westwood mention a specimen taken in Brighton in 1834, and in
1846 eight moths were obtained. Something like one hundred and twenty-five
specimens of this species have been recorded between the year last quoted
and the present time. Of these only one occurred in Ireland. This was a
specimen taken at light on September 17, 1881, at Mullaghmore, County
Sligo. Several were captured in Scotland, and one in Wales; but the bulk
were obtained at various places in England, not in the south only but in
the north also. The majority were met with in the autumn, but a specimen
was reported as taken in May, 1848, at Harlestone, another in March, 1862,
at Tooting, and a third in the Isle of Anglesea, July, 1865. In the
last-named year nine specimens were captured in the autumn. Doubleday
recorded a caterpillar found in a garden at Epping (October, 1867), and
other caterpillars have been reported from Newmarket and Sussex.

At least one example of the moth has been recorded almost annually since
1846, but captures seem to have been more numerous in 1861, 1866, 1870,
1879, 1881, and especially so in 1885. The caterpillar (figured on Plate 1)
varies in ground colour, which may be pale brown, dark brown, or green.
There is a black line along the middle of the back, and a pinkish brown
stripe on each side; the latter runs from the ring next the head to the
horn, but is interrupted on ring four, and the back from this ring to the
horn is covered with linear dots arranged in more or less regular rows; the
underside is thickly sprinkled with black-ringed white dots; on each side
of ring four there is a conspicuous oval mark made up of a blackish outer
ring, an inner ring of yellowish, and one of reddish; the centre is
blackish, with some yellowish dots upon it. Head small, pale brown; horn
blackish and rather rough.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 16.
  1. OLEANDER HAWK-MOTH.
  2. SILVER-STRIPED HAWK-MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 17.
  ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
  _Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._

{45} It feeds on vine (_Vitis vinifera_) and yellow bedstraw (_Galium
verum_); also on fuchsia and virginia-creeper (_Ampelopsis_). August and
September are given as months for this caterpillar, but the Newmarket and
Epping examples referred to were taken in October.

The moth seems to visit us chiefly in September and October. It does not
appear to have been so often taken at flowers as at light, or when resting
by day, on a wall or window of a dwelling house or shop, to which it had
been attracted at night by the illumination within. The species has a wide
range through Africa and Southern Asia to Java, Borneo, and Australia. In
Europe it is perhaps only native in southern parts; thence it sometimes
wanders through Central Europe to Germany and Holland. The specimens
visiting our islands may come from the latter country, or possibly in years
of comparative plenty the moths come to us _via_ the west coast of Europe.

THE OLEANDER HAWK-MOTH (_Daphnis_ (_Chaerocampa_) _nerii_).

The forewings of this handsome moth (Plate 16) are pinkish grey, marbled
with various shades of green and olive brown; some of the marbling edged
with white. Hind wings greyish {46} brown shaded with greenish, with a
whitish, waved cross line. The colours of the head, thorax, and body are
similar to those of the wings.

[Illustration: FIG. 18.

CHRYSALIS OF OLEANDER-MOTH.

(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]

The caterpillar feeds on the Oleander (_Nerium oleander_), and also on the
lesser periwinkle (_Vinca minor_). When full grown it is olive green on the
back from the hinder part of the third ring to the small, rough, and
drooping, horn; the under surface and the whole of the first three rings
ochreous; there is a divided brown spot on the ring nearest the head (first
thoracic segment), and two larger blue-black spots on the third ring. These
spots each enclose two whitish clouds; on the front edge of rings five to
nine (second to sixth abdominal segments) are whitish dots, but these are
fewer on rings eight and nine than on the others; a narrow whitish stripe,
edged above and below with whitish dots, runs along the sides from ring
five to the horn; spiracles are black with pale margins (Plate 1).

Chrysalis brown with blackish central line, which becomes broken and
obscure on the body rings, broken again on the head, but continued thence
along the under surface to the tips of the wing cases. The spiracles are
blackish; the body is dotted, and the last rings are clouded with blackish.

I have only seen a preserved example of this caterpillar and a dead
chrysalis; descriptions of each are from these.

The first published notification of the occurrence of this moth {47} in
England is that of Stephens in 1835. He wrote: "A noble specimen of this
remarkably beautiful insect (five inches three lines in expanse), was taken
in the beginning of September, 1833, by a lady in her drawing-room at
Dover. Whether the pupa had been imported in some of the numerous packages
of foreign fruits, etc., or the insect itself had been brought over in one
of the passage-vessels, is a question not easily solved. The larva feeds
upon an exotic plant; but has been found in a garden near Charmouth, as
appears by a subsequent communication to the _Ent. Magazine_ by Captain
Blomer."

The next record of the moth appears in the _Zoologist_ for 1852. "On the
11th of September a specimen of _Chaerocampa nerii_ was taken in Montpelier
Road, Brighton, by a young gentleman at school, while it was hovering over
a passion flower." Two caterpillars were found in a garden at Eastbourne,
feeding upon the leaves of potato, in October, 1859. In confinement they
ate periwinkle, but they were not reared. The following records are, except
where otherwise stated, of single specimens of the moth: Hastings, August
2, 1862; Sheffield, September 14, 1867; St. Leonards, October, 1868 (? 2
examples); Ascot, June, 1873; Lewes, September 3, 1874; Hemel Hempstead,
October 15, 1876; Tottenham, Middlesex, Eastbourne, Sussex, and Blandford,
Dorset, September, 1884; Hartlepool and Prestwich, July, 1885; Brighton,
September 7, 1886; Poplar, September 20, 1888; Dartmouth, September 26,
1890; Stowling, Kent, July, 1896; Yalding, Kent, September 18, Teignmouth,
October 23, 1900; Banhead, Scotland, end September, 1901; Liverpool, in a
steamship, and Atherstone, Warwickshire, October, 1903; Eastbourne, July
14, 1904; Lancaster, September 18, 1906. A specimen of _Daphnis hypothous_,
Cramer, a native of India, Borneo, Java, and Ceylon, was captured at
Crieff, Perthshire, in July, 1873, and was recorded as _D. nerii_, and the
error was not rectified until 1891.

It will be seen from the above that the moth is exceedingly {48} rare in
these islands. The species is an inhabitant of Africa, and its normal range
extends along both sides of the Mediterranean through Asia Minor and Syria
to India. In Europe, north of the Alps, the moth is seldom observed, and it
is probably almost as scarce on most of the Continent as it is with us.

THE SMALL ELEPHANT (_Metopsilus_ (_Chaerocampa_) _porcellus_).

The fore wings of this hawk-moth are ochreous with a faint olive tinge; the
front margin is edged and blotched with pinkish, and there is a broad but
irregular band of the same colour on the outer margin. Hind wings blackish
on upper margin, pinkish on outer margin, and ochreous tinged with olive
between; fringes chequered whitish, sometimes tinged with pink. Head,
thorax, and body pinkish, more or less variegated with olive; the thorax
has a patch of white hairs above the base of the wings (Plate 19, Figs. 3,
4).

In most specimens there are at least traces of two cross-lines in the fore
wings, the space between these is sometimes brownish olive; the outer
border of the hind wings varies in tint, and may be purplish. Occasionally
the ground colour of the fore wings is greenish olive.

A hybrid, resulting from a pairing between _Chaerocampa elpenor_ and
_Metopsilus porcellus_ has been named _elpenorcellus_ (Staud).

The egg is a rich full green and rather glossy; it is laid in June on
yellow bedstraw and other kinds of _Galium_.

A full-grown caterpillar will measure quite two inches in length, and in
general appearance is not unlike that of the next species. It is, however,
greyish brown in colour, merging into yellowish brown on the front rings.
The head is greyer than the body; the usual Sphingid horn is absent, and in
its place there is a double wart. When quite young the caterpillar is pale
greyish green with blackish bristles, and the head and under surface are
yellowish.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 18.
  SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 19.
  1, 2. ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
  3, 4. SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.

{49} It feeds, at night, in August and September, on bedstraw growing in
dry places. It will eat almost any sort of _Galium_; also willow herb
(_Epilobium_), and purple loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_).

The chrysalis is pale ochreous brown sprinkled with darker brown; the wing
cases and the ring divisions are also darker. The body rings are furnished
with reddish hooks. It is enclosed in a cocoon similar to that of the
Elephant, and usually is on the ground. The early stages are figured in
Plate 18.

The moth, which chiefly affects drier localities than the next species, is
on the wing in May and June in the south of England, and June and July in
the north. It has a weakness for the flowers of honeysuckle, and
spur-valerian (_Centranthus_), but will take toll in the way of sweets
wherever found, even from the sugar patches of the nocturnal collector.
Except that it does not appear frequently in the Midlands, the species
seems to be widely distributed throughout the country. In Scotland its
range extends to Perthshire and Aberdeen; and in Ireland it is found all
over the island, and is fairly plentiful in some localities, but especially
attached to the coast.

Abroad, its distribution covers nearly the whole of Europe, and eastward to
north-eastern Asia Minor, Bithynia, and the Altai.

THE ELEPHANT (_Chaerocampa_ (_Eumorpha_) _elpenor_).

The fore wings are olive brown with two pinkish lines, both shaded with
dark olive brown; the first is rather broader than the second, and
terminates just above the centre of the wing and near a white dot; the
second line runs from the white inner margin to the tip of the wing, and
the area beyond it is flushed with pinkish; there is a black mark at the
base of the wings and the fringes are pinkish. The hind wings are black on
the {50} basal half and pinkish on the outer half; fringes white. The head,
thorax, and body are olive brown marked with pinkish, the thorax being
additionally ornamented with white on the sides. The moth is shown on Plate
19, and the early stages on Plate 17.

The eggs are whitish-green in colour and rather glossy. Those I had were
laid in June on a leaf of willow herb (_Epilobium_).

When newly hatched the caterpillar is yellowish white, and paler between
the rings; the head is tinged with greenish, and the horn is black. The
full-grown caterpillar measures nearly three inches in length, and is
rather plump. It is blackish or brownish grey, thickly sprinkled with black
dots on the back and more sparingly on the sides; the spiracles are
ochreous ringed with blackish, and below them is an ochreous line, which is
most distinct on the front rings; on each side of the third to fifth rings
there is a round black spot, the second and third pairs enclosing black
centred whitish lunules which are sometimes tinged with pink or yellow; the
horn is much of the same colour as the body. There is a green form of this
caterpillar.

It feeds, chiefly, at night, in July and August, on _Epilobium hirsutum_
and on bedstraw especially the kind (_G. palustre_), growing by the side of
brooks and streams. The chrysalis is palish brown freckled with darker
brown, the divisions between the rings and the spiked tail appearing
blackish; enclosed in a cocoon formed of earth and sundry fragments of
stalks, leaves, etc., spun together with silk and generally on the ground,
but sometimes just under the surface.

The moth is on the wing in June, and very occasionally there is a late
summer emergence. It does not fly until dusk, and may then be seen hovering
over the blossoms of honeysuckle, etc. It is also known to be attracted now
and then to "sugared" trees. The best plan, however, for obtaining a few
fine specimens {51} is to rear them from eggs or caterpillars. The latter
are said to come up to sun themselves about four o'clock in the afternoon,
but they may be found at any time in their season, and in likely spots, by
turning back the herbage and looking for them in their hiding-places. When
in repose the head and front rings are drawn inwards, and this distends the
eyed rings, thus bringing these into prominence and giving the creature a
rather wicked look, from which the uninitiated would be likely to retreat.
The caterpillar, however, is quite harmless, and may be handled with
impunity.

Although somewhat scarce in the more northern counties, this is a pretty
common species throughout most of England and Wales. Its range extends into
Scotland as far as Dumbarton, and, according to Barrett, along the east
coast to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is met with everywhere
and is abundant in some localities. Distributed over Europe, except the
more northern parts, and extending through Asia to Japan.

THE HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH (_Macroglossa stellatarum_).

The brown fore wings with black cross lines, and the brownish bordered
orange hind wings, at once separate this from any other hawk-moth occurring
in our islands. Its greenish eggs are laid on bedstraw, and in July and
August the caterpillars may be found on the same kind of plant. They are
greenish or brownish covered with white dots; a whitish line runs along
each side of the back and a yellowish one lower down on the sides; the
spiracles are blackish, and the horn bluish shading into yellow at the tip.
The yellow-flowering bedstraw (_Galium verum_) seems to be the kind upon
which the caterpillar is most often found, but it also occurs on the hedge
bedstraw (_G. mollugo_). It has been known to eat wild madder (_Rubia
peregrina_), and is {52} stated to thrive in confinement on goose-grass or
cleavers (_G. aparine_). When full grown a loosely woven cocoon is formed
on the ground beneath the food plant, or other herbage, and therein the
caterpillar changes to an ochreous grey or brownish chrysalis. This is
marked with darker brown on the wing covers and around the spiracles; the
"tongue" case forms a small beak-like projection.

Like the Bee Hawks, referred to presently, the moth is a day flyer, and
delights in the sunshine, although it has been several times seen on the
wing quite late in the evening, and has also been observed hovering in
front of flowers and probing them with its long "tongue" even in the
pouring rain. Blossoms of very many plants, both wild and cultivated, seem
to receive its attention, but it is perhaps most partial to those of the
jasmine where available. In the south of Europe the species is generally
abundant throughout the year; but there would seem to be at least two
distinct broods, one appearing in June, and the other in October. Possibly
there may be an intermediate brood in August, as the period from egg to
moth is known to be less than two months. In the British Isles, so far as
one can gather from the records, caterpillars have only been found in July
and August. Single specimens of the moth have been seen in the earliest
months of the year, as for example, January 31, 1898 (Bath), January 3,
1899 (S. Wales), February 2, 1900 (London); it has also been observed
several times in December. These facts and others connected with this
species in Britain certainly lend colour to the oft-repeated statement that
the moth hibernates in this country. The insect is known to enter houses,
and to examine holes and cracks in walls, dry banks, etc., in the autumn.
Mr. J. P. Barrett, in a note, written in November or December, 1900, states
that six or seven moths came into his house at Margate in October, and that
one was still hidden in his bedroom. However, if it be granted that the
moth does hibernate here, the instances are so rare and isolated that,
unless such specimens are impregnated females, the chances of these
reproducing their kind the following year are not great. We have,
therefore, to fall back upon immigration as the probable source of the
Humming-Bird Hawk-moth in Britain. Except the more northern portion, this
species is distributed over the whole of the Palaearctic region, including
India, China, Corea, and Japan.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 20.
      1. NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH: _caterpillar_.
  2, 2a. BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 21.
  1. HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH.
  2. BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH, _male_; 3 _female_.
  4. NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH, _male_; 5 _female_.

{53} THE BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH (_Hemaris fuciformis_).

We have but two kinds of Bee Hawk-moths in our islands, and the present
species (Plate 21, Figs. 2, 3) is easily recognized by the broad reddish
brown borders of the wings and especially those on the front pair, which
also have a black bar at the end of the cell. When freshly emerged the
wings are not clear and transparent, but covered with greenish-grey scales,
which are so loosely attached that they are lost after the moth's first
flight.

The egg is bright green, and is laid on the underside of a leaf of
honeysuckle. When very young the caterpillar is yellowish white, but when
full grown (Plate 20, Fig. 2) it is whitish green on the back, green on the
sides, and reddish brown beneath. Along the middle of the back there is a
darker, much interrupted, green line and a yellow line on each side of it;
the spiracles are reddish, the head is dark green, and the horn reddish
brown merging into violet at the base, and brown at the tip. Sometimes
there are blotches of reddish brown on the sides. When quite mature and
ready to assume the chrysalis stage the caterpillar changes in colour to
purplish brown. At all times it is difficult to detect, as its colour and
markings agree so well with the stems, stalks, and leaves of the food
plant. If a leaf of honeysuckle having round holes on each side of the
midrib be noticed, examination of the underside of that leaf may reveal a
young caterpillar of this species. {54}

The common honeysuckle, or woodbine (_Lonicera periclymenum_) is the usual
food, but in confinement the caterpillars will eat the foliage of the
cultivated kinds of _Lonicera_, and, it is stated, even snowberry
(_Symphoricarpus racemosus_). In rearing it will, however, be safer to
supply them with the ordinary food wherever this is to be obtained. July
and August are the months in which to look for them. The chrysalis is
blackish brown, the skin is rather roughened, and the ring divisions are
paler brown. It is protected by a silken cocoon, the interior of which is
smooth, and the exterior coated with earth, etc.

From mid-May to mid-June in average years, the moth is on the wing. The
blossoms of the rhododendron are its favourite attraction, and the best
time to see it at these flowers is on a nice sunny morning between ten
o'clock and midday. The flowers of the bugle (_Ajuga reptans_) growing in
meadows, wood-ridings, on railway banks or hedgerows, are hardly less
attractive, but these are less easily worked than the higher shrubs. The
collector has simply to stand before the latter and await the arrival of
the active Bee Hawks. Among other flowers that this moth has been observed
to visit are those of its own food plant; ragged robins (_Lychnis
flos-cuculi_), ground ivy (_Nepeta glechoma_), and also blue-bell and
primrose.

The species is widely distributed and locally common throughout England,
but its northern range does not extend apparently beyond Yorkshire.
According to Kane it is absent from Ireland; and the reports of odd
specimens from Scotland are probably erroneous. Its distribution abroad
extends over Europe, except the most northern parts, a large portion of
northern and central Asia, and southwards to North Africa.

Moses Harris, it may be mentioned, figured this moth in 1775 as "The
Clear-winged Humming-bird Sphinx." {55}

THE NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH (_Hemaris tityus_).

This moth (Plate 21, Figs. 4, 5) has long been known as "_bombyliformis_"
and was so mentioned by Haworth in 1802, but for some years past there has
been a growing tendency to discard the name altogether, and as most recent
authors follow Kirby's identification of this species as the _tityus_ of
Linnaeus, that name is here adopted.

The chief characters separating this moth from the preceding are the narrow
blackish borders of the wings and the absence of the black mark at the end
of the cell of fore wings. It has been suggested that the female deposits
its green oval eggs on the undersides of the leaves of devil's-bit scabious
(_Scabiosa succisa_) whilst on the wing, but as she will lay freely in a
box it is most probable that she settles on the plants when engaged in egg
laying.

The caterpillar (Plate 20, Fig. 1) is green, roughened with white points,
from which tiny hairs arise; the green colour varies in tint from whitish
to bluish; the lines along each side of the back are yellowish, and often
have purplish red spots, or patches, upon them; the spiracles are set in
purplish red patches, and the roughened reddish-brown horn is finely
pointed. The under side is traversed by a purplish-red stripe. There is
some modification in the reddish markings, both as regards number and
intensity; these are well developed in the specimen from the New Forest
figured on Plate 20. The caterpillars may be found in June and July on the
under sides of the lower leaves of the scabious, and as they eat holes in
the leaves these marks should afford a clue to their whereabouts.

A few days before changing to a dark brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in
a coarse and very loosely constructed cocoon, the caterpillar assumes a
reddish colour.

This moth, which much resembles a large humble bee, is on {56} the wing
from about the middle of May to the middle of June. It should be looked for
in places where its food plant flourishes, such as rough fields adjoining
woods, woodland glades, marshy heaths, fens, bogs, etc. It visits the
blossoms of various low growing plants, among which the louseworts
(_Pedicularis palustris_ and _P. sylvatica_) and the bugle (_Ajuga
reptans_) are perhaps favourites. In some localities the blossoms of the
rhododendron and of the bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_) are very
attractive. When seen hovering over the flowers it must be approached
cautiously, as, although seemingly fully engrossed in the business in hand,
it is quickly alarmed and its movements are rapid.

It occurs throughout the greater part of England and Wales and northwards
to Sutherlandshire in Scotland. In Ireland it is abundant in many
localities.

Distributed over Europe its range extends northwards to Lapland, southwards
to north-west Africa, and eastward to Amurland.

PROMINENTS (_Notodontidae_).

In the majority of our moths belonging to this family there is a tooth-like
tuft of scales projecting from about the middle of the inner margin of the
fore wings; these, when the moth is resting, are brought together and
raised above the level of the closed wings (see Fig. 11, page 11). The
antennae of the male are bipectinated in most of the species, but those of
_Odontosia_, _Lophopteryx_, and _Phalera_ are dentated and each tooth has a
little tuft of short hair.

The moths are not often seen in the day time, but a few species are
sometimes met with at rest on tree trunks, palings, etc. All fly at night
and are pretty rapid on the wing; possibly if it were not for the fact that
a bright light has a powerful attraction for them, the perfect insects
would be rarely captured. {57} Specimens, when caught, except females which
it may be well to keep for eggs, should be killed and pinned at once, as
many kinds become very restless when imprisoned in a box and soon damage
themselves. Females usually deposit their eggs freely, and in most cases
the caterpillars are not difficult to rear when once they begin to feed.
Sometimes it is not easy to induce them to commence this very necessary
business. The caterpillars, except those of _Phalera_ and _Pygaera_, are
without hairs on the body; those of the true Prominents generally have one,
or more, hump on the back; in some kinds the anal prolegs or hind claspers,
are small. When resting the hinder part of the caterpillar is more or less
raised, several of them elevate the front portion also, and frequently the
posture assumed is a most curious one.

The caterpillars of _Cerura_, _Dicranura_, and _Stauropus_ have the hind
claspers transformed into tail-like appendages, which in the case of the
Puss and Kittens take the form of a pair of slender tubes furnished with
flagellae, or whips, which can be protruded or withdrawn as occasion may
require. These organs are presumably for defensive purposes, but are not
always effective in combating the attack of parasitical flies, as these
evidently manage to deposit their egg on the caterpillars not infrequently.

The pupa, or chrysalis, of some kinds is enclosed in a hard cocoon on tree
trunks, and others in a soft cocoon generally underground; sometimes,
however, the cocoon is spun up between leaves; occasionally, as for example
that of the Buff-tip, the chrysalis is found in the ground without any
protecting covering, although the cell in which it was formed may have been
flimsily lined with silk.

Nearly one hundred species are referred to this family in Staudinger's
"Catalogue of Palaearctic Lepidoptera," and of these twenty-five occur, or
have been taken, in the British Isles, nearly all of which are accepted as
indigenous. Two of the {58} three species not generally regarded as true
natives have been found in the caterpillar state, and the third was reared
from an egg obtained with others of the same kind in Norfolk.

THE ALDER KITTEN (_Cerura bicuspis_).

This moth (Plate 22, Fig. 3) differs from either of the two next following
in being whiter, and in having both margins of the central band of the fore
wings angled or bent inwards above the middle; this is markedly so on the
outer side. The band itself is black, inclining to purplish rather than
grey. Barrett mentions a specimen without central band or cloud towards
tip.

[Illustration: FIG. 19. COCOON OF THE ALDER KITTEN.]

According to Buckler, the caterpillar is yellow-green; head dark
reddish-brown; at the back of the head commences a broad, reddish-brown
blotch, which runs to a point on the back of the third segment, where is a
slight elevation; on the fourth it recommences and becomes broader on each
segment to the eighth, where it extends below and encloses the spiracles,
thence it narrows to the tenth, continuing on the eleventh and twelfth as a
broad stripe, and {59} widening on the thirteenth, where it again narrows
to the tentacles; in the broad portion of this dorsal marking are faint
indications of two or three orange spots; on each side it is broadly edged
with pale yellow, and on the sixth, seventh, and eighth segments its margin
is deeply indented. It feeds on alder and birch in July and August.

The cocoon is shown in its natural position on birch bark (Fig. 19). This
was kindly lent to me for figuring by Mr. L. W. Newman, of Bexley, who also
had another in which lichen as well as fragments of bark were worked into
the surface, so that the cocoon was less in evidence than the one
portrayed.

The moth emerges in May and June.

The first British specimen, a male, was found on alder near Preston, and
was recorded by Doubleday in the _Zoologist_ for 1847. A second example was
noted from the same locality in 1849. This district in Lancashire, and
Tilgate Forest in Sussex, are the chief homes in the north and the south of
England respectively; but one or more specimens have occurred in Cheshire,
Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Devonshire, and more
frequently in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. It does not seem to
inhabit Scotland or Ireland, neither has it been recorded from Wales, so
far as I can find, more than once.

The species is found in Germany, Switzerland, Eastern France, Belgium,
Southern Sweden, Central Russia, Livonia, Finland, Ussuri, and a local race
occurs in Amurland.

THE POPLAR KITTEN (_Cerura bifida_).

Fore wings grey, with a broad, dark grey central band, and a cloud of the
same colour towards the tips of the wings; the band is inwardly margined by
an almost straight black line, and outwardly by a curved line; the third
line is double, and curved towards the costa, forming the inner edge of the
grey cloud, the lower part is wavy. The first black line is inwardly, and
{60} the second outwardly edged with ochreous, and preceding the first is a
series of black dots.

The full-grown caterpillar, which is green, with a yellow-edged, purplish,
irregular stripe on the back, is figured on Plate 23, together with a very
young example, the purplish-black eggs as laid, and the red-brown
chrysalis. The cocoon from which the chrysalis was extracted was spun up on
a fairly stout twig of poplar, from which some of the bark had been torn;
the cocoon was formed, as regards the upper part, on the bare twig, and
this was covered with gnawed wood, instead of with bark fragments, as is
the lower end. The moth is figured on Plate 22, and the early stages on
Plate 23.

The moth emerges in June, sometimes in July, and may occasionally be found
at rest on the trunks of poplars, on which the caterpillar feeds from July
to September; also on adjacent walls or palings. The cocoons are made up on
the surface or in the chinks of the bark, and may be searched for, all
through the winter and early spring. It is curious to note how readily
these are detected after the moth has escaped, and how difficult they are
to see before that event. Usually there is but one brood in the year, but
in the hot summer of 1906 a male specimen emerged from a few chrysalids
that I had reared from eggs laid at the end of June of that year. On the
other hand, the moth has been known to remain in the chrysalis for two
winters.

The species is not uncommon in some parts of the London district, and seems
to occur throughout England wherever poplars abound. It does not appear to
have been found in Scotland, and is scarce in Ireland. Abroad it is found
in Central Europe with a northern range to Finland, southwards to Italy and
Greece, and eastwards to the Altai.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 22.
  1. POPLAR KITTEN-MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. ALDER KITTEN-MOTH, _male_.
  4. SALLOW KITTEN-MOTH, _male_; 5 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 23.
  1, 1a, 1b. POPLAR KITTEN: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      2, 2a. SALLOW KITTEN: _eggs and caterpillars_.

{61}

THE SALLOW KITTEN (_Cerura furcula_).

This moth differs from the last in its generally smaller size, but more
especially in the shape of the black line forming the outer margin of the
central band; this is always more or less angled or dentate towards the
front margin of the wings, whereas, in the Poplar Kitten, this portion of
the line forms a clean curve (Plate 22, Figs. 4, 5).

The eggs are black, rather glossy, and are generally deposited in pairs,
but rarely more than three, and often only singly, on the upper surface of
a leaf of sallow or willow. The caterpillar feeds from July to September,
sometimes as early as the end of June, or as late as October. It is green,
with a yellow tinge; the markings on the back are similar to these
characters in the caterpillar of the preceding species, but, as will be
seen by looking at the figures on Plate 23, they are not quite the same in
outline. The figure of the young caterpillar on this plate was made soon
after it left the egg, and the shell from which it emerged is also
depicted. Sallow and willow are the usual food plants, but in August, 1906,
I found a half-grown caterpillar of this species on aspen, but it died a
few days afterwards. The reddish-brown chrysalis is enclosed in the usual
hard cocoon of its kind, which is affixed to a branch or the trunk of the
tree upon which the caterpillar fed. A depression is usually selected, and
when the cocoon is finished off with its covering of bark fragments it is
difficult to see.

The species is well distributed over England, Ireland, and Scotland;
perhaps more frequently obtained on the mosses of Cheshire, Lancashire, and
Yorkshire, than in other parts of England. It is found in Central and
Northern Europe, and, according to Staudinger, in Amurland and North
America. {62}

THE PUSS MOTH (_Dicranura vinula_).

Portraits of both sexes of this rather common moth are given on Plate 24.
The head, thorax, and body are very fluffy. The whitish fore wings are
crossed by several wave-like lines; the main veins (_nervures_) are
ochreous, and the branches (_nervules_) are blackish; beyond the more or
less clear basal area there is often a broad but irregular blackish band,
and the wavy markings on the outer area vary in intensity (sometimes the
short streaks between the veins terminate on the outer margin in black
dots). Hind wings whitish in the male, and suffused with blackish in the
female, to a greater or lesser extent. In some examples of the female the
fore wings and the body are also tinged with blackish. The antennae are
bipectinated in both sexes, but those of the female have the teeth much
shorter than those of the male.

The eggs are usually laid in pairs on the upper surface of a leaf of
sallow, willow, or poplar. In colour these are purplish or reddish brown,
shining, and finely grained; a minute depression at the top is yellowish,
with a black speck at the bottom of the hollow.

In its last stage the caterpillar is green, with a white or yellowish-edged
purplish brown band on the back; the head is light brown margined with
black and purplish behind, and the ring immediately following (first
thoracic) is green margined with yellow and having two black spots on the
upper part. When the creature assumes the position which Professor Poulton
terms the terrifying attitude, the front part is elevated, the head is
drawn back into the ring next to it, and the tails are raised and curved
forward over the back (see Plate 25). Seen thus from the front the
appearance of the caterpillar is certainly grotesque, and no doubt affords
it some protection from its enemies. It feeds on poplars, sallows, and
willows, usually in July and August, but sometimes as late as September.
{63}

[Illustration: FIG. 20.

CATERPILLAR OF PUSS MOTH.]

The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a hard cocoon spun up and
securely attached to the trunk or under a limb of the tree upon which the
caterpillar was nourished, or upon some other adjacent thereto. I once
found a cocoon on the lower rail of a garden fence. In constructing the
cocoon fragments of bark and wood are worked on the exterior, but failing
these the caterpillar will make use of any available material for the
purpose. If enclosed in a tumbler covered with glass it will spin a
transparent cocoon. Emergence from its strong pupal chamber would appear to
be a difficult matter, but the caterpillar and the chrysalis both
contribute something towards assisting the final efforts of the moth to
escape. The caterpillar, in constructing the cocoon, is careful to make the
exit end with a thinner layer than the other parts; then the chrysalis is
provided with a cutting implement in the shape of a keel-like arrangement
on the fore part, and with this it operates at the right time on the weak
end until a breach is made; the moth breaks the head end of the chrysalis
case and moistens {64} the ruptured material with a softening fluid so that
the insect is able to force its way out of the cocoon; the chrysalis case
remains in the cocoon.

The moth is on the wing in May and June, and sometimes July. Three
specimens that I reared this year (1907) from eggs found on a leaf of
poplar last year, emerged on June 4th, 10th, and July 12th. They all
pupated about the same time, and side by side on cork bark.

I believe this species has not been recorded from the Orkneys or the
Shetlands, but with these exceptions it seems to occur in more or less
frequency throughout the United Kingdom. It is widely distributed in
Europe, and its range extends to Siberia. In Lapland, Amurland, Japan, and
North Africa it is represented by named forms.

THE LOBSTER (_Stauropus fagi_).

The English name of this insect does not apply to the greyish brown or
sometimes blackish moth (Plate 26), but to its remarkable caterpillar, the
figures of which, on Plate 27, are reproduced from drawings by Mr. Alfred
Sich. In colour this curious-shaped creature is always some shade of brown,
the head is marked in front with reddish, the ring divisions of the body
are darker brown, and the hind rings are reddish brown.

The late Mr. W. H. Tugwell, referring to the early history of these
caterpillars, states that a female of the blackish form received from
Reading in May was kept alive for seven days, during which time she laid a
few eggs on oak leaves each night; "all told" she produced forty eggs. As
she was then quite exhausted, a good many had probably been laid
previously. The eggs when first laid are of a pale cream colour,
hemispherical in shape and flattened beneath. About the seventh day a
circular depression, and a dark spot, appear, and gradually the entire egg
assumes a dull purplish colour. "On the tenth day the caterpillars hatch
out. When they first leave the shell they appear extremely large, this is
partly on account of the long legs and the caudal appendages which are ever
nervously twisting about. The young caterpillars most carefully keep guard
over their own egg-shell, which is to them an all-important item, as this
provides them with their first meal--the first and only food they take for
seven days, in fact, for a longer period, as it is not until after moulting
their first skin that they eat any other food. This fact I proved over and
over again, as, being an invalid, my time was quite free to watch them hour
after hour and day after day. As soon as they have eaten their way out of
the shell they stretch themselves, and then from time to time nibble
portions of the white chitinous-looking egg-shell, and a tough morsel it
seems to be for them; but they never leave it for more than an inch or so,
and then rapidly come back. They keep nervously moving around and about
this, and if perchance another caterpillar should approach within touch of
it, a vigorous attack is made to drive off the intruder. All going well
during the first hour or two, the whole of the shell, or sometimes not more
than from half to two-thirds of it is consumed; and once the caterpillars
really leave the egg-shell, that is, walk away from it, they do not touch
it after. If by any chance a young caterpillar gets driven away from the
egg-shell, death is certain to result, as I could never induce them to feed
on portions of empty shells left by others; nor would they eat the leaves
or the brown stipules of the beech, which it has been suggested they do
eat. In no single instance did they eat other food in their first skin save
and alone the one meal of their own egg-shells."

[Illustration]

  Pl. 24.
  PUSS MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 25.
  PUSS MOTH.
  _Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._

{65} The caterpillars feed on beech, and also occasionally on birch, oak,
hazel, and some fruit trees, and may be found from July to September.

The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a tightly woven cocoon {66} spun up
between leaves, usually dead ones, is blackish brown with a violet bloom
upon it.

The moths are on the wing in May and June in an early season, but not until
June and July in a backward one. They may be sometimes found resting by day
on the stems of small trees or even bushes. "In fact, anything," Mr.
Holland says, "which stands upright in a beech wood will do, so that it is
not too large." The blackish form of the moth is so like a knot on a stem
that it is easily overlooked. There is sometimes a second emergence in
August. Possibly those caterpillars found during the latter part of
September in some favourable years are from eggs deposited by moths
emerging in early August, and the offspring of May parents.

The species is widely distributed, but not often common, over the Midland,
Southern, and Eastern Counties of England. It seems to flourish chiefly in
beech woods, and is perhaps more frequent in parts of Berkshire, Bucks, and
Oxfordshire, than elsewhere, but it is not uncommon in some seasons in the
New Forest. It has been reported from Swansea in Wales, and once from
Selby, Yorkshire. In Ireland it is exceedingly rare, and is not known to
occur in Scotland. The range abroad extends through Central Europe,
northward to Sweden, southward to Spain and Portugal, and eastward to
Armenia, Ussuri, and Japan.

THE DUSKY MARBLED BROWN (_Gluphisia crenata_).

Only three authenticated British examples are known of this dingy
grey-brown moth (Plate 28, Fig. 3). The earliest intimation we have of the
occurrence of this species in England is the following record by the late
Mr. Henry Doubleday in the _Entomologist_, vol. i. p. 156: "_Chaonia
crenata._ The first British specimen of this insect was taken in Ongar Park
Wood, in June, 1839; a second in the same place, in June of the present
year. Both specimens were females." The locality mentioned in the foregoing
notice which was penned July 10th, 1841, is in the County of Essex. At a
meeting of the Entomological Society of London held in April, 1854, the
Rev. Joseph Greene exhibited a specimen that he had reared from a
caterpillar obtained from a poplar near Halton, in Bucks, August, 1853.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 26.
  LOBSTER MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 27.
  LOBSTER MOTH.
  _Egg, enlarged, caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._

{67} According to Buckler the caterpillar is pale green, with a thin
whitish line down the middle of the back, a broader yellow line on each
side, and some reddish spots on the front and hind rings of the body; the
spiracles are black. It spins a somewhat oval-shaped cocoon between two
poplar leaves, and therein turns to a glossy blackish brown chrysalis.

Abroad the species is found in Central Europe, North Italy, North-western
Russia, Southern Norway, and also in Amurland and Ussuri. There are said to
be two broods on the continent, one emergence of moths taking place in
April and the other in June or July.

THE MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia trimacula_).

Somewhat similar to the next species, but the fore wings are generally
whiter; the cross lines are not so straight, and there is no black crescent
above the centre of the wings (Plate 28, Fig. 1).

The caterpillar is green, with two yellow lines on the back, and a yellow
one along the spiracles, the latter edged above with reddish. It feeds on
oak, and may be found from July to September; stated to hide by day in the
chinks of the bark. The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a cocoon of
earth held together with silk. It may be searched for at the roots of
grass, etc., around the foot of oak trees growing in parks or in the more
open parts of woods. The moth appears in May.

Although nowhere really common, it seems to occur pretty generally over the
southern portion of England, and as far north {68} as Derbyshire and
Staffordshire. Farther north, and in Wales and Scotland, it has been rarely
met with. Recorded by Birchall to be not uncommon at Killarney; but Kane
states that he has never seen an Irish specimen.

The species occurs locally throughout Central Europe, also in Transylvania,
Northern and Central Italy, and Eastern Armenia. In Ussuri, and Japan, it
is represented by the form _dodonides_, Staud.

THE LUNAR MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia chaonia_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 28, Fig. 2) are dark fuscous, almost
blackish, a short white line near the base; the central third is white
clouded with the ground colour and limited by white edged black wavy lines;
a black crescent just above the centre of the wing. Hind wings smoky grey
with a pale curved line. The egg, which is bluish white in colour, is of
the usual Notodont shape. Caterpillar green, merging into bluish-green on
the back; the lines are pale yellow, or creamy white, that along the black
margined spiracles is rather broad and is sometimes tinged with reddish on
the three front rings. Head green, mouth marked with pale yellow. Feeds in
June, July, and August on oak. From about a dozen eggs that I had in May,
1907, the caterpillars hatched on the 13th of the month. Only one got
through safely to the chrysalis stage which it reached at the end of June.
On June 26th some half-grown and smaller caterpillars were received from
the New Forest, only one of these was seen on July 19th, but it was then
nearly full grown and appeared to be quite healthy, and others had pupated
or died.

The chrysalis is deep red brown, enclosed in a silken cocoon covered with
particles of earth; generally found at the roots of isolated oak trees
(Plate 29, Figs. 1, 1a).

[Illustration]

  Pl. 28.
  1. MARBLED BROWN MOTH.
  2. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN.
  3. DUSKY MARBLED BROWN.
  4. SWALLOW PROMINENT, _female_; 5 _male_.
  6. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 29.
      1, 1a. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  2, 2a, 2b. SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  3, 3a, 3b. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{69} The moth emerges in May, sometimes at the end of April, generally in
the afternoon; it sits on the tree trunk to expand and dry its wings, and
then ascends higher up the tree. It is found in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire,
and in most of the southern counties of England, and in the west, but it
seems to be rarer eastward and northward, and also in Scotland. In Ireland
it has been found, very sparingly, in Wicklow and Kerry, and "numbers were
taken in a moth trap at Clonbrook."

The range abroad is very similar to that of the next species.

THE SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia tremula_).

Normally whitish, with a brown shaded black stripe along the inner margin
of the fore wings, and a brownish cloud, with black streaks in it, towards
the tips of these wings; the outer extremities of the veins are white,
there is a white wedge-shaped streak between veins 1 and 2, and from the
apex of this an indented white line runs to the base of the wing. Sometimes
the whole discal area is suffused with brownish. The moth is shown on Plate
28, Figs. 4, 5, and the early stages on Plate 29, Figs. 2, 2a, and 2b. The
egg when laid is creamy white, and the newly hatched caterpillar is pale
green. When full grown the caterpillar is green with rather darker, but not
always clearly defined, lines along the back, and a yellow line along the
region of the black spiracles; the underside is sometimes reddish. Another
form is brownish in colour and the yellow line is then generally obscure.
The green form is figured on Plate 29. The usual food is poplar, but sallow
is also eaten. It may be found in late June and early July and again in
September and October. The chrysalis is reddish brown and glossy except on
the wing covers, which are granulated and appear darker. The cocoon is
roughly constructed of silk and earth, and before spinning it the autumnal
caterpillar sometimes burrows a good depth under the surface of the soil;
the summer cocoons are said to be made up among leaves. The moth is on the
wing in May and August. {70}

The species is perhaps most common in the southern and eastern counties of
England, but seems to be pretty generally distributed throughout the
country, and extends into Scotland as far as Moray. In Ireland it has a
wide range but is only common near Londonderry. Abroad it is found in
Central and Northern Europe, and as far east as Amurland and Ussuri. In
America it is represented by _P. dimidiata_, H.-S., which does not seem to
be really specifically distinct.

THE LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia dictaeoides_).

Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, and the ground
colour has usually less brown in it; the chief character, however, by which
it may be distinguished, is the broader and clearer white wedge-shaped mark
between veins one and two on the fore wings. Reference to the figures of
each species on Plate 28 will show this at once.

The eggs are greenish white, and the full-grown caterpillar is purplish
brown on the back merging into violet on the sides; there is a broad yellow
stripe along the spiracle area; the head is violet, faintly marked with
black. A noticeable feature of this caterpillar is its varnished
appearance. It feeds on birch in June and July, and sometimes in September
and October. The early stages are figured on Plate 29, Figs. 3, 3a, and 3b.

The species has a somewhat similar distribution to that mentioned for the
preceding, but it seems to be commoner in the North of England and in
Scotland than elsewhere in the British Isles.

THE PEBBLE PROMINENT (_Notodonta ziczac_).

This moth varies in the colour of the fore wings from pale ochreous brown
to a darker brown tinged with reddish; the usual pale greyish patch in the
middle of the costal area is {71} sometimes obliterated by a suffusion of
the darker colour; the dark-brown first and second lines are often only
visible towards the front edge of the wings; a blackish lunule or crescent
forms, in conjunction with the strongly curved outer line, the outline of
the characteristic pebble-like mark on the apical area of the wings; a pale
saw-edged line, which is inwardly shaded with dusky and intersected by
black streaks on the veins, traverses the pebble mark, but in the lighter
coloured specimens this line is not traceable. The female has browner hind
wings than the male. The moth is depicted on Plate 31, Fig. 2; and the
early stages on Plate 30, Figs. 1, 1a, and 1b.

The caterpillar, when full grown, is pale ochreous grey, sometimes tinged
with pink or purplish brown, or with yellowish, and especially on the hind
rings; a yellow stripe along the back is edged here and there with
brownish; the diffuse dusky line along the area of the black margined
spiracles is edged with yellowish. It is occasionally found on poplar, but
sallows and willow are the more usual food plants, and it feeds upon these
in June and July and again in August and September. The reddish brown
chrysalis is enclosed in an earthen cocoon just under the surface of the
ground at the roots of tree or bush upon which the caterpillar fed. The
moth emerges in May and June from chrysalides of the previous year, and in
August as a second generation. Three broods in the year have been obtained
in confinement, but this is probably exceptional.

Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but seems to have a
preference for fens and marshy ground. It occurs all over Central and
Northern Europe, its range extends through France to Spain, Italy, and
Corsica, and it has been recorded from Armenia and Amurland. {72}

THE IRON PROMINENT (_Notodonta dromedarius_).

The specimen shown on Plate 31 is from Surrey, and represents the form most
frequently obtained in the south of England. Northwards the species becomes
darker in colour, and the reddish and yellow marking much reduced. The form
_perfusca_, as figured by Stephens, has the fore wings dark purplish grey,
streaked with dark brown; a pale patch at the base is russet marked, the
line before the middle of the wing is russet, and a dash of the same colour
lies at the lower extremity of the line beyond the middle; the hind wings
are brownish grey with a broad whitish cross line. The specimen, which is
of the female sex, was from Dublin, and the form was not then supposed to
occur in any other part of the British Isles. It is now, however, well
known in Scotland and the North of England, and also in Ireland. Some
examples that I have seen from Scotland are much larger and darker than the
figure referred to. In his description of this form Stephens states that
the fore wings are fuscous mixed with chestnut, with darker clouds. The
caterpillar, which is figured on Plate 30, is green, becoming yellowish on
the back; a rather broad stripe on the back of the front rings and the
markings on the humps and on other parts of the body are purplish brown. It
feeds on birch, alder, and sometimes hazel, usually on the former, in June,
July, and August. In some seasons, and localities, the moth appears twice
in the year: the caterpillar may then be found in September and October.
The chrysalis is blackish-brown and rather glossy, enclosed in a cocoon
composed of silk and sand or other soil, and may be obtained by lightly
digging up the earth and sods at the roots of trees.

THE THREE HUMPED (_Notodonta phoebe_ = _tritophus_).

Very little is known in Britain of this Central European moth (Plate 31,
Fig. 3). The first specimen of which we have any {73} knowledge was reared
on August 10, 1842 from a caterpillar found in Essex on aspen. This example
was included, with two others, one of which was captured in Suffolk, in the
collection of the late Dr. Mason, which was dispersed at Stevens' Auction
Rooms in March, 1905.

Besides the specimens mentioned above, a caterpillar, which subsequently
died, was beaten from alder in the Exeter district in 1870; another was
obtained from hazel in Gloucestershire, but this was "ichneumoned." Then
there is a record of a moth or caterpillar, presumably the former,
occurring in the neighbourhood of Paisley; and there is a report that a
caterpillar was once found at the base of an aspen growing on Clapham
Common. A specimen was taken at electric light at Bedford, May, 1907.

The caterpillar is green, with three reddish humps on the back, and an
interrupted reddish line along the sides. It feeds on poplar in July and
August.

THE LARGE DARK PROMINENT (_Notodonta tritophus_ = _torva_).

Another Central European species, of which only one specimen is known to
have occurred in Britain. This was reared from an egg, or from a
caterpillar, obtained in Norfolk in the latter part of the summer of 1882.
The moth might be mistaken for a small dark coloured specimen of the next
species (_N. trepida_), but the dark hindwings readily distinguish it
(Plate 31, Fig. 4).

The caterpillar, although darker, bears considerable resemblance to that of
the Pebble Prominent; it feeds in June and July, and also in September, on
aspen.

According to Staudinger this species is the _tritophus_ of Esper, an
earlier name than _torva_, Hubn.; whilst the preceding species, that has so
long been referred to _tritophus_, Fabricius (or _trilophus_), is found to
be _phoebe_, Siebert, which name has seventeen years' priority. {74}

THE GREAT PROMINENT (_Notodonta trepida_).

Fore wings greyish, or ochreous grey, with dark cross lines; a blackish
tuft from middle of inner margin, and a series of dark, or sometimes
reddish, spots on a pale cross line before the inner margin. Hind wings
whitish, sometimes ochreous tinged; clouded with greyish on costal area
(Plate 31, Fig. 5). When full grown the caterpillar is rather larger than
the one figured on Plate 30. In colour it is green, with yellow lines along
the back, seven reddish-edged yellow oblique streaks on the sides, and a
reddish tinged stripe on the two rings nearest the head. It is stated to
assume a purplish tint when quite mature. May be found from end of June to
early August on oak. The dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in
an earth-covered cocoon, may be found at the roots of oak trees in the
autumn or winter.

The moth emerges between late April and early June, sometimes remaining in
the chrysalis for two winters. Light attracts it freely, and it is
frequently seen in the illuminated moth trap, and may be occasionally noted
on the iron frame of a gas lamp in suitable places. Sometimes the moth is
met with in the daytime, resting on the trunks or branches of oak trees in
woods, or on palings adjacent thereto. When such specimens happen to be
females, they should be kept for eggs, which they lay freely.

It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, is somewhat rare in
the Midlands, and scarce in the northern counties and in Scotland. Recorded
by Birchall as "not uncommon in Co. Wicklow," but Kane ("Cat. Lep.
Ireland") states that he has no information concerning its occurrence in
the sister island. Distributed throughout Central Europe, extending into
Spain, Italy, and Corsica; also to South-east Russia, Armenia, and possibly
Ussuri. {75}

THE WHITE PROMINENT (_Leucodonta bicoloria_).

The glossy white moth, prettily marked with orange and black, shown on
Plate 33, was not known to inhabit the British Isles until 1858 when
Bonchard obtained one specimen in a large birch wood in the Killarney
district, Ireland; in the following year he took a second specimen. Both
captures were made in the month of June. In June, 1861, one example of the
moth was found in Burnt Wood, Staffordshire; and in the same wood, June,
1865, no fewer than six specimens were secured, and eggs obtained from one
of the females. The caterpillars duly hatched out, but most of them were
lost, only seven attaining the moth state. Kane states that in 1866 a
specimen was taken in Mucross demesne, and caterpillars "were said also to
have been beaten." Miss Vernon of Clontarf showed him her collection of
insects from Kerry, and he found therein two rather poor specimens of the
White Prominent from a new locality in Kerry. Barrett mentions the capture,
in 1880, of a specimen near Exeter, Devonshire. From the foregoing, which
comprises all that appears to be definitely known about British _L.
bicoloria_, it will be gathered that the species is not only very local,
but exceedingly rare.

The caterpillar, figured on Plate 32, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A.
Sich, is pale yellowish green, rather whiter on the upper surface; the
lines are green, the central one darkest; the stripe along the spiracles is
yellow edged with green. It feeds on birch in July; and changes in due
course to a dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in a compact
silken cocoon spun up between leaves. The moth emerges in May or June.
Abroad the species seems to be generally distributed in Central Europe, and
is also found in the Ural, Amurland, Ussuri, and Japan. {76}

THE MAPLE PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx cuculla_).

To Donovan and the entomologists of his time this moth (Plate 33, Fig. 4)
was known by the English name still in use, Stephens considered it a rare
insect, and remarks that he once caught a specimen at Darenth Wood, by
"mothing," in June, 1820; several other examples had been taken in the same
place, and in the neighbouring woods. Although many more localities are now
known for the moth, it still continues to be rather a scarce species. It
appears to inhabit woods on a chalky soil almost exclusively, and is found
less uncommonly in the woods of Buckinghamshire than in its other haunts in
Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, Sussex, Devonshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire,
Suffolk, and Norfolk. The bulk of the specimens in collections were
probably reared from the egg, or from caterpillars obtained by beating or
searching the maple bushes growing in the woods frequented by the moth.

The caterpillar is whitish green, rather glossy, with a dark green line
along the middle of the back, which is broadest on the front rings, and a
pale yellow stripe on the sides, the latter edged above with pale green;
spiracles pinkish edged with black; a hump on the eleventh ring is purplish
tinted. Head pale ochreous brown marked with reddish brown. Sometimes the
general colour is yellowish or pinkish ochreous. May be found in June and
July on maple (_Acer campestris_) and in confinement will feed very well on
sycamore (_A. pseudoplatanus_). The moth usually emerges in May or June,
but in 1901 Mr. Adkin reared ten moths, July 24 to 31, from eggs deposited
in the spring of that year. The species does not seem to be a common one
even abroad; its range extends through Central Europe to Italy and Sicily,
and it is also found in Ussuri.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 30.
      1, 1a, 1b. PEBBLE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  2, 2a, 2b, 2c. IRON PROMINENT: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
          3, 3a. GREAT PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 31.
  1. IRON PROMINENT.
  2. PEBBLE PROMINENT.
  3. THREE HUMPED MOTH.
  4. LARGE DARK PROMINENT.
  5. GREAT PROMINENT.

{77}

THE COXCOMB PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx camelina_).

Probably the commonest of the true Prominents, and certainly the most
variable. The early stages are figured on Plate 32, and two forms of the
moth on Plate 33. In its typical and southern form the fore wings are more
or less pale reddish brown with a darker cloud on the inner marginal area;
there are three dusky, or blackish, cross lines, but two of these are
generally very indistinct, the third runs from the blackish "tooth" on the
inner margin to the front edge of the wing, and is followed by a pale wavy
band often outwardly bordered with dusky. Sometimes the fore wings are
clouded with dark brown, and in the North of England a dark reddish form
occurs. In Scotland the fore wings vary in colour from dusky brown through
reddish to pale yellowish brown; sometimes the "tooth" is reddish in
chestnut coloured specimens. The whitish eggs are laid on the undersides of
the leaves of various trees and bushes upon which the caterpillar feeds;
these are chiefly birch, oak, hazel, sallow, and beech.

The caterpillar, which appears in July to October, and sometimes even
later, is green, with a darker line on the back, and a yellow one on the
sides; two reddish tipped wart-like projections on the back of ring eleven.
Occasionally the general colour is ochreous with a pinkish tinge, or it may
be even purplish. There are two broods in the south of England, but only
one in the north. The moths of the first brood fly in May and June, and
those of the second in July and August, sometimes rather later. Pretty
generally distributed throughout England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Abroad its range extends over Northern and Central Europe to Northern
Spain, Northern and Central Italy, Dalmatia, Turkey, Armenia, Siberia,
Amurland, Corea, and Japan. {78}

THE SCARCE PROMINENT (_Odontosia carmelita_).

In 1828, when Stephens figured this moth, he only knew of two British
specimens, both of which had been reared about sixteen years previously
from caterpillars found at Darenth Wood. The wings, which are not thickly
scaled, are purplish grey, becoming reddish brown on the front margins of
the fore wings; the outer transverse line of the fore wings starts from a
conspicuous creamy patch on the front margin, and the line on the hind
wings is most distinct above the anal angle, where it runs through a
purplish cloud (Plate 33, Fig. 5).

In April and May the pale blue eggs are laid on the underside of birch
leaves. The caterpillar in June feeds on the foliage of the birch, and when
full grown is green freckled with yellowish above; a darker line runs along
the middle of the back, and a reddish spotted, or tinted, yellow stripe
along the sides; the small head, also green, is marked with yellowish. When
the chrysalids are kept indoors the moths emerge earlier than in the open,
and it therefore sometimes happens that eggs are laid and the caterpillars
hatch before the birch leaves are ready for them. In such cases I have got
over the difficulty in a measure by removing a portion of the outer
covering of one or two of the most forward buds to give the caterpillars a
chance of getting at the unexposed leaves. The moth emerges in April or
May, and, as pointed out by Mr. R. Adkin, it sometimes remains in the
chrysalis for two winters. Possibly this species may be found in most
districts where birch abounds; but, so far as its distribution in our
islands is known, it certainly appears to be distinctly local. Besides
Darenth, it also occurs in West Wickham Wood, and at Wateringbury, in Kent;
the Weybridge district, Dorking, and Haslemere, in Surrey; Ashdown Forest,
Blackdown Woods, Haywards Heath, and Tilgate Forest, in Sussex; New Forest,
Hampshire, and Berkshire. There seems to be no record of the moth having
been found in any other part of England, except Keswick and Windermere. In
Scotland it has been reported from Galashiels, Clydesdale, the Tay
district, Argyleshire, and Moray.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 32.
  1, 1a, 1b. PALE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      2, 2a. WHITE PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  3, 3a, 3b. COXCOMB PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
          4. MAPLE PROMINENT: _chrysalis_.
      5, 5a. SCARCE PROMINENT: _chrysalis and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 33.
     1. WHITE PROMINENT.
  2, 3. COXCOMB PROMINENT.
     4. MAPLE PROMINENT.
     5. SCARCE PROMINENT.
     6. PALE PROMINENT.
     7. PLUMED PROMINENT, _male_; 8, _female_.

{79}

THE PLUMED PROMINENT (_Ptilophora plumigera_).

The thinly scaled fore wings are ochreous brown in the male, and purplish
brown in the female, and the markings, which are most in evidence in the
male, are yellowish. Hind wings, more sparsely scaled than the fore wings,
are pale ochreous brown in the male and darker in the female. It varies in
the tint of general colour and in the intensity of the yellowish markings.
In the female the antennae are simple, but in the male they are very
plume-like, hence the English name. Buckler describes the caterpillar as
whitish blue-green, with a broad deep green stripe down the middle of the
back, and a narrow yellow line on each side of it; spiracular line slender,
white, and wavy; head rather small, glossy, yellowish green. When quite
full grown and mature it changes to a uniform semi-transparent green, like
the underside of a leaf of maple, upon which, and also sycamore, the
caterpillar feeds in May and early June. Maple bushes growing in hedgerows
are usually selected by the female moths when laying their eggs. These are
placed on the twigs near a bud, and may be searched for at any time from
November until April. The moth is shown on Plate 33.

This species was figured by Stephens (1828) as _Ptilophora variegata_ and
the only locality then known to him was Darenth Wood, where, he states, the
caterpillar was obtained almost every year. It still occurs in Kent and
possibly in its old haunt; it is also recorded from Watergate, Sussex;
South Devon (Torquay district); and Gloucestershire. In Bucks, Berks, and
Oxfordshire it is more frequent than in either of the counties previously
mentioned, and in all it seems to be found chiefly in chalky localities.
The moth, which is on the wing in November {80} or sometimes in late
October, has rarely been taken when flying at night or resting by day.
Light has an attraction for the male, but apparently not for the female.

Distributed through Central Europe, its range extends to Southern
Scandinavia, Northern Italy, Livonia, Bulgaria, S.E. Russia, and Japan.

THE PALE PROMINENT (_Pterostoma palpina_).

This blackish streaked, pale brownish grey moth has been known as the Pale
Prominent since 1775, when Moses Harris gave it this name. Beyond the black
scaled tooth-like projection the inner margin is notched. The antennae of
the female are pectinated, but the teeth are shorter than those of the
male; and the blackish streak on the wings are usually less defined. Except
that some specimens are more strongly marked than others there is little to
note in the way of aberration. Mr. Harwood of Colchester has, however,
recorded an almost black variety, and this may be referable to the form
from Russian Lapland, known as var. _lapponica_, Teich. The moth is figured
on Plate 33, and the early stages on Plate 32.

The caterpillar is bluish green, with white lines along the back and sides,
and a black edged yellow stripe along the spiracles; the stripe is marked
with reddish on the three rings nearest the head. It feeds chiefly on
poplar, but has been found on willow and sallow. Usually to be obtained
full grown early in July or late in June; in the south and south-east of
England, it is found also in September and October. The chrysalis is
purplish, or reddish, brown and rather shining. It may be found, in a
cocoon formed of silk mixed with particles of earth, among the roots of
grass, etc., at the foot of poplar or willow trees. Moths are on the wing
in May and June, and again in July and August. Coming to electric and gas
lamps, as well as entering lighted rooms, and illuminated moth traps, they
are often secured; otherwise they are rarely seen in a state of nature. The
species is most frequent, perhaps, in the southern countries, but seems to
occur throughout England; it becomes scarcer from the Midlands northwards
to Durham and Cumberland. It occurs in Southern Scotland, and has been
recorded from Moray. In Ireland it is widely distributed, but is not noted
as common in any locality. The range abroad extends through temperate
Europe into Asia Minor, and as far east as China and Japan.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 34.
  1, 1a, 1b, 1c. CHOCOLATE TIP: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
      2, 2a, 2b. SMALL CHOCOLATE TIP: _caterpillar, chrysalis, cocoon and
          larval retreat_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 35.
  1, 2. CHOCOLATE-TIP MOTH.
     3. BUFF-TIP MOTH.
     4. SCARCE CHOCOLATE-TIP, _male_; 5 _female_.
     6. SMALL CHOCOLATE-TIP, _male_; 7 _female_.

{81}

THE BUFF-TIP (_Phalera bucephala_).

[Illustration: FIG. 21.

EGGS OF BUFF-TIP MOTH.]

This species (Plate 35, Fig. 3) is easily recognized by its violet-grey
fore wings, and the more or less round, pale, ochreous blotch on the outer
third. The blotch is clouded, to a greater or lesser extent, with pale
brown, and the inner area of the wings is flecked with silvery grey; the
cross lines are edged with reddish brown.

The rather downy caterpillar is yellow, with several interrupted blackish
lines, and of these the one along the middle of the back is the broadest
and blackest; head black. It feeds, during August and September, in
companies, until nearly full grown, and the foliage of almost any kind of
tree or bush appears to be suitable food, although that of elm, lime, and
hazel is often selected by the female moth when depositing her whitish
eggs, which {82} she lays in neatly arranged batches on the undersides of
the leaves. If undisturbed, a company of these caterpillars quickly clear a
fair-sized branch of all leafage. The chrysalis is purplish brown (the
early stages are shown on Plate 37).

The moth flies in June and July, but is rarely seen in the daytime. The
wings in repose are closely folded down to the body and the insect has then
a very stick-like appearance, and may thus easily escape detection.

Occurs throughout England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. It is most
common, and the caterpillar often abundant, in London and its suburbs, as
well as other southern parts of the country. Its range extends through
Europe to Northern Asia Minor, Armenia, and Siberia.

THE CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygaera curtula_).

Two examples of this moth are shown on Plate 35. Fig. 2 represents the
spring (April and May) form, and Fig. 1 the summer (July and August) form.
Sometimes there is a third brood, in September or October, and Barrett
describes the individuals of this as "pale drab, dusted with darker atoms,
and with the chocolate blotch paler towards the apex." Hybrids have been
obtained from a pairing between _curtula_ female and _anachoreta_ male, and
these were most like the female parent. The early stages are figured on
Plate 34, Figs. 1-1c.

The verdigris-green eggs are laid in batches on the leaves of poplar and
aspen, upon which the caterpillars feed in May and June, and, as a second
brood, in August and September. In colour the caterpillar, which is rather
hairy, is grey, with a pinkish tinge, sprinkled with black, and with orange
spots on the sides; there is a raised black spot on the fourth ring, and
another on the eleventh; head blackish. The chrysalis is reddish-brown,
spun up in a packet of leaves. This species appears to be less common in
England than formerly. It is, {83} perhaps, more often observed in Kent and
Sussex than in the other counties it inhabits, which, according to Barrett,
are Berks, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, in all of which it is local;
also, but more rarely, in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire,
Leicestershire, Yorkshire, and Cumberland, the latter county being its
northern limit. To the above may be added Hertfordshire and Middlesex.
Although caterpillars are reported to have been found in Ireland, the moth
has not been reared in that country.

This species is distributed through Northern and Central Europe, extending
to South France, Corsica, North Italy, Bulgaria, Armenia, and Mongolia.

THE SCARCE CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygaera anachoreta_).

This moth is distinguished from that last referred to by the black spots in
and just below the blotch at the tip of the fore wings; the blotch itself
is dull reddish, merging outwardly into greyish, and is intersected by a
white line. There is some variation in the tint of the general colour,
ranging from dusky to reddish grey, but otherwise the species is constant
(Plate 35, Figs. 4, 5).

The caterpillar, which feeds on poplar and sallow from May to August, or
even later, is rather hairy, dark grey or blackish in colour; there are
four ochreous or whitish lines on the back, and a row of black spots
followed by a series of orange ones on the sides; below the spiracles are
some yellowish markings; the raised spots on rings four and eleven are
reddish brown; the former has a white spot on each side, and the back of
the latter is edged with white; head black and rather glossy. Chrysalis
blackish in hue, spun up among leaves. The moths emerge in May, and again
in July; in confinement there is sometimes a third brood in September.
Except that two {84} specimens were reported as found in a street at Deal,
the moth does not seem to have been noticed at large.

This species was known to Haworth, but, as a British insect, was
exceedingly rare until 1859, when Dr. Knaggs found some caterpillars upon
poplar in the neighbourhood of Folkestone. From the stock then obtained the
moths were reared in numbers for some time. Batches of eggs were also put
down in various localities, and the species seems to have flourished in
some of them for a while, but failed eventually to establish itself in any
of them. Then the species disappeared from the Folkestone locality,
although a caterpillar or two were found there in 1861, and on to 1912 in
other places on the Kentish coast. In 1893 eggs were obtained at St.
Leonard's, in Sussex, and thus originated a new stock.

The species has a wide range in Central and Northern Europe, extending to
some of the southern parts; it also occurs in Siberia, Amurland, China, and
Japan.

THE SMALL CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygaera pigra_).

This species will be recognized by its smaller size and less distinct
chocolate blotch on the tips of the fore wings. The ground colour varies
from whitish grey to pale brownish grey; the pale cross lines are usually
well defined; the first is bordered with chocolate colour, and angled above
the middle; the third line runs from a white spot on the costa and through
the chocolate patch. The moth is shown on Plate 35, and the early stages on
Plate 34.

Of the offspring resulting from eggs laid by a female _curtula_ that had
paired with a male _pigra_, and also those from a female _pigra_ crossed
with a male _curtula_, the hybrids in each case most nearly resembled the
female parent.

The eggs are pale olive green tending to brownish, and all that I have seen
have been laid in irregular lines on leaves, or {85} on the sides of a chip
box. The caterpillar is greyish, with some short hairs and black dots; the
back is broadly marked with yellow, and there is a yellow stripe, with
black dots on it, low down on the sides; rings four and eleven have each a
raised black spot; head blackish. Feeds from June to September, on dwarf
sallow (_Salix repens_), and also on young plants of aspen. Like other
caterpillars of this genus, it hides by day in a packet of leaves spun
together. There are certainly two broods, if not more, in the year. The
moth emerges in May, and more irregularly in July or August, and October.
Except when attracted to a light, the moth is rarely seen, but in fens,
marshes, and boggy places generally, the caterpillars may often be obtained
in numbers almost throughout the United Kingdom. Its distribution abroad
embraces Northern and Central Europe, with extension into Northern Spain
and Italy; Bulgaria, South-east Russia, and Armenia.

THYATIRIDAE.

The nine British species next to be considered belong to the old family
Cymatophoridae, but as the name _Cymatophora_, as indicated by Hubner in
the "Tentamen" (1816), is now generically used by authors for some species
of Geometridae; and as Hubner's _Verzeichniss_ generic names will have to
be used for the species previously included in _Cymatophora_, Tr., the term
Thyatiridae has here been adopted for this family--the Polyplocidae of
Meyrick and others.

THE BUFF ARCHES (_Habrosyne derasa_).

This pretty species (Plate 36, Figs. 1, 2) is well distributed over the
greater part of England and not at all uncommon in the more sylvan
districts of the southern counties. It occurs in Wales but has only once
been recorded from Scotland. In {86} Ireland it is found in almost every
well-wooded locality, but is not generally common. The moth hides among the
foliage of the bramble and also creeps under the withered leaves on the
ground. It comes freely to sugar, and is often the earliest to attend the
banquet, but is rather skittish at first and should be given time to settle
down.

The fore wings are pale olive grey with two whitish streaks across them,
the first oblique approaching the second towards the inner margin; the
space between the streaks is clouded with brownish buff and there is a
whitish cloud on the costal area, and some strongly waved cross lines
before the second streak.

The caterpillar, which is rusty brown, with a blackish central line on the
back, a black edged yellowish spot on ring four, a smaller one on ring
five, and sometimes a tiny one on ring seven, feeds in August and
September, sometimes later, on bramble, and is said to eat hawthorn and
hazel. It hides during the day and comes up to feed at night. The
chrysalis, which is enclosed in an earthen cocoon below the surface of the
ground, or sometimes among moss, is purplish black with the ring divisions
reddish; the anal spike is furnished with hooks. As a rule the moth does
not emerge until June or July following the year of pupation, but it has
been found on the wing in September and October.

Distributed over Central Europe, extending into Southern France, and
Northern Italy, Southern Sweden and Livonia, and eastward to the Himalayas,
Corea, and Japan.

THE PEACH-BLOSSOM (_Thyatira batis_).

The olive brown fore wings of this moth are adorned with five pink-tinged
whitish spots, and clouded with brown; the pink tinge varies in amount and
in brightness, and sometimes gives place to pale ochreous. The moth is
figured on Plate 36, and the early stages on Plate 37.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 36.
  1. BUFF ARCHES MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. PEACH-BLOSSOM MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.
  5. FIGURE OF EIGHTY, _male_; 6. _female_.
  7. POPLAR LUTESTRING, _male_; 8 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 37.
      1, 1a. BUFF-TIP: _eggs and caterpillar_.
  2, 2a, 2b. PEACH-BLOSSOM: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{87}

The fluted greenish-white eggs are laid upon the edges of bramble-leaves.

The caterpillar is pale reddish brown shaded with darker and freckled with
whitish (in the young stage the second and third rings are whitish above);
a slender dark brown line along the middle of the back, and a broader one
along the sides, the latter not distinct on the first three rings; the two
rings nearest the head each have a divided ridge, the second being the
larger; there are also similar ridges on the fifth to ninth rings, and the
back of ring eleven is slightly raised; a series of pale triangular marks
on the back. It feeds on bramble in July, and may be found from that month
until September.

In confinement it will thrive on raspberry or the cultivated kinds of
blackberry. From some thirty eggs I had in June this year (1907) the
caterpillars hatched on the 27th; several of these fed up rapidly and one
or two had spun up for pupation, among the leaves, in July (about 24th),
whilst others remained quite small, and a few were in the last skin but
one. Early in August the larger caterpillars just referred to pupated, and
the smaller ones began to feed up, and by the end of the month they had
attained to full growth, although they did not spin cocoons until the
second week in September.

From July chrysalids moths will often emerge in August or September of the
same year, but none have appeared from those under observation. The
chrysalis is pale brown mottled with dark purplish or reddish brown, wing
cases reddish. The species frequents woods or wooded localities, and is
generally distributed throughout England and Wales, but commoner in some
parts than others. Rather local in Scotland but not uncommon in Perthshire.
Sometimes very abundant in Ireland, occurring in similar localities to the
preceding species. It is found over the greater part of Northern and
Central Europe, and as far east as Amurland and Japan. {88}

THE FIGURE OF EIGHTY (_Palimpsestis octogessima_).

This moth (Plate 36, Figs. 5, 6) may be distinguished by two whitish marks
on the fore wings which have some resemblance to the numerals 80, hence the
common name. These are really the white outlines of the reniform and
orbicular stigmata, each of which has the central part filled in with
black; sometimes the lower portion of the 8 is obscure, but in a general
way the character is not difficult to make out.

The caterpillar is yellowish tinged with greyish on the back; a greyish
plate on the back of the ring nearest the black marked orange head; three
black spots on each side of the first ring, two such spots on ring two, and
one on each side of rings three to eleven; the back of the last ring has a
greyish plate. It feeds in July and August, earlier or later in accordance
with season, on poplar. During the day it hides between united leaves, or
in a curled up withered leaf, upon the tree. The shining black chrysalis
with somewhat reddish ring divisions is enclosed in a rather loosely
constructed cocoon spun up between leaves, or among moss etc., at the base
of poplar trees. The moth emerges in May or June. It is partial to sugar,
and is said to prefer its sweets served up on poplar trunks. Probably it is
most often and regularly obtained in the Eastern Counties, but it is
locally not uncommon in Worcestershire and Herefordshire; also found in
Gloucestershire, Somerset, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey, and, I
believe, Sussex. The range abroad is similar to that of _T. batis_.

THE POPLAR LUTESTRING (_Palimpsestis or_).

May be recognized in the typical form by the four-lined bands,
"lutestrings," on the greyish, sometimes pink-tinged fore wings; the
reniform and orbicular marks are often present although the first is
generally obscure, and they never assume the similarity {89} to figures
noted in the last species (Plate 36, Figs. 7, 8). In Scotland the moths
have a paler ground colour generally, var. _scotica_, Tutt; one from
Ireland with ground colour pearly white and broad black "lutestrings" has
been named var. _gaelica_, Kane. Hybrids from a cross pairing of this
species with the last have been obtained by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher. These
specimens have the "lutestrings" of _or_, and the "figure of 80"
characteristic of _octogessima_. Caterpillar yellowish green with a dark
line along the middle of the back, and two black spots on the front edge of
the ring next the yellowish brown head. It feeds on poplar, and hides
between united leaves in the daytime; may be found from July to September
or even later. Chrysalis, reddish brown, the surface minutely pitted, and
spike pointed, and thickened at the base; in a brownish cocoon spun up
between leaves. The moth emerges in June or July, and it comes freely to
sugar, but like other members of this family is not always easy to box. It
seems to occur in most places where poplar trees are well established;
widely distributed over England, and found throughout Scotland even to the
Shetland Isles. In Ireland it seems to be local and rare. Distribution
abroad much as in the last species.

THE LESSER SATIN MOTH (_Palimpsestis duplaris_).

Figs. 1, 2, on Plate 39, represent the typical southern form of this
species. The fore wings are pale greyish with a whitish edged, broad, dark
central band; two black dots on the outer edge of the band distinguish this
species from the next. In Scotland and in Northern England the general
colour is blackish or purplish grey (Fig. 3), and sometimes specimens more
or less suffused with the darker colour are found in the southern half of
England. Quite the darkest, almost black, form seems to occur in Cannock
Chase, Staffordshire, and in Delamere Forest, Cheshire. The caterpillar is
greenish; central area of the back {90} green, margined on each side by an
olive green, or brighter green, stripe; some black dots along the sides;
head reddish brown marked with black. Feeds on birch, and may be found from
August to October. It spins the leaves together for a shelter during the
daytime, and comes out to feed at night, when it may be obtained by beating
the boughs. Other food plants mentioned are alder, oak, and hazel. The pupa
is of a dull reddish colour, in a slight cocoon between leaves.

Widely distributed throughout England and common in most woodlands,
especially in the south and east; it ranges through Scotland to the
Shetlands. In Ireland, where the moth has the ground colour silvery grey
(var. _argentea_, Tutt), it has been obtained in many localities, from
Donegal and Tyrone to Kerry and Cork.

THE SATIN CARPET (_Palimpsestis fluctuosa_).

In colour and general pattern this species (Plate 39, Fig. 4) is very
similar to the last in its typical form. The points of distinction are, the
slightly larger size, whiter ground colour, and the absence of the two
black dots from the edge of the band. In August and September the
caterpillar feeds, at night, on birch, and by day conceals itself between
leaves. It is reddish or violet grey above, and pale ochreous-white
beneath; the lines down the centre of the back and along the sides are
darker; on the first ring there is a greenish-tinged yellow plate, and from
this to the eleventh ring there are two series of black dots along the
back. Head yellow-brown, blackened above; a black circle on each cheek.
Chrysalis reddish-brown, in a cocoon among leaves either on the tree or on
the ground. The moth emerges in June, and is distinctly local. Sometimes it
may be disturbed from its resting place among the foliage; it becomes
active on the wing at dusk for a short time; sugar does not seem to possess
any great attraction for it, anyway it does not attend the feast prepared
for Noctuae so frequently as other members of this family. It is known to
occur, chiefly in woods, in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire in the
south; Essex and Suffolk in the east; also in Worcestershire (Wyre Forest),
and Herefordshire; in the Barnsley and Sheffield districts of Yorkshire;
and it has been reported from Cumberland. In Ireland it is rare and only
recorded from Killarney, Kerry, and Sligo. Abroad it occurs in Central
Europe, the range extending to Southern Scandinavia, and to South-east
Russia.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 38.
              1. FROSTED GREEN: _caterpillar_.
  2, 2a, 2b, 2c. YELLOW HORNED: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 39.
     1. LESSER SATIN MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_; 3 _northern var_.
     4. SATIN CARPET MOTH.
     5. LESSER LUTESTRING, _male_; 6 _female_.
  7, 8. YELLOW-HORNED MOTH.
     9. FROSTED GREEN MOTH, _male_; 10 _female_.

{91} THE LESSER LUTESTRING (_Asphalia diluta_).

The fore wings are whitish or greyish, and sometimes tinged with brown;
crossed by two brownish bands. Variation is chiefly in the tint of the
bands and also in their width and definition. In var. _nubilata_, which
occurs in Yorkshire, the general colour of the fore wings is darker than
normal, and there is a basal patch and three cross-bands of reddish or
purplish brown (Plate 39, Figs. 5, 6).

Caterpillar, yellowish above and greyish beneath; a dusky line along the
middle of the back, and one, dotted with black, low down on the sides; head
dark brown, almost blackish. It feeds in May and June on oak, but only at
night; it constructs a leafy chamber in which it sits tight during the day,
and is not easily evicted unless its apartment is forcibly opened. The
reddish chrysalis is enclosed in a flimsy cocoon between, or among, leaves.
Although September is the month during which the moth usually emerges, it
is sometimes seen earlier. It is so partial to sugar, that it may often be
seen at an old patch before the new feast has been set out for the evening
entertainment. The species is fairly well distributed throughout England
and Wales, and most common in the south of the former country. It extends
into Southern Scotland, but {92} apparently does not occur in Ireland.
Abroad it is found in Central Europe, Belgium, North Germany, North Italy,
and North-east Asia Minor.

THE YELLOW HORNED (_Polyploca flavicornis_).

In the South of England this species is greenish grey, sometimes speckled
or dusted with darker grey; the reniform and orbicular marks are generally
clear and distinct, but in some examples they are united and form a whitish
blotch outlined in blackish; the cross lines are usually well defined, but
in the dark grey dusted form are very obscure. Specimens from Scotland are
generally larger, there is less green, if any, in the ground colour, and
the markings are often more pronounced and brighter. This form is the var.
_scotica_, Tutt, and may be more or less identical with the var.
_finmarchia_, Schoyen, from Norway and Lapland (Fig. 7, Plate 39, shows the
English form, and Fig. 8 the Scotch form).

The caterpillar is greenish, light olive green, or dark olive green above,
and yellowish beneath; a line along the middle of the back is paler, and on
each side there is a row of black spots and finely black-edged white dots;
a line above the brownish outlined spiracles is yellowish: the head is
yellow brown with blackish jaws and black mark on each cheek. It feeds in
June and July on birch, preferring the foliage of bushes. During the
daytime it resides in a leaf neatly folded in half; when quite young, the
caterpillar then being blackish, a small leaf or just the turned-over edge
of a large one answers its purpose. The chrysalis is reddish, enclosed in a
flimsy cocoon among leaves, moss, or roots of grass, etc., sometimes just
under the surface of the soil. The early stages are figured on Plate 38,
Figs. 2-2c. The moth emerges in March or April of the year following
pupation, as a rule, but it may remain in the chrysalis for two winters. It
is often obtained in birch woods, or wherever there {93} is a good growth
of birch, by jarring the twigs and branches of birch upon which it rests
during the day, or it may be found by searching the low bushes and
underwood. Soon after dusk it is on the wing, and will then visit sugar and
sallow bloom.

Generally distributed throughout Great Britain. In Ireland it appears to be
very rare. Its range abroad, in the typical form, extends over Northern and
Central Europe to North Italy and to South-east Russia.

THE FROSTED GREEN (_Polyploca ridens_).

This moth (Plate 39, Figs. 9, 10) is also on the wing early in the year,
but although it is sometimes found on tree trunks in April or perhaps as
late as the first week in May, it seems to be rarely obtained otherwise in
the perfect state. It does not "come to sugar" often, if at all, and so far
as is known, does not visit any of the usual natural attractions.

The ground colour of the fore wings varies from whitish to green, but in
some specimens the general hue is olive or blackish green, and the markings
then appear to be wavy whitish lines crossing the wings, one near the base,
and the other before the outer margin.

The caterpillar (Plate 38, Fig. 1) is yellow above and rather greenish
beneath; a greenish grey double stripe along the back is interrupted at the
ring divisions; there are also white dots with black or blackish edges on
the back and the sides; a yellow line along the spiracle area is shaded
above and below with greenish grey; the head, which is notched on the
crown, is yellowish, with a black mark on each cheek. It feeds, at night,
on oak, from May to July; hiding by day on the underside of a leaf, a
portion of which is folded over and secured with silk, to form a suitable
retreat. These caterpillars respond more readily to the persuasive
beating-stick than others of the group.

The species affects woodland localities in most of the southern {94}
counties of England, and it is also found in South Wales. Its range extends
into the Eastern Counties and through the Midlands northward to Cumberland.
It does not seem to have been noted from Scotland or Ireland. Abroad it is
distributed over Central Europe and northward to Denmark and Livonia, and
southward to South France and Andalusia.

TUSSOCK-MOTHS (_Lymantriidae_).

About seventy-two species, referred to this family, are known to occur in
various parts of the Palaearctic region; ten of these are found in our
islands. The Black V-moth (_Leucoma v-nigrum_ or _Arctornis l-album_) has
been reported as British, but if the few examples that have been recorded
were natives, the species has long since disappeared from this country.

Some of the caterpillars, as, for example, those of the Brown and
Yellow-tails, are not altogether pleasant to handle, as the hairs with
which they are covered have a disagreeable trick of transferring themselves
to our hands, whence they find their way to our face, and when there are
apt to set up most unpleasant irritation and swelling of the parts
affected. These urticating hairs are more troublesome when received from
the caterpillar or cocoon, but those from the moth itself communicate a
very respectable simulation of the skin trouble known to the doctor as
Urticaria.

THE SCARCE VAPOURER (_Orgyia gonostigma_).

The male of this species, and also of the next, flies in the sunshine, but
the female of each is wingless, or nearly so, and has to remain at home on
the cocoon from which she emerged. Here she lays a large number of eggs,
from four to five hundred, upon the exterior. The eggs of this species are
whitish and rather glossy when first laid; the top is sunken. Apart from
{95} the deeper brown colour of the fore wings and the blacker hind wings,
the male of this species has a white mark near the tip of each fore wing,
and this character will distinguish it from the same sex of the Common
Vapourer.

The caterpillar is blackish with star-like tufts of hair, white on the back
and greyish on the sides; on rings four to seven are brushes of brown
hairs; a pencil of black hair on side of the first ring pointing forward,
and a thicker one on the back of ring eleven directed backward; the
interrupted stripes along the back and sides are reddish orange,
approaching vermilion; those along the back are united in front of the
pencil on ring eleven, and those of the sides unite behind the pencil. Head
glossy, black. The foliage of sallow, willow, and oak, is perhaps the more
usual food, but it has been known to eat beech, elm, hawthorn, sloe, and
nut, and has been found on meadow-sweet. The chrysalis is brown, inclining
to yellowish between the rings, and the back is hairy; enclosed in a cocoon
spun up among leaves or in any suitable cranny. The male and female moths
are figured on Plate 40 (Fig. 3, 5), and the caterpillar and chrysalis on
Plate 41.

The moths emerge in June, and from their eggs caterpillars result in July.
These, feeding up quickly, attain the perfect state in late July or early
August. Caterpillars from this second generation usually go into
hibernation when quite small, and feed up in the following April and May;
in confinement they may, however, get through their metamorphosis and reach
the moth state in September or October. Sometimes it happens that a part of
the summer brood of caterpillars will feed up straight away and produce
moths in August; others, feeding and growing more slowly, assume the winged
state in November; whilst a third portion will remain small and go into
hibernation.

This very local species used to be obtained in the Wimbledon district, but
it has not been seen there for some years past. {96} Other localities for
it are the Norfolk and Cambridge fens, Bewdley Forest in Shropshire, and
Wyre Forest, Worcestershire; it is also found in some parts of Devonshire,
Suffolk, Essex, and Yorks. Its range abroad extends through Northern and
Central Europe, southward to North Spain, Piedmont, and Corsica, and
eastward to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

THE VAPOURER (_Orgyia antiqua_).

The male has the wings rather more ample than the same sex of the last
species, the colour is a more ochreous red and there is a large white spot
at the lower angle of the fore wings, but no white mark at the tips of
these wings. Specimens from the north of England are rather darker than
southern examples. In the course of temperature experiments it has been
noted that the colour of the moth is darkened if the chrysalids are put in
a refrigerator for a few weeks, and then brought into a mean temperature of
40deg Fahr. In the female the appendages representing wings are somewhat
larger than those of the female of the Scarce Vapourer, but are quite
useless as organs of flight (Plate 40, Figs. 4, 6).

In general colour the caterpillar is violet or smoky grey; the markings on
the back comprise a creamy, red-dotted line along the middle area, this is
edged with black, and on each side of it is a series of raised red spots;
the broken line along the sides is yellowish, and the four brushes of hair
on the back are yellow, sometimes merging into brown above; the pencils of
longer hairs are blackish on the ring nearest the head, and dark grey or
brownish on the last ring. It may be found through the summer on the leaves
of most trees and bushes. Chrysalis blackish, glossy, and rather hairy. The
cocoons are spun up in the crevices of bark on tree trunks, or in the fork
of a twig, under the eaves of an out-house or shed, on palings and fences,
etc. The hairs of the caterpillar are mixed with the silk of the cocoon;
the female lays her pale brownish eggs, which are minutely pitted and have
a darker ring below the sunken top, on the outside of the cocoon, and there
they remain through the winter.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 40.
  1. DARK TUSSOCK MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. SCARCE VAPOURER, _male_; 5 _female_.
  4. VAPOURER, _male_; 6 _female_.
  7. PALE TUSSOCK, _male_; 8 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 41.
          1, 1a. SCARCE VAPOURER: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
          2, 2a. COMMON VAPOURER: _egg-batch on cocoon and enlarged egg_.
  3, 3a, 3b, 3c. PALE TUSSOCK: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
              4. DARK TUSSOCK: _caterpillar_.

{97} Generally distributed throughout the United Kingdom, but not so common
in Ireland as in England and Scotland. It is quite a Cockney insect, and is
found in almost every part of the Metropolis where there are a few trees.
Occurs practically over the whole of Europe, and in North-east Asia Minor,
Armenia, Siberia, Amurland, and North America.

THE DARK TUSSOCK (_Dasychira fascelina_).

The figures of the sexes of this species on Plate 40 represent the dark
grey form. Sometimes the forewings are whitish grey and occasionally slaty
grey; the cross lines may be stronger or fainter, and in some specimens are
nearly absent; the yellowish colour usually seen on the cross lines may be
missing, or, on the other hand, other parts of the wings may be stippled
with yellowish. Laying her eggs in batches, the female carefully covers
them with dark brown hairs from the tuft at the end of her body.

The caterpillar (Plate 41, Fig. 4) is blackish, with star-like tufts of
hairs, yellow, mixed with longer blackish ones towards the head and tail,
brownish grey on the middle portion; a brush of black hairs on rings four,
five, and eleven, and of white hairs on six, seven, and eight. Head black.
When full grown (Plate 42, Fig. 3) the hairs of the body are greyish, and
those of the brushes on the back are black flanked with white. When
disturbed it rolls in a ring. It feeds on hawthorn, and various species of
_Salix_, also on broom and ling. It hibernates when still small, in a
silken cocoon-like envelope which it spins in the fork of a branch, or
among the twigs of a bush; growth is completed in April or May, and the
winged state attained in {98} June or July. Sometimes the young
caterpillars have been found in their winter quarters about the middle of
July, and this would seem to imply that they occasionally lie dormant for
two winters; at least this would appear to be so in Scotland whence such
individuals have been recorded, with the additional information that they
did not eat through the summer and that one was still alive in the
following March. The chrysalis is glossy black, and hairy (Plate 42, Fig.
3a).

This is chiefly a northern insect, occurring most commonly on the Cheshire,
Lancashire, and Cumberland coast. It is more generally distributed in
Scotland and is often abundant on the moorlands. In Ireland three
caterpillars were found by Mr. Kane in the Bog of Allen, and the species
has also been recorded from Tullamore and Mullingar. Distribution: Northern
and Central Europe, extending to the Altai.

THE PALE TUSSOCK (_Dasychira pudibunda_).

This moth is much commoner and more widely distributed in England than that
last mentioned. The central area of the greyish white fore wings is subject
to variation in width and also in tint; this latter may be darker or
lighter than the example shown on Plate 40, and the cross lines are in some
specimens black and very distinct. The colour of the female ranges from
pale greyish white through various tones of grey, and the bands on the hind
wings may be as well defined as in the male. Black males of the species
have been recorded.

The hairy caterpillar is green or yellow, the former mottled with whitish
and the latter with greenish; on rings 4 to 7 are thick brushes of yellow
hairs, and on ring 11 there is a tuft of reddish hair; the back is marked
with black between the brushes, and there are black spots on the sides of
the hind rings. Sometimes the caterpillar is light or dark brownish and the
brushes are then greyish, or tinged with pale reddish or blackish.
Altogether it is a pretty creature, and as it is, or was previous to the
modern "washing," common in hop gardens at picking time, it was christened
the "hop dog." It may be found from July to September on the foliage of
birch, hazel, oak, and many other trees, as well as on hop. The moth
appears in May and June, and rests by day on herbage, especially on bracken
in woods (see Fig. 6, p. 7); at night it comes readily to light, but
specimens so obtained are generally of the female sex.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 42.
  1, 1a. YELLOW-TAIL: _caterpillars_.
      2. BROWN-TAIL: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. DARK TUSSOCK: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 43.
  1. BROWN-TAIL MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. YELLOW-TAIL MOTH, _female_; 4, 5 _males_.
  6. WHITE SATIN MOTH, _female_.

{99} It is most at home in the southern portion, but occurs throughout
England and Wales, to Cumberland. Only doubtfully recorded from Scotland,
but in Ireland it has occurred in Galway, Kerry, Waterford, Cork, and
Wicklow.

Distribution: Central and Northern Europe eastward to North-east China and
Japan.

THE BROWN-TAIL (_Euproctis chrysorrhoea_).

Although sometimes found in the East and West of England, and even in
Yorkshire and Durham, this appears to be essentially a coast species in
Britain, and confined at that to Kent and Sussex, the former especially.
Even in these favoured localities where it is usually abundant, it is,
however, not always in evidence. The moths sit about at the end of July and
early August on leaves of hawthorn, sloe, sea-buckthorn (_Hippophae
rhamnoides_), and wild rose, generally on the underside. Near the females
will be found batches of eggs, which are covered with "fur" from the anal
tuft of the female. The caterpillars hatch out in August, and while still
very small go into hibernation in a common nest. In the spring, when active
again, they construct a new habitation, and another or perhaps two more
before they are full grown, about June. The chrysalis is very dark, almost
blackish-brown, with tufts of hair, and the fairly substantial brownish
cocoon in which it is enclosed {100} is composed of silk and caterpillar
hairs, and is spun up on the food-plant, often singly, but not
infrequently, several are made up in a common silken covering.

The caterpillar is blackish with brownish warts, each bearing a tuft of
brownish hairs; a row of tufts of white downy scales on each side of the
back of rings four to eleven; the central line on the back is black, edged
on each side by a red line of variable width from rings six to ten; a
vermillion round spot on nine and ten. Head blackish.

The moth is shown on Plates 43, 45, and the caterpillar on Plate 42, Fig.
1.

Distribution, Central and South Europe to North-west Africa and Asia Minor.

In 1897 an appeal was made to British entomologists to refrain from taking
many specimens of this species; while American entomologists were seeking
power to compel local authorities to suppress the Brown-tail, which about
that time was a new, and no doubt introduced, insect pest in the State of
Massachusetts.

THE YELLOW-TAIL (_Porthesia similis_).

The male has usually only one black mark on the fore wings, but sometimes
there are two, as seen in Fig. 5, Plate 43; more rarely there is a dot or
two towards the tips of the wings. The habit of the moth is to sit upon the
foliage of bushes and the branches of trees, where it might easily be
passed over for a fluffy white feather; occasionally it may be found on
palings or even iron railings. About dark it is on the wing, and light has
then a great attraction for it. The caterpillar is black with black and
grey hairs; a vermillion stripe down the middle of the back has a black
central line, and is expanded on rings four, eleven, and twelve; along each
side there are tufts of snowy white fluffy scales; the back of rings four,
{101} five, and eleven is velvety black and slightly raised, especially on
ring four. Head black and glossy.

The caterpillars hatch from the eggs, which are laid in batches, in August,
hibernate, each in a silken case, and recommence feeding in the spring
(Plate 42, Figs. 1, 1a). In May, when nearly full grown, they separate and
are then common objects on hawthorn hedges in many districts. They also
feed on the foliage of oak, beech, birch, sallow, rose, apple, pear, and
other fruit trees. Sometimes a nearly fully mature caterpillar has been
found in August, this has pupated and produced a moth the same year. The
chrysalis is rather hairy and of a brownish colour; the cocoon is similar
to that of the last species. In late June and through July the moth is
generally common throughout the Southern part of England, and as far
northwards as Lancashire and Yorkshire. It has been very rarely seen in
Scotland, and not at all in Ireland.

Distribution, Central and South-eastern Europe, extending to Amurland,
China, Corea, and Japan.

THE REED TUSSOCK (_Laelia coenosa_).

This insect (Plate 45) was formerly abundant in some parts of fenland, and
was first met with, as a British species, at Whittlesea Mere about 1819 or
1820. It was subsequently found in Yaxley and Burwell fens. Up to 1860 it
continued to occur freely in all stages, but by 1865 larvae at a shilling
per dozen, the price at which they had been sold by the reed cutters, were
no longer obtainable, and they became so scarce that in the year 1871 or
thereabouts, only two caterpillars were seen. The species was at that time
seemingly on the decline, but a year or two later a good many males were
attracted by the rays of a powerful lamp that had been set up at Wicken.
Then the moths became fewer and fewer {102} until at last, somewhere about
1880, even the lamps would not draw a single specimen, and soon it appeared
probable that the last of the Reed Tussock had been seen in the fens, its
only known habitat in Britain.

Caterpillar, dusky with a blackish stripe along the middle of the back; the
raised dots are ochreous grey with pale yellowish brown hairs arising from
them; there are four brushes of yellow hairs on the back, bunches of long
hairs on the first ring extended over the brownish head, and a pencil of
similar hairs on ring eleven directed backward. The food plants given are
bur-reed (_Sparganium_), Stephens; _Cladium mariscus_, Barrett, and reed
(_Phragmites communis_). Stephens states that the caterpillar and the moth
were found at the end of July and beginning of August, but other
authorities give August to June for the caterpillar, and July for the moth.
The caterpillar described above, and of which a figure is given on Plate
44, was obtained, together with eggs and cocoon, from Dr. Staudinger and
Bang Haas, of Dresden. All are preserved examples.

Abroad this species is found in Northern Germany and France, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Amurland, China, Corea, and Japan.

THE WHITE SATIN MOTH (_Stilpnotia salicis_).

The English name of this species dates back to about 1773, and is a very
suitable one for it, the fore wings being especially glossy and satin-like.
It seems to be less generally distributed over the country than formerly,
but it is still common in most years, and in many places; more particularly
in the south of England, and on the Lancashire coast. Even yet it occurs in
the suburbs of London, and on the southern side is sometimes not uncommon.
In Scotland it appears to be rare; Barrett mentions it from Aberdeen,
Pitcaple, Inverurie, Peterhead, and Ayrshire. Kane states that in Ireland
the species, so far as he knew, only occurred in a locality near Ahascragh.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 44.
  1, 1a, 1b. REED TUSSOCK: _egg, caterpillar and cocoon_.
      2, 2a. WHITE SATIN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 45.
     1. REED TUSSOCK MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3, 4. BROWN-TAIL _varieties_.

{103}

The caterpillar, which is hairy and variegated with reddish and black and
white, may be recognised by the large bright white marks on the back. It is
often seen in the daytime on the boles or branches of poplars, as well as
on the foliage. It frequently falls a victim to the parasitical flies, and
it is probably due to these enemies that the species is less common in some
years than in others. Besides poplar, it will feed upon sallow and willow.
Hibernating when quite tiny, it reappears in April, and, feeding up, is
ready to enter the chrysalis state in June or July, when it spins a flimsy
silken cocoon among the leaves, or in some suitable cranny on the tree or
bush. The moth is shown on Plate 43, Fig. 6, and the caterpillar and
chrysalis on Plate 44, Fig. 2, 2a.

The moth emerges in July or August, and may be found resting on or under
the leaves, and on stems and branches of the trees upon which the
caterpillar fed, or on palings, etc., adjacent thereto.

Distribution, Northern and Central Europe, Iberia, Corsica, Italy, Balkan
Peninsula, South-east Russia, North-east Asia Minor, and Armenia. In the
Far East, including China, Corea, and Japan, it is represented by the var.
_candida_, Staud.

THE GIPSY (_Lymantria dispar_).

Up to some sixty-five years ago, this species (Plate 46, Figs. 1 [male], 2
[female]) seems to have flourished in a wild state in the fens of Norfolk
and Cambridgeshire, and also in Huntingdonshire. Just how long it had been
common in those localities history does not inform us, but about 1792
Donovan was unable to obtain a native specimen to figure. Stephens,
however, writing in 1828 states that at that time it abounded in the
Huntingdonshire fens. "It is said," he remarks "to have been introduced
into Britain by eggs imported by Mr. Collinson, but the abundance with
which it occurs near {104} Whittlesea, and the dissimilarity of the
indigenous specimens (which are invariably paler, with stronger markings)
to the foreigner, sufficiently refute that opinion." There appears to be no
doubt that some time near 1840 the Gipsy moth began to decrease in numbers,
and that about 1850 it had almost or quite ceased to exist, as a wildling,
in England. At the present time, and probably since the date last
mentioned, the species has been semi-domesticated, and so reared year by
year, at first possibly direct from the original wild stock, but afterwards
from fresh stock derived from eggs of foreign origin. Futile attempts have
been made to re-establish the species in various parts of England, and also
in Ireland. Such failure is curious, seeing that in America the accidental
introduction of a few moths has resulted in the species becoming so
numerous that at least one state has been expending thousands of dollars in
endeavouring to destroy it. The eggs are laid in batches and covered with
the down-like scales from the anal tuft of the female.

The caterpillar hatches in April, and in warm weather feeds up pretty
quickly. It is grey, covered with black dots and fine marks; the hairs
arising in spreading tufts from the raised warts, are longer on the sides
than on the back; these warts on the back on each side of the pale central
line are bluish on rings one to five, and reddish thence to eleven. Head,
pale brown marked with black. Feeds on the foliage of most fruit trees,
also on oak, elm, sallow, hawthorn, and sloe.

Chrysalis rather hairy, brownish in colour, in a fairly strong silken
cocoon, which is spun up in any suitable angle.

The moths appear in August, and there is a striking difference in the size
and coloration of the sexes. The male is pale or greyish brown, lined and
clouded with darker brown on the fore wings, and the female is whitish with
brownish cross lines, and a black central V-mark on the fore wings.

Distributed over the whole of the Palaearctic Region, except {105} the most
northern, and, as adverted to, it has now become a pest in parts of North
America.

THE BLACK ARCHES (_Lymantria monacha_).

Two examples of each sex of this moth are figured on Plate 46, and these
show the normal form of the species; the central markings of the fore wings
vary in width and intensity, and in some specimens the whole of the central
area is more or less filled up with black or sooty black. Sometimes the
wings are partially suffused with blackish, and the normal markings are
consequently somewhat obscured. Examples wholly suffused with black are
referable to var. _eremita_, a form not uncommon on the continent, and
modifications of it are found in a wild state in this country. By selecting
parents showing a tendency to vary in the direction of this dark form, it
has been found possible to obtain a good percentage of darkened specimens,
some of them closely approximating to var. _eremita_.

The early stages are figured on Plate 47.

The eggs of this species are laid in August in the chinks of bark on tree
trunks, and do not hatch until the spring.

Caterpillar, whitish varying to greyish, a deep brown stripe along the
middle of the back with an irregular black line on each side of it; the
stripe is interrupted by a whitish or greyish patch on rings seven to nine;
on ring two there is a black mark, and occasionally red dots appear on
eight and nine; black dots on the back and sides are furnished with hairs.
Head, brownish marked with a paler tint. It feeds from April to July on the
leaves of oak and various other trees, including apple and pine.

The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a somewhat transparent silken cocoon
spun up in a fissure of the bark, is brownish, hairy, and has a very glossy
metallic appearance.

The moth emerges at the end of July and in August. It flies {106} at night,
and may be seen resting by day on the trunks of trees. Although it occurs
in most of the counties of England from Yorkshire southwards, and in some
parts of Wales, it is nowhere so often met with as in the New Forest,
Hants.

Distribution, Central Europe extending to parts of Northern Europe, and
southwards to North Italy and Greece, and eastwards to Ussuri and Japan.

LACKEYS AND EGGARS (_Lasiocampidae_).

Staudinger in his catalogue of Palaearctic Lepidoptera refers twenty genera
comprising sixty-three species to this family. Of these, eleven species
belonging to ten genera occur in the British Isles. According to some
authorities a twelfth species, _Dendrolimus pini_, Linn., should be
included. This is the _Eutricha pini_ of Stephens (1828) and the "Wild Pine
tree Lappet moth" and "Pine tree Lappet" of the more ancient authors. The
claim of this species to a place in the British list rests chiefly on a
specimen captured in the Norwich Hospital, in July, 1809, by Mr. Sparshall.
Wilkes (1773) states that he once found a caterpillar near Richmond Park,
but the moth was not reared. For generations the species now classified as
Lasiocampidae have been referred to Bombycidae, but the silkworm (_Bombyx
mori_) is typical of that family, which has but few genera in it, and none
of them occur in Europe. Although some of the moths are of considerable
size, most of them are not large. The general colour is some shade of
brown. Both sexes have the antennae bipectinated, but more strongly in the
male than the female.

In his treatment of the species here included under Lasiocampidae, Tutt.
("A Natural History of the British Lepidoptera," vols. i., ii.) separates
them into two families, Lachneidae and Eutrichidae. The first family is
divided into five sub-families and the same number of tribes. The latter
family has three sub-families and three tribes. The whole are embraced in a
super-family styled Lachneides. Lasiocampidae disappears as a family name,
but the genus _Lasiocampa_ is retained for _quercus_, L., whilst
_trifolii_, Schiff., is referred to the genus _Pachygastria_, Hb., and
these with _Aurivillia_, Tutt, not represented in Britain, constitute the
Pachygastriidi tribe of the Pachygastriinae, a sub-family of Lachneidae.
All this will no doubt appear very complicated to the beginner, but he need
not worry himself very greatly about the matter at present. When he feels
that he has a fair knowledge of the species in the group he will be in a
position to grapple with the niceties of classification.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 46.
     1. GIPSY MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3, 4. BLACK ARCHES, _males_; 5, 6 _females_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 47.
  BLACK ARCHES MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalids._

{107} THE LACKEY (_Malacosoma neustria_).

The colour of the male ranges from pale yellow ochre, through pale brown to
reddish or dark brown; and in the female from pale brown to reddish brown;
two cross lines are generally present on the fore wings; the space between
the lines is usually darker in the female, and sometimes in the male also,
forming a dark central band. All these colour forms were reared from some
caterpillars taken by myself at Byfleet, Surrey, in 1901. Another year a
few caterpillars taken at Esher produced ochreous coloured males and pale
brown females only; the bands of the latter were narrower than usual and
much contracted below the middle. As the females last mentioned are
somewhat under the normal size I am inclined to think that the caterpillars
from which they were reared had been on short commons during their last
stage. Two males and a female are shown on Plate 48.

The greyish brown eggs are laid during July and August in a ring cluster
around a twig as shown on Plate 49, and so they remain exposed to all
weathers during the winter. In April the caterpillars hatch out, and as
they live in company throughout the greater part of their larval existence,
the first business is to {108} construct a silken tent-like web (Fig. 22).
The exterior of the tent affords a suitable surface upon which they can lie
when they take a sun bath, which they seem fond of doing whenever the
opportunity offers. It is also used, as well as the interior, for the
process of skin-changing.

[Illustration: FIG. 22. WEB OF LACKEY CATERPILLARS. (Photo by W. J.
Lucas.)]

The full-grown caterpillar is slaty blue above; along the middle of the
back is a bluish white line, bordered on each side by a
reddish-orange-lined black stripe; towards the lower limit of the slaty
blue colour is a black edged reddish-orange line, and below this again the
ground colour is flecked with orange, sometimes forming a line in the
region of the spiracles; there are two velvety black spots on the back of
the ring nearest the head, and a smaller black spot on each side of the
next two rings; the hairs are brownish, rather more numerous on the sides
than on the back. Head slaty-blue with two black eye-like spots. It feeds
from April to June on hawthorn, sloe, and various fruit trees in orchards
and gardens; also on birch, elm, oak, sallow, willow, etc.

Chrysalis blackish, rather downy enclosed in a double {109} oval-shaped
cocoon; the inner compartment is of rather closer woven silk, and is
thickly covered with a yellowish substance, which is ejected by the
caterpillar as a fluid, and afterwards drying forms a sulphur-like powder
on the cocoon, and in a lesser degree on the chrysalis also. The moth is on
the wing in July and August, but it is rarely seen in the daytime, and not
often at night, except when attracted by light into the house, or to the
gas or electric lamps. It is exceedingly easy to rear, either from eggs or
from collected caterpillars; the latter are often abundant.

Generally distributed throughout England, but becoming scarcer from the
Midlands to Lancashire and Yorkshire, and not often occurring further north
than the last named county. In Ireland it is unknown in the north, but
occurs in many parts of the south and south-west.

THE GROUND LACKEY (_Malacosoma castrensis_).

This also is a variable species. Most frequently the fore wings of the male
are pale buff, cross lined, and more or less clouded with brown; hind wings
brown. The female has all the wings reddish brown, the front pair being
crossed by two pale buff lines. The fringes are pale buff, chequered with
brown in both sexes. Colour and marking are, however, subject to
considerable variation. Sometimes all the wings are pale buff (male), or
reddish brown (both sexes), and the fore wings without marking. The cross
lines on fore wings of the female may be either very slender or very broad;
occasionally almost the whole of the basal area up to, and including, the
first cross line is buff. Two examples of each sex are shown on Plate 48.

The eggs are laid in a similar manner to those of the last species, around
stems of wild carrot, sea wormwood, and other {110} plants that flourish in
the insects' favourite haunts, which, in this country, are the salt marshes
along the estuaries of the Thames and Medway.

The caterpillar is black, inclining to bluish between the rings; along the
back are four much broken reddish orange lines and a central bluish line; a
bluish stripe followed by a reddish one along the sides, and below this the
colour is bluish, speckled with black; the hairs are golden brown. Head
blackish grey, without black spots (Plate 49, Fig. 3).

The chrysalis and its cocoon are similar to those of the Lackey, and spun
up among herbage.

The moth emerges in July and August and, although it may be occasionally
attracted by light, is rarely seen in the open. The caterpillars are to be
found, most years, in plenty from May to July. They feed on almost every
kind of plant growing on the salterns, and as they are fond of sunning
themselves on sea wormwood, sea plantain, etc., are easily seen at such
times. In dull weather they retire to their webs, which are generally
rather low down in the herbage. In confinement they will do very well if
supplied with fresh sprays or leaves of almost any fruit tree, or of birch,
whitethorn, etc. The receptacle containing them should be constructed and
placed so that the caterpillars get plenty of air and sunshine. It is
considered desirable to sprinkle both food and caterpillars with water now
and then; some rearers deem it necessary to put a tiny pinch of salt in the
water used for sprinkling; and in my own experience I have found that
better results were obtained when the food was thus treated than when the
salt was omitted.

On the continent this species occurs in woods, and on heaths, etc., but in
Britain it is seemingly confined to salt marshes. Although it has been
recorded from the Suffolk coast, and other places, the best localities for
it are probably the salterns, from Gravesend to the Isle of Sheppey, and at
Southend and Shoeburyness.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 48.
     1, 2, 3. LACKEY MOTH.
  4, 5, 6, 7. GROUND LACKEY.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 49.
  1, 1a, 1b, 1c. LACKEY: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
          2, 2a. HYBRID BETWEEN LACKEY AND GROUND LACKEY: _eggs and
              caterpillar_.
              3. GROUND LACKEY: _caterpillar_.

{111}

_Malacosoma_ hybr. _schaufussi_, Standf.--In 1884 Dr. Standfuss made some
experiments in crossing three species of _Malacosoma_, and one of these was
the pairing of _M. neustria_ [male] with _M. castrensis_ [female]; the
offspring he christened as above. Since that time others have succeeded in
crossing the two species with varying results.

On August 13, 1906, Mr. Percy Richards sent me a small batch of eggs (Plate
49, Fig. 2a) laid by a female, _M. castrensis_, that emerged in a breeding
cage, and had paired with a captured male, _M. neustria_, he introduced.
The larvae hatched out one or two at a time, from April 7 over a period of
more than a fortnight. Few of the caterpillars would commence to feed, and
of those that took to the plum and sallow with which they were supplied,
only four reached maturity. Three of these pupated during late June and
early July, and three moths, all females, have emerged up to date, one on
July 28, another on August 6, and a third on August 13. The second specimen
was very much crippled, probably owing to the cocoon having been
accidentally injured. One caterpillar was still feeding on August 14, but
died about the 26th.

The mature larva (Plate 49, Fig. 2) has the head and markings thereon like
_neustria_, also the black spots on the first thoracic segment, but they
are rather large and inclined to unite. The bluish line along the sides is
dotted and freckled with black rather more thickly than in _castrensis_;
the dorsal line is very thin, but bluish as in _castrensis_, and the red
lines on each side of it are broad.

In colour the three moths are deeper brown than any form of either parent
species that I have seen, but the transverse lines, and especially the
outer, are most like those of _neustria_.

It should be mentioned that much information on Hybridism in the Lackey
moths and other species will be found in Tutt's "British Lepidoptera," vol.
ii. {112}

THE PALE OAK EGGAR (_Trichiura crataegi_).

In its typical form the male of this species (Plate 50, Figs. 1, 2) is ashy
grey, with a darker central band on the fore wings; and the female is dusky
greyish-brown, also with a darker band. The colour of the male varies in
shade from almost whitish (var. _pallida_, Tutt), to blackish grey; in the
paler forms the central band of the fore wings is often of a purplish tint,
and in the darkest forms the band is almost black. The female var.
_pallida_, is pale buff.

The eggs, which are brownish, inclining to reddish on the micropylar area,
are covered with dark grey hairs from the body of the female and laid side
by side in a chain-like arrangement on a twig of hawthorn or sloe (those
figured on Plate 51 were deposited in a box, and not securely attached).
From eight to twelve is said to be the usual number in a batch, and each
female will deposit an average of 160 eggs.

The caterpillars do not hatch out all at the same time, but by ones and
twos, at intervals spreading over a period of two, or perhaps three, weeks.
Several forms of the caterpillar have been described, but the ground colour
is generally more or less black above and greyish on the sides; the
ornamentation comprises interrupted white or whitish stripes, streaked or
clouded with reddish, and reddish warts; the hairs are reddish brown. The
example figured on Plate 51 was from eggs laid by a female moth in Selkirk,
South Scotland. From the age of three weeks until it became full grown it
was black marked with yellow on the back and orange on the sides; hairs
pale greyish mixed with black ones, especially on the back towards the
black, glossy, and somewhat hairy head. It hatched on April 26, was reared
on plum, pupated early in June, and the moth, a darkish grey female,
emerged on July 31. Another caterpillar that hatched on May 1, and two
others from still later hatchings, were then in chrysalis.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 50.
  1. PALE OAK EGGAR, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. DECEMBER MOTH, _female_; 4 _male_.
  5. SMALL EGGAR, _male_; 6 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 51.
  PALE OAK EGGAR.
  _Eggs enlarged, and caterpillar._

{113} The caterpillar may be found from April to June on hawthorn and sloe,
and it is said also on birch, oak, sallow, apple, bramble, etc. Those that
I have found resting by day on shoots of hawthorn, apparently enjoying the
sunshine, have almost invariably been "ichneumoned"; but others that came
up after sunset to feed on the shoots were generally healthy. Usually the
caterpillar feeds up and pupates the same year, but on the moors in
Aberdeenshire and some other parts of Scotland it is said to hibernate and
to complete its life cycle the following summer and autumn. Furthermore,
the moths from these winter larvae are much darker than normal, and have
been doubtfully referred to var. _ariae_, Hubn., a form found in the Alps,
Scandinavia, and Finland.

The moth is out in August and September, and occurs in wooded districts
throughout the southern half of England, but northwards from the Midlands
it is uncommon; it is found in several parts of Scotland to Inverness. In
Ireland it is reported (Birchall) to have occurred in Killarney, and Kane
mentions that "a blackish form was taken at Magilligan, near Derry, by W.
Salvage. Its larvae were feeding on blackthorn." The range abroad extends
through Europe to Armenia and Asia Minor.

THE DECEMBER MOTH (_Poecilocampa populi_).

This is a rather thinly scaled moth; the general coloration is sooty brown;
the wings are suffused more or less with greyish; there are two pale
ochreous cross lines on the fore wings, the first enclosing a reddish brown
basal patch; hind wings rather paler with a diffuse whitish central band;
fringes brown chequered with pale ochreous. Head brown, collar brownish,
tipped with pale ochreous in the male. The female is rather larger than the
male. The moth is figured on Plate 50, and the eggs and caterpillar on
Plate 53.

The eggs, which are laid on the bark of trees, are whitish grey, variegated
or mottled with darker grey. {114}

The caterpillar hatches out in April, and when nearly full grown is
ochreous, but so thickly dotted and freckled with black as to appear of a
dark brown coloration; the back is clothed with dark short hairs, and the
sides with long paler hairs; on the back of the first ring is a reddish
brown mark divided by a white line; a double row of whitish dots along the
back, most distinct on rings two and three, where they are placed on a
velvety black bar; on each side of the white dots is a reddish brown
interrupted line. Head ochreous brown, thickly dotted with black and
clothed with pale hairs. Underparts ochreous, spotted and lined with
blackish. Feeds on the foliage of most trees, and is said to eat lettuce.
April to June.

Chrysalis glossy red brown, in a cocoon spun up among dead leaves, etc.,
under loose bark, or on the ground.

The moth does not emerge until October, and in that month, but more
frequently in November and December, the males may be seen around gas lamps
quite late at night.

Although found chiefly in woods it is not essentially a woodland species,
as it occurs in districts where there are no woods but plenty of trees
growing in parks, fields, or even hedgerows. It is fairly common generally
throughout England and Wales, but becoming rather more local northwards to
Cumberland. It occurs through Scotland to Sutherland, but is nowhere
common. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and not uncommon near Dublin,
and at Favour Royal, Tyrone. Abroad it ranges through Northern and Central
Europe.

THE SMALL EGGAR (_Eriogaster lanestris_).

Also a brownish insect with somewhat thinly-scaled wings. The fore wings
are light reddish brown with a whitish patch at the base, a white spot
about the centre, and a whitish transverse line beyond; the hind wings are
smoky brown and have a pale central band. The female, which is larger than
the male, has a conspicuous greyish anal tuft, the hairs from which she
uses to cover over her pale oily green eggs when they are deposited in
clusters on twigs of hawthorn or sloe in February or March. Plate 50, Figs.
5, 6; Plate 53, Figs. 2, 2a.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 52.
  OAK EGGAR MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 53.
  1, 1a. DECEMBER MOTH: _eggs and caterpillar_.
  2, 2a. SMALL EGGAR: _eggs and caterpillar_.

{115} The caterpillar is black or greyish black, with reddish brown hairs,
and a series of black-edged yellowish brown, or reddish brown blotches on
each side of the back; these blotches are outlined in pale yellowish and
occasionally connected by a line of the same colour. From the time they are
hatched until nearly mature the caterpillars live in companies on a closely
woven web of silk on a branch of hawthorn or sloe, only leaving their
habitation to feed. These webs may often be seen on hedgerows from May to
July. The brown chrysalis is enclosed in a solid-looking oval cocoon of a
pale ochreous or whitish colour. Not all the moths emerge the following
year: some will remain in the chrysalis over two or three winters, and
occasionally they have been known to emerge seven years after pupation. The
moth is said to be fully formed within the chrysalis all the time, but for
some reason will not emerge, although if extracted from its shell, the moth
has been known to expand its wings in the ordinary way. Barrett states that
in the middle of February, after a moth had emerged, he "put a large number
of cocoons upon a warm mantelpiece and obtained scores of moths within a
few hours."

Generally distributed over the southern half of England; plentiful in some
years in the Southern and Eastern Counties. Northwards and in Scotland it
is local and less frequent. Kane states that in Ireland it is very locally
abundant. The range abroad is through Central and Northern Europe to
Southern Lapland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland.

THE OAK EGGAR (_Lasiocampa quercus_).

The three moths, one male and two females, shown on Plate 52, were reared
from caterpillars obtained in Kent, and they {116} represent the more or
less ordinary South English forms of the species. Sometimes the ground
colour of the male is more distinctly reddish, or rust tinted, and the
yellowish bands narrower on all the wings. Or the bands may be much broader
than in the male figured, and the widening is effected by extension in the
form of rays towards the outer margins of the wings. A form that has been
referred to, in error, as var. _roboris_, Shrank (= _marginata_, Tutt), has
the outer margins of all the wings broadly yellow. I have not seen an
English example of this form, but I have a reddish specimen in which the
yellow band on the fore wings is broader than usual, and the whole of the
outer third of the hind wings yellow, with a slight brownish shade on the
external margin; this is _semimarginata_, Tutt, and is also identical with
var. _roboris_ of other British authors. The white spot usually present on
the fore wings varies somewhat in size and shape; it is often seen on the
under as well as the upper surface of the wings, except in the lighter
coloured forms.

Var. _callunae_ (The Northern Eggar), is shown on Plate 54. The chief
features of this form are the generally darker coloration in both sexes,
the yellow patch at the base of the fore wings of the male, and the outward
turn of the lower ends of the yellow bands. All these characters are
subject to modification; the yellow bands may be very narrow at one
extreme, or greatly widened at the other, and the hind wings may
occasionally be bandless; the basal patch is often of large size, but in
some examples it is entirely absent. Sometimes the bands are greenish in
colour (var. _olivaceo-fasciata_, Cockerell), and more rarely, perhaps, the
greenish tinge extends over the whole of the wings (ab. _olivacea_, Tutt).
It should be noted here that the var. _olivaceo-fasciata_ has occurred once
or twice in South England, but this phase of aberration seems to be more
connected with _callunae_ than with _quercus_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 54.
  NORTHERN EGGAR.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 55.
  OAK EGGAR.
  _Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and cocoon._

{117} _Callunae_ was not recognized as British until the year 1847, when it
was introduced as a species distinct from _quercus_. The late Richard
Weaver, who gave it the English name of the "Scotch Eggar," took specimens
of the moth at Rannoch in 1845, and he found caterpillars in that year, as
well as in 1844 and 1846. It is now well known to occur not only in
Scotland, including the Hebrides and Orkneys, but also on the moors of
Northern England, and in Ireland and Wales. In North Devonshire it is found
not uncommonly in the Exmoor district, and it has been recorded from
various parts of the New Forest in Hants.

The egg of _callunae_ is figured on Plate 55. It appears rather polished,
and in colour is pale brown mottled with darker brown. The eggs are stated
to be deposited whilst the female is on the wing, and consequently they
fall to the ground or are arrested in their descent by the herbage over
which they are scattered.

The full-grown caterpillar of _quercus_, beneath the brownish fur with
which the body is clothed, is dark brown on the back and rather violet
brown on the sides; the ring divisions are velvety black; there is a white
stripe along each side and below the stripe some reddish marks; the ring
nearest the head is edged with reddish, and the next two rings each have
two reddish centred white spots. The dull purplish brown chrysalis is
enclosed in a hard oval-shaped cocoon which is spun up on or near the
ground in a flimsy web among herbage, dead leaves, etc. Sometimes it is
placed among the twigs of the food plant.

In Southern England the caterpillars hatch from the egg in August and
usually hibernate when quite small. They feed up during the following
spring and early summer, perhaps in June or July, and the moth appears in
July or August. Occasionally, however, a few individuals depart from the
general habit and complete their growth the same year, hibernate in the
pupal stage, and produce moths the next year, possibly earlier than
hibernating caterpillars. On the other hand, perhaps owing to adverse
weather conditions, feeding after hibernation may be continued well on into
the autumn, when the caterpillars pupate, {118} but emergence of the moth
is postponed until the following year, the second after hatching from the
egg.

In the case of _callunae_, at least as regards its normal habit in Scotland
and southwards to the moorland districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, the
young caterpillar hibernates the first winter, feeds through the following
summer, and passes the second winter as a chrysalis, the moth emerging in
the following May or June.

Generally speaking, then, it may be stated that _quercus_ has a
twelve-month life cycle, whilst that of _callunae_ extends almost or quite
to twenty-four months, of which at least twelve months are passed as a
caterpillar. However, as has been noted, _quercus_ sometimes passes one
winter as a caterpillar, and another as a chrysalis, thus assuming the
_callunae_ habit; whilst _callunae_ occasionally attains the perfect state
during the summer following that in which the caterpillar left the egg.

The food plants comprise bramble, dogwood, hawthorn, heather (_Calluna_),
and various low plants; it is even content with ivy.

Newman, in the _Entomologist_ for 1845, gives a life history of the
Northern Eggar (_callunae_), and from this the following details are
extracted. The male flies rapidly over the heather by day at the latter end
of May or beginning of June; its flight is jerking or zigzag, and its
object is evidently to find the female, who rarely moves until impregnation
has taken place. Subsequently the female flies over the heather, dropping
her eggs at random as she flies, and the eggs, having no glutinous
covering, do not adhere to any object which they may accidentally touch in
falling. On emergence from the egg the young caterpillar is dark
ash-coloured, the divisions between the rings of the body being indicated
by two minute orange streaks, each of which is accompanied by a small black
spot. After the first moult the ground colour becomes more smoky, the
divisions velvety black, and on each ring a triangular orange spot appears;
these markings become more conspicuous later on, and by the end of October,
when it hibernates, they are very distinct. It rests in a straight
position, and, if disturbed, falls off its food plant, and rolls in a ring
with its head slightly on one side.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 56.
  GRASS EGGAR MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 57.
  GRASS EGGAR.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar._

{119} The habits of the Oak Eggar moths (_quercus_) are pretty much the
same as those of the Northern form, except that the moths fly in July and
August, and frequent hedgerows, the borders of woods, heathy commons, and
cliffs and sand dunes at the seaside.

A bred female of either form will attract numerous males, and even the
receptacle in which a newly emerged female has been placed is almost as
effective as the lady herself. When staying at a cottage on the edge of a
moor near Lynton, North Devon, some years ago, I had some pupae of the Oak
Eggar. One day, late in July, quite a number of males entered the cottage
and made their way to the cage in which the pupae were, and I had no
difficulty in boxing several of them. The next day I put the female moth,
which had emerged the previous day, into a roomy chip box, and carried it
in a satchel to the moor, where it was placed on the ground, the males
began to arrive soon afterwards and some fine examples were secured.
Although the female was taken on the moor only on the one occasion, that
satchel continued to be an object of interest to the male Eggars for
several days afterwards.

Generally distributed, and often common in some localities, throughout the
British Isles. Abroad, its range extends over Europe into Asia Minor,
Armenia, and Siberia.

THE GRASS EGGAR (_Lasiocampa trifolii_).

This moth is usually brown in colour. The fore wings are inclined to dark
reddish brown, and have a pale ochreous brown curved band or ring at the
base, a slightly curved line or band of the same colour beyond the middle
of the wing; central spot {120} white, finely margined in black. Except
that the female is generally larger, and the cross lines usually less
distinct, the sexes are much alike. This brown form occurs most frequently
in Britain, but in parts of the Kentish and Sussex coast, and especially
the Romney Marsh district, a yellowish form is obtained. In such specimens
the cross lines are darker. In both forms one or both cross markings may be
faint or quite absent, and even the white central dot, which varies in size
and shape, may be missing. Sometimes the outer band is distinctly broad and
outwardly diffuse (Plate 56).

The eggs, which appear to be laid loosely, are pale whitish brown,
roughened with darker brown, and the micropylar area is purplish brown.
Some that I received on March 2, 1907, appeared to be on the point of
hatching on the 5th of that month, but no larva came out, although one of
the eggs was chipped at one end. It has been frequently stated that the
caterpillars hatch out in the autumn and hibernate, but as has been pointed
out by Tutt ("Nat. Hist. Brit. Lep.," ii. 20), the eggs of this species
probably do not hatch until some time during February or March, although
when kept indoors the caterpillar has emerged from the egg in January.

The full-grown caterpillar is black, velvety between the rings, covered
with golden brown hair on the back and greyer hair on the sides, among
which are some black ones; three interrupted whitish lines on the back;
some of the hairs along the middle of the back stand erect and form a
ridge, looked at from either end. Head lightish brown in colour, lined with
black. Feeds in the spring months and up to June chiefly on various kinds
of grass. Among many of the plants that it has been known to eat are
trefoils, bird's-foot (_Ornithopus_), sea thrift (_Statice_), heather,
sallow, hawthorn, sloe, plum, bramble, etc. With regard to the food, it is
interesting to note that although one rearer will find that sallow is
excellent for the caterpillars, another considers that sallow or hawthorn
are but poor {121} substitutes for kidney-vetch (_Anthyllis vulneraria_)
upon which the caterpillars were feeding when found (Plate 57).

The brownish chrysalis is enclosed in a hard but somewhat brittle, brown,
oval cocoon, and when spun upon the surface of the ground, protected by an
outside covering of loose silk webbing. In August and early September the
moths appear. Emergence from the chrysalis usually takes place soon after
midday; the males are early on the wing, and when reared in captivity they
should be secured as soon as the wings are dry, or they may spoil
themselves in their efforts to escape. Reared females are apt to be
deformed, but for "assembling" they may probably be as useful as more
perfect examples if the rearer happens to be able to exhibit the attraction
in a locality for the species. Both sexes have been taken at electric
light.

The best known localities for the species in England are, besides those
already mentioned, the sand hills on the Cheshire and Lancashire coast. It
is, or has been, found also on the coast of Cumberland; Lyndhurst and
Ringwood, in Hampshire; Isle of Purbeck, Poole, Swanage, and Bloxworth, in
Dorsetshire; Devonport, Bolt Head, and Salcombe, in Devonshire; and
Penzance and the Scilly Isles. Its range extends through Central and
Southern Europe to Asia Minor and North Africa.

THE FOX MOTH (_Macrothylacia rubi_).

The male is reddish brown, and the female generally greyish brown, but
sometimes is of a reddish grey coloration; the fore wings in both sexes are
crossed by two pale ochreous lines on the central area (Plate 59).

The ground colour in the male ranges in tone from foxy red to dullish red
brown or to greyish red brown. The cross lines in either sex may be widely
apart, near together, or even united throughout their length, forming a
band (var. _fasciata_, Tutt); sometimes one of the lines (var. _unilinea_,
Tutt), or both lines, are absent from the fore wings, or from one of them.
{122}

The brown clouded greyish eggs are laid in batches, during June, on stems
and stalks of plants, or on heather; sometimes they have been found on a
fence, a rock, or a stone. The caterpillars hatch out at the end of June
and through July. At first they are black, including the glossy head, and
covered with long hairs which are black with some white ones amongst them;
the ring divisions are pale yellow; later on they are more chocolate brown
with yellow bands which, however, do not encircle the body entirely.

When full grown, in the autumn, the caterpillar is velvety black, and above
this colour is most in evidence between the rings; the back is clothed with
dense, short, bright reddish brown or tawny hair, and the whole body is
covered with brownish hairs, varying in length, but always much longer than
the tawny ones; along each side are some whitish hairs. Head blackish
covered with brownish hairs. It feeds in August and onwards to October,
when it seeks winter quarters, reappearing in the following spring, but not
feeding again. After enjoying the sunshine whenever the opportunity offers
through the early months of the year, it finally pupates in March or April.
The cocoon is a long, more or less tubular, brownish construction of silk
and larval hairs. It is spun up, usually somewhat upright, low down among
the food plant, or at the roots of grass, etc.; sometimes among moss, when
the rounded head end can just be seen above the moss (Plate 58).

In certain localities and seasons the caterpillars have been seen in
enormous numbers, but such profusion only happens now and then. In some
districts they may be abundant one year, and then scarce or quite absent
for several years.

When handling the larvae it will often be noted that the tips of one's
fingers are thickly felted with the tawny hairs from the creature's back;
if these hairs get transferred to the face or neck considerable irritation
may be the result.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 58.
  FOX MOTH: _caterpillars_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 59.
  1, 2. FOX MOTH, _males_; 3 _female_.

{123} The late Mr. Robson used to collect the caterpillars on fine days in
early spring, put each caterpillar into a separate paper box about two
inches square, and keep them on a shelf over the kitchen fire, where they
would duly pupate. Various methods for keeping these caterpillars through
the winter have been described, and all appear to have been fairly
successful. The most simple would seem to be the following: Bore a number
of holes in the bottom of a roomy box, and fasten wire gauze on a close
fitting frame to serve as a top. Cut a tuft or two of heather to cover the
floor space of the box. Caterpillars collected in the autumn may be put
into this receptacle and supplied with food, such as bramble or sallow, as
long as they seem inclined to feed. Do not crowd too many into the box, and
let it stand out in the garden, preferably on the soil.

The moths emerge in May or June. The males are very active on the wing in
the afternoon sunshine, and later on, and may often be seen in numbers
dashing hither and thither in an apparently erratic flight over heaths and
open spaces, in search of the females. The latter do not fly till night,
and occasionally they are attracted to a bright light.

Except that it has not been noted in the Shetlands, the species occurs
throughout the British Isles. Abroad its range extends over Europe, and it
is found in Amurland.

THE DRINKER (_Cosmotriche potatoria_).

The male is reddish brown, more or less clouded on the forewings with
ochreous; and the female is yellow, or whitish ochreous. Sometimes this
colour distinction of the sexes is reversed, and the males are pale whilst
the females are dark. In the fens of Cambridgeshire notably, pale or
yellowish males are not altogether uncommon. Such specimens would seem to
accord better with the Linnean type than the more usual form indicated
above. Barrett mentions, among other aberrations, male specimens from South
Wales with the whole of the fore and hind wings deep rich glossy purplish
chocolate. {124}

There is variation in the two whitish or silvery marks on the fore wings,
the upper one is often very small, sometimes quite absent, and the lower
one reduced to a crescent. The chocolate brown cross lines, of which there
are usually two on the fore wings, are sometimes faint or entirely missing.
Tutt has recently named nine forms, chiefly colour aberrations, and two
others were previously named. (The moth is figured on Plate 61, and the
early stages on Plate 60.)

The eggs, which are white with bluish grey markings, are laid in clusters
on grass stems, etc.

The caterpillar is slaty grey inclining to blackish; the lines on the back
are formed of yellowish dots and dashes; two rows of tufts of short black
hairs on the back, with longer brown hairs between; low down on the sides
are shaggy tufts of white and yellowish hairs and longer brown hairs; an
erect pointed tuft of brown hair on second ring, and a similar one on ring
eleven but the latter inclines backward. Head greyish, striped and lined
with brown and yellowish brown, and clothed with brown hair. It feeds on
coarse grasses, including the ribbon grass grown in gardens, in August to
September or October.

In the latter month it goes into hibernation, being then but little over an
inch in length. About April it resumes feeding and becomes full grown in
June or thereabouts. The long yellowish or whitish brown cocoon in which it
changes to a brown chrysalis is more or less pointed at the lower end, and
generally attached to a culm of grass or a reed. A showery season seems to
suit these caterpillars better than a hot, dry one. The partiality of the
caterpillar for a drop of dew, mountain or otherwise, has frequently been
noted. The old English name of The Drinker Caterpillar (1682) is therefore
not only an appropriate one but shows that this larval habit was observed
even at that early date. The specific name _potatoria_ given to the moth by
Linne is of similar significance.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 60.
  DRINKER MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and cocoon._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 61.
  DRINKER MOTH.

{125} The moth emerges in July. It seems most addicted to damp grassy
lanes, ditch-sides, fens, marshes, moorlands, and sandhills; and is not
really uncommon in very many suitable districts throughout the United
Kingdom. Abroad, it is common over the greater part of Europe and its range
extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE SMALL LAPPET (_Epicnaptera ilicifolia_).

This exceedingly local and rare British moth has the fore wings pale
reddish-brown, suffused on the outer marginal area with grey; about the
centre of the wings there is a short black line preceded by a whitish mark;
beyond is a blackish, indistinct, wavy line; the greyish outer area is
limited by a brown line, and this is inwardly edged with whitish: hind
wings purplish brown with the central area whitish and crossed by a
blackish line. Fringes whitish, marked with brown at the ends of the veins
(Plate 63).

Kirby states that the caterpillar is rust coloured, with a black stripe on
the back, on which stand white dots; and with reddish-yellow transverse
spots on the second and third rings. Another form is grey, and the back
white, with a broad black central stripe interrupted by rust-coloured spots
dotted with black.

The following brief description is taken from an inflated skin of an
immature caterpillar received from Dresden: brownish inclining to reddish,
paler between the rings; clothed with short greyish hair, and longer hairs
from and above the fleshy tubercles low down along the sides; there is a
hair-clothed eminence on ring eleven. The only conspicuous markings are on
rings two and three; each of these has two orange spots separated and
narrowly edged externally with velvety black; there are two small black
spots on the back of each of the other rings, and indications of reddish
circles around some of these. Head blackish, covered with greyish hairs
(Plate 62). {126}

In this country the caterpillar feeds on bilberry (_Vaccinium myrtillus_),
but on the Continent it is said to eat the foliage of sallows and willows,
also of birch.

The cocoon is spun up among the leaves of the food plant. That figured on
Plate 62, of foreign origin, was on a shoot of bilberry; a moth emerged
from it on April 5, 1907. The first detailed account of this species in
Britain is that in the _Zoologist_ for 1852, in which Mr. Atkinson records
that he took a specimen in May, 1851, at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. A
year earlier two larvae were found by Mr. Green on a moor near Sheffield,
and one of these attained the moth state in April, 1851. After this moths
and caterpillars seem to have been taken in varying numbers down to 1896,
when a specimen was captured by Dr. R. Freer of Rugby. Tutt, quoting from a
letter received from Dr. Freer, states that two moths were reared from
three caterpillars found at Cannock in 1898. The only other known British
locality is in the neighbourhood of Lynton, North Devon, where a
caterpillar, which, from the description, must have been this species, was
found in 1864. It was taken on August 3 in a wood abounding with bilberry.

The species ranges over Central Europe, but seems to be generally rare; it
also occurs in Amurland and Japan.

THE LAPPET (_Gastropacha quercifolia_).

Warm reddish brown is the prevailing colour of this fine moth. The wings
are more or less suffused with purplish grey, and crossed by blackish
lines--three on the fore wings and two on the hind wings. Except in the
reddish tinge, which may be bright or dull approaching chocolate, this
species is pretty constant in its coloration. Barrett mentions a specimen
of a light brown colour, and another of a pale buff. The first of these
forms seems to approach the var. _meridionalis_, Staudinger (Tutt), and the
other to var. _ulmifolia_, Heuacker, which are well known on the Continent.
In certain favourable seasons a second generation of the moth has been
obtained, chiefly perhaps, in confinement, and on the Continent; although
in Britain a caterpillar or two will sometimes feed up and attain the
perfect state the same year they hatch from the egg. These examples, which
are much smaller, but do not otherwise differ from normal specimens, are
referable to var. _hoegei_, Heuacker.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 62.
  1, 1a. LAPPET MOTH: _eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar_.
  2, 2a. SMALL LAPPET: _caterpillar and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 63.
  1. SMALL LAPPET MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. LAPPET MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.

{127} The moth is figured on Plate 63, and the eggs and caterpillar on
Plate 62.

The eggs, which are whitish in colour with greyish markings, are laid, in
July or early August, in twos, threes, or more, on twigs or the undersides
of leaves of sloe, apple, sallow, hawthorn, etc. A single female moth has
been known to lay over a thousand eggs, but this is perhaps exceptional,
and somewhere about half that number is possibly near the average. Even the
latter would take the moth some time to distribute here and there in small
batches.

The caterpillars hatch out in about a fortnight, feed for a few weeks, and
in the autumn, when about three-quarters to one inch in length, take up
their winter quarters low down on the stems of the food plant, but, in
confinement, often on a withered leaf.

Caterpillar dark grey, so thickly sprinkled with minute black dots as to
appear almost black; the whole body is clothed with fine and rather short
blackish hair; low down on the side there is a fringe of brownish hair, and
this covers the fleshy lappets (the older writers named this larva the
"Caterpillar with the Lappets"); two white marks edged in front with black
on the third ring, and a hairy prominence on the eleventh, are the most
conspicuous features of this caterpillar. When the front rings are
extended, the divisions between them are seen to be deep blue. Head grey,
with darker stripe and paler lines. Occasionally several white marks appear
on the back, and this is stated by Professor Poulton to occur more
especially in the caterpillars when the twigs and stems of the food plant
upon {128} which they have grown up are covered with grey lichen. Sometimes
the caterpillar has been reported as destructive in orchards; two or three
large ones feeding on a small apple tree would certainly afford evidence of
their presence in the shape of denuded twigs, but it is doubtful if they
ever occur in sufficient numbers to cause any very serious damage to fruit
trees.

The chrysalis is dark brown, inclining to blackish, and covered with a
whitish powder, which does not shake off. It is enclosed in a long,
grey-brown, tight-fitting cocoon of silk and hairs of the caterpillar,
which is generally spun up among the lower twigs, or to the stem of the
food plant.

The moth emerges in June or July, and is on the wing at night, when it may
be sometimes netted as it flies along or over hedgerows. When caught in
this way it dashes about so wildly in the net that it is rarely of much
value for the collection. The same may be said of examples taken by light,
which at times attracts the moths freely. When resting in the daytime, it
very closely resembles a withered bramble-leaf or bunch of leaves. The fore
wings are folded down, roof-like, over the hind wings, which are flattened
out and their edges project beyond the margins of the fore wings. It is,
however, very rarely seen in the open at such times.

The species does not seem to have been recorded from Ireland or from
Scotland, but it has a wide distribution in England, although much less
frequently met with in the north than in the south. In the Cambridge fens
it is perhaps more plentiful than elsewhere, but it is not uncommon in some
parts of Berkshire, Huntingdonshire, and Kent. The range abroad extends
through Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe, to Armenia, Tartary,
Siberia, and Amurland; it is also represented in China, Corea, and Japan.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 64.
  KENTISH GLORY MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 65.
  KENTISH GLORY.
  1 _male_; 2 _female_.

{129}

ENDROMIDIDAE.

THE KENTISH GLORY (_Endromis versicolor_).

This species has the fore wings of the male brownish clouded and suffused
with ochreous; there is a white patch at the base, and some white marks
including three spots towards the apex, on the outer marginal area; two
black cross lines, the first inwardly and the second outwardly, edged with
white; the space between the lines is sometimes clouded with whitish, and
there is an almost central black [sideways vee]-shaped mark. Hind wings
tawny with a black central line, some brownish marks beyond, and sometimes
two white spots at the upper angle. The female is much larger in size,
without ochreous suffusion on the fore wings, and the hind wings have the
ground colour whitish. It varies in the tone of the brown colour, and, in
the male, in the amount of ochreous suffusion (Plate 65).

The eggs are laid in rows, generally two deep, on a birch twig. At first
they are greenish, but soon change to brownish olive or shining purplish
brown.

When young the caterpillars cluster together on the twigs, as shown on
Plate 64. They are at first black with glossy dots, and later, greenish,
but still dotted with black. After the third skin change, they are without
the black dots, and the colour is then pretty much that of the mature
caterpillar, which is green, rather whitish on the back, and with a dark
green central line; a series of seven creamy oblique stripes along the
sides, and on the sides of the first three rings there is a whitish stripe
broken at the divisions; these markings are often edged with dark green; on
the eleventh ring there is a somewhat horn-like prominence, striped with
creamy white, and below it a yellow stripe; the spiracles are white, ringed
with black. Head small, paler green, with whitish marks. Feeds on birch,
from late May to {130} July. Alder, sallow, and lime have also been
mentioned as food plants.

The rough, blackish, or sooty-brown chrysalis is enclosed in a coarse
netted cocoon, dark brown in colour, and more or less covered with moss,
leaves, or other material, among which it is spun up, generally on the
ground, but sometimes just under the surface. Assisted by the points on the
rings of the body, the chrysalis is able to work itself partly out of the
cocoon, and this it does some days before the moth emerges.

The moths usually emerge in late March and in April, earlier or later in
some seasons. They do not always come up the year after pupation, but often
remain two or more winters in the chrysalis.

The males fly in the sunshine, and are very strong on the wing; the females
are not active until dark. This sex has been found resting on the twigs of
birch, also on heather, and occasionally on a tree trunk. The males
"assemble" freely to a freshly emerged female. The species inhabits the
more open parts of woods and forests, moors and hillsides where birches
flourish. It is probably more plentiful in its Scottish localities, such as
Rannoch and Forres, than elsewhere, but it occurs also in Aberdeenshire,
Kincardineshire, and Argyllshire. In England it seems to be not uncommon in
Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, and the Reading district in Berkshire. It used
to be so plentiful in Tilgate Forest, Sussex, that over a hundred males
were brought to the net in one day by a bred female put down to allure
them. This happened some fifty years ago, and compares curiously with a
record of one male attracted by a female in Tilgate Forest, April 13, 1869.
Other localities in Sussex that have been mentioned are St. Leonard's
Forest and near Petersfield; it has also been found in Herefordshire and in
some parts of Suffolk. Distributed over Central and Northern Europe, the
range extending to North Italy.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 66.
  1, 2. EMPEROR MOTH, _males_; 3 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 67.
  EMPEROR MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged._
  _Caterpillars and cocoon._ (_Photos. by W. J. Lucas._)

{131}

SATURNIIDAE.

THE EMPEROR MOTH (_Saturnia pavonia_).

In a general way the fore wings of the male may be described as purplish
grey, suffused with rosy or with tawny shades; a reddish cloud, black
marked above, at the tips of the wings; the outer margins are more or less
whitish, and there is a whitish patch about the middle of each wing, in
which is an eyed spot; the hind wings are tawny, with a central eye spot
and a blackish band towards the outer margin. The female has all the wings
pale purplish grey, with whitish bordered outer margins; markings much as
in the male, but the central area of the hindwings is more or less whitish.
There is some variation in the ornamentation; occasionally the white
markings are of large size, or, on the other hand, may be almost or quite
obscured. Very rarely the eye-spots are absent from all the wings (ab.
_obsoleta_, Tutt), and sometimes they are of abnormal shape. Now and then
specimens of the female sex are dark in colour, with red bands, and Barrett
mentions an example of this sex smoky black in colour, with still blacker
markings (Plate 66).

The olive brown, clouded greyish eggs are laid in neatly arranged batches
around the stems or twigs of plants; I once found a batch in North Devon on
a loose piece of rock. The caterpillar when full grown is bright green,
with black markings; the warts from which blackish bristles arise are
yellow, sometimes pink or blackish. In an early stage it is black, with an
orange line low down along the sides; later on it is still black, but
ringed with orange. It feeds in June, July, and August on many kinds of
plants, among which may be mentioned heather, bramble, sallow, sloe; also
meadow-sweet (_Spiraea ulmaria_) and purple loose-strife (_Lythrum
salicaria_).

The curious cocoon formed by the caterpillar (Plate 67) is {132} so
constructed at the narrow end that the moth on emergence can easily pass
through; after the insect's escape, the converging fibres forming the
"door" spring to again, and the point of exit looks pretty much as before
the moth had pushed through. This kind of opening can only be worked from
the inside, therefore enemies from without are unable to effect an
entrance.

The moths are out in April and May, and the males may be seen on sunny days
flying at a great pace over heaths, moorlands, and mosses, also about the
borders of woods. The female flies at night, but it may occasionally be met
with resting on heather or other herbage in the daytime. A freshly emerged
female moth will, as a rule, attract as many specimens of the opposite sex
as one would care to take; all that one has to do is to take her in a box
to some likely spot, and there await the coming of the males.

The species seems to be generally distributed throughout the British Isles,
but is commoner in some parts than in others, and apparently rare in
portions of the Midlands.

The distribution abroad extends through Europe to North Asia Minor and
Armenia, and to Siberia, Amurland, and Ussuri.

DREPANIDAE.

The British species belonging to this family, with one exception, have the
tips of the fore wings pointed and curved downwards, forming a sort of
hook, hence the English name Hook-tips. The exception is _Cilix spinula_, a
round winged moth, not at all like other members of the family, but its
caterpillar is very like others of the group.

The bristle and catch arrangement for locking the wings is present in all
the species, but the tongue or proboscis is absent, or practically so. The
caterpillars are not furnished with anal {133} claspers, therefore have
only fourteen legs, that is, six true legs and eight false legs (pro-legs).
The last ring of the body is more or less tapered, sometimes terminating in
a point; the back is roughened with raised spots and warts, or humped. They
feed on the leaves of trees and bushes, usually exposed, and they pupate in
a silken cocoon, spun up between leaves, or in a folded leaf, of the food
plant.

Of the eleven species occurring in the Palaearctic Region, seven are
European, and six of these are found in the British Isles.

THE PEBBLE HOOK-TIP (_Drepana falcataria_).

The fore wings are brown, whity brown, or whitish; the central area is
crossed by three blackish wavy lines, a blackish blotch in the third line
and two blackish dots between it and the second line; beyond there is a
dark brown, or reddish-brown curved line from the tip of the wing to the
inner margin. Hind wings similar in colour to the fore wings, but paler on
the front area; crossed by five wavy dusky lines, sometimes not well marked
except on the inner margin; generally, there is a black central dot. The
paler forms have a dusky shading on each side of the curved line on the
fore wings.

The egg is yellow freckled with orange, chiefly at one end. Caterpillar
green, the back reddish-brown, except towards the black-marked yellowish
head; two conspicuous warts on rings two to five, and less noticeable
raised spots on the other rings, all bearing hairs. In a younger stage it
is blackish, with white marks on the fourth and seventh rings; later it
becomes greenish below, and the markings on the back of rings four, seven,
eight, and ten are whitish or creamy. Until nearly full grown it usually
lives on the underside of a leaf, the edges of which are turned over and
held down by silken threads; sometimes it may be seen on the upper side of
a leaf under a slight web. It feeds {134} chiefly on birch, but is
occasionally found on alder, in June and July, and in September and
October, and may be obtained by searching or by beating, but the former,
although perhaps slower, is much the better method. The moth is shown on
Plate 68, and the early stages on Plate 69.

The species is widely distributed, and seems to occur, sometimes commonly,
wherever there are birches, especially of bush-like growth, in most English
counties and also in Scotland. In Ireland it appears to be somewhat local
and scarce.

THE SCARCE HOOK-TIP (_Drepana harpagula_).

The general colour of this species is brownish; the fore wings are slightly
tinged with ochreous and speckled with minute violet-tinged silvery scales;
between the first and second brown lines there is an irregular ochreous
brown mark enclosing yellowish spots; the violet-tinted glistening scales
are most in evidence on both sides of the black mark before the outer
margin. Hind wings similar in colour to the fore wings; crossed by two
brown lines, the second with an ochreous brown blotch above it (Plate 68).

Caterpillar, yellow freckled with brown; clouded with brown on first three
rings; a reddish brown irregular stripe runs along the sides and upwards
towards middle of the back on rings five, six, eight, and nine; a
double-pointed hump on the back of ring three, the points tipped with
yellow. Head notched on the crown, dotted and clouded with brown. It feeds
on the small-leaved lime (_Tilia parvifolia_), and may be found from July
to September and even later. I have not seen a living caterpillar of this
species; the above short description has been drawn from an inflated skin
(Plate 69).

The only British locality for this species is the Leigh Woods near Bristol,
where it was first met with in 1837. It is, however, very rare and
difficult to obtain. Abroad it ranges through Central Europe to Livonia,
Southern Sweden, and to Northern Italy. On the Continent the caterpillar
feeds on the foliage of other trees than lime, and there are two broods in
the year.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 68.
        1. SCARCE HOOK-TIP, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3, 5, 6. PEBBLE HOOK-TIP, _males_; 4, 7 _females_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 69.
  1, 1a, 1b. SCALLOPED HOOK-TIP: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  2, 2a, 2b. PEBBLE HOOK-TIP: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
          3. SCARCE HOOK-TIP: _caterpillar_.

{135}

THE OAK HOOK-TIP (_Drepana binaria_).

The male is of an ochreous-tinged brown coloration; all the wings are
crossed by two slender deep ochreous lines, and have two obliquely set,
almost central, black dots; outer margin of fore wings often blackish,
marked towards the tip; the hind wings are deep ochreous on the front
marginal area. Fore wings of the female paler, and the hind wings ochreous
yellow; the cross lines on the latter often lost in the ground colour
(Plate 71).

In freshly emerged male specimens the brown is sometimes purplish tinged,
and in some examples of the same sex the hind wings may be described as
ochreous, with brown bands. The female occasionally has the fore wings
tinged with greyish, and the hind wings are sometimes banded with brown,
especially on the inner marginal area.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown with a double-pointed hump on ring three,
a yellowish diamond on the back of rings five to ten; the front and hind
rings are brown, more or less tinged with purple; yellowish lines, shaded
below with purplish brown, on the sides meet on the back and form an edging
to the diamond mark. The figure on Plate 70 shows the caterpillar in its
usual resting attitude. It feeds on oak.

A widely distributed species in the southern half of England, but not
especially abundant in any locality, and not known to occur north of
Lincoln.

THE BARRED HOOK-TIP (_Drepana cultraria_).

Fore wings pale fulvous or ochreous brown, with two paler cross-lines on
all the wings, space enclosed by the lines darker brown; a black or
blackish central dot, and before the brownish {136} outer margin there is a
pale line ending on the tip of the wing. The hind wings have an obscure
dusky central dot placed in the upper edge of the band, and usually there
are two brownish bands on the outer marginal area, but these do not extend
to the front margin. Except that the female is generally larger, and the
antennae are simple, the sexes are much alike (Plate 71).

This species is best distinguished from _binaria_ by the dark bands, and
the straighter second line. The central dots are less trustworthy
characters, because summer specimens of the present species often have two
of these spots on the fore wings (var. _aestiva_, Spr.), and in occasional
examples of _binaria_ the lower central spot of the hind wings is absent.
As a rule, however, the central dots are more conspicuous in _binaria_ than
in _cultraria_. The egg is yellowish, tinged with reddish at the ends and
along the sides. The caterpillar is somewhat similar to that of the last
species, but the hump on ring three is smaller, and the side lines and
diamond mark are whiter. It may be found in June and July, and again in
September, and even in October in some years. It feeds on beech (Plate 70).

This species is found where beech trees occur, preferably on a chalky soil,
in the counties of England from Norfolk southwards. The male may often be
seen in May, flying around the beech trees or neighbouring bushes, in the
sunshine; or both sexes may be caused to leave their resting places among
the foliage by tapping the boughs.

Its range extends through Central Europe to Asia Minor.

THE SCALLOPED HOOK-TIP (_Drepana lacertinaria_).

The name Scallop Hook-tip given to this species by Moses Harris in 1775,
doubtless referred to the ragged outlines of the fore wings. These wings
are pale brown in colour, freckled and clouded with darker tints, and
crossed by two dark-brown lines; the central dot is black, but often
minute; fringes {137} white, chequered with brown. Sometimes the freckling
is heavy and the clouding very dark, becoming almost black on the outer
margin; such specimens seem to be referable to var. _scincula_, Hubn. In
another form the fore wings are ochreous brown, with very tiny freckling
and only light clouds on the upper part of the outer margin. The hind wings
in all the forms are pale whitish brown, with a black central dot, and
brown marginal line; in the darker specimens these wings are clouded or
suffused with dark brown (Plate 71).

The egg is pale yellowish when laid, but changes afterwards to reddish. The
full-grown caterpillar is pale brownish, marked with darker or reddish
brown on the back and sides, and raised spots; there are double-pointed
humps on rings two and three, and a similar but smaller elevation on ring
eleven. In the younger state the caterpillar is blackish, with whitish
marks on the fourth, seventh, and eighth rings, and some white dots on the
end rings. It feeds on the upper surface of the leaves of birch in June and
July, and again in August and September.

Chrysalis, reddish brown, the ring divisions blackish grey; powdered with
whitish, and appearing as though dusted with flour. Attached by the anal
spike to the interior of the silken web-like cocoon. In the Figure (Plate
69) the pupa is shown hanging from the ruptured cocoon, upon the covering
leaf of which a half-grown caterpillar is depicted.

The moth is out in May and June, and a second generation appears in August.
It is not uncommon in most birch woods, and on heaths and commons, where
birch flourishes; but the perfect insect, which rests on leaves and twigs
of trees and bushes, and the herbage under them, is not so frequently or so
easily obtained as the caterpillars. The latter may be searched for in the
daytime, or they may be dislodged by beating.

Widely distributed throughout England, but local or scarce in Lancashire
and Yorkshire and northwards; also, according to {138} Barrett, in
Devonshire and in the fens of Norfolk and Cambridge. It occurs in the
Clydesdale district, Ross, Argyllshire, and Sutherland in Scotland; and in
Ireland it seems to be widely spread and common in some localities.

THE CHINESE CHARACTER (_Cilix glaucata_).

Probably in reference to the grey-brown oval blotch on the middle of the
white fore wings, this moth was known to the older entomologists by the
English name of "Goose-egg." On the blotch, however, there are silvery
marks on the veins, and below it (often attached) there is a blackish
blotch with some bluish silvery scales upon it. These markings probably
suggested to Haworth the name Chinese Character by which it is commonly
known (Plate 71).

The caterpillar is reddish brown, with a darker line along the back, and a
paler patch on rings three to five, extending as a narrow stripe to the
dark-brown spiked tail; two raised warts on rings two and three, with a
white dot between the hinder pair. Head darker brown, paler in front. It
feeds in June and early July, and in September and October, chiefly on
hawthorn and sloe, but it will also eat apple and pear. The chrysalis,
which is enclosed in a brown, rather tough, silken cocoon, spun up among
leaves or under loose bark, is greyish on the wing covers, and reddish on
the body.

The moth is out in May and early June, and again from late July well into
August. Sometimes it may be seen resting on a leaf in a hedgerow. When
disturbed in the daytime, which may happen where one is beating the bushes,
it falls, rather than flies, to the ground. At night it may be netted as it
flies along the hedgeside or wood borders in almost every county of England
and Wales. In Scotland its range seems not to extend north of Clydesdale.
Kane states that it is "widely spread, but not generally at all numerous"
in Ireland.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 70.
              1. OAK HOOK-TIP: _caterpillar_.
  2, 2a, 2b, 2c. BARRED HOOK-TIP: _egg, enlarged; caterpillar, chrysalis
      and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 71.
     1. OAK HOOK-TIP, _male_; 2 _female_.
     3. BARRED HOOK-TIP, _male_; 4 _female_.
  5, 7. SCALLOPED HOOK-TIP, _males_; 6, 8 _females_.
     9. CHINESE CHARACTER, _male_; 10 _female_.

{139}

NOLIDAE.

Some thirteen or fourteen species occurring in Europe are referred by
Staudinger to this family. Only five of these occur in the British Isles.
The moths are of rather small size, less, in fact, than some of the
so-called "Micros," among which they have been placed. Probably they may,
for this reason, be overlooked. They mostly sit head downwards on the
trunks, branches, or leaves of trees, sometimes on palings, but the rarer
ones hide themselves among the thick, low herbage. The time of flight is
after dark, and the moths occasionally visit the sugar patch. The
caterpillar has only eight false legs (prolegs), the first pair being the
absent ones; the body is clothed with tufts of hair, the hairs of the front
and rear tufts longer than the others. When full grown it spins a more or
less spindle-shaped, toughish cocoon of silk mixed with the larval hairs,
which is usually coated with particles scraped from the surface of twig or
stem upon which it is spun up.

THE SHORT-CLOAKED MOTH (_Nola cucullatella_).

The fore wings are whitish or greyish, with a dark, almost black, patch at
the base; this patch is marked with whitish, and is limited by the first
cross line, which is black and curved; the second line, also black, is wavy
and curved inwards towards the front margin; between these lines is a dusky
central shade, commencing in a blackish spot on the front margin, and
sometimes forming an inward border to the second line; a raised tuft of
white, grey-capped scales on the basal patch, and two other tufts beyond it
and in a line with the front margin; hind wings dark grey, paler towards
the base (Plate 73).

The caterpillar is reddish brown, clothed with short greyish hairs; the
spots and central line on the back are whitish. It {140} hatches from the
egg early in August, and after feeding for a while, retires to winter
quarters, selecting some sheltered cranny, such as a chink in the tree
bark, where it spins over itself a few strands of silk. Feeding is resumed
in May and June, after hibernation, usually on the upperside of leaves of
sloe and whitethorn, and also of fruit trees, such as apple and plum, and
sometimes pear (Plate 72).

The moth is out in June and July. It flies at dusk.

Widely distributed and generally common in the south of England; somewhat
rare in Scotland--perhaps overlooked. It has been reported from Ireland,
but is not mentioned by Kane in his catalogue of Irish Lepidoptera.

THE SMALL BLACK ARCHES (_Nola strigula_).

Fore wings greyish white, freckled and dusted with grey brown at the base
and on the front and outer margins; two black wavy and toothed cross lines;
between the base of the wing and the second line are three raised tufts of
grey brown tipped whitish scales: hind wings dark grey, paler towards the
base (Plate 73).

The caterpillar feeds, probably after hibernation, from April to June, on
the undersides of oak leaves. It is pale ochreous in colour, with pale
reddish brown warts and star-like tufts of hair; a blackish bar on the back
of ring six; head blackish.

The moth emerges from the chrysalis in July. It occurs in oak woods in
Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Somerset and Gloucestershire; also in Berks,
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex, but it is very local and seems to be
restricted to a more or less limited area in all its known haunts, among
which the most favoured are perhaps the New Forest in Hampshire and Abbots
Wood in Sussex. In some years it may be fairly common, or even plentiful,
and then becomes quite scarce during several seasons in the same place.
{141}

THE LEAST BLACK ARCHES (_Nola confusalis_).

Very similar to the last species, but whiter; the first line is curved
towards the second tuft of raised scales, thence gently curved to the inner
margin, above which there is a slight inward angle or elbow; the second
line is less wavy; hind wings whitish grey with a black central dot, and in
the male whiter along the inner area. The head and palpi of this species
are white, but _strigula_ has a greyish white head and dark palpi. Again,
the antennae in the male of the present species are ciliated, but in male
_strigula_ they are bipectinated (Plate 73).

The caterpillar, which feeds in July and August on the leaves of oak,
beech, sloe, and apple, etc., is reddish, inclining to yellow on the back,
which is traversed by black lines, the central double and interrupted on
rings seven to nine by rusty V-shaped marks.

The moth flies in May and June.

This species appears to have a wider distribution than either of the
others. It is the only one known with certainty to occur in Ireland, and it
is widely spread in that country. In Scotland it is found in Perthshire and
Ayrshire, and probably is present in other parts. In England it is obtained
in most counties, except perhaps the northern, although it has been
recorded from various parts of Yorkshire.

KENT BLACK ARCHES (_Nola albula_).

Fore wings white, largely light brown between the obscure cross lines;
outer marginal area clouded, and front margin dotted with light brown;
three tufts of raised scales placed as in previous species; hind wings of
the male, greyish white, browner on the outer margin; of female, brownish
grey. Varies in the amount of light brown, and sometimes this is much
reduced; more rarely it disappears entirely (Plate 73). {142}

The caterpillar varies in colour from ochreous with pink tinge to bone
white; the warts are set with pale hairs and those along the back and at
each extremity are longest; a double greyish line along the middle of the
back, and a series of black marks on each side; these marks unite across
the back on rings six and ten. After hibernation, it feeds in Spring until
June, on the young growth of bramble, raspberry, strawberry, and cinquefoil
(_Potentilla reptans_), and is stated to also eat hemp agrimony
(_Eupatorium cannabinum_). The brownish cocoon is constructed on a stem of
grass and in appearance looks not unlike a swelling of the stem.

This species was first observed in England in the year 1859, when four
specimens were taken in July at Chattenden Roughs, a large hilly wood in
North-east Kent. It still occurs, no doubt, in the Kentish locality
referred to, but is now very scarce there compared with what it must have
been some twenty-five years ago. Barrett notes a specimen from the Isle of
Wight. Mr. G. T. Porritt states that he has seen one of two examples
captured in South Devon in 1901; and another, a male, has been recorded as
taken at light in a house near Weymouth, Dorset, in August, 1904, and from
Lewes in 1906.

At the time the first specimens were met with in England the species seems
to have been rare, or little known on the Continent. Since then knowledge
of its distribution has vastly increased, and it has now been found not
only in many parts of Central Europe, but also in Finland, Italy, Dalmatia;
Asia Minor, Persia, and extending into Amurland and Japan.

THE SCARCE BLACK ARCHES (_Nola centonalis_).

The general colour of this moth is white; the fore wings more or less
sprinkled and clouded with brownish grey or dark grey, and crossed by two
black lines, the first curved and the second slightly waved, indented and
edged inwardly with ochreous brown; the three raised tufts are white,
capped with grey (Plate 73).

[Illustration]

  Pl. 72.
      1, 1a. SHORT-CLOAKED MOTH: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
  2, 2a, 2b. GREEN SILVER-LINES: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
  3, 3a, 3b. SCARCE SILVER-LINES: _caterpillar before hibernation,
      chrysalis and cocoon_.
      4, 4a. LARGE MARBLED TORTRIX: _caterpillar and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 73.
             1. CREAM-BORDERED GREEN PEA.
          4, 7. GREEN SILVER LINES.
            10. SCARCE SILVER LINES.
          2, 3. SHORT-CLOAKED MOTH.
             5. SMALL BLACK ARCHES.
             6. LEAST BLACK ARCHES.
            13. KENT BLACK ARCHES.
  8, 9, 11, 12. SCARCE BLACK ARCHES.

{143} This is the only really variable species among the five occurring in
this country. In some specimens the space between the cross lines is
largely filled in with dark grey, and in other specimens the wings are
almost entirely white, traces of the cross lines being the only markings.

Mr. Robert Adkin, who has reared this species from the egg, kindly allowed
me to select specimens from his fine series to illustrate the range of
aberration; these are figured on Plate 73.

Caterpillar brownish inclining to purplish, with an ochreous line along the
middle of the back and some brown V-shaped black marks. Head blackish
brown. It feeds in May, after hibernation, on various clovers, preferring
the blossoms, and bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_).

The moth appears some time between mid-July and mid-August. The late Mr.
Tugwell, by keeping some larvae, reared from the egg, in a warm room
induced them to feed up instead of hibernating, and they attained the moth
state in December.

This is another exceedingly local species in England. It was first taken at
Bembridge in the Isle of Wight in 1858, and one or two specimens have since
been obtained in that island. Examples have also occurred on the cliffs
near Hastings, and at Folkestone; and one has been recorded as taken in a
light trap at Woodbridge in Suffolk, July 21, 1904. The headquarters for
the species in this country are the Deal sand-hills, on the Kentish coast,
where it was discovered over a quarter of a century ago, and probably
occurs still.

CHLOEPHORIDAE.

Authors are not at all agreed as to the systematic position of this family,
and there seems to be some difference of opinion as to the species that
properly belong to it. Sir George Hampson {144} has transferred the group
to the Noctuidae and separated _S. revayana_ from the others, placing it in
his sub-family Sarrothripinae, to which also belong certain Indian species.

Only four species occur in our islands. Three of these have green fore
wings and pale grey or whitish hind wings. The other species, _Sarrothripa
revayana_, has the fore wings of various shades of grey, brown, or
blackish; its boat-shaped cocoon is very like a small edition of that of
_Hylophila bicolorana_, and, although the caterpillar is in some respects
not very dissimilar to those of the green-winged species, the moth does not
seem quite to be one of their set.

THE CREAM-BORDERED GREEN PEA (_Earias chlorana_).

In size, colour of the fore wings, and general appearance this moth might
be mistaken for the much more common Green Tortrix (_Tortrix viridana_). On
examination however, it will be seen to have white hind wings, whilst those
of the _Tortrix_ are grey. Again, the head, front of thorax, and front edge
of the fore wings are white in the present species (Plate 73).

The caterpillar is green, inclining to whitish on the back, the latter
lined with brownish, and bearing warts on rings six and eleven. It feeds in
July and August on the terminal leaves of osier and willow; these leaves
are drawn together with silk, and the solid appearance of the foliage at
the end of the twig will afford a clue to the probable whereabouts of the
caterpillar when one is searching for it. Chrysalis, brown, darker on the
back, paler on the under parts, and on the wing covers; enclosed in a tough
boat-shaped cocoon which is often constructed on the bark of a twig or stem
of the food plant. As a rule the moth does not emerge until the following
year, but in some years a few will appear in the autumn, and others remain
in the chrysalis until the following May or June.

This species inhabits damp places where there are osiers, {145} and it is
especially common in the fens. It occurs in most of the southern and
eastern counties of England, but does not seem to be recorded from other
parts of the British Isles.

GREEN SILVER LINES (_Hylophila prasinana_).

The bright green fore wings are crossed by two shaded silvery lines, and a
narrow silvery band, the latter running from the tip of the wing to the
inner margin, and usually there is a whitish shade between the two lines;
the fringes are reddish, or pinkish, and the front and inner margins are
tinged with the same colour, sometimes strongly so on the inner margin. The
hind wings of the male are whitish, tinged with yellowish green; fringes
white, more or less tinted with reddish; in the female the hind wings are
entirely silky white. Antennae reddish (Plate 73).

Caterpillar, green, with yellowish dots, lines on the back, and edging to
first ring of the body; the anal claspers are marked above with red. It
feeds in August and September on the leaves of oak, birch, beech and nut
(Plate 72).

The chrysalis is purplish above merging into pale brown beneath; wing-cases
ochreous brown; the dorsal surface, especially the ring divisions, are
dusted with whitish dots. It is enclosed in a papery cocoon of a pale pinky
brown colour; frequently spun up on the back of a leaf, but also in a
curled leaf, bark chink, or among herbage and litter on the ground.

The moth flies in June and July, and is not uncommon in woods throughout
the greater part of England, it may be beaten from trees, and is often to
be seen sitting on bracken and other undergrowth. It is also found in
Scotland up to Moray, and seems to be pretty generally distributed in
Ireland. The range of this species abroad extends through Northern and
Central Europe, South Russia, Siberia, to Japan. {146}

SCARCE SILVER LINES (_Hylophila bicolorana_).

The green colour of the fore wings of this moth is rather paler than of
those of the last species; they are crossed by two almost parallel
yellowish lines; hind wings white and silky. Antennae whitish towards the
tip and reddish towards the base (Plate 73).

Caterpillar green, sometimes tinged with yellow, a dark line along the
middle of the back is edged on each side with whitish.

The chrysalis is pale greenish, with a narrow black stripe from the head
along the thorax extending to the fourth abdominal ring; the wing cases
reach the sixth ring, which together with the back of the fifth are
roughened with fine blackish points.

Cocoon boat-shaped with the keel raised at the head end. When the moth
emerges from this end the cocoon closes up tightly again, so that no
opening is to be seen; slight pressure on the back will cause the exit slit
to open.

This rather local species is perhaps commoner in the eastern counties of
England than elsewhere, but it occurs in the oak woods of Berkshire, and
southward to Kent and Hampshire. Much scarcer in the west and midlands, and
apparently unknown in the north. Barrett gives Galway and Queen's County in
Ireland, but adds that it is rare.

Distributed over Central and Southern Europe, and its range extends to
South Sweden, and Asia Minor.

SARROTHRIPINAE.

THE LARGE MARBLED TORTRIX (_Sarrothripa revayana_).

This is a most variable species, ranging from greyish white through various
shades of brown to blackish; the grey and the {147} brown forms are
sometimes tinged with green. In the illustration some of the more usual
forms of marking are shown. 1 (more or less typical) and 2 are the most
common; 5 (_ramosana_) is less frequently met with; 4 (_ilicanus_) has ashy
brown fore wings with a black bar at the base, three black dots on the
disc, and a series of black dots before the outer margin, the triangular
marking on the front margin is reddish; 3 is a modification of the typical
form approaching var. _dilutana_; 6 is of the _afzelianus_ form, with shiny
brownish fore wings and black markings.

[Illustration: FIG. 23.

LARGE MARBLED TORTRIX.]

The caterpillar is green with whiter ring divisions; a few long whitish
hairs on each segment; a faintly darker line along the back, and a paler
interrupted line along the sides. Head yellowish green marked with brownish
and sparsely clothed with whitish hairs. It feeds in June and July on the
leaves of oak and sometimes on sallow. It spins a whitish boat-shaped
cocoon on the under side of an oak leaf or twig, and therein turns to a
pale green chrysalis with a broad purple brown stripe along the back from
the head; the blunt last ring is tinged with purplish brown and the edge of
the ring immediately before it is fringed with minute hooks (Plate 72,
Figs. 4, 4a).

The moth seems to be out from August to April. It may be {148} beaten from
trees and bushes throughout the autumn, and during the later months of the
year it seems to hide in yews and hollies. Just before dusk it becomes
active and may then be netted as it flies; later on it may be seen regaling
itself on overripe blackberries, or on the ivy blossom, and it is not an
infrequent visitor to the sugar patch.

The species has been found in almost every part of England and Wales
wherever there are oak woods. In Scotland it occurs up to Argyllshire and
Moray. For Ireland, Kane gives Tyrone, Westmeath, Galway, Kerry, and
Limerick.

Distribution abroad: Central and Southern Europe, extending northwards to
Scandinavia, and eastwards to Amurland and Japan.

ARCTIIDAE.

In this family Staudinger includes 161 species known to occur in the
Palaearctic Region. About forty of these are found in Europe, and
thirty-one of the latter rank as British species.

The family is usually divided into two sub-families--Arctiinae and
Lithosiinae, fifteen of our species being referred to the former and
sixteen to the latter. In both groups the caterpillars are hairy, but the
hairs are usually longer in those of the "Tigers" than in those of the
"Footmen"; the latter, too, are lichen feeders, whilst the others prefer
the foliage of plants.

TIGER MOTHS (_Arctiinae_).

The moths in this sub-family have short, or, rather, stout bodies, and
ample wings; and as the tongue is imperfectly developed in most of the
species, flowers have not the same attraction for them as for the
long-winged and slender-bodied Lithosiinae, most members of which have this
organ well developed.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 74.
  WHITE ERMINE MOTH.
  _Caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 75.
  1, 2, 3. WHITE ERMINE MOTH.
     4, 5. MUSLIN MOTH, _females_; 6 _male_.
        7. WATER ERMINE, _male_; 8 _female_.

{149}

THE WHITE ERMINE (_Spilosoma menthastri_).

Older English names for this generally distributed and often common species
are The Great Ermine Moth of Wilkes (1773), Harris (1778), and The Large
Ermine of Haworth.

On Plate 75 will be found three colour-forms of the moth. Fig. 1 has the
typical whitish colour, Fig. 2 is creamy on the fore wings, and Fig. 3 has
the fore wings buff. The last represents a specimen from Scotland, where,
especially in the western parts of the country, and also in the north of
Ireland, and the north-west of England, buff forms, both paler and much
darker than the one figured, are not uncommon. Sometimes the Scottish
specimens have smoky hind wings. As regards the black spots on the wings,
the species is subject to considerable variation. In some examples almost
all the markings are entirely absent; in others they are very small and
numerous, or large in size and number; the central spots on the fore wings
are often united, forming irregular designs. Again, there may be an unusual
amount of black spotting on the outer margins, and all other parts of the
wings free of spots. All these aberrations in marking, except, perhaps, the
central cluster, seem to occur in the various colour forms. An uncommon
form, known as var. _walkeri_, Curtis (Plate 78, Fig. 5), has the black
scales gathered together into streaks along the nervures of the fore wings;
modifications of this variety have also been found, or reared. Possibly by
the careful selection of parent moths showing tendency to the streaked
aberration it might happen in a generation or two that var. _walkeri_ would
turn up in the breeding cage to reward the rearer for trouble taken in the
experiment.

The caterpillar, which is often not uncommon in gardens in August and
September, or even later, is brown, with long hairs, and a reddish stripe
along the middle of the back. It feeds on {150} the foliage of low-growing
plants, and does not appear to be specially attached to any particular
kind. The chrysalis is dark brown, in a close-fitting cocoon of silk and
hair from the caterpillar, spun up in odd corners on the ground or at the
base of a wall or fence, sometimes between the pales (Plate 74).

The moth emerges in June, and may be seen sitting on walls, fences, trees,
or on the herbage growing on hedge banks; or even on the bare ground. It
often flies into houses when lighted up, and is a frequent attendant at the
public gas lamps and electric lights. The geographical range of this
species extends through Northern and Central Europe southward to North-West
Africa, and eastward to Amurland.

THE WATER ERMINE (_Spilosoma urticae_).

The specimens of this white moth, depicted on Plate 75, are of the form
usually met with in Britain. To Haworth, Stephens, and other early
entomologists this was known by the English name of the "Water Ermine" (_S.
papyrata_, Marsham), whilst a rarer form--with a minute dot on the disc of
the fore wings, and three dusky spots on the hind wings, as in the White
Ermine--was the "Dingy White" of Haworth. Occasionally specimens are
obtained with extra black spots on the basal and front areas of the fore
wings.

Caterpillar, dark brown with a purplish tinge, the hairs, arising in
spreading tufts from black warts, are dark brownish; spiracles white; head
black and glossy. Feeds in July and August on a variety of marsh plants,
among which are yellow loosestrife (_Lysimachia vulgaris_), mint (_Mentha
aquatica_), lousewort (_Pedicularis_), water dock (_Rumex hydrolapathum_),
and iris. It seems to affect plants growing under bushes, rather than those
more exposed. It is, presumably, not difficult to rear in confinement, as
there is a record of eight broods belonging to three generations, and all
descendants of a captured female, having been reared by Mr. Bacot.
Chrysalis dark reddish brown, in a cocoon similar to that of the last
species.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 76.
  BUFF ERMINE MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 77.
  BUFF ERMINE MOTH _and varieties_.

{151} The moth, which emerges in June, is rarely seen away from its
favourite haunts, which are marshes and fens; its English name is therefore
a very appropriate one. It is not often observed in the daytime, but is on
the wing early in the evening, and later on is pretty sure to be attracted
to any strong light that may be set up in its neighbourhood. The best
localities for the species seem to be the fens of Norfolk and Cambridge,
but it used to be fairly plentiful in many suitable parts of East Kent, and
no doubt still occurs in some of the marshes between Dartford and
Gravesend: it is found in Sussex in the Lewes and Brighton districts, and
has been recorded from Kimmeridge in Dorsetshire, from the Isle of Wight,
from near Burton-on-Trent, from the Lancaster district, and from
Pembrokeshire, South Wales. In Scotland it is rare, and, with the exception
of one example reported as taken in an illuminated moth trap at Clonbrock,
May, 1896, not known to occur in Ireland.

The distribution abroad extends over Central and Northern Europe, through
South Russia to Amurland.

THE BUFF ERMINE (_Spilosoma lubricipeda_).

This species is now known by the English name of the Buff Ermine, but the
names bestowed upon it by some ancient writers were perhaps hardly more
suitable. Thus Wilkes in 1773 called it the "Spotted Buff Moth," and Harris
five years later dubbed it the "Cream-dot Stripe." The ground colour is
generally some shade of buff, in the paler specimens merging into cream,
and in the darker to yellowish ochre. In the matter of black marking the
range of variation is extensive. The specimens figured on Plate 77
illustrate something of this variation, both as regards colouring and
marking. The females are, as a rule, paler than the males, but occasionally
examples {152} of the latter sex are quite as pale as any female. Figures 7
and 8 represent var. _zatima_, Cramer. Originally this form was only known
to occur in Heligoland. The same form, or a modification of it, was
described by Haworth as _radiata_, from a Yorkshire specimen. Then, in
1837, specimens of the variety were reared with the normal form of the
species from caterpillars obtained at Saltfleet in Lincolnshire; and
subsequently a few more examples were reported from the last named county,
and elsewhere. In 1891 a specimen of var. _zatima_ emerged from an
assortment of chrysalids sent to Mr. Harrison of Barnsley from a London
correspondent. This particular specimen was of the female sex, and it
paired with a male which was also an aberration, but not of the _zatima_
form. Some of the offspring resulting from this union were of the female
parent form, others favoured the male parent, and others again were
intermediate. In the course of a few generations almost entire broods of
the _zatima_ variety were obtained. Allowing the sexes of _zatima_ to mate
with those of more or less ordinary _lubricipeda_, the late Mr. W. H.
Tugwell obtained many very interesting aberrations, one of which he named
var. _eboraci_, and another _fasciata_. The _zatima_ form and its various
modifications have now been reared by entomologists all over the country,
and presumably directly or indirectly from the original Barnsley stock. In
Yorkshire especially the race has been improved; the specimens are larger
and darker, and there is a tendency towards the almost entirely black form
known as var. _deschangei_.

The pale whitish green eggs are laid in batches on leaves, sometimes high
up on birch trees, or virginia creeper, but more usually on the foliage of
low growing plants; it is often common in gardens. At first the caterpillar
is tinged with yellowish, but it afterwards becomes greyish, and finally
brownish. When full grown the hairs, with which the body is clothed, are
brown; there is a yellowish or whitish grey stripe along each side, and an
obscure somewhat reddish {153} tinted line down the middle of the back.
Head glossy brown.

The glossy reddish-brown chrysalis is enclosed in a dingy coloured web-like
cocoon, which is spun up among leaves or litter on the ground. Mr. R. Adkin
found some of these cocoons spun up between the folds of an old brown
blanket used as a covering for a rabbit hutch in winter. The moth emerges
in June. Occasionally, in confinement, specimens will leave the chrysalis
in the autumn instead of passing the winter therein, as they more usually
do (Plate 76).

A common and often abundant species over the greater part of the British
Isles. Its range abroad extends through Central and Northern Europe, South
Russia, and Tartary to Amurland, Corea, and West China.

THE MUSLIN (_Diaphora mendica_).

The early British authors knew this moth as the "Spotted Muslin" or "Seven
Spot Ermine" (Harris, 1778). The male is dark brown or blackish, with a few
usually obscure black dots on each wing. The female is silky white, with
more clearly defined, and often more numerous, black dots (Plate 75, Figs.
4-6). On Plate 78 will be found figures of the rarer and more extreme
aberrations of the female. Those represented by Figs. 3, 4, 6, 7, were
reared some years ago by Mr. G. T. Porritt, of Huddersfield, who at the
same time obtained a number of other interesting intermediate examples
("Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.," 1889, p. 441, Pl. 14). Variation in the other
direction is towards the complete suppression of the black dots; and I have
seen specimens with only one such dot on each wing.

In the var. _rustica_, shown on the same plate, it will be noted that the
males assimilate somewhat to the female coloration; the specimens (Figs. 1,
2), were bred by Mr. Robert Adkin in 1887. This form was not known to occur
in the British {154} Isles until 1885, when Mr. de V. Kane detected
specimens in a collection of insects made in Co. Cork, Ireland. It was next
heard of from Belfast, and then, in 1886, again, in Co. Cork, an example of
each sex was taken. The female specimen laid eggs, and some of these were
sent to Mr. Adkin, who not only was successful in rearing the moths, but in
1889 obtained a pairing between an almost white male _rustica_ and an
ordinary English female. Only four eggs were laid, and from these two male
moths resulted in May, 1890, both intermediate in colour between the two
forms. In all its early stages _rustica_ is identical with ordinary
_mendica_.

Male specimens with pale yellowish grey coloured wings have been reared
from eggs laid by a female captured at Eltham, Kent, exhibiting a tendency
to the _rustica_ form. In the Barnsley district, Yorkshire, the males are
paler than usual, but in the Sheffield area of the same county the males
are black. From North Durham chrysalids, I have a smoky greyish form of the
male.

The caterpillar is brownish grey covered with yellowish brown hairs arising
from greyish-ringed pale brown warts; a paler line along the middle of the
back, and some white dots forming a broken line below the black outlined
spiracles. Head pale chestnut brown, glossy. When newly hatched it is
whitish, tinged with yellow and semi-transparent; the dots and hairs are
dark grey. After the first moult the colour is greyish with black dots and
blackish hairs. Head yellowish, brown tinged. It feeds in July, sometimes
earlier, and August, and seems to thrive on the foliage of many kinds of
low-growing plants, such as dandelion, dock, plantain, chickweed, etc., and
also eats the leaves of birch and rose. Chrysalis, very dark brown, almost
black, glossy, but minutely pitted, giving a roughened appearance; enclosed
in a close fitting cocoon composed of silk and the caterpillar's hairs,
with particles of earth on the outside (Plate 79). The moth flies at night,
and except that a female may occasionally be seen on the wing, this species
is rarely observed in the daytime. May and June are the usual months for
this moth, but in 1906 a specimen was attracted to light on November 3.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 78.
  1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. MUSLIN MOTH _varieties_.
                 5. WHITE ERMINE, _var. walkeri_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 79.
  MUSLIN MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon._

{155} Widely distributed, and often common in most English counties, in
parts of Wales, and in Scotland as far north at least as Ross. In Ireland
one male specimen of the typical form has been obtained in Co. Galway, and
one in Co. Clare; var. _rustica_ occurs in Co. Dublin, and Kings Co.,
Waterford, Cork, Kerry, and Galway.

THE RUBY TIGER (_Phragmatobia fuliginosa_).

The English name given to this moth only suitably applies to the southern
reddish form of the species (Plate 80, Fig. 1 [male]). In the north of
England the fore wings are darkened with brownish and the hind wings with
blackish tints, until in Scotland the only trace of red colour is found on
the inner edge of the hind wings (var. _borealis_, Staudinger, Fig. 2
[female]). In these dark specimens the body is also blackish. Very
occasionally, specimens approaching the northern form are obtained in South
England. A female moth captured by Mr. G. E. J. Crallan in May, 1901, at
Bournemouth, laid forty-eight eggs; thirty imagines were bred the same
year, two of which were _borealis_. On the south and south-west coasts the
black band of the hind wings exhibit a tendency to break up into spots; not
infrequently this is completely effected, and the specimens then approach
the larger South European form var. _fervida_, Staud. In a fine series of
this species from Cornwall, lately seen in Mr. A. Harrison's collection,
are a few specimens that come very close to the last-named form. A yellow
aberration has been recorded. The eggs are whitish and deposited in batches
on leaves. Up to the last moult the caterpillar is greyish or brownish,
with dark greyish or blackish {156} warts from which arise star-like tufts
of brown hairs; a reddish line along the middle of the back, and some
reddish spots on the sides. When full grown it is black, and the reddish
line on the back is almost hidden by closer and more compact tufts of black
hairs. Head black and glossy.

The leaves of various low-growing plants afford it nourishment, but it is
very partial to dock, dandelion, golden-rod (_Solidago_), and plantain; it
is also fond of groundsel and lettuce in confinement, but these plants have
been found unsuitable if given too frequently. In the open it seems to feed
through the summer, hibernate when full grown, reappear in the early
spring, and in due course spin its brownish cocoon among herbage generally
low down near the ground; on moors it often makes the cocoon among the
twigs of heather as shown on Plate 81. The chrysalis is black, marked with
yellowish on the hind edge of each ring. The vitality of the caterpillar is
extraordinary. One known to have been embedded in ice for fourteen days at
least, became active in less than half an hour after the ice around it
melted. It pupated shortly afterwards.

When eggs are obtained early, it is possible to have three generations of
the moth during the same year. Thus eggs deposited on May 8 produced
caterpillars which fed up quickly and attained the moth state in July. From
July eggs some of the caterpillars will outstrip their companions, pupate
in September, and appear as moths about a month later. The moth is to be
found in May and June, sometimes in July or August, in wood clearings, on
moors and rough hillsides, and also in water meadows, etc. It flies at
night, is attracted by light, and although it occasionally flies in the
sunshine, it is, as a rule, not often seen in the daytime. Occurs
throughout the British Isles to the Orkneys. Distribution: Europe, Western
and Central Asia, Amurland, Japan, North-west Africa, North America.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 80.
           1, 2. RUBY TIGER MOTH.
  3, 4, 5, 6, 7. WOOD TIGER MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 81.
  1, 1a. WOOD TIGER: _eggs and caterpillars_.
  2, 2a. RUBY TIGER: _caterpillar and cocoon_.

{157}

THE WOOD TIGER (_Parasemia plantaginis_).

On Plate 80 are shown some of the forms of this attractive and somewhat
variable species. Figs. 3, 4, are male and female of the typical form found
in England. The most usual phase of variation is in the narrowing or
widening of the pale yellowish markings of the fore wings, and the black
markings on the hind wings; occasionally the yellow or the black increases
to such an extent that the fore wings appear to be almost entirely of the
one colour or the other. The hind wings range in colour from the normal
yellow through orange to red, and through pale shades of yellow to white;
on the other hand they are sometimes almost entirely black. The var.
_hospita_, Schiff. (Fig. 7), has all the wings white, and although it has
been reported from Shropshire, West Durham, the Lake District, etc., it has
been chiefly obtained in the Hebrides and in the highlands of Scotland.
Only males of this form are known; the females found with them have heavy
black markings on the hind wings, almost crowding out the reddish ground
colour. The creamy markings of the fore wings are narrow, and the central
spot small.

The full-grown caterpillar is blackish above with greyish-black warts from
which arise tufts of blackish hairs, except on rings four to six, where the
hairs and the warts at the base of each tuft are reddish; the black hairs
of the hinder tufts are the longest (Plate 81).

Twelve eggs laid by a female in Aberdeenshire were received on June 29,
1906. They were shining yellowish in colour, and were on a leaf of
plantain. The caterpillars resulting from these eggs were reared on a mixed
diet of forget-me-not (_Myosotis_), plantain, and groundsel, but evinced a
decided preference for the former. Some died young in moulting, but at the
beginning of August five were full grown, and four duly pupated in a slight
but roomy cocoon of silk, mixed with the caterpillar's hairs, {158} in
which the blackish brown chrysalis with the cast-off skin attached to the
tail was plainly visible. Four moths, all female, emerged at the end of
August, when the other caterpillar was still feeding, and seemingly about
mature. That caterpillar did not, however, pupate, or survive the winter.
As a rule the caterpillars hibernate when about half grown, and feed up in
April and May of the following year. The somewhat unusual rate at which
those just mentioned completed their growth was no doubt due to the heat of
the summer of 1906.

The moth is to be found on heaths, moors, the slopes of chalk, and
limestone hills; also in woods that are not too thickly timbered and have a
good undergrowth of heather, etc. The males may sometimes be seen flying in
the sunshine, and they will then be noted to wing their way to some
particular spot where most likely a freshly emerged female will be the
attraction. The male is often started up from the heather or other herbage
as one walks along; or it may even rise from the bare ground upon which it
sometimes has a fancy to sit. The female seems to be more sluggish during
the daytime.

The species is widely distributed over the British Isles, and its range
extends through Central and Northern Europe, and Northern Asia to Japan.

THE CLOUDED BUFF (_Diacrisia sanio_).

Fore wings of the male yellow, with a reddish and greyish central mark;
hind wings whitish, with blackish central spot and outer band; the inner
margin, fringes, and front edge light crimson. The female has orange fore
wings with reddish margins, veins, and central mark; hind wings orange,
with black basal area, central spot, and outer band (Plate 82).

The female of this species is so different in appearance from the male that
it was described by Linnaeus as distinct, under the name _russula_. In the
tenth edition of "Systema Naturae" it is {159} No. 510, whereas _sanio_,
the male, is No. 506. We must, therefore, in accordance with the law of
priority, adopt the earliest name for the species, however much we regret
having to discard the old familiar name of _russula_.

Although the central spot of the fore wings is subject to minor
modification in size, shape, and colour, it is in the hind wings that
variation chiefly occurs. In the male the blackish grey band on the outer
area of the hind wing may be broad and complete, or it may be broken up by
the veins into a series of bars; then, again, the bars tend to become
smaller and smaller until only tiny portions remain. Usually, the basal
third of the hind wings is more or less greyish, but sometimes the whole
surface almost, or quite up to the outer band, is clouded with dark grey.
The black markings of the female hind wings are apt to vary in a very
similar way.

The caterpillar is reddish brown, covered with brown hairs; a yellow-marked
whitish stripe along the back, and two darkish stripes on the sides; a
white spot below each black margined spiracle. It hatches from the egg in
July, and as a rule hibernates when still small, completing growth in April
and May. It feeds on the leaves of many low plants, among which are
dandelion, dock, chickweed, and plantain. The chrysalis is brown, streaked
with greyish, and is enclosed in a flimsy cocoon among herbage, generally
on the ground.

The moth, which inhabits heaths and mosses, is on the wing in June and
early July; the male may be put up on sunny days, but the female is not
often seen until early evening. After dark both sexes may be found on the
heather.

It should be noted here that there are usually two broods of this species
abroad, and that in confinement it will develop a more or less complete
second brood in September with us. An instance is recorded of sixty-three
out of sixty-six caterpillars from eggs laid in early July, feeding up and
producing moths in the last week of September. The caterpillar is not an
easy one {160} to deal with during hibernation, so that it would always be
to the advantage of the rearer to get it through to the perfect state the
same year, whenever possible.

The species is widely distributed over the south and east of England, and
South Wales. It occurs in Cheshire in all suitable places; in Lancashire it
is common on the moorlands, as at Witherslack and Methop, and it is not
uncommon near Quernmore, Clougha, and other places, in July. Local and
somewhat scarce as a rule in Yorkshire, but recorded as not uncommon in the
Scarborough district. In Scotland it is found in Roxburghshire, and
northwards to Aberdeen; and, according to Kane, it is widely spread,
although local, in Ireland.

THE GARDEN TIGER (_Arctia caia_).

How frequently the collector has had introduced to his notice, by some
non-entomological friend, or worthy cottage dame, a "fine butterfly," only
to find that the supposed prize, usually imprisoned under an inverted
tumbler, was just an ordinary specimen of the gaudy, but common, Garden
Tiger. Few persons living in the country, and at all interested in the
natural objects around them, will fail to recognize the portraits on Plate
82; other figures, however, on Plate 84 will appear strange, and yet they
only portray some of the many forms which the moths assume. Possibly it
would be true to say that no two specimens could be found that were exactly
identical in tint and marking. Even the markings of any one example are
frequently not precisely alike on corresponding wings. Normally the fore
wings are white or creamy-white with dark brown markings, and the hind
wings are red with deep blue centred black spots, often ringed with yellow.
The dark markings of the fore wings are most inconstant in size and in
form; in some cases they are so greatly enlarged that these wings might be
described as dark brown with narrow, irregular whitish markings (Plate 84,
Fig. 1). On the other hand, but less frequently perhaps, the dark markings
are narrowed, shortened, and reduced in number, until only spots remain on
a white or creamy ground (Plate 84, Fig. 2). The red colour of the hind
wings is sometimes crimson in tone, or it assumes an orange tint, and less
often it gives place to yellow; the central spots often unite and form a
band, or some, occasionally all, disappear; the marginal spots sometimes
run into a band.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 82.
   CLOUDED BUFF MOTH, 1 _male_; 2 _female_.
   GARDEN TIGER MOTH, 3 _male_; 4 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 83.
  CLOUDED BUFF MOTH.
  _Eggs natural size and enlarged; caterpillar._

{161} Besides aberration, such as that referred to above, curious abnormal
specimens occur in the breeding cage from time to time, but these are often
more or less deformed. It is, perhaps, remarkable, that so few "good
things" in the way of varieties are obtained from collected caterpillars,
even when these are reared by hundreds. Possibly, if the breeder started
operations with a stock of eggs from unusually pale or unusually dark
females, and then reserving only the lightest or the darkest, as required,
of each generation to continue the experiment, some interesting light or
dark "strains" might result in course of time. The objection to this is
that before the desired result was obtained the stock might be weakened by
"inbreeding," and the moths consequently deformed. If, however, the same
line of experiment were conducted by several people, each living in a
different part of the country, and with stock selected from the products of
his own locality, eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalids might be exchanged,
say, after the second year, and in this way the effect of "inbreeding"
would be minimized.

The caterpillar, generally known as the "Woolly Bear," is not at all an
uncommon object throughout the country, and is, perhaps, even more often
noticed in gardens, including those of suburban London. The figures of the
early stages of this moth, on Plate 85, are all from material obtained in
my own small garden. {162}

The foliage of pretty well all low plants, and tall ones, such as the
hollyhock and sunflower, too, seem to be equally acceptable to this larva.
It is not often seen before hibernation, but in the early days of spring it
will be noticed sunning itself on walls and fences that have a good crop of
nettles, dock, or other weeds at their base or around them; or it may be
searched for on the undersides of dock, etc. Mr. Frohawk records these
caterpillars as swarming from mid-May to mid-June, 1904, in the Scilly
Isles. He states that they occurred in such myriads that no vegetation
escaped them, and that they devoured anything from stonecrop to the foliage
of shrubs of various kinds. Every path and roadway was dotted all over with
their crushed bodies.

In the open the moth is on the wing in July and sometimes in August. When
kept indoors the caterpillars, or at least some of them, will feed up
quickly and attain the moth state in September or October.

The species is distributed over the whole of Europe, except Andalusia,
Sicily, and the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, and its range
extends through Asia to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

THE CREAM-SPOT TIGER (_Arctia villica_).

Although this moth does not vary to the same extent as its cousin the
Garden Tiger, it is still subject to considerable aberration in the size,
number, and position of the yellowish-white, or cream-coloured spots on the
fore wings and of the black spots and hind marginal markings of the hind
wings. The former are often much reduced in size, rarely perhaps so greatly
as to leave the fore wings almost entirely black; but they are sometimes so
greatly enlarged and united that these wings appear to be cream coloured
with black markings. On the hind wings the black spots nearest the base are
sometimes widened and lengthened so as to meet and form a transverse band;
in other specimens the black markings on the outer area are run together
into a patch. Occasionally both forms of hind wing aberration occur in the
same specimen. I am not aware of any case in which the hind wings are
spotless, but I have seen specimens in which this condition was very
closely approached. Very rarely the hind wings are suffused with black, and
at least two specimens with all the wings suffused with black have been
recorded. (Plate 87, Figs. 1-3.)

[Illustration]

  Pl. 84.
  GARDEN TIGER _varieties_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 85.
  GARDEN TIGER MOTH.
  _Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalis._

{163}

The pearly white eggs are laid in neatly arranged batches on leaves. The
caterpillars hatch out in July, feed for a few weeks, and go into
hibernation while still small. They resume feeding in a favourable season
as early as mid-March. Some that I obtained at the end of March, then about
three parts grown, began to spin up on April 15. The full-grown caterpillar
is black with several star-like clusters of brown hairs on each ring, the
hairs on the back of the hinder rings rather longer and slightly curved
backwards; the head, legs, and claspers are red, approaching crimson. A
diet of dandelion suits it very well, but it will also eat chickweed, dock,
nettle, groundsel, and in fact almost any low-growing plant. The outer
leaves of lettuce are useful on occasion but should not be given
exclusively, and it also likes the tender shoots of gorse (_Ulex
europaeus_). Chrysalis and cocoon somewhat similar to those of the last
species (Plate 86).

The moth emerges in May and June. Occasionally a few larvae will feed up
and the moths appear the same year, but this only happens in captivity and
not in the open. When reposing in the daytime, on a hedgebank for example,
with the fore wings closed down over and hiding the yellow hind wings this
moth is not so conspicuous as one might suppose it would be. At night it is
active on the wing and often flies into houses, attracted by the light. I
have put up specimens now and then {164} in hay fields, and once found half
a dozen along a short stretch of the Upper cliff at Ventnor, Isle of Wight.

It is perhaps most frequent in the south-west, but the species seems to be
widely distributed and fairly common from Kent to Cornwall, and westward
from Hampshire to Gloucestershire. It also occurs in the eastern counties
to Cambridge and Norfolk. From Cheshire it has been twice reported, and two
specimens are said to have been taken, a few years ago, in the Lancaster
district.

THE JERSEY TIGER (_Callimorpha quadripunctaria_).

This handsome species long known as _C. hera_, Linn., but for which Poda's
earlier name _quadripunctaria_ must be adopted, has its English home in
South Devonshire. The species had been recorded as British as far back as
1855, when one moth was taken at Newhaven in Sussex; in 1859 a specimen was
obtained in North Wales, two were taken in Sussex, 1868, and one was
captured in the Isle of Wight in 1877. The last-mentioned example was
kindly presented to me by the captor, Mr. Rowland Brown. For the county of
Devon, the earliest record is that of a specimen netted in a garden at
Alphington, near Exeter, in 1871, followed soon after by a report of others
at a place near Lodderwell. Ten or eleven years later the moth was found at
Dawlish, and in that neighbourhood and in other parts of a wide area
stretching from Exeter to Teignmouth, and perhaps further west, it has been
taken almost every year up to the present time (1907). Large numbers of
eggs have been obtained and distributed among entomologists, many of whom
have successfully wintered the caterpillars and eventually reared the
moths.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 86.
  CREAM-SPOT TIGER MOTH.
  _Caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 87.
  1, 2. CREAM-SPOT TIGER MOTH, _males_; 3 _female_.

{165} The principal variation is in the colour of the hind wings and the
body, which usually are red, but in var. _lutescens_, Staud., are yellow;
between the red and the yellow forms there are all kinds of orange and
other intergrades. There is also variation in the black markings at the
inner angle of the fore wings, some or all of which are sometimes absent. A
specimen with the inner margin of the fore wings black instead of
creamy-white has been recorded, and a specimen with whitish hind wings is
stated to have been seen but not secured. The moth is shown on Plate 89,
and the early stages on Plate 88.

The eggs, which are laid in batches, are pale yellowish when deposited, but
assume a deep violet tint before hatching. Mr. W. Hewett (_Entom._ xxviii.)
states that in the case of seventeen female moths that he captured in
August, 1895, the average number of eggs laid by each was 133, and as
regards fourteen batches of eggs, the caterpillars hatched out in fifteen
or sixteen days.

When nearly full grown the caterpillar is blackish with an orange stripe
along the back and a series of creamy white spots on the sides; the hairs,
arising from shining light brown warts, are pale brown mixed with greyish
ones; spiracles black ringed with white, under surface greyish. Head black
and glossy. It hatches from the egg in the autumn and goes into hibernation
while still very small; reappearing in the spring and feeding on until
July, when it spins a flimsy silken web-like cocoon well down among moss
and litter. The food plants are dandelion, white deadnettle (_Lamium
album_), ground ivy (_Nepeta glechoma_), groundsel, plantain, nettle,
borage (_Borago officinalis_), and lettuce.

The moth emerges in July and August in a state of nature, but often as
early as June in confinement. It sits by day among the herbage, and in the
bushes of hedgerows, but readily quits its retreat when disturbed. The
normal time of flight is at night; and that light has an attraction for the
moths is evident from the fact that they have been known to fly into
cottages at the rate of three or four in an evening.

The species is distributed throughout Southern Europe, its {166} range
extending to Holland, Belgium, and Livonia. It was known as an inhabitant
of the Channel Islands long before it became established in England.

THE SCARLET TIGER (_Callimorpha dominula_).

Except in minor details this tropical-looking moth (Plate 89) seems little
given to variation in England. In parts of Central and Southern Europe, and
Asia Minor, striking forms occur, and some of these are very occasionally
found with us. Among such rare aberrations in this country are var.
_rossica_, Kol., with yellow hind wings; and var. _bithynica_, Staud., with
the spots on the fore wings yellow, and the hind wings of the normal
crimson colour. A South European form, var. _persona_, Hubn., has the hind
wings and body black, with some yellow marks on the basal area; spots on
the fore wings smaller than in the type. Specimens approaching this form
have been reported from Kent, which county is also noted for "black
_dominula_." In the latter variety the hind wings, body, and spots on fore
wings are blackish; it is exceedingly rare. A specimen taken at St.
Margaret's Bay, Kent, some years back has the spots on the fore wings
blurred, due to a cloudy suffusion filling up the space between them; the
spots on the hind wings are pale.

Caterpillar, black, hairy, with bands of more or less connected spots,
yellow or yellowish in colour, down the middle of the back, and along the
sides; the hairs, arising from shining black warts, are grey with some
black ones intermixed. Head, glossy black. It hatches from the egg in July
or August, feeds for awhile, then hibernates, and completes its growth in
April or May. A number of plants have been mentioned as suitable food for
these caterpillars, but the favourites are, perhaps, nettle, groundsel,
hound's-tongue (_Cynoglossum officinale_), bramble, sloe, and sallow (Plate
88).

[Illustration]

  Pl. 88.
      1, 1a. JERSEY TIGER: _caterpillars and chrysalis_.
  2, 2a, 2b. SCARLET TIGER: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysallis and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 89.
  1, 2. SCARLET TIGER MOTH.
  3, 4. JERSEY TIGER MOTH.

{167}

The chrysalis is dark reddish, rather blacker above; enclosed in a silken
cocoon spun up among leaves, etc., on the ground.

The moth emerges in June, and seems partial to marshy ground. It is found
in the district between Dover and Deal commonly, and in other parts of Kent
more rarely. Also in Hampshire, Devon, Dorset, South Wales,
Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Berkshire (water meadows by the Kennet), and
Hertfordshire (rare). Some years ago I found a few specimens in the Brandon
district, but it is not plentiful in Suffolk, and is rare in or absent from
Norfolk. It is found in Cambridgeshire, chiefly in Wicken fen.

NOTE.--Although _Callimorpha_ is here left in its old position among
Arctiidae, the genus has been referred by Hampson to Hypsidae, a family of
moths belonging to the African, Oriental, and Australian regions. Our two
species are the sole representatives of the family in Europe.

THE FEATHERED FOOTMAN (_Coscinia striata_).

Altogether there do not appear to have been more than six or seven
specimens of this species (Plate 90) recorded as British. Stephens mentions
three of these, two males taken in the autumn of 1815, near Windsor; and
one specimen, without date, in the Isle of Anglesea. Of the others one
appears to have been taken in Yorkshire (1832), one in Essex, and another
in North Wales (1859). Barrett also refers to a specimen, which was
captured but afterwards escaped, near Bettws-y-Coed, North Wales, June,
1859, and gives some circumstantial details of the event. It appears,
therefore, that of the very limited number of British _striata_ North Wales
has furnished almost half. The species is widely distributed in Europe,
except the most northern part; the range extending into Asia Minor, Syria,
Armenia, and Amurland. Abroad, it occurs on heaths, and in warm dry places.
The caterpillar is blackish-brown, {168} marked with orange on the back,
and white on the sides; the warts are yellowish, and the hairs arising
therefrom are reddish brown; the head is black. It feeds in spring, after
hibernation, on grasses, heather, and low herbage, and becomes full grown
in May.

THE SPECKLED FOOTMAN (_Coscinia cribrum_).

The fore wings are whitish, crossed by three rows of blackish grey dots,
more or less connected, forming lines; and two streaks of the same colour
through the length of the wings, but not always extending to the outer
margin; a cross series of wedge-shaped marks or dots on the outer area;
hind wings grey. Sometimes the fore wings are wholly suffused with the
darker colour, and between such specimens and less frequent examples in
which the wings are almost devoid of marking, there are many gradations
(Plate 90, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]; 4, 5, 6 vars.).

Eggs received from the New Forest, June 25, 1907, were laid around a
slender, bare, twig of heather, the batch measuring about three-quarters of
an inch in length. At first they were golden yellow, but afterwards became
pale purplish brown and very glossy (Plate 91).

Although the eggs appear to be more frequently laid on heather than on
anything else, the caterpillars do not seem to be very partial to the plant
as an article of food if others are available. At the present time (October
13) I have about a score or so of young larvae feeding, and apparently
thriving, on dandelion, lettuce, and grass, but they certainly seem to
prefer the first named. They are now rather over half an inch in length,
and yellowish brown in colour; there is a whitish grey stripe along the
back; the warts are shining black, and the hairs arising from them are
black, mixed with a few longer white ones; head blackish.

Caterpillars after hibernation have been found on the grass, {169} _Aira
caespitosa_, during March from about the 10th onwards; they are then about
a quarter of an inch long, and according to the late Mr. Fowler, always
found on the sunny side of the clumps of _Aira_ stretched out, and
evidently enjoying the warmth of the sun. Some collected in that month were
reared on groundsel, and produced moths from July 12 to August 20. The
chrysalis is at first reddish, afterwards shining jet black; in a slight
egg-shaped white silken cocoon, spun up in tufts of grass.

In exceptional seasons the moth has emerged in late May, but June and July
are the usual months, and it may occur as late as August. It rests among
the heather, is easily disturbed on sunny days, and is very active on the
wing, although it does not fly far before settling again. The species is
very local in England, and only found on a heath near Bournemouth, in a
heathy district between Ringwood and Verwood in Dorset, and in a not
generally known part of the New Forest.

THE CRIMSON SPECKLED (_Deiopeia pulchella_).

This white moth, prettily speckled with black and red dots, is a native of
warmer countries than ours. However, it not only visits us now and then in
the course of its wanderings, but if the migrants arrive in England at a
suitable time of the year, the females most probably deposit eggs from
which caterpillars may hatch, and some of them feed up and produce moths
later in the same year. Stephens, writing in 1829, mentions a specimen
taken many years previously in Yorkshire. This was no doubt the earliest
known British example of Haworth's Crimson Speckled. A second specimen
captured in a field near Christchurch, Hants, in October, 1818, was figured
by Samouelle in 1819. Between the year last mentioned and 1827, two other
specimens occurred, both at Hove, Sussex. Stainton (1857) adds Epping,
Manchester, Stowmarket, and Worthing. In 1869 {170} three specimens were
taken in the autumn; and a specimen was found at Scarborough in June, 1870,
and one in Sussex. In 1871 a record was established, when at least thirty
specimens were obtained at various places on the east, south, and
south-west coasts, and in the Isle of Wight; one specimen being also
recorded from Manchester. Two specimens were taken in Cornwall, May, 1874,
and in the autumn of that year three occurred on the south coast, and one
in Derbyshire. The moth seems not to have been noticed in the springs of
1875 or 1876, but twenty-four specimens were recorded later in the former
year, and twenty-three in the latter. Between 1876 and 1892 less than
twenty specimens were reported altogether, and the species was either
entirely absent or overlooked in 1877, 1882, 1883, and from 1887 to 1891,
inclusive. In 1892 several moths were captured in May and June on the
coast; one at Brighton in July, two in the Hastings' district, and one at
Folkestone in August. Since 1892 and up to 1907, a period of fifteen years,
the species seems to have been rarely noted in England; the records showing
in 1894 (2), 1895 (1), 1906 (1). In 1901 three specimens were reported as
captured, and one seen at Earlsfield, Surrey, July 1 to 15. (Plate 92,
Figs. 3, 4.)

The caterpillar is greyish with black warts from which arise tufts of
hairs, blackish on the back and pale greyish on the sides; a white line on
the back, and one on the sides. Each ring is often barred with orange. Head
reddish-ochreous marked with black. Feeds on forget-me-not (_Myosotis_),
borage (_Borago_), etc. The chrysalis is reddish brown, enclosed in a white
silken cocoon spun up among the food plant, or on the surface of the
ground; in the latter case particles of earth adhere to the outside.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 90.
  1, 2, 4, 5, 6. SPECKLED FOOTMAN MOTH.
              3. FEATHERED FOOTMAN MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 91.
  SPECKLED FOOTMAN: _eggs and caterpillar_.

{171} The caterpillar is said to feed only in the sunshine, so that in our
islands the weather conditions would often be most unfavourable to the
species in the larval state. On the other hand its sun-loving habit would
expose it to the attacks of parasitical flies and other enemies. Anyway,
the Crimson Speckled seems quite unable to increase and multiply to any
extent even for a season in any part of England. Along the African and
European borders of the Mediterranean there are evidently several
generations of the moth in each year; the life cycle of the summer broods
being short, but more protracted in the later brood. Brownlow states that
eggs laid on October 20, hatched on the 22nd of the same month, and the
caterpillar stage lasted until February of the following year.
Distribution: Southern Europe, Africa, Canaries, Madeira; Asia Minor,
Armenia, Central Asia; India, and Australia.

Meyrick and others refer this species to _Utetheisa_, Hubn.

THE CINNABAR (_Hipocrita jacobaeae_).

This species was named the Cinnabar by Wilkes in 1773, such name of course
referring to the more or less vermillion colour of the hind wings and the
markings on the greyish black fore wings. The hind wings are often pinkish
in tint, and probably it was to such specimens that Moses Harris gave the
name "Pink Underwing." Very rarely the stripe on the front edge of the fore
wings unites with the upper hind marginal spot; still less frequently there
are some crimson scales in addition connecting the two hind marginal spots.
Occasionally specimens have been recorded in which the usual red colour is
replaced by bright yellow. The moth is shown on Plate 92, Figs. 1, 2, and
the early stages on Plate 93, Fig. 1.

The caterpillar is orange yellow and each ring is banded with purplish
black; the scanty hairs are short and blackish in colour. Head black. Feeds
in July and August on ragwort (_Senecio jacobaea_) and sometimes occurs in
such numbers as to completely clear large patches of the plant of every
particle of green, leaving nothing but the tougher portions of the bare
stems. {172}

The chrysalis is dark-brown tinged with reddish; in a slight silken cocoon
just under the surface of the ground, or among any loose material on the
ground.

[Illustration: FIG. 24.

CINNABAR CATERPILLARS FEEDING.

(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]

The moth is on the wing at the end of May and in June; odd specimens have
occasionally been seen in April. It occurs on waste ground, sandy heaths,
railway banks, downs, and hill-sides. Although fairly common generally, in
some years it is not at all plentiful even when caterpillars may have
abounded the previous season. When disturbed from among its food plant or
herbage around, it is not very active on the wing, and is easily captured.
Its usual time of flight is in the evening. Light seems to have an
attraction for it, as it has been taken at gas lamps in towns, some
distance from any place where the caterpillar could have fed.

Occurs in all suitable places throughout the greater part of England and in
Scotland up to Moray. Common in Ireland. Its range abroad includes all
Europe, except the extreme north and extends into Asia.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 92.
  1. CINNABAR MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
  3. CRIMSON SPECKLED FOOTMAN, _male_; 4 _female_.
  5. RED-NECKED FOOTMAN, _male_; 6 _female_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 93.
  1, 1a. CINNABAR: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  2, 2a. REDNECKED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{173}

FOOTMAN MOTHS (_Lithosiinae_).

The members of this sub-family of Arctiidae occurring in the British Isles
are not numerous; we can only muster some fifteen species, and although a
few are not uncommon, several are exceedingly local.

The moths of the genus _Lithosia_, when resting, fold their drab or
buff-coloured wings down closely along the body, and they then have a very
elongate and stiff appearance which probably gave rise to their English
name "Footmen." Most of them are very inactive, or even torpid during the
daytime. They repose on the branches and leaves of trees and bushes, or
among heather and other low herbage, and often fall to the ground when
disturbed. At dusk they become active and then fly pretty briskly.

The caterpillars are very hairy, the hairs arising in tufts from warts
(tubercles) are usually short, but in some species are of moderate length.
The majority hatch from the egg in the late summer, and do not complete
their growth until the following year, about May or June. Some of them are
known to be more or less active through the winter. In a state of nature
most of the caterpillars feed on lichens growing on trees, bushes, rocks,
or on the ground, but many kinds in confinement will thrive on a diet of
lettuce or even withered leaves.

In all cases the chrysalids are enclosed in silken cocoons, and these are
spun up among the lichens, in crevices of bark, or other suitable crannies.

THE RED-NECKED FOOTMAN (_Atolmis rubricollis_).

When newly emerged from the chrysalis this moth is black on all the wings,
but it soon loses its early velvety sheen and {174} becomes sooty in
appearance; the last rings are orange, but all the rest of the body is
black; the thorax also is black, but the part nearest the head, termed the
collar, is red, hence the common English name Red-neck moth given to it by
Harris (1778). Haworth called it the "Black Footman."

The caterpillar is greyish, more or less freckled with ochreous; three
lines along the back, the central one whitish, the others black and
interrupted; the hairs arising from reddish warts are brown or greyish
brown. Head black. It feeds from July to October on lichens, chiefly those
growing on fir and oak, but also on beech, and on old palings. Chrysalis,
glossy dark red-brown in a tight-fitting cocoon of silk mixed with the
hairs of the caterpillar; spun up among the lichen. The moth is shown on
Plate 92, Figs. 5, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 93.

The moth is on the wing in June and July; in forward seasons as early as
the end of May. On a sunny afternoon it may be seen careering around trees,
generally pretty high up. When resting the moths sit about on the trees or
on the herbage under them. In some years it occurs in large numbers, but it
is not usually very abundant, and sometimes even in its best localities
only a few specimens will be seen during the season. It frequents woods,
especially the larger ones, throughout the southern half of England up to
Norfolk on the east, and Hereford on the west. In the northern counties it
is rare, and is not common in Scotland or Ireland.

Abroad, its range is through Central and Northern Europe, except the
extreme north, to Dalmatia, Altai, and Amurland.

THE MUSLIN (_Nudaria mundana_).

This delicate little moth has the semi-transparent fore wings pale greyish,
faintly tinged with brown; crossed by irregular brownish lines; the hind
wings are paler, shaded with a darker tint on the outer margins.
Occasionally all the wings have a smoky tinge. The moth is shown on Plate
95, Figs. 3, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 94, Fig. 2.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 94.
      1. CRIMSON SPECKLED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
  2, 2a. MUSLIN MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis in cocoon_.
  3, 3a. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 95.
     1. ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.
  2, 5. ROSY FOOTMAN.
     3. MUSLIN FOOTMAN, _male_; 6 _female_.
     7. DEW MOTH, _male_; 9 _female_.
     8. FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 10 _female_.
    11. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 12 _female_.

{175} The caterpillar is greyish, with a broad whitish or yellowish stripe
along the back, divided down the centre and edged by blackish lines; a
velvety black mark on ring seven; raised warts and hairs dark greyish. Head
black, shining; face yellowish. It may be found in April and May, after
hibernation, on rocks, stone walls, especially those formed of loose
cobbles or shale, trees, bushes, and even gate posts. I have beaten them
from an old hawthorn hedge bordering a damp meadow in Middlesex, and
collected them in numbers from the hollows of field boundary walls in North
Devon. They feed on the tiny lichen that grows in such places as those
indicated. The green, or yellowish-green chrysalis, is enclosed in a rather
loose muslin-like silken cocoon, and is not difficult to obtain, especially
from walls. It appears to be pretty generally distributed throughout
England and Wales, except perhaps the midland and eastern counties; it
occurs in the east and west of Scotland. In Ireland it is common, and often
abundant, locally.

Distribution: Northern and Central Europe.

THE ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN (_Comacla senex_).

As indicated by the English name given to it by Haworth, the wings of this
moth are rounder in outline than those of the Muslin, also named by
Haworth. In general colour it agrees with that species, but it differs in
having a larger central dot, and the cross lines are represented by
blackish dots which, however, are not always well defined (Plate 95, Figs.
1, 4).

The caterpillar, as described by Buckler, is deep reddish-grey, thickly
covered with hairs which are of two kinds; the majority are pale brown with
black points and slightly feathered, others are longer, black, and densely
feathered with soft pale-brown {176} plumage. Head black and shining. It
feeds in August and, after hibernation, in May on lichens and mosses
growing on the ground in marshes and fens. It is known to eat _Peltigera
canina_, and the mosses _Hypnum sericeum_, and _Weissia serrata_. Although
occurring, in July and August, in marshy places in several parts of
Southern England and Wales, it is especially common in fen land. In such
localities as Wicken, for example, it flies at early dusk in hundreds all
over the fen on favourable nights, but if there happens to be a breeze the
moths will not leave their retreat among the herbage. Later on in the
night, if on the wing, they readily assemble around a brightly burning
lamp, and are satisfied to sit on the herbage illuminated by its rays. In
Northern England it is known to be not uncommon in some districts of
Yorkshire, and it probably occurs in other counties also. There appears to
be only a single record each from Ireland and Scotland.

THE ROSY FOOTMAN (_Miltochrista miniata_).

The fore wings of this pretty little moth are ochreous yellow tinged with
pink; the front and hind margins are bright pink, in some cases approaching
vermillion; the markings are bluish black; hind wings rather paler. It
varies in the amount of black markings, which are sometimes almost absent,
and in colour ranges from yellow to orange. (Plate 95, Figs. 2, 5.)

The caterpillar is dark drab covered above with blackish, mouse-coloured
plumed hairs; on rings one and eleven the plumose hairs are replaced by
short simple ones; the hairs of the side tufts are plain. Head brown, the
cheeks outlined in black (adapted from Hellins). Lichens growing upon the
stems and branches of trees supply this caterpillar with food, and it seems
to nibble on all favourable opportunities throughout the winter. It hatches
from the egg in August, and is full grown in May. Boden, writing in
September, 1896 (_The Entomologist_) noted that some caterpillars had then
attained the perfect state, while others were still feeding, and he adds
that the caterpillars actually attacked and ate up the moths. Although
there seems to be few records from the Midlands, this species appears to be
widely distributed over England as far north as Yorkshire. In Ireland it
has been recorded from Claring Bridge and East Galway. The moth is out in
July. It is a wood-loving insect, but is also found on heaths, and even in
lanes and the borders of fields when plenty of trees occur in such places.
It may occasionally be beaten out of trees and bushes in the day time but
it is on the wing at dusk, and although it is a high flier, specimens come
within reach now and then. Light and sugar both attract it. The species
ranges through Central and Northern Europe, and in Asia to Japan.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 96.
  1, 1a, 1b. BUFF FOOTMAN: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
          2. COMMON FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
          3. SCARCE FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 97.
  1. BUFF FOOTMAN, _male_; 2, 3 _females_.
  4. DINGY FOOTMAN.
  5. PALE FOOTMAN.
  6. COMMON FOOTMAN.
  7. SCARCE FOOTMAN.
  8. NORTHERN FOOTMAN.

{177}

THE DEW MOTH (_Endrosa irrorella_).

Varies in colour from yellowish buff to creamy white, the colour on the
margins always deeper; the rows of black spots on the fore wings are
usually well defined, but sometimes those of the two central series are
very faint, or quite absent, whilst an unusual number appear in the outer
marginal series, Occasionally black scales appear on the veins, connecting
the spots, and forming the figures [sideways vee between horizontal bars]
more or less distinctly; such forms are known as var. _signata_, Borkh. The
moth appears in June and July. (Plate 95, Figs. 7, 9.)

When resting, the moth hangs from a blade of grass, or leaf of some plant;
it then has a very transparent appearance. Barrett suggests that this gave
rise to the English name it now bears, and by which it was known to Haworth
and entomologists of his time.

Buckler and Hellins describe the caterpillar as blackish-brown above, and
dark-reddish grey or purplish grey on the sides; a series of yellow spots
along the middle of the back, then a white {178} and yellow interrupted
line, followed by a light yellow stripe under the spiracles; raised spots
blackish, some white; hairs blackish brown. Head black.

It feeds, in the sunshine, on the black and yellow lichens growing in the
haunts of the species, which are edges of cliffs and rough stony places
near the sea, and also on hillsides. The species occurs, perhaps, more
abundantly on the Kentish and Sussex coast than inland, but it is certainly
not confined to the cliffs at Dover and Folkestone in Kent, or at Ventnor,
Isle of Wight. Among inland localities for it are Box Hill, Ranmore,
Reigate, and other places on the Surrey hills. It has also been recorded
from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire; the Isle of Man; St. Davids, South
Wales; Aberdeenshire, Sutherlandshire, and the Tweed, Tay, Clyde, and
Argyll districts in Scotland. For Ireland, Kane gives Mayo; "Ardrahan,
County Galway, and west through the Burren of Clare, widely spread."

THE FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN (_Cybosia mesomella_).

Fore wings pale creamy white, the margins yellowish: a black dot near the
costa, and another below near the inner margin; hind wings suffused with
blackish grey. Rarely the fore wings are yellow with a whitish central
shade, and the hind wings are yellowish. (Plate 95, Figs. 8, 10.)

The caterpillar is velvety blackish grey; warts thickly set with densely
feathered blackish hairs. Feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on
lichens growing among heather. In confinement it will, according to
Buckler, eat heather and fresh or withered leaves of sallow.

Fairly well distributed over England. It appears to be absent from Ireland,
but in Scotland it is known to occur in the Clyde, Solway, and Moray
districts, and has been recorded from Aberdeenshire. In the South of
England it affects heaths and the more open woods; sometimes not uncommon
in {179} such places. The moth, in June, may be disturbed from bushes, or
put up from the heather as one walks through. As the sun goes down it may
often be seen on the wing, but later in the evening is its chief time of
activity. In Lancashire and Cheshire it is found on the mosses, and Cannock
Chase in Staffordshire is a noted locality for it. Still obtained in
Chippenham fen, but Barrett states that it is now supposed to be extinct in
the fens of Wicken, Yaxley, and Burwell, in all of which it used to abound.

THE FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN (_Oeonestis quadra_).

The sexes of this species are very different in appearance. The fore wings
of the male are grey tinged with yellowish, except on the outer fourth; the
basal fourth is yellow. The female is larger and yellow in colour; each
fore wing has two black spots, sometimes unusually large, sometimes mere
dots, and more rarely absent altogether. (Plate 95, Figs. 11, 12.)

Caterpillar blackish with four wavy yellow lines along the back, the spaces
between the lines powdered and freckled with yellow giving a grey
appearance; raised spots on the back red, those on the sides greyish; a
black cross on rings three, seven, and eleven; hairs grey mixed with black.
Head black and glossy. It feeds, after hibernation, in May and June, on
lichens, preferring those upon oak trees. In the breeding cage it is apt to
eat its companions, especially when many are crowded into a small
receptacle. (Plate 94, Fig. 3.)

The moth emerges in July, and during that month, and sometimes in August,
it may be seen on tree trunks; but it more often reposes on the branches,
from which it may be dislodged by jarring the boughs with a stick, when it
drops rather than flies towards the ground, but generally manages to arrest
its downward course by catching hold of a spray of bracken or some other
plant and there awaits capture. Night is the usual {180} time of flight,
but it is on the wing at dusk. It is partial to "sugar" and has been known
to visit flowers.

This species has been recorded from a large number of localities in England
extending from the Scilly Isles to the Scottish border. From the
circumstances connected with many of such captures one is led to suspect
that the insect has migratory habits. In England the most favoured locality
is the New Forest in Hampshire, where it abounds in some seasons, but is
quite scarce in others. It occurs, more or less regularly, in the larger
woods in Dorset, extending into Devon; also in Sussex ranging into Kent,
but is only occasionally common in either of these counties. Generally
considered to be uncommon in the eastern counties, but has been reported to
occur in large numbers at Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The localities given in
Kane's catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland are Killarney, Timoleague,
Co. Cork, Curraghmore (abundant), Lismore, Borris, Co. Carlow, and
Clonbrock. To these may be added Dublin, and Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Armenia,
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

THE BUFF FOOTMAN (_Lithosia deplana_).

Fore wings, ochreous grey, tinged with yellow on the basal half of the
front margins; hind wings paler, becoming greyer on the outer area; fringes
of all the wings yellow. The male is fairly constant in colour, but the
female sometimes has a distinct yellow stripe on the front margin of the
fore wings extending to the fringes (var. _ochreola_, Hubn.); more rarely
in the New Forest (?), and in the Isle of Purbeck a form occurs with the
fore wings orange buff, and the hind wings only slightly tinged with grey
(var. _unicolor_, Bankes). (Plate 97, Figs. 1-3.)

[Illustration]

  Pl. 98.
  1, 1a. HOARY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      2. DINGY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
      3. DOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 99.
  1, 2. HOARY FOOTMAN.
  3, 4. PIGMY FOOTMAN.
     5. DOTTED FOOTMAN.
  6, 7. ORANGE FOOTMAN.

{181} Caterpillar, greyish, or greenish grey, freckled with darker, hairs
grey inclining to brownish; a broad creamy or yellowish stripe, edged with
black and traversed by a dark central line along the back. Head blackish
and glossy. From August to June on lichens growing on stems and branches of
yew, oak, and beech.

A local species, and although recorded now and then from several other
parts of the country, and once from Killarney in Ireland, seems to be
pretty much confined to the counties of Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Dorset, and
Devon. The moth, which is out in July, rests during the day upon the boughs
and among the foliage of oak, beech, and yew, the latter especially in the
Dorking district of Surrey.

Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Scandinavia, Livonia, Northern
Italy, Roumelia, and Russia.

THE DINGY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia griseola_).

Haworth's English name for this moth was the "Dun Footman." In its typical
form the fore wings are pale greyish with a yellowish front edging; the
latter most distinct towards the base; the hind wings are whitish ochreous
more or less suffused with grey. The pale form, var. _flava_, Haw. =
_stramineola_, Doubl. at one time considered a distinct species (the
Straw-coloured Footman of Haworth), has pale straw-coloured fore wings and
white ochreous hind wings. (Plate 97, Figs. 4, 5.)

Caterpillar, sooty brown, with a darker line down the middle of the back
and an interrupted yellow or orange line or stripe on each side of it; dark
brown hairs arising from dark warts; head glossy black (described from a
skin). It may be looked for in the spring months on the lichens affecting
alders and sallows growing in fens and marshy places. (Plate 98, Fig. 2.)

The moth is abundant in the Cambridge and Norfolk fens, and is common in
boggy places in the New Forest, but it probably occurs in all suitable
places throughout England and Wales. It does not seem to have been observed
in Ireland, {182} but has been recorded from Moray in Scotland. The yellow
variety, which by the way is not known to occur abroad, is found, with the
ordinary form, chiefly in the Norfolk fens and in the New Forest; but it is
also to be obtained, though less frequently, in Surrey (Weybridge
district), Berkshire (Reading district), and still more rarely elsewhere.
It is out in July.

Distribution: Central Europe, South Russia, Ural, Altai, Amurland, Corea,
Japan, and West Africa.

THE COMMON FOOTMAN (_Lithosia lurideola_).

Fore wings, leaden grey with a yellow stripe terminating in a point at the
tip of the wing; the hind wings are pale ochreous yellow. It appears in
July, sometimes at the end of June.

Caterpillar, dark greyish covered with blackish hairs arising from black
warts on the back, and yellowish hairs from similar coloured warts on the
sides; three black or blackish lines on the back, and an orange stripe
along the sides from the fourth to eleventh rings; head black. August to
June. Generally supposed to feed, in a state of nature, on lichen growing
on trees and bushes. It has been reared on the foliage of sallow, apple,
and oak; also known to eat buckthorn, clematis, dogwood, etc. I have
occasionally beaten it from old hedgerows, and have frequently seen it on
trunks of poplar and ash upon which not much in the way of lichen could be
seen. Such caterpillars, when taken, have almost invariably spun up soon
afterwards. The moth is shown on Plate 97, Fig. 6, and the early stages on
Plate 96, Fig. 2.

This species is perhaps the commonest and most generally distributed member
of the genus in England. It becomes much less frequent in northern pasts of
Lancashire, and in Yorkshire it is local, but recorded as common in the
south-east of that county. It occurs in Scotland, whence it has been
recorded from Clydesdale, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. Kane {183} states that
it is common near Galway, and also gives Castle Bellingham, Clogher Head
(not rare), and Athlone as Irish localities.

Distributed over Europe, except the extreme north, Andalusia and Southern
Italy; the range extending to Asia Minor and Armenia. In Amurland, Corea,
and Japan, it is represented by _coreana_, Leech.

THE SCARCE FOOTMAN (_Lithosia complana_).

Very similar in appearance to the last species, the yellow stripe along the
front edge of the fore wings, however, does not terminate in a point, but
is continued through to the fringes; the hind wings are sometimes
distinctly yellow, and with but little, if any, greyish shading on the
front area. (Plate 97, Fig. 7.)

Caterpillar, brown or brownish grey above, and paler beneath; a white-edged
black line along the middle of the back, and a row of orange spots,
alternating with whitish ones, on each side of the line; the orange spots
faint or absent on rings one to three; an interrupted yellow or orange
stripe along the sides; the brownish warts are thickly studded with short
greyish brown hairs. Head black and glossy (described from a skin). From
August to June. The most usual food is probably lichens on trees, but it is
said to eat moss, knot-grass, clover, and the flowers of bird's-foot
trefoil, etc. (Plate 96, Fig. 3.)

The moth is out in July and part of August, and may be disturbed in the
daytime from its resting-place among heather and low herbage. It is on the
wing in the dusk of the evening, and when the weather is favourable, flies
freely. As it has a weakness for sweets, it should be looked for at night,
by the aid of a lantern, on the flowers of knapweed and thistle. It chiefly
affects heaths, but it is also found in woods, and on sandhills by the sea,
as in Norfolk. A local species, but usually to be more or less frequently
met with in all the eastern {184} and southern counties, and in some of the
midland. Rare in Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and York. Only doubtfully
recorded from Scotland. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and, according
to Kane, not uncommon where it occurs.

THE NORTHERN FOOTMAN (_Lithosia sericea_).

Gregson named and described this insect in 1860, and in the following year
Guenee described it as _L. molybdeola_. It seems to be peculiar to England;
and only occurs on the mosses of Lancashire and Cheshire. The fore wings
are somewhat narrower and darker in colour than those of the Scarce
Footman; and the hind wings are suffused, to a greater or lesser extent,
with dark grey. Some entomologists maintain that this is probably only a
small form of _L. complana_. According to Mr. Pierce it cannot be
specifically separated from that species or from _L. pygmaeola_ by the
genitalia, the usual test in such matters. Prout, however, has stated that
Speyer, in 1867, pointed out structural differences, not only in the shape
of the wings, but also in the size of the costal tuft of scales on the
underside of the fore wings. It should be added that there does not seem to
be any material difference between the caterpillar of _complana_ and that
of _sericea_. Anyway, the question of form or species may here be left
open. The fact of the Northern, or Gregson's, Footman being an exclusive
British production invests the insect with an importance greatly above that
attaching to the majority of our moths. The moth is depicted on Plate 97,
Fig. 8.

THE PIGMY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia lutarella_).

Ochreous white, sometimes tinged with greyish, or with yellowish; hind
wings clouded with greyish on the front area. Female almost always smaller
than the male. The fore wings {185} vary a good deal in the matter of
colour, the extremes being yellow and dark grey. (Plate 99, Figs. 3, 4.)

Buckler describes the caterpillar as brown on the back, with a central
thick black line, and two dark brown lines; sides paler brown, with a dusty
white line along the spiracles; the warts (tubercles) with short brown
hairs, and the head black. August to June.

This extremely local little moth was unknown as an inhabitant of Britain
until 1847, when it was described as _L. pygmaeola_, by Doubleday in the
_Zoologist_ for that year, and noted as having been found among rushes on
the coast of Kent. Two years later the insect was again referred to, and it
was then stated to be confined to a "space of about four hundred yards in
extent, on the coast of Deal." It then became known as the "Deal Footman."
During the past seventy years or so large numbers have no doubt been
removed from this locality, which is the only British one it was known to
occur in. It is still to be found there, although said to be less common
than formerly. In the _Entomologist_ for September, 1912, this species was
recorded as not uncommon on marram grass growing on the Norfolk coast.

Some present-day entomologists still incline to the opinion that the moth
is a distinct species, and not a local race of _lutarella_, which is found
throughout Central and Eastern Europe; ranging to South Scandinavia,
Finland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland. The var. _pygmaeola_ has
been obtained in Holland.

THE HOARY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia caniola_).

Fore wings silky whitish grey with a yellowish streak along the front edge;
the hind wings are whitish with a faint yellowish tinge. Some of the
specimens are entirely whitish (var. _lacteola_, Boisd.). July and August,
sometimes earlier. (Plate 99, Figs. 1, 2.) {186}

Caterpillar greyish brown, with a black line along the back, and a series
of irregular orange marks, representing stripes, on each side of it; these
orange marks are outwardly edged with black; an orange line low down along
the sides; warts greyish or brownish, each bearing a tuft of short pale
hairs. Head blackish, shining, notched on the crown, and studded with pale
bristles in front. Fed on lettuce from April 30, the date they were
received from Mr. Walker of Torquay. They were then quite small, the
largest not more than half an inch in length. They pupated in June, and the
moths emerged in July, all fine specimens. (Plate 98, Fig. 1.)

In the open the caterpillar feeds upon the black lichens growing on rocks,
etc., by the sea; also upon Dutch clover (_Trifolium repens_), kidney vetch
(_Anthyllis vulneraria_), and bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_).

This species was not known to occur in any part of the British Isles until
August, 1861, when the late Mr. C. G. Barrett took four specimens on the
Hill of Howth in Ireland (_vide Ent. Annual_, 1862, p. 106). A large number
were subsequently captured or reared from caterpillars obtained in the same
locality by others. Kane ("Cat. Lep. Ireland") remarks that the colony
flourished at Howth for many years, but that the species seemingly perished
in the severe winters of 1878 or 1879, and unless a specimen taken in 1890
was this species, has not since been seen there. The only other Irish
locality from which it has been recorded (August, 1866) is on the coast
near Waterford. Torquay, where the species was first observed in 1864 is
now a noted locality, and it is said to occur in certain spots along the
coast to Babbicombe. Other localities in Devon are Dartmouth, Torcross, and
Bolt Head. Barrett found the species rarely in two places by the sea in
South Pembrokeshire, and mentions Rye in Sussex, and Romney Marsh in Kent,
as localities where specimens have occurred.

Mr. J. Walker informs me that the moths fly at dusk, and {187} that they
all seem to get active at almost the same moment, and settle again in the
same way at the end of their first flight, which lasts about half an hour.
After dark the rays of an acetylene lamp directed downwards into the bushes
will attract them from their retreat. Occasionally they visit "sugar."

Abroad this is a southern species, but its range extends to Western
Germany, the Tyrol, Switzerland, and South Hungary, as well as to England;
also to Asia Minor.

THE ORANGE FOOTMAN (_Lithosia sororcula_).

This moth is orange yellow on the fore wings, and a paler shade of the same
colour on the hind wings. Except that the tint is brighter in some
specimens and darker in others, there is nothing to mention in the way of
aberration. (Plate 99, Figs. 6, 7.)

The caterpillar is white on the back with five black stripes, the outer
ones broader than the others; all these stripes are broken up by brownish
patches, and they fail to show at all on the eighth ring, which, therefore,
is conspicuously white; the sides are smoky grey marked with white on the
second and third rings; the warts are reddish, bearing smoky grey hairs. It
may be found from July to September on the lichens growing on the trunks of
oak trees. The moth does not appear until the following May or June, when
it may be beaten from branches. Not uncommon in the woods, chiefly oak, of
Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, and Dorset; it also
occurs in Cambridgeshire and Sussex. In Berkshire and Bucks it is fairly
common, but seems to affect the beech woods in those counties. Recorded
from Ireland by Birchall, who stated that it was abundant at Killarney.

THE DOTTED FOOTMAN (_Pelosia muscerda_).

The fore wings are pale grey suffused with pale reddish-brown except on the
costal area: there are six black dots, two {188} before the middle of the
wing and placed above the inner margin, and four beyond the middle in an
oblique series from the costa; the hind wings are pale brownish-grey,
becoming somewhat darker towards the apex. (Plate 99, Fig. 5.)

Caterpillar velvety blackish-brown, marbled with reddish-grey; stripe along
middle of the back, and a line on each side of it deep black; warts and
hairs brown, the latter short but numerous; a pair of red spots on ring
one, and another pair on ring twelve; beneath the spiracles is a fine
reddish-grey line; under surface pinkish grey; head small and blackish
(Buckler). So far it has escaped detection in its fenny home, but it has
been reared from eggs laid by a captured female. Caterpillars obtained in
this way seem to have thrived on a mixed diet of lichens, mosses, and
withered leaves of bramble and sallow. August to May. Buckler states that
the dark chestnut-brown pupa is enclosed in a double cocoon, the inner a
webby one of greyish silk, and the outer one thinner and composed of white
silk. The whole affair was formed in a curled-up bramble leaf. The
caterpillar is figured on Plate 98, Fig. 5.

The moth is out in late July and through August. It has been obtained in a
certain marshy locality in the New Forest, Hants, and also in some marshes
at Sandwich, Kent. Its chief haunts are, however, in the fens of Norfolk,
such as those on the river Bure, and Brundall fen on the Yare, but Horning
and Ranworth are, perhaps, the headquarters of the species. It may be
mentioned that when Stephens wrote about this insect in 1829 only two
specimens had then occurred in Britain, and these had been found in a marsh
at Horning floating upon the water in a ditch.

Distribution: Central Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Corsica
and Sardinia, Amurland and Japan.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 100.
     1. SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR.
     2. NUT-TREE TUSSOCK.
  3, 4. MILLER MOTH.
     5. SYCAMORE MOTH.
     6. POPLAR GREY.
     7. MARSH DAGGER.
  8, 9. ALDER MOTH.
    10. DARK DAGGER.
    11. GRAY DAGGER.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 101.
          1. POPLAR GREY: _caterpillar_.
      2, 2a. SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  3, 3a, 3b. NUT-TREE TUSSOCK: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
          4. DARK DAGGER: _caterpillar_.
      5, 5a. GREY DAGGER: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{189}

NOCTUIDAE.

This extensive assemblage of moths, commonly known as noctuas, and locally
as "millers," "owlets," and "buzzards," has been divided by Staudinger into
five sub-families--Acronyctinae, Trifinae, Gonopterinae, Quadrifinae, and
Hypeninae. These divisions are here adopted, and the arrangement of species
is adhered to pretty closely, except in the Trifinae, where it has been
considered necessary to make sundry alterations so as to fall more in line
with later classification, at least so far as concerns genera.

The eggs of species in this family are round and somewhat flattened in
shape, and the shell is fluted or netted. Some few examples of these have
been figured.

Most of the larvae conceal themselves during the day, in the ground, among
low herbage, or in spun-together leaves, and only leave their retreat at
night to feed. Most kinds change to the chrysalis state underground, but
some pupate among leaves or in chinks of tree bark, etc.

With some few exceptions the moths fly only at night, by far the larger
number will visit the sugar patch, and others come readily to flowers or to
light.

Distribution abroad will only be referred to where this is restricted in
Europe, or extends far beyond European limits.

ACRONYCTINAE.

THE SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR (_Diphtera orion_).

This pretty moth has the fore wings green variegated with white stripes and
black cross lines; the hind wings are greyish, marked with white at the
anal angle. The spaces between the interrupted cross lines of the fore
wings are often marked with {190} black, and this is the typical form of
the species; the plainer specimens--those less spotted with black--being
referable to var. _runica_, Stephens. Stephens in 1829 notes that the
species was then little known in England. It is still very local,
inhabiting oak woods in Sussex (Hailsham), Hampshire (New Forest, sometimes
common), Devonshire (Plymouth district), Cornwall (East Looe), Essex
(Colchester), and Suffolk (Ipswich). The moth is out in June; on September
5, 1906, Mr. L. W. Newman bred a small specimen that had only been in the
chrysalis seventeen days. Usually it rests by day on boughs, and sometimes
on the trunks of trees (see Fig. 8, p. 9); it flies at night and then
patronizes the sugar patch, but often is a late visitor. The caterpillar,
which feeds upon oak in July and August, is black on the back with a yellow
or whitish blotch on rings four, six, and nine; the reddish warts are
crowned with tufts of brown or whitish hairs. Head black marked with yellow
except on the top. It is also said to eat leaves of beech and birch.
Staudinger gives _alpium_, Osbeck (1778), as an earlier name than _orion_,
Esp. Hampson refers alpinum to _Daseochaeta_, Warren.

Distribution: Central and Northern Europe, and represented by var.
_murrhina_, Graes., in Amurland, China, and Japan.

The moth is depicted on Plate 100, Fig. 1, and the caterpillar and
chrysalis on Plate 101, Figs. 2, 2a.

THE NUT-TREE TUSSOCK (_Demas coryli_).

Usually the fore wings of this moth appear to be brownish, or reddish brown
on the basal half, and whitish, more or less suffused with greyish, or
sometimes reddish brown, on the outer half; the hind wings are pale
brownish, or greyish, lighter towards the base. Not infrequently the fore
wings are greyish white with some brownish clouding between the two
blackish cross lines. The caterpillar is variable in colour, but generally
of some shade of brown, ranging from dark chocolate brown to {191} pale
ochreous, covered with soft hair; the pencils of long hairs on the first
ring, and the tufts of hairs on rings four, five, and eleven, may be red,
greyish, or blackish; the broken stripe along the back is greyish, and the
stripe low down on each side may be red, brown, or greyish. It feeds in
June and July, and as a second generation in September, on the foliage of
beech, birch, hazel, hornbeam, etc.: bushes growing in exposed positions
such as a hedge bank or hill side are chiefly fancied. The moth flies in
May and June, and again in August and September. It probably occurs in most
of the English counties, but is most frequent in Berkshire, Bucks, and
Devon. Not uncommon in Clydesdale, but more plentiful in Aberdeenshire, and
is also obtained in Perthshire, and in other parts of Scotland. Widely
distributed in Ireland.

The moth is shown on Plate 100, Fig. 2, and the early stages on Plate 101,
Figs. 3, 3a, 3b.

THE MILLER (_Acronycta leporina_).

In its typical form the wings are quite white with but little in the way of
marking. Most, if not all, the specimens occurring in Britain are the more
or less greyish suffused and more marked, variety known as _bradyporina_,
Treits. (Plate 100, Figs. 3 [male], 4 [female].) Sometimes the outer
margins of the fore wings, beyond the second cross line, are shaded or
dusted with blackish (var. _semivirga_, Tutt). In the Liverpool district a
form is occasionally obtained in which the fore wings are darkly suffused,
and the thorax is black (var. _melanocephala_, Mansbridge). A specimen with
black fore wings and white fringes has been bred from a caterpillar found
in Essex (_Entomologist_, xxxviii., 289, and xxxix., 97).

The caterpillar is pale green clothed with long white, and a few black
hairs; these fall downwards, and on the one side curve forwards, and on the
other side backwards. Sometimes in the {192} south of England, more
frequently in the north, the ground colour and hairs are yellow, and there
are more or less distinct reddish brown bands on the back and sides. It may
be found from July to September, or even later, on birch or alder, rarely
on oak and poplar. The moth occurs in May and June, as a rule. In 1904 I
took a freshly emerged specimen on July 23, at Byfleet in Surrey, and some
half-grown caterpillars were obtained on the same day, and very near the
same spot. The species is found in woods, and on heaths and mosses, where
birch or alder flourishes, from Devonshire in England to Sutherlandshire in
Scotland. It is not common anywhere in our islands, but is perhaps most
frequently met with in the south and east of England. In Ireland it appears
to have been found only in the southern counties.

THE SYCAMORE (_Acronycta aceris_).

The dark mottled grey moth on Plate 100, Fig. 5, is not much given to
variation, but occasionally brownish suffused forms occur (var.
_candelisequa_, Esp. = _infuscata_, Haworth).

The caterpillar (Plate 102, Fig. 3) feeds in August and September upon
sycamore, maple, and sometimes plum and chestnut. It has some black-edged
white marks along the middle of the back; the pointed tufts of long hairs
are yellow or reddish. When it is at rest on the underside of a leaf, or
coils in a ring on being disturbed, the hair tufts gave the creature a
somewhat prickly appearance. The moth is out in June and July.

The species is more or less common pretty well through the southern and
eastern counties, and fairly so in and around London. Its range extends to
Warwickshire and Herefordshire; but it is scarce in both counties. The
Irish localities for it are Claring Bridge and Ahascragh, Co. Galway;
Glandore and Timologue, Co. Cork; Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 102.
          1. KNOT GRASS: _caterpillar_.
          2. SCARCE DAGGER: _caterpillars_.
  3, 3a, 3b. SYCAMORE: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 103.
  1, 2. LIGHT KNOT-GRASS.
     3. SCARCE DAGGER.
     4. SWEET GALE MOTH.
     5. CORONET MOTH.
  6, 7. KNOT-GRASS MOTH.
     8. MARBLED GREEN, _male_; 11 _female_.
     9. MARBLED BEAUTY, _male_; 12 _female_.
    10. POWDERED WAINSCOT.

{193}

THE POPLAR GREY (_Acronycta megacephala_).

This moth is somewhat like that last noticed, but the fore wings are darker
grey; the whitish orbicular mark is margined with black, and has a dark
central dot. Sometimes the fore wings are clouded with blackish, and
occasionally entirely suffused with black. In several species of
_Acronycta_ newly disclosed specimens have a faint pinky tinge, but this is
especially noticeable in the present species. (Plate 100, Fig. 6.)

The caterpillar is ochreous or grey brown, marked with blackish; a
conspicuous character is a black-edged whitish or ochreous patch on ring
ten; the hairs are whitish, those on the sides rather long. It feeds from
July to September on the foliage of poplars. (Plate 101, Fig. 1).

This well-known cockney species is on the wing from late May to mid-August.
Has been bred in September from a caterpillar taken in July, also in
October from August larvae. It is often abundant on poplars (especially the
caterpillars) in London and suburbs. Common all over the southern parts of
England, except perhaps in Devon and Cornwall; its range extends through
Northern England to Ross in Scotland; and it is found in the south of
Ireland.

THE ALDER (_Acronycta alni_).

[Illustration: Fig. 26.

CATERPILLAR OF THE ALDER-MOTH.

(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]

The sexes of this black-clouded grey moth are shown on Plate 100, Figs. 8
and 9[female]. Except that the black clouding sometimes spreads over a
greater area of the fore wings, there is little to note in aberration, at
least in a general way. In 1906 a melanic specimen was bred from a
chrysalis taken from alder in Delamere Forest, Cheshire; this is probably
referable to var. _steinerti_, Caspari.

The caterpillar (Fig. 26) is black, marked with yellow; the {194} curious
clubbed hairs are its distinguishing feature. Although named after the
alder, it feeds on the leaves of most trees and bushes in July and August,
sometimes earlier or later. The moth is out in May and June, but although
an occasional specimen has been taken at sugar or light, once resting on
nettles, it is rarely met with. Caterpillars also are not by any means
common, and any one who may obtain even a single example in a season may
congratulate himself on a good find. They are perhaps most frequent in the
Hampshire (New Forest) district and some of the Sussex woodlands, but have
occurred now and then in almost every county of England up to Yorkshire;
also in Glamorganshire, Carmarthenshire, and at Trefriw in Wales. The only
Irish locality is Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow. The range abroad extends to
Armenia, Amurland, and Japan.

THE MARSH DAGGER (_Acronycta strigosa_).

This little moth, known also as the "Grisette," seems confined, as a
British species, to the country around Cambridge; but it has been twice
recorded from Norfolk, two specimens have been reported from
Worcestershire, and one from Gloucestershire; the latter at sugar in June,
1897. The latest records that I have seen refer to a moth taken at sugar
near Chatteris {195} in 1904, two caterpillars beaten out of hawthorn in
August, 1905, and a moth on an ash tree, Wicken, July 31, 1907. (Plate 100,
Fig. 7).

The caterpillar is yellowish green, with a red brown stripe along the back;
two small elevations on ring four, and one on ring eleven; the hairs are
blackish on the back, one of each tuft longer than the others. It feeds on
hawthorn in August and early September. The moth is out in July. This
species is found abroad in Central Europe and Southern France; also in
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

THE DARK DAGGER (_Acronycta tridens_).

The English name of this moth is not very suitable, as in general colour it
is often really paler than many examples of the next species. Specimens
with a blackish cloud at the base, and a dark band-like suffusion on the
outer margin of the fore wings are referable to var. _virga_, Tutt. It is
widely distributed in England and Wales, but apparently not common; rare in
Scotland and in Ireland. I am unable to indicate any character that will
serve to distinguish this moth from the Grey Dagger. The moth flies in
June; a second brood sometimes occurs in confinement in October. The
caterpillars of the two species are very distinct. That of the present
species is black, with a broad reddish stripe along the back, and one on
each side; the first is interrupted with white, and the others with black;
there is a black hump on the fourth ring, and a broader one on the eleventh
ring. It feeds from August to October on hawthorn, sloe, plum, pear, and
apple; also on birch and sallow.

The moth is shown on Plate 100, Fig. 10; and the caterpillar on Plate 101,
Fig. 4.

THE GREY DAGGER (_Acronycta psi_).

The ground colour varies from whitish to blackish grey, Var. _bivirgae_,
Tutt, is similar to var. _virga_ of the last species. {196} In var.
_bidens_, Chapman, the first cross line is double, enclosing a pale stripe;
the upper part of second cross line is more angled, and the dagger mark at
the anal angle is much shortened.

The caterpillar has a taller and more slender hump on ring four, and the
stripe along the back is clear yellow, with black edged red spots on each
side of it. Generally distributed, and often common.

The moth is shown on Plate 100, Fig. 11; and the caterpillar and chrysalis
on Plate 101, Figs. 5 and 5a.

THE LIGHT KNOT GRASS (_Acronycta menyanthidis_).

Portraits of this moth will be found on Plate 103, Figs. 1[male],
2[female]. Several modifications have been named, the most important of
these are var. _scotica_, Tutt, which is larger and brighter than the type,
with the markings clear and distinct; var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is much
suffused with black. The former is chiefly found in Scotland, and the
latter in Yorkshire.

The caterpillar is black or sooty-brown, with a red stripe, or blotches,
low down along the sides; hairs black or red-brown. In August and September
feeding by day on sweet-gale or bog myrtle (_Myrica gale_), bilberry,
heather, dwarf sallow, etc. The moth flies in June and July, and may be
found on the mosses and moorlands of North England and Scotland. It rests
by day on rocks, stones, and, where they are handy, on posts and rails. I
found several on Danes Moss, Cheshire, sitting on a derelict tub. Also
occurring in Ireland, but not common.

THE SCARCE DAGGER (_Acronycta auricoma_).

The pale grey, darker-mottled moth depicted on Plate 103, Fig. 3, is very
local, and only occurs in some of the woods of {197} Kent and Sussex; the
districts mentioned being those of Rochester, Canterbury, Hailsham, and
Hastings.

The caterpillar is figured on Plate 102, Fig. 2. It is slaty grey in colour
with a black plate on the first ring; on the back of each ring is a broad
black band, and four orange warts from which arise golden-yellow silky
hairs; the hairs on the sides are pale drab (adapted from Buckler). It
feeds in June and early July, sometimes in September, on oak, birch,
various kinds of _Rubus_, such as blackberry and raspberry, and also on
bilberry (_Vaccinium_). The moth is out in late April and in May;
occasionally late July and in August. It is rarely seen in the day time,
but has been found resting on tree trunks. The range abroad extends to
Southern Russia and Siberia.

THE SWEET-GALE MOTH (_Acronycta euphorbiae_ var. _myricae_).

Our form of this species--var. _myricae_, Guenee (Plate 103, Fig. 4), is
rather larger and much darker than the type; but although it is generally
somewhat smaller than the Alpine var. _montivaga_, Guenee, it is not
otherwise separable from that form. So far as concerns the British Isles,
it is only found in Scotland and, rarely, in Ireland. It was first obtained
in Perthshire, in 1846, by Weaver, and it is now known to occur more or
less commonly through Scotland from Ayr to Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it
occurs in Cork, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo, and Kane considers that specimens
from Markrea, and Lough Gill in the latter county are referable rather to
var. _montivaga_, than to var. _myricae_. The moth is out in April, May,
and June.

The dark greyish caterpillar has a deep black, broken, stripe along the
middle of the back, and a series of pale yellow marks on each side of it;
along the black-margined white spiracles there is a reddish orange line, or
broken stripe; pale brownish hairs arising from yellowish warts on the
back, and a cross-bar of reddish orange near the head. It feeds on sweet
{198} gale, heather, birch, sallow, etc., and may be found from July to
September. Two figures of it, from coloured drawings by Mr. Alfred Sich,
will be found on Plate 102.

THE KNOT GRASS (_Acronycta rumicis_).

The ordinary form of this moth is shown on Plate 103, Figs. 6[male],
7[female]. The species varies greatly in the amount of dark mottling and
clouding on the fore wings; sometimes this is much reduced, and the pale
grey ground colour is then clearly seen; more often these wings are
entirely clouded over with blackish or sooty brown, leaving only the white
bracket-like mark above the inner margin, and the submarginal cross line,
distinctly visible (var. _salicis_, Curtis). The moth flies in June and
July, and sometimes in August and September.

The hairy caterpillar, which is somewhat humped on rings four and eleven,
is figured in Plate 102, Fig. 1. It is dark brownish grey, marked on the
back with a central series of black patches in which are reddish spots, and
a row of white spots on each side; below the white spiracles is a yellowish
wavy line with reddish warts upon it. Various low-growing plants, such as
plantain, dock, sorrel, and also hawthorn, sallow, and bramble, afford it
nourishment, and it is found in July, August, and September.

Generally distributed throughout England and Wales, its range extending
into Scotland as far north as Morayshire; also in Ireland. The var.
_salicis_ occurs northwards from Shropshire through northern England into
Scotland, but is perhaps most common in Ireland.

THE CORONET (_Craniophora ligustri_).

This is also the Crown Moth of Moses Harris, both English names referring
to a fancied resemblance of the whitish or pale greyish mark, just beyond
the reniform stigma, to a crown or coronet (Plate 103, Fig. 5). The
greenish or brownish-olive fore wings are subject to modification in the
depth of tint; sometimes they are blackish in tone--var. _nigra_, Tutt, or
dark olive-green--var. _olivacea_, Tutt. In both of these named forms the
whitish markings are obscured, and in this respect they seem to be about
identical with var. _sundevalli_, Lampa.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 104.
   1, 3. ARCHER'S DART.
   4, 6. TURNIP MOTH.
   2, 5. SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART.
   7, 8. DARK SWORD GRASS.
  9, 10. PEARLY UNDERWING.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 105.
   1, 2. CRESCENT DART.
   3, 4. HEART AND DART, _males_.
   5, 6. HEART AND DART, _females_.
   7, 8. HEART AND CLUB.
  9, 10. LIGHT FEATHERED RUSTIC.

{199} The caterpillar is bluish green above, and yellowish green below; a
slender whitish line along the middle of the back, and a yellowish line on
each side; the spiracles are reddish, and the raised spots, from each of
which a single black hair arises, are black. It feeds in August and
September on ash, and less frequently, perhaps, on privet. It is stated to
eat hazel and alder, also.

The moth flies in June and July, and its occurrence in any locality depends
largely upon the presence of ash. Widely distributed throughout England,
Wales, and Scotland to Ross-shire. In Ireland it has only been noted from a
few localities in Co. Galway.

POWDERED WAINSCOT (_Simyra_ (_Arsilonche_) _albovenosa_).

In its typical form (Plate 103, Fig. 10), the fore wings are whitish
ochreous with the veins showing up white more or less clearly. A form with
reddish ochreous fore wings has been named var. _ochracea_, Tutt; and
another with silvery-white wings var. _argentea_ by the same author. These
seem to be identical with forms of this species named _flavida_ and
_albida_ by Aurivillius some eight years earlier.

The hairy caterpillar is blackish or dark grey brown freckled with black;
two stripes along the back and one on each side are yellow, sometimes
marked with orange; the warts are orange with pale, and a few black, hairs;
head black, marked with yellowish. {200}

It feeds from July to September on the leaves of reeds, at night; hiding by
day under leaves low down. The moth is out in June, but an autumn brood is
sometimes obtained. It only occurs in fenland, chiefly Norfolk and
Cambridgeshire.

THE MARBLED BEAUTY (_Bryophila perla_).

Typically the fore wings of this species are white, marbled with slaty
grey, and with the stigmata dark grey (Plate 103, Figs. 9[male],
12[female]). There is less colour variation than in the last species, but
in some localities greenish, ochreous, and ochreous brown forms have been
obtained. The caterpillar is pale slaty grey, with an irregular yellowish
stripe on the back, with black spots forming a central line; the raised
spots are black and shiny, as also is the head. Feeds on lichens growing on
old walls from August to May. The moth, which occurs throughout England,
Wales, Ireland, and Scotland up to the Clyde, is to be found, commonly as a
rule, on walls by day, and gas lamps at night, in July and August.
Sometimes I have found specimens on tree trunks.

MARBLED GREEN (_Bryophila muralis_ (_glandifera_)).

Two forms of this very variable little moth are represented on Plate 103,
Figs. 8[male] (typical), 11[female]. The ground colour of the fore wings
ranges from almost white through pale green to bluish green or to a deep
olive green, or through pale ochreous to orange brown. The markings, too,
vary in intensity, and are sometimes very obscure. Several forms have been
named, but only the Cambridge race, known as var. _impar_, Warren, can here
be referred to. In this form the colour is more often greyish or brownish
white, than green; the markings are cloudy and not clearly defined.

The caterpillar is obscure greenish, with whitish and rather {201} shining
raised spots; there is a black plate on the first ring, and from this three
broken yellowish lines run along the back. Head black and glossy. It feeds
from October to May on the lichens growing on walls and rocks; during the
day it hides in a chamber formed of silk and lichen, which is not easy to
detect in dry weather. The moth is out in July and August, and at
Eastbourne I have found it in September. It may be found generally on
walls, but sometimes on rocks at various places on the coast of Kent,
Sussex, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall; also in the Scilly Isles. Its range,
according to Barrett, extends to Bath and Wells, Somersetshire, Marlborough
and Chippenham in Wiltshire, and it has also occurred in Gloucestershire.

THE TREE-LICHEN BEAUTY (_Bryophila algae_).

The only record of this species in England that I am aware of is that by
Mr. Edleston, in the _Intelligencer_ for 1860, p. 11, as follows: "Two
specimens of this pretty species (_B. algae_) were taken in this district
last July." The district referred to was Manchester, and the note was
written on September 28, 1859.

TRIFINAE.

THE TURNIP MOTH (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _segetum_).

The ordinary form of the male and the female is represented on Plate 104.
The species is an exceedingly variable one, and Haworth (1803), believing
them to be distinct species, gave Latin and English names to several of the
different forms. The ground colour in the male ranges from pale whitish or
brownish ochreous, with strong markings, to blackish brown, with the
markings obscured. The female ranges in colour of {202} fore wings from
greyish to blackish. Caterpillar, greyish brown, tinged with ochreous, or
sometimes pinkish; a glossy plate on first ring, greyish or brownish; spots
glossy, each with a tiny hair; lines rather darker, but often indistinct.
It feeds from July to April on various plants, but only attacks the tender
stems near the surface of the ground. In fields it is destructive to
turnips and swedes, making large cavities in the bulb, which it enters from
just above the tap-root. The moth flies in June, and occasionally as a
second generation in the autumn. Generally distributed over the British
Isles, and often very common. Its range extends throughout nearly the whole
of Europe and the greater part of Asia.

THE ARCHER'S DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _vestigialis_).

The specimens shown on Plate 104 are typical of the sexes (Figs. 1[male],
3[female]). The normal pale brown colour is sometimes replaced by greyish,
reddish, or olive brown. A specimen with black fore and hind wings has been
recorded from North Wales by Mr. Jager. The markings vary in intensity, and
occasionally are almost or quite absent. Several of the varieties have been
named. The caterpillar, which feeds on bed-straw and various grasses, etc.,
is greenish grey, inclining to brownish above, with a dark-edged pale line
along the middle of the back, and a similar line on each side; the raised
spots are black, and the plate on first ring brownish; head ochreous,
marked with darker. August to May. The moth is out in July and August, and
is chiefly found on sandhills by the sea. It is most plentiful on the
eastern and southern coasts, and in Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire: it
is often not uncommon in the Brandon and Tuddenham districts, and others,
in the "Breck Sand" area of Suffolk and Norfolk. The species has been
recorded from Worcestershire, and I understand that a few specimens were
taken in Surrey last August (1907). In Scotland it occurs on the east
coast, and in the Orkney Isles; also in Ayr, on the south-west. In Ireland,
also, it is found on suitable parts of the coast.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 106.
      1, 2. SAND DART.
      3, 4. COAST DART.
      5, 6. GARDEN DART.
  7, 8, 11. WHITE LINE DART.
     9, 10. WHITE-LINE DART, _var. aquilina._
        12. SQUARE-SPOT DART.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 107.
      1. TRUE-LOVER'S KNOT.
   2, 3. HEATH RUSTIC.
      4. PORTLAND MOTH.
   5, 6. STOUT DART.
   7, 8. DOTTED RUSTIC.
  9, 10. NORTHERN RUSTIC.

{203} THE HEART AND CLUB (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _corticea_).

The more usual form of the male and the female are shown on Plate 105
(Figs. 7[male], 8[female]). The colour varies from pale brown to a whitish
or greyish brown tint in one direction, and to reddish or blackish brown in
another. The cross lines, generally well defined, are sometimes absent, or
nearly so, in some of the pale forms, and much obscured in the dark forms.
The black outlined reniform and orbicular stigmata are sometimes obscured
by a blackish cloud; the pale-centred, club-like mark below them varies in
length, and is occasionally reduced to a small spot. "_Noctua subfusca_,"
Haworth, has been determined by Mr. E. R. Bankes, who possesses the type,
to be an obscurely marked fuscous [male] example of this species. The
greyish brown, rather rough-looking caterpillar, is freckled with a darker
tint above, and inclined to greenish below; a fine, pale line along the
middle of the back is edged with brownish, and on each side there is a pale
line, edged above with brown, and below this a double pale line; head
marked with blackish (Plate 109, Fig. 1). It feeds from March to April,
after hibernation, on various low-growing plants, including goose-foot
(_Chenopodium_), persicaria, knotgrass, dock, and clover. The moth is on
the wing in June and July, and very occasionally in September. It is rather
a common insect in eastern and southern counties bordering the sea, but
extends into Surrey, and occasionally into Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, and
Berkshire; and is also found more or less frequently in Herefordshire,
Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. In
Scotland it occurs in Ayr, and on the eastern side to Moray. It has been
taken in various {204} counties, on the coast, of Ireland from Cork to
Sligo, and from Wicklow to Derry.

THE LIGHT FEATHERED RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _cinerea_).

Both sexes are shown in their typical forms on Plate 105. The fore wings of
the male (Fig. 9) are generally pale greyish in colour, with blackish cross
lines and central shade; the claviform mark is absent, and the orbicular
stigma usually so, or represented by a dusky dot; sometimes the ground
colour is brownish, occasionally purplish grey, and very rarely black. The
female (Fig. 10) is smaller, and always much darker.

The caterpillar is blackish green or dark greyish, with three fine pale
lines, the central one edged on both sides, and the others edged above,
with a darker tint; a pale stripe along the black spiracles; head, and
plate on first ring black. It feeds on wild thyme, and is said to eat dock.
It hatches from the egg in late June or early July, and presumably
hibernates when full grown, as it does not seem to feed again when it
reappears in early spring.

The moth flies in May and June, and is only to be found on hills and downs
in chalk or limestone districts. It occurs in Surrey, Dorset, Isle of
Wight, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, North Wales, Berkshire,
Oxfordshire, Cambridge, and Suffolk; it seems to have been most frequently
met with in Kent and Sussex. The small form, with narrow and distinctly
marked fore wings, and whitish hind wings, occurring in the south of
England, has been named var. _tephrina_, Staud.

THE SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _puta_).

As will be seen by the figures on Plate 104, the sexes of this species also
differ greatly in colour. Usually the cross lines on the fore wings of the
male do not show up so distinctly as in {205} Fig. 2, which closely
approaches a form figured and described as _radiola_ by Stephens in 1829.
Fig. 5 represents the typical blackish-brown female. Gynandrous specimens,
one side [male] the other [female], have been recorded. The caterpillar
feeds on dandelion, lettuce, knotgrass, and other low-growing plants, from
September to April; probably full grown before hibernation. The moth, which
is out in July and August, sometimes in May, is partial to low-lying,
marshy ground and meadows, and is widely distributed over the whole of the
south of England, but it is seemingly rare in the north, and still more so
in Scotland and Ireland. Barrett states that it has been found commonly in
Carmarthenshire, Wales.

THE CRESCENT DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _lunigera_).

Although its position in classification is that of a local form of _A.
trux_, Hubn., this moth, which is figured on Plate 105, Figs. 1[male],
2[female], may here retain the name that was given to it by Stephens in
1829. Except that it has been reported to occur in the north of France, it
seems to be peculiar to the British Isles. The earliest known specimens
were captured near Cork in Ireland, June, 1826, and it is now found not
only on the coasts of Cork and Kerry, but also on the Hill of Howth, near
Dublin. In England it occurs in the Isle of Wight, Dorsetshire (Portland),
Devonshire (Torquay), Cornwall, and the Scilly Isles. Reported from Sussex
in 1918. In Wales it is to be found above Barmouth, and in various parts of
South Wales; and in Scotland around Edinburgh and on the Moray coast. The
moth is out in July and August. Mr. A. E. Gibbs, writing of this species in
Cornwall, remarks, "It is generally stated that _A. lunigera_ is only to be
taken on steep and dangerous cliffs, in places where sugaring is by no
means a safe occupation; but its abundance at Polzeath showed that this is
not invariably the case. Here it was found on posts and flower heads in the
valley at some {206} distance from the seashore, and so abundantly did it
occur that one evening's work yielded upwards of fifty specimens."

The caterpillar is greyish or greenish grey, inclining to brownish above,
and with darker brown marks on the back; lines paler, edged sometimes with
darker grey; raised spots blackish, rather glossy; head brownish, marked
with black, and the plate on first ring is black with a central yellow
line. It feeds from August to May on various low plants growing in rocky
places by the sea. Will eat dandelion, plantain, and knotgrass in
confinement, also sliced carrot.

THE COAST DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _cursoria_).

The specimens whose portraits will be found on Plate 106 are more or less
typical of the sexes of this most variable species. The ground colour of
the fore wings ranges from whitish ochreous through all shades of brown up
to dark reddish, and from whitish grey through leaden grey to brown grey.
The markings, too, are exceedingly variable; the cross lines are often
faint, sometimes entirely absent; the stigmata are frequently obscure, and
occasionally the blackish lower part of the reniform is the only indication
of these marks. There is often a white streak along the costa, and in some
specimens this is very conspicuous (Figs. 3[male], 4[female]).

The caterpillar feeds from September to June on various grasses growing on
sandhills, and is said to eat wormwood and violet. It is ochreous in
colour, more or less tinged with green; the lines are pale grey, edged with
darker grey; spots brown, and head ochreous brown.

The moth is on the wing from late July to early September, and is to be
found on all the larger tracts of sandhills on the east coast from Suffolk
northwards, and on the coasts of Cheshire and Lancashire. It is not common
on our southern coasts, but occurs in Dorsetshire and Devon. In Scotland it
is obtained {207} on the Firth of Forth, Kincardine, and Aberdeen coasts,
and also in the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Isles; and on very many
parts of the coast of Ireland.

THE GARDEN DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _nigricans_).

This moth is typically sooty or blackish brown in both sexes (Plates 106,
Figs. 5[male], 6[female]), but varies to pale brown, or through various
shades of red brown. The markings, usually obscure, occasionally are well
defined, and sometimes there are additional black spots and pale streaks.
The caterpillar is pale or dark ochreous brown on the back, inclining to
greenish on the sides; lines greenish grey, edged with black, and a double
whitish one low down on the sides. It feeds from September to June, on
clover, plantain, dock, and various other low plants; and also cow-parsnip
and other umbelliferae. The moth flies in July and August, and is to be
found in most English counties, but perhaps most commonly in the eastern.
In Scotland it ranges to Moray, and seems to be generally distributed in
Ireland.

THE WHITE-LINE DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _tritici_).

This is another exceedingly variable species. The ground colour of the fore
wings ranges from pale whitish or ochreous brown, through various tints of
greyish and red brown, up to black or sooty brown; variation in markings is
somewhat similar to that referred to in _A. cursoria_. Three forms are
shown on Plate 106, Figs. 7, 8, and 11; the latter represents a specimen
closely approaching _A. obelisca_. Var. _aquilina_ (Figs. 9 and 10), the
English name of which is the Streaked Dart, is larger than the type, and
the wings, consequently, are broader; by some entomologists it is
considered to be a distinct species.

The caterpillar is obscure greyish or brownish, with a dark-edged pale line
along the middle of the back, and a dusky line {208} on each side of it;
low down on the sides is another dusky line. It feeds from September to May
on mouse-ear chickweed, bedstraw, plantain, and other low-growing plants
growing on sandy soils.

The moth is out in July and August, and is widely distributed throughout
the British Isles, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, but especially
common on coast sandhills.

THE SQUARE-SPOT DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _obelisca_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 106, Fig. 12) are pale greyish brown,
purplish brown, or sometimes slaty brown, with fairly distinct black cross
lines, and a pale streak along the front edge; the first line is straight
and less angled, and the second line less curved towards the front margin
than in _A. tritici_. The caterpillar, which feeds from about October to
July on rock rose, bedstraw, and other low plants growing in rocky places
by the sea or on hillsides, is very similar to that of the last species.
The moth is out in August and September in its special haunts. A well-known
locality for it is Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, but it may be obtained
at Torquay, Devonshire; Padstow, Cornwall; and the Scilly Isles. Also
recorded from Sussex, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, South Wales,
Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. In Scotland on the
south-west and east coasts; and in Ireland at Howth, Dublin; Dungarvan, Co.
Waterford; and Mt. Charles, Donegal.

THE HEART AND DART (_Agrotis_ (_Feltia_) _exclamationis_).

On Plate 105 are figured two examples of the male (Figs. 3, 4) and two
female specimens (Figs. 5, 6). The colour of the fore wings ranges from
pale whitish brown through various shades of brown and grey to a sooty
brown or black. The cross lines are rarely very distinct, the reniform,
orbicular, and claviform marks are, however, generally much in evidence;
but either of the two last, sometimes both, may occasionally disappear. Not
infrequently the reniform is connected with the orbicular by a black streak
from the former; more rarely the claviform is much widened and lengthened,
and almost united with a dusky cloud above it (var. _plaga_, Steph.). This
species is sometimes mistaken for _A. corticea_, but apart from the shorter
teeth of the male antennae, the present species has a distinct, and often
conspicuous, black mark on the front of the thorax.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 108.
  1, 2, 4, 5. NORTHERN DART.
           3. ROSY MARSH MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 109.
  1. HEART AND CLUB: _caterpillar_.
  2. HEATH RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.
  3. NEGLECTED RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.
  4. TRUE-LOVER'S KNOT: _caterpillar_.

{209} The caterpillar is brownish with darker pear-shaped marks on the
back; lines dark edged; spiracles black and of large size. Head pale marked
with brown. It feeds from July to May on various low herbage, including
lettuce, chickweed, plantain, and goose-foot; also turnips.

The moth flies in June and July (sometimes in September), and is generally
common; but in Scotland it does not appear to extend north of Moray and
Argyle.

THE DARK SWORD GRASS (_Agrotis ypsilon_).

The sexes of this moth are represented on Plate 104, Figs. 7 [male] and 8
[female]. In occasional specimens of the male the ground colour of the fore
wings is rather pale brown; otherwise there is little variation to note.
The caterpillar feeds from April to July on roots and leaves of cabbage,
lettuce, goose-foot, and many low plants; also on swedes, mangold wurzel,
etc. It is purplish or bronzy brown above and somewhat greener on the
sides; the usual spots are blackish and the lines greyish edged with
darker. Head black with two white spots. The moth is on the wing from July
to September, and as it is sometimes seen in April and May and earlier, it
is said to have probably hibernated. Possibly, however, such early
specimens, found at least once in February, are immigrants. Sometimes the
species is common and at others rare. It has occurred at one time or other
almost everywhere in the British Isles, but it seems to be most regularly
obtained in England and in Ireland. {210} Abroad its range extends through
Europe, Asia, and North America, and also to Australia, and Honolulu.

THE SAND DART (_Agrotis_ (_Lycophotia_) _ripae_).

This species varies a good deal in the ground colour of the fore wings.
According to Barrett it ranges from pure white through pale reddish, rich
reddish (var. _desillii_, Pierret) reddish drab, yellowish drab, and
various shades of pale brown to brownish grey, and the markings to all
degrees of distinctness or obliteration, especially the latter. The two
specimens on Plate 106 have the markings fairly well defined (Fig. 1 is a
male, and Fig. 2 a female).

The caterpillar is ochreous grey, whitish tinged with pink, or greenish;
the lines and spots are greyish, and the spiracles large and black; head
and plate on first ring ochreous brown. It feeds on saltwort (_Salsola_),
sea rocket (_Cakile_), seablite (_Suaeda_), sea holly (_Eryngium_), and
various other plants that flourish on sandy shores. It is usually full
grown in late autumn, when it goes down some depth into the sand, but does
not pupate until the spring. If the caterpillars are not full fed when
obtained they must be furnished with plenty of sand to burrow in, and kept
supplied with slices of carrot until it is seen that the last put in
remains untouched.

The moth flies in June and July, and may be found on the coasts of
Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent (Deal), Isle of Wight, Dorset,
Devon (Dawlish and Torquay), Somersetshire, South Wales, Cheshire,
Lancashire, and the Isle of Man. Rare in Scotland and in Ireland.

THE TRUE LOVER'S KNOT (_Agrotis_ (_Lycophotia_) _strigula_).

The white marked reddish moth (Plate 107, Fig. 1) frequents most of the
moorlands and heath and ling-clad heaths and {211} commons throughout the
British Isles. It varies in the tint of the reddish colour, and in the
greater and lesser prominence of the white markings. Specimens from
Scotland, especially from the Shetland Isles, are generally larger than
English examples, and are often clouded with darker tints. The caterpillar,
which is figured on Plate 109, Fig. 4, is reddish brown with a pale line
along the middle of the back edged with dark brown or blackish marks on
each side; a whitish or pinkish white stripe along the sides with a brown
edging above. Head ochreous brown, marked with darker. It feeds on heath
and heather, and hides by day in the moss or among dead leaves, etc., below
the food plant, August to May. The moth flies, sometimes by day, but
usually at night, in June, July, and in late seasons in August.

THE PORTLAND MOTH (_Agrotis_ (_Lycophotia_) _praecox_).

The pretty greenish moth with black cross lines, white spots, and
reddish-brown clouding on the outer area (Plate 107, Fig. 4), is said to
have been first reared in this country by the Duchess of Portland, early in
the nineteenth century, hence the English name. Although occasionally found
several miles from the sea, it is essentially a coast species, and may be
obtained on the sandhills of Dorsetshire, Devon, Suffolk, Norfolk,
Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and the Isle of Man. Odd specimens
occasionally occur inland, as for example at Kendal (1899), and in
Worcestershire (1901 and 1903). In Scotland it is found in suitable places
along the west coast, from the Firth of Clyde to Sutherland, and on the
east to Moray; and it is widely spread on the coasts of Ireland. The
caterpillar is slaty grey; central line on the back whitish or pale
greyish, expanding on each ring and so forming a series of connected spots,
edged with darker tint; then a whitish stripe, edged above by a slender
black line; a whitish or bluish grey stripe along the black spiracles. Head
pale {212} brown, obscurely marked with darker. It feeds from September to
June on dwarf sallow, grasses, chickweed, wormwood, etc. The moth flies in
August.

THE PEARLY UNDERWING (_Agrotis_ (_Lycophotia_) _saucia_).

Two specimens, both males, are represented on Plate 104. Fig. 10 is more or
less typical and Fig. 9 is referable to var. _margaritosa_, Haworth; both
occur together wherever the species is found, but the typical form is
generally the most frequent.

The caterpillar, which tapers slightly towards the head, is reddish grey or
brown above and paler on the sides; a line along the middle of the back is
yellowish and edged with dark brown dashes; the line along the greyish
ringed black spiracles is pale and edged above with black; a yellowish
blotch on the last ring and a black bar on ring eleven; head pale brown or
greyish brown marked with black. It feeds on most low plants; also on
cabbage and rape. It occurs in June and July, and in a second generation in
September, October, and sometimes November. From eggs laid in September the
caterpillar hatched in from five days to a fortnight and moths resulted
from these about six weeks later.

Although it certainly does occur in May and June sometimes, the moth is
very much more frequently seen in autumn. On the south coast, extending to
Cornwall and the Scilly Isles, the species is possibly a resident. In other
parts of the British Isles its occurrence is more or less casual, and,
although common in some years in other southern, and also eastern and
northern counties, it does not seem to be permanently established therein.
No doubt its more general distribution, and abundance here and there, in
certain years, is due to the arrival of immigrants, either in small numbers
in the spring, or in swarms later on in the year. {213}

The distribution abroad includes Central, Western, and Southern Europe;
Asia Minor; Northern Africa, Canaries, and Madeira; North America.

THE NORTHERN RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Episilia_) _lucernea_).

The specimens of this locally variable species shown on Plate 107 are from
Scotland (Fig. 9 [male]), var. _renigera_, Stephens, and North Wales (Fig.
10 [female]). Barrett (_Brit. Lep._, vol. 3), discussing the variation,
remarks, "On the south coast of England, and especially at Portland, the
general tint is pale smoky grey, much darker towards the hind margin, and
with the markings moderately distinct; inland mountainous districts,
especially in North Wales, produce a still paler form; coast districts in
the west and north a decidedly darker; and in the far west, as in Kerry,
some specimens are actually slate-black, without more than the faintest
trace of markings. The Isle of Wight produces deep slate-coloured
specimens, darker than those from the Isle of Man, which are grey brown.
Shetland specimens are large and dark, even to glossy blue-black." The
caterpillar is dusky olive green, mottled all over with small black streaks
and dapplings; each segment of the body having a faintly indicated pale
olive-green spot on each subdorsal region, below which, on each side, is an
oblique shading of blackish green. Head shining black-brown, rather lighter
brown at the sides (Barrett). It feeds on harebell (_Campanula_), stonecrop
(_Sedum acre_), saxifrage, cowslip, chickweed, and grasses, from August to
May. The moth flies in July and August, and in the north and west in
September. It occurs in rough stony places, on rocky places on the coast,
and on hills inland, in Kent (Folkestone district), Isle of Wight, Dorset,
Devon, Cornwall, Gloucestershire (rare), Sussex, Shropshire, Wales,
Lancashire (rare), Yorkshire, and Westmoreland. It is widely distributed in
Scotland and Ireland. {214}

THE DOTTED RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Episilia_) _simulans_).

The sexes of this local moth are figured on Plate 107. Fig. 7 represents a
male from Aberdeen, and Fig. 8 a female from Dorsetshire. The latter is of
a pale brown colour on the fore wings, and this is somewhat unusual, as the
prevailing colour of specimens from the Dorset coast is greyish brown.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, dotted with brown, and marked with dark
brown, sometimes greenish tinged, on the back; a white stripe below the
spiracles; head brown and rather glossy. It feeds on grasses and low
plants, such as dock, dandelion, groundsel, etc. September to May. The moth
flies in July, August, and September. It occurs at various places on the
Dorsetshire coast; on the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire; in North Wales, and
the Isle of Man; also from Cheshire to Cumberland. Widely distributed in
Scotland, extending to the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland only
recorded from Sligo.

THE HEATH RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Eueretagrotis_) _agathina_).

The moth, shown on Plate 107, varies in colour and in marking. Fig. 2
depicts a specimen from Perthshire, and Fig. 3 one from North Devonshire.
In Southern England the general tint is pinkish brown, and in the north and
in Scotland it is dark reddish brown or blackish. A pale greyish form from
Ireland has been named var. _hebridicola_, Staud. Sometimes specimens are
distinctly rosy in tint, and these are referable to var. _rosea_, Tutt. The
caterpillar (Plate 109, Fig. 2) is reddish brown, or green, with whitish
lines on the back, the central one edged on each sides with blackish, and
the others inwardly marked with black; a yellowish stripe low down along
the sides, sometimes marked with reddish; usual dots black; spiracles
white, dark ringed; head greenish yellow marked with darker in the green
form, and yellowish brown marked with darker in the brown form. It feeds
from September to June on heath and heather. The above brief description
was made from apparently full-grown caterpillars received from the New
Forest on May 28, 1907, but not one of them attained the chrysalis stage.
The moth is out in August and September, and occurs on most of the larger
heaths, and on moorlands throughout the British Isles, including the
Hebrides and Orkneys.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 110.
     1. ASHWORTH'S RUSTIC.
  2, 3. NEGLECTED RUSTIC.
     4. AUTUMNAL RUSTIC.
     5. PLAIN CLAY.
     6. DOUBLE DART.
     7. FLAME SHOULDER.
     8. SETACEOUS HEBREW CHARACTER.
     9. TRIPLE-SPOTTED CLAY.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 111.
  1. FLAME SHOULDER: _caterpillar_.
  2. TRIPLE-SPOTTED CLAY: _caterpillar_.
  3. DOUBLE DART: _caterpillar_.

{215} THE STOUT DART (_Agrotis ravida_ (_obscura_)).

The somewhat dingy brown, or greyish brown moth (Plate 107, Figs. 5 [male],
6 [female]) is sometimes tinged with reddish, and this tint is generally
present on the front or costal area.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown with a paler line along the back, and a
series of dark edged, oblique and more or less curved, yellowish marks on
each side; head greyish freckled with brownish; plate on first ring brown
marked with pale lines. It feeds on low-growing plants such as dock,
dandelion, chickweed, etc.; September to May. The moth flies in July and
August, but its occurrence in Britain is somewhat irregular. It is found,
sometimes commonly, in most of the southern and eastern counties of
England, and also in Durham; and has been occasionally recorded from other
parts of the country, as well as from Scotland. For several years it may
seem to quite disappear and then suddenly become common in various
districts. Its range abroad extends to Amurland, North China, Corea, and
Japan.

THE NORTHERN DART (_Agrotis_ (_Episilia_) _hyperborea_).

Of this pretty Scottish species (_alpina_, Westw. and Humph.) four examples
are figured in Plate 108. Figs. 1 and 2 represent specimens from Shetland,
and Figs. 4 and 5 are from Rannoch specimens. These will show something of
the variation in this {216} moth, which was not known to occur in the
British Isles until 1839, when a single specimen was taken on Cairn Gowr in
Perthshire. No other example seems to have been noted up to 1854, when one
was found on a rock in the same part of Perthshire. Up to the year 1876,
only a few specimens had been obtained, but in that year, which was a hot
and dry one in the Highlands, quite a number were secured. A female was
also detected laying her yellowish white eggs on crowberry (_Empetrum
nigrum_) and thus gave a clue which led to the subsequent discovery of
caterpillars and chrysalids; and these have been obtained in some quantity.
The caterpillar is reddish, inclining to pinkish brown, freckled with
darker; three whitish lines on the back, the central one irregularly black
dotted, edged on both sides with black, and the others with black bars
along their inside edge; head pale brown freckled and lined with darker
brown. It feeds from August to June (of the second year following hatching
from the egg, it is said), on crowberry, bilberry (_Vaccinium_), and
bearberry (_Arctostaphylos uva-ursi_).

The moth is out from late June until about the middle of August. It only
occurs with us on the higher mountains in Perthshire, notably those to the
south of Loch Rannoch; and at lower elevations in Unst, the most northern
isle of the Shetland group. It has also been recorded from the Orkneys.
Kane mentions a specimen bred at the end of February, 1893, at Clonbrock,
Co. Galway, from a caterpillar found at a bog in the vicinity, where
crowberry grows abundantly. Abroad the species in its typical form is found
on mountains in Central and Southern Scandinavia, and in modified form in
Silesia, Hungary, and Switzerland.

ASHWORTH'S RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Episilia_) _ashworthii_).

This moth, which is figured in Plate 110, is considered by some
entomologists to be a form of _A. candelarum_ peculiar {217} to the hills
and mountains of North Wales, and found chiefly at Llangollen, Penmaenmawr,
and Snowdon. The colour of the fore wings varies from pale dove colour to
dark slaty grey. The caterpillar is blackish, or dark slate colour, with
two series of velvety black spots, or dashes along the back; head reddish
brown. It feeds on various low-growing plants, among which are rock-rose,
wild thyme, sheep's sorrel, bedstraw, etc. Towards the end of April, in
Flint, they feed freely and crawl about their food plants in the day time
as well as at night (E. W. H. Blagg). The moth has been reared in November
and December from eggs found in July, about the second week; the
caterpillars having been supplied mainly with sallow, with the addition of
dock, groundsel, plantain, and knot grass (R. Tait). On another occasion
moths were bred in October from eggs laid by a female reared from
caterpillars taken in North Wales in the spring (A. Harrison). The moth is
out in July and August and in its rugged haunts, may be disturbed from
among the loose rubble, and from chinks in the rocks; but as they come
freely to sugared herbage, captives in this way would probably be more
numerous. Discovered at Llangollen in 1853, by Mr. Joseph Ashworth after
whom it was named by Doubleday in 1855.

NOTE.--Barrett mentions the following Agrotids as having occurred in the
British Isles.

_A. crassa_, Hubn., "one specimen in the cabinet of Mr. S. Stevens." _A.
spinifera_, Hubn., a specimen taken in the Isle of Man, August, 1869. _A.
fennica_, Tauscher, a specimen recorded in the _Zoologist_ for 1850, as
captured in Derbyshire.

THE ROSY MARSH MOTH (_Noctua_ (_Coenophila_) _subrosea_).

The last two moths were respectively productions of Scotland and Wales; the
present one is exclusively English, at least it was, because now and for
perhaps the last fifty years it has been extinct in its old fenny haunts at
Whittlesea, in Cambridgeshire, {218} and Yaxley, Huntingdonshire. In the
latter fen it was first noted by Weaver about the year 1837. In 1846 and
onwards it was plentiful, and the caterpillars were common. All was well
with the species until about 1851 when the fens were drained, and the moth
then ceased to appear. (Plate 108, Fig. 3.) In Sweden, Southern Russia, and
in Amurland the species is represented by a bluish form, var.
_subcoerulea_, Staud.

THE DOUBLE DART (_Noctua_ (_Exarnis_) _augur_).

The dull brownish moth (Plate 110, Fig. 6), is generally distributed
throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys. The fore wings of
southern specimens are usually suffused with reddish, but this is less
obvious in northern examples. The markings are sometimes bold and striking
or, on the other hand, only faintly defined, or largely absent. A
pinkish-tinged brown form without markings was formerly confused with the
Continental _A. helvetina_. The moth is on the wing in June and July,
sometimes in August, especially in the north; and the caterpillar is to be
found from July to May. When young it feeds on various low-growing plants,
but later it crawls up at night to devour the leaves of hawthorn, sloe,
sallow, birch, etc. It is brownish, tinged with pink, and marked on the
back with a series of V-shaped dashes, and white points; on ring eleven
there is a yellowish-edged black mark; above the white spiracles is a
black-edged red-brown stripe. Head pale brown, freckled with darker brown.

THE AUTUMNAL RUSTIC (_Noctua glareosa_).

In its typical form as depicted on Plate 110, Fig. 4, this species is slaty
grey with black markings. In Devonshire and other parts of the west of
England, and also in Ireland, it assumes a decided pinkish tinge (var.
_rosea_, Tutt). Through Scotland the colour becomes darker grey, and in
Perthshire it merges into blackish grey. In the Shetlands a blackish, or
sooty-brown form (var. _edda_, Staud.), occurs.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 112.
      1. INGRAILED CLAY: _caterpillar_.
      2. PURPLE CLAY: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. SQUARE-SPOT RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 113.
        1. DOUBLE SQUARE-SPOT.
        2. SQUARE-SPOTTED CLAY.
     3, 4. PURPLE CLAY.
  5, 6, 7. INGRAILED CLAY.
     8, 9. INGRAILED CLAY, _var. conflua_.
   10, 11. INGRAILED CLAY, _var. thulei_.

{219} The caterpillar feeds on grasses and various low plants, also on
ling, heath, sallow, and has been found on wild hyacinth. It is
yellowish-brown with dark shaded pale lines on the back, and a dark brown
stripe on the sides; spiracles and dots blackish. October to June. The moth
flies in August and September, and affects heathy places, borders of woods,
etc., throughout the British Isles, including the Hebrides, Orkneys, and
Shetlands. Except in the New Forest, Hampshire, it does not seem to be
common in the southern counties of England; it occurs in Epping Forest, and
in other parts of the eastern counties; northwards it becomes more
generally distributed and more plentiful.

THE NEGLECTED, OR GREY RUSTIC (_Noctua castanea_).

The reddish typical form of this species is shown on Plate 110, Fig. 3.
Fig. 2 represents the greyish form, var. _neglecta_, which is most
frequently met with in southern England. Between these extremes
intermediate forms occur connecting one with the other. Specimens of a pale
ochreous colour have been obtained in the vicinity of Market Drayton,
Shropshire. The caterpillar, which feeds on heather and sallow at night, is
pale reddish-brown, finely powdered with greyish; below the pale ochreous
stripe on the sides, the ground colour is greenish; head marked with darker
brown. September to May. The moth flies in August, and occurs on the larger
tracts of heathery ground throughout the British Isles, but it is commoner
in some parts than in others, and appears to be scarce in Ireland. The red
form, and intermediates, occasionally occur in the New Forest, and also in
other parts of Southern England, but in Scotland it is not uncommon. The
distribution abroad is, like that of the last species, pretty much confined
to Western Europe. {220}

THE DOTTED CLAY (_Noctua baja_).

This species, a male and female of which are shown on Plate 114, Figs. 7
[male] and 8 [female] is common in wooded districts throughout the British
Isles, except the Orkneys and the Shetlands. The colour of the fore wings
ranges from pale greyish brown, or reddish grey, to reddish brown or
purplish brown. Sometimes the first and second cross lines are bordered, or
represented, by pale bands.

The caterpillar is dingy ochreous brown, or reddish brown; three yellowish
lines along the back, the central one edged with blackish; the others have
blackish bordered yellow triangular marks between them, on each ring from
three to eleven; spiracles and dots black; head pale brown, shining. It
feeds in the autumn on various low plants, and in the spring on hawthorn,
sloe, sallow, bramble, etc. September to May. The moth flies in July and
August. Its range abroad extends to Amurland and to North America.

THE PLAIN CLAY (_Noctua depuncta_).

This species is represented on Plate 110, Fig. 5, by a female specimen.
Sometimes the fore wings are more reddish brown in colour, and the markings
are occasionally bolder. The caterpillar is pale or dark reddish brown
above, and rather greyish below; the back is marked with dark outlined
diamonds, and the dark edged white spiracles have a dark shade above them,
and an ochreous stripe below; head pale brown marked with darker. Feeds on
primrose, dock, sorrel, nettle, etc. from September to May. The moth flies
in July, August, and the early part of September. It seems to be more
frequently and regularly obtained in Scotland, especially in the woods of
Perthshire, Aberdeen and Moray. In England the species is, or has been,
found in Oxfordshire (rare in beech woods), {221} Berkshire, Wiltshire
(Savernake Forest), Devonshire (Dartmoor), South Wales (near Swansea),
North Wales (Mold), Cheshire (one specimen, Staley-brushes), Yorkshire
(Scarborough), Durham (one at Bishop Auckland), Cumberland (Barrow Wood).
The range abroad includes Central Europe (except Holland and Belgium),
Southern Sweden, Lavonia, and South-east Russia, Armenia, and Northern Asia
Minor. It may be noted that Stephens, writing in 1829, considered this to
be a doubtful British species.

THE SETACEOUS HEBREW CHARACTER (_Noctua c-nigrum_).

A male specimen of this often common and generally distributed species is
shown on Plate 110, Fig. 8. The fore wings vary in colour, from pale
reddish grey through bright reddish or pinkish brown to purplish brown; the
costal mark may be whitish, ochreous, or pinkish tinged. The moth is most
frequently obtained in the autumn, but it is sometimes met with from May to
July.

The caterpillar is pale brownish or greenish grey, with two series of black
streaks, and a dark-edged pale central line, on the back; below the black
outlined white spiracles is a black-edged yellow ochreous, or whitish
stripe; head ochreous brown streaked with darker brown. It feeds on dock,
chickweed, groundsel, and other low plants. It is said to feed from
September to April or May. Possibly, however, in favourable seasons, some
may pupate either in the autumn or in the early months of the year, and so
attain the moth state greatly in advance of the majority. The range of this
species' distribution extends to India, Corea, Japan, and North America.

THE BLACK COLLAR (_Noctua flammatra_).

Fore wings pale greyish brown, with dark-edged pale cross lines; a pale
whitish brown pink-tinged streak along the front {222} margin to the second
line; below this is a short black dot; the reniform and orbicular marks are
pale, the centre sometimes darker, and the claviform has a dark edge but is
not distinct; the front of the thorax is broadly marked with black, hence
the English name.

Only three British examples seem to be known; two of these were captured in
the Isle of Wight, 1859 and 1876, and the third occurred in the lighthouse
at Cromer in 1875. The range abroad is Central and Southern Europe, Western
and Central Asia and India.

THE TRIPLE-SPOTTED CLAY (_Noctua ditrapezium_).

The ground colour of the fore wings of this moth ranges from pinkish brown
through pale reddish brown to a purplish grey brown. The specimen shown on
Plate 110, Fig. 9 [male] is of the pinkish brown form from Tilgate Forest
in Sussex. In a series bred from caterpillars obtained at Hampstead,
North-west London, the bulk of the males are pale reddish brown, and the
females purplish brown; one male, however, is as dark as the females.
Caterpillar, purplish brown, mottled above with dark brown; a thin white
line, interrupted with black, along the middle of the back, and a row of
black marks on each side; on the sides are oblique blackish marks, with the
white spiracles showing distinct at their lower ends. Head pale shining
brown, the cheeks marked with darker brown. Feeds on dandelion, dock,
chickweed, primrose, and other low plants; also on bramble and sallow, and
in the spring on the young leaves of birch. September to May (Plate 111,
Fig. 2).

The moth flies, in and around woods, in July. It is local and not always
common, but has been found in the north-west and south-west districts of
London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devon, Wales (Swansea
and Barmouth), and Norfolk (Cromer). It occurs in Scotland (Perthshire),
and {223} two specimens have been recorded from Ireland. Its range extends
to Siberia and Amurland.

THE DOUBLE SQUARE-SPOT (_Noctua triangulum_).

This species (Plate 113, Fig. 1) is usually pale brown, more or less tinged
with reddish, but some specimens are of a rather darker hue, and others
inclined to greyish. The conspicuous marks in the discal cell, usually
black or blackish, are sometimes pale or dark reddish brown. The moth flies
in June and July, and occurs in woods or well-timbered districts throughout
England (except in Somerset, Dorset, and westward), Wales, Scotland
(mainland), and Ireland.

THE SQUARE-SPOTTED CLAY (_Noctua stigmatica_).

As will be seen from its portrait (Plate 113, Fig. 2), this moth, although
darker in colour, is marked somewhat similarly to the last referred to. It
should be noted, however, that the basal line is less distinct; the
submarginal line is inwardly shaded with blackish, and there is no blackish
spot at its costal extremity. The fore wings are sometimes pale reddish
brown, and sometimes almost blackish.

The caterpillar, which is ochreous, or brownish, is somewhat similar in
marking to that of _A. ditrapezium_, and feeds on dandelion, dock,
chickweed, plantain, sallow, etc. In confinement it is said to eat sliced
carrot or potato, and, if kept warm, may be induced to feed up and attain
the moth state early in the year.

The moth flies in July and August and seems to be partial to woods. It is
very local, but occurs not uncommonly in the New Forest, Hampshire, and in
Oxfordshire and Berkshire beech woods; also found in Buckinghamshire, the
Eastern Counties, Kent, Sussex, Dorsetshire, Devon, Lancashire (once),
Yorkshire (very local), and North Wales (once). In Scotland {224} it
appears to be more widely spread, but has not been noted in Ireland.

THE PURPLE CLAY (_Noctua brunnea_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 113, Figs. 3, 4) range in colour from
purplish brown to reddish brown, or pale reddish brown; some of the darker
forms are suffused with greyish, and the central area is occasionally
ochreous tinged. There is also variation in the markings, especially the
reniform stigma which is usually more or less filled in with ochreous or
whitish tint, but not infrequently it is merely outlined in one of these
colours, and the centre is then dark grey brown, sometimes enclosing a
whitish or ochreous crescent. These remarks are of general application, but
refer to a long series I obtained in North Devon.

The caterpillar (Plate 112, Fig. 2) is reddish brown with a yellowish tinge
and with black dots and ochreous markings. It feeds on bilberry, wood-rush
(_Luzula_), various low plants, bramble, sallow, and in the spring it
attacks the buds and young leaves of the birch saplings, etc. August to
May. The moth flies in June and July, and is often common in woods over
almost the whole of the British Isles, including the Hebrides and the
Orkneys. The range abroad extends to Amurland.

THE INGRAILED CLAY (_Noctua primulae_).

This species, long known as _festiva_, but for which Esper's earlier name
_primulae_ will have to be adopted, is exceedingly variable. Specimens of
the more or less typical form and also of the forms known as _conflua_ and
_thulei_ are portrayed on Plate 113. The fore wings range in colour from
pale ochreous to chestnut brown, and from grey to smoky grey brown. The
cross lines are distinct in some specimens, but in others are hardly
visible; the discal cell is often no darker than the {225} general colour,
but sometimes there is a reddish square spot in place of the usual black
one; the reniform and orbicular marks may be only faintly outlined, and the
latter sometimes cannot be traced; the brownish band-like shade between the
outer and submarginal lines is frequently only indicated by a short dash
from the front margin, and even this is occasionally absent.

The smaller moorland and mountain form, var. _conflua_, Treitschke, and in
the vulgar tongue The Lesser Ingrailed, varies on somewhat similar lines.
(Plate 113, Figs. 8, 9.) Var. _thulei_, Staudinger, also varies greatly in
colour and in marking. Some specimens are dark reddish brown, or
occasionally smoky brown; others are pale reddish brown, grey brown,
reddish grey, or grey; the pale cross lines are generally distinct, in the
darker specimens especially. This form, which is peculiar to the Shetland
Isles, is shown on Plate 113, Figs. 10, 11. In the foregoing remarks
reference has been made only to the general trend of variation; many other
forms of aberration in this species might be mentioned if space permitted.

The caterpillar is pale or dark reddish or olive brown inclining to pinkish
between the rings; the lines are yellowish, the central paler edged with
brown, and the outer ones edged with blackish marks; oblique darker dashes
on the sides; spiracles black, ochreous ringed, with a pale stripe below
them; head pale brown marked with darker. It feeds on primrose, bilberry,
dock, sallow, hawthorn, bramble, etc. August to May. (Plate 112, Fig. 1.)
The moth flies in June, but specimens of a second generation have been
obtained, in confinement, from August to October. The species in one form
or another occurs in woods, on moorlands, etc., over the whole of the
British Isles.

THE BARRED CHESTNUT (_Noctua dahlii_).

The sexes of this species are depicted on Plate 114. It will be noted that
the female (Fig. 2) is darker in colour than the {226} male (Fig. 1). The
sexual colour difference holds good generally, but there are exceptions and
the male may sometimes be dark, like the female; or the latter sex may
occasionally assume a reddish coloration. As a rule the reniform mark is
most distinct in the female. A form occurring in Ireland with the fore
wings dark sepia colour and the reniform mark clear whitish has been named
var. _perfusca_, Kane. The caterpillar varies in the colour of the back
through various shades of ochreous and brown to dark reddish brown, and
this is always in strong contrast with the colour of the lower parts; the
lines are pale, and the outer ones on the back are edged with black dashes;
spots and spiracles black; head pale brown. It feeds on dock, plantain,
etc., and in the spring on young sallow leaves. In confinement will become
full grown before Christmas, but normally it feeds from September to May.
The moth is out in late July and in August. It is found on heaths,
moorlands, and in woods; it is not uncommon in some parts of the Midlands,
and is found in Cheshire and northwards to Cumberland. It also occurs in
Herefordshire, Pembrokeshire; in the south and east of England it is not
frequent, but has been taken in South Oxfordshire, Berkshire (Newbury),
Suffolk, Hants (Winchester and New Forest), etc. Widely distributed in
Scotland, and locally abundant in Ireland. The distribution abroad extends
to Amurland and Japan.

THE SMALL SQUARE SPOT (_Noctua rubi_).

There are two generations of this species. The first is on the wing in
June, and the second in August, September, and sometimes even in October.
An example of each brood is shown on Plate 114, Fig. 3, 1st gen., Fig. 4,
2nd gen. The early moths are larger in size than the later ones, but are
fewer in number. Moths of the second generation often abound at the sugar
patches, and on ragwort blossom. The colour of {227} the fore wings varies
from pale to dark reddish brown in both broods.

The caterpillar is greyish ochreous or brown, with dark-edged paler lines,
and the brown head is marked with darker. It feeds on dandelion, dock,
grass, etc. Those of the first generation feed from autumn to spring, and
those of the second during the summer. The moth is found in almost every
part of the British Isles, except, perhaps, the Hebrides and Shetlands.

THE SIX-STRIPED RUSTIC (_Noctua umbrosa_).

This species (Plate 114, Fig. 5), is also generally distributed over our
islands as far north as Moray, but it is rather partial to marshy
situations. The caterpillar, which feeds from August to May on dock,
plantain, bramble, bedstraw, etc., is pale ochreous or brownish, freckled
with darker, and with dark-edged, pale ochreous lines on the back, the
outer ones with a series of black wedges along them; a dark brown stripe
low down along the sides; head pale brown marked with darker. The moth
flies in July and August. It seems to prefer the flowers of the ragwort and
the honey-dew on foliage to sugar, but the latter has attractions for it
nevertheless.

COUSIN GERMAN (_Noctua_ (_Mythimna_) _sobrina_).

On Plate 114, Fig. 6, is a portrait of this greyish suffused purple-brown
species, which in the British Isles is seemingly confined to certain
localities in Perthshire and Aberdeen, and was first met with in the former
county by Weaver in 1853. According to Barrett it is found chiefly in
mountain districts from 700 feet above sea-level upwards.

The caterpillar is reddish or red brown, slightly mottled with grey; the
marking on the back almost linear, widening a little, but narrowly
lozenge-shaped near the end of each ring, and {228} having on the widest
part a round pale spot of dirty ochreous; sides much mottled with grey;
dots and spiracles black, and under the latter a pale pinkish, ochreous,
brown stripe; head shining brownish ochreous, with two black dots in front
of each lobe. (Adapted from Buckler.) It feeds on heather, bilberry, birch,
grass, etc. September to June. The moth flies in July and August.

THE SQUARE-SPOT RUSTIC (_Noctua_ (_Segetia_) _xanthographa_).

Four examples of this very common and most variable species are shown on
Plate 114, Figs. 9-12. The colour of the fore wings ranges from whity
brown, or drab, through various shades of grey-brown and red-brown to
blackish. The more or less square reniform, and the orbicular, marks are
subject to a good deal of modification; in some specimens they are whitish
or ochreous and very conspicuous, and in others exceedingly faint or
entirely missing; or the reniform may be well defined and prominent, and
the orbicular absent; the cross lines are frequently obscure, except the
dark-edged, pale submarginal, and this, too, may be wanting; occasionally
there is a blackish shade between the stigmata and extending from the front
to inner margins. The hind wings of the males are whitish, with a dark
marginal border of variable width, but rarely, so far as I have noted,
entirely absent; those of the females are uniformly darker.

The full-grown caterpillar (Plate 112, Fig. 3) is hardly separable from
that of _N. umbrosa_, and feeds at the same date on low-growing plants,
etc. The moth flies in August and early September. It is generally
distributed throughout the British Isles, and is abundant pretty well
everywhere.

THE FLAME SHOULDER (_Noctua_ (_Ochropleura_) _plecta_).

This moth (Plate 110, Fig. 7) is also common, and generally distributed
throughout England, Ireland, Scotland (mainland), and Wales. The fore wings
are usually purplish brown, but sometimes they are palish red brown; the
creamy stripe on the front margin is more or less sprinkled with scales of
the ground colour, occasionally so thickly that these marks appear reddish
in tint; there is often a pale, wavy submarginal line, and in some
specimens a dusky second line can be detected; not infrequently there are
traces of the claviform mark, but I do not remember ever seeing any
indication of a first line. The hind wings are white, and frequently the
fringes are pale pinky brown.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 114.
           1, 2. BARRED CHESTNUT.
           3, 4. SMALL SQUARE-SPOT.
              5. SIX-STRIPED RUSTIC.
              6. COUSIN GERMAN.
           7, 8. DOTTED CLAY.
  9, 10, 11, 12. SQUARE SPOT RUSTIC.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 115.
        1, 2. LUNAR YELLOW UNDERWING.
  4, 5, 7, 8. LESSER YELLOW UNDERWING.
        3, 6. LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING.

{229} The caterpillar is brownish, varying from ochreous to reddish,
freckled with darker; the broken lines on the back are pale, with dark
edges, and there is a brown freckled, pale ochreous stripe along the sides;
the usual spots are black, and the spiracles whitish, edged with brownish;
head brown marked with darker. It feeds on various low plants, and also on
lettuce, beet, etc., in gardens; there are certainly two broods in most
years, one in the summer and the other in the autumn. The moth is out in
May and June, and again in August and September. Specimens have also been
taken in July, and occasionally in April. The species has a very extensive
range abroad, extending to India, Corea, Japan, and North America.

THE FLAME (_Axylia putris_).

This species, which is depicted on Plate 132, Fig. 13, is pretty constant
in its pale coloration and darker markings. It is often common, and is
widely spread throughout England, Wales, Ireland, and in Scotland up to
Ross.

The caterpillar is greyish brown, mottled and dusted with blackish, chiefly
so on the sides; the central line is darker but indistinct, and there is a
yellow spot on each ring; a whitish line on each side of the central one is
edged above with curved black dashes, and these are most distinct on rings
four to ten; {230} the eleventh ring is edged behind with ochreous; head
dark brown; spiracles and raised dots blackish. (Adapted from Fenn.) It
feeds on hedge bedstraw (_Galium mollugo_), dock, plantain, nettle, and
many other low plants; also on lettuce. July to October. Generally the
winter is passed in the chrysalis stage, and the moth comes out in the
following June or July. Sometimes the moth has emerged in September.

THE LESSER YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphaena_ (_Agrotis_) _comes_ = _orbona_).

This very variable species, of which the typical forms and two varieties
are represented on Plate 115, is to be found, often abundantly, almost
everywhere in the British Isles, except the Shetlands.

Apart from a form peculiar to Scotland, which will be separately referred
to, the colour range of the fore wings is from pale ochreous-brown to a
deep brown; in all shades there may be a tinge of reddish, or a suffusion
of greyish. In Ireland and Scotland, and less frequently in England, a
distinctly red form occurs. (Plate 115, Fig. 7.) Then there is variation in
the markings, and more particularly in the reniform and orbicular marks;
both stigmata are, perhaps, rarely absent, but they are frequently very
faint, and of the orbicular there is often not a trace. On the other hand,
both may be filled up with dark brown, or blackish, and very conspicuous.
The cross lines, and more especially the shaded submarginal, are usually
pretty much in evidence, but these are apt to disappear entirely. The
yellow hind wings are occasionally smudged with blackish towards the base;
the central crescents vary in size, and somewhat in shape, and although
sometimes greatly reduced, they are only rarely quite missing; the black
band before the outer margin is also subject to modification in width and
the regularity of its edges. {231}

Var. _curtisii_, Newman, was discovered in the Isle of Bute by Curtis in
1825, but until 1871, when Newman gave it the name it now bears, it had
been known as _consequa_, the name assigned to it by Curtis when figured by
him in 1831. The form is generally rather smaller than the type; the fore
wings are rich reddish brown, clouded to a greater or lesser extent with
blackish, and sometimes entirely suffused with that colour. The yellow
ground of the hind wings is rarely quite free of black scales, but in some
specimens they are so thick that the yellow is hidden. A specimen of this
form is shown on Plate 115, Fig. 8. It is found in the Orkneys,
Sutherlandshire, Elgin, Inverness, Aberdeenshire; also in the Hebrides, and
in the Isles of Bute and Arran.

The caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 2), is greenish ochreous varying to
greenish brown; three yellowish lines on the back, the central edged with
blackish and the others with dark oblong marks; spiracles white, edged with
blackish, and below them an ochreous stripe; head grey brown marked with
darker. It feeds on grass and most low plants from September to April. The
moth is out in July and August.

Abroad it occurs chiefly in Central and Southern Europe, but its range
extends to Southern Scandinavia and eastward to Asia Minor and Armenia.

THE LUNAR YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphaena_ (_Agrotis_) _orbona_ = _subsequa_).

Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate 115. Fig. 1 represents a
specimen from Forres, in Scotland, and Fig. 2 an example from the New
Forest, Hants.

Although there is some variation in the colour of the fore wings (which
ranges from pale greyish brown to dark reddish brown), and also in the
intensity and clearness of the markings, this species is far less aberrant
than that last referred to, and {232} from which it is at once separated by
the black mark on the front margin, placed on the inner edge of the
submarginal line. The caterpillar is distinguished from that of _comes_ by
the black-edged broader ochreous central line, and a series of black oblong
spots on each side of it; the stripe under the spiracles is broad, and
ochreous. It feeds from September to April on grasses and various low
plants. The moth flies in July and August. The species is widely
distributed in Scotland, and occurs in Unst, the most northern of the
Shetland Isles. In England it occurs, or has been found, in Durham,
Yorkshire, Worcestershire (Malvern), Herefordshire, Gloucestershire,
Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk (not uncommon in the "Breck" district),
Surrey, Sussex, Wilts, Hants (rather commonly in the New Forest), and the
Isle of Wight. For Wales, Barrett states that it is rare in Pembrokeshire;
and Kane mentions Co. Galway (four specimens), Killarney, and Lisbellaw for
Ireland. The range abroad is somewhat similar to that of _comes_, but it
extends further north in Scandinavia.

THE LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphaena_ (_Agrotis_) _pronuba_).

The colour of the fore wings of this common, and often abundant, species
ranges through various shades of brown to dark purplish. In the typical
form (Plate 115, Fig. 3), the wings are of the paler shades, mottled with
darker, and the thorax, except the pale front, agrees in colour with the
darker mottling of the wings. Fig. 6 shows the plain form (var. _innuba_,
Treitschke), and it is in this form that the darkest colours appear; the
thorax is always of the wing colour, and without the pale front. The black
mark at upper end of the submarginal line is rarely absent, but I have a
pale reddish-brown example of the _innuba_ form without the mark. In the
black-bordered yellow hind wings a central crescent is very {233}
exceptional, but specimens in which it is more or less evident are not
unknown.

The eggs figured on Plate 118 were found in August, 1906, on a leaf of
gladiolus in the garden. When first noticed they were of a pale
creamy-white colour, but two days afterwards the upper half of the batch
became purplish grey, and the caterpillars hatched out the following
morning, when the other half had also changed colour, and the larvae
hatched next day.

The caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 1), is obscure brownish, sometimes
ochreous or green tinged; with ochreous lines on the back, the outer ones
edged with blackish bars on rings four to eleven; head pale brown marked
with darker. It feeds from August to May on grasses and low plants, and is
often a pest in the flower or vegetable garden. When eggs are obtained
early, the caterpillars from them will sometimes attain the moth state in
the same year. The moth flies in June and July, and has occurred in April,
September, and October.

THE BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphaena fimbria_).

This is another species with variable coloured fore wings, and four
examples of it are shown on Plate 116. Pale ochreous brown and greyish
brown is the most frequent colour, but various shades of greenish or olive
brown are not uncommon. A dark reddish-brown form, known to collectors as
the "mahogany form," seems to be somewhat rare. In the majority of
specimens the basal third, and more or less of the central area adjacent to
the second line seems to be the darkest coloured; but occasionally these
parts are pretty much of the same tint as the rest of the wings.

The caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 4) is of a soft ochreous brown, sometimes
red tinted, minutely dotted with blackish; the central line on the back is
pale, and on each side are darkly-edged pale {234} oblique streaks; the
white spiracles are followed by blackish marks; head brown freckled with
darker. It feeds in the autumn on primrose, violet, dock, etc., and in the
spring it seems to prefer the buds and young leaves of birch, sallow,
bramble, hawthorn, sloe, chestnut, etc. The chrysalis, which also is
figured, is dark reddish-brown, with two short anal spikes.

This species occurs in June and July, and frequents woodland localities
throughout England, Ireland, Scotland (up to Moray), and Wales.

THE LESSER BROAD-BORDER (_Triphaena ianthina_).

Fore wings violet or purplish grey with blackish cross bands and brownish
suffusion, the latter more especially on the basal area; reniform and
orbicular stigma outlined in whitish. (Plate 116, Fig. 3.) In another form
the bands and suffusion are reddish-brown. The black clouding on basal area
of hind wings sometimes extends further towards the marginal band. The
caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 3) is of a greenish tinged ochreous brown
colour, with a pale central line and series of dusky dashes along the back,
these dashes becoming blackish on the hind rings; the white spiracles are
set in a blackish mark, and under them is a pale ochreous stripe. It feeds
in the autumn on primrose, bramble, dock, etc., and in the spring on the
young growth of sallow, elm, hawthorn, etc. The moth flies in July and
August, frequenting lanes, hedgerows, and woods. It is pretty generally
distributed throughout England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland as far north
as Moray.

THE LEAST YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphaena interjecta_).

Fore wings, dull reddish brown with darker cross lines and shades, often
faint. On the inner margin of the yellow hind wings, two dusky shades run
from the border to the base; these {235} are not infrequently as black as
the border, which is often broader than in the specimen shown on Plate 116
(Fig. 4). The caterpillar is ochreous brown dotted with black; on the
middle of the back is a brown stripe enclosing a whitish central line. A
brown stripe along the sides is edged above with whitish; the head is pale
ochreous brown lined with darker. Stated by Barrett to feed on grasses and
low plants, or, in the spring, on young shoots of sallow; said also to eat
primrose and dock. September to May. The moth is out in July and August,
and affects lanes and hedgerows. I have found it more frequently on flowers
of ragwort, and on "honey-dew," than on the sugar patch; but have met with
it occasionally darting along some particular bit of hedgerow, in the late
afternoon. Although apparently uncommon in the Midlands, it occurs more or
less freely throughout England to Durham. In Ireland it has been found in
counties Dublin, Wicklow, Waterford, Cork, Louth, Westmeath, Galway (Kane),
and, Barrett adds, Antrim.

THE GREEN ARCHES (_Eurois prasina_).

This moth is shown on Plate 117. When quite fresh the ground colour of the
fore wings is a beautiful green, but this often fades after a time, and the
wings then assume an ochreous hue. The cross lines are black relieved with
whitish, and there is a whitish blotch on the second line touching the
outer edges of the reniform stigma. The green colour varies in tint even
when the insects are alive; and the black markings differ in intensity,
being much stronger in some specimens than in others. The caterpillar is
greyish brown, more or less tinged with violet; there are three fine
whitish lines, and a series of blackish diamond-shaped marks on the back;
the spiracles are white, and there is an ochreous stripe below them. It
feeds on dock and other low plants, bramble, and in the spring on sallow
shoots and the young growth of bilberry. July to April, or May. {236} The
moth, which frequents woods; flies in June, but has been reared, as a
second generation, late in the year. The species seems to be pretty
generally distributed over England and Ireland, and is often common,
especially in the south and east of the former country. From the Midlands
northwards it appears to be less common, and its range more restricted. In
Scotland it has been recorded from Roxburghshire (common at sugar in 1898),
the Clyde district, and, Barrett adds, Perthshire.

THE GREAT BROCADE (_Eurois occulta_).

On Plate 117, Fig. 3 represents the typical grey form of this species, and
Fig. 4 the black var. _passetii_, Thierry-Mieg. Intermediates occur
connecting the melanic form with the type, and sometimes specimens are
found of a paler hue than the type. Bred specimens occasionally have a rosy
tinge, and this is then usually most in evidence between the first and
second cross lines. The caterpillar is brown, with three ochreous lines on
the back, the outer with dark oblique dashes on each ring; a whitish stripe
along the spiracles is blotched with reddish, and edged above with black.
It feeds in the autumn on dock, plantain, primrose, dandelion, etc., and in
the spring on bramble, bilberry, sallow, heather, and birch, among other
things. Usually it hibernates when small, but when kept indoors, and fairly
warm, it can be induced to complete growth, and attain the moth state in
October or later, sometimes even earlier. In the open the moth flies from
the end of June to August.

Scotland appears to be the British home of the species, and it is found in
most woods throughout that country, including the isles, but it is rare in
the Shetlands. It occurs in Durham (rare), and in Yorkshire was not
uncommon at Everingham in 1897, and several were obtained at Middlesbrough
in 1900. Further south its occurrence is even more casual, and the most
recent captures I have any note of are, two specimens in Lincolnshire,
August, 1896, and one each in Norfolk and North East London, August, 1900.
Also recorded from Essex. Only two specimens are known from Ireland.

The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and to North America.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 116.
  1, 2, 5, 6. BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING.
           3. LESSER BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING.
           4. LEAST YELLOW UNDERWING.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 117.
  1, 2. GREEN ARCHES.
  3, 4. GREAT BROCADE.
     5. SILVERY ARCHES.
     6. PALE SHINING BROWN.

{237} THE SILVERY ARCHES (_Aplecta_ (_Mamestra_) _tincta_).

The moth represented on Plate 117, Fig. 5, has the fore wings silvery grey
clouded with brownish on the central area; or occasionally spreading over a
larger portion of the wings, and sometimes purplish in tint. The
caterpillar is brownish inclining to reddish, clouded on the back with
paler and darker brown. The central line, which has a broken blackish
edging, is only distinct on the front rings. Spiracles black; head pale
brown marked with darker brown. In the autumn it feeds on low plants such
as dock, plantain, etc.; but in the spring it is found at night on the
young growth of birch and sallow bushes, and more rarely on hawthorn, and I
believe, on bilberry. The moth which occurs in birch woods in June and
July, is not uncommon in the south of England from Essex to Hampshire, and
has been found in Dorset and Devonshire. It has also been obtained more or
less frequently in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire (once),
Huntingdon, Worcestershire (Wyre Forest and Malvern), Staffordshire
(north), Lancashire (Witherslack), Yorkshire (Huddersfield, once), and
Westmoreland. In Scotland it ranges on the west from Ayr to Argyllshire,
but although local is more frequent in Perthshire, Moray, and Sutherland.
Var. _obscurata_, Staud., is a form of this species occurring in Amurland
and Southern Siberia.

THE PALE SHINING BROWN (_Aplecta_ (_Mamestra_) _advena_).

This moth (Plate 117, Fig. 6) is pale reddish brown and glossy, especially
on the outer area, on the fore wings. The caterpillar {238} is pale
ochreous brown above, and inclining to greenish below; three dark-edged
pale lines, and a series of dark diamond-shaped marks on the back. The
usual dots are whitish encircled with blackish, and the blackish edged
spiracles are reddish brown; head olive brown, and plate on first ring
blackish with the three lines showing distinct. From July to September it
feeds on various low plants, including rest-harrow, dandelion, and
knotgrass, also on broom, bilberry (Barrett); and Newman mentions
sowthistle (_Sonchus_) and lettuce. In confinement the moth sometimes
emerges in the autumn, but in the open it flies in June and July. Flowers
seem to have more attraction for it than sugar. I have taken it at the
blossoms of wood sage, white campion, and woundwort (_Stachys_), and
Barrett notes, bladder campion, viper's bugloss, and the martagon lily. The
species is chiefly found, as regards England, in the southern and eastern
counties; and in the Solway, Clyde, Forth, and Tay districts of Scotland.
Louth is the only Irish county from which it has been reported. The range
abroad extends to Amurland. In North America the species is represented by
var. _purpurissata_, Grote.

THE GREY ARCHES (_Aplecta_ (_Mamestra_) _nebulosa_).

Grey of some shade is the more general hue of this species, but it varies
in the West of England and in Ireland to white (var. _pallida_, Tutt), and
this form is shown on Plate 119, Fig. 3. In Cheshire (Delamere), Lancashire
(Warrington), and South Yorkshire black or blackish forms occur, and two
examples of this melanic race are portrayed on the plate, Fig. 4 being var.
_robsoni_, Collins, and Fig. 5 var. _thompsoni_, Arkle. Over the greater
part of England, and in Scotland, the greyish form is most frequently met
with, but the white form has been found in Argyllshire and in Sutherland.
The caterpillar is ochreous brown or brownish grey, with a series of
diamond-shaped blackish marks, and a pale central line, on the back; {239}
the dots and the spiracles are black, each of the latter with a blackish
streak in front of it. In the autumn it feeds upon dock and other low
plants; but in the spring, when it is more easily found, the caterpillar
eats the buds and young leaves of birch, oak, sallow, bramble, etc. The
moth is out in June and July, and is not uncommon in woods. The black form
seems to be peculiar to north England. In Amurland the species is
represented by var. _askolda_, Oberthur, and in North America by var.
_nimbosa_, Guenee.

THE CABBAGE MOTH (_Barathra brassicae_).

The darker markings of this very common greyish moth are often very
obscure, but the white outline of the reniform stigma, and the white
submarginal line are usually distinct. The caterpillar varies in colour,
but generally is some shade of dull brown or greenish, with the usual dots
greyish or green tinged. The central line on the back is dusky, speckled
with white, and the stripe low down on the sides is yellowish, greenish, or
dingy brown; head ochreous brown marked with darker or greenish. Although
it is exceedingly partial to the cabbage and other plants of the kind, it
will feed upon almost every sort of low herbage, wild or cultivated.
Barrett states that it has been found feeding on oak. I have taken it from
birch in the garden, and it is known to eat leaves of almost any tree or
shrub that may be offered to it in confinement. July to October. The moth
is out in June and July, and sometimes there is an emergence in September.
The species occurs over the whole of the British Isles, and abroad its
range extends to India, Amurland, and Japan. (Plate 120, Figs. 3[male],
6[female].)

THE DOT (_Mamestra persicariae_).

The striking feature of the bluish-black moth shown on Plate 120, Figs. 1,
2, is the brownish centred white reniform {240} stigma. Except that the
yellowish submarginal line is sometimes obscured, the species is very
constant in the British Isles. Abroad, a form without the white mark is
known as _unicolor_, Staud., and one or two examples have been recorded as
occurring in England, two in 1895 said to have been reared by a northern
collector from caterpillars obtained in the London district. The
caterpillar figured on Plate 129, Fig. 2, was pale green with darker green
markings. In another form the colour is pale brown with the markings darker
brown. It is found from August to October on all sorts of low plants, and
in the garden, where it is often common in the suburbs of London, is very
fond of the foliage of _Anemone japonica_ and lupin, among other plants.
The moth is out in July and August, but is not often common north of the
Midlands, though it occurs, or has been found in almost all the counties of
England. Its occurrence in Scotland seems to be doubtful, and Kane states
that it is rare in Ireland, and almost absent from the northern counties.
Its range abroad extends to China and Japan.

THE WHITE COLON (_Mamestra albicolon_).

Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate 120, Figs. 7, 8. It will
be noted that, except for the two white dots at the lower outer edge, the
outline of the reniform mark is very obscure; these dots are placed one
below the other, thus forming a :, hence the English name of the moth.
Blackish specimens have been obtained on the east coast of Scotland.

The caterpillar is green or bluish grey, with a dark-edged pale central
line; spiracles white, margined with black. Barrett states that it feeds in
June and July, and probably as a partial second generation in September, on
plantain, dandelion, and other low plants growing in sand; probably also on
_Atriplex_, _Chenopodium_, and Cruciferae; but it is a larva of secret
habits and is very little known.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 118.
  1, 1a. LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING: _eggs and caterpillar_.
      2. LESSER YELLOW UNDERWING: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. LESSER BROAD-BORDER: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
  4, 4a. BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 119.
  GREY ARCHES MOTH _and varieties_.

{241}

The moth, which flies in May and June, and again in July and August,
frequents sandhills on the west, especially those of Yorkshire, Lancashire,
Cheshire, and Wales. In Norfolk and Suffolk it is found in the Breck Sand
district as well as on the coast, and it also occurs on the coasts of
Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, but seems to be uncommon in most of
these counties. In Scotland it occurs in suitable parts of the east coast
to Aberdeen, and on the west coast to the Clyde; and in Ireland on the
coasts of Kerry, Louth, and Derry.

THE BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE (_Mamestra oleracea_).

The English name of this very common moth (Plate 120, Figs. 4, 5), applies
to the majority of specimens, but now and then the ochreous, or yellow
reniform stigma, referred to as the brown eye, is blurred and indistinct,
and the white submarginal line may almost disappear. The ground colour of
the fore wings ranges from reddish or purple brown to dark brown. The
caterpillar (Plate 129, Fig. 1), varies from green to light brown,
sometimes the brownish forms are tinged with pink; the body is minutely
dotted with white, and the usual dots are black; the spiracles are white,
margined with black, and placed on the blackish edge of a yellow stripe;
there are three greyish, but frequently indistinct, lines on the back. It
feeds from July to September on most low plants, and is often found in
abundance under spreading clumps of goose-foot (_Chenopodium_), and has
been noted in profusion upon tamarisk growing by the sea. The moth flies in
June and July, sometimes in the autumn. Except, perhaps, in the Hebrides,
it has been found throughout the British Isles.

THE LIGHT BROCADE (_Mamestra genistae_).

The moth portrayed on Plate 121, Fig. 1, is not given to much variation.
The central area enclosed by the cross lines is {242} more or less clouded
with reddish or purplish brown, not extending, as a rule, below the black
bar between the lines, but sometimes the inner area is clouded with
purplish from the second cross line to the base of the wing. The
caterpillar is pale olive greenish above, with brownish and blackish
diamonds or V-shaped markings; three lines on the back are dark-edged but
indistinct; a cloudy line along the white spiracles. The colour varies from
greenish to brownish grey or purplish brown, and all shades may occur in
the same brood. It feeds in July and August on broom, dyer's greenweed
(_Genista tinctoria_), persicaria, and other low plants. The moth is out in
May and June, and may be seen in the daytime on palings and other kinds of
fencing, and also on tree trunks. It occurs in England from Worcestershire
and Northampton southwards, but seems to be rarely met with northwards.
Four or five specimens were taken at electric light near Tarporley,
Cheshire, about 1900 (Day's List). It has been recorded from Ayr, Argyll,
and Paisley in Scotland, but its occurrence in Ireland is doubtful. The
distribution abroad ranges to Eastern Siberia.

THE DOG'S TOOTH (_Mamestra dissimilis_).

The example of this species shown on Plate 121, Fig. 2, is of the
reddish-tinged pale brown form from Essex; but in that county, and also in
other parts of England, the fore wings are sometimes clouded with
sooty-brown. In other forms the fore wings are purplish or reddish brown,
and the markings may be very distinct, or much obscured. The caterpillar is
greenish or brown, minutely dotted with white, and freckled with dark
greyish; the usual dots are black; there are indications of darker lines on
the back, but these are not always clearly defined; the white spiracles are
set in the black interrupted edge of a yellowish stripe. It feeds in July
and August, on dock, plantain, etc. The moth flies in June and July, and
occasionally in the autumn. Its haunts are marshy places, especially on the
coast, and mosses; and it is found in most of the seaboard southern and
eastern counties, and more rarely inland. Recorded from Ayr and
Kirkcudbright in Scotland; is widely distributed in Ireland, and not rare
in Louth and Kerry.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 120.
  1, 2. DOT MOTH.
  4, 5. BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE.
  3, 6. CABBAGE MOTH.
  7, 8. WHITE COLON.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 121.
     1. LIGHT BROCADE.
     2. DOG'S TOOTH.
  3, 4. DARK BROCADE.
     5. BEAUTIFUL ARCHES.
     6. BEAUTIFUL BROCADE.
     7. PALE SHOULDERED BROCADE.

{243} THE PALE-SHOULDERED BROCADE (_Mamestra thalassina_).

The whitish or creamy-white patch at the base of the reddish-brown fore
wings is a noticeable feature of this moth (Plate 121, Fig. 7), and is
almost always present, even when the wings are darkened and the other
markings more or less obscured. The W-like angles of the white submarginal
line run through to the fringes. In some specimens the general colour is
purplish brown, and in others greyish brown. The caterpillar is
greyish-brown with a slight reddish tinge, and freckled with darker brown;
the usual dots are black; central line dusky, a series of darker oblique
dashes on each side of it; the line along the spiracles is rather broad and
sometimes edged above with blackish. It feeds in August and September on
dock, groundsel, honeysuckle, broom, sallow, hawthorn, apple, etc. The moth
is out in June, earlier or later according to the season; sometimes it
appears again in August or September. It may be found, commonly as a rule,
in most woods over the greater part of the British Isles.

THE BEAUTIFUL BROCADE (_Mamestra contigua_).

The moth (Plate 121, Fig. 6) has a pale patch at the base of the fore wing,
but this is not so conspicuous as is the pale orbicular stigma, which is
often united with a pale mark at its lower edge; another pale patch lies at
the inner angle, and the whole area between the second cross line and the
clouding on {244} the outer margin may be pale. Sometimes these pale
markings are tinged with pink, and more rarely the whole surface is pinkish
suffused. The caterpillar is yellowish-green with reddish V-shaped marks on
the back; a yellowish line along the black-margined white spiracles.
Buckler figures a reddish-brown form, with a yellowish stripe below the
spiracles. It feeds in August and September on birch, oak, golden rod, bog
myrtle (_Myrica gale_), dock, brake-fern (_Pteris aquilina_), etc. The moth
appears in June, and may sometimes be seen in the daytime on tree trunks or
palings. It is a woodland species, but although it occurs in most southern
and eastern counties, it is not common in any of them; it becomes commoner
in the Midlands, but is scarce in, or absent from, the northern counties of
England, and in Wales. In Scotland it is more frequent in some localities
from Argyll to Ross. Kane notes it as local, and sometimes abundant, but
from the localities given it would seem to be widely distributed in
Ireland. The range abroad extends through Northern Asia to Japan.

THE BROOM MOTH (_Mamestra pisi_).

The moth shown on Plate 122, Figs. 1, 2 varies considerably, in the colour
of the forewings ranging from purplish red to dingy ochreous brown or
greyish brown. The cross lines and occasionally the stigmata and shades may
disappear, but the yellow submarginal line always remains, at least in
part. The caterpillar (Plate 129, Fig. 3) feeds on the foliage of a variety
of plants including brake fern or braken, sweet gale, broom, bramble, wild
rose, and sallow, and may be found, often in the daytime, in August and
September. It is usually of some shade of green or brown, occasionally
blackish, with yellow stripes. The moth is out in June and July and is more
or less common almost throughout the British Isles. The range abroad
extends to Amurland.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 122.
     1, 2. BROOM MOTH.
     3, 4. NUTMEG MOTH.
     5, 6. GLAUCOUS SHEARS.
  7, 8, 9. SHEARS MOTH.
       10. THE STRANGER.
   11, 12. BRINDLED GREEN.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 123.
  1, 4. NORTHERN ARCHES MOTH.
     3. NORTHERN ARCHES MOTH, _var. assimilis_.
     2. BARRETT'S MARBLED CORONET.
     5. GREY MOTH.
     6. MARBLED CORONET.
  7, 8. MARBLED CORONET _vars._

{245}

THE NUTMEG (_Mamestra trifolii_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 122, Figs. 3, 4) are usually greyish
brown variegated with darker; cross lines pale with black edging. Sometimes
the general colour is tinged with ochreous. The caterpillar is green with a
darker central and two whitish lines on the back, the outer lines with
black marks on them; a white edged pinkish stripe along the black-margined
white spiracles. It feeds from July to September, sometimes earlier or
later, on goose-foot, orach, beet, and other Chenopodiacae, and has also
been found on young leaves of onion. The moth is out in May and June, and
as a second generation in late July and August. In 1903 a specimen was
taken, at Boscombe, on March 21. The species is more especially attached to
the coast, but is plentiful in the Breck Sand district of Norfolk and
Suffolk, in market gardens and waste places around London, and is found
more or less frequently up to Staffordshire. In Cheshire and Yorkshire it
is scarce. Barrett states that in Scotland it is found rarely in
Roxburghshire and Aberdeenshire; and not very uncommonly in the Clyde
Valley; it is, however, not mentioned in the list of the lepidoptera of the
Clyde area published in 1901. Only two specimens have been recorded from
Ireland. The range abroad includes Northern Asia, Canada, and the United
States of America.

THE GLAUCOUS SHEARS (_Mamestra glauca_).

Noticeable features of this dark-clouded whitish grey species (Plate 122,
Figs. 5[male], 6[female]) are the whitish, or whitish outlined, stigmata;
and the conspicuous black wedges on the inner edge of the pale submarginal
line. The ground colour is sometimes purplish tinged; the dark clouding may
spread over the greater part of the fore wings. The caterpillar is dark red
brown with darker freckles, a whitish central line, and two {246} series of
dusky dashes; a paler line along the black-edged white spiracles; head pale
brown freckled with darker. Feeds in July and August on heather, sallow,
bog myrtle, etc., and will thrive on lettuce. The moth is out in May and
June, and may be found resting by day on tree trunks, fences, or rocks.
This species in England occurs chiefly in hilly districts of the northern
counties from Staffordshire to Cumberland; recorded from Glamorgan. In
Scotland it is widely distributed from Ayr to Ross, and is also found in
the Hebrides and the Orkneys; and in Ireland is obtained in several of the
northern counties, and on the Hill of Howth. The range abroad extends to
Amurland.

THE SHEARS (_Mamestra dentina_).

The ground colour of this species, three specimens of which are shown on
Plate 122, Figs. 7, 8[male], 9[female], ranges from the normal pale grey
through various shades of brownish grey. The markings, usually well in
evidence, are sometimes obscured in the darker specimens. The caterpillar
is brownish with three white lines and a series of grey-brown
diamond-pattern blotches on the back; the outer lines with blackish spots
upon them; the stripe along the black spiracles greyish; head pale brown
marked with blackish; plates on first and last rings of the body glossy.
Feeds in July and August on dandelion, knotgrass, chickweed, hawk's-beard
(_Crepis_), hawkweed (_Hieracium_), etc. The moth flies in May and June and
appears to be found throughout the British Isles. Represented in Siberia by
the dark form _latenai_, Pierret.

THE STRANGER (_Mamestra peregrina_).

This species, which is an inhabitant of Asia Minor, Southern Russia,
Turkey, Dalmatia and Northern Italy, occurs in Southern, Western, and
Northern France; and three specimens {247} have been recorded as taken in
England--all at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight--the first in 1858, the
second in 1859, and the third about 1876. The specimen depicted on Plate
122, Fig. 10, was received from abroad.

BARRETT'S MARBLED CORONET (_Dianthoecia luteago_, var. _barrettii_).

The type, which is of ochreous coloration, does not occur in the British
Isles, although in one example of var. _barrettii_, reared by Mr. Kane, a
faint ochreous tinge was apparent, but this faded out in a few weeks. Fig.
2, Plate 123, represents a specimen, kindly lent by Mr. R. Adkin, of var.
_barrettii_, Doubleday, a form discovered in Ireland, at Howth, by the late
Mr. C. G. Barrett, in June, 1861. In 1879 a specimen was taken on the coast
at Ilfracombe, North Devon; one example was reared from a caterpillar found
at Tenby, South Wales, in 1884, and one was captured in Carnarvonshire,
North Wales, in 1897. In the last mentioned year specimens were taken by
the late Major Ficklin on the coast of Cornwall, and as the Cornish form
differs from the Irish form in being grey instead of brown, it has been
named var. _ficklini_, Tutt. A second specimen was obtained in North Wales
in 1899. Since its first detection at Howth the insect has been taken in
limited numbers almost every year; and in 1906 Major C. Donovan recorded it
as widely distributed along the coast of Co. Cork, the specimens being
large, of a dark slate colour with distinct light whitish grey markings.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous with a pinkish tinge; the central line is
greyish brown and the spiracles black; head reddish brown marked with
darker. It feeds on the roots of seaside campion (_Silene maritima_), July
to September. The moth flies from June to August. Like most of the species
in this genus, it does not care for the collector's sugar, and except {248}
that an occasional specimen may be found resting on the rocks, the moths
must be netted as they fly at dusk to the flowers of _Silene_. Staudinger
considers that var. _barrettii_ is identical with var. _argillacea_, Hubn.

THE GREY (_Dianthoecia caesia_).

The obscurely marked slate grey insect shown on Plate 124, Fig. 5, was
first found at Tramore, Ireland, and in the Isle of Man about the same year
(1866 or 1867). Kane mentions that he has found the insect at Tramore, and
also in eleven other localities on the rocky coast line of the South of
Ireland, from Hook Point to Dingle Bay. Our form of the species, var.
_manani_, Gregson, differs from the greyish blue continental type in its
darker coloration, and this is intensified in the south-west corner of
Ireland where specimens of a uniform bluish black occur.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown minutely freckled with darker; the
lines on the back are blackish, but indistinct; usual dots margined with
black; head pale brown, marked with darker. It feeds on the buds, flowers,
and seeds of campions (_Silene maritima_ and _S. inflata_) from June to
August. The moth flies in June, July, and early August, and may be taken,
like the last species, at the flowers of the campions growing on the rocks
in its seaside haunts.

THE MARBLED CORONET (_Dianthoecia conspersa_).

Three forms of this locally variable species are shown on Plate 123. Fig. 6
represents the typical form occurring generally in England, but in North
Devonshire, on the coast, specimens are found closely approaching the Isle
of Lewis form (Fig. 7), whilst others from that district agree in the
blackish ground colour with specimens from Ireland. A still darker {249}
race occurs in the Shetland Isles, and chiefly on the east coasts, whence
came the specimen depicted (Fig. 8). On the western sides of the Shetlands,
Mr. McArthur found the species to be rather more typical as a whole,
although some specimens approached the darker eastern form. The dark
Shetland race has been named var. _hethlandica_ by Staudinger, and the form
with the white markings yellowish tinged is var. _ochrea_, Gregson.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown; the back sprinkled with darker, and
forming still darker V-shaped marks, central line pale; spiracles ochreous
with black outlines, set in the upper edge of a pale stripe; head shining
pale yellowish-brown freckled and lined with darker. It feeds on the seeds
of catchfly, campion, and will eat those of sweet-william and garden pinks.
July to September. The moth is out in June and July, and at dusk visits the
flowers of its food plants, and occasionally comes to sugar. It is chiefly
found in the seaboard counties, but as regards England is commoner in the
south than in the north. Although generally rare in the inland counties, it
is sometimes not uncommon in some Surrey localities, such as the Croydon
district, and Mr. Scollick has reared moths from caterpillars found in seed
capsules of white campion at Horsley.

The distribution of this species extends to Amurland.

THE WHITE SPOT (_Dianthoecia albimacula_).

The moth shown on Plate 124, Fig. 1, is "The Beautiful Coronet" of some
writers. Although a specimen was taken in Kent in 1816, nothing further was
heard of the species in England until 1865, when one example was captured
in the Portsmouth district. Then in 1873 caterpillars were found in the
Birchwood locality where the first moth was secured. The next year the
species was found to occur at Folkestone, and subsequently at other places
along the Kentish coast. Since {250} 1889 it has been obtained, not
uncommonly, at Seaton on the South Devon coast. The caterpillar, which is
somewhat similar to that of the last species, feeds in July and August on
the seeds of the Nottingham catchfly (_Silene nutans_), but will thrive on
those of other kinds of catchfly, campion, or even sweet-william and garden
pinks. The moth flies in May and June.

THE VARIED CORONET (_Dianthoecia compta_).

In Europe this species has a less northerly range than _D. conspersa_, and
its eastward range extends to Japan. The caterpillar feeds on the seeds of
_Dianthus_.

In his list of the lepidoptera of Ireland (_Ent. Mo. Mag._, 1866), Birchall
remarks: "A pair of this well-known species, taken in Ireland by Mr. Tardy,
are in the collection of Trinity College, but I am unable to indicate the
exact locality of their capture." This is probably all the evidence we have
of the occurrence of this species in the British Isles. The specimen
represented on Plate 124, Fig. 2, is from the Continent.

THE LYCHNIS (_Dianthoecia capsincola_).

Except that the brown ground colour is sometimes of a reddish shade, or
greyish in tone, there is not much to notice in the variation of this
species. Occasionally the outlines of the reniform and orbicular marks are
usually white and distinct, and now and then the black markings are
intensified. Two specimens are shown on Plate 124, Figs. 3 [male], 4
[female]. The caterpillar is brownish ochreous freckled with darker, and
with a pale central line and a series of dusky V-shaped marks on the back;
a paler stripe along the whitish spiracles; head pale reddish brown, marked
with darker brown. It feeds in July, sometimes in September, on campion,
ragged robin, catchfly, and sweet-william and pinks. Fig. 3, Plate 130, is
from a coloured drawing {251} by Mr. A. Sich, and represents the
caterpillar, as seen when making the sketch, holding a seed between its
front pair of legs and up to its mouth. The moth is out in May and June,
and in some years there is a second flight in the autumn. The species is
more or less common over the greater part of the British Isles.

THE CAMPION (_Dianthoecia cucubali_).

This moth (Plate 124, Figs. 5 [male], 6 [female]) is very similar to the
last, but it has a distinct violet tinge, the orbicular mark is lengthened,
and its lower edge touches, or almost touches, the reniform; the second
line is distinct and straighter above the inner margin. The caterpillar is
greenish, tinged with orange-brown on the front rings; the central line is
greyish-brown, and the V-marks on the back and oblique stripes low down on
the sides are orange-brown. It feeds on the leaves as well as the unripe
seeds of campion, ragged robin, and catchfly in July, August, and
September. The moth is out in June, and examples of a second generation in
August. Like the rest of the species of the genus, it is most partial to
flowers, but it occasionally puts in an appearance at the sugar patch.
Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles. The range abroad
extends to Amurland, China, and Japan.

THE TAWNY SHEARS (_Dianthoecia carpophaga_).

This species ranges in the colour of the fore wings from almost white,
through various shades of ochreous brown.

The white and ochreous-tinted specimens are found in Kent and Sussex
chiefly, whilst the ochreous-brown forms are more generally distributed in
England. Barrett states that in the south of Scotland a form occurs in
which the ground colour is very pale dull brown with all the darker
markings and cloudings deep umberous, the cloudings more extended. Var.
_capsophila_ {252} (The Pod Lover), which represents the species in Ireland
and the Isle of Man, is of a greyish coloration and lacks the ochreous
tint; the dark markings, especially on the area between the first and
second cross lines, are blackish or black, and the outlines of the stigmata
are very distinct. Kane mentions dull black specimens, from the Blasket
Islands, in which only vestiges of the stigmata and submarginal line
remained clear. Pembrokeshire specimens have a colour range intermediate
between _carpophaga_ (Plate 124, Fig. 9) and var. _capsophila_ (Figs. 7,
8), and serve to connect one with the other. The caterpillar, which is
purplish brown with rather broad ochreous-brown lines on the back, feeds in
June and July and again in September, on seeds of catchfly, campion, and
sweet-william. The moth flies in May and June, sometimes in late July and
August.

THE VIPER'S BUGLOSS (_Dianthoecia_ (_Epia_) _irregularis_).

The earliest British specimen of this moth (Plate 125, Fig. 1) of which
there is any clear record is that found by the late Rev. A. H. Wratislaw,
in July, 1868, resting on viper's bugloss (_Echium vulgare_), in a locality
about ten miles from Bury St. Edmunds. Subsequently Tuddenham was indicated
as the locality, and there, as well as in other parts of the Breck Sand
district of Suffolk and Norfolk the species continues to flourish. _Echium_
was at first supposed to be the food plant, but it was soon ascertained the
larval pabulum was the flowers and seeds of the local catchfly (_Silene
otites_). In September, 1870, Mr. Porritt described the caterpillar, and he
found that in confinement it did not object to Ragged Robin (_Lychnis
flos-cuculi_) in place of the _Silene_.

In colour the caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, tinged with green; three
more or less distinct pale lines, and a series of smoke-coloured V-shaped
marks on the back. Spiracles black with a yellowish white stripe below
them, and a smoke-coloured one above; head wainscot brown dotted with
black. It may be found on its food plant from late July to early September.
The moth flies in June and July, but seems to have been very rarely met
with in the open, although large numbers of the caterpillars, which are
frequently "ichneumoned," are collected almost every year. A specimen,
recently presented to the Lincoln Museum, is said to have been reared from
a caterpillar found on viper's bugloss in the neighbourhood of East Ferry
in North Lincolnshire.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 124.
      1. WHITE SPOT MOTH.
      2. VARIED CORONET.
   3, 4. LYCHNIS.
   5, 6. CAMPION.
   7, 8. POD LOVER.
  9, 10. TAWNY SHEARS.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 125.
     1. VIPER'S BUGLOSS.
     2. SMALL RANUNCULUS.
  3, 4. BROAD-BARRED WHITE.
  5, 6. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT.
  7, 8. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT _varieties_.

{253} THE SMALL RANUNCULUS (_Hecatera chrysozona_).

Except that the general grey coloration of the fore wings of this moth
(Plate 125, Fig. 2) may be whiter or of a darker grey tint, there is little
in the way of variation to refer to. Usually the area between the cross
lines is dark grey, sometimes marked with yellow on the reniform and
towards the inner margin. A series of yellow dots on the submarginal line
is almost always present, but may be absent. The caterpillar is pale
reddish brown; three fine double blackish lines and two rows of black dots
on the back; a fine blackish line along the black spiracles. Head pale
brown and glossy. In another form the general colour is some shade of
green; yellowish to olive. It feeds in July and August on the flowers and
seeds of the wild lettuce (_Lactuca saligna_, and _L. virosa_),
hawk's-beard (_Crepis_), and also on those of the garden lettuce. The moth
is out late in June and July, and at dusk may be seen at the blossoms of
various plants in gardens and elsewhere, but seems to be most partial to
those of spur-valerian (_Centranthus ruber_). It is found in the eastern
counties, especially in Cambridgeshire; Surrey, and (rarely) in Sussex and
Dorsetshire. Other English counties in which it has been noted are
Hertford, Huntingdon, Northampton, Oxford, Berks, Somerset, and Hereford.
{254}

THE BROAD-BARRED WHITE (_Hecatera serena_).

Most of the British examples of this species have the thorax and fore wings
almost pure white, the latter with a central blackish grey band (var.
_leuconota_, Ev., Plate 125, Figs. 3[male], 4[female]). The white, however,
especially on the outer margin, is sometimes clouded with greyish, and
occasionally the ground colour has a greyish tinge, thus approaching var.
_obscura_, Staudinger. The caterpillar is ochreous brown, more or less
tinged with green, minutely dotted with dark grey, forming indistinct
blotches; the stripe along the black spiracles is yellow tinged with green
below. Head brownish, glossy. It feeds in July and August on hawk's-beard
(_Crepis_). The smaller caterpillars may be found by day resting on the
yellow flowers. In confinement they will eat the flowers and seeds of
garden lettuce; and Prout mentions dandelion blossoms, and also those of
almost any of the Compositae. The moth is out from June to August, and in
the daytime may be seen sitting on fences, tree trunks, rocks and walls. It
is pretty generally distributed in the southern portion of England, but
becomes scarce northwards. In Scotland it seems to be little known, but
Renton records it as common in Roxburghshire, and in 1898 Mr. Kirkaldy
kindly gave me three greyish-shaded specimens that he picked up casually at
Pitlochry, Perthshire, in July of that year. It has been found in North
Wales, but is more frequent in the southern parts of that country. Rather
local and usually scarce in Ireland; but has been found in counties
Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, Louth, Antrim, Westmeath, Galway, Cork, and
Kerry. The range abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland.

THE BORDERED GOTHIC (_Neuria reticulata_).

The cross lines and the veins are pale brown, sometimes tinged with pink.
These markings give the moth (Plate 126, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) a netted
appearance, which, apart from the different ground colour and clouding,
distinguishes it from the Gothic, with which it is sometimes confused. The
antennae, too, of the male are only fringed with minute hairs, whilst those
of the male Gothic are broadly pectinated. The caterpillar is greenish or
pinkish ochreous, mottled with darker, and with slightly paler lines on the
back and sides; head light brown. It will feed in July and August on
knot-grass; and soapwort (_Saponaria_), _Silene inflata_, and _Dianthus_,
have been mentioned as food plants. The moth is out in June and July. The
species occurs in nearly all the counties of England to Yorkshire, but
except in Cambridgeshire, and perhaps Oxfordshire, it is not common in any
of the southern or eastern counties, although more frequently found in them
than northwards. It has not been recorded from Scotland, and seems to be
rare in Ireland, as it has only been noted from Co. Dublin and Co. Cork.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 126.
  1, 2. BORDERED GOTHIC.
  3, 4. DUSKY SALLOW.
     5. ORACHE MOTH.
  6, 7. SAXON MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 127.
  1, 2. FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH.
  3, 4. FEATHERED GOTHIC.
     5. GREEN BRINDLED DOT.
  6, 7. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC.
  8, 9. ANTLER MOTH.

{255} FEATHERED GOTHIC (_Tholera_ (_Epineuronia_) _popularis_).

The male of this species (Plate 127, Fig. 3) is strongly attracted by
light, and frequently seen in houses, and is no doubt a familiar object to
most residents in the country, and even in the suburbs of London. The
female (Fig. 4) does not visit light, but this sex, and the males also, may
be found sitting after dark upon the upper erect leaves of the hard
grasses, such as the matweed (_Nardus stricta_). Of course a lantern will
be required to throw a light on the business of collecting them, and it is
curious to note that even the brilliant glare of the acetylene lamp does
not seem to disturb the moths very much, if at all.

The caterpillar is dark greenish brown and rather glossy, with a dusky
plate on the first ring upon which are traces of the five dark-edged pale
brownish stripes which traverse the body and meet on the last ring; the
latter has a black plate. The spiracles are black, and the head is
brownish, marked with {256} darker. The caterpillars hatch in the spring
from eggs laid the previous autumn, and may be found until July. They feed
at night on the leaves of grasses, especially _Nardus_ and such kinds,
growing in parks and open places. The moth is out in August and September,
and occurs more or less commonly throughout England and Wales. In Scotland
it is found in Ayrshire, and in other localities in the Clyde area; thence
eastward to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is generally
distributed, and in some localities very abundant, as at Clonbrock, and on
the Wicklow coast.

THE HEDGE RUSTIC (_Tholera cespitis_).

The sexes of this moth are depicted on Plate 128, Figs. 8[male], 9[female].
In habits, and also in the kind of places it frequents, this species has
much in common with that last mentioned. It is certainly more local, but
its range in the British Isles is somewhat similar to that of the Gothic.
The life history also is very like that of the last species, and the
caterpillar feeds on the same kinds of grass.

ANTLER MOTH (_Cerapteryx_ (_Charaeas_) _graminis_).

This moth (Plate 127, Figs. 8[male], 9[female]) has the fore wings greyish
brown or reddish brown, sometimes tinged with ochreous in the paler forms,
or with olive in the darker forms. There is also variation in the markings,
and chiefly of the central forked streak which has been likened to the
antler of the stag. In most British specimens of the greyish form this is
white throughout its length, and it has three branches; the stigmata are
whitish, and there is often a whitish bar below the central streak. A
number of aberrations have been named, and of these the following seem to
be the most important: var. _tricuspis_, Esp., reddish brown; branched
streak, stigmata, and bar ochreous; var. _rufa_, Tutt = _tricuspis_, Hubn.,
as above, but the markings white; var. _ruficosta_, Tutt = _graminis_,
Hubn., greyish brown, with reddish front margin, and ochreous markings;
var. _hibernicus_, Curt., yellowish brown with the markings ochreous, and
the stigmata more or less united with the central streak. In some specimens
most of the markings are obscured or absent, and only the reniform stigma
and the forked extremity of the central line remain distinct.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 128.
     1. FEATHERED EAR MOTH.
  2, 3. STRAW UNDERWING.
     4. SILVER CLOUD.
  5, 6. FLOUNCED RUSTIC.
     7. HAWORTH'S MINOR.
  8, 9. HEDGE RUSTIC.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 129.
  1, 1a. BRIGHT-LINE BROWN EYE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      2. DOT MOTH: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. BROOM MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      4. BRINDLED GREEN MOTH: _egg, natural size and enlarged_.

{257} The caterpillar, which is glossy, and the skin much wrinkled, is of a
bronzy-brown colour, with black-edged pale lines; there is a brownish plate
on the first ring and a blackish one on the last; the spiracles are black
and the head is brownish, marked with darker. It feeds from March to June
on grasses, and in some years and localities occurs in enormous numbers,
denuding considerable areas of grass land. Rooks and other birds devour
them readily, and where their feeding places are on hillsides, they are apt
to be washed off by heavy rain, so that the drains and ditches become
filled up in places by masses of these caterpillars. Even after such
wholesale destruction, the moths may still appear in the autumn in
countless numbers. The male moths are sometimes seen flying in the sunshine
and visiting the flowers of thistles, ragwort, etc. Such flight usually
takes place between eight a.m. and noon, but both sexes have been seen
flying over grass and heather continuously from just before midday to four
p.m. The moths are also on the wing at night, and the male is very
susceptible to the attraction of light. The species has occurred in all
parts of the British Islands, but its presence in the south of England
would appear to be more casual than elsewhere. The range abroad extends
through Northern Asia to Siberia.

THE FEATHERED EAR (_Pachetra leucophaea_).

Stephens, in 1829, figured one of two specimens of this species said to
have been taken near Bristol in 1816, a part of England {258} from which no
other specimen has ever been recorded so far as I am aware. In June, 1855,
the late Mr. S. Stevens obtained a few specimens at sugar, at Mickleham,
Surrey. Between the year last mentioned and 1894 five other specimens have
been recorded from the same county, these are Redhill (W. R. Jeffrey),
Boxhill (G. Elisha, a pair, and B. A. Bower), Reigate (R. Adkin). In Kent,
specimens have been found in the Folkestone and Tunbridge districts, but
the chalk downs between Ashford and Wye appear to be the headquarters of
the insect in Britain.

A portrait of a male specimen will be found on Plate 128, Fig. 1, but the
ground colour is much whiter in the majority of British specimens.

According to Dr. Chapman, the caterpillar varies from a nearly uniform
nankeen-yellow with the markings only indicated, to a handsome larva with
distinct black stripes. There is a pale dorsal line, quite narrow; thence
to the black spiracles is divided into three longitudinal stripes, a dark
dorsal, a dark (but less dark) lower one and a pale intermediate. In all
these the ground colour is the same, nankeen-yellow, and the darker areas
depend on the greater or less darkness of fine black mottlings, generally
in fine wavy streaks running more or less longitudinally. The head is
rather brown than yellow, mottled in a honey-comb pattern, with some black
marking about the mouth parts. It feeds at night from July to March on
various grasses, but seems to prefer _Poa annua_, and _P. nemoralis_. Dr.
Chapman reared some of these caterpillars by keeping each individual in a
separate glass jar and supplying it at frequent intervals with a fresh tuft
of _Poa annua_. The moth is out from May to July, and hides during the day
among the tufts of grass on chalk hills. It comes freely to sugar, and has
been taken at privet blossom.

THE SILVER CLOUD (_Xylomania conspicillaris_).

Three forms of this species occur with us. In that represented on Plate
128, Fig. 4, the fore wings are almost entirely {259} blackish. Another has
a larger portion of the inner marginal area ochreous brown, or whitish, ab.
_melaleuca_, Vieweg; a third form, and the least frequent, may be described
as pale ochreous brown with darker mottling on the basal half, and black
central markings representing a broken streak from the base of the wing to
the outer margin, in this form the pale outlined stigmata are fairly
distinct, and there is a blackish shade between them extending from the
front to the inner margin. From chrysalids obtained by digging under oak
and elm trees in a private park several miles from Taunton, Somerset, Mr.
H. Doidge (1901) reared moths and obtained eggs which were laid in a batch
on the covering of the cage in which the female was placed with a growing
plant of bird's-foot trefoil. The eggs hatched on May 31, ten days after
they were laid. The young caterpillars were purplish grey, but after
feeding on the yellow flowers they assumed the same colour. "After
finishing the flowers they commenced on the leaves, by which time they were
a pale green colour, with a yellow spiracular stripe, and were fond of
resting by day on the stems of the plant. As they approached the final
stage, the green became shaded with brown and black," and then resembled
the ripening seed pods. They were afterwards supplied with blackthorn, and
did not object to the change of food. They also ate dock (sparingly), and
_Trifolium minus_. "About July 8 they began to go under ground to pupate.
The pupae, which were of a dark reddish-brown colour, and somewhat obese
and blunt, being enclosed in a very compact and brittle earthy cocoon"
(Doidge).

The moth is out in April and May, but is very local in England. It has
occasionally been found at rest on isolated tree trunks or on posts, but
very rarely captured in any other way. Specimens have been obtained from
chrysalids dug up now and then from about the roots of trees, but perhaps
most of the specimens in collections, not numerous altogether, have been
reared from eggs. In England the species is only known {260} to occur in
Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, Gloucester, Somersetshire, Worcestershire, and
Herefordshire. Barrett also mentions one specimen at Gower, South Wales.

THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHES (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _satura_).

Of this species (Plate 121, Fig. 5) probably less than a dozen specimens
have been taken in England, and apparently none in any other part of the
British Isles. It is very similar to some of the darker forms of _E.
adusta_, specimens of which have often been mistaken for examples of the
present species and recorded as such. The wings are rather more ample; the
reniform and orbicular stigmata are reddish, with a blackish cloud under
them, and the space between the second and submarginal lines towards the
inner margin is also reddish. The hind wings are dark in both sexes. The
caterpillar, which is said to feed in July and August on hop, honey-suckle,
and cherry, among other plants, is pinkish brown, darker above; the
dusky-pink central line on the back is interrupted and indistinct, and on
each side of it is a series of oblique greyish but not clearly defined
streaks; the line low down on the sides is yellow-green. The moths flies in
June, July, and August.

Abroad the species occurs in Central and Northern Europe (except the most
northern parts, and perhaps Western France); eastward the range extends to
Amurland.

THE DARK BROCADE (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _adusta_).

The sexes of this moth are figured on Plate 121, Figs. 3[male], 4[female].
The ground colour is grey-brown in some examples of this species, whilst in
others, especially in the north of England and in Scotland, the colour
ranges through rich reddish brown, blackish brown to almost black. In the
lighter coloured forms the markings are usually clear and distinct, but in
the darker forms are often much obscured. The caterpillar is somewhat
variable in colour and markings. Barrett describes one form as pale sage
green strongly tinged with ochreous and dusted with greyish brown; the line
along the middle of the back is white, interrupted, and edged with greyish
brown; a series of outlines of greyish-brown diamonds spread over to the
brown margin of the pale ochreous stripe along the whitish spiracles, and
form a network on the back and sides. Another form, described by Buckler,
has the general colour brilliant yellow, suffused on the upper surface with
deep rose pink; a stripe on the middle of the back composed of two darker
pink lines, united and forming a spot at the beginning of each segment, and
an interrupted yellow stripe on each side. It feeds from July to September
on grass and various low plants, including knot-grass, bladder campion
(_Silene cucubalus_); also sweet gale, sallow, etc. The moth flies in June
and July, sometimes in May. The species occurs in woods and on heaths and
moors, and is generally distributed, and more or less common throughout the
British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 130.
      1. SLENDER BRINDLE: _caterpillar_.
  2, 2a. CLOUDED BRINDLE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      3. LYCHNIS: _caterpillar_.
      4. CLOUDED BORDERED BRINDLE: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 131.
  1, 2. LARGE NUTMEG MOTH.
  3, 4. CONFUSED MOTH.
  5, 6. CRESCENT STRIPED MOTH.
  7, 8. DUSKY BROCADE MOTH.

{261} THE BRINDLED GREEN (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _protea_).

Green of some shade is often the prevailing colour in the much ornamented
moth portrayed on Plate 122, Figs. 11, 12; but in some specimens the
general colour is pinkish white. The variegation consists of reddish brown
or pinkish, and white clouds and black streaks, chiefly as edging to the
pale cross lines, or between the stigmata; these latter are as often
obscure as distinct, but sometimes the orbicular is white with a white mark
below it extending to the black bar connecting the first and second cross
lines.

The caterpillar is green freckled with yellow, with a yellow central line
on the back; head brownish. It feeds from March to June, and when it leaves
the egg it bores into an oak bud to {262} feed; later on it spins the young
leaves together, and finally it dispenses with a retreat altogether and
feeds openly on the leaves. The moth is out in the autumn, rather earlier
in Scotland. It is widely distributed in England, and in some seasons and
localities very abundant. In Scotland it is found from Roxburgh to Moray,
and in the latter county as well as in Perthshire and Argyll it is often
plentiful. Single specimens have been recorded from Ireland, and these from
Co. Galway and Co. Westmeath.

THE NORTHERN ARCHES (_Crymodes exulis_).

The specimens of this species shown on Plate 123, Figs. 1, 4, are from
Shetland, and more or less of the typical form, but rather more variegated,
perhaps, than the actual type. In other specimens from the same locality
the yellowish submarginal line is band-like; or the ground colour is
browner, and sometimes blackish. These blackish examples approach var.
_assimilis_, Doubleday (Fig. 3), from Perthshire, where it was first met
with, at Rannoch, by Weaver, over sixty years ago. _Exulis_ (The Exile) was
discovered by Mr. H. McArthur in the Shetlands in 1883. In 1896 Mr. P. M.
Bright captured a specimen in the Shetlands which Barrett considered
referable to _maillardi_, Hubn. (Geyer, Fig. 833.) "Its ground colour is
drab-brown, abundantly marked with umberous and dusted with black, and its
only conspicuous marking is the reniform stigma, which is distinctly edged
with white in such a manner as to give it a singular resemblance to
_Mamestra_ [_Barathra_] _brassicae_." Staudinger, it may be added, adopts
_maillardi_ as the earlier name for this species, and it may have to be
generally accepted. The caterpillar is ochreous whitish, shaded with grey,
and with yellowish plates on the first and last rings; spiracles black,
head reddish brown. It feeds on grasses from August to May, but is
sometimes two, or even three, years in completing its {263} growth. When
young, and also later, it eats the lower part of the stem and partly into
the root of the grass. The moth is out in July and August. Very few
examples of the _assimilis_ form have been obtained, and these only in
Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Inverness, and the Isle of Arran. Mr. W. M.
Christy captured one specimen in Ross-shire in August, 1902. The
geographical range of this species extends from the Alps and Pyrenees
through Norway and Lapland to Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador.

THE MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT (_Bombycia viminalis_).

Figs. 5 and 6 on Plate 125 represent the typical form of this species. Fig.
8 shows the blackish var. _obscura_, Staud., and Fig. 7 an intermediate
form. The pale form is most frequent in southern England, and dark forms
are commoner in the north. Both forms occur in Scotland, but in some parts
the pale form only is found. The caterpillar is green with three whitish
lines on the back; the raised spots are also whitish; the line along the
black spiracles is yellowish. It feeds from April to June on sallow and
willow; at first on the terminal shoots, the leaves of which are spun
together with silk. Later on the caterpillar folds down or rolls a leaf so
as to form a shelter. The moth is on the wing in June and July, sometimes
later, and is pretty widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but
is rather local in Scotland, northern England, and Ireland. The dark form,
it may be mentioned, does not seem to be found abroad. The range of the
species extends to Amurland.

THE DUSKY SALLOW (_Eremobia ochroleuca_).

This brownish tinged ochreous moth (Plate 126, Figs. 3, 4) has the fore
wings crossed by whitish lines, the first and second of which approach or
unite below the middle, dividing into two blotches the dark central
band-like shade. {264}

The caterpillar, which feeds on the seeds of cock's-foot (_Dactylis_) and
other kinds of grass from May to early July, is whitish green and glossy;
three whitish stripes on the back, the central one broadest; a stripe below
the black spiracles is whitish, edged above with green. Mullein
(_Verbascum_) has also been mentioned as eaten by this caterpillar. The
moth is out in July and in August, and may often be seen resting on the
flowers of knapweed (_Centaurea_) in the daytime. It flies at night, and
has been taken at the flowers of centaurea, ragwort, etc., and at light. In
some districts it is said to visit the sugar patch, but not to do so in
other localities. Occurs in the chalk districts of most southern English
counties, and especially those of Kent and Sussex; also, but only rarely,
in Warwickshire and Yorkshire. One specimen has been recorded from
Pembrokeshire in Wales.

THE ORACHE MOTH (_Trachea atriplicis_).

In the past this greenish-mottled brownish moth (Plate 126, Fig. 5) appears
to have been commoner, and more widely distributed in England than it now
is. Wilkes, in 1773, referring to it as "The Wild Arrach," states that it
was taken occasionally near London. At the present time the species seems
to occur only in the eastern counties, and chiefly in Cambridgeshire. In
June, 1904 and 1905, specimens (three in all) were obtained at sugar in
Huntingdonshire. The caterpillar is ochreous or reddish brown, dotted with
white; three dark lines on the back, the central one only distinct. A
yellowish stripe along the black-edged white spiracles; head light reddish
brown, glossy. It feeds in July and August on orach (_Atriplex_),
persicaria, knot-grass, and will also eat dock. The range abroad extends to
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

NOTE.--It may be mentioned here that _Prodenia littoralis_, Boisd., an
inhabitant of tropical and sub-tropical regions, has {265} been
occasionally reared in this country from caterpillars found in imported
tomatoes.

THE SAXON (_Lithomoea_ (_Hyppa_) _rectilinea_).

The brownish clouding, and reddish-brown central band, of this species
(Plate 126, Figs. 6, 7) varies in tone; sometimes the band is olive grey
and the clouding rather grey than brown. The caterpillar, according to
Buckler, varies from dark brown to chestnut, ochreous, and orange browns;
the spiracular stripe pale ochreous or cream colour, shading off in the
middle to grey brown. It feeds from July to September, or later, on sallow,
bramble, bearberry (_Arctostaphylos uva-ursi_), and will eat knot-grass. It
hibernates when full grown, and pupates in the following spring. The moth
is out in May, June, or July, and is taken at sugar, chiefly in woods. At
one time it was found in Yorkshire, but Cumberland seems to be the only
English county in which it now occurs. In Scotland it has been taken in the
south. Renton states that near Hawick, Roxburghshire, he finds a few at
raspberry blossom every year. It is more plentiful, however, from
Perthshire to Sutherland. Kane notes it from Torc Wood, Killarney, near
Galway, and Clonbrock; and that the form is identical with that from
Aberdeen named _semivirgata_, Tutt. The range abroad extends to Siberia and
Amurland; and the North American, _xylinoides_, Guen, seems to be a form of
the present species.

THE FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH (_Diloba caeruleocephala_).

The greyish-centred white marks are the chief features on the brownish fore
wings of this moth (Plate 127, Figs. 1, 2). The first one, or both when
quite apart, is very like the figure 8; sometimes these marks are united,
and form an irregular blotch. Rarely the area between the black lines is
dark and the marks {266} obscured or absent. The caterpillar (Plate 133,
Fig. 1) is bluish grey, with a number of bristle-bearing black spots and
minute black dots; a stripe along the back is yellow and interrupted; a
yellow stripe low down along the sides. It feeds, from April to June, on
hawthorn, sloe, and wild crab; also on the leaves of apple, plum, and other
fruit trees. Sometimes these caterpillars are to be seen on the hedges in
numbers, and usually seem to prefer the outer extremities of the longer
shoots. The pale purplish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a strong somewhat
oval cocoon, which is covered with fragments of litter, and often attached
to some object, such as a bit of stick, leaves, etc., on the ground. The
moth is out in October and November, but is rarely seen, except
occasionally at gas lamps, etc. Generally common in the south and east of
England, and widely distributed throughout the rest of the country to
Cumberland. It has occurred in a few Clydesdale localities, and has been
recorded by Renton as sometimes common in Roxburghshire. Widely distributed
in Ireland, but not often plentiful.

THE GREEN BRINDLED DOT (_Valeria oleagina_).

Nearly eighty years ago Stephens summed up all that was known of this
species in Britain. As there is nothing to add in the way of later records,
his remarks may be quoted. "Very rare; specimens have been found in
Richmond Park, and one was taken in the pupa state by Mr. Plastead some
twenty or thirty years ago in Battersea Fields; others have occurred near
Bristol, and Mr. Donovan, I believe, captured one in South Wales; it has
also been taken in Scotland. My specimens were from the former locality,
and I have been fortunate enough to have had nearly a dozen examples at
various periods." Most of the later authors mention only the Welsh
specimen, taken at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, July, 1800. A continental
specimen is shown on Plate 127, Fig. 5. {267}

THE BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC (_Heliophobus hispidus_).

This species (Plate 127, Figs. 6, 7) varies in the brown colour of the fore
wings, which is sometimes of a greyish tint; not infrequently the pale
cross lines are tinged with brownish, or they may be rather broad, and, the
submarginal especially, white and very distinct; the reniform and orbicular
marks are sometimes tinged with pink. The caterpillar (Plate 133, Fig. 3)
is pale rusty brown, with blackish markings, and three pale lines on the
back; head glossy and rather paler than the body, and marked with two
blackish lines. It feeds on grasses from September to March. The specimen
figured (slightly enlarged) was received from Mr. Walker of Torquay on
January 11, 1907. The chrysalis (Fig. 3A) is dull reddish, ring divisions
and wing-cases paler and brighter; two hooks on last ring. The moth is out
from the latter part of August to early October, and in its haunts, which
are cliffs by the sea, it may be found at night sitting on grass stems. It
is not known to visit flowers or the sugar patch, but has been taken at
light. Although previously taken in the Isle of Portland, the earliest
published record was that in the _Zoologist_ for 1849 of a specimen taken
on the sandhills at Exmouth, late in September. It still occurs at Portland
and at Swanage in Dorset; also in the Isle of Wight and along the Devon
coast to Cornwall. The range abroad is restricted, the species only being
noted from Southern France, North-east and Southern Spain, Sicily,
Palestine, and North-west Africa.

THE FLOUNCED RUSTIC (_Luperina testacea_).

Portraits of this moth will be found on Plate 128, Figs. 5, 6. The ground
colour of the fore wings ranges from very pale brown through greyish brown
to blackish. In some specimens the markings are very faint, and, excepting
the whitish submarginal line, are hardly visible. Usually there is a black
or {268} dark brown bar connecting the first and second cross lines; not
infrequently there is a black mark on the inner margin below the bar, and a
black mark or two in the cell above. These marks are sometimes supplemented
by others, and so form a more or less complete black central band. The
reniform and orbicular stigmata are often only outlined in paler brown, but
they may be whitish and very distinct. Var. _gueneei_, Doubleday, is pale
ochreous brown, with the first line pale, interrupted, and terminating in a
black dot on inner margin; and the second line made up of white-edged black
crescents; the reniform distinctly edged with white, and there is a slender
black line above the inner margin between the first line and the base of
the wing. Hind wings pure white, with black marginal lunules.

The caterpillar is pinkish ochreous; usual dots not in evidence; skin much
wrinkled and glossy; spiracles pink margined with black; head and plate on
first ring pale brownish yellow. Robson (Cat. Lep. of Durham, etc.) states
that the caterpillar feeds on grass roots, and adds, "I have known it
abound in the grass tufts at the foot of palings around a large mill." The
moth is out in August and September. At night it flies freely to light, but
is not known to visit any of the usual floral attractions or the
collector's sugar. Generally distributed and often common.

DUMERIL'S LUPERINA (_Luperina dumerilii_).

Fore wings ochreous grey or brown, two brownish streaks represent the basal
line; the space between the first and second cross lines darker, and there
is a darker band on the outer margin; the stigmata are pale inclining to
yellowish, and the veins below them are white. Hind wings whitish tinged
with darker on outer margin. Ab. _desyllesi_, Boisd., has almost
unicolorous fore wings, and this form, according to Staudinger, has been
found in Northern France and England. I have only seen a continental
specimen of this species, which is very local and somewhat rare abroad.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 132.
  1, 2. RUSTIC SHOULDER-KNOT.
  3, 4. SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE.
     5. DOUBLE-LOBED MOTH.
  6-11. COMMON RUSTIC.
    12. UNION RUSTIC.
    13. FLAME MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 133.
      1. FIGURE OF EIGHT: _caterpillar_.
      2. FEATHERED RANUNCULUS: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{269} In his _Manual_, vol. i. (1857), Stainton states, "one specimen has
occurred in the Isle of Arran." Reference is made in 1885 (_Entom._ xviii.
73) to two specimens taken in the Isle of Portland in 1858, and three
others in 1859. Then, in the _Entomologist_ for 1902, Mr. Stockwell
records, from Dover, the capture of "a fine female of this rare Noctua, on
a gas lamp in this town, during the latter part of September."

THE STRAW UNDERWING (_Cerigo matura_).

This moth, both sexes of which are shown on Plate 128, Figs. 2, 3, is
readily recognized by the yellowish hind wings. The caterpillar is ochreous
or dull reddish brown; series of greyish brown marks along the middle of
the back, and a brown edged line on each side; a pale ochreous line edged
above with brown low down along the sides; head pale brown, with darker
streaks. It feeds from September to April, sometimes later, on grasses,
chiefly in dry situations. The moth is out in July and August. Generally
distributed throughout the British Isles, but in Scotland not recorded
north of Moray. In suitable localities it is common, and sometimes is the
only visitor to the sugar patch.

HAWORTH'S MINOR (_Celaena haworthii_).

In this reddish brown moth (Plate 128, Fig. 7) the reniform and orbicular
stigmata are white or broadly outlined in white, and the vein below as well
as the branches also white. The wings of the female are smaller than those
of the male, and the body is distinctly stouter. The white markings
referred to are sometimes obscured or absent, and such specimens are
referable {270} to var. _hibernica_, Haworth. The caterpillar is purplish
brown, with the usual raised dots darker brown; three pale lines along the
back, the central one least distinct; head and plates on first and last
rings reddish brown; spiracles black. From April to July on cotton grass
(_Eriophorum vaginatum_), feeding in the stems down towards the root. The
moth flies in August and September. It was first noted as British in 1819,
and Stephens in 1829 mentions it as common in Whittlesea Mere. Although
still occurring in the fens, the species is far more common on the moors
and mosses of Northern England, Scotland to the Shetlands, and in Ireland.

THE CRESCENT STRIPED (_Hama oblonga_ (_abjecta_)).

In its most frequent form this species (Plate 131, Figs. 5, 6) has the fore
wings greyish brown and somewhat shining; the markings, especially the
cross lines, indistinctly paler; the reniform is outwardly dotted with
white. Sometimes the ground colour is paler grey with black markings
arranged very similar to such marks in _A. gemina_, var. _remissa_ (Fig.
8).

The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather greyer; a
pinkish line along the back; head and plate on first and last rings shining
reddish brown. It feeds on grasses growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal
rivers, and ditches of brackish water: in the spring and until June;
perhaps from September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be
obtained at the flowers of marram grass as well as at sugar. The species is
found in most of the eastern and southern seaboard counties of England; at
Sandown and Freshwater in the Isle of Wight; in the fens of Huntingdon and
Cambridge; also occasionally in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lancs,
Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in Moray and in the
Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland. {271}

THE LARGE NUTMEG (_Hama sordida_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 131, Figs. 1, 2) are pale ochreous
brown, much marbled with darker brown, and sometimes slightly tinged with
reddish; the pale stigmata and submarginal line are the most distinct of
the usual markings. The caterpillar is said to be very like that of _Apamea
basilinea_. The moth flies in June, and is not uncommon in most parts of
Southern England. It occurs in Lancashire and Cheshire, but is more
frequent in Yorkshire and Durham; also found in South Wales, and although
it has been obtained in the Shetlands, it seems to be very local and
infrequent in Scotland. Only twice recorded from Ireland, one specimen on
the Dublin coast, 1860, and one at Howth (Kane).

THE CONFUSED (_Hama furva_).

This darker mottled greyish brown moth (Plate 131, Figs. 3, 4) is very
similar to the typical form of _A. gemina_ (Fig. 7); the fore wings,
however, are distinctly broader at the base, the W-like angles of the
submarginal line are less noticeable, and this line is comparatively
straighter. The reddish tinge so usual in _A. gemina_ is absent in the
present species.

The caterpillar is ochreous tinged with pinkish, except on the first three
rings and the under surface; central line dusky; usual dots reddish brown,
as also are the head and plates on first and last rings. On grasses,
September to June, feeding chiefly on the shoots near the roots (condensed
from Buckler). The moth occurs from July to September, and may be obtained
at flowers of ragwort, scabious, etc., and freely at sugar, in rocky places
from Lancashire northwards through Scotland to the Shetlands. It also
occurs in Wales, and suitable places in Gloucester, Somerset, Devon,
Cornwall, and has also been recorded from Sussex. In Ireland found on
several parts of {272} the coast, but not plentiful. Abroad the range
extends to Amurland.

THE DUSKY BROCADE (_Apamea obscura_ (_gemina_)).

In its ordinary form the moth shown on Plate 131 is purplish brown, as in
Fig. 7, sometimes mottled with greyish or pale ochreous. A more ornamented
form is known as var. _remissa_ (Fig. 8), and the ground colour of this is
not infrequently pale ochreous brown, or almost whitish, with the black
marking very conspicuous. The caterpillar is brownish grey, finely striated
with darker; a yellowish white line along the middle of the back, and a
brownish ochreous stripe on each side of it; stripe along the black edged
spiracles greyish ochreous. It feeds from autumn till March on grasses in
moist situations. The moth is perhaps most abundant in the south, but it
occurs, in June and July, pretty well all over the British Isles; and
abroad its range extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE RUSTIC SHOULDER KNOT (_Apamea basilinea_).

The species shown on Plate 132, Figs. 1[male], 2[female], is found almost
everywhere in the British Isles, is generally common, and in many parts
abundant. Usually the pale brown fore wings are clouded or suffused with
reddish, but this tint may be absent, or the wings may be tinged with
greyish: the single black dash from middle of the base is the "Shoulder
Knot." The caterpillar, according to Barrett, is pale olive brown varying
to grey brown; a greyish white line along the middle of the back edged with
short undulating black lines; spiracular line a row of blackish dashes,
clouded with olive brown, or edged with greyish white and looped with grey
brown; head black, plate on first ring black and white striped. It feeds
from August to March on grasses, etc. The moth flies in May and June. {273}

THE SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Apamea unanimis_).

The fore wings are generally reddish brown mottled with darker, but the
reddish tinge may be almost absent; the reniform is more or less outlined
in white and there are two black streaks from the base. (Plate 132, Figs.
3[male], 4[female].) The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, sometimes
tinged with greenish; three dark edged pale lines on the back; spiracular
line pale edged above with darker; head, and plate on first ring, brown and
glossy. On grasses that occur in damp places, such as water meads, marshes
and fens from July to April. The moth flies in June and July. It is widely
distributed, and sometimes common in most moist localities throughout
England. More local in Scotland but occurring in Aberdeenshire, and on the
western side ranging to the Orkneys. Not frequent in Ireland, but has been
obtained in several parts. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.

THE UNION RUSTIC (_Apamea pabulatricula_).

The very distinctly marked, and sometimes brownish tinged, greyish white
moth shown on Plate 132, Fig. 12, is very local in the British Isles, and
apart from its reported occurrence in the Clyde and Tay districts of
Scotland, seems to be found only in some of the woods of South Yorkshire,
as near Rotherham, Sheffield (Wharncliffe Woods), and Barnsley. It has been
obtained in Cumberland; and Barrett states that formerly it occurred in
Norfolk. The caterpillar, which is little known, is said to feed on grasses
in May. The moth flies in August and early September. It is also known as
_connexa_, Bork. {274}

THE COMMON RUSTIC (_Apamea secalis_).

Following Guenee, British entomologists at one time knew this species as
_oculea_; afterwards it became the habit to label it _didyma_, a name given
to it by Esper in 1788. Just now the authorities insist on _secalis_,
Linnaeus, being adopted. The species is an exceedingly variable one, and
six examples of it are shown on Plate 132, Figs. 6 to 11. The form with
blackish fore wings and a white reniform mark is var. _leucostigma_, Esp.
_Nictitans_, Esp., has brownish fore wings and a white reniform. _I-niger_,
Haw., is greyish or grey brown with darker central band, and the cross
lines united by a black bar. Ochreous or reddish ochreous specimens with
the front marginal area broadly and irregularly reddish brown, and the
outer margin bordered with reddish brown, are referable to var. _furca_,
Haw. Many other forms have been named. The caterpillar is green with three
reddish lines on the back; head and plate on the first ring pale brown,
also plate on last ring. In stems of grasses such as _Festuca_, _Dactylis_,
etc., also on wood-rush. From Autumn to April or May. The moth flies in
July and August, and is common everywhere in the British Isles; its range
abroad extends to Western China.

THE DOUBLE LOBED (_Apamea ophiogramma_).

This species (Plate 132, Fig. 5) is usually found in marshy localities, or
in gardens, over the eastern counties, and from Northamptonshire through
Bucks, and Hertfordshire, to Kent, and Surrey. The caterpillar feeds from
September on the shoots of _Phalaris arundinacea_ and the cultivated form
of that plant grown in gardens, and known as ribbon grass. Also said to
feed on _Poa aquatica_. When the grass dies down in the late autumn the
caterpillar enters the ground to hibernate, and {275} emerges in the spring
ready to attack the young grass shoots as soon as they appear. Where the
new growth of ribbon grass assumes a brown and withered appearance this
larva will probably be found at the bottom of the trouble. When nearly full
grown it eats down the interior of the thicker stems to the base. In colour
it is ochreous with a pinkish tinge; a pale brownish plate on first and
last rings, each edged with blackish and that on the first ring traversed
by a white line; head pale brown, glossy. The moth flies in July and
August, sometimes in June.

THE MARBLED MINOR (_Miana strigilis_).

Half a dozen specimens are shown on Plate 134, and these will serve to give
some idea of the range of aberration in this species. The most typical of
the species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 4; the farthest removed
from the type is var. _aethiops_, Haworth (Fig. 16). In the reddish var.
_latruncula_, Hubn., as figured by him, the most conspicuous character is
the white lower curve of the second cross line, as in Fig. 7.

The caterpillar is purplish brown above, and ochreous below; striped on the
back with pale yellow, and less distinctly on the sides; spiracles black
and very distinct; head and plates on the first and last rings of the body
ochreous brown and shining. Found in March and April, after hibernation,
feeding on the stems of various grasses. The moth is out in June and July,
and may frequently be seen at rest on palings, etc., but at night it often
abounds at sugar or honey dew. Generally distributed in the British Isles,
except perhaps in the islands of Scotland.

THE MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR (_Miana fasciuncula_).

In its typical form this species (Plate 134, Fig. 3) has the fore wings
reddish ochreous, with a darker central band, and {276} the cross lines,
especially the second, distinctly white towards the inner margin.
Sometimes, chiefly in Scotland, the ground colour is much paler,
occasionally almost whitish, and the band reddish (var. _cana_, Staud.,
Figs. 5, 8). There is a good deal of variation, both in the ground colour
and in that of the band; the latter is often smoky brown in pale specimens
of both sexes.

The caterpillar is of a pale flesh tint, rather inclining to greyish
ochreous, the dorsal stripe of a darker tint of the same colour well
defined on each side by the pale ground colour; next a very broad stripe of
pinkish brown, followed by a narrow stripe of the ground colour, faintly
edged below with pinkish brown; above the black spiracles is a stripe of
pinkish brown freckles; head and plates on first and last rings of the body
light brown, shining (Buckler). In the shoots of grasses such as _Aira
cespitosa_, in April and early May, probably after hibernation. The moth is
out in May and June, and its haunts are moist woods and marshy grounds,
generally. The species is widely distributed, and often common, throughout
the British Isles. Abroad it seems to have a very limited range.

THE ROSY MINOR (_Miana literosa_).

The ground colour is pale, or dark, violet grey, more or less clouded
inwards from the submarginal line, and on the basal area, with purplish; a
central reddish or reddish brown band is limited inwardly by the,
sometimes, whitish edged black first line, and outwardly by an almost
straight black line passing between the stigmata to the inner margin.
(Plate 134, Figs. 11, 14.)

The caterpillar is dingy ochreous yellow, with a dark purplish stripe,
enclosing a central line of the ground colour, on the back; spiracles
black; head dark brown, plates pale brown (Porritt). From September to
June, in stems of _Carex glauca_, _Dactylis glomerata_, and other grasses.
The moth flies in July and August, and although rare inland is pretty
generally distributed around the coasts of the British Isles; apparently,
from the Clyde area, confined to the east coast of Scotland, and not
extending north of Moray.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 134.
  1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16. MARBLED MINOR MOTH.
              2, 5, 8. MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR.
               11, 14. ROSY MINOR.
      3, 6, 9, 12, 15. CLOAKED MINOR.
               17, 18. LEAST MINOR.
                19-21. SMALL DOTTED BUFF.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 135.
  1, 2. CLOUDED-BORDERED BRINDLE.
     3. LIGHT ARCHES.
  4, 5. CLOUDED BRINDLE.
     6. REDDISH LIGHT ARCHES.
  7, 8. SLENDER BRINDLE.

{277} THE CLOAKED MINOR (_Miana bicoloria_).

This is another variable species of the genus, and five specimens of it are
shown on Plate 134. The typical form (Fig. 3) has the fore wings more or
less brownish on the basal area, and whitish bordered with brownish on the
outer area. Very frequently these wings are pale, or dark, brown marbled
with darker brown, and with the stigmata and cross lines distinct, faint,
or absent. Fig. 15 represents a form from Ireland, which is uniformly pale
ochreous brown, sometimes reddish tinged. The caterpillar is yellowish
ochreous, tinged with pink; three dull reddish interrupted bands, each
intersected by a line of the ground colour; head reddish brown; plates on
first and last rings of the body pale reddish brown (Buckler). In stems of
grasses, such as _Festuca_ and _Aira_--April and May; probably after
hibernation. The moth flies in August and September, sometimes earlier. At
dusk it is often common in rough fields and grassy places near the sea.
Although found in some inland localities, it is more especially a coast
species, and as such is widely distributed over the British Isles to the
Orkneys.

THE LEAST MINOR (_Phothedes captiuncula_).

The pretty little moth shown on Plate 134, Figs. 17, 18, has the fore wings
brownish ochreous, tinged with reddish brown, and with a darker central
band and hind margin. Sometimes the whole basal area up to the white second
line {278} is reddish brown; and in a form from Ireland named _tincta_,
Kane, the coloration is somewhat similar to that of _M. literosa_. This
species was first discovered in Britain by Messrs. Law and Sang, in a
locality near Darlington, Durham, in 1854. It is now obtained in several
places in that county, and in Northumberland. Also found in North
Lancashire, Westmoreland, and once in Yorkshire. It occurs commonly in Co.
Galway and Clare, Ireland, and has once been taken in Killarney. There is
also a record from Perthshire in Scotland.

The caterpillar is dull ochreous, with a reddish tinge inclining to
purplish on rings two to seven; head reddish brown; plates on first and
last rings yellow brown, the former edged in front with darker brown;
spiracles black, three yellow spots on sides of rings two and three
(Buckler). On _Carex glauca_ and other sedges, eating down the stems close
to the roots. Will also eat ribbon grass--August to June. The moth flies,
often in the early afternoon, from late June to August. It seems partial to
rough fields, and hillsides, chiefly on the coast.

THE CLOUDED-BORDERED BRINDLE (_Xylophasia rurea_).

Of this common, generally distributed, and often abundant species,
portraits of the typical form (Fig. 1), and of var. _alopecurus_, Esp.
(Fig. 2), will be found on Plate 135. The ground colour varies from the
normal greyish white to a silvery white (var. _argentea_, Tutt), and
through yellowish shades to a reddish ochreous; the markings in all these
colour aberrations are more or less typical. In the var. _alopecurus_,
Esp., there are also gradations; thus _combusta_, Haworth, is dark greyish
brown; and a blackish brown, red tinged form is _nigro-rubidea_, Tutt. The
caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 4) is variable in colour, one form is ochreous
grey with three lines on the back, the central one white shaded on each
side with grey; usual dots and spiracles are black; head blackish and
shining. From {279} August to May on grasses. The range abroad extends to
Amurland.

THE LIGHT ARCHES (_Xylophasia lithoxylea_).

In this whitish ochreous species (Plate 135, Fig. 3) there is little
variation except that the darker clouding is more pronounced in some
specimens than in others. The caterpillar is brownish grey, tinged with
ochreous or with greenish; usual dots blackish, as also are the head and
the plates on first and last rings of the body. October to May, feeding on
stems of grasses, near the roots. The moth is out in June and July, and is
often seen on fences, etc., in the daytime. Generally distributed, and
common in most places throughout the British Isles. In Scotland, however,
it does not range north of Moray, and only on the eastern side.

THE REDDISH LIGHT ARCHES (_Xylophasia sublustris_).

Except that the fore wings are somewhat reddish tinged, and not so long,
this species (Plate 135, Fig. 6) is very similar to the last. The
caterpillar is also very like that of the Light Arches, but has more red in
its coloration. The moth is out in June and July, and affects limestone and
chalk localities, and these chiefly on the coast. In Berkshire and
adjoining counties it occurs in beech woods. Specimens have been recorded
from Kendal in Westmoreland, but Yorkshire has been considered the northern
limit of the species in England. It has been recorded occasionally from the
fens. Paisley and Bonhill are given as Scottish localities in the _Fauna of
the Clyde Area_ (1901). Widely distributed in Ireland but most abundant in
the province of Connaught.

_Xylophasia zollikoferi._ The home of this species would seem to be in
parts of Hungary, Russia and Western Asia, whence it very occasionally
finds its way across the continent {280} to England. Its British history is
as follows:--a specimen taken at Deal, by Mr. Harding, October, 1867; one
at Inverurie in Scotland, by Mr. Tait, September, 1871; and one at sugar by
Mr. T. A. Lofthouse at Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, September 26, 1903. Also
recorded from Norwich, September, 1905, and from Methley, Yorks, August,
1910. (Plate 153, Fig. 6.)

THE DARK ARCHES (_Xylophasia monoglypha_).

The five portraits of this moth on Plate 136 will give some idea of the
various forms it assumes. The blackish specimen is referable to var.
_infuscata_, White, and an extreme aberration of this form has been named
_aethiops_, Tutt. The caterpillar is greyish, inclining to brownish or
reddish; usual dots blackish; head and plate on first ring of body dark
brownish, and shining. August to September, feeding on grasses and
devouring the stems near the base. The moth is out from June to August,
sometimes in October and November. It occurs in all parts of the British
Isles and is often abundant.

THE CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Xylophasia hepatica_).

The most frequent form of this species (Plate 135) has the fore wings pale
brown, with well-defined black markings, but without distinct cross lines.
When the wings are more clouded and suffused with reddish or purplish brown
the paler ground colour shows up as cross lines, and these are more or less
edged with blackish (var. _characterea_, Hubner). The caterpillar (Plate
130, Fig. 2) is dingy brown with shining black dots; three pale ochreous
lines along the back, the central one most distinct; head black and
shining; plate on first ring of the body black crossed by white lines,
another on the last ring is blackish. Feeds from August to April on
grasses, but will also eat various low plants. The chrysalis (Fig. 2A)
which {281} is enclosed in a tender earthen cocoon, is reddish, blackish
between the rings, and the last ring, which is blunt at apex, is furnished
with four hooks. The moth is out in June and July. A common species in the
eastern and southern counties of England, but less frequent or rare in the
Midlands and northwards to Roxburgh in Scotland. Local and not numerous in
Ireland. Range abroad extends to Amurland.

THE SLENDER BRINDLE (_Xylophasia scolopacina_).

This is another species with reddish brown clouded, pale ochreous brown
fore wings. The ground colour may be whiter or redder than in the specimens
shown on Plate 135, Figs. 7, 8. The caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 1) is
dusky green above and whitish green beneath, the green shading into
blackish along the sides; a fine whitish line along the middle of the back;
usual dots black; head honey-brown and glossy, the jaws and a spot on each
cheek black. It feeds on the juicy lower part of the stems of grasses, such
as _Triticum_, but will also eat the leaves. In the spring, and till June,
probably after hibernation. The moth is out in July and August, and as an
uncommon event may be seen at rest on a tree trunk or paling. Stephens
(1829) refers to its occurrence in the London district, and it still
appears in woods around Highgate. It seems to be most plentiful in the
woods of South Yorkshire, and in the Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire;
but it has been found more or less frequently in several of the southern
counties of England, and also in some northern ones. Its range abroad
extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE BIRD'S WING (_Dipterygia scabriuscula_).

The curious wing-like marks on the blackish fore wings of this moth (Plate
137, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) are its chief features. The {282} stigmata
are outlined in black, but are rarely paler than the ground colour. The
caterpillar is reddish brown with yellow and black dots; three lines along
the back, the central one white with a black edging, and the others
blackish; head brown and glossy, marked with black; a blackish plate on
first ring is also glossy, and is followed by a black mark on the next
ring, both streaked with white. It feeds on dock, sorrel, and plants of the
genus _Polygonum_, in July and August. The moth flies in late May and June,
sometimes as a second generation in August or September. It occurs more or
less commonly in most southern and eastern counties from Oxfordshire. In
other parts of England, and in Scotland, it seems to be local or absent.

THE PURPLE CLOUD (_Cloantha polyodon_).

This moth is figured on Plate 137, Fig. 7. The first recorded British
specimen was taken at Yarmouth, in June, 1839. In 1855 a specimen, found in
a spider's web at Ashford, Hampshire, was exhibited at a meeting, held in
May, of the Entomological Society of London. Two specimens were taken in
1892; one at Folkestone, Kent, at sugar, and the other outside Norwich, in
Norfolk, at a gas lamp. In the _Entomologist_ for 1894, there is a record
of a specimen captured at sugar, July, 1891, at Clonbrock, Co. Galway,
Ireland. The species has a wide range abroad, extending eastward to
Amurland and Japan.

THE DEEP-BROWN DART (_Aporophyla lutulenta_).

In the south of England the species (Plate 137, Figs. 9, 10) is generally
of a dark brown coloration on the fore wings, and the markings are often
indistinct; but blackish forms also occur, although the latter are more
frequent northwards, and in Scotland and Ireland are the prevailing form of
the species. In black or blackish specimens, usually referred to
_luneburgensis_, {283} Freyer, the hind wings in the male, have the veins
more or less blackish and dotted with black beyond the middle; var. _sedi_,
Guenee, has the fore wings pale greyish with the markings distinct, and the
central area blackish.

The caterpillar is green, sometimes tinged with pink on the first three
rings; three brownish broken lines along the back, and a violet edged white
line along the spiracles. It feeds on grasses, yarrow, groundsel, dock,
plantain, gromwell (_Lithospermum_), and other low herbage; also on buds of
hawthorn and sloe in the spring. October to April. The moth is out in
August and September, sometimes later. It is found most frequently on the
coast, perhaps, but occurs in Cambridgeshire, Hunts, Oxfordshire,
Gloucestershire, Berks, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, and Isle of Wight;
from Somerset to Cornwall; North and South Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and
Yorkshire, and apparently in all counties northward except Westmoreland.
Widely distributed in Scotland from the border to the Hebrides and Orkneys.
It is found only on the coast in Ireland, and chiefly in the north-west.

THE BLACK RUSTIC (_Aporophyla nigra_).

This black or brownish black moth (Plate 137, Fig. 8) has the outer edge of
the reniform stigma ochreous, and the cross lines are sometimes dotted with
the same colour. The caterpillar is green, yellowish-brown, or dull
purplish; first three rings often tinged with reddish; three darker, often
broken, lines along the back; line along the black-edged white spiracles
yellowish. It feeds on bedstraw (_Galium mollugo_), dock, plantain,
grasses, etc. October to May. (The egg is figured on Plate 139, Fig. 3.)
The moth is out in September and October. Chiefly a northern species, but
it occurs in some of the southern counties. It is, however, most frequent
in Northampton, Huntingdon, and Cambridgeshire; in Gloucestershire, {284}
and Wales, and in the Isle of Man, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. In
Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire it seems to be local or rare. It is
found up to Moray in Scotland, and is sometimes plentiful in Aberdeenshire,
Inverness, and Moray. Very local in Ireland, but Kane says that it is found
in the extreme north, south, east, and west.

THE FEATHERED BRINDLE (_Aporophyla australis_).

The fore wings are pale grey, sometimes darker clouded, chiefly on the
costa; the black cross lines, slender, wavy, but not always distinct; a
short black bar from middle of the base and one below it on the inner
margin; often two other bars, pretty much in a line with the basal ones, on
the central area; a row of black wedges on the outer area, near margin.
Hind wings white in the male, pale brownish grey in the female. Most of our
specimens, perhaps all, are referable to var. _pascuea_, Curtis. The
caterpillar is yellowish green tinged with reddish above; a pale reddish
line along the middle of the back has black V-shaped marks upon it, and
there is a series of black marks on each side; the line along the spiracles
yellowish; head green, brown freckled. Feeds, from October to April, on
grasses, catchfly (_Silene maritima_), etc. The moth, which is figured on
Plate 137, Figs. 3, 4, is out from late August to October.

This is a local species in England and occurs on the south coast; in Kent,
on the sand hills at Deal; in Sussex, on the downs at Brighton and Lewes;
also on downs on the Isle of Wight. Farther west it is found at Portland in
Dorset, and Torquay in Devon; thence along the Devon and Cornish coasts. In
Ireland it is obtained, according to Kane, on the coast of Wicklow and
Waterford, and is not scarce on the sand hills of Wexford Harbour.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 136.
  DARK ARCHES MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 137.
   1, 2. BIRD'S WING MOTH.
   3, 4. FEATHERED BRINDLE.
   5, 6. FEATHERED RANUNCULUS.
      7. PURPLE CLOUD.
      8. BLACK RUSTIC.
  9, 10. DEEP-BROWN DART.

{285}

THE FEATHERED RANUNCULUS (_Epunda lichenea_).

This is a maritime species and is chiefly found in the Isle of Wight, the
Isle of Portland, and along the coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset,
Gloucester, and on the opposite Welsh coast. It is locally common in
Cheshire and Lancashire, and occurs on the coast of North Wales, in Flint
and Carnarvon. In Yorkshire it is not uncommon at Scarborough. Has been
recorded from the Lincolnshire coast and from Eastbourne. There are two
records from Scotland--Renfrew and Ayr. In Ireland it is common at Howth,
and abundant at Rossbeigh, Co. Kerry. This species, and the last two, have
a rather limited range abroad. On Plate 137 are portraits of two local
forms, Fig. 5 is from Portland, and Fig. 6 from Plymouth. It will be noted
that the former is greyish in tone whilst the latter is greenish and rather
larger. Similar local variation occurs throughout the range of the species.

The caterpillar (Plate 133, Fig. 2) is olive green inclining to brownish
above; along the back are darker markings forming a central stripe and a
paler interrupted stripe on each side; a pale stripe along the spiracles.
It feeds from autumn to May on various low plants. The moth flies from late
August to early October. The first British specimen is said to have been
taken in the New Forest in 1847; but in 1850 about a hundred were captured
at New Brighton in Cheshire.

THE BRINDLED OCHRE (_Dasypolia templi_).

The dull ochreous-brown moth shown on Plate 138, Fig. 1, has hardly any
well-defined markings, but the cross lines are generally darker, and the
reniform and orbicular paler. The caterpillar, which feeds in the stems of
cow-parsnip (_Heracleum sphondylium_) from April to August, is pinkish
ochreous with a rather darker stripe on the back; raised spots brown; head
{286} reddish brown. The moth flies in the autumn, and, after hibernation,
in the spring. It frequents rocky places on the coast and on hills. Its
range in England is pretty much as in the last species, but it does not
seem to occur on the south-east coast. In Scotland it is widely spread over
the country to the Orkneys, and has been found in the most northern isle of
the Shetlands, but it is generally uncommon. It has been taken near Dublin
in Ireland, and less frequently in Antrim and Donegal.

THE LARGE RANUNCULUS (_Polia flavicincta_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 138, Figs. 6 and 7), are pale grey,
clouded, and marked with darker; yellowish freckles at the base, and on the
central area and the submarginal line are usually, but not always, present.
Sometimes, chiefly in northern specimens, these wings are much suffused
with darker grey, approaching blackish. The caterpillar is green with a
yellowish or bluish tinge; a dusky line along the back, and a dark green
line along the black-edged white spiracles. It feeds on dock, groundsel,
plantain, and many other plants from April to July. The moth flies in
September and October, and, except in Kent, and perhaps Sussex, is rather
uncommon in the southern counties of England. It occurs, however, not
infrequently in the eastern counties, and through Oxford, Berks,
Gloucester, Somerset to Cornwall, and northward through Hereford and parts
of the Midlands to Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Durham.

THE GREY CHI (_Polia chi_).

Four specimens are depicted on Plate 138. Figs. 2 and 3 represent the sexes
of the type form, and Figs. 4 and 5, the greenish-grey var. _olivacea_,
Stephens. Both forms may be paler or darker, but the green tinge is apt to
fade out. Var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is a dark greyish suffused form. {287}

The caterpillar is green, inclining to bluish green above; the lines on the
back are whitish, edged with dark green; that along the black-margined
white spiracles is white, shaded above with dark green. It feeds on dock,
dandelion, groundsel, etc.; also on sallow and hawthorn, from April to
June. The moth is out in August and September. It prefers the open country
to woodlands, and is often seen resting on rocks, stone, or other walls,
and buildings. Except that it occurs in Devon and Dorset, the species seems
to be absent in the south of England, but its area of distribution extends
in the British Isles from the Midlands of England to Moray and Ross in
Scotland, and to Ireland.

THE BLACK-BANDED (_Polia xanthomista_).

The form of this species occurring in Britain is var. _nigrocincta_, Tr.
(Plate 140, Figs. 2, 3), which is pale grey, spotted with white, and
clouded on the central area with black. The typical yellow flecking and
dotting is in this form usually sparse, but occasionally it is prominent. A
specimen reared from a caterpillar taken in the Isle of Man was suffused on
the fore wings with bright orange.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, varying in tint, above and pale green
below the brown spiracles; the head is rather yellowish and very glossy. It
feeds on sea thrift (flowers), and plantain in its haunts, which are the
rocky coasts of Cornwall, North Devon, and the Isle of Man. In confinement
it will eat groundsel, dock, dandelion, lettuce, etc. Usually the
caterpillars do not hatch out until the spring, and then feed until June or
July; but they have been known to hatch in the autumn, and then to
hibernate. The moth flies in August and September, but, although it has
been taken at sugar and light, is more frequently reared from caterpillars,
which are readily found at night by those who may undertake the sometimes
{288} hazardous business of collecting them. The earliest known British
specimen was taken at a lighthouse near Padstow in Cornwall, and five years
later the moth was bred from a caterpillar found in the Isle of Man. In
1880 a specimen was taken at sugar in the middle of a small wood in South
Pembrokeshire. According to Hampson this, and the other two species usually
included in _Polia_, are referable to _Antitype_, Hubn. On the same
authority _nigrocincta_, Treit., is the earlier name for the present
species, as the figure of _xanthomista_, Hubn., was not published until
1827.

THE SPRAWLER (_Brachionycha_ (_Asteroscopus_) _sphinx_).

The black streaked and dotted, pale brownish grey moth (Plate 138, Fig. 8)
occurs, more or less locally, in most of the English counties from Norfolk,
Huntingdon, and Oxford, southwards; and from Gloucester northwards through
Hereford and Worcester, to Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, to Darlington
in Durham, and Cumberland. It is, however, rare in the northern counties.
The caterpillar is yellowish green; three whitish lines on the back, the
central one broadly edged with green on both sides, and the others inwardly
by a dark line; the front ring is edged with whitish, and the head is
greenish. It feeds on the foliage of various trees, including oak, beech,
elm, ash, sallow, lime in May and June. The moth flies in November and
December.

THE RANNOCH SPRAWLER (_Brachionycha_ (_Asteroscopus_) _nubeculosa_).

The first British specimen was taken at Rannoch in the spring of 1854, and
in that Perthshire locality the species is still to be found, sitting on
the trunks of the birch trees in late March and in April. It has frequently
been reared from the egg, but the caterpillars must be sleeved out on
growing birch, or the mortality among them may be high. Even if they attain
the chrysalis stage, the moth may not appear the following spring, as it
has a habit of remaining in its shell for two winters, and sometimes more.
(Plate 140, Figs. 1[male], 4[female].)

[Illustration]

  Pl. 138.
     1. BRINDLED OCHRE MOTH.
  2, 3. GREY CHI MOTH.
  4, 5. GREY CHI MOTH, _var. olivaceae._
  6, 7. LARGE RANUNCULUS.
     8. SPRAWLER.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 139.
  1, 1a. BLACK-BANDED MOTH: _eggs, natural size and enlarged._
  2, 2a. GOTHIC MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis._
  3, 3a. BLACK RUSTIC: _eggs, natural size and enlarged._

{289} The caterpillar is yellowish green, whiter on the back; the third
ring is obliquely marked with yellow on each side; the eleventh ring is
slightly raised and marked yellow, and there is an oblique yellow mark
above the claspers; spiracles white edged with black, and the usual dots
are pale yellow. It feeds on birch. May and June.

THE GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT (_Miselia oxyacanthae_).

This moth, which in its typical form was known to the ancient fathers of
entomology as "Ealing's Glory," is shown on Plate 141, Fig. 2. The var.
_capucina_, Mill (Fig. 3), a purely British production by the way, has the
fore wings dark sooty brown, inclining to blackish. The caterpillar, which
has a white-marked and divided hump on ring eleven, is reddish or greyish
brown, with dark grey and greenish mottling; the back has three darker
lines along it, and there is a sort of diamond pattern in greyish between
the outer ones; rings three and ten striped with black; head reddish brown.
It feeds in April and May on hawthorn, sloe, crab, and apple. Widely
distributed throughout the British Isles, but apparently not found north of
Moray in Scotland.

THE DOUBLE-SPOT BROCADE (_Miselia bimaculosa_).

Stephens, referring to this species in 1829, states that he had only seen
one British specimen. This was in the British Museum, "to which it was
presented by Dr. Leach; it was captured near Bristol, I believe, in July,
1815." Barrett notes {290} a specimen, said to have been taken by Peter
Bouchard, in the collection of the late Dr. Mason. This is all that there
seems to be known concerning this species in Britain. The specimen figured
on Plate 141, Fig. 4, is continental.

THE MERVEILLE DU JOUR (_Agriopis aprilina_).

The pretty green moth, with white-edged black markings, shown on Plate 141,
Fig. 1, is widely distributed over the greater part of the British Isles.
It occurs in oak woods, or in localities where oak trees are plentiful. The
caterpillar is of an obscure greenish-grey coloration, sometimes inclining
to brownish; a white line along the back, and a dark one low down on the
sides; over the back spreads a series of blackish marks showing a more or
less diamond pattern. It feeds in the spring and until June on oak leaves,
and often rests by day on the trunks, in the chinks of the bark. The moth
flies in September and October, rather earlier in Scotland.

FLAME BROCADE (_Rhizotype_ (_Trigonophora_) _flammea_).

The earliest record of this species (Plate 141, Fig. 6) in England dates
back to 1855, when five specimens were obtained at sugar in a locality near
Brighton, in Sussex. The next year, and subsequently, it was found, not
only in the original place, but also in the Lewes and Shoreham districts.
Later it was met with in other localities in the county, and for several
years captures were made in most of its known haunts. For some years past,
however, it seems to have disappeared from Sussex, and is not known to
occur in any other part of the British Isles.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, tinged with reddish; a dull brownish
diamond pattern, and three lines along the back, the central line paler
than the others; the spiracles and usual dots are white, ringed with
brownish. Another form is green, as also are both forms in the younger
stages. It feeds from December to April on pilewort (_Ranunculus ficaria_),
_R. repens_, and other kinds of buttercup. When full grown it is said to
prefer ash or privet. The moth flies in late September and October.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 140.
  1, 4. RANNOCH SPRAWLER.
  2, 3. BLACK-BANDED MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 141.
     1. MERVEILLE-DU-JOUR MOTH.
  2, 3. GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT.
     4. DOUBLE-SPOT BROCADE.
     5. SMALL ANGLE SHADES.
     6. FLAME BROCADE.
     7. ANGLE SHADES.

{291} THE SMALL ANGLE SHADES (_Euplexia lucipara_).

The pale reniform mark on the outer edge of the blackish central area is
the prominent feature of this pinkish- or purplish-brown moth. (Plate 141,
Fig. 5.) The caterpillar is green, or pinkish-brown, and velvety in
appearance; three indistinct lines and some dusky V-shaped marks on the
back; a white line along the sides; usual dots white, and the spiracles
black. It feeds in August and September on most low plants, birch, sallow,
bracken, etc. It is often destructive to ferns in the garden or
conservatory; usually selecting the choicer kinds, and as its depredations
are carried on only at night, the culprit escapes detection. The moth flies
in June and July, and a few specimens sometimes appear in the autumn.
Generally distributed and often common in the South. The range abroad
extends to Amurland, Japan, and North America.

THE ANGLE SHADES (_Phlogophora meticulosa_).

The moth shown on Plate 141, Fig. 7, is, when newly emerged from the
chrysalis, an exceedingly pretty creature. After death the pinky-brown
colour remains, but the olive green of the triangular central band, and
border of outer margin, fades and distinctly mars the pleasing effect of
the general colour scheme. Sometimes the central band and outer border are
red, and in such specimens the ground colour is more rosy. The caterpillar
is green or brown, minutely dotted with white; a pale central line and
dusky V-shaped marks on each side of it; the outer arm of the V more
distinct than the inner; the line along the dark {292} ringed spiracles
whitish; head green or brown freckled with darker. It feeds on groundsel,
dock, bracken, and almost anything in the way of an herbaceous plant; often
attacks geraniums in the greenhouse as well as outdoors. Has been found in
almost every month of the year, but perhaps most common in July, August,
and September. The moth also occurs at all seasons of the year, but seems
to be most frequent in May and June, and sometimes in September and
October. It is found throughout the British Isles. Both this species and
the last mentioned, when resting on herbage, paling, or tree stem, chiefly
the former, sit with the wings folded in to the body, but each fore wing is
broadly wrinkled or folded throughout its length. In this position the moth
is very like a crumpled decaying leaf, and for such may be readily
mistaken.

THE OLD LADY (_Mania_ (_Mormo_) _maura_).

From its habit of creeping behind curtains, shutters, etc., and otherwise
disposing itself in dwelling-houses during the day, as well as in summer
houses and other buildings, this moth (Plate 142, Figs. 1[male], 3[female])
must often come under observation. The caterpillar is ochreous brown with a
darker diamond pattern on the back; the central line is ochreous, but much
broken, and on each side of it there is a series of pale oblique streaks;
the spiracles are reddish ochreous, edged with black, and the line along
them is ochreous; head pale brown, glossy. The general colour varies to
greyish or purplish brown. It feeds on various low herbage in the autumn,
and on the young shoots and leaves of sallow, hawthorn, birch, etc., in the
spring after hibernation. The moth flies in July and August, and is
generally common in the south of England. Sometimes it abounds even in the
London suburbs, and in 1904 it was seen pretty frequently during August
flying, in the evening, low down along the roads and in gardens all over
the southern district. The species is also {293} found more or less
frequently throughout England northwards, and well into Scotland, as least
as far as Clydesdale. Renton records it as common at sugar in
Roxburghshire, and White gives the Forth and Tay districts. Widely
distributed in Ireland, common in some parts.

THE GOTHIC (_Naenia typica_).

This moth (Plate 142, Fig. 2) is common in gardens, as well as along the
weedy wayside and hedgerow in all parts of England and Wales, Scotland to
Sutherland, and in Ireland. The caterpillar (Plate 139, Fig. 2) varies in
colour from brownish-grey to pale ochreous brown, or greenish grey,
freckled with darker; three pale lines on the first ring, and partly on the
second; some pale oblique streaks on the sides, and blackish marks on rings
ten and eleven, the latter more or less united behind; head of the body
colour darker marked. It feeds on all kinds of herbage, also on the leaves
of sallow, sloe, apple, etc. When young in large companies on the underside
of leaves. August to May. The moth flies in June and July.

THE CRESCENT (_Helotropha leucostigma_).

Of this purplish-brown species the typical form (Fig. 1), and the pale
banded form, var. _fibrosa_, Hubn., are shown on Plate 143. The
caterpillar, according to Buckler, is slaty brown, inclining to olive drab
above; three paler lines on the back; the spiracles are black and the usual
dots black-brown; head warm brown, very glossy; plate on first ring glossy
black, that on the last ring blackish brown. It feeds in the stems of
_Cladium mariscus_, sedge (_Carex paludosa_), and yellow flag (_Iris
pseudacorus_). May to July. The moth is out in late June, July, and August.
It inhabits fens and marshy ground, and seems to be found in such
localities throughout the British Isles, including the {294} Hebrides and
Shetlands. Abroad the range extends to Amurland, China, Japan, also North
America.

THE EAR MOTH (_Hydroecia_ (_Gortyna_) _nictitans_).

On Plate 143 are shown a more or less typical specimen of this species
(Fig. 3); the reddish spotted var. _erythrostigma_, Haw. (Fig. 4); and two
examples of the marsh or saltern form, _paludis_, Tutt (Figs. 5, 6), for
which specific rank has been claimed. Specimens found in marshes,
especially those by the sea, are usually somewhat larger than normal, but I
cannot see that they otherwise differ from forms of _nictitans_. The
caterpillar is greenish pink with pinkish grey stripes on the back and
sides; spiracles black, and usual dots dark brownish; head pinkish
ochreous, plate on ring one of the body yellowish brown. It feeds from May
to August on grasses, chiefly the lower part of the stems. The moth flies
in August and September, and is sometimes seen in the daytime on the
flowers of thistle and ragwort, etc., but far more frequently at night,
when it also visits sugar more or less freely. Usually common in marshy
places throughout our islands. The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea,
Japan, and North America.

THE ROSY RUSTIC (_Hydroecia_ (_Gortyna_) _micacea_).

This moth (Plate 143, Figs. 8, 9) is also widely spread over the British
Isles, occurring most freely on the coast, but not uncommonly inland. It
appears in the autumn, and is frequently seen at light, and although not
very partial to sugar it occasionally visits that attraction as well as
ragwort blossom, etc. The caterpillar is dull smoky pink, with a faintly
darker central stripe; the usual dots dark brown, and the spiracles black;
head, and plates on first and last rings of the body ochreous brown. May to
August on dock, plantain, feeding in the stems and down into the roots.
Sometimes it attacks the potato, eating down the stalk into the tuber. The
range abroad extends to Amurland.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 142.
  1, 3. OLD LADY MOTH.
     2. GOTHIC MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 143.
  1, 2. THE CRESCENT.
  3, 4. EAR MOTH.
  5, 6. EAR MOTH, _saltern form_.
     7. BUTTERBUR MOTH.
  8, 9. ROSY RUSTIC.

{295} THE BUTTERBUR (_Hydroecia_ (_Gortyna_) _petasitis_).

This is a larger species than the last, and more dingy in coloration. Its
chief haunts, among the butterbur (_Petasites_), are in the northern
counties from Cheshire to Durham. It was first met with by Stainton in 1846
at Falkirk in Scotland, and Doubleday named and described it in 1847. An
account of its caterpillar feeding in the roots of the butterbur was
published by N. Cooke in 1850, and by 1855 the northern collectors had
reared and distributed large numbers of the moths among their confreres in
other parts of the country. The species is still common in the north of
England, but continues scarce and very local in Scotland. Odd specimens
have been reported from the eastern counties and once from Somerset. The
caterpillar is greyish white with black dots; head, and plate on first ring
of the body brown. July and August. The moth occurs among its food plant in
August and September. (Plate 143, Fig. 7.)

THE FROSTED ORANGE (_Ochria ochracea_).

Except that it sometimes visits a strong light, and may then be captured,
this moth (Plate 144, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) is most easily obtained in
its early stages. The caterpillar is pale ochreous white with conspicuous
black dots; head ochreous brown, the plate on first ring of the body is
blackish with white lines upon it. It feeds in the stems of thistles,
burdock, hemp-agrimony, etc. April to July, or later. The brownish
chrysalis may be found in stems of the plants, generally low down near the
ground. The moth, also known as _flavago_, Schiff., occurs from August to
October in most places, especially marshy ground, where {296} thistles
flourish, throughout England and Wales. It is found in Scotland up to
Perthshire and Aberdeen. Only recorded from Wicklow, Galway, Sligo, and
Clare, in Ireland.

REED WAINSCOT (_Nonagria algae_ (_cannae_)).

This moth (Plate 144, Fig. 4) varies in size and also in the colour of the
fore wings, which range from a pale ochreous, through reddish shades, to
sooty brown. The cross lines are indicated by black dots. The black dotted
greenish caterpillar has a brown head and a whitish green plate on first
ring of the body. It feeds from May to July in the stems of reed-mace
(_Typha latifolia_), often called the bulrush or catstail; also in the true
bulrush (_Scirpus lacustris_). Fig. 5, Plate 148, shows the chrysalis in
its characteristic position when in the stem, that is with the head
upwards. The moth flies, in August and September, at dusk, over and among
the reeds; the males especially freely responding to the attraction of
light. Its chief localities are in the fens of Norfolk and Suffolk, but it
has also occurred in Mid-Sussex.

WEBB'S WAINSCOT (_Nonagria sparganii_).

This moth also varies in the colour of the fore wings, from almost whitish
through various shades of ochreous and red. The main veins are shaded with
grey, and the median one has black dots upon it, chiefly at the end of the
cell; the outer margin with a row of large or small black dots. (Plate 144,
Fig. 3.) The caterpillar is yellowish green with darker lines; head and
plate on first ring of the body pale brown. It feeds in July and August in
stems of bur-reed (_Sparganium_), reed-mace, and yellow flag. Fig. 6, Plate
148, shows the chrysalis in its natural position in the stem. The hole in
the stem from which the moth escapes is also clearly in evidence above the
chrysalis. {297} The moth flies among reeds, etc., in August and September.
Its chief localities in England are in East and South-east Kent, in which
county the first British specimens were obtained by Mr. Sydney Webb in
1879. In 1899 a specimen reared from a caterpillar found in a stem of
_Typha_, was recorded from Suffolk (Woodbridge district); and in 1901 the
species was recorded from South Devon. It is also not uncommon "between Old
Head of Kinsale and Glandore," Co. Cork, Ireland.

THE BULRUSH WAINSCOT (_Nonagria typhae_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 144, Fig. 5), usually of a pale
whity-brown colour, in some specimens are reddish tinged; or they may be
almost uniformly reddish brown or blackish (var. _fraterna_, Treit.). The
row of black spots on the outer area are wedge-shaped and are placed just
before the margin. The caterpillar is pale ochreous more or less tinged
with pink; a paler line along the spiracles; head and plate on first ring
of the body red-brown. July to August, in stems of _Typha_. The moth flies
in August and September, and although it may be netted when on the wing at
dusk, or at light, it is obtained in better condition by rearing it from
the chrysalis, which may be found in the stems (Plate 148, Fig. 3), those
of the previous year for choice, of reed mace. Generally distributed in
England up to Yorkshire; it has been recorded also from Northumberland and
the Scottish border. It is common in southern Ireland, and found northwards
up to Sligo, Tyrone, and Armagh.

THE TWIN-SPOTTED (_Nonagria geminipuncta_).

This species, shown on Plate 144, Figs. 6, 7, varies in colour from pale
brown, more or less suffused with grey, through darker, or reddish brown to
blackish (var. _nigricans_, Staud.). {298} In the brown typical form the
reniform mark is represented by two dark-edged white dots, the upper one
often tiny or absent (var. _unipuncta_, Tutt), or both may be absent (var.
_obsoleta_, Tutt). The caterpillar in pale ochreous, pink-tinged, a pale
line along the spiracles; head dark brown. May and June, in stems of reeds
(_Phragmites_). The chrysalis lies in the reed stem with the head towards
the oval hole above it from which the moth escapes. In August the moth may
be found in its haunts in the south and east of England. These are marshes,
often near the sea, in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Essex, the Thames valley,
Sussex, Hants, and the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire and Somerset.

THE BROWN-VEINED WAINSCOT (_Nonagria dissoluta_).

The popular name applies more especially to the ordinary form of this
species known as _arundineta_, Schmidt. (Plate 144, Fig. 8.) The dark brown
or black typical form (_dissoluta_, Treit. = _hessii_, Boisd.) is local and
uncommon; in fact until 1900 it had not been noted in England for a number
of years, and specimens were only known from Yaxley. In the year just
mentioned however, several examples of it were recorded from Suffolk, taken
in the Needham Market district; and in 1905 specimens were reported from
the East Kent marshes. Var. _arundineta_, the _neurica_ of some authors,
occurs in the fens of Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Lincolnshire; also
in marshes in Essex and Kent; and is said to have been taken in Middlesex
and Lancashire. The caterpillar is dirty white, light reddish on the back;
raised dots black inclining to brown on front three rings; spiracles white
edged with black; head dark brown; plate on first and last rings of the
body brownish grey. It feeds in June in the stems of reed and turns to a
chrysalis in the lower part of the stem, head downwards in the direction of
the exit hole below it. (Plate 148, Fig. 1.) The moth flies in July and
August.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 144.
  1, 2. FROSTED ORANGE MOTH.
     3. WEBB'S WAINSCOT.
     4. REED WAINSCOT.
     5. BULRUSH MOTH.
  6, 7. TWIN-SPOTTED WAINSCOT.
     8. BROWN-VEINED WAINSCOT.
     9. FENN'S WAINSCOT, 10. _aberration sinelinea._

[Illustration]

  Pl. 145.
        1, 2. LARGE WAINSCOT.
        3, 4. FEN WAINSCOT.
        5, 6. FLAME WAINSCOT.
        7, 8. SILKY WAINSCOT.
   9, 10, 11. SMALL RUFOUS MOTH.
  12, 13, 14. SMALL WAINSCOT.

{299}

THE SMALL RUFOUS (_Coenobia rufa_).

Varies from pale ochreous white, through reddish shades, to a greyish
brown. (Plate 145, Figs. 9 to 11.) The caterpillar is described by Hofmann,
as pale reddish above and whitish below, with minute dark dots on the back
and a fine blackish line along the sides; head and plate on first ring of
the body brown and glossy. May and June, in stems of the jointed rush
(_Juncus lamprocarpus_). The moth flies in July and August, and occurs in
fens and marshes. At one time it was not uncommon in marshy localities
around London, and it is still to be obtained in Richmond Park, Surrey. In
some years it abounds in the Norfolk and Cambridge fens, and in others is
hardly seen. It is also to be found more or less frequently but always
local in Suffolk, Essex, Berks, Kent, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Dorset (Isle
of Purbeck), Devon, Somerset, Gloucester, North and South Wales, Cheshire,
and Yorkshire; Argyllshire in Scotland; Ireland.

THE SILKY WAINSCOT (_Senta maritima_).

In its typical form (Fig. 7) the moth shown on Plate 145 is whity-brown,
clouded with grey and sometimes tinged with brownish on the disc. The
orbicular and reniform stigmata are round and faintly outlined in whitish.
In var. _bipunctata_, Haworth, the stigmata are black and conspicuous: var.
_wismariensis_, Schmidt, has a blackish central streak from the base
broadening out towards the outer margin (Fig. 8): var. _nigristriata_,
Staud., has the fore-wings finely streaked with black; and var.
_nigrocostata_, Staud., has the front margin broadly black. The caterpillar
is ochreous grey with three fine interrupted, whitish lines on the back;
spiracles black with darker lines along their area; head dark brown and
shining. September to May, hiding by day in stems of reed (_Phragmites_)
and at night {300} feeding on the caterpillars and chrysalids of other reed
insects (Hofmann). The moth flies from late June to early August. It occurs
in the fens of Norfolk and Cambridge, but in the former county it has been
taken at Merton and King's Lynn. Dr. Wheeler states that it is usually
found in the thicker reed beds where stems of the previous year's growth
still remain. Specimens were obtained among reeds in the Harwich district,
Essex, in 1902, and the species has also been recorded from Tring,
Hertfordshire, Surrey, Sussex, and the Isle of Wight.

THE FLAME WAINSCOT (_Meliana flammea_).

The original British specimen, which Curtis in 1829 named, described, and
figured, was stated to have been taken "near Lewisham, towards Lee, in
July." Now it is only known to occur in Huntingdon, Norfolk, and
Cambridgeshire, chiefly in the fens; in Wicken fen in the latter county it
is most plentiful. (Plate 145, Figs. 5, 6.) The caterpillar is greyish
ochreous brown, rather paler beneath, with paler lines along the back and
sides, the central one edged on each side with darker; spiracles whitish,
outlined with black, and a greyish drab spiracular stripe with paler edges;
head shining, and faintly netted with darker grey. (Condensed from
Buckler.) Hides by day in the old stems of reed (_Phragmites_), and feeds
at night on the leaves, August to October.

THE SMALL WAINSCOT (_Tapinostola fulva_).

The fore wings vary in colour from almost whitish through various shades of
grey brown and reddish brown (Plate 145, Figs. 12 to 14). The caterpillar,
pale shining pinkish ochreous; central stripe pale, bordered on each side
with greyish brown. Head pale brown, marked with darker, shining. June and
July in stems of sedges (_Carex_). The moth flies in August and {301}
September, and is found in fens and marshy ground pretty well all over the
British Isles, including the Hebrides.

THE CONCOLOROUS (_Tapinostola extrema_).

This species (Plate 146, Fig. 3) was at one time subsequent to 1844, when
it was first discovered in Yaxley Fen, not at all scarce in that locality
and in other fens in Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire. It then
disappeared from all its old haunts, some of which were destroyed; but a
few years since it was met with again in Hunts, and apparently not
uncommonly.

BOND'S WAINSCOT (_Tapinostola bondii_).

The whitish moth shown on Plate 146, Fig. 4, was first taken at Folkestone,
Kent, by Dr. Knaggs, in 1859, and named and described by him in 1861. It
still occurs in that locality and also on the Devon and Dorsetshire coast,
the known localities being Charmouth, Lyme Regis, and Sidmouth.

The caterpillar is dirty white in colour inclining to brownish at each end;
a whitish line along the middle of the back; head brown. Feeds from August
to June in stems of _Festuca arundinacea_. The moth flies in June and July.

THE MERE WAINSCOT (_Tapinostola hellmanni_).

Present localities for this reddish species (Plate 146, Figs. 1, 2) are
Wicken and Chippenham fens, Chatteris and Whittlesford, in Cambridgeshire;
Monk's Wood in Hunts. Formerly Yaxley, where it was first taken in 1847,
used to be a noted locality, but the insect disappeared when the fen was
drained. It has been reported from Norfolk (Yarmouth), Lincolnshire,
Devonshire (Dartmoor), and Hertfordshire (Hitchin), chiefly in odd
specimens. The caterpillar has been described by Hofmann as
yellowish-white, or reddish above and paler beneath; plate {302} on first
ring of the body rather glossy, head glossy yellow brown. It lives from
autumn to June of the next year in stems of the wood smallreed
(_Calamagrostis epigeios_). The moth flies in July and August.

THE LYME GRASS (_Tapinostola elymi_).

The more or less brownish-tinged, whitish-ochreous species shown on Plate
146, Figs. 5, 6, was not recorded as a British insect until 1861. It is now
known to occur in England in many localities, but all on the east coast
from Norfolk to Durham. In the _Entomologist_ for 1894, it is recorded as
occurring at Montrose on the Forfarshire coast in Scotland. The caterpillar
is described by Buckler as pale flesh colour, with a rather darker stripe
along the back; spiracles black; head reddish-brown, shining; shining
yellowish-brown plates on the first and last rings of the body. It feeds on
the stems of lyme-grass (_Elymus arenarius_) in May and June. The moth
flies at early dusk over and among its food plants, and later on it settles
on the stems, from which it may be easily boxed.

THE BRIGHTON WAINSCOT (_Oria_ (_Synia_) _musculosa_).

This yellowish-clouded, whitish insect is a native of Southern Europe, Asia
Minor, Syria, and North-west Africa. Occasionally it has occurred in
England, and in the time of Haworth and Stephens one or two specimens seem
to have been recorded as British. In 1855 an example was captured at
Brighton, and others occurred in the same locality, and at Bexhill, Kent
(Jenner), between that year and 1860. A specimen was recorded from Brighton
in 1883, and one from South Devon in 1899. Reported from Wiltshire in 1910.
(Plate 146, Fig. 7.)

[Illustration]

  Pl. 146.
  1, 2. MERE WAINSCOT.
     3. THE CONCOLOROUS.
     4. BOND'S WAINSCOT.
  5, 6. LYME GRASS MOTH.
     7. BRIGHTON WAINSCOT.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 147.
  1, 2. COMMON WAINSCOT.
  3, 4. SMOKY WAINSCOT.
     5. SOUTHERN WAINSCOT.
     6. STRIPED WAINSCOT.
  7, 8. OBSCURE WAINSCOT.
     9. DEVONSHIRE WAINSCOT.
    10. SHOULDER-STRIPED WAINSCOT.

{303}

THE LARGE WAINSCOT (_Calamia lutosa_).

This species, shown on Plate 145, Figs. 1, 2, varies somewhat in the colour
of the fore wings, which is usually pale ochreous brown, but may be more or
less reddish tinged, or clouded with dusky; there is a row of black dots
beyond the middle of the wing, but these are sometimes faint or absent. The
range in size is considerable, some specimens are about the size of _L.
straminea_ whilst others will equal that of a large _N. typhae_.

The caterpillar is whitish tinged with pink above, and with a dusky line
along the back; head reddish brown and glossy; plates on first and last
rings of the body shining pale brown. It feeds from April to June in the
stems of reed (_Phragmites_), causing the leaves of the affected stems to
whiten. The moth flies in August, September, and October, sometimes later,
and occurs in marshes, and on the banks of streams and ditches, in most of
the southern and eastern counties of England, and from Derbyshire to
Durham; in Scotland it has been recorded from Roxburghshire (near Kelso,
rare), Perthshire, Aberdeen, and Shetland. The species is widely spread in
Ireland.

THE FEN WAINSCOT (_Calamia phragmitidis_).

In the typical form this species (Plate 145, Figs. 3, 4) the fore wings are
whitish on the basal half, and incline to reddish on the outer half; var.
_rufescens_, Tutt, has these wings reddish all over, but somewhat darker on
the outer margin. The caterpillar is ochreous white with a slightly paler
stripe along the back, edged on each side with purplish; the spots are
black, as also are the spiracles; head and plates on the first and last
rings of the body black or blackish brown, glossy. It feeds from August to
June in stems of reed (_Phragmites_), and is said {304} to hatch from the
egg in the autumn. The moth flies in July and August, and is fond of the
flowers of grasses growing in its marshy haunts. It is common in the
Norfolk and Cambridge fens, and is found in suitable locations in
Huntingdon, Northampton, Lincoln, Yorkshire, Cheshire, and South
Lancashire, also in Berkshire, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, and Sussex.

THE COMMON WAINSCOT (_Leucania pallens_).

This common, often abundant species (Plate 147, Figs. 1, 2) is pretty
generally distributed over the British Isles. The typical coloration is
pale ochreous; ab. _arcuata_, Stephens, is pale brownish ochreous; ab.
_ectypa_, Hubn. = _rufescens_, Haworth, is reddish; and ab. _suffusa_,
Stephens, is also reddish, but powdered with blackish scales between the
veins, and chiefly so under the median nervure. The hind wings in all forms
are white in both sexes; but sometimes slightly tinged with greyish on the
outer margin in the female. The caterpillar (Plate 152, Fig. 1) which feeds
on grasses from August to May, is pale whity-brown freckled above with
pinkish brown; three whitish lines along the back, the central one narrowly
edged on each side, and the others on the inner side only, with blackish; a
greyish stripe along the sides with two pinkish brown lines above it; dots,
minute, black; head freckled with dark brown. Distribution abroad extends
to Amurland.

MATHEW'S WAINSCOT (_Leucania favicolor_).

This species (Plate 149, Figs. 1, 2) has been mainly found on the coasts of
North-east Essex and South-east Suffolk, but it has also been taken at
Hemley in Suffolk, and has been recorded from near Southend in Essex, and
Rochester in Kent. In 1906 six specimens were captured in the Isle of
Sheppey. So far as is known at present this is its range in England, and it
does not seem to occur anywhere abroad. It was first discovered by
Paymaster-in-Chief G. F. Mathew, in 1895, and was described by the late Mr.
C. G. Barrett in 1896.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 148.
  1, 1a. BROWN-VEINED WAINSCOT: _egg and chrysalis_.
      2. TWIN-SPOTTED WAINSCOT: _egg, enlarged_.
      3. BULRUSH MOTH: _chrysalis_.
  4, 4a. FENN'S WAINSCOT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
      5. REED WAINSCOT: _chrysalis_.
      6. WEBB'S WAINSCOT: _chrysalis_.
      7. DEVONSHIRE WAINSCOT: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 149.
  1, 2. MATHEW'S WAINSCOT.
     3. THE DELICATE.
     4. THE WHITE SPECK.
     5. THE WHITE POINT.
     6. THE COSMOPOLITAN.

{305} In the typical form the fore wings are of a smooth soft honey colour,
or colour of the honeycomb, having the nervures faintly perceptible, but
not paler; a black discal dot, and two more dots with some faint blackish
dashes indicate the usual second line. Tutt has named several forms, the
most important being ab. _lutea_, bright yellow buff with discal dot and
two dots beyond; and ab. _rufa_, deep reddish with discal dot and two
others beyond. Besides these there are ab. _aenea_, Mathew, deep orange,
with only one dot representing second line; and ab. _obscura_, Mathew,
cinnamon-brown, with smoky shading between some of the nervures. The hind
wings vary from whitish with darker nervures, to smoky grey; but the
fringes always remain whitish.

The caterpillar is a warm putty colour, or pinkish brown, mottled and
shaded with darker shades; three pale whitish brown lines on the back, the
central one bordered on each side by a darker shade, and the outer ones
shaded inwardly with darker and edged below by a darker line; a brown or
pinkish stripe above the spiracles, and a pinkish yellow stripe below them;
head yellowish-brown, shining, and dotted with darker colour. It feeds on
grasses from July to April (adapted from Mathew). The moth flies in June
and July, and frequents the flowers of the large grasses growing on salt
marshes. Sometimes specimens of a second brood appear in August or
September.

THE SMOKY WAINSCOT (_Leucania impura_).

The range of this common species (Plate 147, Figs. 3[male], 4[female]), in
the British Isles is almost the same as that of _L. pallens_, but it does
not extend further north than Moray in Scotland. The hind wings are greyish
or blackish grey. A form with reddish {306} fore wings is var. _punctina_,
Haw., which sometimes has a row of black dots on the outer margin. The
caterpillar is greyish ochreous above, greenish tinged beneath; a brown
stripe along the middle of the back is intersected by a very fine white
line; above the reddish black-edged spiracles is a brownish stripe; usual
dots black; head pale brown, shining, netted with brown and lined with
blackish. It feeds on grasses from August to May. The moth is out in July
and August; rather later in the north. Distribution abroad extends to
Amurland and Japan.

THE SOUTHERN WAINSCOT (_Leucania straminea_).

In its more usual form this species (Plate 147, Fig. 5) has pale
whity-brown or pale straw-coloured fore wings, and the black dots forming
the second line not infrequently absent, at least as regards some of them.
Var. _rufolinea_, Tutt, has the fore wings reddish ochreous, the rays
whitish, and the shade under the median nervure reddish. Var.
_nigrostriata_, Tutt, has the ground colour of the fore wings obscured by a
thick powdering of black scales. The hind wings in all forms are whitish,
sometimes greyish tinged. Generally there is a central black dot, and a
more or less complete series of black dots beyond it; but some, or all, of
these dots may be absent. The caterpillar, which feeds on the leaves of
reeds, _Phalaris_, and other coarse grasses from October to May, is
ochreous with an orange tinge, and dusted with grey; three white lines on
the back are broadly shaded with bluish grey; on the sides are two grey
shaded white lines; head shining brownish ochreous (Fenn). The moth flies
in July and August, sometimes earlier.

Hammersmith Marshes, a once noted locality for this, the Obscure Wainscot,
and other good species, have long since been built over; but the present
insect, and perhaps some of the other ancient inhabitants of the said
marshes, possibly still occur along the banks of the Thames. Anyhow, it
does lower {307} down in the Kentish marshes. It is found in most of the
eastern counties from Essex to Huntington and Lincoln, and also, but less
frequent, in Sussex, Devon, and Cornwall. Kane gives Dromoland, Co. Clare,
and Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Ireland.

THE STRIPED WAINSCOT (_Leucania impudens_).

This is a rather larger insect than either of the last four species. The
fore wings are whitish ochreous, powdered with blackish scales, and often
tinged with pinkish. The black shading along the median nervure is
sometimes very conspicuous. The caterpillar is ochreous brown, with three
blackish-edged whitish lines on the back and dark stripes along the sides;
head pale brown marked with darker. It feeds on the leaves of the reed
(_Phragmites_) in June. The moth flies in July and August in fens, boggy
heaths, and marshy ground, and is found in such places in most of the
eastern counties, in Yorkshire, and from Berkshire and Kent to Devon, also
in South Wales and in Galway, Cork, and Kerry, Ireland. Abroad the range
extends to Siberia and Amurland. (Plate 147, Fig. 6.)

THE OBSCURE WAINSCOT (_Leucania obsoleta_).

This species (Plate 147, Figs. 7[male], 8[female]) will be recognized by
the fine blackish lines on the fore wings, the white dot at lower end of
the cell, and the row of black dots representing the second cross line. It
is a very local species, chiefly found among reeds in Norfolk and
Cambridgeshire, and may also occur in marshy places along the banks of the
Thames from Bucks to Kent. The caterpillar is greyish ochreous above and
paler beneath; three white lines on the back, the central one edged with
greenish on each side, and the others edged with brownish; the line along
the black-edged spiracles is greyish; head pale {308} brown striped with
darker. It feeds from August to October on the leaves of the reed
(_Phragmites_), hiding by day in the stems. It also hibernates in the reeds
when full grown, but does not change to the chrysalis state until the
spring. The moth flies in June and July.

THE SHORE WAINSCOT (_Leucania littoralis_).

The white line running through the pale ochreous brown fore wings is the
chief character of this species. (Plate 150, Figs. 4, 5.) The caterpillar
(Plate 152, Fig. 2) is whity-brown with three lines on the back, the
central one is whitish, shaded with dusky on each side, the others brown
edged with whitish; the spiracles are whitish, outlined in blackish; head,
and plate on first ring of the body, bone colour, shining. It feeds from
August to May on marram grass (_Psamma arenaria_), but will eat meadow
grass (_Poa_) and other kinds in confinement. The moth is out in June and
July, sometimes earlier or later. It is a coast species, occurring only on
sandhills where the marram grass flourishes, and in such localities is
found all round England and Wales; on the east coast of Scotland to
Forfarshire, and on the west to Clydesdale and Arran; and in Ireland on the
north, south, and east coasts.

FENN'S WAINSCOT (_Leucania brevilinea_).

On Plate 144, Fig. 9 represents the type of this specimen, and Fig. 10 ab.
_sinelinea_, Farn. This form, which has also been referred to as
"_alinea_," is without the typical black streak at the base of the fore
wings. The caterpillar is pale pinkish grey; dorsal line pale yellow or
bone colour; subdorsal stripes of the same colour, edged on each side by a
grey line, and each divided down the middle by a slender pale brown line;
spiracular stripe of a dull opaque yellowish white edged above with grey;
head, and plate on the first ring of the body, pale brown, the latter
striped with pale yellow (Barrett). It feeds in the upper part of reed
stems until nearly full grown, and then upon the leaves. April to July.
Barrett states that it prefers the reeds near small trees or bushes to
those growing in masses. The moth is out in July and August, and may be
netted as it flies at dusk along the edges of the reed beds, etc.; later on
it resorts to the honeydew-covered leaves of sallow and alder, and also
visits light. This species was first taken in 1864 at Ranworth in Norfolk;
it is now obtained in Barton Broad and several other localities in the
Norfolk fens, but not in any other part of the British Isles. It does not
appear to occur abroad.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 150.
  1, 2. BROWN-LINE BRIGHT-EYE MOTH.
  3, 6. DOUBLE-LINE MOTH.
  4, 5. SHORE WAINSCOT.
  7, 8. CLAY MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 151.
  1, 2, 3. TREBLE LINES MOTH.
        4. ANOMALOUS MOTH.
        5. MOTTLED RUSTIC.
        6. UNCERTAIN MOTH.
        7. RUSTIC MOTH.
        8. VINE'S RUSTIC.
    9, 10. PALE MOTTLED WILLOW.
       11. SMALL-MOTTLED WILLOW.

{309} THE SHOULDER-STRIPED WAINSCOT (_Leucania_ (_Cirphis_) _comma_).

The striking features of this moth (Plate 147, Fig. 10) are the white
median nervure, and the black streak below it, of the fore wings; there are
also black marks on the veins before the outer margin. The caterpillar is
very like that of _L. impura_, but there is a dark line on the back between
the central and outer whitish lines. It feeds on cocksfoot and other
grasses from June to August. The moth flies in June and July, and is not
uncommon in meadows and grassy places, even by the roadside. Except that it
does not, apparently, extend beyond Perthshire in Scotland, it seems to be
widely, or even generally, distributed over the British Isles. Abroad it
ranges to Siberia and Amurland.

_Leucania l-album._--Barrett, "Lepidoptera of the British Islands," vol.
ix. p. 450 (1904), remarks: "This species now seems to have made its way to
this country, though it is still doubtful whether it has established
itself. Mr. Eustace R. Bankes has captured a female specimen in South
Devon, and he mentions the occurrence of one or two other specimens. It is
a very pretty species, and widely distributed abroad." {310}

THE DEVONSHIRE WAINSCOT (_Leucania_ (_Cirphis_) _putrescens_).

So far as the British distribution of this species (Plate 147, Fig. 9) is
known, it seems to be confined to the coasts of South Devon and South
Wales. It was first noted at Torquay in the year 1859, and about twelve
years later was detected in Carmarthenshire. Abroad it occurs somewhat
locally in France, Italy, Dalmatia, and in North-west Africa.

The caterpillar is pale brown with three whitish lines on the back, the
central one edged on each side with blackish, the others shaded above with
blackish with black dots in the shading, and edged below by a blackish
line; all these lines become faint on the last three rings of the body; the
usual dots are black; head rather paler, somewhat shiny, the lobes
conspicuously edged with black, and the jaws marked with blackish. It feeds
on grasses from September to January. The figure on Plate 148, Fig. 7, is
from one of a few caterpillars kindly sent by Mr. J. Walker, of Torquay. He
writes: "They are full fed by the beginning of January as a rule, and
although they go down, they do not turn until the beginning of June." Mine
unfortunately died in the cocoon. The moth flies in July and August, and
favours particular coves and banks by the sea. It visits sugar, and also
the flowers of wild sage.

THE WHITE-SPECK OR AMERICAN WAINSCOT (_Leucania_ (_Cirphis_) _unipuncta_).

This moth (Plate 149, Fig. 4) is known in America, where it is exceedingly
abundant and destructive, as the "Army Worm." It ranges through India,
China, and Japan, and occurs in many other parts of the world, including
Madeira and the Canary Isles. It is rare in Europe, and appears to have
been noted in parts of Spain, Portugal, and France. Since Haworth described
and {311} named it _unipuncta_ in 1803 it has been renamed many times, and
was long known in England as _extranea_, Guenee. About a score have been
recorded as taken in the British Isles altogether, and of these two only in
Ireland; the others were captured in England and Wales, and nearly all on
the south or south-west coast, chiefly in the month of September. The most
recent being one in the New Forest, Hampshire, 1896, one in Devon, 1903,
one in 1907, and one in 1911. Also in Isle of Wight, 1912.

THE COSMOPOLITAN (_Leucania_ (_Cirphis_) _loreyi_).

Barrett accepted this species as British, chiefly on the strength of two
specimens captured at sugar by a sedgy ditch, nearer to Worthing than to
Brighton in Sussex; the date was 1862. More recent records are one specimen
at Torquay on September 27, 1900, and another, also in South Devon,
September 6, 1903. The former taken at sugar, and the latter netted when
"flying wildly over rough herbage at dusk." Ireland in 1908.

The species has a wide range through Southern and Eastern Asia, etc., but
in Europe it is only found in the south and along the Mediterranean. The
specimen shown on Plate 149, Fig. 6, is from India.

THE DELICATE (_Leucania_ (_Sideridis_) _vitellina_).

The first recorded British specimen of this species (Plate 149, Fig. 3) was
captured at Brighton, Sussex, some fifty odd years ago. The species has
occurred in and around that locality several times since, but seems to have
been found more frequently at Torquay and other places on the Devonshire
coast. It has also been recorded from the Scilly Isles, Cornwall, the Isle
of Wight, the New Forest, and Chichester; Kent, on the coast, and inland at
Canterbury, Sussex. In 1902, a year in which several specimens were
obtained on the south coast, {312} one example was taken at Navestock, in
Essex. August and September are the months during which it is seen in this
country, but abroad it occurs also in June and July. The caterpillar, which
feeds on grasses in the spring, is described by Hofmann as pinkish ochreous
with three white lines on the back and black dots between them, two on each
ring; below the black spiracles is a yellowish stripe; head brown with
black dots.

THE WHITE-POINT (_Leucania_ (_Sideridis_) _albipuncta_).

This species (Plate 149, Fig. 5) appears to have been confused with the
following one. It may be distinguished by its generally smaller size and
the pure white spot on the fore wings. The colour of the fore wings is
brownish red, rather than rusty tinged as in some reddish forms of _L.
lithargyria_; the second cross line is more distinct, and the series of
black marks beyond less so. The hind wings are paler than those of the next
species. The caterpillar is yellowish wainscot brown above, inclining to
flesh-colour on the sides and beneath; three white lines on the back, the
central one edged on each side by a wavy blackish line, the outer ones
edged above by a blackish line and below by a brownish line; a pale stripe
low down along the sides; head ochreous, shining, and lined on the face
with greyish. It feeds from autumn to spring on grasses. The moth is out
from August to October. It occurs more or less frequently, and chiefly on
the coast, in Kent (first taken at Folkestone, in 1868), Sussex, Hants,
Isle of Wight, South Devon, and Essex (Shoeburyness).

THE CLAY (_Leucania_ (_Sideridis_) _lithargyria_).

Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate 150, Figs. 7 [male], 8
[female]. The colour of the fore wings varies from pale ochreous brown,
often with a pink tinge, to a deep rusty red; the reniform stigma is
generally represented by a pale crescent with a white or whitish dot at its
lower end; the cross lines are rarely distinct, but a series of black dots
before the outer margin are usually well in evidence. The caterpillar is
pale brown tinged with pinkish or yellowish; central line white edged with
dark brown, and on each side of this is an interrupted broad blackish line
edged below with white; a whitish line below the blackish spiracles; head
and plate on the first ring of the body, pale brown, rather shining, the
former freckled with blackish. It is found in April and May on grasses,
probably after hibernation, The moth is out from late June to early August
and is common in woods, and woody places throughout the greater part of the
British Isles.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 152.
          1. COMMON WAINSCOT: _caterpillar_.
          2. SHORE WAINSCOT: _caterpillar_.
          3. CLAY MOTH: _caterpillar_.
          4. BROWN RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.
      5, 5a. DOUBLE LINE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
          6. THE ANOMALOUS MOTH: _caterpillar_.
  7, 7a, 7b. SMALL MOTTLED WILLOW: _eggs and caterpillars_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 153.
  1, 3. REDDISH BUFF MOTH.
     2. MARSH MOTH.
  4, 5. BROWN RUSTIC.
     6. _XYLOPHASIA ZOLLIKOFERI._

{313} THE BROWN-LINE BRIGHT-EYE (_Leucania_ (_Chabuata_) _conigera_).

This species (Plate 150, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]) ranges in the colour
of fore wings from pale ochreous brown to a dusky tawny hue; the cross
lines are sometimes very faint, but otherwise the markings are constant.
Var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is described as rusty red suffused with darker
scales, markings typical, but deeper in colour and more distinct. The
caterpillar is ochreous or greyish brown; three yellow lines on the back
are black edged; a yellow line along the sides is often edged with black,
and the line below the black spiracles is blackish; head pale brown marked
with black. It feeds on grasses, and may be found in April and May. The
moth appears in June and July and is pretty generally distributed. It is
regarded as a common species in South England, but in the north seems to be
rather local and most frequently found on the coast. In Scotland it does
not appear to have been noted north of Ross or in the isles. Abroad the
range extends through Northern and Central Asia to India and Japan. {314}

THE DOUBLE LINE (_Leucania_ (_Eriopyga_) _turca_).

The sexes of this species are shown on Plate 150, Figs. 3 [male], 6
[female]. The general colour of the fore wings may be paler or darker than
in the specimens shown. Sometimes the central area enclosed by the black
cross lines is darker than the other parts of the fore wings; var.
_obscura_, Tutt, has the fore wings obscure smoky grey, with a dull coppery
tinge, much suffused with dark scales; markings indistinct.

The caterpillar is pale brown freckled with darker; a whitish line along
the middle of the back is edged on both sides with blackish merging into
black at the ring divisions; a rather wavy, but less distinct, whitish line
on each side of the central one edged above with blackish; spiracles black
ringed with pale brown and set in a broad dark brown line below which the
colour is pinkish; head shining pale brown, freckled with darker on the
cheeks. It feeds on cocksfoot and various other grasses occurring in
woodlands. August to May. The moth, which inhabits woods and well-timbered
parks, is out in June and July. It is, perhaps, most frequent in the New
Forest, Hampshire, thence it is found more or less sparingly to Cornwall.
Sometimes not uncommon in Savernake Forest, Wiltshire, and occurs in
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex (Epping Forest, etc.), Surrey (Richmond
Park). Recorded from Cheshire and from South Wales. In Scotland it is said
to have been taken at Newfield, Ayrshire. The only records from Ireland are
Clonbrock (1), and Merlin Park, Galway (2). Abroad it ranges to Amurland,
China, Corea and Japan.

TREBLE LINES (_Meristis_ (_Grammesia_) _trigrammica_).

The fore wings range in colour from whitish or greyish brown to ochreous
brown; the cross lines are usually distinct, {315} and the central one is
often broad. (Plate 151, Fig. 1.) In var. _approximans_, Haw., the cross
lines fall nearer together on the inner margin; and in var. _semi-fuscans_,
Haw., the basal half is greyish or reddish grey, and the outer half is
suffused with brownish (Fig. 2). Then there is a somewhat rarer form, with
dark grey, brown, or blackish brown fore wings, with the cross lines more
or less distinct, as in Fig. 3; or with the central one absent (var.
_bilinea_, Hubn.); or all the lines may be obscured by the dark colour.
Kane states that var. _obscura_, Tutt (= _bilinea_, Haw.), is pretty common
at Howth and other places in Ireland, and, according to Barrett, it is not
infrequent in Wales. The caterpillar is greyish or dingy reddish brown;
three pale lines on the back, the central one partly edged with black, and
the outer ones are broken and inwardly edged with blackish marks; the
stripe along the black spiracles is ochreous brown; head brownish. From
July to April on plantain and other low plants. The moth is out in June and
July. In Scotland it is local and rare, but has been recorded from
Clydesdale, Arran, and once from Perthshire. Local but widely distributed
in Ireland.

THE ANOMALOUS (_Stilbia anomala_).

A local species, but sometimes not uncommon on heaths, or in rocky places
by the sea. It is found from Surrey westward to Cornwall; and from
Staffordshire, in which county it has been seen in abundance on Cannock
Chase, it ranges into Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire, Wales (North
and South), Lancashire, Yorkshire (commonly at Saltaire), Durham (once),
and Cumberland. Generally distributed in Scotland, including the Orkneys.
It occurs in the Isle of Man, and seems to be pretty widely spread in
Ireland, but found chiefly on the coast. Abroad it seems to be only found
in France and in Central and Western Germany. In Southern Spain it is {316}
represented by var. _andalusiaca_, Staud., and in Syria by var. _syriaca_,
Staud. A typical male is shown on Plate 151, Fig. 4.

The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish between the rings of the
body; three lines on the back are whitish, edged with dark green; a stripe
low down on the sides is whitish, shaded above with dark green merging into
the ground colour; head shining bright green, obscurely mottled with
darker. In other forms the general colour is reddish or pinkish brown, with
the lines edged and shaded with darker brown; the head is ochreous brown,
mottled with darker brown. The green form is figured on Plate 152, Fig. 6,
but the browner forms are more frequent. It feeds on grasses from the
autumn until about March.

THE MOTTLED RUSTIC (_Caradrina morpheus_).

A specimen of this species is shown on Plate 151, Fig. 5. There is some
variation in the darker mottling and suffusion of the ochreous or pale
brown fore wings. The dark brown or blackish stigmata are generally
distinct. Hind wings whitish, tinged with smoky on the veins, and in the
female on the outer marginal area. The caterpillar is brownish or greyish
brown, inclining to ochreous on the back; central line whitish, with a
broken edging of brown; on each side of the central line there is a series
of blackish arrow heads; spiracles blackish; head dark brown, and very
glossy. It feeds from August and through the autumn on various low plants,
including goose-foot, knot-grass, dandelion, etc. The moth flies from June
to August, and occasionally there is a second flight in October. The
species is generally distributed and often common over the greater part of
England, but is less frequent in the more northern counties, and in Wales,
Ireland, and Scotland. Abroad the range extends to Amurland and Corea.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 154.
  1, 2, 3. COPPER UNDERWING MOTH.
     4, 5. MOUSE MOTH.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 155.
  1, 2, 3. PINE BEAUTY MOTH.
        4. WHITE-MARKED MOTH.
     5, 6. RED CHESTNUT MOTH.
     7, 8. HEBREW CHARACTER MOTH.
    9, 10. HEBREW CHARACTER MOTH, _var. gothicina_.

{317}

THE UNCERTAIN (_Caradrina alsines_).

This species (Plate 151, Fig. 6) and the next one--The Rustic--are often
confused, but the present one may be recognized by the more ochreous tinge
of its fore wings, the more distinct markings, and the general rougher
appearance of all the wings. The hind wings are more smoky, or sometimes
brownish tinged.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, frequently with a reddish tinge; three
whitish lines on the back, edged with black, the edging of the central one
interrupted at the ring divisions; a dusky area along the sides is edged
above and below by a black line; head ochreous brown. It feeds from
September to March on dock, chickweed, primrose, and various other low
plants. The moth flies in July and August, and, like most of its congeners,
is partial to the blossoms of privet. The species is widely distributed
over England, but seems to occur more commonly in the south and east. It is
also found in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

NOTE.--_C. superstes_, an inhabitant of Central and Southern Germany,
Hungary, Southern Europe, and Asia Minor, has been mentioned as British,
but the record needs confirmation.

THE RUSTIC (_Caradrina taraxaci_).

Compared with the last species, the one now considered (Plate 151, Fig. 7)
has browner fore wings, inclining to brownish or blackish, smoother and
glossy; and the markings are usually rather obscure. The hind wings are
silky, and whiter in the male.

The caterpillar is greyish brown, with an olive tinge; central line dark
brown, expanding on each ring; on either side of this is a brown-edged
white line; a light brown line along the spiracles; head ochreous brown. It
feeds from September to April on low plants, such as dock, chickweed,
plantain, etc. {318} The moth flies from late June to early August, and its
range in the British Isles is pretty much as in the last species, but more
generally distributed than _alsines_ in Ireland.

VINE'S RUSTIC (_Caradrina ambigua_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 151, Fig. 8) are rather greyer than
those of the last, and the hind wings are shining white, tinged with
greyish brown in the female, especially on the veins.

Barrett describes the caterpillar as follows: "Plump, cylindrical; head
round, the lobes dark brown, but the face paler; dorsal region between the
subdorsal lines broadly yellowish brown, with slender, delicate, oblique
lines on each segment; dorsal line a row of black dots, one on each
segment; lateral space from the subdorsal lines to the spiracles darker
brown or umberous, containing a row of ovate, oblique, yellowish spots,
each rather raised into a knob by the wrinkling of the skin; spiracles
black; under surface, legs, and prolegs pale rosy brown, except the anal
prolegs, which are brown." It feeds from October to May on dandelion,
plantain, chickweed, and other low plants; also on lettuce and grass. The
moth flies in August and September. Sometimes the caterpillars will feed up
and attain the moth state the same year in November or December. The
species was not known to occur in England until some specimens were taken
by Mr. Vine at sugar, near Shoreham, Sussex, in 1879. Since that year it
has been taken more or less freely at several places on the south and
south-west coast, from Deal, in Kent, to Truro, in Cornwall.

THE PALE MOTTLED WILLOW (_Caradrina quadripunctata_).

The black spots on the front margin of the fore wings of this species
(Plate 151, Figs. 9, 10) are pretty constant characters, {319} and are
usually present even when most or all the other markings are absent. The
caterpillar is greyish brown, often tinged with green above; the lines are
faintly paler, and edged with darker; head blackish. It feeds from
September to May on grasses, seeds of plantain; also on peas and corn;
often common in stacks of wheat and other grain.

The moth flies chiefly in July and August, but it is sometimes seen as
early as May and as late as October. Generally distributed, and often very
common. Except that it does not occur in America the range abroad is almost
as extensive as that of the next species.

SMALL MOTTLED WILLOW (_Laphygma_ (_Caradrina_) _exigua_).

This species (Plate 151, Fig. 11) practically ranges over the globe. It is
the "Beet Army-worm" of American economic entomologists; whilst in South
Africa it is known in the early stage as "The Pigweed Caterpillar." In
Asia, and especially in India, where it is destructive to the indigo
plants, maize, etc., it is a familiar pest, but does not seem to bear a
common name. As regards our own country, it was apparently unnoticed until
somewhere about the middle of the last century, when a specimen was
captured in the Isle of Wight. Its occurrence here is always considered a
noteworthy event, but the records are very scanty except for the years
1896, 1897, 1900-03, and 1906. In the latter year there seems to have been
an invasion on quite a large scale, and captures in some localities on the
south and south-west coasts must have been in hundreds, whilst the species
was also taken in fewer numbers in Essex, Surrey, Wiltshire, Somerset,
Devon, and South Wales. A specimen occurred at Crosby, Lancs., in 1884. In
1903 one example was taken at Chester, Cheshire. At Keighley, Yorks, eight
were secured, which, added to three taken in other years, gives a total of
eleven specimens for the county. In Ireland one example was {320} obtained
at honeydew, September, 1899, at Timologue, Co. Cork.

The eggs (Plate 152, Fig. 7a) are laid in batches on a leaf, and more or
less covered with whitish hairs. Some deposited on Sept. 8, 1906, hatched
on the 20th of that month. When just hatched the caterpillar is greenish,
paler on the last rings; head and plate on first ring shining black; when a
week old a black plate appears on the last ring also. Later on the colour
varies from green to olive green, brownish, and dark greyish. Green
examples are figured on Plate 152, Fig. 7. The central line is ochreous,
and there are series of black bars and blackish marks on the back; along
the black-edged white spiracles is a pinkish brown band, edged above by an
interrupted black line; the pinkish brown colour runs up the front part of
each ring four to eleven; head blackish. The caterpillars were fed upon
plantain, dandelion, and groundsel, but they would eat the foliage of any
weed that was put in their cage. They formed fairly tough earthen cocoons
on, or just below, the surface; but, although they pupated, the moths
failed to emerge, probably because they were kept too dry. The ochreous or
pinkish brown colour of the orbicular stigma, and sometimes of the
reniform, distinguishes this moth; the hind wings are white with a very
distinct pearly gloss.

THE SMALL DOTTED BUFF (_Petilampa arcuosa_).

This pale whity-brown insect (Plate 134, Figs. 19 to 21) is often without
markings, and where these are present on the fore wings they comprise two
series of dusky dots representing two cross lines, and sometimes there is a
dot at the end of the cell. These wings may be shaded with brown, and
occasionally there is a dark band-like shade between the series of dots, in
the male as well as in the smaller and narrower-winged female. Var.
_morrisii_, Dale, seems to be a whiter form of this species. {321} The
caterpillar, which may be found in May and June in the flower stems of
_Aira caespitosa_, is of a pale pinkish ochreous with three darker bars on
each ring, and a brown, glossy head. The moth flies in July and part of
August, and may be found, often in abundance, in most English and Welsh
counties, in Scotland to Aberdeenshire; and widely spread in Ireland.

THE REDDISH BUFF (_Acosmetia caliginosa_).

Both sexes of this reddish tinged grey-brown species are shown on Plate
153, Figs. 1 [male], 3 [female]. As will be noted, the female is much
smaller than the male. Except that it has been recorded from the Isle of
Wight and from Bloxworth, Dorset, in the past, this species is restricted
to certain portions of the New Forest, Hampshire. Even in these favoured
haunts its numbers have become far less than formerly. The moth is out in
July. Apparently it has no taste for sugar, neither does it seem to visit
blossoms of any kind. It may be disturbed from its retreat among the grass
by day, or netted as it flies at dusk. The caterpillar is stated by Hofmann
to live on saw-wort (_Serratula tinctoria_); it is sap-green, yellow at the
ring divisions, and marked with fine white lines.

THE MARSH MOTH (_Hydrilla palustris_).

The fore wings of the male of this species (Plate 153, Fig. 2) are greyish
brown in colour, and more or less tinged with violet; the cross lines are
dusky, and the reniform and orbicular stigmata are represented by black
dots, the former the larger; hind wings whitish with a smoky tinge. The
female is much smaller, darker, and the cross lines heavier; hind wings
blackish grey.

Stainton ("Manual," 1857) refers to a specimen taken at Compton's Wood,
near York, and this, no doubt, is the same as {322} that stated by Barrett
to have been captured in a moist place at Stockton-in-the-Forest, about
four miles from York, certainly before the year 1855. Then there is a
record of a specimen from Quy Fen, Cambridgeshire, in May, 1862. Seven
years later the late Mr. C. G. Barrett took a specimen as it fluttered
about a gas-lamp outside Norwich. In 1877 and 1878 the use of bright
collecting lanterns in Wicken Fen may have led to the capture of nearly
twenty Marsh Moths, anyway it seems to have been a record for the time.

Very few specimens were taken in the fens between the year last mentioned
and 1898, when the total secured by several collectors visiting the fens in
June of that year amounted to something like fifty examples, all males. Two
female specimens were captured in the Carlisle district, one in 1896, and
the other in 1897. No male was noted in that locality until 1899, when a
specimen was netted as it flew along a hedgeside at night, on May 20. Two
other males have since been taken there, in much the same way. The life
history of the species is little known. Hofmann describes the caterpillar
as reddish brown with white dots, and a white line along the middle of the
back; spiracles and head black. It feeds in the summer on low-growing
plants in meadows, and hides in the daytime on the underside of a leaf.

The range of the species abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland.

THE BROWN RUSTIC (_Rusina tenebrosa_).

Here, again, the female is smaller than the male, as will be seen on Plate
153, Figs. 4 [male], 5 [female]. Sometimes the general colour of the fore
wings is of a blacker tint, and in such specimens the fine black cross
lines are obscured.

The caterpillar is dark cinnamon brown; three whitish lines on the back,
the central one, most distinct on the front rings, is edged on each side
with dark brown, and the shading of the outer lines is interrupted by
oblique pale dashes; head, shining dark brown, almost blackish. It feeds on
grasses, and many low-growing plants from August to May. (Plate 152, Fig.
4.) The moth flies in June and July, sometimes earlier. The species is
generally distributed over nearly the whole of England, but more local in
the north than in the south. It is found in North and South Wales. In
Scotland it is locally abundant and widely distributed up to Ross, and
occurs in the Hebrides. It is also widely spread in Ireland, and common in
some parts.

_Umbratica_, Goeze, is said to be an earlier name for this species, and
will probably have to be adopted.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 156.
  1, 1a, 1b. HEBREW CHARACTER: _eggs, caterpillars and chrysalis_.
      2, 2a. CLOUDED DRAB: _caterpillars and chrysalis_.
          3. MOUSE MOTH: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 157.
    1-6. CLOUDED DRAB MOTH.
   7, 8. LEAD-COLOURED DRAB MOTH.
  9, 10. NORTHERN DRAB.

{323} THE COPPER UNDERWING (_Amphipyra pyramidea_).

The striking species shown on Plate 154, Figs. 1 to 3, varies somewhat in
the tint of its brown-coloured fore wings, and in the greater or lesser
amount of blackish shading on the central area; the latter is sometimes
quite absent, and not infrequently the outer marginal area is pale ochreous
brown. The hind wings, normally of a coppery colour, are occasionally
paler, and sometimes of a reddish hue.

The caterpillar is green with three interrupted whitish stripes on the
back; the dots are yellowish; and the stripe along the black-edged white
spiracles is whitish; the back of ring eleven is raised, forming a cone,
the apex of which is hornlike and slightly curved backwards; the head is
green. It feeds from April, or in forward seasons from March, to June, on
the foliage of oak, birch, sallow, plum, rose, and other trees and shrubs.
The moth flies from late July to September, and sometimes later. Although
somewhat local in Southern England, it is often common enough in the New
Forest, and most of the larger woods from Essex to Devonshire. Northwards
from Oxfordshire it becomes more local, less frequent, and even rare, {324}
except, perhaps, in Worcestershire (Malvern district, common) and
Herefordshire. Apparently not recorded from Scotland. In Ireland it is
sometimes plentiful in the south, but does not seem to occur north of Sligo
on the west, and Howth on the east.

THE MOUSE (_Amphipyra tragopogonis_).

The English name of this generally distributed, and usually common,
greyish-brown moth (Plate 154, Figs. 4, 5) applies more especially to the
mouse-like way it scuttles off when discovered in its retreat by the
collector. In colour, however, it is sometimes not unlike the familiar
little rodent. The caterpillar (Plate 156, Fig. 3) is green with white
lines and stripes along the back and sides; spiracles white, margined with
black; head yellowish-green. In another form the ground colour is pale
reddish brown. It feeds from April to June on sallow, hawthorn, and many
other plants. Barrett states that it is partial to the blossoms,
particularly yellow ones, of garden as well as wild plants. The moth flies
in July and August, sometimes later.

The range abroad extends to Central Asia and to the Atlantic States of
America.

NOTE.--Some recent authors refer this and the preceding species to
_Pyrophila_, Hubn.

THE PINE BEAUTY (_Panolis griseo-variegata_ = _piniperda_).

The general colour of the fore wings of this species (Plate 155, Figs. 1, 3
[male], 2 [female]) is ochreous brown, more or less reddish tinged;
sometimes greenish grey. The cross markings are bright or dull reddish
brown; the orbicular and reniform stigmata are white, or outlined in white,
sometimes connected by a white line along the median nervure; occasionally
these marks are united, forming a blotch. {325}

The caterpillar is green with three broad white lines along the back, the
outer ones edged above with black; a yellow, inclining to reddish orange,
stripe along the black spiracles; head reddish brown. It greatly resembles
the needles of the Scotch fir (_Pinus sylvestris_), upon which it feeds
from May to July. The moth is out in the spring and continues on the wing
until early May, and is often common at sallow bloom, where this occurs in
the immediate vicinity of pine woods; it also comes to the sugar patch not
infrequently, and may occasionally be seen on the trunks of fir trees, or
beaten from the boughs. The species seems to occur wherever there are fir
woods or plantations throughout England, Wales, and Scotland to Ross, and
is found locally in Ireland.

THE WHITE-MARKED (_Pachnobia leucographa_).

A portrait of this moth will be found on Plate 155, Fig. 4. The fore wings
are reddish brown, sometimes tinged with purplish, or clouded with
blackish. The reniform and orbicular stigmata are usually yellowish grey,
often only outlined, but not infrequently indistinct, and sometimes absent.
The cross lines are rarely well defined, although the second line may be
indicated by blackish dots flanked by whitish ones on the veins.

The caterpillar is green freckled with whitish; three whitish lines along
the back are edged with dark green, the outer ones with oblique dark-green
dashes spreading to the central line; head paler green. In another form the
general colour is pale reddish brown, lines yellowish, and dashes darker
reddish brown. It feeds on sallow, bilberry, dock, plantain, and other low
plants. May and June. The moth flies in March and April, and may be found
at sallow bloom around woods. The species is obtained more or less
frequently in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Somerset, and Devon; also in
Buckinghamshire and in Suffolk. In Herefordshire it is local but not {326}
uncommon, and I have taken it in the Malvern district. British specimens
were first obtained near York. Porritt ("List of Yorks. Lep.," 1904) states
that it is still abundant in Bishop's Wood, and is found in other Yorkshire
localities; also occurs from Lancashire to Durham. In Ireland it has been
reported from Clonbrock, Galway.

THE RED CHESTNUT (_Pachnobia rubricosa_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 155, Figs. 5, 6) are purplish red and
more or less suffused with greyish. Sometimes these wings are more
distinctly reddish and without the greyish suffusion (var. _rufa_, Haw.).
The egg is pale straw colour, with a reddish-brown girdled dot. The
caterpillar (Plate 159, Fig. 3) is pinkish brown with three yellowish lines
along the back, the central one rather obscure; a yellowish stripe along
the sides; usual dots yellowish or whitish margined with blackish; head
yellowish brown, lined with darker brown. It feeds from April to June on
dock, dandelion, groundsel, and other low plants. The moth is out in March
and April, and is often not uncommon at sallow and plum blossom. It seems
to be pretty generally distributed throughout the British Isles, including
the Orkneys.

THE HEBREW CHARACTER (_Taeniocampa gothica_).

This species (Plate 155) varies in the general colour of the fore wings
from pale purplish grey to dark reddish brown. Figs. 7[male] and 8[female]
represent the more usual form. The black markings, often very conspicuous,
are in the somewhat smaller var. _gothicina_, reddish (Fig. 9). Sometimes
in Scotch specimens they are very indistinct or absent (Fig. 10).

The early stages are figured on Plate 156. The eggs (Fig. 1a) are laid in a
batch, two deep towards the centre of the {327} heap. In colour they are
whitish with a dark grey ring and dot. When five days old the young
caterpillars were pale whitish green with black dots; head and plates on
first and last rings of the body black. The nearly full-grown caterpillar
(Fig. 1) is green above and yellowish green below; three whitish lines on
the back and a yellowish stripe along the sides; usual dots black, ringed
with whitish; head shining yellowish, dotted with black. Feeding on dock,
dandelion, etc., it will also eat sallow and hawthorn, and the foliage of
other trees and bushes, in April, May, and June. The moth is common at
sallow bloom all over the British Isles. The range of the species abroad
extends to Amurland.

THE BLOSSOM UNDERWING (_Taeniocampa miniosa_).

A portrait of this species will be found on Plate 158, Fig. 8. The fore
wings are pinkish, or reddish grey, and the redder central area is often
tinged with orange; the hind wings are whitish, faintly shaded or tinged
with pink.

The full-grown caterpillar is bluish, inclining to black on the sides;
three yellow lines on the back, the central one broad; and a white blotched
yellow stripe along the sides; head shining black. (Adapted from Fenn.) The
eggs are laid in batches on the twigs of oak, usually just below a bud.
When the caterpillars hatch out they spin a web of silk under which they
live in company for a time; later on they separate, and then either
continue to feed on the oak or betake themselves to birch, hawthorn,
bramble, or some low-growing herbaceous plant. The "nests" of young
caterpillars are found chiefly on oak bushes rather than trees.

The moth flies in March and April, and generally occurs only in oak woods.
It is most frequently met with in the South of England--from Middlesex and
Essex to Hampshire; but it occurs in most of the southern counties, and
also northwards {328} up to Yorkshire. It has been found in Wales (Pembroke
and Dolgelly), and appears to be rare in Ireland, except at Glenmalure, Co.
Wicklow.

THE SMALL QUAKER (_Taeniocampa pulverulenta_).

Most specimens of this species (Plate 158, Figs. 9[male], 10[female]) have
the fore wings pale greyish ochreous, more or less mottled or dusted with
reddish brown. Occasionally these wings are pale grey (var. _nana_,
Haworth); or dark grey brown and more rarely blackish. The dingy brownish
dots representing the first and second cross lines are sometimes distinct
and not infrequently absent.

The egg is whitish with brown girdled dot.

The caterpillar is greenish grey and rather greener between the rings;
there are five yellow or whitish lines, that along the centre of the back
being the broadest, usual dots black and glossy; head greenish, much marked
with black: plates on first and last rings of the body black. It feeds from
April to June on oak, hawthorn, sallow, rose, etc. (Plate 159, Fig. 2.) The
moth flies in March and April, and is a constant visitor to the sallow
catkins, also to the blossoms of plum, damson, and sloe. It appears to be
common throughout England and Wales; more or less frequent in Scotland to
Moray; and is not uncommon in some districts of Wicklow and Galway, but
local and rather scarce in other parts of Ireland.

THE COMMON QUAKER (_Taeniocampa stabilis_).

The ground colour of the fore wings of this species (Plate 158, Figs. 1, 2)
ranges from whitish or pale grey brown through tints of reddish brown to
dark brown; the stigmata are outlined in pale ochreous, the centres often
darker than the general colour of the wings; the orbicular is of large size
and frequently {329} touches the reniform; the ochreous submarginal line is
usually inwardly edged with, and sometimes obscured by, blackish; very
often the submarginal line and the dusky central shade are the only
distinct cross markings.

The caterpillar is green, minutely dotted with yellow; three lines on the
back, and a stripe on the sides, yellow, the latter most distinct, edged
above with black, and united by a yellow bar on the last ring. It feeds on
oak, birch, sallow, beech, elm, etc., from April to June. The moth flies in
March and April, and is generally common throughout the British Isles,
except, perhaps, the islands of Scotland.

THE LEAD-COLOURED DRAB (_Taeniocampa populeti_).

The ground colour of the species shown on Plate 157, Figs. 7, 8, is usually
some shade of purplish grey, ranging from very pale to dark; the cross
lines are often indistinct, but occasionally they show up clearly; the
central shade, usually in evidence, is sometimes almost blackish and
broadened out to the second line; the orbicular and reniform have pale
margins but the centres are frequently no darker than the general colour.

The egg is greyish white with dark grey girdled dot.

When full grown the caterpillar is whitish or yellowish green, but always
whitish on the back: three white lines on the back, the central one rather
broad; head ochreous brown with a blackish spot on each side. It feeds from
April to June on aspen chiefly, but also on other kinds of poplar, hiding
by day between two leaves. The moth is out in March and April, and may be
found on the sallow catkins. It seems to be more or less rare in the South
of England, but it is locally not uncommon in many parts of the country
from Middlesex northwards to Yorkshire. Farther north it is again
infrequent, and this is also the case in Scotland and in Ireland. {330}

THE CLOUDED DRAB (_Taeniocampa incerta_).

Six specimens of this most variable species are shown on Plate 157, Figs. 1
to 6. To refer in detail to all the forms, named or otherwise, would occupy
much space, so that it can only be stated here that the general colour of
the fore wings ranges from pale greyish brown, through various shades of
reddish brown, to deep brown or purplish brown; the darker greys range
through slaty grey to purplish black. In all the lighter shades the wings
are usually much variegated, but they may be nearly or quite plain.

The egg is yellowish white with brown girdled dot.

The caterpillar is green, minutely freckled with whitish; three white lines
on the back, the central one broadest; a white stripe, edged above with
black, along the sides; usual dots black, minute, ringed with whitish; head
yellowish green with a few black dots. It feeds on sallow, oak, hawthorn,
also on apple, elm, etc. (Plate 156, Fig. 2.) The moth is generally to be
found at sallow-bloom in almost every part of the British Isles.

THE TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER (_Taeniocampa munda_).

The fore wings range in ground colour from very pale ochreous (typical) or
pale greyish (var. _pallida_, Tutt), through reddish shades to a dingy
brown. The black or brownish twin spots on the middle of the submarginal
line are sometimes accompanied by others above and below them (var.
_geminatus_). In var. _immaculata_, Staud., the "twin spots," and also the
others, are absent. (Plate 158, Figs. 11, 12.)

The caterpillar (Plate 159, Fig. 1) is pale brown minutely freckled with
darker; a whitish line along the centre of the back finely edged with
black; a broad velvety black stripe along the sides, edged with whitish;
head reddish brown, freckled with darker. It feeds from April to June on
elm, oak, sallow, plum, etc. The moth is out in March and April, but a
specimen has been taken at "ivy bloom" in the autumn. Plum blossoms, as
well as the sallow catkins, are an attraction to this moth, and it will
also visit the sugar patch. The species probably occurs in most woodland
districts throughout the greater part of England and Wales. It seems to be
found in South Scotland, but is local and infrequent; in Ireland it is
widely spread in the north, but uncommon in the south.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 158.
    1, 2. COMMON QUAKER MOTH.
     3-7. POWDERED QUAKER.
       8. BLOSSOM UNDERWING.
   9, 10. SMALL QUAKER.
  11, 12. TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER.

[Illustration]

  Pl. 159.
      1. TWIN-SPOTTED QUAKER: _caterpillar_.
      2. SMALL QUAKER: _caterpillar_.
  3, 3a. RED CHESTNUT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{331} THE NORTHERN DRAB (_Taeniocampa opima_).

The dark form (var. _brunnea_, Tutt) (Plate 157, Fig. 10 [male]) has the
outlines of the orbicular and reniform stigmata, and the submarginal line
pale and distinct; sometimes the general colour is much blacker than in the
specimen shown. In the more typical greyish form (Fig. 9 [female]) the
central area is blackish or dark reddish brown. The caterpillar is olive
green above, inclining to yellowish beneath; three pale lines on the back,
and a yellow stripe along the black-edged white spiracles; head olive
green. It feeds from April to June on sallow, willow, birch, rose, etc. The
moth flies in March and April.

As suggested by the English name, this moth was supposed to be confined to
the northern counties from Cheshire to Cumberland and Northumberland, but
it occurs more locally in Herefordshire, Worcestershire (Wyre Forest),
Somerset, Gloucester, and Wales; also in Essex, Surrey, and Sussex. Renton
records it from Roxburghshire in Scotland, and Kane states that it is local
in Ireland.

THE POWDERED QUAKER (_Taeniocampa gracilis_).

In the ordinary English form of this species (Plate 158, Figs. 3 [male], 4
[female]) the fore wings are pale whity brown, more or {332} less tinged
with grey; the submarginal line, and the stigmata, are usually distinct,
but the other cross lines are only indicated by blackish dots on the veins.
In Ireland the specimens are creamy white and very often tinged with pink
(Fig. 5), but in the New Forest, Hants (Fig. 7), and in the marshes of
North Kent (Fig. 6), deep purplish grey, purplish brown, and reddish (var.
_rufescens_, Cockerel) forms occur.

The caterpillar is green, sometimes tinged with yellowish or with bluish;
usual spots whitish; three whitish or yellowish lines along the back and
one along the sides, the latter shaded above with dark green or blackish;
head ochreous brown. It feeds from May to July on meadow-sweet (_Spiraea_),
fleabane (_Inula_), purple loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_), yellow
loosestrife (_Lysimachia vulgaris_), sweet-gale, sallow, bramble, etc. The
moth is out in April and May, and is often plentiful at damson and plum
blossom, as well as sallow catkins. The species is widely distributed
throughout the greater part of the British Isles, but is perhaps more
generally common in the southern and eastern counties of England. The range
abroad extends to Japan.

PEUCEPHILA ESSONI, Hampson.

_Trans. Ent. Soc., Lond._, 1909, Part IV., Pp. 461-463, Pl. xvi., Fig. 1,
Dec. _Entom._, 1909, p. 258. See Appendix. {333}

APPENDIX.

Page 28. HERSE CONVOLVULI.--Reported from several English counties, August
and September, 1911, and again in 1915. In 1917 the species seems to have
been more widely spread over our islands, specimens being recorded from
Ireland and Shetland.

Page 41. PHRYXUS LIVORNICA.--Further records are: In July, 1909, a dead
male specimen was found under an electric light standard at Exeter, and one
was noted on a bowling green at Blackpool in October. Specimens were
recorded from Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Devon, and Cornwall in 1911. On
January 19, 1912, a male was taken from a shrub in a garden at Tavistock.
Thirty-five were captured in South Cornwall between May 9 and 23 of the
same year, and single specimens were reported from North Wales, Norfolk,
Dorset, also in May.

Page 47. DAPHNIS NERII.--Further records: Ilfracombe, September 22, 1909;
Sydenham, September 24, 1910; Eastbourne (August 15), Ashford, 1911;
Folkestone, August 30, 1916, on trunk of poplar tree; Littleover,
Derbyshire, in a conservatory, August 18, 1917; Dovercourt, Essex,
September, 1919. {334}

Page 141. NOLA CONFUSALIS.--A grey form of this species, ab. _columbina_,
Image, has been recorded from Epping Forest.

Page 146. SARROTHRIPA REVAYANA.--A number of forms of this species are
named and described by Mr. Sheldon in the _Entomologist_ for 1919.

Page 268. LUPERINA GUENEEI.--Over thirty years ago the late Mr. Baxter, of
St. Anne's, Lancashire, sent me a specimen of _Luperina_ that he had
captured in his district. This I considered to be a form connecting
_gueneei_ with _nickerlii_, and that both were forms of _L. testacea_.
Since that time _gueneei_ has been found in some numbers on the Lancs.
coast, and has been recognized as a distinct species, and its identity with
_nickerlii_ established.

The earlier published history of this species in Britain may here be
quoted: "The late Mr. J. B. Hodgkinson, in a note on _Luperina gueneei_,
published in the _Entomologist_ for 1885, vol. 54, wrote:--'In 1860 or
1861, T. Porter (still living) brought me two fine specimens of a moth I
did not know. They were of both sexes. I purchased them from him, and sent
them on to the Rev. H. Burney, who forwarded them to Henry Doubleday. From
him they went to Guenee, and he returned them with the remark that he had a
specimen in his collection marked as a variety of _L. testacea_, but he was
quite satisfied they represented a good species when he saw both sexes. H.
Doubleday then named them after Guenee, as the latter was evidently the
original captor. I saw Porter again, and he told me another man, by name H.
Stephenson, had one. They took three in all near the ferry at Rhyl, North
Wales. I sent Porter again, and went myself, but we failed to find more
afterwards. I bought the specimen from Stephenson, and sent it to Miss
Sulivan, of Fulham, where, I suppose, it remains. I think it was a
female.'" {335}

According to Barrett (_British Lepidoptera_, IV., p. 335), the three North
Wales specimens "were raked from overhanging edges of sandhills."

Page 294. HYDROECIA CRINANENSIS.

    "HYDROECIA CRINANENSIS, Burrows. Larger than _H. nictitans_. F.-w.
    slightly pointed at the apex, bright red-brown, longitudinal and
    transverse lines very distinct, fringes concolorous. Orbicular stigma,
    lighter than the ground colour. Reniform stigma orange, full, fairly
    straight edged inwardly, lower lobe projecting outwardly, interior
    lines faint. H.-w. red-brown, darker towards the outer margin; fringes
    yellow, the yellow colour intruding in dots upon the darker margin.

    "Type specimen taken by Mr. A. W. Bacot at Crinan Canal, September,
    1899."

The above is extracted from an instructive paper by the Rev. C. R. N.
Burrows, entitled, "On the _nictitans_ group of the genus _Hydroecia_,
Gn.," published in the _Transactions of the Entomological Society_, 1911,
pp. 738-749, plates li.-lviii. In this paper specific rank is also claimed
for _lucens_, Frr., and _paludis_, Tutt, both of which have been considered
as merely forms of _H. nictitans_, L.

_H. crinanensis_ has been recorded from Inveran, Crinan Canal, Aberfeldy,
and Liddelbank, in Scotland; from Lough Foyle and Enniskillen, in Ireland;
and from Bolton and Burnley, in England.

Page 298. NONAGRIA NEURICA.--In 1907, when the first edition of this volume
was published, the fact of _N. neurica_ being a British species was not
truly ascertained. In the following year, however, some specimens of
_Nonagria_, which were not identical with _N. dissoluta_, Treit. =
_arundineata_, Schmidt, were named _edelsteni_, Tutt. {336}

Quite a number of _N. edelsteni_ were obtained by Messrs. Wightman and
Sharp in the Cuckmere Valley of Sussex, July, 1908.

At a meeting of the Entomological Society of London, held on November 4,
1908, a series of bred _edelsteni_ from Sussex was exhibited by Mr.
Edelsten.

By a consensus of opinion among entomologists, Sussex specimens are now
considered to be true British representatives of _neurica_, Hubn., Fig.
381.

Page 332. PEUCEPHILA ESSONI, Hamps.--On July 12, 1909, Mr. Esson, of
Aberdeen, captured a specimen of a noctuid moth at sugar on a fir tree.
This he sent to me for identification. As the insect was a novelty to me,
it was submitted to Sir George F. Hampson, who, finding that the moth was
not only a species new to science, but not even congeneric with any other
noctuid, described and figured it as indicated on page 332 of this volume.

Although keenly searched for, no other example of the species had been
detected up to the end of 1919.

INDEX.

  _Acherontia Atropos_, 24. _Plates 8, 9, 11_
  _Acosmetia caliginosa_, 321
  _Acronyctinae_, 189
  _Acronycta aceris_, 192, _Plates 100, 102_;
    _alni_, 193, _Plate 100_;
    _auricoma_, 196, _Plates 102, 103_;
    _euphorbiae_, 197, _Plate 103_;
    _leporina_, 161, _Plate 100_;
    _megacephala_, 193, _Plates 100, 101_;
    _menyanthidis_, 196, _Plate 103_;
    _myricae_, 197, _Plate 103_;
    _psi_, 195, _Plates 100, 101_;
    _rumicis_, 198, _Plates 102, 103_;
    _strigosa_, 194, _Plate 100_;
    _tridens_, 195, _Plates 100, 101_
  _Agriopis aprilina_, 290. _Plate 141_
  _Agrotis agathina_, 214, _Plate 107_;
    _ashworthii_, 216, _Plate 110_;
    _cinerea_, 204, _Plate 105_;
    _comes_, 230, _Plates 115, 118_
  _Agrotis corticea_, 203, _Plates 105, 109_;
    _crassa_, 217;
    _cursoria_, 206, _Plate 106_;
    _exclamationis_, 208, _Plate 105_;
    _fennica_, 217;
    _hyperborea_, 215, _Plate 108_;
    _lucernea_, 213, _Plate 107_;
    _lunigera_, 205, _Plate 105_;
    _nigricans_, 207, _Plate 106_;
    _obelisca_, 208, _Plate 106_;
    _obscura_, 215, _Plate 107_;
    _orbona_, 230, 231, _Plates 115, 118_;
    _praecox_, 211, _Plate 107_;
    _pronuba_, 232, _Plates 115, 118_;
    _puta_, 204, _Plate 104_;
    _ripae_, 210, _Plate 106_;
    _saucia_, 212, _Plate 104_;
    _segetum_, 201, _Plate 104_;
    _simulans_, 214, _Plate 107_;
    _spinifera_, 217
  _Agrotis strigula_, 210, _Plates 107, 109_;
    _subsequa_, 231, _Plate 115_;
    _tritici_, 207, _Plate 106_;
    _vestigialis_, 202, _Plate 104_;
    _ypsilon_, 209, _Plate 104_
  Alder Kitten, 58. _Plate 22_
  Alder Moth, 193. _Plate 100_
  _Amorpha populi_, 20. _Plates 4, 5_
  _Amphipyra pyramidea_, 323, _Plate 154_;
    _tragopogonis_, 324, _Plates 154, 156_
  Angle Shades, 291. _Plate 141_
  Anomalous, 315. _Plates 151, 152_
  _Antennae_, 1, 3
  Antler Moth, 256. _Plate 127_
  _Apamea basilinea_, 272, _Plate 132_;
    _gemina_, 272, _Plate 131_;
    _ophiogramma_, 274, _Plate 132_;
    _pabulatricula_, 273, _Plate 132_;
    _secalis_, 274, _Plate 132_;
    _unanimis_, 273, _Plate 132_
  _Aplecta advena_, 237, _Plate 117_;
    _nebulosa_, 238, _Plate 119_;
    _tincta_, 237, _Plate 117_
  _Aporophyla australis_, 284. _Plate 137_
  _Aporophyla lutulenta_, 289, _Plate 137_;
    _nigra_, 283, _Plates 137, 139_
  Archer's Dart, 202. _Plate 104_
  _Arctiidae_, 7, 148
  _Arctia caia_, 100, _Plates 82, 84, 85_;
    _villica_, 162, _Plates 86, 87_
  _Arctiinae_, 148
  Areas of Wings, 5
  _Arsilonche albovenosa_, 199. _Plate 130_
  _Ascometia caliginosa_, 321. _Plate 153_
  Ashworth's Rustic, 216. _Plate 110_
  _Asphalia diluta_, 91. _Plate 39_
  _Asteroscopus nubeculosa,_ 288, _Plate 140_;
    _sphinx_, 288, _Plate 138_
  _Atolmis rubricollis_, 173. _Plates 92, 93_
  Autumnal Rustic, 218. _Plate 119_
  _Axylia putris_, 219. _Plate 132_

  _Barathra brassicae_, 239. _Plate 120_
  Barred Chestnut, 225. _Plate 114_
  Barred Hook-tip, 135. _Plates 70, 71_
  Barrett's Marbled Coronet, 247. _Plate 123_
  "Beating," 14
  Beautiful Arches, 260. _Plate 121_
  Beautiful Brocade, 243. _Plate 121_
  Beautiful Gothic, 267. _Plates 127, 133_
  Bedstraw Hawk, 38. _Plates 14, 15_
  Bird's Wing, 281. _Plate 137_
  Black Arches, 105, _Plates 46, 47_
  Black-banded, 287. _Plates 139, 140_
  Black Collar, 221
  Black Rustic, 283. _Plates 137, 139_
  Blossom Underwing, 327. _Plate 158_
  _Bombycia viminalis_, 263. _Plate 125_
  Bond's Wainscot, 301. _Plate 146_
  Bordered Gothic, 254. _Plate 126_
  _Brachionycha nubeculosa_, 288, _Plate 140_;
    _sphinx_, 288, _Plate 138_
  Bright-Line Brown Eye, 241. _Plates 120, 129_
  Brighton Wainscot, 302. _Plate 146_
  Brindled Green, 261. _Plates 122, 129_
  Brindled Ochre, 285. _Plate 138_
  Bristle and Catch, 4
  Broad-barred White, 254. _Plate 125_
  Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-Moth, 53. _Plates 20, 21_
  Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 10, 233. _Plates 116, 118_
  Broom Moth, 244. _Plates 122, 129_
  Brown-Line Bright Eye, 313. _Plate 150_
  Brown Rustic, 323. _Plates 152, 153_
  Brown-tail, 99. _Plates 42, 43, 44_
  Brown-veined Wainscot, 298. _Plates 144, 148_
  _Bryophila algae_, 201;
    _glandifera_, 200, _Plate 103_;
    _perla_, 200, _Plate 103_
  Buff Arches, 85. _Plate 36_
  Buff Ermine, 151. _Plates 76, 77_
  Buff Footman, 180. _Plates 96, 97_
  Buff-tip, 81. _Plates 35, 37_
  Bulrush Wainscot, 297. _Plates 144, 148_
  Burnets, 6
  Butterbur, 295. _Plate 143_

  Cabbage Moth, 239. _Plate 120_
  _Calamia lutosa_, 303, _Plate 145_;
    _phragmitidis_, 303, _Plate 145_
  _Callimorpha dominula_, 166, _Plates 88, 89_;
    _quadripunctaria_, 164, _Plates 88, 89_
  Campion, 251. _Plate 124_
  _Caradrina alsines_, 317, _Plate 151_;
    _ambigua_, 318, _Plate 151_;
    _exigua_, 319, _Plates 151, 152_;
    _morpheus_, 310, _Plate 151_;
    _quadripunctata_, 318, _Plate 151_;
    _superstes_, 317;
    _taraxaci_, 317, _Plate 151_
  Catch and Bristle, 4
  Caterpillar, 1
  _Celerio galii_, 38. _Plates 14, 15_
  _Celaena haworthii_, 269. _Plate 128_
  _Cerigo matura_, 269. _Plate 128_
  _Cerura bicuspis_, 58, _Plate 22_;
    _bifida_, 59, _Plates_ 22, 23;
    _furcula_, 61, _Plates_ 22, 23
  _Chabuata conigera_, 313
  _Charaeas graminis_, 256. _Plate 127_
  Chinese Character, 138. _Plate 71_
  _Chloephoridae_, 143
  Chocolate-tip, 82. _Plates 34, 35_
  _Chaerocampa celerio_, 43, _Plates 1, 16_;
    _elpenor_, 49, _Plates 17, 19_;
    _nerii_, 45, _Plates 1, 16;_
    _porcellus_, 48, _Plates 18, 19_
  Chrysalis, 1
  _Cilix glaucata_, 138. _Plate 71_
  Cinnabar, 171. _Plates 92, 93_
  _Cirphis comma_, 309, _Plate 147_;
    _loreyi_, 311, _Plate 149_;
    _putrescens_, 310, _Plates 147, 148_;
    _unipuncta_, 310, _Plate 149_
  Classification, 6
  Clay, 312. _Plates 150, 152_
  Clearwings, 6
  Cloaked Minor, 277. _Plate 134_
  _Cloantha polyodon_, 282
  Clouded-Bordered Brindle, 278. _Plates 130, 135_
  Clouded Brindle, 280. _Plates 130, 135_
  Clouded Buff, 158. _Plates 82, 83_
  Clouded Drab, 330. _Plate 157_
  Coast Dart, 206. _Plate 106_
  _Cochliopodidae_, 6
  _Coenobia rufa_, 299. _Plate 145_
  _Coenophila subrosea_, 217. _Plate 108_
  _Comacla senex_, 175. _Plate 95_
  Common Footman, 182. _Plates 96, 97_
  Common Quaker, 328. _Plate 158_
  Common Rustic, 270. _Plate 132_
  Common Wainscot, 304. _Plates 147, 152_
  Concolorous, 301. _Plate 146_
  Confused, 271. _Plate 131_
  Convolvulus Hawk-Moth, 2, 28. _Plates 9, 10, 11_
  Copper Underwing, 323. _Plate 154_
  Coronet, 198. _Plate 103_
  _Coscinia cribrum_, 168, _Plates 90, 91_;
    _striata_, 167, _Plate 90_
  Cosmopolitan, 311. _Plate 149_
  _Cosmotriche potatoria_, 123. _Plates 60, 61_
  _Cossidae_, 6
  _Cossus ligniperda_, 6
  Costa, 5
  Cousin German, 227. _Plate 114_
  Coxcomb Moth, 11
  Coxcomb Prominent, 77. _Plates 32, 33_
  _Craniophora ligustri_, 198. _Plate_ 103
  Cream-Bordered Green Pea, 144. _Plate 73_
  Cream-spot Tiger, 162. _Plates 86, 87_
  Crescent, 293. _Plate 143_
  Crescent Dart, 205. _Plate 105_
  Crescent Striped, 270. _Plate 131_
  Crimson Speckled Footman, 169. _Plates 92, 94_
  _Crymodes exulis_, 262. _Plate 123_
  _Cybosia mesomella_, 178. _Plate 95_
  _Cymbidae_, 7

  _Daphnis nerii_, 45. _Plates 1, 16_
  Dark Arches, 280. _Plate 136_
  Dark Brocade, 260. _Plate 121_
  Dark Dagger, 195. _Plates 100, 101_
  Dark Sword Grass, 209. _Plate 104_
  Dark Tussock, 97. _Plates 40, 41, 42_
  _Dasychira fascelina_, 97, _Plates 40, 41, 42_;
    _pudibunda_, 98, _Plates 40, 41_
  _Dasypolia templi_, 285. _Plate 138_
  Death's-Head Hawk Moth, 24. _Plates 8, 9, 11_
  December Moth, 113. _Plates 50, 53_
  Deep-brown Dart, 282. _Plate 137_
  _Deilephila euphorbiae_, 36, _Plates 1, 14, 15_;
    _galii_, 38, _Plates 14, 15_;
    _livornica_, 41, _Plate 15_
  _Deiopeia pulchella_, 169. _Plates 92, 94_
  Delicate, 311. _Plate 149_
  _Demas coryli_, 190. _Plates 100, 101_
  _Dendrolimus pini_, 106
  Devonshire Wainscot, 310. _Plates 147, 148_
  Dew Moth, 177. _Plate 95_
  _Diacrisia sanio_, 158. _Plates 82, 83_
  _Dianthoecia albimacula_, 249, _Plate 124_;
    _barrettii_, 247, _Plate 123_;
    _capsophila_, 251, _Plate 124_;
    _capsincola_, 250, _Plates 124, 130_;
    _carpophaga_, 251, _Plate 124_;
    _caesia_, 248, _Plate 123_;
    _compta_, 250, _Plate 124_;
    _conspersa_, 248, _Plate 123_;
    _cucubali_, 251, _Plate 124_;
    _irregularis_, 252, _Plate 125_;
    _luteago_, 247, _Plate 123_
  _Diaphora mendica_, 153. _Plates 75, 78, 79_
  _Dicranura vinula_, 62. _Plates 24, 25_
  _Dilina tiliae_, 17. _Plates 2, 3_
  Dingy Footman, 181. _Plates 97, 98_
  Disc, 5
  _Diloba caeruleocephala_, 265. _Plates 127, 133_
  _Diphtera orion_, 189. _Plates 100, 101_
  _Dipterygia scabriuscula_, 281. _Plate 137_
  Dog's Tooth, 242. _Plate 121_
  Dorsum, 5
  Dot, 239. _Plates 120, 129_
  Dotted Clay, 220. _Plate 114_
  Dotted Footman, 187. _Plates 98, 99_
  Dotted Rustic, 214. _Plate 107_
  Double Dart, 218. _Plates 110, 111_
  Double Line, 314. _Plates 150, 152_
  Double Lobed, 274. _Plate 132_
  Double-spot Brocade, 289. _Plate 141_
  Double Square-spot, 223. _Plate 113_
  _Drepana binaria_, 135. _Plates 70, 71_;
    _cultraria_, 135, _Plates 70, 71_;
    _falcataria_, 133, _Plates 68, 69_;
    _harpagula_, 134, _Plates 68, 69_;
    _lacertinaria_, 136, _Plates, 69, 71_
  _Drepanidae_, 132
  Drinker, 8, 123. _Plates 60, 61_
  _Drymonia chaonia_, 68, _Plates 28, 29_;
    _trimacula_, 67, _Plate 28_
  Dumeril's Luperina, 268
  Dusky Brocade, 272. _Plate 131_
  Dusky Marbled Brown, 66. _Plate 28_
  Dusky Sallow, 263. _Plate 126_

  Ear Moth, 294. _Plate 143_
  _Earias chlorana_, 144. _Plate 73_
  Egg, 1
  Elephant, 49. _Plates 17, 19_
  Emperor Moth, 131. _Plates 66, 67_
  _Endromididae_, 129
  _Endromis versicolor_, 129. _Plates 64, 65_
  _Endrosa irrorella_, 177. _Plate 95_
  _Epia irregularis_, 252
  _Epicnaptera ilicifolia_, 125. _Plates 62, 63_
  _Epineuronia popularis_, 255. _Plate 127_
  _Epipsilia ashworthii_, 216, _Plate 110_;
    _hyperborea_, 215, _Plate 108_
  _Epunda lichenea_, 285. _Plates 133, 137_
  _Eremobia ochroleuca_, 263. _Plate 126_
  _Eriogaster lanestris_, 114. _Plates 50, 53_
  _Eriopyga turca_, 314. _Plates 150, 152_
  _Eumichtis adusta_, 260, _Plate 121_;
    _protea_, 261, _Plate 122_;
    _satura_, 260, _Plate 121_
  _Eumorpha elpenor_, 49. _Plates 17, 19_
  _Euplexia lucipara_, 291. _Plate 141_
  _Euproctis chrysorrhoea_, 99. _Plates 42, 43_
  _Euretagrotis agathina_, 214. _Plate 107_
  _Eurois occulta_, 236, _Plate 117_;
    _prasina_, 235, _Plate 117_
  _Euxoa cinerea_, 204, _Plate 105_;
    _corticea_, 203, _Plates 105, 109_;
    _cursoria_, 206, _Plate 106_;
    _lunigera_, 205, _Plate 105_;
    _nigricans_, 207, _Plate 106_;
    _obelisca_, 208, _Plate 106_;
    _puta_, 204, _Plate 104_;
    _segetum_, 201, _Plate 104_;
    _tritici_, 207, _Plate 106_;
    _vestigialis_, 202, _Plate 104_
  Eyed Hawk-moth, 14, 22. _Plates 6, 7_
  _Exarnis augur_, 218. _Plates 110, 111_

  Feathered Brindle, 284. _Plate 137_
  Feathered Ear, 257. _Plate 128_
  Feathered Footman, 167. _Plate 90_
  Feathered Gothic, 255. _Plate 127_
  Feathered Ranunculus, 285. _Plates 133, 137_
  _Feltia exclamationis_, 208. _Plate 104_
  Fen Wainscot, 303. _Plate 145_
  Fenn's Wainscot, 308. _Plates 144, 148_
  Field Work, 8
  Figure of Eight Moth, 265. _Plates 127, 133_
  Figure of Eighty, 88. _Plate 36_
  Flame, 229. _Plate 132_
  Flame Brocade, 290. _Plate 141_
  Flame Shoulder, 228. _Plates 110, 111_
  Flame Wainscot, 300. _Plate 145_
  Flounced Rustic, 267. _Plate 128_
  Footman Moths, 173. _Plates 90-99_
  Four-dotted Footman, 178. _Plate 95_
  Four-spotted Footman, 179. _Plates 94, 95_
  Fox Moth, 121. _Plates 58, 59_
  Frenulum, 4
  Frosted Green, 93. _Plates 38, 39_
  Frosted Orange, 295. _Plate 144_

  Garden Dart, 207. _Plate 106_
  Garden Tiger, 160. _Plates 82, 84, 85_
  _Gastropacha quercifolia_, 126. _Plates 62, 63_
  _Geometridae_, 7
  Gipsy, 103. _Plate 46_
  Glaucous Shears, 245. _Plate 122_
  _Gluphisia crenata_, 66. _Plate 28_
  Goat-moth, 6
  _Gortyna micacea_, 294, _Plate 143_;
    _nictitans_, 294, _Plate 143_;
    _petasitis_, 295, _Plate 143_
  Gothic, 293. _Plates 139, 142_
  _Grammesia trigrammica_, 314. _Plate 151_
  Grass Eggar, 119. _Plates 56, 57_
  Great Brocade, 236. _Plate 117_
  Great Prominent, 74. _Plates 30, 31_
  Green Arches, 235. _Plate 117_
  Green-brindled Crescent, 289. _Plate 141_
  Green Brindled Dot, 266. _Plate 127_
  Green Silver Lines, 145. _Plates 72, 73_
  Grey, 248. _Plate 123_
  Grey Arches, 238. _Plate 119_
  Grey Chi, 286. _Plate 138_
  Grey Dagger, 192. _Plates 100, 101_
  Ground Lackey, 109. _Plates 48, 49_

  _Habrosyne derasa_, 85. _Plate 36_
  _Hadena adusta_, 260;
    _protea_, 261, _Plate 122_;
    _satura_, 260
  _Hama abjecta_, 270, _Plate 131_;
    _furva_, 271, _Plate 131_;
    _sordida_, 271, _Plate 131_
  _Hapalia praecox_, 211. _Plate 107_
  Hawk-Moths, 6, 17. _Plates 1-21_
  Haworth's Minor, 269. _Plate 128_
  Heart and Club, 203. _Plates 105, 109_
  Heart and Dart, 208. _Plate 105_
  Heath Rustic, 214. _Plates 107, 109_
  Hebrew Character, 326. _Plates 155, 156_
  _Hecatera chrysozona_, 253, _Plate 125_;
    _serena_, 254, _Plate 125_
  Hedge Rustic, 256. _Plate 128_
  _Heliophobus hispidus_, 267. _Plates 127, 133_
  _Helotropha leucostigma_, 293. _Plate 143_
  _Hemaris fuciformis_, 53, _Plates 20, 21_;
    _tityus_, 55, _Plates 20, 21_
  _Hepialidae_, 7
  _Heterogenea limacodes_, 6
  _Heterocera_, 1
  _Hippotion celerio_, 43. _Plates 1, 16_
  _Hipocrita jacobaeae_, 171. _Plates 92, 93_
  Hoary Footman, 185. _Plates 98, 99_
  Hook-tips, 132
  Humming-bird Hawk-moth, 51. _Plate 21_
  _Hydrilla palustris_, 321. _Plate 153_
  _Hydroecia micacea_, 294, _Plate 143_;
    _nictitans_, 294, _Plate 143_;
    _petasitis_, 295, _Plate 143_
  _Hyles euphorbiae_, 36. _Plates 1, 14, 15_
  _Hyloicus pinastri_, 34. _Plates 11, 12_
  _Hylophila bicolorana_, 146, _Plates 72, 73_;
    _prasinana_, 145, _Plates 72, 73_
  _Hyppa rectilinea_, 265. _Plate 126_

  Imago, 1
  Ingrailed Clay, 224. _Plates 112, 113_
  Iron Prominent, 72. _Plates 30, 31_

  Jersey Tiger, 164. _Plates 88, 89_
  Jugum, 4

  Kent Black Arches, 141. _Plate 73_
  Kentish Glory, 129. _Plates 64, 65_
  Knot Grass, 198. _Plates 102, 103_

  Lackey, 167. _Plates 48, 49_
  _Laelia coenosa_, 101. _Plates 44, 45_
  Lappet, 126. _Plates 62, 63_
  Large Dark Prominent, 73. _Plate 31_
  Large Marbled Tortrix, 146. _Plate 72_
  Large Nutmeg, 271. _Plate 131_
  Large Ranunculus, 286. _Plate 138_
  Large Wainscot, 303. _Plate 145_
  Large Yellow Underwing, 232. _Plates 115, 118_
  _Lasiocampa quercus_, 115, _Plates 52, 54, 55_;
    _trifolii_, 119, _Plates 56, 57_
  _Lasiocampidae_, 106
  Lead-coloured Drab, 326. _Plate 157_
  Least Black Arches, 141. _Plate 73_
  Least Minor, 277. _Plate 134_
  Least Yellow Underwing, 234. _Plate 116_
  Lesser Broad-border, 234. _Plates 116, 118_
  Lesser Lutestring, 91. _Plate 39_
  Lesser Satin Moth, 89. _Plate 39_
  Lesser Swallow Prominent, 70. _Plates 28, 29_
  Lesser Yellow Underwing, 230. _Plates 115, 118_
  _Leucania albipuncta_, 312, _Plate 149_;
    _brevilinea_, 308, _Plates 144, 148_;
    _comma_, 309, _Plate 147_;
    _conigera_, 313, _Plate 150_;
    _favicolor_, 304, _Plate 149_;
    _impudens_, 307, _Plate 147_;
    _impura_, 305, _Plate 147_;
    _lithargyria_, 312, _Plates 150, 152_;
    _littoralis_, 308, _Plates 150, 152_;
    _loreyi_, 311, _Plate 149_;
    _obsoleta_, 307, _Plate 147_;
    _pallens_, 304, _Plates 147, 152_;
    _putrescens_, 310, _Plates 147, 148_;
    _turca_, 314, _Plates 150, 152_;
    _straminea_, 306, _Plate 147_;
    _unipuncta_, 310, _Plate 149_;
    _vitellina_, 311. _Plate 149_
  _Leucodonta bicoloria_, 75. _Plates 32, 33_
  _Leucoma v-nigrum_, 94
  Light Arches, 279. _Plate 135_
  Light Brocade, 241. _Plate 121_
  Light Feathered Rustic, 204. _Plate 105_
  Light Knot Grass, 196. _Plate 103_
  Lime Hawk-moth, 17. _Plates 2, 3_
  Lines of Wings, 5
  _Lithosia caniola_, 185, _Plates 98, 99_;
    _complana_, 183, _Plates 96, 97_;
    _deplana_, 180, _Plates 96, 97_;
    _griseola_, 181, _Plates 97, 98_;
    _lurideola_, 182, _Plates 96, 97_;
    _lutarella_, 184, _Plate 99_;
    _sericea_, 184, _Plate 97_;
    _sororcula_, 187, _Plate 99_
  _Lithosiinae_, 173
  Lobster, 64. _Plates 26, 27_
  _Lophopteryx camelina_, 77, _Plates 32, 33_;
    _cuculla_, 76, _Plates 32, 33_
  Lunar Marbled Brown, 68. _Plates 28, 29_
  Lunar Yellow Underwing, 231. _Plate 115_
  _Luperina dumerilii_, 268;
    _testacea_, 267, _Plate 128_
  Lychnis, 250. _Plates 124, 130_
  _Lycophotia ripae_, 210. _Plate 106_;
    _strigula_, 210. _Plates 107, 109_
  _Lymantria dispar_, 103, _Plate 46_;
    _monacha_, 105, _Plates 46, 47_
  _Lymantriidae_, 94
  Lyme Grass, 302. _Plate 146_

  _Macrogaster castaneae_, 6
  Macro-lepidoptera, 6
  _Macroglossa stellatarum_, 52. _Plate 21_
  _Macrothylacia rubi_, 121. _Plates 58, 59_
  _Malacosoma neustria_, 107, _Plates 48, 49_;
    _castrensis_, 109, _Plates 48, 49_
  _Mamestra advena_, 237, _Plate 117_;
    _albicolon_, 240, _Plate 120_;
    _contigua_, 243, _Plate 121_;
    _dentina_, 246, _Plate 122_;
    _dissimilis_, 242, _Plate 121_;
    _genistae_, 241, _Plate 121_;
    _glauca_, 245, _Plate 122_;
    _nebulosa_, 238, _Plate 119_;
    _oleracea_, 241, _Plates 120, 129_;
    _peregrina_, 246, _Plate 122_;
    _persicariae_, 239, _Plates 120, 129_;
    _pisi_, 244, _Plates 122, 129_;
    _thalassina_, 243, _Plate 121_;
    _tincta_, 237, _Plate 117_;
    _trifolii_, 245, _Plate 122_
  _Manduca atropos_, 24. _Plates 8, 9, 11_
  Maple Prominent, 76. _Plates 32, 33_
  Marbled Beauty, 200. _Plate 103_
  Marbled Brown, 67. _Plate 28_
  Marbled Coronet, 248. _Plate 123_
  Marbled Green, 200. _Plate 103_
  Marbled Minor, 275. _Plate 134_
  Marsh Dagger, 194. _Plate 100_
  Marsh Moth, 321. _Plate 153_
  Mathew's Wainscot, 304. _Plate 149_
  _Meliana flammea_, 300. _Plate 145_
  Mere Wainscot, 301. _Plate 146_
  Merveille du jour, 290. _Plate 141_
  _Metopsilus porcellus_, 48. _Plates 18, 19_
  _Miana bicoloria_, 277, _Plate 134_;
    _fasciuncula_, 275, _Plate 134_;
    _literosa_, 276, _Plate 134_;
    _strigilis_, 275, _Plate 134_
  Micro-lepidoptera, 6
  _Micropterygidae_, 7
  Middle-barred Minor, 275. _Plate 134_
  Miller, 191. _Plate 100_
  _Miltochrista miniata_, 176. _Plate 95_
  _Mimas tiliae_, 17. _Plates 2, 3_
  Minor Shoulder-knot, 263. _Plate 125_
  _Miselia bimaculosa_, 289, _Plate 141_;
    _oxyacanthae_, 289, _Plate 141_
  _Mormo maura_, 292. _Plate 142_
  Mottled Rustic, 316. _Plate 151_
  Mouse, 324. _Plates 154, 156_
  Muslin, 153. _Plates 75, 78, 79_
  Muslin Footman, 174. _Plates 94, 95_

  _Naenia typica_, 293. _Plates 139, 142_
  Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth, 55. _Plates 20, 21_
  Neglected or Grey Rustic, 219. _Plates 109, 110_
  _Neuria reticulata_, 254. _Plate 126_
  _Noctuidae_, 7, 189. _Plates 100-159_
  _Noctua augur_, 218, _Plates 110, 111_;
    _baja_, 220;
    _brunnea_, 224, _Plates 112, 113_;
    _castanea_, 219, _Plates 109, 110_;
    _c-nigrum_, 221, _Plate 110_;
    _dahlii_, 225, _Plate 114_;
    _depuncta_, 220, _Plate 110_;
    _ditrapezium_, 222, _Plates 110, 111_;
    _flammatra_, 221;
    _glareosa_, 218, _Plate 110_;
    _plecta_, 228, _Plates 110, 111_;
    _primulae_, 224, _Plates 112, 113_;
    _rubi_, 226, _Plate 114_;
    _sobrina_, 227, _Plate 114_;
    _stigmatica_, 223, _Plate 113_;
    _subrosea_, 217, _Plate 108_;
    _triangulum_, 223, _Plate 113_;
    _umbrosa_, 227, _Plate 114_;
    _xanthographa_, 228, _Plates 112, 114_
  _Nolidae_, 139. _Plates 72, 73_
  _Nola albula_, 141, _Plate 73_;
    _centonalis_, 142, _Plate 73_;
    _confusalis_, 141, _Plate 73_;
    _cucullatella_, 139, _Plates 72, 73_;
    _strigula_, 140, _Plate 73_
  _Nonagria cannae_, 296, _Plates 144, 148_;
    _dissoluta_, 298, _Plates 144, 148_;
    _geminipuncta_, 297, _Plates 144, 148_;
    _sparganii_, 296, _Plates 144, 148_;
    _typhae_, 297, _Plates 144, 148_
  _Notodonta dromedarius_, 72, _Plates 30, 31_;
    _phoebe_, 72, _Plate 31_;
    _torva_, 73, _Plate 31_;
    _trepida_, 74, _Plates 30, 31_;
    _tritophus_, 72, 73, _Plate 31_;
    _ziczac_, 70, _Plates 30, 31_
  Northern Arches, 262. _Plate 123_
  Northern Dart, 215. _Plate 108_
  Northern Drab, 331. _Plate 157_
  Northern Eggar, 116. _Plate 54_
  Northern Footman, 184. _Plate 97_
  Northern Rustic, 213. _Plate 107_
  _Notodontidae_, 56
  _Nudaria mundana_, 174, _Plates 94, 95_
  Nutmeg, 245. _Plate 122_
  Nut-tree Tussock, 190. _Plates 100, 101_

  Oak Eggar, 115. _Plates 52, 55_
  Oak Hook-tip, 135. _Plates 70, 71_
  Obscure Wainscot, 307. _Plate 147_
  _Ochria ochracea_, 295. _Plate 144_
  _Ochropleura plecta_, 228. _Plates 110, 111_
  _Odontosia carmelita_, 78. _Plates 32, 33_
  _Oeonestis quadra_, 179. _Plates 94, 95_
  _Ogygia obscura_, 215, _Plate 107_
  Old Lady, 292. _Plate 142_
  Oleander Hawk-moth, 45. _Plates 1, 16_
  Orache Moth, 264. _Plate 126_
  Orange Footman, 187. _Plate 99_
  _Orgyia antiqua_, 96, _Plates 40, 41_;
    _gonostigma_, 94, _Plates 40, 41_

  _Pachetra leucophaea_, 257. _Plate 128_
  _Pachnobia Leucographa_, 325, _Plate 155_;
    _rubricosa_, 326, _Plates 155, 159_
  Palaearctic Fauna, 7
  Pale Footman, 181. _Plate 97_
  Pale Mottled Willow, 318. _Plate 151_
  Pale Oak Eggar, 111. _Plates 50, 51_
  Pale Prominent, 80. _Plates 32, 33_
  Pale-shouldered Brocade, 243. _Plate 121_
  Pale Shining Brown, 237. _Plate 117_
  Pale Tussock, 7, 98. _Plates 40, 41_
  _Palimpsestis duplaris_, 89, _Plate 39_;
    _fluctuosa_, 90, _Plate 39_;
    _octogessima_, 88, _Plate 36_;
    _or_, 88, _Plate 36_
  _Panolis griseo-variegata_, 324. _Plate 155_;
    _piniperda_, 324. _Plate 155_
  _Parasemia plantaginis_, 157. _Plates 80, 81_
  Peach Blossom, 86. _Plates 36, 37_
  Pearly Underwing, 212. _Plate 104_
  Pebble Hook-tip 133. _Plates 68, 69_
  Pebble Prominent, 70. _Plates 30, 31_
  _Pelosia muscerda_, 187. _Plates 98, 99_
  _Peridroma saucia_, 212. _Plate 104_
  _Petilampa arcuosa_, 320. _Plate 134_
  _Phalera bucephala_, 81. Plates 35, 37
  _Pheosia tremula_, 69, _Plates 28, 29_;
    _dictaeoides_, 70, _Plates 28, 29_
  _Phlogophora meticulosa_, 291. _Plate 141_
  _Phothedes captiuncula_, 277. _Plate 134_
  _Phragmatobia fuliginosa_, 155. _Plates 80, 81_
  _Phryxus livornica_, 41
  Pigmy Footman, 184. _Plate 99_
  Pine Beauty, 324. _Plate 155_
  Pine Hawk, 34. _Plates 11, 12_
  Plain Clay, 220. _Plate 110_
  Plumed Prominent, 79. _Plate 33_
  Pod-lover, 252. _Plate 124_
  _Poecilocampa populi_, 113. _Plates 50, 53_
  _Polia chi_, 286, _Plate 138_;
    _flavicincta_, 286, _Plate 138_;
    _xanthomista_, 287, _Plates 139, 140_
  _Polyploca flavicornis_, 92, _Plates 38, 39_;
    _ridens_, 93, _Plates 38, 39_
  Poplar Grey, 193. _Plates 100, 101_
  Poplar Hawk-moth, 20. _Plates 4, 5_
  Poplar Kitten, 59. _Plates 22, 23_
  Poplar Lutestring, 88. _Plate 36_
  _Porthesia similis_, 100. _Plates 42, 43_
  Portland Moth, 211. _Plate 107_
  Powdered Quaker, 331. _Plate 158_
  Powdered Wainscot, 199. _Plate 103_
  Proboscis, 2
  Privet Hawk, 15, 33. _Plates 12, 13_
  _Prodenia littoralis_, 264
  Prominents, 56
  _Psychina_, 7
  _Pterostoma palpina_, 80. _Plates 32, 33_
  _Ptilophora plumigera_, 79, _Plate 33_
  Pupa-digging, 16
  Purple Clay, 11, 224. _Plates 112, 113_
  Purple Cloud, 282. _Plate 137_
  Puss Moth, 62. _Plates 24, 25_
  _Pygaera anachoreta_, 83, _Plate 35_;
    _curtula_, 82, _Plates 34, 35_;
    _pigra_, 84, _Plates 34, 35_
  _Pyralidina_, 7

  Rannoch Sprawler, 288. _Plate 140_
  Red Chestnut, 326. _Plates 155, 159_
  Reed Tussock, 101. _Plates 44, 45_
    "   Wainscot, 296. _Plates 144, 148_
  Reddish Buff, 321. _Plate 153_
     "    Light Arches, 279. _Plate 135_
  Red-necked Footman, 173. _Plates 92, 93_
  Retinaculum, 4
  Rosy Footman, 176. _Plate 95_
    "  Marsh Moth, 217. _Plate 108_
    "  Minor, 276. _Plate 134_
    "  Rustic, 294. _Plate 143_
  Round-winged Muslin, 175. _Plate 95_
  Ruby Tiger, 155. _Plates 80, 81_
  _Rusina tenebrosa_, 322. _Plate 153_
  Rustic, 317. _Plate 151_
     "   Shoulder-knot 272. _Plate 134_

  Sallow Kitten, 61. _Plates 22, 23_
  Sand Dart, 210. _Plate 106_
  _Sarrothripinae_, 146
  _Sarrothripa revayana_, 146. _Plate 72_
  Satin Carpet, 90. _Plate 39_
  _Saturnia pavonia_, 131. _Plates 66, 67_
  Saxon, 265. _Plate 126_
  Scalloped Hook-tip, 136. _Plates 69, 71_
  Scarce Black Arches, 142. _Plate 73_
     "   Chocolate-tip, 83. _Plate 35_
     "   Dagger, 196. _Plates 102, 103_
     "   Footman, 183. _Plates 96, 97_
     "   Hook-tip, 134. _Plates 68, 69_
     "   Merveille du jour, 9, 189. _Plates 100, 101_
     "   Prominent, 78. _Plates 32, 33_
     "   Silver Lines, 146. _Plates 72, 73_
     "   Vapourer, 94. _Plates 40, 41_
  Scarlet Tiger, 166. _Plates 88, 89_
  _Segetia xanthographa_, 228. _Plates 112, 114_
  _Senta maritima_, 299. _Plate 145_
  _Sesiidae_, 6
  Setaceous Hebrew Character, 221 _Plate 110_
  Shears, 246. _Plate 122_
  Shore Wainscot, 308. _Plates 150, 152_
  Short-cloaked Moth, 139. _Plates 72, 73_
  Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 309. _Plate 147_
  Shuttle-shaped Dart, 204. _Plate 104_
  _Sideridis albipuncta_, 312, _Plate 149_;
    _lithargyria_, 312, _Plates 150, 152_;
    _vitellina_, 311, _Plate 149_
  Silky Wainscot, 299. _Plate 145_
  Silver Cloud, 258. _Plate 128_
  Silvery Arches, 237. _Plate 117_
  Silver-striped Hawk, 48. _Plates 1, 16_
  Six-striped Rustic, 227. _Plate 114_
  Slender Bridle, 281. _Plate 135_
  Small Angle Shades, 291. _Plate 141_
    "   Black Arches, 140. _Plate 73_
    "   Chocolate-tip, 84. _Plates 34, 35_
    "   Clouded Brindle, 273. _Plate 132_
    "   Dotted Buff, 320. _Plate 134_
    "   Eggar, 114. _Plates 50, 53_
    "   Elephant, 48. _Plates 18, 19_
    "   Lappet, 125. _Plates 62, 63_
    "   Mottled Willow, 319. _Plates 151, 152_
    "   Quaker, 328. _Plates 158, 159_
    "   Ranunculus, 253. _Plate 125_
    "   Rufous, 299. _Plate 145_
    "   Square Spot, 226. _Plate 114_
    "   Wainscot, 300. _Plate 145_
  _Smerinthus ocellatus_, 22, _Plates 6, 7_;
    _populi_, 20, _Plates 4, 5_
  Smoky Wainscot, 305. _Plate 147_
  Southern Wainscot, 306. _Plate 147_
  Speckled Footman, 168. _Plates 90, 91_
  _Sphingidae_, 6, 17
  _Sphinx convolvuli_, 28, _Plates 9, 10, 11_;
    _ligustri_, 33, _Plates 12, 13_
  _Spilosoma lubricipeda_, 151, _Plates 76, 77_;
    _menthastri_, 149, _Plates 74, 75, 78_;
    _urticae_, 150, _Plate 75_
  Sprawler, 288. _Plate 138_
  Spurge Hawk, 36. _Plates 1, 14, 15_
  Square-spot Dart, 208. _Plate 106_
    "     "   Rustic, 228. _Plates 112, 114_
  Square-spotted Clay, 223. _Plate 113_
  _Stauropus fagi_, 64. _Plates 26, 27_
  Stigmata, 5, 6
  _Stilbia anomala_, 315. _Plates 151, 152_
  _Stilpnotia salicis_, 112. _Plates 43, 44_
  Stout Dart, 215. _Plate 107_
  Stranger, 246. _Plate 122_
  Straw Underwing, 269. _Plate 128_
  Striped Hawk, 41. _Plate 15_
  Striped Wainscot, 307. _Plate 147_
  "Sugaring," 11
  Swallow Prominent, 69. _Plates 28, 29_
  Sweet-gale Moth, 197. _Plate 103_
  Swifts, 4, 7
  Sycamore, 192. _Plates 100, 102_
  _Synia musculosa_, 302. _Plate 146_

  _Tapinostola bondii_, 301, _Plate 146_;
    _elymi_, 302, _Plate 146_;
    _extrema_, 301, _Plate, 146_;
    _fulva_, 300, _Plate 145_;
    _hellmanni_, 301, _Plate 146_
  Tawny Shears, 251. _Plate 124_
  _Tholera cespitis_, 256. _Plate 128_
  Three Humped, 72. _Plate 31_
  _Thyatiridae_, 85
  _Thyatira batis_, 86. _Plates 36, 37_
  Tiger Moths, 148
  _Taeniocampa gothica_, 326, _Plate 155_;
    _gracilis_, 331, _Plate 158_;
    _incerta_, 330, _Plate 157_;
    _miniosa_, 327, _Plate 158_;
    _munda_, 330, _Plates 158, 159_;
    _opima_, 331, _Plate 157_;
    _populeti_, 329, _Plate 157_;
    _pulverulenta_, 328, _Plates 158, 159_;
    _stabilis_, 328, _Plate 158_
  Tongue, 2
  _Tortricina_, 7
  _Trachea atriplicis_, 264. _Plate 126_
  Treble Lines, 314. _Plate 151_
  Tree-lichen Beauty, 201
  _Trichiura crataegi_, 111. _Plates 50, 51_
  _Trigonophora flammea_, 290. _Plate 141_
  _Trifinae_, 201
  _Triphaena comes_, 230, _Plates 115, 118_;
    _fimbria_, 233, _Plates 116, 118_;
    _ianthina_, 234, _Plates 116, 118_;
    _interjecta_, 234, _Plate 116_;
    _orbona_, 230, 231, _Plates 115, 118_;
    _pronuba_, 232, _Plates 115, 118_;
    _subsequa_, 231, _Plate 115_
  Triple-spotted Clay, 222. _Plates 110, 111_
  True Lover's Knot, 210. _Plate 107_
  _Trypanus cossus_, 6
  _Trypanidae_, 6
  Turnip Moth, 201. _Plate 104_
  Tussock Moths, 94
  Twin-spotted, 297. _Plates 114, 148_
       "       Quaker, 330. _Plates 158, 159_

  Uncertain, 317. _Plate 151_
  Union Rustic, 273. _Plate 132_

  _Valeria oleagina_, 266. _Plate 127_
  Vapourer, 96. _Plates 40, 41_
  Varied Coronet, 250. _Plate 124_
  Vine's Rustic, 318. _Plate 151_
  Viper's Bugloss, 252. _Plate 125_

  Water Ermine, 150. _Plate 75_
  Webb's Wainscot, 296. _Plates 144, 148_
  White Colon, 240. _Plate 120_
    "   Ermine, 149. _Plates 74, 75, 78_
  White-line Dart, 207. _Plate 106_
  White-marked, 325. _Plate 155_
  White-point, 312. _Plate 149_
  White Prominent, 75. _Plates 32, 33_
    "   Satin Moth, 102. _Plates 43, 44_
    "   Speck or American Wainscot, 310. _Plate 149_
    "   Spot, 249. _Plate 124_
  Wings, 3
  Wing Areas and Lines, 4;
    cells, 6
  Wood Tiger, 157. _Plates 80, 81_

  _Xylomania conspicillaris_, 258. _Plate 128_
  _Xylophasia hepatica_, 280, _Plates 130, 135_;
    _lithoxylea_, 279, _Plate 135_;
    _monoglypha_, 280, _Plate 136_;
    _rurea_, 278, _Plates 130, 135_;
    _scolopacina_, 281, _Plate 135_;
    _sublustris_, 279, _Plate 135_;
    _zollikoferi_, 279, _Plate 153_
  Yellow Horned, 92. _Plates 38, 39_
  Yellow-tail, 100. _Plates 42, 43_
  Yoke, 4

  _Zeuzera pyrina_, 6
  _Zygaenidae_, 6

MOTHS.--SERIES I.

      OLD EDITION.                      NEW EDITION.
  For Sphinx convolvuli           read  Herse (Sphinx) convolvuli
   "  Arsilonche albovenosa         "   Simyra (Arsilonche) albovenosa
   "  Bryophila glandifera          "   Bryophila muralis (glandifera)
   "  Agrotis (Hapalia) praecox     "   Agrotis (Lycophotia) praecox
   "  Agrotis (Peridroma) saucia    "   Agrotis (Lycophotia) saucia
   "  Agrotis (Spaelotis) lucernea  "   Agrotis (Episilia) lucernea
   "  Agrotis (Pachnobia) simulans  "   Agrotis (Episilia) simulans
   "  Agrotis (Ogygia) obscura      "   Agrotis ravida (obscura)
   "  Noctua sobrina                "   Noctua (Mythimna) sobrina
   "  Epineuronia popularis         "   Tholera (Epineuronia) popularis
   "  Charaeas graminis             "   Cerapteryx (Charaeas) graminis
   "  Hyppa rectilinea              "   Lithomoea (Hyppa) rectilinea
   "  Hama abjecta                  "   Hama oblonga (abjecta)
   "  Apamea gemina                 "   Apamea obscura (gemina)
   "  Trigonophora flammea          "   Rhizotype flammea
   "  Mormo maura                   "   Mania maura
   "  Nonagria cannae               "   Nonagria algae (cannae)
   "  Synia musculosa               "   Oria (Synia) musculosa
   "  Grammesia trigrammica         "   Meristis (Grammesia) trigrammica
   "  Caradrina exigua              "   Laphygma exigua

SPECIAL INDEX.

  _abjecta_ (_Hama_), 270
  _aceris_ (_Acronycta_), 192
  _Acronyctinae_, 189
  _adusta_ (_Eumichtis_), 260
  _advena_ (_Aplecta_), 237
  _aestiva_ (_Drepana_), 136
  _aethiops_ (_Miana_), 275
  _agathina_ (_Agrotis_), 214
  _albicolon_ (_Mamestra_), 240
  _albida_ (_Arsilonche_), 199
  _albimacula_ (_Dianthoecia_), 249
  _albipuncta_ (_Leucania_), 312
  _algae_ (_Bryophila_), 201
  _algae_ (_Nonagria_), 296
  _albovenosa_ (_Arsilonche_), 199
  _albula_ (_Nola_), 141
  _alni_ (_Acronycta_), 193
  _alopecurus_ (_Xylophasia_), 278
  _alpinum_ (_Diphtera_), 190
  _alsines_ (_Caradrina_), 317
  _ambigua_ (_Caradrina_), 318
  _anachoreta_ (_Pygaera_), 82, 83
  _anceps_ (_Hama_), 271
  _anomola_ (_Stilbia_), 315
  _antiqua_ (_Orgyia_), 96
  _approximans_ (_Meristis_), 315
  _aprilina_ (_Agriopis_), 294
  _aqulina_ (_Agrotis_), 207
  _Arctiidae_, 148
  _arcuosa_ (_Petilampa_), 320
  _argentea_ (_Palimpsestis_), 90
  _argillacea_ (_Dianthoecia_), 241
  _ariae_ (_Trichiura_), 113
  _arundineta_ (_Nonagria_), 298
  _ashworthii_ (_Agrotis_), 216
  _assimilis_ (_Crymodes_), 262
  _atriplicis_ (_Trachea_), 264
  _atropos_ (_Acherontia_), 24
  _augur_ (_Noctua_), 218
  _auricoma_ (_Acronycta_), 196
  _australis_ (_Aporophyla_), 284

  _baja_ (_Noctua_), 220
  _barrettii_ (_Dianthoecia_), 247
  _basilinea_ (_Trachea_), 272
  _batis_ (_Thyatira_), 86
  _bicolorana_ (_Hylophila_), 146
  _bicoloria_ (_Leucodonta_), 75
  _bicoloria_ (_Miana_), 277
  _bicuspis_ (_Cerura_), 58
  _bidens_ (_Acronycta_), 196
  _bifida_ (_Cerura_), 59
  _bilinea_ (_Meristis_), 315
  _bimaculosa_ (_Miselia_), 289
  _binaria_ (_Drepana_), 135
  _bipunctata_ (_Senta_), 299
  _bombyliformis_ (_Hemaris_), 55
  _bondii_ (_Tapinostola_), 301
  _borealis_ (_Phragmatobia_), 155
  _bradyporina_ (_Acronycta_), 191
  _brassicae_ (_Barathra_), 239
  _brevilinea_ (_Leucania_), 308
  _brunnea_ (_Noctua_), 224
  _bucephala_ (_Phalera_), 81

  _caeruleocephala_ (_Diloba_), 265
  _caia_ (_Arctia_), 160
  _caliginosa_ (_Acosmetia_), 321
  _callunae_ (_Lasiocampa_), 116
  _camelina_ (_Lophopteryx_), 77
  _cana_ (_Miana_), 276
  _candelarum_ (_Agrotis_), 216
  _candelisequa_ (_Acronycta_), 192
  _candida_ (_Stilpnotia_), 103
  _caniola_ (_Lithosia_), 185
  _cannae_ (_Nonagria_), 296
  _capsincola_ (_Dianthoecia_), 250
  _capsophila_ (_Dianthoecia_), 251
  _captiuncula_ (_Phothedes_), 277
  _capucina_ (_Miselia_), 289
  _carmelita_ (_Odentosia_), 78
  _carpophaga_ (_Dianthoecia_), 251
  _castanea_ (_Noctua_), 219
  _celerio_ (_Chaerocampa_), 43
  _celerio_ (_Hippotion_), 43
  _centonalis_ (_Nola_), 142
  _cespitis_ (_Tholera_), 256
  _chaonia_ (_Drymonia_), 68
  _characterea_ (_Xylophasia_), 280
  _chi_ (_Polia_), 286
  _Chloephoridae_, 143
  _chlorana_ (_Earias_), 144
  _chrysorrhoea_ (_Euproctis_), 99
  _chrysozona_ (_Hecatera_), 253
  _cinerea_ (_Agrotis_), 204
  _c-nigrum_ (_Noctua_), 221
  _coenosa_ (_Laelia_), 101
  _combusta_ (_Xylophasia_), 278
  _comes_ (_Triphaena_), 230
  _comma_ (_Leucania_), 309
  _complana_ (_Lithosia_), 183
  _compta_ (_Dianthoecia_), 250
  _conflua_ (_Noctua_), 224
  _confusalis_ (_Nola_), 141
  _conigera_ (_Leucania_), 313
  _connexa_ (_Apamea_), 273
  _consequa_ (_Triphaena_), 231
  _conspersa_ (_Dianthoecia_), 248
  _conspicilaris_ (_Xylomania_), 258
  _contigua_ (_Mamestra_), 243
  _convolvuli_ (_Herse_), 28
  _convolvuli_ (_Sphinx_), 28
  _corticea_ (_Agrotis_), 203, 209
  _coryli_ (_Demas_), 190
  _crataegi_ (_Trichiura_), 112
  _crenata_ (_Chaonia_), 66
  _crenata_ (_Gluphisia_), 66
  _cribrum_ (_Coscinia_), 168
  _crinanensis_ (_Hydroecia_), App.
  _cucubali_ (_Dianthoecia_), 251
  _cuculla_ (_Lophopteryx_), 76
  _cucullatella_ (_Nola_), 139
  _cultraria_ (_Drepana_), 135
  _cursoria_ (_Agrotis_), 206
  _curtisii_ (_Triphaena_), 231
  _curtula_ (_Pygaera_), 82, 84
  _Cymatophoridae_, 85

  _dahlii_ (_Noctua_), 225
  _dentina_ (_Mamestra_), 246
  _deplana_ (_Lithosia_), 180
  _depuncta_ (_Noctua_), 220
  _derasa_ (_Habrosyne_), 85
  _deschangei_ (_Spilosoma_), 152
  _desillii_ (_Agrotis_), 210
  _dictaeoides_ (_Pheosia_), 70
  _didyma_ (_Apamea_), 274
  _diluta_ (_Asphalia_), 91
  _dimidiata_ (_Pheosia_), 70
  _dispar_ (_Lymantria_), 103
  _dissimilis_ (_Mamestra_), 242
  _dissoluta_ (_Nonagria_), 297
  _ditrapezium_ (_Noctua_), 222
  _dodonides_ (_Drymonia_), 68
  _dominula_ (_Callimorpha_), 166
  _Drepanidae_, 131
  _dromedarius_ (_Notodonta_), 70
  _dumerilli_ (_Luperina_), 268
  _duplaris_ (_Palimpsestis_), 89

  _eboraci_ (_Spilosoma_), 152
  _ectypa_ (_Leucania_), 304
  _edda_ (_Noctua_), 219
  _elpenor_ (_Chaerocampa_), 49
  _elpenor_ (_Eumorpha_), 49
  _elpenorcellus_ (_Metopsilus_), 48
  _elymi_ (_Tapinostola_), 302
  _Endromididae_, 129
  _eremita_ (_Lymantria_), 105
  _erythrostigma_ (_Hydroecia_), 294
  _euphorbiae_ (_Acronycta_), 197
  _euphorbiae_ (_Deilephila_), 36
  _euphorbiae_ (_Hyles_), 36
  _exclamationis_ (_Agrotis_), 208
  _exigua_ (_Laphygma_), 319
  _extrema_ (_Tapinostola_), 301
  _exulis_ (_Crymodes_), 262

  _fagi_ (_Stauropus_), 64
  _falcataria_ (_Drepana_), 133
  _familiaris_ (_Lasiocampa_), 116
  _fascelina_ (_Dasychira_), 97
  _fasciata_ (_Macrothylacia_), 121
  _fasciata_ (_Spilosoma_), 152
  _fasciuncula_ (_Miana_), 275
  _fasciuncula_ (_Oligia_), 275
  _favicolor_ (_Leucania_), 304
  _festiva_ (_Noctua_), 224
  _fibrosa_ (_Helotropha_), 293
  _ficklini_ (_Dianthoecia_), 247
  _fimbria_ (_Triphaena_), 233
  _finmarchia_ (_Polyploca_), 92
  _flammea_ (_Meliana_), 300
  _flammea_ (_Rhizotype_), 290
  _flammatra_ (_Noctua_), 221
  _flava_ (_Lithosia_), 181
  _flavago_ (_Ochria_), 295
  _flavicincta_ (_Polia_), 286
  _flavicornis_ (_Polyploca_), 192
  _flavida_ (_Arsilonche_), 199
  _fluctuosa_ (_Palimpsestis_), 90
  _fraterna_ (_Nonagria_), 297
  _fuciformis_ (_Hemaris_), 53
  _fuliginosa_ (_Phragmatobia_), 155
  _fulva_ (_Tapinostola_), 300
  _furcula_ (_Cerura_), 61
  _furuncula_ (_Miana_), 277
  _furva_ (_Hama_), 271

  _gaelica_ (_Palimpsestis_), 89
  _galii_ (_Celerio_), 38
  _galii_ (_Deilephila_), 38
  _gemina_ (_Apamea_), 272
  _geminipuncta_ (_Nonagria_), 297
  _genistae_ (_Mamestra_), 241
  _glandifera_ (_Bryophila_), 200
  _glareosa_ (_Noctua_), 218
  _glauca_ (_Mamestra_), 245
  _glaucata_ (_Cilix_), 138
  _gonostigma_ (_Orgyia_), 94
  _gothica_ (_Taeniocampa_), 326
  _gothicina_ (_Taeniocampa_), 326
  _gracillis_ (_Taeniocampa_), 331
  _graminis_ (_Cerapteryx_), 256
  _graminis_ (_Charaeas_), 256
  _griseo-variegata_ (_Panolis_), 324
  _griseola_ (_Lithosia_), 181
  _gueneei_ (_Luperina_), 268

  _harpagula_ (_Drepana_), 134
  _haworthii_ (_Celaena_), 269
  _hebridicola_ (_Agrotis_), 214
  _hellmanni_ (_Tapinostola_), 301
  _helvetina_ (_Agrotis_), 218
  _hepatica_ (_Xylophasia_), 280
  _hera_ (_Callimorpha_), 164
  _hethlandica_ (_Dianthoecia_), 249
  _hibernica_ (_Celaena_), 270
  _hibernicus_ (_Cerapteryx_), 257
  _hispidus_ (_Heliophobus_), 267
  _hoegei_ (_Gastropacha_), 127
  _hospita_ (_Parasemia_), 157
  _hybridus_ (_Smerinthus_), 22
  _hyperborea_ (_Agrotis_), 215
  _Hypsidae_, 167

  _ianthina_ (_Triphaena_), 234
  _ilicanus_ (_Sarrothripa_), 147
  _ilicifolia_ (_Epicnaptera_), 125
  _immaculata_ (_Taeniocampa_), 330
  _impar_ (_Bryophila_), 200
  _impudens_ (_Leucania_), 307
  _impura_ (_Leucania_), 305
  _incerta_ (_Taeniocampa_), 330
  _infuscata_ (_Acronycta_), 192
  _infuscata_ (_Xylophasia_), 280
  _innuba_ (_Triphaena_), 232
  _interjecta_ (_Triphaena_), 234
  _intermedia_ (_Celerio_), 41
  _inversa_ (_Smerinthus_), 22
  _irregularis_ (_Dianthoecia_, 252
  _irrorella_ (_Endrosa_), 177

  _jacobaeae_ (_Hipocrita_), 171

  _l-album_ (_Arctornis_), 94
  _lacertinaria_ (_Drepana_), 136
  _lacteola_ (_Lithosia_), 185
  _lanestris_ (_Eriogaster_), 114
  _lapponica_ (_Pterostoma_), 80
  _Lasiocampidae_, 106
  _latruncula_ (_Miana_), 275
  _leucographa_ (_Pachnobia_), 325
  _leuconota_ (_Hecatera_), 254
  _leucophaea_ (_Pachetra_), 257
  _leucostigma_ (_Helotropha_), 293
  _lichenea_ (_Epunda_), 285
  _ligustri_ (_Craniophora_), 198
  _ligustri_ (_Sphinx_), 33
  _lineata_ (_Deilephila_), 41
  _literosa_ (_Miana_), 276
  _lithargyria_ (_Leucania_), 312
  _Lithosiinae_, 173
  _lithoxylea_ (_Xylophasia_), 279
  _littoralis_ (_Leucania_), 308
  _littorali_s (_Prodenia_), 264
  _livornica_ (_Deilephila_), 41
  _livornica_ (_Phryxus_), 41
  _loreyi_ (_Leucania_), 311
  _lubricipeda_ (_Spilosoma_), 151
  _lucernea_ (_Agrotis_), 213
  _lucipara_ (_Euplexia_), 291
  _luneburgensis_ (_Aporophyla_), 282
  _lunigera_ (_Agrotis_), 205
  _lurideola_ (_Lithosia_), 182
  _luteago_ (_Dianthoecia_), 247
  _lutescens_ (_Callimorpha_), 164
  _lutulenta_ (_Aporophyla_), 282
  _Lymantriidae,_ 94

  _maillardi_ (_Crymodes_), 262
  _margaritosa_ (_Agrotis_), 212
  _marginata_ (_Lasiocampa_), 116
  _maritima_ (_Senta_), 299
  _matura_ (_Cerigo_), 269
  _maura_ (_Mania_), 292
  _megacephala_ (_Acronycta_), 193
  _melaleuca_ (_Xylomania_), 259
  _melanocephala_ (_Acronycta_), 191
  _mendica_ _(Diaphora_), 153
  _menthastri_ (_Spilosoma_), 149
  _menyanthidis_ (_Acronycta_), 196
  _mesomella_ (_Cybosia_), 178
  _meticulosa_ (_Phlogophora_), 291
  _micacea_ (_Hydroecia_), 294
  _miniata_ (_Miltochrista_), 176
  _miniosa_ (_Taeniocampa_), 327
  _molybdeola_ (_Lithosia_), 184
  _monacha_ (_Lymantria_), 105
  _monoglypha_ (_Xylophasia_), 280
  _montivaga_ (_Acronycta_), 197
  _mori_ (_Bombyx_), 106
  _morpheus_ (_Caradrina_), 316
  _morrisii_ (_Petilampa_), 320
  _munda_ (_Taeniocampa_), 330
  _mundana_ (_Nudaria_), 174
  _muralis_ (_Bryophila_), 200
  _muscerda_ (_Pelosia_), 187
  _musculosa_ (_Oria_), 302
  _myricae_ (_Acronycta_), 197

  _nana_ (_Taeniocampa_), 328
  _nebeculosa_ (_Brachionycha_), 288
  _nebulosa_ (_Aplecta_), 238
  _neglecta_ (_Noctua_), 219
  _nerii_ (_Daphnis_), 45
  _nerii_ (_Chaerocampa_), 45
  _neurica_ (_Nonagria_), 298
  _neustria_ (_Malacosoma_), 107, 111
  _nictitans_ (_Hydroecia_), 294
  _nigra_ (_Aporophyla_), 282
  _nigricans_ (_Agrotis_), 207
  _nigricans_ (_Nonagria_), 297
  _nigristriata_ (_Senta_), 299
  _nigrocincta_ (_Polia_), 287
  _nigrocostata_ (_Senta_), 299
  _Noctuidae_, 189
  _Nolidae_, 139
  _Notodontidae_, 56
  _nubilata_ (_Asphalia_), 91

  _obelisca_ (_Agrotis_), 208
  _oblonga_ (_Hama_), 270
  _obscura_ (_Apamea_), 272
  _obscura_ (_Bombycia_), 263
  _obsoleta_ (_Leucania_), 307
  _occulta_ (_Euoris_), 236
  _ocellatus_ (_Smerinthus_), 22
  _ochrea_ (_Dianthoecia_), 249
  _ochreola_ (_Lithosia_), 180
  _ochroleuca_ (_Eremobia_), 263
  _octogessima_ (_Palimpsestis_), 88, 89
  _oculea_ (_Apamea_), 274
  _oleagina_ (_Valeria_), 266
  _oleracea_ (_Mamestra_), 241
  _olivacea_ (_Lasiocampa_), 116
  _olivacea_ (_Polia_), 286
  _olivaceo-fasciata_ (_Lasiocampa_), 126
  _ophiogramma_ (_Apamea_), 274
  _opima_ (_Taeniocampa_), 320
  _or_ (_Palimpsestis_), 88
  _orbona_ (_Triphaena_), 230
  _orion_ (_Diphtera_), 189
  _oxyacanthae_ (_Miselia_), 289

  _pabulatricula_ (_Apamea_), 273
  _pallens_ (_Leucania_), 304
  _pallida_ (_Aplecta_), 238
  _pallida_ (_Trichiura_), 112
  _palpina_ (_Pterostoma_), 80
  _paludis_ (_Hydroecia_), 294
  _palustris_ (_Hydrilla_), 321
  _papyrata_ (_Spilosoma_), 150
  _pascuea_ (_Aporophyla_), 284
  _passetii_ (_Eurois_), 236
  _pavonia_ (_Saturnia_), 131
  _peregrina_ (_Mamestra_), 246
  _perfusca_ (_Noctua_), 226
  _perla_ (_Bryophila_), 200
  _persicariae_ (_Mamestra_), 239
  _petasitis_ (_Hydroecia_), 295
  _phoebe_ (_Notodonta_), 72
  _phragmitidis_ (_Calamia_), 303
  _pigra_ (_Pygaera_), 84
  _pinastri_ (_Hyloicus_), 34
  _pini_ (_Dendrolimus_), 106
  _pini_ (_Eutricha_), 106
  _piniperda_ (_Panolis_), 324
  _pisi_ (_Mamestra_), 244
  _plaga_ (_Agrotis_), 209
  _plantaginis_ (_Parasemia_), 157
  _plecta_ (_Noctua_), 228
  _plumigera_ (_Ptilophora_), 79
  _polyodon_ (_Cloantha_), 282
  _Polyplocidae_, 95
  _popularis_ (_Tholera_), 255
  _populeti_ (_Taeniocampa_), 329
  _populi_ (_Amorpha_), 20
  _populi_ (_Poecilocampa_), 113
  _populi_ (_Smerinthus_), 20, 22
  _porcellus_ (_Chaerocampa_), 48
  _porcellus_ (_Metopsilus_), 48
  _potatoria_ (_Cosmotriche_), 123
  _praecox_ (_Agrotis_), 211
  _prasina_ (_Euoris_), 235
  _prasinana_ (_Hylophila_), 145
  _primulae_ (_Noctua_), 224
  _pronuba_ (_Triphaena_), 232
  _protea_ (_Eumichtis_), 264
  _psi_ (_Acronycta_), 195
  _pudibunda_ (_Dasychira_), 98
  _pudorina_ (_Leucania_), 307
  _pulchella_ (_Deiopeia_), 169
  _pulverulenta_ (_Taeniocampa_), 328
  _punctina_ (_Leucania_), 306
  _puta_ (_Agrotis_), 204
  _putrescens_ (_Leucania_), 310
  _putris_ (_Axylia_), 229
  _pygmaeola_ (_Lithosia_), 184, 185
  _pyramidea_ (_Amphipyra_), 323

  _quadra_ (_Oeonestis_), 179
  _quadripunctaria_ (_Callimorpha_), 164
  _quadripunctata_ (_Caradrina_), 318
  _quercifolia_ (_Gastropacha_), 126
  _quercus_ (_Lasiocampa_), 115

  _radiata_ (_Spilosoma_), 152
  _radiola_ (_Agrotis_), 205
  _ramosana_ (_Sarrothripa_), 147
  _ravida_ (_Agrotis_), 215
  _rectilinea_ (_Hyppa_), 265
  _remissa_ (_Apamea_), 272
  _renigera_ (_Agrotis_), 213
  _reticulata_ (_Neuria_), 254
  _revayana_ (_Sarrothripa_), 144, 146
  _rhomboidea_ (_Noctua_), 223
  _ridens_ (_Polyploca_), 93
  _ripae_ (_Agrotis_), 210
  _roboris_ (_Aplecta_), 238
  _roboris_ (_Lasiocampa_), 116
  _rosea_ (_Agrotis_), 214, 218
  _rossica_ (_Callimorpha_), 166
  _rubi_ (_Macrothylacia_), 121
  _rubi_ (_Noctua_), 226
  _rubricollis_ (_Atolmis_), 173
  _rubricosa_ (_Pachnobia_), 326
  _rufa_ (_Coenobia_), 299
  _rufa_ (_Taeniocampa_), 326
  _rufescens_ (_Taeniocampa_), 332
  _rumicis_ (_Acronycta_), 198
  _runica_ (_Diphtera_), 190
  _rurea_ (_Xylophasia_), 278
  _russula_ (_Diacrisia_), 158
  _rustica_ (_Diaphora_), 153

  _salicis_ (_Acronycta_), 198
  _salicis_ (_Stilpnotia_), 102
  _sanio_ (_Diacrisia_), 158
  _Sarrothripinae_, 146
  _satura_ (_Eumichtis_), 260
  _Saturniidae_, 131
  _saucia_ (_Agrotis_), 212
  _scabriuncula_ (_Dipterygia_), 281
  _schaufussi_ (_Malacosoma_), 111
  _scincula_ (_Drepana_), 137
  _scolopacina_ (_Xylophasia_), 281
  _scotica_ (_Acronycta_), 196
  _scotica_ (_Palimpsestis_), 89
  _scotica_ (_Polyploca_), 92
  _secalis_ (_Apamea_), 274
  _sedi_ (_Aporophyla_), 283
  _segetum_ (_Agrotis_), 201 (_segetis_)
  _semivirga_ (_Acronycta_), 191
  _semivirgata_ (_Hyppa_), 265
  _senex_ (_Comacla_), 175
  _serena_ (_Hecatera_), 254
  _sericea_ (_Lithosia_), 184
  _sexstrigata_ (_Noctua_), 227 (_umbrosa_)
  _signata_ (_Endrosa_), 177
  _similis_ (_Porthesia_), 100
  _simulans_ (_Agrotis_), 214
  _sinelinea_ (_Leucania_), 308
  _sobrina_ (_Noctua_), 227
  _sororcula_ (_Lithosia_), 187
  _sparganii_ (_Nonagria_), 296
  _Sphingidae_, 17
  _sphinx_ (_Brachionycha_), 288
  _spinula_ (_Cilix_), 132
  _stabilis_ (_Taeniocampa_), 328
  _steinerti_ (_Acronycta_), 193
  _stellatarum_ (_Macroglossa_), 52
  _stigmatica_ (_Noctua_), 223
  _straminea_ (_Leucania_), 181
  _striata_ (_Coscina_), 167
  _strigilis_ (_Miana_), 274
  _strigosa_ (_Acronycta_), 194
  _strigula_ (_Agrotis_), 210
  _strigula_ (_Nola_), 140
  _suasa_ (_Mamestra_), 242
  _subfusca_ (_Noctua_), 203
  _subsequa_ (_Triphaena_), 231
  _sublustris_ (_Xylophasia_), 278
  _subrosea_ (_Noctua_), 217
  _suffusa_ (_Polia_), 286
  _sundevalli_ (_Craniophora_), 199
  _superstes_ (_Caradrina_), 317

  _taraxaci_ (_Caradrina_), 317
  _tenebrosa_ (_Rusina_), 322
  _templi_ (_Dasypolia_), 285
  _testacea_ (_Luperina_), 267
  _thalassina_ (_Mamestra_), 243
  _thompsoni_ (_Aplecta_), 238
  _thulei_ (_Noctua_), 224
  _Thyatiridae_, 85
  _tincta_ (_Aplecta_), 236
  _tiliae_ (_Dilina_), 17
  _tiliae_ (_Mimas_), 17
  _tityus_ (_Hemaris_), 55
  _torva_ (_Notodonta_), 73
  _tragopogonis_ (_Amphipyra_), 324
  _tremula_ (_Pheosia_), 69
  _trepida_ (_Notodonta_), 74
  _triangulum_ (_Noctua_), 223
  _tricuspis_ (_Cerapteryx_), 256
  _tridens_ (_Acronycta_), 195
  _trifolii_ (_Lasiocampa_), 119
  _trifolii_ (_Mamestra_), 245
  _trifolii_ (_Pachygastria_), 107
  _trigrammica_ (_Meristis_), 314
  _trimacula_ (_Drymonia_), 67
  _tritici_ (_Agrotis_), 207, 208
  _tritophus_ (_Notodonta_), 72, 73
  _trux_ (_Agrotis_), 205
  _turca_ (_Leucania_), 314
  _typhae_ (_Nonagria_), 297
  _typica_ (_Naenia_), 293

  _ulmifolia_ (_Gastropacha_), 126
  _umbrosa_ (_Noctua_), 227
  _unanimis_ (_Apamea_), 273
  _unicolor_ (_Lithosia_), 180
  _unipuncta_ (_Leucania_), 310
  _urticae_ (_Spilosoma_), 150

  _variegata_ (_Ptilophora_), 79
  _versicolor_ (_Endromis_), 129
  _vestigialis_ (_Agrotis_), 202
  _villica_ (_Arctia_), 162
  _viminalis_ (_Bombycia_), 263
  _vinula_ (_Dicranura_), 62
  _vitellina_ (_Leucania_), 311
  _v-nigrum_ (_Leucoma_), 94

  _walkeri_ (_Spilosoma_), 149
  _wismariensis_ (_Senta_), 299
  _w-latinum_ (_Mamestra_), 241

  _xanthographa_ (_Noctua_), 228
  _xanthomista_ (_Polia_), 287

  _ypsilon_ (_Agrotis_), 209

  _zatima_ (_Spilosoma_), 152
  _ziczac_ (_Notodonta_), 70
  _zollikoferi_ (_Xylophasia_), 279

A LIST OF THE FAMILIES OF BRITISH MOTHS described in this volume.

  SPHINGIDAE, 17-55
  NOTODONTIDAE, 56-84
  THYATIRIDAE, 85-93
  LYMANTRIIDAE, 94-105
  LASIOCAMPIDAE, 106-128
  ENDROMIDIDAE, 129, 130
  SATURNIIDAE, 131, 132
  DREPANIDAE, 132-138
  NOLIDAE, 139-142
  CHLOEPHORIDAE, 143-146
      SARROTHRIPINAE, 146
  ARCTIIDAE, 148-188
      ARCTIINAE, 148-172
      LITHOSIINAE, 173-188
  NOCTUIDAE, 189-331
      ACRONYCTINAE, 189-201
      TRIFINAE, 201-331

       *       *       *       *       *


A LIST OF THE VOLUMES IN THE WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND SERIES

       *       *       *       *       *

WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND BLOSSOMS A Pocket Guide to British Wild Flowers, for
the Country Rambler. (First and Second Series.) With clear Descriptions of
760 Species. By EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. And Coloured Figures of 257 Species by
MABEL E. STEP.

WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND TREES A Pocket Guide to the British Sylva. By EDWARD
STEP, F.L.S. With 175 Plates from Water-colour Drawings by MABEL E. STEP
and Photographs by HENRY IRVING and the Author.

WAYSIDE AND WOODLAND FERNS A Pocket Guide to the British Ferns, Horsetails
and Club-Mosses. By EDWARD STEP, F.L.S. With Coloured Figures of every
Species by MABEL E. STEP. And 67 Photographs by the Author.

THE BUTTERFLIES OF THE BRITISH ISLES A Pocket Guide for the Country
Rambler. With clear Descriptions and Life Histories of all the Species. By
RICHARD SOUTH, F.E.S. With 450 Coloured Figures photographed from Nature,
and numerous Black and White Drawings.

THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES (First and Second Series). A Complete Pocket
Guide to all the Species included in the Groups formerly known as
Macro-lepidoptera. By RICHARD SOUTH, F.E.S. With upwards of 1500 Coloured
Figures photographed from Nature, and numerous Black and White Drawings.

THE BIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES AND THEIR EGGS (First and Second Series). A
Complete Pocket Guide with descriptive text. By T. A. COWARD, M.B.O.U.,
F.Z.S., F.E.S. With 455 accurately Coloured Illustrations by ARCHIBALD
THORBURN and others, and 134 Photographic Reproductions by RICHARD KEARTON,
F.Z.S., Miss E. L. TURNER, M.B.O.U., and others.

       *       *       *       *       *

AT ALL BOOKSELLERS. _Full Prospectuses on application to the Publishers_--
FREDERICK WARNE AND CO., LTD. LONDON: Chandos House, Bedford Court, Bedford
Street, W.C. 2 NEW YORK: 26, East 22nd Street.






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