Chapter XII: Introduction (10)

_Syntomis annulata_, about 1 inch across the outspread wings, has a very wide range from the Philippines through New Guinea and Australia, and naturally varies much in different localities; our variety is of a blackish tint, with six orange spots in the fore wings, and two more angular blotches on the hind ones; the abdomen is regularly banded with orange and black. _S. aperta_ measures 2 inches across the wings, which are of a brownish tint with large blotches of orange yellow occupying the greater portion of the surface, divided from each other by slender lines. It ranges from New Guinea and Queensland round to S. Australia, and has been captured out west about Bathurst, N.S.W.

_Euchromia creusa_ is a very handsome form about 2 inches across the narrow fore wings, which are black with two large transparent divided spots forming a double row across them, and another very small one at the base: the hind pair have two similar blotches. The head, thorax, and basal portion of the abdomen are black, shot with metallic blue; the basal abdominal segments are crimson, finely barred with black. This beautiful moth has a wide range over the Malay Archipelago and the Pacific Islands, coming down to Thursday Island and North Queensland.

Many of the foreign species in the larval state feed upon lichens or grass.

Family 5. Burnet Moths.

ZYGAENIDAE.

These moths form an extensive family represented in most parts of the world; they are also day-flying moths, and some are very brilliant in colour. In England some of them are known as “Burnet Moths” and “Green Foresters.” They have long narrow wings, and the antennae thickened toward the middle.

Most of our species belong to the Genus _Procris_, which are also very abundant in Southern Europe. They are small creatures measuring under 1 inch across the wings, and are of a general dark brown tint with greenish markings. _Hestiochora bicolor_ is a curious little moth remarkable for its bright colouration, which has a wonderful resemblance to one of our small parasitic wasps (_Braconidae_). The wings are clouded with black; the head and front of the thorax are red, the hind margin of the latter black; the abdomen black and white.

Family 6. Hawk Moths.

SPHINGIDAE.

The hawk moths have a stout rounded abdomen tapering to a point; thickened antennae; stout narrow pointed wings; the proboscis or sucking mouth-tube very long, curled up under the head when at rest, but capable of being uncurled in front of the head to suck up the nectar from the deepest tubular flower while the moth is hovering over it. They hide during the day, and are most active just at twilight, when they dart about, over, and around the flowering shrubs. Their caterpillars are very handsome thick cylindrical grubs marked with brilliant eye spots and stripes of various striking colours, and are easily distinguished by a curious curved fleshy horn on the dorsal surface of the tail segment.

They take their scientific name from the fanciful resemblance of their stiff horny pupae (which are naked and generally buried in the sand beneath their food plant) to the Egyptian Sphinx, and their popular names of “hawk” and “humming-bird moth” from their powers of flight.

Our species have been divided into five sub-families, and in Miskin’s “Catalogue of the Australian Sphingidae” (Proc. Roy. Soc. Queensland) 42 species are listed under 13 genera; to which list a few species have since been added.

The first group contains what are popularly called the “Clear-winged Hawk-moths,” from the large bare scaleless areas in the wings; they fly about in the daytime with a loud humming noise, very much resembling some of the Carpenter-bees when hovering over the flowers. _Hemaris kingi_ is marked with black and yellow, and has a thick tuft of stiff hairs on either side of the abdomen; it is not uncommon in Southern Queensland. _H. hylas_ is a similar stout moth with unspotted wings which has an extended range across Queensland to Japan, Asia, and Africa; while a third species, _H. janus_, ranges from Brisbane to Rockhampton. In the Genus _Macroglossa_ 4 species are recorded from Queensland, some of which extend into our north coast scrubs.

In the second group we have a very distinctive little banded hawk moth, _Cizara ardenia_, which ranges from New South Wales into Southern Queensland; most of my specimens come from the Illawarra scrubs, N.S.W., where the larva feeds upon the wild vine. Its ground colour is dark brown with narrow grey bands running round and crossing the middle of the wings, with a curious eye spot on the shoulders. The Genus _Chaerocampa_ contains a number of large handsome hawk moths, some of which are introduced species world wide in their range; about 17 are recorded from Australia. The Silver Stripe, _Chaerocampa celerio_, is a common European species, that is well known here. French describes the caterpillar as a vine pest in Victoria; it is a cylindrical greenish to purple tinted grub with eye spots on the hind segments. The moth measures 3 inches across the wings; its ground colour is greyish fawn, with four slender lines of silvery white forming a stripe down the centre of the fore wings, and the body marked with silver spots; the hind wings are bright pink. _C. oldenlandi_, which comes close to this species, feeds upon vines in N.S. Wales. It differs in having no short oblique silvery stripes on the front of the fore wings, hardly any red on the hind ones, and has an unbroken silvery dorsal stripe down the abdomen. _C. erotus_, about the same size, has dark reddish brown fore wings, slightly marbled, and the hind pair yellow, darkened on the hind margins; its larvae sometimes feed upon sweet-potatoes. _C. scrofa_ is a much smaller species of a lighter brown colour, with the hind wings dull brick red, darkest along the hind margin. This is one of our commonest species with a wide range over Australia; the brown small-headed larvae feed upon grass and low herbage. Among our most striking forms are the two species of the Genus _Coequosa_, both about the same size, sometimes measuring up to 7 inches across the wings. _Coequosa triangularis_ is of a reddish brown and grey tint, mottled on the hind wings with bright yellow, the darker brown forming a large angular patch in the centre of the fore wings; _C. australasiae_ is of a light buff or fawn colour, more marbled, with the wedge-shaped blotch merging into the colouration of the tip of the wing; and the hind pair yellow, only edged with brown on the hind margin. The caterpillar of _C. triangularis_, our commoner form, is dull green, with a rough granulated skin and a small elongate head; the tip of the abdomen is furnished with a pair of stout plates used as claspers to cling to its food plant; above this on either side is a black shining bead-like eye, which is only an ornamental process, but this often leads people to think that this is the head end, and in some places it is known as the double-headed caterpillar. It feeds upon the foliage of _Persoonia_ and _Acacia_, and when touched has a habit of swinging its body round, as if trying to strike; when full grown it is enclosed in a black shining pupa-case hidden among the rubbish beneath the trees. The Genus _Macrosila_ contains 4 species, two of which are not uncommon in N.S. Wales. The She-oak Hawk-moth, _M. casuarina_, measures up to 5 inches across the wings, and is of a general greyish mottled brown colour, with a darker blotch in the centre of the fore wings, which are slightly mottled with black toward the tip; and the hind wings are often very dark brown.

The Convolvulus Hawk-moth, _Protoparce convolvuli_, ranges all over the world, the caterpillars feeding upon the convolvulus; and it is also sometimes quite a pest upon sweet-potatoes. The moth measures 3½ inches across the wings, and is of a general dark grey colour thickly mottled with dark brown; the abdomen has a broad brown stripe down the centre with short transverse white, pink, and black bars on either side.

The Privet Hawk-moth, _Sphinx ligustri_, has light brown fore wings, the abdomen and hind wings being marked with pink and black. It, like the vine hawkmoth, has a world wide range, and the caterpillars, with their delicate green tint beautifully striped with white, are very common in our gardens toward the end of summer on privet and other garden shrubs. In spite of their large size, they are very difficult to detect until the damaged foliage calls attention to their presence.

The Hawk-moth of the sweet potato and convolvulus.

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

Family 7. Wood Moths.

HEPIALIDAE.

This is a very distinct group, the members of which usually have long deflexed wings rounded at the extremities, and the neuration of both pairs of wings alike; the tongue is generally obsolete; ocelli absent; the tibiae without spurs; while the abdomen is very long and cylindrical in the typical forms. They lay their eggs upon the bark of different forest trees; the little caterpillars, after feeding for a short time on the surface, tunnel into the tree trunk, becoming fleshy naked grubs which bore cylindrical chambers of various forms in the timber, in which they sometimes remain for years, finally pupating in the burrows. The moth develops and escapes in the summer from the pupal case, which is frequently found projecting from the hole in the trunk or root after it has emerged. The moths are generally found clinging to the tree trunks, where they are easily captured. They frequently come to the light at night, but are difficult things to kill and mount, on account of their size and the ease with which the scales rub off. The females of some species lay many thousands of eggs. If these eggs are not removed from captured specimens and the bodies stuffed before setting, they generally become greasy and spoil in a very short time.

On account of their large size and beautiful colouration the wood moths have attracted a great deal of attention; Scott figured and described a number in his “Australian Lepidoptera,” part of which has been published by the trustees of the Australian Museum N.S.W. Meyrick published a revision of the family (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1889), which is much more satisfactory, and has been followed in these notes. The moths, which Meyrick considers to be the ancestral forms of the _Bombycina_, have a world wide distribution, and are well represented in Australia.

Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” described one under the name of _Hepialus australasiae_, which is now known as _Perissectis australasiae_. With outspread wings it measures up to 3½ inches across; the body and fore wings are of a general dark yellowish colour, marbled and mottled with dark brown, and the hind wings have a reddish tint. The Genus _Porina_ contains 8 described species from this country; others are recorded from New Zealand and Africa; they are smaller moths of a general brown, yellow, or grey tint.

The Genus _Hepialus_ comprises a number of very beautiful moths with all kinds of delicate green, yellow, pink, and silvery shades of colour. The moth lays her eggs upon a tree stem; the newly hatched larva eating off the surface of the bark forms a matted web under which it bores into the centre of the branch, and then makes a vertical shaft downward, varying in length from a few inches to several feet, in which it feeds and pupates. The best method to obtain specimens of these moths is to collect the infested branches or stems, cutting them off a foot or more on either side of the silken webs (which often form a regular ring round the stem), and placing them in several inches of damp sand in a box, with a sheet of glass over the top. The wood thus dries slowly and does not damage the delicate pupae or larvae from which, if collected at the proper time, the perfect moths of several species will readily breed out. The males and females of the same species differ from each other in size, colour and markings.

Family HEPIALIDAE.

_Leto staceyi_ (Scott).

(Original photo. Burton.)]

Lewin’s wood-moth, _Hepialus lewini_, is one in which the sexes are very different. The larger female measures 2½ inches across the wings; the fore pair, head, and thorax are dull claret red, mottled on the centre and tips of the wings with green; the hind pair dull yellow, with a pinkish tint. In the male, the head, thorax, and fore wings are pale green, the latter banded with opaline white; the hind pair of a paler green with white tints. This is one of our common species, and feeds in the stems of the Casuarina.

The larva of _H. exima_ feeds on the stems of the “Lilly-pilly” and Water-gums, forming quite a felted bag round the branch, and is said to remain in the larval state for several years; like the great wood-moth, before it pupates it eats the web off in front of its chamber and replaces it with a wad to protect the opening; this it can easily push out with its horny pupal head when ready to emerge. This is a much larger green form, with the edges of the fore wings marked with brownish yellow and two eye spots of the same colour in the centre; the small male has the green fore wings marked with opaline white. _H. ramseyi_ is easily recognised by its greater size and the green fore wings richly mottled with large silvery white spots forming irregular transverse bands.

The Bent-wing, _Leto staceyi_, is one of our most remarkable moths both for size and colour: it was originally described by Scott under the generic name _Zelotypia_, but Meyrick placed it in the Genus _Leto_, in which another species has been described from S. Africa. Both of these species are peculiar in having the hind wings tufted with stout shaggy hairs. This moth, chiefly obtained in the forest country about Newcastle, has been largely bred from the infested timber by miners in the district, who had a ready sale for them, and who at this work naturally learnt a good deal about their habits. When the young larva enters the tree trunk it covers the opening so carefully with web and particles of bark, that it requires an observant eye to detect the injury. According to some of the collectors the larva lives and grows in its shaft, about a foot in depth, for a period of six years (but this needs verifying); it generally pupates early in December after blocking the opening with a felted wad; but soon after its transformation it pushes this wad out. The chrysalid fits close to its vertical shaft, and aided by rows of fine spines round the apex of each abdominal segment can move up and down; when reaching maturity it has a favourite habit of resting in the shaft with the top of its head level with the transverse burrow, and dropping downward if disturbed. Thornton, who bred or captured nearly 100 in the Newcastle district, generally obtained them in the month of March, and found that those under observation invariably came out about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. The larger female measures up to 8 inches across the wings, of which the front pair are long, slender, and arcuate on the hind margins; these are of a general greyish fawn brown, wonderfully marbled with black and brown, and with a large eye-spot in the centre toward the tip: the hind wings and body are reddish yellow. Meyrick suggests, in his paper previously quoted, that the curious eye-spots on the wings, together with the general outline of the moth resting upon the tree trunk, might be a case of protective mimicry, resembling a snake’s head; this appears to me however to be very far fetched. Skuse reproduced a drawing of the moth and a monitor lizard’s head in the “Records of the Australian Museum,” to show this fancied resemblance, but if the correct colouration had been added the resemblance would have been very much less marked.

The Genus _Pielus_ contains some large brownish moths with very hairy legs, two of which have been described from Australia: _Pielus hyalinatus_, slightly under 4 inches across the wings, is of a general chocolate brown tint with an irregular silvery white stripe and dark lines running through the centre of the fore wings; the hind pair are brown. The larvae feed in the roots of several species of wattles, and are frequently attacked by _Cordiceps_, the curious fungus that turns them into what are known as “vegetable caterpillars.” This species has a range from the southern parts of W. Australia through Victoria to North Queensland. Messrs. Olliff and Prince figured and described (Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887) a handsome variety of this moth under the name of _Pielus imperialis_. The marbled wood-moth, _Trictena labyrinthica_, is a large dark brown moth, measuring up to 6 inches across the wings, which are covered with a scroll-work pattern of lighter colour. The larvae of these also feed upon the roots of trees.

In the COSSIDAE we have a typical goat-moth, _Culama caliginosa_, resembling the English species in form and habits. The larva is a short, dull, red, naked grub that feeds in the stem of the apple-gum, tunnelling round under the bark until nearly full grown, when it bores into the wood and pupates in a cocoon at the end. The moth is of a uniform delicate slate-grey, finely marbled with black lines all over the broad rounded wings, which are folded downward when at rest.

The ZEUZERIDAE comprise some of our giant wood-boring moths; some are as large as small birds, with great rounded bodies, and grey wings thickly mottled with black, brown and fawn: _Zeuzera eucalypti_ has received an unfortunate specific name, for it feeds in the larval state in the stems and branches of several different species of wattles, and kills a great number of these trees by perforating them with great circular burrows; when ready to pupate, it forms a silken bag close to the outer skin of the bark, which has been gnawed away so that it can easily push its way out when ready to emerge. The moths have the usual brown tint mottled with irregular blotches of grey. The rust-coloured wood moth is a much larger species, and is commonly known under the name of _Z. liturata_, but is probably identical with _Z. cinerens_. It measures up to 4¼ inches across the wings, and is of a delicate mottled grey and brown tint, with the hind wings and central portion of the dorsal surface of the abdomen bright chocolate brown. The larvae of this and the following species live in the centre of the stems of large forest gums, and are said to take a number of years to come to maturity.

Macleay’s wood moth, _Zeuzera macleayi_, said to be identical with Herrick-Schafer’s _Eudoxula boisduvalli_, has a large cylindrical body, and is the giant of the family, measuring up to 10 inches across the wings. They are brown thickly mottled with grey scales; when taken they are generally found clinging to the tree trunks, upon which each female deposits many thousands of small shot-like eggs.

Olliff has given a detailed description of _Leto staceyi_, and an account of a variety (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1887). In a general account of these wood-moths (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1894) I recorded a number of Thornton’s observations.

Family 8. Bag Moths.

PSYCHIDAE.

The members of this group are more remarkable in the caterpillar than in the moth stage, for as soon as they emerge the larvae construct protective caps of silken threads and bits of their food-plant, which as they increase in size become regular silken sacks open at the neck, through which the head and fore-legs protrude as they crawl about, but retract at the least alarm. They take their popular name of “Bag” or “Case Moths” from this peculiar habit, and the different species construct different forms of bags and ornament them with sticks or leaves. In Germany they are called “Sacktragers”; in America are known as “Basket Worms”; and the family is fairly represented all over the world.

This country is rich in large species, some of which were noticed as curiosities at a very early date, and Westwood described and figured most of our bag moths (Proc. Zool. Soc. 1854) under the Genus _Oiketicus_: McCoy in his “Podromus of Natural History of Victoria” Decade iv. gave additional notes on the habits of two of our common species; and an interesting paper on how they construct their portable homes will be found in the “Victorian Naturalist” by Hill (1898). The caterpillars themselves are short, naked, dull green creatures with stout horny heads, and are apparently so well protected from their many enemies that one would hardly expect to find them suffer from the attacks of parasites. But they must have some weak point in their armour for a very large percentage, even when collected and kept in breeding cages, produce only wasp and fly parasites. When full grown the caterpillar closes up the neck of its bag and fastens it by a stout silken band to a twig before changing into the chrysalid state; but while the male turns round and pupates head downward, the female remains head up as before, and when she casts her pupal skin is an aborted wingless creature, with small head and legs; the body simply develops into a great swollen sack of eggs, which hatch out in her body, or in the shelter of the cocoon; and the larvae make their way out at the open tip of the bag, each attached to a silken thread, a squirming mass of hundreds of little black creatures, leaving her only a shrivelled skin in the cocoon. The male moth, which is rare, is a very active creature, which dashes about as soon as he emerges from the pupal case, and damages his wings (even when bred in captivity) before he can be caught. He has curious toothed antennae; the head and body are thickly clothed with fine hairs; the body has telescopic segments, capable of being protracted to double their ordinary length when impregnating the female enclosed in her cocoon. The wings are narrow, very lightly covered with scales, and without any very distinctive pattern.

Family LIPARIDAE.

1. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♀.
2. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Caterpillar.
3. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). ♂.
4. _Teara contraria_ (Walker). Bag shelter among
the foliage of _Eucalyptus albens_.]

About 13 species of these moths are described from Australia, of which several are very common at times in the bush. Saunders’ Case Moth, _Metura elongata_, is our largest species; the larva constructs an elongate silken sack often up to 4 or 5 inches in length, broadest in the centre and tapering to both extremities; the outside is covered with short lengths of sticks nibbled from the food plant, or picked up during its wanderings. On an average these sticks are about as long as wooden matches, and are securely attached at irregular distances, the lower ones often extending beyond the silken tip. The caterpillar, of which only the head, thorax, and fore-legs can be seen, is a stout, naked, dull brown grub barred with black and reddish orange, measuring about 2 inches in length. The female moth differs so little from the caterpillar that it is hardly worth noticing, but the active winged male, with a wing expanse of about 2 inches, has the head and thorax thickly clothed with bright reddish orange down, and the dusky wings are lightly clothed with fine scales. Though the moth is a somewhat rare insect, the bag cocoon can be often found on a twig or attached to a fence, for in spite of the large house they carry they are great travellers. The Faggot Case-moth, _Entometa ignoblis_, forms a very different kind of portable home; the silken sack is covered with a coat of stout sticks which are generally cut from the gum trees and laid parallel to each other, and closely fastened to the silken surface, so that it reminds one of a bundle of faggots. They vary much in size and length; the larger measures up to 3 inches; one stick will be often found projecting an inch or more beyond the others; this is said to be a resting place for the male moth when seeking the enclosed female. She is of the usual obese form; of a general brown tint, the head and thorax creamy white spotted with black. The male moth with a wing expanse of 1¼ inches is of a uniform brown colour. The Leaf Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx hubneri_, forms a shorter oval silken sack averaging about 2½ inches in length and broad in proportion, covered with different kinds of leaves, for they feed on many shrubs and trees; but the commonest are clothed with bits of gum leaves attached only on the upper edge, and might be likened to a rag mat. When they infest pine trees in the garden, they are uniformly clothed with short lengths of pine needles and have a much neater appearance. The caterpillar is a stout black grub with the head and thorax dull white, mottled with brown. The male moth is a pretty little creature, with reddish brown antennae, the body thickly clothed with black down; the wings have very few scales, and are almost transparent, with a slight blotch in the centre of the hind pair.

The Ribbed Case-moth, _Thyridopteryx herrichii_, differs from the others in constructing a smooth white silken bag, oval in form, angled on the sides, and with a slender tail at the base; and the long attenuated neck forms a regular stalk when attached to the twig; it measures about 2 inches, and is never covered with sticks or leaves. The caterpillar is blackish brown with the head and first thoracic segment lighter coloured. The moth is about 1 inch across the wings, thickly clothed with black hairs, and a reddish orange spot behind the thorax; the wings are semitransparent, with very few scales.

Family 9. Cup or Slug Moths.

LIMACODIDAE.

The “Cup or Slug Moth,” with larva and cup-shaped cocoon.

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

These are moderate sized moths with plump bodies thickly clothed with shaggy hairs, retracted heads, and toothed antennae. The caterpillars are curious short stout slug-like creatures feeding on the surface of the foliage; their feet are almost obsolete, while the under surface is quite flat, soft and fleshy; the whole body rests on the leaf when crawling along like that of a snail. The upper surface is saddle-shaped, with the two extremities raised and ornamented with fleshy spiny tubercles, with little bunches of sharp retractile spines like rosettes, which can be withdrawn into the tubercle or erected at will; the spines are sharp and appear to be hollow, and give a smart sting if they touch the body; in some of the American species, the stinging sensation is so severe as to cause serious swellings. When full grown they spin curious egg-shaped, brown, parchment-like cocoons attached at the base to the twig, with the apex rounded and forming a circular cap or lid, which, closely cemented on, is loosened and pushed off by the enclosed moth when she emerges. They do not pupate as soon as the cocoon is finished, but remain for a long time in a semi-caterpillar state before the chrysalis is formed.

* * * * *

The Painted Cup Moth, _Limacodes longerans_, is one of our commonest species. The female is about 1¾ inches across the wings; has a very large abdomen; is of a general dull brownish tint; the head and thorax are slightly coloured with red, and the under surface dark brown, the wings chocolate brown, with the outer margins light brown. The much smaller male has semitransparent wings, with the head and thorax marked with bright red. The larvae feed on eucalypts and are of a delicate green colour and of the typical form; about 1 inch in length; with four large tubercles at each end carrying a rosette of retractile red spines; the centre is marked with red and blue, and the outer margins are fringed with short tubercles. They form regular oval cocoons generally attached on their sides to the twig or bark. The Mottled Cup Moth, _Doratifera vulnerans_, is another common species, the larvae of which sometimes attack the foliage of apricot trees. It is a larger slug caterpillar than the last, with a patch of bright yellow in the middle of the back. The cocoons are pear-shaped with the apex somewhat contracted, showing the lid more distinctly. They sometimes swarm over the bush about Sydney N.S. Wales. The moths are of a general reddish brown tint with the fore wings marbled in the centre with a redder shade; the hind wings are lighter brown; they are somewhat smaller than the last species.

* * * * *

_Doratifera quadriguttata_ is of a dull reddish tint; the fore wings are crossed with a row of 3 darker raised spots, the hind wings being much lighter: the female measures about 1¼ inches, the male somewhat smaller. The larvae, when young, cluster together up to a dozen in number, and feed on the under-side of the leaf, but when full grown they scatter about, destroying much of the foliage of the gum trees. Numbers were collected near Gosford N.S.W. about the end of February. They are short and broad, black, with a pair of dull yellow fleshy horns in front, and 4 tubercles surmounted with bunches of yellow spines tipped with black at each extremity; the centre of the flattened back has rows of short yellow spines with a fringe of similar ones round the outer margins. When full grown they form the usual egg-shaped brown cocoon.

* * * * *

_D. acasta_ is a very similar moth, with a row of 6 or more similar spots crossing the fore wings. The larvae feed in the same manner, and are very plentiful toward the end of summer in the Bathurst district, N.S.W. Rainbow has figured the larvae of this species in the “Records of the Australian Museum” 1904.

The curious warty, pale green, oval, slug-like caterpillar with a yellow stripe down the centre of the back that is figured by Scott as _Apoda xylomeli_ feeds upon the under surface of the leaves of the waratah; and when at rest along the midrib of the leaf, with the yellow dorsal stripe in line, in spite of its size it is very hard to detect, and is a wonderful instance of protective colouration.

Family 10. Tiger Moths.

ARCTIIDAE.

This family, including the LITHOSIIDAE, known to collectors as “Footmen,” is now one of the largest divisions of the moths that were once all grouped among the true silkworms. The larvae of most of the species are short hairy grubs popularly known as “woolly bears,” feeding on all kinds of low plants, and common in our gardens. In this country they comprise a number of delicate and often very handsome moths of medium size, with moderately long pectinate antennae, the body often large, and the wings brightly coloured. The “Footmen” differ from the “Tiger” moths in having the fore wings longer, more slender, and folded over the shorter, more elongate body; they take their popular name from the livery-like pattern of their markings, as the latter take theirs from the tiger-like stripes and spots; while others again are known as “Ermine” moths from their soft silken wings.

The Genus _Tigriodes_ contains a number of small moths hiding under or among foliage and therefore not often noticed. _Tigriodes alterna_ is of a uniform yellowish brown tint, with darker brown markings upon the thorax and wings, forming zig-zag lines across the fore pair, and clouding the hind ones. It measures about 1 inch across the wings and ranges from Victoria into New South Wales. _T. furcifera_ is slightly smaller, of a bright yellow on the fore wings, with three slender parallel stripes separating into finer lines at the extremities; the hind pair paler with traces of black lines toward the edges; there is a wedge-shaped patch of the same colour on the thorax. Another species common about Sydney N.S.W. is _T. heminephes_, pale orange yellow with the apical edges of the wings and thorax blotched with blackish brown.

Among the “Footmen” we have in the Genus _Spilosoma_ a number of fine white to greyish brown moths, mottled with blackish spots and dashes. The Light Ermine, _Spilosoma obliqua_, is common in Victoria and N.S. Wales; it has a wing measurement of 2 inches; is of a uniform dull white, lightly mottled over the wings with dark brown spots, some of them forming a slender irregular transverse band across; the abdomen is red with a dorsal stripe of black dots. _Spilosoma fulvohirta_ is about the same size, but much more darkly and thickly marked with brown, also forming dark stripes on the thorax. _Spilosoma fuscinula_ is a much smaller moth, slightly over 1 inch across the wings; it has a general rich pink tint, very variably spotted and blotched with black; the latter is sometimes quite the predominating colour, in others only marking the tips; the hind wings are spotted in the centre and on the hind margins only. The larvae are short, flattish, hairy grubs of a reddish colour, and feed upon the foliage of young gum trees.

116. The Light Ermine Moth.
117. Larva, known as a “Woolly bear.”

(“Agricultural Gazette,” N.S.W.)]

The Genus _Termissa_ contains a number of smaller pretty little moths flying low and hiding among the foliage; about 10 species are well known. _Termissa shepherdi_, slightly over 1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair broad at the tips, is blackish brown, with 3 irregular yellow transverse bars; the hind pair yellow, with two rounded marks on the outer margin. _T. nivosa_ is a smaller moth of a delicate creamy white, with the front and outer margins of the fore wings delicately edged with dark yellow and black, and with two indistinct spots on the front margin; there is a small dot on each hind wing. Anderson says about Melbourne the larvae are to be found under the bark of gum trees in August. _Clauca rubricosta_ measures 1 inch across the wings; is of a general blackish tint with the palpi and collar behind the head dull red, a slender costal stripe of reddish yellow along the fore wings, and a yellow spot on the centre of the inner margin forming a distinctive mark when the wings are folded; the hind pair are pale yellow with dark edges. The Genus _Mosoda_ contains several moths whose larvae feed upon moss and lichens on the surface of the rocks about Sydney. _Mosoda anartoides_, under 1 inch across the wings, has the fore pair dark brown, delicately mottled; the hind pair dull orange yellow irregularly edged with brown. _M. consolatrix_, a smaller moth, has the fore wings greyish mottled brown; the hind pair pale buff. _M. jocularis_ is slightly smaller, pale buff yellow; the fore wings tipped and speckled with black and the outer tips of the hind pair clouded with brown. The Genus _Comarchis_ contains 8 described species, all small moths; _C. aspectatella_ is under 1 inch across the wings, the fore pair grey barred with yellow, and the hind pair pale ochreous; it is common in January on Mt. Kosciusko; _Eutane terminalis_ and _Asura lydia_ are two little black moths thickly mottled with dark orange yellow forming bars and spots on the fore wings; the hind wings of the former are yellow in the centre, thickly margined with black; in _A. lydia_ the yellow of the hind wings is divided in the centre by a black band. The larvae feed upon moss. The larvae of the Speckled Footman (_Deiopeia pulchella_) feed upon the forget-me-not; it is of a bright leaden colour, with a white stripe down the back and red spots on the sides of the segments. The moth has a very wide range over the world, and has probably spread from Europe. I have generally taken these moths on the grassy flats close to the sea shore; it is a slender winged creamy white moth, the fore wings mottled with black and red spots, and the hind pair irregularly edged with black. _Nola metallopa_ is a silvery grey moth with the fore wings marked with darker coppery tints. The curious hairy larva feeds upon the foliage of young gum trees; when it moults the skin of the head remains attached to the hairs above the head, forming a regular crest.

The members of the small family HYPSIDAE, chiefly found in the tropics, are represented in this country by 4 genera containing about 18 species. They differ from the last in the venation of the hind wings, and are medium sized brown or yellow moths.

_Nyctemera amica_ is one of our commonest species with a wide range from Victoria to Queensland; it may be found flying about or resting on flowers at all times of the year. The larvae, marked with black and red and furnished with tufts projecting on either side of the head, feed upon the “native ivy” (_Senecio scandens_). The moth is of a general blackish brown tint; the fore-wings are mottled with two irregular pale yellow blotches forming a transverse bar toward the tips; each of the hind pair has a more regular blotch in the centre.

The Seedling-gum Moth.

118. Moth. 119. Larva. 120. Pupa.]

Family 11. Brown Tails.

LIPARIDAE.

These are the “Tussock” moths of America, and the “Vapourers,” “Brown-tails,” and “Black-arches” of English collectors; some of ours are known as “Bag-shelter moths” from the curious silken bags the gregarious larvae spin, in which they shelter during the day and come out at night to feed upon the foliage. The typical “Brown-tails” are stout, thickset moths with rather long hairy fore-legs generally stretched out in front when resting; the antennae are pectinate in both sexes, and the abdomen is tipped with tufts of downy hairs; in some species the females are wingless. They lay their eggs in clusters on the under-side of the leaves, covering them over with a felted mass of the hairs from the tip of the abdomen.

The famous “Gypsy Moth,” common in Europe, belongs to this group; it was introduced into the State of Massachusetts, where it has multiplied so enormously that it has become a regular plague, and though hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in fighting it, it is still a serious pest. _Porthesia obsoleta_, one of our typical species, measures about 1½ inches across the wings, and is pure white with a black body tipped with golden brown hairs. It was described by Donovan in 1815 in his “Insects of New Holland,” and is more common in Victoria than New South Wales. _Trichetra marginalis_ is a moth with a wingless female; the male is a little larger than the last species; is of a uniform greyish brown colour, with the outer edges of the fore wings white, and the hind pair pale brown. The larva feeds upon the foliage of gum trees.

Family PSYCHIDAE.

1. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon of Faggot
Case-moth.
2. _Entometa ignoblis_ (Walker). Cocoon made with
Cherry stalks.
3. _Thyridopteryx herrichii_ (Westwood).
4. _Metura elongata_ (Saunders).
5. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made
of gum leaves.
6. _Thyridopteryx hubneri_ (Westwood). Cocoon made
of pine needles.]

The Genus _Teara_ contains over 20 named species of the “Bag-shelter Moths,” with gregarious larvae. _Teara contraria_, one of the largest species, measures up to 2½ inches across the wings; it is of a general dark brown tint with a small white spot in the centre of each wing; the thorax thickly clothed with long lance-shaped plumes yellow at the tips; and the abdomen rich orange yellow barred with black. The caterpillars are thickly clothed with long hairs, and when they take up a position on the branch of their food tree (generally a eucalypt or wattle) they spin a silken bag, drawing the leaves and twigs together, but not acting like the “Leaf-rollers,” for the silk forms a regular felted brown covering which soon becomes full of their excrement and cast skins, among which they rest during the day. They trail out at night in a regular procession and often strip all the foliage of the tree. When full grown they crawl down the trunk and pupate in loose open cocoons (formed from their body hairs) buried in the ground, and the large liver-coloured silken bag remains long after they have deserted it. This species in some districts makes its home upon wattles, but in other localities attacks the eucalypts in a similar manner. _Teara tristis_ is not more than 1¼ inches across the wings, and varies from blackish brown to silvery grey; the fore wings are marbled with white and yellow and a light circular spot in front; the hind ones are nearly black with a minute white spot in the centre; the head and thorax are grey; the abdomen black, barred and tipped with orange; it is common in Victoria and N.S. Wales, generally clinging to some low bush, and slow and sluggish in its movements. _Teara melanostica_ is larger than the last; silvery grey, spotted, with the front edge and transverse bar black; hind wings yellow edged with brown; head and thorax silvery white, hind portion dark brown; abdomen barred, and tipped with yellow. The larvae feed upon the leptospermum bushes, and form soft loose cocoons. _Ptilomacra senex_ is a large handsome moth about 3 inches across the straight, square-cut fore wings; is of a general dark brown colour with wavy irregular dark lines and scattered grey scales giving it a greyish tint. It is remarkable for its large feathery antennae.

The day-flying cut-worm moth.]

_Apina callisto_ is a brightly mottled yellow and brown moth that flies about in the daylight. Its curious hairy larvae feed upon the open grass lands, and are often very numerous. It has a wide range over Australia.

_Chelepteryx collesi_ is one of our largest bat-like moths, measuring to 6 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dark brown colour with an irregular marbled pattern upon the wings; but it varies much in size and pattern in the sexes. Where common they may be often seen fluttering round the street lamps in the suburbs of Sydney, N.S.W. This handsome moth was first taken to England by a Mr. Colles, after whom Grey described it (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1835). The caterpillars are great, reddish brown creatures, thickly clothed with stout spiny bristles, feeding on the small white stemmed eucalypts, and often found crawling over the rocks and fences. They spin long silken cocoons, and as they pupate force all the body spines through the silk, making the cocoon a very awkward thing to handle, for the fine spines are easily detached, and sticking into the fingers cause a very unpleasant itching.

The great day moth of the Queensland scrubs.

(Original drawing, W.W.F.)]

The Genus _Darala_ is peculiar to Australia; about 30 species have been described; their larvae are short, thick, black, hairy caterpillars often found crawling about in the gardens, and constructing soft fluffy or white silken cocoons attached to the foliage. _Darala ocellata_, one of our commonest species, measures 1½ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform brownish fawn colour, with two black spots in the middle of the fore wings and a pattern of spots or parallel black lines in the central portion. _Darala acuta_ is slightly larger, with very variable markings upon a general greyish fawn to dull yellow ground; the fore wings are broad with an acute point at the extremity. The Wattle-moth, _Teia anartoides_, which in the larval state often appears in the orchards and destroys the apple-tree foliage, is sometimes very abundant. The larvae are short brown hairy grubs with a tuft of hairs standing out in front on either side of the head, and several stiff brushes of grey hairs upon the centre of the back. The males are much smaller than the females, and in the pupal state when hanging up in their loose flimsy cocoons can be easily distinguished. The adult female is wingless, simply crawling on to the top of her cocoon to lay her eggs and die. The male is a handsome little moth about 1 inch across the wings; the fore pair are dark brown marbled with slender lines and black spots, the hind pair bright yellow surrounded with black, and the outer edges yellow; the antennae are large and feather-like.

_Ocinara lewinae_ is a handsome light reddish brown moth with darker lines running round the wings. It was described by Lewin in 1803, who figured it in colours and called it the “Hook Tip.” The larva is a slender caterpillar covered with fine hairs. They are gregarious, and web the leaves of the eucalypts together with a loose, open, silken strand.

Family 12. Silkworm Moths.

BOMBYCIDAE.

In this group I include several families that may be broadly placed together as typical silkworm moths. Some writers divide them into three families; Packard on the other hand adds a number of other well defined groups, such as the Psychidae, Arctiidae, and others, to the Bombycidae.

Typical silkworm moths have thick heavy bodies, with small heads furnished with pectinate antennae and an imperfect mouth; the wings are large and often falcate. The larvae are usually fleshy thickset caterpillars covered with scattered tubercles, and are of somewhat sluggish habits; but all form stout silken cocoons. Our silkworm moths are more closely related to the Atlas moths of India, Saturnidae, than to the silkworm moth of domestic fame, _Bombyx mori_, which, originally a native of China, is now bred and cultivated in many parts of the world for commercial silk.

_Bombyx trimacula_ measures 1¾ inches across the wings; it is a dark brown moth, mottled and marbled with white on the head, thorax, and tip of the abdomen, and forming a delicate wavy pattern across the fore wings interspersed with some blackish markings; it is found in Victoria. _Odonestis australasiae_ has been known under many different names: Lewin called it _Bombyx nasuta_, and his specific name was much more appropriate than the former, as it has the head produced into a regular point in front. The larger female measures about 2 inches across the wings, which are of a uniform dull reddish brown colour with faint markings on the fore wings; the hind ones are of a lighter tint. The short hairy caterpillars have a tuft of hairs standing out on either side of the head; in their natural state they feed upon the foliage of the black wattle, forming white silken cocoons, attached to the plant. It is sometimes called the “Long-nosed Wattle Moth,” and in Victoria is said to turn its attention to the apple-tree foliage. _Pinara despecta_ is a large, handsome, reddish fawn moth, with fore wings ornamented with several zig-zag bands across the centre. It is a thickset moth, often measuring over 3 inches across the wings. The larva feeds upon the foliage of the eucalyptus, and is a very slender caterpillar of a general greyish brown tint, with the sides of the body fringed with fine downy hairs, and when it is resting the fringes lie along the twig so closely that it is very hard to detect. It spins a large silken cocoon tinted with pink, attached to the leaves of the gum trees. _Cosmotriche exposita_ is a pretty little thickset moth of a uniform greyish brown tint, covered with fine soft downy hairs round the body and hind wings; the fore pair are thickly mottled with dark brown; the larger female measures about 1½ inches across the wings; the smaller male is a much darker brown insect with fine mottled fore wings. The caterpillar feeds upon the foliage of the “she-oak” (_Casuarina_), and is a slender greyish creature lightly clothed with grey hairs, marked with yellow and carmine on the sides of each segment, and black marks on the back. It forms an elongate oval cocoon attached to the twigs.

The second group, NOTODONTIDAE, are known as “Prominents” to English collectors from the curious angular form of the caterpillars, though this is not noticeable in our typical forms. The Banksia Moth, _Danima banksiae_, was named by Lewin after its food plant, though it feeds equally upon the Hakea bushes. It is a very handsome moth, nearly 3 inches across the wings, which are of a general slate brown tint; the thorax and tip of abdomen are thickly blotched with white, which is also sprinkled over the body and fore wings in the form of little white scales; the central portion of the abdomen is orange yellow. The caterpillar is a rather slender, cylindrical, ochreous brown creature with the tip of the body lead colour, and the whole surface irregularly blotched with white spots encircled with black, forming irregular bands round each segment. They are generally found feeding in groups of three or four, and when disturbed turn both the head and tip of the abdomen over the back, and protrude two red fleshy filaments from the under-surface of the first segment.

The SATURNIDAE are our most important group for size and colour, and an immense fellow, _Coxinocera hercules_, is found in Cape York. Another very beautiful Chinese species, _Attacus cynthia_, which feeds on the foliage of _Ailanthus glandulosa_, has been accidentally introduced into Australia, and is sometimes taken about the Sydney gardens.

124. _Antheraea eucalypti_ (Scott). Moth and Cocoon.
125. Caterpillar.]

The Genus _Antheraea_ contains some of our finest moths; others are found in Japan and India that yield a strong brown silk. Our commonest species, _Antheraea eucalypti_, is variable both in colour and size, ranging from delicate fawn to dull brick red, and is from 4 to 5½ inches across the wings, which in the male are smaller and narrower behind; each wing is ornamented with a circular eye-spot in the centre, those on the hind pair being larger and ringed with black, with narrow irregular dark bands running round or across the hind margin. The tip of the fore wings in the smaller males is rounded, corrugated, and touched with pink. The large green caterpillar, covered with scattered tubercles tipped with clusters of retractile red and blue spines, feeds upon the foliage of eucalypts, but has acquired a taste for the foliage of the cultivated pepper tree (_Schinus mollis_). It constructs a stout, hard, dark brown cocoon in which it pupates, and is furnished with a curious spine at the base of the fore wings, which enables the moth to cut her way out through the tough cocoon when ready to emerge. _A. helena_, very similar in general appearance to the former, is slightly larger, with broader wings of a more uniform reddish brown colour, without a white mark on the fore wings; the inner bands are more irregular and rounded, with the parallel bar not continued into the hind wings. _A. simplex_ is a smaller species varying in colour from pale yellow to reddish brown, with smaller eye-spots, those upon the hind wings somewhat oval, broadly marked along the costal nervure; the parallel bar and band on each hind wing are very narrow, and both pairs are wrinkled at the tips. The black and yellow caterpillars are very common at times in the Richmond and Clarence River scrubs, N.S. Wales, and more gregarious in their habits, often covering the bushes with their light coloured rather flimsy cocoons, which are very subject to the attacks of ichneumons. _A. janetta_ is about the same size as _A. eucalypti_, but with flatter broader wings of a much duller reddish brown tint without any eye-spots, and only a simple white spot in the centre of each of the fore pair; two fine irregular lines run round the outer half of both pairs with an extra row of small spots along the hind wings. The larva forms a hard shell-like cocoon on the trunks of the she-oaks. _A. loranthiae_, described by Lucas from North Queensland, is a large handsome reddish moth, the larvae of which when pupating form their cocoons in a mass on the top of a stump or branch.

Family 13. Loopers.

GEOMETRIDAE.