Chapter XI: Part II: Descriptions of Species (8)

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 umbelliferæ. 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 antennæ, the present species has a distinct, and often conspicuous, black mark on the front of the thorax.

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

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_) _ripæ_).

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 (_Suæda_), 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_) _præcox_).

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.

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.

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_, Hübn., "one specimen in the cabinet of Mr. S. Stevens." _A. spinifera_, Hübn., 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.

Pl. 112.
1. INGRAILED CLAY: _caterpillar_.
2. PURPLE CLAY: _caterpillar_.
3, 3a. SQUARE-SPOT RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.

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 primulæ_).

This species, long known as _festiva_, but for which Esper's earlier name _primulæ_ 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.

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.

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 (_Triphæna_ (_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 (_Triphæna_ (_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 (_Triphæna_ (_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 larvæ 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 (_Triphæna 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 (_Triphæna 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 (_Triphæna 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_).