Chapter VI: Part II: Descriptions of Species (3)

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

THE THREE HUMPED (_Notodonta phoebe_ = _tritophus_).

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

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

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

THE LARGE DARK PROMINENT (_Notodonta tritophus_ = _torva_).

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

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

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

THE GREAT PROMINENT (_Notodonta trepida_).

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

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

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

THE WHITE PROMINENT (_Leucodonta bicoloria_).

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

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

THE MAPLE PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx cuculla_).

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

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

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

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

{77}

THE COXCOMB PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx camelina_).

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

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

THE SCARCE PROMINENT (_Odontosia carmelita_).

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

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

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

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

{79}

THE PLUMED PROMINENT (_Ptilophora plumigera_).

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

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

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

THE PALE PROMINENT (_Pterostoma palpina_).

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

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

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

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

{81}

THE BUFF-TIP (_Phalera bucephala_).

EGGS OF BUFF-TIP MOTH.]

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

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

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

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

THE CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygæra curtula_).

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

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

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

THE SCARCE CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygæra anachoreta_).

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

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

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

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

THE SMALL CHOCOLATE-TIP (_Pygæra pigra_).

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

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

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

THYATIRIDÆ.

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

THE BUFF ARCHES (_Habrosyne derasa_).

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

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

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

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

THE PEACH-BLOSSOM (_Thyatira batis_).

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

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

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

{87}

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

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

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

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

THE FIGURE OF EIGHTY (_Palimpsestis octogessima_).

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

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

THE POPLAR LUTESTRING (_Palimpsestis or_).

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

THE LESSER SATIN MOTH (_Palimpsestis duplaris_).

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

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

THE SATIN CARPET (_Palimpsestis fluctuosa_).

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

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

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

{91} THE LESSER LUTESTRING (_Asphalia diluta_).

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

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

THE YELLOW HORNED (_Polyploca flavicornis_).

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

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

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

THE FROSTED GREEN (_Polyploca ridens_).

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

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

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

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

TUSSOCK-MOTHS (_Lymantriidæ_).

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

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

THE SCARCE VAPOURER (_Orgyia gonostigma_).

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

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

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

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

THE VAPOURER (_Orgyia antiqua_).

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

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

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

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

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

THE DARK TUSSOCK (_Dasychira fascelina_).

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

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

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

THE PALE TUSSOCK (_Dasychira pudibunda_).

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