The obscurely marked slate grey insect shown on Plate124, Fig. 5, was first found at Tramore, Ireland, and in the Isle of Man about the same year (1866 or 1867). Kane mentions that he has found the insect at Tramore, and also in eleven other localities on the rocky coast line of the South of Ireland, from Hook Point to Dingle Bay. Our form of the species, var.manani, Gregson, differs from the greyish blue continental type in its darker coloration, and this is intensified in the south-west corner of Ireland where specimens of a uniform bluish black occur.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown minutely freckled with darker; the lines on the back are blackish, but indistinct; usual dots margined with black; head pale brown, marked with darker. It feeds on the buds, flowers, and seeds of campions (Silene maritimaandS. inflata) from June to August. The moth flies in June, July, and early August, and may be taken, like the last species, at the flowers of the campions growing on the rocks in its seaside haunts.
Three forms of this locally variable species are shown on Plate123. Fig. 6 represents the typical form occurring generally in England, but in North Devonshire, on the coast, specimens are found closely approaching the Isle of Lewis form (Fig. 7), whilst others from that district agree in the blackish ground colour with specimens from Ireland. A still darkerrace occurs in the Shetland Isles, and chiefly on the east coasts, whence came the specimen depicted (Fig. 8). On the western sides of the Shetlands, Mr. McArthur found the species to be rather more typical as a whole, although some specimens approached the darker eastern form. The dark Shetland race has been named var.hethlandicaby Staudinger, and the form with the white markings yellowish tinged is var.ochrea, Gregson.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown; the back sprinkled with darker, and forming still darker V-shaped marks, central line pale; spiracles ochreous with black outlines, set in the upper edge of a pale stripe; head shining pale yellowish-brown freckled and lined with darker. It feeds on the seeds of catchfly, campion, and will eat those of sweet-william and garden pinks. July to September. The moth is out in June and July, and at dusk visits the flowers of its food plants, and occasionally comes to sugar. It is chiefly found in the seaboard counties, but as regards England is commoner in the south than in the north. Although generally rare in the inland counties, it is sometimes not uncommon in some Surrey localities, such as the Croydon district, and Mr. Scollick has reared moths from caterpillars found in seed capsules of white campion at Horsley.
The distribution of this species extends to Amurland.
The moth shown on Plate124, Fig. 1, is "The Beautiful Coronet" of some writers. Although a specimen was taken in Kent in 1816, nothing further was heard of the species in England until 1865, when one example was captured in the Portsmouth district. Then in 1873 caterpillars were found in the Birchwood locality where the first moth was secured. The next year the species was found to occur at Folkestone, and subsequently at other places along the Kentish coast. Since1889 it has been obtained, not uncommonly, at Seaton on the South Devon coast. The caterpillar, which is somewhat similar to that of the last species, feeds in July and August on the seeds of the Nottingham catchfly (Silene nutans), but will thrive on those of other kinds of catchfly, campion, or even sweet-william and garden pinks. The moth flies in May and June.
In Europe this species has a less northerly range thanD. conspersa, and its eastward range extends to Japan. The caterpillar feeds on the seeds ofDianthus.
In his list of the lepidoptera of Ireland (Ent. Mo. Mag., 1866), Birchall remarks: "A pair of this well-known species, taken in Ireland by Mr. Tardy, are in the collection of Trinity College, but I am unable to indicate the exact locality of their capture." This is probably all the evidence we have of the occurrence of this species in the British Isles. The specimen represented on Plate124, Fig. 2, is from the Continent.
Except that the brown ground colour is sometimes of a reddish shade, or greyish in tone, there is not much to notice in the variation of this species. Occasionally the outlines of the reniform and orbicular marks are usually white and distinct, and now and then the black markings are intensified. Two specimens are shown on Plate124, Figs. 3 ♂, 4 ♀. The caterpillar is brownish ochreous freckled with darker, and with a pale central line and a series of dusky V-shaped marks on the back; a paler stripe along the whitish spiracles; head pale reddish brown, marked with darker brown. It feeds in July, sometimes in September, on campion, ragged robin, catchfly, and sweet-william and pinks. Fig. 3, Plate130, is from a coloured drawingby Mr. A. Sich, and represents the caterpillar, as seen when making the sketch, holding a seed between its front pair of legs and up to its mouth. The moth is out in May and June, and in some years there is a second flight in the autumn. The species is more or less common over the greater part of the British Isles.
This moth (Plate124, Figs. 5 ♂, 6 ♀) is very similar to the last, but it has a distinct violet tinge, the orbicular mark is lengthened, and its lower edge touches, or almost touches, the reniform; the second line is distinct and straighter above the inner margin. The caterpillar is greenish, tinged with orange-brown on the front rings; the central line is greyish-brown, and the V-marks on the back and oblique stripes low down on the sides are orange-brown. It feeds on the leaves as well as the unripe seeds of campion, ragged robin, and catchfly in July, August, and September. The moth is out in June, and examples of a second generation in August. Like the rest of the species of the genus, it is most partial to flowers, but it occasionally puts in an appearance at the sugar patch. Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland, China, and Japan.
This species ranges in the colour of the fore wings from almost white, through various shades of ochreous brown.
The white and ochreous-tinted specimens are found in Kent and Sussex chiefly, whilst the ochreous-brown forms are more generally distributed in England. Barrett states that in the south of Scotland a form occurs in which the ground colour is very pale dull brown with all the darker markings and cloudings deep umberous, the cloudings more extended. Var.capsophila(The Pod Lover), which represents the species in Ireland and the Isle of Man, is of a greyish coloration and lacks the ochreous tint; the dark markings, especially on the area between the first and second cross lines, are blackish or black, and the outlines of the stigmata are very distinct. Kane mentions dull black specimens, from the Blasket Islands, in which only vestiges of the stigmata and submarginal line remained clear. Pembrokeshire specimens have a colour range intermediate betweencarpophaga(Plate124, Fig. 9) and var.capsophila(Figs. 7, 8), and serve to connect one with the other. The caterpillar, which is purplish brown with rather broad ochreous-brown lines on the back, feeds in June and July and again in September, on seeds of catchfly, campion, and sweet-william. The moth flies in May and June, sometimes in late July and August.
The earliest British specimen of this moth (Plate125, Fig. 1) of which there is any clear record is that found by the late Rev. A. H. Wratislaw, in July, 1868, resting on viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare), in a locality about ten miles from Bury St. Edmunds. Subsequently Tuddenham was indicated as the locality, and there, as well as in other parts of the Breck Sand district of Suffolk and Norfolk the species continues to flourish.Echiumwas at first supposed to be the food plant, but it was soon ascertained the larval pabulum was the flowers and seeds of the local catchfly (Silene otites). In September, 1870, Mr. Porritt described the caterpillar, and he found that in confinement it did not object to Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi) in place of theSilene.
In colour the caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, tinged with green; three more or less distinct pale lines, and a series of smoke-coloured V-shaped marks on the back. Spiracles black with a yellowish white stripe below them, and a smoke-coloured one above; head wainscot brown dotted with black. It may be found on its food plant from late July to early September. The moth flies in June and July, but seems to have been very rarely met with in the open, although large numbers of the caterpillars, which are frequently "ichneumoned," are collected almost every year. A specimen, recently presented to the Lincoln Museum, is said to have been reared from a caterpillar found on viper's bugloss in the neighbourhood of East Ferry in North Lincolnshire.
Plate 124
Plate 125
Except that the general grey coloration of the fore wings of this moth (Plate125, Fig. 2) may be whiter or of a darker grey tint, there is little in the way of variation to refer to. Usually the area between the cross lines is dark grey, sometimes marked with yellow on the reniform and towards the inner margin. A series of yellow dots on the submarginal line is almost always present, but may be absent. The caterpillar is pale reddish brown; three fine double blackish lines and two rows of black dots on the back; a fine blackish line along the black spiracles. Head pale brown and glossy. In another form the general colour is some shade of green; yellowish to olive. It feeds in July and August on the flowers and seeds of the wild lettuce (Lactuca saligna, andL. virosa), hawk's-beard (Crepis), and also on those of the garden lettuce. The moth is out late in June and July, and at dusk may be seen at the blossoms of various plants in gardens and elsewhere, but seems to be most partial to those of spur-valerian (Centranthus ruber). It is found in the eastern counties, especially in Cambridgeshire; Surrey, and (rarely) in Sussex and Dorsetshire. Other English counties in which it has been noted are Hertford, Huntingdon, Northampton, Oxford, Berks, Somerset, and Hereford.
Most of the British examples of this species have the thorax and fore wings almost pure white, the latter with a central blackish grey band (var.leuconota, Ev., Plate125, Figs. 3♂, 4♀). The white, however, especially on the outer margin, is sometimes clouded with greyish, and occasionally the ground colour has a greyish tinge, thus approaching var.obscura, Staudinger. The caterpillar is ochreous brown, more or less tinged with green, minutely dotted with dark grey, forming indistinct blotches; the stripe along the black spiracles is yellow tinged with green below. Head brownish, glossy. It feeds in July and August on hawk's-beard (Crepis). The smaller caterpillars may be found by day resting on the yellow flowers. In confinement they will eat the flowers and seeds of garden lettuce; and Prout mentions dandelion blossoms, and also those of almost any of the Compositæ. The moth is out from June to August, and in the daytime may be seen sitting on fences, tree trunks, rocks and walls. It is pretty generally distributed in the southern portion of England, but becomes scarce northwards. In Scotland it seems to be little known, but Renton records it as common in Roxburghshire, and in 1898 Mr. Kirkaldy kindly gave me three greyish-shaded specimens that he picked up casually at Pitlochry, Perthshire, in July of that year. It has been found in North Wales, but is more frequent in the southern parts of that country. Rather local and usually scarce in Ireland; but has been found in counties Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, Louth, Antrim, Westmeath, Galway, Cork, and Kerry. The range abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland.
The cross lines and the veins are pale brown, sometimes tinged with pink. These markings give the moth (Plate126, Figs. 1♂, 2♀) a netted appearance, which, apart from the different ground colour and clouding, distinguishes it from the Gothic, with which it is sometimes confused. The antennæ, too, of the male are only fringed with minute hairs, whilst those of the male Gothic are broadly pectinated. The caterpillar is greenish or pinkish ochreous, mottled with darker, and with slightly paler lines on the back and sides; head light brown. It will feed in July and August on knot-grass; and soapwort (Saponaria),Silene inflata, andDianthus, have been mentioned as food plants. The moth is out in June and July. The species occurs in nearly all the counties of England to Yorkshire, but except in Cambridgeshire, and perhaps Oxfordshire, it is not common in any of the southern or eastern counties, although more frequently found in them than northwards. It has not been recorded from Scotland, and seems to be rare in Ireland, as it has only been noted from Co. Dublin and Co. Cork.
Plate 126
Plate 127
The male of this species (Plate127, Fig. 3) is strongly attracted by light, and frequently seen in houses, and is no doubt a familiar object to most residents in the country, and even in the suburbs of London. The female (Fig. 4) does not visit light, but this sex, and the males also, may be found sitting after dark upon the upper erect leaves of the hard grasses, such as the matweed (Nardus stricta). Of course a lantern will be required to throw a light on the business of collecting them, and it is curious to note that even the brilliant glare of the acetylene lamp does not seem to disturb the moths very much, if at all.
The caterpillar is dark greenish brown and rather glossy, with a dusky plate on the first ring upon which are traces of the five dark-edged pale brownish stripes which traverse the body and meet on the last ring; the latter has a black plate. The spiracles are black, and the head is brownish, marked withdarker. The caterpillars hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous autumn, and may be found until July. They feed at night on the leaves of grasses, especiallyNardusand such kinds, growing in parks and open places. The moth is out in August and September, and occurs more or less commonly throughout England and Wales. In Scotland it is found in Ayrshire, and in other localities in the Clyde area; thence eastward to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is generally distributed, and in some localities very abundant, as at Clonbrock, and on the Wicklow coast.
The sexes of this moth are depicted on Plate128, Figs. 8♂, 9♀. In habits, and also in the kind of places it frequents, this species has much in common with that last mentioned. It is certainly more local, but its range in the British Isles is somewhat similar to that of the Gothic. The life history also is very like that of the last species, and the caterpillar feeds on the same kinds of grass.
This moth (Plate127, Figs. 8♂, 9♀) has the fore wings greyish brown or reddish brown, sometimes tinged with ochreous in the paler forms, or with olive in the darker forms. There is also variation in the markings, and chiefly of the central forked streak which has been likened to the antler of the stag. In most British specimens of the greyish form this is white throughout its length, and it has three branches; the stigmata are whitish, and there is often a whitish bar below the central streak. A number of aberrations have been named, and of these the following seem to be the most important: var.tricuspis, Esp., reddish brown; branched streak, stigmata, and bar ochreous; var.rufa, Tutt =tricuspis, Hübn., as above, but the markings white; var.ruficosta, Tutt =graminis, Hübn., greyish brown, with reddish front margin, and ochreous markings; var.hibernicus, Curt., yellowish brown with the markings ochreous, and the stigmata more or less united with the central streak. In some specimens most of the markings are obscured or absent, and only the reniform stigma and the forked extremity of the central line remain distinct.
Plate 128
Plate 129
The caterpillar, which is glossy, and the skin much wrinkled, is of a bronzy-brown colour, with black-edged pale lines; there is a brownish plate on the first ring and a blackish one on the last; the spiracles are black and the head is brownish, marked with darker. It feeds from March to June on grasses, and in some years and localities occurs in enormous numbers, denuding considerable areas of grass land. Rooks and other birds devour them readily, and where their feeding places are on hillsides, they are apt to be washed off by heavy rain, so that the drains and ditches become filled up in places by masses of these caterpillars. Even after such wholesale destruction, the moths may still appear in the autumn in countless numbers. The male moths are sometimes seen flying in the sunshine and visiting the flowers of thistles, ragwort, etc. Such flight usually takes place between eight a.m. and noon, but both sexes have been seen flying over grass and heather continuously from just before midday to four p.m. The moths are also on the wing at night, and the male is very susceptible to the attraction of light. The species has occurred in all parts of the British Islands, but its presence in the south of England would appear to be more casual than elsewhere. The range abroad extends through Northern Asia to Siberia.
Stephens, in 1829, figured one of two specimens of this species said to have been taken near Bristol in 1816, a part of Englandfrom which no other specimen has ever been recorded so far as I am aware. In June, 1855, the late Mr. S. Stevens obtained a few specimens at sugar, at Mickleham, Surrey. Between the year last mentioned and 1894 five other specimens have been recorded from the same county, these are Redhill (W. R. Jeffrey), Boxhill (G. Elisha, a pair, and B. A. Bower), Reigate (R. Adkin). In Kent, specimens have been found in the Folkestone and Tunbridge districts, but the chalk downs between Ashford and Wye appear to be the headquarters of the insect in Britain.
A portrait of a male specimen will be found on Plate128, Fig. 1, but the ground colour is much whiter in the majority of British specimens.
According to Dr. Chapman, the caterpillar varies from a nearly uniform nankeen-yellow with the markings only indicated, to a handsome larva with distinct black stripes. There is a pale dorsal line, quite narrow; thence to the black spiracles is divided into three longitudinal stripes, a dark dorsal, a dark (but less dark) lower one and a pale intermediate. In all these the ground colour is the same, nankeen-yellow, and the darker areas depend on the greater or less darkness of fine black mottlings, generally in fine wavy streaks running more or less longitudinally. The head is rather brown than yellow, mottled in a honey-comb pattern, with some black marking about the mouth parts. It feeds at night from July to March on various grasses, but seems to preferPoa annua, andP. nemoralis. Dr. Chapman reared some of these caterpillars by keeping each individual in a separate glass jar and supplying it at frequent intervals with a fresh tuft ofPoa annua. The moth is out from May to July, and hides during the day among the tufts of grass on chalk hills. It comes freely to sugar, and has been taken at privet blossom.
Three forms of this species occur with us. In that represented on Plate128, Fig. 4, the fore wings are almost entirelyblackish. Another has a larger portion of the inner marginal area ochreous brown, or whitish, ab.melaleuca, Vieweg; a third form, and the least frequent, may be described as pale ochreous brown with darker mottling on the basal half, and black central markings representing a broken streak from the base of the wing to the outer margin, in this form the pale outlined stigmata are fairly distinct, and there is a blackish shade between them extending from the front to the inner margin. From chrysalids obtained by digging under oak and elm trees in a private park several miles from Taunton, Somerset, Mr. H. Doidge (1901) reared moths and obtained eggs which were laid in a batch on the covering of the cage in which the female was placed with a growing plant of bird's-foot trefoil. The eggs hatched on May 31, ten days after they were laid. The young caterpillars were purplish grey, but after feeding on the yellow flowers they assumed the same colour. "After finishing the flowers they commenced on the leaves, by which time they were a pale green colour, with a yellow spiracular stripe, and were fond of resting by day on the stems of the plant. As they approached the final stage, the green became shaded with brown and black," and then resembled the ripening seed pods. They were afterwards supplied with blackthorn, and did not object to the change of food. They also ate dock (sparingly), andTrifolium minus. "About July 8 they began to go under ground to pupate. The pupæ, which were of a dark reddish-brown colour, and somewhat obese and blunt, being enclosed in a very compact and brittle earthy cocoon" (Doidge).
The moth is out in April and May, but is very local in England. It has occasionally been found at rest on isolated tree trunks or on posts, but very rarely captured in any other way. Specimens have been obtained from chrysalids dug up now and then from about the roots of trees, but perhaps most of the specimens in collections, not numerous altogether, have been reared from eggs. In England the species is only knownto occur in Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, Gloucester, Somersetshire, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire. Barrett also mentions one specimen at Gower, South Wales.
Of this species (Plate121, Fig. 5) probably less than a dozen specimens have been taken in England, and apparently none in any other part of the British Isles. It is very similar to some of the darker forms ofE. adusta, specimens of which have often been mistaken for examples of the present species and recorded as such. The wings are rather more ample; the reniform and orbicular stigmata are reddish, with a blackish cloud under them, and the space between the second and submarginal lines towards the inner margin is also reddish. The hind wings are dark in both sexes. The caterpillar, which is said to feed in July and August on hop, honey-suckle, and cherry, among other plants, is pinkish brown, darker above; the dusky-pink central line on the back is interrupted and indistinct, and on each side of it is a series of oblique greyish but not clearly defined streaks; the line low down on the sides is yellow-green. The moths flies in June, July, and August.
Abroad the species occurs in Central and Northern Europe (except the most northern parts, and perhaps Western France); eastward the range extends to Amurland.
The sexes of this moth are figured on Plate121, Figs. 3♂, 4♀. The ground colour is grey-brown in some examples of this species, whilst in others, especially in the north of England and in Scotland, the colour ranges through rich reddish brown, blackish brown to almost black. In the lighter coloured forms the markings are usually clear and distinct, but in the darker forms are often much obscured. The caterpillar is somewhat variable in colour and markings. Barrett describes one form as pale sage green strongly tinged with ochreous and dusted with greyish brown; the line along the middle of the back is white, interrupted, and edged with greyish brown; a series of outlines of greyish-brown diamonds spread over to the brown margin of the pale ochreous stripe along the whitish spiracles, and form a network on the back and sides. Another form, described by Buckler, has the general colour brilliant yellow, suffused on the upper surface with deep rose pink; a stripe on the middle of the back composed of two darker pink lines, united and forming a spot at the beginning of each segment, and an interrupted yellow stripe on each side. It feeds from July to September on grass and various low plants, including knot-grass, bladder campion (Silene cucubalus); also sweet gale, sallow, etc. The moth flies in June and July, sometimes in May. The species occurs in woods and on heaths and moors, and is generally distributed, and more or less common throughout the British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Plate 130
Plate 131
Green of some shade is often the prevailing colour in the much ornamented moth portrayed on Plate122, Figs. 11, 12; but in some specimens the general colour is pinkish white. The variegation consists of reddish brown or pinkish, and white clouds and black streaks, chiefly as edging to the pale cross lines, or between the stigmata; these latter are as often obscure as distinct, but sometimes the orbicular is white with a white mark below it extending to the black bar connecting the first and second cross lines.
The caterpillar is green freckled with yellow, with a yellow central line on the back; head brownish. It feeds from March to June, and when it leaves the egg it bores into an oak bud tofeed; later on it spins the young leaves together, and finally it dispenses with a retreat altogether and feeds openly on the leaves. The moth is out in the autumn, rather earlier in Scotland. It is widely distributed in England, and in some seasons and localities very abundant. In Scotland it is found from Roxburgh to Moray, and in the latter county as well as in Perthshire and Argyll it is often plentiful. Single specimens have been recorded from Ireland, and these from Co. Galway and Co. Westmeath.
The specimens of this species shown on Plate123, Figs. 1, 4, are from Shetland, and more or less of the typical form, but rather more variegated, perhaps, than the actual type. In other specimens from the same locality the yellowish submarginal line is band-like; or the ground colour is browner, and sometimes blackish. These blackish examples approach var.assimilis, Doubleday (Fig. 3), from Perthshire, where it was first met with, at Rannoch, by Weaver, over sixty years ago.Exulis(The Exile) was discovered by Mr. H. McArthur in the Shetlands in 1883. In 1896 Mr. P. M. Bright captured a specimen in the Shetlands which Barrett considered referable tomaillardi, Hübn. (Geyer, Fig. 833.) "Its ground colour is drab-brown, abundantly marked with umberous and dusted with black, and its only conspicuous marking is the reniform stigma, which is distinctly edged with white in such a manner as to give it a singular resemblance toMamestra[Barathra]brassicæ." Staudinger, it may be added, adoptsmaillardias the earlier name for this species, and it may have to be generally accepted. The caterpillar is ochreous whitish, shaded with grey, and with yellowish plates on the first and last rings; spiracles black, head reddish brown. It feeds on grasses from August to May, but is sometimes two, or even three, years in completing itsgrowth. When young, and also later, it eats the lower part of the stem and partly into the root of the grass. The moth is out in July and August. Very few examples of theassimilisform have been obtained, and these only in Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Inverness, and the Isle of Arran. Mr. W. M. Christy captured one specimen in Ross-shire in August, 1902. The geographical range of this species extends from the Alps and Pyrenees through Norway and Lapland to Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador.
Figs. 5 and 6 on Plate125represent the typical form of this species. Fig. 8 shows the blackish var.obscura, Staud., and Fig. 7 an intermediate form. The pale form is most frequent in southern England, and dark forms are commoner in the north. Both forms occur in Scotland, but in some parts the pale form only is found. The caterpillar is green with three whitish lines on the back; the raised spots are also whitish; the line along the black spiracles is yellowish. It feeds from April to June on sallow and willow; at first on the terminal shoots, the leaves of which are spun together with silk. Later on the caterpillar folds down or rolls a leaf so as to form a shelter. The moth is on the wing in June and July, sometimes later, and is pretty widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but is rather local in Scotland, northern England, and Ireland. The dark form, it may be mentioned, does not seem to be found abroad. The range of the species extends to Amurland.
This brownish tinged ochreous moth (Plate126, Figs. 3, 4) has the fore wings crossed by whitish lines, the first and second of which approach or unite below the middle, dividing into two blotches the dark central band-like shade.
The caterpillar, which feeds on the seeds of cock's-foot (Dactylis) and other kinds of grass from May to early July, is whitish green and glossy; three whitish stripes on the back, the central one broadest; a stripe below the black spiracles is whitish, edged above with green. Mullein (Verbascum) has also been mentioned as eaten by this caterpillar. The moth is out in July and in August, and may often be seen resting on the flowers of knapweed (Centaurea) in the daytime. It flies at night, and has been taken at the flowers of centaurea, ragwort, etc., and at light. In some districts it is said to visit the sugar patch, but not to do so in other localities. Occurs in the chalk districts of most southern English counties, and especially those of Kent and Sussex; also, but only rarely, in Warwickshire and Yorkshire. One specimen has been recorded from Pembrokeshire in Wales.
In the past this greenish-mottled brownish moth (Plate126, Fig. 5) appears to have been commoner, and more widely distributed in England than it now is. Wilkes, in 1773, referring to it as "The Wild Arrach," states that it was taken occasionally near London. At the present time the species seems to occur only in the eastern counties, and chiefly in Cambridgeshire. In June, 1904 and 1905, specimens (three in all) were obtained at sugar in Huntingdonshire. The caterpillar is ochreous or reddish brown, dotted with white; three dark lines on the back, the central one only distinct. A yellowish stripe along the black-edged white spiracles; head light reddish brown, glossy. It feeds in July and August on orach (Atriplex), persicaria, knot-grass, and will also eat dock. The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
Note.—It may be mentioned here thatProdenia littoralis, Boisd., an inhabitant of tropical and sub-tropical regions, hasbeen occasionally reared in this country from caterpillars found in imported tomatoes.
The brownish clouding, and reddish-brown central band, of this species (Plate126, Figs. 6, 7) varies in tone; sometimes the band is olive grey and the clouding rather grey than brown. The caterpillar, according to Buckler, varies from dark brown to chestnut, ochreous, and orange browns; the spiracular stripe pale ochreous or cream colour, shading off in the middle to grey brown. It feeds from July to September, or later, on sallow, bramble, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), and will eat knot-grass. It hibernates when full grown, and pupates in the following spring. The moth is out in May, June, or July, and is taken at sugar, chiefly in woods. At one time it was found in Yorkshire, but Cumberland seems to be the only English county in which it now occurs. In Scotland it has been taken in the south. Renton states that near Hawick, Roxburghshire, he finds a few at raspberry blossom every year. It is more plentiful, however, from Perthshire to Sutherland. Kane notes it from Torc Wood, Killarney, near Galway, and Clonbrock; and that the form is identical with that from Aberdeen namedsemivirgata, Tutt. The range abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland; and the North American,xylinoides, Guen, seems to be a form of the present species.
The greyish-centred white marks are the chief features on the brownish fore wings of this moth (Plate127, Figs. 1, 2). The first one, or both when quite apart, is very like the figure 8; sometimes these marks are united, and form an irregular blotch. Rarely the area between the black lines is dark and the marksobscured or absent. The caterpillar (Plate133, Fig. 1) is bluish grey, with a number of bristle-bearing black spots and minute black dots; a stripe along the back is yellow and interrupted; a yellow stripe low down along the sides. It feeds, from April to June, on hawthorn, sloe, and wild crab; also on the leaves of apple, plum, and other fruit trees. Sometimes these caterpillars are to be seen on the hedges in numbers, and usually seem to prefer the outer extremities of the longer shoots. The pale purplish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a strong somewhat oval cocoon, which is covered with fragments of litter, and often attached to some object, such as a bit of stick, leaves, etc., on the ground. The moth is out in October and November, but is rarely seen, except occasionally at gas lamps, etc. Generally common in the south and east of England, and widely distributed throughout the rest of the country to Cumberland. It has occurred in a few Clydesdale localities, and has been recorded by Renton as sometimes common in Roxburghshire. Widely distributed in Ireland, but not often plentiful.
Nearly eighty years ago Stephens summed up all that was known of this species in Britain. As there is nothing to add in the way of later records, his remarks may be quoted. "Very rare; specimens have been found in Richmond Park, and one was taken in the pupa state by Mr. Plastead some twenty or thirty years ago in Battersea Fields; others have occurred near Bristol, and Mr. Donovan, I believe, captured one in South Wales; it has also been taken in Scotland. My specimens were from the former locality, and I have been fortunate enough to have had nearly a dozen examples at various periods." Most of the later authors mention only the Welsh specimen, taken at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, July, 1800. A continental specimen is shown on Plate127, Fig. 5.
This species (Plate127, Figs. 6, 7) varies in the brown colour of the fore wings, which is sometimes of a greyish tint; not infrequently the pale cross lines are tinged with brownish, or they may be rather broad, and, the submarginal especially, white and very distinct; the reniform and orbicular marks are sometimes tinged with pink. The caterpillar (Plate133, Fig. 3) is pale rusty brown, with blackish markings, and three pale lines on the back; head glossy and rather paler than the body, and marked with two blackish lines. It feeds on grasses from September to March. The specimen figured (slightly enlarged) was received from Mr. Walker of Torquay on January 11, 1907. The chrysalis (Fig. 3A) is dull reddish, ring divisions and wing-cases paler and brighter; two hooks on last ring. The moth is out from the latter part of August to early October, and in its haunts, which are cliffs by the sea, it may be found at night sitting on grass stems. It is not known to visit flowers or the sugar patch, but has been taken at light. Although previously taken in the Isle of Portland, the earliest published record was that in theZoologistfor 1849 of a specimen taken on the sandhills at Exmouth, late in September. It still occurs at Portland and at Swanage in Dorset; also in the Isle of Wight and along the Devon coast to Cornwall. The range abroad is restricted, the species only being noted from Southern France, North-east and Southern Spain, Sicily, Palestine, and North-west Africa.
Portraits of this moth will be found on Plate128, Figs. 5, 6. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from very pale brown through greyish brown to blackish. In some specimens the markings are very faint, and, excepting the whitish submarginal line, are hardly visible. Usually there is a black ordark brown bar connecting the first and second cross lines; not infrequently there is a black mark on the inner margin below the bar, and a black mark or two in the cell above. These marks are sometimes supplemented by others, and so form a more or less complete black central band. The reniform and orbicular stigmata are often only outlined in paler brown, but they may be whitish and very distinct. Var.guenéei, Doubleday, is pale ochreous brown, with the first line pale, interrupted, and terminating in a black dot on inner margin; and the second line made up of white-edged black crescents; the reniform distinctly edged with white, and there is a slender black line above the inner margin between the first line and the base of the wing. Hind wings pure white, with black marginal lunules.
The caterpillar is pinkish ochreous; usual dots not in evidence; skin much wrinkled and glossy; spiracles pink margined with black; head and plate on first ring pale brownish yellow. Robson (Cat. Lep. of Durham, etc.) states that the caterpillar feeds on grass roots, and adds, "I have known it abound in the grass tufts at the foot of palings around a large mill." The moth is out in August and September. At night it flies freely to light, but is not known to visit any of the usual floral attractions or the collector's sugar. Generally distributed and often common.
Fore wings ochreous grey or brown, two brownish streaks represent the basal line; the space between the first and second cross lines darker, and there is a darker band on the outer margin; the stigmata are pale inclining to yellowish, and the veins below them are white. Hind wings whitish tinged with darker on outer margin. Ab.desyllesi, Boisd., has almost unicolorous fore wings, and this form, according to Staudinger, has been found in Northern France and England. I have only seen a continental specimen of this species, which is very local and somewhat rare abroad.
Plate 132
Plate 133
In hisManual, vol. i. (1857), Stainton states, "one specimen has occurred in the Isle of Arran." Reference is made in 1885 (Entom.xviii. 73) to two specimens taken in the Isle of Portland in 1858, and three others in 1859. Then, in theEntomologistfor 1902, Mr. Stockwell records, from Dover, the capture of "a fine female of this rare Noctua, on a gas lamp in this town, during the latter part of September."
This moth, both sexes of which are shown on Plate128, Figs. 2, 3, is readily recognized by the yellowish hind wings. The caterpillar is ochreous or dull reddish brown; series of greyish brown marks along the middle of the back, and a brown edged line on each side; a pale ochreous line edged above with brown low down along the sides; head pale brown, with darker streaks. It feeds from September to April, sometimes later, on grasses, chiefly in dry situations. The moth is out in July and August. Generally distributed throughout the British Isles, but in Scotland not recorded north of Moray. In suitable localities it is common, and sometimes is the only visitor to the sugar patch.
In this reddish brown moth (Plate128, Fig. 7) the reniform and orbicular stigmata are white or broadly outlined in white, and the vein below as well as the branches also white. The wings of the female are smaller than those of the male, and the body is distinctly stouter. The white markings referred to are sometimes obscured or absent, and such specimens are referableto var.hibernica, Haworth. The caterpillar is purplish brown, with the usual raised dots darker brown; three pale lines along the back, the central one least distinct; head and plates on first and last rings reddish brown; spiracles black. From April to July on cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum), feeding in the stems down towards the root. The moth flies in August and September. It was first noted as British in 1819, and Stephens in 1829 mentions it as common in Whittlesea Mere. Although still occurring in the fens, the species is far more common on the moors and mosses of Northern England, Scotland to the Shetlands, and in Ireland.
In its most frequent form this species (Plate131, Figs. 5, 6) has the fore wings greyish brown and somewhat shining; the markings, especially the cross lines, indistinctly paler; the reniform is outwardly dotted with white. Sometimes the ground colour is paler grey with black markings arranged very similar to such marks inA. gemina, var.remissa(Fig. 8).
The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather greyer; a pinkish line along the back; head and plate on first and last rings shining reddish brown. It feeds on grasses growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal rivers, and ditches of brackish water: in the spring and until June; perhaps from September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be obtained at the flowers of marram grass as well as at sugar. The species is found in most of the eastern and southern seaboard counties of England; at Sandown and Freshwater in the Isle of Wight; in the fens of Huntingdon and Cambridge; also occasionally in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lancs, Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in Moray and in the Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The fore wings of this moth (Plate131, Figs. 1, 2) are pale ochreous brown, much marbled with darker brown, and sometimes slightly tinged with reddish; the pale stigmata and submarginal line are the most distinct of the usual markings. The caterpillar is said to be very like that ofApamea basilinea. The moth flies in June, and is not uncommon in most parts of Southern England. It occurs in Lancashire and Cheshire, but is more frequent in Yorkshire and Durham; also found in South Wales, and although it has been obtained in the Shetlands, it seems to be very local and infrequent in Scotland. Only twice recorded from Ireland, one specimen on the Dublin coast, 1860, and one at Howth (Kane).
This darker mottled greyish brown moth (Plate131, Figs. 3, 4) is very similar to the typical form ofA. gemina(Fig. 7); the fore wings, however, are distinctly broader at the base, the W-like angles of the submarginal line are less noticeable, and this line is comparatively straighter. The reddish tinge so usual inA. geminais absent in the present species.
The caterpillar is ochreous tinged with pinkish, except on the first three rings and the under surface; central line dusky; usual dots reddish brown, as also are the head and plates on first and last rings. On grasses, September to June, feeding chiefly on the shoots near the roots (condensed from Buckler). The moth occurs from July to September, and may be obtained at flowers of ragwort, scabious, etc., and freely at sugar, in rocky places from Lancashire northwards through Scotland to the Shetlands. It also occurs in Wales, and suitable places in Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and has also been recorded from Sussex. In Ireland found on several parts ofthe coast, but not plentiful. Abroad the range extends to Amurland.
In its ordinary form the moth shown on Plate131is purplish brown, as in Fig. 7, sometimes mottled with greyish or pale ochreous. A more ornamented form is known as var.remissa(Fig. 8), and the ground colour of this is not infrequently pale ochreous brown, or almost whitish, with the black marking very conspicuous. The caterpillar is brownish grey, finely striated with darker; a yellowish white line along the middle of the back, and a brownish ochreous stripe on each side of it; stripe along the black edged spiracles greyish ochreous. It feeds from autumn till March on grasses in moist situations. The moth is perhaps most abundant in the south, but it occurs, in June and July, pretty well all over the British Isles; and abroad its range extends to Amurland and Japan.
The species shown on Plate132, Figs. 1♂, 2♀, is found almost everywhere in the British Isles, is generally common, and in many parts abundant. Usually the pale brown fore wings are clouded or suffused with reddish, but this tint may be absent, or the wings may be tinged with greyish: the single black dash from middle of the base is the "Shoulder Knot." The caterpillar, according to Barrett, is pale olive brown varying to grey brown; a greyish white line along the middle of the back edged with short undulating black lines; spiracular line a row of blackish dashes, clouded with olive brown, or edged with greyish white and looped with grey brown; head black, plate on first ring black and white striped. It feeds from August to March on grasses, etc. The moth flies in May and June.
The fore wings are generally reddish brown mottled with darker, but the reddish tinge may be almost absent; the reniform is more or less outlined in white and there are two black streaks from the base. (Plate132, Figs. 3♂, 4♀.) The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, sometimes tinged with greenish; three dark edged pale lines on the back; spiracular line pale edged above with darker; head, and plate on first ring, brown and glossy. On grasses that occur in damp places, such as water meads, marshes and fens from July to April. The moth flies in June and July. It is widely distributed, and sometimes common in most moist localities throughout England. More local in Scotland but occurring in Aberdeenshire, and on the western side ranging to the Orkneys. Not frequent in Ireland, but has been obtained in several parts. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.
The very distinctly marked, and sometimes brownish tinged, greyish white moth shown on Plate132, Fig. 12, is very local in the British Isles, and apart from its reported occurrence in the Clyde and Tay districts of Scotland, seems to be found only in some of the woods of South Yorkshire, as near Rotherham, Sheffield (Wharncliffe Woods), and Barnsley. It has been obtained in Cumberland; and Barrett states that formerly it occurred in Norfolk. The caterpillar, which is little known, is said to feed on grasses in May. The moth flies in August and early September. It is also known asconnexa, Bork.
Following Guenée, British entomologists at one time knew this species asoculea; afterwards it became the habit to label itdidyma, a name given to it by Esper in 1788. Just now the authorities insist onsecalis, Linnæus, being adopted. The species is an exceedingly variable one, and six examples of it are shown on Plate132, Figs. 6 to 11. The form with blackish fore wings and a white reniform mark is var.leucostigma, Esp.Nictitans, Esp., has brownish fore wings and a white reniform.I-niger, Haw., is greyish or grey brown with darker central band, and the cross lines united by a black bar. Ochreous or reddish ochreous specimens with the front marginal area broadly and irregularly reddish brown, and the outer margin bordered with reddish brown, are referable to var.furca, Haw. Many other forms have been named. The caterpillar is green with three reddish lines on the back; head and plate on the first ring pale brown, also plate on last ring. In stems of grasses such asFestuca,Dactylis, etc., also on wood-rush. From Autumn to April or May. The moth flies in July and August, and is common everywhere in the British Isles; its range abroad extends to Western China.
This species (Plate132, Fig. 5) is usually found in marshy localities, or in gardens, over the eastern counties, and from Northamptonshire through Bucks, and Hertfordshire, to Kent, and Surrey. The caterpillar feeds from September on the shoots ofPhalaris arundinaceaand the cultivated form of that plant grown in gardens, and known as ribbon grass. Also said to feed onPoa aquatica. When the grass dies down in the late autumn the caterpillar enters the ground to hibernate, andemerges in the spring ready to attack the young grass shoots as soon as they appear. Where the new growth of ribbon grass assumes a brown and withered appearance this larva will probably be found at the bottom of the trouble. When nearly full grown it eats down the interior of the thicker stems to the base. In colour it is ochreous with a pinkish tinge; a pale brownish plate on first and last rings, each edged with blackish and that on the first ring traversed by a white line; head pale brown, glossy. The moth flies in July and August, sometimes in June.
Half a dozen specimens are shown on Plate134, and these will serve to give some idea of the range of aberration in this species. The most typical of the species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 4; the farthest removed from the type is var.æthiops, Haworth (Fig. 16). In the reddish var.latruncula, Hübn., as figured by him, the most conspicuous character is the white lower curve of the second cross line, as in Fig. 7.
The caterpillar is purplish brown above, and ochreous below; striped on the back with pale yellow, and less distinctly on the sides; spiracles black and very distinct; head and plates on the first and last rings of the body ochreous brown and shining. Found in March and April, after hibernation, feeding on the stems of various grasses. The moth is out in June and July, and may frequently be seen at rest on palings, etc., but at night it often abounds at sugar or honey dew. Generally distributed in the British Isles, except perhaps in the islands of Scotland.
In its typical form this species (Plate134, Fig. 3) has the fore wings reddish ochreous, with a darker central band, andthe cross lines, especially the second, distinctly white towards the inner margin. Sometimes, chiefly in Scotland, the ground colour is much paler, occasionally almost whitish, and the band reddish (var.cana, Staud., Figs. 5, 8). There is a good deal of variation, both in the ground colour and in that of the band; the latter is often smoky brown in pale specimens of both sexes.
The caterpillar is of a pale flesh tint, rather inclining to greyish ochreous, the dorsal stripe of a darker tint of the same colour well defined on each side by the pale ground colour; next a very broad stripe of pinkish brown, followed by a narrow stripe of the ground colour, faintly edged below with pinkish brown; above the black spiracles is a stripe of pinkish brown freckles; head and plates on first and last rings of the body light brown, shining (Buckler). In the shoots of grasses such asAira cespitosa, in April and early May, probably after hibernation. The moth is out in May and June, and its haunts are moist woods and marshy grounds, generally. The species is widely distributed, and often common, throughout the British Isles. Abroad it seems to have a very limited range.
The ground colour is pale, or dark, violet grey, more or less clouded inwards from the submarginal line, and on the basal area, with purplish; a central reddish or reddish brown band is limited inwardly by the, sometimes, whitish edged black first line, and outwardly by an almost straight black line passing between the stigmata to the inner margin. (Plate134, Figs. 11, 14.)
The caterpillar is dingy ochreous yellow, with a dark purplish stripe, enclosing a central line of the ground colour, on the back; spiracles black; head dark brown, plates pale brown (Porritt). From September to June, in stems ofCarex glauca,Dactylis glomerata, and other grasses. The moth flies in July and August, and although rare inland is pretty generally distributed around the coasts of the British Isles; apparently, from the Clyde area, confined to the east coast of Scotland, and not extending north of Moray.
Plate 134