The caterpillar feeds on grasses and various low plants, also on ling, heath, sallow, and has been found on wild hyacinth. It is yellowish-brown with dark shaded pale lines on the back, and a dark brown stripe on the sides; spiracles and dots blackish. October to June. The moth flies in August and September, and affects heathy places, borders of woods, etc., throughout the British Isles, including the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands. Except in the New Forest, Hampshire, it does not seem to be common in the southern counties of England; it occurs in Epping Forest, and in other parts of the eastern counties; northwards it becomes more generally distributed and more plentiful.
The reddish typical form of this species is shown on Plate110, Fig. 3. Fig. 2 represents the greyish form, var.neglecta, which is most frequently met with in southern England. Between these extremes intermediate forms occur connecting one with the other. Specimens of a pale ochreous colour have been obtained in the vicinity of Market Drayton, Shropshire. The caterpillar, which feeds on heather and sallow at night, is pale reddish-brown, finely powdered with greyish; below the pale ochreous stripe on the sides, the ground colour is greenish; head marked with darker brown. September to May. The moth flies in August, and occurs on the larger tracts of heathery ground throughout the British Isles, but it is commoner in some parts than in others, and appears to be scarce in Ireland. The red form, and intermediates, occasionally occur in the New Forest, and also in other parts of Southern England, but in Scotland it is not uncommon. The distribution abroad is, like that of the last species, pretty much confined to Western Europe.
This species, a male and female of which are shown on Plate114, Figs. 7 ♂ and 8 ♀ is common in wooded districts throughout the British Isles, except the Orkneys and the Shetlands. The colour of the fore wings ranges from pale greyish brown, or reddish grey, to reddish brown or purplish brown. Sometimes the first and second cross lines are bordered, or represented, by pale bands.
The caterpillar is dingy ochreous brown, or reddish brown; three yellowish lines along the back, the central one edged with blackish; the others have blackish bordered yellow triangular marks between them, on each ring from three to eleven; spiracles and dots black; head pale brown, shining. It feeds in the autumn on various low plants, and in the spring on hawthorn, sloe, sallow, bramble, etc. September to May. The moth flies in July and August. Its range abroad extends to Amurland and to North America.
This species is represented on Plate110, Fig. 5, by a female specimen. Sometimes the fore wings are more reddish brown in colour, and the markings are occasionally bolder. The caterpillar is pale or dark reddish brown above, and rather greyish below; the back is marked with dark outlined diamonds, and the dark edged white spiracles have a dark shade above them, and an ochreous stripe below; head pale brown marked with darker. Feeds on primrose, dock, sorrel, nettle, etc. from September to May. The moth flies in July, August, and the early part of September. It seems to be more frequently and regularly obtained in Scotland, especially in the woods of Perthshire, Aberdeen and Moray. In England the species is, or has been, found in Oxfordshire (rare in beech woods),Berkshire, Wiltshire (Savernake Forest), Devonshire (Dartmoor), South Wales (near Swansea), North Wales (Mold), Cheshire (one specimen, Staley-brushes), Yorkshire (Scarborough), Durham (one at Bishop Auckland), Cumberland (Barrow Wood). The range abroad includes Central Europe (except Holland and Belgium), Southern Sweden, Lavonia, and South-east Russia, Armenia, and Northern Asia Minor. It may be noted that Stephens, writing in 1829, considered this to be a doubtful British species.
A male specimen of this often common and generally distributed species is shown on Plate110, Fig. 8. The fore wings vary in colour, from pale reddish grey through bright reddish or pinkish brown to purplish brown; the costal mark may be whitish, ochreous, or pinkish tinged. The moth is most frequently obtained in the autumn, but it is sometimes met with from May to July.
The caterpillar is pale brownish or greenish grey, with two series of black streaks, and a dark-edged pale central line, on the back; below the black outlined white spiracles is a black-edged yellow ochreous, or whitish stripe; head ochreous brown streaked with darker brown. It feeds on dock, chickweed, groundsel, and other low plants. It is said to feed from September to April or May. Possibly, however, in favourable seasons, some may pupate either in the autumn or in the early months of the year, and so attain the moth state greatly in advance of the majority. The range of this species' distribution extends to India, Corea, Japan, and North America.
Fore wings pale greyish brown, with dark-edged pale cross lines; a pale whitish brown pink-tinged streak along the frontmargin to the second line; below this is a short black dot; the reniform and orbicular marks are pale, the centre sometimes darker, and the claviform has a dark edge but is not distinct; the front of the thorax is broadly marked with black, hence the English name.
Only three British examples seem to be known; two of these were captured in the Isle of Wight, 1859 and 1876, and the third occurred in the lighthouse at Cromer in 1875. The range abroad is Central and Southern Europe, Western and Central Asia and India.
The ground colour of the fore wings of this moth ranges from pinkish brown through pale reddish brown to a purplish grey brown. The specimen shown on Plate110, Fig. 9 ♂ is of the pinkish brown form from Tilgate Forest in Sussex. In a series bred from caterpillars obtained at Hampstead, North-west London, the bulk of the males are pale reddish brown, and the females purplish brown; one male, however, is as dark as the females. Caterpillar, purplish brown, mottled above with dark brown; a thin white line, interrupted with black, along the middle of the back, and a row of black marks on each side; on the sides are oblique blackish marks, with the white spiracles showing distinct at their lower ends. Head pale shining brown, the cheeks marked with darker brown. Feeds on dandelion, dock, chickweed, primrose, and other low plants; also on bramble and sallow, and in the spring on the young leaves of birch. September to May (Plate111, Fig. 2).
The moth flies, in and around woods, in July. It is local and not always common, but has been found in the north-west and south-west districts of London, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devon, Wales (Swansea and Barmouth), and Norfolk (Cromer). It occurs in Scotland (Perthshire), andtwo specimens have been recorded from Ireland. Its range extends to Siberia and Amurland.
This species (Plate113, Fig. 1) is usually pale brown, more or less tinged with reddish, but some specimens are of a rather darker hue, and others inclined to greyish. The conspicuous marks in the discal cell, usually black or blackish, are sometimes pale or dark reddish brown. The moth flies in June and July, and occurs in woods or well-timbered districts throughout England (except in Somerset, Dorset, and westward), Wales, Scotland (mainland), and Ireland.
As will be seen from its portrait (Plate113, Fig. 2), this moth, although darker in colour, is marked somewhat similarly to the last referred to. It should be noted, however, that the basal line is less distinct; the submarginal line is inwardly shaded with blackish, and there is no blackish spot at its costal extremity. The fore wings are sometimes pale reddish brown, and sometimes almost blackish.
The caterpillar, which is ochreous, or brownish, is somewhat similar in marking to that ofA. ditrapezium, and feeds on dandelion, dock, chickweed, plantain, sallow, etc. In confinement it is said to eat sliced carrot or potato, and, if kept warm, may be induced to feed up and attain the moth state early in the year.
The moth flies in July and August and seems to be partial to woods. It is very local, but occurs not uncommonly in the New Forest, Hampshire, and in Oxfordshire and Berkshire beech woods; also found in Buckinghamshire, the Eastern Counties, Kent, Sussex, Dorsetshire, Devon, Lancashire (once), Yorkshire (very local), and North Wales (once). In Scotlandit appears to be more widely spread, but has not been noted in Ireland.
The fore wings of this moth (Plate113, Figs. 3, 4) range in colour from purplish brown to reddish brown, or pale reddish brown; some of the darker forms are suffused with greyish, and the central area is occasionally ochreous tinged. There is also variation in the markings, especially the reniform stigma which is usually more or less filled in with ochreous or whitish tint, but not infrequently it is merely outlined in one of these colours, and the centre is then dark grey brown, sometimes enclosing a whitish or ochreous crescent. These remarks are of general application, but refer to a long series I obtained in North Devon.
The caterpillar (Plate112, Fig. 2) is reddish brown with a yellowish tinge and with black dots and ochreous markings. It feeds on bilberry, wood-rush (Luzula), various low plants, bramble, sallow, and in the spring it attacks the buds and young leaves of the birch saplings, etc. August to May. The moth flies in June and July, and is often common in woods over almost the whole of the British Isles, including the Hebrides and the Orkneys. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
This species, long known asfestiva, but for which Esper's earlier nameprimulæwill have to be adopted, is exceedingly variable. Specimens of the more or less typical form and also of the forms known asconfluaandthuleiare portrayed on Plate113. The fore wings range in colour from pale ochreous to chestnut brown, and from grey to smoky grey brown. The cross lines are distinct in some specimens, but in others are hardly visible; the discal cell is often no darker than thegeneral colour, but sometimes there is a reddish square spot in place of the usual black one; the reniform and orbicular marks may be only faintly outlined, and the latter sometimes cannot be traced; the brownish band-like shade between the outer and submarginal lines is frequently only indicated by a short dash from the front margin, and even this is occasionally absent.
The smaller moorland and mountain form, var.conflua, Treitschke, and in the vulgar tongue The Lesser Ingrailed, varies on somewhat similar lines. (Plate113, Figs. 8, 9.) Var.thulei, Staudinger, also varies greatly in colour and in marking. Some specimens are dark reddish brown, or occasionally smoky brown; others are pale reddish brown, grey brown, reddish grey, or grey; the pale cross lines are generally distinct, in the darker specimens especially. This form, which is peculiar to the Shetland Isles, is shown on Plate113, Figs. 10, 11. In the foregoing remarks reference has been made only to the general trend of variation; many other forms of aberration in this species might be mentioned if space permitted.
The caterpillar is pale or dark reddish or olive brown inclining to pinkish between the rings; the lines are yellowish, the central paler edged with brown, and the outer ones edged with blackish marks; oblique darker dashes on the sides; spiracles black, ochreous ringed, with a pale stripe below them; head pale brown marked with darker. It feeds on primrose, bilberry, dock, sallow, hawthorn, bramble, etc. August to May. (Plate112, Fig. 1.) The moth flies in June, but specimens of a second generation have been obtained, in confinement, from August to October. The species in one form or another occurs in woods, on moorlands, etc., over the whole of the British Isles.
The sexes of this species are depicted on Plate114. It will be noted that the female (Fig. 2) is darker in colour than themale (Fig. 1). The sexual colour difference holds good generally, but there are exceptions and the male may sometimes be dark, like the female; or the latter sex may occasionally assume a reddish coloration. As a rule the reniform mark is most distinct in the female. A form occurring in Ireland with the fore wings dark sepia colour and the reniform mark clear whitish has been named var.perfusca, Kane. The caterpillar varies in the colour of the back through various shades of ochreous and brown to dark reddish brown, and this is always in strong contrast with the colour of the lower parts; the lines are pale, and the outer ones on the back are edged with black dashes; spots and spiracles black; head pale brown. It feeds on dock, plantain, etc., and in the spring on young sallow leaves. In confinement will become full grown before Christmas, but normally it feeds from September to May. The moth is out in late July and in August. It is found on heaths, moorlands, and in woods; it is not uncommon in some parts of the Midlands, and is found in Cheshire and northwards to Cumberland. It also occurs in Herefordshire, Pembrokeshire; in the south and east of England it is not frequent, but has been taken in South Oxfordshire, Berkshire (Newbury), Suffolk, Hants (Winchester and New Forest), etc. Widely distributed in Scotland, and locally abundant in Ireland. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
There are two generations of this species. The first is on the wing in June, and the second in August, September, and sometimes even in October. An example of each brood is shown on Plate114, Fig. 3, 1st gen., Fig. 4, 2nd gen. The early moths are larger in size than the later ones, but are fewer in number. Moths of the second generation often abound at the sugar patches, and on ragwort blossom. The colour ofthe fore wings varies from pale to dark reddish brown in both broods.
The caterpillar is greyish ochreous or brown, with dark-edged paler lines, and the brown head is marked with darker. It feeds on dandelion, dock, grass, etc. Those of the first generation feed from autumn to spring, and those of the second during the summer. The moth is found in almost every part of the British Isles, except, perhaps, the Hebrides and Shetlands.
This species (Plate114, Fig. 5), is also generally distributed over our islands as far north as Moray, but it is rather partial to marshy situations. The caterpillar, which feeds from August to May on dock, plantain, bramble, bedstraw, etc., is pale ochreous or brownish, freckled with darker, and with dark-edged, pale ochreous lines on the back, the outer ones with a series of black wedges along them; a dark brown stripe low down along the sides; head pale brown marked with darker. The moth flies in July and August. It seems to prefer the flowers of the ragwort and the honey-dew on foliage to sugar, but the latter has attractions for it nevertheless.
On Plate114, Fig. 6, is a portrait of this greyish suffused purple-brown species, which in the British Isles is seemingly confined to certain localities in Perthshire and Aberdeen, and was first met with in the former county by Weaver in 1853. According to Barrett it is found chiefly in mountain districts from 700 feet above sea-level upwards.
The caterpillar is reddish or red brown, slightly mottled with grey; the marking on the back almost linear, widening a little, but narrowly lozenge-shaped near the end of each ring, andhaving on the widest part a round pale spot of dirty ochreous; sides much mottled with grey; dots and spiracles black, and under the latter a pale pinkish, ochreous, brown stripe; head shining brownish ochreous, with two black dots in front of each lobe. (Adapted from Buckler.) It feeds on heather, bilberry, birch, grass, etc. September to June. The moth flies in July and August.
Four examples of this very common and most variable species are shown on Plate114, Figs. 9-12. The colour of the fore wings ranges from whity brown, or drab, through various shades of grey-brown and red-brown to blackish. The more or less square reniform, and the orbicular, marks are subject to a good deal of modification; in some specimens they are whitish or ochreous and very conspicuous, and in others exceedingly faint or entirely missing; or the reniform may be well defined and prominent, and the orbicular absent; the cross lines are frequently obscure, except the dark-edged, pale submarginal, and this, too, may be wanting; occasionally there is a blackish shade between the stigmata and extending from the front to inner margins. The hind wings of the males are whitish, with a dark marginal border of variable width, but rarely, so far as I have noted, entirely absent; those of the females are uniformly darker.
The full-grown caterpillar (Plate112, Fig. 3) is hardly separable from that ofN. umbrosa, and feeds at the same date on low-growing plants, etc. The moth flies in August and early September. It is generally distributed throughout the British Isles, and is abundant pretty well everywhere.
This moth (Plate110, Fig. 7) is also common, and generally distributed throughout England, Ireland, Scotland (mainland), and Wales. The fore wings are usually purplish brown, but sometimes they are palish red brown; the creamy stripe on the front margin is more or less sprinkled with scales of the ground colour, occasionally so thickly that these marks appear reddish in tint; there is often a pale, wavy submarginal line, and in some specimens a dusky second line can be detected; not infrequently there are traces of the claviform mark, but I do not remember ever seeing any indication of a first line. The hind wings are white, and frequently the fringes are pale pinky brown.
Plate 114
Plate 115
The caterpillar is brownish, varying from ochreous to reddish, freckled with darker; the broken lines on the back are pale, with dark edges, and there is a brown freckled, pale ochreous stripe along the sides; the usual spots are black, and the spiracles whitish, edged with brownish; head brown marked with darker. It feeds on various low plants, and also on lettuce, beet, etc., in gardens; there are certainly two broods in most years, one in the summer and the other in the autumn. The moth is out in May and June, and again in August and September. Specimens have also been taken in July, and occasionally in April. The species has a very extensive range abroad, extending to India, Corea, Japan, and North America.
This species, which is depicted on Plate132, Fig. 13, is pretty constant in its pale coloration and darker markings. It is often common, and is widely spread throughout England, Wales, Ireland, and in Scotland up to Ross.
The caterpillar is greyish brown, mottled and dusted with blackish, chiefly so on the sides; the central line is darker but indistinct, and there is a yellow spot on each ring; a whitish line on each side of the central one is edged above with curved black dashes, and these are most distinct on rings four to ten;the eleventh ring is edged behind with ochreous; head dark brown; spiracles and raised dots blackish. (Adapted from Fenn.) It feeds on hedge bedstraw (Galium mollugo), dock, plantain, nettle, and many other low plants; also on lettuce. July to October. Generally the winter is passed in the chrysalis stage, and the moth comes out in the following June or July. Sometimes the moth has emerged in September.
This very variable species, of which the typical forms and two varieties are represented on Plate115, is to be found, often abundantly, almost everywhere in the British Isles, except the Shetlands.
Apart from a form peculiar to Scotland, which will be separately referred to, the colour range of the fore wings is from pale ochreous-brown to a deep brown; in all shades there may be a tinge of reddish, or a suffusion of greyish. In Ireland and Scotland, and less frequently in England, a distinctly red form occurs. (Plate115, Fig. 7.) Then there is variation in the markings, and more particularly in the reniform and orbicular marks; both stigmata are, perhaps, rarely absent, but they are frequently very faint, and of the orbicular there is often not a trace. On the other hand, both may be filled up with dark brown, or blackish, and very conspicuous. The cross lines, and more especially the shaded submarginal, are usually pretty much in evidence, but these are apt to disappear entirely. The yellow hind wings are occasionally smudged with blackish towards the base; the central crescents vary in size, and somewhat in shape, and although sometimes greatly reduced, they are only rarely quite missing; the black band before the outer margin is also subject to modification in width and the regularity of its edges.
Var.curtisii, Newman, was discovered in the Isle of Bute by Curtis in 1825, but until 1871, when Newman gave it the name it now bears, it had been known asconsequa, the name assigned to it by Curtis when figured by him in 1831. The form is generally rather smaller than the type; the fore wings are rich reddish brown, clouded to a greater or lesser extent with blackish, and sometimes entirely suffused with that colour. The yellow ground of the hind wings is rarely quite free of black scales, but in some specimens they are so thick that the yellow is hidden. A specimen of this form is shown on Plate115, Fig. 8. It is found in the Orkneys, Sutherlandshire, Elgin, Inverness, Aberdeenshire; also in the Hebrides, and in the Isles of Bute and Arran.
The caterpillar (Plate118, Fig. 2), is greenish ochreous varying to greenish brown; three yellowish lines on the back, the central edged with blackish and the others with dark oblong marks; spiracles white, edged with blackish, and below them an ochreous stripe; head grey brown marked with darker. It feeds on grass and most low plants from September to April. The moth is out in July and August.
Abroad it occurs chiefly in Central and Southern Europe, but its range extends to Southern Scandinavia and eastward to Asia Minor and Armenia.
Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate115. Fig. 1 represents a specimen from Forres, in Scotland, and Fig. 2 an example from the New Forest, Hants.
Although there is some variation in the colour of the fore wings (which ranges from pale greyish brown to dark reddish brown), and also in the intensity and clearness of the markings, this species is far less aberrant than that last referred to, andfrom which it is at once separated by the black mark on the front margin, placed on the inner edge of the submarginal line. The caterpillar is distinguished from that ofcomesby the black-edged broader ochreous central line, and a series of black oblong spots on each side of it; the stripe under the spiracles is broad, and ochreous. It feeds from September to April on grasses and various low plants. The moth flies in July and August. The species is widely distributed in Scotland, and occurs in Unst, the most northern of the Shetland Isles. In England it occurs, or has been found, in Durham, Yorkshire, Worcestershire (Malvern), Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk (not uncommon in the "Breck" district), Surrey, Sussex, Wilts, Hants (rather commonly in the New Forest), and the Isle of Wight. For Wales, Barrett states that it is rare in Pembrokeshire; and Kane mentions Co. Galway (four specimens), Killarney, and Lisbellaw for Ireland. The range abroad is somewhat similar to that ofcomes, but it extends further north in Scandinavia.
The colour of the fore wings of this common, and often abundant, species ranges through various shades of brown to dark purplish. In the typical form (Plate115, Fig. 3), the wings are of the paler shades, mottled with darker, and the thorax, except the pale front, agrees in colour with the darker mottling of the wings. Fig. 6 shows the plain form (var.innuba, Treitschke), and it is in this form that the darkest colours appear; the thorax is always of the wing colour, and without the pale front. The black mark at upper end of the submarginal line is rarely absent, but I have a pale reddish-brown example of theinnubaform without the mark. In the black-bordered yellow hind wings a central crescent is veryexceptional, but specimens in which it is more or less evident are not unknown.
The eggs figured on Plate118were found in August, 1906, on a leaf of gladiolus in the garden. When first noticed they were of a pale creamy-white colour, but two days afterwards the upper half of the batch became purplish grey, and the caterpillars hatched out the following morning, when the other half had also changed colour, and the larvæ hatched next day.
The caterpillar (Plate118, Fig. 1), is obscure brownish, sometimes ochreous or green tinged; with ochreous lines on the back, the outer ones edged with blackish bars on rings four to eleven; head pale brown marked with darker. It feeds from August to May on grasses and low plants, and is often a pest in the flower or vegetable garden. When eggs are obtained early, the caterpillars from them will sometimes attain the moth state in the same year. The moth flies in June and July, and has occurred in April, September, and October.
This is another species with variable coloured fore wings, and four examples of it are shown on Plate116. Pale ochreous brown and greyish brown is the most frequent colour, but various shades of greenish or olive brown are not uncommon. A dark reddish-brown form, known to collectors as the "mahogany form," seems to be somewhat rare. In the majority of specimens the basal third, and more or less of the central area adjacent to the second line seems to be the darkest coloured; but occasionally these parts are pretty much of the same tint as the rest of the wings.
The caterpillar (Plate118, Fig. 4) is of a soft ochreous brown, sometimes red tinted, minutely dotted with blackish; the central line on the back is pale, and on each side are darkly-edged paleoblique streaks; the white spiracles are followed by blackish marks; head brown freckled with darker. It feeds in the autumn on primrose, violet, dock, etc., and in the spring it seems to prefer the buds and young leaves of birch, sallow, bramble, hawthorn, sloe, chestnut, etc. The chrysalis, which also is figured, is dark reddish-brown, with two short anal spikes.
This species occurs in June and July, and frequents woodland localities throughout England, Ireland, Scotland (up to Moray), and Wales.
Fore wings violet or purplish grey with blackish cross bands and brownish suffusion, the latter more especially on the basal area; reniform and orbicular stigma outlined in whitish. (Plate116, Fig. 3.) In another form the bands and suffusion are reddish-brown. The black clouding on basal area of hind wings sometimes extends further towards the marginal band. The caterpillar (Plate118, Fig. 3) is of a greenish tinged ochreous brown colour, with a pale central line and series of dusky dashes along the back, these dashes becoming blackish on the hind rings; the white spiracles are set in a blackish mark, and under them is a pale ochreous stripe. It feeds in the autumn on primrose, bramble, dock, etc., and in the spring on the young growth of sallow, elm, hawthorn, etc. The moth flies in July and August, frequenting lanes, hedgerows, and woods. It is pretty generally distributed throughout England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland as far north as Moray.
Fore wings, dull reddish brown with darker cross lines and shades, often faint. On the inner margin of the yellow hind wings, two dusky shades run from the border to the base; theseare not infrequently as black as the border, which is often broader than in the specimen shown on Plate116(Fig. 4). The caterpillar is ochreous brown dotted with black; on the middle of the back is a brown stripe enclosing a whitish central line. A brown stripe along the sides is edged above with whitish; the head is pale ochreous brown lined with darker. Stated by Barrett to feed on grasses and low plants, or, in the spring, on young shoots of sallow; said also to eat primrose and dock. September to May. The moth is out in July and August, and affects lanes and hedgerows. I have found it more frequently on flowers of ragwort, and on "honey-dew," than on the sugar patch; but have met with it occasionally darting along some particular bit of hedgerow, in the late afternoon. Although apparently uncommon in the Midlands, it occurs more or less freely throughout England to Durham. In Ireland it has been found in counties Dublin, Wicklow, Waterford, Cork, Louth, Westmeath, Galway (Kane), and, Barrett adds, Antrim.
This moth is shown on Plate117. When quite fresh the ground colour of the fore wings is a beautiful green, but this often fades after a time, and the wings then assume an ochreous hue. The cross lines are black relieved with whitish, and there is a whitish blotch on the second line touching the outer edges of the reniform stigma. The green colour varies in tint even when the insects are alive; and the black markings differ in intensity, being much stronger in some specimens than in others. The caterpillar is greyish brown, more or less tinged with violet; there are three fine whitish lines, and a series of blackish diamond-shaped marks on the back; the spiracles are white, and there is an ochreous stripe below them. It feeds on dock and other low plants, bramble, and in the spring on sallow shoots and the young growth of bilberry. July to April, or May.The moth, which frequents woods; flies in June, but has been reared, as a second generation, late in the year. The species seems to be pretty generally distributed over England and Ireland, and is often common, especially in the south and east of the former country. From the Midlands northwards it appears to be less common, and its range more restricted. In Scotland it has been recorded from Roxburghshire (common at sugar in 1898), the Clyde district, and, Barrett adds, Perthshire.
On Plate117, Fig. 3 represents the typical grey form of this species, and Fig. 4 the black var.passetii, Thierry-Mieg. Intermediates occur connecting the melanic form with the type, and sometimes specimens are found of a paler hue than the type. Bred specimens occasionally have a rosy tinge, and this is then usually most in evidence between the first and second cross lines. The caterpillar is brown, with three ochreous lines on the back, the outer with dark oblique dashes on each ring; a whitish stripe along the spiracles is blotched with reddish, and edged above with black. It feeds in the autumn on dock, plantain, primrose, dandelion, etc., and in the spring on bramble, bilberry, sallow, heather, and birch, among other things. Usually it hibernates when small, but when kept indoors, and fairly warm, it can be induced to complete growth, and attain the moth state in October or later, sometimes even earlier. In the open the moth flies from the end of June to August.
Scotland appears to be the British home of the species, and it is found in most woods throughout that country, including the isles, but it is rare in the Shetlands. It occurs in Durham (rare), and in Yorkshire was not uncommon at Everingham in 1897, and several were obtained at Middlesbrough in 1900. Further south its occurrence is even more casual, and the most recent captures I have any note of are, two specimens in Lincolnshire, August, 1896, and one each in Norfolk and North East London, August, 1900. Also recorded from Essex. Only two specimens are known from Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and to North America.
Plate 116
Plate 117
The moth represented on Plate117, Fig. 5, has the fore wings silvery grey clouded with brownish on the central area; or occasionally spreading over a larger portion of the wings, and sometimes purplish in tint. The caterpillar is brownish inclining to reddish, clouded on the back with paler and darker brown. The central line, which has a broken blackish edging, is only distinct on the front rings. Spiracles black; head pale brown marked with darker brown. In the autumn it feeds on low plants such as dock, plantain, etc.; but in the spring it is found at night on the young growth of birch and sallow bushes, and more rarely on hawthorn, and I believe, on bilberry. The moth which occurs in birch woods in June and July, is not uncommon in the south of England from Essex to Hampshire, and has been found in Dorset and Devonshire. It has also been obtained more or less frequently in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire (once), Huntingdon, Worcestershire (Wyre Forest and Malvern), Staffordshire (north), Lancashire (Witherslack), Yorkshire (Huddersfield, once), and Westmoreland. In Scotland it ranges on the west from Ayr to Argyllshire, but although local is more frequent in Perthshire, Moray, and Sutherland. Var.obscurata, Staud., is a form of this species occurring in Amurland and Southern Siberia.
This moth (Plate117, Fig. 6) is pale reddish brown and glossy, especially on the outer area, on the fore wings. The caterpillaris pale ochreous brown above, and inclining to greenish below; three dark-edged pale lines, and a series of dark diamond-shaped marks on the back. The usual dots are whitish encircled with blackish, and the blackish edged spiracles are reddish brown; head olive brown, and plate on first ring blackish with the three lines showing distinct. From July to September it feeds on various low plants, including rest-harrow, dandelion, and knotgrass, also on broom, bilberry (Barrett); and Newman mentions sowthistle (Sonchus) and lettuce. In confinement the moth sometimes emerges in the autumn, but in the open it flies in June and July. Flowers seem to have more attraction for it than sugar. I have taken it at the blossoms of wood sage, white campion, and woundwort (Stachys), and Barrett notes, bladder campion, viper's bugloss, and the martagon lily. The species is chiefly found, as regards England, in the southern and eastern counties; and in the Solway, Clyde, Forth, and Tay districts of Scotland. Louth is the only Irish county from which it has been reported. The range abroad extends to Amurland. In North America the species is represented by var.purpurissata, Grote.
Grey of some shade is the more general hue of this species, but it varies in the West of England and in Ireland to white (var.pallida, Tutt), and this form is shown on Plate119, Fig. 3. In Cheshire (Delamere), Lancashire (Warrington), and South Yorkshire black or blackish forms occur, and two examples of this melanic race are portrayed on the plate, Fig. 4 being var.robsoni, Collins, and Fig. 5 var.thompsoni, Arkle. Over the greater part of England, and in Scotland, the greyish form is most frequently met with, but the white form has been found in Argyllshire and in Sutherland. The caterpillar is ochreous brown or brownish grey, with a series of diamond-shaped blackish marks, and a pale central line, on the back;the dots and the spiracles are black, each of the latter with a blackish streak in front of it. In the autumn it feeds upon dock and other low plants; but in the spring, when it is more easily found, the caterpillar eats the buds and young leaves of birch, oak, sallow, bramble, etc. The moth is out in June and July, and is not uncommon in woods. The black form seems to be peculiar to north England. In Amurland the species is represented by var.askolda, Oberthür, and in North America by var.nimbosa, Guenée.
The darker markings of this very common greyish moth are often very obscure, but the white outline of the reniform stigma, and the white submarginal line are usually distinct. The caterpillar varies in colour, but generally is some shade of dull brown or greenish, with the usual dots greyish or green tinged. The central line on the back is dusky, speckled with white, and the stripe low down on the sides is yellowish, greenish, or dingy brown; head ochreous brown marked with darker or greenish. Although it is exceedingly partial to the cabbage and other plants of the kind, it will feed upon almost every sort of low herbage, wild or cultivated. Barrett states that it has been found feeding on oak. I have taken it from birch in the garden, and it is known to eat leaves of almost any tree or shrub that may be offered to it in confinement. July to October. The moth is out in June and July, and sometimes there is an emergence in September. The species occurs over the whole of the British Isles, and abroad its range extends to India, Amurland, and Japan. (Plate120, Figs. 3♂, 6♀.)
The striking feature of the bluish-black moth shown on Plate120, Figs. 1, 2, is the brownish centred white reniformstigma. Except that the yellowish submarginal line is sometimes obscured, the species is very constant in the British Isles. Abroad, a form without the white mark is known asunicolor, Staud., and one or two examples have been recorded as occurring in England, two in 1895 said to have been reared by a northern collector from caterpillars obtained in the London district. The caterpillar figured on Plate129, Fig. 2, was pale green with darker green markings. In another form the colour is pale brown with the markings darker brown. It is found from August to October on all sorts of low plants, and in the garden, where it is often common in the suburbs of London, is very fond of the foliage ofAnemone japonicaand lupin, among other plants. The moth is out in July and August, but is not often common north of the Midlands, though it occurs, or has been found in almost all the counties of England. Its occurrence in Scotland seems to be doubtful, and Kane states that it is rare in Ireland, and almost absent from the northern counties. Its range abroad extends to China and Japan.
Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate120, Figs. 7, 8. It will be noted that, except for the two white dots at the lower outer edge, the outline of the reniform mark is very obscure; these dots are placed one below the other, thus forming a:, hence the English name of the moth. Blackish specimens have been obtained on the east coast of Scotland.
The caterpillar is green or bluish grey, with a dark-edged pale central line; spiracles white, margined with black. Barrett states that it feeds in June and July, and probably as a partial second generation in September, on plantain, dandelion, and other low plants growing in sand; probably also onAtriplex,Chenopodium, and Cruciferæ; but it is a larva of secret habits and is very little known.
Plate 118
Plate 119
The moth, which flies in May and June, and again in July and August, frequents sandhills on the west, especially those of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Wales. In Norfolk and Suffolk it is found in the Breck Sand district as well as on the coast, and it also occurs on the coasts of Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, but seems to be uncommon in most of these counties. In Scotland it occurs in suitable parts of the east coast to Aberdeen, and on the west coast to the Clyde; and in Ireland on the coasts of Kerry, Louth, and Derry.
The English name of this very common moth (Plate120, Figs. 4, 5), applies to the majority of specimens, but now and then the ochreous, or yellow reniform stigma, referred to as the brown eye, is blurred and indistinct, and the white submarginal line may almost disappear. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from reddish or purple brown to dark brown. The caterpillar (Plate129, Fig. 1), varies from green to light brown, sometimes the brownish forms are tinged with pink; the body is minutely dotted with white, and the usual dots are black; the spiracles are white, margined with black, and placed on the blackish edge of a yellow stripe; there are three greyish, but frequently indistinct, lines on the back. It feeds from July to September on most low plants, and is often found in abundance under spreading clumps of goose-foot (Chenopodium), and has been noted in profusion upon tamarisk growing by the sea. The moth flies in June and July, sometimes in the autumn. Except, perhaps, in the Hebrides, it has been found throughout the British Isles.
The moth portrayed on Plate121, Fig. 1, is not given to much variation. The central area enclosed by the cross lines ismore or less clouded with reddish or purplish brown, not extending, as a rule, below the black bar between the lines, but sometimes the inner area is clouded with purplish from the second cross line to the base of the wing. The caterpillar is pale olive greenish above, with brownish and blackish diamonds or V-shaped markings; three lines on the back are dark-edged but indistinct; a cloudy line along the white spiracles. The colour varies from greenish to brownish grey or purplish brown, and all shades may occur in the same brood. It feeds in July and August on broom, dyer's greenweed (Genista tinctoria), persicaria, and other low plants. The moth is out in May and June, and may be seen in the daytime on palings and other kinds of fencing, and also on tree trunks. It occurs in England from Worcestershire and Northampton southwards, but seems to be rarely met with northwards. Four or five specimens were taken at electric light near Tarporley, Cheshire, about 1900 (Day's List). It has been recorded from Ayr, Argyll, and Paisley in Scotland, but its occurrence in Ireland is doubtful. The distribution abroad ranges to Eastern Siberia.
The example of this species shown on Plate121, Fig. 2, is of the reddish-tinged pale brown form from Essex; but in that county, and also in other parts of England, the fore wings are sometimes clouded with sooty-brown. In other forms the fore wings are purplish or reddish brown, and the markings may be very distinct, or much obscured. The caterpillar is greenish or brown, minutely dotted with white, and freckled with dark greyish; the usual dots are black; there are indications of darker lines on the back, but these are not always clearly defined; the white spiracles are set in the black interrupted edge of a yellowish stripe. It feeds in July and August, on dock, plantain, etc. The moth flies in June and July, and occasionally in the autumn. Its haunts are marshy places, especially on the coast, and mosses; and it is found in most of the seaboard southern and eastern counties, and more rarely inland. Recorded from Ayr and Kirkcudbright in Scotland; is widely distributed in Ireland, and not rare in Louth and Kerry.
Plate 120
Plate 121
The whitish or creamy-white patch at the base of the reddish-brown fore wings is a noticeable feature of this moth (Plate121, Fig. 7), and is almost always present, even when the wings are darkened and the other markings more or less obscured. The W-like angles of the white submarginal line run through to the fringes. In some specimens the general colour is purplish brown, and in others greyish brown. The caterpillar is greyish-brown with a slight reddish tinge, and freckled with darker brown; the usual dots are black; central line dusky, a series of darker oblique dashes on each side of it; the line along the spiracles is rather broad and sometimes edged above with blackish. It feeds in August and September on dock, groundsel, honeysuckle, broom, sallow, hawthorn, apple, etc. The moth is out in June, earlier or later according to the season; sometimes it appears again in August or September. It may be found, commonly as a rule, in most woods over the greater part of the British Isles.
The moth (Plate121, Fig. 6) has a pale patch at the base of the fore wing, but this is not so conspicuous as is the pale orbicular stigma, which is often united with a pale mark at its lower edge; another pale patch lies at the inner angle, and the whole area between the second cross line and the clouding onthe outer margin may be pale. Sometimes these pale markings are tinged with pink, and more rarely the whole surface is pinkish suffused. The caterpillar is yellowish-green with reddish V-shaped marks on the back; a yellowish line along the black-margined white spiracles. Buckler figures a reddish-brown form, with a yellowish stripe below the spiracles. It feeds in August and September on birch, oak, golden rod, bog myrtle (Myrica gale), dock, brake-fern (Pteris aquilina), etc. The moth appears in June, and may sometimes be seen in the daytime on tree trunks or palings. It is a woodland species, but although it occurs in most southern and eastern counties, it is not common in any of them; it becomes commoner in the Midlands, but is scarce in, or absent from, the northern counties of England, and in Wales. In Scotland it is more frequent in some localities from Argyll to Ross. Kane notes it as local, and sometimes abundant, but from the localities given it would seem to be widely distributed in Ireland. The range abroad extends through Northern Asia to Japan.
The moth shown on Plate122, Figs. 1, 2 varies considerably, in the colour of the forewings ranging from purplish red to dingy ochreous brown or greyish brown. The cross lines and occasionally the stigmata and shades may disappear, but the yellow submarginal line always remains, at least in part. The caterpillar (Plate129, Fig. 3) feeds on the foliage of a variety of plants including brake fern or braken, sweet gale, broom, bramble, wild rose, and sallow, and may be found, often in the daytime, in August and September. It is usually of some shade of green or brown, occasionally blackish, with yellow stripes. The moth is out in June and July and is more or less common almost throughout the British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Plate 122
Plate 123
The fore wings of this species (Plate122, Figs. 3, 4) are usually greyish brown variegated with darker; cross lines pale with black edging. Sometimes the general colour is tinged with ochreous. The caterpillar is green with a darker central and two whitish lines on the back, the outer lines with black marks on them; a white edged pinkish stripe along the black-margined white spiracles. It feeds from July to September, sometimes earlier or later, on goose-foot, orach, beet, and other Chenopodiacæ, and has also been found on young leaves of onion. The moth is out in May and June, and as a second generation in late July and August. In 1903 a specimen was taken, at Boscombe, on March 21. The species is more especially attached to the coast, but is plentiful in the Breck Sand district of Norfolk and Suffolk, in market gardens and waste places around London, and is found more or less frequently up to Staffordshire. In Cheshire and Yorkshire it is scarce. Barrett states that in Scotland it is found rarely in Roxburghshire and Aberdeenshire; and not very uncommonly in the Clyde Valley; it is, however, not mentioned in the list of the lepidoptera of the Clyde area published in 1901. Only two specimens have been recorded from Ireland. The range abroad includes Northern Asia, Canada, and the United States of America.
Noticeable features of this dark-clouded whitish grey species (Plate122, Figs. 5♂, 6♀) are the whitish, or whitish outlined, stigmata; and the conspicuous black wedges on the inner edge of the pale submarginal line. The ground colour is sometimes purplish tinged; the dark clouding may spread over the greater part of the fore wings. The caterpillar is dark red brown with darker freckles, a whitish central line, and twoseries of dusky dashes; a paler line along the black-edged white spiracles; head pale brown freckled with darker. Feeds in July and August on heather, sallow, bog myrtle, etc., and will thrive on lettuce. The moth is out in May and June, and may be found resting by day on tree trunks, fences, or rocks. This species in England occurs chiefly in hilly districts of the northern counties from Staffordshire to Cumberland; recorded from Glamorgan. In Scotland it is widely distributed from Ayr to Ross, and is also found in the Hebrides and the Orkneys; and in Ireland is obtained in several of the northern counties, and on the Hill of Howth. The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The ground colour of this species, three specimens of which are shown on Plate122, Figs. 7, 8♂, 9♀, ranges from the normal pale grey through various shades of brownish grey. The markings, usually well in evidence, are sometimes obscured in the darker specimens. The caterpillar is brownish with three white lines and a series of grey-brown diamond-pattern blotches on the back; the outer lines with blackish spots upon them; the stripe along the black spiracles greyish; head pale brown marked with blackish; plates on first and last rings of the body glossy. Feeds in July and August on dandelion, knotgrass, chickweed, hawk's-beard (Crepis), hawkweed (Hieracium), etc. The moth flies in May and June and appears to be found throughout the British Isles. Represented in Siberia by the dark formlatenai, Pierret.
This species, which is an inhabitant of Asia Minor, Southern Russia, Turkey, Dalmatia and Northern Italy, occurs in Southern, Western, and Northern France; and three specimenshave been recorded as taken in England—all at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight—the first in 1858, the second in 1859, and the third about 1876. The specimen depicted on Plate122, Fig. 10, was received from abroad.
The type, which is of ochreous coloration, does not occur in the British Isles, although in one example of var.barrettii, reared by Mr. Kane, a faint ochreous tinge was apparent, but this faded out in a few weeks. Fig. 2, Plate123, represents a specimen, kindly lent by Mr. R. Adkin, of var.barrettii, Doubleday, a form discovered in Ireland, at Howth, by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett, in June, 1861. In 1879 a specimen was taken on the coast at Ilfracombe, North Devon; one example was reared from a caterpillar found at Tenby, South Wales, in 1884, and one was captured in Carnarvonshire, North Wales, in 1897. In the last mentioned year specimens were taken by the late Major Ficklin on the coast of Cornwall, and as the Cornish form differs from the Irish form in being grey instead of brown, it has been named var.ficklini, Tutt. A second specimen was obtained in North Wales in 1899. Since its first detection at Howth the insect has been taken in limited numbers almost every year; and in 1906 Major C. Donovan recorded it as widely distributed along the coast of Co. Cork, the specimens being large, of a dark slate colour with distinct light whitish grey markings.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous with a pinkish tinge; the central line is greyish brown and the spiracles black; head reddish brown marked with darker. It feeds on the roots of seaside campion (Silene maritima), July to September. The moth flies from June to August. Like most of the species in this genus, it does not care for the collector's sugar, and exceptthat an occasional specimen may be found resting on the rocks, the moths must be netted as they fly at dusk to the flowers ofSilene. Staudinger considers that var.barrettiiis identical with var.argillacea, Hübn.