The two examples of this species on Plate96, Figs. 3, 4, are from the Pentland Hills, Scotland, and are referable toanglicata, Millière. In this form, which is smaller than the type, the fore wings are grey brown, more or less tinged with reddish, and sometimes inclining to purplish; the whitish edged dark cross lines, especially the basal first and second, are usually distinct, and the veins are often marked with black and white. Ab.arceuthata, Freyer, a paler grey form, occurs in Buckinghamshire, and has also been reported from Surrey. The specimens from the latter county, at least those from the Dorking district, were subsequently referred toE. satyrata.
The stoutish and rather rough caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others white; a broad yellowish stripe low down along the sides. It feeds on juniper, in June and July, and sometimes again in September and October. The moth is out in April, May, and June, and a second brood may appear in August and September. The species seems to occur among juniper, in Scotland, from Roxburghshire to Sutherland. It is local in North Lancashire, has been reported from near Llandudno, North Wales, and, as adverted to above, occurs in Bucks.
Four specimens are depicted on Plate96. Fig. 5 represents the typical pale brownish grey form, in which the cross lines are indistinct, and the veins are marked with white and dusky. Fig. 6 shows the rather browner, moorland ab.callunaria, Doubleday, and Figs. 7 and 8 depict two forms of the Shetland race, known as var.curzoni, Gregson. A much rarer form thanany of the above is the pale brownish ab.pernotata, Guenée (cauchyata, Meyrick).
The caterpillar is greenish with a series of purplish-brown edged, dusky green, Y-shaped marks along the back; above the yellow spiracular line is a row of slanting purplish blotches; sometimes the general colour is paler, and the markings on the back and sides rosy; occasionally, the whole of the back is rosy (adapted from Crewe). It feeds on the flowers of knapweed (Centaurea nigra), scabious, hawkweed (Hieracium), heath, sallow, etc., etc.: August and September.
The moth is out in May and June, and is found in woodlands, and on heaths and moors. It is widely distributed over the British Isles.
The fore wings are white, clouded and suffused with dark grey on all the margins. The greyish clouding sometimes covers the whole area of the wings, except a very limited space under the black discal spot (ab.disparata, Hübner). Plate97, Figs. 2, a specimen from Lancs., 5, one from Surrey.
The caterpillar is reddish brown, paler in some specimens than in others; a series of blackish spear-head marks along the back, connected by a blackish line, and a dusky line on each side; a whitish line along the spiracles. It feeds, in September and October, on mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), and yarrow (Achillea). It may be reared on garden Chrysanthemum. Chrysalis, dark buff, inclining to brown; wing cases olive green; figure 7 on Plate92is from a photo by Mr. Main, and is enlarged to twice the natural size.
The moth is out in July and early August; it is not readily put up from its hiding-place among herbage, but at night, when on the wing, it will come to light.
The species is most frequent, perhaps, on the coast, but it is widely distributed over England and Wales. Rare in Ireland, and only noted from counties Armagh, Louth, and Dublin; Kane states that he met with it in some numbers on Lambay Island. Once reported from Ayrshire, Scotland.
The Surrey specimen (Fig. 5) appears to be referable toexalbidata, Staudinger, a form occurring chiefly in Asia, but occasionally found in Germany and elsewhere in Europe.
Two forms of this species are shown on Plate97. Fig. 8 represents the reddish typical form, and Fig. 11 (from Lancs. coast) the dark ab.oxydata, Treitschke. Between these two extremes, there are various intermediate forms, showing more or less distinct cross lines.
The caterpillar is reddish brown, with a chain of oval, olive-brown spots along the back; there are also two brownish interrupted lines; the spiracular line is white. Sometimes the general colour is ochreous brown, or grey brown. It feeds, in September and October, on yarrow, and will thrive on tansy, and the flowers of garden chrysanthemum.
The chrysalis of this species is said to differ from that ofE. succenturiatain being of a rich red colour, inclining to buff on the wing cases.
In July and August, the moth may sometimes be seen resting on fences, but it is more frequently hidden away among herbage. At night it will visit flowers, especially those of the ragwort.
The species is widely distributed over England and Wales, and in Scotland up to Moray. In Ireland, it is found on the coast from Louth to Cork.
By some entomologists,subfulvata, Haworth, and its variety,oxydata, are set down as forms of the preceding species.
The grey, or greyish-brown lined, whitish species shown on Plate97, Fig. 14, has been known by three names in Britain. It was named and described by Stephens, in 1831, aspiperata(The Speckled Pug), from a specimen, or specimens, taken at Riddlesdown, near Croydon, Surrey; later, it was supposed to be thesubumbrata, of theVienna Catalogue(1776), and certainly of Guenée. The name given to it by Borkhausen, in 1794, appears to be the correct one, and is here adopted.
Crewe describes the caterpillar as yellowish green, with three dark lines on the back, the outer one not clearly defined; a yellow line on each side of the head, and of the last ring of the body.
It feeds on flowers of one of the hawkbits (Leontodon hispidus), and hawk's-beard (Crepis taraxacifolia), etc., from July to September. In June and early July, the moth may be started up from the herbage, as the collector walks over rough ground inland, or more frequently on the coast. It also occurs in fens, marshy places in woods, etc.
The species occurs in Bucks., Berks., Surrey, and in the seaboard counties from Norfolk in the east to Gloucestershire in the west, also in South Wales; in the north it is found in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland. It is not common in Scotland, but has been reported from various parts, extending from Wigtown to Argyll and Aberdeen. In Ireland it is also a coast insect, from Donegal to Cork.
The fore wings of this species (Plate98. Fig. 2) are pale greyish, with dark cross lines, and still darker narrow bands; hind wings, similar, but markings less distinct. Resemblesthe last species in size, but the wings are somewhat rounder, darker, and not so silky in appearance; the body, near the thorax, is ochreous brown. Also known asisogrammaria, Herrich-Schaeffer, buthaworthiata, Doubleday, is stated by Prout to be the older name.
In July and August the caterpillar (Plate90, Fig. 3) may be found in the flower-buds of the traveller's joy or old man's beard (Clematis vitalba). It is green, with a bluish or pinkish tinge, and there are generally three darker stripes along the back, but these are sometimes absent; occasionally the ground colour is yellowish.
The moth is out in June and July, and may be seen flying about clematis in the sunshine, but such specimens are not often worth taking. It is easily reared from caterpillars, which will thrive on flowers of gardenClematis, and may be obtained by the score, either by beating, or by searching for discoloured or black-specked flower buds of the traveller's joy.
The species is most frequent in the south of England, but it occurs in all the eastern, some of the midland, and also in the northern counties to Lancashire and Yorkshire; in the last-named county, Porritt states that the caterpillars were found in profusion onClematisnear Wadworth, Doncaster, in 1901, It inhabits South Wales and Ireland.
Abroad, the species ranges to Amurland and China.
The fore wings of this species (Plate98, Fig. 3) are brownish grey, with indistinct darker cross lines, and a wavy whitish submarginal line; the latter is sometimes not clear, except towards the inner angle.
Caterpillar, rather short, bright green, with three darker green lines along the back; a whitish line low down along the sides, and the ring-divisions are yellow. It feeds, in Julyand August, on flowers and seeds of all-heal, or cat's valerian (Valeriana officinalis).
The moth is out in May and June; its haunts are in fens, marshes, and damp spots affected by its food plant, but, as a rule, is only found in the caterpillar state. A local, but widely distributed species in England; occurs also in Wales and in Ireland.
The small, obscurely marked species, represented on Plate98, Fig. 1, has the fore wings whitish grey, sometimes assuming a yellowish tinge; a number of rather wavy, darker cross lines, and a more or less clearly defined pale band beyond the middle; discal spot always tiny and rarely distinct.
The stumpy caterpillar is yellowish green, with three purplish-red lines along the back, the central one swollen on each ring, and the others irregular; sometimes the back is suffused with purplish-red. It feeds on the flowers of cow-wheat (Melampyrum) in July and August.
The moth is out in May and June, and is readily induced to fly out from among cow-wheat, or the other herbage around. It may be found in most of the English counties, wherever its food plant abounds; in South Wales; in Scotland to Argyll and Aberdeen, and in Ireland from Cork to Donegal.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
This species (Plate98, Fig. 4) may be distinguished fromhaworthiata, which it approaches in size and general appearance, by its more pointed fore wings and the white dot at the inner angle of these wings.
The long, thin caterpillar is yellowish green; a pale olive line along the middle of the back, connecting a series of urn-shaped blotches of the same colour; two pale olive, irregular lines on each side. It feeds, in June and July, on flowers of stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later; examples of a second brood have been obtained in August and September. It flies in the afternoon, but only when the sun shines, and where the food plant grows freely.
The species occurs in all the eastern counties of England, in Bucks., and in the northern counties to Cumberland and Northumberland. In Wales it has been recorded from Colwyn, Denbighshire; in Scotland it is widely spread to Perthshire; it is local and scarce in Ireland.
The fore wings are rather rounded; grey, more or less tinged with brownish, and with ochreous or reddish brown along the front edge; the latter with dusky clouds upon it; the cross lines are dark grey brown and fairly distinct, and the discal spot is black (Plate98, Fig. 5). A large grey form from Moray, in Scotland, has been namedcineræ, Gregson.
Caterpillar, rather stumpy, and dingy yellowish green in colour, the sides and middle of the back rosy; a series of dusky spots, edged by black lines or short streaks, along the back; and a row of pinkish oblique stripes on the sides. It feeds, in the spring, in sallow catkins, and the moths may often be bred in numbers, in June and July, from those catkins which fall most readily from the bushes when we go "a sallowing." Moths frequently rest on the stems, and where there is a clump of well-grown sallows, a good series may be obtained.
The species is partial to fens and marshy places, and is found in such situations over the greater part of the British Isles.
The fore wings are greyish brown, with many darker cross lines; the outer margin is darker and traversed by a pale line; discal dot, dark grey and not very distinct (Plate98, Fig. 6). This species was long known assubciliata, Guenée, but is now referred tointurbata, Hübner.
In May and June the caterpillars may be beaten from maple, which is apparently the only food plant, and of which they have a decided preference for the flowers. When full grown the larva is yellowish green with a purplish stripe along the back, and whitish lines along the sides.
The moth may be jarred from the branches of the maple in July and August; it is occasionally seen resting on fences, etc. It seems to be found in England and Wales, in most places where there is a mature growth of maple.
The greyish-brown fore wings of this species (Plate98, Fig. 7) are crossed by darker oblique lines, which are angled on the front margin; the submarginal line is white and irregular, especially at each end.
Caterpillar, ochreous grey, inclining to pinkish, marked on the back with white-edged, purplish- or reddish-brown blotches, and on the sides with reddish or purple spots; a whitish line low down along the sides. It feeds on the flowers of wormwood and mugwort (Artemisia), from August to October.
The moth, which is uncommon and very local in England, is out in July. It occurs in Devonshire (Exeter district), Kent (Wye), Essex (Shoeburyness), Lincolnshire (Skegness, etc.), Worcestershire (Malvern), Lancashire and Cheshire (coast sand-hills, Macclesfield, etc.), and Durham (Hartlepool).
Very similar to the last mentioned, but smaller, and the markings are less distinct (Plate98, Fig. 8).
The caterpillar is variable, but generally some shade of green, occasionally purplish red; lines on the sides yellowish, and sometimes there are dusky purplish marks on the back. It feeds, in August and September, on ash, and is said to eatArtemisia,Laurustinus, and the flowers of scabious. The moth is out in late June and July, and sometimes a second generation appears in the autumn.
This species, which by some entomologists is considered to be a form ofE. innotata, is widely distributed over England, south Scotland, and Ireland.Tamarisciata, Freyer, is also considered by some authorities to be a form ofE. innotata.
Some moths reared from larvæ obtained, in 1905, from Tamarisk, in Cornwall, have been referred totamarisciata.
The rather variable species represented on Plate99, Figs. 1 and 2, will easily be recognised by its long pointed fore wings, which in colour are whitish grey, darkened by brownish cross-stripes; a whitish spot before the small, black discal dot.
The long, thin, caterpillar, which feeds on ling or heather in the autumn, is whitish with a greenish tinge: the sides are marked with red, and there are some reddish spots on the back.
On almost all heather-clad ground throughout the British Isles, this pretty little moth will be found, more or less commonly, during the months of May and early June, and sometimes there is a second flight in July and August.
The ochreous grey fore wings of this species (Plate99, Fig. 3) are crossed by dark, bent lines, and marked with black on the veins; the central area is sometimes whitish, and generally paler than the ground colour.
Caterpillar, slender, ochreous brown in colour, with browner lines and redder V-shaped marks on the back. It feeds on oak, in June and July. The moth is not uncommon in oak woods, in April and May, and may be beaten from the boughs in the daytime, and not infrequently found resting on the trunks. Generally distributed, but in Scotland not noted north of Perthshire.
This species (Plate99, Fig. 5) differs from the last in being smaller, paler in colour, more distinctly marked, and with a rather larger and more conspicuous discal spot.
The caterpillar feeds, in June and July, on young leaves of oak, the flowers of the evergreen oak (Quercus ilex), and hawthorn. It is orange, or ochreous red, with blackish marks connected by a line of the same colour along the back, and yellowish stripes and lines on the sides.
The moth is out in May and early June, and occurs in some of the woods in most of the southern counties of England, and on the west to Worcestershire. It has been recorded from Yorks. and Cumberland; from Glamorganshire, South Wales; and from counties Armagh, Dublin, Wicklow, and Sligo, in Ireland.
In some respects this species (Plate99, Fig. 4) is not unlikeE. abbreviata, but the general colour of the fore wings is pale grey inclining to brownish; a good character is the blackishband before the submarginal line, which is interrupted by patches of the ground colour, one above, and the other below, the middle; the submarginal line is whitish towards the inner margin.
Caterpillar, long and thin; dark green; a series of yellow dotted reddish marks on the back, and a yellow-edged reddish line low down along the sides. It feeds, in the autumn, on hawthorn, sloe, currant, sallow, ash, etc.
The moth is out in May and June, and is sometimes seen at rest on the stems and branches of trees, fences, etc., and may be beaten out of hedgerows.
Widely distributed throughout England, Wales, Scotland to Perthshire, and Ireland.
Two specimens are shown on Plate99: Fig. 6 represents a more or less typical example from the Surrey downs, and Fig. 7 a pale form from Forres in Scotland. The species varies in tint of ground colour, and in the strength of marking, in all its localities; but in Scotland there is a greater tendency to pale forms than in England. Mr. H. McArthur, during the present year, obtained an extensive and most variable series from heather, at Aviemore, in Inverness. A pale-brownish tinged white pug found in Kent and the Isle of Wight, at one time referred toE. ultimaria, Boisduval, and afterwards known asstevensata, Webb, is really, according to Prout,anglicata, Herrich-Schaeffer. Whether this is a form of the present species or specifically distinct is still left in doubt, but personally I believe it to be a variety.
The dark-green, sometimes reddish marked, caterpillars may be beaten from juniper bushes, from April to early June. The moth is out from late July to early October, and may be foundin nearly all parts of the British Isles where the food plant occurs, and occasionally in localities from which juniper appears to be absent.
Fig. 5.Fig. 5.Double-striped Pug, at rest.(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
Fig. 5.
Double-striped Pug, at rest.
(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
This species varies a good deal in the tint of the ground colour and the cross markings. Three forms are depicted on Plate99: Fig. 8 is a typical male, and Fig. 9 shows a female with distinct red bands (ab.rufifasciata, Haworth); both specimens are from Surrey. The greyish example without red markings (Fig. 10) is from Ireland, and approaches ab.tempestivata, Zeller, in form.
The caterpillar ranges in colour from yellowish-green to reddish; on the back there is a dark-green or blackish line, and often a series of marks of the same colour; the lines on the sides are yellowish. It feeds chiefly in or on the flowers of furze, broom, holly, clematis, hawthorn, etc., from May to September. There are certainly two broods, possibly more. The specimens of the first, or spring, generation are usually larger in size and more strongly marked than those of the summer brood.
The moth is most frequent, perhaps, in April, May, July, and August, but it may be met with in either of the months from April to November. Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, including the Hebrides and the Orkneys.
Over sixty years ago, this fine pug (Plate99, Figs. 11 and 12) was detected in England. It was first noted in a plantation of spruce fir at Black Park, Buckinghamshire, in mid-June, 1845, and for many years this was the only known British locality. At the present time it is obtained more or less regularly in the New Forest, and has been recorded, chiefly in single specimens, from Wiltshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire, and Durham. It is not uncommon in Scotland up to Inverness, but is most plentiful in Perthshire.
Kane (Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland) states that it is spreading over an extensive area in Ireland, as a result of the planting of spruce fir.
The caterpillar, which feeds in the spruce cones, and eats the immature seeds, is dingy white with a pinkish tinge, and suffused with blackish above; the lines along the back and sides, when present, are whitish but not distinct; head, and raised dots on the body, black; a brown plate on the first ring: July and August. Cones containing caterpillars may be secured by visiting a known locality for the species towards the end of August, especially immediately after a gale.
The moth may be dislodged from its resting place among the branches of the spruce in June, sometimes earlier or later.
This is "Phalæna"v-ata, Haworth, and also the V-Pug of that author. A later English name for the species is "The Coronet Pug," an Anglicism for the Latin specific name, and has reference to the black upper part of the outer cross line which is twice angled and bears a fanciful resemblance to acoronet; the lower angle is, however, most distinct, therefore Haworth's English name seems most suitable as it indicates the V-mark, which is a noticeable character of this delicate green species. (Plate100, Fig. 1.)
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with three reddish lines along the back, the central one most distinct and sometimes forming triangular marks, or lozenges. The ground colour varies, and may be greener, yellower, or occasionally greyish; and the markings are not always present.
There are two generations, the first in June and July, and the second in the autumn, and in confinement a third brood is sometimes obtained. The blossoms of various plants are eaten, but those of hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabinum), golden-rod (Solidago), clematis, and purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), are perhaps favourites. Hawthorn and bramble have also been mentioned as food plants.
The moth is out in most of the months from May to August, but seems to be most frequent in the first named.
Generally distributed in the southern half of England, extending into South Wales, rare in Yorkshire and in Roxburghshire, Scotland. Widely distributed in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Japan.
Of this variable species five examples are shown on Plate100. Figs. 2 and 3 represent the typical and more usual forms; 3 varies in the direction of ab.subaerata, Hübn., and Fig. 4 is the greyish ab.cydoniata, Bork. Ab.nigrosericeata, Haworth (Fig. 6), is blackish with white submarginal line; and an intermediate form (Fig. 5) may be referable to ab.sericeata, Haworth.
The stumpy caterpillar is of a pale yellow green colour, witha more or less distinct reddish or dark-green line along the back, and reddish ring-divisions. It feeds in flowers of the wild apple or crab, and of apples and pears grown in orchards and gardens. It is found in April and May, and the moth is out in June and July.
The species is common throughout the greater part of England and Wales, and its range extends to Ross in Scotland. It has a wide distribution in Ireland.
As a British insect, this species (Plate100, Figs. 7 and 8) was first found in Devonshire, and was then known by the English name of "The Devon Pug." As the yellowish green caterpillar, marked with a darker line along the back and a yellowish one low down on the sides, feeds on bilberry, in April and May, and is by no means confined to Devonshire, the popular name here adopted is more suitable.
When quite fresh the moth, which is out in June and July, has a very delicate tinge of green, but this quickly fades out, leaving a pale greyish white insect. In the typical form (Fig. 7) the black central lines are fairly well defined, but in ab.nigropunctata, Chant (Fig. 8), the lines are represented by a series of dots.
The species is common in some of the sheltered hollows among the hills in Devon and Somerset, and I used to find it in abundance in the Martinhoe district, in the former county. The moths were rarely disturbed from the food plant during the day, but towards dusk they flew in numbers around small trees of mountain ash. Other counties in which it is known to occur are—England: Cornwall, Worcester, Staffordshire, Leicester, and Lancashire (formerly on Chat Moss). Wales: Glamorgan and Pembroke. Scotland: Aberdeen. Ireland: Wicklow, Waterford, Cork, Kerry, and Sligo.
At one time this greyish brown species (Plate102, Figs. 1, 2) was known by the English name of "Broom Scallop," but it is now usually referred to, in the vulgar tongue, as the Dentated Pug. The hind wings have their outer margins toothed rather than scalloped, and the insect has nothing to do with broom.
The rather long caterpillar is pale green, with four white lines along the back, and one on each side; a whitish stripe along the black spiracles. Head, pale brown, rather flat above. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds on the yellow loosestrife (Lysimachia vulgaris), in July and August, or even later. Fens and marshy woodlands are the haunts of the moth, which is out in June and early July. It hides among the coarser vegetation, and is not always easily disturbed therefrom; neither is it often noticed when on the wing at night, although it is sometimes found at the flowers of buckthorn.
Localities for the species are the fens of Cambridge and Norfolk, the boggy parts of the New Forest, Hants; Dorset (Bloxworth and Hyde, etc.); Cheshire (Delamere Forest); Yorkshire (bogs near York, and Thorne Waste).
The range abroad extends to Japan.
The darker banded, pale ochreous species shown on Plate102, Figs. 3 ♂, 4 ♀, varies in the colour of the band to brownish; the central area of this band is almost always pale ochreous or whitish, to a greater or lesser extent.
Caterpillar, stout and roughened; ochreous inclining to reddish, and tinged above with greenish; a series of V-shaped marks along the back, yellow oblique darker on the sides, and a greyish edged pale wavy line low down along the sides.The figures 2, 2a, on Plate94are from coloured drawings by Mr. A. Sich.
It feeds in the autumn on the flowers and seeds of various kinds of goosefoot (Chenopodium), also on Orache (Atriplex). The moth is out in July and August, and may be found among its food plants and other low herbage growing in waste places, more particularly those on sandy coasts. Around the borders of market gardens, especially those in the south of London, and in Kent and Surrey, it is often very common. The species probably occurs more or less freely in suitable places almost throughout the British Isles.
Its range abroad extends to East Siberia.
The rather pointed fore wings are pale brownish, and are crossed by several fine wavy and rather darker lines, and three more distinct, slightly curved lines, one of which is at the base and two are on the central area. The outer margin of the hind wings, which are pale brown, more or less shaded with dusky, is irregular. (Plate102, Fig. 6.)
Caterpillar, whitish-yellow above, inclining to pale buff below; lines of grey freckles along the back and sides, the lower one broader and darker; head, grey, freckled with darker. According to Hellins, who reared it from the egg, it feeds in May and June, on traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba). The natural food is doubtful, but is said to be grass, whilst Kirby states that in the South of France the caterpillar eats evergreen oak.
The moth is out in September and early October, and is found in Scotland on the hills, in rough grassy and rush-covered spots, at elevations ranging from 300 to 800 feet. In Ireland, it is not uncommon in Antrim, Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway,and Limerick. Barrett states that a specimen has been taken at Shap Fell in Westmorland.
Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia.
The female example of this species, represented on Plate102, Fig. 5, is from Germany; the male is somewhat paler and the central markings less distinct. This form is var.conjunctaria, Lederer, and most of the specimens formerly obtained in the Cambridgeshire fens, chiefly Burwell and Wicken, were referable to it. The species has not been seen in its old fenland haunts for very many years, and it is probably now extinct in Britain. Specimens have been in the past (and still continue to be) recorded from other British localities, but these on investigation are found to be cases of mistaken identity.C. vittata=lignatabears a strong likeness toP. polygrammata, and is often confused with it, but in the latter the outer band does not run to the tips of the fore wings, as it does in the former species.
At first sight this moth (Plate102, Fig. 7) might be mistaken for a small specimen of the Waved Umber (Hemerophila abruptaria), but it will be noted that the dark stripe on the fore wings starts from the middle of the inner margin, and runs to just below the tips of the wings; the outer margin of the hind wings is not wavy, and the antennæ of the male are not pectinated.
The caterpillar, which feeds on traveller's joy (Clematis vitalba), in June-July, and in September-October, is greyishbrown, with three blackish lines along the back, the central one broader than the other two, especially on the middle of each ring, where it swells out into a black spot.
In May and June, and again in August, the moth may be disturbed from the food plant growing in masses in hedgerows, etc. It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, westward to Herefordshire and South Wales, and eastward to Suffolk. Forsythe states that it is local in the Lancaster district.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The general colour of this species (Plate102, Fig. 8) is pale brown, with a tendency to reddish in some specimens, and to greyish in others.
Caterpillar, pale brownish inclining to ochreous; on each side of an irregular blackish line along the centre of the back is a pale yellowish line, and there are white spots on the back of the middle rings. It feeds onClematis, in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, and will be found in similar localities to those mentioned for the previous species, and, except that it has not been recorded from Lancaster, its range in England is much about the same.
The distribution abroad extends to Japan.
This species, also known aslignata, Hübner, is usually pale brown in ground colour, tinged with ochreous or pinkish; the darker oblique stripes vary in width and in intensity. (Plate102, Figs. 9 ♂, gen. 1; 10 ♂, gen. 2.)
The caterpillar is of a yellow-green colour, inclining toochreous brown on the upper portions of the middle rings; a darker irregular line along the back, and a whitish line on each side, the latter edged above and below with a fine black line; below the spiracles is a pale pinkish brown stripe. Varies in the tint of ground colour and in the markings. It feeds, after hibernation, on bedstraw (Galium palustre,G. saxatile, etc.), and caterpillars from eggs laid in June may be reared on clematis, wild or cultivated.
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later, and a second generation appears in August and September; the individuals of the later brood are often smaller than those of the first brood. Its haunts are fens, marshes, and water-meads, but in Middlesex I have taken a specimen or two flying along a weedy ditch. Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but not noted in Scotland north of Moray.
Also known in the vulgar tongue as "The Narrow-barred Carpet." As will be seen on reference to Plate102, the male (Fig. 12) is pale brown with a dark central band; and the female (Fig. 11) is purplish brown, the central band rather blackish, and on it is the discal mark, a black centred white spot. The specimens figured are rather small.
The following aberrations have been named—ab.marginata, Mathew, with the fringes of all the wings conspicuously pinky-grey; ab.olivacea, Mathew, a form of the female with olive brown fore wings; ab.obsoleta, Mathew, a form of the male with the dark central band nearly or quite absent.
Plate 102
Plate 103
The caterpillar is greyish, sometimes tinged with pink, and sometimes with green; three dusky lines on the head and first three rings of the body, a series of blackish outlined, whitish marks on the middle rings, and blackish marks on the other rings, which are pale in colour; a blackish line above the black-edged spiracles is broken up into dashes on the middle rings. Several other forms of the caterpillar, which is a variable one, have been described by Hellins. The food comprises groundsel, knotgrass, chrysanthemum, and various other plants. There are several generations during the year, and in hot weather the caterpillars feed up rapidly, so quickly indeed that in about a month the whole round of changes from egg to moth is effected. The species is migratory in habit, and there is little doubt that the specimens taken in this country in late spring or early summer are immigrants; those examples obtained later in the year are probably the descendants of such aliens. It is more frequently noted from southern England, chiefly from the seaboard counties, but it has been recorded from Lancashire and Yorkshire; also from Wales, and from several parts of Ireland: April to November.
A more or less typical example of each sex of this variable species will be found on Plate103. Fig. 7 represents a male, and Fig. 8 a female; the slightly marked specimen (Fig. 6) somewhat approaches the continental speciesA. pantaria, L., in appearance, and it is probable that such individuals have done duty for the species just named in some of the older collections of British lepidoptera. On Plate104are shown the leaden tinted form (Fig. 6), sometimes not infrequent in certain Yorkshire localities; a specimen with smoky fore wings (Fig. 7), taken with a few other examples of the same form in a wood in Buckinghamshire, in 1907, when also the strongly banded form (Fig. 8) was secured by Mr. A. J. Scollick. Between theseextremes and the more typical forms all kinds of intergrades occur, but it is not possible here to discuss these in detail.
The pale greenish yellow eggs and two caterpillars are figured on Plate101, Figs. 2, 2a. The latter are whitish, inclining to yellowish on the back, and lined with black; stripe below the black spiracles, yellow; head, black and glossy. The food is wych-elm (Ulmus montana), but beech and hazel are said to be eaten at times: August to October. The moth is found in May and June, sitting about on the leaves of dog's mercury, and other vegetation in its woodland haunts. Although it sometimes occurs sparingly in the southern seaboard counties, it is far more frequent in the west, ranging from North Devon to Cumberland, and including Wales. It is common in Bucks., and northwards to Northumberland, and extends into South Scotland. In Ireland, not uncommon at Killarney, and reported from a few other localities.