Fig. 18.Fig. 18.Caterpillar of Great Oak Beauty.(Photo by "A. Forester".)
Fig. 18.
Caterpillar of Great Oak Beauty.
(Photo by "A. Forester".)
The fine Boarmid moth shown on Plate135, Fig. 2, has all the typical markings well defined. Occasionally the black cross lines are more distinct, but sometimes they are more or less absent, or obscured. An almost black specimen is mentioned by Barrett as taken in the Reading district, Berkshire; and the same author states that a black example was captured in the Midlands about the year 1887, but no other specimen was observed until 1893, when a female was obtained, and from eggs deposited smoky black moths were reared.
The caterpillar is very like an oak twig in shape, especially when in repose. (See Fig. 18.) In colour it is reddish brown, inclining to ochreous brown; brownish grey on the humps on rings 5 and 11, and on the skin folds. It feeds on oak during the autumn, and, after hibernation, in the spring. The moth is out in June and July, and may be found on oak trees rather high up the trunks. When on the wing at night it will visit the sugar patch.
Plate 134
Plate 135
The species occurs most frequently in the New Forest, Hampshire, where, in some years, it is very common. Other English counties in which it has been found, or still exists, are—Devon (Cann Woods), Dorset (Cranborne and Bloxworth), Wilts. (Savernake Forest), Sussex (Abbots Wood, Charlton Forest, Holme Bank, etc.), Surrey (Addington, June, 1902), Kent, Essex (Epping Forest), Berks., Bucks., Warwick (Princethorpe Wood), Worcester (Wyre Forest), Stafford (Cannock Chase), Cheshire (Dunham Park), York (wood near Selby), Lancashire (Corporation and Quernmore Woods).
Some specimens are rather greyer, and the cross markings are occasionally less distinct than in Figs. 1 ♂, and 3 ♀ on Plate135, which represent the typical forms of this species in England. Examples of a blackish form have been noted from a wood in West Kent, and these are apparently referable to the melanic ab.humperti, Humpert, but the Kentish specimens I have seen had the second line of fore wings edged with white, and a white submarginal line.
The caterpillar, which in shape is somewhat like that of the last species, varies in colour. One form is greenish grey, with three lines, the central one darker than those on each side. In another the colour is pale brown mottled with reddish and a darker brown. It feeds on oak, birch, and sometimes sallow, in July and August.
The moth is out in June and July, and specimens have been recorded as captured in September. It may be found on the trunks of oak and fir trees, and will come to sugar and light at night. Although local it is not uncommon in the New Forest and other woods in Hampshire; also in Sussex, Surrey, Kent.and Berkshire. It has been recorded from Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire; and as local and scarce in the Lancaster district.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan, and in both countries it is represented by var.conferenda, Butler.
Stephens, who in 1831 figured this insect asCleora viduaria, Wien. Verz., remarks, "All the examples I have seen of this beautiful species were captured in the New Forest: the first about June, 1822, the remainder in 1825 and 1826: I believe in the vicinity of Lyndhurst." Barrett states that the late Mr. Samuel Stevens obtained a number of specimens "by sweeping the upper branches of oak trees in the New Forest with a long pole." This was in 1849; and between that year and 1872, about which time it seems to have disappeared, the moth was found, by those who knew where to look for it, in the Forest between Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst. Specimens have also been taken, in the past, in Tilgate Forest, Sussex, by the late William Tester, and by Mr. Merrifield, at Holm Bank, near Henfield, in the same county. There have been recent rumours of its reappearance in the New Forest, but I have been unable to ascertain anything definite about this. The specimen depicted in Plate134, Fig. 2, has been kindly lent by Mr. R. Adkin.
The caterpillar, stated by Hofmann to feed on lichen growing upon oak and birch, is brownish variegated with paler shades.
The greenish grey species shown on Plate136, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀, varies in tint; the fore wings are often clouded with olive, and occasionally with blackish; there is frequently a tinge ofochreous between the black cross lines, but sometimes this area is flushed with orange.
Two figures of the caterpillar will be found on Plate133, Fig. 2. In colour and marking it so closely resembles the greenish-grey lichen upon which it feeds, that its detection thereon is not always easy. May and June are the best months in which to collect the caterpillars (although they may be found during the autumn and early spring), and they may then be jarred from the lichen (Usnea barbata), etc., growing on branches of trees and bushes, or searched for among the lichen on the tree trunks, or on wooden pales and fences.
The species is widely spread over the southern half of England, but is more or less rare from the Midlands northwards. It has occurred in South Wales; and Kane states that it is widely distributed and locally common in Ireland. In some parts of South Scotland it is not uncommon, and its range extends to Aberdeen and Ross.
This species (Plate136, Figs. 3, 4) has long been known asglabraria, Hübner, but as authorities are agreed thatjubata, Thunberg, is an earlier name, it must be adopted. The general colour is whitish, powdered with dark grey and black; there are four black spots on the front margin and from these blackish markings cross the wings, but only the first line is generally distinct, although a second line, beyond the large black discal spot, is sometimes clearly defined and entire; occasionally a central shade and a submarginal line are both in evidence. The hind wings have a black central spot and a blackish line beyond, but the latter is often absent. Exceptional aberration takes the form of leaden black blotches, clouds, and streaks on the fore wings, and dusky clouding on the hind wings, chiefly on the basal area.
The caterpillar is of a faint bluish green, inclining to greenish white on the back; a row of black spots along the back, and a broken black narrow stripe along each side. It feeds on tree lichens (Usnea barbata), etc., from September to June or July. Three figures of this caterpillar are given on Plate133, Fig. 3.
The moth is out in July and August, and may be found at rest on tree trunks now and then, but is more frequently obtained by jarring the lichen-clad branches of oak. Although it is known to occur very locally and somewhat rarely in the counties of Wilts., Dorset, and Devon, the New Forest in Hampshire is the English district where one is most likely to meet with this species. It has been recorded from Cornwall (Falmouth district, 1904), Hereford, Pembrokeshire, Carnarvonshire (Beddgelert), and Cumberland. Charlton Forest, Sussex, has also been mentioned. In Scotland, Renton states that it is generally common in Roxburghshire; it occurs in several of the woods in Clydesdale, and has been noted from Argyllshire.
In the following brief remarks onT. bistortata, Goeze (=biundularia, Borkhausen), I have included reference tocrepuscularia, Hübner (=biundularia, Esper). The former (which is also namedabietaria, Haworth, andlaricaria, Doubleday) appears on the wing in March and April, and there is a second flight in July and August. Moths of the second generation are few in number and small in size, and are referable to abs.consonariaandstrigularia, Stephens. A third generation of still smaller moths has been reared.Crepusculariais out in May and June, rarely in April; its caterpillar feeds in June and July or later; according to Barrett, a second generation of the moth has occurred in August. One or two moths have been captured in September or October, but whether these were referable tobistortataorcrepusculariais not quite clear.
Fig. 19.Fig. 19.Small Engrailed, at rest.(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
Fig. 19.
Small Engrailed, at rest.
(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)
By some authorities the double-broodedbistortataisconsidered specifically distinct from the, normally, single-broodedcrepuscularia; others hold the opposite view. The March and April moths are generally rather browner in colour than those appearing in May and June, but I have some specimens taken in Wiltshire at the end of March, which are quite as pale as any example in the May-June series. Probably, we should be right in regardingcrepusculariaas the older stock from which the double-brooded race,bistortata, has sprung. The former has a more extensive range, as it inhabits Northern Europe (Sutherlandshire in British Isles), whilstbistortataseems to be confined to Central Europe. A Perthshire form of the May-June race is shown on Plate136, Fig. 7; and an example of ab.delamerensis, White, from Delamere Forest, Cheshire, is represented by Fig. 8. Figs. 6 ♂, 7 ♀, represent examples of the March and April race. Black or blackish forms, with the sub-marginal line more or less distinctly white, occur in both races, chiefly in Glamorganshire, South Wales.
A photograph, by Mr. H. Main, of the caterpillar, is reproduced on Plate138, Fig. 3. The general colour is grey, inclining to yellowish or brownish; sometimes it is reddish brown; two broken dark-grey lines on the back, and some pale blotches on the sides. The caterpillars of the first race (bistortata) feed in May and June, and again in August and September. Those of the second race in June and July, or later. They seem to eat the foliage of trees, including those in orchards.
Note.—Cross-pairings betweenbistortata♂ andcrepuscularia♀ resulted in the ab.ridingi, Tutt, whilst the offspring of a crossing ofcrepuscularia♂ andbistortata♀ have been namedbacoti, Tutt. Pairings ofbistortata♂ anddelamerensis♀ produce ab.ridingi-suffusa, Tutt; and those ofdelamerensis♂ andbistortata♀ =bacoti-suffusa, Tutt. Further,bacoti-suffusawill pair withridingi-suffusa, or the last named withcrepuscularia; the progeny being in the first casemixta, Tutt, and in the latter,reversa, Tutt.
Two examples of this species (also known asextersaria, Hübner) are depicted on Plate137, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀. There is variation in the amount of black speckling and in the strength of the cross lines.
The caterpillar is dull hazel or chocolate brown, often tinged with green; a row of whitish dots on each side of a series of pale spots along the middle of the back; rings 4 and 8 barred with black-brown or dusky rust colour. Sometimes the general colour is green. (Adapted from Fenn.) It feeds in July and August, or even later, on oak and birch, sometimes on alder and sallow. The moth is out in May and June, earlier or later in some seasons. In Britain apparently confined to England, where it occurs locally, in woods, from Worcestershiresouthwards to Kent and Cornwall, and eastward to Norfolk and Suffolk. In the New Forest, Hampshire, where it is often plentiful, it may be seen on the boles of trees, but is more easily obtained after dark when it comes to the sugar patch.
Two examples of this species will be found on Plate137, Figs. 3 ♂, 4 ♀. There is variation in the greyish or brownish speckling of the wings, and this in some typical examples is so sparse that the wings appear to be almost white with brownish basal band and brownish markings on the outer area; the most conspicuous of the latter being the middle square spot between the second and submarginal lines, more or less distinct in all forms, to which the English name refers. In other specimens the wings are, especially the front pair, densely covered with the dark speckling. Some Surrey specimens, chiefly from the Leith Hill district, have an ochreous tinge; and quite recently a black form of the species has occurred in a wood near Maidstone, in West Kent. The last phase of aberration seems to be unknown in any other part of Britain, and also, I believe, elsewhere.
The egg (Plate138, Fig. 2) is yellowish green when laid; later it becomes yellow, and orange red markings appear, chiefly at one end.
The somewhat wrinkled caterpillar is ochreous brown above, inclining to greyish between the rings; an ochreous line along the middle of the back is only clearly defined on the front rings; the under side is greenish ochreous, and sometimes this colour extends to the upper side also; the head, which is notched on the crown, is pale ochreous, more or less marked with brown. It feeds at night, in June and July, on birch, beech, oak, pine, etc.
The moth is out in May and June, earlier in some districts. In the daytime it may be seen on the trunks or boughs of trees, most frequently at too great a height to be easily secured; but still a few sit low enough for capture, especially on the trunks of fir trees. The species is a decidedly local one, and seems to be largely confined, in Britain, to the southern parts of England, Wales, and Ireland. It occurs in some of the woods of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, and Suffolk. Edwards notes the species as rare at Malvern, Worcestershire. Forsythe, in "A List of the Macro-Lepidoptera of Lancaster and District" (Entom.1905, p. 12), states that the moth may be found sitting on the fir-tree trunks at the end of May, at Witherslack and Quernmore; and a single specimen has been recorded from Upton, near Birkenhead, Cheshire. The occurrence ofT. consonariain the north of England seems open to question. The only county in Wales appears to be Glamorganshire, as mentioned by Barrett. Kane (Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland) noted the species from Derrycunihy, and Mucross, Killarney, where he has taken it in moderate abundance; he also gives Clonbullogue, in King's County.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
Three examples of this greyish species are shown on Plate137. The wings are usually whitish grey in the ground colour, and sprinkled or dusted with darker grey; there are three blackish, or black dotted, cross lines on the fore wings, often indistinct, but rarely entirely absent, and even then represented by black marks on the front margin. Sometimes the first and third lines may be well in evidence and the central one absent; occasionally the second line is placed quite close to the first; the sub-marginal line is whitish, inwardly shaded with dark greyish, especially at the middle and towards the front margin. The hind wings have two cross lines corresponding with the first and third on the fore wings. There is a good deal of variation in the amount of dark speckling, and this is occasionally so heavy that the insect becomes dark grey in colour; I have taken such specimens at Oxshott in Surrey. Dark aberrations are perhaps more frequent in the north of England, but the species is more local and less plentiful in that part of the country.
Plate 136
Plate 137
The caterpillar, which may be beaten from birch, and sometimes alder, in July, is bright apple green with yellowish lines on the sides and back; the ring divisions are yellow, and the head is tinged with that colour. (Adapted from Porritt.) Sometimes the caterpillars are brownish, or greenish grey in general colour. The moth, which is out in May and June, will be found in woods, or on heaths, where birches grow. It rests on the trunks of the trees and may be boxed, as a rule, with ease. On some occasions, however, it is very lively, and the net will have to be brought into action for its capture.
The distribution of this species extends through England, but it is far more plentiful in the south than in the north, although it has been recorded from several places in Yorkshire, and from Coal Law Wood in Northumberland. It is found also in Wales, and in Scotland up to Moray. In Ireland it is not frequent, but has been noted from Mucross, and the Upper Lake of Killarney, in Kerry, and from Tinahely in Wicklow; Kane also gives Clonbrock in Galway, and adds that "some specimens from this locality have the spots very large on a clear whitish ground, so that they have a superficial resemblance toCleora glabraria."
The range abroad spreads to East Siberia, Amurland, and Japan.
Note.—Staudinger places the last four species inBoarmia, Treitschke; but Prout and others refer them to the genusEctropis, Hübner. The latter will probably have to be adopted.
The rather long and somewhat oval fore wings of this species (Plate137, Figs. 8, 9) are brownish grey, inclining to purplish grey; the two cross lines are blackish, edged with whitish, but generally indistinct; when the lines are well defined, the enclosed central area is sometimes darker than the other parts of the wings; there is a black central dot, and occasionally there is a well-marked dusky central shade. Hind wings, whitish, more or less tinged with smoky grey; frequently there is a dusky, curved line beyond the middle, and this is sometimes outwardly edged with whitish.
The caterpillar is greyish brown, dotted with black, and marked on the back and sides with reddish brown. When at rest on the twigs of its food plant, heather or ling (Calluna vulgaris), this caterpillar agrees so well with its surroundings that it is not at all easy to see; at least, we may see it, but fail to distinguish it from the twigs of the plant. It may be obtained in June and July, and again in the autumn. (Figured on Plate140, after Hofmann.)
The first flight of the moth occurs in April and May; the second in August, but specimens of the later generation are usually small in size and in number, as compared with those of the early brood.
In Britain, this species has so far only been found on the heaths of Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Berkshire, and Suffolk; in all these counties it is more or less local, but it abounds in some of its haunts. It has been recorded from Hereford, and Edwards states that it occurs rarely in the Malvern district of Worcestershire.
Plate 138
Plate 139
In a general way, all the grey specimens of this species are referable to the type formobscurata, Schiffermüller; the true type, however, appears to be rare in Britain, even if it occurs at all. It is, perhaps, best represented by well-marked dark specimens from limestone districts, or the lighter ones from peaty ground. At Folkestone and in other chalky localities on the Kentish coast, the bulk of the specimens are pale grey inclining to whitish, usually with the black cross lines showing more or less clearly. Sometimes the lines are obscured by heavy freckling (ab.woodiata, Prout); not infrequently, at Folkestone chiefly, the inner and outer areas are pale, more or less free of freckling, but the central area, defined by black lines, is densely freckled; this is the banded form (ab.fasciata, Prout). A form occurs on the chalk hills at Lewes in Sussex, in which the wings are almost white, without freckling, but with distinct black lines and rings (ab.calceata, Staudinger); a modification of this whitish form from Lewes has been described by Prout as ab.mundata, "Almost pure whitish, with virtually no markings, excepting the annulets." On heaths in Surrey and Hampshire, and on the mountains of Aberdeen and Perthshire, a blackish form occurs (ab.obscuriorata, Prout =obscuraria, Hübner, 146); and sometimes specimens are found in which the wings are of "an intense and almost uniform black" (ab.saturata, Prout). In Devonshire and Cornwall, the species is darkish grey inclining to brownish (ab.anthracinaria, Esper); whilst on the coasts of North Devon and Wales it is of a slaty grey, more or less tinged with brown, and almost without markings; the Welsh specimens are large, and the wings are rather shining (ab.uniformata, Prout). A form, which I have not seen, of "a sandy or reddish colour" is referred by Prout (Trans. City of Lond. Ent. Soc., 1903, p. 39) to ab.argillacearia, Staudinger; itoccurs in sandstone localities. (Plate84, Figs. 1, Folkestone; 2, New Forest; 3, Lewes.)
The rather rough and dumpy caterpillar is dark greyish brown above, inclining to purplish brown beneath; the raised dots are capped with white, and there is a pair of white-capped warts on the last ring (adapted from Barrett). It feeds on rock rose (Helianthemum), cinquefoil (Potentilla), salad burnet (Poterium), etc.; or the larvæ may be reared on groundsel, chickweed, and strawberry, both wild and cultivated: September to May. (Plate140, Fig. 2.)
Mr. A. J. Scollick kindly gave me some eggs, laid by a female taken in Surrey; they were yellowish green at first, but changed to pale brownish. The caterpillars hatched and seemed to thrive on groundsel, but they died during the winter.
The moth is out in July and August, and is widely distributed in England, but except that it occurs in Surrey, Berkshire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, it seems to prefer the seaboard counties, and in them chiefly affects localities near the sea. It is found in Wales, and in Scotland up to Moray; but in both these countries and also in Ireland it is most frequent on the coast.
This species (Plate139, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀) was introduced, as a species new to Britain, by Curtis, who described and figured it asCharissa operariain 1826, from specimens captured in Scotland. Subsequently, it was found to be theobfuscaria, of Hübner, and also theobfuscataof the Vienna Catalogue (1776). The latter, however, being only a bare name without description, was not generally accepted, although, if valid, it would be prior to Hübner. Still later the species was ascertained to be themyrtillataof Thunberg (1792), and as this name is much earlier thanobfuscariait is here adopted. As a matter of fact, both names are in use, as that of Hübner applies to our ashy grey form of the species, whilst that given by Thunberg belongs to the typical fuscous grey form.
Plate 140
Plate 141
The rather stout caterpillar is grey with darker lines and V-shaped marks along the middle of the back, and dark-edged pale lines on the sides; two erect whitish points on ring 12. It feeds on heather (Calluna), broom (Sarothamnus scoparius), and needle furze or petty-whin (Genista anglica), but it may be reared on knot grass. September to June, sometimes later.
The moth is out in July and August, and frequents heaths, moor, and mountain, in Scotland from Clydesdale (including Bute and Arran) to Aberdeen and Ross, and the Isle of Lewis. A male specimen has been recorded from Ireland (Dowros Head, co. Donegal, 1898). It may be found resting upon rocks, stone walls, etc.; where these have suitable holes, crannies, or projections they are selected as hiding places. Sometimes the moth has been noted on the wing during the day, but at night it flies freely, and will then visit light.
The smoky-grey species represented on Plate139, Figs. 6 ♂ 7 ♀, has two black lines on the fore wings; these are often edged with whitish, and the space between them blackish; the submarginal line is whitish, and the discal spot is black; the hind wings have a black central spot and two pale lines or bands. The female is rather smaller and much paler. In both sexes the central band of the fore wings is generally narrowed below the middle, and sometimes it is completely divided at this point.
As regards the British Isles, this species is known only to occur in the Highlands of Scotland. It is a day flyer, and very fond of sunshine, but its favourite haunts are situated at elevations of from 2000 to 4000 feet.
Note.—Newman (British Moths, p. 68) figures this species as The Dusky Carpet (Mniophila cineraria), and the insect, then known by the latter name, is figured asPsodos trepidaria, a synonym of the present species. In referring to this transposition of names, it may be well to add thatM. cineraria, catalogued as British by Doubleday, and stated by Stainton (Manualii., p. 31) to have once occurred at Tenby, South Wales, can only be regarded as an "accidental." The specimen, which is in the Natural History Museum, at South Kensington, appears to beTephronia sepiaria, Hufnagel, which is thecinerariaof Hübner.
A moth, supposed to be a specimen ofDasydia tenebraria, Esper =torvaria, Hübner, was reported as taken in Ireland "many years" before 1843, but at the present time that specimen, apparently, does not exist, and there is no exact description of it extant.
The white wings of this species (Plate141, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀) are freckled with blackish and crossed by black stripes; sometimes the freckling is so heavy that the white ground colour is much obscured and only distinctly seen as edging to the cross stripes.
The caterpillar is dingy ochreous or whity brown marked with wavy darker stripes. It feeds at night on birch and sallow;Vaccinium,Erica, bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) have also been mentioned as food plants.
In April and May, the moth, which is to be found locally, high up on the mountains of Scotland from Perthshire to Ross, is on the wing, and flies in the sunshine. Writing of this species at Rannoch in May (about 17th), 1905, Mr. E. A. Cockayne remarks that the moths began to fly about noon,when they appeared on all sides and were fairly active on the wing.
The distribution abroad is northern and Alpine, and the range extends to North-east Siberia.
This black-bordered orange-yellow species (Plate141, Fig. 3) is not likely to be confused with any other occurring in Britain. The wings are more or less sprinkled with black, but this is usually most noticeable on the hind wings which are sometimes thickly sprinkled, or, more rarely, the yellow ground colour is entirely obscured. The form with a black discal spot on all the wings has been named ab.quadripunctaria, Fuchs. In ab.fumata, Mathew, the orange yellow is replaced by smoky umber brown, tinged with orange, and dusted with black atoms (bred July, 1899).
The caterpillar is greenish with grey-edged yellowish lines along the back, and a black-edged yellow one along the sides. The ground colour is sometimes purplish brown. It feeds on broom chiefly, but will eat other Genisteæ. There appears to be two broods, one in June, and the other in September, or earlier sometimes. The moth is out in May and early June, and again in July and August, but it has been known to remain in the chrysalis for four years. It flies in the sunshine, and when resting, it sits like a butterfly, with its wings brought together over its back.
Stephens (1831) states that the species was "not uncommon among high broom in the vicinity of Birch-wood in Kent." Later authors give Stowmarket (common), Needham, Barham, and Ipswich, in Suffolk. There are no recent records from the county of Kent; and not much has been heard of the species from Suffolk, although it may still exist, in greatly reduced numbers, in some of its old haunts therein.
Four specimens of this variable species are shown on Plate141(Figs. 4, 5 ♂, 6, 7 ♀). The general colour of all the wings in the male is ochreous, inclining to whitish or to brownish. Usually the wings are speckled with brown, and the cross lines, or bands, are dark brown. Occasionally the cross markings are absent; but more frequently the three lines on the fore wings are much broadened and more or less united, sometimes forming a central band in which are a few ochreous scales towards the front margin: ab.obsoletaria, Zetterstedt. Dark brown or blackish specimens (ab.unicolorata, Staudinger) are captured now and then in the southern counties of England, but such uniform dark varieties are more frequent in the north (Staffordshire and Yorkshire). The female is white in colour, and usually only lightly speckled with blackish; the cross lines are more conspicuous, as a rule, than in the male, but they are subject to pretty much the same kind of aberration. Sometimes examples of this sex greatly resembleFidonia carbonaria, and have been confused with that species by Haworth and other entomologists in the past. An abnormal specimen with six wings has been recorded, and Barrett mentions a gynandrous example—the right side like a small dark female, and the left an ordinary male; both antennæ shortly pectinated.
The caterpillar, according to Fenn, is variable in colour and markings, all shades of brown, greenish brown, ochreous, purple, and grey; in some examples there are pale diamonds, and in others whitish spots, along the back. It feeds on ling and heath, and will eat clover, trefoils, broom, etc.: July and August, and occasionally September. The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes there are specimens on the wing in August. Abundant on almost every heath throughout the British Isles, except in the Shetlands.
Plate 142
Plate 143
Two forms of the male of this species are represented on Plate141. Fig. 9 shows the yellow English form (ab.flavescens, White), and Fig. 10 the white North English and Scotch forms. In southern localities, however, specimens occur which are almost as white as the northern or even Scotch examples; I have two such specimens from Surrey. There is considerable variation in the size of area occupied by the pale colour, both in white and yellow forms. In one of the former, from Forres, in Scotland, the white is represented by a small oval spot and dappled streak on the fore wings; an entirely black specimen (ab.nigricarius, Backhaus) has been noted from Berkshire. In other specimens there is an unusually large proportion of pale colour. The females are usually orange, or orange yellow, in the south (Fig. 8); and yellowish brown, or dingy orange brown, in the north. The brownish-coloured females occasionally occur in the south, and the brighter form of this sex is sometimes taken in the Midlands, where the two forms of the species seem to overlap.
The long, greenish caterpillar is marked with whitish or yellow lines; those along the back are edged with black, and along the sides with dark green. It feeds from August to October on the needles of the pine, and also on other firs. (Plate140, Fig. 3; Fig. 3ashows a photo of the chrysalis, twice natural size, by Mr. H. Main.) The moth is out in May and June, later in the north; it is generally common in pine woods throughout England, Wales, and Scotland.
Portraits of the male and female of this species (known also asplumaria) will be found on Plate143, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀. The cross markings are more distinct in some specimens than in others, and the central one of the fore wings varies in width.
The caterpillar (Plate142, Fig. 3, from a photograph by Mr. H. Main) is grey, with a dark-brown or blackish irregular double line along the back, and pale lines along the sides, the lower one edged above with reddish brown; spiracles, black, as also are the dots on the back; the last ring ends in a point. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds on ling (Calluna), from September well on into the following spring.
The moth occurs on heaths and mosses in July and August, but it is local. On warm days the males are very active, but about dusk they are not difficult to capture. In southern England, the New Forest, Hants, appears to be its special home, but it is also found in other parts of that county, including the Isle of Wight, in Dorsetshire, and in Surrey; also noted from Berkshire. It is scarce in Cheshire, fairly common on the Witherslack mosses in North Lancashire, and at Ullswater in Cumberland. Except that it has been recorded from the Isle of Arran (1882), it does not seem to have been noted in Scotland. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and is abundant at Kinsale, co. Cork.
The popular name of this species (Plate143, Fig. 3) refers to the black discal mark on the more or less violet-tinged pale, greyish fore wings; but there is a good deal of variation in this character. Occasionally the wings are suffused with smoky (ab.vau-nigraria, Hatchett), or more rarely with blackish brown (ab.fuscaria, Thunberg).
On Plate142is a figure of the caterpillar, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich. The general colour is greenish, or some shade of brown; the lines on the back are white, and that low down along the sides is broad, and yellow; the raised dots are black with short bristles. It feeds in April, May, and June on the foliage of gooseberry and currant, and is especially fond of the tender shoots.
The moth, which is out in July and August, is often common in gardens and orchards where bush fruit is grown, pretty well throughout the United Kingdom. It appears to occur only rarely in Ireland.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, and a form is found in Labrador.
All the wings are of a rusty ochreous colour, sometimes, chiefly in the male, inclining to a purplish tint on the fore wings; the brownish cross lines are usually most distinct in the female, which sex Hübner figured aspinetaria. (Plate143, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀.)
The caterpillar is reddish brown, with a black-edged dark-green irregular line along the middle of the back; a white line on each side of the central one, and following this are a dark-brown shade-like stripe and some brownish-green lines; the line along the spiracles is whitish, inclining to yellow. In general appearance it closely resembles a twig of bilberry (Vaccinium), upon the foliage of which plant the caterpillar feeds in the spring.
The moth is out in June and July, but in the British Isles it is only to be obtained in Perthshire and northwards in Scotland. Black-wood, Loch Rannoch, is the original, and a now well-known, locality for this species, which Curtis in 1828 figured asSperanza sylvaria.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan, and to North America.
The two cross lines on the pale-brown, sometimes pinkish, fore wings, are edged with whitish, but this is most distinct onthe outer one. In some specimens there is a distinct submarginal line, but this character is only faintly in evidence as a rule, and occasionally it is entirely absent. (Plate143, Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar feeds in June, sometimes earlier, on bracken or brake-fern (Pteris aquilina). It is olive green marked with reddish brown lines, and there is a whitish line under the black spiracles.
In most English and Welsh localities where bracken is plentiful, this moth should be found in May and June; also in the south of Scotland, but its occurrence in that country north of Clydesdale appears to be only casual. It is common in several parts of Ireland.
The distribution abroad includes Amurland and Japan.
In its ground colour this species (Plate143, Figs. 7, 8 ♂, 9 ♀) varies from ochreous of some shade to white. The dark-brown or blackish cross lines and veins give a latticed appearance to the wings, hence both the Latin and popular names for this insect. There is much variation in the width of the cross markings; sometimes two or more unite and so form bands; more rarely, perhaps, the outer lines are absent, and the others broken up into dashes; or the blackish cross lines may be slender and the veins remain of the ochreous ground colour (ab.radiata, Haworth). A less frequent aberration has the wings dark brown or blackish all over, except a row of whitish or ochreous spots on the outer margins (ab.nocturnata, Fuchs =nigricans, Oberthür).
The caterpillar, which feeds on clovers and trefoils, is green, with white lines along the back and sides; the slightly notched head is rather glossy, and the mouth is brownish: June to September, in two broods.
The first generation of the moth is out in April and May, andthe second in July and August. It may be found in clover fields and on chalk slopes, etc., where the food plants flourish; although it is an active day flyer, it is not difficult to capture with the net. It is most plentiful in southern and eastern England, but its range extends throughout the United Kingdom to Clydesdale, and the species is widely distributed in Ireland.
The distribution abroad extends to East Siberia, Amurland, and Japan.
In its typical form this species (also known asbelgiaria, Hübner) is grey, more or less tinged with ochreous, speckled with brownish grey, and crossed by black-marked brownish-grey lines. The bulk of British specimens, especially those from southern localities, are whitish grey, thinly sprinkled with darker grey scales in the male, and sometimes heavily powdered in the female; a pair are figured on Plate144, 1 ♂, 2 ♀. The whiter form of the male, occurring in Britain chiefly in the New Forest, Hampshire, has been namedalbidaria, Staudinger.
The roughened caterpillar is figured on Plate142(photo by H. Main). In general colour it is dingy brown, with a whitish stripe along the back and some greyish marking on the sides. It feeds on ling and heath; growing slowly in the late summer, but more quickly in the spring, after hibernation, when it may be obtained at night from the tips of the heather twigs, either by searching or by means of the sweeping net. The moth is out in June and July in the south, and later in the north. It is found on moist heaths, moors, and mosses; when resting on the dark-coloured earth it so closely resembles a stone that it is probably frequently passed unnoticed.
The species is apparently more plentiful in the New Forest than in its other known southern localities (Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Sussex, and Dorset). Its range northwards in Englandextends from Worcestershire (Malvern, rare) to Cumberland and Northumberland. It seems to be distributed over the greater part of Scotland, including the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Wales it has been recorded from Flint, Denbigh, and Carnarvon; and it is widely spread over Ireland, occurring chiefly on the bogs.
This slightly ochreous tinged silky white moth has the veins of the wings blackish, and this is especially noticeable on the underside of the fore wings. A male specimen is shown on Plate144, Fig. 3; the wings of the female are slightly smaller, and the body is stouter and shorter. This species is thedealbataof Linnæus, butlineata, Scopoli, is older by four years. The long caterpillar is greyish inclining to ochreous or brownish; several irregular darker lines on the back and sides. It feeds, in confinement, on knot-grass, dock, bird's-foot trefoil, etc., but in the open is said to eat wood grasses, such asBrachypodium, upon the blades of which the female moth has been seen to deposit eggs: July to May. The moth is out from late May through June; it flies in the sunshine, or rests among long grass, etc., from which it is readily disturbed. Its chief British haunts are in Kent (Higham, Wye, etc.); but it has been recorded from Sussex, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucester, and Herefordshire, chiefly in single specimens.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.
This straw-coloured species (Plate144, Fig. 4 ♂, 6 ♀) will be easily recognised by the brownish stripe on the fore wings, which extends from the front margin, near the tip, almost to the innermargin; this is sometimes faint, but rarely quite absent. The hind wings are paler and have a dusky central dot and incomplete band. The caterpillar, which in shape is somewhat similar to that of the next species, is ochreous grey inclining to pinkish on the sides; a dark almost blackish line along the middle of the back is edged on each side with pale ochreous, and there are other pale and dark lines along the sides. It feeds on thyme, cinquefoil, yarrow, and other low-growing plants; it may be reared on knot grass: September to June. The moth is out in July and August, and, although very local, is not uncommon on downs and hilly fields on the chalk in Kent and Surrey—Dover, Folkestone, and Rochester in the former county, and Leatherhead, Box Hill, and Reigate in the latter, are the best-known localities. It has also been reported from Sussex (Brighton, Horsham, near Polgate, Shoreham). In Devonshire it is said to occur at Braunton and Ilfracombe, but is scarce. In his catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Suffolk (1890) the Rev. E. N. Bloomfield notes the species as very plentiful in clover fields about Tuddenham. Also recorded from Somerset, Gloucestershire, Cheshire (West Kirby and Hale), and from near Harrow in Middlesex.
Very local and scarce in Ireland (Kane).
The range abroad extends to East Siberia and Amurland.
As will be seen from Fig. 5 ♀ on Plate144, this species differs from the last in its yellower colour and rather smaller size; the fore wings have two cross bands, generally well defined, but in the male they are sometimes very faint and slender, and specimens have been recorded in which the bands were missing.
The roughened caterpillar, figured on Plate142, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, is pale ochreous brown, lined and striped with darker brown. It feeds on wild carrot, plantain,hawks'-beard, etc., and will thrive on knot-grass. There are two broods, one feeding in the spring, after hibernation; and the other in June and July, sometimes later. The first generation of moths flies in May and June, and the second in August and early September. The species occurs in all the southern seaboard counties of England from Kent to Cornwall, frequenting the downs and rough fields near the coast; also in the Sandbreck district of the eastern counties. It occurs in South Wales; and odd specimens have been reported from Cheshire (Delamere), and from Cumberland.
The range abroad extends to North-west Africa and Asia Minor.
A male and a female of this species are depicted on Plate144, Figs. 7 ♂ and 8 ♀. There is variation in the amount of dark speckling on the wings, and in the number and width of the cross markings; sometimes the first and second on the fore wings are united throughout their length, or towards the inner margin; coupled with this there is sometimes considerable increase in the width of the first cross marking of the hind wings. A rare variety in Britain is ab.grisearia, Staudinger, which is of an almost uniform greyish or greyish-brown colour, with the markings obscured.
The caterpillar is purplish grey, marked with paler and darker; two warts on the back of rings 7-10, the middle pair the largest and most prominent. It feeds on ling, heath, broom, and the flowers of gorse or furze, and is best obtained in the spring after hibernation.
Plate 144
Plate 145
The moth, which is out in June and July, occurs on most of the heaths and moors throughout England; apparently commoner and more generally distributed in the south than in the north; but it seems to be rare on the eastern side of the country altogether. From Cheshire it spreads into Flint and Denbigh, North Wales. In Scotland, it is found in Roxburgh (Bellion Moor), Clydesdale (local, but common), and northwards to Ross. It is found on the boggy heaths of Ireland, and Kane states that it is abundant where it occurs.
The range abroad extends to Scandinavia and eastward to Asia Minor.
The moths belonging to this family are popularly known in Britain as Burnets and Foresters. Of the former seven kinds occur in the British Isles, and of the latter there are only three species.
All the species live in colonies, so that when a specimen is seen or captured others may be expected to occur on, or somewhere around, the same spot. The caterpillars bear a close resemblance to each other, and are not always easily distinguished.
Over thirty species ofZygænaare found in Europe, and about thirty-six more have been described from other parts of the Palæarctic Region. There are at least twenty-five Palæarctic species referred to the genus Ino, and about ten of these are European.
By most authorsfilipendulæis regarded as the type of the genusZygæna, Fabricius; but others refer this species, and its allies, to the genusAnthrocera, Scopoli, using the Fabrician genus forphegea, Linnæus. The latter species and its allies are perhaps more frequently referred toSyntomis, Ochsenheimer, the typical genus of the family Syntomidæ, the systematic position of which is near the Arctiidæ. It may be added thatS. phegea, and alsoNaclia ancilla, have been reported as British. There does not seem, however, to be any reason to suppose that the occurrence of either species in Britain could be other than accidental.
Two Welsh specimens are depicted on Plate146, Figs. 1 and 2; these are of the typical form. A rare aberration has the spots and the hind wings more or less suffused with blackish (ab.obscura, Tutt), but a still rarer variety has the crimson of spots and hind wings replaced by yellow (ab.lutescens, Tutt).
Newman in 1861 referred an Irish specimen toachilleæ, but a little later, after seeing other examples, in the same year he changed the name tonubiginea. Birchall (Ent. Mo. Mag., iii. pt. i.) figured four forms of the species from Ireland; hisminos(Figs. 5aand 5b) seems to represent two modifications of ab.interrupta, Staudinger, in which form the red blotches are widely separated or interrupted by the ground colour; and hisnubigenais made up of more or less typicalpurpuralis(Fig. 6a), and a variety (Fig. 6b), with red marks between the lower and central blotches.
The caterpillar (Plate145, Fig. 1) is dark green inclining to olive above and paler below; the spots are black (outer row) and yellow (inner row); the line along the back is obscure whitish; hairs, whitish. It feeds on thyme and burnet saxifrage (Pimpinella).TrifoliumandLotushave also been given among other food plants. In late summer, and after hibernation, in the spring. The moth flies in June, and is locally common in Ireland (Clare and Galway), Wales (Abersoch), and Scotland (Oban, Loch Etive). It has been reported from Tintagel, Cornwall, and possibly, as suggested by Tutt, these Cornish specimens may turn out to beZ. achilleæ, the latest addition to our small band of Burnets. Perhaps the Scottish specimens recorded aspurpuralis, or at least some of them, may prove to beachilleæ.
This species was figured by Brünnich, in 1763, aspurpuralis, and authorities are now agreed that this name must be adopted in place ofpilosellæ, Esper (1781), orminos, Fuessly (1782).
This semi-transparent and rather greyish moth has five reddish spots on the fore wings. (Plate146, Fig. 3.) So far as concerns the British Isles it is only known to occur in Aberdeenshire, where it was discovered on the mountains at Braemar in July, 1871, and where it may be still found by those who are acquainted with the situation of its lofty haunts. The late Dr. Buchanan White named the Scottish formsubochracea, but others consider that it is not readily separable fromvanadis, Dalman, which in turn is said by Tutt to be pretty much the same form of the species as that described as the typeexulans, Hochenwarth.
The caterpillar is dark green above, and paler below; two velvety black stripes on the back, each stripe interrupted by yellow spots; warts with black hairs; head, black. It feeds onSilene acaulis, cyphel (Arenaria cherleria = Cherleria sedoides), clover, trefoils,Azalea procumbens, etc.; has been known to eat dock and knot-grass: August to June. The cocoon has been found on a stem of crowberry (Empetrum), and on heath and grass stems. The moth is out in July, and, like the rest of its kindred, delights in the sunshine.
A specimen of this species, quite recently introduced as British, has been kindly lent by Mr. B. Adkin. It was taken, with others, in the vicinity of Oban, Argyllshire. Mr. Sheldon informs me that he believes that a worn Zygænid he captured in 1898, in the Glencoe district, was this species.
On Plate1, with the Scottish example (Fig. 2) referred to, is also shown a specimen from the continent (Fig. 3), and it will be noted that the former is very like the latter. In somerespects this species is not unlike some confluent-spot forms offilipendulæ, but it is a more slender-looking insect, and the body is more hairy. Further, the upper basal spot of the fore wings is lengthened almost to the upper spot of the middle pair, and the fifth and sixth spots together form an almost oval mark. Both specimens depicted seem to be referable to var.viciæ, Hübner. In the typical forms the spots are larger. A yellow form ab.flava, Oberthür, is known on the continent.
The caterpillar, after Hofmann, is figured on Plate1, Fig. 5. It is said to feed onAstragalusandCoronilla.
Two examples of this, normally, five-spotted little species are shown on Plate146, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀; a variety, referable to ab.confusa, Staudinger (spots run together forming streaks somewhat as inpurpuralis), is depicted in Plate148, Fig. 1. Occasionally a sixth spot is in evidence (ab.sexpunctata, Tutt). A form in which the body has a red belt is known abroad as ab.stentzii, Freyer, and examples having traces of this belt have been recorded from the New Forest, which, it may be added, is the only locality in Britain producing this species.