The fore wings of this glossy species (Plate60, Figs. 1, 2) are pale brown, tinged more or less strongly with rosy or purplish; there are numerous darker and paler cross lines, the most distinct and constant being the blackish basal, and the two forming the edges of the central band; the latter are marked with black; the submarginal line is whitish, wavy, and sometimes broken up into dots. The species varies considerably in tint, some specimens inclining to pale greyish brown, others to smoky brown. Hind wings, whitish grey, with several darker grey cross lines; in dark specimens these wings are smoky grey. Ab.cinereata, Stephens, is a small pale greyish form, almost without rosy tinge and with fewer cross lines.
The caterpillar (Plate62, Fig. 1) is yellowish green withdarker green stripes and lines. In another form there are four pale yellowish lines along the back and a yellow stripe low down along the sides. It feeds on buckthorn (Rhamnus), the leaves of which it fastens together with silk, and so forms a retreat. It will also eat sloe and bird-cherry (Prunus padus).
The moth is out in August and through the autumn, when it sometimes visits the flowers of ivy, ragwort, etc.; after hibernation it is again seen, perhaps even more frequently, in April and May, and is then occasionally found at sallow catkins. The species seems to have been noted from nearly all the English counties, but becomes rare from Yorkshire northwards. In Wales, and in Ireland, it is apparently widely distributed, but in Scotland it seems confined to southern localities, and is only rarely met with.
Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland, China, and Japan.
This species is very similar to the last, but the wings are not glossy, only reddish on the outer margin, and the black marked lines edging the central band of the fore wings are less irregular, the inner ones usually being much straighter. On the under side of the hind wings of the male is a fold enclosing hairs; this is on the inner margin, just above the anal angle. (Plate60, Fig. 3 ♀.)
The thickset caterpillar (Plate62, Fig. 3, after Hofmann) is greyish inclining to greenish; four white lines along the back, the central pair enclosing a dark line, the others are bordered below with dark greyish; the black spiracles are set in yellowish blotches, and the plates on first and last rings are brown; head, reddish-brown, glossy (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on the barberry (Berberis vulgaris) and the holly-leaved barberry (B. aquifolium) grown in gardens, in June and July. The mothis out in May and June, but in favourable seasons has appeared in late April. When on the wing at night it is freely attracted by light, but otherwise not often noticed. The species has occurred in many of the English counties from Devon to Durham, but it seems to be only common in the eastern counties, and most frequent perhaps in Suffolk. It has been recorded from South Wales, but is seemingly absent from Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
Wings pale greyish, sometimes ochreous tinted, and crossed by numerous dark-grey wavy lines inclining to blackish on the front margin of the fore wings; the waves of the central pair of lines on the fore wings often meet and so form a series of rings; sometimes the space between the eighth and twelfth lines is of a dusky hue, and occasionally it is distinctly darker and band-like; the outer margin of all the wings is brownish and traversed by a wavy white line. The male has tufts of blackish hair in a fold on the inner margin of the hind wing, this is noticeable on the upper side, but is best seen from the under side. (Plate60, Figs. 4 ♂, 5 ♀.)
The somewhat dumpy caterpillar is reddish-brown with four yellowish lines along the back; a greyish stripe along the sides, and a creamy stripe along the black spiracles; head, pale brown and glossy. It feeds on sallow, aspen, and bilberry, and may be found from August throughout the autumn in spun-together leaves at the tips of the shoots. (Plate62, Fig. 2.)
The moth is out in June and July, and occurs in woods where there is a good growth of bilberry, or in marshy spots where sallow bushes abound.
In England the species is widely distributed over the southern and eastern counties; its range extends through the Midlands to Cheshire, Lancs., and Westmorland, rarely in Lincoln and Yorks., and once recorded in Durham; it occurs in Wales and in Scotland, but only in the more southern part of each country. It is not plentiful in Ireland, but widely distributed. The range abroad includes Amurland.
Plate 60
Plate 61
The male is always smaller than the female, and is noticeable for its long body with tuft of hairs at the extremity. The wings in both sexes are dingy brown, or greyish brown, and the usual lines on fore wings are blackish, the space between first and second often dusky. (Plate60, Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar is short and stout, and in form very like that of the winter moth; the back and a central dorsal stripe are black, the latter bordered with white, the sides are yellow; the spiracular line is black, broken, and unconnected; the spiracles are black; the head is black, and the edge of the first ring of the body is yellow. (Crewe.) It feeds, in May and June, on purging buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), and is to be found between two or more leaves, which it spins together as a hiding place.
In June and July the moth may sometimes be obtained by beating bushes of buckthorn, or the herbage below and around; this plan works best when operated just before dusk. As a British insect it is only found in England, and is most frequent in the southern and eastern counties, but widely distributed in the west to Worcester, and has been found in Lancashire, Westmorland, and Yorks. In the last-named county, caterpillars were obtained freely at Askham Bogs in 1900.
When Stephens wrote of this insect in 1831 he noted its occurrence "in a lane near Fulham." Even so recently as 1906 I obtained specimens on the Putney side of Wimbledon Common.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia.
The blackish oblique band on the fore wings of this ochreous brown species (Plate60, Fig. 7 ♂, 8 ♀) is sometimes indicated only by the blackish lines, the space between them being hardly darker than the general colour. Sometimes all the wings are suffused with blackish brown, and in such specimens the only distinct marking is the whitish submarginal line.
The caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellow; the hind wings are marked with purple, and a stripe of the same colour runs along under the spiracles. In another form the general colour is greyish with a reddish-brown stripe along the back, and series of spots of the same colour along the sides. It may be found in May and June, concealed between leaves that it has fastened together to form a retreat.
The moth flies in late June and in July, and may be disturbed in the daytime from buckthorn bushes. It is widely distributed, and often common in the South of England, but is rare in the north; and has also been recorded from South Wales.
Note.—This species has been referred totransversata, Hufnagel, and as this is an earlier name it may have to be adopted. According to Prout, both this and the preceding species should be placed in the genusPhilereme, Hübner.
In its typical form (Plate63, Fig. 3) the blackish band of the fore wings is entire, but in ab.insulata, Haworth (Fig. 4), this band is interrupted by two whitish lines along the median veins, and so divided into three or four portions, the smaller section placed between the lines; occasionally, the dividing lines assume stripe-like proportions, and the main portions are consequently smaller in size and further from each other, but one "island" still remains. In another form, the lower outer corner is distinctly separate from the costal portion; thus the band is broken into four parts.
Plate 62
Plate 63
The long caterpillar is green, with a reddish-brown stripe along the back; this is broken up into spots, except on the first three rings; there are some reddish-brown spots on the sides. It feeds on various kinds of willow herb (Epilobium), and enchanter's nightshade (Circæa lutetiana) in July, and sometimes in August and September.
The moth should be looked for in beech and other woods amongst the food plants, from which, and the surrounding herbage, it is readily evicted. It flies at twilight, and later on, when it has been known to visit the sugar patch; it is also attracted by light. It is out in May and June, and specimens of a second generation sometimes occur in the South. The species occurs locally throughout England, probably Wales, and in Scotland up to Ross. In Ireland, it is widely distributed and locally common in the North, but apparently not noted in the South.
The white veins and white lines passing through the blackish blotches at the base and on the front margin of the fore wings, give these wings a curious netted appearance; the hind wings are smoky grey, with two white lines which appear to be continuations of the white second line and sub-marginal of the fore wings. (Plate61, Fig. 1.)
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, and more or less tinged with pinkish, especially on the sides; three lines on the back, the central one reddish, the others whitish; a central line along the pinkish spiracles. It feeds at night on yellow balsam (Impatiens noli-me-tangere), preferring the flowers,seeds, and young foliage, and rests by day on the undersides of the leaves: September and October. (Plate64, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in July and August, and, of course, will only be found in localities where the balsam flourishes; these are very limited, and in Britain are confined to Westmorland and the northern border of Lancashire, and North Wales. The species was first introduced as British in 1861, when the late Henry Doubleday recorded the capture of three specimens in August, 1856, on the border of one of the lakes in Westmorland, by his friend the late Thomas H. Allis. It seems that other specimens had been taken at the same time, but these passed into collections as the "second brood ofsilacearia." The caterpillar is said to have been found in North Wales, but has been more frequently obtained in the English Lake District.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Corea, and Japan; but in the three last-named countries it is chiefly represented by var.ærosa, Butt., a large form.
The English name here retained was given to this species (Plate63, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀) by Harris, in 1775, but in 1782 he changed it to "Clouded Carpet."
In ground colour the fore wings are pale brown, more or less clouded with darker brown, or with reddish-brown; the basal patch, central band, and blotch on outer margin below the tip of the wing, are all chocolate brown clouded with blackish and edged with white. Hind wings, whitish, suffused with smoky grey, except on front area; three dusky whitish-edged wavy lines, inclining to blackish on the inner margin. The egg (Plate67, Fig. 3) is yellowish when laid, and then changes to purplish with a whitish bloom.
The caterpillar is green, varying to brownish; along themiddle of the back is a series of purplish-edged, brown-centred, whitish, triangular markings; the third ring is swollen, and has a black collar. It feeds at night on the foliage of red and black currant, also on gooseberry, and may be found in April and May, earlier or later according to season, sitting by day upon the bushes.
The moth flies in July and August, and occurs in gardens, but is said to be partial to sloe bushes and hedges. It is always more or less local, although it is distributed over the greater part of the British Isles.
This species occurs in the Northern United States of America.
The fore wings of this rather variable species (Plate63, Figs. 5-7) are yellowish or reddish grey, with a darker basal patch and central band; a reddish blotch below the tip of the wing is edged with white, and the central band is also outwardly edged with white. Hind wings, whitish, with two lines, and dusky hind marginal border, the latter sometimes inclining to reddish. Occasionally, the fore wings are entirely pale ochreous, and the basal patch and the central band only very slightly darker, but the limiting lines are reddish, and the patch under the tip of the wing is bright orange red. Var.insulicola, Staud., from the isles of Scotland, has the fore wings rather narrower, and suffused with purplish brown or deep violet grey; the hind wings are smoky grey. The female is usually smaller than the male, and often more yellow in colour.
Eggs, whitish brown, mottled with darker. The early stages are shown on Plate67, Figs. 2-2b.
The long caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, with three lines along the back, the central one dark brown, and most distinct at each end; the others are white, irregularly shaded abovewith reddish; another white line along the region of the spiracles. It feeds, in May or June (earlier or later in some seasons), on sallow and birch. The moth is out in July and August, and frequents heaths and bogs more especially, but is also found in or around woods, and I have captured male specimens as they flew along hedgerows bordering fields, at dusk, in Middlesex. The female is rarely seen on the wing.
The species, which ranges through Central and Northern Europe to the Ural and Altai, is generally distributed throughout the British Isles; it is found also in the Atlantic States of America.
The fore wings are yellow, with a reddish or purplish-brown basal patch, central band, and small patch on outer margin below tip of the wing, the central band more or less clouded or mottled with yellow. Hind wings, whitish, tinged with yellow. The female is usually smaller, the colour generally paler, and the markings frequently only represented by cross lines. Specimens from the Isle of Arran have the ground colour of fore wings more or less dappled with brown of the same tint as that of the central band and other markings; the hind wings are tinged with a smoky hue. In other parts of Scotland the brown colour becomes more and more general, until the fore wings are uniformly brown, and the hind wings dusky. On the mountains in the north nearly black specimens occur, and these seem to be referable to ab.musauaria, Freyer. (Plate63, Figs. 8-10.)
The long caterpillar is variable in general colour, brown, mottled with greyish, pale grey, reddish brown, or yellowish green; all have darker or whitish lines along the back, and whitish or pinkish triangles or X-marks. It feeds, in May and June (earlier in some localities, and later in others), on bilberry, crowberry, and sallow; it may also be reared on willow.
Plate 64
Plate 65
The moth is out in July and August, and may be found on the leaves and among the sprays ofVaccinium myrtillusgrowing in woodlands (especially the more ancient), bogs, and moorlands.
The species is widely spread, and generally abundant in suitable districts, over the greater part of the British Isles; but it seems to be more or less casual in England south of the Midlands, although its range runs through Gloucestershire and Somerset into Devon. In the last-named county it sometimes swarms at Martinhoe, on the edge of Exmoor.
The distribution abroad includes Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Labrador, and North America.
The fore wings are pale ochreous, more or less clouded with darker; three brownish cross lines. Hind wings, paler, with indication of cross lines on the inner margin. Fringes of all the wings chequered with brown, most distinct on the fore wings. (Plate65, Figs. 1, 2.)
The long caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish; three lines along the back, the central one dark green and the others whitish; there is also a whitish line low down along the sides. It feeds at night, in May and June, on currant (Ribes rubrumandR. nigrum), and may be found on the underside of a leaf in the daytime. (Figured on Plate67, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.)
During July and August the moth flies in the evening, and after dark it often comes to any bright illumination. It is essentially a garden insect, and where currant bushes are there also spinach is often grown; hence it was probably connected with the vegetable rather than the fruit when Haworth named itspinachiata. The species seems to be found more or less frequently in suitable spots through England. In Wales it hasbeen recorded from Glamorganshire, and from Rhyl, Flintshire; in Scotland, Renton states that it is common in Roxburgh gardens; and it is also noted from Paisley. It has been doubtfully recorded from Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
In certain respects this species (Plate65, Figs. 3-5) is not unlike that last referred to. The fore wings are yellowish straw-colour, the cross lines are brownish, but the central two are closer together, especially on the inner margin, than they are inassociata, and are straightly oblique from the angle, or elbow, below the front margin; there is often a line of brownish dots between the second line and the outer margin, and the fringes are brown, not chequered. Occasionally there are darker clouds on the second line, at the angle, and such clouds sometimes appear in the central space. Not infrequently the markings are very faint. Staudinger and others refer this species todotata, L., but there seems to be some doubt in the matter.
The caterpillar feeds, in April and May, on the common cleavers or goose-grass (Galium aparine) of our hedgerows, etc., but it also eatsG. mollugoand other kinds of bedstraw. It is to be found low down on the stems.
The moth may be disturbed from the herbage along hedges and ditches in lanes, and the borders of woods, but it seems most partial to the former.
The species is generally distributed, and often plentiful, in the southern half of England; but although widely spread in the northern half, it is only common locally. It occurs in Wales, both North and South; is common in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale, and is said to be found on the Aberdeenshire coast and in West Ross. In Ireland it is widely distributed,and sometimes abundant; but more frequent on the coast than inland.
The distribution abroad includes Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
This very pretty, and most distinct, little species (Plate65, Figs. 6, 7) does not vary very greatly; there is certainly some modification in the general colour, and in that of the markings, but in both it is only a matter of tint.
The caterpillar is somewhat wrinkled, and in colour is green, with three greyish lines along the back, the central one double; the ring divisions are yellow, and there is a yellow line low-down along the sides. It feeds at night, in May and June, on the leaves of wild rose, and does not object to the garden kinds. (Plate69, Fig. 3, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in June and July. It hides by day under leaves in hedges, and although not often induced to get on the wing at that time, the male commences its evening flight at an early hour. It is generally a common species in England and Wales; it occurs here and there through Scotland, up to the Orkneys; and although somewhat local, it is common enough, where found, in Ireland.
The fore wings have an olive-brown basal patch and central band, both are edged with white, wavy lines, and the band is contracted below the middle. (Plate65, Fig. 9), and often broken at this point (Fig. 10); the inner marginal portion sometimes very small; the space between the basal patch and central band is pale brown, and so also is the outer marginal area; but there are dark clouds and white marks beyond thewhite wavy submarginal line. Variable in tint and in marking, the variety generally known asalbocrenata, Curtis (Plate65, Fig. 8), is perhaps most frequent in Perthshire and Sutherland. Two other examples of the Scottish form, which Staudinger has namedeffusaria, are depicted on Plate61, Figs. 8, 9.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish; three stripes on the back, the central one reddish brown and broad, but only distinct at each end, the other paler green; spiracles, white, placed in a reddish-brown stripe, which is sometimes broken up. It feeds on sloe, birch, oak, and the foliage of other trees, and may be found from July to September, and even later.
The moth is out in May and June, and is to be beaten from hedges, or may be found at rest on tree-trunks, palings, etc.
Generally distributed, but not extending to the Scottish Isles.
Abroad, the range spreads to Amurland and Japan.
Six examples of this very variable species are shown on Plate66, and these have been selected to illustrate the more important forms. There are a number of modifications of each of the forms, and several of these have been named. Fig. 1 of our plate represents the typical form, and this is Haworth'scentumnotata(Common Marbled Carpet); Fig. 2 is ab.commanotataof Haworth (Yellow Marbled Carpet); Fig. 3 is ab.perfuscata, Haworth (The Brown Marbled Carpet), and Fig. 4 is a modification of the same form. A specimen from Arran is shown in Fig. 5; this example agrees fairly well with that figured in Wood'sIndexasconcinnatafrom Arran. In his description of the form, Stephens does not mention fulvous bands in his type. Fig. 6 shows a specimen from Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, which appears to be a modification of the typical form oftruncata, but it has some of the character ofconcinnata. The latter, it may be mentioned, is considered by Mr. L. B. Prout to be a distinct species, and as the genitalia have been found, on examination by Mr. Pierce, to differ from these organs intruncataandimmanata, there seems to be reason to accept it as such.
Plate 66
Plate 67
The caterpillar is long, slender, and wrinkled, especially on the sides; the ground colour is green, inclining to yellowish; three lines along the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellowish; sometimes a rosy stripe, or a series of dashes along the sides; the points on the last ring are green, or rosy. It feeds, in the autumn and again in the spring after hibernation, on sallow, birch, hawthorn, bilberry, wild strawberry, etc. It will also eat rose, but as the specimens resulting from caterpillars reared on rose are frequently small, such food is probably unsuitable; garden strawberry, on the other hand, is an excellent pabulum. A photograph of the caterpillar by Mr. H. Main is shown on Plate69, Fig. 1. There is a second brood in late June and in July. The first generation of the moth is out in May and June, and the second emerges in the autumn; specimens, possibly of a third generation, have been seen in December in favourable localities.
The species, which frequents woods and hedgerows, and is pretty generally common, is to be found almost everywhere throughout the British Isles. It has not, however, been noted from Shetland.
The distribution abroad extends to Amurland, China, and Japan.
This is another exceedingly variable species (Plate66), and here again six examples have been chosen to illustrate something of the range of aberration. Figs. 7 and 8 are of thetypical form, and Figs. 9 and 10 show the formmarmorata, Haworth (Marbled Carpet); while Figs. 11 and 12 represent specimens from Shetland, and are referable to the island race known aspythonissata, Millière; neither of the specimens figured, however, quite agrees with the type of this form, but Fig. 12 does so fairly well. In some specimens the general colour of the fore wings is tawny or rust-colour, or they are strongly suffused with that tint (ab.ferruginea, Prout). I have such examples in my series of specimens from Lewes and the Shetlands. Ab.thingvallata, Staud., from Iceland, has the fore wings white, with black basal patch and central band, and I have seen at least one example from Yorkshire that closely approached this variety.
The caterpillar is not very unlike that of the last species, but it is rounder in appearance, the general green colour is paler, and the points on the last ring are blunt. It feeds from April to June on sallow, birch, bilberry, and wild strawberry. (Plate69, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.) The moths are out in July and August, and may be found resting on tree-trunks, rocks, or stone walls; at night, when it is active on the wing, it is said to be often seen in numbers on the flowers of the rush, and this habit has been noted more particularly in Scotland.
The species affects woods and moors, and appears to be found more or less commonly throughout the British Isles.
The fore wings of this very distinct species are brown, with white-edged black bands at base and across the central area, the latter with a strong projection on its outer edge, almost reaching a white spot on the outer margin; sub-marginal line whitish, often only traceable on the front edge. The central band is always narrowed below the middle, sometimes divided,and occasionally this part of the band is finely cut off from both upper and lower portions. (Plate68, Figs. 7, 8.)
The caterpillar is yellowish green, merging into pinkish on the sides; the pink is edged below with black, and this is followed by a dark olive stripe; rings 1-3 and 10-12 are wrinkled, whilst all the others are ridged across the back and along the sides. It feeds, in August and September, on the unripe seeds of meadow-rue (Thalictrum flavum), also onT. minus, and, according to Barrett, on old withered leaves of columbine.
The moth is out in July, occasionally at the end of June, and occurs locally in "Fenland."
Doubleday introduced it as British in theZoologistfor 1848. He there states, "A single example of this pretty species was obtained last season near Peterborough, but I believe it was not in very good condition. A splendid female was sent to me from the same neighbourhood this week (July 15, 1848)."
In 1853 and 1854 the species was discovered in the fens of Huntingdonshire and Cambridgeshire. Later it was found to inhabit the fens of Norfolk and Suffolk. It is still obtained in the Cambridge fens from Bottisham to Chatteris. Outside "Fenland" it has been recorded from Worcestershire (Bewdley Forest) and Warwickshire (Rugby).
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The general colour of the fore wings of this species (Plate68, Figs. 1-4) is greyish green, with more or less of rosy suffusion; the basal patch and central band are darker green, and the latter is outwardly edged with whitish below the front margin, and towards the inner margin. The female has rather more ample wings, and is generally of a darker hue, but in both sexes the basal patch and central band are blackish; the hindwings are dark greyish brown, inclining to blackish in some females, and there is a blackish central dot and two or three curved lines.
The long caterpillar is yellowish green, with an interrupted red line along the middle of the back; two green points on last ring are usually pink-tipped. It feeds on oak, birch, ash, sloe, apple, etc., in July and August.
The moth occurs in woodlands, but is not easily disturbed in the daytime from its lurking-place in bush or tree. In the autumn it may be found at ivy-bloom, and in the spring, after hibernation, has been taken at sallow.
The species appears to be widely distributed over England and Wales, Scotland up to Moray, and Ireland.
Somewhat similar to the last, but the general colour of the fore wings is paler, inclining to whitish, and the basal patch and central band are pale green tinged with greyish; there is no rosy suffusion, but the wavy sub-marginal line is distinctly white. The hind wings are greyish white, with black discal dot, and dark-grey curved lines. (Plate68, Figs. 5, 6.)
The caterpillar is pale green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings, and with a more or less distinct dark-green line along the middle of the back; the points on the last ring are pinkish brown, and there is a line of the same colour along the centre of the under surface of the body.
It feeds on alder, birch, oak, sallow, etc., and may be beaten out from June to August.
The moth is out in September and October, when it may be obtained at ivy-bloom, and in the following spring, after hibernation, it visits sallow catkins.
The range in the British Isles agrees pretty closely with that of the last species, but in Scotland it extends to the Hebrides and to the Orkneys.
Plate 68
Plate 69
Note.—According to Prout,sagittatais not aCidaria, as its larva is of a very different form; andsiterataandmiataare referred toChloroclysta, Hübner.
In its typical form, the fore wings of this species are greyish, and from this the colour ranges through various tints of greyish brown to smoky brown or blackish; sometimes these wings are shades of ochreous brown. The usual markings are a basal patch, more or less clearly defined, and a central band, and these may be either brown or blackish; the band varies in width, is not infrequently narrowed or contracted below the middle, occasionally broken at this point, and more rarely only represented by a small angular spot near the front margin.
Four examples are shown on Plate70, and of these 1 and 2 represent our ordinary formobeliscata, Hübner (Shaded Broad Bar, of Newman). Fig. 6 is a blackish banded specimen of theobeliscataform, and Fig. 3 is the almost entirely blackish formobliterata, White (scotica, Staud.), which is not uncommon in the Paisley district, and other parts of Scotland, and also occurs in a modified form in some pine-woods in the South of England.
The long caterpillar (Plate71, Fig. 1), which feeds on the needles of Scots pine in April and May, also in July, and sometimes in September, is bright green, with three whitish lines along the back, the central one broad, and a yellowish line low down along the sides; the green roundish head is lined with white.
The moth is generally common in pine-woods throughout the greater part of the British Isles. The May-June flight is the most abundant, but there is occasionally a good sprinkling of moths in the autumn.
Abroad, the area of distribution includes Eastern Siberia, Corea, China, and Japan.
This is a generally smaller species than that last referred to, and it is more glossy in appearance. The fore wings are brown, sometimes grey-brown, more or less tinged with reddish, and the basal patch and central band are darker; these markings are usually white-edged, and there is a wavy whitish submarginal line. Hind wings whitish, tinged with smoky grey. Specimens from the Hebrides are strongly purplish; and Kane states that some he reared from Sligo caterpillars are more richly coloured than any that he has seen from Scotland. (Plate70, Figs. 9 ♂ 12 ♀.)
The bright green caterpillar is stouter than that of the last species. It is of a bluish hue along the back, and marked with three lines, the central one greenish and the others whitish and broad; there are sometimes reddish markings low down on the sides, just edging the broad white spiracular line. It feeds in May and June, earlier or later in some seasons, on juniper; it turns to a dark-green chrysalis in a frail cocoon spun up among the litter under the juniper bushes.
The moth is to be found in July and August among juniper growing in the hilly and maritime haunts of the species in North England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
This species, long known assimulata, Hübner, has been referred tocognata, Thunberg, and as this is an earlier name it will have to be used.
The pale reddish-grey fore wings have a rather darker central band and round-edged basal patch, but the latter is often indistinct, and the band, which is always deeply indented about the middle of its inner edge, is sometimes not well defined. The hind wings are whitish, tinged more or less with greyish or pale brownish, but always paler than in any form ofT. variata, with which it is often confused. (Plate70, Figs. 10, 11.)
Plate 70
Plate 71
The caterpillar is bluish-green above, and green beneath; three lines along the back, the central one a darker tone of the ground colour, the others whitish; head reddish, marked with brown on each cheek. It feeds in April and May (June in Scotland) on Scots pine; Barrett states that there is a second brood in August. (Plate71, Fig. 2.)
The moth is out in September and October, and may be disturbed from the pine boughs, or occasionally seen resting on the trunks, but it is more frequently met with at night when it flies naturally, and has been known to visit the sugar patch. Barrett, who considered this species to be double brooded, gives June and July for the first flight of moths. Certain it is that moths have been reared even as late as October from Spring caterpillars. As adverted to, the pale reddish forms ofT. variataare sometimes confused withT. firmata, but in addition to other differences indicated above, it may be noted that in the male of the latter the antennæ are bipectinated except towards the tips. Most of the pine woods throughout England seem to produce this delicate insect more or less frequently; the same remark applies to Wales. In Scotland it is found up to Aberdeen, and also in the Hebrides. The only localities mentioned by Kane for Ireland are in counties Westmeath, Dublin, and Fermanagh.
On Plate70, Figs. 4 and 5 represent the sexes of the typical form of this species, the small and rather more strongly marked Scottish form is shown by Figs. 7 and 8. In these small forms a noticeable character is the brownish band on the fore wings, between the central band and the outer margin; this band isonly indicated by a dusky greyish shade in the larger form. Most of the examples of the small form from the Isle of Hoy have also a dark central line on the hind wings. The central band of the fore wings is often broken below the middle, in both forms.
The caterpillar is yellowish green, inclining to a black tinge on the back, along which are three lines, the central one dark green, and the others yellow and rather broad; a whitish stripe low down along the sides is sometimes marked with yellow and red, and there is a red thread above it; head, pink tinged; two points on last ring of the body. It feeds in July and August, on juniper. The moth is out in October and November, and may be found plentifully flying at night about the juniper bushes.
Berkshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex appear to be the only English counties in which it is established, and it is probably most plentiful in the last named. It has, however, been recorded from Suffolk, Lancashire, York, and Durham; also from Carnarvonshire in North Wales. It is more widely spread throughout Scotland, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, where the moths fly in July. Only doubtfully reported from Ireland.
The fore wings are whitish, more or less clouded with brownish, with dark brown, inclining to blackish, basal patch and central band. The variation tends in two opposite directions; in the one the general colour is so clouded and suffused with blackish-brown, that the entire fore wings become almost entirely of that colour (ab.piceata, Stephens), N. England and Scotland; the other extreme is ab.porrittii, Robson, in which the central band and basal patch are black, and the white ground colour is almost free of brown clouding; the last named occurs at Doverin Kent, and Huddersfield, Yorks. On Plate72, Fig. 1 shows the typical form, Fig. 3 ab.piceata, and 2 ab.porrittii. The caterpillar varies from greyish, with pinkish or greenish tinge, to ochreous brown; the upper surface is rather darker than the under, and there is a series of dark V-shaped marks and arrow-heads on the back of rings 4-8; there is a whitish central stripe on 1-3, and a dark one on 9-12; head, brownish, marked with black. It feeds on goose-grass (Galium aparine), and other kinds of bedstraw, in May and early June. It seems to thrive best, however, on the goose-grass. (Plate74, Fig. 1, after Hofmann.)
The moth may be found in weedy lanes and along hedgerows, pretty well throughout England, Wales, Scotland to Moray, and Ireland. It cannot, however, be said to occur in all suitable places, as although it may be found in some plenty in one lane or hedgerow in a district, it may be quite absent in similar spots just around. Wherever it is noted one year it may be almost certainly obtained there in subsequent years. April and May are the months in which it is usually seen, but it has been taken in June in late seasons, and occasionally in July.
The ground colour of the fore wings of this species is most often of a pale reddish brown, but sometimes it inclines to grey brown; the outwardly angled central band is often black, but more frequently perhaps the middle area is pretty much of the ground colour or greyish, with a black dot in the upper portion, and limited by two black lines which approach, or join, in the lower half. A dusky basal blotch is not always present, but it is sometimes well in evidence, as also is a dusky shade before the whitish submarginal line; frequently there are two blackishor brownish dots on the upper part of this line, and a third dot above them, but nearer the outer margin. (Plate72, Figs. 4, 5.)
The caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, finely freckled with grey, and with greyish V-shaped marks on the back; three greyish lines along the back, the central one broken, and the others most distinct at each end. It feeds on bedstraw (Galium) and other plants, such as primrose, groundsel, etc., from August to April. The moth is out in June and July, and should be looked for on tree-trunks growing around the borders of woods or in lanes near by. It may also be beaten out of hedgerows in the vicinity of woods.
A very local species and only found with us in the southern half of England. Its chief haunts appear to be in the counties of Kent, Surrey, Hants, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Norfolk (the Breck sand district); thence its range extends through Hertford, Buckingham, and Berkshire to Gloucester, where, however, it is scarce, as it is also in Lincoln. Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Corea and Japan.
The typical form (Plate72, Fig. 6) has pale greyish fore wings, and these are crossed by a black-edged purplish central band. In var.hethlandica, Prout (Fig. 7), the ground colour is ochreous and the band is reddish; this form is frequent in the Shetlands.
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with greyish clouds around white dots, tinged with pink between the rings; three lines along the back, the central one grey inclining to blackish, broken on three of the hinder rings, and edged with whitish; the others are double, wavy, brownish, a whitish stripe bordered above with grey along the area of the spiracles; head, ochreous, dotted with dark brown (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on lady's mantle (Alchemilla), chickweed, groundsel, etc., from September to May.
Plate 72
Plate 73
The moth is out in July and August, and in England is only found in the mountain districts of Yorkshire and the more northern centres. It has been reported from the high-lying district on the border of Cheshire, between Macclesfield and Buxton (Day), and from Llantrissant, Glamorganshire, S. Wales (Evan John). Generally distributed through Scotland and the Isles. Widely spread, but local, and not always common, in Ireland.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland and North America.
Portraits of three examples of this species will be found on Plate75, Figs. 1-3. The ground colour of the fore wings is whitish tinged with pale ochreous or greyish; the central band is blackish with darker wavy lines running through it near the edges, and not infrequently the middle area is greyish, either on the upper half, or throughout from front to inner margins; a narrow patch at the base of the wings is of the same colour as the central band, and is followed by a reddish-brown streak; as a rule, there is an irregular reddish-brown line, commencing in a cloud on the front margin, and sometimes stripe-like, beyond the pale edging of the central band; in ab.coarctata, Prout, the central band is much narrowed; the two black dots on upper part of the outer margin, generally well in evidence, are occasionally united, but sometimes they are very tiny. The hind wings are whitish, more or less sprinkled with dusky scales, chiefly on the basal two thirds, and crossed by dark-grey wavy lines.
Sometimes the central band and the basal patch of the forewings are dull reddish-brown, inclining to purplish. This form which has been referred tocorculata, Hufnagel, is pretty generally distributed abroad, but is apparently only of local occurrence in the British Isles.
The caterpillar is very similar to that of the next species, it feeds on the same kinds of plants, and during the same months of the year. (Plate74, Fig. 2.) The first generation of moths is on the wing in May and June, and the second in August.
The species is widely distributed in England and Wales, often plentiful in some districts in the southern half of the former country, scarce and more local northwards from Yorkshire. Widely spread in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale in Scotland, but less frequent thanferrugata; this also seems to be the case in Ireland. The range abroad extends to North America.
Note.—It is to be regretted that the names by which this and the following species have been known for many years may have to be changed. It has been claimed that the reddish-banded form ofunidentaria, Haworth, is identical withferrugataas figured by Clerck,Icones, Plate XI. Fig. 14, and is also referable tocorculata, Hufnagel, both earlier names. If the red form referred to is adopted as theferrugataof Clerck, then that name will supersedeunidentaria, Haworth, and the species now known asferrugata, Clerck, will becomespadicearia. Authorities, however, are not agreed upon this point, so the question still remains open.
Five examples of this variable species are shown on Plate72, Figs. 8-12. The ground colour of the fore wings is usually greyish, more or less ochreous tinted, but sometimes inclining to whitish; the basal patch and the central band are reddish brown, the latter usually entire in southern specimens, butfrequently broken up (ab.spadicearia, Borkhausen), especially in northern examples. A bright, ochreous form, with the central band much streaked, occurring in Scotland, has been referred to ab.salicaria, Haworth. Occasionally the central band is dark purplish. The hind wings are whitish, more or less suffused with smoky grey, and lined with the same; the outer margin is bordered with smoky grey.
The caterpillar is ochreous brown, mottled with greyish, and marked with pale diamonds and black spots on the back of the middle rings; there are wavy lines along the sides. It feeds in June and July, and also in September and October, on various low plants: knotgrass, dandelion, bedstraw, garden marigold, and ground ivy (Nepeta) being especially useful in captivity. The moth is usually double-brooded, at least in the southern half of England, the first flight occurring in May and June, and the second in July and August.
The species is generally distributed, and often common, over the greater part of England and Wales, but somewhat local north of the Midlands and through Scotland to Aberdeen; widely spread in Ireland.
The ground colour of this rather common woodland species (Plate75, Figs. 4-6) is pale grey, varying to whitish, or sometimes faintly brownish tinged. The purple band on the fore wings is always broadly edged in front with black, but the black outer edging is irregular, and sometimes only distinct towards the front margin of the wings; it varies in width, and in tint, being, in some specimens, faint purplish grey.
The caterpillar is ochreous, inclining to greyish on the back, which is marked with whitish lines on the front rings, and with ochreous diamonds and black dots on the other rings; there is also a row of black spots low down along the sides; head,brownish, freckled with black. It feeds, in June and July, probably, in a wild state, on some kind of "cress," growing in the moister parts of woods; in confinement, it will eat cabbage, horseradish, and wallflower, among other kinds of Cruciferæ. There is a second brood in August and September. (Plate74, Fig. 3, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and again in August. It is fond of resting on tree-trunks in woods, especially where the ground is moist, but it may also be beaten out of hedges and bushes. It is most plentiful in the southern half of England, but is spread over the greater part of the British Isles, including the Orkneys.
Abroad, its range extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, Japan, and North America.
The species, depicted on Plate75, Figs. 9, 10, when quite fresh has the fore wings greenish, and the central band more or less tinged with brown, in some specimens with blackish; the inner edge of the band is not so clearly defined as the outer, the latter being followed by a narrow whitish wavy band; a series of black dots edged with white represent the submarginal line. Hind wrings, smoky grey, with a pale band beyond the middle, and a pale line nearer the outer margin.
The roughened caterpillar (Plate73, Fig. 1) is ochreous brown, mottled with darker brown, and lined with grey; the raised dots are black, each with a short bristle. It feeds at night on bedstraw (Galium), in the spring to May, after hibernation.
The moth is out, as a rule, in July and August, but sometimes much earlier. I reared specimens during the last week in May, 1907, from caterpillars sent from Torquay by Mr. Walker. Itlurks among the vegetation growing on banks, and the hedgerows of lanes, etc.
In the south of England the species chiefly affects the coasts of Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall; but it occurs locally in and around beech woods of Kent, and is more frequent in those of Berks, Oxford, and Bucks. From Somerset it spreads through the western counties, including part of Wales, to Lancashire. It is, however, most common among the hills and rills from Yorkshire northwards. In Scotland it is local in Roxburgh, widely distributed, and sometimes abundant in Clydesdale and throughout the Highlands to Sutherland. It has also been noted from Arran. Local in Ireland, but apparently abundant in some parts.
This species (Plate75, Figs. 7, 8), also, has green fore wings, with a rather deeper green central band and basal patch. The former is limited by white lines marked with black, conspicuously so on the front and inner margins; there are also black marks on the front edge of the basal patch, and at the tips of the wings. The green colour quickly fades to a yellowish or sandy tint.
The wrinkled caterpillar is olive brown, with bristle-bearing black dots; the back has a dark central line, and is adorned with reddish V-shaped marks except on the end rings. It feeds in the spring, after hibernation, on bedstraw (Galium), but it is said to eat sorrel, dead-nettle (Lamium), etc.