The moth is out in June, earlier in the south, and later in the north. It hides among herbage during the day, and may occasionally be seen resting on tree-trunks, etc., then feeding just before dark about hedges, and on commons and heaths. Specimens have been noted in some years in September.
Except that it has not been detected in the Shetlands, the species seems to be found in all parts of the British Isles.
Portraits of a male and a female of this species will be found on Plate75, Figs. 11 ♂ and 12 ♀. The fore wings are greyish white, crossed by several darker grey wavy lines; the central band is rather darker, and in some specimens there is also a darker basal patch. In an almost unicolorous form the fore wings are wholly suffused with darker; Kane, who states that such specimens occur with the paler form in Ireland, refers the aberration tounicolorata, Gregson.
The caterpillar is brownish, with three whitish lines along the back, and a pinkish line low down along the sides. It feeds, at night, on bedstraw (Galium), in September and October, but may be found on the plants in the daytime. (Plate73, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and in some localities again in August and September. It is fond of sitting on rocks, and also on tree-trunks.
Except that it has been found, not infrequently, on Dartmoor and Exmoor, in Devon, and has also been once noted from Dorset, the species in England is chiefly an inhabitant of the northern counties. It occurs in Wales, but almost exclusively in the north. In Scotland it appears to be widely distributed throughout; and in Ireland it occurs locally in all four provinces.
The fore wings in the typical form of this species are grey, with a slight brownish tinge; basal patch, central band, and shade before the whitish submarginal line, sometimes darker. (Plate77, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀.) In some specimens the central band is very much darker (ab.virgata, Tutt); and in some parts ofsouth-west Yorkshire a blackish form (ab.nubilata, Tutt) is not uncommon. (Plate77, Fig. 3.)
The caterpillar is ochreous grey, with three brownish lines along the back, and two other lines on each side, the upper one yellowish, wavy, and edged above with dusky. It feeds on bedstraw (Galium) in May and June. (Plate73, Fig. 3.)
The moth is out in March and April, and keeps pretty much to the shelter afforded by its food plant or other herbage around in its favourite haunts, which are damp woodlands, heaths, and mosses. Occasionally, however, it may be seen on the lower parts of fences, tree-trunks, rocks, etc. About dusk it may be found sitting on grass and other vegetation, and at such times is not much disposed to fly away from the collector.
Pretty generally distributed throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys.
The fore wings in the male are pale greyish, more or less tinged with ochreous brown, and crossed by a dark grey, inclining to blackish, central band; the base of the wings is often banded with dark grey, as also is the outer marginal area; on the latter, above the middle, are twin black spots, and there is a black spot or streak above nearer the tip of the wing. The female is smaller, paler, often whitish, and sometimes pale ochreous; the latter form is prevalent in the Shetlands; the central band is the only distinct cross marking in this sex. On the moorlands in the north of England a blackish form of the male occurs (ab.nigra, Prout), and this is very similar to ab.nubilataof the previous species; ab.ochroleucata, Aurivillius, is uniformly greyish brown, with a white submarginal line, and I have a specimen near this from Durham.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish on the back,and to pinkish on the sides; three lines along the side, the central one dark green, and the others whitish. It feeds on primrose, red campion (Lychnis diurna), bilberry, etc., as well as on the flowers of coarse grasses; in North Devon I found it in profusion at night, on the blossoms of a wood-rush (Luzula), growing in a sheltered wood near the sea. April and May, later perhaps in the north. (Plate77, Figs. 4-6 ♂, 7-9 ♀.)
The moth is out in July and August, and is common in almost every part of the British Isles.
The more usual forms of this common autumnal species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 2, Plate78. Fig. 3 is a small example of the pale form, ab.christyi, Prout, which, in many respects, is very similar toautumnata, Guenée, a form of the next species. Fig. 4 is a female approaching ab.obscurata, Staud., and Fig. 5 shows the uniformly blackish ab.melana, Prout. In some pale-coloured specimens the only conspicuous marking is a broad central band which is almost black in colour (ab.latifasciata, Prout).
The eggs (Plate76, Fig. 1a) were yellowish when laid, but soon changed to crimson red.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to whitish below, often marked, more or less distinctly, with purplish red, as a central line, or series of spots, along the back, and sometimes as bands on the ring division. It feeds on the foliage of trees, such as elm, oak, birch, etc., also on fallow, hawthorn, sloe, apple, plum, and other fruit trees. April to June. (Plate76, Fig. 1.)
Plate 74
Plate 75
The moth is out in October and November in the South, but earlier in the North. It is an inhabitant of woodlands, and may be disturbed from bushes, trees, and sometimes may be seen on the trunks of the latter, and on fences. At night it flies lazily and will occasionally visit ivy then, and even sugar, but is more frequently attracted by light.
The species is pretty generally common throughout England and Wales, Scotland up to Moray, and Ireland.
Three examples of this species are shown on Plate78. Figs. 6 ♂ and 7 ♀ represent the typical form except that the male should be rather more silvery white in the ground colour of the fore wings, and the cross bands more distinctly separated. Fig. 8, also a female, is very close to ab.sandbergi, Lampa, in the character of the central cross bands of the fore wings. Ab.gueneata, Prout (autumnata, Guenée, not Borkhausen), is a form with the typical coloration, but with fainter cross bands.
The caterpillar is somewhat similar to that of the last species, but there is a yellowish tint in the general green coloration, and it is rarely marked with reddish. It is found chiefly on birch, alder, fir, and larch, but will eat hawthorn, and probably the foliage of other shrubs and trees. May and June.
The moth is out in September and October, sometimes later. It may be dislodged from trees in the daytime, but it seems to be rarely noticed at rest on the trunks.
The species is so often confused with that previously mentioned that its distribution in our islands has not, so far, been clearly ascertained. However, it certainly occurs in the following northern counties of England—Lancashire (Liverpool district); Cheshire (Delamere Forest); Yorkshire (Cleveland district); North Durham (Birch woods); Cumberland (Carlisle). In Scotland it is found in Clydesdale, Perthshire, where it was first noted by Weaver in 1851, Kincardineshire, Aberdeen, and probably further north; in Ireland at Belfast and Enniskillen. Prout notes that he has seen a specimen from Swansea in South Wales.
This is most probably a small moorland form ofO. autumnata, but it rarely assumes the silvery white typical coloration of that species. A male specimen and two examples of the female are depicted on Plate77, Figs. 10 ♂, 11, and 12 ♀.
The caterpillar, which feeds in the spring on bilberry and heather, is green, with yellow lines, a line of darker green between the two central yellow lines along the back; head, green, inclining to brown above.
The moth appears in August and early September, and may be found on the moors, resting on rocks, stones, and even on the ground, as well as on the stems of its food plants.
As a British species it was first recorded by Weaver, who obtained it in the Isle of Arran in 1841; but Edleston, writing in 1842, states that he had taken specimens off stone walls near Staley Bridge, in the Manchester district, "every year for the last three years." It appears to be peculiar to the British Isles and is found in suitable localities from North Staffs., through Cheshire, Lancs., Yorks., and northwards over England and Scotland to the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland it is known to occur in Antrim, Derry, Mayo, Galway, and Limerick.
This moth, of which two portraits are given on Plate78, Figs. 9 ♂, 10 ♀, is known also by the English name of "Cambric Wave." It was not ascertained to be an inhabitant of Britain until 1839, when it was figured and described by Curtis from specimens obtained in Cardiganshire in Wales.
In its typical form the fore wings are white, inclining to greyish, with a number of brownish or dark-grey cross lines; two pairs on the central area are marked with black. Sometimes the wings are greatly suffused with smoky grey, and this tint in examples from the Sheffield and Rotherham districts of Yorkshire assumes a much darker hue, so that all the markings are obscured, but the veins are blacker.
The caterpillar is green, marked with some irregular reddish blotches; a yellowish line along the back. It feeds in August, earlier or later in some seasons, on mountain ash (Pyrus aucuparia), and the moth, which rests by day on tree-trunks, is out in July and early August. The haunts of the species are chiefly in hilly localities of the northern counties of England, but it has also been reported from Gloucestershire (Cotswolds), Somersetshire (Weston-super-Mare), and Devon (Dulverton). In Wales it occurs in Merionethshire, as well as in Cardiganshire; and in Scotland it spreads from Roxburghshire, where it is locally common among mountain ash, through Clydesdale to Inverness. It is widely distributed in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Japan and North America.
The typical greyish form, with blackish wavy cross lines and dark central band, is shown on Plate80, Fig. 1 ♂ and 2 ♀. Figure 3 represents a specimen from Shetland in which the band is sooty black (ab.annosata, Zetterstedt =nigristriaria, Gregson). The interesting blackish suffused form from the Isle of Arran (Fig. 4) leads up to a still blacker variety, occurring in the same isle, and also in the Shetlands, in which the whole of the fore wings is nearly as dark as the central band of Fig. 3, and the hind wings are also much darkened; such specimens are referable to ab.glaciata, Germar. Ab.prospicuata, Prout =gelata, Staud., is a form with the fore wings whitish, and thebase and the central band thereof blackish; some Shetland specimens closely approach this pretty variety.
The caterpillar is green, with a brownish line along the middle of the back, and a series of pinkish or purplish-red oblique streaks which nearly meet at the central line and so form V-shaped marks; a whitish or yellowish stripe low down along the sides, sometimes edged above with reddish. In some examples the general colour is reddish brown. It feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on bilberry, ling, and heath in a wild state, but may be reared on knot-grass or sallow.
The moth is out from June until early August, and may be found resting, often in numbers, on rocks and stone walls in mountain and moorland districts, from Herefordshire, northwards through England, North Wales, and over the whole of Scotland, including the isles, and Ireland. Kane states that in the latter country melanic forms, such as those from Yorks, etc., are nowhere met with.
The general colour of the fore wings of British specimens of this species (var.obscurata, Staud.) is slaty grey; the basal, central, and outer marginal cross bands are thickly sprinkled with yellowish-brown, and it is this feature that at once separates this species (Plate80, Figs. 5, 6) from that last referred to.
The bristly caterpillar is green, chocolate, or red brown, but always of a dull shade; on the back is a series of black V-shaped marks, and a central dark, slender line; the front part of each V-mark filled up with pink or lilac, forming a triangle, the apex of which is yellow; a yellowish stripe low down along the side (adapted from Fenn). It feeds in the spring till April, after hibernation, on saxifrage (Saxifraga aizoides,S. hypnoides, etc), and also on stonecrop (Sedum), and is most partial to the flowers of these plants.
Plate 76
Plate 77
The moth flies throughout the summer, possibly in two generations, as, when reared in confinement, moths appear in May, and from eggs obtained from these, caterpillars feed in June and July, and attain the perfect state in August. Like the last species, its chief resting-places are the rocks, in its favourite haunts, in gorges among the hills and moorlands. It has been recorded from few parts of northern England, but one specimen is said to have been taken in Dovedale, Derbyshire. In Lancashire it has been noted as scarce about Clougha; and in Yorkshire one example was taken on Malham Moor in August, 1876, and one at Hutton Buscel Moor, near Scarborough, July 16, 1891. It is more plentiful in Scotland; in Clydesdale it is local, but not uncommon, the localities mentioned being Lochgoilhead, and watercourses above Ardentinny; more frequent in Perthshire, thence to Sutherland, and it occurs also in the Hebrides and the Orkneys. In Ireland, it is found in Co. Antrim; and Mr. Thomas Greer informs me that it is common at Murlough Bay, Fair Head.
Figs. 7 and 8 on Plate80represent the most usual form of this species, which is variable in the amount of clouding on the fore wings and in the intensity of the cross marking. In some specimens, chiefly from southern localities, the fore wings are almost clear white, and the central band is broadly blackish (Fig. 9). Shetland specimens, on the other hand, are much clouded or suffused with ochreous brown, and the central band is greyish brown (ab.shetlandica, Weir (Fig. 10)). Then there is variation in the central band, which is often entire, but more frequently broken up by bandlets; or it may be considerably narrowed, especially from the middle to the inner margin, and not altogether rarely it is completely severed below the middle, and the lower part almost or quite absent. A specimen with allthe wings smoky leaden-grey, and the central bar of the fore wings pale grey-brown, was taken near Longfleet in Wiltshire, in the summer of 1881.
The caterpillar is wrinkled, with a ridge along the sides; in colour it is pale brown, inclining to purplish with blackish dots; three lines along the back, the central one dark greyish, the others paler and broader; below the latter the sides are greyish tinted with a lower edging of pale yellowish brown. It feeds at night on bedstraw, and various low-growing herbage, including grass. August to April.
The moth is out in June and July, sometimes earlier in the south. It is generally distributed, and, as a rule, common, in woodlands, lanes, etc., throughout the British Isles.
Of this common frequenter of our gardens four examples are depicted on Plate80. Figs. 11 and 13 are the more frequent forms, but specimens with the central band complete, as in Fig. 12, are not uncommon. Chiefly, but by no means exclusively, in Southern localities, some examples have the ground colour almost pure white; often the wings are more or less suffused with dark grey (ab.neapolisata, Millière), and this is especially the case in Scotland, where, in Aberdeenshire and in Shetland, a blackish form, ab.thules, Prout, occurs. Fig. 14 represents a specimen of this form from Aberdeen. Somewhat rarely, the central band is only indicated by a small spot on the front area of the wing (ab.costovata, Haworth), and more often the band is much narrowed or otherwise modified in the direction of that aberration. Fig. 4, Plate61, shows an extreme example of this form. Specimens vary in size from rather under one inch to one inch and a half in expanse.
Plate 78
Plate 79
Fig. 4.Fig. 4.Garden Carpet at rest.(Photo by H. Main.)
Fig. 4.
Garden Carpet at rest.
(Photo by H. Main.)
The caterpillar varies in colour from dark grey through yellowish green to obscure green, but the underside is always paler; on the back there is a series of pale blotches, and some black spots on the middle rings; the head is rather paler than the general colour, and marked with black. It feeds, at night, on cabbage, horseradish, wallflower, white arabis, and many other kinds of Cruciferæ; and it is said to eat the foliage of gooseberry and currant. June—October.
There are certainly two broods, and possibly more, as the moths occur in greater or lesser numbers throughout the year, from late April to October, but it seems to be most plentiful in May and June, and in August and September.
Generally distributed over the British Isles. It is also an inhabitant of North America.
The more usual forms of this species are represented on Plate81, Figs. 1, 2. Fig. 3 is the portrait of a form occurring in Yorkshire, Sussex, and probably elsewhere, in which the central band is blackish and solid-looking; this seems to be referable tounilobata, Haworth. Besides varying in tint of ground colour, and in the amount of freckling or mottling, there is modification in the width of the central band.
The caterpillar is brown, dotted with black, and striped with blackish brown on the back, and with pale brown on the sides; the head is light brown, sprinkled with black, and marked witha dark V. It feeds on bedstraw in late June and July, and there is a second brood in August and September. The figure of the caterpillar on Plate79, Fig. 3, is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.
The moth is out in June, sometimes later in the north and earlier in the south, where it occurs as a second generation in August. It is chiefly found in chalk and limestone districts, and may be easily put up from the herbage among which it secretes itself during the day. In the seaboard counties of England, from Kent to Cornwall, it is especially common on the coast, but is also to be met with in suitable inland localities in these counties, and also in Surrey, Middlesex, Herts, Bucks., and Oxford. It is always rare on the eastern side, but on the west, including Wales, it is more or less frequent from Somerset and Wilts. to Westmorland. Not uncommon in Yorkshire, principally in the West Riding, and an odd specimen has been recorded from Durham. Somewhat rare in Scotland, but it has been noted in Berwick, Wigtown, Arran, Clydesdale, and Perthshire. In Ireland it is local, although often plentiful on the coast.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia.
The broad, clear white borders of both edges of the dark central band of the fore wings, coupled with the clearer white of the hind wings, and the generally larger size of the moth, should distinguish this species from its very close ally,X. sociata; but it must be added that some forms of the latter species approach the present one exceedingly close. (Plate81, Figs. 4, 5.)
Plate 80
Plate 81
The caterpillar is brown or olive-brown, dotted and freckled with white; three lines on the back, the central one black, the others whitish, not seen on rings 5-8, which have dark V-shaped marks enclosing white ones; sometimes there is a V-mark instead of lines on ring 4; head, large, pale brown sprinkled with blackish, and marked with a blackish V, the apex of which appears to meet the central line of the body. It feeds, at night, in July and August, on bedstraw (Galium mollugo, andG. verum), but will thrive very well on cleavers or goose-grass (G. aparine). The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a cocoon of silk coated with earth, is reddish brown, thorax and wing-cases paler, shining. A coloured drawing of the caterpillar, kindly lent, with others, for this volume, by Mr. A. Sich, has been used for the figures on Plate79, Figs. 2, 2a; but the description of the caterpillar, and also of the chrysalis (Fig. 2b), are from material that Mr. Pope, of Exeter, was good enough to furnish. In captivity a second brood may be reared in August.
The moth is out in July and early August, and although local, is not uncommon in bushy places on downs, etc., also in lanes, in chalk districts, in most of the southern and eastern counties. In the north of England it is far more local and uncommon, but is known to occur in Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Cumberland, and has been recorded from Durham. It is found in Wales, and in Scotland has been noted as very local in Roxburghshire and rare in Clydesdale and Arran. Kane states that in Ireland it is "very rare and local."
The white ground colour of this species is nearly always obscured, to a greater or lesser extent, by greyish markings and suffusions on the basal area; the outer margin is broadly bordered with dark grey, and the white band between this and the dark-grey central band is intersected throughout its length by a grey line. As shown on Plate81, Figs. 6, 7, the central band varies in width; it is often contracted below the middle, sometimes completely severed at this point, and in ab.degenerata,Haworth, both portions are much reduced in width. Figs. 8 and 9 represent two specimens from the Isle of Lewis; these brownish-grey examples are var.obscurata, South. There are intermediate modifications leading up to a form in which the whole of the central third of the fore wings is whitish, with the usual cross lines dingy grey, and some tiny clouds of the same colour around the black discal spot.
The caterpillar is very like that of the last species referred to, but it is rather smaller in size and rougher in appearance. There is variation in the general colour, from pale fawn through greenish-brown, to dull or bright green, and sometimes the markings are tinged with reddish (Hellins).
It feeds on bedstraw, in June and July, and a second brood occurs in September. The figure of the brownish, inclining to reddish, chrysalis (Plate79, Fig. 4), is from a photo by Mr. H. Main, and is twice the natural size.
The moth is out in May and June, and, in the South especially, again in August and September. It is generally distributed over the British Islands, but so far has not been noted from the Shetlands.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
According to Prout, the earliest name for this species isalternata(Müller).
On Plate81are shown three examples of this variable species. Fig. 10 represents the typical form from N. Devon. Fig. 11 is a black-marked specimen from Yorkshire, and Fig. 12 depicts a smoky-brown marked specimen from Clydesdale, in which the ground colour has a brownish tinge. All these have the central band more or less entire, but this character may be broader or narrower, and is sometimes divided into two parts, and these reduced to very small proportions; the white projections intothe outer marginal border of all the wings is not infrequently enlarged, in some cases so much so that the borders are separated into two parts, and also reduced in width.
The caterpillar is grey brown, ochreous brown between the rings and on the underside; a dark line along the back, and a dark-edged, pale line on each side; a black dot on each ring at the junction of the dark upper and pale lower areas; head, grey-brown, with blackish freckles. It feeds, in July and August, on bedstraw, preferring the heath kind (Galium saxatile), but will eat the large hedge kind (G. mollugo).
The moth is out in June, or from late May, and in some parts specimens are seen in August. Its haunts are moors and upland heaths, and its British distribution extends from Dartmoor and Exmoor, in Devon, through Western England and Wales to Westmorland. It appears to be very local in Somerset, Gloucester, Hereford, Shropshire, and Cheshire; from Staffordshire and Derbyshire northwards, and through Scotland, it becomes more plentiful; and has been recorded from the Shetlands. In Ireland it is local, but common where it occurs.
This species (Plate82, Figs. 1, 2) may be recognized by the distinctly angled outer edge of the blackish central band, which is thrown into strong relief by the usually broad white stripe following it. Wilkes, who figured the moth in 1742, called it the "White Stripe." By some authors the species is referred toamniculata, Hübner.
The caterpillar is pale whity brown, with a slightly darker but indistinct line along the centre of the back, and a black spot on the middle rings; a pale line on the sides is edged with dark grey; head, brown, marked with black. It feeds, in July and early August, on chickweed (Stellaria media).
The moth, which is partial to hedges and easily disturbedtherefrom, is out in June and July, and even later in some seasons. The earliest hatched caterpillars reared in confinement sometimes attain the moth state in August of the same year. Although certainly local, the species has a wide distribution in the southern half of England, and is not uncommon in some localities. Its range extends into Wales, and also northwards to Cumberland and Westmorland, but it is generally very much scarcer in the north than in the south. In Ireland it is known to occur locally in counties Antrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Waterford, Kerry, and Galway, but, as a rule, only sparingly.
Abroad, the distribution includes North Amurland and North America.
An older English name for this species (Plate82, Figs. 4, 5) is "The Short Cloak Carpet," Harris (1782), but that given to it by Haworth is here adopted. It is also thebiangulataof Haworth, Stephens, and others.
As will be observed on referring to the figures, the outer edge of the blackish central band of the fore wings is twice angled just above the middle; the basal area and the outer marginal border are dark greyish brown, more or less tinged with olive; the whitish ground colour only shows distinctly as a strip immediately beyond the central band, and from this an irregular streak runs to the tips of the wings; some white wavy cross-lines through the outer border are often obscure.
The stoutish caterpillar is yellowish brown, or sometimes reddish brown; there is a series of blackish or dark-brown spots along the back, and a stripe of dusky freckles along each side; lower down are two slender wavy lines enclosing a dusky stripe; head, yellowish-brown mottled with darker brown. It feeds, at night, on chickweed and other kinds ofStellaria, inAugust and September. One of the mouse-ear chickweeds (Cerastium glomeratum) has also been mentioned as a food plant, and for rearing the caterpillars this would perhaps be useful, as common chickweed, unless in a growing state, is difficult to keep in a suitable condition for larval requirements.
The moth, which is partial to a hedgerow as a hiding-place, is out in June and July, and may be sometimes reared as a second generation in September.
The species is somewhat local, but it is not scarce in many parts of England; its range does not appear to extend northwards beyond Worcestershire on the western side, although it has been recorded from North Wales; on the eastern side it is found up to Norfolk.
About one hundred and sixty years ago Wilkes figured this species as "The Mottled Beauty," but Harris in 1778 gave it its present English name. On Plate82are shown two examples of the typical form (Figs. 7, 8), also two specimens of the small form (Figs. 10, 11), var.subhastata, Nolcken (=hastulata, Hübner); the latter form in Britain occurs chiefly in Sutherlandshire and the Isle of Lewis. As regards variation there is, in the small form, a tendency to an increase of black; whilst in the typical form there is a considerable reduction of the black marking—so much so occasionally that of the central black band only a few dots remain around the discal spot, and perhaps a speck or two below it, and a dot or two on the inner margin (ab.demolita, Prout).
The rather stumpy caterpillar is dark olive-green, inclining to blackish, and somewhat shiny; the skin along the sides puckered and marked with ochreous; a black line along the middle of the back; head, black and glossy. It feeds, in July and August, later in the north, on birch,Vaccinium, chieflyuliginosum, and sweet gale (Myrica). It spins together the leaves at the tips of the twigs, and so forms a cocoon-like habitation. The moth is out in May and June, and even July in the north. It flies in the afternoon sunshine around and over birch trees, and occasionally alights on the leaves. It has been taken in Kent, and more frequently in Essex and Suffolk, but it is more plentiful in Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and from Surrey to Dorsetshire and Wiltshire; also in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and on high ground in North Wales, Staffordshire, and Derbyshire; its range extending through Cheshire and Lancashire to Cumberland and Northumberland, but only odd specimens have been reported from the last-named county and from Durham. The egg and the caterpillar are shown on Plate79, Figs. 1 and 1a.
It is widely distributed, and often common in places, throughout Scotland. In Ireland it is local, but has occurred plentifully in some of its haunts in that country; Kane states that var.subhastatahas not been noted.
The range abroad spreads to Amurland, China, Iceland, Labrador, and North America.
The English name of this species (Plate82, Fig. 13) is exceedingly appropriate; few of our native moths exhibit such a pleasing combination of colour and marking. It varies but very little in a general way, but a specimen taken in York some years ago has the fore wings dark leaden grey instead of creamy white (ab.suffusa, Carrington), and very rarely the ground colour inclines to yellow.
The stoutish caterpillar (Plate76, Fig. 2) is green with reddish marks along the back; a white line low down along the sides is edged below with purplish red on the first three rings; the last ring, and the claspers, tinged with purplish red. It feedsat night on bramble and raspberry, in August and September, occasionally earlier or later. In the daytime it rests on the underside of a leaf. When full grown it forms a cocoon just under the surface of the soil, or among rubbish (in the cage), and therein changes to a dark reddish-brown chrysalis (Plate76, Fig. 2a).
The moth is out in June, sometimes in late May, and occasionally there seems to be a few individuals about in August. The species is a denizen of the woodlands, and is generally to be found in the more open parts of woods where its food plants are well established. It is widely distributed over England and Wales, but most frequent in the south of the former country. In Scotland, it is local in Roxburghshire and Wigtownshire; and it occurs in many parts of Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The whitish fore wings of this species (Plate82, Fig. 12) are often tinged with pale ochreous brown on the lower two-thirds of the outer marginal area, and this tint sometimes invades the central portion of the bluish-black central band. Rarely the ground colour is almost entirely white, and the central band is very slender (ab.coarctata, Prout), and perhaps rather more frequently the band is completely severed below the middle.
The caterpillar, which feeds at night on bedstraw (Galium mollugoandG. verum), is pale ochreous brown, or pale pinkish brown, netted with darker brown; on the back are a reddish ochreous central line, and some reddish edged pale V-marks: June and July, and sometimes again in the autumn.
The moth is out in June and early July, occasionally in late May in some southern localities. Individuals of a second emergence sometimes appear in August and September. Itrests by day on tree-trunks or in hedges, and flies at night. Widely distributed over the British Isles, but, except perhaps in the highlands of Scotland, not very common.
The more usual form of this pretty little species is shown on Plate82, Figs. 3 and 6. In the type the central band is only represented by a spot on the front margin of the fore wings; in ab.parvula, Retz =rubiginata, Hübner, there is also a portion of the band showing on the inner margin. Ab.plumbata, Curtis, from Scotland has the central band entire and the ground colour inclining to creamy white. In ab.fumosa, Prout, the usual white parts of the wing are smoky or dark lead colour (Fig. 9). Barrett mentions a form with all the wings smoothly smoky black; markings of the fore wings olive brown, margined with slender stripes of smoky white.
The long, thin, caterpillar is green, with a darker stripe along the back, and a yellowish green stripe on each side; two points on the last ring. It feeds on alder, birch, sloe, and crab; also in orchards and gardens on plum and apple: April to June.
The moth is out in July and August. It appears to occur most freely in districts where alder is plentiful, but it is not uncommon in country lanes, especially where these are rather moist. It is one of the earliest Geometrid moths to get on the wing, as it is generally active well before dark. Decidedly more common in some districts than in others, but it may be said to be generally distributed.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia, Amurland, and Japan, but the ab.fumosais only known from Britain.
From almost any well-grown hedgerow, in which traveller's joy, or old-man's beard (Clematis vitalba) is plentiful, throughout the southern counties of England, this species (Plate82, Fig. 14) may be disturbed by the beating stick. It is generally to be met with in July and early August, but may be obtained in forward seasons, or in sheltered localities, at the end of June.
Plate 82
Plate 83
On the fore wings the dark, slender and wavy cross lines are more distinct in some specimens than in others, and occasionally the blackish blotch on the front margin is traversed by a white line, sometimes by two lines.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, with three darker brown lines along the back, the central one slender, spotted with black on the middle rings; usual dots, black, encircled with white; head, marked with a reddish brown triangle. It feeds onClematisin August and September.
Distribution of the species abroad extends to Amurland, and in Japan, Corea, and China it is represented by the darkerinquinata, Butler.
The whitish band crossing the brownish fore wings is generally fairly wide, sometimes broad, but occasionally it is very narrow; the reduction in width is mainly the result of brownish suffusion of the outer half of the band, leaving the inner half white. Kane mentions a smoky form from Co. Derry, in which the band is absent, and refers this to ab.unicolorata, Gregson. In a specimen from Sligo in my series, the band is tinged with brownish throughout. The hind wings are usually smoky brown, with a paler central band, but in some specimens, referable to ab.turbaria, Stephens, the basal two-thirds are whitish. The moths also vary in size (Plate83, Figs. 1 and 2).
The caterpillar is pinkish-ochreous inclining to brown; three pinkish lines along the back, and a similar line along the blackish spiracles; a dark plate on the first and last rings. It feeds in the capsules, on the seeds, of red campion (Lychnisdioica), and will eat those of the whiteL. vespertina: July to September. When eggs can be obtained early, it is possible to rear moths from them in August of the same year.
The moth is out in June and July, in some southern districts in late May.
As it conceals itself during the day among its food plant, or other vegetation around, it may be put up therefrom by gently stirring the herbage; but it flies freely about sundown, and is then easily netted.
The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland, up to Moray. In Ireland it is local and not plentiful, and the same is the case in the North of England.
This species (Plate83, Figs. 3 and 6) is exceedingly close to the last mentioned, but in a general way it is to be distinguished by its greyish-brown coloration. A stippled whitish stripe before the central band, usually only faintly indicated inaffinitata, is fairly distinct as a rule. Although the outer edge of the central band is rather more irregular, the middle tooth is not so prominent as inaffinitata.
The rather plump caterpillar is purplish above and yellowish green below; three yellow lines on the back, the central one broad; the spiracles are black, and a little above them is another yellow line; head, black and glossy, and there are black shining plates on the first and last rings of the body, that on the first ring divided by the yellow central line (adapted from Porritt). It feeds, in August and September, in the seed capsules of hemp nettle (Galeopsis tetrahit), sometimes on the rarerG. ladanum, and is said to eat woundwort (Stachys) occasionally.
The moth is out in June and July, and, as in the case of the last species, may be stirred up from among its food plant or the surrounding vegetation, in lanes, and around wood borders. The species is widely distributed over the British Isles, except that it seems not to have been noticed in Scotland, north of Moray, although it occurs in the Hebrides.
Plate 84
Plate 85
The pale ochreous-brown, or sandy, markings on the white fore wings of this species readily distinguish it from either of its allies. Variable in size, and also in the brownish tint of the markings; the central band is usually contracted below the middle, and not infrequently it is completely severed at this point. It is thedecolorataof Hübner, and although more generally known by that name, the earlierflavofasciata, Thunberg, will have to be adopted for this species. (Plate85, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀.)
The stoutish caterpillar is pale reddish ochreous with browner lines; head, brown and shining, plate on first and last rings of the body brown. It feeds on the flower buds, and on the immature seeds, of the red campion (Lychnis dioica), and the white campion (L. vespertina), but is more partial to the first named; in Ireland it is said to feed on bladder campion (Silene inflata).
In July and August, or even later, the moth may be beaten out of hedgerows, sandy banks, and borders of woods, and sometimes disturbed from patches of the campion growing in thickets; in such places it is on the wing about sundown.
Although local to some extent, it appears to be common enough in most of the counties of England and Wales. In Scotland, it is more or less generally common in Roxburghshire and Clydesdale, and is said to have been an inhabitant of Perthshire (Moncrieffe Hill). It appears to be very local in Ireland, but is recorded from Antrim, Derry, and Kerry, and noted as common at Larne in the first-named county.
Although some English specimens approach the larger and whiter typical form, the species as it occurs in the British Isles is generally greyer, var.griseata, Staudinger; two examples of this form are shown on Plate83, Figs. 10 and 11. In the Shetland Isles, the species assumes a darker coloration, and is either well marked on the fore wings, as in Fig. 14, or almost plain, as in Fig. 13 (ab.thules, Weir), which is an extreme aberration of the formsubfasciaria, Boheman. In other examples of a deep leaden grey, or brown tint, the central area is no darker than the rest of the wing. In the Isle of Lewis a white form with faint markings is prevalent, and this leads up to a clear white aberration devoid of markings, ab.niveata, Stephens, =hebudium, Weir.
The wrinkled caterpillar, which feeds, in July and August, on the seeds of the yellow rattle (Rhinanthus crista-galli), and lives in the capsule, is whitish, inclining to greenish, dotted with black, and striped with dark green on the back and sides; head, black and glossy; plates and first and last rings of the body dusky. (Plate84, Fig. 1.)
The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later. It occurs chiefly in dry meadows where the yellow rattle flourishes, and is to be seen on the wing, often in large numbers, in the late afternoon about sundown. Generally abundant in suitable places, throughout the British Isles.
Haworth described two forms of this species, and a specimen of each is shown on our Plate83. Fig. 4 representsbifasciata(bifaciata, the Double-barred Rivulet), and Fig. 5 depictsunifasciata(the Single-barred Rivulet). The chief difference appears to be that in the type (bifasciata) the "rivulets" are white and distinct, thus bringing out a dark band between the central one and the base of the wing.
The stoutish caterpillar is pale brown, inclining to ochreous on the back, along which are three lines, the central one greyish, and the others whitish shaded with greyish; a whitish stripe low down along the sides; the usual dots are black, and the spiracles are black, margined with ochreous (adapted from Fenn). In September and October it feeds in the seed capsules ofBartsia odontites, and is often plentiful; Mr. G. F. Mathew records obtaining nearly five hundred from three small bundles of the food plant gathered in the Harwich district.
The moth is out in July and August, but is not often seen in the daytime, and is not taken very frequently, even when flying at night, but it comes to light, and visits flowers.
From chrysalids obtained from caterpillars reared in 1900, Mr. Robert Adkin bred ten moths in 1901, eleven in 1902, two in 1903, five in 1904, and two in 1905.
The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, and the south of Scotland, but it is most frequent in the south of England. Not much is known of it in Ireland, but it has been noted from counties Dublin, Louth, and Derry.
The British form of this species (Plate83, Figs. 9, 12) is rather smaller and darker than typicalminorata, Treitschke, and as Stephens has figured and described it asericetata, this name should be adopted for our native race.
The white fore wings have a greyish basal patch and three bands of the same colour; the outer one is traversed by a more or less distinct wavy whitish line; the band nearest the basal patch is sometimes very faint; more rarely the markings areabsent from the central area of the wings (ab.monticola, Staud.), and a specimen approaching this form has been taken in Perthshire.
The caterpillar is pale green with a dark-green edged ochreous brown stripe along the middle of the back, and green stripes on each side; the usual dots are black, and the plates on first and last rings are brown, as also is the head. It feeds, in September, on the seeds of eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis).
The moth is out in July and August, and is found very locally, flying in the late afternoon among its food plant, on the moorlands and pasture-grounds of Northumberland, Cumberland, Durham, and Westmorland; and has been reported from Hawkshead, in Lancashire. In Scotland, it is common in suitable parts of Roxburghshire and several localities in Clydesdale; thence widely spread to the Orkneys. Only noted from the Mourne Mountains in the north-east of Ireland, but probably to be found in other parts of that country.
This species (Plate83, Figs. 7, 8) is also known asadæquata, Borkhausen, the name under which it is catalogued by Staudinger. As a rule the central band on the whitish fore wings is only represented by a round, or sometimes triangular, blackish spot on the front margin, a smaller blackish mark on the inner margin, and some dusky clouding between these two portions. In specimens from the Hebrides the band is more or less complete, and in some of them it is very much narrowed, especially towards the inner margin (ab.coarctata, Prout).
The caterpillar is green, with three crimson lines, the outer ones bent inwards to the central one on the middle of each ring; two lines above and one below the yellowish spiracular line are pink; head green, tinged and freckled with pink. Itfeeds in September on the flowers and seeds of the eyebright (Euphrasia officinalis).
The moth is out from late May to July, and its habits are similar to those of the last species. In Scotland it appears to be commoner than in other parts of the British Isles, its range extending from Clydesdale to the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetland; but it has been recorded from Cumberland, and once from Durham. In Wales it has been taken at Dolgelly, in Merionethshire. Prout states that in 1902 he secured two specimens near Cwm Bychan, and that the species has since been captured regularly in the locality. It is widely distributed throughout Kerry and Galway, and also recorded from Cork and Derry, in Ireland.
This species is shown on Plate85, Fig. 3. There are two forms of the central band of the fore wings, which in the type as figured by Stephens is broad, but is narrow in ab.arctaria, Herrich-Schaeffer =angustifasciata, Staud. The colour of the bands may be greyer or browner than in the specimen figured, and the ochreous general colour of the fore wings is more tinged with brown in some specimens than in others.
The rather bristly caterpillar is light brown with a pinkish tinge; the back is marked with browner diamonds and some black dots, and there is a yellow stripe along the sides. It feeds on moss (Hodgkinson,Entom.xxviii. 241) growing in damp places, hibernates when quite small, and reappears about April, when it seems to prefer the fruit of the moss, but will also thrive on chickweed. The moths appear from the end of June, and may be found, but in wasted condition, up to early September.
The species is extremely local, and in its secluded haunts may be found on the trunks of holly and yew trees, or it maybe disturbed from the branches of such trees, or from hedgerows, etc.
In Britain the species seems to have been first noted in Castle Eden Dene, Durham (1825), and subsequently in Cumberland (Flimby, near Maryport), Westmorland, Lancashire (Arnside and Silverdale), Yorkshire (Scarborough), Derbyshire (Dovedale), Arthog in North Wales, and Tintern in Monmouthshire. The only English locality for it south of Monmouth is Watersmeet, near Lynton, in North Devon. In Scotland, it has been noted from Rannoch and Pitlochrie, in Perthshire, and from Dalmallin, in Argyllshire. It has a wide distribution in Ireland, and is common in some parts of that country, as at Killarney, Co. Kerry, and Rockwood, in Sligo.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland; it is represented in Japan byfulvida, Butler, and in North America bybasaliata, Walker.
This very common and generally distributed species is subject to a good deal of variation in the tint of ground colour, and also in the greater or lesser amount of black marking. On Plate85six specimens are shown; Figs. 4, 5 represent the more frequent form in most localities, but in many districts ab.infuscata, Gumppenberg (Fig. 6), is hardly less common; in some specimens the central band is entirely blackish, and occasionally the middle area of the band is partly or wholly whitish. Sometimes the wings are uniformly yellow without markings, but such aberrations are scarce, or have not been noted often. A small form occurring in the Hebrides and the Shetlands, var.atlantica, Staud., has the wings generally darkened; Figs. 7-9 depict three specimens from the Isle of Lewis. Portraits of two very local Irish forms will be found on Plate61; one is ab.hibernica, Prout (Fig. 5), and the other approaches the dark ab.isolata, Kane (Fig. 6).
Plate 86
Plate 87