The eggs, which are laid loosely, are yellowish or pale straw colour (Plate84, Fig. 3a). Caterpillar, stoutish, green inclining to yellowish; three lines on the back, the central one dark green, and the others yellowish, as also are the ring divisions; a pale wavy line low down along the sides. In some examples the general colour is pale greyish-brown, inclining to reddish brown. It feeds on grass, dock, chickweed, and various low-growing plants, from August to May, and is often abundant in hay meadows (Fig. 3, Plate84, is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich). The moth occurs throughout the summer, and is very plentiful (often a pest) in almost every hedgerow and most bushy places.
Some idea of the variable character of this species (sordidata, Fab., andelutata, Hübner) may be formed from the selection of half a dozen examples shown on Plate86. The typical form has the fore wings greyish, with dark bands as in Fig. 1, and a modification without the dark bands seems to be ab.cinereata, Prout. In the formsordidata, Fabricius, the general colour of the fore wings is greenish, and the bands are dark; ab.obliterata, Prout, is of the same colour, but the bands are absent. Ab.fusco-undata, Donovan, has the general colour reddish, with dark bands; without dark bands it becomestestaceata, Prout. Blackish or sooty forms are referable toinfuscata, Staud. (Fig. 4). Frequently in the green forms, and less often in the reddish, there is a broad whitish central stripe, and a narrow one on the basal area; in the green form again the basal and central areas are occasionally crossed by red bands, and this is one of the prettiest forms of the species and, so far as I know, occurs only in the large sallow-feeding race;it possibly represents ab.fusco-undata, which is most frequent in the smaller moorland race.
The egg (Plate87, Fig. 1b) when figured, February 8, 1908, was whitish as regards the shell, but the interior was dark greenish. In April the caterpillar appeared to be formed, but it did not leave the shell until early in May.
The full-grown caterpillar (Plate87, Figs. 1, 1a) is brownish, inclining to blackish; whitish between the rings, white lines along the back and sides, and tinged with red along the spiracular region. It feeds, in May and June, on sallow, willow, poplar, hazel, bilberry, and heather. The moth is out in July and August, but I have seen the small bilberry-feeding form (Plate86, Figs. 5, 6) on a corner of Exmoor, North Devon, in great profusion in late June, whilst in the same district the sallow-feeding, larger form appeared about a fortnight later, at which time specimens among bilberry were not numerous, and rather shabby in appearance.
Except perhaps in the Shetlands, this species is to be found in all parts of the British Isles. It is very common in hedgerows, and around the margins of woods; the smaller race frequents woods where bilberry is established, and also occurs on mountains and moors.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, China, Japan, and also to North America.
The typical and commoner form of this species is shown on Plate86, Figs. 7 and 8. The ground colour, usually pale green, is sometimes almost white, but more frequently it is tinged with greyish brown, thus leading up to the blackish ab.infuscata, Prout (Figs. 9, 10).
Plate 88
Plate 89
The caterpillar is brownish grey, or purplish grey, dotted with black and dappled with dark brown; of the three lines along the back, the central one is black and swells out on the middle of each ring, the others are pale; a clear stripe of the ground colour below the black spiracles, and a slender line above them. The general colour is sometimes pale pinky brown or ochreous. It feeds on alder throughout the summer and autumn, and may be found in its domicile of spun-together dry leaves even in November, and sometimes later. Occasionally, a few caterpillars will feed up quickly, and attain the moth state in July or August, but the bulk do not become chrysalids until later in the year, and the moths emerge therefrom in May and early June. (Plate87, Fig. 2.)
The species seems to occur, more or less freely, wherever there are alders throughout the greater part of the British Isles.
Abroad, the range extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
This species is most readily distinguished from the last by the short oblique black streak on the tips of the rather narrower fore wings; there are also black streaks between the veins and below the tips of the wings, as in the last species, but they are generally shorter and often hardly traceable.
The ground colour ranges from pale grey (sometimes with a green tinge), through brownish grey to reddish brown; usually central and outer marginal bands of a darker shade are present, but these characters may be very indistinct or entirely lost in the general coloration. (Plate86, Figs. 11 and 12.)
The caterpillar is pale brown, dappled with grey; three dark greyish lines along the back; spiracles and the usual dots black, the latter with fine hairs; head, reddish brown, plates on first and last rings of the body light brown. It feeds, at night, during the summer and autumn, on sallow and willow, spinning together the leaves at the top of a twig to form a retreat during the day.
The moth is found in hedges, woods, and on heaths, in May and June; it may be occasionally beaten out of sallow bushes, but flies in the early evening, and is then more readily obtained. The species is widely distributed, but not generally common, in England and Wales, and in Scotland to Perthshire and probably further north, as it is found in Orkney, where specimens are numerous but rather small in size, and the caterpillars, according to McArthur, feed on heather as well as on sallow. Decidedly uncommon in Ireland, but it has been met with, in most instances singly, in Armagh, Tyrone, Westmeath, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.
This species (Plate88, Fig. 1) is also known assinuata, Hübner. The white fore wings have a blackish patch at the base and a blackish mark on the front margins beyond the middle; the former is separated into two parts by a pale reddish-brown band, and there is a reddish band, most distinct on the front area, beyond the black mark; in some specimens these bands are greyish.
The caterpillar is green, sometimes inclining to yellowish, with two black or purplish stripes, enclosing a broader pale yellow one, along the back; head, green, freckled with black. It feeds on the flowers of bedstraw (Galium mollugo, andG. verum), in July and August, or later in some seasons.
The moth is out in late June and in July, and occasionally may be disturbed from its food plant or the surrounding herbage. About dusk it is on the wing, and later is attracted by light. It seems to occur in most of the English counties from Kent to Cornwall; also in Berks., Oxon., Herts, and the eastern counties. Always local, and except in the east, where it is found in the Breck-sand area, most frequent in chalky localities. Barrett notes a specimen from Knowle, Warwickshire, and there are atleast two records from Scotland (Perthshire). In Ireland, Mr. W. F. de V. Kane took one example from a wall in co. Clare, and another has been recorded from Galway.
The range of the species abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland; and it is represented in Corea and Japan byA. yokohamæ, Butler.
The ground colour of the fore wings is pale ochreous brown, inclining to whitish; there are three dark-edged black cross-lines, the first of them sharply bent below the front margin, the second is rather oblique, and the third is wavy and often not clearly defined towards the inner margin; the outer marginal area is broadly bordered with pale reddish brown or dark purplish brown, there is a black streak from the more or less indistinct, whitish submarginal line to the tips of the wings, and a white mark about the middle of the line; the ground colour is most in evidence on the central area of the wings, but even here it is frequently reduced to a slender band, or occasionally only a patch near the front margin of the wing. (Plate88, Figs. 2-4.)
The caterpillar (Plate89, Fig. 1) is green, inclining to yellow between the rings; the spiracles are black, and there is sometimes a pinkish brown or purplish stripe along their area. Varies in general colour, and also in marking. It feeds, at night, on wild rose, and may be beaten from the bushes from May to July. When full grown it forms an oval cocoon in the earth, and therein changes to a chrysalis (Plate89, Fig. 1a), which is dark reddish brown, inclining to blackish on the thorax, wing-cases, and the front edges of the body rings.
The moth appears in March and April, and may be obtained from almost any hedgerow, where wild rose is plentiful, throughout the British Isles, except that it seems not to extend north of Moray in Scotland.
The fore wings are greyish or whitish, tinged with grey; there are two dark-edged black lines on the basal half, and a black line beyond the middle of the wings; the latter has a conspicuous tooth in its upper half, but the lower wavy half is indistinct; there is a black streak in the tip of the wing. (Plate88, Figs. 5, 6.)
The stout and roughened caterpillar is brown, with indistinct darker stripes along the back; the head is brown, checkered with darker brown. It feeds, in June and July, on barberry (Berberis vulgaris); there is a second brood in late August and September.
The moth is out in May and early June, and again in August. Although it certainly has been noted from other parts of England, the species seems at present to be confined to the eastern counties. Barrett gives Somerset also.
The markings on the reddish fore wings of this species (Plate88, Figs. 9 and 10) are somewhat similar to those of the last mentioned, but there is no black streak in the tips of the wings, and the upper part of the outer black line is not toothed. The lower central area is often greyish, and the reddish ground colour is sometimes obscured.
The caterpillar is pale brown, sometimes greyish or greenish tinged, with obscure darker diamond-shaped marks on the back; a black central line, indistinct on the middle rings; under side striped and lined with pale and dark brown; head, with a black V-shaped mark. It feeds, in July and early August, on bedstraw (Galium mollugoandG. verum), and will eat cleavers or goosegrass (G. aparine) in confinement.
Plate 90
Plate 91
The moth flies in June and July, and in the daytime may be readily disturbed from hedges in localities on the chalk in the southern half of England and Wales, especially in the seaboard counties from Kent to Cornwall. It has been recorded from Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and once from the Isle of Arran (Entom.xv. 250).
The two examples of this species depicted on Plate88show the ordinary form with the central area of the fore wings greyish brown (Fig. 7, Essex), and a New Forest specimen in which the central area is whitish (Fig. 8).
The long caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish between the rings; a purplish, or reddish-brown, stripe along the back is broken up into spots on the middle rings. It feeds on the flowers and leaves of wild rose, and can be found or beaten out in May and June. (Plate89, Figs. 2, larva, 2a, ova.)
The moth is out in April and early May, and is often seen at rest on palings, etc., but it occurs chiefly in hedgerows, along which it flies at dusk.
This species (also known asderivata, Borkhausen) is pretty well distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it seems to be local.
This pale ochreous brown species (Plate91) is in the male (Fig. 1) more or less sprinkled and shaded with darker brown, and the three brown cross lines are consequently often obscure, and rarely as distinct as in the female (Fig. 3).
The green caterpillar has a yellow line running down the middle of a black stripe along the back, and this stripe isbordered on each side with yellow, and broken up by the yellow ring divisions; head, with a black spot on each side. It feeds, in July and August, on alder.
The moth is out in June and early July, and will be found in almost every locality in England where the alder flourishes, most plentifully, perhaps, on the eastern and western sides. It has been recorded from North and South Wales, but it does not seem to have been noted from Ireland or Scotland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The delicately lined white moth shown on Plate91, Figs. 5 ♂ and 6 ♀, is chiefly a woodland species. It is generally common in the south of England, occurs more or less frequently throughout the northern half, and is widely distributed in Wales. In Scotland, it is said to be locally common in Clydesdale, and to be found in Arran and in Perthshire. It is plentiful at Dromoland, co. Clare, Ireland, not uncommon in parts of Galway, and once recorded from Wicklow.
The caterpillar is found, in July and August, on birch, hazel, and wild rose. In general colour it is green, inclining to bluish at each end, and tinged with yellowish along the ridge on the sides; the back is marked with crimson. (Plate90, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)
The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes July, and individuals of a second generation occasionally appear in August or September.
This pretty little species (Plate91, Figs. 2 and 4) has the pale yellowish wings marked with ochreous brown lines, which vary in thickness, and a dash of the same colour on the fore wings, from the central pair of lines to the middle of the outer margin.
Plate 92
Plate 93
The caterpillar, which feeds in August and September, on maple, and in the northern counties on alder, is green, inclining to whitish between the rings.
The moth is out in June and early July, sometimes from mid May in warm localities. It is widely distributed over England and Wales, and in the southern counties of England it occurs in hedges wherever the maple grows, but in the midlands and northwards it is chiefly found among alder. In Scotland it is local and rare in Clydesdale, and is known to occur in Perthshire.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.
The typical, greyish-dusted, white form is depicted on Plate91, Figs. 7 ♂ and 9 ♀. Mr. E. R. Bankes states (Entom., xl. 33) that in one restricted area in mid-Kent this species varies in the direction of melanism, and he describes two forms as under: ab.intermediahas the usual coloration, but the wings are thickly dusted with dusky brown, chiefly along the front edge of the fore wings, and the cross lines are more distinct than in the type. In ab.goodwiniall the wings have the whitish ground colour largely obscured by dusky brown powdering.
The rather spindle-shaped caterpillar is purplish brown, inclining to greenish on the sides and below at each end; on the back of the middle rings are whitish V-marks, and the last three rings incline to purplish red above (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on the young leaves of alder, birch, and sallow, in July and August. The moth is out in June, and hides by day among the bushes, but may be seen occasionallyon tree-trunks. Its haunts are in damp woods and plantations, and it occurs in most of the English and Welsh counties, although it is rarely common, except in the south of England. In Ireland it has been noted as scarce in counties Wicklow, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The earliest British specimens of this species (Plate91, Figs. 8 ♂ and 10 ♀) were taken in Castle Eden Dean, Durham, and among the first to detect these was Captain Blomer, after whom Curtis named the species in 1832. It is still found in that locality, but is also known to occur in Cumberland, Lancs., Yorks., Derby, Staffs., Merionethshire, Worcester, Hereford, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Wilts., Oxford, and Bucks.
The slender caterpillar is yellowish green, generally marked with pinkish-brown on the back, but most or all such markings may be absent. It feeds, on wych elm (Ulmus montana) (Plate90, Fig. 1), in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, earlier or later in some seasons. As a rule, it sits on the trunks of beech trees, but I have seen it on the stems of cherry and fir, though hardly ever on wych-elm. Occasionally, newly emerged specimens have been noted on the leaves of dog's mercury (Mercurialis perennis).
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
The characteristic features of this white, or greyish white, species (Plate93, Figs. 1 and 4) is the bluish grey blotch on the front margin, in the lower end of which is the black discalspot. Occasionally, the blotch is much reduced in size, but it is usually large, and sometimes there are indications of a dusky stripe from it to the inner margin.
When freshly laid, the egg is whitish, but changes to pale orange. The caterpillar (Plate92, Figs. 2, 2a) is greenish, with more or less connected reddish marks on the back, or green inclining to yellowish, or bluish, without markings. It feeds through the summer on flowers of ragwort, knapweed, scabious, yarrow, golden rod, etc.
The moth, which is often common in gardens, is out from May to August, and specimens of a second brood occur in September and October.
It is widely distributed over the British Islands, but in Scotland it does not, apparently, extend north of Perthshire.
The fore wings are pale ochreous brown with a dusky basal patch limited by a black line; a greyish central band inclining to blackish near the costa, and clouded with ochreous below the middle; the black-and-white edges are wavy; a reddish stripe across the wing before the central band, and a similar, but more irregular, one beyond the band. The hind wings are whitish grey, with several dark-grey bands (Plate93, Figs. 7 ♂, 10 ♀).
In var.hebudium, Sheldon, from the Hebrides, the usual reddish stripes are replaced by narrower dark-brown ones; the space left by the reduction in width is white, giving the insect a decidedly grey appearance.
The caterpillar lives in the flowers of the foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) and feeds therein upon the stamens and the immature seeds. It enters by boring through the side walls, and then secures the longer lobe of the blossom to the shorter upper one with a few silken threads. Tenanted flowers havea rather faded look and are easily detected. July is the best month, but the caterpillar may be found earlier as well as later.
The moth is out in May and June, and is found in almost every part of the British Isles where the foxglove is common.
Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, neater and more glossy looking. The central band of the fore wing is blacker, without ochreous clouding below the middle, and the edges are not wavy. The hind wings are darker, and the only distinct band is a whitish one beyond the middle (Plate93, Figs. 3, 6).
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with a series of dull olive or rust coloured spots or bars along the back, bordered on each side by a dusky olive line; in some examples the markings are absent (Crewe). It feeds in the flowers of yellow toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), and may be reared on flowers of the snapdragon (Antirrhinum). It is hardly necessary to examine each blossom separately to find the caterpillar, except, perhaps, to make sure when doubtful about the quarry being there. Probably, a handful of the flower sprays gathered in August or September in any locality in the southern half of England where the food plant abounds would furnish moths in the following May or June. TheLinariashould be secured on a dry day for choice, but when brought home it need not be put in water; just throw it into an airy breeding cage, and hopefully await emergence of the perfect insects in due course. Sometimes caterpillars attain the moth state the same year.
The range of the species in England extends to Durham, but it seems to be rather uncommon from the Midlands northwards. It is found in Wales, and has been recorded once from Scotland (Inverurie), and once from Ireland (Dublin).
The fore wings are whitish and rather shining, the discal spot is black and very distinct, but the dark grey-brown markings, which are only well defined on the front and outer marginal areas, vary in intensity (Plate93, Fig. 9).
The long, slender and roughened caterpillar is dull yellowish green; three lines along the back, the central one reddish and expanded on the middle rings, the others yellowish; head, reddish. It feeds on oak, in late May and in June. The moth is out in April and May, and is sometimes found on fences or palings in the neighbourhood of oak woods, but may be jarred from the oak boughs, on the undersides of which it usually sits.
The New Forest in Hants is, perhaps, the best British locality for the species, but it has been found in Dorset (Glanville's Wootton), Devon (Exeter district, Tiverton, etc.), Sussex (Abbots Wood, St. Leonard's Forest, etc.), Wilts. (Savernake Forest); also oak woods in Surrey, Berks., Gloucester, Hereford and Glamorgan. On the eastern side it occurs in Suffolk (Bury and Needham), and Norfolk.
The fore wings of this species (Plate93, Fig. 12) are pale greyish white, discal spot black, cross lines irregular dark grey inclining to brownish, usually most distinct on the front margin.
The long, slender caterpillar is orange-red or dull ochreous green; three dusky olive lines along the back, the central one often only distinct on the front rings; a yellow line low down along the sides. It feeds, in June and early July, on spruce (Picea excelsa). The moth is out in May and June, and rests by day among the branches of the spruce.
The species is very local, but is found in Kent (West Wickham, etc.), Surrey (Mickleham district), Hants (New Forest), Devon (Exeter district, Plymouth), Wilts. (Watlington district), and Suffolk.
Captured specimens of this pale greyish-ochreous-brown species nearly always have a washed-out appearance, and even freshly emerged examples are unattractive. In some specimens, cross lines are more or less traceable on the fore wings; in others four or five tiny dusky dots will be noted on the front edge; as a rule, the only clearly defined character is the black discal spot (Plate96, Fig. 1).
The long caterpillar is greenish-yellow or yellowish-red; three lines on the back, the central one brownish, but often only distinct on the front rings; the others, and also one low down along the sides, yellowish; head, reddish (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in June and July, on pine and larch, or may be reared on juniper.
The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes there seems to be another emergence in the latter part of the summer. It frequents pine-woods, where it rests upon the trunks and branches of the trees.
Generally distributed over the whole of England; has been found in South Wales, and occurs in Perthshire, in Scotland. In Ireland, it has been noted from Tyrone, Derry, and Galway.
The greyish white fore wings have a blackish basal line, and three slender double lines between this and the outer margin; three blotches on the front margin of the wings, the middle one blackish, the others brown with dashes of the same colour below; discal spot, black and streak-like (Plate96, Fig. 2).
Plate 94
Plate 95
The long, slightly roughened caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings; reddish marks on the back connected by a slender line of the same colour; head, green, flecked with reddish. It feeds, on apple, eating flowers and leaves, in May and June. Also said to eat hawthorn and sloe. The moth is out in April and May, but it is rarely met with in the open. If, however, one is lucky enough to capture a female, and fertile eggs are obtained, moths should hardly fail to result. From these the stock might go on increasing year by year for quite a long period. Ten specimens presented to the National Collection of British Lepidoptera in 1904, by the late Mrs. Hutchinson, were bred in April of the previous year, and were the direct descendants of a female captured in 1874, at Grantsfield, Herefordshire.
Other counties in England from which the species has been recorded are—Worcester (Birchwood), Gloucester, Somerset, Wilts., Hants (Hayling Island), Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Berks., Bucks., Huntingdon, Cambridge (once bred from mixed larvæ beaten from hawthorn on the "Gogs"), Suffolk (beaten from hawthorn at Brandon, Tuddenham, etc.), and Norfolk.
Asinsigniata, Hübner, is claimed to be at least two years older thanconsignata, Borkhausen, the former name will have to be adopted for this species.
This moth has also been named by the old authors "the Pretty Widow Moth." On Plate93are shown four examples; the typical form (Fig. 2), in which the fore wings are pale greyish, with black cross lines, two of which are edged with whitish; var.fumosæ, Gregson =nubilata, Bohatsch (Fig. 5)—the Shetland race—is brownish grey, with the markings obscure; Fig. 8represents a variegated modification of the last form, for which the namebandanæwas proposed by Gregson; Fig. 11 depicts another specimen, which in its light-brown colour closely approaches the Orkney form var.ochracæ, Gregson =orcadensis, Prout.
Specimens from North Devon have a rather darker tone of the typical coloration, and those from North Wales and from Ireland incline to brownish.
The rather stumpy caterpillar is greyish brown above, and pale greenish or yellowish below; three darker brown lines along the back; head, blackish. It is found from late June to early August, in the seed capsules of catchfly (Silene inflate,S. maritima, etc.). Plate92, Fig. 4, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.
The moth is out in May and June, and is widely distributed over the British Isles.
A portrait of this species, which, as a British insect, was first noted in Suffolk nearly sixty years ago, will be found on Plate95, Fig. 1. The fore wings are pale brownish, except on the front edge, which is greyish; the black discal spot is distinct and rather long; the median vein and its branches are dotted with black, and most of the cross lines are only distinct on the front margin, where they are blackish; the rather wavy whitish submarginal line is sometimes marked with blackish. In some specimens the costal half of the fore wings is greyish, and the other portion only tinged with pale brownish.
The long caterpillar is green, with three purplish lines along the back, the central one wider and more distinct than the others; the head is purple. Sometimes purple, with two lines of a deeper shade on each side of the back (Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers of burnet-saxifrage (Pimpinella).The moth is out in June and July, and in the late afternoon is occasionally put up from among its food plant or the herbage around, but such specimens are rarely worth keeping, unless of the female sex, when eggs may be obtained.
The species has a wide distribution in England, especially in the southern half; it occurs in Wales, and also in Ireland, but not in Scotland.
This delicately marked species, better known, perhaps, asconstrictata, Guenée (Plate95, Fig. 4), has the fore wings whitish grey, with three slender blackish curved cross lines, and some less distinct greyish ones; the outer margin is slightly darker, and traversed by a wavy whitish line; discal spot black and conspicuous.
I have not seen specimens from the Hebrides, but, according to Barrett, these have a more decided grey tint.
The rather long, wrinkled caterpillar is dark green, inclining to yellowish between the rings, with a broad purplish red line along the back. It feeds on the flowers of wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), in August and September.
The moth is out in June and July, and inhabits dry places where there is an abundant growth of wild thyme. It is easily alarmed, and quickly rises on the wing from its hiding-place among the herbage.
The species is, or has been, found in most of the southern counties of England, from Sussex to Cornwall, on the western side from Somerset to Westmorland, including North Wales and the Isle of Man; also recorded from Buckinghamshire, Yorkshire (Richmond), and Northumberland. In Scotland it occurs chiefly on the west to Ross, and in the Hebrides; in Ireland it is widely spread, but most frequently met with on the coast.
The ample wings light brown in colour, with large black discal spot, and smaller black marks on the front edge of the fore wings, distinguish this species (Plate95, Fig. 7) from its closest British allies.
The caterpillar feeds, in September and October, on flowers of golden rod (Solidago virgaurea), but it will thrive on those of michaelmas daisy, and probably the asters of the garden. It varies in ground colour, but this is usually some shade of green, and there are brownish spots and lines on the back.
The moth is out from late June until August, and may be put up from among golden rod during the day, or netted as it flies about the plant in the gloaming.
It is rather local, but occurs in most of the southern counties of England, from Kent to Devonshire, and westward from Somerset to Hereford and South Wales; also recorded from North Lancashire. Rare in Scotland, and only noted from Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. Reported from a few localities on the coast in Ireland.
This species (Plate95, Fig. 9) is similar in marking to that next mentioned, but the wings are shorter and rounder; the fore wings are a trifle redder in tint, and the white mark at the termination of the submarginal line is usually more conspicuous.
Plate 96
Plate 97
The rather slender caterpillar, figured on Plate92, Fig. 6, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, is yellowish green, inclining to yellow between the rings; three darker green lines on the back, the central one most distinct, the others rather broad and not well defined; sometimes the central line is tinged with brown, as also is the front edge of each ring. It feeds on currant and hop, and is said to eat the leaves of gooseberry also. The first brood is in June and July, and the second in the autumn. The moth is out in May and June and in August. It frequents gardens, and hides among the foliage, or occasionally sits on walls or palings; from hedges where the wild hop grows freely it may be beaten out in the daytime, but it flies in the twilight, sometimes in numbers, around the hop bines.
Widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Ross; in Ireland it has been noted from Tyrone, Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Sligo.
The fore wings are reddish or purplish brown; cross lines indistinct, but represented on the front edge by black marks; discal dot black, submarginal line whitish interrupted, often indistinct, except above the inner margin (Plate95, Figs. 3, 6, 10). The short, stout, and roughened caterpillar varies in colour, and may be yellowish green, deep rose colour, or dirty reddish brown; a series of lozenge-shaped reddish spots on the back, faint towards each end (often absent in green forms); oblique yellow stripes on the sides form borders to the marks on the back (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on the flowers of ragwort, golden rod, aster, yarrow, hemp agrimony, etc. The moth is out in June and July.
The species is generally common in the south of England, and is widely distributed over the rest of that country, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland its range extends to Moray.
Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland.
The fore wings are rather narrower and more pointed at the tips than those of the last species; the ground colour of the fore wings is of a paler reddish brown, and frequently tingedwith greyish; the hind wings are usually greyish-brown (Plate95, Figs. 2, 12). The caterpillar, which feeds in August and September on the flowers of heath (Erica), and ling (Calluna), is pinkish with dusky marks on the back, most distinct on the middle rings; a yellowish line low down along the side has dusky marks upon it; head, dusky olive, marked with white (adapted from Crewe).
It may be mentioned here, thatknautiata, Gregson, which was described as a distinct species, is by some authorities considered to be a form of this species, whilst others refer it toabsinthiata. The caterpillar is stouter than that ofgoossensiata, varies in colour from whitish to green, and even purplish-brown, but not to pinkish; it feeds on the flowers and seeds ofKnautia arvensis. The moth is out in June and July, and occurs on heaths and moors throughout England, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland, it is obtained freely in some parts of the south, and its range extends to the Orkneys.
This species is the minutata of Guenée and other authors, but this name, being a synonym ofabsinthiata, will have to be discarded in favour ofgoossensiata, Mabille (1869).
The faint reddish tinged pale-brown fore wings distinguish this species (Plate95, Fig. 5). The blackish marks on the front edge are minute, the cross lines are usually indistinct and often absent; the discal spot, however, is black and conspicuous, and the whitish submarginal line is very wavy. In general colour, the caterpillar is pale brownish; lines and marks on the back, dark brown or blackish. It feeds on the seeds of the nettle-leaved bell-flower (Campanula trachelium), and may be reared on the flowers of the various kinds ofCampanulagrown in gardens: August and early September.The moth is out in July, but is rarely seen in a state of nature. Caterpillars, however, are not uncommon, where the food plant is plentiful, in several of the English counties from Worcestershire southwards to Kent and Cornwall; also in Norfolk.
This species is thecampanulataof most British authors.
Except that the ground colour inclines to dark greyish brown, and the cross markings are rather more in evidence, this species is somewhat similar to that last mentioned, pale specimens especially (Plate95, Figs. 8, 11). The caterpillar feeds in the seed heads of sheep's bit (Jasione montana), is very like that ofdenotata(campanulata), and occurs in the same months. Possibly this insect, which is regarded as purely British, may eventually be reduced to varietal rank. As pointed out by Mr. Prout, it is in its paler form not easily separable fromatraria, Herrich-Schaeffer, a mountain form ofdenotata, Hübner. Whether species or variety, it is equally interesting to the student of British Lepidoptera from the fact that, up to the year 1878, it seems to have been unknown to entomologists. From its close allies, it stands out more distinctly than doabsinthiataandgoossensiatafrom each other, and the latter can hardly escape a similar fate ifjasioneatais degraded.
The moth is out in May and June, but it is very rarely seen at large, though caterpillars are found locally in Devon and Somerset, England; at Barmouth, in Merionethshire, North Wales; and in Cork and Kerry, Ireland. Possibly, it awaits discovery in several other parts of the British Isles, and almost certainly in the west of England. In ascertaining new localities for the species, the best method of investigation would be to search for the caterpillars.
This greyish brown species (Plate97, Fig. 1) will be recognised by the white spot at the lower end of the whitish submarginal line on the fore wings; not infrequently there is a second white spot placed on the line about the middle, and sometimes a third near the front margin; the hind wings have a white dot at the anal angle, and, occasionally, a second is placed a little beyond. Ab.angelicata, Barrett, occurring with the type in the north of England, is blackish with the discal spot and the veins showing blacker, but without white spots. (Plate96, Fig. 9.) The caterpillar is pale lemon yellow, or yellowish green; three brown lines along the back, the central one with brown marks upon it; some brownish marks on the sides. Variable in general colour, and the markings sometimes absent. It feeds on the flowers of angelica (Angelica sylvestris), hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), and other Umbelliferæ. It has also been reared on a diet of elder leaves: August, September, or even later. Our figure (Plate92, Fig. 5) is from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich. The moth emerges in May and June, sometimes earlier in confinement, and then a second generation has resulted in July.
Widely distributed in England, in many localities the caterpillars are not uncommon, although the moth may never be seen at large. Also occurs in South Wales, in Scotland to Aberdeenshire; and in Ireland it has been found in Sligo and Cork.
This pug varies in colour from pale grey brown through reddish brown to blackish. In some of the lighter coloured specimens, the darker cross lines and the whitish submarginal lines are all well defined; more frequently, perhaps, most of the markings are indistinct or absent, but the small black discal dot and a white spot above the outer angle of the fore wing remain fairly clear. (Plate97, Figs. 4, 7, ab.subfuscata, Haw.) The caterpillar (Plate92, Fig. 3) is brownish, inclining to reddish, dotted with white; a series of dirty green marks along the back, and a pale yellow wavy line low down along the sides. It feeds on the leaves of sallow, hawthorn, bramble, bilberry, ragwort, golden-rod and various other plants. There are at least two broods in the year, one in June and July, and the other in the autumn. The moth flies in May and June, and again in August, and is often common, almost everywhere, over the greater part of the British Isles.
The range abroad extends to Eastern Siberia and Amurland.
Plate 98
Plate 99
The fore wings of this obscurely marked species (Plate97, Fig. 10) are pale greyish brown inclining to ochreous; the discal spot is black, the veins are marked with dark brown and white, and the whitish submarginal line terminates in a white spot above the inner angle.
The caterpillar varies in colour from grey brown or purplish grey to reddish brown; a series of blackish triangular spots on the back, and yellowish oblique stripes on the sides. It feeds on the flowers of the golden-rod (Solidago virgaurea), in the autumn; also on ragwort (Senecio). The moth is out in May and early June, but in captivity there is apparently a second emergence in July and early August. The caterpillars from which these smaller and rather darker specimens result, hatch from the egg in May and feed on the flowers of beaked parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris).
Widely distributed in England, Wales and Ireland.
The range abroad extends to north-east Siberia; and the species has been recorded from Japan.
The most noticeable markings on the rather shiny, pale-brown fore wings of this species (Plate97, Fig. 13) are the black discal spot and two blackish clouds above it on the front margin.
The stoutish caterpillar is green, with three darker green lines along the back, and a wavy yellowish line low down along the sides; head, black. It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers and seeds of angelica and cow-parsnip, but the former is its chief food.
June and July are the months for the moth, but it is rarely met with in the open. The only English counties in which the species has been noted are Surrey, Sussex, Dorset and Devon in the south; from Herefordshire in the west its range extends through Worcester, Warwick, Leicester, and Derby to Lancashire and York. In Scotland, Renton records it as common at Hawick, in Roxburghshire; and it was recorded from Argyllshire in 1902. Hardly known in Ireland.
This species (Plate97, Fig. 3) is very like that next referred to, but the fore wings are rather longer, the ground colour is whiter, and the dark-grey or blackish cross lines are rather more angled and slanting; the hind wings are paler, and especially so on the front margins.
The long caterpillar is bright green, with a darker green line along the back, merging into reddish on the last ring; sometimes reddish ochreous with the line along the back brownish. It feeds, in June and July, on larch, and will also eat spruce.
The moth is out in May and early June, and may be jarred from larch trees, or sometimes be found at rest on their stems.
As a British species, it was first met with in Surrey, in 1862, then it was noted in Sussex, and shortly afterwards in Yorkshire. At the present time, it will probably be found in any locality where larch is plentiful.
Although, as the English name suggests, this insect is greyish, there is always a tinge of ochreous in the composition of its general colour (Plate97, Fig. 6). Not infrequently the ground colour is decidedly brownish in tint. The markings vary in clearness, but are most distinct in the paler forms. A blackish form occurs in the north of England, and in the Clydesdale district of Scotland, and was formerly known as the "Paisley Pug."
The longish caterpillar (Plate92, Fig. 1) is pale or dusky olive, varying to reddish brown, with a series of darker marks on the back. It feeds, from August to October, on the foliage of almost any plant.
The moth is out in May and June, and occasionally a few specimens emerge in the autumn. Generally distributed over the British Isles, but apparently not noted in the Orkneys and Shetlands.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.
The fore wings of this species are pale ochreous brown, inclining to pale reddish on the outer marginal area; the most distinct markings are a pale cross band beyond the black discal dot, and a pale winding submarginal line. The hind wings are smoky grey, with whitish wavy cross lines, the most distinct being the outer (Plate97, Fig. 9). The stoutish and somewhatstumpy caterpillar is green, or pale yellowish brown, with three darker lines and marks on the back; a yellowish line low down on the sides. It feeds on flowers and seeds of orache (Atriplex), and goosefoot (Chenopodium): August and September. Figured on Plate94, Figs. 1, 1a, from coloured drawings by Mr. A. Sich. In July, the moth may be disturbed from its food plant or adjacent herbage, or it may be seen resting on palings or fences. It flies at night, and will come to light.
Not uncommon in many places in the southern half of England, and found in the rest of the country, chiefly on the coast, to Hartlepool in Durham, also in Wales. Once recorded from south Scotland, and only noted from the coast near Dublin, in Ireland.
The conspicuously marked insect represented on Plate97, Fig. 12, is, so far, only known to occur, in Britain, on the coasts of Norfolk and Yorkshire. It was first discovered in the latter county more than thirty years ago; about twelve years later it was found on the Norfolk coast, and caterpillars were also obtained from the sea wormwood (Artemisia maritima) in the autumn.
The long caterpillar, which feeds on the flowers and foliage of its food plant, is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dusky and the others whitish; a white stripe low down along the sides is edged below with rosy brown. It will thrive on the cultivated southernwood or "lad's love" (Artemisia abrotanum).
The moth is out in June and July, and may be found in its haunts among the sea wormwood, not only on the coast of Norfolk, but quite possibly, here and there, in suitable places on the east coast from Essex to the Humber. Caterpillars may be obtained in August and September.
Plate 100
Plate 101