(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]
The caterpillar feeds on the Oleander (_Nerium oleander_), and also on the
lesser periwinkle (_Vinca minor_). When full grown it is olive green on the
back from the hinder part of the third ring to the small, rough, and
drooping, horn; the under surface and the whole of the first three rings
ochreous; there is a divided brown spot on the ring nearest the head (first
thoracic segment), and two larger blue-black spots on the third ring. These
spots each enclose two whitish clouds; on the front edge of rings five to
nine (second to sixth abdominal segments) are whitish dots, but these are
fewer on rings eight and nine than on the others; a narrow whitish stripe,
edged above and below with whitish dots, runs along the sides from ring
five to the horn; spiracles are black with pale margins (Plate 1).
Chrysalis brown with blackish central line, which becomes broken and
obscure on the body rings, broken again on the head, but continued thence
along the under surface to the tips of the wing cases. The spiracles are
blackish; the body is dotted, and the last rings are clouded with blackish.
I have only seen a preserved example of this caterpillar and a dead
chrysalis; descriptions of each are from these.
The first published notification of the occurrence of this moth {47} in
England is that of Stephens in 1835. He wrote: "A noble specimen of this
remarkably beautiful insect (five inches three lines in expanse), was taken
in the beginning of September, 1833, by a lady in her drawing-room at
Dover. Whether the pupa had been imported in some of the numerous packages
of foreign fruits, etc., or the insect itself had been brought over in one
of the passage-vessels, is a question not easily solved. The larva feeds
upon an exotic plant; but has been found in a garden near Charmouth, as
appears by a subsequent communication to the _Ent. Magazine_ by Captain
Blomer."
The next record of the moth appears in the _Zoologist_ for 1852. "On the
11th of September a specimen of _Chærocampa nerii_ was taken in Montpelier
Road, Brighton, by a young gentleman at school, while it was hovering over
a passion flower." Two caterpillars were found in a garden at Eastbourne,
feeding upon the leaves of potato, in October, 1859. In confinement they
ate periwinkle, but they were not reared. The following records are, except
where otherwise stated, of single specimens of the moth: Hastings, August
2, 1862; Sheffield, September 14, 1867; St. Leonards, October, 1868 (? 2
examples); Ascot, June, 1873; Lewes, September 3, 1874; Hemel Hempstead,
October 15, 1876; Tottenham, Middlesex, Eastbourne, Sussex, and Blandford,
Dorset, September, 1884; Hartlepool and Prestwich, July, 1885; Brighton,
September 7, 1886; Poplar, September 20, 1888; Dartmouth, September 26,
1890; Stowling, Kent, July, 1896; Yalding, Kent, September 18, Teignmouth,
October 23, 1900; Banhead, Scotland, end September, 1901; Liverpool, in a
steamship, and Atherstone, Warwickshire, October, 1903; Eastbourne, July
14, 1904; Lancaster, September 18, 1906. A specimen of _Daphnis hypothous_,
Cramer, a native of India, Borneo, Java, and Ceylon, was captured at
Crieff, Perthshire, in July, 1873, and was recorded as _D. nerii_, and the
error was not rectified until 1891.
It will be seen from the above that the moth is exceedingly {48} rare in
these islands. The species is an inhabitant of Africa, and its normal range
extends along both sides of the Mediterranean through Asia Minor and Syria
to India. In Europe, north of the Alps, the moth is seldom observed, and it
is probably almost as scarce on most of the Continent as it is with us.
THE SMALL ELEPHANT (_Metopsilus_ (_Chærocampa_) _porcellus_).
The fore wings of this hawk-moth are ochreous with a faint olive tinge; the
front margin is edged and blotched with pinkish, and there is a broad but
irregular band of the same colour on the outer margin. Hind wings blackish
on upper margin, pinkish on outer margin, and ochreous tinged with olive
between; fringes chequered whitish, sometimes tinged with pink. Head,
thorax, and body pinkish, more or less variegated with olive; the thorax
has a patch of white hairs above the base of the wings (Plate 19, Figs. 3,
4).
In most specimens there are at least traces of two cross-lines in the fore
wings, the space between these is sometimes brownish olive; the outer
border of the hind wings varies in tint, and may be purplish. Occasionally
the ground colour of the fore wings is greenish olive.
A hybrid, resulting from a pairing between _Chærocampa elpenor_ and
_Metopsilus porcellus_ has been named _elpenorcellus_ (Staud).
The egg is a rich full green and rather glossy; it is laid in June on
yellow bedstraw and other kinds of _Galium_.
A full-grown caterpillar will measure quite two inches in length, and in
general appearance is not unlike that of the next species. It is, however,
greyish brown in colour, merging into yellowish brown on the front rings.
The head is greyer than the body; the usual Sphingid horn is absent, and in
its place there is a double wart. When quite young the caterpillar is pale
greyish green with blackish bristles, and the head and under surface are
yellowish.
[Illustration]
Pl. 18.
SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar and chrysalis._
[Illustration]
Pl. 19.
1, 2. ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
3, 4. SMALL ELEPHANT HAWK-MOTH.
{49} It feeds, at night, in August and September, on bedstraw growing in
dry places. It will eat almost any sort of _Galium_; also willow herb
(_Epilobium_), and purple loosestrife (_Lythrum salicaria_).
The chrysalis is pale ochreous brown sprinkled with darker brown; the wing
cases and the ring divisions are also darker. The body rings are furnished
with reddish hooks. It is enclosed in a cocoon similar to that of the
Elephant, and usually is on the ground. The early stages are figured in
Plate 18.
The moth, which chiefly affects drier localities than the next species, is
on the wing in May and June in the south of England, and June and July in
the north. It has a weakness for the flowers of honeysuckle, and
spur-valerian (_Centranthus_), but will take toll in the way of sweets
wherever found, even from the sugar patches of the nocturnal collector.
Except that it does not appear frequently in the Midlands, the species
seems to be widely distributed throughout the country. In Scotland its
range extends to Perthshire and Aberdeen; and in Ireland it is found all
over the island, and is fairly plentiful in some localities, but especially
attached to the coast.
Abroad, its distribution covers nearly the whole of Europe, and eastward to
north-eastern Asia Minor, Bithynia, and the Altai.
THE ELEPHANT (_Chærocampa_ (_Eumorpha_) _elpenor_).
The fore wings are olive brown with two pinkish lines, both shaded with
dark olive brown; the first is rather broader than the second, and
terminates just above the centre of the wing and near a white dot; the
second line runs from the white inner margin to the tip of the wing, and
the area beyond it is flushed with pinkish; there is a black mark at the
base of the wings and the fringes are pinkish. The hind wings are black on
the {50} basal half and pinkish on the outer half; fringes white. The head,
thorax, and body are olive brown marked with pinkish, the thorax being
additionally ornamented with white on the sides. The moth is shown on Plate
19, and the early stages on Plate 17.
The eggs are whitish-green in colour and rather glossy. Those I had were
laid in June on a leaf of willow herb (_Epilobium_).
When newly hatched the caterpillar is yellowish white, and paler between
the rings; the head is tinged with greenish, and the horn is black. The
full-grown caterpillar measures nearly three inches in length, and is
rather plump. It is blackish or brownish grey, thickly sprinkled with black
dots on the back and more sparingly on the sides; the spiracles are
ochreous ringed with blackish, and below them is an ochreous line, which is
most distinct on the front rings; on each side of the third to fifth rings
there is a round black spot, the second and third pairs enclosing black
centred whitish lunules which are sometimes tinged with pink or yellow; the
horn is much of the same colour as the body. There is a green form of this
caterpillar.
It feeds, chiefly, at night, in July and August, on _Epilobium hirsutum_
and on bedstraw especially the kind (_G. palustre_), growing by the side of
brooks and streams. The chrysalis is palish brown freckled with darker
brown, the divisions between the rings and the spiked tail appearing
blackish; enclosed in a cocoon formed of earth and sundry fragments of
stalks, leaves, etc., spun together with silk and generally on the ground,
but sometimes just under the surface.
The moth is on the wing in June, and very occasionally there is a late
summer emergence. It does not fly until dusk, and may then be seen hovering
over the blossoms of honeysuckle, etc. It is also known to be attracted now
and then to "sugared" trees. The best plan, however, for obtaining a few
fine specimens {51} is to rear them from eggs or caterpillars. The latter
are said to come up to sun themselves about four o'clock in the afternoon,
but they may be found at any time in their season, and in likely spots, by
turning back the herbage and looking for them in their hiding-places. When
in repose the head and front rings are drawn inwards, and this distends the
eyed rings, thus bringing these into prominence and giving the creature a
rather wicked look, from which the uninitiated would be likely to retreat.
The caterpillar, however, is quite harmless, and may be handled with
impunity.
Although somewhat scarce in the more northern counties, this is a pretty
common species throughout most of England and Wales. Its range extends into
Scotland as far as Dumbarton, and, according to Barrett, along the east
coast to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is met with everywhere
and is abundant in some localities. Distributed over Europe, except the
more northern parts, and extending through Asia to Japan.
THE HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH (_Macroglossa stellatarum_).
The brown fore wings with black cross lines, and the brownish bordered
orange hind wings, at once separate this from any other hawk-moth occurring
in our islands. Its greenish eggs are laid on bedstraw, and in July and
August the caterpillars may be found on the same kind of plant. They are
greenish or brownish covered with white dots; a whitish line runs along
each side of the back and a yellowish one lower down on the sides; the
spiracles are blackish, and the horn bluish shading into yellow at the tip.
The yellow-flowering bedstraw (_Galium verum_) seems to be the kind upon
which the caterpillar is most often found, but it also occurs on the hedge
bedstraw (_G. mollugo_). It has been known to eat wild madder (_Rubia
peregrina_), and is {52} stated to thrive in confinement on goose-grass or
cleavers (_G. aparine_). When full grown a loosely woven cocoon is formed
on the ground beneath the food plant, or other herbage, and therein the
caterpillar changes to an ochreous grey or brownish chrysalis. This is
marked with darker brown on the wing covers and around the spiracles; the
"tongue" case forms a small beak-like projection.
Like the Bee Hawks, referred to presently, the moth is a day flyer, and
delights in the sunshine, although it has been several times seen on the
wing quite late in the evening, and has also been observed hovering in
front of flowers and probing them with its long "tongue" even in the
pouring rain. Blossoms of very many plants, both wild and cultivated, seem
to receive its attention, but it is perhaps most partial to those of the
jasmine where available. In the south of Europe the species is generally
abundant throughout the year; but there would seem to be at least two
distinct broods, one appearing in June, and the other in October. Possibly
there may be an intermediate brood in August, as the period from egg to
moth is known to be less than two months. In the British Isles, so far as
one can gather from the records, caterpillars have only been found in July
and August. Single specimens of the moth have been seen in the earliest
months of the year, as for example, January 31, 1898 (Bath), January 3,
1899 (S. Wales), February 2, 1900 (London); it has also been observed
several times in December. These facts and others connected with this
species in Britain certainly lend colour to the oft-repeated statement that
the moth hibernates in this country. The insect is known to enter houses,
and to examine holes and cracks in walls, dry banks, etc., in the autumn.
Mr. J. P. Barrett, in a note, written in November or December, 1900, states
that six or seven moths came into his house at Margate in October, and that
one was still hidden in his bedroom. However, if it be granted that the
moth does hibernate here, the instances are so rare and isolated that,
unless such specimens are impregnated females, the chances of these
reproducing their kind the following year are not great. We have,
therefore, to fall back upon immigration as the probable source of the
Humming-Bird Hawk-moth in Britain. Except the more northern portion, this
species is distributed over the whole of the Palæarctic region, including
India, China, Corea, and Japan.
[Illustration]
Pl. 20.
1. NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH: _caterpillar_.
2, 2a. BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 21.
1. HUMMING-BIRD HAWK-MOTH.
2. BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH, _male_; 3 _female_.
4. NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH, _male_; 5 _female_.
{53} THE BROAD-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH (_Hemaris fuciformis_).
We have but two kinds of Bee Hawk-moths in our islands, and the present
species (Plate 21, Figs. 2, 3) is easily recognized by the broad reddish
brown borders of the wings and especially those on the front pair, which
also have a black bar at the end of the cell. When freshly emerged the
wings are not clear and transparent, but covered with greenish-grey scales,
which are so loosely attached that they are lost after the moth's first
flight.
The egg is bright green, and is laid on the underside of a leaf of
honeysuckle. When very young the caterpillar is yellowish white, but when
full grown (Plate 20, Fig. 2) it is whitish green on the back, green on the
sides, and reddish brown beneath. Along the middle of the back there is a
darker, much interrupted, green line and a yellow line on each side of it;
the spiracles are reddish, the head is dark green, and the horn reddish
brown merging into violet at the base, and brown at the tip. Sometimes
there are blotches of reddish brown on the sides. When quite mature and
ready to assume the chrysalis stage the caterpillar changes in colour to
purplish brown. At all times it is difficult to detect, as its colour and
markings agree so well with the stems, stalks, and leaves of the food
plant. If a leaf of honeysuckle having round holes on each side of the
midrib be noticed, examination of the underside of that leaf may reveal a
young caterpillar of this species. {54}
The common honeysuckle, or woodbine (_Lonicera periclymenum_) is the usual
food, but in confinement the caterpillars will eat the foliage of the
cultivated kinds of _Lonicera_, and, it is stated, even snowberry
(_Symphoricarpus racemosus_). In rearing it will, however, be safer to
supply them with the ordinary food wherever this is to be obtained. July
and August are the months in which to look for them. The chrysalis is
blackish brown, the skin is rather roughened, and the ring divisions are
paler brown. It is protected by a silken cocoon, the interior of which is
smooth, and the exterior coated with earth, etc.
From mid-May to mid-June in average years, the moth is on the wing. The
blossoms of the rhododendron are its favourite attraction, and the best
time to see it at these flowers is on a nice sunny morning between ten
o'clock and midday. The flowers of the bugle (_Ajuga reptans_) growing in
meadows, wood-ridings, on railway banks or hedgerows, are hardly less
attractive, but these are less easily worked than the higher shrubs. The
collector has simply to stand before the latter and await the arrival of
the active Bee Hawks. Among other flowers that this moth has been observed
to visit are those of its own food plant; ragged robins (_Lychnis
flos-cuculi_), ground ivy (_Nepeta glechoma_), and also blue-bell and
primrose.
The species is widely distributed and locally common throughout England,
but its northern range does not extend apparently beyond Yorkshire.
According to Kane it is absent from Ireland; and the reports of odd
specimens from Scotland are probably erroneous. Its distribution abroad
extends over Europe, except the most northern parts, a large portion of
northern and central Asia, and southwards to North Africa.
Moses Harris, it may be mentioned, figured this moth in 1775 as "The
Clear-winged Humming-bird Sphinx." {55}
THE NARROW-BORDERED BEE HAWK-MOTH (_Hemaris tityus_).
This moth (Plate 21, Figs. 4, 5) has long been known as "_bombyliformis_"
and was so mentioned by Haworth in 1802, but for some years past there has
been a growing tendency to discard the name altogether, and as most recent
authors follow Kirby's identification of this species as the _tityus_ of
Linnæus, that name is here adopted.
The chief characters separating this moth from the preceding are the narrow
blackish borders of the wings and the absence of the black mark at the end
of the cell of fore wings. It has been suggested that the female deposits
its green oval eggs on the undersides of the leaves of devil's-bit scabious
(_Scabiosa succisa_) whilst on the wing, but as she will lay freely in a
box it is most probable that she settles on the plants when engaged in egg
laying.
The caterpillar (Plate 20, Fig. 1) is green, roughened with white points,
from which tiny hairs arise; the green colour varies in tint from whitish
to bluish; the lines along each side of the back are yellowish, and often
have purplish red spots, or patches, upon them; the spiracles are set in
purplish red patches, and the roughened reddish-brown horn is finely
pointed. The under side is traversed by a purplish-red stripe. There is
some modification in the reddish markings, both as regards number and
intensity; these are well developed in the specimen from the New Forest
figured on Plate 20. The caterpillars may be found in June and July on the
under sides of the lower leaves of the scabious, and as they eat holes in
the leaves these marks should afford a clue to their whereabouts.
A few days before changing to a dark brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in
a coarse and very loosely constructed cocoon, the caterpillar assumes a
reddish colour.
This moth, which much resembles a large humble bee, is on {56} the wing
from about the middle of May to the middle of June. It should be looked for
in places where its food plant flourishes, such as rough fields adjoining
woods, woodland glades, marshy heaths, fens, bogs, etc. It visits the
blossoms of various low growing plants, among which the louseworts
(_Pedicularis palustris_ and _P. sylvatica_) and the bugle (_Ajuga
reptans_) are perhaps favourites. In some localities the blossoms of the
rhododendron and of the bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_) are very
attractive. When seen hovering over the flowers it must be approached
cautiously, as, although seemingly fully engrossed in the business in hand,
it is quickly alarmed and its movements are rapid.
It occurs throughout the greater part of England and Wales and northwards
to Sutherlandshire in Scotland. In Ireland it is abundant in many
localities.
Distributed over Europe its range extends northwards to Lapland, southwards
to north-west Africa, and eastward to Amurland.
PROMINENTS (_Notodontidæ_).
In the majority of our moths belonging to this family there is a tooth-like
tuft of scales projecting from about the middle of the inner margin of the
fore wings; these, when the moth is resting, are brought together and
raised above the level of the closed wings (see Fig. 11, page 11). The
antennæ of the male are bipectinated in most of the species, but those of
_Odontosia_, _Lophopteryx_, and _Phalera_ are dentated and each tooth has a
little tuft of short hair.
The moths are not often seen in the day time, but a few species are
sometimes met with at rest on tree trunks, palings, etc. All fly at night
and are pretty rapid on the wing; possibly if it were not for the fact that
a bright light has a powerful attraction for them, the perfect insects
would be rarely captured. {57} Specimens, when caught, except females which
it may be well to keep for eggs, should be killed and pinned at once, as
many kinds become very restless when imprisoned in a box and soon damage
themselves. Females usually deposit their eggs freely, and in most cases
the caterpillars are not difficult to rear when once they begin to feed.
Sometimes it is not easy to induce them to commence this very necessary
business. The caterpillars, except those of _Phalera_ and _Pygæra_, are
without hairs on the body; those of the true Prominents generally have one,
or more, hump on the back; in some kinds the anal prolegs or hind claspers,
are small. When resting the hinder part of the caterpillar is more or less
raised, several of them elevate the front portion also, and frequently the
posture assumed is a most curious one.
The caterpillars of _Cerura_, _Dicranura_, and _Stauropus_ have the hind
claspers transformed into tail-like appendages, which in the case of the
Puss and Kittens take the form of a pair of slender tubes furnished with
flagellæ, or whips, which can be protruded or withdrawn as occasion may
require. These organs are presumably for defensive purposes, but are not
always effective in combating the attack of parasitical flies, as these
evidently manage to deposit their egg on the caterpillars not infrequently.
The pupa, or chrysalis, of some kinds is enclosed in a hard cocoon on tree
trunks, and others in a soft cocoon generally underground; sometimes,
however, the cocoon is spun up between leaves; occasionally, as for example
that of the Buff-tip, the chrysalis is found in the ground without any
protecting covering, although the cell in which it was formed may have been
flimsily lined with silk.
Nearly one hundred species are referred to this family in Staudinger's
"Catalogue of Palæarctic Lepidoptera," and of these twenty-five occur, or
have been taken, in the British Isles, nearly all of which are accepted as
indigenous. Two of the {58} three species not generally regarded as true
natives have been found in the caterpillar state, and the third was reared
from an egg obtained with others of the same kind in Norfolk.
THE ALDER KITTEN (_Cerura bicuspis_).
This moth (Plate 22, Fig. 3) differs from either of the two next following
in being whiter, and in having both margins of the central band of the fore
wings angled or bent inwards above the middle; this is markedly so on the
outer side. The band itself is black, inclining to purplish rather than
grey. Barrett mentions a specimen without central band or cloud towards
tip.
[Illustration: FIG. 19. COCOON OF THE ALDER KITTEN.]
According to Buckler, the caterpillar is yellow-green; head dark
reddish-brown; at the back of the head commences a broad, reddish-brown
blotch, which runs to a point on the back of the third segment, where is a
slight elevation; on the fourth it recommences and becomes broader on each
segment to the eighth, where it extends below and encloses the spiracles,
thence it narrows to the tenth, continuing on the eleventh and twelfth as a
broad stripe, and {59} widening on the thirteenth, where it again narrows
to the tentacles; in the broad portion of this dorsal marking are faint
indications of two or three orange spots; on each side it is broadly edged
with pale yellow, and on the sixth, seventh, and eighth segments its margin
is deeply indented. It feeds on alder and birch in July and August.
The cocoon is shown in its natural position on birch bark (Fig. 19). This
was kindly lent to me for figuring by Mr. L. W. Newman, of Bexley, who also
had another in which lichen as well as fragments of bark were worked into
the surface, so that the cocoon was less in evidence than the one
portrayed.
The moth emerges in May and June.
The first British specimen, a male, was found on alder near Preston, and
was recorded by Doubleday in the _Zoologist_ for 1847. A second example was
noted from the same locality in 1849. This district in Lancashire, and
Tilgate Forest in Sussex, are the chief homes in the north and the south of
England respectively; but one or more specimens have occurred in Cheshire,
Herefordshire, Oxfordshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Devonshire, and more
frequently in Staffordshire, Derbyshire, and Yorkshire. It does not seem to
inhabit Scotland or Ireland, neither has it been recorded from Wales, so
far as I can find, more than once.
The species is found in Germany, Switzerland, Eastern France, Belgium,
Southern Sweden, Central Russia, Livonia, Finland, Ussuri, and a local race
occurs in Amurland.
THE POPLAR KITTEN (_Cerura bifida_).
Fore wings grey, with a broad, dark grey central band, and a cloud of the
same colour towards the tips of the wings; the band is inwardly margined by
an almost straight black line, and outwardly by a curved line; the third
line is double, and curved towards the costa, forming the inner edge of the
grey cloud, the lower part is wavy. The first black line is inwardly, and
{60} the second outwardly edged with ochreous, and preceding the first is a
series of black dots.
The full-grown caterpillar, which is green, with a yellow-edged, purplish,
irregular stripe on the back, is figured on Plate 23, together with a very
young example, the purplish-black eggs as laid, and the red-brown
chrysalis. The cocoon from which the chrysalis was extracted was spun up on
a fairly stout twig of poplar, from which some of the bark had been torn;
the cocoon was formed, as regards the upper part, on the bare twig, and
this was covered with gnawed wood, instead of with bark fragments, as is
the lower end. The moth is figured on Plate 22, and the early stages on
Plate 23.
The moth emerges in June, sometimes in July, and may occasionally be found
at rest on the trunks of poplars, on which the caterpillar feeds from July
to September; also on adjacent walls or palings. The cocoons are made up on
the surface or in the chinks of the bark, and may be searched for, all
through the winter and early spring. It is curious to note how readily
these are detected after the moth has escaped, and how difficult they are
to see before that event. Usually there is but one brood in the year, but
in the hot summer of 1906 a male specimen emerged from a few chrysalids
that I had reared from eggs laid at the end of June of that year. On the
other hand, the moth has been known to remain in the chrysalis for two
winters.
The species is not uncommon in some parts of the London district, and seems
to occur throughout England wherever poplars abound. It does not appear to
have been found in Scotland, and is scarce in Ireland. Abroad it is found
in Central Europe with a northern range to Finland, southwards to Italy and
Greece, and eastwards to the Altai.
[Illustration]
Pl. 22.
1. POPLAR KITTEN-MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. ALDER KITTEN-MOTH, _male_.
4. SALLOW KITTEN-MOTH, _male_; 5 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 23.
1, 1a, 1b. POPLAR KITTEN: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a. SALLOW KITTEN: _eggs and caterpillars_.
{61}
THE SALLOW KITTEN (_Cerura furcula_).
This moth differs from the last in its generally smaller size, but more
especially in the shape of the black line forming the outer margin of the
central band; this is always more or less angled or dentate towards the
front margin of the wings, whereas, in the Poplar Kitten, this portion of
the line forms a clean curve (Plate 22, Figs. 4, 5).
The eggs are black, rather glossy, and are generally deposited in pairs,
but rarely more than three, and often only singly, on the upper surface of
a leaf of sallow or willow. The caterpillar feeds from July to September,
sometimes as early as the end of June, or as late as October. It is green,
with a yellow tinge; the markings on the back are similar to these
characters in the caterpillar of the preceding species, but, as will be
seen by looking at the figures on Plate 23, they are not quite the same in
outline. The figure of the young caterpillar on this plate was made soon
after it left the egg, and the shell from which it emerged is also
depicted. Sallow and willow are the usual food plants, but in August, 1906,
I found a half-grown caterpillar of this species on aspen, but it died a
few days afterwards. The reddish-brown chrysalis is enclosed in the usual
hard cocoon of its kind, which is affixed to a branch or the trunk of the
tree upon which the caterpillar fed. A depression is usually selected, and
when the cocoon is finished off with its covering of bark fragments it is
difficult to see.
The species is well distributed over England, Ireland, and Scotland;
perhaps more frequently obtained on the mosses of Cheshire, Lancashire, and
Yorkshire, than in other parts of England. It is found in Central and
Northern Europe, and, according to Staudinger, in Amurland and North
America. {62}
THE PUSS MOTH (_Dicranura vinula_).
Portraits of both sexes of this rather common moth are given on Plate 24.
The head, thorax, and body are very fluffy. The whitish fore wings are
crossed by several wave-like lines; the main veins (_nervures_) are
ochreous, and the branches (_nervules_) are blackish; beyond the more or
less clear basal area there is often a broad but irregular blackish band,
and the wavy markings on the outer area vary in intensity (sometimes the
short streaks between the veins terminate on the outer margin in black
dots). Hind wings whitish in the male, and suffused with blackish in the
female, to a greater or lesser extent. In some examples of the female the
fore wings and the body are also tinged with blackish. The antennæ are
bipectinated in both sexes, but those of the female have the teeth much
shorter than those of the male.
The eggs are usually laid in pairs on the upper surface of a leaf of
sallow, willow, or poplar. In colour these are purplish or reddish brown,
shining, and finely grained; a minute depression at the top is yellowish,
with a black speck at the bottom of the hollow.
In its last stage the caterpillar is green, with a white or yellowish-edged
purplish brown band on the back; the head is light brown margined with
black and purplish behind, and the ring immediately following (first
thoracic) is green margined with yellow and having two black spots on the
upper part. When the creature assumes the position which Professor Poulton
terms the terrifying attitude, the front part is elevated, the head is
drawn back into the ring next to it, and the tails are raised and curved
forward over the back (see Plate 25). Seen thus from the front the
appearance of the caterpillar is certainly grotesque, and no doubt affords
it some protection from its enemies. It feeds on poplars, sallows, and
willows, usually in July and August, but sometimes as late as September.
{63}
[Illustration: FIG. 20.