The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a hard cocoon spun up and
securely attached to the trunk or under a limb of the tree upon which the
caterpillar was nourished, or upon some other adjacent thereto. I once
found a cocoon on the lower rail of a garden fence. In constructing the
cocoon fragments of bark and wood are worked on the exterior, but failing
these the caterpillar will make use of any available material for the
purpose. If enclosed in a tumbler covered with glass it will spin a
transparent cocoon. Emergence from its strong pupal chamber would appear to
be a difficult matter, but the caterpillar and the chrysalis both
contribute something towards assisting the final efforts of the moth to
escape. The caterpillar, in constructing the cocoon, is careful to make the
exit end with a thinner layer than the other parts; then the chrysalis is
provided with a cutting implement in the shape of a keel-like arrangement
on the fore part, and with this it operates at the right time on the weak
end until a breach is made; the moth breaks the head end of the chrysalis
case and moistens {64} the ruptured material with a softening fluid so that
the insect is able to force its way out of the cocoon; the chrysalis case
remains in the cocoon.
The moth is on the wing in May and June, and sometimes July. Three
specimens that I reared this year (1907) from eggs found on a leaf of
poplar last year, emerged on June 4th, 10th, and July 12th. They all
pupated about the same time, and side by side on cork bark.
I believe this species has not been recorded from the Orkneys or the
Shetlands, but with these exceptions it seems to occur in more or less
frequency throughout the United Kingdom. It is widely distributed in
Europe, and its range extends to Siberia. In Lapland, Amurland, Japan, and
North Africa it is represented by named forms.
THE LOBSTER (_Stauropus fagi_).
The English name of this insect does not apply to the greyish brown or
sometimes blackish moth (Plate 26), but to its remarkable caterpillar, the
figures of which, on Plate 27, are reproduced from drawings by Mr. Alfred
Sich. In colour this curious-shaped creature is always some shade of brown,
the head is marked in front with reddish, the ring divisions of the body
are darker brown, and the hind rings are reddish brown.
The late Mr. W. H. Tugwell, referring to the early history of these
caterpillars, states that a female of the blackish form received from
Reading in May was kept alive for seven days, during which time she laid a
few eggs on oak leaves each night; "all told" she produced forty eggs. As
she was then quite exhausted, a good many had probably been laid
previously. The eggs when first laid are of a pale cream colour,
hemispherical in shape and flattened beneath. About the seventh day a
circular depression, and a dark spot, appear, and gradually the entire egg
assumes a dull purplish colour. "On the tenth day the caterpillars hatch
out. When they first leave the shell they appear extremely large, this is
partly on account of the long legs and the caudal appendages which are ever
nervously twisting about. The young caterpillars most carefully keep guard
over their own egg-shell, which is to them an all-important item, as this
provides them with their first meal--the first and only food they take for
seven days, in fact, for a longer period, as it is not until after moulting
their first skin that they eat any other food. This fact I proved over and
over again, as, being an invalid, my time was quite free to watch them hour
after hour and day after day. As soon as they have eaten their way out of
the shell they stretch themselves, and then from time to time nibble
portions of the white chitinous-looking egg-shell, and a tough morsel it
seems to be for them; but they never leave it for more than an inch or so,
and then rapidly come back. They keep nervously moving around and about
this, and if perchance another caterpillar should approach within touch of
it, a vigorous attack is made to drive off the intruder. All going well
during the first hour or two, the whole of the shell, or sometimes not more
than from half to two-thirds of it is consumed; and once the caterpillars
really leave the egg-shell, that is, walk away from it, they do not touch
it after. If by any chance a young caterpillar gets driven away from the
egg-shell, death is certain to result, as I could never induce them to feed
on portions of empty shells left by others; nor would they eat the leaves
or the brown stipules of the beech, which it has been suggested they do
eat. In no single instance did they eat other food in their first skin save
and alone the one meal of their own egg-shells."
[Illustration]
Pl. 24.
PUSS MOTH.
[Illustration]
Pl. 25.
PUSS MOTH.
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._
{65} The caterpillars feed on beech, and also occasionally on birch, oak,
hazel, and some fruit trees, and may be found from July to September.
The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a tightly woven cocoon {66} spun up
between leaves, usually dead ones, is blackish brown with a violet bloom
upon it.
The moths are on the wing in May and June in an early season, but not until
June and July in a backward one. They may be sometimes found resting by day
on the stems of small trees or even bushes. "In fact, anything," Mr.
Holland says, "which stands upright in a beech wood will do, so that it is
not too large." The blackish form of the moth is so like a knot on a stem
that it is easily overlooked. There is sometimes a second emergence in
August. Possibly those caterpillars found during the latter part of
September in some favourable years are from eggs deposited by moths
emerging in early August, and the offspring of May parents.
The species is widely distributed, but not often common, over the Midland,
Southern, and Eastern Counties of England. It seems to flourish chiefly in
beech woods, and is perhaps more frequent in parts of Berkshire, Bucks, and
Oxfordshire, than elsewhere, but it is not uncommon in some seasons in the
New Forest. It has been reported from Swansea in Wales, and once from
Selby, Yorkshire. In Ireland it is exceedingly rare, and is not known to
occur in Scotland. The range abroad extends through Central Europe,
northward to Sweden, southward to Spain and Portugal, and eastward to
Armenia, Ussuri, and Japan.
THE DUSKY MARBLED BROWN (_Gluphisia crenata_).
Only three authenticated British examples are known of this dingy
grey-brown moth (Plate 28, Fig. 3). The earliest intimation we have of the
occurrence of this species in England is the following record by the late
Mr. Henry Doubleday in the _Entomologist_, vol. i. p. 156: "_Chaonia
crenata._ The first British specimen of this insect was taken in Ongar Park
Wood, in June, 1839; a second in the same place, in June of the present
year. Both specimens were females." The locality mentioned in the foregoing
notice which was penned July 10th, 1841, is in the County of Essex. At a
meeting of the Entomological Society of London held in April, 1854, the
Rev. Joseph Greene exhibited a specimen that he had reared from a
caterpillar obtained from a poplar near Halton, in Bucks, August, 1853.
[Illustration]
Pl. 26.
LOBSTER MOTH.
[Illustration]
Pl. 27.
LOBSTER MOTH.
_Egg, enlarged, caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._
{67} According to Buckler the caterpillar is pale green, with a thin
whitish line down the middle of the back, a broader yellow line on each
side, and some reddish spots on the front and hind rings of the body; the
spiracles are black. It spins a somewhat oval-shaped cocoon between two
poplar leaves, and therein turns to a glossy blackish brown chrysalis.
Abroad the species is found in Central Europe, North Italy, North-western
Russia, Southern Norway, and also in Amurland and Ussuri. There are said to
be two broods on the continent, one emergence of moths taking place in
April and the other in June or July.
THE MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia trimacula_).
Somewhat similar to the next species, but the fore wings are generally
whiter; the cross lines are not so straight, and there is no black crescent
above the centre of the wings (Plate 28, Fig. 1).
The caterpillar is green, with two yellow lines on the back, and a yellow
one along the spiracles, the latter edged above with reddish. It feeds on
oak, and may be found from July to September; stated to hide by day in the
chinks of the bark. The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a cocoon of
earth held together with silk. It may be searched for at the roots of
grass, etc., around the foot of oak trees growing in parks or in the more
open parts of woods. The moth appears in May.
Although nowhere really common, it seems to occur pretty generally over the
southern portion of England, and as far north {68} as Derbyshire and
Staffordshire. Farther north, and in Wales and Scotland, it has been rarely
met with. Recorded by Birchall to be not uncommon at Killarney; but Kane
states that he has never seen an Irish specimen.
The species occurs locally throughout Central Europe, also in Transylvania,
Northern and Central Italy, and Eastern Armenia. In Ussuri, and Japan, it
is represented by the form _dodonides_, Staud.
THE LUNAR MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia chaonia_).
The fore wings of this moth (Plate 28, Fig. 2) are dark fuscous, almost
blackish, a short white line near the base; the central third is white
clouded with the ground colour and limited by white edged black wavy lines;
a black crescent just above the centre of the wing. Hind wings smoky grey
with a pale curved line. The egg, which is bluish white in colour, is of
the usual Notodont shape. Caterpillar green, merging into bluish-green on
the back; the lines are pale yellow, or creamy white, that along the black
margined spiracles is rather broad and is sometimes tinged with reddish on
the three front rings. Head green, mouth marked with pale yellow. Feeds in
June, July, and August on oak. From about a dozen eggs that I had in May,
1907, the caterpillars hatched on the 13th of the month. Only one got
through safely to the chrysalis stage which it reached at the end of June.
On June 26th some half-grown and smaller caterpillars were received from
the New Forest, only one of these was seen on July 19th, but it was then
nearly full grown and appeared to be quite healthy, and others had pupated
or died.
The chrysalis is deep red brown, enclosed in a silken cocoon covered with
particles of earth; generally found at the roots of isolated oak trees
(Plate 29, Figs. 1, 1a).
[Illustration]
Pl. 28.
1. MARBLED BROWN MOTH.
2. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN.
3. DUSKY MARBLED BROWN.
4. SWALLOW PROMINENT, _female_; 5 _male_.
6. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT.
[Illustration]
Pl. 29.
1, 1a. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a, 2b. SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
3, 3a, 3b. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{69} The moth emerges in May, sometimes at the end of April, generally in
the afternoon; it sits on the tree trunk to expand and dry its wings, and
then ascends higher up the tree. It is found in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire,
and in most of the southern counties of England, and in the west, but it
seems to be rarer eastward and northward, and also in Scotland. In Ireland
it has been found, very sparingly, in Wicklow and Kerry, and "numbers were
taken in a moth trap at Clonbrook."
The range abroad is very similar to that of the next species.
THE SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia tremula_).
Normally whitish, with a brown shaded black stripe along the inner margin
of the fore wings, and a brownish cloud, with black streaks in it, towards
the tips of these wings; the outer extremities of the veins are white,
there is a white wedge-shaped streak between veins 1 and 2, and from the
apex of this an indented white line runs to the base of the wing. Sometimes
the whole discal area is suffused with brownish. The moth is shown on Plate
28, Figs. 4, 5, and the early stages on Plate 29, Figs. 2, 2a, and 2b. The
egg when laid is creamy white, and the newly hatched caterpillar is pale
green. When full grown the caterpillar is green with rather darker, but not
always clearly defined, lines along the back, and a yellow line along the
region of the black spiracles; the underside is sometimes reddish. Another
form is brownish in colour and the yellow line is then generally obscure.
The green form is figured on Plate 29. The usual food is poplar, but sallow
is also eaten. It may be found in late June and early July and again in
September and October. The chrysalis is reddish brown and glossy except on
the wing covers, which are granulated and appear darker. The cocoon is
roughly constructed of silk and earth, and before spinning it the autumnal
caterpillar sometimes burrows a good depth under the surface of the soil;
the summer cocoons are said to be made up among leaves. The moth is on the
wing in May and August. {70}
The species is perhaps most common in the southern and eastern counties of
England, but seems to be pretty generally distributed throughout the
country, and extends into Scotland as far as Moray. In Ireland it has a
wide range but is only common near Londonderry. Abroad it is found in
Central and Northern Europe, and as far east as Amurland and Ussuri. In
America it is represented by _P. dimidiata_, H.-S., which does not seem to
be really specifically distinct.
THE LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia dictæoides_).
Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, and the ground
colour has usually less brown in it; the chief character, however, by which
it may be distinguished, is the broader and clearer white wedge-shaped mark
between veins one and two on the fore wings. Reference to the figures of
each species on Plate 28 will show this at once.
The eggs are greenish white, and the full-grown caterpillar is purplish
brown on the back merging into violet on the sides; there is a broad yellow
stripe along the spiracle area; the head is violet, faintly marked with
black. A noticeable feature of this caterpillar is its varnished
appearance. It feeds on birch in June and July, and sometimes in September
and October. The early stages are figured on Plate 29, Figs. 3, 3a, and 3b.
The species has a somewhat similar distribution to that mentioned for the
preceding, but it seems to be commoner in the North of England and in
Scotland than elsewhere in the British Isles.
THE PEBBLE PROMINENT (_Notodonta ziczac_).
This moth varies in the colour of the fore wings from pale ochreous brown
to a darker brown tinged with reddish; the usual pale greyish patch in the
middle of the costal area is {71} sometimes obliterated by a suffusion of
the darker colour; the dark-brown first and second lines are often only
visible towards the front edge of the wings; a blackish lunule or crescent
forms, in conjunction with the strongly curved outer line, the outline of
the characteristic pebble-like mark on the apical area of the wings; a pale
saw-edged line, which is inwardly shaded with dusky and intersected by
black streaks on the veins, traverses the pebble mark, but in the lighter
coloured specimens this line is not traceable. The female has browner hind
wings than the male. The moth is depicted on Plate 31, Fig. 2; and the
early stages on Plate 30, Figs. 1, 1a, and 1b.
The caterpillar, when full grown, is pale ochreous grey, sometimes tinged
with pink or purplish brown, or with yellowish, and especially on the hind
rings; a yellow stripe along the back is edged here and there with
brownish; the diffuse dusky line along the area of the black margined
spiracles is edged with yellowish. It is occasionally found on poplar, but
sallows and willow are the more usual food plants, and it feeds upon these
in June and July and again in August and September. The reddish brown
chrysalis is enclosed in an earthen cocoon just under the surface of the
ground at the roots of tree or bush upon which the caterpillar fed. The
moth emerges in May and June from chrysalides of the previous year, and in
August as a second generation. Three broods in the year have been obtained
in confinement, but this is probably exceptional.
Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but seems to have a
preference for fens and marshy ground. It occurs all over Central and
Northern Europe, its range extends through France to Spain, Italy, and
Corsica, and it has been recorded from Armenia and Amurland. {72}
THE IRON PROMINENT (_Notodonta dromedarius_).
The specimen shown on Plate 31 is from Surrey, and represents the form most
frequently obtained in the south of England. Northwards the species becomes
darker in colour, and the reddish and yellow marking much reduced. The form
_perfusca_, as figured by Stephens, has the fore wings dark purplish grey,
streaked with dark brown; a pale patch at the base is russet marked, the
line before the middle of the wing is russet, and a dash of the same colour
lies at the lower extremity of the line beyond the middle; the hind wings
are brownish grey with a broad whitish cross line. The specimen, which is
of the female sex, was from Dublin, and the form was not then supposed to
occur in any other part of the British Isles. It is now, however, well
known in Scotland and the North of England, and also in Ireland. Some
examples that I have seen from Scotland are much larger and darker than the
figure referred to. In his description of this form Stephens states that
the fore wings are fuscous mixed with chestnut, with darker clouds. The
caterpillar, which is figured on Plate 30, is green, becoming yellowish on
the back; a rather broad stripe on the back of the front rings and the
markings on the humps and on other parts of the body are purplish brown. It
feeds on birch, alder, and sometimes hazel, usually on the former, in June,
July, and August. In some seasons, and localities, the moth appears twice
in the year: the caterpillar may then be found in September and October.
The chrysalis is blackish-brown and rather glossy, enclosed in a cocoon
composed of silk and sand or other soil, and may be obtained by lightly
digging up the earth and sods at the roots of trees.
THE THREE HUMPED (_Notodonta phoebe_ = _tritophus_).
Very little is known in Britain of this Central European moth (Plate 31,
Fig. 3). The first specimen of which we have any {73} knowledge was reared
on August 10, 1842 from a caterpillar found in Essex on aspen. This example
was included, with two others, one of which was captured in Suffolk, in the
collection of the late Dr. Mason, which was dispersed at Stevens' Auction
Rooms in March, 1905.
Besides the specimens mentioned above, a caterpillar, which subsequently
died, was beaten from alder in the Exeter district in 1870; another was
obtained from hazel in Gloucestershire, but this was "ichneumoned." Then
there is a record of a moth or caterpillar, presumably the former,
occurring in the neighbourhood of Paisley; and there is a report that a
caterpillar was once found at the base of an aspen growing on Clapham
Common. A specimen was taken at electric light at Bedford, May, 1907.
The caterpillar is green, with three reddish humps on the back, and an
interrupted reddish line along the sides. It feeds on poplar in July and
August.
THE LARGE DARK PROMINENT (_Notodonta tritophus_ = _torva_).
Another Central European species, of which only one specimen is known to
have occurred in Britain. This was reared from an egg, or from a
caterpillar, obtained in Norfolk in the latter part of the summer of 1882.
The moth might be mistaken for a small dark coloured specimen of the next
species (_N. trepida_), but the dark hindwings readily distinguish it
(Plate 31, Fig. 4).
The caterpillar, although darker, bears considerable resemblance to that of
the Pebble Prominent; it feeds in June and July, and also in September, on
aspen.
According to Staudinger this species is the _tritophus_ of Esper, an
earlier name than _torva_, Hübn.; whilst the preceding species, that has so
long been referred to _tritophus_, Fabricius (or _trilophus_), is found to
be _phoebe_, Siebert, which name has seventeen years' priority. {74}
THE GREAT PROMINENT (_Notodonta trepida_).
Fore wings greyish, or ochreous grey, with dark cross lines; a blackish
tuft from middle of inner margin, and a series of dark, or sometimes
reddish, spots on a pale cross line before the inner margin. Hind wings
whitish, sometimes ochreous tinged; clouded with greyish on costal area
(Plate 31, Fig. 5). When full grown the caterpillar is rather larger than
the one figured on Plate 30. In colour it is green, with yellow lines along
the back, seven reddish-edged yellow oblique streaks on the sides, and a
reddish tinged stripe on the two rings nearest the head. It is stated to
assume a purplish tint when quite mature. May be found from end of June to
early August on oak. The dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in
an earth-covered cocoon, may be found at the roots of oak trees in the
autumn or winter.
The moth emerges between late April and early June, sometimes remaining in
the chrysalis for two winters. Light attracts it freely, and it is
frequently seen in the illuminated moth trap, and may be occasionally noted
on the iron frame of a gas lamp in suitable places. Sometimes the moth is
met with in the daytime, resting on the trunks or branches of oak trees in
woods, or on palings adjacent thereto. When such specimens happen to be
females, they should be kept for eggs, which they lay freely.
It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, is somewhat rare in
the Midlands, and scarce in the northern counties and in Scotland. Recorded
by Birchall as "not uncommon in Co. Wicklow," but Kane ("Cat. Lep.
Ireland") states that he has no information concerning its occurrence in
the sister island. Distributed throughout Central Europe, extending into
Spain, Italy, and Corsica; also to South-east Russia, Armenia, and possibly
Ussuri. {75}
THE WHITE PROMINENT (_Leucodonta bicoloria_).
The glossy white moth, prettily marked with orange and black, shown on
Plate 33, was not known to inhabit the British Isles until 1858 when
Bonchard obtained one specimen in a large birch wood in the Killarney
district, Ireland; in the following year he took a second specimen. Both
captures were made in the month of June. In June, 1861, one example of the
moth was found in Burnt Wood, Staffordshire; and in the same wood, June,
1865, no fewer than six specimens were secured, and eggs obtained from one
of the females. The caterpillars duly hatched out, but most of them were
lost, only seven attaining the moth state. Kane states that in 1866 a
specimen was taken in Mucross demesne, and caterpillars "were said also to
have been beaten." Miss Vernon of Clontarf showed him her collection of
insects from Kerry, and he found therein two rather poor specimens of the
White Prominent from a new locality in Kerry. Barrett mentions the capture,
in 1880, of a specimen near Exeter, Devonshire. From the foregoing, which
comprises all that appears to be definitely known about British _L.
bicoloria_, it will be gathered that the species is not only very local,
but exceedingly rare.
The caterpillar, figured on Plate 32, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A.
Sich, is pale yellowish green, rather whiter on the upper surface; the
lines are green, the central one darkest; the stripe along the spiracles is
yellow edged with green. It feeds on birch in July; and changes in due
course to a dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in a compact
silken cocoon spun up between leaves. The moth emerges in May or June.
Abroad the species seems to be generally distributed in Central Europe, and
is also found in the Ural, Amurland, Ussuri, and Japan. {76}
THE MAPLE PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx cuculla_).
To Donovan and the entomologists of his time this moth (Plate 33, Fig. 4)
was known by the English name still in use, Stephens considered it a rare
insect, and remarks that he once caught a specimen at Darenth Wood, by
"mothing," in June, 1820; several other examples had been taken in the same
place, and in the neighbouring woods. Although many more localities are now
known for the moth, it still continues to be rather a scarce species. It
appears to inhabit woods on a chalky soil almost exclusively, and is found
less uncommonly in the woods of Buckinghamshire than in its other haunts in
Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Kent, Sussex, Devonshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire,
Suffolk, and Norfolk. The bulk of the specimens in collections were
probably reared from the egg, or from caterpillars obtained by beating or
searching the maple bushes growing in the woods frequented by the moth.
The caterpillar is whitish green, rather glossy, with a dark green line
along the middle of the back, which is broadest on the front rings, and a
pale yellow stripe on the sides, the latter edged above with pale green;
spiracles pinkish edged with black; a hump on the eleventh ring is purplish
tinted. Head pale ochreous brown marked with reddish brown. Sometimes the
general colour is yellowish or pinkish ochreous. May be found in June and
July on maple (_Acer campestris_) and in confinement will feed very well on
sycamore (_A. pseudoplatanus_). The moth usually emerges in May or June,
but in 1901 Mr. Adkin reared ten moths, July 24 to 31, from eggs deposited
in the spring of that year. The species does not seem to be a common one
even abroad; its range extends through Central Europe to Italy and Sicily,
and it is also found in Ussuri.
[Illustration]
Pl. 30.
1, 1a, 1b. PEBBLE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a, 2b, 2c. IRON PROMINENT: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
3, 3a. GREAT PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 31.
1. IRON PROMINENT.
2. PEBBLE PROMINENT.
3. THREE HUMPED MOTH.
4. LARGE DARK PROMINENT.
5. GREAT PROMINENT.
{77}
THE COXCOMB PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx camelina_).
Probably the commonest of the true Prominents, and certainly the most
variable. The early stages are figured on Plate 32, and two forms of the
moth on Plate 33. In its typical and southern form the fore wings are more
or less pale reddish brown with a darker cloud on the inner marginal area;
there are three dusky, or blackish, cross lines, but two of these are
generally very indistinct, the third runs from the blackish "tooth" on the
inner margin to the front edge of the wing, and is followed by a pale wavy
band often outwardly bordered with dusky. Sometimes the fore wings are
clouded with dark brown, and in the North of England a dark reddish form
occurs. In Scotland the fore wings vary in colour from dusky brown through
reddish to pale yellowish brown; sometimes the "tooth" is reddish in
chestnut coloured specimens. The whitish eggs are laid on the undersides of
the leaves of various trees and bushes upon which the caterpillar feeds;
these are chiefly birch, oak, hazel, sallow, and beech.
The caterpillar, which appears in July to October, and sometimes even
later, is green, with a darker line on the back, and a yellow one on the
sides; two reddish tipped wart-like projections on the back of ring eleven.
Occasionally the general colour is ochreous with a pinkish tinge, or it may
be even purplish. There are two broods in the south of England, but only
one in the north. The moths of the first brood fly in May and June, and
those of the second in July and August, sometimes rather later. Pretty
generally distributed throughout England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
Abroad its range extends over Northern and Central Europe to Northern
Spain, Northern and Central Italy, Dalmatia, Turkey, Armenia, Siberia,
Amurland, Corea, and Japan. {78}
THE SCARCE PROMINENT (_Odontosia carmelita_).
In 1828, when Stephens figured this moth, he only knew of two British
specimens, both of which had been reared about sixteen years previously
from caterpillars found at Darenth Wood. The wings, which are not thickly
scaled, are purplish grey, becoming reddish brown on the front margins of
the fore wings; the outer transverse line of the fore wings starts from a
conspicuous creamy patch on the front margin, and the line on the hind
wings is most distinct above the anal angle, where it runs through a
purplish cloud (Plate 33, Fig. 5).
In April and May the pale blue eggs are laid on the underside of birch
leaves. The caterpillar in June feeds on the foliage of the birch, and when
full grown is green freckled with yellowish above; a darker line runs along
the middle of the back, and a reddish spotted, or tinted, yellow stripe
along the sides; the small head, also green, is marked with yellowish. When
the chrysalids are kept indoors the moths emerge earlier than in the open,
and it therefore sometimes happens that eggs are laid and the caterpillars
hatch before the birch leaves are ready for them. In such cases I have got
over the difficulty in a measure by removing a portion of the outer
covering of one or two of the most forward buds to give the caterpillars a
chance of getting at the unexposed leaves. The moth emerges in April or
May, and, as pointed out by Mr. R. Adkin, it sometimes remains in the
chrysalis for two winters. Possibly this species may be found in most
districts where birch abounds; but, so far as its distribution in our
islands is known, it certainly appears to be distinctly local. Besides
Darenth, it also occurs in West Wickham Wood, and at Wateringbury, in Kent;
the Weybridge district, Dorking, and Haslemere, in Surrey; Ashdown Forest,
Blackdown Woods, Haywards Heath, and Tilgate Forest, in Sussex; New Forest,
Hampshire, and Berkshire. There seems to be no record of the moth having
been found in any other part of England, except Keswick and Windermere. In
Scotland it has been reported from Galashiels, Clydesdale, the Tay
district, Argyleshire, and Moray.
[Illustration]
Pl. 32.
1, 1a, 1b. PALE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a. WHITE PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
3, 3a, 3b. COXCOMB PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
4. MAPLE PROMINENT: _chrysalis_.
5, 5a. SCARCE PROMINENT: _chrysalis and cocoon_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 33.
1. WHITE PROMINENT.
2, 3. COXCOMB PROMINENT.
4. MAPLE PROMINENT.
5. SCARCE PROMINENT.
6. PALE PROMINENT.
7. PLUMED PROMINENT, _male_; 8, _female_.
{79}
THE PLUMED PROMINENT (_Ptilophora plumigera_).
The thinly scaled fore wings are ochreous brown in the male, and purplish
brown in the female, and the markings, which are most in evidence in the
male, are yellowish. Hind wings, more sparsely scaled than the fore wings,
are pale ochreous brown in the male and darker in the female. It varies in
the tint of general colour and in the intensity of the yellowish markings.
In the female the antennæ are simple, but in the male they are very
plume-like, hence the English name. Buckler describes the caterpillar as
whitish blue-green, with a broad deep green stripe down the middle of the
back, and a narrow yellow line on each side of it; spiracular line slender,
white, and wavy; head rather small, glossy, yellowish green. When quite
full grown and mature it changes to a uniform semi-transparent green, like
the underside of a leaf of maple, upon which, and also sycamore, the
caterpillar feeds in May and early June. Maple bushes growing in hedgerows
are usually selected by the female moths when laying their eggs. These are
placed on the twigs near a bud, and may be searched for at any time from
November until April. The moth is shown on Plate 33.
This species was figured by Stephens (1828) as _Ptilophora variegata_ and
the only locality then known to him was Darenth Wood, where, he states, the
caterpillar was obtained almost every year. It still occurs in Kent and
possibly in its old haunt; it is also recorded from Watergate, Sussex;
South Devon (Torquay district); and Gloucestershire. In Bucks, Berks, and
Oxfordshire it is more frequent than in either of the counties previously
mentioned, and in all it seems to be found chiefly in chalky localities.
The moth, which is on the wing in November {80} or sometimes in late
October, has rarely been taken when flying at night or resting by day.
Light has an attraction for the male, but apparently not for the female.
Distributed through Central Europe, its range extends to Southern
Scandinavia, Northern Italy, Livonia, Bulgaria, S.E. Russia, and Japan.
THE PALE PROMINENT (_Pterostoma palpina_).
This blackish streaked, pale brownish grey moth has been known as the Pale
Prominent since 1775, when Moses Harris gave it this name. Beyond the black
scaled tooth-like projection the inner margin is notched. The antennæ of
the female are pectinated, but the teeth are shorter than those of the
male; and the blackish streak on the wings are usually less defined. Except
that some specimens are more strongly marked than others there is little to
note in the way of aberration. Mr. Harwood of Colchester has, however,
recorded an almost black variety, and this may be referable to the form
from Russian Lapland, known as var. _lapponica_, Teich. The moth is figured
on Plate 33, and the early stages on Plate 32.
The caterpillar is bluish green, with white lines along the back and sides,
and a black edged yellow stripe along the spiracles; the stripe is marked
with reddish on the three rings nearest the head. It feeds chiefly on
poplar, but has been found on willow and sallow. Usually to be obtained
full grown early in July or late in June; in the south and south-east of
England, it is found also in September and October. The chrysalis is
purplish, or reddish, brown and rather shining. It may be found, in a
cocoon formed of silk mixed with particles of earth, among the roots of
grass, etc., at the foot of poplar or willow trees. Moths are on the wing
in May and June, and again in July and August. Coming to electric and gas
lamps, as well as entering lighted rooms, and illuminated moth traps, they
are often secured; otherwise they are rarely seen in a state of nature. The
species is most frequent, perhaps, in the southern countries, but seems to
occur throughout England; it becomes scarcer from the Midlands northwards
to Durham and Cumberland. It occurs in Southern Scotland, and has been
recorded from Moray. In Ireland it is widely distributed, but is not noted
as common in any locality. The range abroad extends through temperate
Europe into Asia Minor, and as far east as China and Japan.
[Illustration]
Pl. 34.
1, 1a, 1b, 1c. CHOCOLATE TIP: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
2, 2a, 2b. SMALL CHOCOLATE TIP: _caterpillar, chrysalis, cocoon and
larval retreat_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 35.
1, 2. CHOCOLATE-TIP MOTH.
3. BUFF-TIP MOTH.
4. SCARCE CHOCOLATE-TIP, _male_; 5 _female_.
6. SMALL CHOCOLATE-TIP, _male_; 7 _female_.
{81}
THE BUFF-TIP (_Phalera bucephala_).
[Illustration: FIG. 21.