The nine British species next to be considered belong to the old family
Cymatophoridæ, but as the name _Cymatophora_, as indicated by Hübner in the
"Tentamen" (1816), is now generically used by authors for some species of
Geometridæ; and as Hübner's _Verzeichniss_ generic names will have to be
used for the species previously included in _Cymatophora_, Tr., the term
Thyatiridæ has here been adopted for this family--the Polyplocidæ of
Meyrick and others.
THE BUFF ARCHES (_Habrosyne derasa_).
This pretty species (Plate 36, Figs. 1, 2) is well distributed over the
greater part of England and not at all uncommon in the more sylvan
districts of the southern counties. It occurs in Wales but has only once
been recorded from Scotland. In {86} Ireland it is found in almost every
well-wooded locality, but is not generally common. The moth hides among the
foliage of the bramble and also creeps under the withered leaves on the
ground. It comes freely to sugar, and is often the earliest to attend the
banquet, but is rather skittish at first and should be given time to settle
down.
The fore wings are pale olive grey with two whitish streaks across them,
the first oblique approaching the second towards the inner margin; the
space between the streaks is clouded with brownish buff and there is a
whitish cloud on the costal area, and some strongly waved cross lines
before the second streak.
The caterpillar, which is rusty brown, with a blackish central line on the
back, a black edged yellowish spot on ring four, a smaller one on ring
five, and sometimes a tiny one on ring seven, feeds in August and
September, sometimes later, on bramble, and is said to eat hawthorn and
hazel. It hides during the day and comes up to feed at night. The
chrysalis, which is enclosed in an earthen cocoon below the surface of the
ground, or sometimes among moss, is purplish black with the ring divisions
reddish; the anal spike is furnished with hooks. As a rule the moth does
not emerge until June or July following the year of pupation, but it has
been found on the wing in September and October.
Distributed over Central Europe, extending into Southern France, and
Northern Italy, Southern Sweden and Livonia, and eastward to the Himalayas,
Corea, and Japan.
THE PEACH-BLOSSOM (_Thyatira batis_).
The olive brown fore wings of this moth are adorned with five pink-tinged
whitish spots, and clouded with brown; the pink tinge varies in amount and
in brightness, and sometimes gives place to pale ochreous. The moth is
figured on Plate 36, and the early stages on Plate 37.
[Illustration]
Pl. 36.
1. BUFF ARCHES MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. PEACH-BLOSSOM MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.
5. FIGURE OF EIGHTY, _male_; 6. _female_.
7. POPLAR LUTESTRING, _male_; 8 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 37.
1, 1a. BUFF-TIP: _eggs and caterpillar_.
2, 2a, 2b. PEACH-BLOSSOM: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{87}
The fluted greenish-white eggs are laid upon the edges of bramble-leaves.
The caterpillar is pale reddish brown shaded with darker and freckled with
whitish (in the young stage the second and third rings are whitish above);
a slender dark brown line along the middle of the back, and a broader one
along the sides, the latter not distinct on the first three rings; the two
rings nearest the head each have a divided ridge, the second being the
larger; there are also similar ridges on the fifth to ninth rings, and the
back of ring eleven is slightly raised; a series of pale triangular marks
on the back. It feeds on bramble in July, and may be found from that month
until September.
In confinement it will thrive on raspberry or the cultivated kinds of
blackberry. From some thirty eggs I had in June this year (1907) the
caterpillars hatched on the 27th; several of these fed up rapidly and one
or two had spun up for pupation, among the leaves, in July (about 24th),
whilst others remained quite small, and a few were in the last skin but
one. Early in August the larger caterpillars just referred to pupated, and
the smaller ones began to feed up, and by the end of the month they had
attained to full growth, although they did not spin cocoons until the
second week in September.
From July chrysalids moths will often emerge in August or September of the
same year, but none have appeared from those under observation. The
chrysalis is pale brown mottled with dark purplish or reddish brown, wing
cases reddish. The species frequents woods or wooded localities, and is
generally distributed throughout England and Wales, but commoner in some
parts than others. Rather local in Scotland but not uncommon in Perthshire.
Sometimes very abundant in Ireland, occurring in similar localities to the
preceding species. It is found over the greater part of Northern and
Central Europe, and as far east as Amurland and Japan. {88}
THE FIGURE OF EIGHTY (_Palimpsestis octogessima_).
This moth (Plate 36, Figs. 5, 6) may be distinguished by two whitish marks
on the fore wings which have some resemblance to the numerals 80, hence the
common name. These are really the white outlines of the reniform and
orbicular stigmata, each of which has the central part filled in with
black; sometimes the lower portion of the 8 is obscure, but in a general
way the character is not difficult to make out.
The caterpillar is yellowish tinged with greyish on the back; a greyish
plate on the back of the ring nearest the black marked orange head; three
black spots on each side of the first ring, two such spots on ring two, and
one on each side of rings three to eleven; the back of the last ring has a
greyish plate. It feeds in July and August, earlier or later in accordance
with season, on poplar. During the day it hides between united leaves, or
in a curled up withered leaf, upon the tree. The shining black chrysalis
with somewhat reddish ring divisions is enclosed in a rather loosely
constructed cocoon spun up between leaves, or among moss etc., at the base
of poplar trees. The moth emerges in May or June. It is partial to sugar,
and is said to prefer its sweets served up on poplar trunks. Probably it is
most often and regularly obtained in the Eastern Counties, but it is
locally not uncommon in Worcestershire and Herefordshire; also found in
Gloucestershire, Somerset, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey, and, I
believe, Sussex. The range abroad is similar to that of _T. batis_.
THE POPLAR LUTESTRING (_Palimpsestis or_).
May be recognized in the typical form by the four-lined bands,
"lutestrings," on the greyish, sometimes pink-tinged fore wings; the
reniform and orbicular marks are often present although the first is
generally obscure, and they never assume the similarity {89} to figures
noted in the last species (Plate 36, Figs. 7, 8). In Scotland the moths
have a paler ground colour generally, var. _scotica_, Tutt; one from
Ireland with ground colour pearly white and broad black "lutestrings" has
been named var. _gaelica_, Kane. Hybrids from a cross pairing of this
species with the last have been obtained by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher. These
specimens have the "lutestrings" of _or_, and the "figure of 80"
characteristic of _octogessima_. Caterpillar yellowish green with a dark
line along the middle of the back, and two black spots on the front edge of
the ring next the yellowish brown head. It feeds on poplar, and hides
between united leaves in the daytime; may be found from July to September
or even later. Chrysalis, reddish brown, the surface minutely pitted, and
spike pointed, and thickened at the base; in a brownish cocoon spun up
between leaves. The moth emerges in June or July, and it comes freely to
sugar, but like other members of this family is not always easy to box. It
seems to occur in most places where poplar trees are well established;
widely distributed over England, and found throughout Scotland even to the
Shetland Isles. In Ireland it seems to be local and rare. Distribution
abroad much as in the last species.
THE LESSER SATIN MOTH (_Palimpsestis duplaris_).
Figs. 1, 2, on Plate 39, represent the typical southern form of this
species. The fore wings are pale greyish with a whitish edged, broad, dark
central band; two black dots on the outer edge of the band distinguish this
species from the next. In Scotland and in Northern England the general
colour is blackish or purplish grey (Fig. 3), and sometimes specimens more
or less suffused with the darker colour are found in the southern half of
England. Quite the darkest, almost black, form seems to occur in Cannock
Chase, Staffordshire, and in Delamere Forest, Cheshire. The caterpillar is
greenish; central area of the back {90} green, margined on each side by an
olive green, or brighter green, stripe; some black dots along the sides;
head reddish brown marked with black. Feeds on birch, and may be found from
August to October. It spins the leaves together for a shelter during the
daytime, and comes out to feed at night, when it may be obtained by beating
the boughs. Other food plants mentioned are alder, oak, and hazel. The pupa
is of a dull reddish colour, in a slight cocoon between leaves.
Widely distributed throughout England and common in most woodlands,
especially in the south and east; it ranges through Scotland to the
Shetlands. In Ireland, where the moth has the ground colour silvery grey
(var. _argentea_, Tutt), it has been obtained in many localities, from
Donegal and Tyrone to Kerry and Cork.
THE SATIN CARPET (_Palimpsestis fluctuosa_).
In colour and general pattern this species (Plate 39, Fig. 4) is very
similar to the last in its typical form. The points of distinction are, the
slightly larger size, whiter ground colour, and the absence of the two
black dots from the edge of the band. In August and September the
caterpillar feeds, at night, on birch, and by day conceals itself between
leaves. It is reddish or violet grey above, and pale ochreous-white
beneath; the lines down the centre of the back and along the sides are
darker; on the first ring there is a greenish-tinged yellow plate, and from
this to the eleventh ring there are two series of black dots along the
back. Head yellow-brown, blackened above; a black circle on each cheek.
Chrysalis reddish-brown, in a cocoon among leaves either on the tree or on
the ground. The moth emerges in June, and is distinctly local. Sometimes it
may be disturbed from its resting place among the foliage; it becomes
active on the wing at dusk for a short time; sugar does not seem to possess
any great attraction for it, anyway it does not attend the feast prepared
for Noctuæ so frequently as other members of this family. It is known to
occur, chiefly in woods, in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire in the
south; Essex and Suffolk in the east; also in Worcestershire (Wyre Forest),
and Herefordshire; in the Barnsley and Sheffield districts of Yorkshire;
and it has been reported from Cumberland. In Ireland it is rare and only
recorded from Killarney, Kerry, and Sligo. Abroad it occurs in Central
Europe, the range extending to Southern Scandinavia, and to South-east
Russia.
[Illustration]
Pl. 38.
1. FROSTED GREEN: _caterpillar_.
2, 2a, 2b, 2c. YELLOW HORNED: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 39.
1. LESSER SATIN MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_; 3 _northern var_.
4. SATIN CARPET MOTH.
5. LESSER LUTESTRING, _male_; 6 _female_.
7, 8. YELLOW-HORNED MOTH.
9. FROSTED GREEN MOTH, _male_; 10 _female_.
{91} THE LESSER LUTESTRING (_Asphalia diluta_).
The fore wings are whitish or greyish, and sometimes tinged with brown;
crossed by two brownish bands. Variation is chiefly in the tint of the
bands and also in their width and definition. In var. _nubilata_, which
occurs in Yorkshire, the general colour of the fore wings is darker than
normal, and there is a basal patch and three cross-bands of reddish or
purplish brown (Plate 39, Figs. 5, 6).
Caterpillar, yellowish above and greyish beneath; a dusky line along the
middle of the back, and one, dotted with black, low down on the sides; head
dark brown, almost blackish. It feeds in May and June on oak, but only at
night; it constructs a leafy chamber in which it sits tight during the day,
and is not easily evicted unless its apartment is forcibly opened. The
reddish chrysalis is enclosed in a flimsy cocoon between, or among, leaves.
Although September is the month during which the moth usually emerges, it
is sometimes seen earlier. It is so partial to sugar, that it may often be
seen at an old patch before the new feast has been set out for the evening
entertainment. The species is fairly well distributed throughout England
and Wales, and most common in the south of the former country. It extends
into Southern Scotland, but {92} apparently does not occur in Ireland.
Abroad it is found in Central Europe, Belgium, North Germany, North Italy,
and North-east Asia Minor.
THE YELLOW HORNED (_Polyploca flavicornis_).
In the South of England this species is greenish grey, sometimes speckled
or dusted with darker grey; the reniform and orbicular marks are generally
clear and distinct, but in some examples they are united and form a whitish
blotch outlined in blackish; the cross lines are usually well defined, but
in the dark grey dusted form are very obscure. Specimens from Scotland are
generally larger, there is less green, if any, in the ground colour, and
the markings are often more pronounced and brighter. This form is the var.
_scotica_, Tutt, and may be more or less identical with the var.
_finmarchia_, Schöyen, from Norway and Lapland (Fig. 7, Plate 39, shows the
English form, and Fig. 8 the Scotch form).
The caterpillar is greenish, light olive green, or dark olive green above,
and yellowish beneath; a line along the middle of the back is paler, and on
each side there is a row of black spots and finely black-edged white dots;
a line above the brownish outlined spiracles is yellowish: the head is
yellow brown with blackish jaws and black mark on each cheek. It feeds in
June and July on birch, preferring the foliage of bushes. During the
daytime it resides in a leaf neatly folded in half; when quite young, the
caterpillar then being blackish, a small leaf or just the turned-over edge
of a large one answers its purpose. The chrysalis is reddish, enclosed in a
flimsy cocoon among leaves, moss, or roots of grass, etc., sometimes just
under the surface of the soil. The early stages are figured on Plate 38,
Figs. 2-2c. The moth emerges in March or April of the year following
pupation, as a rule, but it may remain in the chrysalis for two winters. It
is often obtained in birch woods, or wherever there {93} is a good growth
of birch, by jarring the twigs and branches of birch upon which it rests
during the day, or it may be found by searching the low bushes and
underwood. Soon after dusk it is on the wing, and will then visit sugar and
sallow bloom.
Generally distributed throughout Great Britain. In Ireland it appears to be
very rare. Its range abroad, in the typical form, extends over Northern and
Central Europe to North Italy and to South-east Russia.
THE FROSTED GREEN (_Polyploca ridens_).
This moth (Plate 39, Figs. 9, 10) is also on the wing early in the year,
but although it is sometimes found on tree trunks in April or perhaps as
late as the first week in May, it seems to be rarely obtained otherwise in
the perfect state. It does not "come to sugar" often, if at all, and so far
as is known, does not visit any of the usual natural attractions.
The ground colour of the fore wings varies from whitish to green, but in
some specimens the general hue is olive or blackish green, and the markings
then appear to be wavy whitish lines crossing the wings, one near the base,
and the other before the outer margin.
The caterpillar (Plate 38, Fig. 1) is yellow above and rather greenish
beneath; a greenish grey double stripe along the back is interrupted at the
ring divisions; there are also white dots with black or blackish edges on
the back and the sides; a yellow line along the spiracle area is shaded
above and below with greenish grey; the head, which is notched on the
crown, is yellowish, with a black mark on each cheek. It feeds, at night,
on oak, from May to July; hiding by day on the underside of a leaf, a
portion of which is folded over and secured with silk, to form a suitable
retreat. These caterpillars respond more readily to the persuasive
beating-stick than others of the group.
The species affects woodland localities in most of the southern {94}
counties of England, and it is also found in South Wales. Its range extends
into the Eastern Counties and through the Midlands northward to Cumberland.
It does not seem to have been noted from Scotland or Ireland. Abroad it is
distributed over Central Europe and northward to Denmark and Livonia, and
southward to South France and Andalusia.
TUSSOCK-MOTHS (_Lymantriidæ_).
About seventy-two species, referred to this family, are known to occur in
various parts of the Palæarctic region; ten of these are found in our
islands. The Black V-moth (_Leucoma v-nigrum_ or _Arctornis l-album_) has
been reported as British, but if the few examples that have been recorded
were natives, the species has long since disappeared from this country.
Some of the caterpillars, as, for example, those of the Brown and
Yellow-tails, are not altogether pleasant to handle, as the hairs with
which they are covered have a disagreeable trick of transferring themselves
to our hands, whence they find their way to our face, and when there are
apt to set up most unpleasant irritation and swelling of the parts
affected. These urticating hairs are more troublesome when received from
the caterpillar or cocoon, but those from the moth itself communicate a
very respectable simulation of the skin trouble known to the doctor as
Urticaria.
THE SCARCE VAPOURER (_Orgyia gonostigma_).
The male of this species, and also of the next, flies in the sunshine, but
the female of each is wingless, or nearly so, and has to remain at home on
the cocoon from which she emerged. Here she lays a large number of eggs,
from four to five hundred, upon the exterior. The eggs of this species are
whitish and rather glossy when first laid; the top is sunken. Apart from
{95} the deeper brown colour of the fore wings and the blacker hind wings,
the male of this species has a white mark near the tip of each fore wing,
and this character will distinguish it from the same sex of the Common
Vapourer.
The caterpillar is blackish with star-like tufts of hair, white on the back
and greyish on the sides; on rings four to seven are brushes of brown
hairs; a pencil of black hair on side of the first ring pointing forward,
and a thicker one on the back of ring eleven directed backward; the
interrupted stripes along the back and sides are reddish orange,
approaching vermilion; those along the back are united in front of the
pencil on ring eleven, and those of the sides unite behind the pencil. Head
glossy, black. The foliage of sallow, willow, and oak, is perhaps the more
usual food, but it has been known to eat beech, elm, hawthorn, sloe, and
nut, and has been found on meadow-sweet. The chrysalis is brown, inclining
to yellowish between the rings, and the back is hairy; enclosed in a cocoon
spun up among leaves or in any suitable cranny. The male and female moths
are figured on Plate 40 (Fig. 3, 5), and the caterpillar and chrysalis on
Plate 41.
The moths emerge in June, and from their eggs caterpillars result in July.
These, feeding up quickly, attain the perfect state in late July or early
August. Caterpillars from this second generation usually go into
hibernation when quite small, and feed up in the following April and May;
in confinement they may, however, get through their metamorphosis and reach
the moth state in September or October. Sometimes it happens that a part of
the summer brood of caterpillars will feed up straight away and produce
moths in August; others, feeding and growing more slowly, assume the winged
state in November; whilst a third portion will remain small and go into
hibernation.
This very local species used to be obtained in the Wimbledon district, but
it has not been seen there for some years past. {96} Other localities for
it are the Norfolk and Cambridge fens, Bewdley Forest in Shropshire, and
Wyre Forest, Worcestershire; it is also found in some parts of Devonshire,
Suffolk, Essex, and Yorks. Its range abroad extends through Northern and
Central Europe, southward to North Spain, Piedmont, and Corsica, and
eastward to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
THE VAPOURER (_Orgyia antiqua_).
The male has the wings rather more ample than the same sex of the last
species, the colour is a more ochreous red and there is a large white spot
at the lower angle of the fore wings, but no white mark at the tips of
these wings. Specimens from the north of England are rather darker than
southern examples. In the course of temperature experiments it has been
noted that the colour of the moth is darkened if the chrysalids are put in
a refrigerator for a few weeks, and then brought into a mean temperature of
40° Fahr. In the female the appendages representing wings are somewhat
larger than those of the female of the Scarce Vapourer, but are quite
useless as organs of flight (Plate 40, Figs. 4, 6).
In general colour the caterpillar is violet or smoky grey; the markings on
the back comprise a creamy, red-dotted line along the middle area, this is
edged with black, and on each side of it is a series of raised red spots;
the broken line along the sides is yellowish, and the four brushes of hair
on the back are yellow, sometimes merging into brown above; the pencils of
longer hairs are blackish on the ring nearest the head, and dark grey or
brownish on the last ring. It may be found through the summer on the leaves
of most trees and bushes. Chrysalis blackish, glossy, and rather hairy. The
cocoons are spun up in the crevices of bark on tree trunks, or in the fork
of a twig, under the eaves of an out-house or shed, on palings and fences,
etc. The hairs of the caterpillar are mixed with the silk of the cocoon;
the female lays her pale brownish eggs, which are minutely pitted and have
a darker ring below the sunken top, on the outside of the cocoon, and there
they remain through the winter.
[Illustration]
Pl. 40.
1. DARK TUSSOCK MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. SCARCE VAPOURER, _male_; 5 _female_.
4. VAPOURER, _male_; 6 _female_.
7. PALE TUSSOCK, _male_; 8 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 41.
1, 1a. SCARCE VAPOURER: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
2, 2a. COMMON VAPOURER: _egg-batch on cocoon and enlarged egg_.
3, 3a, 3b, 3c. PALE TUSSOCK: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
4. DARK TUSSOCK: _caterpillar_.
{97} Generally distributed throughout the United Kingdom, but not so common
in Ireland as in England and Scotland. It is quite a Cockney insect, and is
found in almost every part of the Metropolis where there are a few trees.
Occurs practically over the whole of Europe, and in North-east Asia Minor,
Armenia, Siberia, Amurland, and North America.
THE DARK TUSSOCK (_Dasychira fascelina_).
The figures of the sexes of this species on Plate 40 represent the dark
grey form. Sometimes the forewings are whitish grey and occasionally slaty
grey; the cross lines may be stronger or fainter, and in some specimens are
nearly absent; the yellowish colour usually seen on the cross lines may be
missing, or, on the other hand, other parts of the wings may be stippled
with yellowish. Laying her eggs in batches, the female carefully covers
them with dark brown hairs from the tuft at the end of her body.
The caterpillar (Plate 41, Fig. 4) is blackish, with star-like tufts of
hairs, yellow, mixed with longer blackish ones towards the head and tail,
brownish grey on the middle portion; a brush of black hairs on rings four,
five, and eleven, and of white hairs on six, seven, and eight. Head black.
When full grown (Plate 42, Fig. 3) the hairs of the body are greyish, and
those of the brushes on the back are black flanked with white. When
disturbed it rolls in a ring. It feeds on hawthorn, and various species of
_Salix_, also on broom and ling. It hibernates when still small, in a
silken cocoon-like envelope which it spins in the fork of a branch, or
among the twigs of a bush; growth is completed in April or May, and the
winged state attained in {98} June or July. Sometimes the young
caterpillars have been found in their winter quarters about the middle of
July, and this would seem to imply that they occasionally lie dormant for
two winters; at least this would appear to be so in Scotland whence such
individuals have been recorded, with the additional information that they
did not eat through the summer and that one was still alive in the
following March. The chrysalis is glossy black, and hairy (Plate 42, Fig.
3a).
This is chiefly a northern insect, occurring most commonly on the Cheshire,
Lancashire, and Cumberland coast. It is more generally distributed in
Scotland and is often abundant on the moorlands. In Ireland three
caterpillars were found by Mr. Kane in the Bog of Allen, and the species
has also been recorded from Tullamore and Mullingar. Distribution: Northern
and Central Europe, extending to the Altai.
THE PALE TUSSOCK (_Dasychira pudibunda_).
This moth is much commoner and more widely distributed in England than that
last mentioned. The central area of the greyish white fore wings is subject
to variation in width and also in tint; this latter may be darker or
lighter than the example shown on Plate 40, and the cross lines are in some
specimens black and very distinct. The colour of the female ranges from
pale greyish white through various tones of grey, and the bands on the hind
wings may be as well defined as in the male. Black males of the species
have been recorded.
The hairy caterpillar is green or yellow, the former mottled with whitish
and the latter with greenish; on rings 4 to 7 are thick brushes of yellow
hairs, and on ring 11 there is a tuft of reddish hair; the back is marked
with black between the brushes, and there are black spots on the sides of
the hind rings. Sometimes the caterpillar is light or dark brownish and the
brushes are then greyish, or tinged with pale reddish or blackish.
Altogether it is a pretty creature, and as it is, or was previous to the
modern "washing," common in hop gardens at picking time, it was christened
the "hop dog." It may be found from July to September on the foliage of
birch, hazel, oak, and many other trees, as well as on hop. The moth
appears in May and June, and rests by day on herbage, especially on bracken
in woods (see Fig. 6, p. 7); at night it comes readily to light, but
specimens so obtained are generally of the female sex.
[Illustration]
Pl. 42.
1, 1a. YELLOW-TAIL: _caterpillars_.
2. BROWN-TAIL: _caterpillar_.
3, 3a. DARK TUSSOCK: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 43.
1. BROWN-TAIL MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. YELLOW-TAIL MOTH, _female_; 4, 5 _males_.
6. WHITE SATIN MOTH, _female_.
{99} It is most at home in the southern portion, but occurs throughout
England and Wales, to Cumberland. Only doubtfully recorded from Scotland,
but in Ireland it has occurred in Galway, Kerry, Waterford, Cork, and
Wicklow.
Distribution: Central and Northern Europe eastward to North-east China and
Japan.
THE BROWN-TAIL (_Euproctis chrysorrhoea_).
Although sometimes found in the East and West of England, and even in
Yorkshire and Durham, this appears to be essentially a coast species in
Britain, and confined at that to Kent and Sussex, the former especially.
Even in these favoured localities where it is usually abundant, it is,
however, not always in evidence. The moths sit about at the end of July and
early August on leaves of hawthorn, sloe, sea-buckthorn (_Hippophaë
rhamnoides_), and wild rose, generally on the underside. Near the females
will be found batches of eggs, which are covered with "fur" from the anal
tuft of the female. The caterpillars hatch out in August, and while still
very small go into hibernation in a common nest. In the spring, when active
again, they construct a new habitation, and another or perhaps two more
before they are full grown, about June. The chrysalis is very dark, almost
blackish-brown, with tufts of hair, and the fairly substantial brownish
cocoon in which it is enclosed {100} is composed of silk and caterpillar
hairs, and is spun up on the food-plant, often singly, but not
infrequently, several are made up in a common silken covering.
The caterpillar is blackish with brownish warts, each bearing a tuft of
brownish hairs; a row of tufts of white downy scales on each side of the
back of rings four to eleven; the central line on the back is black, edged
on each side by a red line of variable width from rings six to ten; a
vermillion round spot on nine and ten. Head blackish.
The moth is shown on Plates 43, 45, and the caterpillar on Plate 42, Fig.
1.
Distribution, Central and South Europe to North-west Africa and Asia Minor.
In 1897 an appeal was made to British entomologists to refrain from taking
many specimens of this species; while American entomologists were seeking
power to compel local authorities to suppress the Brown-tail, which about
that time was a new, and no doubt introduced, insect pest in the State of
Massachusetts.
THE YELLOW-TAIL (_Porthesia similis_).
The male has usually only one black mark on the fore wings, but sometimes
there are two, as seen in Fig. 5, Plate 43; more rarely there is a dot or
two towards the tips of the wings. The habit of the moth is to sit upon the
foliage of bushes and the branches of trees, where it might easily be
passed over for a fluffy white feather; occasionally it may be found on
palings or even iron railings. About dark it is on the wing, and light has
then a great attraction for it. The caterpillar is black with black and
grey hairs; a vermillion stripe down the middle of the back has a black
central line, and is expanded on rings four, eleven, and twelve; along each
side there are tufts of snowy white fluffy scales; the back of rings four,
{101} five, and eleven is velvety black and slightly raised, especially on
ring four. Head black and glossy.
The caterpillars hatch from the eggs, which are laid in batches, in August,
hibernate, each in a silken case, and recommence feeding in the spring
(Plate 42, Figs. 1, 1a). In May, when nearly full grown, they separate and
are then common objects on hawthorn hedges in many districts. They also
feed on the foliage of oak, beech, birch, sallow, rose, apple, pear, and
other fruit trees. Sometimes a nearly fully mature caterpillar has been
found in August, this has pupated and produced a moth the same year. The
chrysalis is rather hairy and of a brownish colour; the cocoon is similar
to that of the last species. In late June and through July the moth is
generally common throughout the Southern part of England, and as far
northwards as Lancashire and Yorkshire. It has been very rarely seen in
Scotland, and not at all in Ireland.
Distribution, Central and South-eastern Europe, extending to Amurland,
China, Corea, and Japan.
THE REED TUSSOCK (_Lælia coenosa_).
This insect (Plate 45) was formerly abundant in some parts of fenland, and
was first met with, as a British species, at Whittlesea Mere about 1819 or
1820. It was subsequently found in Yaxley and Burwell fens. Up to 1860 it
continued to occur freely in all stages, but by 1865 larvæ at a shilling
per dozen, the price at which they had been sold by the reed cutters, were
no longer obtainable, and they became so scarce that in the year 1871 or
thereabouts, only two caterpillars were seen. The species was at that time
seemingly on the decline, but a year or two later a good many males were
attracted by the rays of a powerful lamp that had been set up at Wicken.
Then the moths became fewer and fewer {102} until at last, somewhere about
1880, even the lamps would not draw a single specimen, and soon it appeared
probable that the last of the Reed Tussock had been seen in the fens, its
only known habitat in Britain.
Caterpillar, dusky with a blackish stripe along the middle of the back; the
raised dots are ochreous grey with pale yellowish brown hairs arising from
them; there are four brushes of yellow hairs on the back, bunches of long
hairs on the first ring extended over the brownish head, and a pencil of
similar hairs on ring eleven directed backward. The food plants given are
bur-reed (_Sparganium_), Stephens; _Cladium mariscus_, Barrett, and reed
(_Phragmites communis_). Stephens states that the caterpillar and the moth
were found at the end of July and beginning of August, but other
authorities give August to June for the caterpillar, and July for the moth.
The caterpillar described above, and of which a figure is given on Plate
44, was obtained, together with eggs and cocoon, from Dr. Staudinger and
Bang Haas, of Dresden. All are preserved examples.
Abroad this species is found in Northern Germany and France, Hungary,
Bulgaria, Amurland, China, Corea, and Japan.
THE WHITE SATIN MOTH (_Stilpnotia salicis_).
The English name of this species dates back to about 1773, and is a very
suitable one for it, the fore wings being especially glossy and satin-like.
It seems to be less generally distributed over the country than formerly,
but it is still common in most years, and in many places; more particularly
in the south of England, and on the Lancashire coast. Even yet it occurs in
the suburbs of London, and on the southern side is sometimes not uncommon.
In Scotland it appears to be rare; Barrett mentions it from Aberdeen,
Pitcaple, Inverurie, Peterhead, and Ayrshire. Kane states that in Ireland
the species, so far as he knew, only occurred in a locality near Ahascragh.
[Illustration]
Pl. 44.
1, 1a, 1b. REED TUSSOCK: _egg, caterpillar and cocoon_.
2, 2a. WHITE SATIN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 45.
1. REED TUSSOCK MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3, 4. BROWN-TAIL _varieties_.
{103}
The caterpillar, which is hairy and variegated with reddish and black and
white, may be recognised by the large bright white marks on the back. It is
often seen in the daytime on the boles or branches of poplars, as well as
on the foliage. It frequently falls a victim to the parasitical flies, and
it is probably due to these enemies that the species is less common in some
years than in others. Besides poplar, it will feed upon sallow and willow.
Hibernating when quite tiny, it reappears in April, and, feeding up, is
ready to enter the chrysalis state in June or July, when it spins a flimsy
silken cocoon among the leaves, or in some suitable cranny on the tree or
bush. The moth is shown on Plate 43, Fig. 6, and the caterpillar and
chrysalis on Plate 44, Fig. 2, 2a.
The moth emerges in July or August, and may be found resting on or under
the leaves, and on stems and branches of the trees upon which the
caterpillar fed, or on palings, etc., adjacent thereto.
Distribution, Northern and Central Europe, Iberia, Corsica, Italy, Balkan
Peninsula, South-east Russia, North-east Asia Minor, and Armenia. In the
Far East, including China, Corea, and Japan, it is represented by the var.
_candida_, Staud.
THE GIPSY (_Lymantria dispar_).
Up to some sixty-five years ago, this species (Plate 46, Figs. 1 [male], 2
[female]) seems to have flourished in a wild state in the fens of Norfolk
and Cambridgeshire, and also in Huntingdonshire. Just how long it had been
common in those localities history does not inform us, but about 1792
Donovan was unable to obtain a native specimen to figure. Stephens,
however, writing in 1828 states that at that time it abounded in the
Huntingdonshire fens. "It is said," he remarks "to have been introduced
into Britain by eggs imported by Mr. Collinson, but the abundance with
which it occurs near {104} Whittlesea, and the dissimilarity of the
indigenous specimens (which are invariably paler, with stronger markings)
to the foreigner, sufficiently refute that opinion." There appears to be no
doubt that some time near 1840 the Gipsy moth began to decrease in numbers,
and that about 1850 it had almost or quite ceased to exist, as a wildling,
in England. At the present time, and probably since the date last
mentioned, the species has been semi-domesticated, and so reared year by
year, at first possibly direct from the original wild stock, but afterwards
from fresh stock derived from eggs of foreign origin. Futile attempts have
been made to re-establish the species in various parts of England, and also
in Ireland. Such failure is curious, seeing that in America the accidental
introduction of a few moths has resulted in the species becoming so
numerous that at least one state has been expending thousands of dollars in
endeavouring to destroy it. The eggs are laid in batches and covered with
the down-like scales from the anal tuft of the female.
The caterpillar hatches in April, and in warm weather feeds up pretty
quickly. It is grey, covered with black dots and fine marks; the hairs
arising in spreading tufts from the raised warts, are longer on the sides
than on the back; these warts on the back on each side of the pale central
line are bluish on rings one to five, and reddish thence to eleven. Head,
pale brown marked with black. Feeds on the foliage of most fruit trees,
also on oak, elm, sallow, hawthorn, and sloe.
Chrysalis rather hairy, brownish in colour, in a fairly strong silken
cocoon, which is spun up in any suitable angle.
The moths appear in August, and there is a striking difference in the size
and coloration of the sexes. The male is pale or greyish brown, lined and
clouded with darker brown on the fore wings, and the female is whitish with
brownish cross lines, and a black central V-mark on the fore wings.
Distributed over the whole of the Palæarctic Region, except {105} the most
northern, and, as adverted to, it has now become a pest in parts of North
America.
THE BLACK ARCHES (_Lymantria monacha_).
Two examples of each sex of this moth are figured on Plate 46, and these
show the normal form of the species; the central markings of the fore wings
vary in width and intensity, and in some specimens the whole of the central
area is more or less filled up with black or sooty black. Sometimes the
wings are partially suffused with blackish, and the normal markings are
consequently somewhat obscured. Examples wholly suffused with black are
referable to var. _eremita_, a form not uncommon on the continent, and
modifications of it are found in a wild state in this country. By selecting
parents showing a tendency to vary in the direction of this dark form, it
has been found possible to obtain a good percentage of darkened specimens,
some of them closely approximating to var. _eremita_.
The early stages are figured on Plate 47.
The eggs of this species are laid in August in the chinks of bark on tree
trunks, and do not hatch until the spring.
Caterpillar, whitish varying to greyish, a deep brown stripe along the
middle of the back with an irregular black line on each side of it; the
stripe is interrupted by a whitish or greyish patch on rings seven to nine;
on ring two there is a black mark, and occasionally red dots appear on
eight and nine; black dots on the back and sides are furnished with hairs.
Head, brownish marked with a paler tint. It feeds from April to July on the
leaves of oak and various other trees, including apple and pine.
The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a somewhat transparent silken cocoon
spun up in a fissure of the bark, is brownish, hairy, and has a very glossy
metallic appearance.
The moth emerges at the end of July and in August. It flies {106} at night,
and may be seen resting by day on the trunks of trees. Although it occurs
in most of the counties of England from Yorkshire southwards, and in some
parts of Wales, it is nowhere so often met with as in the New Forest,
Hants.
Distribution, Central Europe extending to parts of Northern Europe, and
southwards to North Italy and Greece, and eastwards to Ussuri and Japan.
LACKEYS AND EGGARS (_Lasiocampidæ_).
Staudinger in his catalogue of Palæarctic Lepidoptera refers twenty genera
comprising sixty-three species to this family. Of these, eleven species
belonging to ten genera occur in the British Isles. According to some
authorities a twelfth species, _Dendrolimus pini_, Linn., should be
included. This is the _Eutricha pini_ of Stephens (1828) and the "Wild Pine
tree Lappet moth" and "Pine tree Lappet" of the more ancient authors. The
claim of this species to a place in the British list rests chiefly on a
specimen captured in the Norwich Hospital, in July, 1809, by Mr. Sparshall.
Wilkes (1773) states that he once found a caterpillar near Richmond Park,
but the moth was not reared. For generations the species now classified as
Lasiocampidæ have been referred to Bombycidæ, but the silkworm (_Bombyx
mori_) is typical of that family, which has but few genera in it, and none
of them occur in Europe. Although some of the moths are of considerable
size, most of them are not large. The general colour is some shade of
brown. Both sexes have the antennæ bipectinated, but more strongly in the
male than the female.
In his treatment of the species here included under Lasiocampidæ, Tutt. ("A
Natural History of the British Lepidoptera," vols. i., ii.) separates them
into two families, Lachneidæ and Eutrichidæ. The first family is divided
into five sub-families and the same number of tribes. The latter family has
three sub-families and three tribes. The whole are embraced in a
super-family styled Lachneides. Lasiocampidæ disappears as a family name,
but the genus _Lasiocampa_ is retained for _quercus_, L., whilst
_trifolii_, Schiff., is referred to the genus _Pachygastria_, Hb., and
these with _Aurivillia_, Tutt, not represented in Britain, constitute the
Pachygastriidi tribe of the Pachygastriinæ, a sub-family of Lachneidæ. All
this will no doubt appear very complicated to the beginner, but he need not
worry himself very greatly about the matter at present. When he feels that
he has a fair knowledge of the species in the group he will be in a
position to grapple with the niceties of classification.
[Illustration]
Pl. 46.
1. GIPSY MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3, 4. BLACK ARCHES, _males_; 5, 6 _females_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 47.
BLACK ARCHES MOTH.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and chrysalids._
{107} THE LACKEY (_Malacosoma neustria_).
The colour of the male ranges from pale yellow ochre, through pale brown to
reddish or dark brown; and in the female from pale brown to reddish brown;
two cross lines are generally present on the fore wings; the space between
the lines is usually darker in the female, and sometimes in the male also,
forming a dark central band. All these colour forms were reared from some
caterpillars taken by myself at Byfleet, Surrey, in 1901. Another year a
few caterpillars taken at Esher produced ochreous coloured males and pale
brown females only; the bands of the latter were narrower than usual and
much contracted below the middle. As the females last mentioned are
somewhat under the normal size I am inclined to think that the caterpillars
from which they were reared had been on short commons during their last
stage. Two males and a female are shown on Plate 48.
The greyish brown eggs are laid during July and August in a ring cluster
around a twig as shown on Plate 49, and so they remain exposed to all
weathers during the winter. In April the caterpillars hatch out, and as
they live in company throughout the greater part of their larval existence,
the first business is to {108} construct a silken tent-like web (Fig. 22).
The exterior of the tent affords a suitable surface upon which they can lie
when they take a sun bath, which they seem fond of doing whenever the
opportunity offers. It is also used, as well as the interior, for the
process of skin-changing.
[Illustration: FIG. 22. WEB OF LACKEY CATERPILLARS. (Photo by W. J.
Lucas.)]
The full-grown caterpillar is slaty blue above; along the middle of the
back is a bluish white line, bordered on each side by a
reddish-orange-lined black stripe; towards the lower limit of the slaty
blue colour is a black edged reddish-orange line, and below this again the
ground colour is flecked with orange, sometimes forming a line in the
region of the spiracles; there are two velvety black spots on the back of
the ring nearest the head, and a smaller black spot on each side of the
next two rings; the hairs are brownish, rather more numerous on the sides
than on the back. Head slaty-blue with two black eye-like spots. It feeds
from April to June on hawthorn, sloe, and various fruit trees in orchards
and gardens; also on birch, elm, oak, sallow, willow, etc.
Chrysalis blackish, rather downy enclosed in a double {109} oval-shaped
cocoon; the inner compartment is of rather closer woven silk, and is
thickly covered with a yellowish substance, which is ejected by the
caterpillar as a fluid, and afterwards drying forms a sulphur-like powder
on the cocoon, and in a lesser degree on the chrysalis also. The moth is on
the wing in July and August, but it is rarely seen in the daytime, and not
often at night, except when attracted by light into the house, or to the
gas or electric lamps. It is exceedingly easy to rear, either from eggs or
from collected caterpillars; the latter are often abundant.
Generally distributed throughout England, but becoming scarcer from the
Midlands to Lancashire and Yorkshire, and not often occurring further north
than the last named county. In Ireland it is unknown in the north, but
occurs in many parts of the south and south-west.
THE GROUND LACKEY (_Malacosoma castrensis_).
This also is a variable species. Most frequently the fore wings of the male
are pale buff, cross lined, and more or less clouded with brown; hind wings
brown. The female has all the wings reddish brown, the front pair being
crossed by two pale buff lines. The fringes are pale buff, chequered with
brown in both sexes. Colour and marking are, however, subject to
considerable variation. Sometimes all the wings are pale buff (male), or
reddish brown (both sexes), and the fore wings without marking. The cross
lines on fore wings of the female may be either very slender or very broad;
occasionally almost the whole of the basal area up to, and including, the
first cross line is buff. Two examples of each sex are shown on Plate 48.
The eggs are laid in a similar manner to those of the last species, around
stems of wild carrot, sea wormwood, and other {110} plants that flourish in
the insects' favourite haunts, which, in this country, are the salt marshes
along the estuaries of the Thames and Medway.
The caterpillar is black, inclining to bluish between the rings; along the
back are four much broken reddish orange lines and a central bluish line; a
bluish stripe followed by a reddish one along the sides, and below this the
colour is bluish, speckled with black; the hairs are golden brown. Head
blackish grey, without black spots (Plate 49, Fig. 3).
The chrysalis and its cocoon are similar to those of the Lackey, and spun
up among herbage.
The moth emerges in July and August and, although it may be occasionally
attracted by light, is rarely seen in the open. The caterpillars are to be
found, most years, in plenty from May to July. They feed on almost every
kind of plant growing on the salterns, and as they are fond of sunning
themselves on sea wormwood, sea plantain, etc., are easily seen at such
times. In dull weather they retire to their webs, which are generally
rather low down in the herbage. In confinement they will do very well if
supplied with fresh sprays or leaves of almost any fruit tree, or of birch,
whitethorn, etc. The receptacle containing them should be constructed and
placed so that the caterpillars get plenty of air and sunshine. It is
considered desirable to sprinkle both food and caterpillars with water now
and then; some rearers deem it necessary to put a tiny pinch of salt in the
water used for sprinkling; and in my own experience I have found that
better results were obtained when the food was thus treated than when the
salt was omitted.
On the continent this species occurs in woods, and on heaths, etc., but in
Britain it is seemingly confined to salt marshes. Although it has been
recorded from the Suffolk coast, and other places, the best localities for
it are probably the salterns, from Gravesend to the Isle of Sheppey, and at
Southend and Shoeburyness.
[Illustration]
Pl. 48.
1, 2, 3. LACKEY MOTH.
4, 5, 6, 7. GROUND LACKEY.
[Illustration]
Pl. 49.
1, 1a, 1b, 1c. LACKEY: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
2, 2a. HYBRID BETWEEN LACKEY AND GROUND LACKEY: _eggs and
caterpillar_.
3. GROUND LACKEY: _caterpillar_.
{111}
_Malacosoma_ hybr. _schaufussi_, Standf.--In 1884 Dr. Standfuss made some
experiments in crossing three species of _Malacosoma_, and one of these was
the pairing of _M. neustria_ [male] with _M. castrensis_ [female]; the
offspring he christened as above. Since that time others have succeeded in
crossing the two species with varying results.
On August 13, 1906, Mr. Percy Richards sent me a small batch of eggs (Plate
49, Fig. 2a) laid by a female, _M. castrensis_, that emerged in a breeding
cage, and had paired with a captured male, _M. neustria_, he introduced.
The larvæ hatched out one or two at a time, from April 7 over a period of
more than a fortnight. Few of the caterpillars would commence to feed, and
of those that took to the plum and sallow with which they were supplied,
only four reached maturity. Three of these pupated during late June and
early July, and three moths, all females, have emerged up to date, one on
July 28, another on August 6, and a third on August 13. The second specimen
was very much crippled, probably owing to the cocoon having been
accidentally injured. One caterpillar was still feeding on August 14, but
died about the 26th.
The mature larva (Plate 49, Fig. 2) has the head and markings thereon like
_neustria_, also the black spots on the first thoracic segment, but they
are rather large and inclined to unite. The bluish line along the sides is
dotted and freckled with black rather more thickly than in _castrensis_;
the dorsal line is very thin, but bluish as in _castrensis_, and the red
lines on each side of it are broad.
In colour the three moths are deeper brown than any form of either parent
species that I have seen, but the transverse lines, and especially the
outer, are most like those of _neustria_.
It should be mentioned that much information on Hybridism in the Lackey
moths and other species will be found in Tutt's "British Lepidoptera," vol.
ii. {112}
THE PALE OAK EGGAR (_Trichiura cratægi_).
In its typical form the male of this species (Plate 50, Figs. 1, 2) is ashy
grey, with a darker central band on the fore wings; and the female is dusky
greyish-brown, also with a darker band. The colour of the male varies in
shade from almost whitish (var. _pallida_, Tutt), to blackish grey; in the
paler forms the central band of the fore wings is often of a purplish tint,
and in the darkest forms the band is almost black. The female var.
_pallida_, is pale buff.
The eggs, which are brownish, inclining to reddish on the micropylar area,
are covered with dark grey hairs from the body of the female and laid side
by side in a chain-like arrangement on a twig of hawthorn or sloe (those
figured on Plate 51 were deposited in a box, and not securely attached).
From eight to twelve is said to be the usual number in a batch, and each
female will deposit an average of 160 eggs.
The caterpillars do not hatch out all at the same time, but by ones and
twos, at intervals spreading over a period of two, or perhaps three, weeks.
Several forms of the caterpillar have been described, but the ground colour
is generally more or less black above and greyish on the sides; the
ornamentation comprises interrupted white or whitish stripes, streaked or
clouded with reddish, and reddish warts; the hairs are reddish brown. The
example figured on Plate 51 was from eggs laid by a female moth in Selkirk,
South Scotland. From the age of three weeks until it became full grown it
was black marked with yellow on the back and orange on the sides; hairs
pale greyish mixed with black ones, especially on the back towards the
black, glossy, and somewhat hairy head. It hatched on April 26, was reared
on plum, pupated early in June, and the moth, a darkish grey female,
emerged on July 31. Another caterpillar that hatched on May 1, and two
others from still later hatchings, were then in chrysalis.
[Illustration]
Pl. 50.
1. PALE OAK EGGAR, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. DECEMBER MOTH, _female_; 4 _male_.
5. SMALL EGGAR, _male_; 6 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 51.
PALE OAK EGGAR.
_Eggs enlarged, and caterpillar._
{113} The caterpillar may be found from April to June on hawthorn and sloe,
and it is said also on birch, oak, sallow, apple, bramble, etc. Those that
I have found resting by day on shoots of hawthorn, apparently enjoying the
sunshine, have almost invariably been "ichneumoned"; but others that came
up after sunset to feed on the shoots were generally healthy. Usually the
caterpillar feeds up and pupates the same year, but on the moors in
Aberdeenshire and some other parts of Scotland it is said to hibernate and
to complete its life cycle the following summer and autumn. Furthermore,
the moths from these winter larvæ are much darker than normal, and have
been doubtfully referred to var. _ariæ_, Hübn., a form found in the Alps,
Scandinavia, and Finland.
The moth is out in August and September, and occurs in wooded districts
throughout the southern half of England, but northwards from the Midlands
it is uncommon; it is found in several parts of Scotland to Inverness. In
Ireland it is reported (Birchall) to have occurred in Killarney, and Kane
mentions that "a blackish form was taken at Magilligan, near Derry, by W.
Salvage. Its larvæ were feeding on blackthorn." The range abroad extends
through Europe to Armenia and Asia Minor.
THE DECEMBER MOTH (_Poecilocampa populi_).
This is a rather thinly scaled moth; the general coloration is sooty brown;
the wings are suffused more or less with greyish; there are two pale
ochreous cross lines on the fore wings, the first enclosing a reddish brown
basal patch; hind wings rather paler with a diffuse whitish central band;
fringes brown chequered with pale ochreous. Head brown, collar brownish,
tipped with pale ochreous in the male. The female is rather larger than the
male. The moth is figured on Plate 50, and the eggs and caterpillar on
Plate 53.
The eggs, which are laid on the bark of trees, are whitish grey, variegated
or mottled with darker grey. {114}
The caterpillar hatches out in April, and when nearly full grown is
ochreous, but so thickly dotted and freckled with black as to appear of a
dark brown coloration; the back is clothed with dark short hairs, and the
sides with long paler hairs; on the back of the first ring is a reddish
brown mark divided by a white line; a double row of whitish dots along the
back, most distinct on rings two and three, where they are placed on a
velvety black bar; on each side of the white dots is a reddish brown
interrupted line. Head ochreous brown, thickly dotted with black and
clothed with pale hairs. Underparts ochreous, spotted and lined with
blackish. Feeds on the foliage of most trees, and is said to eat lettuce.
April to June.
Chrysalis glossy red brown, in a cocoon spun up among dead leaves, etc.,
under loose bark, or on the ground.
The moth does not emerge until October, and in that month, but more
frequently in November and December, the males may be seen around gas lamps
quite late at night.
Although found chiefly in woods it is not essentially a woodland species,
as it occurs in districts where there are no woods but plenty of trees
growing in parks, fields, or even hedgerows. It is fairly common generally
throughout England and Wales, but becoming rather more local northwards to
Cumberland. It occurs through Scotland to Sutherland, but is nowhere
common. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and not uncommon near Dublin,
and at Favour Royal, Tyrone. Abroad it ranges through Northern and Central
Europe.
THE SMALL EGGAR (_Eriogaster lanestris_).
Also a brownish insect with somewhat thinly-scaled wings. The fore wings
are light reddish brown with a whitish patch at the base, a white spot
about the centre, and a whitish transverse line beyond; the hind wings are
smoky brown and have a pale central band. The female, which is larger than
the male, has a conspicuous greyish anal tuft, the hairs from which she
uses to cover over her pale oily green eggs when they are deposited in
clusters on twigs of hawthorn or sloe in February or March. Plate 50, Figs.
5, 6; Plate 53, Figs. 2, 2a.
[Illustration]
Pl. 52.
OAK EGGAR MOTH.
[Illustration]
Pl. 53.
1, 1a. DECEMBER MOTH: _eggs and caterpillar_.
2, 2a. SMALL EGGAR: _eggs and caterpillar_.
{115} The caterpillar is black or greyish black, with reddish brown hairs,
and a series of black-edged yellowish brown, or reddish brown blotches on
each side of the back; these blotches are outlined in pale yellowish and
occasionally connected by a line of the same colour. From the time they are
hatched until nearly mature the caterpillars live in companies on a closely
woven web of silk on a branch of hawthorn or sloe, only leaving their
habitation to feed. These webs may often be seen on hedgerows from May to
July. The brown chrysalis is enclosed in a solid-looking oval cocoon of a
pale ochreous or whitish colour. Not all the moths emerge the following
year: some will remain in the chrysalis over two or three winters, and
occasionally they have been known to emerge seven years after pupation. The
moth is said to be fully formed within the chrysalis all the time, but for
some reason will not emerge, although if extracted from its shell, the moth
has been known to expand its wings in the ordinary way. Barrett states that
in the middle of February, after a moth had emerged, he "put a large number
of cocoons upon a warm mantelpiece and obtained scores of moths within a
few hours."
Generally distributed over the southern half of England; plentiful in some
years in the Southern and Eastern Counties. Northwards and in Scotland it
is local and less frequent. Kane states that in Ireland it is very locally
abundant. The range abroad is through Central and Northern Europe to
Southern Lapland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland.
THE OAK EGGAR (_Lasiocampa quercus_).
The three moths, one male and two females, shown on Plate 52, were reared
from caterpillars obtained in Kent, and they {116} represent the more or
less ordinary South English forms of the species. Sometimes the ground
colour of the male is more distinctly reddish, or rust tinted, and the
yellowish bands narrower on all the wings. Or the bands may be much broader
than in the male figured, and the widening is effected by extension in the
form of rays towards the outer margins of the wings. A form that has been
referred to, in error, as var. _roboris_, Shrank (= _marginata_, Tutt), has
the outer margins of all the wings broadly yellow. I have not seen an
English example of this form, but I have a reddish specimen in which the
yellow band on the fore wings is broader than usual, and the whole of the
outer third of the hind wings yellow, with a slight brownish shade on the
external margin; this is _semimarginata_, Tutt, and is also identical with
var. _roboris_ of other British authors. The white spot usually present on
the fore wings varies somewhat in size and shape; it is often seen on the
under as well as the upper surface of the wings, except in the lighter
coloured forms.
Var. _callunæ_ (The Northern Eggar), is shown on Plate 54. The chief
features of this form are the generally darker coloration in both sexes,
the yellow patch at the base of the fore wings of the male, and the outward
turn of the lower ends of the yellow bands. All these characters are
subject to modification; the yellow bands may be very narrow at one
extreme, or greatly widened at the other, and the hind wings may
occasionally be bandless; the basal patch is often of large size, but in
some examples it is entirely absent. Sometimes the bands are greenish in
colour (var. _olivaceo-fasciata_, Cockerell), and more rarely, perhaps, the
greenish tinge extends over the whole of the wings (ab. _olivacea_, Tutt).
It should be noted here that the var. _olivaceo-fasciata_ has occurred once
or twice in South England, but this phase of aberration seems to be more
connected with _callunæ_ than with _quercus_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 54.
NORTHERN EGGAR.
[Illustration]
Pl. 55.
OAK EGGAR.
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and cocoon._
{117} _Callunæ_ was not recognized as British until the year 1847, when it
was introduced as a species distinct from _quercus_. The late Richard
Weaver, who gave it the English name of the "Scotch Eggar," took specimens
of the moth at Rannoch in 1845, and he found caterpillars in that year, as
well as in 1844 and 1846. It is now well known to occur not only in
Scotland, including the Hebrides and Orkneys, but also on the moors of
Northern England, and in Ireland and Wales. In North Devonshire it is found
not uncommonly in the Exmoor district, and it has been recorded from
various parts of the New Forest in Hants.
The egg of _callunæ_ is figured on Plate 55. It appears rather polished,
and in colour is pale brown mottled with darker brown. The eggs are stated
to be deposited whilst the female is on the wing, and consequently they
fall to the ground or are arrested in their descent by the herbage over
which they are scattered.
The full-grown caterpillar of _quercus_, beneath the brownish fur with
which the body is clothed, is dark brown on the back and rather violet
brown on the sides; the ring divisions are velvety black; there is a white
stripe along each side and below the stripe some reddish marks; the ring
nearest the head is edged with reddish, and the next two rings each have
two reddish centred white spots. The dull purplish brown chrysalis is
enclosed in a hard oval-shaped cocoon which is spun up on or near the
ground in a flimsy web among herbage, dead leaves, etc. Sometimes it is
placed among the twigs of the food plant.
In Southern England the caterpillars hatch from the egg in August and
usually hibernate when quite small. They feed up during the following
spring and early summer, perhaps in June or July, and the moth appears in
July or August. Occasionally, however, a few individuals depart from the
general habit and complete their growth the same year, hibernate in the
pupal stage, and produce moths the next year, possibly earlier than
hibernating caterpillars. On the other hand, perhaps owing to adverse
weather conditions, feeding after hibernation may be continued well on into
the autumn, when the caterpillars pupate, {118} but emergence of the moth
is postponed until the following year, the second after hatching from the
egg.
In the case of _callunæ_, at least as regards its normal habit in Scotland
and southwards to the moorland districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, the
young caterpillar hibernates the first winter, feeds through the following
summer, and passes the second winter as a chrysalis, the moth emerging in
the following May or June.
Generally speaking, then, it may be stated that _quercus_ has a
twelve-month life cycle, whilst that of _callunæ_ extends almost or quite
to twenty-four months, of which at least twelve months are passed as a
caterpillar. However, as has been noted, _quercus_ sometimes passes one
winter as a caterpillar, and another as a chrysalis, thus assuming the
_callunæ_ habit; whilst _callunæ_ occasionally attains the perfect state
during the summer following that in which the caterpillar left the egg.
The food plants comprise bramble, dogwood, hawthorn, heather (_Calluna_),
and various low plants; it is even content with ivy.
Newman, in the _Entomologist_ for 1845, gives a life history of the
Northern Eggar (_callunæ_), and from this the following details are
extracted. The male flies rapidly over the heather by day at the latter end
of May or beginning of June; its flight is jerking or zigzag, and its
object is evidently to find the female, who rarely moves until impregnation
has taken place. Subsequently the female flies over the heather, dropping
her eggs at random as she flies, and the eggs, having no glutinous
covering, do not adhere to any object which they may accidentally touch in
falling. On emergence from the egg the young caterpillar is dark
ash-coloured, the divisions between the rings of the body being indicated
by two minute orange streaks, each of which is accompanied by a small black
spot. After the first moult the ground colour becomes more smoky, the
divisions velvety black, and on each ring a triangular orange spot appears;
these markings become more conspicuous later on, and by the end of October,
when it hibernates, they are very distinct. It rests in a straight
position, and, if disturbed, falls off its food plant, and rolls in a ring
with its head slightly on one side.
[Illustration]
Pl. 56.
GRASS EGGAR MOTH.
[Illustration]
Pl. 57.
GRASS EGGAR.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar._
{119} The habits of the Oak Eggar moths (_quercus_) are pretty much the
same as those of the Northern form, except that the moths fly in July and
August, and frequent hedgerows, the borders of woods, heathy commons, and
cliffs and sand dunes at the seaside.
A bred female of either form will attract numerous males, and even the
receptacle in which a newly emerged female has been placed is almost as
effective as the lady herself. When staying at a cottage on the edge of a
moor near Lynton, North Devon, some years ago, I had some pupæ of the Oak
Eggar. One day, late in July, quite a number of males entered the cottage
and made their way to the cage in which the pupæ were, and I had no
difficulty in boxing several of them. The next day I put the female moth,
which had emerged the previous day, into a roomy chip box, and carried it
in a satchel to the moor, where it was placed on the ground, the males
began to arrive soon afterwards and some fine examples were secured.
Although the female was taken on the moor only on the one occasion, that
satchel continued to be an object of interest to the male Eggars for
several days afterwards.
Generally distributed, and often common in some localities, throughout the
British Isles. Abroad, its range extends over Europe into Asia Minor,
Armenia, and Siberia.
THE GRASS EGGAR (_Lasiocampa trifolii_).
This moth is usually brown in colour. The fore wings are inclined to dark
reddish brown, and have a pale ochreous brown curved band or ring at the
base, a slightly curved line or band of the same colour beyond the middle
of the wing; central spot {120} white, finely margined in black. Except
that the female is generally larger, and the cross lines usually less
distinct, the sexes are much alike. This brown form occurs most frequently
in Britain, but in parts of the Kentish and Sussex coast, and especially
the Romney Marsh district, a yellowish form is obtained. In such specimens
the cross lines are darker. In both forms one or both cross markings may be
faint or quite absent, and even the white central dot, which varies in size
and shape, may be missing. Sometimes the outer band is distinctly broad and
outwardly diffuse (Plate 56).
The eggs, which appear to be laid loosely, are pale whitish brown,
roughened with darker brown, and the micropylar area is purplish brown.
Some that I received on March 2, 1907, appeared to be on the point of
hatching on the 5th of that month, but no larva came out, although one of
the eggs was chipped at one end. It has been frequently stated that the
caterpillars hatch out in the autumn and hibernate, but as has been pointed
out by Tutt ("Nat. Hist. Brit. Lep.," ii. 20), the eggs of this species
probably do not hatch until some time during February or March, although
when kept indoors the caterpillar has emerged from the egg in January.
The full-grown caterpillar is black, velvety between the rings, covered
with golden brown hair on the back and greyer hair on the sides, among
which are some black ones; three interrupted whitish lines on the back;
some of the hairs along the middle of the back stand erect and form a
ridge, looked at from either end. Head lightish brown in colour, lined with
black. Feeds in the spring months and up to June chiefly on various kinds
of grass. Among many of the plants that it has been known to eat are
trefoils, bird's-foot (_Ornithopus_), sea thrift (_Statice_), heather,
sallow, hawthorn, sloe, plum, bramble, etc. With regard to the food, it is
interesting to note that although one rearer will find that sallow is
excellent for the caterpillars, another considers that sallow or hawthorn
are but poor {121} substitutes for kidney-vetch (_Anthyllis vulneraria_)
upon which the caterpillars were feeding when found (Plate 57).
The brownish chrysalis is enclosed in a hard but somewhat brittle, brown,
oval cocoon, and when spun upon the surface of the ground, protected by an
outside covering of loose silk webbing. In August and early September the
moths appear. Emergence from the chrysalis usually takes place soon after
midday; the males are early on the wing, and when reared in captivity they
should be secured as soon as the wings are dry, or they may spoil
themselves in their efforts to escape. Reared females are apt to be
deformed, but for "assembling" they may probably be as useful as more
perfect examples if the rearer happens to be able to exhibit the attraction
in a locality for the species. Both sexes have been taken at electric
light.
The best known localities for the species in England are, besides those
already mentioned, the sand hills on the Cheshire and Lancashire coast. It
is, or has been, found also on the coast of Cumberland; Lyndhurst and
Ringwood, in Hampshire; Isle of Purbeck, Poole, Swanage, and Bloxworth, in
Dorsetshire; Devonport, Bolt Head, and Salcombe, in Devonshire; and
Penzance and the Scilly Isles. Its range extends through Central and
Southern Europe to Asia Minor and North Africa.
THE FOX MOTH (_Macrothylacia rubi_).
The male is reddish brown, and the female generally greyish brown, but
sometimes is of a reddish grey coloration; the fore wings in both sexes are
crossed by two pale ochreous lines on the central area (Plate 59).
The ground colour in the male ranges in tone from foxy red to dullish red
brown or to greyish red brown. The cross lines in either sex may be widely
apart, near together, or even united throughout their length, forming a
band (var. _fasciata_, Tutt); sometimes one of the lines (var. _unilinea_,
Tutt), or both lines, are absent from the fore wings, or from one of them.
{122}
The brown clouded greyish eggs are laid in batches, during June, on stems
and stalks of plants, or on heather; sometimes they have been found on a
fence, a rock, or a stone. The caterpillars hatch out at the end of June
and through July. At first they are black, including the glossy head, and
covered with long hairs which are black with some white ones amongst them;
the ring divisions are pale yellow; later on they are more chocolate brown
with yellow bands which, however, do not encircle the body entirely.
When full grown, in the autumn, the caterpillar is velvety black, and above
this colour is most in evidence between the rings; the back is clothed with
dense, short, bright reddish brown or tawny hair, and the whole body is
covered with brownish hairs, varying in length, but always much longer than
the tawny ones; along each side are some whitish hairs. Head blackish
covered with brownish hairs. It feeds in August and onwards to October,
when it seeks winter quarters, reappearing in the following spring, but not
feeding again. After enjoying the sunshine whenever the opportunity offers
through the early months of the year, it finally pupates in March or April.
The cocoon is a long, more or less tubular, brownish construction of silk
and larval hairs. It is spun up, usually somewhat upright, low down among
the food plant, or at the roots of grass, etc.; sometimes among moss, when
the rounded head end can just be seen above the moss (Plate 58).
In certain localities and seasons the caterpillars have been seen in
enormous numbers, but such profusion only happens now and then. In some
districts they may be abundant one year, and then scarce or quite absent
for several years.
When handling the larvæ it will often be noted that the tips of one's
fingers are thickly felted with the tawny hairs from the creature's back;
if these hairs get transferred to the face or neck considerable irritation
may be the result.
[Illustration]
Pl. 58.
FOX MOTH: _caterpillars_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 59.
1, 2. FOX MOTH, _males_; 3 _female_.
{123} The late Mr. Robson used to collect the caterpillars on fine days in
early spring, put each caterpillar into a separate paper box about two
inches square, and keep them on a shelf over the kitchen fire, where they
would duly pupate. Various methods for keeping these caterpillars through
the winter have been described, and all appear to have been fairly
successful. The most simple would seem to be the following: Bore a number
of holes in the bottom of a roomy box, and fasten wire gauze on a close
fitting frame to serve as a top. Cut a tuft or two of heather to cover the
floor space of the box. Caterpillars collected in the autumn may be put
into this receptacle and supplied with food, such as bramble or sallow, as
long as they seem inclined to feed. Do not crowd too many into the box, and
let it stand out in the garden, preferably on the soil.
The moths emerge in May or June. The males are very active on the wing in
the afternoon sunshine, and later on, and may often be seen in numbers
dashing hither and thither in an apparently erratic flight over heaths and
open spaces, in search of the females. The latter do not fly till night,
and occasionally they are attracted to a bright light.
Except that it has not been noted in the Shetlands, the species occurs
throughout the British Isles. Abroad its range extends over Europe, and it
is found in Amurland.
THE DRINKER (_Cosmotriche potatoria_).
The male is reddish brown, more or less clouded on the forewings with
ochreous; and the female is yellow, or whitish ochreous. Sometimes this
colour distinction of the sexes is reversed, and the males are pale whilst
the females are dark. In the fens of Cambridgeshire notably, pale or
yellowish males are not altogether uncommon. Such specimens would seem to
accord better with the Linnean type than the more usual form indicated
above. Barrett mentions, among other aberrations, male specimens from South
Wales with the whole of the fore and hind wings deep rich glossy purplish
chocolate. {124}
There is variation in the two whitish or silvery marks on the fore wings,
the upper one is often very small, sometimes quite absent, and the lower
one reduced to a crescent. The chocolate brown cross lines, of which there
are usually two on the fore wings, are sometimes faint or entirely missing.
Tutt has recently named nine forms, chiefly colour aberrations, and two
others were previously named. (The moth is figured on Plate 61, and the
early stages on Plate 60.)
The eggs, which are white with bluish grey markings, are laid in clusters
on grass stems, etc.
The caterpillar is slaty grey inclining to blackish; the lines on the back
are formed of yellowish dots and dashes; two rows of tufts of short black
hairs on the back, with longer brown hairs between; low down on the sides
are shaggy tufts of white and yellowish hairs and longer brown hairs; an
erect pointed tuft of brown hair on second ring, and a similar one on ring
eleven but the latter inclines backward. Head greyish, striped and lined
with brown and yellowish brown, and clothed with brown hair. It feeds on
coarse grasses, including the ribbon grass grown in gardens, in August to
September or October.
In the latter month it goes into hibernation, being then but little over an
inch in length. About April it resumes feeding and becomes full grown in
June or thereabouts. The long yellowish or whitish brown cocoon in which it
changes to a brown chrysalis is more or less pointed at the lower end, and
generally attached to a culm of grass or a reed. A showery season seems to
suit these caterpillars better than a hot, dry one. The partiality of the
caterpillar for a drop of dew, mountain or otherwise, has frequently been
noted. The old English name of The Drinker Caterpillar (1682) is therefore
not only an appropriate one but shows that this larval habit was observed
even at that early date. The specific name _potatoria_ given to the moth by
Linné is of similar significance.
[Illustration]
Pl. 60.
DRINKER MOTH.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and cocoon._
[Illustration]
Pl. 61.
DRINKER MOTH.
{125} The moth emerges in July. It seems most addicted to damp grassy
lanes, ditch-sides, fens, marshes, moorlands, and sandhills; and is not
really uncommon in very many suitable districts throughout the United
Kingdom. Abroad, it is common over the greater part of Europe and its range
extends to Amurland and Japan.
THE SMALL LAPPET (_Epicnaptera ilicifolia_).
This exceedingly local and rare British moth has the fore wings pale
reddish-brown, suffused on the outer marginal area with grey; about the
centre of the wings there is a short black line preceded by a whitish mark;
beyond is a blackish, indistinct, wavy line; the greyish outer area is
limited by a brown line, and this is inwardly edged with whitish: hind
wings purplish brown with the central area whitish and crossed by a
blackish line. Fringes whitish, marked with brown at the ends of the veins
(Plate 63).
Kirby states that the caterpillar is rust coloured, with a black stripe on
the back, on which stand white dots; and with reddish-yellow transverse
spots on the second and third rings. Another form is grey, and the back
white, with a broad black central stripe interrupted by rust-coloured spots
dotted with black.
The following brief description is taken from an inflated skin of an
immature caterpillar received from Dresden: brownish inclining to reddish,
paler between the rings; clothed with short greyish hair, and longer hairs
from and above the fleshy tubercles low down along the sides; there is a
hair-clothed eminence on ring eleven. The only conspicuous markings are on
rings two and three; each of these has two orange spots separated and
narrowly edged externally with velvety black; there are two small black
spots on the back of each of the other rings, and indications of reddish
circles around some of these. Head blackish, covered with greyish hairs
(Plate 62). {126}
In this country the caterpillar feeds on bilberry (_Vaccinium myrtillus_),
but on the Continent it is said to eat the foliage of sallows and willows,
also of birch.
The cocoon is spun up among the leaves of the food plant. That figured on
Plate 62, of foreign origin, was on a shoot of bilberry; a moth emerged
from it on April 5, 1907. The first detailed account of this species in
Britain is that in the _Zoologist_ for 1852, in which Mr. Atkinson records
that he took a specimen in May, 1851, at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire. A
year earlier two larvæ were found by Mr. Green on a moor near Sheffield,
and one of these attained the moth state in April, 1851. After this moths
and caterpillars seem to have been taken in varying numbers down to 1896,
when a specimen was captured by Dr. R. Freer of Rugby. Tutt, quoting from a
letter received from Dr. Freer, states that two moths were reared from
three caterpillars found at Cannock in 1898. The only other known British
locality is in the neighbourhood of Lynton, North Devon, where a
caterpillar, which, from the description, must have been this species, was
found in 1864. It was taken on August 3 in a wood abounding with bilberry.
The species ranges over Central Europe, but seems to be generally rare; it
also occurs in Amurland and Japan.
THE LAPPET (_Gastropacha quercifolia_).
Warm reddish brown is the prevailing colour of this fine moth. The wings
are more or less suffused with purplish grey, and crossed by blackish
lines--three on the fore wings and two on the hind wings. Except in the
reddish tinge, which may be bright or dull approaching chocolate, this
species is pretty constant in its coloration. Barrett mentions a specimen
of a light brown colour, and another of a pale buff. The first of these
forms seems to approach the var. _meridionalis_, Staudinger (Tutt), and the
other to var. _ulmifolia_, Heuäcker, which are well known on the Continent.
In certain favourable seasons a second generation of the moth has been
obtained, chiefly perhaps, in confinement, and on the Continent; although
in Britain a caterpillar or two will sometimes feed up and attain the
perfect state the same year they hatch from the egg. These examples, which
are much smaller, but do not otherwise differ from normal specimens, are
referable to var. _hoegei_, Heuäcker.
[Illustration]
Pl. 62.
1, 1a. LAPPET MOTH: _eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar_.
2, 2a. SMALL LAPPET: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 63.
1. SMALL LAPPET MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. LAPPET MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.
{127} The moth is figured on Plate 63, and the eggs and caterpillar on
Plate 62.
The eggs, which are whitish in colour with greyish markings, are laid, in
July or early August, in twos, threes, or more, on twigs or the undersides
of leaves of sloe, apple, sallow, hawthorn, etc. A single female moth has
been known to lay over a thousand eggs, but this is perhaps exceptional,
and somewhere about half that number is possibly near the average. Even the
latter would take the moth some time to distribute here and there in small
batches.
The caterpillars hatch out in about a fortnight, feed for a few weeks, and
in the autumn, when about three-quarters to one inch in length, take up
their winter quarters low down on the stems of the food plant, but, in
confinement, often on a withered leaf.
Caterpillar dark grey, so thickly sprinkled with minute black dots as to
appear almost black; the whole body is clothed with fine and rather short
blackish hair; low down on the side there is a fringe of brownish hair, and
this covers the fleshy lappets (the older writers named this larva the
"Caterpillar with the Lappets"); two white marks edged in front with black
on the third ring, and a hairy prominence on the eleventh, are the most
conspicuous features of this caterpillar. When the front rings are
extended, the divisions between them are seen to be deep blue. Head grey,
with darker stripe and paler lines. Occasionally several white marks appear
on the back, and this is stated by Professor Poulton to occur more
especially in the caterpillars when the twigs and stems of the food plant
upon {128} which they have grown up are covered with grey lichen. Sometimes
the caterpillar has been reported as destructive in orchards; two or three
large ones feeding on a small apple tree would certainly afford evidence of
their presence in the shape of denuded twigs, but it is doubtful if they
ever occur in sufficient numbers to cause any very serious damage to fruit
trees.
The chrysalis is dark brown, inclining to blackish, and covered with a
whitish powder, which does not shake off. It is enclosed in a long,
grey-brown, tight-fitting cocoon of silk and hairs of the caterpillar,
which is generally spun up among the lower twigs, or to the stem of the
food plant.
The moth emerges in June or July, and is on the wing at night, when it may
be sometimes netted as it flies along or over hedgerows. When caught in
this way it dashes about so wildly in the net that it is rarely of much
value for the collection. The same may be said of examples taken by light,
which at times attracts the moths freely. When resting in the daytime, it
very closely resembles a withered bramble-leaf or bunch of leaves. The fore
wings are folded down, roof-like, over the hind wings, which are flattened
out and their edges project beyond the margins of the fore wings. It is,
however, very rarely seen in the open at such times.
The species does not seem to have been recorded from Ireland or from
Scotland, but it has a wide distribution in England, although much less
frequently met with in the north than in the south. In the Cambridge fens
it is perhaps more plentiful than elsewhere, but it is not uncommon in some
parts of Berkshire, Huntingdonshire, and Kent. The range abroad extends
through Central, Southern, and Eastern Europe, to Armenia, Tartary,
Siberia, and Amurland; it is also represented in China, Corea, and Japan.
[Illustration]
Pl. 64.
KENTISH GLORY MOTH.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and cocoon._
[Illustration]
Pl. 65.
KENTISH GLORY.
1 _male_; 2 _female_.
{129}