THE KENTISH GLORY (_Endromis versicolor_).
This species has the fore wings of the male brownish clouded and suffused
with ochreous; there is a white patch at the base, and some white marks
including three spots towards the apex, on the outer marginal area; two
black cross lines, the first inwardly and the second outwardly, edged with
white; the space between the lines is sometimes clouded with whitish, and
there is an almost central black [sideways vee]-shaped mark. Hind wings
tawny with a black central line, some brownish marks beyond, and sometimes
two white spots at the upper angle. The female is much larger in size,
without ochreous suffusion on the fore wings, and the hind wings have the
ground colour whitish. It varies in the tone of the brown colour, and, in
the male, in the amount of ochreous suffusion (Plate 65).
The eggs are laid in rows, generally two deep, on a birch twig. At first
they are greenish, but soon change to brownish olive or shining purplish
brown.
When young the caterpillars cluster together on the twigs, as shown on
Plate 64. They are at first black with glossy dots, and later, greenish,
but still dotted with black. After the third skin change, they are without
the black dots, and the colour is then pretty much that of the mature
caterpillar, which is green, rather whitish on the back, and with a dark
green central line; a series of seven creamy oblique stripes along the
sides, and on the sides of the first three rings there is a whitish stripe
broken at the divisions; these markings are often edged with dark green; on
the eleventh ring there is a somewhat horn-like prominence, striped with
creamy white, and below it a yellow stripe; the spiracles are white, ringed
with black. Head small, paler green, with whitish marks. Feeds on birch,
from late May to {130} July. Alder, sallow, and lime have also been
mentioned as food plants.
The rough, blackish, or sooty-brown chrysalis is enclosed in a coarse
netted cocoon, dark brown in colour, and more or less covered with moss,
leaves, or other material, among which it is spun up, generally on the
ground, but sometimes just under the surface. Assisted by the points on the
rings of the body, the chrysalis is able to work itself partly out of the
cocoon, and this it does some days before the moth emerges.
The moths usually emerge in late March and in April, earlier or later in
some seasons. They do not always come up the year after pupation, but often
remain two or more winters in the chrysalis.
The males fly in the sunshine, and are very strong on the wing; the females
are not active until dark. This sex has been found resting on the twigs of
birch, also on heather, and occasionally on a tree trunk. The males
"assemble" freely to a freshly emerged female. The species inhabits the
more open parts of woods and forests, moors and hillsides where birches
flourish. It is probably more plentiful in its Scottish localities, such as
Rannoch and Forres, than elsewhere, but it occurs also in Aberdeenshire,
Kincardineshire, and Argyllshire. In England it seems to be not uncommon in
Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, and the Reading district in Berkshire. It used
to be so plentiful in Tilgate Forest, Sussex, that over a hundred males
were brought to the net in one day by a bred female put down to allure
them. This happened some fifty years ago, and compares curiously with a
record of one male attracted by a female in Tilgate Forest, April 13, 1869.
Other localities in Sussex that have been mentioned are St. Leonard's
Forest and near Petersfield; it has also been found in Herefordshire and in
some parts of Suffolk. Distributed over Central and Northern Europe, the
range extending to North Italy.
[Illustration]
Pl. 66.
1, 2. EMPEROR MOTH, _males_; 3 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 67.
EMPEROR MOTH.
_Eggs, natural size and enlarged._
_Caterpillars and cocoon._ (_Photos. by W. J. Lucas._)
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