(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]
The moth is on the wing at the end of May and in June; odd specimens have
occasionally been seen in April. It occurs on waste ground, sandy heaths,
railway banks, downs, and hill-sides. Although fairly common generally, in
some years it is not at all plentiful even when caterpillars may have
abounded the previous season. When disturbed from among its food plant or
herbage around, it is not very active on the wing, and is easily captured.
Its usual time of flight is in the evening. Light seems to have an
attraction for it, as it has been taken at gas lamps in towns, some
distance from any place where the caterpillar could have fed.
Occurs in all suitable places throughout the greater part of England and in
Scotland up to Moray. Common in Ireland. Its range abroad includes all
Europe, except the extreme north and extends into Asia.
[Illustration]
Pl. 92.
1. CINNABAR MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. CRIMSON SPECKLED FOOTMAN, _male_; 4 _female_.
5. RED-NECKED FOOTMAN, _male_; 6 _female_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 93.
1, 1a. CINNABAR: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a. REDNECKED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{173}
FOOTMAN MOTHS (_Lithosiinæ_).
The members of this sub-family of Arctiidæ occurring in the British Isles
are not numerous; we can only muster some fifteen species, and although a
few are not uncommon, several are exceedingly local.
The moths of the genus _Lithosia_, when resting, fold their drab or
buff-coloured wings down closely along the body, and they then have a very
elongate and stiff appearance which probably gave rise to their English
name "Footmen." Most of them are very inactive, or even torpid during the
daytime. They repose on the branches and leaves of trees and bushes, or
among heather and other low herbage, and often fall to the ground when
disturbed. At dusk they become active and then fly pretty briskly.
The caterpillars are very hairy, the hairs arising in tufts from warts
(tubercles) are usually short, but in some species are of moderate length.
The majority hatch from the egg in the late summer, and do not complete
their growth until the following year, about May or June. Some of them are
known to be more or less active through the winter. In a state of nature
most of the caterpillars feed on lichens growing on trees, bushes, rocks,
or on the ground, but many kinds in confinement will thrive on a diet of
lettuce or even withered leaves.
In all cases the chrysalids are enclosed in silken cocoons, and these are
spun up among the lichens, in crevices of bark, or other suitable crannies.
THE RED-NECKED FOOTMAN (_Atolmis rubricollis_).
When newly emerged from the chrysalis this moth is black on all the wings,
but it soon loses its early velvety sheen and {174} becomes sooty in
appearance; the last rings are orange, but all the rest of the body is
black; the thorax also is black, but the part nearest the head, termed the
collar, is red, hence the common English name Red-neck moth given to it by
Harris (1778). Haworth called it the "Black Footman."
The caterpillar is greyish, more or less freckled with ochreous; three
lines along the back, the central one whitish, the others black and
interrupted; the hairs arising from reddish warts are brown or greyish
brown. Head black. It feeds from July to October on lichens, chiefly those
growing on fir and oak, but also on beech, and on old palings. Chrysalis,
glossy dark red-brown in a tight-fitting cocoon of silk mixed with the
hairs of the caterpillar; spun up among the lichen. The moth is shown on
Plate 92, Figs. 5, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 93.
The moth is on the wing in June and July; in forward seasons as early as
the end of May. On a sunny afternoon it may be seen careering around trees,
generally pretty high up. When resting the moths sit about on the trees or
on the herbage under them. In some years it occurs in large numbers, but it
is not usually very abundant, and sometimes even in its best localities
only a few specimens will be seen during the season. It frequents woods,
especially the larger ones, throughout the southern half of England up to
Norfolk on the east, and Hereford on the west. In the northern counties it
is rare, and is not common in Scotland or Ireland.
Abroad, its range is through Central and Northern Europe, except the
extreme north, to Dalmatia, Altai, and Amurland.
THE MUSLIN (_Nudaria mundana_).
This delicate little moth has the semi-transparent fore wings pale greyish,
faintly tinged with brown; crossed by irregular brownish lines; the hind
wings are paler, shaded with a darker tint on the outer margins.
Occasionally all the wings have a smoky tinge. The moth is shown on Plate
95, Figs. 3, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 94, Fig. 2.
[Illustration]
Pl. 94.
1. CRIMSON SPECKLED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
2, 2a. MUSLIN MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis in cocoon_.
3, 3a. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 95.
1. ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.
2, 5. ROSY FOOTMAN.
3. MUSLIN FOOTMAN, _male_; 6 _female_.
7. DEW MOTH, _male_; 9 _female_.
8. FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 10 _female_.
11. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 12 _female_.
{175} The caterpillar is greyish, with a broad whitish or yellowish stripe
along the back, divided down the centre and edged by blackish lines; a
velvety black mark on ring seven; raised warts and hairs dark greyish. Head
black, shining; face yellowish. It may be found in April and May, after
hibernation, on rocks, stone walls, especially those formed of loose
cobbles or shale, trees, bushes, and even gate posts. I have beaten them
from an old hawthorn hedge bordering a damp meadow in Middlesex, and
collected them in numbers from the hollows of field boundary walls in North
Devon. They feed on the tiny lichen that grows in such places as those
indicated. The green, or yellowish-green chrysalis, is enclosed in a rather
loose muslin-like silken cocoon, and is not difficult to obtain, especially
from walls. It appears to be pretty generally distributed throughout
England and Wales, except perhaps the midland and eastern counties; it
occurs in the east and west of Scotland. In Ireland it is common, and often
abundant, locally.
Distribution: Northern and Central Europe.
THE ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN (_Comacla senex_).
As indicated by the English name given to it by Haworth, the wings of this
moth are rounder in outline than those of the Muslin, also named by
Haworth. In general colour it agrees with that species, but it differs in
having a larger central dot, and the cross lines are represented by
blackish dots which, however, are not always well defined (Plate 95, Figs.
1, 4).
The caterpillar, as described by Buckler, is deep reddish-grey, thickly
covered with hairs which are of two kinds; the majority are pale brown with
black points and slightly feathered, others are longer, black, and densely
feathered with soft pale-brown {176} plumage. Head black and shining. It
feeds in August and, after hibernation, in May on lichens and mosses
growing on the ground in marshes and fens. It is known to eat _Peltigera
canina_, and the mosses _Hypnum sericeum_, and _Weissia serrata_. Although
occurring, in July and August, in marshy places in several parts of
Southern England and Wales, it is especially common in fen land. In such
localities as Wicken, for example, it flies at early dusk in hundreds all
over the fen on favourable nights, but if there happens to be a breeze the
moths will not leave their retreat among the herbage. Later on in the
night, if on the wing, they readily assemble around a brightly burning
lamp, and are satisfied to sit on the herbage illuminated by its rays. In
Northern England it is known to be not uncommon in some districts of
Yorkshire, and it probably occurs in other counties also. There appears to
be only a single record each from Ireland and Scotland.
THE ROSY FOOTMAN (_Miltochrista miniata_).
The fore wings of this pretty little moth are ochreous yellow tinged with
pink; the front and hind margins are bright pink, in some cases approaching
vermillion; the markings are bluish black; hind wings rather paler. It
varies in the amount of black markings, which are sometimes almost absent,
and in colour ranges from yellow to orange. (Plate 95, Figs. 2, 5.)
The caterpillar is dark drab covered above with blackish, mouse-coloured
plumed hairs; on rings one and eleven the plumose hairs are replaced by
short simple ones; the hairs of the side tufts are plain. Head brown, the
cheeks outlined in black (adapted from Hellins). Lichens growing upon the
stems and branches of trees supply this caterpillar with food, and it seems
to nibble on all favourable opportunities throughout the winter. It hatches
from the egg in August, and is full grown in May. Boden, writing in
September, 1896 (_The Entomologist_) noted that some caterpillars had then
attained the perfect state, while others were still feeding, and he adds
that the caterpillars actually attacked and ate up the moths. Although
there seems to be few records from the Midlands, this species appears to be
widely distributed over England as far north as Yorkshire. In Ireland it
has been recorded from Claring Bridge and East Galway. The moth is out in
July. It is a wood-loving insect, but is also found on heaths, and even in
lanes and the borders of fields when plenty of trees occur in such places.
It may occasionally be beaten out of trees and bushes in the day time but
it is on the wing at dusk, and although it is a high flier, specimens come
within reach now and then. Light and sugar both attract it. The species
ranges through Central and Northern Europe, and in Asia to Japan.
[Illustration]
Pl. 96.
1, 1a, 1b. BUFF FOOTMAN: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
2. COMMON FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
3. SCARCE FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 97.
1. BUFF FOOTMAN, _male_; 2, 3 _females_.
4. DINGY FOOTMAN.
5. PALE FOOTMAN.
6. COMMON FOOTMAN.
7. SCARCE FOOTMAN.
8. NORTHERN FOOTMAN.
{177}
THE DEW MOTH (_Endrosa irrorella_).
Varies in colour from yellowish buff to creamy white, the colour on the
margins always deeper; the rows of black spots on the fore wings are
usually well defined, but sometimes those of the two central series are
very faint, or quite absent, whilst an unusual number appear in the outer
marginal series, Occasionally black scales appear on the veins, connecting
the spots, and forming the figures [sideways vee between horizontal bars]
more or less distinctly; such forms are known as var. _signata_, Borkh. The
moth appears in June and July. (Plate 95, Figs. 7, 9.)
When resting, the moth hangs from a blade of grass, or leaf of some plant;
it then has a very transparent appearance. Barrett suggests that this gave
rise to the English name it now bears, and by which it was known to Haworth
and entomologists of his time.
Buckler and Hellins describe the caterpillar as blackish-brown above, and
dark-reddish grey or purplish grey on the sides; a series of yellow spots
along the middle of the back, then a white {178} and yellow interrupted
line, followed by a light yellow stripe under the spiracles; raised spots
blackish, some white; hairs blackish brown. Head black.
It feeds, in the sunshine, on the black and yellow lichens growing in the
haunts of the species, which are edges of cliffs and rough stony places
near the sea, and also on hillsides. The species occurs, perhaps, more
abundantly on the Kentish and Sussex coast than inland, but it is certainly
not confined to the cliffs at Dover and Folkestone in Kent, or at Ventnor,
Isle of Wight. Among inland localities for it are Box Hill, Ranmore,
Reigate, and other places on the Surrey hills. It has also been recorded
from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire; the Isle of Man; St. Davids, South
Wales; Aberdeenshire, Sutherlandshire, and the Tweed, Tay, Clyde, and
Argyll districts in Scotland. For Ireland, Kane gives Mayo; "Ardrahan,
County Galway, and west through the Burren of Clare, widely spread."
THE FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN (_Cybosia mesomella_).
Fore wings pale creamy white, the margins yellowish: a black dot near the
costa, and another below near the inner margin; hind wings suffused with
blackish grey. Rarely the fore wings are yellow with a whitish central
shade, and the hind wings are yellowish. (Plate 95, Figs. 8, 10.)
The caterpillar is velvety blackish grey; warts thickly set with densely
feathered blackish hairs. Feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on
lichens growing among heather. In confinement it will, according to
Buckler, eat heather and fresh or withered leaves of sallow.
Fairly well distributed over England. It appears to be absent from Ireland,
but in Scotland it is known to occur in the Clyde, Solway, and Moray
districts, and has been recorded from Aberdeenshire. In the South of
England it affects heaths and the more open woods; sometimes not uncommon
in {179} such places. The moth, in June, may be disturbed from bushes, or
put up from the heather as one walks through. As the sun goes down it may
often be seen on the wing, but later in the evening is its chief time of
activity. In Lancashire and Cheshire it is found on the mosses, and Cannock
Chase in Staffordshire is a noted locality for it. Still obtained in
Chippenham fen, but Barrett states that it is now supposed to be extinct in
the fens of Wicken, Yaxley, and Burwell, in all of which it used to abound.
THE FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN (_Oeonestis quadra_).
The sexes of this species are very different in appearance. The fore wings
of the male are grey tinged with yellowish, except on the outer fourth; the
basal fourth is yellow. The female is larger and yellow in colour; each
fore wing has two black spots, sometimes unusually large, sometimes mere
dots, and more rarely absent altogether. (Plate 95, Figs. 11, 12.)
Caterpillar blackish with four wavy yellow lines along the back, the spaces
between the lines powdered and freckled with yellow giving a grey
appearance; raised spots on the back red, those on the sides greyish; a
black cross on rings three, seven, and eleven; hairs grey mixed with black.
Head black and glossy. It feeds, after hibernation, in May and June, on
lichens, preferring those upon oak trees. In the breeding cage it is apt to
eat its companions, especially when many are crowded into a small
receptacle. (Plate 94, Fig. 3.)
The moth emerges in July, and during that month, and sometimes in August,
it may be seen on tree trunks; but it more often reposes on the branches,
from which it may be dislodged by jarring the boughs with a stick, when it
drops rather than flies towards the ground, but generally manages to arrest
its downward course by catching hold of a spray of bracken or some other
plant and there awaits capture. Night is the usual {180} time of flight,
but it is on the wing at dusk. It is partial to "sugar" and has been known
to visit flowers.
This species has been recorded from a large number of localities in England
extending from the Scilly Isles to the Scottish border. From the
circumstances connected with many of such captures one is led to suspect
that the insect has migratory habits. In England the most favoured locality
is the New Forest in Hampshire, where it abounds in some seasons, but is
quite scarce in others. It occurs, more or less regularly, in the larger
woods in Dorset, extending into Devon; also in Sussex ranging into Kent,
but is only occasionally common in either of these counties. Generally
considered to be uncommon in the eastern counties, but has been reported to
occur in large numbers at Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The localities given in
Kane's catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland are Killarney, Timoleague,
Co. Cork, Curraghmore (abundant), Lismore, Borris, Co. Carlow, and
Clonbrock. To these may be added Dublin, and Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.
Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Armenia,
Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
THE BUFF FOOTMAN (_Lithosia deplana_).
Fore wings, ochreous grey, tinged with yellow on the basal half of the
front margins; hind wings paler, becoming greyer on the outer area; fringes
of all the wings yellow. The male is fairly constant in colour, but the
female sometimes has a distinct yellow stripe on the front margin of the
fore wings extending to the fringes (var. _ochreola_, Hübn.); more rarely
in the New Forest (?), and in the Isle of Purbeck a form occurs with the
fore wings orange buff, and the hind wings only slightly tinged with grey
(var. _unicolor_, Bankes). (Plate 97, Figs. 1-3.)
[Illustration]
Pl. 98.
1, 1a. HOARY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2. DINGY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
3. DOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 99.
1, 2. HOARY FOOTMAN.
3, 4. PIGMY FOOTMAN.
5. DOTTED FOOTMAN.
6, 7. ORANGE FOOTMAN.
{181} Caterpillar, greyish, or greenish grey, freckled with darker, hairs
grey inclining to brownish; a broad creamy or yellowish stripe, edged with
black and traversed by a dark central line along the back. Head blackish
and glossy. From August to June on lichens growing on stems and branches of
yew, oak, and beech.
A local species, and although recorded now and then from several other
parts of the country, and once from Killarney in Ireland, seems to be
pretty much confined to the counties of Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Dorset, and
Devon. The moth, which is out in July, rests during the day upon the boughs
and among the foliage of oak, beech, and yew, the latter especially in the
Dorking district of Surrey.
Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Scandinavia, Livonia, Northern
Italy, Roumelia, and Russia.
THE DINGY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia griseola_).
Haworth's English name for this moth was the "Dun Footman." In its typical
form the fore wings are pale greyish with a yellowish front edging; the
latter most distinct towards the base; the hind wings are whitish ochreous
more or less suffused with grey. The pale form, var. _flava_, Haw. =
_stramineola_, Doubl. at one time considered a distinct species (the
Straw-coloured Footman of Haworth), has pale straw-coloured fore wings and
white ochreous hind wings. (Plate 97, Figs. 4, 5.)
Caterpillar, sooty brown, with a darker line down the middle of the back
and an interrupted yellow or orange line or stripe on each side of it; dark
brown hairs arising from dark warts; head glossy black (described from a
skin). It may be looked for in the spring months on the lichens affecting
alders and sallows growing in fens and marshy places. (Plate 98, Fig. 2.)
The moth is abundant in the Cambridge and Norfolk fens, and is common in
boggy places in the New Forest, but it probably occurs in all suitable
places throughout England and Wales. It does not seem to have been observed
in Ireland, {182} but has been recorded from Moray in Scotland. The yellow
variety, which by the way is not known to occur abroad, is found, with the
ordinary form, chiefly in the Norfolk fens and in the New Forest; but it is
also to be obtained, though less frequently, in Surrey (Weybridge
district), Berkshire (Reading district), and still more rarely elsewhere.
It is out in July.
Distribution: Central Europe, South Russia, Ural, Altai, Amurland, Corea,
Japan, and West Africa.
THE COMMON FOOTMAN (_Lithosia lurideola_).
Fore wings, leaden grey with a yellow stripe terminating in a point at the
tip of the wing; the hind wings are pale ochreous yellow. It appears in
July, sometimes at the end of June.
Caterpillar, dark greyish covered with blackish hairs arising from black
warts on the back, and yellowish hairs from similar coloured warts on the
sides; three black or blackish lines on the back, and an orange stripe
along the sides from the fourth to eleventh rings; head black. August to
June. Generally supposed to feed, in a state of nature, on lichen growing
on trees and bushes. It has been reared on the foliage of sallow, apple,
and oak; also known to eat buckthorn, clematis, dogwood, etc. I have
occasionally beaten it from old hedgerows, and have frequently seen it on
trunks of poplar and ash upon which not much in the way of lichen could be
seen. Such caterpillars, when taken, have almost invariably spun up soon
afterwards. The moth is shown on Plate 97, Fig. 6, and the early stages on
Plate 96, Fig. 2.
This species is perhaps the commonest and most generally distributed member
of the genus in England. It becomes much less frequent in northern pasts of
Lancashire, and in Yorkshire it is local, but recorded as common in the
south-east of that county. It occurs in Scotland, whence it has been
recorded from Clydesdale, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. Kane {183} states that
it is common near Galway, and also gives Castle Bellingham, Clogher Head
(not rare), and Athlone as Irish localities.
Distributed over Europe, except the extreme north, Andalusia and Southern
Italy; the range extending to Asia Minor and Armenia. In Amurland, Corea,
and Japan, it is represented by _coreana_, Leech.
THE SCARCE FOOTMAN (_Lithosia complana_).
Very similar in appearance to the last species, the yellow stripe along the
front edge of the fore wings, however, does not terminate in a point, but
is continued through to the fringes; the hind wings are sometimes
distinctly yellow, and with but little, if any, greyish shading on the
front area. (Plate 97, Fig. 7.)
Caterpillar, brown or brownish grey above, and paler beneath; a white-edged
black line along the middle of the back, and a row of orange spots,
alternating with whitish ones, on each side of the line; the orange spots
faint or absent on rings one to three; an interrupted yellow or orange
stripe along the sides; the brownish warts are thickly studded with short
greyish brown hairs. Head black and glossy (described from a skin). From
August to June. The most usual food is probably lichens on trees, but it is
said to eat moss, knot-grass, clover, and the flowers of bird's-foot
trefoil, etc. (Plate 96, Fig. 3.)
The moth is out in July and part of August, and may be disturbed in the
daytime from its resting-place among heather and low herbage. It is on the
wing in the dusk of the evening, and when the weather is favourable, flies
freely. As it has a weakness for sweets, it should be looked for at night,
by the aid of a lantern, on the flowers of knapweed and thistle. It chiefly
affects heaths, but it is also found in woods, and on sandhills by the sea,
as in Norfolk. A local species, but usually to be more or less frequently
met with in all the eastern {184} and southern counties, and in some of the
midland. Rare in Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and York. Only doubtfully
recorded from Scotland. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and, according
to Kane, not uncommon where it occurs.
THE NORTHERN FOOTMAN (_Lithosia sericea_).
Gregson named and described this insect in 1860, and in the following year
Guenée described it as _L. molybdeola_. It seems to be peculiar to England;
and only occurs on the mosses of Lancashire and Cheshire. The fore wings
are somewhat narrower and darker in colour than those of the Scarce
Footman; and the hind wings are suffused, to a greater or lesser extent,
with dark grey. Some entomologists maintain that this is probably only a
small form of _L. complana_. According to Mr. Pierce it cannot be
specifically separated from that species or from _L. pygmæola_ by the
genitalia, the usual test in such matters. Prout, however, has stated that
Speyer, in 1867, pointed out structural differences, not only in the shape
of the wings, but also in the size of the costal tuft of scales on the
underside of the fore wings. It should be added that there does not seem to
be any material difference between the caterpillar of _complana_ and that
of _sericea_. Anyway, the question of form or species may here be left
open. The fact of the Northern, or Gregson's, Footman being an exclusive
British production invests the insect with an importance greatly above that
attaching to the majority of our moths. The moth is depicted on Plate 97,
Fig. 8.
THE PIGMY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia lutarella_).
Ochreous white, sometimes tinged with greyish, or with yellowish; hind
wings clouded with greyish on the front area. Female almost always smaller
than the male. The fore wings {185} vary a good deal in the matter of
colour, the extremes being yellow and dark grey. (Plate 99, Figs. 3, 4.)
Buckler describes the caterpillar as brown on the back, with a central
thick black line, and two dark brown lines; sides paler brown, with a dusty
white line along the spiracles; the warts (tubercles) with short brown
hairs, and the head black. August to June.
This extremely local little moth was unknown as an inhabitant of Britain
until 1847, when it was described as _L. pygmæola_, by Doubleday in the
_Zoologist_ for that year, and noted as having been found among rushes on
the coast of Kent. Two years later the insect was again referred to, and it
was then stated to be confined to a "space of about four hundred yards in
extent, on the coast of Deal." It then became known as the "Deal Footman."
During the past seventy years or so large numbers have no doubt been
removed from this locality, which is the only British one it was known to
occur in. It is still to be found there, although said to be less common
than formerly. In the _Entomologist_ for September, 1912, this species was
recorded as not uncommon on marram grass growing on the Norfolk coast.
Some present-day entomologists still incline to the opinion that the moth
is a distinct species, and not a local race of _lutarella_, which is found
throughout Central and Eastern Europe; ranging to South Scandinavia,
Finland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland. The var. _pygmæola_ has been
obtained in Holland.
THE HOARY FOOTMAN (_Lithosia caniola_).
Fore wings silky whitish grey with a yellowish streak along the front edge;
the hind wings are whitish with a faint yellowish tinge. Some of the
specimens are entirely whitish (var. _lacteola_, Boisd.). July and August,
sometimes earlier. (Plate 99, Figs. 1, 2.) {186}
Caterpillar greyish brown, with a black line along the back, and a series
of irregular orange marks, representing stripes, on each side of it; these
orange marks are outwardly edged with black; an orange line low down along
the sides; warts greyish or brownish, each bearing a tuft of short pale
hairs. Head blackish, shining, notched on the crown, and studded with pale
bristles in front. Fed on lettuce from April 30, the date they were
received from Mr. Walker of Torquay. They were then quite small, the
largest not more than half an inch in length. They pupated in June, and the
moths emerged in July, all fine specimens. (Plate 98, Fig. 1.)
In the open the caterpillar feeds upon the black lichens growing on rocks,
etc., by the sea; also upon Dutch clover (_Trifolium repens_), kidney vetch
(_Anthyllis vulneraria_), and bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_).
This species was not known to occur in any part of the British Isles until
August, 1861, when the late Mr. C. G. Barrett took four specimens on the
Hill of Howth in Ireland (_vide Ent. Annual_, 1862, p. 106). A large number
were subsequently captured or reared from caterpillars obtained in the same
locality by others. Kane ("Cat. Lep. Ireland") remarks that the colony
flourished at Howth for many years, but that the species seemingly perished
in the severe winters of 1878 or 1879, and unless a specimen taken in 1890
was this species, has not since been seen there. The only other Irish
locality from which it has been recorded (August, 1866) is on the coast
near Waterford. Torquay, where the species was first observed in 1864 is
now a noted locality, and it is said to occur in certain spots along the
coast to Babbicombe. Other localities in Devon are Dartmouth, Torcross, and
Bolt Head. Barrett found the species rarely in two places by the sea in
South Pembrokeshire, and mentions Rye in Sussex, and Romney Marsh in Kent,
as localities where specimens have occurred.
Mr. J. Walker informs me that the moths fly at dusk, and {187} that they
all seem to get active at almost the same moment, and settle again in the
same way at the end of their first flight, which lasts about half an hour.
After dark the rays of an acetylene lamp directed downwards into the bushes
will attract them from their retreat. Occasionally they visit "sugar."
Abroad this is a southern species, but its range extends to Western
Germany, the Tyrol, Switzerland, and South Hungary, as well as to England;
also to Asia Minor.
THE ORANGE FOOTMAN (_Lithosia sororcula_).
This moth is orange yellow on the fore wings, and a paler shade of the same
colour on the hind wings. Except that the tint is brighter in some
specimens and darker in others, there is nothing to mention in the way of
aberration. (Plate 99, Figs. 6, 7.)
The caterpillar is white on the back with five black stripes, the outer
ones broader than the others; all these stripes are broken up by brownish
patches, and they fail to show at all on the eighth ring, which, therefore,
is conspicuously white; the sides are smoky grey marked with white on the
second and third rings; the warts are reddish, bearing smoky grey hairs. It
may be found from July to September on the lichens growing on the trunks of
oak trees. The moth does not appear until the following May or June, when
it may be beaten from branches. Not uncommon in the woods, chiefly oak, of
Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, and Dorset; it also
occurs in Cambridgeshire and Sussex. In Berkshire and Bucks it is fairly
common, but seems to affect the beech woods in those counties. Recorded
from Ireland by Birchall, who stated that it was abundant at Killarney.
THE DOTTED FOOTMAN (_Pelosia muscerda_).
The fore wings are pale grey suffused with pale reddish-brown except on the
costal area: there are six black dots, two {188} before the middle of the
wing and placed above the inner margin, and four beyond the middle in an
oblique series from the costa; the hind wings are pale brownish-grey,
becoming somewhat darker towards the apex. (Plate 99, Fig. 5.)
Caterpillar velvety blackish-brown, marbled with reddish-grey; stripe along
middle of the back, and a line on each side of it deep black; warts and
hairs brown, the latter short but numerous; a pair of red spots on ring
one, and another pair on ring twelve; beneath the spiracles is a fine
reddish-grey line; under surface pinkish grey; head small and blackish
(Buckler). So far it has escaped detection in its fenny home, but it has
been reared from eggs laid by a captured female. Caterpillars obtained in
this way seem to have thrived on a mixed diet of lichens, mosses, and
withered leaves of bramble and sallow. August to May. Buckler states that
the dark chestnut-brown pupa is enclosed in a double cocoon, the inner a
webby one of greyish silk, and the outer one thinner and composed of white
silk. The whole affair was formed in a curled-up bramble leaf. The
caterpillar is figured on Plate 98, Fig. 5.
The moth is out in late July and through August. It has been obtained in a
certain marshy locality in the New Forest, Hants, and also in some marshes
at Sandwich, Kent. Its chief haunts are, however, in the fens of Norfolk,
such as those on the river Bure, and Brundall fen on the Yare, but Horning
and Ranworth are, perhaps, the headquarters of the species. It may be
mentioned that when Stephens wrote about this insect in 1829 only two
specimens had then occurred in Britain, and these had been found in a marsh
at Horning floating upon the water in a ditch.
Distribution: Central Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Corsica
and Sardinia, Amurland and Japan.
[Illustration]
Pl. 100.
1. SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR.
2. NUT-TREE TUSSOCK.
3, 4. MILLER MOTH.
5. SYCAMORE MOTH.
6. POPLAR GREY.
7. MARSH DAGGER.
8, 9. ALDER MOTH.
10. DARK DAGGER.
11. GRAY DAGGER.
[Illustration]
Pl. 101.
1. POPLAR GREY: _caterpillar_.
2, 2a. SCARCE MERVEILLE DU JOUR: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
3, 3a, 3b. NUT-TREE TUSSOCK: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.
4. DARK DAGGER: _caterpillar_.
5, 5a. GREY DAGGER: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{189}