The fore wings of this species (Plate 122, Figs. 3, 4) are usually greyish

brown variegated with darker; cross lines pale with black edging. Sometimes

the general colour is tinged with ochreous. The caterpillar is green with a

darker central and two whitish lines on the back, the outer lines with

black marks on them; a white edged pinkish stripe along the black-margined

white spiracles. It feeds from July to September, sometimes earlier or

later, on goose-foot, orach, beet, and other Chenopodiacæ, and has also

been found on young leaves of onion. The moth is out in May and June, and

as a second generation in late July and August. In 1903 a specimen was

taken, at Boscombe, on March 21. The species is more especially attached to

the coast, but is plentiful in the Breck Sand district of Norfolk and

Suffolk, in market gardens and waste places around London, and is found

more or less frequently up to Staffordshire. In Cheshire and Yorkshire it

is scarce. Barrett states that in Scotland it is found rarely in

Roxburghshire and Aberdeenshire; and not very uncommonly in the Clyde

Valley; it is, however, not mentioned in the list of the lepidoptera of the

Clyde area published in 1901. Only two specimens have been recorded from

Ireland. The range abroad includes Northern Asia, Canada, and the United

States of America.

THE GLAUCOUS SHEARS (_Mamestra glauca_).

Noticeable features of this dark-clouded whitish grey species (Plate 122,

Figs. 5[male], 6[female]) are the whitish, or whitish outlined, stigmata;

and the conspicuous black wedges on the inner edge of the pale submarginal

line. The ground colour is sometimes purplish tinged; the dark clouding may

spread over the greater part of the fore wings. The caterpillar is dark red

brown with darker freckles, a whitish central line, and two {246} series of

dusky dashes; a paler line along the black-edged white spiracles; head pale

brown freckled with darker. Feeds in July and August on heather, sallow,

bog myrtle, etc., and will thrive on lettuce. The moth is out in May and

June, and may be found resting by day on tree trunks, fences, or rocks.

This species in England occurs chiefly in hilly districts of the northern

counties from Staffordshire to Cumberland; recorded from Glamorgan. In

Scotland it is widely distributed from Ayr to Ross, and is also found in

the Hebrides and the Orkneys; and in Ireland is obtained in several of the

northern counties, and on the Hill of Howth. The range abroad extends to

Amurland.

THE SHEARS (_Mamestra dentina_).

The ground colour of this species, three specimens of which are shown on

Plate 122, Figs. 7, 8[male], 9[female], ranges from the normal pale grey

through various shades of brownish grey. The markings, usually well in

evidence, are sometimes obscured in the darker specimens. The caterpillar

is brownish with three white lines and a series of grey-brown

diamond-pattern blotches on the back; the outer lines with blackish spots

upon them; the stripe along the black spiracles greyish; head pale brown

marked with blackish; plates on first and last rings of the body glossy.

Feeds in July and August on dandelion, knotgrass, chickweed, hawk's-beard

(_Crepis_), hawkweed (_Hieracium_), etc. The moth flies in May and June and

appears to be found throughout the British Isles. Represented in Siberia by

the dark form _latenai_, Pierret.

THE STRANGER (_Mamestra peregrina_).

This species, which is an inhabitant of Asia Minor, Southern Russia,

Turkey, Dalmatia and Northern Italy, occurs in Southern, Western, and

Northern France; and three specimens {247} have been recorded as taken in

England--all at Freshwater in the Isle of Wight--the first in 1858, the

second in 1859, and the third about 1876. The specimen depicted on Plate

122, Fig. 10, was received from abroad.

BARRETT'S MARBLED CORONET (_Dianthoecia luteago_, var. _barrettii_).

The type, which is of ochreous coloration, does not occur in the British

Isles, although in one example of var. _barrettii_, reared by Mr. Kane, a

faint ochreous tinge was apparent, but this faded out in a few weeks. Fig.

2, Plate 123, represents a specimen, kindly lent by Mr. R. Adkin, of var.

_barrettii_, Doubleday, a form discovered in Ireland, at Howth, by the late

Mr. C. G. Barrett, in June, 1861. In 1879 a specimen was taken on the coast

at Ilfracombe, North Devon; one example was reared from a caterpillar found

at Tenby, South Wales, in 1884, and one was captured in Carnarvonshire,

North Wales, in 1897. In the last mentioned year specimens were taken by

the late Major Ficklin on the coast of Cornwall, and as the Cornish form

differs from the Irish form in being grey instead of brown, it has been

named var. _ficklini_, Tutt. A second specimen was obtained in North Wales

in 1899. Since its first detection at Howth the insect has been taken in

limited numbers almost every year; and in 1906 Major C. Donovan recorded it

as widely distributed along the coast of Co. Cork, the specimens being

large, of a dark slate colour with distinct light whitish grey markings.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous with a pinkish tinge; the central line is

greyish brown and the spiracles black; head reddish brown marked with

darker. It feeds on the roots of seaside campion (_Silene maritima_), July

to September. The moth flies from June to August. Like most of the species

in this genus, it does not care for the collector's sugar, and except {248}

that an occasional specimen may be found resting on the rocks, the moths

must be netted as they fly at dusk to the flowers of _Silene_. Staudinger

considers that var. _barrettii_ is identical with var. _argillacea_, Hübn.

THE GREY (_Dianthoecia cæsia_).

The obscurely marked slate grey insect shown on Plate 124, Fig. 5, was

first found at Tramore, Ireland, and in the Isle of Man about the same year

(1866 or 1867). Kane mentions that he has found the insect at Tramore, and

also in eleven other localities on the rocky coast line of the South of

Ireland, from Hook Point to Dingle Bay. Our form of the species, var.

_manani_, Gregson, differs from the greyish blue continental type in its

darker coloration, and this is intensified in the south-west corner of

Ireland where specimens of a uniform bluish black occur.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown minutely freckled with darker; the

lines on the back are blackish, but indistinct; usual dots margined with

black; head pale brown, marked with darker. It feeds on the buds, flowers,

and seeds of campions (_Silene maritima_ and _S. inflata_) from June to

August. The moth flies in June, July, and early August, and may be taken,

like the last species, at the flowers of the campions growing on the rocks

in its seaside haunts.

THE MARBLED CORONET (_Dianthoecia conspersa_).

Three forms of this locally variable species are shown on Plate 123. Fig. 6

represents the typical form occurring generally in England, but in North

Devonshire, on the coast, specimens are found closely approaching the Isle

of Lewis form (Fig. 7), whilst others from that district agree in the

blackish ground colour with specimens from Ireland. A still darker {249}

race occurs in the Shetland Isles, and chiefly on the east coasts, whence

came the specimen depicted (Fig. 8). On the western sides of the Shetlands,

Mr. McArthur found the species to be rather more typical as a whole,

although some specimens approached the darker eastern form. The dark

Shetland race has been named var. _hethlandica_ by Staudinger, and the form

with the white markings yellowish tinged is var. _ochrea_, Gregson.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown; the back sprinkled with darker, and

forming still darker V-shaped marks, central line pale; spiracles ochreous

with black outlines, set in the upper edge of a pale stripe; head shining

pale yellowish-brown freckled and lined with darker. It feeds on the seeds

of catchfly, campion, and will eat those of sweet-william and garden pinks.

July to September. The moth is out in June and July, and at dusk visits the

flowers of its food plants, and occasionally comes to sugar. It is chiefly

found in the seaboard counties, but as regards England is commoner in the

south than in the north. Although generally rare in the inland counties, it

is sometimes not uncommon in some Surrey localities, such as the Croydon

district, and Mr. Scollick has reared moths from caterpillars found in seed

capsules of white campion at Horsley.

The distribution of this species extends to Amurland.

THE WHITE SPOT (_Dianthoecia albimacula_).

The moth shown on Plate 124, Fig. 1, is "The Beautiful Coronet" of some

writers. Although a specimen was taken in Kent in 1816, nothing further was

heard of the species in England until 1865, when one example was captured

in the Portsmouth district. Then in 1873 caterpillars were found in the

Birchwood locality where the first moth was secured. The next year the

species was found to occur at Folkestone, and subsequently at other places

along the Kentish coast. Since {250} 1889 it has been obtained, not

uncommonly, at Seaton on the South Devon coast. The caterpillar, which is

somewhat similar to that of the last species, feeds in July and August on

the seeds of the Nottingham catchfly (_Silene nutans_), but will thrive on

those of other kinds of catchfly, campion, or even sweet-william and garden

pinks. The moth flies in May and June.

THE VARIED CORONET (_Dianthoecia compta_).

In Europe this species has a less northerly range than _D. conspersa_, and

its eastward range extends to Japan. The caterpillar feeds on the seeds of

_Dianthus_.

In his list of the lepidoptera of Ireland (_Ent. Mo. Mag._, 1866), Birchall

remarks: "A pair of this well-known species, taken in Ireland by Mr. Tardy,

are in the collection of Trinity College, but I am unable to indicate the

exact locality of their capture." This is probably all the evidence we have

of the occurrence of this species in the British Isles. The specimen

represented on Plate 124, Fig. 2, is from the Continent.

THE LYCHNIS (_Dianthoecia capsincola_).

Except that the brown ground colour is sometimes of a reddish shade, or

greyish in tone, there is not much to notice in the variation of this

species. Occasionally the outlines of the reniform and orbicular marks are

usually white and distinct, and now and then the black markings are

intensified. Two specimens are shown on Plate 124, Figs. 3 [male], 4

[female]. The caterpillar is brownish ochreous freckled with darker, and

with a pale central line and a series of dusky V-shaped marks on the back;

a paler stripe along the whitish spiracles; head pale reddish brown, marked

with darker brown. It feeds in July, sometimes in September, on campion,

ragged robin, catchfly, and sweet-william and pinks. Fig. 3, Plate 130, is

from a coloured drawing {251} by Mr. A. Sich, and represents the

caterpillar, as seen when making the sketch, holding a seed between its

front pair of legs and up to its mouth. The moth is out in May and June,

and in some years there is a second flight in the autumn. The species is

more or less common over the greater part of the British Isles.

THE CAMPION (_Dianthoecia cucubali_).

This moth (Plate 124, Figs. 5 [male], 6 [female]) is very similar to the

last, but it has a distinct violet tinge, the orbicular mark is lengthened,

and its lower edge touches, or almost touches, the reniform; the second

line is distinct and straighter above the inner margin. The caterpillar is

greenish, tinged with orange-brown on the front rings; the central line is

greyish-brown, and the V-marks on the back and oblique stripes low down on

the sides are orange-brown. It feeds on the leaves as well as the unripe

seeds of campion, ragged robin, and catchfly in July, August, and

September. The moth is out in June, and examples of a second generation in

August. Like the rest of the species of the genus, it is most partial to

flowers, but it occasionally puts in an appearance at the sugar patch.

Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles. The range abroad

extends to Amurland, China, and Japan.

THE TAWNY SHEARS (_Dianthoecia carpophaga_).

This species ranges in the colour of the fore wings from almost white,

through various shades of ochreous brown.

The white and ochreous-tinted specimens are found in Kent and Sussex

chiefly, whilst the ochreous-brown forms are more generally distributed in

England. Barrett states that in the south of Scotland a form occurs in

which the ground colour is very pale dull brown with all the darker

markings and cloudings deep umberous, the cloudings more extended. Var.

_capsophila_ {252} (The Pod Lover), which represents the species in Ireland

and the Isle of Man, is of a greyish coloration and lacks the ochreous

tint; the dark markings, especially on the area between the first and

second cross lines, are blackish or black, and the outlines of the stigmata

are very distinct. Kane mentions dull black specimens, from the Blasket

Islands, in which only vestiges of the stigmata and submarginal line

remained clear. Pembrokeshire specimens have a colour range intermediate

between _carpophaga_ (Plate 124, Fig. 9) and var. _capsophila_ (Figs. 7,

8), and serve to connect one with the other. The caterpillar, which is

purplish brown with rather broad ochreous-brown lines on the back, feeds in

June and July and again in September, on seeds of catchfly, campion, and

sweet-william. The moth flies in May and June, sometimes in late July and

August.

THE VIPER'S BUGLOSS (_Dianthoecia_ (_Epia_) _irregularis_).

The earliest British specimen of this moth (Plate 125, Fig. 1) of which

there is any clear record is that found by the late Rev. A. H. Wratislaw,

in July, 1868, resting on viper's bugloss (_Echium vulgare_), in a locality

about ten miles from Bury St. Edmunds. Subsequently Tuddenham was indicated

as the locality, and there, as well as in other parts of the Breck Sand

district of Suffolk and Norfolk the species continues to flourish. _Echium_

was at first supposed to be the food plant, but it was soon ascertained the

larval pabulum was the flowers and seeds of the local catchfly (_Silene

otites_). In September, 1870, Mr. Porritt described the caterpillar, and he

found that in confinement it did not object to Ragged Robin (_Lychnis

flos-cuculi_) in place of the _Silene_.

In colour the caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, tinged with green; three

more or less distinct pale lines, and a series of smoke-coloured V-shaped

marks on the back. Spiracles black with a yellowish white stripe below

them, and a smoke-coloured one above; head wainscot brown dotted with

black. It may be found on its food plant from late July to early September.

The moth flies in June and July, but seems to have been very rarely met

with in the open, although large numbers of the caterpillars, which are

frequently "ichneumoned," are collected almost every year. A specimen,

recently presented to the Lincoln Museum, is said to have been reared from

a caterpillar found on viper's bugloss in the neighbourhood of East Ferry

in North Lincolnshire.

[Illustration]

Pl. 124.

1. WHITE SPOT MOTH.

2. VARIED CORONET.

3, 4. LYCHNIS.

5, 6. CAMPION.

7, 8. POD LOVER.

9, 10. TAWNY SHEARS.

[Illustration]

Pl. 125.

1. VIPER'S BUGLOSS.

2. SMALL RANUNCULUS.

3, 4. BROAD-BARRED WHITE.

5, 6. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT.

7, 8. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT _varieties_.

{253} THE SMALL RANUNCULUS (_Hecatera chrysozona_).

Except that the general grey coloration of the fore wings of this moth

(Plate 125, Fig. 2) may be whiter or of a darker grey tint, there is little

in the way of variation to refer to. Usually the area between the cross

lines is dark grey, sometimes marked with yellow on the reniform and

towards the inner margin. A series of yellow dots on the submarginal line

is almost always present, but may be absent. The caterpillar is pale

reddish brown; three fine double blackish lines and two rows of black dots

on the back; a fine blackish line along the black spiracles. Head pale

brown and glossy. In another form the general colour is some shade of

green; yellowish to olive. It feeds in July and August on the flowers and

seeds of the wild lettuce (_Lactuca saligna_, and _L. virosa_),

hawk's-beard (_Crepis_), and also on those of the garden lettuce. The moth

is out late in June and July, and at dusk may be seen at the blossoms of

various plants in gardens and elsewhere, but seems to be most partial to

those of spur-valerian (_Centranthus ruber_). It is found in the eastern

counties, especially in Cambridgeshire; Surrey, and (rarely) in Sussex and

Dorsetshire. Other English counties in which it has been noted are

Hertford, Huntingdon, Northampton, Oxford, Berks, Somerset, and Hereford.

{254}

THE BROAD-BARRED WHITE (_Hecatera serena_).

Most of the British examples of this species have the thorax and fore wings

almost pure white, the latter with a central blackish grey band (var.

_leuconota_, Ev., Plate 125, Figs. 3[male], 4[female]). The white, however,

especially on the outer margin, is sometimes clouded with greyish, and

occasionally the ground colour has a greyish tinge, thus approaching var.

_obscura_, Staudinger. The caterpillar is ochreous brown, more or less

tinged with green, minutely dotted with dark grey, forming indistinct

blotches; the stripe along the black spiracles is yellow tinged with green

below. Head brownish, glossy. It feeds in July and August on hawk's-beard

(_Crepis_). The smaller caterpillars may be found by day resting on the

yellow flowers. In confinement they will eat the flowers and seeds of

garden lettuce; and Prout mentions dandelion blossoms, and also those of

almost any of the Compositæ. The moth is out from June to August, and in

the daytime may be seen sitting on fences, tree trunks, rocks and walls. It

is pretty generally distributed in the southern portion of England, but

becomes scarce northwards. In Scotland it seems to be little known, but

Renton records it as common in Roxburghshire, and in 1898 Mr. Kirkaldy

kindly gave me three greyish-shaded specimens that he picked up casually at

Pitlochry, Perthshire, in July of that year. It has been found in North

Wales, but is more frequent in the southern parts of that country. Rather

local and usually scarce in Ireland; but has been found in counties

Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, Louth, Antrim, Westmeath, Galway, Cork, and

Kerry. The range abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland.

THE BORDERED GOTHIC (_Neuria reticulata_).

The cross lines and the veins are pale brown, sometimes tinged with pink.

These markings give the moth (Plate 126, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) a netted

appearance, which, apart from the different ground colour and clouding,

distinguishes it from the Gothic, with which it is sometimes confused. The

antennæ, too, of the male are only fringed with minute hairs, whilst those

of the male Gothic are broadly pectinated. The caterpillar is greenish or

pinkish ochreous, mottled with darker, and with slightly paler lines on the

back and sides; head light brown. It will feed in July and August on

knot-grass; and soapwort (_Saponaria_), _Silene inflata_, and _Dianthus_,

have been mentioned as food plants. The moth is out in June and July. The

species occurs in nearly all the counties of England to Yorkshire, but

except in Cambridgeshire, and perhaps Oxfordshire, it is not common in any

of the southern or eastern counties, although more frequently found in them

than northwards. It has not been recorded from Scotland, and seems to be

rare in Ireland, as it has only been noted from Co. Dublin and Co. Cork.

[Illustration]

Pl. 126.

1, 2. BORDERED GOTHIC.

3, 4. DUSKY SALLOW.

5. ORACHE MOTH.

6, 7. SAXON MOTH.

[Illustration]

Pl. 127.

1, 2. FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH.

3, 4. FEATHERED GOTHIC.

5. GREEN BRINDLED DOT.

6, 7. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC.

8, 9. ANTLER MOTH.

{255} FEATHERED GOTHIC (_Tholera_ (_Epineuronia_) _popularis_).

The male of this species (Plate 127, Fig. 3) is strongly attracted by

light, and frequently seen in houses, and is no doubt a familiar object to

most residents in the country, and even in the suburbs of London. The

female (Fig. 4) does not visit light, but this sex, and the males also, may

be found sitting after dark upon the upper erect leaves of the hard

grasses, such as the matweed (_Nardus stricta_). Of course a lantern will

be required to throw a light on the business of collecting them, and it is

curious to note that even the brilliant glare of the acetylene lamp does

not seem to disturb the moths very much, if at all.

The caterpillar is dark greenish brown and rather glossy, with a dusky

plate on the first ring upon which are traces of the five dark-edged pale

brownish stripes which traverse the body and meet on the last ring; the

latter has a black plate. The spiracles are black, and the head is

brownish, marked with {256} darker. The caterpillars hatch in the spring

from eggs laid the previous autumn, and may be found until July. They feed

at night on the leaves of grasses, especially _Nardus_ and such kinds,

growing in parks and open places. The moth is out in August and September,

and occurs more or less commonly throughout England and Wales. In Scotland

it is found in Ayrshire, and in other localities in the Clyde area; thence

eastward to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is generally

distributed, and in some localities very abundant, as at Clonbrock, and on

the Wicklow coast.

THE HEDGE RUSTIC (_Tholera cespitis_).

The sexes of this moth are depicted on Plate 128, Figs. 8[male], 9[female].

In habits, and also in the kind of places it frequents, this species has

much in common with that last mentioned. It is certainly more local, but

its range in the British Isles is somewhat similar to that of the Gothic.

The life history also is very like that of the last species, and the

caterpillar feeds on the same kinds of grass.

ANTLER MOTH (_Cerapteryx_ (_Charæas_) _graminis_).

This moth (Plate 127, Figs. 8[male], 9[female]) has the fore wings greyish

brown or reddish brown, sometimes tinged with ochreous in the paler forms,

or with olive in the darker forms. There is also variation in the markings,

and chiefly of the central forked streak which has been likened to the

antler of the stag. In most British specimens of the greyish form this is

white throughout its length, and it has three branches; the stigmata are

whitish, and there is often a whitish bar below the central streak. A

number of aberrations have been named, and of these the following seem to

be the most important: var. _tricuspis_, Esp., reddish brown; branched

streak, stigmata, and bar ochreous; var. _rufa_, Tutt = _tricuspis_, Hübn.,

as above, but the markings white; var. _ruficosta_, Tutt = _graminis_,

Hübn., greyish brown, with reddish front margin, and ochreous markings;

var. _hibernicus_, Curt., yellowish brown with the markings ochreous, and

the stigmata more or less united with the central streak. In some specimens

most of the markings are obscured or absent, and only the reniform stigma

and the forked extremity of the central line remain distinct.

[Illustration]

Pl. 128.

1. FEATHERED EAR MOTH.

2, 3. STRAW UNDERWING.

4. SILVER CLOUD.

5, 6. FLOUNCED RUSTIC.

7. HAWORTH'S MINOR.

8, 9. HEDGE RUSTIC.

[Illustration]

Pl. 129.

1, 1a. BRIGHT-LINE BROWN EYE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2. DOT MOTH: _caterpillar_.

3, 3a. BROOM MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

4. BRINDLED GREEN MOTH: _egg, natural size and enlarged_.

{257} The caterpillar, which is glossy, and the skin much wrinkled, is of a

bronzy-brown colour, with black-edged pale lines; there is a brownish plate

on the first ring and a blackish one on the last; the spiracles are black

and the head is brownish, marked with darker. It feeds from March to June

on grasses, and in some years and localities occurs in enormous numbers,

denuding considerable areas of grass land. Rooks and other birds devour

them readily, and where their feeding places are on hillsides, they are apt

to be washed off by heavy rain, so that the drains and ditches become

filled up in places by masses of these caterpillars. Even after such

wholesale destruction, the moths may still appear in the autumn in

countless numbers. The male moths are sometimes seen flying in the sunshine

and visiting the flowers of thistles, ragwort, etc. Such flight usually

takes place between eight a.m. and noon, but both sexes have been seen

flying over grass and heather continuously from just before midday to four

p.m. The moths are also on the wing at night, and the male is very

susceptible to the attraction of light. The species has occurred in all

parts of the British Islands, but its presence in the south of England

would appear to be more casual than elsewhere. The range abroad extends

through Northern Asia to Siberia.

THE FEATHERED EAR (_Pachetra leucophæa_).

Stephens, in 1829, figured one of two specimens of this species said to

have been taken near Bristol in 1816, a part of England {258} from which no

other specimen has ever been recorded so far as I am aware. In June, 1855,

the late Mr. S. Stevens obtained a few specimens at sugar, at Mickleham,

Surrey. Between the year last mentioned and 1894 five other specimens have

been recorded from the same county, these are Redhill (W. R. Jeffrey),

Boxhill (G. Elisha, a pair, and B. A. Bower), Reigate (R. Adkin). In Kent,

specimens have been found in the Folkestone and Tunbridge districts, but

the chalk downs between Ashford and Wye appear to be the headquarters of

the insect in Britain.

A portrait of a male specimen will be found on Plate 128, Fig. 1, but the

ground colour is much whiter in the majority of British specimens.

According to Dr. Chapman, the caterpillar varies from a nearly uniform

nankeen-yellow with the markings only indicated, to a handsome larva with

distinct black stripes. There is a pale dorsal line, quite narrow; thence

to the black spiracles is divided into three longitudinal stripes, a dark

dorsal, a dark (but less dark) lower one and a pale intermediate. In all

these the ground colour is the same, nankeen-yellow, and the darker areas

depend on the greater or less darkness of fine black mottlings, generally

in fine wavy streaks running more or less longitudinally. The head is

rather brown than yellow, mottled in a honey-comb pattern, with some black

marking about the mouth parts. It feeds at night from July to March on

various grasses, but seems to prefer _Poa annua_, and _P. nemoralis_. Dr.

Chapman reared some of these caterpillars by keeping each individual in a

separate glass jar and supplying it at frequent intervals with a fresh tuft

of _Poa annua_. The moth is out from May to July, and hides during the day

among the tufts of grass on chalk hills. It comes freely to sugar, and has

been taken at privet blossom.

THE SILVER CLOUD (_Xylomania conspicillaris_).

Three forms of this species occur with us. In that represented on Plate

128, Fig. 4, the fore wings are almost entirely {259} blackish. Another has

a larger portion of the inner marginal area ochreous brown, or whitish, ab.

_melaleuca_, Vieweg; a third form, and the least frequent, may be described

as pale ochreous brown with darker mottling on the basal half, and black

central markings representing a broken streak from the base of the wing to

the outer margin, in this form the pale outlined stigmata are fairly

distinct, and there is a blackish shade between them extending from the

front to the inner margin. From chrysalids obtained by digging under oak

and elm trees in a private park several miles from Taunton, Somerset, Mr.

H. Doidge (1901) reared moths and obtained eggs which were laid in a batch

on the covering of the cage in which the female was placed with a growing

plant of bird's-foot trefoil. The eggs hatched on May 31, ten days after

they were laid. The young caterpillars were purplish grey, but after

feeding on the yellow flowers they assumed the same colour. "After

finishing the flowers they commenced on the leaves, by which time they were

a pale green colour, with a yellow spiracular stripe, and were fond of

resting by day on the stems of the plant. As they approached the final

stage, the green became shaded with brown and black," and then resembled

the ripening seed pods. They were afterwards supplied with blackthorn, and

did not object to the change of food. They also ate dock (sparingly), and

_Trifolium minus_. "About July 8 they began to go under ground to pupate.

The pupæ, which were of a dark reddish-brown colour, and somewhat obese and

blunt, being enclosed in a very compact and brittle earthy cocoon"

(Doidge).

The moth is out in April and May, but is very local in England. It has

occasionally been found at rest on isolated tree trunks or on posts, but

very rarely captured in any other way. Specimens have been obtained from

chrysalids dug up now and then from about the roots of trees, but perhaps

most of the specimens in collections, not numerous altogether, have been

reared from eggs. In England the species is only known {260} to occur in

Kent, Surrey, Suffolk, Gloucester, Somersetshire, Worcestershire, and

Herefordshire. Barrett also mentions one specimen at Gower, South Wales.

THE BEAUTIFUL ARCHES (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _satura_).

Of this species (Plate 121, Fig. 5) probably less than a dozen specimens

have been taken in England, and apparently none in any other part of the

British Isles. It is very similar to some of the darker forms of _E.

adusta_, specimens of which have often been mistaken for examples of the

present species and recorded as such. The wings are rather more ample; the

reniform and orbicular stigmata are reddish, with a blackish cloud under

them, and the space between the second and submarginal lines towards the

inner margin is also reddish. The hind wings are dark in both sexes. The

caterpillar, which is said to feed in July and August on hop, honey-suckle,

and cherry, among other plants, is pinkish brown, darker above; the

dusky-pink central line on the back is interrupted and indistinct, and on

each side of it is a series of oblique greyish but not clearly defined

streaks; the line low down on the sides is yellow-green. The moths flies in

June, July, and August.

Abroad the species occurs in Central and Northern Europe (except the most

northern parts, and perhaps Western France); eastward the range extends to

Amurland.

THE DARK BROCADE (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _adusta_).

The sexes of this moth are figured on Plate 121, Figs. 3[male], 4[female].

The ground colour is grey-brown in some examples of this species, whilst in

others, especially in the north of England and in Scotland, the colour

ranges through rich reddish brown, blackish brown to almost black. In the

lighter coloured forms the markings are usually clear and distinct, but in

the darker forms are often much obscured. The caterpillar is somewhat

variable in colour and markings. Barrett describes one form as pale sage

green strongly tinged with ochreous and dusted with greyish brown; the line

along the middle of the back is white, interrupted, and edged with greyish

brown; a series of outlines of greyish-brown diamonds spread over to the

brown margin of the pale ochreous stripe along the whitish spiracles, and

form a network on the back and sides. Another form, described by Buckler,

has the general colour brilliant yellow, suffused on the upper surface with

deep rose pink; a stripe on the middle of the back composed of two darker

pink lines, united and forming a spot at the beginning of each segment, and

an interrupted yellow stripe on each side. It feeds from July to September

on grass and various low plants, including knot-grass, bladder campion

(_Silene cucubalus_); also sweet gale, sallow, etc. The moth flies in June

and July, sometimes in May. The species occurs in woods and on heaths and

moors, and is generally distributed, and more or less common throughout the

British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland.

[Illustration]

Pl. 130.

1. SLENDER BRINDLE: _caterpillar_.

2, 2a. CLOUDED BRINDLE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

3. LYCHNIS: _caterpillar_.

4. CLOUDED BORDERED BRINDLE: _caterpillar_.

[Illustration]

Pl. 131.

1, 2. LARGE NUTMEG MOTH.

3, 4. CONFUSED MOTH.

5, 6. CRESCENT STRIPED MOTH.

7, 8. DUSKY BROCADE MOTH.

{261} THE BRINDLED GREEN (_Eumichtis_ (_Hadena_) _protea_).

Green of some shade is often the prevailing colour in the much ornamented

moth portrayed on Plate 122, Figs. 11, 12; but in some specimens the

general colour is pinkish white. The variegation consists of reddish brown

or pinkish, and white clouds and black streaks, chiefly as edging to the

pale cross lines, or between the stigmata; these latter are as often

obscure as distinct, but sometimes the orbicular is white with a white mark

below it extending to the black bar connecting the first and second cross

lines.

The caterpillar is green freckled with yellow, with a yellow central line

on the back; head brownish. It feeds from March to June, and when it leaves

the egg it bores into an oak bud to {262} feed; later on it spins the young

leaves together, and finally it dispenses with a retreat altogether and

feeds openly on the leaves. The moth is out in the autumn, rather earlier

in Scotland. It is widely distributed in England, and in some seasons and

localities very abundant. In Scotland it is found from Roxburgh to Moray,

and in the latter county as well as in Perthshire and Argyll it is often

plentiful. Single specimens have been recorded from Ireland, and these from

Co. Galway and Co. Westmeath.

THE NORTHERN ARCHES (_Crymodes exulis_).

The specimens of this species shown on Plate 123, Figs. 1, 4, are from

Shetland, and more or less of the typical form, but rather more variegated,

perhaps, than the actual type. In other specimens from the same locality

the yellowish submarginal line is band-like; or the ground colour is

browner, and sometimes blackish. These blackish examples approach var.

_assimilis_, Doubleday (Fig. 3), from Perthshire, where it was first met

with, at Rannoch, by Weaver, over sixty years ago. _Exulis_ (The Exile) was

discovered by Mr. H. McArthur in the Shetlands in 1883. In 1896 Mr. P. M.

Bright captured a specimen in the Shetlands which Barrett considered

referable to _maillardi_, Hübn. (Geyer, Fig. 833.) "Its ground colour is

drab-brown, abundantly marked with umberous and dusted with black, and its

only conspicuous marking is the reniform stigma, which is distinctly edged

with white in such a manner as to give it a singular resemblance to

_Mamestra_ [_Barathra_] _brassicæ_." Staudinger, it may be added, adopts

_maillardi_ as the earlier name for this species, and it may have to be

generally accepted. The caterpillar is ochreous whitish, shaded with grey,

and with yellowish plates on the first and last rings; spiracles black,

head reddish brown. It feeds on grasses from August to May, but is

sometimes two, or even three, years in completing its {263} growth. When

young, and also later, it eats the lower part of the stem and partly into

the root of the grass. The moth is out in July and August. Very few

examples of the _assimilis_ form have been obtained, and these only in

Perthshire, Aberdeenshire, Inverness, and the Isle of Arran. Mr. W. M.

Christy captured one specimen in Ross-shire in August, 1902. The

geographical range of this species extends from the Alps and Pyrenees

through Norway and Lapland to Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador.

THE MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT (_Bombycia viminalis_).

Figs. 5 and 6 on Plate 125 represent the typical form of this species. Fig.

8 shows the blackish var. _obscura_, Staud., and Fig. 7 an intermediate

form. The pale form is most frequent in southern England, and dark forms

are commoner in the north. Both forms occur in Scotland, but in some parts

the pale form only is found. The caterpillar is green with three whitish

lines on the back; the raised spots are also whitish; the line along the

black spiracles is yellowish. It feeds from April to June on sallow and

willow; at first on the terminal shoots, the leaves of which are spun

together with silk. Later on the caterpillar folds down or rolls a leaf so

as to form a shelter. The moth is on the wing in June and July, sometimes

later, and is pretty widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but

is rather local in Scotland, northern England, and Ireland. The dark form,

it may be mentioned, does not seem to be found abroad. The range of the

species extends to Amurland.

THE DUSKY SALLOW (_Eremobia ochroleuca_).

This brownish tinged ochreous moth (Plate 126, Figs. 3, 4) has the fore

wings crossed by whitish lines, the first and second of which approach or

unite below the middle, dividing into two blotches the dark central

band-like shade. {264}

The caterpillar, which feeds on the seeds of cock's-foot (_Dactylis_) and

other kinds of grass from May to early July, is whitish green and glossy;

three whitish stripes on the back, the central one broadest; a stripe below

the black spiracles is whitish, edged above with green. Mullein

(_Verbascum_) has also been mentioned as eaten by this caterpillar. The

moth is out in July and in August, and may often be seen resting on the

flowers of knapweed (_Centaurea_) in the daytime. It flies at night, and

has been taken at the flowers of centaurea, ragwort, etc., and at light. In

some districts it is said to visit the sugar patch, but not to do so in

other localities. Occurs in the chalk districts of most southern English

counties, and especially those of Kent and Sussex; also, but only rarely,

in Warwickshire and Yorkshire. One specimen has been recorded from

Pembrokeshire in Wales.

THE ORACHE MOTH (_Trachea atriplicis_).

In the past this greenish-mottled brownish moth (Plate 126, Fig. 5) appears

to have been commoner, and more widely distributed in England than it now

is. Wilkes, in 1773, referring to it as "The Wild Arrach," states that it

was taken occasionally near London. At the present time the species seems

to occur only in the eastern counties, and chiefly in Cambridgeshire. In

June, 1904 and 1905, specimens (three in all) were obtained at sugar in

Huntingdonshire. The caterpillar is ochreous or reddish brown, dotted with

white; three dark lines on the back, the central one only distinct. A

yellowish stripe along the black-edged white spiracles; head light reddish

brown, glossy. It feeds in July and August on orach (_Atriplex_),

persicaria, knot-grass, and will also eat dock. The range abroad extends to

Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

NOTE.--It may be mentioned here that _Prodenia littoralis_, Boisd., an

inhabitant of tropical and sub-tropical regions, has {265} been

occasionally reared in this country from caterpillars found in imported

tomatoes.

THE SAXON (_Lithomoea_ (_Hyppa_) _rectilinea_).

The brownish clouding, and reddish-brown central band, of this species

(Plate 126, Figs. 6, 7) varies in tone; sometimes the band is olive grey

and the clouding rather grey than brown. The caterpillar, according to

Buckler, varies from dark brown to chestnut, ochreous, and orange browns;

the spiracular stripe pale ochreous or cream colour, shading off in the

middle to grey brown. It feeds from July to September, or later, on sallow,

bramble, bearberry (_Arctostaphylos uva-ursi_), and will eat knot-grass. It

hibernates when full grown, and pupates in the following spring. The moth

is out in May, June, or July, and is taken at sugar, chiefly in woods. At

one time it was found in Yorkshire, but Cumberland seems to be the only

English county in which it now occurs. In Scotland it has been taken in the

south. Renton states that near Hawick, Roxburghshire, he finds a few at

raspberry blossom every year. It is more plentiful, however, from

Perthshire to Sutherland. Kane notes it from Torc Wood, Killarney, near

Galway, and Clonbrock; and that the form is identical with that from

Aberdeen named _semivirgata_, Tutt. The range abroad extends to Siberia and

Amurland; and the North American, _xylinoides_, Guen, seems to be a form of

the present species.

THE FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH (_Diloba cæruleocephala_).

The greyish-centred white marks are the chief features on the brownish fore

wings of this moth (Plate 127, Figs. 1, 2). The first one, or both when

quite apart, is very like the figure 8; sometimes these marks are united,

and form an irregular blotch. Rarely the area between the black lines is

dark and the marks {266} obscured or absent. The caterpillar (Plate 133,

Fig. 1) is bluish grey, with a number of bristle-bearing black spots and

minute black dots; a stripe along the back is yellow and interrupted; a

yellow stripe low down along the sides. It feeds, from April to June, on

hawthorn, sloe, and wild crab; also on the leaves of apple, plum, and other

fruit trees. Sometimes these caterpillars are to be seen on the hedges in

numbers, and usually seem to prefer the outer extremities of the longer

shoots. The pale purplish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a strong somewhat

oval cocoon, which is covered with fragments of litter, and often attached

to some object, such as a bit of stick, leaves, etc., on the ground. The

moth is out in October and November, but is rarely seen, except

occasionally at gas lamps, etc. Generally common in the south and east of

England, and widely distributed throughout the rest of the country to

Cumberland. It has occurred in a few Clydesdale localities, and has been

recorded by Renton as sometimes common in Roxburghshire. Widely distributed

in Ireland, but not often plentiful.

THE GREEN BRINDLED DOT (_Valeria oleagina_).

Nearly eighty years ago Stephens summed up all that was known of this

species in Britain. As there is nothing to add in the way of later records,

his remarks may be quoted. "Very rare; specimens have been found in

Richmond Park, and one was taken in the pupa state by Mr. Plastead some

twenty or thirty years ago in Battersea Fields; others have occurred near

Bristol, and Mr. Donovan, I believe, captured one in South Wales; it has

also been taken in Scotland. My specimens were from the former locality,

and I have been fortunate enough to have had nearly a dozen examples at

various periods." Most of the later authors mention only the Welsh

specimen, taken at Fishguard in Pembrokeshire, July, 1800. A continental

specimen is shown on Plate 127, Fig. 5. {267}

THE BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC (_Heliophobus hispidus_).

This species (Plate 127, Figs. 6, 7) varies in the brown colour of the fore

wings, which is sometimes of a greyish tint; not infrequently the pale

cross lines are tinged with brownish, or they may be rather broad, and, the

submarginal especially, white and very distinct; the reniform and orbicular

marks are sometimes tinged with pink. The caterpillar (Plate 133, Fig. 3)

is pale rusty brown, with blackish markings, and three pale lines on the

back; head glossy and rather paler than the body, and marked with two

blackish lines. It feeds on grasses from September to March. The specimen

figured (slightly enlarged) was received from Mr. Walker of Torquay on

January 11, 1907. The chrysalis (Fig. 3A) is dull reddish, ring divisions

and wing-cases paler and brighter; two hooks on last ring. The moth is out

from the latter part of August to early October, and in its haunts, which

are cliffs by the sea, it may be found at night sitting on grass stems. It

is not known to visit flowers or the sugar patch, but has been taken at

light. Although previously taken in the Isle of Portland, the earliest

published record was that in the _Zoologist_ for 1849 of a specimen taken

on the sandhills at Exmouth, late in September. It still occurs at Portland

and at Swanage in Dorset; also in the Isle of Wight and along the Devon

coast to Cornwall. The range abroad is restricted, the species only being

noted from Southern France, North-east and Southern Spain, Sicily,

Palestine, and North-west Africa.

THE FLOUNCED RUSTIC (_Luperina testacea_).

Portraits of this moth will be found on Plate 128, Figs. 5, 6. The ground

colour of the fore wings ranges from very pale brown through greyish brown

to blackish. In some specimens the markings are very faint, and, excepting

the whitish submarginal line, are hardly visible. Usually there is a black

or {268} dark brown bar connecting the first and second cross lines; not

infrequently there is a black mark on the inner margin below the bar, and a

black mark or two in the cell above. These marks are sometimes supplemented

by others, and so form a more or less complete black central band. The

reniform and orbicular stigmata are often only outlined in paler brown, but

they may be whitish and very distinct. Var. _guenéei_, Doubleday, is pale

ochreous brown, with the first line pale, interrupted, and terminating in a

black dot on inner margin; and the second line made up of white-edged black

crescents; the reniform distinctly edged with white, and there is a slender

black line above the inner margin between the first line and the base of

the wing. Hind wings pure white, with black marginal lunules.

The caterpillar is pinkish ochreous; usual dots not in evidence; skin much

wrinkled and glossy; spiracles pink margined with black; head and plate on

first ring pale brownish yellow. Robson (Cat. Lep. of Durham, etc.) states

that the caterpillar feeds on grass roots, and adds, "I have known it

abound in the grass tufts at the foot of palings around a large mill." The

moth is out in August and September. At night it flies freely to light, but

is not known to visit any of the usual floral attractions or the

collector's sugar. Generally distributed and often common.

DUMERIL'S LUPERINA (_Luperina dumerilii_).

Fore wings ochreous grey or brown, two brownish streaks represent the basal

line; the space between the first and second cross lines darker, and there

is a darker band on the outer margin; the stigmata are pale inclining to

yellowish, and the veins below them are white. Hind wings whitish tinged

with darker on outer margin. Ab. _desyllesi_, Boisd., has almost

unicolorous fore wings, and this form, according to Staudinger, has been

found in Northern France and England. I have only seen a continental

specimen of this species, which is very local and somewhat rare abroad.

[Illustration]

Pl. 132.

1, 2. RUSTIC SHOULDER-KNOT.

3, 4. SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE.

5. DOUBLE-LOBED MOTH.

6-11. COMMON RUSTIC.

12. UNION RUSTIC.

13. FLAME MOTH.

[Illustration]

Pl. 133.

1. FIGURE OF EIGHT: _caterpillar_.

2. FEATHERED RANUNCULUS: _caterpillar_.

3, 3a. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{269} In his _Manual_, vol. i. (1857), Stainton states, "one specimen has

occurred in the Isle of Arran." Reference is made in 1885 (_Entom._ xviii.

73) to two specimens taken in the Isle of Portland in 1858, and three

others in 1859. Then, in the _Entomologist_ for 1902, Mr. Stockwell

records, from Dover, the capture of "a fine female of this rare Noctua, on

a gas lamp in this town, during the latter part of September."

THE STRAW UNDERWING (_Cerigo matura_).

This moth, both sexes of which are shown on Plate 128, Figs. 2, 3, is

readily recognized by the yellowish hind wings. The caterpillar is ochreous

or dull reddish brown; series of greyish brown marks along the middle of

the back, and a brown edged line on each side; a pale ochreous line edged

above with brown low down along the sides; head pale brown, with darker

streaks. It feeds from September to April, sometimes later, on grasses,

chiefly in dry situations. The moth is out in July and August. Generally

distributed throughout the British Isles, but in Scotland not recorded

north of Moray. In suitable localities it is common, and sometimes is the

only visitor to the sugar patch.

HAWORTH'S MINOR (_Celæna haworthii_).

In this reddish brown moth (Plate 128, Fig. 7) the reniform and orbicular

stigmata are white or broadly outlined in white, and the vein below as well

as the branches also white. The wings of the female are smaller than those

of the male, and the body is distinctly stouter. The white markings

referred to are sometimes obscured or absent, and such specimens are

referable {270} to var. _hibernica_, Haworth. The caterpillar is purplish

brown, with the usual raised dots darker brown; three pale lines along the

back, the central one least distinct; head and plates on first and last

rings reddish brown; spiracles black. From April to July on cotton grass

(_Eriophorum vaginatum_), feeding in the stems down towards the root. The

moth flies in August and September. It was first noted as British in 1819,

and Stephens in 1829 mentions it as common in Whittlesea Mere. Although

still occurring in the fens, the species is far more common on the moors

and mosses of Northern England, Scotland to the Shetlands, and in Ireland.

THE CRESCENT STRIPED (_Hama oblonga_ (_abjecta_)).

In its most frequent form this species (Plate 131, Figs. 5, 6) has the fore

wings greyish brown and somewhat shining; the markings, especially the

cross lines, indistinctly paler; the reniform is outwardly dotted with

white. Sometimes the ground colour is paler grey with black markings

arranged very similar to such marks in _A. gemina_, var. _remissa_ (Fig.

8).

The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather greyer; a

pinkish line along the back; head and plate on first and last rings shining

reddish brown. It feeds on grasses growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal

rivers, and ditches of brackish water: in the spring and until June;

perhaps from September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be

obtained at the flowers of marram grass as well as at sugar. The species is

found in most of the eastern and southern seaboard counties of England; at

Sandown and Freshwater in the Isle of Wight; in the fens of Huntingdon and

Cambridge; also occasionally in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Lancs,

Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in Moray and in the

Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland. {271}

THE LARGE NUTMEG (_Hama sordida_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 131, Figs. 1, 2) are pale ochreous

brown, much marbled with darker brown, and sometimes slightly tinged with

reddish; the pale stigmata and submarginal line are the most distinct of

the usual markings. The caterpillar is said to be very like that of _Apamea

basilinea_. The moth flies in June, and is not uncommon in most parts of

Southern England. It occurs in Lancashire and Cheshire, but is more

frequent in Yorkshire and Durham; also found in South Wales, and although

it has been obtained in the Shetlands, it seems to be very local and

infrequent in Scotland. Only twice recorded from Ireland, one specimen on

the Dublin coast, 1860, and one at Howth (Kane).

THE CONFUSED (_Hama furva_).

This darker mottled greyish brown moth (Plate 131, Figs. 3, 4) is very

similar to the typical form of _A. gemina_ (Fig. 7); the fore wings,

however, are distinctly broader at the base, the W-like angles of the

submarginal line are less noticeable, and this line is comparatively

straighter. The reddish tinge so usual in _A. gemina_ is absent in the

present species.

The caterpillar is ochreous tinged with pinkish, except on the first three

rings and the under surface; central line dusky; usual dots reddish brown,

as also are the head and plates on first and last rings. On grasses,

September to June, feeding chiefly on the shoots near the roots (condensed

from Buckler). The moth occurs from July to September, and may be obtained

at flowers of ragwort, scabious, etc., and freely at sugar, in rocky places

from Lancashire northwards through Scotland to the Shetlands. It also

occurs in Wales, and suitable places in Gloucester, Somerset, Devon,

Cornwall, and has also been recorded from Sussex. In Ireland found on

several parts of {272} the coast, but not plentiful. Abroad the range

extends to Amurland.

THE DUSKY BROCADE (_Apamea obscura_ (_gemina_)).

In its ordinary form the moth shown on Plate 131 is purplish brown, as in

Fig. 7, sometimes mottled with greyish or pale ochreous. A more ornamented

form is known as var. _remissa_ (Fig. 8), and the ground colour of this is

not infrequently pale ochreous brown, or almost whitish, with the black

marking very conspicuous. The caterpillar is brownish grey, finely striated

with darker; a yellowish white line along the middle of the back, and a

brownish ochreous stripe on each side of it; stripe along the black edged

spiracles greyish ochreous. It feeds from autumn till March on grasses in

moist situations. The moth is perhaps most abundant in the south, but it

occurs, in June and July, pretty well all over the British Isles; and

abroad its range extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE RUSTIC SHOULDER KNOT (_Apamea basilinea_).

The species shown on Plate 132, Figs. 1[male], 2[female], is found almost

everywhere in the British Isles, is generally common, and in many parts

abundant. Usually the pale brown fore wings are clouded or suffused with

reddish, but this tint may be absent, or the wings may be tinged with

greyish: the single black dash from middle of the base is the "Shoulder

Knot." The caterpillar, according to Barrett, is pale olive brown varying

to grey brown; a greyish white line along the middle of the back edged with

short undulating black lines; spiracular line a row of blackish dashes,

clouded with olive brown, or edged with greyish white and looped with grey

brown; head black, plate on first ring black and white striped. It feeds

from August to March on grasses, etc. The moth flies in May and June. {273}

THE SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Apamea unanimis_).

The fore wings are generally reddish brown mottled with darker, but the

reddish tinge may be almost absent; the reniform is more or less outlined

in white and there are two black streaks from the base. (Plate 132, Figs.

3[male], 4[female].) The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, sometimes

tinged with greenish; three dark edged pale lines on the back; spiracular

line pale edged above with darker; head, and plate on first ring, brown and

glossy. On grasses that occur in damp places, such as water meads, marshes

and fens from July to April. The moth flies in June and July. It is widely

distributed, and sometimes common in most moist localities throughout

England. More local in Scotland but occurring in Aberdeenshire, and on the

western side ranging to the Orkneys. Not frequent in Ireland, but has been

obtained in several parts. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.

THE UNION RUSTIC (_Apamea pabulatricula_).

The very distinctly marked, and sometimes brownish tinged, greyish white

moth shown on Plate 132, Fig. 12, is very local in the British Isles, and

apart from its reported occurrence in the Clyde and Tay districts of

Scotland, seems to be found only in some of the woods of South Yorkshire,

as near Rotherham, Sheffield (Wharncliffe Woods), and Barnsley. It has been

obtained in Cumberland; and Barrett states that formerly it occurred in

Norfolk. The caterpillar, which is little known, is said to feed on grasses

in May. The moth flies in August and early September. It is also known as

_connexa_, Bork. {274}

THE COMMON RUSTIC (_Apamea secalis_).

Following Guenée, British entomologists at one time knew this species as

_oculea_; afterwards it became the habit to label it _didyma_, a name given

to it by Esper in 1788. Just now the authorities insist on _secalis_,

Linnæus, being adopted. The species is an exceedingly variable one, and six

examples of it are shown on Plate 132, Figs. 6 to 11. The form with

blackish fore wings and a white reniform mark is var. _leucostigma_, Esp.

_Nictitans_, Esp., has brownish fore wings and a white reniform. _I-niger_,

Haw., is greyish or grey brown with darker central band, and the cross

lines united by a black bar. Ochreous or reddish ochreous specimens with

the front marginal area broadly and irregularly reddish brown, and the

outer margin bordered with reddish brown, are referable to var. _furca_,

Haw. Many other forms have been named. The caterpillar is green with three

reddish lines on the back; head and plate on the first ring pale brown,

also plate on last ring. In stems of grasses such as _Festuca_, _Dactylis_,

etc., also on wood-rush. From Autumn to April or May. The moth flies in

July and August, and is common everywhere in the British Isles; its range

abroad extends to Western China.

THE DOUBLE LOBED (_Apamea ophiogramma_).

This species (Plate 132, Fig. 5) is usually found in marshy localities, or

in gardens, over the eastern counties, and from Northamptonshire through

Bucks, and Hertfordshire, to Kent, and Surrey. The caterpillar feeds from

September on the shoots of _Phalaris arundinacea_ and the cultivated form

of that plant grown in gardens, and known as ribbon grass. Also said to

feed on _Poa aquatica_. When the grass dies down in the late autumn the

caterpillar enters the ground to hibernate, and {275} emerges in the spring

ready to attack the young grass shoots as soon as they appear. Where the

new growth of ribbon grass assumes a brown and withered appearance this

larva will probably be found at the bottom of the trouble. When nearly full

grown it eats down the interior of the thicker stems to the base. In colour

it is ochreous with a pinkish tinge; a pale brownish plate on first and

last rings, each edged with blackish and that on the first ring traversed

by a white line; head pale brown, glossy. The moth flies in July and

August, sometimes in June.

THE MARBLED MINOR (_Miana strigilis_).

Half a dozen specimens are shown on Plate 134, and these will serve to give

some idea of the range of aberration in this species. The most typical of

the species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 4; the farthest removed

from the type is var. _æthiops_, Haworth (Fig. 16). In the reddish var.

_latruncula_, Hübn., as figured by him, the most conspicuous character is

the white lower curve of the second cross line, as in Fig. 7.

The caterpillar is purplish brown above, and ochreous below; striped on the

back with pale yellow, and less distinctly on the sides; spiracles black

and very distinct; head and plates on the first and last rings of the body

ochreous brown and shining. Found in March and April, after hibernation,

feeding on the stems of various grasses. The moth is out in June and July,

and may frequently be seen at rest on palings, etc., but at night it often

abounds at sugar or honey dew. Generally distributed in the British Isles,

except perhaps in the islands of Scotland.

THE MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR (_Miana fasciuncula_).

In its typical form this species (Plate 134, Fig. 3) has the fore wings

reddish ochreous, with a darker central band, and {276} the cross lines,

especially the second, distinctly white towards the inner margin.

Sometimes, chiefly in Scotland, the ground colour is much paler,

occasionally almost whitish, and the band reddish (var. _cana_, Staud.,

Figs. 5, 8). There is a good deal of variation, both in the ground colour

and in that of the band; the latter is often smoky brown in pale specimens

of both sexes.

The caterpillar is of a pale flesh tint, rather inclining to greyish

ochreous, the dorsal stripe of a darker tint of the same colour well

defined on each side by the pale ground colour; next a very broad stripe of

pinkish brown, followed by a narrow stripe of the ground colour, faintly

edged below with pinkish brown; above the black spiracles is a stripe of

pinkish brown freckles; head and plates on first and last rings of the body

light brown, shining (Buckler). In the shoots of grasses such as _Aira

cespitosa_, in April and early May, probably after hibernation. The moth is

out in May and June, and its haunts are moist woods and marshy grounds,

generally. The species is widely distributed, and often common, throughout

the British Isles. Abroad it seems to have a very limited range.

THE ROSY MINOR (_Miana literosa_).

The ground colour is pale, or dark, violet grey, more or less clouded

inwards from the submarginal line, and on the basal area, with purplish; a

central reddish or reddish brown band is limited inwardly by the,

sometimes, whitish edged black first line, and outwardly by an almost

straight black line passing between the stigmata to the inner margin.

(Plate 134, Figs. 11, 14.)

The caterpillar is dingy ochreous yellow, with a dark purplish stripe,

enclosing a central line of the ground colour, on the back; spiracles

black; head dark brown, plates pale brown (Porritt). From September to

June, in stems of _Carex glauca_, _Dactylis glomerata_, and other grasses.

The moth flies in July and August, and although rare inland is pretty

generally distributed around the coasts of the British Isles; apparently,

from the Clyde area, confined to the east coast of Scotland, and not

extending north of Moray.

[Illustration]

Pl. 134.

1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16. MARBLED MINOR MOTH.

2, 5, 8. MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR.

11, 14. ROSY MINOR.

3, 6, 9, 12, 15. CLOAKED MINOR.

17, 18. LEAST MINOR.

19-21. SMALL DOTTED BUFF.

[Illustration]

Pl. 135.

1, 2. CLOUDED-BORDERED BRINDLE.

3. LIGHT ARCHES.

4, 5. CLOUDED BRINDLE.

6. REDDISH LIGHT ARCHES.

7, 8. SLENDER BRINDLE.

{277} THE CLOAKED MINOR (_Miana bicoloria_).

This is another variable species of the genus, and five specimens of it are

shown on Plate 134. The typical form (Fig. 3) has the fore wings more or

less brownish on the basal area, and whitish bordered with brownish on the

outer area. Very frequently these wings are pale, or dark, brown marbled

with darker brown, and with the stigmata and cross lines distinct, faint,

or absent. Fig. 15 represents a form from Ireland, which is uniformly pale

ochreous brown, sometimes reddish tinged. The caterpillar is yellowish

ochreous, tinged with pink; three dull reddish interrupted bands, each

intersected by a line of the ground colour; head reddish brown; plates on

first and last rings of the body pale reddish brown (Buckler). In stems of

grasses, such as _Festuca_ and _Aira_--April and May; probably after

hibernation. The moth flies in August and September, sometimes earlier. At

dusk it is often common in rough fields and grassy places near the sea.

Although found in some inland localities, it is more especially a coast

species, and as such is widely distributed over the British Isles to the

Orkneys.

THE LEAST MINOR (_Phothedes captiuncula_).

The pretty little moth shown on Plate 134, Figs. 17, 18, has the fore wings

brownish ochreous, tinged with reddish brown, and with a darker central

band and hind margin. Sometimes the whole basal area up to the white second

line {278} is reddish brown; and in a form from Ireland named _tincta_,

Kane, the coloration is somewhat similar to that of _M. literosa_. This

species was first discovered in Britain by Messrs. Law and Sang, in a

locality near Darlington, Durham, in 1854. It is now obtained in several

places in that county, and in Northumberland. Also found in North

Lancashire, Westmoreland, and once in Yorkshire. It occurs commonly in Co.

Galway and Clare, Ireland, and has once been taken in Killarney. There is

also a record from Perthshire in Scotland.

The caterpillar is dull ochreous, with a reddish tinge inclining to

purplish on rings two to seven; head reddish brown; plates on first and

last rings yellow brown, the former edged in front with darker brown;

spiracles black, three yellow spots on sides of rings two and three

(Buckler). On _Carex glauca_ and other sedges, eating down the stems close

to the roots. Will also eat ribbon grass--August to June. The moth flies,

often in the early afternoon, from late June to August. It seems partial to

rough fields, and hillsides, chiefly on the coast.

THE CLOUDED-BORDERED BRINDLE (_Xylophasia rurea_).

Of this common, generally distributed, and often abundant species,

portraits of the typical form (Fig. 1), and of var. _alopecurus_, Esp.

(Fig. 2), will be found on Plate 135. The ground colour varies from the

normal greyish white to a silvery white (var. _argentea_, Tutt), and

through yellowish shades to a reddish ochreous; the markings in all these

colour aberrations are more or less typical. In the var. _alopecurus_,

Esp., there are also gradations; thus _combusta_, Haworth, is dark greyish

brown; and a blackish brown, red tinged form is _nigro-rubidea_, Tutt. The

caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 4) is variable in colour, one form is ochreous

grey with three lines on the back, the central one white shaded on each

side with grey; usual dots and spiracles are black; head blackish and

shining. From {279} August to May on grasses. The range abroad extends to

Amurland.

THE LIGHT ARCHES (_Xylophasia lithoxylea_).

In this whitish ochreous species (Plate 135, Fig. 3) there is little

variation except that the darker clouding is more pronounced in some

specimens than in others. The caterpillar is brownish grey, tinged with

ochreous or with greenish; usual dots blackish, as also are the head and

the plates on first and last rings of the body. October to May, feeding on

stems of grasses, near the roots. The moth is out in June and July, and is

often seen on fences, etc., in the daytime. Generally distributed, and

common in most places throughout the British Isles. In Scotland, however,

it does not range north of Moray, and only on the eastern side.

THE REDDISH LIGHT ARCHES (_Xylophasia sublustris_).

Except that the fore wings are somewhat reddish tinged, and not so long,

this species (Plate 135, Fig. 6) is very similar to the last. The

caterpillar is also very like that of the Light Arches, but has more red in

its coloration. The moth is out in June and July, and affects limestone and

chalk localities, and these chiefly on the coast. In Berkshire and

adjoining counties it occurs in beech woods. Specimens have been recorded

from Kendal in Westmoreland, but Yorkshire has been considered the northern

limit of the species in England. It has been recorded occasionally from the

fens. Paisley and Bonhill are given as Scottish localities in the _Fauna of

the Clyde Area_ (1901). Widely distributed in Ireland but most abundant in

the province of Connaught.

_Xylophasia zollikoferi._ The home of this species would seem to be in

parts of Hungary, Russia and Western Asia, whence it very occasionally

finds its way across the continent {280} to England. Its British history is

as follows:--a specimen taken at Deal, by Mr. Harding, October, 1867; one

at Inverurie in Scotland, by Mr. Tait, September, 1871; and one at sugar by

Mr. T. A. Lofthouse at Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, September 26, 1903. Also

recorded from Norwich, September, 1905, and from Methley, Yorks, August,

1910. (Plate 153, Fig. 6.)

THE DARK ARCHES (_Xylophasia monoglypha_).

The five portraits of this moth on Plate 136 will give some idea of the

various forms it assumes. The blackish specimen is referable to var.

_infuscata_, White, and an extreme aberration of this form has been named

_æthiops_, Tutt. The caterpillar is greyish, inclining to brownish or

reddish; usual dots blackish; head and plate on first ring of body dark

brownish, and shining. August to September, feeding on grasses and

devouring the stems near the base. The moth is out from June to August,

sometimes in October and November. It occurs in all parts of the British

Isles and is often abundant.

THE CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Xylophasia hepatica_).

The most frequent form of this species (Plate 135) has the fore wings pale

brown, with well-defined black markings, but without distinct cross lines.

When the wings are more clouded and suffused with reddish or purplish brown

the paler ground colour shows up as cross lines, and these are more or less

edged with blackish (var. _characterea_, Hübner). The caterpillar (Plate

130, Fig. 2) is dingy brown with shining black dots; three pale ochreous

lines along the back, the central one most distinct; head black and

shining; plate on first ring of the body black crossed by white lines,

another on the last ring is blackish. Feeds from August to April on

grasses, but will also eat various low plants. The chrysalis (Fig. 2A)

which {281} is enclosed in a tender earthen cocoon, is reddish, blackish

between the rings, and the last ring, which is blunt at apex, is furnished

with four hooks. The moth is out in June and July. A common species in the

eastern and southern counties of England, but less frequent or rare in the

Midlands and northwards to Roxburgh in Scotland. Local and not numerous in

Ireland. Range abroad extends to Amurland.

THE SLENDER BRINDLE (_Xylophasia scolopacina_).

This is another species with reddish brown clouded, pale ochreous brown

fore wings. The ground colour may be whiter or redder than in the specimens

shown on Plate 135, Figs. 7, 8. The caterpillar (Plate 130, Fig. 1) is

dusky green above and whitish green beneath, the green shading into

blackish along the sides; a fine whitish line along the middle of the back;

usual dots black; head honey-brown and glossy, the jaws and a spot on each

cheek black. It feeds on the juicy lower part of the stems of grasses, such

as _Triticum_, but will also eat the leaves. In the spring, and till June,

probably after hibernation. The moth is out in July and August, and as an

uncommon event may be seen at rest on a tree trunk or paling. Stephens

(1829) refers to its occurrence in the London district, and it still

appears in woods around Highgate. It seems to be most plentiful in the

woods of South Yorkshire, and in the Sherwood district of Nottinghamshire;

but it has been found more or less frequently in several of the southern

counties of England, and also in some northern ones. Its range abroad

extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE BIRD'S WING (_Dipterygia scabriuscula_).

The curious wing-like marks on the blackish fore wings of this moth (Plate

137, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) are its chief features. The {282} stigmata

are outlined in black, but are rarely paler than the ground colour. The

caterpillar is reddish brown with yellow and black dots; three lines along

the back, the central one white with a black edging, and the others

blackish; head brown and glossy, marked with black; a blackish plate on

first ring is also glossy, and is followed by a black mark on the next

ring, both streaked with white. It feeds on dock, sorrel, and plants of the

genus _Polygonum_, in July and August. The moth flies in late May and June,

sometimes as a second generation in August or September. It occurs more or

less commonly in most southern and eastern counties from Oxfordshire. In

other parts of England, and in Scotland, it seems to be local or absent.

THE PURPLE CLOUD (_Cloantha polyodon_).

This moth is figured on Plate 137, Fig. 7. The first recorded British

specimen was taken at Yarmouth, in June, 1839. In 1855 a specimen, found in

a spider's web at Ashford, Hampshire, was exhibited at a meeting, held in

May, of the Entomological Society of London. Two specimens were taken in

1892; one at Folkestone, Kent, at sugar, and the other outside Norwich, in

Norfolk, at a gas lamp. In the _Entomologist_ for 1894, there is a record

of a specimen captured at sugar, July, 1891, at Clonbrock, Co. Galway,

Ireland. The species has a wide range abroad, extending eastward to

Amurland and Japan.

THE DEEP-BROWN DART (_Aporophyla lutulenta_).

In the south of England the species (Plate 137, Figs. 9, 10) is generally

of a dark brown coloration on the fore wings, and the markings are often

indistinct; but blackish forms also occur, although the latter are more

frequent northwards, and in Scotland and Ireland are the prevailing form of

the species. In black or blackish specimens, usually referred to

_luneburgensis_, {283} Freyer, the hind wings in the male, have the veins

more or less blackish and dotted with black beyond the middle; var. _sedi_,

Guenée, has the fore wings pale greyish with the markings distinct, and the

central area blackish.

The caterpillar is green, sometimes tinged with pink on the first three

rings; three brownish broken lines along the back, and a violet edged white

line along the spiracles. It feeds on grasses, yarrow, groundsel, dock,

plantain, gromwell (_Lithospermum_), and other low herbage; also on buds of

hawthorn and sloe in the spring. October to April. The moth is out in

August and September, sometimes later. It is found most frequently on the

coast, perhaps, but occurs in Cambridgeshire, Hunts, Oxfordshire,

Gloucestershire, Berks, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants, and Isle of Wight;

from Somerset to Cornwall; North and South Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and

Yorkshire, and apparently in all counties northward except Westmoreland.

Widely distributed in Scotland from the border to the Hebrides and Orkneys.

It is found only on the coast in Ireland, and chiefly in the north-west.

THE BLACK RUSTIC (_Aporophyla nigra_).

This black or brownish black moth (Plate 137, Fig. 8) has the outer edge of

the reniform stigma ochreous, and the cross lines are sometimes dotted with

the same colour. The caterpillar is green, yellowish-brown, or dull

purplish; first three rings often tinged with reddish; three darker, often

broken, lines along the back; line along the black-edged white spiracles

yellowish. It feeds on bedstraw (_Galium mollugo_), dock, plantain,

grasses, etc. October to May. (The egg is figured on Plate 139, Fig. 3.)

The moth is out in September and October. Chiefly a northern species, but

it occurs in some of the southern counties. It is, however, most frequent

in Northampton, Huntingdon, and Cambridgeshire; in Gloucestershire, {284}

and Wales, and in the Isle of Man, Cumberland, and Westmoreland. In

Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire it seems to be local or rare. It is

found up to Moray in Scotland, and is sometimes plentiful in Aberdeenshire,

Inverness, and Moray. Very local in Ireland, but Kane says that it is found

in the extreme north, south, east, and west.

THE FEATHERED BRINDLE (_Aporophyla australis_).

The fore wings are pale grey, sometimes darker clouded, chiefly on the

costa; the black cross lines, slender, wavy, but not always distinct; a

short black bar from middle of the base and one below it on the inner

margin; often two other bars, pretty much in a line with the basal ones, on

the central area; a row of black wedges on the outer area, near margin.

Hind wings white in the male, pale brownish grey in the female. Most of our

specimens, perhaps all, are referable to var. _pascuea_, Curtis. The

caterpillar is yellowish green tinged with reddish above; a pale reddish

line along the middle of the back has black V-shaped marks upon it, and

there is a series of black marks on each side; the line along the spiracles

yellowish; head green, brown freckled. Feeds, from October to April, on

grasses, catchfly (_Silene maritima_), etc. The moth, which is figured on

Plate 137, Figs. 3, 4, is out from late August to October.

This is a local species in England and occurs on the south coast; in Kent,

on the sand hills at Deal; in Sussex, on the downs at Brighton and Lewes;

also on downs on the Isle of Wight. Farther west it is found at Portland in

Dorset, and Torquay in Devon; thence along the Devon and Cornish coasts. In

Ireland it is obtained, according to Kane, on the coast of Wicklow and

Waterford, and is not scarce on the sand hills of Wexford Harbour.

[Illustration]

Pl. 136.

DARK ARCHES MOTH.

[Illustration]

Pl. 137.

1, 2. BIRD'S WING MOTH.

3, 4. FEATHERED BRINDLE.

5, 6. FEATHERED RANUNCULUS.

7. PURPLE CLOUD.

8. BLACK RUSTIC.

9, 10. DEEP-BROWN DART.

{285}

THE FEATHERED RANUNCULUS (_Epunda lichenea_).

This is a maritime species and is chiefly found in the Isle of Wight, the

Isle of Portland, and along the coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset,

Gloucester, and on the opposite Welsh coast. It is locally common in

Cheshire and Lancashire, and occurs on the coast of North Wales, in Flint

and Carnarvon. In Yorkshire it is not uncommon at Scarborough. Has been

recorded from the Lincolnshire coast and from Eastbourne. There are two

records from Scotland--Renfrew and Ayr. In Ireland it is common at Howth,

and abundant at Rossbeigh, Co. Kerry. This species, and the last two, have

a rather limited range abroad. On Plate 137 are portraits of two local

forms, Fig. 5 is from Portland, and Fig. 6 from Plymouth. It will be noted

that the former is greyish in tone whilst the latter is greenish and rather

larger. Similar local variation occurs throughout the range of the species.

The caterpillar (Plate 133, Fig. 2) is olive green inclining to brownish

above; along the back are darker markings forming a central stripe and a

paler interrupted stripe on each side; a pale stripe along the spiracles.

It feeds from autumn to May on various low plants. The moth flies from late

August to early October. The first British specimen is said to have been

taken in the New Forest in 1847; but in 1850 about a hundred were captured

at New Brighton in Cheshire.

THE BRINDLED OCHRE (_Dasypolia templi_).

The dull ochreous-brown moth shown on Plate 138, Fig. 1, has hardly any

well-defined markings, but the cross lines are generally darker, and the

reniform and orbicular paler. The caterpillar, which feeds in the stems of

cow-parsnip (_Heracleum sphondylium_) from April to August, is pinkish

ochreous with a rather darker stripe on the back; raised spots brown; head

{286} reddish brown. The moth flies in the autumn, and, after hibernation,

in the spring. It frequents rocky places on the coast and on hills. Its

range in England is pretty much as in the last species, but it does not

seem to occur on the south-east coast. In Scotland it is widely spread over

the country to the Orkneys, and has been found in the most northern isle of

the Shetlands, but it is generally uncommon. It has been taken near Dublin

in Ireland, and less frequently in Antrim and Donegal.

THE LARGE RANUNCULUS (_Polia flavicincta_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 138, Figs. 6 and 7), are pale grey,

clouded, and marked with darker; yellowish freckles at the base, and on the

central area and the submarginal line are usually, but not always, present.

Sometimes, chiefly in northern specimens, these wings are much suffused

with darker grey, approaching blackish. The caterpillar is green with a

yellowish or bluish tinge; a dusky line along the back, and a dark green

line along the black-edged white spiracles. It feeds on dock, groundsel,

plantain, and many other plants from April to July. The moth flies in

September and October, and, except in Kent, and perhaps Sussex, is rather

uncommon in the southern counties of England. It occurs, however, not

infrequently in the eastern counties, and through Oxford, Berks,

Gloucester, Somerset to Cornwall, and northward through Hereford and parts

of the Midlands to Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Durham.

THE GREY CHI (_Polia chi_).

Four specimens are depicted on Plate 138. Figs. 2 and 3 represent the sexes

of the type form, and Figs. 4 and 5, the greenish-grey var. _olivacea_,

Stephens. Both forms may be paler or darker, but the green tinge is apt to

fade out. Var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is a dark greyish suffused form. {287}

The caterpillar is green, inclining to bluish green above; the lines on the

back are whitish, edged with dark green; that along the black-margined

white spiracles is white, shaded above with dark green. It feeds on dock,

dandelion, groundsel, etc.; also on sallow and hawthorn, from April to

June. The moth is out in August and September. It prefers the open country

to woodlands, and is often seen resting on rocks, stone, or other walls,

and buildings. Except that it occurs in Devon and Dorset, the species seems

to be absent in the south of England, but its area of distribution extends

in the British Isles from the Midlands of England to Moray and Ross in

Scotland, and to Ireland.

THE BLACK-BANDED (_Polia xanthomista_).

The form of this species occurring in Britain is var. _nigrocincta_, Tr.

(Plate 140, Figs. 2, 3), which is pale grey, spotted with white, and

clouded on the central area with black. The typical yellow flecking and

dotting is in this form usually sparse, but occasionally it is prominent. A

specimen reared from a caterpillar taken in the Isle of Man was suffused on

the fore wings with bright orange.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, varying in tint, above and pale green

below the brown spiracles; the head is rather yellowish and very glossy. It

feeds on sea thrift (flowers), and plantain in its haunts, which are the

rocky coasts of Cornwall, North Devon, and the Isle of Man. In confinement

it will eat groundsel, dock, dandelion, lettuce, etc. Usually the

caterpillars do not hatch out until the spring, and then feed until June or

July; but they have been known to hatch in the autumn, and then to

hibernate. The moth flies in August and September, but, although it has

been taken at sugar and light, is more frequently reared from caterpillars,

which are readily found at night by those who may undertake the sometimes

{288} hazardous business of collecting them. The earliest known British

specimen was taken at a lighthouse near Padstow in Cornwall, and five years

later the moth was bred from a caterpillar found in the Isle of Man. In

1880 a specimen was taken at sugar in the middle of a small wood in South

Pembrokeshire. According to Hampson this, and the other two species usually

included in _Polia_, are referable to _Antitype_, Hübn. On the same

authority _nigrocincta_, Treit., is the earlier name for the present

species, as the figure of _xanthomista_, Hübn., was not published until

1827.

THE SPRAWLER (_Brachionycha_ (_Asteroscopus_) _sphinx_).

The black streaked and dotted, pale brownish grey moth (Plate 138, Fig. 8)

occurs, more or less locally, in most of the English counties from Norfolk,

Huntingdon, and Oxford, southwards; and from Gloucester northwards through

Hereford and Worcester, to Cheshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, to Darlington

in Durham, and Cumberland. It is, however, rare in the northern counties.

The caterpillar is yellowish green; three whitish lines on the back, the

central one broadly edged with green on both sides, and the others inwardly

by a dark line; the front ring is edged with whitish, and the head is

greenish. It feeds on the foliage of various trees, including oak, beech,

elm, ash, sallow, lime in May and June. The moth flies in November and

December.

THE RANNOCH SPRAWLER (_Brachionycha_ (_Asteroscopus_) _nubeculosa_).

The first British specimen was taken at Rannoch in the spring of 1854, and

in that Perthshire locality the species is still to be found, sitting on

the trunks of the birch trees in late March and in April. It has frequently

been reared from the egg, but the caterpillars must be sleeved out on

growing birch, or the mortality among them may be high. Even if they attain

the chrysalis stage, the moth may not appear the following spring, as it

has a habit of remaining in its shell for two winters, and sometimes more.

(Plate 140, Figs. 1[male], 4[female].)

[Illustration]

Pl. 138.

1. BRINDLED OCHRE MOTH.

2, 3. GREY CHI MOTH.

4, 5. GREY CHI MOTH, _var. olivaceæ._

6, 7. LARGE RANUNCULUS.

8. SPRAWLER.

[Illustration]

Pl. 139.

1, 1a. BLACK-BANDED MOTH: _eggs, natural size and enlarged._

2, 2a. GOTHIC MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis._

3, 3a. BLACK RUSTIC: _eggs, natural size and enlarged._

{289} The caterpillar is yellowish green, whiter on the back; the third

ring is obliquely marked with yellow on each side; the eleventh ring is

slightly raised and marked yellow, and there is an oblique yellow mark

above the claspers; spiracles white edged with black, and the usual dots

are pale yellow. It feeds on birch. May and June.

THE GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT (_Miselia oxyacanthæ_).

This moth, which in its typical form was known to the ancient fathers of

entomology as "Ealing's Glory," is shown on Plate 141, Fig. 2. The var.

_capucina_, Mill (Fig. 3), a purely British production by the way, has the

fore wings dark sooty brown, inclining to blackish. The caterpillar, which

has a white-marked and divided hump on ring eleven, is reddish or greyish

brown, with dark grey and greenish mottling; the back has three darker

lines along it, and there is a sort of diamond pattern in greyish between

the outer ones; rings three and ten striped with black; head reddish brown.

It feeds in April and May on hawthorn, sloe, crab, and apple. Widely

distributed throughout the British Isles, but apparently not found north of

Moray in Scotland.