(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]
The moth appears in March and April, and, in the daytime, is often met with
at rest on posts, fences, and the trunks of trees; also upon stone walls,
but seemingly less frequently, probably owing to the moth being then less
easy to detect. At night it flies around sallow bushes and sometimes
settles on the catkins, but is always on the alert. {34}
THE SWORD-GRASS (_Calocampa exoleta_).
Except that the pale grey brown fore wings are more clouded with blackish
in some specimens than in others, there is little of importance to note.
Usually there are two black wedges pointing inwards from the indistinct
submarginal line, but occasionally one, or more rarely both, may be absent.
(Plate 14, Figs. 3 [male] and 4 [female].)
The caterpillar is green, with two series of white spotted black marks, the
line below these is yellow, and that lower down on the side is bright red;
the spots between the lines are white, encircled with black. From April to
May it feeds, often in the sunshine, as well as at night, on restharrow,
thistles, stonecrop, groundsel, dock, in fact on almost all low-growing
plants, as well as the foliage of some trees. The caterpillars of this and
the next species are exceedingly pretty creatures, and are sure to attract
attention whenever met with. Dr. Chapman notes that the caterpillar will
feed on stale leaves.
The moth emerges in the autumn, and seems to be on the wing until quite
late in the year, and is seen again as early as March, and thence on until
May. One male and two females captured at sugar, March 12 and 13, were
placed in a glass cylinder with various food plants, and a sprig of sallow
catkins, moistened occasionally with syrup, afforded nourishment for the
moths every evening. On April 13, two batches of eggs were noted on nettle,
but these were not fertile. On April 15 and 20 pairing took place; and by
May 3 over three thousand eggs had been deposited. On May 13 the two
females, being still alive, were set at liberty (Goodwin).
Although it certainly appears to be less frequently seen in the south than
northwards, the species is known to occur pretty well all over England and
Wales. In Scotland, where it is generally commoner than in England, except
perhaps in the {35} northern counties of the latter, its range extends to
the Orkneys.
Abroad, it is found throughout Europe (except the most northern parts);
Asia to Japan; and the Canaries.
THE RED SWORD-GRASS (_Calocampa vetusta_).
In this species the ground colour of the fore wings varies from whity brown
to ochreous brown with a slight reddish tinge. A greyish shade spreads from
the base along the median vein to below the reniform stigma in the paler
and more typical specimens; the inner area is dark brown, but widely broken
below the reniform by the grey suffusion. The specimens figured on Plate 14
(Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]) are from Sligo, Ireland, and are referable to
var. _brunnea_, Tutt. The inner area in this form is red-brown, or
inclining to blackish brown.
The caterpillar is green, with three yellow lines along the back, and a
reddish orange stripe along the area of the spiracles; a series of
black-circled white dots on each side of the central line; in the form
figured (from a skin) on Plate 8, Fig. 3, the lines on the back are white,
and the spaces between them black, dotted with white; the stripe along the
reddish spiracles also white, edged above with black; head, shining light
reddish brown. It feeds, from May to July, on various low herbage, such as
dock, persicaria, knotgrass, etc., also sedges and yellow flag.
The moth appears in September and October, and again in March and April,
but seems to have been noted at various times both earlier and later.
Mathew records that a female captured at sugar on June 11, deposited 36
eggs during the following week. These were laid in a chip box, and the
caterpillars hatched out on June 24, fed up quickly on knotgrass, attained
full growth by July 24, and pupated about that date. {36} One moth emerged
September 29, and five others, including three cripples, later.
This species is most frequent in Ireland and Scotland, being distributed
throughout the latter country to Orkney and Shetland. It has been noted
from almost every part of England, but does not seem to be plentiful
generally in the country.
The distribution abroad ranges to East Siberia and to North America.
THE MULLEIN (_Cucullia verbasci_).
Two specimens, representing both sexes, of this species are shown on Plate
15, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]. Sometimes the darker colour on the marginal
areas, especially the inner, inclines to blackish; while in some specimens
the whole of the fore wings is suffused with brownish.
The caterpillar is white with a greenish tinge, each ring of the body is
banded with yellow, has four black spots on the back, and some black dots
and lines on the sides; the head is yellowish, dotted with black. It may be
found in June and July quite exposed on mullein (_Verbascum thapsus_, and
_V. pulverulentum_); also figwort (_Scrophularia nodosa_, and _S.
aquatica_). Barrett states that it has been noted on _Buddlaea globosa_, an
American plant sometimes grown in gardens. These caterpillars are certainly
attacked by parasitical flies, but do not seem to be quite so frequently
"stung" as those of some other species of the "Sharks." The caterpillar
figured on Plate 18, Fig. 1, was obtained at Box Hill by Mr. Norman Riley.
The moth is out in late April and in May, and, except an occasional capture
at light, is rarely seen in the open. The caterpillars are probably
obtainable in most English and Welsh counties, especially the southern ones
of both countries, wherever there is an abundance of its food plants.
Except that McArthur found the species in the Isle of Lewis, in 1901, there
is no record from Scotland. In Ireland it has been recorded from Dublin by
Birchall; and in 1901 three moths were taken at Timoleague, Co. Cork, and
caterpillars later on were plentiful in the district.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 14.
1, 2. RED SWORD-GRASS, _male and female_.
3, 4. THE SWORD-GRASS, " " "
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 15.
1, 2. THE MULLEIN MOTH.
4, 5. THE STRIPED LYCHNIS.
3. THE WATER BETONY.
6. THE STARWORT.
{37}
THE WATER BETONY (_Cucullia scrophulariae_).
A good deal of confusion exists both in Britain and on the Continent as to
the identity of the _Cucullia_ figured and described by Capieux in 1789,
and by most authors since that time. I have received over twenty specimens
from Austria, Germany, and other parts of Europe, sent to me as
_scrophulariae_. As I have been unable to separate the majority of these
specimens from _C. lychnitis_, and the others from _C. verbasci_, Mr. F. N.
Pierce has been good enough to examine the genitalia of six of the males,
and of these he reports four are _C. lychnitis_, and two are _C. verbasci_.
In England we certainly have a _Cucullia_ sometimes appearing in the moth
state rather later than _C. verbasci_ and always earlier than _C.
lychnitis;_ the caterpillar producing it feeds on _Scrophularia nodosa_ in
July. It is, however, very local, and is found chiefly in North Kent, and
occasionally in the Eastern Counties. Mr. Pierce finds that the male
genitalia of a North Kent _scrophulariae_ sent to him do not differ from
these parts in _C. verbasci_, but Dr. Chapman informs me that he detects a
slight difference in one that he examined.
It must be admitted that the identity of the North Kent and East Anglian
_Cucullia_ with the _scrophulariae_ of Capieux is very doubtful, but we
evidently shall not be greatly opposed to Continental methods if we
continue to allow April and May moths resulting from Scrophularia nodosa
caterpillars to do duty for _C. scrophulariae_. I have therefore figured as
this species a specimen that was reared, with others, in April and May,
1877, from larvae obtained in the Dartford marshes. (Plate 15, Fig. 3.)
{38}
The caterpillar is of a whitish-grey colour; along the middle of the back
is a series of broad deep yellow triangles pointing backwards, each edged
on both sides by large confluent deep black spots, usually forming a
somewhat C-shaped marking, which encloses another yellow spot, and below is
followed by several black spots; behind all these, on each segment, is a
deep green transverse spotless band. The forms of the black markings,
composed of united spots, vary in the degree of union of these spots; each
anterior spot is confluent with the posterior one below it, but does not
unite transversely with the others; in one variety they resemble tadpole
forms united by the tails, in another these tails are as thick as the spots
and form blotched curves; and in still another they are so thick and
confluent as to include some of the side spots, thus completely edging two
sides of the yellow triangle with a blotched black border. (Adapted from
Buckler.)
THE STRIPED LYCHNIS (_Cucullia lychnitis_).
An example of each sex of this species is shown on Plate 15, Figs. 4 and 5.
The general colour of the fore wings is paler, and the streaks along the
front and inner margins are darker than in _C. verbasci_; and the outer
margins of the wings are less jagged.
The caterpillar (figured on Plate 18, Fig. 2, from a photo by Mr. H. Main)
is greenish white or yellow; the rings are cross banded with yellow and
spotted with black; usually the spots are united as in the figure,
sometimes they are smaller and well separated, and occasionally all but
those low down along the sides are absent. Coupled with decrease in size
and number of the black spots, there is variation in the width of the
yellow bands. _Verbascum nigrum_ is the more usual food plant in Britain,
but it will also eat _V. lychnitis_. It feeds, in July and August, on the
flowers and unripe seed capsules in preference to the foliage. {39}
Between sixty and seventy years ago, the late Mr. Samuel Stevens obtained
the caterpillars on mullein growing in a chalk pit at Arundel in Sussex,
and this seems to be the earliest notice of the species occurring in
Britain. It is now known also to inhabit Hampshire, Surrey, and
Oxfordshire; has been reported from Norfolk, Suffolk, and Gloucestershire.
THE STAR-WORT (_Cucullia asteris_).
The silvery-grey fore wings of this moth (Plate 15, Fig. 6) are broadly
suffused with reddish brown along the front margin, and more narrowly with
purplish brown inclining to blackish along the inner margin; the latter is
separated from a purplish brown blotch at the outer angle by a whitish
edged black curved mark.
The caterpillar (figured on Plate 18, Fig. 3, from a photo by Mr. Main) is
green with a black-edged yellow stripe along the back, and another along
the white spiracles; between these stripes are two pale greenish lines;
head, green, sprinkled with blackish. In another form the body is suffused
with reddish, inclining to purplish on the back; yellow markings pretty
much as in the green form. It feeds chiefly on golden-rod (_Solidago
virgaurea_) and sea star-wort (_Aster tripolium_), showing a decided
preference for the flowers, but will eat the foliage of the plants
mentioned. In confinement it can be reared on garden asters and Michaelmas
daisy. It may be obtained on its food plants from July well into September.
The moth emerges in June and July as a rule, sometimes in early August, but
has been known to come from the chrysalis during September up to the 23rd
of that month. The species is found often abundantly in the caterpillar
state in the seaboard counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Sussex,
Hants, and Dorset. In Surrey it has occurred at Haslemere, and in {40} the
Croydon district (?); and it has been recorded from Herefordshire and North
Lancashire.
The range abroad extends to East Siberia, Amurland, and Japan.
THE SHARK (_Cucullia umbratica_).
On the fore wings of this greyish species (Plate 16, Figs. 5 [male] and 6
[female]) there is some variation in the short black streaks on the basal
and outer areas, and in the dots around the stigma; the front margin is
sometimes brownish tinged. The hind wings of the female are always darker
than those of the male.
The caterpillar feeds on plants of the sowthistle (_Sonchus_) kind, also on
garden lettuce and the wild species. It may be found in August and early
September, but, as it feeds only at night, it should be searched for in the
daytime on the undersides of the lower leaves. In general colour it is
ochreous inclining to greyish, with an intricate raised pattern in blackish
on the upper surface; the head is black, and there is a yellow spotted
sooty brown plate on the first ring of the body.
The moth is to be seen in June and July, sitting on the upper parts of
palings, and other kinds of wooden fencing; also on tent pegs, etc.; but it
is not easy to detect even when its whereabouts is indicated. At night it
visits flowers of campion, sweet william, honeysuckle, etc.
Widely distributed throughout the British Isles to the Orkneys, but
seemingly more plentiful and regular in occurrence in the south of England
than in the north.
THE CHAMOMILE SHARK (_Cucullia chamomillae_).
Although somewhat similar to the last species, this moth may be
distinguished by the more brownish tinge of its grey fore wings. The hind
wings are also brown-grey in both sexes, but darkest in the female. {41}
Sometimes the central area of the fore wings is clouded with blackish from
the front to the inner margin; such specimens are referable to ab.
_chrysanthemi_, Hubn. (Plate 16, Figs. 1 typical, 2 ab.)
The caterpillar, which may be found in the summer months, is greenish white
with zigzag olive markings, the lines on the back meeting in the middle of
each ring, where there is a small pinkish blotch; head, pale yellowish,
striped with brown on the face. It feeds on wild chamomile (_Matricaria_),
stinking mayweed (_Anthemis_), and _Pyrethrum_ (Plate 18, Fig. 1). The Rev.
Miles Moss, writing his experience of this species at Rossall, near
Fleetwood, Lancashire, notes that until half-grown the caterpillars live
exposed, and are then found lying in a half-circle on the crowns of
unexpanded flower heads. At this time they are green with dark and also
white markings. He adds that caterpillars measuring about an inch in length
when collected, were preparing for pupation a week later.
The moth is out in April and May, and has been captured even in July. When
chrysalids are kept indoors, but not dry, the moths sometimes emerge in
March, and occasionally in the earlier months of the year. A habit more or
less general among the species of this genus is to remain in the chrysalis
state for two or more winters; the present species has been known to emerge
during March of the first, second, and third years following that in which
the caterpillars were found.
Widely distributed over England and Wales, but apparently most frequent in
the seaboard counties. In Scotland it occurs up to Perthshire, and it is
found on various parts of the Irish coast.
THE CUDWEED (_Cucullia gnaphalii_).
Portraits of two specimens of this very local species, kindly lent by Mr.
R. Adkin, will be found on Plate 13, Figs. 4 and 5. {42} The general
coloration is usually silvery grey, but occasionally it inclines to
yellowish. The moth has rarely been noted by day, and only one specimen
seems to have been captured on the wing. Even caterpillars are by no means
common in their best-known localities, and of those obtained after much
labour a large proportion may frequently prove to have been the victims of
parasitic flies.
The caterpillar is green, inclining to olive green, thickly freckled with
pale yellow atoms; a purplish-brown stripe along the middle of the back and
two faint purplish lines along the sides; a pale yellow line along the
region of the black-edged spiracles, which are set in purplish-brown
blotches. (Adapted from Buckler.)
Its food plant is golden-rod (_Solidago_) and it feeds at night and hides
by day, low down on the stems or under the leaves: July to September. In
confinement the caterpillars will eat garden aster and Michaelmas daisy.
The British haunts of the species are chiefly in Kent (Sevenoaks, Tunbridge
Wells, etc.), and Sussex (Tilgate Forest, etc.); but according to Barrett
it is also known from Hampshire, Surrey, and Essex. Abroad, the range
extends through Central Europe to Southern Scandinavia, Livonia, Southern
Russia, the Altai Mountains, Italy, and Armenia; but the species is nowhere
plentiful.
It may be mentioned here that a very closely allied, and on the Continent
common, species--_C. xeranthemi_, Boisduval--might easily be mistaken for
_C. gnaphalii_.
THE WORMWOOD (_Cucullia absinthii_).
This moth is shown on Plate 16, Fig. 4. The fore wings are usually tinged
with purplish over the greyish ground colour; black dots on the stigmata
give to each of these marks some resemblance to the figure 8. {43}
The caterpillar, which feeds on the flowers and seeds of wormwood
(_Artemisia absinthium_) and will eat mugwort (_A. vulgaris_), is best
found on sunny days. It is yellowish green, suffused with purplish grey on
the back of each ring; there are three pale green lines along the back, and
an ochreous grey plate on ring 1. To be found in August and early
September, but on dull days it must be sought for among the lower leaves,
or on the ground. When resting among the flowers it so closely harmonises
with them that it might easily escape detection.
The moth is out in July.
The species is perhaps most abundant on the South Devonshire coast, but its
range extends into Cornwall, and eastward to the Isle of Portland and the
Isle of Wight; it is not uncommon along the coasts of North Devon (Lee and
Croyde), Somerset (Minehead), and South Wales. It has also been recorded
from North Wales, and from parts of the Suffolk coast. In Ireland, a
specimen was taken in a garden at Cromlyn, Westmeath, in 1873, and more
recently two specimens of the moth, and also some caterpillars, were
obtained at Timoleague, Cork.
_Cucullia artemisiae (abrotani)_.
This species, of which a Continental example is represented on Plate 16,
Fig. 3, is apparently exceedingly rare in this country, and most probably
is not a native.
In the collection of the late Dr. Mason, which was dispersed at Stevens' in
1905, there were three specimens, each of which had seemingly been included
among series of _C. absinthii_ purchased at three separate sales. A fourth
specimen, also mixed with _C. absinthii_, was in the collection of the late
Rev. H. Burney. Two other specimens have been reported from Devonshire,
where, it is said, they were found sitting on a fence. {44}
The caterpillar feeds, in August and September, on wormwood and other kinds
of _Artemisia_. It is green with red raised spots, a white line along the
middle of the back, and a yellow stripe low down along the sides; head,
brown inclining to blackish above. The moth is out in June and July.
THE BEAUTIFUL YELLOW UNDERWING (_Anarta myrtilli_).
In its typical form (Plate 17, Figs. 1, 2) this species has the fore wings
purplish brown or blackish brown, whilst in var. _rufescens_, Tutt, the
general colour of the fore wings is reddish inclining to crimson, and the
white markings are clearly defined. In some dark specimens the markings are
more or less obscure, and in others only the central white dot is distinct.
The caterpillar is green, dotted and marked with white; there are three
rows of yellowish bars along the back, those forming the outer series
slightly curved. It is to be found on ling (_Calluna vulgaris_), also on
heath (_Erica_), from July to October, but it seems to be more frequently
obtained in early autumn. Occasionally it has been found in the spring.
Hawthorn has been mentioned as a food-plant (Plate 20, Fig. 1).
The moth has been taken in each month from April to August, but it is
perhaps most plentiful from May to July. The species occurs on heath and
moorlands throughout the British Isles, but so far it has not been recorded
from the Shetlands. It flies on sunny days and is very active on the wing,
but when the sun is obscured, or towards evening, it may be found at rest
on the heather sprays, usually at their tips.
THE SMALL DARK YELLOW UNDERWING (_Anarta cordigera_).
The pretty moth represented on Plate 17, Fig. 7, is only found in the
British Isles, on the mountains of Scotland, chiefly in Perthshire and
Aberdeenshire. Sometimes the basal area of the fore wings is suffused with
black, and to a lesser extent the outer area also (var. _aethiops_, Hoffm.
= _suffusa_, Tutt); on the other hand, typical examples have both basal and
outer areas silvery grey, and the central area black. A form, which I have
not seen, is described as having the black central area broken by an ashy
cross band passing between the stigmata (var. _variegata_, Tutt).
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 16.
1, 2. CHAMOMILE SHARK.
4. THE WORMWOOD.
3. _CUCULLIA ARTEMISIAE_.
5, 6. THE SHARK.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 17.
1, 2. BEAUTIFUL YELLOW UNDERWING.
3, 4. SMALL YELLOW UNDERWING.
5, 6. BROAD-BORDERED WHITE UNDERWING.
7. SMALL DARK YELLOW UNDERWING.
8, 9. THE PEASE BLOSSOM.
10, 11. BORDERED SALLOW.
{45} The caterpillar is reddish brown, with three white lines along the
back, and a reddish-freckled ochreous stripe low down on the sides.
Sometimes the general colour is blackish. It feeds on bearberry
(_Arctostaphylos_) in June and July; also said to eat _Vaccinium
uliginosum_; in confinement it will thrive on _Arbutus unedo_, commonly
known as the "strawberry tree."
The moth is out in May, when it flies in the sunshine, and in dull weather
sits about on the rocks, stones, lichen, etc. Mr. Cockayne notes that at
Rannoch he met with it from May 17 in numbers, but always in isolated spots
where bearberry was plentiful. Here the moths were either feeding on the
flowers or settled on the ground. He further remarks that this species
occurs at the comparatively low elevation of 800 to 900 feet, whereas the
next species ascends to 2000 feet.
The distribution abroad extends to Amurland and Labrador.
THE BROAD-BORDERED WHITE UNDERWING (_Anarta melanopa_).
This species has the ground colour of the fore wings greyish in the type
and brownish in var. _wistromi_, Lampa. Specimens with the fore wings more
or less typical, but with the normally white area of hind wings dark
greyish, are referable to ab. _rupestralis._ I remember seeing a specimen
of the last-named form in the collection of the late Mr. S. Stevens, but I
believe that it is very rare in the British Isles. In all forms there is
variation in the stigmata, and in the orbicular especially. (Plate 17,
Figs. 5 [male] and 6 [female].) {46}
The caterpillar is of a purplish pink colour, with a black-edged
ochreous-brown line along the middle of the back, broken up by
reddish-brown triangles; the stripe along the region of the black spiracles
is yellowish white flecked with red; the sides of the body above the stripe
are flecked with reddish, and above them is a yellowish-white line and some
black marks. Head, brownish, freckled with darker. It feeds at night, in
July, on bilberry (_Vaccinium myrtillus_), cowberry (_V. vitis-idaea_), and
can also be reared on strawberry tree, sallow, knotgrass, etc. In the
daytime it must be searched for under the leaves.
The moth is out in May and the early part of June, and is most active in
the sunshine, but flies on dull days when the weather is warm. It seems
confined to the higher level of the mountains, and its habits are similar
to those of the last species, but its range extends to the Shetland Isles.
The species was not recognised as British until about 1830, and the same
remark applies to _A. cordigera._
THE SMALL YELLOW UNDERWING (_Heliaca tenebrata_).
The fore wings are a little more reddish in some specimens than in others,
and occasionally the yellow of the hind wings is much reduced in area by
the expansion of the black border, or it may be suffused with blackish.
(Plate 17, Figs. 3 and 4.)
The caterpillar is green, with three lines along the back, the central one
dark green and the others whitish, bordered below with dark green; the
stripe low down along the sides is yellowish white, edged above with dark
green. It feeds, in June and July, on mouse-ear chickweed (_Cerastium_),
devouring the blossom and seeds, when young boring into the unripe capsule.
The moth flies on sunny days in May and early June, and is more or less
common in grass-bordered lanes, hay meadows, etc., in most counties
throughout the southern part of England. {47} In the midland counties it
appears to be far more local, thence to Durham (its northern limit in
England) it is generally scarce. It has been recorded from Pembrokeshire
and Flintshire, in Wales. A specimen has been reported from Robroyston,
near Glasgow, in Scotland. As the species has been obtained in Kerry and
Sligo, the probability is that it occurs in other parts of Ireland.
THE PEASE-BLOSSOM (_Chariclea delphinii_).
The beautifully tinted moth represented by Figs. 8 and 9 on Plate 17 was
known as British to Haworth (1802), but it had been figured by Wilkes in
1773, and by Moses Harris in 1775. In 1829 Stephens remarked that there
were then but few native specimens in British cabinets, among which were
examples from the Windsor district "caught about fifteen years since, in
June." He adds, the interest and value of these, and older specimens, was
lessened by "the execrable practice of introducing Continental insects into
collections." Stainton (1857) refers to the Windsor specimens only, and
Newman (1869) ignores the species altogether. In 1902 two specimens were
presented to the British Museum by Mr. J. F. Bennett, and are now in the
National Collection of British Lepidoptera. These were obtained at Brighton
in 1876 by the donor's father, but whether captured or reared is not known.
THE BORDERED SALLOW (_Pyrrhia umbra_).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 17, Figs. 10, 11) in its typical form
are yellow inclining to orange, with the outer area more or less tinted
with purplish. In a paler form, ab. _marginata_, Fab., the fore wings are
without the orange tint, and the outer area is rather greyish brown. {48}
The caterpillar (Plate 20, Fig. 4) is grey or greenish, speckled with
white, and with raised black dots; there are three lines along the back,
the central one white edged, broader and darker than the outer ones, which
are sometimes white; a white-edged pale yellow stripe low down along the
sides. In some examples the general colour is pinkish brown.
It feeds on restharrow (_Ononis_) in July and August, but can be reared on
knotgrass, and has been known to thrive on the green pods of the scarlet
runner bean (_Phaseolus vulgaris_). The moth flies at dusk in June,
sometimes earlier or later. It visits the flowers of various plants,
especially those of _Silene_ and _Lychnis_; also comes to the sugar patch
and may be attracted by light. Although not generally common, it seems to
be widely distributed over England and Wales, but is most frequent in the
seaboard counties, and this is more particularly the case in the north. In
Scotland it appears to occur from Berwick northwards to Moray, and in
Ireland it has been noted from several of the littoral counties, chiefly
southern, but also from Sligo.
The range abroad extends to the North-west Himalayas, Amurland, Corea, and
Japan; the species also occurs in North America from the Atlantic to the
Rocky Mountains.
THE MARBLED CLOVER (_Heliothis dipsacea_).
The ground colour of this species (Plate 19, Figs. 1, 2) ranges from
yellowish to ochreous with a greyish, or olive, tinge; the central band
including the reniform stigma is olive, or reddish brown, terminating on
the inner margin in a cloud extending towards the hind margin; submarginal
line preceded by a shade-like band similar in colour to the central one,
but often only well defined on costal and inner margins; the whitish area
of the hind wings is sometimes much reduced. The darker specimens are
typical of the species, whilst those with the paler ground colour and
brighter cross bands are referable to var. _maritima_, Grasl.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 18.
1. MULLEIN: _caterpillar_.
2. STRIPED LYCHNIS: _caterpillar_.
3, 3a. STARWORT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
4. CHAMOMILE SHARK: _chrysalis and cocoon_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 19.
1, 2. MARBLED CLOVER.
3. SPOTTED CLOVER.
4, 5. BORDERED STRAW.
6-8. SCARCE BORDERED STRAW.
9. PALE SHOULDER.
10. THE FOUR-SPOTTED.
{49} The caterpillar varies in colour, green of various shades, pinkish, or
purplish brown; three lines along the back, the central one with dark
edges, and the outer ones whitish, with dark lower edge; the line low down
along the sides is often whitish; but this, and also the other white lines,
may be replaced by greenish or yellowish. It feeds on various low-growing
plants such as restharrow, scabious, toadflax, white campion, bladder
campion, clover, etc., preferring the flowers and seeds. It has been found
from July to September. Sometimes it has been reared on the pods of the
scarlet-runner bean.
The moth, which is out in June and July, dashes about rapidly in the
daytime, and as it is partial to the flowers of the bugloss, or those of
clover, etc., it may be netted when feasting on the blossoms. It occurs in
meadows, on heaths, and on sandhills by the sea, in most of the southern
and eastern counties of England, but is only rarely seen northwards, and
has not been recorded from other parts of the British Isles.
Distribution abroad: the whole Palaearctic region less the extreme north;
also represented in North America by _phlogophagus_, Grote and Robinson.
THE SPOTTED CLOVER MOTH (_Heliothis scutosa_).
The very distinct-looking moth shown on Plate 19, Fig. 3, is exceedingly
rare in Britain, only about eleven specimens being authenticated. The
earliest-known British specimen was captured in a locality near Dalston, in
Cumberland, July, 1835. The next record is of three examples near
Skinburnness, also in Cumberland. Then, in 1875, one occurred in Norfolk,
at the Cromer lighthouse, and this was followed by another in 1876. In 1877
one was captured as it flew over clover at Weston-super-Mare. On September
19, 1878, a specimen was netted at {50} the flowers of ragwort on the shore
of Lough Swilly, near Buncrana, Ireland, and one is recorded as taken near
Aberdeen, Scotland, in July of that year. The late Dr. Mason had a specimen
said to have been taken at Attleborough, in Norfolk, June, 1880. The latest
recorded capture is that of a specimen taken by Mr. F. Capel Hanbury in a
clover field near Dartmouth, South Devon, September 4, 1900.
The range abroad extends through Central and Southern Europe eastward to
North India, North China; and southwards to North-west Africa. It occurs
also in the Western United States of America.
THE BORDERED STRAW (_Heliothis peltigera_).
Two examples of this species are shown on Plate 19, Figs. 4, 5. The fore
wings are pale ochreous brown, with a more or less reddish tinge; the cross
lines are not always distinct, but there is generally a dark dot on the
costal end of the first line, and a large olive-brown spot between the
second and submarginal lines; following the submarginal line is a pale band
of variable width, but always with a black dot (sometimes double) towards
its lower end. Very pale specimens are referable to ab. _pallida_,
Cockerell.
The caterpillar (Plate 20, Fig. 3, figured from a coloured drawing by Mr.
A. Sich) is green, with three darker green or reddish stripes along the
back; the stripe along the area of the spiracles is dark green, edged below
with white, but when the other stripes are reddish this is also marked with
that colour. Several other forms have been described, and the caterpillar
seems to be a most variable one. It feeds, from June to August, and again
in September and October, on many kinds of low-growing herbage, such as
restharrow (_Ononis_), clover (_Trifolium_), _Matricaria inodora_, etc.;
also on furze or gorse (_Ulex_), and thorn apple (_Datura_). The blossoms
and unripe {51} seeds are preferred in almost all cases, and flowers of the
garden marigold will be found useful when these caterpillars are reared in
confinement.
From eggs deposited by a female moth taken at Deal in the evening of June
17, 1904, the caterpillars hatched out in due course, fed up on wild
convolvulus, pupated at the end of July, and the moths emerged during the
last week of August and the first week of September. In another case, moths
were developed in about forty-seven days from eggs laid in mid-July. In
1907 six caterpillars were found in South Devon during the second week in
August, and one of these attained the moth state on September 3. Previous
to 1906, which was a notable one for the species, the moth seems not to
have been observed earlier than June, but in the year mentioned several
were taken at the flowers of valerian during May, at Torquay. Caterpillars
were plentiful on restharrow in the same district during June and July, and
an example, presumably, of a second generation was captured at bramble
blossom on August 11. In the same year and on the 15th of the month just
noted, a specimen was reared from a caterpillar found on _Ononis_, July 18,
and another specimen captured, August 24, as it flew in the sunshine on a
slope of the South Downs. In Clarendon Wood, near Salisbury, Wilts, one
example was taken at sugar, September 2, 1906. The species seems to be of
fairly regular occurrence in Devonshire and Cornwall, but it has also been
observed, more or less rarely, in many other English counties, chiefly
those on the coast; in Pembrokeshire and Glamorganshire, South Wales; a few
specimens have occurred in Co. Cork, and one in Co. Wicklow, Ireland. All
that appears to be known of this species in Scotland is that one specimen
has been recorded from Markton, Ayrshire.
Abroad, its distribution is extensive, ranging from Africa, the Canaries,
and Madeira to Central and Southern Europe, and through Asia to India. {52}
THE SCARCE BORDERED STRAW (_Heliothis armigera_).
This species (Plate 19, Figs. 6-8) has an almost universal distribution. It
is found in Europe, Asia, Africa, America, and Australia. As regards the
British Isles, it was first recorded by Mr. Edleston, who noted a specimen
taken at Salford, Lancashire, by Mr. John Thomas, in September, 1840. This
specimen, also one captured at Mickleham, Surrey, and others "taken in
various localities," are referred to in the _Entomologist's Annual_ for
1855. The following year one was reported from Exeter and one from the Isle
of Wight. The summer of 1859 was a hot one (as were the two previous
summers), and the species was recorded from the following localities:
Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Edmonton, Isle of Wight, Ramsgate, Torquay,
Weston-super-Mare, Worthing, and other places. Apart from the captures on
the Devonshire coast, chiefly at Torquay, where the moth seems to occur
pretty nearly every year, the records since 1859 are: 1866 (Scarborough);
1871 (Wakefield); 1876 (Hartlepool, and Kentish Coast); 1877 and 1881
(Gloucester); 1890 (Chatham); 1895 (Tunbridge Wells); 1901 (Isle of Wight);
1902 (Chester and Harwich); 1903 (Lewes). In all cases only single
specimens. The species has been noted once in South Wales, and twice in
North Wales; several specimens were secured in 1898 near Berwick-on-Tweed,
and odd specimens have been recorded from Ireland.
The caterpillar is variable in colour; in one form it is green with a
yellowish stripe along the sides, and in another the colour is purplish
brown. The form figured (Plate 20, Fig. 2) is pinkish brown with a
black-edged whitish line along the back, and a pinkish freckled and
brownish edged yellowish stripe along the sides; the raised dots are white
as a rule, but sometimes in the darker forms they are blackish. In some
examples of the green form the dots and lines are black. {53}
In 1869 two specimens of the moth were reared from caterpillars imported
with tomatoes from Spain; twenty-three years later Mr. Arkle referred to
the arrival here of _H. armigera_ in the larval state with consignments of
tomatoes, from Valencia, landed at Liverpool in the months of June and
July. The late Mr. Tugwell reared larvae, from eggs deposited by a captured
female moth, on scarlet geranium; and there is a record of the finding of
caterpillars on such plants, in the autumn of 1876, in the Isle of Wight.
Specimens of the moth found at large in Britain occur in the autumn.
In the United States of America, where it is known as the "Cotton Boll
worm," "Corn-ear worm," and "Tomato fruit worm," this caterpillar is
chiefly destructive to corn crops, as of the five generations stated to
occur during the year in the States three occur in cornfields. It also
attacks beans, tobacco, pumpkins, melons, oranges, garden flowering-plants,
and many kinds of wild plants. The British nurserymen and farmers are
perhaps to be congratulated on the fact that this moth is only an
accidental visitor and not a native.
THE PALE SHOULDER (_Acontia_ (_Tarache_) _lucida_, var. _albicollis_).
Only eight specimens of this species seem to have been noted in Britain,
and all these are apparently referable to the summer form, var.
_albicollis_, Fabricius. (Plate 19, Fig. 9.) Stephens, who figured it as
_solaris_, Wien Verz. (Haustellata iii., Plate 29, Fig. 3), states that the
specimen was in Marsham's collection, but that nothing farther was known
about it. He, however, mentions two other specimens "taken within the
Metropolitan area about ten years ago [that would be 1820] and four others
near Dover above six years ago." Dale fixes the date of Dover captures as
June, 1825. On August 25, 1859, a specimen was taken in a clover field at
Brighton. {54}
The species has an extensive range abroad, being found in Southern Europe
and North-west Africa to Madeira and the Canaries; also in Central Europe,
through Western and Central Asia to North India and East Siberia.
THE FOUR-SPOTTED (_Acontia_ (_Tarache_) _luctuosa_).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 19, Fig. 10) are sometimes finely
powdered with white, but more often the outer marginal area is distinctly
flecked with white. The conspicuous central spot is usually white, but
occasionally it has a pinkish ochreous tinge; very rarely it is reduced to
a narrow streak with a short spur from its outer edge. The white band on
the hind wings is sometimes narrowed and contracted below the middle.
The eggs are shown on Plate 23, Fig. 2. They were, when laid on June 17,
whity brown marked with reddish brown.
The caterpillar is ochreous greyish inclining to reddish or brownish; three
dark-edged stripes along the back, a dark-brown line along the black
spiracles, with two finer wavy lines above it; lower down there is a broad
stripe of reddish brown; head marked with four lines of black dots. It
feeds, at night, during June, July, and August (later in some seasons), on
the small bindweed (_Convolvulus arvensis_), and although it will eat the
leaves when nearly full grown it prefers the flowers and seeds in its
infancy.
The moth appears in May and June, and a second generation in August and
September. In the sunshine it is active on the wing, but in dull weather it
hides under herbage, in clover fields, chalky slopes, and rough places
where its food plant occurs.
The female will often lay her eggs in a chip-box when she is thus secured
after capture; the caterpillars are not difficult to rear if flower buds of
the bindweed can be obtained to start them upon.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 20.
1. BEAUTIFUL YELLOW UNDERWING: _caterpillars_.
2. SCARCE-BORDERED STRAW: _caterpillar_.
3. BORDERED STRAW: _caterpillar_.
4. BORDERED SALLOW: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 21.
1, 2. PURPLE MARBLED.
3. SMALL MARBLED.
4. SILVER-BARRED.
5. SILVER HOOK.
6. _THALPOCHARES PAULA_.
7. MARBLED WHITE-SPOT.
8. STRAW DOT.
9. ROSY MARBLED.
10, 11. SMALL PURPLE BARRED.
12. SPOTTED SULPHUR.
{55}
The species is especially common in the south-west of England, chiefly on
the coast, but it seems to occur in most suitable localities in nearly all
the southern counties, and its range extends to Gloucestershire on the west
and to Norfolk on the east. About seventy-five years ago Stephens used to
obtain specimens on a chalky ridge near Hertford, and recently the moth has
been found at Hitchin in North Hertfordshire.
THE PURPLE MARBLED (_Thalpochares ostrina_).
Two Continental specimens of this little moth are shown on Plate 21, Figs.
1 typical, 2 ab. _carthami_. An example of this species was obtained in
June, 1825, in a lane near Bideford, Devonshire, and Stephens refers to
this as the only specimen of the species that up to that time (1830) had
been noted in England. Nothing more was heard of _T. ostrina_ until 1858,
when another Devonshire specimen was taken, this time near Torquay, on June
8, and during the month several others were captured on the coast; two were
also secured in the Isle of Wight, and one in Ayrshire, Scotland. In 1865,
a specimen was recorded as taken in July a few years previously at Pembrey,
South Wales; 1880, one at Dover in September, and one near Swanage; Barrett
mentions specimens taken on the Culver Cliffs, Isle of Wight, in 1859.
It seems unquestionable that examples of this species captured in Britain,
and also of the other two _Thalpochares_ to be presently referred to, are
immigrants, and it is quite conceivable that besides the specimens captured
here, others which have escaped detection may also have arrived with them.
The distribution abroad is extensive, embracing South Europe, Turkey, Asia
Minor, Egypt, North-west Africa, Madeira, and the Canary Isles. It has also
been found in France and Germany, but its occurrence in the latter country
has been even less frequent than in England. {56}
THE SMALL MARBLED (_Thalpochares parva_).
This species, of which a foreign example is represented on Plate 21, Fig.
3, has a similar distribution to that of _T. ostrina_, only it does not
seem to occur in Madeira or the Canaries, and its eastward range extends to
Central and Southern India.
The fore wings are pale reddish ochreous; first line, oblique, dusky,
slightly waved on lower half, bordered inwardly with brownish and outwardly
with white; second line, dusky and irregular.
The earliest specimen noted in Britain was captured at Teignmouth, South
Devon, in July, 1844; another was said to have been captured at
Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, but it has been suggested that this specimen
might probably be referable to _T. ostrina._ Mr. E. Bankes has a specimen,
taken by himself on a salt marsh in the Isle of Purbeck, Dorset, June 8,
1892. This seems to be all that is definitely known of this species in
Britain, but others have been noted from the Isle of Wight and the Isle of
Man.
_Thalpochares paula._
The fore wings are white, clouded with pale brownish grey beyond the almost
straight and rather oblique first line, and also beyond the angulated
second line.
Of this species (Plate 21, Fig. 6) a specimen, now in the collection of Mr.
E. R. Bankes, was taken at Freshwater, Isle of Wight, in June, 1872. Two
other specimens, one of which seems to have been captured by a boy who was
collecting on the south coast, were recorded in 1873; these insects were at
that time in the collection of the Rev. H. Burney, and had been caught
several years earlier.
The range abroad extends through Europe and Asia to South Siberia. The
specimen figured is from Dresden. {57}
THE MARBLED WHITE SPOT (_Hapalotis_ (_Erastria_) _fasciana_).
The ground colour of the fore wings of this species (Plate 21, Fig. 7) is
brownish grey, more or less clouded and sometimes suffused with blackish;
the white patch on the outer marginal area is, in some examples, much
obscured by dark-grey markings, and in occasional specimens the only trace
of white on this part of the wing is a thin edging to the second line (ab.
_albilinea_, Haworth).
The caterpillar is pale yellowish, with a greenish, sometimes red, tinged
line along the middle of the back, and a brown one on each side; a reddish
line under the black spiracles; head, brownish; the raised dots of the body
are dusky edged with reddish. It feeds from July to September. A reddish
form of this caterpillar has been noted. Buckler, from whose description
the above has been condensed, states that the food-plant is blue
moor-grass, or purple melic-grass (_Molinia caerulea_), and this is
confirmed by Bignell, who remarks that in Devonshire he easily finds the
caterpillars "feeding about half way up the blades" of this grass.
The moth is out in June and July, or in forward seasons in late May. It is
partial to pine and larch trunks as a resting place during the day, and is
local and more or less frequent in most of the southern counties, from Kent
to Cornwall, through Somerset and Gloucester (extending into Oxford), to
Hereford and Worcester, on the west, and from Essex to Norfolk on the east.
A specimen was taken at light in Chester in June, 1901.
The range abroad extends to Japan.
THE SILVER BARRED (_Bankia_ (_Erastria_) _argentula_).
In its typical form this species (Plate 21, Fig. 4) has the colour of the
fore wings olive brown, but occasionally it is {58} tinged with reddish in
some English, and more generally in Irish, specimens. The silvery oblique
lines, or bands, vary in width, and sometimes there is a distinct spur from
the lower outer edge of the first band.
The caterpillar is yellowish green, with a rather darker green line along
the middle of the back, and a yellow one on each side of it. It feeds on
grasses, such as _Poa aquatica_ and _P. Pratensis_, etc., in July and early
August.
The moth is out in June, and may be found during the day sitting about on
the herbage in its marshy haunts, or flying over the vegetation towards the
evening.
The species is exceedingly local in Britain. In ancient times it occurred
in Norfolk, but in the present day it seems to be confined to
Cambridgeshire, in which county it was first noted rarely in Wicken fen
about thirty years ago, but in 1882 it was found plentifully in Chippenham
fen, and in that locality (which is a private one) the species still
flourishes. In Ireland it is well distributed over co. Kerry, and is
especially abundant on the bogs of Killarney.
The range abroad extends to Amurland, where the brownish form var.
_amurula_, Staud., is found.
THE SILVER HOOK (_Hydrelia_ (_Erastria_) _uncula_).
The usually olive brown central area of the fore wings is sometimes reddish
tinged, and in fresh specimens the whitish front marginal streak is
distinctly rosy; the reniform stigma, which appears to be a spur of the
costal streak, is also white or rosy tinged, and sometimes encloses a
greyish mark. This stigma is the so-called "hook" to which both the English
name and the Latin specific name refer. (Plate 21, Fig. 5.)
The caterpillar feeds in July and early August on sedges (_Carex_) and
coarse grasses. It is green, with three lines along the back, the central
one rather darker green, and the other two whitish; low down along the
sides is a broader yellowish line; the head is green with a yellowish
tinge.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 22.
1. THE HERALD.
2. THE DARK SPECTACLE.
3. THE SPECTACLE.
4. GOLDEN PLUSIA.
5, 6. BURNISHED BRASS.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 23.
1. CHAMOMILE SHARK: _caterpillar_.
2. THE FOUR-SPOTTED: _eggs_.
3. STRAW DOT: _caterpillar_.
{59}
The moth is out from late May to early July, sometimes later.
This is also a marsh-loving species, and is generally plentiful in the fens
of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire; in the Southern counties it is
either very local or, owing to its small size, has escaped detection, but
has been noted as occurring in Surrey (Wisley), Kent (Deal), Hants (New
Forest), Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, and Somersetshire; also in Yorkshire
(Askham bog), and in Cumberland. The Welsh counties in which it has been
found are Pembroke, Glamorgan and Carnarvon (Abersoch). It is locally
common in Clydesdale, and has also been reported from Kirkcudbrightshire,
and Perthshire. In Ireland it abounds in the boggy parts of Kerry, and is
more or less frequent in several other parts of Ireland. Near Castle
Bellingham, co. Louth, where it is common, a second brood was observed on
Aug. 1st, 1894.
Its range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
THE ROSY MARBLED (_Erastria venustula_).
Another local species, but a frequenter of drier localities than the last
two. This delicate rosy-flushed whitish moth first became known as a native
of Britain by the capture of a few specimens in Essex. Stephens, writing in
1830, remarks, "I have hitherto seen four examples only--a pair in my own
cabinet; one of the latter taken, I believe, in Epping forest by the late
Mr. Honey, the other by the late Mr. Bentley." No other British specimens
seem to have been recorded until 1845, when the late Mr. H. Doubleday, in
July, noted several of the moths disporting themselves over, or settling
upon, bracken in Epping Forest. For many years Loughton and some other
parts of the forest remained the only known English haunts of the species,
but in 1874 it was found commonly in {60} St. Leonard's Forest, Sussex;
later still, it was discovered in the Brentwood district, Essex. It still
occurs in all these localities, but appears to be now less frequently
noticed in the original one than formerly (Plate 21, Fig. 9).
The caterpillar feeds in July and August on the flowers of cinquefoil
(_Potentilla_), and is said to eat bramble blossoms also. Hellins describes
it as rich brown, with a row of eight dusky-red diamonds down the back,
enclosing the dorsal line of brighter red. The moth is out from the end of
May and in June; it may be put up from herbage during the day, but its
proper time of flight is in the early evening, and then only when the
weather is favourable. If cold or damp the insects will not get on the
wing. (Plate 25, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.)
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
THE STRAW DOT (_Rivula sericealis_).
This pale ochreous species, an example of which is represented on Plate 21,
Fig. 8, varies in the amount of darker shading or suffusion on the outer
marginal area of the fore wing; sometimes this is grey-brown or pale
reddish brown, but often there is no shading whatever, and in such
specimens the ground colour is usually very pale. The dark brown reniform
mark is always present, but the cross lines are more often absent than
present.
The caterpillar is green, with a darker green line along the middle of the
back, and a white stripe on each side of it, the inner edge of each of the
latter irregular; head, greenish grey, and the bristle-bearing raised dots
are shining green with a dusky cap. It feeds on _Brachypodium sylvaticum_,
but seems to accommodate itself to a diet of _Phalaris arundinacea_, and
would perhaps eat other grasses: August to May. (Plate 23, Fig. 3; after
Hofmann.)
The moth is out all through the summer months, and {61} frequents marshes,
damp rides and borders of woods, heaths, and where there is plenty of tall
grass.
The species is widely distributed over England and Wales, although it
appears to be rather scarce in the midlands and northwards. In Ireland it
is generally abundant, but in Scotland it has only been noted from the
south, and is there local and rare.
The distribution abroad includes Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
THE SMALL PURPLE BARRED (_Prothymnia viridaria_).
The fore wings of this species (Plate 21, Figs. 10 [male], 11 [female])
range in colour from olive grey to olive brown, and are frequently adorned
with two rosy-red (typical) or purplish bands (_aenea_, Haw.). In some
specimens the bands are of a dusky hue and not very distinct, whilst in
others the wings are of a uniform dingy brown tint (ab. _fusca_, Tutt).
The caterpillar (Plate 25, Fig. 2) is velvety-green above and paler
beneath, yellowish between the rings, with a dark green slender line
bordered by paler lines along the back, and three pale lines along the
sides; below the yellowish spiracles there is a broader pale line becoming
whitish on rings 9-12; head, green mottled with brown (adapted from
Hellins).
It is to be found in August and September on the common milkwort (_Polygala
vulgaris_). On May 31, 1906, I met with the moth in some numbers on a
marshy bit of heath in Surrey, where there was a plentiful growth of
lousewort (_Pedicularis_), but, so far as I know, no _Polygala_. All the
moths were much below the average size, the bands were mainly purple, but
in no case rosy. The moth flies in May and June, and specimens have been
captured both earlier and later. Except that it does not appear to occur in
the extreme north of Scotland, the species seems to be pretty generally
distributed over the British Isles, and is often very common in many parts.