THE SPOTTED SULPHUR (_Emmelia trabealis_).
Although this pretty black and yellow moth (Plate 21, Fig. 12) was noted by
Stephens (1830) as being occasionally captured in Battersea fields, and as
occurring near Margate, and elsewhere in Kent, it was not until 1847 that
the Breck-sand district of Norfolk, adjoining parts of Suffolk, and
Cambridge, became known as being inhabited by The Spotted Sulphur. The
vicinity of Brandon and Tuddenham is especially favoured by the species,
but it occurs in several other parts of the area. Occasionally, specimens
have been captured in various Kentish localities, and between thirty and
forty years ago single examples were taken in Hackney Marshes, Lower
Clapton (August 2), also in Wandsworth (at light, July 26). From these
facts it would appear possible that the species occasionally strays from
its haunts in the eastern counties and sometimes to a considerable
distance. Once, indeed, a specimen was found on a gas lamp at Exeter. On
the other hand, it is quite conceivable that such wanderers may have come
from abroad.
Some specimens are of a paler yellow than others, but there is rather more
noticeable aberration in the number and intensity of the black markings.
The caterpillar is reddish brown, with three darker lines along the back,
the central one pale edged; a pale yellow stripe runs along the region of
the spiracles, and has a fine brownish line running through it from end to
end. Another form is green with white lines. It feeds on the bindweed
(_Convolvulus arvensis_) in July, and has a second brood in September. The
moth, which rests among herbage by day, and flies towards evening, is found
in June, July, and August.
The species is found throughout Central and Southern Europe, its range
extending to Denmark and South Sweden; eastward it occurs in Asia Minor,
Syria, and through Asia to Japan. {63}