THE HERALD (_Scoliopteryx libatrix_).
Haworth (1802) gave this attractive species the English name of "Furbelow
Moth," but Harris (1782) had named it Herald Moth (Plate 22, Fig. 1).
In the majority of specimens the purplish, or grey-brown fore wings, are
more or less reddish tinged throughout, but occasionally the outer marginal
area is free of this tint; the orange red marks on the central and basal
areas are brighter in some specimens than in others.
The caterpillar, which feeds on sallow, osier, willow, and probably poplar
(a chrysalis having been found in a curled leaf of black poplar), is a
long, rather thin, greenish creature without any distinct markings, except
that when full grown the front rings have two black spots. It may be found
reposing on the upper leaves of its foodplant, from June to August. (Plate
25, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.)
The moth may be obtained at sugar, ivy-blossom, etc., from August to
October, and it seems that the earliest to emerge are those that first take
up hibernating quarters in barns, outhouses, roofs, belfries, and under
arches. In the spring it reappears, and may be met with even in June. A
specimen was taken at sugar on July 20, 1899, but whether this is to be
regarded as a very late date or an unusually early one, I cannot say.
Generally distributed throughout Great Britain and Ireland, but of the
Scottish Isles only recorded from Shetland. Abroad it ranges through Europe
to North-West Africa, and through Asia to Amurland and Japan; also in
temperate North America.
NOTE.--Stephens (1829) referred this species to the genus _Calyptra_,
Ochs., but in 1831 he adopted _Scoliopteryx_, Germar (1811). _Gonoptera_,
Latr., which has been frequently used, only dates from 1825. {64}