(Photos by H. Main.)
Generally distributed throughout England and Wales, and often abundant,
especially in the south. In Scotland, Renton states that it is common in
Roxburghshire, but there is only one brood; the range extends to
Sutherlandshire. Widely spread in Ireland and plentiful in some parts.
{276}
LUNAR THORN (_Selenia lunaria_).
A female of this species is shown on Plate 112, Fig. 4; the male is usually
more clouded with reddish. A second generation is sometimes raised in
captivity, and the males of this brood (var. _delunaria_, Hubner) are
somewhat paler, whilst the females incline to a yellowish tint. In Scotch
specimens, the reddish markings are tinged with purple; and ab.
_sublunaria_, Stephens, from Derbyshire, has the coloration very similar to
that of the spring form of _S. tetralunaria_.
The caterpillar is figured on Plate 113, Fig. 2. The ground colour is
usually some shade of brown, ranging from greyish or greenish to reddish,
variegated with darker or paler clouds, and with traces of pale lines on
the back. It occurs in the open from July to September, but may be reared
both earlier and later in confinement. It feeds on sloe, plum, oak, birch,
etc. The moth, in May and June, is sometimes seen on hedges or on the
plants growing below; or it may be jarred from the branches of trees, when
it is more apt to fall to the ground than to fly. Like others of this group
it is fond of light, and is frequently attracted thereto at night. The
species is rarely plentiful, and always more or less local, but it is
widely distributed over the British Isles to the Orkneys.
PURPLE THORN (_Selenia tetralunaria_).
On Plate 112, Fig. 5 represents a specimen of the spring brood, and Fig. 6
one of the summer brood (var. _aestiva_, Staudinger). The ground colour of
the typical form is whitish, sometimes tinged with grey, and sometimes with
pinkish; the patch at the tip, and the basal two-thirds of the fore wings,
also the basal half of the hind wings, are purplish brown, varying almost
to blackish; or they may be rich red brown. Var. _aestiva_ is rarely
whitish in ground colour, but this is frequently of a pinkish tinge, and
the darker portions of the wings are brownish, inclining to olive;
sometimes the general colour is ochreous brown with dark brown cross lines,
and a rust-coloured lunule at the tips of the fore wings. The hybrid
resulting from a female of this species that had paired with a male
_bilunaria_ has been named _parvilunaria_, Bastel. At the time it is laid,
the egg is pale olive green, but it changes to shining reddish, and just
before hatching to purplish black. (Plate 113, Fig. 1a.)
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 112.
1-3. EARLY THORN.
4. LUNAR THORN.
5, 6. PURPLE THORN.
7, 8. LILAC BEAUTY.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 113.
1, 1a. PURPLE THORN: _eggs and caterpillar_.
2, 2a. LUNAR THORN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
3. AUGUST THORN: _caterpillar_.
{277} The caterpillar is reddish brown, mottled with darker brown, and with
pale greyish. It feeds on birch, alder, oak, sallow, cherry, etc.: June and
July, and again in the autumn. (Plate 113, Fig. 1.)
The moth is out in April and May, and the second generation emerges in July
and August. A few specimens of a third generation have been reared in
October, but this is unusual.
The species is more or less local, and rarely common, at least in the moth
state; it occurs in all the southern counties of England, and a few
specimens have been recorded from some of the midland and northern
counties, and from South Wales. In Scotland, only noted from Rannoch,
Perthshire, and a specimen was reared on April 25, 1901, from a caterpillar
found at Dunkeld, in the same county, the previous autumn.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.
LILAC BEAUTY (_Hygrochroa_ (_Pericallia_) _syringaria_).
The sexes of this species are shown on Plate 112, and it will be noted that
the male (Fig. 7) is rather smaller and decidedly more brightly coloured
than the female (Fig. 8). An older English name is "Richmond Beauty,"
Wilkes. Figures of the curiously shaped caterpillar and chrysalis will be
found on Plate {278} 115, Figs. 2, 2a. The former is yellowish brown,
variegated with reddish and violet; it feeds on honeysuckle, lilac, and
privet, and may be beaten or searched for in May and early June, after
hibernation. I have found it commonly on privet hedges in the Mill Hill
district, Middlesex, but in woods, and especially in the New Forest, it is
obtained from honeysuckle. In my experience, the privet-feeding
caterpillars always produce larger moths than those reared from
caterpillars fed on honeysuckle. The moth emerges in June and July, the
former month chiefly in confinement, and from such early moths a second
generation may be obtained in the autumn.
Although most frequent in the southern half of England and Wales, the range
of the species extends to the northern counties; and single specimens have
been recorded from Durham and Northumberland, but the species has not been
noted in Scotland.
The distribution abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
SCALLOPED HAZEL (_Gonodontis bidentata_).
This species varies in ground colour, from pale whity brown through shades
of grey brown, olive brown, ochreous, and dark brown to black; the blackish
cross lines of the fore wings are generally edged with white, but the
edging is sometimes absent, and occasionally it alone remains distinct; the
central space enclosed by the cross lines is often darker than the general
colour, and not infrequently it is faintly reddish. Figs. 1 and 2, Plate
114, represent two of the more usual forms of the species. Fig. 3 is the
black ab. _nigra_, Prout, which occurs on the mosses of Lancashire, and in
Yorkshire.
The yellowish and brown mottled, purplish caterpillar is figured on Plate
115, where also are shown the eggs (turquoise blue, changing to reddish
brown), and the reddish brown chrysalis. The latter, which is twice the
natural size, is from a photograph by Mr. H. Main. The caterpillar feeds on
the foliage of oak, birch, sallow, hawthorn, sloe, plum, larch, etc.; it
grows very slowly, and may be beaten out in most of the months from July to
October. The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes earlier. Pretty
generally distributed over the British Isles, but not noted in the Orkneys
or Shetlands. The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 114.
1-3. SCALLOPED HAZEL.
4, 5. FEATHERED THORN.
6, 7. SCALLOPED OAK.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 115.
1, 1a, 1b. SCALLOPED HAZEL: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a. LILAC BEAUTY: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{279}
FEATHERED THORN (_Himera_ (_Colotois_) _pennaria_).
A more or less typical but rather small male specimen is shown on Plate
114, Fig. 4, but the ground colour is frequently more tawny in tint, and
sometimes it is much paler inclining to yellowish; the cross lines may be
either wider apart, or closer together, and the inner one is often clouded
with blackish; sometimes both lines become almost bandlike; the
submarginal, usually interrupted, line is occasionally well defined. The
female, often browner than the specimen depicted (Fig. 5) is frequently
tinged with purple, and occasionally with pink.
The batch of eggs, as deposited, was photographed by Mr. Main. The egg is
olive green with a ring of pale specks around the micropylar end. The
caterpillar is slaty grey inclining to purplish, with a series of not
clearly defined ochreous diamonds on the back and a row of ochreous dots on
each side; the raised points on the last ring are tipped with reddish
(Plate 116). It feeds on oak, birch, poplar, sallow, apple, hawthorn, sloe,
etc. April to June. The moth is out in October and November, but is seldom
noticed in the daytime; at night, the males are frequently seen at gas and
electric light. The species is generally common in woodlands, especially as
caterpillars, over the southern half of England and Wales, and occurs more
or less frequently over the rest of the country, also in Scotland to Moray,
and in Ireland. {280}
SCALLOPED OAK (_Crocallis elinguaria_).
Fig. 6 on Plate 114 shows the usual form of this species, in which there
are blackish dots on the outer margins of all the wings. Fig. 7 depicts a
form with the ground colour paler, and the outer marginal dots absent (ab.
_trapezaria_, Boisduval). The ground colour varies to almost whitish on the
one hand and to reddish buff on the other; the cross lines on the fore
wings are distinct as a rule, but may be faint, and occasionally are
entirely missing; the central space between the lines is most often
brownish, sometimes tawny, but not infrequently this area is but little
darker than the general colour. The blackish discal spot on the hind wings
varies in size and somewhat in shape, but this and also the line beyond,
are sometimes absent. Porritt (_List of Yorkshire Lepidoptera_) mentions
two gynandrous specimens. Eggs, pale grey, with darkish grey marking (Plate
116, Fig. 2b). The caterpillar, of which two figures from coloured drawings
by Mr. A. Sich are given on Plate 116, Figs. 2, 2a, varies from ochreous
grey to dark grey tinged with purple; the front rings are often paler
above, and the back has diamond-shaped marks upon it; the elevation on the
last ring is edged with black. It feeds on the leaves of most trees and
bushes during the spring. The moth is out in July and August, sometimes
earlier. A pretty generally distributed species throughout the British
Isles, but so far it has not been noted from the Hebrides, Orkneys, or
Shetland.
Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia.
ORANGE MOTH (_Angerona prunaria_).
Typical males of this species are orange and the females pale ochreous, all
the wings sprinkled or freckled with purplish grey. (Plate 117, Figs. 1
[male], 7 [female].) Ab. _corylaria_, Thunberg (Figs. 2 [male], {281} 8
[female]), is brownish on the basal and outer marginal areas of the fore
wings, and nearly the whole of the hind wings. The typical ground colour
appears on the fore wings as a central band, but as a rule this does not
quite reach the inner margin. Ab. _pickettaria_, Prout, is a modification
of the _corylaria_ form, in which the typical ground appears on the front
margin above the brownish basal patch, and also along the outer margin,
thus narrowing the brownish border on that area; in one male specimen the
right pair of wings were _corylaria_ and the left pair _pickettaria_.
Another modification has the basal and outer marginal areas "a nondescript
grey shade in the male and a golden brown in the female" (ab. _pallidaria_,
Prout). Ab. _spangbergi_, Lampa, is of the typical form, but is without the
dark freckles. Other aberrations have been named, and at least one
gynandrous specimen is known. The eggs, which are laid in June, hatch in
about twelve days. The caterpillars feed slowly until September or October,
and then hibernate; but it has been noted that when reared in confinement,
and supplied with privet, they nibble the stems during the winter.
Occasionally, a caterpillar will feed up and assume the moth state in the
autumn, but the usual habit is to complete growth in the spring, enter the
chrysalis state in May, and appear as moths about the end of that month, if
in captivity, or in June and July in the open. Various food plants have
been given, among which are hawthorn, sloe, plum, birch, lilac, privet, and
honeysuckle. The caterpillar is figured on Plate 118, Fig. 2.
The male flies in the early evening, but the female not until later. The
species frequents woods, and may be disturbed by day from among the bracken
and other undergrowth. It is more or less common in many woods throughout
the southern half of England, and its range extends northwards to
Yorkshire. In Ireland, it has occurred locally in counties Waterford, Cork,
Kerry, Limerick, Clare, and Galway. It has been {282} recorded from the
Isle of Arran, but not from the mainland of Scotland.
Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.
SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH (_Ourapteryx sambucaria_).
This conspicuous-looking insect (Plate 117, Fig. 6) is frequently seen in
gardens, lanes, and the outskirts of woods, pretty well all over England,
Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland, it seems to be rare and confined to the
south, but has been noted up to Glasgow. Very rarely the cross lines of the
fore wings are placed close together, but, except in the matter of size,
there is, as a rule, little variation.
The caterpillar, of which a figure, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich,
is given on Plate 118, Fig. 1, is brownish, variegated with reddish or
purplish. It feeds, from August to June, on the foliage of hawthorn, sloe,
elder, etc., but is especially partial to ivy.
The moth is out in July, and sometimes an odd specimen or two will appear
in the autumn; one was captured at Gravesend on October 22, 1904.
The species is represented in Amurland and Japan by the smaller and whiter
var. _persica_, Menetries.
SCORCHED WING (_Eurymene dolabraria_).
The crumpled or shrivelled appearance of the wings, coupled with the brown
coloration of the streaks and other markings on the wings, no doubt
suggested the English name of this species (Plate 117, Fig. 3).
The twig-like caterpillar is brownish, tinged with greenish or reddish, and
variegated with darker, especially along the back of the first three rings,
the hump on ring 8, and a cross stripe on the last ring. It feeds on oak,
birch, and sallow, from July to September.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 116.
1, 1a, 1b. FEATHERED THORN: _eggs, natural size and enlarged, and
caterpillar_.
2, 2a, 2b. SCALLOPED OAK: _eggs, natural size and enlarged, and
caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 117.
1, 2, 7, 8. ORANGE MOTH.
3. SCORCHED WING.
4, 5. BRIMSTONE.
6. SWALLOW-TAILED.
{283} The moth, which inhabits woods, and is out in late May and in June,
is sometimes attracted to sugar, but rather more frequently to light. It
is, however, far more rarely seen than the caterpillar, which has been
obtained in almost every English county up to Yorkshire. A specimen of the
moth has been recorded from Darlington, Durham, and one at Meldon Park,
Northumberland. It occurs in Wales and Ireland, but is hardly known to be
found in Scotland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
THE BRIMSTONE (_Opisthograptis luteolata_).
This generally distributed and often common yellow species (Plate 117,
Figs. 4 and 5) has the front margin of the fore wings marked with reddish,
and occasionally a stripe of this colour extends along the front margin
from the base to the tip; the discal mark is whitish outlined in reddish
brown; the wavy cross lines are often faint, and not infrequently quite
absent. White specimens, ab. _lacticolor_, Harrison, have been recorded
from Cheshire and Durham, and probably have occurred elsewhere, since I
have a specimen said to have been taken in Staffordshire; an orange-yellow
form has occurred in the last-named county. (Also known as _Rumia
crataegata_.)
The twig-like caterpillar is brownish tinged with greenish or purplish;
there is a double-pointed hump on the back of ring 6 and smaller
projections on 8. It feeds on hawthorn chiefly, but sometimes on sloe,
plum, etc. It may be found after hibernation in the spring, and a second
generation occurs in the summer.
The moth seems to have been noted in each month from April to August, but
it is most frequent in May and June. {284}
BORDERED BEAUTY (_Epione apiciaria_).
The orange-yellow moth whose portrait is shown on Plate 119 (Fig. 1) has
the outer margins, beyond the second blackish line, more or less shaded
with purplish grey, inclining to purple near the line; on the fore wings,
the first cross line is angled at the middle, and the second line runs to
the tips of the wings. Gynandrous specimens of this and also the following
species have been noted.
The early stages are figured on Plate 121, Figs. 2, 2a. The eggs, which are
laid in July and August on the food plant, are pale yellow at first, then
reddish, with white dots and patches. The caterpillars generally emerge in
the following spring, but sometimes, at least in captivity, they hatch in
about a fortnight, feed up quickly, and attain the moth state in September
or October.
Caterpillar, brown, with a greenish or ochreous tinge; along the back of
rings 3 to 6 is an ochreous patch, and within this a black mark, and on the
rings following 6 there are more or less distinct ochreous diamonds; a dull
yellowish line low down along the sides; head, dull reddish brown. It
feeds, in May and June, on willow, sallow, alder, etc. The moth is out in
July and August, and is not uncommon in many parts of Southern and Eastern
England. Its range extends through England, Wales, and Scotland to
Sutherland. In Ireland, it is widely distributed, and not at all scarce in
some northern localities.
DARK BORDERED BEAUTY (_Epione parallelaria_).
As will be seen on referring to Plate 119 the sexes of this species are
strikingly different. The male (Fig. 2) is very similar to the last
species, except that the first cross line is curved and reddish brown in
colour; the second line runs to the front margin before the tip, and the
outer margin beyond is almost entirely purple. The female (Fig. 3) has the
ground colour pale yellowish, and the outer borders narrowed, especially on
the fore wings. Very occasionally, the ground colour in the male approaches
that of the female. The eggs (Plate 121, Fig. 1) are pale yellow when
deposited, but afterwards become honey yellow, freckled with reddish, and
later they are red all over. The caterpillar is dingy brown, inclining to
greyish on the back of the first four rings, a dark mark about the middle
of the back, and on each side of this two slender whitish lines are fairly
distinct; underside, whitish tinged with pale violet. It feeds, in May and
June, sometimes later, on dwarf sallow and willow, birch, aspen, etc.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 118.
1. SWALLOW-TAILED: _caterpillar_.
2. ORANGE MOTH: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 119.
1. BORDERED BEAUTY.
2, 3. DARK BORDERED BEAUTY.
4. LITTLE THORN.
5, 6. SPECKLED YELLOW.
7. PEACOCK.
8. SHARP-ANGLED PEACOCK.
9, 10. TAWNY-BARRED ANGLE.
{285} The moth is out in July and August, sometimes later. Although odd
specimens have been recorded from Norfolk, St. Ives (Hunts), Newbury
(Berks), and Arundel (Sussex), the species is a northern one, occurring
chiefly near York (Sanburn Moss).
In 1863, two specimens were secured at Learmouth Bog, near
Cornhill-on-Tweed, and in 1890, Bolam found it at Newham Bog, on the
Northumberland border. Renton states that it is fairly common in good
seasons at Adderstone-lea Moss, Roxburghshire; and Salvage found it widely
distributed in Sutherlandshire.
LITTLE THORN (_Epione advenaria_).
This species (Plate 119, Fig. 4) is usually whitish, freckled and clouded
with grey brown; cross lines rather darker. The markings may be tinged with
ochreous, or with red (Sheffield).
A uniform brown-coloured specimen with white fringes has been bred
(Surrey).
The caterpillar is greyish brown, minutely freckled with blackish; two
white spots on front of ring 5, and two smaller {286} ones on 11; the rings
between 5 and 11 with pale diamonds on the back, and whitish marks on the
sides; head, black, white dotted. It feeds, in July and August, or even
later, on dogwood, bilberry, sallow, etc. Mr. A. J. Scollick, who kindly
provided the caterpillar figured on Plate 121, Fig. 3, informs me that in
rearing larvae from the egg he finds that they prefer dogwood as a pabulum,
and that in the locality where he takes the moth in June there is no
bilberry, but plenty of _Cornus sanguinea_. This local species, which is
out from late May well into June, is generally associated with bilberry,
but by no means confined to localities where this plant flourishes. In some
of its haunts it affects bramble, and in others rose. It occurs, in
woodlands, in Essex, Kent, Surrey (Leith Hill, Horsley, Chilworth, etc.),
Berkshire, and Oxfordshire (near Watlington), Sussex (Abbots Wood, St.
Leonards Forest, etc.), Hampshire (New Forest), Devonshire (Haldon), in the
West to Shropshire, and South Wales; Derbyshire and South Yorks.
The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan; thus it has a more
eastern distribution than either of our other species of _Epione_, which
only reach Amurland.
SPECKLED YELLOW (_Venilia maculata_).
This pretty blackish-spotted yellow species (Plate 119, Figs. 5 and 6)
varies somewhat in the tint of ground colour, but more so in the number and
size of the markings; occasionally some of these are united, forming bands
or blotches; or they may be reduced in number and size, leading up to ab.
_quadrimaculata_, Hatchett (Pinion-spotted Yellow), a form that used to
occur rarely in the Dartford district, Kent, and of which an example is
depicted on Plate 61, Fig. 2.
The caterpillar is green, with white lines and stripes; head, shining
green. It feeds, in July and August, on wood sage (_Teucrium_), woundwort
(_Stachys_), and dead nettle (_Lamium_). {287}
The moth is a lover of the woodlands, and as it flies in the daytime,
especially when sunny, will be almost certainly noted on the wing by any
one rambling through the woods in June, or even late May. It is generally
plentiful in the south and west of England, but although its range extends
through the northern parts of the country, and widely over Scotland to
Sutherland, it is more or less local and often rare in the northern area
indicated. In North Wales and South-west Ireland, it is local, but not
uncommon.
THE PEACOCK MOTH (_Semiothisa_ (_Macaria_) _notata_).
Whitish, with an ochreous tinge, and clouded with ochreous grey; three
indistinct cross lines on the fore wings, commencing as brownish spots on
the front margin; a larger brownish spot, inclining to reddish, on the
front margin beyond the angle of outer line, and a large blackish or
brownish divided spot below it; a shallow notch under the tips of the
wings, edged with dark brown, and fringed with smoky brown. (Plate 119,
Fig. 7.)
The caterpillar is green, with brown markings on the sides, or brownish
with green markings; head, black as a rule, but occasionally green. It
feeds, in late June and in July, on birch and sallow; there is a second
brood in August and September. The moth may be beaten out from birch bushes
in May and June, and again in July and August. Woods are its favourite
haunts, especially those where heather and small birch abound, but it is
very local in the south of England, although it occurs in most of the
counties from Kent to Cornwall. Barrett states that it is rather common in
heathy woods in Staffordshire and Cheshire, and Forsythe gives it as local
and uncommon in the Lancaster district; also recorded from Cambridgeshire,
Suffolk, Herts (Bentley Wood, 1901), and Gloucestershire; Glamorganshire,
South Wales; Inverness and Ross, in Scotland. {288}
SHARP-ANGLED PEACOCK (_Semiothisa alternata_).
Whitish clouded and suffused with greyish; fore wings crossed by three dark
lines, commencing in blackish spots on the front margin; a greyish band
follows the outer line, a reddish brown spot at the costal end, and a
blackish spot about the middle, the spot broken up by the veins, which are
here ochreous; a rather deep notch below the tip is edged with black and
fringed with blackish. Hind wings with a black central dot, and a greyish
band beyond. (Plate 119, Fig. 8.)
Mr. A. J. Scollick has recorded that some caterpillars, presumably about a
week old on June 24, 1905, went into chrysalis July 7 to 12. One moth
emerged July 18, but no other appeared until December 20. A third came up
on January 5, 1906, and a fourth on February 5.
The caterpillar is pale green, with reddish brown blotches on the sides,
and sometimes the back is also reddish brown. It feeds on alder, sallow,
and sloe, in June, and as a second generation in the autumn. (Eggs and a
caterpillar, the latter after Hofmann, are figured on Plate 123.) The moth
flies in May and early June, and occasionally in July or August.
This species, which is always local, is perhaps most frequently met with in
the New Forest, Hants, but it is not uncommon in some parts of the Isle of
Wight, Dorset, Devon, and Kent. Also noted from a few other southern
counties, and from Suffolk, Norfolk, and Westmoreland. In Wales, it has
occurred at Neath, Glamorganshire.
The range of this species abroad, and also that of the last, extends to
Amurland.
TAWNY-BARRED ANGLE (_Semiothisa liturata_).
The more frequent forms of this species are shown on Plate 119, Figs. 9,
10. In some examples the cross lines are almost absent, but in others they
are very distinct and blackish in colour; the orange yellow band in the
outer marginal area varies in width and in strength, but it is usually
present, even in the sooty brown form ab. _nigrofulvata_, Collins (Plate
61, Fig. 7), described from Delamere, Cheshire, also found in Shropshire,
and recorded from "Oakley Wood."
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 120.
1, 3. EARLY MOTH.
2, 4, 5, 6. SPRING USHER.
7, 9. SCARCE UMBER.
8, 10, 11, 12. DOTTED BORDER.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 121.
1. DARK-BORDERED BEAUTY: _eggs_.
2, 2a. BORDERED BEAUTY: _eggs and caterpillar_.
3. LITTLE THORN: _caterpillar_.
{289} The caterpillar (Plate 123, Fig. 2) is green, with white or creamy
transverse lines and stripes; head, reddish. Another form is pale ochreous
grey or brownish, with pale grey lines and stripes; head, almost black,
with purple tinge. It feeds on the needles of Scots pine (_Pinus
sylvestris_), in July and August, and occasionally in September and
October. A photograph of the chrysalis by Mr. H. Main, enlarged to twice
natural size, is shown on Plate 123.
The moth is to be found in fir woods, where it lurks among the branches or
sits on the trunks, or on the fallen needles on the ground. The moths of
the first generation appear in June and July and, where it occurs, the
second flies in August and September. Widely distributed over the British
Isles, but not noted north of Moray, in Scotland.
EARLY MOTH (_Hybernia rupicapraria_).
Although generally common, and often abundant, over England, Wales, the
south of Scotland, and Ireland, this species (Plate 120, Figs. 1 [male], 3
[female]) hardly ever comes under notice unless hedgerows and hawthorn
bushes are examined in January and February, by the aid of a lantern, after
darkness has set in. Then the males, and almost wingless females, will be
found in numbers, sitting at the ends of the twigs.
The caterpillar is whitish green, clouded with darker green, striped with
white along the back, and marked with white on the sides. The general
colour is sometimes very dark green, approaching black, and in this form
the white markings are {290} more striking. It feeds, in April and May, on
hawthorn, sloe, plum, and bilberry.
SPRING USHER (_Hybernia leucophaearia_).
[Illustration: FIG. 9.