(Photo by "A. Forester".)]
The fine Boarmid moth shown on Plate 135, Fig. 2, has all the typical
markings well defined. Occasionally the black cross lines are more
distinct, but sometimes they are more or less absent, or obscured. An
almost black specimen is mentioned by Barrett as taken in the Reading
district, Berkshire; and the same author states that a black example was
captured in the Midlands about the year 1887, but no other specimen was
observed until 1893, when a female was obtained, and from eggs deposited
smoky black moths were reared.
The caterpillar is very like an oak twig in shape, especially when in
repose. (See Fig. 18.) In colour it is reddish brown, inclining to ochreous
brown; brownish grey on the humps on rings 5 and 11, and on the skin folds.
It feeds on oak during the autumn, and, after hibernation, in the spring.
The moth is out in June and July, and may be found on oak trees rather high
up the trunks. When on the wing at night it will visit the sugar patch.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 134.
1, 4, 7, 8. MOTTLED BEAUTY, VARS.
2. SPECKLED BEAUTY.
3, 5. RANNOCH BRINDLED BEAUTY.
6. SEPTEMBER THORN.
9. LARGE THORN, VAR.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 135.
2. GREAT OAK BEAUTY.
1, 3. PALE OAK BEAUTY.
{309} The species occurs most frequently in the New Forest, Hampshire,
where, in some years, it is very common. Other English counties in which it
has been found, or still exists, are--Devon (Cann Woods), Dorset (Cranborne
and Bloxworth), Wilts. (Savernake Forest), Sussex (Abbots Wood, Charlton
Forest, Holme Bank, etc.), Surrey (Addington, June, 1902), Kent, Essex
(Epping Forest), Berks., Bucks., Warwick (Princethorpe Wood), Worcester
(Wyre Forest), Stafford (Cannock Chase), Cheshire (Dunham Park), York (wood
near Selby), Lancashire (Corporation and Quernmore Woods).
PALE OAK BEAUTY (_Boarmia consortaria_).
Some specimens are rather greyer, and the cross markings are occasionally
less distinct than in Figs. 1 [male], and 3 [female] on Plate 135, which
represent the typical forms of this species in England. Examples of a
blackish form have been noted from a wood in West Kent, and these are
apparently referable to the melanic ab. _humperti_, Humpert, but the
Kentish specimens I have seen had the second line of fore wings edged with
white, and a white submarginal line.
The caterpillar, which in shape is somewhat like that of the last species,
varies in colour. One form is greenish grey, with three lines, the central
one darker than those on each side. In another the colour is pale brown
mottled with reddish and a darker brown. It feeds on oak, birch, and
sometimes sallow, in July and August.
The moth is out in June and July, and specimens have been recorded as
captured in September. It may be found on the trunks of oak and fir trees,
and will come to sugar and light at night. Although local it is not
uncommon in the New Forest and other woods in Hampshire; also in Sussex,
Surrey, Kent. {310} and Berkshire. It has been recorded from
Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, and Dorsetshire; and as local and scarce in the
Lancaster district.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan, and in both countries it is
represented by var. _conferenda_, Butler.
SPECKLED BEAUTY (_Cleora angularia_).
Stephens, who in 1831 figured this insect as _Cleora viduaria_, Wien.
Verz., remarks, "All the examples I have seen of this beautiful species
were captured in the New Forest: the first about June, 1822, the remainder
in 1825 and 1826: I believe in the vicinity of Lyndhurst." Barrett states
that the late Mr. Samuel Stevens obtained a number of specimens "by
sweeping the upper branches of oak trees in the New Forest with a long
pole." This was in 1849; and between that year and 1872, about which time
it seems to have disappeared, the moth was found, by those who knew where
to look for it, in the Forest between Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst. Specimens
have also been taken, in the past, in Tilgate Forest, Sussex, by the late
William Tester, and by Mr. Merrifield, at Holm Bank, near Henfield, in the
same county. There have been recent rumours of its reappearance in the New
Forest, but I have been unable to ascertain anything definite about this.
The specimen depicted in Plate 134, Fig. 2, has been kindly lent by Mr. R.
Adkin.
The caterpillar, stated by Hofmann to feed on lichen growing upon oak and
birch, is brownish variegated with paler shades.
BRUSSELS LACE (_Cleora lichenaria_).
The greenish grey species shown on Plate 136, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female],
varies in tint; the fore wings are often clouded with olive, and
occasionally with blackish; there is frequently a tinge of {311} ochreous
between the black cross lines, but sometimes this area is flushed with
orange.
Two figures of the caterpillar will be found on Plate 133, Fig. 2. In
colour and marking it so closely resembles the greenish-grey lichen upon
which it feeds, that its detection thereon is not always easy. May and June
are the best months in which to collect the caterpillars (although they may
be found during the autumn and early spring), and they may then be jarred
from the lichen (_Usnea barbata_), etc., growing on branches of trees and
bushes, or searched for among the lichen on the tree trunks, or on wooden
pales and fences.
The species is widely spread over the southern half of England, but is more
or less rare from the Midlands northwards. It has occurred in South Wales;
and Kane states that it is widely distributed and locally common in
Ireland. In some parts of South Scotland it is not uncommon, and its range
extends to Aberdeen and Ross.
THE DOTTED CARPET (_Cleora jubata_).
This species (Plate 136, Figs. 3, 4) has long been known as _glabraria_,
Hubner, but as authorities are agreed that _jubata_, Thunberg, is an
earlier name, it must be adopted. The general colour is whitish, powdered
with dark grey and black; there are four black spots on the front margin
and from these blackish markings cross the wings, but only the first line
is generally distinct, although a second line, beyond the large black
discal spot, is sometimes clearly defined and entire; occasionally a
central shade and a submarginal line are both in evidence. The hind wings
have a black central spot and a blackish line beyond, but the latter is
often absent. Exceptional aberration takes the form of leaden black
blotches, clouds, and streaks on the fore wings, and dusky clouding on the
hind wings, chiefly on the basal area. {312}
The caterpillar is of a faint bluish green, inclining to greenish white on
the back; a row of black spots along the back, and a broken black narrow
stripe along each side. It feeds on tree lichens (_Usnea barbata_), etc.,
from September to June or July. Three figures of this caterpillar are given
on Plate 133, Fig. 3.
The moth is out in July and August, and may be found at rest on tree trunks
now and then, but is more frequently obtained by jarring the lichen-clad
branches of oak. Although it is known to occur very locally and somewhat
rarely in the counties of Wilts., Dorset, and Devon, the New Forest in
Hampshire is the English district where one is most likely to meet with
this species. It has been recorded from Cornwall (Falmouth district, 1904),
Hereford, Pembrokeshire, Carnarvonshire (Beddgelert), and Cumberland.
Charlton Forest, Sussex, has also been mentioned. In Scotland, Renton
states that it is generally common in Roxburghshire; it occurs in several
of the woods in Clydesdale, and has been noted from Argyllshire.
THE ENGRAILED (_Tephrosia bistortata_).
In the following brief remarks on _T. bistortata_, Goeze (= _biundularia_,
Borkhausen), I have included reference to _crepuscularia_, Hubner (=
_biundularia_, Esper). The former (which is also named _abietaria_,
Haworth, and _laricaria_, Doubleday) appears on the wing in March and
April, and there is a second flight in July and August. Moths of the second
generation are few in number and small in size, and are referable to abs.
_consonaria_ and _strigularia_, Stephens. A third generation of still
smaller moths has been reared. _Crepuscularia_ is out in May and June,
rarely in April; its caterpillar feeds in June and July or later; according
to Barrett, a second generation of the moth has occurred in August. One or
two moths have been captured in September or October, but whether these
were referable to _bistortata_ or _crepuscularia_ is not quite clear.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.