(Photo by W. J. Lucas.)]
By some authorities the double-brooded _bistortata_ is {313} considered
specifically distinct from the, normally, single-brooded _crepuscularia_;
others hold the opposite view. The March and April moths are generally
rather browner in colour than those appearing in May and June, but I have
some specimens taken in Wiltshire at the end of March, which are quite as
pale as any example in the May-June series. Probably, we should be right in
regarding _crepuscularia_ as the older stock from which the double-brooded
race, _bistortata_, has sprung. The former has a more extensive range, as
it inhabits Northern Europe (Sutherlandshire in British Isles), whilst
_bistortata_ seems to be confined to Central Europe. A Perthshire form of
the May-June race is shown on Plate 136, Fig. 7; and an example of ab.
_delamerensis_, White, from Delamere Forest, Cheshire, is represented by
Fig. 8. Figs. 6 [male], 7 [female], represent examples of the March and
April race. Black or blackish forms, with the sub-marginal line more or
less distinctly white, occur in both races, chiefly in Glamorganshire,
South Wales.
{314}
A photograph, by Mr. H. Main, of the caterpillar, is reproduced on Plate
138, Fig. 3. The general colour is grey, inclining to yellowish or
brownish; sometimes it is reddish brown; two broken dark-grey lines on the
back, and some pale blotches on the sides. The caterpillars of the first
race (_bistortata_) feed in May and June, and again in August and
September. Those of the second race in June and July, or later. They seem
to eat the foliage of trees, including those in orchards.
NOTE.--Cross-pairings between _bistortata_ [male] and _crepuscularia_
[female] resulted in the ab. _ridingi_, Tutt, whilst the offspring of a
crossing of _crepuscularia_ [male] and _bistortata_ [female] have been
named _bacoti_, Tutt. Pairings of _bistortata_ [male] and _delamerensis_
[female] produce ab. _ridingi-suffusa_, Tutt; and those of _delamerensis_
[male] and _bistortata_ [female] = _bacoti-suffusa_, Tutt. Further,
_bacoti-suffusa_ will pair with _ridingi-suffusa_, or the last named with
_crepuscularia_; the progeny being in the first case _mixta_, Tutt, and in
the latter, _reversa_, Tutt.
BRINDLED WHITE-SPOT (_Tephrosia luridata_).
Two examples of this species (also known as _extersaria_, Hubner) are
depicted on Plate 137, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]. There is variation in
the amount of black speckling and in the strength of the cross lines.
The caterpillar is dull hazel or chocolate brown, often tinged with green;
a row of whitish dots on each side of a series of pale spots along the
middle of the back; rings 4 and 8 barred with black-brown or dusky rust
colour. Sometimes the general colour is green. (Adapted from Fenn.) It
feeds in July and August, or even later, on oak and birch, sometimes on
alder and sallow. The moth is out in May and June, earlier or later in some
seasons. In Britain apparently confined to England, where it occurs
locally, in woods, from Worcestershire {315} southwards to Kent and
Cornwall, and eastward to Norfolk and Suffolk. In the New Forest,
Hampshire, where it is often plentiful, it may be seen on the boles of
trees, but is more easily obtained after dark when it comes to the sugar
patch.
SQUARE SPOT (_Tephrosia consonaria_).
Two examples of this species will be found on Plate 137, Figs. 3 [male], 4
[female]. There is variation in the greyish or brownish speckling of the
wings, and this in some typical examples is so sparse that the wings appear
to be almost white with brownish basal band and brownish markings on the
outer area; the most conspicuous of the latter being the middle square spot
between the second and submarginal lines, more or less distinct in all
forms, to which the English name refers. In other specimens the wings are,
especially the front pair, densely covered with the dark speckling. Some
Surrey specimens, chiefly from the Leith Hill district, have an ochreous
tinge; and quite recently a black form of the species has occurred in a
wood near Maidstone, in West Kent. The last phase of aberration seems to be
unknown in any other part of Britain, and also, I believe, elsewhere.
The egg (Plate 138, Fig. 2) is yellowish green when laid; later it becomes
yellow, and orange red markings appear, chiefly at one end.
The somewhat wrinkled caterpillar is ochreous brown above, inclining to
greyish between the rings; an ochreous line along the middle of the back is
only clearly defined on the front rings; the under side is greenish
ochreous, and sometimes this colour extends to the upper side also; the
head, which is notched on the crown, is pale ochreous, more or less marked
with brown. It feeds at night, in June and July, on birch, beech, oak,
pine, etc. {316}
The moth is out in May and June, earlier in some districts. In the daytime
it may be seen on the trunks or boughs of trees, most frequently at too
great a height to be easily secured; but still a few sit low enough for
capture, especially on the trunks of fir trees. The species is a decidedly
local one, and seems to be largely confined, in Britain, to the southern
parts of England, Wales, and Ireland. It occurs in some of the woods of
Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall,
Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Essex, and
Suffolk. Edwards notes the species as rare at Malvern, Worcestershire.
Forsythe, in "A List of the Macro-Lepidoptera of Lancaster and District"
(_Entom._ 1905, p. 12), states that the moth may be found sitting on the
fir-tree trunks at the end of May, at Witherslack and Quernmore; and a
single specimen has been recorded from Upton, near Birkenhead, Cheshire.
The occurrence of _T. consonaria_ in the north of England seems open to
question. The only county in Wales appears to be Glamorganshire, as
mentioned by Barrett. Kane (_Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland_)
noted the species from Derrycunihy, and Mucross, Killarney, where he has
taken it in moderate abundance; he also gives Clonbullogue, in King's
County.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.
GREY BIRCH (_Tephrosia punctularia_).
Three examples of this greyish species are shown on Plate 137. The wings
are usually whitish grey in the ground colour, and sprinkled or dusted with
darker grey; there are three blackish, or black dotted, cross lines on the
fore wings, often indistinct, but rarely entirely absent, and even then
represented by black marks on the front margin. Sometimes the first and
third lines may be well in evidence and the central one absent;
occasionally the second line is placed quite close to the first; the
sub-marginal line is whitish, inwardly shaded with dark greyish, especially
at the middle and towards the front margin. The hind wings have two cross
lines corresponding with the first and third on the fore wings. There is a
good deal of variation in the amount of dark speckling, and this is
occasionally so heavy that the insect becomes dark grey in colour; I have
taken such specimens at Oxshott in Surrey. Dark aberrations are perhaps
more frequent in the north of England, but the species is more local and
less plentiful in that part of the country.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 136.
1, 2. BRUSSELS LACE.
3, 4. DOTTED CARPET.
5, 6. SMALL ENGRAILED.
7, 8. THE ENGRAILED.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 137.
1, 2. BRINDLED WHITE-SPOT.
3, 4. SQUARE SPOT.
5-7. GREY BIRCH.
8, 9. HORSE CHESTNUT.
{317} The caterpillar, which may be beaten from birch, and sometimes alder,
in July, is bright apple green with yellowish lines on the sides and back;
the ring divisions are yellow, and the head is tinged with that colour.
(Adapted from Porritt.) Sometimes the caterpillars are brownish, or
greenish grey in general colour. The moth, which is out in May and June,
will be found in woods, or on heaths, where birches grow. It rests on the
trunks of the trees and may be boxed, as a rule, with ease. On some
occasions, however, it is very lively, and the net will have to be brought
into action for its capture.
The distribution of this species extends through England, but it is far
more plentiful in the south than in the north, although it has been
recorded from several places in Yorkshire, and from Coal Law Wood in
Northumberland. It is found also in Wales, and in Scotland up to Moray. In
Ireland it is not frequent, but has been noted from Mucross, and the Upper
Lake of Killarney, in Kerry, and from Tinahely in Wicklow; Kane also gives
Clonbrock in Galway, and adds that "some specimens from this locality have
the spots very large on a clear whitish ground, so that they have a
superficial resemblance to _Cleora glabraria_."
The range abroad spreads to East Siberia, Amurland, and Japan.
NOTE.--Staudinger places the last four species in _Boarmia_, Treitschke;
but Prout and others refer them to the genus _Ectropis_, Hubner. The latter
will probably have to be adopted. {318}
HORSE CHESTNUT (_Pachycnema hippocastanaria_).
The rather long and somewhat oval fore wings of this species (Plate 137,
Figs. 8, 9) are brownish grey, inclining to purplish grey; the two cross
lines are blackish, edged with whitish, but generally indistinct; when the
lines are well defined, the enclosed central area is sometimes darker than
the other parts of the wings; there is a black central dot, and
occasionally there is a well-marked dusky central shade. Hind wings,
whitish, more or less tinged with smoky grey; frequently there is a dusky,
curved line beyond the middle, and this is sometimes outwardly edged with
whitish.
The caterpillar is greyish brown, dotted with black, and marked on the back
and sides with reddish brown. When at rest on the twigs of its food plant,
heather or ling (_Calluna vulgaris_), this caterpillar agrees so well with
its surroundings that it is not at all easy to see; at least, we may see
it, but fail to distinguish it from the twigs of the plant. It may be
obtained in June and July, and again in the autumn. (Figured on Plate 140,
after Hofmann.)
The first flight of the moth occurs in April and May; the second in August,
but specimens of the later generation are usually small in size and in
number, as compared with those of the early brood.
In Britain, this species has so far only been found on the heaths of Kent,
Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Berkshire, and
Suffolk; in all these counties it is more or less local, but it abounds in
some of its haunts. It has been recorded from Hereford, and Edwards states
that it occurs rarely in the Malvern district of Worcestershire.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 138.
1. SATIN CARPET: _egg and caterpillar_.
2. SQUARE SPOT: _eggs_.
3. THE ENGRAILED: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 139.
1-3. ANNULET.
4, 5. SCOTCH ANNULET.
6, 7. BLACK MOUNTAIN MOTH.
{319}
THE ANNULET (_Gnophos_ (_Sciadion_) _obscurata_).
In a general way, all the grey specimens of this species are referable to
the type form _obscurata_, Schiffermuller; the true type, however, appears
to be rare in Britain, even if it occurs at all. It is, perhaps, best
represented by well-marked dark specimens from limestone districts, or the
lighter ones from peaty ground. At Folkestone and in other chalky
localities on the Kentish coast, the bulk of the specimens are pale grey
inclining to whitish, usually with the black cross lines showing more or
less clearly. Sometimes the lines are obscured by heavy freckling (ab.
_woodiata_, Prout); not infrequently, at Folkestone chiefly, the inner and
outer areas are pale, more or less free of freckling, but the central area,
defined by black lines, is densely freckled; this is the banded form (ab.
_fasciata_, Prout). A form occurs on the chalk hills at Lewes in Sussex, in
which the wings are almost white, without freckling, but with distinct
black lines and rings (ab. _calceata_, Staudinger); a modification of this
whitish form from Lewes has been described by Prout as ab. _mundata_,
"Almost pure whitish, with virtually no markings, excepting the annulets."
On heaths in Surrey and Hampshire, and on the mountains of Aberdeen and
Perthshire, a blackish form occurs (ab. _obscuriorata_, Prout =
_obscuraria_, Hubner, 146); and sometimes specimens are found in which the
wings are of "an intense and almost uniform black" (ab. _saturata_, Prout).
In Devonshire and Cornwall, the species is darkish grey inclining to
brownish (ab. _anthracinaria_, Esper); whilst on the coasts of North Devon
and Wales it is of a slaty grey, more or less tinged with brown, and almost
without markings; the Welsh specimens are large, and the wings are rather
shining (ab. _uniformata_, Prout). A form, which I have not seen, of "a
sandy or reddish colour" is referred by Prout (_Trans. City of Lond. Ent.
Soc._, 1903, p. 39) to ab. _argillacearia_, Staudinger; it {320} occurs in
sandstone localities. (Plate 84, Figs. 1, Folkestone; 2, New Forest; 3,
Lewes.)
The rather rough and dumpy caterpillar is dark greyish brown above,
inclining to purplish brown beneath; the raised dots are capped with white,
and there is a pair of white-capped warts on the last ring (adapted from
Barrett). It feeds on rock rose (_Helianthemum_), cinquefoil
(_Potentilla_), salad burnet (_Poterium_), etc.; or the larvae may be
reared on groundsel, chickweed, and strawberry, both wild and cultivated:
September to May. (Plate 140, Fig. 2.)
Mr. A. J. Scollick kindly gave me some eggs, laid by a female taken in
Surrey; they were yellowish green at first, but changed to pale brownish.
The caterpillars hatched and seemed to thrive on groundsel, but they died
during the winter.
The moth is out in July and August, and is widely distributed in England,
but except that it occurs in Surrey, Berkshire, Herefordshire, and
Worcestershire, it seems to prefer the seaboard counties, and in them
chiefly affects localities near the sea. It is found in Wales, and in
Scotland up to Moray; but in both these countries and also in Ireland it is
most frequent on the coast.
SCOTCH ANNULET (_Gnophos myrtillata_).
This species (Plate 139, Figs. 4 [male], 5 [female]) was introduced, as a
species new to Britain, by Curtis, who described and figured it as
_Charissa operaria_ in 1826, from specimens captured in Scotland.
Subsequently, it was found to be the _obfuscaria_, of Hubner, and also the
_obfuscata_ of the Vienna Catalogue (1776). The latter, however, being only
a bare name without description, was not generally accepted, although, if
valid, it would be prior to Hubner. Still later the species was ascertained
to be the _myrtillata_ of Thunberg (1792), and as this name is much earlier
than _obfuscaria_ it is here adopted. As a matter of fact, both names are
in use, as that of Hubner applies to our ashy grey form of the species,
whilst that given by Thunberg belongs to the typical fuscous grey form.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 140.
1. HORSE CHESTNUT: _caterpillar_.
2. ANNULET: _caterpillar_.
3. BORDERED WHITE: _caterpillar, and chrysalis (enlarged)_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 141.
1, 2. NETTED MOUNTAIN MOTH.
3. FROSTED YELLOW.
4-7. COMMON HEATH.
8-10. BORDERED WHITE.
{321} The rather stout caterpillar is grey with darker lines and V-shaped
marks along the middle of the back, and dark-edged pale lines on the sides;
two erect whitish points on ring 12. It feeds on heather (_Calluna_), broom
(_Sarothamnus scoparius_), and needle furze or petty-whin (_Genista
anglica_), but it may be reared on knot grass. September to June, sometimes
later.
The moth is out in July and August, and frequents heaths, moor, and
mountain, in Scotland from Clydesdale (including Bute and Arran) to
Aberdeen and Ross, and the Isle of Lewis. A male specimen has been recorded
from Ireland (Dowros Head, co. Donegal, 1898). It may be found resting upon
rocks, stone walls, etc.; where these have suitable holes, crannies, or
projections they are selected as hiding places. Sometimes the moth has been
noted on the wing during the day, but at night it flies freely, and will
then visit light.
BLACK MOUNTAIN MOTH (_Psodos coracina_).
The smoky-grey species represented on Plate 139, Figs. 6 [male] 7 [female],
has two black lines on the fore wings; these are often edged with whitish,
and the space between them blackish; the submarginal line is whitish, and
the discal spot is black; the hind wings have a black central spot and two
pale lines or bands. The female is rather smaller and much paler. In both
sexes the central band of the fore wings is generally narrowed below the
middle, and sometimes it is completely divided at this point.
As regards the British Isles, this species is known only to occur in the
Highlands of Scotland. It is a day flyer, and very fond of sunshine, but
its favourite haunts are situated at elevations of from 2000 to 4000 feet.
{322}
NOTE.--Newman (_British Moths_, p. 68) figures this species as The Dusky
Carpet (_Mniophila cineraria_), and the insect, then known by the latter
name, is figured as _Psodos trepidaria_, a synonym of the present species.
In referring to this transposition of names, it may be well to add that _M.
cineraria_, catalogued as British by Doubleday, and stated by Stainton
(_Manual_ ii., p. 31) to have once occurred at Tenby, South Wales, can only
be regarded as an "accidental." The specimen, which is in the Natural
History Museum, at South Kensington, appears to be _Tephronia sepiaria_,
Hufnagel, which is the _cineraria_ of Hubner.
A moth, supposed to be a specimen of _Dasydia tenebraria_, Esper =
_torvaria_, Hubner, was reported as taken in Ireland "many years" before
1843, but at the present time that specimen, apparently, does not exist,
and there is no exact description of it extant.
NETTED MOUNTAIN MOTH (_Fidonia carbonaria_).
The white wings of this species (Plate 141, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]) are
freckled with blackish and crossed by black stripes; sometimes the
freckling is so heavy that the white ground colour is much obscured and
only distinctly seen as edging to the cross stripes.
The caterpillar is dingy ochreous or whity brown marked with wavy darker
stripes. It feeds at night on birch and sallow; _Vaccinium_, _Erica_,
bearberry (_Arctostaphylos uva-ursi_) have also been mentioned as food
plants.
In April and May, the moth, which is to be found locally, high up on the
mountains of Scotland from Perthshire to Ross, is on the wing, and flies in
the sunshine. Writing of this species at Rannoch in May (about 17th), 1905,
Mr. E. A. Cockayne remarks that the moths began to fly about noon, {323}
when they appeared on all sides and were fairly active on the wing.
The distribution abroad is northern and Alpine, and the range extends to
North-east Siberia.
FROSTED YELLOW (_Fidonia limbaria_).
This black-bordered orange-yellow species (Plate 141, Fig. 3) is not likely
to be confused with any other occurring in Britain. The wings are more or
less sprinkled with black, but this is usually most noticeable on the hind
wings which are sometimes thickly sprinkled, or, more rarely, the yellow
ground colour is entirely obscured. The form with a black discal spot on
all the wings has been named ab. _quadripunctaria_, Fuchs. In ab. _fumata_,
Mathew, the orange yellow is replaced by smoky umber brown, tinged with
orange, and dusted with black atoms (bred July, 1899).
The caterpillar is greenish with grey-edged yellowish lines along the back,
and a black-edged yellow one along the sides. The ground colour is
sometimes purplish brown. It feeds on broom chiefly, but will eat other
Genisteae. There appears to be two broods, one in June, and the other in
September, or earlier sometimes. The moth is out in May and early June, and
again in July and August, but it has been known to remain in the chrysalis
for four years. It flies in the sunshine, and when resting, it sits like a
butterfly, with its wings brought together over its back.
Stephens (1831) states that the species was "not uncommon among high broom
in the vicinity of Birch-wood in Kent." Later authors give Stowmarket
(common), Needham, Barham, and Ipswich, in Suffolk. There are no recent
records from the county of Kent; and not much has been heard of the species
from Suffolk, although it may still exist, in greatly reduced numbers, in
some of its old haunts therein. {324}
COMMON HEATH (_Ematurga atomaria_).
Four specimens of this variable species are shown on Plate 141 (Figs. 4, 5
[male], 6, 7 [female]). The general colour of all the wings in the male is
ochreous, inclining to whitish or to brownish. Usually the wings are
speckled with brown, and the cross lines, or bands, are dark brown.
Occasionally the cross markings are absent; but more frequently the three
lines on the fore wings are much broadened and more or less united,
sometimes forming a central band in which are a few ochreous scales towards
the front margin: ab. _obsoletaria_, Zetterstedt. Dark brown or blackish
specimens (ab. _unicolorata_, Staudinger) are captured now and then in the
southern counties of England, but such uniform dark varieties are more
frequent in the north (Staffordshire and Yorkshire). The female is white in
colour, and usually only lightly speckled with blackish; the cross lines
are more conspicuous, as a rule, than in the male, but they are subject to
pretty much the same kind of aberration. Sometimes examples of this sex
greatly resemble _Fidonia carbonaria_, and have been confused with that
species by Haworth and other entomologists in the past. An abnormal
specimen with six wings has been recorded, and Barrett mentions a
gynandrous example--the right side like a small dark female, and the left
an ordinary male; both antennae shortly pectinated.
The caterpillar, according to Fenn, is variable in colour and markings, all
shades of brown, greenish brown, ochreous, purple, and grey; in some
examples there are pale diamonds, and in others whitish spots, along the
back. It feeds on ling and heath, and will eat clover, trefoils, broom,
etc.: July and August, and occasionally September. The moth is out in May
and June, and sometimes there are specimens on the wing in August. Abundant
on almost every heath throughout the British Isles, except in the
Shetlands.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 142.
1. V-MOTH: _caterpillar_.
2. YELLOW BELLE: _caterpillars_.
3. BORDERED GREY: _caterpillar_.
4. GREY SCALLOPED BAR: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 143.
1, 2. BORDERED GREY.
3. V-MOTH.
4, 5. RANNOCH LOOPER.
6. BROWN SILVER-LINE.
7-9. LATTICED HEATH.
{325}
BORDERED WHITE (_Bupalus piniaria_).
Two forms of the male of this species are represented on Plate 141. Fig. 9
shows the yellow English form (ab. _flavescens_, White), and Fig. 10 the
white North English and Scotch forms. In southern localities, however,
specimens occur which are almost as white as the northern or even Scotch
examples; I have two such specimens from Surrey. There is considerable
variation in the size of area occupied by the pale colour, both in white
and yellow forms. In one of the former, from Forres, in Scotland, the white
is represented by a small oval spot and dappled streak on the fore wings;
an entirely black specimen (ab. _nigricarius_, Backhaus) has been noted
from Berkshire. In other specimens there is an unusually large proportion
of pale colour. The females are usually orange, or orange yellow, in the
south (Fig. 8); and yellowish brown, or dingy orange brown, in the north.
The brownish-coloured females occasionally occur in the south, and the
brighter form of this sex is sometimes taken in the Midlands, where the two
forms of the species seem to overlap.
The long, greenish caterpillar is marked with whitish or yellow lines;
those along the back are edged with black, and along the sides with dark
green. It feeds from August to October on the needles of the pine, and also
on other firs. (Plate 140, Fig. 3; Fig. 3a shows a photo of the chrysalis,
twice natural size, by Mr. H. Main.) The moth is out in May and June, later
in the north; it is generally common in pine woods throughout England,
Wales, and Scotland.
BORDERED GREY (_Selidosema ericetaria_).
Portraits of the male and female of this species (known also as _plumaria_)
will be found on Plate 143, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]. The cross markings
are more distinct in some specimens than in others, and the central one of
the fore wings varies in width. {326}
The caterpillar (Plate 142, Fig. 3, from a photograph by Mr. H. Main) is
grey, with a dark-brown or blackish irregular double line along the back,
and pale lines along the sides, the lower one edged above with reddish
brown; spiracles, black, as also are the dots on the back; the last ring
ends in a point. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds on ling (_Calluna_), from
September well on into the following spring.
The moth occurs on heaths and mosses in July and August, but it is local.
On warm days the males are very active, but about dusk they are not
difficult to capture. In southern England, the New Forest, Hants, appears
to be its special home, but it is also found in other parts of that county,
including the Isle of Wight, in Dorsetshire, and in Surrey; also noted from
Berkshire. It is scarce in Cheshire, fairly common on the Witherslack
mosses in North Lancashire, and at Ullswater in Cumberland. Except that it
has been recorded from the Isle of Arran (1882), it does not seem to have
been noted in Scotland. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and is
abundant at Kinsale, co. Cork.
THE V-MOTH (_Thamnonoma_ (_Itame_) _wauari_).
The popular name of this species (Plate 143, Fig. 3) refers to the black
discal mark on the more or less violet-tinged pale, greyish fore wings; but
there is a good deal of variation in this character. Occasionally the wings
are suffused with smoky (ab. _vau-nigraria_, Hatchett), or more rarely with
blackish brown (ab. _fuscaria_, Thunberg).
On Plate 142 is a figure of the caterpillar, from a coloured drawing by Mr.
A. Sich. The general colour is greenish, or some shade of brown; the lines
on the back are white, and that low down along the sides is broad, and
yellow; the raised dots are black with short bristles. It feeds in April,
May, and June on the foliage of gooseberry and currant, and is especially
fond of the tender shoots. {327}
The moth, which is out in July and August, is often common in gardens and
orchards where bush fruit is grown, pretty well throughout the United
Kingdom. It appears to occur only rarely in Ireland.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, and a form is found in Labrador.
RANNOCH LOOPER (_Thamnonoma brunneata_).
All the wings are of a rusty ochreous colour, sometimes, chiefly in the
male, inclining to a purplish tint on the fore wings; the brownish cross
lines are usually most distinct in the female, which sex Hubner figured as
_pinetaria_. (Plate 143, Figs. 4 [male], 5 [female].)
The caterpillar is reddish brown, with a black-edged dark-green irregular
line along the middle of the back; a white line on each side of the central
one, and following this are a dark-brown shade-like stripe and some
brownish-green lines; the line along the spiracles is whitish, inclining to
yellow. In general appearance it closely resembles a twig of bilberry
(_Vaccinium_), upon the foliage of which plant the caterpillar feeds in the
spring.
The moth is out in June and July, but in the British Isles it is only to be
obtained in Perthshire and northwards in Scotland. Black-wood, Loch
Rannoch, is the original, and a now well-known, locality for this species,
which Curtis in 1828 figured as _Speranza sylvaria_.
The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan, and to North America.
BROWN SILVER-LINE (_Lozogramma_ (_Phasiane_) _petraria_).
The two cross lines on the pale-brown, sometimes pinkish, fore wings, are
edged with whitish, but this is most distinct on {328} the outer one. In
some specimens there is a distinct submarginal line, but this character is
only faintly in evidence as a rule, and occasionally it is entirely absent.
(Plate 143, Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar feeds in June, sometimes earlier, on bracken or brake-fern
(_Pteris aquilina_). It is olive green marked with reddish brown lines, and
there is a whitish line under the black spiracles.
In most English and Welsh localities where bracken is plentiful, this moth
should be found in May and June; also in the south of Scotland, but its
occurrence in that country north of Clydesdale appears to be only casual.
It is common in several parts of Ireland.
The distribution abroad includes Amurland and Japan.
LATTICED HEATH (_Chiasmia_ (_Strenia_) _clathrata_).
In its ground colour this species (Plate 143, Figs. 7, 8 [male], 9
[female]) varies from ochreous of some shade to white. The dark-brown or
blackish cross lines and veins give a latticed appearance to the wings,
hence both the Latin and popular names for this insect. There is much
variation in the width of the cross markings; sometimes two or more unite
and so form bands; more rarely, perhaps, the outer lines are absent, and
the others broken up into dashes; or the blackish cross lines may be
slender and the veins remain of the ochreous ground colour (ab. _radiata_,
Haworth). A less frequent aberration has the wings dark brown or blackish
all over, except a row of whitish or ochreous spots on the outer margins
(ab. _nocturnata_, Fuchs = _nigricans_, Oberthur).
The caterpillar, which feeds on clovers and trefoils, is green, with white
lines along the back and sides; the slightly notched head is rather glossy,
and the mouth is brownish: June to September, in two broods.
The first generation of the moth is out in April and May, and {329} the
second in July and August. It may be found in clover fields and on chalk
slopes, etc., where the food plants flourish; although it is an active day
flyer, it is not difficult to capture with the net. It is most plentiful in
southern and eastern England, but its range extends throughout the United
Kingdom to Clydesdale, and the species is widely distributed in Ireland.
The distribution abroad extends to East Siberia, Amurland, and Japan.
GREY SCALLOPED BAR (_Scodiona fagaria_).
In its typical form this species (also known as _belgiaria_, Hubner) is
grey, more or less tinged with ochreous, speckled with brownish grey, and
crossed by black-marked brownish-grey lines. The bulk of British specimens,
especially those from southern localities, are whitish grey, thinly
sprinkled with darker grey scales in the male, and sometimes heavily
powdered in the female; a pair are figured on Plate 144, 1 [male], 2
[female]. The whiter form of the male, occurring in Britain chiefly in the
New Forest, Hampshire, has been named _albidaria_, Staudinger.
The roughened caterpillar is figured on Plate 142 (photo by H. Main). In
general colour it is dingy brown, with a whitish stripe along the back and
some greyish marking on the sides. It feeds on ling and heath; growing
slowly in the late summer, but more quickly in the spring, after
hibernation, when it may be obtained at night from the tips of the heather
twigs, either by searching or by means of the sweeping net. The moth is out
in June and July in the south, and later in the north. It is found on moist
heaths, moors, and mosses; when resting on the dark-coloured earth it so
closely resembles a stone that it is probably frequently passed unnoticed.
The species is apparently more plentiful in the New Forest than in its
other known southern localities (Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Sussex, and
Dorset). Its range northwards in England {330} extends from Worcestershire
(Malvern, rare) to Cumberland and Northumberland. It seems to be
distributed over the greater part of Scotland, including the Hebrides and
the Orkneys. In Wales it has been recorded from Flint, Denbigh, and
Carnarvon; and it is widely spread over Ireland, occurring chiefly on the
bogs.
BLACK-VEINED MOTH (_Scoria lineata_).
This slightly ochreous tinged silky white moth has the veins of the wings
blackish, and this is especially noticeable on the underside of the fore
wings. A male specimen is shown on Plate 144, Fig. 3; the wings of the
female are slightly smaller, and the body is stouter and shorter. This
species is the _dealbata_ of Linnaeus, but _lineata_, Scopoli, is older by
four years. The long caterpillar is greyish inclining to ochreous or
brownish; several irregular darker lines on the back and sides. It feeds,
in confinement, on knot-grass, dock, bird's-foot trefoil, etc., but in the
open is said to eat wood grasses, such as _Brachypodium_, upon the blades
of which the female moth has been seen to deposit eggs: July to May. The
moth is out from late May through June; it flies in the sunshine, or rests
among long grass, etc., from which it is readily disturbed. Its chief
British haunts are in Kent (Higham, Wye, etc.); but it has been recorded
from Sussex, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucester, and Herefordshire, chiefly in
single specimens.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.
STRAW BELLE (_Aspilates gilvaria_).
This straw-coloured species (Plate 144, Fig. 4 [male], 6 [female]) will be
easily recognised by the brownish stripe on the fore wings, which extends
from the front margin, near the tip, almost to the inner {331} margin; this
is sometimes faint, but rarely quite absent. The hind wings are paler and
have a dusky central dot and incomplete band. The caterpillar, which in
shape is somewhat similar to that of the next species, is ochreous grey
inclining to pinkish on the sides; a dark almost blackish line along the
middle of the back is edged on each side with pale ochreous, and there are
other pale and dark lines along the sides. It feeds on thyme, cinquefoil,
yarrow, and other low-growing plants; it may be reared on knot grass:
September to June. The moth is out in July and August, and, although very
local, is not uncommon on downs and hilly fields on the chalk in Kent and
Surrey--Dover, Folkestone, and Rochester in the former county, and
Leatherhead, Box Hill, and Reigate in the latter, are the best-known
localities. It has also been reported from Sussex (Brighton, Horsham, near
Polgate, Shoreham). In Devonshire it is said to occur at Braunton and
Ilfracombe, but is scarce. In his catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Suffolk
(1890) the Rev. E. N. Bloomfield notes the species as very plentiful in
clover fields about Tuddenham. Also recorded from Somerset,
Gloucestershire, Cheshire (West Kirby and Hale), and from near Harrow in
Middlesex.
Very local and scarce in Ireland (Kane).
The range abroad extends to East Siberia and Amurland.
YELLOW BELLE (_Aspilates ochrearia_).
As will be seen from Fig. 5 [female] on Plate 144, this species differs
from the last in its yellower colour and rather smaller size; the fore
wings have two cross bands, generally well defined, but in the male they
are sometimes very faint and slender, and specimens have been recorded in
which the bands were missing.
The roughened caterpillar, figured on Plate 142, from a coloured drawing by
Mr. A. Sich, is pale ochreous brown, lined and striped with darker brown.
It feeds on wild carrot, plantain, {332} hawks'-beard, etc., and will
thrive on knot-grass. There are two broods, one feeding in the spring,
after hibernation; and the other in June and July, sometimes later. The
first generation of moths flies in May and June, and the second in August
and early September. The species occurs in all the southern seaboard
counties of England from Kent to Cornwall, frequenting the downs and rough
fields near the coast; also in the Sandbreck district of the eastern
counties. It occurs in South Wales; and odd specimens have been reported
from Cheshire (Delamere), and from Cumberland.
The range abroad extends to North-west Africa and Asia Minor.
GRASS WAVE (_Perconia_ (_Aspilates_) _strigillaria_).
A male and a female of this species are depicted on Plate 144, Figs. 7
[male] and 8 [female]. There is variation in the amount of dark speckling
on the wings, and in the number and width of the cross markings; sometimes
the first and second on the fore wings are united throughout their length,
or towards the inner margin; coupled with this there is sometimes
considerable increase in the width of the first cross marking of the hind
wings. A rare variety in Britain is ab. _grisearia_, Staudinger, which is
of an almost uniform greyish or greyish-brown colour, with the markings
obscured.
The caterpillar is purplish grey, marked with paler and darker; two warts
on the back of rings 7-10, the middle pair the largest and most prominent.
It feeds on ling, heath, broom, and the flowers of gorse or furze, and is
best obtained in the spring after hibernation.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 144.
1, 2. GREY SCALLOPED BAR.
3. BLACK-VEINED.
4, 5. YELLOW BELLE.
6. STRAW BELLE.
7, 8. GRASS WAVE.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 145.
1. TRANSPARENT BURNET: _caterpillar_.
2, 2a. NARROW-BORDERED FIVE-SPOT BURNET: _caterpillar, chrysalis and
cocoon_.
3, 3a. FIVE-SPOT BURNET: _caterpillar and cocoon_.
4. SIX-SPOT BURNET: _caterpillar_.
5. FORESTER: _caterpillar_.
{333} The moth, which is out in June and July, occurs on most of the heaths
and moors throughout England; apparently commoner and more generally
distributed in the south than in the north; but it seems to be rare on the
eastern side of the country altogether. From Cheshire it spreads into Flint
and Denbigh, North Wales. In Scotland, it is found in Roxburgh (Bellion
Moor), Clydesdale (local, but common), and northwards to Ross. It is found
on the boggy heaths of Ireland, and Kane states that it is abundant where
it occurs.
The range abroad extends to Scandinavia and eastward to Asia Minor.