This family--the Aegeriadae of some authors--has over one hundred
Palaearctic species assigned to it; these are distributed among five
genera, two of which are not represented in Britain. Fourteen species are
found in the British Isles, but to obtain fine specimens of most of them
the mature caterpillars or the chrysalids will have to be collected and the
moths reared. All species emerge from the chrysalis early in the forenoon,
and then only under the influence of sunshine.
The caterpillars are somewhat maggot-like, and live in stems, branches, and
roots of trees and shrubs; or in the crowns and roots of low-growing
plants. The majority, possibly all, are nearly two years in arriving at
full growth.
HORNET MOTH (_Trochilium apiformis_).
As indicated by the English name this moth, and also that next to be
mentioned, are very like the hornet (_Vespa crabro_). On turning to Plate
154, Fig. 1, it will be seen that this species has a yellow head and
patches of yellow on the shoulders; these characters at once separate it
from _T. crabroniformis_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 154.
1. HORNET MOTH.
2. WELSH CLEARWING.
3. WHITE-BARRED CLEARWING.
4. CLEAR UNDERWING.
5, 6. CURRANT CLEARWING.
7. LUNAR HORNET MOTH.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 155.
1. YELLOW-LEGGED CLEARWING.
2, 3. RED-BELTED CLEARWING.
4. LARGE RED-BELTED CLEARWING.
5. RED-TIPPED CLEARWING.
6. SIX-BELTED CLEARWING.
7. THRIFT CLEARWING.
8, 9. FIERY CLEARWING.
{351} The caterpillar is yellowish white, with a red brown head, and a
yellow plate on the first ring of the body. It feeds on the roots and lower
portion of the trunks of poplar. The brown shining chrysalis is enclosed in
a cocoon of wood scrapings woven together with silk. The moth is out in May
and June; and has been found, newly emerged, sitting on stems of poplar in
the morning.
The eastern counties of England appear to be most favoured by this species,
but it also occurs northwards to Yorkshire, southwards to Devonshire, and a
specimen has been recorded from Rhyl, North Wales. In Scotland, it has been
reported from some localities in the south; Kane states that he has reason
to believe that the species occurs in the northern half of Ireland, and
that he found caterpillars plentiful in young poplars growing in a marsh
near the city of Waterford.
LUNAR HORNET (_Trochilium crabroniformis_).
Another hornet-like moth, best distinguished from that just mentioned by
the yellow collar behind the black head (Plate 154, Fig. 7 [female]). The
male is rather smaller, but otherwise similar.
The caterpillar is yellowish white, with dark brownish head, and a blackish
edged yellow plate on the first ring of the body. It feeds in stems of
sallow, willow, and poplar. In late June and through July the moth is on
the wing, and may occasionally be seen at rest on leaves or stems of
sallow, etc.
The species, known also as _bembeciformis_, Hubner, is generally
distributed throughout England, Wales, and Ireland; in Scotland its range
extends into Perthshire.
Abroad it seems pretty much confined to Holland, Northern and Central
Germany, Austria, and Bohemia.
CLEAR UNDERWING (_Sciapteron tabaniformis_).
This species is the _Trochelium vespiforme_ of some British authors, and
the _Aegeria asiliformis_ of Stephens and others.
Another English name for it is the Dusky Clearwing, and this refers to the
cloudy fore wings. {352}
Stephens, writing of it in 1828, remarks: "Occasionally taken on poplars,
near London, in June. I have obtained it from the neighbourhood of Bexley,
and from Birchwood; but it is doubtless a rare species, and exists in few
collections: of the male, I have hitherto seen but two specimens, one of
which I possess." Both places mentioned by Stephens are in Kent, and one or
two specimens of the species have since been reported from Ashford in the
same county. The late Henry Doubleday took specimens at Epping, Essex.
Colney Hatch Wood in Middlesex has also been given as a locality in the
past; more recently two specimens have been noted from Chiswick. The
example shown on Plate 154, Fig. 4, is of continental origin.
The caterpillar lives under the bark of poplar trunks, and the moth flies
in June and July.
WELSH CLEARWING (_Sesia scoliaeformis_).
As a British species this insect was first noted from Llangollen, in North
Wales, somewhere about fifty years ago. In 1867 it was found to inhabit
birch woods in the Rannoch district of Scotland, and later on its presence
was detected in Sutherlandshire. It has been recorded from Hereford; one
example was reported from Wiltshire in 1857; and two from Delamere Forest,
Cheshire (1901 and 1905). Kane (_Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland_)
states that moths have been taken at Killarney, and caterpillars obtained
in the same district, and also at Kenmare.
The caterpillar (Plate 156, Fig. 3; after Hofmann) feeds on the inner layer
of bark of large birch trees, and is full grown about May. It turns to a
dark brownish chrysalis, in a cocoon formed close up to the bark, which
thinly covers the outer end of the burrow. The moth flies in June or
sometimes July. It {353} is of comparatively large size, and may be
distinguished from the next species by the yellow belts on its body, and
the chestnut coloured tuft at the tail. (Plate 154, Fig. 2.)
WHITE-BARRED CLEARWING (_Sesia spheciformis_).
Although generally smaller, some specimens run very close to the last
species in size. It may be distinguished by the single belt on the body and
the black tail (Plate 154, Fig. 3). One of the best known localities for
the species in England is Tilgate Forest, in Sussex; but it also occurs in
Hampshire (Basingstoke), Hereford (Tarrington), Worcestershire (Wyre
Forest), Staffordshire (Burnt Wood), Cheshire (one, Delamere Forest, 1901),
Denbighshire (Llangollen), Lancashire (Chat Moss), and Yorkshire (Bishop's
Wood, 1894).
The caterpillar feeds in stems of alder, and is full grown in May of the
third year after hatching from the egg. It is said that the chrysalis may
sometimes be found by bending and twisting the stems of alder, so as to
cause the thin skin of bark over the exit hole of the burrow to crack, and
so disclose its whereabouts. The burrow is generally low down the stem. The
moth is out in June and early July, and is sometimes to be seen on sunny
mornings at rest on alder leaves, or flying over and around the bushes.
ORANGE-TAILED CLEARWING (_Sesia andrenaeformis_).
Although known to be a British species since 1829, when a specimen was
taken in a wood near Greenhithe, Kent, this insect continued to be very
rare until quite recently. For a long time the caterpillar was supposed to
feed in the stems of dogwood, but it is now known to live in the stems of
the wayfaring tree (_Viburnum lantana_), and several specimens of the moth
{354} have been reared during the past year or two. Unfortunately the
caterpillar is much infested by parasites, and comparatively few escape
attack. Notes on the life history of this moth, by the Hon. N. Charles
Rothschild, Mr. Eustace Bankes, and Dr. Chapman, are published in the
_Transactions of the Entomological Society of London_ for 1906 (Part IV.,
pp. 471-482).
Most of the known localities for the species are in Kent, but it has also
been found in Surrey, Dorset, Gloucester, Hertfordshire (Tring district),
and Northamptonshire (Oundle). Possibly it will be discovered in other
parts of the country. I am indebted to Mr. L. W. Newman, of Bexley, for the
specimen figured on Plate 1, Fig. 1. For the caterpillar mine in stem of
_Viburnum_ (Plate 156, Figs. 2, 2a) my thanks are due to Mr. Rayward, who
kindly sent me a living pupa, from which the moth duly emerged, but, I
regret to add, escaped from the box in which the stick containing the
chrysalis was kept.
Newman, in 1833, described this species as _Trochilium allantiformis_, and
in 1842 it was figured by Westwood and Humphreys as _T. andreniforme_. It
is distinguished from _Sesia tipuliformis_ by the two yellow belts of the
body (the first sometimes indistinct) and the orange-yellow tuft in the
blue-black tail; on the underside of the body there is a broad yellow band
on the fourth ring, sometimes extending to the fifth and sixth.
CURRANT CLEARWING (_Sesia tipuliformis_).
In this species the body is narrowly belted with yellow, usually four belts
in the male and three in the female; the tail tuft is black in both sexes.
The outer marginal border of the fore wings has a bronzy tinge, due to
orange patches between the veins. (Plate 154, Figs. 5 [male], 6 [female].)
The caterpillar lives in the stems and shoots of black and red currant
bushes; it feeds on the pith, and works its way downwards. When full grown,
about May, it gnaws an outlet to the {355} side of the stem, but does not
penetrate the outer skin, although it reduces this to a very thin layer,
through which the reddish brown chrysalis is able to force itself when the
moth is ready to emerge. A figure of the caterpillar will be found on Plate
156, Fig. 1; the chrysalis protruding from currant stem (Fig. 1a) is from a
photo by Mr. H. Main. In June or July, the moths are not infrequently seen
on leaves of shrubs in gardens where there are currant bushes in or around
such gardens, but the foliage of the food plant is a favourite resting
place.
Generally distributed throughout England, the range extending into Wales,
and South Scotland, but is apparently rare in these countries and also in
some of the northern counties of England. Kane states that the species is
common near Dublin, and is probably widely distributed in Ireland.
This species seems to have been introduced into North America, where its
caterpillar is known as the "currant borer," and, as in England, is
regarded with little favour by bush-fruit growers.
YELLOW-LEGGED CLEARWING (_Sesia vespiformis_).
This species (Plate 155, Fig. 1), known also as _asiliformis_, Rottemburg
(1775), and _cynipiformis_, Esper (1782), is now held to be correctly
referred to _vespiformis_, Linnaeus (1761). The crossbar of the fore wings
is orange red in both sexes; the body of the male has two more or less
united yellow spots at the junction with the thorax, four yellow belts, and
the tail tuft is black above, mixed with yellow below; in the female the
body belts are usually one less than in the male, the yellow spots at the
junction are generally run together, and the tail tuft is almost wholly
yellow. As indicated by the English name, the legs are largely yellow in
both sexes.
The caterpillar feeds on the inner bark of oak trees, is full {356} grown
in May or June, and turns to a brownish chrysalis in a cell formed in the
bark. A well-known locality for this moth, which is out in July and early
August, is Hyde Park, London. It is also found in woods or oak-timbered
parks in Kent (Tunbridge Wells), Surrey, Sussex (Abbot's Wood, Tilgate,
etc.), Dorset (Glanvilles Wootton, etc.), Devon (Devonport, Plymouth,
Topsham, etc.), Essex (Epping), Suffolk, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire,
Leicestershire, Staffordshire, and Yorkshire (Doncaster).
RED-BELTED CLEARWING (_Sesia myopaeformis_).
One example of each sex is shown on Plate 155, where Fig. 2 represents the
male and Fig. 3 the female; both have a single belt on the body; as a rule,
the belt is red, but occasionally it inclines to orange or yellow.
The caterpillar feeds on the inner bark of the trunks or boughs of apple,
and sometimes pear, trees. It is nearly two years in maturing, but is full
grown about June. The moth is out during the summer months, and is to be
seen early on sunny mornings, newly emerged from the chrysalis on the
trunks of the trees in which the caterpillar lives; the chrysalis skins
will also be noted at the same time, sticking out from holes in the bark.
Later in the day it sits on leaves, etc., after its flights, and I have
even found it occasionally on a gravel path, and once on the pavement of a
road in North-west London.
The species seems to be most frequent in gardens and orchards around
London, but it has been recorded from as far north as Lancashire and
Yorkshire; it is probably widely distributed over England. The Irish
localities, mentioned by Kane, are Dublin, Cork, Killarney, and Clonbrock.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 156.
1. CURRANT CLEARWING: _caterpillar and chrysalis skin_.
2. RED-TIPPED CLEARWING: _caterpillar_.
3. WELSH CLEARWING: _caterpillar_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 157.
1, 3. GHOST MOTH.
2, 4. DO., VAR. _THULENSIS_.
5, 6. ORANGE SWIFT.
{357}
LARGE RED-BELTED CLEARWING (_Sesia culiciformis_).
This species (Plate 155, Fig. 4) is very similar to the last, but it is
larger, and the fore wings are dusted with reddish scales towards the base,
sometimes also along the inner margin. The belt on the body is generally
red, not infrequently with an orange tinge, but it is sometimes yellow or
far more rarely white.
The caterpillar, which is full grown in May, feeds on the inner bark of
birch trees and bushes, apparently preferring the stumps left in the ground
where stems have been cut down. It is not difficult to find, but as it is
about two years in this stage it should not be taken until nearly or quite
full grown, and it is safer to leave it until it has entered the chrysalis
state. The moth is out in June, or sometimes at the end of May; it flies
over birch and rests on leaves, and has been known to visit flowers of the
wood spurge and the rhododendron.
Kent and Sussex appear to be the counties most favoured by this species,
but it occurs in most of the other English counties in which there are
birch woods, certainly up to Yorkshire, and probably further north, as it
is found in Scotland (Clydesdale, Perthshire, and Aberdeen). The Irish
localities are Killarney, Ballinasloe, and Derry.
RED-TIPPED CLEARWING (_Sesia formicaeformis_).
This is another red-belted species, but it differs from either of the two
immediately preceding in having the fore wings tipped with red. (Plate 155,
Fig. 5.)
The caterpillar feeds in the twigs and stumps of osier (_Salix viminalis_),
sometimes called "withe"; it is full grown about June. (Plate 156, Fig. 2;
after Hofmann.) The moth is out in July and August; it is partial to
marshes and other wet spots, {358} and is fond of a leaf as a resting
place. Like the rest of its kind, it is very alert, and skips off quickly
on one's approach. Probably the species is more widely distributed in
England, but from the records, it only appears to have been noted from
Kent, Hampshire, Somersetshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Derbyshire,
Yorkshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, and Essex.
SIX-BELTED CLEARWING (_Sesia ichneumoniformis_).
The inner and outer margins of the fore wings are tinged with orange, and
there is an orange mark on the outer edge of the cross bar; the body of the
male has seven yellow belts, and that of the female one less. (Plate 155,
Fig. 6.)
The caterpillar feeds in the roots of bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus
corniculatus_), and kidney vetch (_Anthyllis vulneraria_); it is full grown
about June. July and August are the months for the moth, and its haunts are
on chalk downs, and on banks by the sea; it seems partial to the edges of
chalk pits, sloping banks, and broken ground of undercliffs, etc. In such
places it is to be seen on the wing in the early evening, and, I believe,
in the early morning also. It has frequently been obtained by sweeping the
net over herbage in the vicinity of the food plants.
Mr. W. H. Flint records (1902) the species from the Forest of Dean
district, where, he states, he could easily have captured two dozen a day,
as they flew over trefoils, etc.
The species occurs in most of the southern seaboard counties of England,
from Kent to Cornwall and including the Isle of Wight; Surrey, Bucks.,
Essex, and other eastern counties, including Cambridge; and it has been
recorded from Yorkshire. On the western side of the country it is found in
Somerset, Gloucester, Hereford, Worcester, Staffordshire, and in South
Wales. {359}
THRIFT CLEARWING (_Sesia muscaeformis_).
This is our smallest species of the genus, and it is further distinguished
by narrow clear spaces on the blackish, or bronzy, fore wings, three
whitish bands on the body, and traces of a whitish line along the middle of
the back. (Plate 155, Fig. 7.)
The caterpillar feeds on the roots of thrift or sea-pink (_Armeria
vulgaris_), and is full grown about June. The moth is out in June and July,
and seems to have a liking for the flowers of thyme.
This species (also known as _philanthiformis_, Laspeyres) frequents rocky
places on the coasts of Devon (Torquay, Lynmouth, etc.), Cornwall, Wales;
Isle of Man; Scotland (Aberdeenshire); and Ireland (Saltee Islands,
Wexford, and Seven Heads, Cork. Gregson recorded it from Howth).
FIERY CLEARWING (_Sesia chrysidiformis_).
The orange red colour on the fore wings, and of the tail tuft, at once
distinguish this species (Plate 155, Figs. 8 [male], 9 [female]) from
either of its British allies. The blackish body has two pale-yellow belts,
but in the male the lower one is often double. As a rule, the body of the
female is stouter than that of the male, but the bodies of some males
appear quite as thick as those of the females, and the true sex is only
disclosed by the ciliated antennae, which is a character of the male alone.
The caterpillar feeds on the roots of dock and sorrel, and it is full grown
about May. In June and July the moth is on the wing and flies in the
sunshine, about noon, over the food plants.
The species occurs not uncommonly in the Warren at Folkestone, Kent. This
locality, well known to entomologists, is a long stretch of rough broken
ground lying between the railway {360} and the sea; and is probably the
only spot in the British Isles where the Fiery Clearwing is almost certain
to be found, either in its early or its perfect stage, at the proper
season. The moth has been recorded from Eastbourne, Sussex (1874), and from
the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (1902).