Of the twenty-two Palaearctic species belonging to this family, nine appear
to occur in Europe, and the range of five of these extends to the British
Isles.
In some of the more recent systems of classification, this family is
relegated to almost the bottom of the scheme, and therefore occupies a much
lower place than do the bulk of the families comprised in the old style
"Micro-Lepidoptera." As, however, these insects, commonly called "Swifts,"
have long received the attention of collectors, and in collections usually
occupy a position among the so-called "Bombyces," they have been included
in the present volume.
GHOST MOTH (_Hepialus humuli_).
On Plate 157 are portraits of a male and a female of the typical form of
this species (Figs. 1 [male] and 3 [female]); and two male examples (Figs.
2 and 4) of the Shetland race var. _thulensis_, Newman, better known
perhaps as _hethlandica_, Staudinger, but the former is the older name. It
will be noted that in the ordinary form the male has white wings, and that
the female has yellowish fore wings marked with orange, and smoky hind
wings. The Shetland male, represented by Fig. 2, has the fore wings whitish
buff in colour with brownish markings similar in pattern to those of an
ordinary female; the hind wings are blackish. The second example of
_thulensis_ (Fig. 4) is somewhat similar in appearance to a typical female.
In other male specimens of this insular race the wings are pretty much of
the typical colour, but the markings on the front pair are reduced both in
number and size. Mr. H. McArthur, who has collected a good deal in the
Shetland Isles, states that in Unst, the most northern island of the group,
more or less typical _humuli_ were found on the cliffs facing south-east,
whilst the majority of the specimens obtained in boggy meadows, etc., were
of the _thulensis_ form.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 158.
1-3. MAP-WINGED SWIFT.
4-6. COMMON SWIFT.
7, 8. GOLD SWIFT.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 159.
1, 1a. COMMON SWIFT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
2, 2a. GHOST MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis (enlarged)_.
3. ORANGE SWIFT: _caterpillar_.
{361} The caterpillar feeds on the roots of plants, such as burdock,
dandelion, dead-nettle, etc. It is full grown in May, and the moth is out
in June and July. (Plate 159, Fig. 2; after Hofmann.) The males may be seen
in the evening, sometimes in numbers in grassy places, swaying themselves
to and fro without making progress, and appearing as though they dangled
from the end of an invisible thread; the female flies straight, and, as a
rule, in the direction of one or other of the pendulous males.
The species is generally distributed over the British Isles.
ORANGE SWIFT (_Hepialus sylvina_).
The male of this species (Plate 157, Figs. 5. [male], 6 [female]) usually
some shade of orange brown, with greyish-edged white markings on the fore
wings. Sometimes the female is orange brown, but more often it is some
shade of grey brown.
The caterpillar (Plate 159, Fig. 3; after Hofmann) feeds on the roots of
dock, bracken, viper's bugloss, etc., and is full grown about July. In late
July and in August the moth may be seen in the early evening flying among
bracken, and not infrequently around trees fairly high up. Occasionally,
specimens are seen in the daytime on tree-trunks, fences, etc. At one time
this species was known in the vernacular as "The Tawny and Brown Swift"; it
is also "The Orange or Evening Swift" of Harris (1778) and the "Wood Swift"
of Newman. It is {362} common in many southern and eastern parts, but
widely distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland to Moray. Only
doubtfully recorded from Ireland.
MAP-WINGED SWIFT (_Hepialus fusconebulosa_).
At one time this species (the _velleda_ of Hubner) was known as the
"Northern Swift," but as it is plentiful in North Devonshire and
Somersetshire, and occurs less commonly in other southern English counties,
that name is hardly suitable. Haworth's English name for it--"The Beautiful
Swift"--does not quite meet the case, because, although the insect is
prettily marked, it is scarcely beautiful. We have then to fall back on
Donovan's Map-winged Swift as a popular name, and this seems a fairly apt
one, as the markings on the fore wings are somewhat map-like in pattern,
especially in the more typical specimens.
There is much variation in colour and in marking; some examples, chiefly
those from Shetland, are prettily variegated. A uniform reddish-brown
variety, ab. _gallicus_, Lederer, is depicted on Plate 158, Fig. 3; and a
more or less typical specimen of each sex is shown on the same plate (Figs.
1 [male], 2 [female]).
The caterpillar is ochreous white, with orange-brown plates, and rather
paler raised dots; head, reddish brown, and spiracles black. It feeds on
the roots of the bracken, and is full grown about May. The moth is out in
June and July, and flies, in the gloaming, on hill slopes, heaths, and the
edges of mosses and woods; it seems to be more active than either of the
other British "Swifts"; at all events, I have always found it less easy to
capture with the net.
The species is pretty generally distributed throughout the British Isles.
{363}
COMMON SWIFT (_Hepialus lupulina_).
Three examples of this species are shown on Plate 158. Fig. 4 is a typical
male, Fig. 5 a whitish suffused variety, and Fig. 6 is a female. The latter
sex is generally devoid of marking, and in the male the stripes and dashes
are far more conspicuous in some specimens than in others.
The glossy whitish caterpillar has a brown head; the plate on the first
ring of the body is brownish, and the raised dots are pretty much of the
same colour. It feeds on the roots of grass and other plants, and is full
grown about April. A figure of the caterpillar, from a drawing in colour by
Mr. A. Sich, and a photo of the pupa by Mr. H. Main, are shown on Plate
159, Figs. 1 and 1a; the latter is twice natural size.
The moth is out in June, or sometimes late May, and occasional specimens
have been noted in September. It is more frequently seen at rest, on
fences, etc., than either of the other species of the genus; but towards
dusk it is on the wing, and may then be observed in large numbers careering
over grass meadows or along stretches of green turf by the wayside.
Generally distributed, and often abundant, throughout the United Kingdom;
and it occurs in Monaghan, Mayo, Galway, and Kerry, in Ireland.
GOLD SWIFT (_Hepialus hecta_).
Both sexes of this species are shown on Plate 158, where Fig. 7 represents
the golden-marked male, and Fig. 8 the more dingy, dull, purplish-grey
striped female. There is variation in number and in size of the markings on
the fore wings of the male, and occasionally the hind wings in this sex are
adorned with golden spangles on the outer area.
The pale greyish brown caterpillar has glossy darker brown {364} plates on
rings 1-3, and the raised dots and the spiracles are black. It feeds on the
roots of bracken, and is full grown about May. Buckler states that at first
it burrows in the root, hibernates when small, resumes feeding in April,
attains full growth before winter, and hibernates in the earth for a second
time; in the spring of the second year it gnaws cavities in the young
shoots of the bracken, and apparently drinks the flowing sap.
The moth is out in June. The males fly at dusk, something in the manner of
_humuli_, over and among the bracken; but the females fly in a more or less
direct line. An odour given off by the males of this species has been
likened to that of the pine apple; whilst the "scent" of the Ghost Moth is
said to be more of the billy-goat character.
In most woody localities, where the bracken flourishes, this species will
be found throughout England, Wales, Scotland to Aberdeen and the Hebrides,
and Ireland.