The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 10

{87}

The fluted greenish-white eggs are laid upon the edges of bramble-leaves.

The caterpillar is pale reddish brown shaded with darker and freckled with whitish (in the young stage the second and third rings are whitish above); a slender dark brown line along the middle of the back, and a broader one along the sides, the latter not distinct on the first three rings; the two rings nearest the head each have a divided ridge, the second being the larger; there are also similar ridges on the fifth to ninth rings, and the back of ring eleven is slightly raised; a series of pale triangular marks on the back. It feeds on bramble in July, and may be found from that month until September.

In confinement it will thrive on raspberry or the cultivated kinds of blackberry. From some thirty eggs I had in June this year (1907) the caterpillars hatched on the 27th; several of these fed up rapidly and one or two had spun up for pupation, among the leaves, in July (about 24th), whilst others remained quite small, and a few were in the last skin but one. Early in August the larger caterpillars just referred to pupated, and the smaller ones began to feed up, and by the end of the month they had attained to full growth, although they did not spin coc.o.o.ns until the second week in September.

From July chrysalids moths will often emerge in August or September of the same year, but none have appeared from those under observation. The chrysalis is pale brown mottled with dark purplish or reddish brown, wing cases reddish. The species frequents woods or wooded localities, and is generally distributed throughout England and Wales, but commoner in some parts than others. Rather local in Scotland but not uncommon in Perths.h.i.+re.

Sometimes very abundant in Ireland, occurring in similar localities to the preceding species. It is found over the greater part of Northern and Central Europe, and as far east as Amurland and j.a.pan. {88}

THE FIGURE OF EIGHTY (_Palimpsestis octogessima_).

This moth (Plate 36, Figs. 5, 6) may be distinguished by two whitish marks on the fore wings which have some resemblance to the numerals 80, hence the common name. These are really the white outlines of the reniform and orbicular stigmata, each of which has the central part filled in with black; sometimes the lower portion of the 8 is obscure, but in a general way the character is not difficult to make out.

The caterpillar is yellowish tinged with greyish on the back; a greyish plate on the back of the ring nearest the black marked orange head; three black spots on each side of the first ring, two such spots on ring two, and one on each side of rings three to eleven; the back of the last ring has a greyish plate. It feeds in July and August, earlier or later in accordance with season, on poplar. During the day it hides between united leaves, or in a curled up withered leaf, upon the tree. The s.h.i.+ning black chrysalis with somewhat reddish ring divisions is enclosed in a rather loosely constructed coc.o.o.n spun up between leaves, or among moss etc., at the base of poplar trees. The moth emerges in May or June. It is partial to sugar, and is said to prefer its sweets served up on poplar trunks. Probably it is most often and regularly obtained in the Eastern Counties, but it is locally not uncommon in Worcesters.h.i.+re and Herefords.h.i.+re; also found in Gloucesters.h.i.+re, Somerset, Hertfords.h.i.+re, Middles.e.x, Surrey, and, I believe, Suss.e.x. The range abroad is similar to that of _T. batis_.

THE POPLAR LUTESTRING (_Palimpsestis or_).

May be recognized in the typical form by the four-lined bands, "lutestrings," on the greyish, sometimes pink-tinged fore wings; the reniform and orbicular marks are often present although the first is generally obscure, and they never a.s.sume the similarity {89} to figures noted in the last species (Plate 36, Figs. 7, 8). In Scotland the moths have a paler ground colour generally, var. _scotica_, Tutt; one from Ireland with ground colour pearly white and broad black "lutestrings" has been named var. _gaelica_, Kane. Hybrids from a cross pairing of this species with the last have been obtained by Mr. W. H. B. Fletcher. These specimens have the "lutestrings" of _or_, and the "figure of 80"

characteristic of _octogessima_. Caterpillar yellowish green with a dark line along the middle of the back, and two black spots on the front edge of the ring next the yellowish brown head. It feeds on poplar, and hides between united leaves in the daytime; may be found from July to September or even later. Chrysalis, reddish brown, the surface minutely pitted, and spike pointed, and thickened at the base; in a brownish coc.o.o.n spun up between leaves. The moth emerges in June or July, and it comes freely to sugar, but like other members of this family is not always easy to box. It seems to occur in most places where poplar trees are well established; widely distributed over England, and found throughout Scotland even to the Shetland Isles. In Ireland it seems to be local and rare. Distribution abroad much as in the last species.

THE LESSER SATIN MOTH (_Palimpsestis duplaris_).

Figs. 1, 2, on Plate 39, represent the typical southern form of this species. The fore wings are pale greyish with a whitish edged, broad, dark central band; two black dots on the outer edge of the band distinguish this species from the next. In Scotland and in Northern England the general colour is blackish or purplish grey (Fig. 3), and sometimes specimens more or less suffused with the darker colour are found in the southern half of England. Quite the darkest, almost black, form seems to occur in Cannock Chase, Staffords.h.i.+re, and in Delamere Forest, Ches.h.i.+re. The caterpillar is greenish; central area of the back {90} green, margined on each side by an olive green, or brighter green, stripe; some black dots along the sides; head reddish brown marked with black. Feeds on birch, and may be found from August to October. It spins the leaves together for a shelter during the daytime, and comes out to feed at night, when it may be obtained by beating the boughs. Other food plants mentioned are alder, oak, and hazel. The pupa is of a dull reddish colour, in a slight coc.o.o.n between leaves.

Widely distributed throughout England and common in most woodlands, especially in the south and east; it ranges through Scotland to the Shetlands. In Ireland, where the moth has the ground colour silvery grey (var. _argentea_, Tutt), it has been obtained in many localities, from Donegal and Tyrone to Kerry and Cork.

THE SATIN CARPET (_Palimpsestis fluctuosa_).

In colour and general pattern this species (Plate 39, Fig. 4) is very similar to the last in its typical form. The points of distinction are, the slightly larger size, whiter ground colour, and the absence of the two black dots from the edge of the band. In August and September the caterpillar feeds, at night, on birch, and by day conceals itself between leaves. It is reddish or violet grey above, and pale ochreous-white beneath; the lines down the centre of the back and along the sides are darker; on the first ring there is a greenish-tinged yellow plate, and from this to the eleventh ring there are two series of black dots along the back. Head yellow-brown, blackened above; a black circle on each cheek.

Chrysalis reddish-brown, in a coc.o.o.n among leaves either on the tree or on the ground. The moth emerges in June, and is distinctly local. Sometimes it may be disturbed from its resting place among the foliage; it becomes active on the wing at dusk for a short time; sugar does not seem to possess any great attraction for it, anyway it does not attend the feast prepared for Noctuae so frequently as other members of this family. It is known to occur, chiefly in woods, in Kent, Surrey, Suss.e.x, and Hamps.h.i.+re in the south; Ess.e.x and Suffolk in the east; also in Worcesters.h.i.+re (Wyre Forest), and Herefords.h.i.+re; in the Barnsley and Sheffield districts of Yorks.h.i.+re; and it has been reported from c.u.mberland. In Ireland it is rare and only recorded from Killarney, Kerry, and Sligo. Abroad it occurs in Central Europe, the range extending to Southern Scandinavia, and to South-east Russia.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 38.

1. FROSTED GREEN: _caterpillar_.

2, 2a, 2b, 2c. YELLOW HORNED: _egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and coc.o.o.n_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 39.

1. LESSER SATIN MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_; 3 _northern var_.

4. SATIN CARPET MOTH.

5. LESSER LUTESTRING, _male_; 6 _female_.

7, 8. YELLOW-HORNED MOTH.

9. FROSTED GREEN MOTH, _male_; 10 _female_.

{91} THE LESSER LUTESTRING (_Asphalia diluta_).

The fore wings are whitish or greyish, and sometimes tinged with brown; crossed by two brownish bands. Variation is chiefly in the tint of the bands and also in their width and definition. In var. _nubilata_, which occurs in Yorks.h.i.+re, the general colour of the fore wings is darker than normal, and there is a basal patch and three cross-bands of reddish or purplish brown (Plate 39, Figs. 5, 6).

Caterpillar, yellowish above and greyish beneath; a dusky line along the middle of the back, and one, dotted with black, low down on the sides; head dark brown, almost blackish. It feeds in May and June on oak, but only at night; it constructs a leafy chamber in which it sits tight during the day, and is not easily evicted unless its apartment is forcibly opened. The reddish chrysalis is enclosed in a flimsy coc.o.o.n between, or among, leaves.

Although September is the month during which the moth usually emerges, it is sometimes seen earlier. It is so partial to sugar, that it may often be seen at an old patch before the new feast has been set out for the evening entertainment. The species is fairly well distributed throughout England and Wales, and most common in the south of the former country. It extends into Southern Scotland, but {92} apparently does not occur in Ireland.

Abroad it is found in Central Europe, Belgium, North Germany, North Italy, and North-east Asia Minor.

THE YELLOW HORNED (_Polyploca flavicornis_).

In the South of England this species is greenish grey, sometimes speckled or dusted with darker grey; the reniform and orbicular marks are generally clear and distinct, but in some examples they are united and form a whitish blotch outlined in blackish; the cross lines are usually well defined, but in the dark grey dusted form are very obscure. Specimens from Scotland are generally larger, there is less green, if any, in the ground colour, and the markings are often more p.r.o.nounced and brighter. This form is the var.

_scotica_, Tutt, and may be more or less identical with the var.

_finmarchia_, Schoyen, from Norway and Lapland (Fig. 7, Plate 39, shows the English form, and Fig. 8 the Scotch form).

The caterpillar is greenish, light olive green, or dark olive green above, and yellowish beneath; a line along the middle of the back is paler, and on each side there is a row of black spots and finely black-edged white dots; a line above the brownish outlined spiracles is yellowish: the head is yellow brown with blackish jaws and black mark on each cheek. It feeds in June and July on birch, preferring the foliage of bushes. During the daytime it resides in a leaf neatly folded in half; when quite young, the caterpillar then being blackish, a small leaf or just the turned-over edge of a large one answers its purpose. The chrysalis is reddish, enclosed in a flimsy coc.o.o.n among leaves, moss, or roots of gra.s.s, etc., sometimes just under the surface of the soil. The early stages are figured on Plate 38, Figs. 2-2c. The moth emerges in March or April of the year following pupation, as a rule, but it may remain in the chrysalis for two winters. It is often obtained in birch woods, or wherever there {93} is a good growth of birch, by jarring the twigs and branches of birch upon which it rests during the day, or it may be found by searching the low bushes and underwood. Soon after dusk it is on the wing, and will then visit sugar and sallow bloom.

Generally distributed throughout Great Britain. In Ireland it appears to be very rare. Its range abroad, in the typical form, extends over Northern and Central Europe to North Italy and to South-east Russia.

THE FROSTED GREEN (_Polyploca ridens_).

This moth (Plate 39, Figs. 9, 10) is also on the wing early in the year, but although it is sometimes found on tree trunks in April or perhaps as late as the first week in May, it seems to be rarely obtained otherwise in the perfect state. It does not "come to sugar" often, if at all, and so far as is known, does not visit any of the usual natural attractions.

The ground colour of the fore wings varies from whitish to green, but in some specimens the general hue is olive or blackish green, and the markings then appear to be wavy whitish lines crossing the wings, one near the base, and the other before the outer margin.

The caterpillar (Plate 38, Fig. 1) is yellow above and rather greenish beneath; a greenish grey double stripe along the back is interrupted at the ring divisions; there are also white dots with black or blackish edges on the back and the sides; a yellow line along the spiracle area is shaded above and below with greenish grey; the head, which is notched on the crown, is yellowish, with a black mark on each cheek. It feeds, at night, on oak, from May to July; hiding by day on the underside of a leaf, a portion of which is folded over and secured with silk, to form a suitable retreat. These caterpillars respond more readily to the persuasive beating-stick than others of the group.

The species affects woodland localities in most of the southern {94} counties of England, and it is also found in South Wales. Its range extends into the Eastern Counties and through the Midlands northward to c.u.mberland.

It does not seem to have been noted from Scotland or Ireland. Abroad it is distributed over Central Europe and northward to Denmark and Livonia, and southward to South France and Andalusia.

TUSSOCK-MOTHS (_Lymantriidae_).

About seventy-two species, referred to this family, are known to occur in various parts of the Palaearctic region; ten of these are found in our islands. The Black V-moth (_Leucoma v-nigrum_ or _Arctornis l-alb.u.m_) has been reported as British, but if the few examples that have been recorded were natives, the species has long since disappeared from this country.

Some of the caterpillars, as, for example, those of the Brown and Yellow-tails, are not altogether pleasant to handle, as the hairs with which they are covered have a disagreeable trick of transferring themselves to our hands, whence they find their way to our face, and when there are apt to set up most unpleasant irritation and swelling of the parts affected. These urticating hairs are more troublesome when received from the caterpillar or coc.o.o.n, but those from the moth itself communicate a very respectable simulation of the skin trouble known to the doctor as Urticaria.

THE SCARCE VAPOURER (_Orgyia gonostigma_).

The male of this species, and also of the next, flies in the suns.h.i.+ne, but the female of each is wingless, or nearly so, and has to remain at home on the coc.o.o.n from which she emerged. Here she lays a large number of eggs, from four to five hundred, upon the exterior. The eggs of this species are whitish and rather glossy when first laid; the top is sunken. Apart from {95} the deeper brown colour of the fore wings and the blacker hind wings, the male of this species has a white mark near the tip of each fore wing, and this character will distinguish it from the same s.e.x of the Common Vapourer.

The caterpillar is blackish with star-like tufts of hair, white on the back and greyish on the sides; on rings four to seven are brushes of brown hairs; a pencil of black hair on side of the first ring pointing forward, and a thicker one on the back of ring eleven directed backward; the interrupted stripes along the back and sides are reddish orange, approaching vermilion; those along the back are united in front of the pencil on ring eleven, and those of the sides unite behind the pencil. Head glossy, black. The foliage of sallow, willow, and oak, is perhaps the more usual food, but it has been known to eat beech, elm, hawthorn, sloe, and nut, and has been found on meadow-sweet. The chrysalis is brown, inclining to yellowish between the rings, and the back is hairy; enclosed in a coc.o.o.n spun up among leaves or in any suitable cranny. The male and female moths are figured on Plate 40 (Fig. 3, 5), and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 41.

The moths emerge in June, and from their eggs caterpillars result in July.

These, feeding up quickly, attain the perfect state in late July or early August. Caterpillars from this second generation usually go into hibernation when quite small, and feed up in the following April and May; in confinement they may, however, get through their metamorphosis and reach the moth state in September or October. Sometimes it happens that a part of the summer brood of caterpillars will feed up straight away and produce moths in August; others, feeding and growing more slowly, a.s.sume the winged state in November; whilst a third portion will remain small and go into hibernation.

This very local species used to be obtained in the Wimbledon district, but it has not been seen there for some years past. {96} Other localities for it are the Norfolk and Cambridge fens, Bewdley Forest in Shrops.h.i.+re, and Wyre Forest, Worcesters.h.i.+re; it is also found in some parts of Devons.h.i.+re, Suffolk, Ess.e.x, and Yorks. Its range abroad extends through Northern and Central Europe, southward to North Spain, Piedmont, and Corsica, and eastward to Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan.

THE VAPOURER (_Orgyia antiqua_).

The male has the wings rather more ample than the same s.e.x of the last species, the colour is a more ochreous red and there is a large white spot at the lower angle of the fore wings, but no white mark at the tips of these wings. Specimens from the north of England are rather darker than southern examples. In the course of temperature experiments it has been noted that the colour of the moth is darkened if the chrysalids are put in a refrigerator for a few weeks, and then brought into a mean temperature of 40 Fahr. In the female the appendages representing wings are somewhat larger than those of the female of the Scarce Vapourer, but are quite useless as organs of flight (Plate 40, Figs. 4, 6).

In general colour the caterpillar is violet or smoky grey; the markings on the back comprise a creamy, red-dotted line along the middle area, this is edged with black, and on each side of it is a series of raised red spots; the broken line along the sides is yellowish, and the four brushes of hair on the back are yellow, sometimes merging into brown above; the pencils of longer hairs are blackish on the ring nearest the head, and dark grey or brownish on the last ring. It may be found through the summer on the leaves of most trees and bushes. Chrysalis blackish, glossy, and rather hairy. The coc.o.o.ns are spun up in the crevices of bark on tree trunks, or in the fork of a twig, under the eaves of an out-house or shed, on palings and fences, etc. The hairs of the caterpillar are mixed with the silk of the coc.o.o.n; the female lays her pale brownish eggs, which are minutely pitted and have a darker ring below the sunken top, on the outside of the coc.o.o.n, and there they remain through the winter.