The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 22

Occasionally all the wings have a smoky tinge. The moth is shown on Plate 95, Figs. 3, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 94, Fig. 2.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 94.

1. CRIMSON SPECKLED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

2, 2a. MUSLIN MOTH: _caterpillar and chrysalis in coc.o.o.n_.

3, 3a. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 95.

1. ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN MOTH, _male_; 4 _female_.

2, 5. ROSY FOOTMAN.

3. MUSLIN FOOTMAN, _male_; 6 _female_.

7. DEW MOTH, _male_; 9 _female_.

8. FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 10 _female_.

11. FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN, _male_; 12 _female_.

{175} The caterpillar is greyish, with a broad whitish or yellowish stripe along the back, divided down the centre and edged by blackish lines; a velvety black mark on ring seven; raised warts and hairs dark greyish. Head black, s.h.i.+ning; face yellowish. It may be found in April and May, after hibernation, on rocks, stone walls, especially those formed of loose cobbles or shale, trees, bushes, and even gate posts. I have beaten them from an old hawthorn hedge bordering a damp meadow in Middles.e.x, and collected them in numbers from the hollows of field boundary walls in North Devon. They feed on the tiny lichen that grows in such places as those indicated. The green, or yellowish-green chrysalis, is enclosed in a rather loose muslin-like silken coc.o.o.n, and is not difficult to obtain, especially from walls. It appears to be pretty generally distributed throughout England and Wales, except perhaps the midland and eastern counties; it occurs in the east and west of Scotland. In Ireland it is common, and often abundant, locally.

Distribution: Northern and Central Europe.

THE ROUND-WINGED MUSLIN (_Comacla senex_).

As indicated by the English name given to it by Haworth, the wings of this moth are rounder in outline than those of the Muslin, also named by Haworth. In general colour it agrees with that species, but it differs in having a larger central dot, and the cross lines are represented by blackish dots which, however, are not always well defined (Plate 95, Figs.

1, 4).

The caterpillar, as described by Buckler, is deep reddish-grey, thickly covered with hairs which are of two kinds; the majority are pale brown with black points and slightly feathered, others are longer, black, and densely feathered with soft pale-brown {176} plumage. Head black and s.h.i.+ning. It feeds in August and, after hibernation, in May on lichens and mosses growing on the ground in marshes and fens. It is known to eat _Peltigera canina_, and the mosses _Hypnum sericeum_, and _Weissia serrata_. Although occurring, in July and August, in marshy places in several parts of Southern England and Wales, it is especially common in fen land. In such localities as Wicken, for example, it flies at early dusk in hundreds all over the fen on favourable nights, but if there happens to be a breeze the moths will not leave their retreat among the herbage. Later on in the night, if on the wing, they readily a.s.semble around a brightly burning lamp, and are satisfied to sit on the herbage illuminated by its rays. In Northern England it is known to be not uncommon in some districts of Yorks.h.i.+re, and it probably occurs in other counties also. There appears to be only a single record each from Ireland and Scotland.

THE ROSY FOOTMAN (_Miltochrista miniata_).

The fore wings of this pretty little moth are ochreous yellow tinged with pink; the front and hind margins are bright pink, in some cases approaching vermillion; the markings are bluish black; hind wings rather paler. It varies in the amount of black markings, which are sometimes almost absent, and in colour ranges from yellow to orange. (Plate 95, Figs. 2, 5.)

The caterpillar is dark drab covered above with blackish, mouse-coloured plumed hairs; on rings one and eleven the plumose hairs are replaced by short simple ones; the hairs of the side tufts are plain. Head brown, the cheeks outlined in black (adapted from h.e.l.lins). Lichens growing upon the stems and branches of trees supply this caterpillar with food, and it seems to nibble on all favourable opportunities throughout the winter. It hatches from the egg in August, and is full grown in May. Boden, writing in September, 1896 (_The Entomologist_) noted that some caterpillars had then attained the perfect state, while others were still feeding, and he adds that the caterpillars actually attacked and ate up the moths. Although there seems to be few records from the Midlands, this species appears to be widely distributed over England as far north as Yorks.h.i.+re. In Ireland it has been recorded from Claring Bridge and East Galway. The moth is out in July. It is a wood-loving insect, but is also found on heaths, and even in lanes and the borders of fields when plenty of trees occur in such places.

It may occasionally be beaten out of trees and bushes in the day time but it is on the wing at dusk, and although it is a high flier, specimens come within reach now and then. Light and sugar both attract it. The species ranges through Central and Northern Europe, and in Asia to j.a.pan.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 96.

1, 1a, 1b. BUFF FOOTMAN: _caterpillar, chrysalis and coc.o.o.n_.

2. COMMON FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

3. SCARCE FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 97.

1. BUFF FOOTMAN, _male_; 2, 3 _females_.

4. DINGY FOOTMAN.

5. PALE FOOTMAN.

6. COMMON FOOTMAN.

7. SCARCE FOOTMAN.

8. NORTHERN FOOTMAN.

{177}

THE DEW MOTH (_Endrosa irrorella_).

Varies in colour from yellowish buff to creamy white, the colour on the margins always deeper; the rows of black spots on the fore wings are usually well defined, but sometimes those of the two central series are very faint, or quite absent, whilst an unusual number appear in the outer marginal series, Occasionally black scales appear on the veins, connecting the spots, and forming the figures [sideways vee between horizontal bars]

more or less distinctly; such forms are known as var. _signata_, Borkh. The moth appears in June and July. (Plate 95, Figs. 7, 9.)

When resting, the moth hangs from a blade of gra.s.s, or leaf of some plant; it then has a very transparent appearance. Barrett suggests that this gave rise to the English name it now bears, and by which it was known to Haworth and entomologists of his time.

Buckler and h.e.l.lins describe the caterpillar as blackish-brown above, and dark-reddish grey or purplish grey on the sides; a series of yellow spots along the middle of the back, then a white {178} and yellow interrupted line, followed by a light yellow stripe under the spiracles; raised spots blackish, some white; hairs blackish brown. Head black.

It feeds, in the suns.h.i.+ne, on the black and yellow lichens growing in the haunts of the species, which are edges of cliffs and rough stony places near the sea, and also on hillsides. The species occurs, perhaps, more abundantly on the Kentish and Suss.e.x coast than inland, but it is certainly not confined to the cliffs at Dover and Folkestone in Kent, or at Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Among inland localities for it are Box Hill, Ranmore, Reigate, and other places on the Surrey hills. It has also been recorded from the Cotswolds in Gloucesters.h.i.+re; the Isle of Man; St. Davids, South Wales; Aberdeens.h.i.+re, Sutherlands.h.i.+re, and the Tweed, Tay, Clyde, and Argyll districts in Scotland. For Ireland, Kane gives Mayo; "Ardrahan, County Galway, and west through the Burren of Clare, widely spread."

THE FOUR-DOTTED FOOTMAN (_Cybosia mesomella_).

Fore wings pale creamy white, the margins yellowish: a black dot near the costa, and another below near the inner margin; hind wings suffused with blackish grey. Rarely the fore wings are yellow with a whitish central shade, and the hind wings are yellowish. (Plate 95, Figs. 8, 10.)

The caterpillar is velvety blackish grey; warts thickly set with densely feathered blackish hairs. Feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on lichens growing among heather. In confinement it will, according to Buckler, eat heather and fresh or withered leaves of sallow.

Fairly well distributed over England. It appears to be absent from Ireland, but in Scotland it is known to occur in the Clyde, Solway, and Moray districts, and has been recorded from Aberdeens.h.i.+re. In the South of England it affects heaths and the more open woods; sometimes not uncommon in {179} such places. The moth, in June, may be disturbed from bushes, or put up from the heather as one walks through. As the sun goes down it may often be seen on the wing, but later in the evening is its chief time of activity. In Lancas.h.i.+re and Ches.h.i.+re it is found on the mosses, and Cannock Chase in Staffords.h.i.+re is a noted locality for it. Still obtained in Chippenham fen, but Barrett states that it is now supposed to be extinct in the fens of Wicken, Yaxley, and Burwell, in all of which it used to abound.

THE FOUR-SPOTTED FOOTMAN (_Oeonestis quadra_).

The s.e.xes of this species are very different in appearance. The fore wings of the male are grey tinged with yellowish, except on the outer fourth; the basal fourth is yellow. The female is larger and yellow in colour; each fore wing has two black spots, sometimes unusually large, sometimes mere dots, and more rarely absent altogether. (Plate 95, Figs. 11, 12.)

Caterpillar blackish with four wavy yellow lines along the back, the s.p.a.ces between the lines powdered and freckled with yellow giving a grey appearance; raised spots on the back red, those on the sides greyish; a black cross on rings three, seven, and eleven; hairs grey mixed with black.

Head black and glossy. It feeds, after hibernation, in May and June, on lichens, preferring those upon oak trees. In the breeding cage it is apt to eat its companions, especially when many are crowded into a small receptacle. (Plate 94, Fig. 3.)

The moth emerges in July, and during that month, and sometimes in August, it may be seen on tree trunks; but it more often reposes on the branches, from which it may be dislodged by jarring the boughs with a stick, when it drops rather than flies towards the ground, but generally manages to arrest its downward course by catching hold of a spray of bracken or some other plant and there awaits capture. Night is the usual {180} time of flight, but it is on the wing at dusk. It is partial to "sugar" and has been known to visit flowers.

This species has been recorded from a large number of localities in England extending from the Scilly Isles to the Scottish border. From the circ.u.mstances connected with many of such captures one is led to suspect that the insect has migratory habits. In England the most favoured locality is the New Forest in Hamps.h.i.+re, where it abounds in some seasons, but is quite scarce in others. It occurs, more or less regularly, in the larger woods in Dorset, extending into Devon; also in Suss.e.x ranging into Kent, but is only occasionally common in either of these counties. Generally considered to be uncommon in the eastern counties, but has been reported to occur in large numbers at Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The localities given in Kane's catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland are Killarney, Timoleague, Co. Cork, Curraghmore (abundant), Lismore, Borris, Co. Carlow, and Clonbrock. To these may be added Dublin, and Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Armenia, Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan.

THE BUFF FOOTMAN (_Lithosia deplana_).

Fore wings, ochreous grey, tinged with yellow on the basal half of the front margins; hind wings paler, becoming greyer on the outer area; fringes of all the wings yellow. The male is fairly constant in colour, but the female sometimes has a distinct yellow stripe on the front margin of the fore wings extending to the fringes (var. _ochreola_, Hubn.); more rarely in the New Forest (?), and in the Isle of Purbeck a form occurs with the fore wings orange buff, and the hind wings only slightly tinged with grey (var. _unicolor_, Bankes). (Plate 97, Figs. 1-3.)

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 98.

1, 1a. h.o.a.rY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2. DINGY FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

3. DOTTED FOOTMAN: _caterpillar_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]