The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 32

THE CAMPION (_Dianthoecia cucubali_).

This moth (Plate 124, Figs. 5 [male], 6 [female]) is very similar to the last, but it has a distinct violet tinge, the orbicular mark is lengthened, and its lower edge touches, or almost touches, the reniform; the second line is distinct and straighter above the inner margin. The caterpillar is greenish, tinged with orange-brown on the front rings; the central line is greyish-brown, and the V-marks on the back and oblique stripes low down on the sides are orange-brown. It feeds on the leaves as well as the unripe seeds of campion, ragged robin, and catchfly in July, August, and September. The moth is out in June, and examples of a second generation in August. Like the rest of the species of the genus, it is most partial to flowers, but it occasionally puts in an appearance at the sugar patch.

Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles. The range abroad extends to Amurland, China, and j.a.pan.

THE TAWNY SHEARS (_Dianthoecia carpophaga_).

This species ranges in the colour of the fore wings from almost white, through various shades of ochreous brown.

The white and ochreous-tinted specimens are found in Kent and Suss.e.x chiefly, whilst the ochreous-brown forms are more generally distributed in England. Barrett states that in the south of Scotland a form occurs in which the ground colour is very pale dull brown with all the darker markings and cloudings deep umberous, the cloudings more extended. Var.

_capsophila_ {252} (The Pod Lover), which represents the species in Ireland and the Isle of Man, is of a greyish coloration and lacks the ochreous tint; the dark markings, especially on the area between the first and second cross lines, are blackish or black, and the outlines of the stigmata are very distinct. Kane mentions dull black specimens, from the Blasket Islands, in which only vestiges of the stigmata and submarginal line remained clear. Pembrokes.h.i.+re specimens have a colour range intermediate between _carpophaga_ (Plate 124, Fig. 9) and var. _capsophila_ (Figs. 7, 8), and serve to connect one with the other. The caterpillar, which is purplish brown with rather broad ochreous-brown lines on the back, feeds in June and July and again in September, on seeds of catchfly, campion, and sweet-william. The moth flies in May and June, sometimes in late July and August.

THE VIPER'S BUGLOSS (_Dianthoecia_ (_Epia_) _irregularis_).

The earliest British specimen of this moth (Plate 125, Fig. 1) of which there is any clear record is that found by the late Rev. A. H. Wratislaw, in July, 1868, resting on viper's bugloss (_Echium vulgare_), in a locality about ten miles from Bury St. Edmunds. Subsequently Tuddenham was indicated as the locality, and there, as well as in other parts of the Breck Sand district of Suffolk and Norfolk the species continues to flourish. _Echium_ was at first supposed to be the food plant, but it was soon ascertained the larval pabulum was the flowers and seeds of the local catchfly (_Silene ot.i.tes_). In September, 1870, Mr. Porritt described the caterpillar, and he found that in confinement it did not object to Ragged Robin (_Lychnis flos-cuculi_) in place of the _Silene_.

In colour the caterpillar is pale yellowish brown, tinged with green; three more or less distinct pale lines, and a series of smoke-coloured V-shaped marks on the back. Spiracles black with a yellowish white stripe below them, and a smoke-coloured one above; head wainscot brown dotted with black. It may be found on its food plant from late July to early September.

The moth flies in June and July, but seems to have been very rarely met with in the open, although large numbers of the caterpillars, which are frequently "ichneumoned," are collected almost every year. A specimen, recently presented to the Lincoln Museum, is said to have been reared from a caterpillar found on viper's bugloss in the neighbourhood of East Ferry in North Lincolns.h.i.+re.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 124.

1. WHITE SPOT MOTH.

2. VARIED CORONET.

3, 4. LYCHNIS.

5, 6. CAMPION.

7, 8. POD LOVER.

9, 10. TAWNY SHEARS.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 125.

1. VIPER'S BUGLOSS.

2. SMALL RANUNCULUS.

3, 4. BROAD-BARRED WHITE.

5, 6. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT.

7, 8. MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT _varieties_.

{253} THE SMALL RANUNCULUS (_Hecatera chrysozona_).

Except that the general grey coloration of the fore wings of this moth (Plate 125, Fig. 2) may be whiter or of a darker grey tint, there is little in the way of variation to refer to. Usually the area between the cross lines is dark grey, sometimes marked with yellow on the reniform and towards the inner margin. A series of yellow dots on the submarginal line is almost always present, but may be absent. The caterpillar is pale reddish brown; three fine double blackish lines and two rows of black dots on the back; a fine blackish line along the black spiracles. Head pale brown and glossy. In another form the general colour is some shade of green; yellowish to olive. It feeds in July and August on the flowers and seeds of the wild lettuce (_Lactuca saligna_, and _L. virosa_), hawk's-beard (_Crepis_), and also on those of the garden lettuce. The moth is out late in June and July, and at dusk may be seen at the blossoms of various plants in gardens and elsewhere, but seems to be most partial to those of spur-valerian (_Centranthus ruber_). It is found in the eastern counties, especially in Cambridges.h.i.+re; Surrey, and (rarely) in Suss.e.x and Dorsets.h.i.+re. Other English counties in which it has been noted are Hertford, Huntingdon, Northampton, Oxford, Berks, Somerset, and Hereford.

{254}

THE BROAD-BARRED WHITE (_Hecatera serena_).

Most of the British examples of this species have the thorax and fore wings almost pure white, the latter with a central blackish grey band (var.

_leuconota_, Ev., Plate 125, Figs. 3[male], 4[female]). The white, however, especially on the outer margin, is sometimes clouded with greyish, and occasionally the ground colour has a greyish tinge, thus approaching var.

_obscura_, Staudinger. The caterpillar is ochreous brown, more or less tinged with green, minutely dotted with dark grey, forming indistinct blotches; the stripe along the black spiracles is yellow tinged with green below. Head brownish, glossy. It feeds in July and August on hawk's-beard (_Crepis_). The smaller caterpillars may be found by day resting on the yellow flowers. In confinement they will eat the flowers and seeds of garden lettuce; and Prout mentions dandelion blossoms, and also those of almost any of the Compositae. The moth is out from June to August, and in the daytime may be seen sitting on fences, tree trunks, rocks and walls. It is pretty generally distributed in the southern portion of England, but becomes scarce northwards. In Scotland it seems to be little known, but Renton records it as common in Roxburghs.h.i.+re, and in 1898 Mr. Kirkaldy kindly gave me three greyish-shaded specimens that he picked up casually at Pitlochry, Perths.h.i.+re, in July of that year. It has been found in North Wales, but is more frequent in the southern parts of that country. Rather local and usually scarce in Ireland; but has been found in counties Waterford, Dublin, Wicklow, Louth, Antrim, Westmeath, Galway, Cork, and Kerry. The range abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland.

THE BORDERED GOTHIC (_Neuria reticulata_).

The cross lines and the veins are pale brown, sometimes tinged with pink.

These markings give the moth (Plate 126, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) a netted appearance, which, apart from the different ground colour and clouding, distinguishes it from the Gothic, with which it is sometimes confused. The antennae, too, of the male are only fringed with minute hairs, whilst those of the male Gothic are broadly pectinated. The caterpillar is greenish or pinkish ochreous, mottled with darker, and with slightly paler lines on the back and sides; head light brown. It will feed in July and August on knot-gra.s.s; and soapwort (_Saponaria_), _Silene inflata_, and _Dianthus_, have been mentioned as food plants. The moth is out in June and July. The species occurs in nearly all the counties of England to Yorks.h.i.+re, but except in Cambridges.h.i.+re, and perhaps Oxfords.h.i.+re, it is not common in any of the southern or eastern counties, although more frequently found in them than northwards. It has not been recorded from Scotland, and seems to be rare in Ireland, as it has only been noted from Co. Dublin and Co. Cork.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 126.

1, 2. BORDERED GOTHIC.

3, 4. DUSKY SALLOW.

5. ORACHE MOTH.

6, 7. SAXON MOTH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 127.

1, 2. FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH.

3, 4. FEATHERED GOTHIC.

5. GREEN BRINDLED DOT.

6, 7. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC.

8, 9. ANTLER MOTH.

{255} FEATHERED GOTHIC (_Tholera_ (_Epineuronia_) _popularis_).

The male of this species (Plate 127, Fig. 3) is strongly attracted by light, and frequently seen in houses, and is no doubt a familiar object to most residents in the country, and even in the suburbs of London. The female (Fig. 4) does not visit light, but this s.e.x, and the males also, may be found sitting after dark upon the upper erect leaves of the hard gra.s.ses, such as the matweed (_Nardus stricta_). Of course a lantern will be required to throw a light on the business of collecting them, and it is curious to note that even the brilliant glare of the acetylene lamp does not seem to disturb the moths very much, if at all.

The caterpillar is dark greenish brown and rather glossy, with a dusky plate on the first ring upon which are traces of the five dark-edged pale brownish stripes which traverse the body and meet on the last ring; the latter has a black plate. The spiracles are black, and the head is brownish, marked with {256} darker. The caterpillars hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous autumn, and may be found until July. They feed at night on the leaves of gra.s.ses, especially _Nardus_ and such kinds, growing in parks and open places. The moth is out in August and September, and occurs more or less commonly throughout England and Wales. In Scotland it is found in Ayrs.h.i.+re, and in other localities in the Clyde area; thence eastward to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is generally distributed, and in some localities very abundant, as at Clonbrock, and on the Wicklow coast.

THE HEDGE RUSTIC (_Tholera cespitis_).

The s.e.xes of this moth are depicted on Plate 128, Figs. 8[male], 9[female].

In habits, and also in the kind of places it frequents, this species has much in common with that last mentioned. It is certainly more local, but its range in the British Isles is somewhat similar to that of the Gothic.

The life history also is very like that of the last species, and the caterpillar feeds on the same kinds of gra.s.s.

ANTLER MOTH (_Cerapteryx_ (_Charaeas_) _graminis_).

This moth (Plate 127, Figs. 8[male], 9[female]) has the fore wings greyish brown or reddish brown, sometimes tinged with ochreous in the paler forms, or with olive in the darker forms. There is also variation in the markings, and chiefly of the central forked streak which has been likened to the antler of the stag. In most British specimens of the greyish form this is white throughout its length, and it has three branches; the stigmata are whitish, and there is often a whitish bar below the central streak. A number of aberrations have been named, and of these the following seem to be the most important: var. _tricuspis_, Esp., reddish brown; branched streak, stigmata, and bar ochreous; var. _rufa_, Tutt = _tricuspis_, Hubn., as above, but the markings white; var. _ruficosta_, Tutt = _graminis_, Hubn., greyish brown, with reddish front margin, and ochreous markings; var. _hibernicus_, Curt., yellowish brown with the markings ochreous, and the stigmata more or less united with the central streak. In some specimens most of the markings are obscured or absent, and only the reniform stigma and the forked extremity of the central line remain distinct.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 128.

1. FEATHERED EAR MOTH.

2, 3. STRAW UNDERWING.

4. SILVER CLOUD.

5, 6. FLOUNCED RUSTIC.

7. HAWORTH'S MINOR.

8, 9. HEDGE RUSTIC.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 129.