The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 40

4. BROWN RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.

5, 5a. DOUBLE LINE: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

6. THE ANOMALOUS MOTH: _caterpillar_.

7, 7a, 7b. SMALL MOTTLED WILLOW: _eggs and caterpillars_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 153.

1, 3. REDDISH BUFF MOTH.

2. MARSH MOTH.

4, 5. BROWN RUSTIC.

6. _XYLOPHASIA ZOLLIKOFERI._

{313} THE BROWN-LINE BRIGHT-EYE (_Leucania_ (_Chabuata_) _conigera_).

This species (Plate 150, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]) ranges in the colour of fore wings from pale ochreous brown to a dusky tawny hue; the cross lines are sometimes very faint, but otherwise the markings are constant.

Var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is described as rusty red suffused with darker scales, markings typical, but deeper in colour and more distinct. The caterpillar is ochreous or greyish brown; three yellow lines on the back are black edged; a yellow line along the sides is often edged with black, and the line below the black spiracles is blackish; head pale brown marked with black. It feeds on gra.s.ses, and may be found in April and May. The moth appears in June and July and is pretty generally distributed. It is regarded as a common species in South England, but in the north seems to be rather local and most frequently found on the coast. In Scotland it does not appear to have been noted north of Ross or in the isles. Abroad the range extends through Northern and Central Asia to India and j.a.pan. {314}

THE DOUBLE LINE (_Leucania_ (_Eriopyga_) _turca_).

The s.e.xes of this species are shown on Plate 150, Figs. 3 [male], 6 [female]. The general colour of the fore wings may be paler or darker than in the specimens shown. Sometimes the central area enclosed by the black cross lines is darker than the other parts of the fore wings; var.

_obscura_, Tutt, has the fore wings obscure smoky grey, with a dull coppery tinge, much suffused with dark scales; markings indistinct.

The caterpillar is pale brown freckled with darker; a whitish line along the middle of the back is edged on both sides with blackish merging into black at the ring divisions; a rather wavy, but less distinct, whitish line on each side of the central one edged above with blackish; spiracles black ringed with pale brown and set in a broad dark brown line below which the colour is pinkish; head s.h.i.+ning pale brown, freckled with darker on the cheeks. It feeds on c.o.c.ksfoot and various other gra.s.ses occurring in woodlands. August to May. The moth, which inhabits woods and well-timbered parks, is out in June and July. It is, perhaps, most frequent in the New Forest, Hamps.h.i.+re, thence it is found more or less sparingly to Cornwall.

Sometimes not uncommon in Savernake Forest, Wilts.h.i.+re, and occurs in Berks.h.i.+re, Buckinghams.h.i.+re, Ess.e.x (Epping Forest, etc.), Surrey (Richmond Park). Recorded from Ches.h.i.+re and from South Wales. In Scotland it is said to have been taken at Newfield, Ayrs.h.i.+re. The only records from Ireland are Clonbrock (1), and Merlin Park, Galway (2). Abroad it ranges to Amurland, China, Corea and j.a.pan.

TREBLE LINES (_Meristis_ (_Grammesia_) _trigrammica_).

The fore wings range in colour from whitish or greyish brown to ochreous brown; the cross lines are usually distinct, {315} and the central one is often broad. (Plate 151, Fig. 1.) In var. _approximans_, Haw., the cross lines fall nearer together on the inner margin; and in var. _semi-fuscans_, Haw., the basal half is greyish or reddish grey, and the outer half is suffused with brownish (Fig. 2). Then there is a somewhat rarer form, with dark grey, brown, or blackish brown fore wings, with the cross lines more or less distinct, as in Fig. 3; or with the central one absent (var.

_bilinea_, Hubn.); or all the lines may be obscured by the dark colour.

Kane states that var. _obscura_, Tutt (= _bilinea_, Haw.), is pretty common at Howth and other places in Ireland, and, according to Barrett, it is not infrequent in Wales. The caterpillar is greyish or dingy reddish brown; three pale lines on the back, the central one partly edged with black, and the outer ones are broken and inwardly edged with blackish marks; the stripe along the black spiracles is ochreous brown; head brownish. From July to April on plantain and other low plants. The moth is out in June and July. In Scotland it is local and rare, but has been recorded from Clydesdale, Arran, and once from Perths.h.i.+re. Local but widely distributed in Ireland.

THE ANOMALOUS (_Stilbia anomala_).

A local species, but sometimes not uncommon on heaths, or in rocky places by the sea. It is found from Surrey westward to Cornwall; and from Staffords.h.i.+re, in which county it has been seen in abundance on Cannock Chase, it ranges into Derbys.h.i.+re, Nottinghams.h.i.+re, Ches.h.i.+re, Wales (North and South), Lancas.h.i.+re, Yorks.h.i.+re (commonly at Saltaire), Durham (once), and c.u.mberland. Generally distributed in Scotland, including the Orkneys.

It occurs in the Isle of Man, and seems to be pretty widely spread in Ireland, but found chiefly on the coast. Abroad it seems to be only found in France and in Central and Western Germany. In Southern Spain it is {316} represented by var. _andalusiaca_, Staud., and in Syria by var. _syriaca_, Staud. A typical male is shown on Plate 151, Fig. 4.

The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish between the rings of the body; three lines on the back are whitish, edged with dark green; a stripe low down on the sides is whitish, shaded above with dark green merging into the ground colour; head s.h.i.+ning bright green, obscurely mottled with darker. In other forms the general colour is reddish or pinkish brown, with the lines edged and shaded with darker brown; the head is ochreous brown, mottled with darker brown. The green form is figured on Plate 152, Fig. 6, but the browner forms are more frequent. It feeds on gra.s.ses from the autumn until about March.

THE MOTTLED RUSTIC (_Caradrina morpheus_).

A specimen of this species is shown on Plate 151, Fig. 5. There is some variation in the darker mottling and suffusion of the ochreous or pale brown fore wings. The dark brown or blackish stigmata are generally distinct. Hind wings whitish, tinged with smoky on the veins, and in the female on the outer marginal area. The caterpillar is brownish or greyish brown, inclining to ochreous on the back; central line whitish, with a broken edging of brown; on each side of the central line there is a series of blackish arrow heads; spiracles blackish; head dark brown, and very glossy. It feeds from August and through the autumn on various low plants, including goose-foot, knot-gra.s.s, dandelion, etc. The moth flies from June to August, and occasionally there is a second flight in October. The species is generally distributed and often common over the greater part of England, but is less frequent in the more northern counties, and in Wales, Ireland, and Scotland. Abroad the range extends to Amurland and Corea.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 154.

1, 2, 3. COPPER UNDERWING MOTH.

4, 5. MOUSE MOTH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 155.

1, 2, 3. PINE BEAUTY MOTH.

4. WHITE-MARKED MOTH.

5, 6. RED CHESTNUT MOTH.

7, 8. HEBREW CHARACTER MOTH.

9, 10. HEBREW CHARACTER MOTH, _var. gothicina_.

{317}

THE UNCERTAIN (_Caradrina alsines_).

This species (Plate 151, Fig. 6) and the next one--The Rustic--are often confused, but the present one may be recognized by the more ochreous tinge of its fore wings, the more distinct markings, and the general rougher appearance of all the wings. The hind wings are more smoky, or sometimes brownish tinged.

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, frequently with a reddish tinge; three whitish lines on the back, edged with black, the edging of the central one interrupted at the ring divisions; a dusky area along the sides is edged above and below by a black line; head ochreous brown. It feeds from September to March on dock, chickweed, primrose, and various other low plants. The moth flies in July and August, and, like most of its congeners, is partial to the blossoms of privet. The species is widely distributed over England, but seems to occur more commonly in the south and east. It is also found in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.

NOTE.--_C. superstes_, an inhabitant of Central and Southern Germany, Hungary, Southern Europe, and Asia Minor, has been mentioned as British, but the record needs confirmation.

THE RUSTIC (_Caradrina taraxaci_).

Compared with the last species, the one now considered (Plate 151, Fig. 7) has browner fore wings, inclining to brownish or blackish, smoother and glossy; and the markings are usually rather obscure. The hind wings are silky, and whiter in the male.

The caterpillar is greyish brown, with an olive tinge; central line dark brown, expanding on each ring; on either side of this is a brown-edged white line; a light brown line along the spiracles; head ochreous brown. It feeds from September to April on low plants, such as dock, chickweed, plantain, etc. {318} The moth flies from late June to early August, and its range in the British Isles is pretty much as in the last species, but more generally distributed than _alsines_ in Ireland.

VINE'S RUSTIC (_Caradrina ambigua_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 151, Fig. 8) are rather greyer than those of the last, and the hind wings are s.h.i.+ning white, tinged with greyish brown in the female, especially on the veins.

Barrett describes the caterpillar as follows: "Plump, cylindrical; head round, the lobes dark brown, but the face paler; dorsal region between the subdorsal lines broadly yellowish brown, with slender, delicate, oblique lines on each segment; dorsal line a row of black dots, one on each segment; lateral s.p.a.ce from the subdorsal lines to the spiracles darker brown or umberous, containing a row of ovate, oblique, yellowish spots, each rather raised into a k.n.o.b by the wrinkling of the skin; spiracles black; under surface, legs, and prolegs pale rosy brown, except the a.n.a.l prolegs, which are brown." It feeds from October to May on dandelion, plantain, chickweed, and other low plants; also on lettuce and gra.s.s. The moth flies in August and September. Sometimes the caterpillars will feed up and attain the moth state the same year in November or December. The species was not known to occur in England until some specimens were taken by Mr. Vine at sugar, near Sh.o.r.eham, Suss.e.x, in 1879. Since that year it has been taken more or less freely at several places on the south and south-west coast, from Deal, in Kent, to Truro, in Cornwall.

THE PALE MOTTLED WILLOW (_Caradrina quadripunctata_).

The black spots on the front margin of the fore wings of this species (Plate 151, Figs. 9, 10) are pretty constant characters, {319} and are usually present even when most or all the other markings are absent. The caterpillar is greyish brown, often tinged with green above; the lines are faintly paler, and edged with darker; head blackish. It feeds from September to May on gra.s.ses, seeds of plantain; also on peas and corn; often common in stacks of wheat and other grain.

The moth flies chiefly in July and August, but it is sometimes seen as early as May and as late as October. Generally distributed, and often very common. Except that it does not occur in America the range abroad is almost as extensive as that of the next species.

SMALL MOTTLED WILLOW (_Laphygma_ (_Caradrina_) _exigua_).

This species (Plate 151, Fig. 11) practically ranges over the globe. It is the "Beet Army-worm" of American economic entomologists; whilst in South Africa it is known in the early stage as "The Pigweed Caterpillar." In Asia, and especially in India, where it is destructive to the indigo plants, maize, etc., it is a familiar pest, but does not seem to bear a common name. As regards our own country, it was apparently unnoticed until somewhere about the middle of the last century, when a specimen was captured in the Isle of Wight. Its occurrence here is always considered a noteworthy event, but the records are very scanty except for the years 1896, 1897, 1900-03, and 1906. In the latter year there seems to have been an invasion on quite a large scale, and captures in some localities on the south and south-west coasts must have been in hundreds, whilst the species was also taken in fewer numbers in Ess.e.x, Surrey, Wilts.h.i.+re, Somerset, Devon, and South Wales. A specimen occurred at Crosby, Lancs., in 1884. In 1903 one example was taken at Chester, Ches.h.i.+re. At Keighley, Yorks, eight were secured, which, added to three taken in other years, gives a total of eleven specimens for the county. In Ireland one example was {320} obtained at honeydew, September, 1899, at Timologue, Co. Cork.

The eggs (Plate 152, Fig. 7a) are laid in batches on a leaf, and more or less covered with whitish hairs. Some deposited on Sept. 8, 1906, hatched on the 20th of that month. When just hatched the caterpillar is greenish, paler on the last rings; head and plate on first ring s.h.i.+ning black; when a week old a black plate appears on the last ring also. Later on the colour varies from green to olive green, brownish, and dark greyish. Green examples are figured on Plate 152, Fig. 7. The central line is ochreous, and there are series of black bars and blackish marks on the back; along the black-edged white spiracles is a pinkish brown band, edged above by an interrupted black line; the pinkish brown colour runs up the front part of each ring four to eleven; head blackish. The caterpillars were fed upon plantain, dandelion, and groundsel, but they would eat the foliage of any weed that was put in their cage. They formed fairly tough earthen coc.o.o.ns on, or just below, the surface; but, although they pupated, the moths failed to emerge, probably because they were kept too dry. The ochreous or pinkish brown colour of the orbicular stigma, and sometimes of the reniform, distinguishes this moth; the hind wings are white with a very distinct pearly gloss.

THE SMALL DOTTED BUFF (_Petilampa arcuosa_).

This pale whity-brown insect (Plate 134, Figs. 19 to 21) is often without markings, and where these are present on the fore wings they comprise two series of dusky dots representing two cross lines, and sometimes there is a dot at the end of the cell. These wings may be shaded with brown, and occasionally there is a dark band-like shade between the series of dots, in the male as well as in the smaller and narrower-winged female. Var.

_morrisii_, Dale, seems to be a whiter form of this species. {321} The caterpillar, which may be found in May and June in the flower stems of _Aira caespitosa_, is of a pale pinkish ochreous with three darker bars on each ring, and a brown, glossy head. The moth flies in July and part of August, and may be found, often in abundance, in most English and Welsh counties, in Scotland to Aberdeens.h.i.+re; and widely spread in Ireland.

THE REDDISH BUFF (_Acosmetia caliginosa_).

Both s.e.xes of this reddish tinged grey-brown species are shown on Plate 153, Figs. 1 [male], 3 [female]. As will be noted, the female is much smaller than the male. Except that it has been recorded from the Isle of Wight and from Bloxworth, Dorset, in the past, this species is restricted to certain portions of the New Forest, Hamps.h.i.+re. Even in these favoured haunts its numbers have become far less than formerly. The moth is out in July. Apparently it has no taste for sugar, neither does it seem to visit blossoms of any kind. It may be disturbed from its retreat among the gra.s.s by day, or netted as it flies at dusk. The caterpillar is stated by Hofmann to live on saw-wort (_Serratula tinctoria_); it is sap-green, yellow at the ring divisions, and marked with fine white lines.