The Moths of the British Isles Volume Ii Part 35

The New Forest in Hants is, perhaps, the best British locality for the species, but it has been found in Dorset (Glanville's Wootton), Devon (Exeter district, Tiverton, etc.), Suss.e.x (Abbots Wood, St. Leonard's Forest, etc.), Wilts. (Savernake Forest); also oak woods in Surrey, Berks., Gloucester, Hereford and Glamorgan. On the eastern side it occurs in Suffolk (Bury and Needham), and Norfolk.

DWARF PUG (_Eupithecia pusillata_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 93, Fig. 12) are pale greyish white, discal spot black, cross lines irregular dark grey inclining to brownish, usually most distinct on the front margin.

The long, slender caterpillar is orange-red or dull ochreous green; three dusky olive lines along the back, the central one often only distinct on the front rings; a yellow line low down along the sides. It feeds, in June and early July, on spruce (_Picea excelsa_). The moth is out in May and June, and rests by day among the branches of the spruce. {226}

The species is very local, but is found in Kent (West Wickham, etc.), Surrey (Mickleham district), Hants (New Forest), Devon (Exeter district, Plymouth), Wilts. (Watlington district), and Suffolk.

OCHREOUS PUG (_Eupithecia indigata_).

Captured specimens of this pale greyish-ochreous-brown species nearly always have a washed-out appearance, and even freshly emerged examples are unattractive. In some specimens, cross lines are more or less traceable on the fore wings; in others four or five tiny dusky dots will be noted on the front edge; as a rule, the only clearly defined character is the black discal spot (Plate 96, Fig. 1).

The long caterpillar is greenish-yellow or yellowish-red; three lines on the back, the central one brownish, but often only distinct on the front rings; the others, and also one low down along the sides, yellowish; head, reddish (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in June and July, on pine and larch, or may be reared on juniper.

The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes there seems to be another emergence in the latter part of the summer. It frequents pine-woods, where it rests upon the trunks and branches of the trees.

Generally distributed over the whole of England; has been found in South Wales, and occurs in Perths.h.i.+re, in Scotland. In Ireland, it has been noted from Tyrone, Derry, and Galway.

PINION-SPOTTED PUG (_Eupithecia insigniata_).

The greyish white fore wings have a blackish basal line, and three slender double lines between this and the outer margin; three blotches on the front margin of the wings, the middle one blackish, the others brown with dashes of the same colour below; discal spot, black and streak-like (Plate 96, Fig. 2).

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2 Pl. 94.

1. PLAIN PUG: _caterpillars_.

2. DARK SPINACH: _caterpillars_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2 Pl. 95.

1. PIMPINEL PUG.

4. THYME PUG.

7. BLEACHED PUG.

3, 6, 10. WORMWOOD PUG.

9. CURRANT PUG.

2, 12. LING PUG.

5. CAMPANULA PUG.

8, 11. JASIONE PUG.

{227} The long, slightly roughened caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings; reddish marks on the back connected by a slender line of the same colour; head, green, flecked with reddish. It feeds, on apple, eating flowers and leaves, in May and June.

Also said to eat hawthorn and sloe. The moth is out in April and May, but it is rarely met with in the open. If, however, one is lucky enough to capture a female, and fertile eggs are obtained, moths should hardly fail to result. From these the stock might go on increasing year by year for quite a long period. Ten specimens presented to the National Collection of British Lepidoptera in 1904, by the late Mrs. Hutchinson, were bred in April of the previous year, and were the direct descendants of a female captured in 1874, at Grantsfield, Herefords.h.i.+re.

Other counties in England from which the species has been recorded are--Worcester (Birchwood), Gloucester, Somerset, Wilts., Hants (Hayling Island), Suss.e.x, Surrey, Kent, Berks., Bucks., Huntingdon, Cambridge (once bred from mixed larvae beaten from hawthorn on the "Gogs"), Suffolk (beaten from hawthorn at Brandon, Tuddenham, etc.), and Norfolk.

As _insigniata_, Hubner, is claimed to be at least two years older than _consignata_, Borkhausen, the former name will have to be adopted for this species.

NETTED PUG (_Eupithecia venosata_).

This moth has also been named by the old authors "the Pretty Widow Moth."

On Plate 93 are shown four examples; the typical form (Fig. 2), in which the fore wings are pale greyish, with black cross lines, two of which are edged with whitish; var. _fumosae_, Gregson = _nubilata_, Bohatsch (Fig.

5)--the Shetland race--is brownish grey, with the markings obscure; Fig. 8 {228} represents a variegated modification of the last form, for which the name _bandanae_ was proposed by Gregson; Fig. 11 depicts another specimen, which in its light-brown colour closely approaches the Orkney form var.

_ochracae_, Gregson = _orcadensis_, Prout.

Specimens from North Devon have a rather darker tone of the typical coloration, and those from North Wales and from Ireland incline to brownish.

The rather stumpy caterpillar is greyish brown above, and pale greenish or yellowish below; three darker brown lines along the back; head, blackish.

It is found from late June to early August, in the seed capsules of catchfly (_Silene inflate_, _S. maritima_, etc.). Plate 92, Fig. 4, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.

The moth is out in May and June, and is widely distributed over the British Isles.

PIMPINEL PUG (_Eupithecia pimpinellata_).

A portrait of this species, which, as a British insect, was first noted in Suffolk nearly sixty years ago, will be found on Plate 95, Fig. 1. The fore wings are pale brownish, except on the front edge, which is greyish; the black discal spot is distinct and rather long; the median vein and its branches are dotted with black, and most of the cross lines are only distinct on the front margin, where they are blackish; the rather wavy whitish submarginal line is sometimes marked with blackish. In some specimens the costal half of the fore wings is greyish, and the other portion only tinged with pale brownish.

The long caterpillar is green, with three purplish lines along the back, the central one wider and more distinct than the others; the head is purple. Sometimes purple, with two lines of a deeper shade on each side of the back (Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers of burnet-saxifrage (_Pimpinella_). {229} The moth is out in June and July, and in the late afternoon is occasionally put up from among its food plant or the herbage around, but such specimens are rarely worth keeping, unless of the female s.e.x, when eggs may be obtained.

The species has a wide distribution in England, especially in the southern half; it occurs in Wales, and also in Ireland, but not in Scotland.

THYME PUG (_Eupithecia distinctaria_).

This delicately marked species, better known, perhaps, as _constrictata_, Guenee (Plate 95, Fig. 4), has the fore wings whitish grey, with three slender blackish curved cross lines, and some less distinct greyish ones; the outer margin is slightly darker, and traversed by a wavy whitish line; discal spot black and conspicuous.

I have not seen specimens from the Hebrides, but, according to Barrett, these have a more decided grey tint.

The rather long, wrinkled caterpillar is dark green, inclining to yellowish between the rings, with a broad purplish red line along the back. It feeds on the flowers of wild thyme (_Thymus serpyllum_), in August and September.

The moth is out in June and July, and inhabits dry places where there is an abundant growth of wild thyme. It is easily alarmed, and quickly rises on the wing from its hiding-place among the herbage.

The species is, or has been, found in most of the southern counties of England, from Suss.e.x to Cornwall, on the western side from Somerset to Westmorland, including North Wales and the Isle of Man; also recorded from Buckinghams.h.i.+re, Yorks.h.i.+re (Richmond), and Northumberland. In Scotland it occurs chiefly on the west to Ross, and in the Hebrides; in Ireland it is widely spread, but most frequently met with on the coast. {230}

BLEACHED PUG (_Eupithecia expallidata_).

The ample wings light brown in colour, with large black discal spot, and smaller black marks on the front edge of the fore wings, distinguish this species (Plate 95, Fig. 7) from its closest British allies.

The caterpillar feeds, in September and October, on flowers of golden rod (_Solidago virgaurea_), but it will thrive on those of michaelmas daisy, and probably the asters of the garden. It varies in ground colour, but this is usually some shade of green, and there are brownish spots and lines on the back.

The moth is out from late June until August, and may be put up from among golden rod during the day, or netted as it flies about the plant in the gloaming.

It is rather local, but occurs in most of the southern counties of England, from Kent to Devons.h.i.+re, and westward from Somerset to Hereford and South Wales; also recorded from North Lancas.h.i.+re. Rare in Scotland, and only noted from Perths.h.i.+re and Aberdeens.h.i.+re. Reported from a few localities on the coast in Ireland.

CURRANT PUG (_Eupithecia a.s.similata_).

This species (Plate 95, Fig. 9) is similar in marking to that next mentioned, but the wings are shorter and rounder; the fore wings are a trifle redder in tint, and the white mark at the termination of the submarginal line is usually more conspicuous.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2 Pl. 96.