The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 8

Besides the specimens mentioned above, a caterpillar, which subsequently died, was beaten from alder in the Exeter district in 1870; another was obtained from hazel in Gloucesters.h.i.+re, but this was "ichneumoned." Then there is a record of a moth or caterpillar, presumably the former, occurring in the neighbourhood of Paisley; and there is a report that a caterpillar was once found at the base of an aspen growing on Clapham Common. A specimen was taken at electric light at Bedford, May, 1907.

The caterpillar is green, with three reddish humps on the back, and an interrupted reddish line along the sides. It feeds on poplar in July and August.

THE LARGE DARK PROMINENT (_Notodonta tritophus_ = _torva_).

Another Central European species, of which only one specimen is known to have occurred in Britain. This was reared from an egg, or from a caterpillar, obtained in Norfolk in the latter part of the summer of 1882.

The moth might be mistaken for a small dark coloured specimen of the next species (_N. trepida_), but the dark hindwings readily distinguish it (Plate 31, Fig. 4).

The caterpillar, although darker, bears considerable resemblance to that of the Pebble Prominent; it feeds in June and July, and also in September, on aspen.

According to Staudinger this species is the _tritophus_ of Esper, an earlier name than _torva_, Hubn.; whilst the preceding species, that has so long been referred to _tritophus_, Fabricius (or _trilophus_), is found to be _phoebe_, Siebert, which name has seventeen years' priority. {74}

THE GREAT PROMINENT (_Notodonta trepida_).

Fore wings greyish, or ochreous grey, with dark cross lines; a blackish tuft from middle of inner margin, and a series of dark, or sometimes reddish, spots on a pale cross line before the inner margin. Hind wings whitish, sometimes ochreous tinged; clouded with greyish on costal area (Plate 31, Fig. 5). When full grown the caterpillar is rather larger than the one figured on Plate 30. In colour it is green, with yellow lines along the back, seven reddish-edged yellow oblique streaks on the sides, and a reddish tinged stripe on the two rings nearest the head. It is stated to a.s.sume a purplish tint when quite mature. May be found from end of June to early August on oak. The dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in an earth-covered coc.o.o.n, may be found at the roots of oak trees in the autumn or winter.

The moth emerges between late April and early June, sometimes remaining in the chrysalis for two winters. Light attracts it freely, and it is frequently seen in the illuminated moth trap, and may be occasionally noted on the iron frame of a gas lamp in suitable places. Sometimes the moth is met with in the daytime, resting on the trunks or branches of oak trees in woods, or on palings adjacent thereto. When such specimens happen to be females, they should be kept for eggs, which they lay freely.

It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, is somewhat rare in the Midlands, and scarce in the northern counties and in Scotland. Recorded by Birchall as "not uncommon in Co. Wicklow," but Kane ("Cat. Lep.

Ireland") states that he has no information concerning its occurrence in the sister island. Distributed throughout Central Europe, extending into Spain, Italy, and Corsica; also to South-east Russia, Armenia, and possibly Ussuri. {75}

THE WHITE PROMINENT (_Leucodonta bicoloria_).

The glossy white moth, prettily marked with orange and black, shown on Plate 33, was not known to inhabit the British Isles until 1858 when Bonchard obtained one specimen in a large birch wood in the Killarney district, Ireland; in the following year he took a second specimen. Both captures were made in the month of June. In June, 1861, one example of the moth was found in Burnt Wood, Staffords.h.i.+re; and in the same wood, June, 1865, no fewer than six specimens were secured, and eggs obtained from one of the females. The caterpillars duly hatched out, but most of them were lost, only seven attaining the moth state. Kane states that in 1866 a specimen was taken in Mucross demesne, and caterpillars "were said also to have been beaten." Miss Vernon of Clontarf showed him her collection of insects from Kerry, and he found therein two rather poor specimens of the White Prominent from a new locality in Kerry. Barrett mentions the capture, in 1880, of a specimen near Exeter, Devons.h.i.+re. From the foregoing, which comprises all that appears to be definitely known about British _L.

bicoloria_, it will be gathered that the species is not only very local, but exceedingly rare.

The caterpillar, figured on Plate 32, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A.

Sich, is pale yellowish green, rather whiter on the upper surface; the lines are green, the central one darkest; the stripe along the spiracles is yellow edged with green. It feeds on birch in July; and changes in due course to a dark reddish brown chrysalis, which is enclosed in a compact silken coc.o.o.n spun up between leaves. The moth emerges in May or June.

Abroad the species seems to be generally distributed in Central Europe, and is also found in the Ural, Amurland, Ussuri, and j.a.pan. {76}

THE MAPLE PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx cuculla_).

To Donovan and the entomologists of his time this moth (Plate 33, Fig. 4) was known by the English name still in use, Stephens considered it a rare insect, and remarks that he once caught a specimen at Darenth Wood, by "mothing," in June, 1820; several other examples had been taken in the same place, and in the neighbouring woods. Although many more localities are now known for the moth, it still continues to be rather a scarce species. It appears to inhabit woods on a chalky soil almost exclusively, and is found less uncommonly in the woods of Buckinghams.h.i.+re than in its other haunts in Berks.h.i.+re, Oxfords.h.i.+re, Kent, Suss.e.x, Devons.h.i.+re, Ess.e.x, Cambridges.h.i.+re, Suffolk, and Norfolk. The bulk of the specimens in collections were probably reared from the egg, or from caterpillars obtained by beating or searching the maple bushes growing in the woods frequented by the moth.

The caterpillar is whitish green, rather glossy, with a dark green line along the middle of the back, which is broadest on the front rings, and a pale yellow stripe on the sides, the latter edged above with pale green; spiracles pinkish edged with black; a hump on the eleventh ring is purplish tinted. Head pale ochreous brown marked with reddish brown. Sometimes the general colour is yellowish or pinkish ochreous. May be found in June and July on maple (_Acer campestris_) and in confinement will feed very well on sycamore (_A. pseudoplata.n.u.s_). The moth usually emerges in May or June, but in 1901 Mr. Adkin reared ten moths, July 24 to 31, from eggs deposited in the spring of that year. The species does not seem to be a common one even abroad; its range extends through Central Europe to Italy and Sicily, and it is also found in Ussuri.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 30.

1, 1a, 1b. PEBBLE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2, 2a, 2b, 2c. IRON PROMINENT: _eggs, caterpillar, chrysalis and coc.o.o.n_.

3, 3a. GREAT PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 31.

1. IRON PROMINENT.

2. PEBBLE PROMINENT.

3. THREE HUMPED MOTH.

4. LARGE DARK PROMINENT.

5. GREAT PROMINENT.

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THE c.o.xCOMB PROMINENT (_Lophopteryx camelina_).

Probably the commonest of the true Prominents, and certainly the most variable. The early stages are figured on Plate 32, and two forms of the moth on Plate 33. In its typical and southern form the fore wings are more or less pale reddish brown with a darker cloud on the inner marginal area; there are three dusky, or blackish, cross lines, but two of these are generally very indistinct, the third runs from the blackish "tooth" on the inner margin to the front edge of the wing, and is followed by a pale wavy band often outwardly bordered with dusky. Sometimes the fore wings are clouded with dark brown, and in the North of England a dark reddish form occurs. In Scotland the fore wings vary in colour from dusky brown through reddish to pale yellowish brown; sometimes the "tooth" is reddish in chestnut coloured specimens. The whitish eggs are laid on the undersides of the leaves of various trees and bushes upon which the caterpillar feeds; these are chiefly birch, oak, hazel, sallow, and beech.

The caterpillar, which appears in July to October, and sometimes even later, is green, with a darker line on the back, and a yellow one on the sides; two reddish tipped wart-like projections on the back of ring eleven.

Occasionally the general colour is ochreous with a pinkish tinge, or it may be even purplish. There are two broods in the south of England, but only one in the north. The moths of the first brood fly in May and June, and those of the second in July and August, sometimes rather later. Pretty generally distributed throughout England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland.

Abroad its range extends over Northern and Central Europe to Northern Spain, Northern and Central Italy, Dalmatia, Turkey, Armenia, Siberia, Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan. {78}

THE SCARCE PROMINENT (_Odontosia carmelita_).

In 1828, when Stephens figured this moth, he only knew of two British specimens, both of which had been reared about sixteen years previously from caterpillars found at Darenth Wood. The wings, which are not thickly scaled, are purplish grey, becoming reddish brown on the front margins of the fore wings; the outer transverse line of the fore wings starts from a conspicuous creamy patch on the front margin, and the line on the hind wings is most distinct above the a.n.a.l angle, where it runs through a purplish cloud (Plate 33, Fig. 5).

In April and May the pale blue eggs are laid on the underside of birch leaves. The caterpillar in June feeds on the foliage of the birch, and when full grown is green freckled with yellowish above; a darker line runs along the middle of the back, and a reddish spotted, or tinted, yellow stripe along the sides; the small head, also green, is marked with yellowish. When the chrysalids are kept indoors the moths emerge earlier than in the open, and it therefore sometimes happens that eggs are laid and the caterpillars hatch before the birch leaves are ready for them. In such cases I have got over the difficulty in a measure by removing a portion of the outer covering of one or two of the most forward buds to give the caterpillars a chance of getting at the unexposed leaves. The moth emerges in April or May, and, as pointed out by Mr. R. Adkin, it sometimes remains in the chrysalis for two winters. Possibly this species may be found in most districts where birch abounds; but, so far as its distribution in our islands is known, it certainly appears to be distinctly local. Besides Darenth, it also occurs in West Wickham Wood, and at Wateringbury, in Kent; the Weybridge district, Dorking, and Haslemere, in Surrey; Ashdown Forest, Blackdown Woods, Haywards Heath, and Tilgate Forest, in Suss.e.x; New Forest, Hamps.h.i.+re, and Berks.h.i.+re. There seems to be no record of the moth having been found in any other part of England, except Keswick and Windermere. In Scotland it has been reported from Galas.h.i.+els, Clydesdale, the Tay district, Argyles.h.i.+re, and Moray.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 32.

1, 1a, 1b. PALE PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2, 2a. WHITE PROMINENT: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

3, 3a, 3b. c.o.xCOMB PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

4. MAPLE PROMINENT: _chrysalis_.

5, 5a. SCARCE PROMINENT: _chrysalis and coc.o.o.n_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 33.

1. WHITE PROMINENT.

2, 3. c.o.xCOMB PROMINENT.

4. MAPLE PROMINENT.

5. SCARCE PROMINENT.

6. PALE PROMINENT.

7. PLUMED PROMINENT, _male_; 8, _female_.

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THE PLUMED PROMINENT (_Ptilophora plumigera_).

The thinly scaled fore wings are ochreous brown in the male, and purplish brown in the female, and the markings, which are most in evidence in the male, are yellowish. Hind wings, more spa.r.s.ely scaled than the fore wings, are pale ochreous brown in the male and darker in the female. It varies in the tint of general colour and in the intensity of the yellowish markings.

In the female the antennae are simple, but in the male they are very plume-like, hence the English name. Buckler describes the caterpillar as whitish blue-green, with a broad deep green stripe down the middle of the back, and a narrow yellow line on each side of it; spiracular line slender, white, and wavy; head rather small, glossy, yellowish green. When quite full grown and mature it changes to a uniform semi-transparent green, like the underside of a leaf of maple, upon which, and also sycamore, the caterpillar feeds in May and early June. Maple bushes growing in hedgerows are usually selected by the female moths when laying their eggs. These are placed on the twigs near a bud, and may be searched for at any time from November until April. The moth is shown on Plate 33.

This species was figured by Stephens (1828) as _Ptilophora variegata_ and the only locality then known to him was Darenth Wood, where, he states, the caterpillar was obtained almost every year. It still occurs in Kent and possibly in its old haunt; it is also recorded from Watergate, Suss.e.x; South Devon (Torquay district); and Gloucesters.h.i.+re. In Bucks, Berks, and Oxfords.h.i.+re it is more frequent than in either of the counties previously mentioned, and in all it seems to be found chiefly in chalky localities.

The moth, which is on the wing in November {80} or sometimes in late October, has rarely been taken when flying at night or resting by day.

Light has an attraction for the male, but apparently not for the female.

Distributed through Central Europe, its range extends to Southern Scandinavia, Northern Italy, Livonia, Bulgaria, S.E. Russia, and j.a.pan.