Butterflies and Moths Part 34

They all spend the winter in the chrysalis state.

_The Poplar Kitten_ (_Dicranura bifida_)

Our ill.u.s.tration shows the arrangement of the white and grey on the wings of this moth, but the other Kittens (_Bicuspis_ and _Furcula_) so closely resemble it that it is necessary to point out a mark of distinction. It will be observed that the fore wings are crossed by a broad grey band, edged with black. This band, in the present species, is almost of the same width throughout, its interior margin being almost straight, and the exterior one slightly concave. In _Furcula_, the outer margin of the band is generally sharply bent inward just below the costa. In _Bicuspis_ the grey band varies considerably in shape, but both this and the dark blotch near the tip of the wing are more sharply defined than in the other two species.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 131.--THE POPLAR KITTEN.]

The caterpillar is green, dotted with brown, and has a brown stripe on the back. This stripe is broken on the third segment, and widens out on the eighth and thirteenth segments. It feeds on the Poplar (_Populus nigra_) and Aspen (_P. tremula_).

When full grown it descends to the trunk of the tree, and constructs a very hard coc.o.o.n of a glutinous substance from its own body mingled with little pieces of the bark that it removes for the purpose. Thus made, the coc.o.o.n so closely resembles the surrounding bark that detection is very difficult. I have frequently found these coc.o.o.ns on the inner surface of loose bark.

This moth is widely distributed, and may be searched for in June and July. The larva feeds during August and September.

_The Puss_ (_Dicranura vinula_)

No written description is necessary in this case, the ill.u.s.tration easily serving for identification. This beautiful moth flies in May and June, and is common everywhere.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 132.--THE PUSS MOTH.]

The caterpillar is a very interesting creature. It is green, with a hump on the fourth segment, and a patch of brown from the fourth segment to the tail. This patch is very wide on the eighth segment, but tapers to a point on the thirteenth. The two horns are rather long and rough, and from each of them a very slender pink filament is protruded when the caterpillar is irritated.

It constructs a coc.o.o.n very similar to that of _Bifida_, though of course larger, on the bark of the tree on which it fed, generally three or four feet from the ground. It feeds on sallows, willows, and poplars, and may be found during July and August.

Family--NOTODONTIDae

_The c.o.xcomb Prominent_ (_Lophopteryx camelina_)

The family _Notodontidae_ contains several moths of somewhat varied appearance, but foremost among them are the 'Prominents,' distinguished by a conspicuous projection on the inner margin of the fore wings.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 133.--THE c.o.xCOMB PROMINENT.]

Our example of this group is the c.o.xcomb Prominent.

Its fore wings are brown, with darker markings arranged as shown in the ill.u.s.tration; and the hind margins are scalloped. The hind wings are much paler, with a dark brown patch in the a.n.a.l angle.

The caterpillar is green, with a yellowish line on each side. The spiracles are black, and there are two small humps on the twelfth segment. It feeds during August, September, and October, on various trees, including the oak, birch, poplar, hazel, and alder.

The moth flies from June to August, and is moderately common and widely distributed.

Family--PYGaeRIDae

_The Buff Tip_ (_Phalera bucephala_)

The first of our two examples of this small family is the common and destructive Buff Tip. The perfect insect is represented on Plate X, fig.

9, and is too well known to require a lengthy description. During June and July it may be seen resting on the bark of trees almost everywhere, with its wings folded closely round its body, and its antennae tucked under the wings, looking just like a piece of stick, or a projection of the bark on which it sits.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 134.--THE LARVA OF BUCEPHALA.]

The caterpillars appear towards the end of June, and may be seen in dense cl.u.s.ters on lime and other trees, sometimes twenty or thirty huddled together on a single leaf. As they grow larger they retain their gregarious tendencies, and often completely strip the leaves from large branches. They are of a dull yellow colour, hairy, and have seven broken black lines, one along the middle of the back, and three on each side.

The head and legs are black.

When full grown, they descend to the root of the tree, burrow into the soil, and there remain in the chrysalis state till the following June.

The chief food plants of this species are the lime (_Tilia vulgaris_), elm (_Ulmus campestris_), and hazel (_Corylus Avellana_).

_The Chocolate Tip_ (_Pygaera curtula_)

This species is not nearly so common as the last, but is to be met with more or less in most of the English counties in the month of May.

Its fore wings are light greyish brown, crossed with four transverse paler streaks, and tipped with a patch of chocolate brown. The hind wings are pale yellowish grey.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 135.--THE CHOCOLATE TIP.]

The young caterpillars feed in companies between leaves which they have spun together, but when nearly full grown they cease to be gregarious.

They are also very different in appearance at different ages. When fully fed, the larva is of a reddish-grey colour, spotted with black, with a double row of orange-coloured warts on each side. There is also a little black hump on each of the fifth and twelfth segments.

The food plants of this species are sallows (_Salix caprea_ and _S.

cinerea_), poplar (_Populus nigra_), and aspen (_P. tremula_).

Family--CYMATOPHORIDae

This, the last family of the _Bombyces_, contains seven species of moderate size, the larvae of which are either quite smooth or have small warty prominences. The seven species are grouped into three genera, from two of which we shall select a representative.

_The Peach Blossom_ (_Thyatira Batis_)

The popular name of this pretty little moth is given on account of the resemblance of the pink patches of its olive-brown fore wings to the petals of the peach flower. It is a moderately common moth, widely distributed in England and Ireland, and flies during June and July.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 136.--THE PEACH BLOSSOM.]

The caterpillar is marbled with reddish grey and brown, and has a hump on the third segment, and a smaller prominence on each of the segments six to ten inclusive. It feeds on the bramble (_Rubus fruticosus_) during August and September, and spends the winter in the chrysalis state, inclosed in a loose coc.o.o.n among the dead leaves at the root of its food plant.

_The Yellow-horned_ (_Asphalia flavicornis_)

This is one of the earliest of our moths, appearing on the wing in March, when it may be attracted by means of sugar placed on the bark of the birch (_Betula alba_).

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 137.--THE YELLOW-HORNED.]

The wings are grey, with a decidedly greenish tinge, crossed by three dark lines near the base, and two others, which are zigzag, just outside the centre. Between these two sets of lines is a conspicuous round pale spot. The hind wings are greyish brown, darker along the hind margin.

The larva, which feeds on the above-named tree, is pale greenish, with both white and black dots. It rolls itself up in a leaf, and seldom ventures out of the retreat thus formed. It is fully fed in July or August.