The Moths of the British Isles/Chapter 13

The members of this sub-family of Arctiidæ occurring in the British Isles are not numerous; we can only muster some fifteen species, and although a few are not uncommon, several are exceedingly local.

The moths of the genus Lithosia, when resting, fold their drab or buff-coloured wings down closely along the body, and they then have a very elongate and stiff appearance which probably gave rise to their English name "Footmen." Most of them are very inactive, or even torpid during the daytime. They repose on the branches and leaves of trees and bushes, or among heather and other low herbage, and often fall to the ground when disturbed. At dusk they become active and then fly pretty briskly.

The caterpillars are very hairy, the hairs arising in tufts from warts (tubercles) are usually short, but in some species are of moderate length. The majority hatch from the egg in the late summer, and do not complete their growth until the following year, about May or June. Some of them are known to be more or less active through the winter. In a state of nature most of the caterpillars feed on lichens growing on trees, bushes, rocks, or on the ground, but many kinds in confinement will thrive on a diet of lettuce or even withered leaves.

In all cases the chrysalids are enclosed in silken cocoons, and these are spun up among the lichens, in crevices of bark, or other suitable crannies.

When newly emerged from the chrysalis this moth is black on all the wings, but it soon loses its early velvety sheen and becomes sooty in appearance; the last rings are orange, but all the rest of the body is black; the thorax also is black, but the part nearest the head, termed the collar, is red, hence the common English name Red-neck moth given to it by Harris (1778). Haworth called it the "Black Footman."

The caterpillar is greyish, more or less freckled with ochreous; three lines along the back, the central one whitish, the others black and interrupted; the hairs arising from reddish warts are brown or greyish brown. Head black. It feeds from July to October on lichens, chiefly those growing on fir and oak, but also on beech, and on old palings. Chrysalis, glossy dark red-brown in a tight-fitting cocoon of silk mixed with the hairs of the caterpillar; spun up among the lichen. The moth is shown on Plate 92, Figs. 5, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 93.

The moth is on the wing in June and July; in forward seasons as early as the end of May. On a sunny afternoon it may be seen careering around trees, generally pretty high up. When resting the moths sit about on the trees or on the herbage under them. In some years it occurs in large numbers, but it is not usually very abundant, and sometimes even in its best localities only a few specimens will be seen during the season. It frequents woods, especially the larger ones, throughout the southern half of England up to Norfolk on the east, and Hereford on the west. In the northern counties it is rare, and is not common in Scotland or Ireland.

Abroad, its range is through Central and Northern Europe, except the extreme north, to Dalmatia, Altai, and Amurland.

This delicate little moth has the semi-transparent fore wings pale greyish, faintly tinged with brown; crossed by irregular brownish lines; the hind wings are paler, shaded with a darker tint on the outer margins. Occasionally all the wings have a smoky tinge. The moth is shown on Plate 95, Figs. 3, 6, and the caterpillar and chrysalis on Plate 94, Fig. 2.

The caterpillar is greyish, with a broad whitish or yellowish stripe along the back, divided down the centre and edged by blackish lines; a velvety black mark on ring seven; raised warts and hairs dark greyish. Head black, shining; face yellowish. It may be found in April and May, after hibernation, on rocks, stone walls, especially those formed of loose cobbles or shale, trees, bushes, and even gate posts. I have beaten them from an old hawthorn hedge bordering a damp meadow in Middlesex, and collected them in numbers from the hollows of field boundary walls in North Devon. They feed on the tiny lichen that grows in such places as those indicated. The green, or yellowish-green chrysalis, is enclosed in a rather loose muslin-like silken cocoon, and is not difficult to obtain, especially from walls. It appears to be pretty generally distributed throughout England and Wales, except perhaps the midland and eastern counties; it occurs in the east and west of Scotland. In Ireland it is common, and often abundant, locally.

Distribution: Northern and Central Europe.

As indicated by the English name given to it by Haworth, the wings of this moth are rounder in outline than those of the Muslin, also named by Haworth. In general colour it agrees with that species, but it differs in having a larger central dot, and the cross lines are represented by blackish dots which, however, are not always well defined (Plate 95, Figs. 1, 4).

The caterpillar, as described by Buckler, is deep reddish-grey, thickly covered with hairs which are of two kinds; the majority are pale brown with black points and slightly feathered, others are longer, black, and densely feathered with soft pale-brown plumage. Head black and shining. It feeds in August and, after hibernation, in May on lichens and mosses growing on the ground in marshes and fens. It is known to eat Peltigera canina, and the mosses Hypnum sericeum, and Weissia serrata. Although occurring, in July and August, in marshy places in several parts of Southern England and Wales, it is especially common in fen land. In such localities as Wicken, for example, it flies at early dusk in hundreds all over the fen on favourable nights, but if there happens to be a breeze the moths will not leave their retreat among the herbage. Later on in the night, if on the wing, they readily assemble around a brightly burning lamp, and are satisfied to sit on the herbage illuminated by its rays. In Northern England it is known to be not uncommon in some districts of Yorkshire, and it probably occurs in other counties also. There appears to be only a single record each from Ireland and Scotland.

The fore wings of this pretty little moth are ochreous yellow tinged with pink; the front and hind margins are bright pink, in some cases approaching vermillion; the markings are bluish black; hind wings rather paler. It varies in the amount of black markings, which are sometimes almost absent, and in colour ranges from yellow to orange. (Plate 95, Figs. 2, 5.)

The caterpillar is dark drab covered above with blackish, mouse-coloured plumed hairs; on rings one and eleven the plumose hairs are replaced by short simple ones; the hairs of the side tufts are plain. Head brown, the cheeks outlined in black (adapted from Hellins). Lichens growing upon the stems and branches of trees supply this caterpillar with food, and it seems to nibble on all favourable opportunities throughout the winter. It hatches from the egg in August, and is full grown in May. Boden, writing in September, 1896 (The Entomologist) noted that some caterpillars had then attained the perfect state, while others were still feeding, and he adds that the caterpillars actually attacked and ate up the moths. Although there seems to be few records from the Midlands, this species appears to be widely distributed over England as far north as Yorkshire. In Ireland it has been recorded from Claring Bridge and East Galway. The moth is out in July. It is a wood-loving insect, but is also found on heaths, and even in lanes and the borders of fields when plenty of trees occur in such places. It may occasionally be beaten out of trees and bushes in the day time but it is on the wing at dusk, and although it is a high flier, specimens come within reach now and then. Light and sugar both attract it. The species ranges through Central and Northern Europe, and in Asia to Japan.

Varies in colour from yellowish buff to creamy white, the colour on the margins always deeper; the rows of black spots on the fore wings are usually well defined, but sometimes those of the two central series are very faint, or quite absent, whilst an unusual number appear in the outer marginal series, Occasionally black scales appear on the veins, connecting the spots, and forming the figures more or less distinctly; such forms are known as var. signata, Borkh. The moth appears in June and July. (Plate 95, Figs. 7, 9.)

When resting, the moth hangs from a blade of grass, or leaf of some plant; it then has a very transparent appearance. Barrett suggests that this gave rise to the English name it now bears, and by which it was known to Haworth and entomologists of his time.

Buckler and Hellins describe the caterpillar as blackish-brown above, and dark-reddish grey or purplish grey on the sides; a series of yellow spots along the middle of the back, then a white and yellow interrupted line, followed by a light yellow stripe under the spiracles; raised spots blackish, some white; hairs blackish brown. Head black.

It feeds, in the sunshine, on the black and yellow lichens growing in the haunts of the species, which are edges of cliffs and rough stony places near the sea, and also on hillsides. The species occurs, perhaps, more abundantly on the Kentish and Sussex coast than inland, but it is certainly not confined to the cliffs at Dover and Folkestone in Kent, or at Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Among inland localities for it are Box Hill, Ranmore, Reigate, and other places on the Surrey hills. It has also been recorded from the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire; the Isle of Man; St. Davids, South Wales; Aberdeenshire, Sutherlandshire, and the Tweed, Tay, Clyde, and Argyll districts in Scotland. For Ireland, Kane gives Mayo; "Ardrahan, County Galway, and west through the Burren of Clare, widely spread."

Fore wings pale creamy white, the margins yellowish: a black dot near the costa, and another below near the inner margin; hind wings suffused with blackish grey. Rarely the fore wings are yellow with a whitish central shade, and the hind wings are yellowish. (Plate 95, Figs. 8, 10.)

The caterpillar is velvety blackish grey; warts thickly set with densely feathered blackish hairs. Feeds in April and May, after hibernation, on lichens growing among heather. In confinement it will, according to Buckler, eat heather and fresh or withered leaves of sallow.

Fairly well distributed over England. It appears to be absent from Ireland, but in Scotland it is known to occur in the Clyde, Solway, and Moray districts, and has been recorded from Aberdeenshire. In the South of England it affects heaths and the more open woods; sometimes not uncommon in such places. The moth, in June, may be disturbed from bushes, or put up from the heather as one walks through. As the sun goes down it may often be seen on the wing, but later in the evening is its chief time of activity. In Lancashire and Cheshire it is found on the mosses, and Cannock Chase in Staffordshire is a noted locality for it. Still obtained in Chippenham fen, but Barrett states that it is now supposed to be extinct in the fens of Wicken, Yaxley, and Burwell, in all of which it used to abound.

The sexes of this species are very different in appearance. The fore wings of the male are grey tinged with yellowish, except on the outer fourth; the basal fourth is yellow. The female is larger and yellow in colour; each fore wing has two black spots, sometimes unusually large, sometimes mere dots, and more rarely absent altogether. (Plate 95, Figs. 11, 12.)

Caterpillar blackish with four wavy yellow lines along the back, the spaces between the lines powdered and freckled with yellow giving a grey appearance; raised spots on the back red, those on the sides greyish; a black cross on rings three, seven, and eleven; hairs grey mixed with black. Head black and glossy. It feeds, after hibernation, in May and June, on lichens, preferring those upon oak trees. In the breeding cage it is apt to eat its companions, especially when many are crowded into a small receptacle. (Plate 94, Fig. 3.)

The moth emerges in July, and during that month, and sometimes in August, it may be seen on tree trunks; but it more often reposes on the branches, from which it may be dislodged by jarring the boughs with a stick, when it drops rather than flies towards the ground, but generally manages to arrest its downward course by catching hold of a spray of bracken or some other plant and there awaits capture. Night is the usual time of flight, but it is on the wing at dusk. It is partial to "sugar" and has been known to visit flowers.

This species has been recorded from a large number of localities in England extending from the Scilly Isles to the Scottish border. From the circumstances connected with many of such captures one is led to suspect that the insect has migratory habits. In England the most favoured locality is the New Forest in Hampshire, where it abounds in some seasons, but is quite scarce in others. It occurs, more or less regularly, in the larger woods in Dorset, extending into Devon; also in Sussex ranging into Kent, but is only occasionally common in either of these counties. Generally considered to be uncommon in the eastern counties, but has been reported to occur in large numbers at Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The localities given in Kane's catalogue of the Lepidoptera of Ireland are Killarney, Timoleague, Co. Cork, Curraghmore (abundant), Lismore, Borris, Co. Carlow, and Clonbrock. To these may be added Dublin, and Nenagh, Co. Tipperary.

Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Armenia, Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

Fore wings, ochreous grey, tinged with yellow on the basal half of the front margins; hind wings paler, becoming greyer on the outer area; fringes of all the wings yellow. The male is fairly constant in colour, but the female sometimes has a distinct yellow stripe on the front margin of the fore wings extending to the fringes (var. ochreola, Hübn.); more rarely in the New Forest (?), and in the Isle of Purbeck a form occurs with the fore wings orange buff, and the hind wings only slightly tinged with grey (var. unicolor, Bankes). (Plate 97, Figs. 1-3.)

Caterpillar, greyish, or greenish grey, freckled with darker, hairs grey inclining to brownish; a broad creamy or yellowish stripe, edged with black and traversed by a dark central line along the back. Head blackish and glossy. From August to June on lichens growing on stems and branches of yew, oak, and beech.

A local species, and although recorded now and then from several other parts of the country, and once from Killarney in Ireland, seems to be pretty much confined to the counties of Surrey, Sussex, Hants, Dorset, and Devon. The moth, which is out in July, rests during the day upon the boughs and among the foliage of oak, beech, and yew, the latter especially in the Dorking district of Surrey.

Distribution: Central Europe, Southern Scandinavia, Livonia, Northern Italy, Roumelia, and Russia.

Haworth's English name for this moth was the "Dun Footman." In its typical form the fore wings are pale greyish with a yellowish front edging; the latter most distinct towards the base; the hind wings are whitish ochreous more or less suffused with grey. The pale form, var. flava, Haw. = stramineola, Doubl. at one time considered a distinct species (the Straw-coloured Footman of Haworth), has pale straw-coloured fore wings and white ochreous hind wings. (Plate 97, Figs. 4, 5.)

Caterpillar, sooty brown, with a darker line down the middle of the back and an interrupted yellow or orange line or stripe on each side of it; dark brown hairs arising from dark warts; head glossy black (described from a skin). It may be looked for in the spring months on the lichens affecting alders and sallows growing in fens and marshy places. (Plate 98, Fig. 2.)

The moth is abundant in the Cambridge and Norfolk fens, and is common in boggy places in the New Forest, but it probably occurs in all suitable places throughout England and Wales. It does not seem to have been observed in Ireland, but has been recorded from Moray in Scotland. The yellow variety, which by the way is not known to occur abroad, is found, with the ordinary form, chiefly in the Norfolk fens and in the New Forest; but it is also to be obtained, though less frequently, in Surrey (Weybridge district), Berkshire (Reading district), and still more rarely elsewhere. It is out in July.

Distribution: Central Europe, South Russia, Ural, Altai, Amurland, Corea, Japan, and West Africa.

Fore wings, leaden grey with a yellow stripe terminating in a point at the tip of the wing; the hind wings are pale ochreous yellow. It appears in July, sometimes at the end of June.

Caterpillar, dark greyish covered with blackish hairs arising from black warts on the back, and yellowish hairs from similar coloured warts on the sides; three black or blackish lines on the back, and an orange stripe along the sides from the fourth to eleventh rings; head black. August to June. Generally supposed to feed, in a state of nature, on lichen growing on trees and bushes. It has been reared on the foliage of sallow, apple, and oak; also known to eat buckthorn, clematis, dogwood, etc. I have occasionally beaten it from old hedgerows, and have frequently seen it on trunks of poplar and ash upon which not much in the way of lichen could be seen. Such caterpillars, when taken, have almost invariably spun up soon afterwards. The moth is shown on Plate 97, Fig. 6, and the early stages on Plate 96, Fig. 2.

This species is perhaps the commonest and most generally distributed member of the genus in England. It becomes much less frequent in northern pasts of Lancashire, and in Yorkshire it is local, but recorded as common in the south-east of that county. It occurs in Scotland, whence it has been recorded from Clydesdale, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. Kane states that it is common near Galway, and also gives Castle Bellingham, Clogher Head (not rare), and Athlone as Irish localities.

Distributed over Europe, except the extreme north, Andalusia and Southern Italy; the range extending to Asia Minor and Armenia. In Amurland, Corea, and Japan, it is represented by coreana, Leech.

Very similar in appearance to the last species, the yellow stripe along the front edge of the fore wings, however, does not terminate in a point, but is continued through to the fringes; the hind wings are sometimes distinctly yellow, and with but little, if any, greyish shading on the front area. (Plate 97, Fig. 7.)

Caterpillar, brown or brownish grey above, and paler beneath; a white-edged black line along the middle of the back, and a row of orange spots, alternating with whitish ones, on each side of the line; the orange spots faint or absent on rings one to three; an interrupted yellow or orange stripe along the sides; the brownish warts are thickly studded with short greyish brown hairs. Head black and glossy (described from a skin). From August to June. The most usual food is probably lichens on trees, but it is said to eat moss, knot-grass, clover, and the flowers of bird's-foot trefoil, etc. (Plate 96, Fig. 3.)

The moth is out in July and part of August, and may be disturbed in the daytime from its resting-place among heather and low herbage. It is on the wing in the dusk of the evening, and when the weather is favourable, flies freely. As it has a weakness for sweets, it should be looked for at night, by the aid of a lantern, on the flowers of knapweed and thistle. It chiefly affects heaths, but it is also found in woods, and on sandhills by the sea, as in Norfolk. A local species, but usually to be more or less frequently met with in all the eastern and southern counties, and in some of the midland. Rare in Wales, Cheshire, Lancashire, and York. Only doubtfully recorded from Scotland. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and, according to Kane, not uncommon where it occurs.

Gregson named and described this insect in 1860, and in the following year Guenée described it as L. molybdeola. It seems to be peculiar to England; and only occurs on the mosses of Lancashire and Cheshire. The fore wings are somewhat narrower and darker in colour than those of the Scarce Footman; and the hind wings are suffused, to a greater or lesser extent, with dark grey. Some entomologists maintain that this is probably only a small form of L. complana. According to Mr. Pierce it cannot be specifically separated from that species or from L. pygmæola by the genitalia, the usual test in such matters. Prout, however, has stated that Speyer, in 1867, pointed out structural differences, not only in the shape of the wings, but also in the size of the costal tuft of scales on the underside of the fore wings. It should be added that there does not seem to be any material difference between the caterpillar of complana and that of sericea. Anyway, the question of form or species may here be left open. The fact of the Northern, or Gregson's, Footman being an exclusive British production invests the insect with an importance greatly above that attaching to the majority of our moths. The moth is depicted on Plate 97, Fig. 8.

Ochreous white, sometimes tinged with greyish, or with yellowish; hind wings clouded with greyish on the front area. Female almost always smaller than the male. The fore wings vary a good deal in the matter of colour, the extremes being yellow and dark grey. (Plate 99, Figs. 3, 4.)

Buckler describes the caterpillar as brown on the back, with a central thick black line, and two dark brown lines; sides paler brown, with a dusty white line along the spiracles; the warts (tubercles) with short brown hairs, and the head black. August to June.

This extremely local little moth was unknown as an inhabitant of Britain until 1847, when it was described as L. pygmæola, by Doubleday in the Zoologist for that year, and noted as having been found among rushes on the coast of Kent. Two years later the insect was again referred to, and it was then stated to be confined to a "space of about four hundred yards in extent, on the coast of Deal." It then became known as the "Deal Footman." During the past seventy years or so large numbers have no doubt been removed from this locality, which is the only British one it was known to occur in. It is still to be found there, although said to be less common than formerly. In the Entomologist for September, 1912, this species was recorded as not uncommon on marram grass growing on the Norfolk coast.

Some present-day entomologists still incline to the opinion that the moth is a distinct species, and not a local race of lutarella, which is found throughout Central and Eastern Europe; ranging to South Scandinavia, Finland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland. The var. pygmæola has been obtained in Holland.

Fore wings silky whitish grey with a yellowish streak along the front edge; the hind wings are whitish with a faint yellowish tinge. Some of the specimens are entirely whitish (var. lacteola, Boisd.). July and August, sometimes earlier. (Plate 99, Figs. 1, 2.)

Caterpillar greyish brown, with a black line along the back, and a series of irregular orange marks, representing stripes, on each side of it; these orange marks are outwardly edged with black; an orange line low down along the sides; warts greyish or brownish, each bearing a tuft of short pale hairs. Head blackish, shining, notched on the crown, and studded with pale bristles in front. Fed on lettuce from April 30, the date they were received from Mr. Walker of Torquay. They were then quite small, the largest not more than half an inch in length. They pupated in June, and the moths emerged in July, all fine specimens. (Plate 98, Fig. 1.)

In the open the caterpillar feeds upon the black lichens growing on rocks, etc., by the sea; also upon Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), and bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus).

This species was not known to occur in any part of the British Isles until August, 1861, when the late Mr. C. G. Barrett took four specimens on the Hill of Howth in Ireland (vide Ent. Annual, 1862, p. 106). A large number were subsequently captured or reared from caterpillars obtained in the same locality by others. Kane ("Cat. Lep. Ireland") remarks that the colony flourished at Howth for many years, but that the species seemingly perished in the severe winters of 1878 or 1879, and unless a specimen taken in 1890 was this species, has not since been seen there. The only other Irish locality from which it has been recorded (August, 1866) is on the coast near Waterford. Torquay, where the species was first observed in 1864 is now a noted locality, and it is said to occur in certain spots along the coast to Babbicombe. Other localities in Devon are Dartmouth, Torcross, and Bolt Head. Barrett found the species rarely in two places by the sea in South Pembrokeshire, and mentions Rye in Sussex, and Romney Marsh in Kent, as localities where specimens have occurred.

Mr. J. Walker informs me that the moths fly at dusk, and that they all seem to get active at almost the same moment, and settle again in the same way at the end of their first flight, which lasts about half an hour. After dark the rays of an acetylene lamp directed downwards into the bushes will attract them from their retreat. Occasionally they visit "sugar."

Abroad this is a southern species, but its range extends to Western Germany, the Tyrol, Switzerland, and South Hungary, as well as to England; also to Asia Minor.

This moth is orange yellow on the fore wings, and a paler shade of the same colour on the hind wings. Except that the tint is brighter in some specimens and darker in others, there is nothing to mention in the way of aberration. (Plate 99, Figs. 6, 7.)

The caterpillar is white on the back with five black stripes, the outer ones broader than the others; all these stripes are broken up by brownish patches, and they fail to show at all on the eighth ring, which, therefore, is conspicuously white; the sides are smoky grey marked with white on the second and third rings; the warts are reddish, bearing smoky grey hairs. It may be found from July to September on the lichens growing on the trunks of oak trees. The moth does not appear until the following May or June, when it may be beaten from branches. Not uncommon in the woods, chiefly oak, of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, and Dorset; it also occurs in Cambridgeshire and Sussex. In Berkshire and Bucks it is fairly common, but seems to affect the beech woods in those counties. Recorded from Ireland by Birchall, who stated that it was abundant at Killarney.

The fore wings are pale grey suffused with pale reddish-brown except on the costal area: there are six black dots, two before the middle of the wing and placed above the inner margin, and four beyond the middle in an oblique series from the costa; the hind wings are pale brownish-grey, becoming somewhat darker towards the apex. (Plate 99, Fig. 5.)

Caterpillar velvety blackish-brown, marbled with reddish-grey; stripe along middle of the back, and a line on each side of it deep black; warts and hairs brown, the latter short but numerous; a pair of red spots on ring one, and another pair on ring twelve; beneath the spiracles is a fine reddish-grey line; under surface pinkish grey; head small and blackish (Buckler). So far it has escaped detection in its fenny home, but it has been reared from eggs laid by a captured female. Caterpillars obtained in this way seem to have thrived on a mixed diet of lichens, mosses, and withered leaves of bramble and sallow. August to May. Buckler states that the dark chestnut-brown pupa is enclosed in a double cocoon, the inner a webby one of greyish silk, and the outer one thinner and composed of white silk. The whole affair was formed in a curled-up bramble leaf. The caterpillar is figured on Plate 98, Fig. 5.

The moth is out in late July and through August. It has been obtained in a certain marshy locality in the New Forest, Hants, and also in some marshes at Sandwich, Kent. Its chief haunts are, however, in the fens of Norfolk, such as those on the river Bure, and Brundall fen on the Yare, but Horning and Ranworth are, perhaps, the headquarters of the species. It may be mentioned that when Stephens wrote about this insect in 1829 only two specimens had then occurred in Britain, and these had been found in a marsh at Horning floating upon the water in a ditch.

Distribution: Central Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Livonia, Dalmatia, Corsica and Sardinia, Amurland and Japan.