The Moths of the British Isles Second Series/Chapter 5

Some specimens are browner and others greyer than that shown on Plate 36, Fig. 1; the pale even lines are generally edged with reddish brown, and the notch under the tip of the wing is margined with the same colour.

The caterpillar has the first and second pairs of prolegs very short, and below the brown-ringed spiracles there is a projecting ridge, fringed with a row of fleshy greenish-white filaments, some of which are forked. Bluish-green, sometimes tinged with ochreous; raised dots, black at the tips, on a base of whitish green; along the middle of the back is a series of darker green spear-points, and beyond this on each side a pale line, edged above by a fine wavy black line, and below by a darker green line; the eighth and eleventh rings of the body darker than the others. (Abridged from description by Buckler.) It feeds on lichens growing upon larch, spruce, hawthorn, sloe, fruit trees, etc., from September to May. The moth is out in June, July, and August, and may be beaten from the branches of trees, and from hedges, but the flushing of a specimen in this way is always a more or less casual event. It has been taken on several occasions at street lamps, and also in illuminated moth traps.

In England the species seems to be widely distributed over the southern counties to Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire; and in the east to Norfolk. It has also been recorded from Derbyshire (one), and Yorkshire (two).

The range abroad extends to Amurland.

In the shape of its wings and general appearance the dingy insect represented on Plate 36, Fig. 2, would seem to belong to the Geometridæ rather than to the present group, and, indeed, has been mistaken for a dark form of Ematurga atomaria. However, the long, projecting palpi are evidence of its being a member of this sub-family.

The caterpillar, which is moderately stout, and tapers slightly towards each end, has only twelve feet. Ground colour, sooty black, with orange-coloured raised dots, from which arise long recurved hairs. The late Mr. W. H. Tugwell (from whose description of the larva that given above has been adapted), in 1884, was shown caterpillars upon a black sooty-looking fungus (determined by Dr. M. C. Cooke as an effused Muscedine), growing in masses on rotten wood in an old wooden building in Bermondsey, near the river. He afterwards reared the moths.

The caterpillar hatches from the egg in August, but it is not full grown until May or June, when it spins a fairly compact cocoon of greyish silk, which is coated with particles of decayed wood and dried fungus.

The moth is out in June and July, and most of the known British specimens have been captured in London, or reared from caterpillars found therein. Stephens (1831) mentions three or four examples taken during the previous thirty years, and gives as localities—Blackfriars bridge, and Little Chelsea; Stainton (1859) adds, Fleet Street. Other specimens have been taken in the City in 1855, 1859, 1862, 1870, 1879, and 1881. One occurred at Clapham in 1864, and one has been reported from Crome in Worcestershire. More recent records are—one specimen flying around a sugared post at Walthamstow, July 29, 1901; eight, chiefly at light, at Camberley, 1904-5; and lastly, a specimen at St. Katharine's Docks, July, 1906.

This species is shown in both sexes on Plate 35, Figs. 1 ♂, 2 ♀; it is the Pyralis tentaculalis of Haworth, and also that author's tarsicrinatus, and the tarsicrinalis of Stephens. The general colour is brownish, sometimes inclining to ochreous, and occasionally with a greyish cast. The submarginal line starts from the front edge, before the tip, of the fore wing.

The caterpillar is greyish brown, darker freckled, and dotted with black, downy; three broken darker lines along the back, the central one broad and inclining to black, and lower down along the sides is a series of blackish streaks; head, darker. It feeds in July and August, and hibernates when nearly or quite full grown. Among various foods that have been mentioned for it are raspberry, ivy, and knotgrass. Some years ago I had some moths emerge in the autumn; these resulted from caterpillars that I had reared from the egg on blackberry, and I remember that they showed a decided preference for the withered leaves left in the cage for them to pupate among. (Plate 34, Fig. 2.)

The moth is out in June and July, but individuals of a second generation seldom occur in the open. Although it occurs in woods, it is far more frequent in lanes and hedgerows. Common and generally distributed, from Worcester southwards, and to the east and west; northwards its range extends to Yorkshire, but it is local and uncommon.

In Scotland it is not scarce in some parts of Ayrshire, and has been recorded from Kircudbrightshire. Kane mentions it as fairly common in Ireland.

The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

This species (Plate 35, Fig. 3) is somewhat similar to the last in colour, but it is smaller, and the submarginal line is rather curved, and runs to the tip of the fore wing. The caterpillar is obscurely greyish, with a pinkish tinge; three darker lines along the back, the central one broadest, but not distinct on the first three rings; head, brown, freckled with darker brown, plate of first ring of the body, blackish brown. It feeds on oak, and may be beaten from the foliage in August and September. Buckler states that this species passes the winter in the chrysalis state, and this has been confirmed by Plum. (Plate 34, Fig. 1; after Hofmann.)

The moths emerge in June and July, and may frequently be dislodged from trees, hedges, and undergrowth in the daytime. Pretty generally distributed over the southern half of England, plentiful in many parts, and widely spread over the northern half of the country. It is not scarce in some parts of Wales, but seems to be uncommon in Scotland, and has been recorded from the south only. In Ireland it has a wide range, but does not appear to be noted as common in any locality.

The species depicted on Plate 36, Fig. 8, from a continental specimen, is exceedingly rare in England, in fact, apart from the specimens mentioned by early authors, only three authentic British examples appear to be known. These are—one captured at Brighton, Sussex, in June, 1858; one in June, 1859, in Epping Forest, Essex; and one taken at sugar by the Rev. B. H. Binks, of Stonor, Henley-on-Thames, in July of the year last mentioned.

Stephens (1834), who gives a very unsatisfactory description of the species, refers to two specimens, of which one was in his collection, from Devonshire. Wood's figure (768) of emortualis, in the Westwood edition of the Index Entomologicus, does not represent this species, but is far more like Herminia derivalis, Hübner.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.

A portrait of this uncommon British moth will be found on Plate 35, Fig. 4. The greyish fore wings are crossed by three paler edged reddish-brown lines, the outer one running to the tip of the wing, and the inner one is sometimes faint or absent.

The caterpillar is said to feed in July and August on sallow and aspen, and is described by Hofmann as having only fourteen feet; green, inclining to greyish, in colour, with black spiracles, and the ring divisions yellowish. (Plate 39, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.)

The moth is out in May and June, and in its few known localities in England it is found in moist woods, hiding among grass and varied undergrowth.

Stephens (1834) wrote, "A very rare and local insect: I have specimens taken many years since in the neighbourhood of Bexley, in which vicinity I believe my friend Mr. Newman has captured it within these few years; it has also been found at Charlton." Since that time other localities in Kent have been mentioned, among which were Darenth Wood and West Wickham; the species was also noted from Birch wood, Surrey. A specimen was found in a gas lamp at Dulwich in 1858 by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett, and one was taken in Shooter's Hill wood, Kent, in June, 1859.

Between 1862 and 1868 specimens were obtained at Haslemere, Surrey, and near Sevenoaks, Kent. According to Barrett it occurred at Petersfield, on the borders of Sussex and Hampshire, in 1877.

It has also been recorded from Dunham, Cheshire.

Abroad, its distribution extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

The fore wings of this species (Plate 35, Fig. 5) are whitish tinged with brown, inclining to purplish on the outer margins; beyond the blackish central dot there are two series of blackish dots crossing the wings, but these are not always distinct.

The caterpillar, which feeds on various marsh grasses, Carex, Luzula, etc., hatches from the egg in late summer, hibernates when about half-grown, and feeds up in the spring. It is pale greyish brown with fine yellowish freckles; there are three lines along the back; the central one dark, finely edged on each side with pale greyish, the outer ones pale; the usual dots are dusky and the spiracles are black.

The moth may be found in June and July in fens and marshes, where it hides among the herbage in the daytime, but is easily seen and netted when it takes wing at dusk, or sits on the sedges, etc., before or after flight.

It is most frequent in the fens of Cambridge and Norfolk, (Stalham), but occurs also in Suffolk; Essex (Shoeburyness); Kent (Deal); Surrey (recorded from marshes near Redhill, Dorking and Guildford); Sussex; Hants (bogs near Lyndhurst), and, according to Barrett, Somerset.

This local species has the wings pretty much of the same shape as those of S. emortualis, and has been mistaken for that species; but the colour is ochreous-brown, and the cross lines are dark brown. Its favourite haunts appear to be woods in Kent and Sussex, and in the last-named county it is perhaps most frequently met with in Abbots wood, Guestling, and Lewes. It has also been recorded from Essex (Colchester). (Plate 35, Fig. 6.)

The caterpillar feeds on dead oak leaves, chiefly those that have fallen to the ground. After hibernation it becomes full grown about June, and is then brown with a downy appearance; there are three faintly darker lines along the back, and the usual dots are dusky. (Plate 34, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.) The moth is out in June and July, and in the daytime may be put up from its lurking place among herbage in wood clearings, or netted as it flies in the gloaming. It is also attracted by sugar and light.

The species has been erroneously recorded from Chester and Barmouth (North Wales); and Mr. Carr informs me that he is not quite sure that a specimen he recorded from Dawlish, South Devon, was correctly identified. In the catalogue of Malvern Lepidoptera H. derivalis is stated to be rather common in that district, but the occurrence of the species in the Midlands requires confirmation.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.

The fore wings of the species shown on Plate 35, Fig. 7, are greyish brown, crossed by three darker lines, the outer one almost parallel with the hind margin, and edged with whitish.

The caterpillar feeds on the dead leaves of oak and birch, and has almost attained full growth when it retires for the winter. In the spring it has been known to eat birch catkins. The general colour is reddish ochreous, with diamond-shaped markings, forming a series along the back and two series along each side.

The moth, which is out from late May until early July, frequents the more open parts of woods, and in the daytime may be induced to show itself by tapping the lower branches of trees or brushing the bushes and undergrowth as we pass along.

The species is widely distributed over England, from Staffordshire southwards, but it is apparently most frequently met with in some of the woods of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex.

The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.

The portraits of this species on Plate 35 show each sex in its most usual form: Fig. 8 representing the male, and Fig. 9 the female. The outer and inner areas of the fore wings are generally ashy grey, more or less brownish tinged, in the male; and the same parts are whitish in the female. Although some examples of the male have the outer and inner areas whitish, as in the female, they can be distinguished by their darker hind wings and the blackish central crescent thereon. A form of the female in which the large central patch of the fore wings is reddish brown has been named rufescens, Tutt; there may be males also of this form, but I have not seen any. In both sexes, the brown patch extends nearer to the inner margin in some specimens than in others, and not infrequently there is a spur from the lower edge of the patch to this margin.

The caterpillar is green, with darker green lines, one along the middle of the back, and two along each side; the usual raised dots are green or brownish, and each emits a fine hair; the head is green and rather glossy. It feeds on bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) in August and September. (Plate 37, Fig. 1; after Hofmann.) The moth, which is out in June and July, hides by day among heather, bilberry, etc., especially where these plants overhang the edges of banks or trenches. It may be found locally in most of the southern counties of England from Kent to Cornwall; also in Berks, Stafford, and Leicester. It has been recorded from Suffolk, Worcester, Cheshire (one at electric light, Chester, July, 1900), and North Wales. In Ireland it is widely distributed, and is not uncommon in Co. Kerry.

This species (Plate 35, Fig. 10) is more generally distributed and common than any other of the group. Wherever nettles grow in quantity there we may expect to find this moth in its season, that is, in June and July. In favourable years there is sometimes a second flight, on a small scale, in the autumn; this was the case in 1905.

The caterpillar is green, with raised dots, from each of which a brownish hair arises; the line along the middle of the back is dark, and those along the sides are yellowish; the head is ochreous brown. It feeds on nettles in May and June. (Plate 37, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.)

In Amurland, and some other parts of eastern Asia, the species is represented by the brown-sprinkled yellowish form, var. deleta, Staudinger.

The fore wings of this species are brown, crossed by a number of darker lines and a thicker angulated line beyond the middle; the latter is outwardly edged with pale brown, chiefly towards the costa; some white dots on the veins represent the submarginal line, and below the tips of the wings there are some black streaks.

One example of this form of the species, which is a variable one, was taken by the Rev. O. Pickard, Cambridge, in September, 1884. He found it sitting on a door-jamb in his garden at Bloxworth, Dorset.

The specimen shown on Plate 36, Fig. 9, hails from Mogador.

Abroad, the range of the species includes southern Europe, Asia Minor, Egypt, North-West Africa, Madeira, and the Canaries.

Two forms of this species are shown on Plate 35. The typical one is represented by Fig. 12, and Fig. 11 shows ab. palpalis, Tutt (?), Fabr. and Stephens. The front margin of the fore wings is often streaked with a pale colour, and in ab. radiatalis, Hübner (134), which is otherwise similar to the last-named form, this is pale or ochreous brown. A uniform pale greyish form has been named ab. unicolor, Tutt, and one almost entirely ochreous or greyish-ochreous, ab. ochrea, Tutt.

The caterpillar is green, with blackish dots; a darker line along the middle of the back, and white lines along the sides; head, yellowish green dotted with black. It feeds on hop (Humulus lupulus) in June and early July, and in the daytime may be found on the undersides of the leaves. (Plate 37, Fig. 2; after Hofmann.) The moth is out in August and September, and after hibernation reappears in the spring, and may be met with until June. It may be obtained at sugar, or at ivy bloom. Given the food plant, the species will probably be found in most of the counties of England from Worcester southwards, but its occurrence northwards appears to have been very rarely noted.

The range abroad extends to East Siberia.

This species, and also the two immediately following, are so small in size, and so obscure in appearance, that they are probably more often neglected than secured when met with. The moth under consideration, and of which the sexes are figured on Plate 36 (Figs. 3 ♂ and 4 ♀) has brownish fore wings which are crossed by two rather irregular blackish lines, sometimes hardly traceable on the front margin; the outer line is edged externally with whitish, and the space between the lines is often somewhat darker; the black central mark is more or less X-shaped.

The caterpillar does not seem to have been noted in this country, and it is not well known on the continent. It is said to feed on the flowers, chiefly the withering ones, of heather and thyme, in August and September.

The moth is out in July and early August, sometimes in September. Its haunts are the edges of woods, hillsides, and sloping banks, where there is plenty of bushes and herbage to hide in. From such retreats it may be disturbed, but is more easily obtained at sugar, or honey dew, and sometimes at ivy bloom. It is widely distributed over the southern half of England; occurs in South Wales, and has been recorded from Cheshire and Yorks.

Abroad, the species is found in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Armenia, and the Canaries; also recorded from south Sweden and Corea.

Although somewhat similar in the general colour of the forewings, this species (Plate 36) may be distinguished from the preceding by the whitish dash from the tips of the wings and the black streak running inwards from it; this black streak is to be seen clearly in Fig. 6 ♂, but owing to the darker ground colour is less distinct in Fig. 7 ♀.

The caterpillar is shining purplish-brown, inclining to yellowish-brown below, with three pale brownish lines along the back, the central one rather broad, and that on each side is edged below with dusky. What the food may be in a natural state has not been ascertained, but the caterpillars have been reared from the egg on a diet of thyme flowers, supplemented by the bodies of a few brothers or sisters. July and August.

The moth has been noted in June (end), July, August, September, and October; but whether there are two generations or only one in the year is not definitely known; the assumption is that there are two.

This species is partial to moist localities, and its favourite haunts are fens, mosses, or marshy heaths, and the outskirts of damp woods. It ranges over the greater part of England, and is found in Wales (Pembrokeshire). In Scotland it has been noted from Roxburghshire, and is locally common in Clydesdale. It is known to occur in Cork, Kerry, and Sligo, and probably is to be found in other parts of Ireland.

The species shown on Plate 36, Fig. 5, is much smaller than either of the last two. The narrow fore wings are whitish-ochreous, more or less thickly sprinkled with brown; the first of the three dark cross lines is often indistinct, the second is bent under the black central dot, and the third runs obliquely to the tip of the wing; the last two are each outwardly edged with whitish.

Nothing seems to be known of the early stages.

This species was first made known as an inhabitant of the British Isles by Doubleday, who described it as Hypenodes humidalis, in 1850, from specimens taken in Ireland by Weaver in 1848. In 1850 it was found plentifully on one of the Cheshire moors; and Harrison, in The Zoologist for 1851, writes: "From the middle of July up to the 8th of August, it might be seen any fine evening, between the hours of six and eight, flying on most of our swamps [Keswick] in plenty." He goes on to state that the moths were so common that he boxed forty in less than an hour, and could have secured as many dozens. At the present day the species is to be found on boggy heaths and moors in Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, and from Somerset through Gloucestershire into Berkshire, and thence northwards through Warwick and Staffordshire to Cheshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland. Barrett mentions Perthshire as a Scottish locality, and Kane states that it is common at Killarney in Ireland. When this species and its allies receive more of the collector's attention they may probably be found in many localities from which there are no records at present.

The range abroad extends to Amurland.