Part 10

The moth occurs in July and August on bush-sprinkled heaths, or heathy ground, where it may be disturbed from the herbage in the daytime, or netted as it flies in the evening. South of England from Kent to Dorset; also in Berkshire, Cheshire (one specimen, Whitegate Heath, 1901, one ab. _circellata_ in Delamere Forest, July, 1903); Yorkshire (Thorne Moor, and rather plentiful on Skipton Common in 1900 and subsequent years; ab. _circellata_ also occurred).

THE DWARF CREAM WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _interjectaria_).

This moth (Plate 45, Figs. 15, 18) is said to be referable to _fuscovenosa_, Goeze, and as this is an earlier name than _interjectaria_, Guenee, it may have to be adopted. For many years it was known in England as _osseata_, and was described by Haworth, Stephens, and others, under this name. It is also the _dilutaria_ of some authors, but not of Hubner. Hubner's dilutaria is considered by some writers to be the _holosericata_ of Duponchel, and therefore an earlier name for the species generally known by the latter name. {115}

The present species, to which Haworth gave the English name here used, is whitish straw-coloured, and silky in appearance; the wings have a central black dot and four or five dusky cross lines, some of which are more distinct than others; the front edge of the fore wings is tinged with reddish brown, in which is often a dark dot at the ends of the first and central lines; a series of linear blackish dots at the base of the fringes, most distinct on the fore wings.

The somewhat stumpy caterpillar is dull smoky brown, marbled and variegated with ochreous, the darker colour most in evidence in front, and the ochreous behind; an ochreous line along the middle of the back, and one along the region of the spiracles; white spots on rings 5-7. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds from August to April on dandelion and other low-growing plants, and especially on the withered leaves. The moth occurs among weeds growing on banks, and hedgerows, and the outskirts of woods, in greater or lesser plenty throughout the South of England; but it becomes local, and more or less rare in the north of the country. In Scotland it is said to be uncommon in Clydesdale, but has not been noted from Ireland, or from Wales.

ISLE OF WIGHT WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _humiliata_).

This species (Plate 45, Fig. 16) is the _osseata_ of Fabricius, but not of Haworth and other British authors. It is very similar in general appearance to the species last considered, but the wings are somewhat less ample, and rather yellower in tint. It is most readily recognised, however, by the distinctly reddish stripe on the front edge of the fore wings. Previous to 1891, when specimens were obtained by Mr. A. J. Hodges in the Isle of Wight, the species was not certainly known to be an inhabitant of the British Isles, although it seems to have been represented in many collections. The {116} insect is still found by those who know where to look for it on the sea cliffs of its island home, but so far as appears to be known at present, it does not occur in any other part of Britain. For this reason, it does not seem desirable to indicate the exact locality more definitely; but it may be added that the moth flies in July.

SILKY WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _holosericata_).

Somewhat similar to A. _interjectaria_, but tinged with pale brown, and even more glossy; the front edge of the fore wings is of the general coloration, and the only markings on the wings are darker cross lines, the third on the fore wings, and the second on the hind wings, being the most distinct. (Plate 45, Fig. 13.)

The rough and rather stumpy caterpillar tapers towards the small notched head; general colour dusky reddish-brown, a pale line along the middle of the back, finely edged with black. It feeds from August to May on rock rose (_Helianthemum_), eating the withered and even mouldy leaves. Will eat knotgrass, and, no doubt, dandelion also.

Here, again, we have an ancient name brought forward to supplant that which the species has borne for years, and by which it is well known to entomologists. As I am not quite certain that Hubner's (Fig. 100) _dilataria_ does represent this species, Duponchel's name is here retained.

As a British insect, it has only been known since 1851, when the capture of a specimen in the neighbourhood of Bristol was recorded in _The Zoologist_. Subsequently it transpired that the scene of capture was Durdham Down, Gloucestershire, and here it has been found annually, and in some plenty, among the bushes and low vegetation covering the ground in that rugged locality. Specimens have also been noted from Berkshire (Newbury), Bucks (Chalfont St. Peter), Dorset (Halstock), {117} and Norfolk (Thetford). Possibly there are other localities in England, more especially in the west, where this species may be awaiting discovery.

THE SATIN WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _subsericeata_).

The wings of this species (Plate 45, Fig. 17) are glossy whitish, with a faint greyish, or sometimes yellow greyish, tinge; the cross lines are grey, oblique and straight on the fore wings, but the outer two on the hind wings are curved or bent.

Var. _mancuniata_, Knaggs, a local form found in Lancashire and Yorkshire, is rather more tinged with yellowish, the lines being distinct, and some more or less distinct dusky dots on the outer margin of the fore wings.

A blackish form, with white fringes, has been recorded from North Cornwall, where the species, in its usual form, has been noted as abundant.

The rough-looking caterpillar is pale greyish, inclining to reddish above; three black lines along the back, the central one slender, and the outer ones widening out towards each end. It feeds on knotgrass, dandelion, chickweed, and other kinds of weeds, and will eat plum. Hatching in August, it hibernates, as a rule, and attains full growth in the following spring; but sometimes caterpillars feed up quickly, and produce moths the same year.

The moth, which is out in June and July, is partial to heathy ground, but not confined to heaths, as it has been met with in lanes bordered by pasture fields. Widely distributed throughout England and Wales, rare in Scotland, where it has only been recorded from the Solway. In Ireland it has been found commonly at Howth, near Dublin; and in the counties Cork and Waterford. {118}

PORTLAND RIBBON WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _degeneraria_)

This reddish-banded species (Plate 46, Fig. 1) is, so far as we know, only found, in Britain, in the Isle of Portland, Dorset, where it was first noted on June 24th, 1831. It will be seen that apart from its different colour, the bands in this moth are placed nearer the base of the wings than in _A. aversata_; on the fore wings the band is limited by the first and central lines, but sometimes it encroaches on the basal area; on the hind wings, it occupies more or less of the basal area, from the first line inwards; the front edge of the fore wings is also reddish.

The caterpillar is ridged along the sides of the roughened body, and tapers towards the slightly notched, blackish marked head; the general colour is reddish-ochreous, darker on the back of the middle rings, along which are three interrupted pale greyish ochreous lines, and dark V-shaped marks. The natural food plant is not known, but it may be reared from the egg on bramble, traveller's joy (_Clematis_), and, of course, knotgrass and dandelion, both of these plants being generally acceptable to larvae of the Acidaliinae, as well as to those of many other species of Geometridae.

The moth is out in June and July in the open, but has been bred as early as June 2. Some of the caterpillars from eggs laid in June will feed up quickly, and produce moths in September; from these, other eggs may be obtained, the caterpillars from which will feed for a time and then hibernate; as also do the slow-growing individuals of the earlier hatching.

Abroad, this seems to be a Mediterranean species, ranging eastward through Asia Minor to parts of Central Asia; and northwards to Austro-Hungary, Castile, France, and West Central Germany.

2 Pl. 46. 1. PORTLAND RIBBON WAVE. 2. PLAIN WAVE. 3-6. RIBAND WAVE. 7-10. SMALL FAN-FOOTED WAVE. 9, 12. SINGLE-DOTTED WAVE. 8, 11. TREBLE BROWN-SPOT. 13, 14. LACE BORDER.

2 Pl. 47. 1, 1a. SINGLE-DOTTED WAVE: _eggs and caterpillar_. 2. RIBAND WAVE: _caterpillar_. 3, 3a. PLAIN WAVE: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

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THE PLAIN WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _inornata_).

Somewhat similar to the last in appearance, but without reddish bands, and front edging to the fore wings; the second or outer line of the fore wings is generally distinct, but the others, especially the central, are often obscure. This species, one example of which is shown on Plate 46, Fig. 2, may be distinguished from the plain form of _A. aversata_ by its generally smaller size and more silky appearance; the cross lines are less distinct, and the outer one of the fore wings is not indented below the front margin. The eggs (Plate 47, Fig. 3a) are laid in strings of from 6-20; at least this is so in captivity. Like the eggs of other species in this genus that I have seen, they are at first whitish bone colour, changing to reddish. They were laid in July, and most of the caterpillars that hatched from them attained the moth state in September; about one-third hibernated, but died off during the winter.

The much-wrinkled and rough-looking caterpillar is pale reddish brown, varying to greyish; the back with V-shaped marks, and a light coloured spot on rings 5 and 6. It feeds, from August to June, on dandelion, dock, and other weeds, also on sallow, bramble, heather, etc.

The moth is out in July, earlier or later in some seasons; it affects woods in which there is plenty of heather or bilberry, and may often be seen resting on tree trunks, especially those of the pine. It is on the wing in the evening, and is said to visit the sugar patch, as well as flowers growing in its haunts. Widely distributed over England and Scotland to Moray, but does not appear to have been noted in Wales. Reported from Kingstown, Killarney, and Londonderry in Ireland. {120}

THE RIBAND WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _aversata_).

There are two distinct colour forms, one is greyish white (ab. _spoliata_, Staudinger), and the other decidedly ochreous; the former is sometimes tinged with ochreous, and sometimes heavily sprinkled with dark grey. In the type form of _aversata_, the general colour is greyish white, and the space between the central and outer lines of the fore wings, and that enclosed by the first and central of the hind wings, is more or less entirely filled up with dark grey inclining to blackish; occasionally the dark colour spreads beyond the outer line, and covers a large portion of the outer area. These bands also occur in the ochreous and intermediate colour forms. A specimen, bred in June by Mr. W. G. Sheldon, from a caterpillar found on a fence at West Wickham in May, had the wings and abdomen black, but the head, thorax, anal tuft, and fringes of the wings were normal. (Plate 46, Figs. 3-6.)

The caterpillar (Plate 47, Fig. 2; from coloured drawing by Mr. Sich) is much wrinkled, rather thickened behind, and tapers gradually towards the small, black-flecked head; the general colour is brownish, merging into ochreous on the hinder rings; a darker brown shade along the back, interrupted on the middle rings by V-shaped marks, encloses a slender whitish line, and there is a whitish spot on ring eight; a wavy pale ochreous line low down along the sides. (Adapted from Fenn.) It feeds on dandelion, dock, primrose, bedstraw, knotgrass, and many other low-growing plants; after hibernation, from April to May, it will thrive on the young growth of sallow, birch, hawthorn, etc. It will sometimes feed up and reach the moth state in August or September.

The moth flies in June and July, and is generally distributed; but in Scotland does not seem to have been observed north of Moray. {121}

SMALL FAN-FOOTED WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _bisetata_).

One form (Plate 46, Fig. 10) has whitish wings, with a deep, dark-grey border on the outer area of all the wings; this border is traversed by a whitish, wavy line (ab. _fimbriolata_, Stephens). Another form (Plate 46, Fig. 7) is more or less typical, and in this it will be noted that the marginal borders are much paler, and are broken up into bandlets. Between these two forms there are modifications, and sometimes a greyish shade spreads over all the wings.

The caterpillar is long and slender, with a somewhat flattened appearance, and gradually tapered towards the notched head; the general colour of the roughened body is greyish brown, the middle ring divisions, and V-shaped marks on the back, are blackish or dark brown; there is also a double dark-brown line along the back, not always distinct. It feeds, from August to May, on a variety of low-growing plants, and is partial to withered leaves, especially those of bramble and dandelion. The moth is out in June and July, and is often common, and pretty generally distributed throughout our islands, except that it seems not to have been noted north of Moray, in Scotland.

Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia and Amurland.

THE SINGLE DOTTED WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _dimidiata_).

The most noticeable feature in this whity brown moth (Plate 47, Figs. 9 and 12), sometimes known as _scutulata_, are the larger dots at the costal end of the dotted cross lines, and the blackish or dark-brown chain-like mark on the lower part of the outer marginal area of the fore wings; the latter is sometimes obscured in a cloud of its own colour. {122}

Eggs (Plate 47, Fig. 1a), laid in a batch on a dried leaf of dandelion, were whitish at first, but turned reddish later.

The elongated and somewhat flattened caterpillar (figured on Plate 47, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. Sich) is ochreous, with brown lines on the back, the central one double, and interrupted on the middle rings, upon which are oblique pale-brown dashes. It feeds, from September to April, on beaked parsley (_Anthriscus sylvestris_), burnet saxifrage (_Pimpinella_), etc., and may be reared on withered leaves of dandelion and other weeds. The moth is out in June and July, and in northern localities in August. Generally distributed, and often common.

TREBLE BROWN SPOT (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _trigeminata_).

This species (Plate 46, Figs. 8, 11) is similar to the last, but generally rather larger and somewhat paler; the front edge of the fore wings is marked with blackish or dark purplish grey, and there is a band of the same colour on the outer marginal area; the inner edge of this band is formed by the second line, and the outer edge is wavy, interrupted above the middle, and sometimes below also.

The rough and rather flattened caterpillar tapers towards the head; in colour it is dusky brown. The markings comprise interrupted black lines and V-shaped blackish marks on the back. Buckler states that this caterpillar may be distinguished from those of its nearest allies by having a rather long, dingy ochreous bristle from each of the raised dots; these bristles, which are of the same thickness throughout, curve forwards on all rings to the ninth, and on the other three backwards. It feeds, from September to April, on various low-growing plants, ivy, birch, etc. If kept warm, it is said that whole broods will attain the moth state in July or August; this may happen sometimes, but in my experience only a few individuals have obliged in this way. The moth is another inhabitant of the hedgerow and the bushy wood-border, where it may be disturbed in the daytime during late May and June. It flies in the evening, and will visit light, and occasionally the sugar patch. Always a local species, but not uncommon in its special haunts in Kent, Surrey, Wiltshire, Essex, and Suffolk; it is also found more or less frequently in Sussex, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In Scotland, it is reported as scarce in Renfrew; and Kane notes that it does not occur in Ireland.

2 Pl. 48. 1. LEAST CARPET: _caterpillar_. 2, 2a, 2b. SMALL BLOOD-VEIN: _egg enlarged, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2 Pl. 49. 1, 2. CREAM WAVE. 3, 4. LESSER CREAM WAVE. 5-7. MULLEIN WAVE. 9. LEWES WAVE. 8. SUB-ANGLED WAVE. 10. ROSY WAVE. 11, 12. SMALL BLOOD-VEIN.

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THE LACE BORDER (_Acidalia_ (_Craspedia_) _ornata_).

The conspicuously marked white moth depicted on Plate 46, Figs. 13 and 14, is unlikely to escape the notice of the collector who visits rough fields and hillsides in some of the chalk districts of Southern England, especially in the counties of Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. Usually there are two generations of the moth during the year; one is on the wing in May and June, and the other flies in August and September.

The caterpillar is of long and slender build, the head is notched, and the skin of the body is roughened. In colour it is ochreous brown above and greyish beneath; there are three lines along the back, the central one pale, except towards the head, edged with dusky, the others dark brown. On each ring, from four to eight, are two dark V-shaped marks; low down along the sides there is a dusky edged and mottled, pale ochreous stripe. It feeds, from October to May, and in July and August, on thyme, marjoram, and may be reared on garden mint. Abroad, the species ranges over Central and Southern Europe, and through Asia to Amurland.

NOTE.--According to Prout (_Entom._ xxxix. 267), this species is the type of the genus _Scopula_, Schrank. {124}

THE CREAM WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Leptomeris_) _remutaria_).

This species (Plate 49, Figs. 1, 2) has the wings white or ochreous white, becoming rather smoky grey on the front edge of the fore wings, and sometimes this tinge spreads all over the wings. In well-marked specimens there are two dark, wavy, cross-lines, a dusky central shade, and a dusky shade-like stripe along the outer area beyond the second line; the first line of the fore wings is often placed close to the central shade, and sometimes it is merged in it. Not infrequently the lines are barely traceable, but almost as often the wings appear to have a pair of lines only, and these distinctly darker than usual.

The caterpillar is rough, long and slender; grey-brown with irregular darker marks, a pale line along the middle of the back, and a dark cross on the back of ring ten. The notched head is pale brown with a black V-mark. It feeds, from July to September, on bedstraw (_Galium_), woodruff (_Asperula_), dock, sallow, etc.

The moth is out in May and June, and often is plentiful in woods throughout the greater part of England and Wales; in Yorkshire and northwards through Scotland up to Moray it is rather local. In Ireland it has been found in Wicklow and Louth, but more commonly in the south and west.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE LESSER CREAM WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Leptomeris_) _immutata_).

White, more or less tinged with ochreous or ochreous grey in the male, is the general colour of this moth; the wings are crossed by several ochreous lines, the third line of the fore wings and the second line of the hind wings rather wavy. All the wings with central black dots, most distinct on the hind pair, occasionally absent from fore wings. (Plate 49, Figs. 3 [male], 4 [female].) {125}

The long caterpillar is pale greyish-brown, with three dusky lines on the back; the black spiracles are set in a pale stripe, and below this is a dusky line; head small and round (Barrett). August to May. The natural food appears to be _Valeriana officinalis_, and _Spiraea_, but it has been reared from the egg on groundsel, knotgrass, etc., also hawthorn, and moths obtained the same year, about September.

In the open the moth is to be found in fens, bogs, and marshy places in fields and woods, during June and July. It is not uncommon, in suitable spots, in most of the southern and eastern counties of England. In the west, including Wales, and through the Midlands, it is local to Yorkshire, but is widely distributed in the south of the latter county; it occurs, rarely, in Durham. In Scotland it has only been definitely noted from Arran. Widely distributed, and common, in many parts of Ireland.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.

THE MULLEIN WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Leptomeris_) _marginepunctata_).

This species exhibits more variation than is usual in this group. Typically, the moth is greyish white, but in some specimens the grey is most in evidence, and in others the white. A practically black form, with white fringes, has been noted from North Cornwall, and at Eastbourne and Portland many of the specimens have a clear, bone-coloured ground, with fine but very distinct cross-markings; these seem to be referable to ab. _pastoraria_, Joannis. The cross lines in both dark and light forms are sometimes very indistinct, but occasionally the first and second of the fore wings are united, and so form an irregular dusky band; the greyish clouding on the outer marginal area is also variable. Three {126} specimens are shown on Plate 49; two from Eastbourne, Figs. 5 [female], 6 [male], and one from Essex, Fig. 7 [female].

The long caterpillar is very pale slaty-olive, with three paler lines along the back, the central one edged on each side with olive, darkest on the last three rings; spiracles black, and under surface of the body pale slate blue (adapted from Porritt). It feeds on various low-growing plants, among which, yarrow, mugwort, chickweed, cinquefoil, and knotgrass have been mentioned; also, it is said, on sallow. There are certainly two broods in the south, one feeding up in the summer, and the other hatching in September, and after hibernation attaining full growth in May or June. Moths of the first generation are on the wing in June and July, and of the second in August and September. Although sometimes found inland, the species is more especially attached to the coast, and is found in nearly all the seaboard counties of England, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland, it occurs in Wigtownshire, and very dark specimens have been obtained on rocks in dry pastures at Ardrossan; June to end of July.

THE LEWES WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Leptomeris_) _immorata_).

Although the late Mr. S. Stevens exhibited a British specimen of this species, as a curious variety of _Strenia clathrata_, at a meeting of the Entomological Society of London in 1868, it was not until the year 1887, when Mr. C. H. Morris captured two specimens in Sussex, that the insect became recognized as a native. It is probable that the earlier example, taken some years before it was shown at the meeting referred to, may have come from the same locality in the Lewes district where the later specimens were captured. Anyway, the species has, so far, not been recorded from any other part of our islands, but it continues to be found in its original haunts, described as "some heathy ground," up to the present day. (Plate 49, Fig. 9.) {127}

The long, slender, and roughened caterpillar is pale greyish brown; the central line along the back is greyish-white, each side edged on the hinder half with brown, having at the beginning of each ring after the third a black dot on either side; side stripes dark brown, inclining to black above; a slender brown line below the black spiracles. (Adapted from Barrett.) It feeds from August to May on ling (_Calluna vulgaris_), marjoram, thyme, knotgrass, etc.