Part 18

The moth is found in hedges, woods, and on heaths, in May and June; it may be occasionally beaten out of sallow bushes, but flies in the early evening, and is then more readily obtained. The species is widely distributed, but not generally common, in England and Wales, and in Scotland to Perthshire and probably further north, as it is found in Orkney, where specimens are numerous but rather small in size, and the caterpillars, according to McArthur, feed on heather as well as on sallow. Decidedly uncommon in Ireland, but it has been met with, in most instances singly, in Armagh, Tyrone, Westmeath, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.

ROYAL MANTLE (_Anticlea cucullata_).

This species (Plate 88, Fig. 1) is also known as _sinuata_, Hubner. The white fore wings have a blackish patch at the base and a blackish mark on the front margins beyond the middle; the former is separated into two parts by a pale reddish-brown band, and there is a reddish band, most distinct on the front area, beyond the black mark; in some specimens these bands are greyish.

The caterpillar is green, sometimes inclining to yellowish, with two black or purplish stripes, enclosing a broader pale yellow one, along the back; head, green, freckled with black. It feeds on the flowers of bedstraw (_Galium mollugo_, and _G. verum_), in July and August, or later in some seasons.

The moth is out in late June and in July, and occasionally may be disturbed from its food plant or the surrounding herbage. About dusk it is on the wing, and later is attracted by light. It seems to occur in most of the English counties from Kent to Cornwall; also in Berks., Oxon., Herts, and the eastern counties. Always local, and except in the east, where it is found in the Breck-sand area, most frequent in chalky localities. Barrett notes a specimen from Knowle, Warwickshire, and there are at {217} least two records from Scotland (Perthshire). In Ireland, Mr. W. F. de V. Kane took one example from a wall in co. Clare, and another has been recorded from Galway.

The range of the species abroad extends to Siberia and Amurland; and it is represented in Corea and Japan by _A. yokohamae_, Butler.

THE SHOULDER STRIPE (_Anticlea badiata_).

The ground colour of the fore wings is pale ochreous brown, inclining to whitish; there are three dark-edged black cross-lines, the first of them sharply bent below the front margin, the second is rather oblique, and the third is wavy and often not clearly defined towards the inner margin; the outer marginal area is broadly bordered with pale reddish brown or dark purplish brown, there is a black streak from the more or less indistinct, whitish submarginal line to the tips of the wings, and a white mark about the middle of the line; the ground colour is most in evidence on the central area of the wings, but even here it is frequently reduced to a slender band, or occasionally only a patch near the front margin of the wing. (Plate 88, Figs. 2-4.)

The caterpillar (Plate 89, Fig. 1) is green, inclining to yellow between the rings; the spiracles are black, and there is sometimes a pinkish brown or purplish stripe along their area. Varies in general colour, and also in marking. It feeds, at night, on wild rose, and may be beaten from the bushes from May to July. When full grown it forms an oval cocoon in the earth, and therein changes to a chrysalis (Plate 89, Fig. 1a), which is dark reddish brown, inclining to blackish on the thorax, wing-cases, and the front edges of the body rings.

The moth appears in March and April, and may be obtained from almost any hedgerow, where wild rose is plentiful, throughout the British Isles, except that it seems not to extend north of Moray in Scotland. {218}

BARBERRY CARPET (_Anticlea berberata_).

The fore wings are greyish or whitish, tinged with grey; there are two dark-edged black lines on the basal half, and a black line beyond the middle of the wings; the latter has a conspicuous tooth in its upper half, but the lower wavy half is indistinct; there is a black streak in the tip of the wing. (Plate 88, Figs. 5, 6.)

The stout and roughened caterpillar is brown, with indistinct darker stripes along the back; the head is brown, checkered with darker brown. It feeds, in June and July, on barberry (_Berberis vulgaris_); there is a second brood in late August and September.

The moth is out in May and early June, and again in August. Although it certainly has been noted from other parts of England, the species seems at present to be confined to the eastern counties. Barrett gives Somerset also.

THE FLAME (_Anticlea rubidata_).

The markings on the reddish fore wings of this species (Plate 88, Figs. 9 and 10) are somewhat similar to those of the last mentioned, but there is no black streak in the tips of the wings, and the upper part of the outer black line is not toothed. The lower central area is often greyish, and the reddish ground colour is sometimes obscured.

The caterpillar is pale brown, sometimes greyish or greenish tinged, with obscure darker diamond-shaped marks on the back; a black central line, indistinct on the middle rings; under side striped and lined with pale and dark brown; head, with a black V-shaped mark. It feeds, in July and early August, on bedstraw (_Galium mollugo_ and _G. verum_), and will eat cleavers or goosegrass (_G. aparine_) in confinement.

2 Pl. 90. 1. BLOMER'S RIVULET: _caterpillar_. 2. SMALL WHITE WAVE: _caterpillar_. 3. HAWORTH'S PUG: _caterpillar_.

2 Pl. 91. 1, 3. DINGY SHELL. 2, 4. SMALL YELLOW WAVE. 5, 6. SMALL WHITE WAVE. 7, 9. WAVED CARPET. 8, 10. BLOMER'S RIVULET.

{219}

The moth flies in June and July, and in the daytime may be readily disturbed from hedges in localities on the chalk in the southern half of England and Wales, especially in the seaboard counties from Kent to Cornwall. It has been recorded from Derbyshire and Yorkshire, and once from the Isle of Arran (_Entom._ xv. 250).

THE STREAMER (_Anticlea nigrofasciaria_).

The two examples of this species depicted on Plate 88 show the ordinary form with the central area of the fore wings greyish brown (Fig. 7, Essex), and a New Forest specimen in which the central area is whitish (Fig. 8).

The long caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish between the rings; a purplish, or reddish-brown, stripe along the back is broken up into spots on the middle rings. It feeds on the flowers and leaves of wild rose, and can be found or beaten out in May and June. (Plate 89, Figs. 2, larva, 2a, ova.)

The moth is out in April and early May, and is often seen at rest on palings, etc., but it occurs chiefly in hedgerows, along which it flies at dusk.

This species (also known as _derivata_, Borkhausen) is pretty well distributed over England, Wales, and Scotland up to Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it seems to be local.

DINGY SHELL (_Euchoeca obliterata_).

This pale ochreous brown species (Plate 91) is in the male (Fig. 1) more or less sprinkled and shaded with darker brown, and the three brown cross lines are consequently often obscure, and rarely as distinct as in the female (Fig. 3).

The green caterpillar has a yellow line running down the middle of a black stripe along the back, and this stripe is {220} bordered on each side with yellow, and broken up by the yellow ring divisions; head, with a black spot on each side. It feeds, in July and August, on alder.

The moth is out in June and early July, and will be found in almost every locality in England where the alder flourishes, most plentifully, perhaps, on the eastern and western sides. It has been recorded from North and South Wales, but it does not seem to have been noted from Ireland or Scotland.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

SMALL WHITE WAVE (_Asthena candidata_).

The delicately lined white moth shown on Plate 91, Figs. 5 [male] and 6 [female], is chiefly a woodland species. It is generally common in the south of England, occurs more or less frequently throughout the northern half, and is widely distributed in Wales. In Scotland, it is said to be locally common in Clydesdale, and to be found in Arran and in Perthshire. It is plentiful at Dromoland, co. Clare, Ireland, not uncommon in parts of Galway, and once recorded from Wicklow.

The caterpillar is found, in July and August, on birch, hazel, and wild rose. In general colour it is green, inclining to bluish at each end, and tinged with yellowish along the ridge on the sides; the back is marked with crimson. (Plate 90, Fig. 2, after Hofmann.)

The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes July, and individuals of a second generation occasionally appear in August or September.

SMALL YELLOW WAVE (_Asthena luteata_).

This pretty little species (Plate 91, Figs. 2 and 4) has the pale yellowish wings marked with ochreous brown lines, which vary in thickness, and a dash of the same colour on the fore wings, from the central pair of lines to the middle of the outer margin.

2 Pl. 92. 1. GREY PUG: _egg and caterpillar_. 2. LIME SPECK PUG: _caterpillars_. 3. COMMON PUG: _caterpillar_. 4. NETTED PUG: _caterpillar_. 5. WHITE-SPOTTED PUG: _caterpillar_. 6. CURRANT PUG: _caterpillar_. 7. BORDERED PUG: _chrysalids_.

2 Pl. 93. 1, 4. LIME SPECK PUG. 2, 5, 8, 11. NETTED PUG. 7, 10. FOXGLOVE PUG. 3, 6. TOADFLAX PUG. 9. MARBLED PUG. 12. DWARF PUG.

{221} The caterpillar, which feeds in August and September, on maple, and in the northern counties on alder, is green, inclining to whitish between the rings.

The moth is out in June and early July, sometimes from mid May in warm localities. It is widely distributed over England and Wales, and in the southern counties of England it occurs in hedges wherever the maple grows, but in the midlands and northwards it is chiefly found among alder. In Scotland it is local and rare in Clydesdale, and is known to occur in Perthshire.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.

WAVED CARPET (_Asthena testaceata_).

The typical, greyish-dusted, white form is depicted on Plate 91, Figs. 7 [male] and 9 [female]. Mr. E. R. Bankes states (_Entom._, xl. 33) that in one restricted area in mid-Kent this species varies in the direction of melanism, and he describes two forms as under: ab. _intermedia_ has the usual coloration, but the wings are thickly dusted with dusky brown, chiefly along the front edge of the fore wings, and the cross lines are more distinct than in the type. In ab. _goodwini_ all the wings have the whitish ground colour largely obscured by dusky brown powdering.

The rather spindle-shaped caterpillar is purplish brown, inclining to greenish on the sides and below at each end; on the back of the middle rings are whitish V-marks, and the last three rings incline to purplish red above (adapted from Fenn). It feeds on the young leaves of alder, birch, and sallow, in July and August. The moth is out in June, and hides by day among the bushes, but may be seen occasionally {222} on tree-trunks. Its haunts are in damp woods and plantations, and it occurs in most of the English and Welsh counties, although it is rarely common, except in the south of England. In Ireland it has been noted as scarce in counties Wicklow, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

BLOMER'S RIVULET (_Asthena blomeri_).

The earliest British specimens of this species (Plate 91, Figs. 8 [male] and 10 [female]) were taken in Castle Eden Dean, Durham, and among the first to detect these was Captain Blomer, after whom Curtis named the species in 1832. It is still found in that locality, but is also known to occur in Cumberland, Lancs., Yorks., Derby, Staffs., Merionethshire, Worcester, Hereford, Glamorgan, Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Wilts., Oxford, and Bucks.

The slender caterpillar is yellowish green, generally marked with pinkish-brown on the back, but most or all such markings may be absent. It feeds, on wych elm (_Ulmus montana_) (Plate 90, Fig. 1), in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, earlier or later in some seasons. As a rule, it sits on the trunks of beech trees, but I have seen it on the stems of cherry and fir, though hardly ever on wych-elm. Occasionally, newly emerged specimens have been noted on the leaves of dog's mercury (_Mercurialis perennis_).

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

LIME-SPECK PUG (_Eupithecia oblongata_).

The characteristic features of this white, or greyish white, species (Plate 93, Figs. 1 and 4) is the bluish grey blotch on the front margin, in the lower end of which is the black discal {223} spot. Occasionally, the blotch is much reduced in size, but it is usually large, and sometimes there are indications of a dusky stripe from it to the inner margin.

When freshly laid, the egg is whitish, but changes to pale orange. The caterpillar (Plate 92, Figs. 2, 2a) is greenish, with more or less connected reddish marks on the back, or green inclining to yellowish, or bluish, without markings. It feeds through the summer on flowers of ragwort, knapweed, scabious, yarrow, golden rod, etc.

The moth, which is often common in gardens, is out from May to August, and specimens of a second brood occur in September and October.

It is widely distributed over the British Islands, but in Scotland it does not, apparently, extend north of Perthshire.

FOXGLOVE PUG (_Eupithecia pulchellata_).

The fore wings are pale ochreous brown with a dusky basal patch limited by a black line; a greyish central band inclining to blackish near the costa, and clouded with ochreous below the middle; the black-and-white edges are wavy; a reddish stripe across the wing before the central band, and a similar, but more irregular, one beyond the band. The hind wings are whitish grey, with several dark-grey bands (Plate 93, Figs. 7 [male], 10 [female]).

In var. _hebudium_, Sheldon, from the Hebrides, the usual reddish stripes are replaced by narrower dark-brown ones; the space left by the reduction in width is white, giving the insect a decidedly grey appearance.

The caterpillar lives in the flowers of the foxglove (_Digitalis purpurea_) and feeds therein upon the stamens and the immature seeds. It enters by boring through the side walls, and then secures the longer lobe of the blossom to the shorter upper one with a few silken threads. Tenanted flowers have {224} a rather faded look and are easily detected. July is the best month, but the caterpillar may be found earlier as well as later.

The moth is out in May and June, and is found in almost every part of the British Isles where the foxglove is common.

TOADFLAX PUG (_Eupithecia linariata_).

Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, neater and more glossy looking. The central band of the fore wing is blacker, without ochreous clouding below the middle, and the edges are not wavy. The hind wings are darker, and the only distinct band is a whitish one beyond the middle (Plate 93, Figs. 3, 6).

The caterpillar is yellowish green, with a series of dull olive or rust coloured spots or bars along the back, bordered on each side by a dusky olive line; in some examples the markings are absent (Crewe). It feeds in the flowers of yellow toadflax (_Linaria vulgaris_), and may be reared on flowers of the snapdragon (_Antirrhinum_). It is hardly necessary to examine each blossom separately to find the caterpillar, except, perhaps, to make sure when doubtful about the quarry being there. Probably, a handful of the flower sprays gathered in August or September in any locality in the southern half of England where the food plant abounds would furnish moths in the following May or June. The _Linaria_ should be secured on a dry day for choice, but when brought home it need not be put in water; just throw it into an airy breeding cage, and hopefully await emergence of the perfect insects in due course. Sometimes caterpillars attain the moth state the same year.

The range of the species in England extends to Durham, but it seems to be rather uncommon from the Midlands northwards. It is found in Wales, and has been recorded once from Scotland (Inverurie), and once from Ireland (Dublin). {225}

MARBLED PUG (_Eupithecia irriguata_).

The fore wings are whitish and rather shining, the discal spot is black and very distinct, but the dark grey-brown markings, which are only well defined on the front and outer marginal areas, vary in intensity (Plate 93, Fig. 9).

The long, slender and roughened caterpillar is dull yellowish green; three lines along the back, the central one reddish and expanded on the middle rings, the others yellowish; head, reddish. It feeds on oak, in late May and in June. The moth is out in April and May, and is sometimes found on fences or palings in the neighbourhood of oak woods, but may be jarred from the oak boughs, on the undersides of which it usually sits.

The New Forest in Hants is, perhaps, the best British locality for the species, but it has been found in Dorset (Glanville's Wootton), Devon (Exeter district, Tiverton, etc.), Sussex (Abbots Wood, St. Leonard's Forest, etc.), Wilts. (Savernake Forest); also oak woods in Surrey, Berks., Gloucester, Hereford and Glamorgan. On the eastern side it occurs in Suffolk (Bury and Needham), and Norfolk.

DWARF PUG (_Eupithecia pusillata_).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 93, Fig. 12) are pale greyish white, discal spot black, cross lines irregular dark grey inclining to brownish, usually most distinct on the front margin.

The long, slender caterpillar is orange-red or dull ochreous green; three dusky olive lines along the back, the central one often only distinct on the front rings; a yellow line low down along the sides. It feeds, in June and early July, on spruce (_Picea excelsa_). The moth is out in May and June, and rests by day among the branches of the spruce. {226}

The species is very local, but is found in Kent (West Wickham, etc.), Surrey (Mickleham district), Hants (New Forest), Devon (Exeter district, Plymouth), Wilts. (Watlington district), and Suffolk.

OCHREOUS PUG (_Eupithecia indigata_).

Captured specimens of this pale greyish-ochreous-brown species nearly always have a washed-out appearance, and even freshly emerged examples are unattractive. In some specimens, cross lines are more or less traceable on the fore wings; in others four or five tiny dusky dots will be noted on the front edge; as a rule, the only clearly defined character is the black discal spot (Plate 96, Fig. 1).

The long caterpillar is greenish-yellow or yellowish-red; three lines on the back, the central one brownish, but often only distinct on the front rings; the others, and also one low down along the sides, yellowish; head, reddish (adapted from Crewe). It feeds, in June and July, on pine and larch, or may be reared on juniper.

The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes there seems to be another emergence in the latter part of the summer. It frequents pine-woods, where it rests upon the trunks and branches of the trees.

Generally distributed over the whole of England; has been found in South Wales, and occurs in Perthshire, in Scotland. In Ireland, it has been noted from Tyrone, Derry, and Galway.

PINION-SPOTTED PUG (_Eupithecia insigniata_).

The greyish white fore wings have a blackish basal line, and three slender double lines between this and the outer margin; three blotches on the front margin of the wings, the middle one blackish, the others brown with dashes of the same colour below; discal spot, black and streak-like (Plate 96, Fig. 2).

2 Pl. 94. 1. PLAIN PUG: _caterpillars_. 2. DARK SPINACH: _caterpillars_.

2 Pl. 95. 1. PIMPINEL PUG. 4. THYME PUG. 7. BLEACHED PUG. 3, 6, 10. WORMWOOD PUG. 9. CURRANT PUG. 2, 12. LING PUG. 5. CAMPANULA PUG. 8, 11. JASIONE PUG.

{227} The long, slightly roughened caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish, especially between the rings; reddish marks on the back connected by a slender line of the same colour; head, green, flecked with reddish. It feeds, on apple, eating flowers and leaves, in May and June. Also said to eat hawthorn and sloe. The moth is out in April and May, but it is rarely met with in the open. If, however, one is lucky enough to capture a female, and fertile eggs are obtained, moths should hardly fail to result. From these the stock might go on increasing year by year for quite a long period. Ten specimens presented to the National Collection of British Lepidoptera in 1904, by the late Mrs. Hutchinson, were bred in April of the previous year, and were the direct descendants of a female captured in 1874, at Grantsfield, Herefordshire.

Other counties in England from which the species has been recorded are--Worcester (Birchwood), Gloucester, Somerset, Wilts., Hants (Hayling Island), Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Berks., Bucks., Huntingdon, Cambridge (once bred from mixed larvae beaten from hawthorn on the "Gogs"), Suffolk (beaten from hawthorn at Brandon, Tuddenham, etc.), and Norfolk.

As _insigniata_, Hubner, is claimed to be at least two years older than _consignata_, Borkhausen, the former name will have to be adopted for this species.

NETTED PUG (_Eupithecia venosata_).

This moth has also been named by the old authors "the Pretty Widow Moth." On Plate 93 are shown four examples; the typical form (Fig. 2), in which the fore wings are pale greyish, with black cross lines, two of which are edged with whitish; var. _fumosae_, Gregson = _nubilata_, Bohatsch (Fig. 5)--the Shetland race--is brownish grey, with the markings obscure; Fig. 8 {228} represents a variegated modification of the last form, for which the name _bandanae_ was proposed by Gregson; Fig. 11 depicts another specimen, which in its light-brown colour closely approaches the Orkney form var. _ochracae_, Gregson = _orcadensis_, Prout.

Specimens from North Devon have a rather darker tone of the typical coloration, and those from North Wales and from Ireland incline to brownish.

The rather stumpy caterpillar is greyish brown above, and pale greenish or yellowish below; three darker brown lines along the back; head, blackish. It is found from late June to early August, in the seed capsules of catchfly (_Silene inflate_, _S. maritima_, etc.). Plate 92, Fig. 4, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.

The moth is out in May and June, and is widely distributed over the British Isles.

PIMPINEL PUG (_Eupithecia pimpinellata_).

A portrait of this species, which, as a British insect, was first noted in Suffolk nearly sixty years ago, will be found on Plate 95, Fig. 1. The fore wings are pale brownish, except on the front edge, which is greyish; the black discal spot is distinct and rather long; the median vein and its branches are dotted with black, and most of the cross lines are only distinct on the front margin, where they are blackish; the rather wavy whitish submarginal line is sometimes marked with blackish. In some specimens the costal half of the fore wings is greyish, and the other portion only tinged with pale brownish.

The long caterpillar is green, with three purplish lines along the back, the central one wider and more distinct than the others; the head is purple. Sometimes purple, with two lines of a deeper shade on each side of the back (Crewe). It feeds, in the autumn, on flowers of burnet-saxifrage (_Pimpinella_). {229} The moth is out in June and July, and in the late afternoon is occasionally put up from among its food plant or the herbage around, but such specimens are rarely worth keeping, unless of the female sex, when eggs may be obtained.

The species has a wide distribution in England, especially in the southern half; it occurs in Wales, and also in Ireland, but not in Scotland.

THYME PUG (_Eupithecia distinctaria_).