Part 2

{11} The moths are out in August and September, and in the late afternoon may be seen, newly emerged from the chrysalis, on ash trunks, or on twigs and herbage immediately around the tree stems. When on the wing at night it is attracted by light, especially electric, and by sugar. Now that the habits of the species are better known than formerly, it has been ascertained to occur in most English counties. In Scotland it is widely distributed up to Argyll and Perthshire; it has been recorded from several parts of Wales, and in Ireland is found in counties Antrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Down, Armagh, Louth, Westmeath, Wicklow, Sligo, Galway, Tipperary, and Cork.

THE LUNAR UNDERWING (_Omphaloscelis_ (_Anchocelis_) _lunosa_).

In the general colour of the fore wings, this species, of which four figures will be found on Plate 7, ranges from pale ochreous {12} brown to dark blackish grey. The typical form (_lunosa_, Haworth) has the ground colour pale, or bright, reddish (Figs. 1 and 3); the markings are well defined, and the wing rays are sometimes pale ochreous, or whitish. Four modifications of this form have been named; one of these has pale veins, but the general colour is red brown (ab. _brunnea_, Tutt); in another (Fig. 2) the colour is ochreous brown, the veins pale, and the other markings distinct (ab. _humilis_, Humph. and Westw.). Of the greyish forms, var. _agrotoides_, Guenee, is the darkest (Fig. 4).

The caterpillar is brownish, inclining to greenish beneath; there are three whitish lines along the back, the outer edged below with blackish; a thin whitish line along the sides is shaded above with blackish. It feeds on meadow grass (_Poa annua_), and other kinds of grass, from October to May. The moth appears in September and October, sometimes at the end of August. It is partial to light and to sugar, and where the latter is smeared over the foliage of trees and bushes it seems better attended by this, and other autumnal moths, than when painted on tree-trunks in the usual manner.

The species seems to be pretty generally distributed throughout Southern and Western England, and in some seasons it is very common. Eastward and through the Midlands it is perhaps less frequent; in the northern counties it is scarce on the east, but locally common on the west. It occurs in Wales; also in Scotland up to Perthshire. According to Kane, it is widely distributed in Ireland, but most common on the coast.

Abroad, it appears to be confined to France and Spain, although it has been recorded from North-west Africa.

THE RED-LINE QUAKER (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _lota_).

In its typical form this species is of a leaden-grey coloration on the fore wings, but these wings sometimes have a reddish {13} tinge (ab. _rufa_, Tutt). In others the ground colour is blackish (ab. _suffusa_, Tutt), and a rarer form (ab. _pallida_, Tutt) has the fore wings whitish grey with a distinct black reniform stigma, and red submarginal line. (Plate 7, Figs. 5, 6.)

The caterpillar is ochreous brown, sometimes tinged with reddish or purplish brown on the sides; of three whitish lines along the back, the central one is composed of spots, and the outer ones are not well defined, except on the dark first and last rings; the line along the sides is reddish. Head, glossy, pale reddish brown, marked with darker brown. It feeds on willow and sallow, and may be found among the foliage from April to June, and especially the topmost leaves of a twig, which it spins together with silk to form a retreat during the day. (Plate 5, Fig. 2.)

The moth comes freely to sugar in September and October, sometimes even later. It may be found pretty freely also at ivy bloom, and at the flowers of _Tritoma_. Although apparently commoner in the south, it is generally distributed throughout England, Wales, and Scotland up to Perthshire and Aberdeen. In Ireland it is widely distributed, but local.

THE YELLOW-LINE QUAKER (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _macilenta_).

The typical coloration of this species (Plate 7, Figs. 7 and 8) is pale ochreous brown, inclining to reddish in some specimens; the lower part of the reniform stigma black. Sometimes, the black spot is absent (ab. _obsoleta_, Tutt). Another form has the ground colour pale yellowish brown, and this, with the black lower portion of the reniform present, is ab. _straminea_, Tutt, while specimens of the same tint, but minus the black spot, are referable to ab. _obsoleta-straminea_ of the same author.

The caterpillar is reddish brown with white dots, and three white lines on the back; the line along the spiracles is whitish {14} with a dusky edge above. Head, ochreous brown; plate on first ring blackish lined with white. It feeds on beech, oak, and heather. When approaching full growth it probably feeds on low-growing plants, and it may be found from April to June.

The moth flies in September and October, sometimes in November. Decaying apples seem to have a stronger attractive influence at times than either sugar or ivy bloom. Except that it appears to be local or scarce in the Midlands, the species occurs, in many parts commonly, throughout England, Wales, and Scotland to Moray. In Ireland it is generally distributed and abundant in some localities.

THE BRICK (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _circellaris_).

Yellow or ochreous is the typical coloration, but the most frequent form of this common species in Britain is ab. _ferruginea_, Hubn., which is ochreous tinged with rust colour. Sometimes, the fore wings are more or less suffused with blackish, and with the markings black, such specimens are referable to _macilenta_ as figured by Hubner, Noct., Fig. 688. The more usual form is shown on Plate 7, Figs. 9, 10.

At the time it is freshly laid, the egg (Plate 5, Fig. 3a) is yellowish, but changes in about a week to purplish with a more or less distinct pearly sheen.

The caterpillar is brown inclining to yellowish, the head is reddish, and the plate on first ring blackish; there are three pale lines along the back, the central one more or less interrupted by dusky V-shaped marks, the others with an interrupted edging above; the stripe along the region of the blackish spiracles is yellowish grey. It lives on wych-elm and ash, eating the flowers, seeds, and leaves, but has a decided preference for the first two. It may be beaten in May and early June, sometimes in numbers, from the seeds (Plate 5, Fig. 3).

2 Pl. 8. 1. CONFORMIST: _caterpillar_. 2. EARLY GREY: _caterpillar_. 3. RED SWORD-GRASS: _caterpillar_.

2 Pl. 9. 1, 2. FLOUNCED RUSTIC. 3-6. BEADED CHESTNUT. 7-9. BROWN-SPOT PINION.

{15}

The moth is out from late August well on into October, and is to be found, wherever its favourite trees are established, throughout the British Isles.

THE FLOUNCED RUSTIC (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _helvola_).

On Plate 9 is shown a male specimen of the typical form (Fig. 1). In ab. _ochrea_, Tutt, the general colour of the fore wings is ochreous with a greenish tinge, and so it differs from the type, in which the ground colour is reddish. In another ochreous form the cross bands are of a purplish tint (ab. _punica_, Borkhausen), and in ab. _rufina_, Hubner, the bands are also purplish, but the ground colour is of a somewhat brighter red than in the type. Ab. _unicolor_, Tutt, is dull reddish with indistinct cross markings, and seems to be a modification of the almost unicolorous form of a bright red colour, ab. _rufa_, Tutt. (Fig. 2.)

The full-grown caterpillar feeds, in April and May, on the foliage of the oak, the elm, and some other trees; also on sallow, hawthorn, and, according to Barrett, on bilberry and heather. In general colour it is brownish, often tinged with red, and more or less flecked with dark brown; a fine whitish line along the middle of the back is only clearly traceable on the front rings, but there is a very distinct white stripe along the region of the black spiracles. In an earlier stage it is green with three whitish lines on the back, and another on the sides.

The moth is out in September and October, rather earlier in Scotland. Though much commoner in some districts than in others, this species is found in woodlands throughout the greater part of England, Wales, and the mainland of Scotland. In Ireland it appears to be rare, and has only been recorded, chiefly in single specimens, from Waterford, Wicklow, Galway, Armagh, and Derry. {16}

THE BEADED CHESTNUT (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _lychnidis_).

The name of this variable species (Plate 9, Figs. 3-6), long known as _pistacina_, is now recognised as the _lychnidis_ of Schiffermiller, so, as the latter name has page priority over the former, it has to be adopted. Fig. 3 on the plate represents a well-marked reddish specimen of the typical form. A great many forms have been named, but only a few of the more distinct of these can be referred to here. Fig. 4 shows the greyish ochreous aberration known as _serrina_, Fab. Ab. _ferrea_, Haworth (Fig. 5) has almost uniform reddish fore wings, and ab. _venosa_, Haworth has the fore wings greyish brown with the veins whitish.

When newly laid the egg (Plate 5, Fig. 1a) is yellowish, but changes to olive-brown. The caterpillar (Plate 5, Fig. 1) is green inclining to yellowish, freckled with greyish, and dotted with whitish; there are three fine whitish lines along the back, and a broad white stripe along the sides. It is found from March to June, and feeds on grasses, dandelion, groundsel, buttercup, and a variety of low plants; it will also eat sallow.

The moth is out from September to November, and is often abundant at sugar and ivy bloom, and not uncommon on gas lamps or around electric lights. Generally distributed and plentiful over the greater part of England and Wales, but from Yorkshire northwards and through Scotland to Perthshire it is very local, and apparently not at all frequent. In Ireland it is widely spread and common.

THE BROWN-SPOT PINION (_Amathes_ (_Orthosia_) _litura_).

On Plate 9 are shown specimens from Scotland (Figs. 8 [male], 9 [female]). The male, which has the basal area of the fore wings pale, is referable to ab. _borealis_, Sparre-Schneider, whilst the female is more nearly typical. In England the majority of the {17} specimens belong to ab. _rufa_, Tutt, which is reddish in the coloration of fore wing (Fig. 7). Sometimes the basal area in this colour form is pale also.

The caterpillar is green, sometimes tinged with olive and freckled with darker green; there are three dark-edged pale-green lines along the back; the under surface is tinged with yellowish, and is separated from the green colour of the upper surface by a whitish stripe, edged above with black; head, brownish, with darker freckles. It occurs in April and May, when it feeds on bramble, rose, oak, sallow, and some low-growing plants.

The moth is found in September and October throughout England, and Scotland up to Moray.

THE ORANGE SALLOW (_Cirrhia_ (_Xanthia_) _citrago_).

The ground colour of the fore wings is generally yellow, but in some districts the specimens exhibit a tendency towards orange-red. The latter tint is very decided in var. _aurantiago_, Tutt. There is but little variation in marking, but the central cross line is broader in some specimens than in others. (Plate 10, Fig. 1.)

The caterpillar is dark olive-grey above, with white dots, and obscure greenish beneath; of the three whitish lines along the back, the central one is rather wider than the other two, which are edged above with black; along the region of the spiracles the colour is whitish grey. Head, brown, shining, and darker on the mouth; a black mark on ring of body next the head. (Adapted from Porritt.) It feeds on lime (_Tilia vulgaris_) in April and May, and conceals itself between two spun-together leaves during the daytime. In such retreats I have frequently detected them by simply standing under the branches and looking upwards and outwards from the trunk. When nearly full grown they more often descend the tree, and hide by day {18} among the undergrowth, etc., at the base of the trunk, whence they return to their feeding quarters by crawling up the tree at dusk.

The moth is out in August and September, and although it does not seem to care much about the collector's sugar when spread on tree trunks in the usual way, it seems to accept it freely enough when daubed on the foliage. The leaves of the lime are, however, generally well coated with a sweet substance proceeding from _Aphides_, and commonly known as honeydew. This in itself is very attractive to the moths. The species seems to be widely distributed over England, and will perhaps be found in most districts where limes flourish. In Wales it has occurred in Flintshire, Denbighshire, and Carnarvon. McArthur obtained a specimen in the Isle of Lewis in 1887, and Renton records it as found in Roxburghshire. Little is known of it from Ireland, but it has been noted from Wicklow and Galway.

THE BARRED SALLOW (_Ochria_ (_Xanthia_) _aurago_).

The ground colour of the fore wings, which in the type is pale yellow, ranges through various shades of yellow to deep orange. The basal and outer marginal bands are pale purplish, in the type, but in the more orange forms the bands are rather more reddish purple. In ab. _fucata_, Esper, the purplish colour of the bands spreads over the orange central area, and in ab. _unicolor_, Tutt, the orange invades the basal and outer marginal regions, so that the bands are pretty well obliterated, and the fore wings assume a more or less uniform orange coloration. The latter form is uncommon, but a rarer one in this country is ab. _lutea_, Tutt, which has the fore wings almost entirely orange-yellow. (Plate 10, Figs. 2 and 3, the latter inclining to ab. _unicolor_.)

The caterpillar is reddish brown with pale dots, and with {19} three whitish lines along the back; a pale stripe along the sides. Head, pale brown, shining. May be found from April to June on beech, or on maple where this occurs around beech woods. At first it feeds on the buds, but later on the leaves; for protection during the day it spins together two of the leaves, and so forms a suitable resting place. Sycamore, it may be mentioned, is acceptable to this caterpillar when reared in captivity.

The moth is out in September and early October, and is chiefly found in the neighbourhood of beech woods, especially those in chalky districts in Oxford and adjoining counties, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Wilts, Somerset, Dorset, and Devon. It also occurs in the counties of Hereford, Worcester, and Cheshire; it has been found in Yorkshire since 1890 in several localities, including Barnsley, Doncaster, Huddersfield, and Rotherham. At least one specimen has been recorded from Pembrokeshire, and others from Flint and Denbighshire, in Wales.

THE PINK-BARRED SALLOW (_Xanthia lutea_ (_flavago_)).

In some examples of this species (Plate 10, Figs. 4, 5) the oblique band of the fore wings is purplish, and in others red or reddish; the former are typical, and the latter are referable to ab. _ochreago_, Borkhausen. Often the band is incomplete, and sometimes it is only indicated by three more or less regular series of reddish dots (ab. _togata_, Esper). I have one example of this form from the Isle of Hoy, and another specimen from the same locality is somewhat similar, but the spots are not so well separated, and are purplish in colour.

The eggs (Plate 6, Fig. 3) are yellowish when laid, but become purplish later, and the ribs then appear whitish.

The caterpillar when young lives on catkins of the sallow, and when these fall it feeds on low-growing plants, but it will {20} eat the leaves of sallow and the seeds of wych-elm. It may be found from March to June.

The moth appears in September and October. It is widely distributed, and often common at the sugar patch, over the whole of England, Wales, Scotland up to Moray, and Ireland.

The range abroad extends to Amurland, Japan, Kamtschatka, and North America.

THE SALLOW (_Xanthia fulvago_).

A typical male and female of this species are shown on Plate 10, Figs. 7, 8; Fig. 6 on the same plate represents ab. _flavescens_, Esper. Sometimes the fore wings are orange-tinged, and such examples having the typical markings well defined are referable to ab. _aurantia_, Tutt. In _cerago_, Hubner, the markings are fainter than in the type, and the orange-yellow modification of this form has been named _imperfecta_, Tutt.

The caterpillar is brown above with a tinge of red or purple, and freckled with darker; there are three pale lines along the back, but only the central one is distinct, and this is more or less interrupted by clusters of darker freckles; there is a darker stripe composed of freckles on the sides, and below this is a pale brownish stripe; head, brown, plate on the first ring of the body blackish with pale lines upon it. It feeds when young in sallow catkins, and later on low-growing plants, also leaves of sallow and seeds of wych-elm. Early stages are figured on Plate 6. The moth is out in September and early October. It is widely distributed, and generally common, throughout England and Wales, Scotland to Moray, and Ireland. Its range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

NOTE.--It may be stated here that the present species, together with _aurago_, _lutea_, _fulvago_, _gilvago_, and _ocellaris_, are referred to _Cosmia_, Ochs. and Treit., by Hampson (_Cat. Lep. Phal._ vi. 497).

2 Pl. 10. 1. ORANGE SALLOW. 6-8. THE SALLOW. 2, 3. BARRED SALLOW. 9, 10. DUSKY-LEMON SALLOW. 4, 5. PINK-BARRED SALLOW. 11. PALE-LEMON SALLOW. 12. ORANGE UPPER-WING.

2 Pl. 11. 1, 2. RED-HEADED CHESTNUT MOTH. 7-10. DARK CHESTNUT. 3-6. CHESTNUT MOTH. 11, 12. DOTTED CHESTNUT.

{21}

THE DUSKY-LEMON SALLOW (_Mellinia_ (_Xanthia_) _gilvago_).

Two examples of this species are shown on Plate 10, Figs. 9 and 10. The purplish-brown mottling or clouding and greyish suffusion of the fore wings is much denser in some specimens than in others. Often the suffusion is quite absent, and the purplish brown is only seen as spots. Again, in an almost unicolorous form the ground colour is of a pale orange tint, the cross markings and outlines of the reniform are as in the type, and the series of blackish points on the submarginal line, usually present in the type, are more conspicuous, owing to absence of the other usual dark markings; this seems to be the _palleago_ of Hubner, which has been considered a distinct species; I think, however, that it is only a form of _gilvago_. The earliest recorded British specimen of this form was taken at Brighton in 1856, and it and others captured in the same district were then thought to be examples of _M. ocellaris_, but their true identity was established by Doubleday in 1859. Very few specimens of this form have been reported from other parts of England, but I have recently seen one that was taken at light in the Canterbury district, Kent, on October 3, 1907. In its typical form this species has an extensive range in England, spreading from Yorkshire to Surrey and Sussex. The earliest known British specimens were captured in the neighbourhood of Doncaster over sixty years ago, but its occurrence in Surrey seems not to have been noted until comparatively recent times.

The caterpillar is pinkish grey-brown, with three paler lines and a series of purplish diamonds along the back; the sides are mottled with purplish brown above the black spiracles, and striped with ochreous grey below them. According to Buckler, whose description is here adapted, the four pale raised dots circled with dark brown, placed within the dark marks on the back of each ring, serve to distinguish this caterpillar from its {22} allies. It feeds on the seeds of wych-elm, and may be beaten or jarred from the branches in April and May. The moth is out in the autumn.

THE PALE-LEMON SALLOW (_Mellinia_ (_Xanthia_) _ocellaris_).

Although sparsely marked yellowish examples of the last species have been mistaken for the present one, the true _M. ocellaris_ was not known to occur in Britain until 1893, when three specimens were taken at Wimbledon and Twickenham. In 1894 a specimen was recorded from Bognor in Sussex, and another in West Dulwich. The following year one specimen was taken at Richmond, Surrey, and one at Ipswich, Suffolk. Three specimens were obtained at sugar in 1899, and five others in 1900, in a locality in North Kent. Odd specimens have also been noted as follows:--Suffolk, Beccles (1898), Woodbridge (1899); West Norfolk (1904 and 1906); Cambridge (1907). The caterpillar, which is ochreous grey with black dots, feeds on poplar, and is stated by one continental author to live in the buds and catkins when young, and afterwards on low plants. So far, it has not been detected in England.

A German specimen of the moth is depicted on Plate 10, Fig. 11. From the last species this one is easily separated by the more pointed fore wings, by the white dot at lower end of the reniform stigma, and by the different shaped cross lines.

The moth has been taken at sugar or light in September and October.

THE ORANGE UPPER-WING (_Xantholeuca_ (_Hoporina_) _croceago_).

This species is shown in its typical form on Plate 10, Fig. 12. Occasionally a dull reddish-brown form (ab. _latericolor_, Raynor) occurs, of which I some years ago reared several examples, {23} from eggs laid by a female taken at sallow in Darenth Wood, Kent.

The caterpillar (Plate 6, Fig. 1) is pale ochreous brown, inclining to orange, finely freckled with brown, and with brown V-marks on the back of rings 4 to 11; the line along the middle of the back is pale yellow, and there are two pale yellow spots on ring 11; head, pale brown, freckled with darker brown, and sometimes rosy tinged. It feeds on oak, and may be found in May and June.

The moth flies in September and October, and then visits ivy bloom and sugar at night; after hibernation it comes to sallow bloom. It has been found during the winter between dry leaves on oak twigs in the hedgerows. Females taken late in the spring and enclosed in a chip box will probably deposit a good supply of eggs; caterpillars hatching from them are not difficult to rear.

The species does not appear to have been noticed in the eastern or northern counties of England, but it occurs from Worcester southwards to Somerset, Dorset, Devon, and Cornwall. From Herefordshire it spreads into Wales. North of London it is found in Hertfordshire, Middlesex, and to the south in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, and Hampshire.

It is represented in Japan by _sericea_, Butler, which is considered a distinct species by some authors.

THE RED-HEADED CHESTNUT (_Orrhodia_ (_Conistra_) _erythrocephala_).

The portraits of this species on Plate 11 are from Austrian specimens. Fig. 1 is typical and Fig. 2 is ab. _glabra_, Hubner.

A specimen was captured at Marlow, Bucks, in October, 1859, by Mr. A. H. Clarke, who presented it to the British Museum in 1903; but perhaps the earliest-known British specimen was one taken near Brighton in 1847. Between the {24} last-named Sussex locality and Eastbourne in one direction, and Lewes in the other, one or more specimens of the type or of ab. _glabra_ have occurred from time to time, but there are no records from the county for a number of years now. The species has also been noted from Hampshire (New Forest and Bournemouth), Somerset, Devon, Kent (Darenth), and Hertfordshire (St. Albans). The most recent records refer to two captures at Bournemouth in 1902.

THE CHESTNUT (_Orrhodia_ (_Conistra_) _vaccinii_).