Part 21

At first sight this moth (Plate 102, Fig. 7) might be mistaken for a small specimen of the Waved Umber (_Hemerophila abruptaria_), but it will be noted that the dark stripe on the fore wings starts from the middle of the inner margin, and runs to just below the tips of the wings; the outer margin of the hind wings is not wavy, and the antennae of the male are not pectinated.

The caterpillar, which feeds on traveller's joy (_Clematis vitalba_), in June-July, and in September-October, is greyish {257} brown, with three blackish lines along the back, the central one broader than the other two, especially on the middle of each ring, where it swells out into a black spot.

In May and June, and again in August, the moth may be disturbed from the food plant growing in masses in hedgerows, etc. It occurs in most of the southern counties of England, westward to Herefordshire and South Wales, and eastward to Suffolk. Forsythe states that it is local in the Lancaster district.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE FERN (_Phibalapteryx_ (_Coenocalpe_) _tersata_).

The general colour of this species (Plate 102, Fig. 8) is pale brown, with a tendency to reddish in some specimens, and to greyish in others.

Caterpillar, pale brownish inclining to ochreous; on each side of an irregular blackish line along the centre of the back is a pale yellowish line, and there are white spots on the back of the middle rings. It feeds on _Clematis_, in August and September. The moth is out in June and July, and will be found in similar localities to those mentioned for the previous species, and, except that it has not been recorded from Lancaster, its range in England is much about the same.

The distribution abroad extends to Japan.

OBLIQUE CARPET (_Coenocalpe vittata_).

This species, also known as _lignata_, Hubner, is usually pale brown in ground colour, tinged with ochreous or pinkish; the darker oblique stripes vary in width and in intensity. (Plate 102, Figs. 9 [male], gen. 1; 10 [male], gen. 2.)

The caterpillar is of a yellow-green colour, inclining to {258} ochreous brown on the upper portions of the middle rings; a darker irregular line along the back, and a whitish line on each side, the latter edged above and below with a fine black line; below the spiracles is a pale pinkish brown stripe. Varies in the tint of ground colour and in the markings. It feeds, after hibernation, on bedstraw (_Galium palustre_, _G. saxatile_, etc.), and caterpillars from eggs laid in June may be reared on clematis, wild or cultivated.

The moth is out in May and June, sometimes later, and a second generation appears in August and September; the individuals of the later brood are often smaller than those of the first brood. Its haunts are fens, marshes, and water-meads, but in Middlesex I have taken a specimen or two flying along a weedy ditch. Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but not noted in Scotland north of Moray.

THE GEM (_Percnoptilota fluviata_).

Also known in the vulgar tongue as "The Narrow-barred Carpet." As will be seen on reference to Plate 102, the male (Fig. 12) is pale brown with a dark central band; and the female (Fig. 11) is purplish brown, the central band rather blackish, and on it is the discal mark, a black centred white spot. The specimens figured are rather small.

The following aberrations have been named--ab. _marginata_, Mathew, with the fringes of all the wings conspicuously pinky-grey; ab. _olivacea_, Mathew, a form of the female with olive brown fore wings; ab. _obsoleta_, Mathew, a form of the male with the dark central band nearly or quite absent.

2 Pl. 102. 1, 2. DENTATED PUG. 3, 4. DARK SPINACH. 5. MANY-LINED. 6. SLENDER-STRIPED RUFOUS. 7. SMALL WAVED UMBER. 8. THE FERN. 9, 10. OBLIQUE CARPET. 11, 12. THE GEM.

2 Pl. 103. 1-5. MAGPIE MOTH. 6-8. CLOUDED MAGPIE.

{259} The caterpillar is greyish, sometimes tinged with pink, and sometimes with green; three dusky lines on the head and first three rings of the body, a series of blackish outlined, whitish marks on the middle rings, and blackish marks on the other rings, which are pale in colour; a blackish line above the black-edged spiracles is broken up into dashes on the middle rings. Several other forms of the caterpillar, which is a variable one, have been described by Hellins. The food comprises groundsel, knotgrass, chrysanthemum, and various other plants. There are several generations during the year, and in hot weather the caterpillars feed up rapidly, so quickly indeed that in about a month the whole round of changes from egg to moth is effected. The species is migratory in habit, and there is little doubt that the specimens taken in this country in late spring or early summer are immigrants; those examples obtained later in the year are probably the descendants of such aliens. It is more frequently noted from southern England, chiefly from the seaboard counties, but it has been recorded from Lancashire and Yorkshire; also from Wales, and from several parts of Ireland: April to November.

BOARMIINAE.

CLOUDED MAGPIE (_Abraxas sylvata_).

A more or less typical example of each sex of this variable species will be found on Plate 103. Fig. 7 represents a male, and Fig. 8 a female; the slightly marked specimen (Fig. 6) somewhat approaches the continental species _A. pantaria_, L., in appearance, and it is probable that such individuals have done duty for the species just named in some of the older collections of British lepidoptera. On Plate 104 are shown the leaden tinted form (Fig. 6), sometimes not infrequent in certain Yorkshire localities; a specimen with smoky fore wings (Fig. 7), taken with a few other examples of the same form in a wood in Buckinghamshire, in 1907, when also the strongly banded form (Fig. 8) was secured by Mr. A. J. Scollick. Between these {260} extremes and the more typical forms all kinds of intergrades occur, but it is not possible here to discuss these in detail.

The pale greenish yellow eggs and two caterpillars are figured on Plate 101, Figs. 2, 2a. The latter are whitish, inclining to yellowish on the back, and lined with black; stripe below the black spiracles, yellow; head, black and glossy. The food is wych-elm (_Ulmus montana_), but beech and hazel are said to be eaten at times: August to October. The moth is found in May and June, sitting about on the leaves of dog's mercury, and other vegetation in its woodland haunts. Although it sometimes occurs sparingly in the southern seaboard counties, it is far more frequent in the west, ranging from North Devon to Cumberland, and including Wales. It is common in Bucks., and northwards to Northumberland, and extends into South Scotland. In Ireland, not uncommon at Killarney, and reported from a few other localities.

THE MAGPIE (_Abraxas grossulariata_).

Except that the specimen represented by Fig. 2 has traces of a yellow band on the hind wings, Figs. 1-3 on Plate 103 show this highly variable species in its typical and most frequent form. Figs. 4 and 5 depict examples of the ordinary darker forms leading up to ab. _hazeleighensis_, Raynor, in which the whole of the fore wing area between the orange bands is blackish, except two tiny white specks near the front margin. Not infrequently the black spots on the outer margin of the fore wings exhibit a tendency to spread inwards, as in Figs. 2 and 5, and very occasionally they unite with the series of spots outside the orange band, as in Plate 104, Fig. 1, which represents a specimen (kindly lent by Mr. R. Adkin) with blackish tinged hind wings. Sometimes the ground colour of all the wings is yellowish (ab. _lutea_, Cockerell), but the markings {261} are of the usual pattern. The example of this form (Plate 104, Fig. 3) was reared from a large number of caterpillars I collected at Purley, in Surrey, a year or two ago, and was the only example among the moths resulting therefrom that was worth retaining. The very fine variety shown on Plate 104, Fig. 5, is ab. _varleyata_, Porritt, which occurs in Yorkshire, but is mostly reared in captivity from eggs obtained from a wild female in the first place, and subsequent pairings; the specimen figured is an especially fine example of the female sex, raised among others of the same form by Mr. G. T. Porritt of Huddersfield, who has been good enough to lend it for the purpose. Several other varieties of this species have been named and described by the Rev. Gilbert H. Raynor, but reference can only be made here to two of these; one is ab. _melanozona_, a Scottish form, in which there is a black blotch with traces of yellow in it at the base of the fore wings; a large black discal spot in the white central area; a black band, widening towards the front margin, before the faint yellow band, the latter followed by four black spots; hind wings with central black spot, and two series of black {262} spots beyond, seven in each series, separated by a well-defined white area. Fig. 2 on Plate 104 represents a specimen that approaches this variety. The handsome cream-coloured specimen (Plate 104, Fig. 4) is ab. _lacticolor_, Raynor, and I am obliged to Mr. Adkin for the loan of these insects also.

The caterpillar and chrysalis are figured on Plate 101, Figs. 1, 1b; the former is creamy white, marked on the back with black blotches and dots, and lines of black dots on the sides; between the lower two rows is a broad reddish line; head, black; sometimes the whole body is black. It occurs in gardens, and sometimes is a serious pest where currants and gooseberries are cultivated; it frequently abounds on _Euonymus japonicus_. In the open country it feeds on sloe and hawthorn; sometimes it is found on elm (low growth in hedges), apple, navelwort (_Cotyledon umbilicus_), orpine (_Sedum telephium_), and in the Hebrides, on ling (_Calluna_). August to May, or early June, are the months in which it is found as a rule; occasionally it does not hibernate, but feeds up and attains the moth state in the autumn of the year that it hatches from the egg. The moth is out, normally, in July and August, and is generally distributed over the greater part of the British Isles.

The range abroad extends to East Siberia, China, and Japan.

CLOUDED BORDER (_Lomaspilis marginata_).

Figs. 1 and 2 on Plate 107 represent the more usual forms, in both sexes, of this rather common, but pretty, little moth. Occasionally, specimens are obtained in which, with the exception of a dark patch or two on the front margin, the wings are entirely white or slightly tinged with pale yellowish (ab. _pollutaria_, Hubner); a modification of this form is shown in Fig. 3.

2 Pl. 104. 1-5. MAGPIE MOTH VARIETIES. 6-8. CLOUDED MAGPIE VARIETIES.

2 Pl. 105. 1. SCORCHED CARPET: _caterpillar_. 2. CLOUDED BORDER: _caterpillar_. 3. COMMON WHITE WAVE: _caterpillar_.

{263}

Ab. _nigrofasciaria_, Schoyen, has a rather broad blackish band across the central area of each wing, and indications of such bands, in the shape of spots or dots, are seen in many examples of the species; occasionally, the irregular dark border of the outer margin of the wings is traversed by an interrupted whitish line.

The caterpillar is yellowish-green, with three dark-green double lines on the back, the central one blotched with purplish brown on the last ring; head, green, marked with purplish brown. The figure (Plate 105, Fig. 2) is from a drawing in colour by Mr. Sich. It feeds on sallow, willow, and aspen, and may be found almost throughout the summer from June. The moth is also met with during the summer months, but seems to be most frequent in May and June. The species prefers moist localities where sallows abound, and in such places seems to occur pretty generally over the British Isles. In Scotland, however, it has not, apparently, been noted north of Moray.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE SCORCHED CARPET (_Ligdia adustata_).

The bluish-grey band on the outer third of the fore wings varies in width, and the velvety black marking thereon varies in amount; this area of the wings is also more or less clouded with reddish brown, and the underside of all the wings is much suffused with reddish brown, which gives the insect the burnt or scorched appearance to which both Latin and English names refer. (Plate 107, Figs. 4 [male] and 5 [female].) In June and early July, and again in late August and September, the red-spotted, bright-green caterpillar may be beaten from the spindle bushes (_Euonymus europaeus_) in hedgerows. (Fig. 1, Plate 105, is from a coloured drawing by Mr. Sich.) {264}

The moth is out in late April sometimes, but it is more frequent in May and June, and as a second generation in August, earlier or later in some seasons. It may be knocked out of hedges in which spindle is growing. The species is not uncommon in most of the southern English counties, but in the northern ones its occurrence is more casual. It has been recorded from North Wales; in Ireland it is fairly common in some western and southern counties, and rare in the east and north; in Scotland, only noted from the south-east, Arran, and the Hebrides.

Abroad, its range extends to Japan, where it is represented by var. _japoniata_, Staudinger.

THE SLOE CARPET (_Aleucis_ (_Bapta_) _pictaria_).

This blackish-grey species (Plate 107, Fig. 6) has been confused in the past with _pictaria_, Thunberg, which is referable to _Cleora lichenaria_, and it was then known by the popular name of "The Grey Carpet." As the caterpillar feeds on the foliage of the sloe, and the moth is fond of resting on the stems and twigs, and appears at the time the bushes are wreathed in their snowy blossoms, the sloe carpet seems to be rather more suitable than are most of the names by which our moths are popularly known.

The caterpillar is dusky brown, with blackish V-shaped marks upon the back, white marks on rings 7 and 8, and a black line on the last ring. It feeds at night, in June and early July, and as it remains on the bushes during the day, it may be obtained by beating. At night the moths fly about the bushes for a short time, and then sit on the twigs, when they may be secured. Of course, a lantern will be a necessity.

Barrett states that stunted bushes on open heaths and hillsides are preferred to hedgerows. {265}

The species is very local, but generally not uncommon where it occurs, as, for example, in the New Forest, Hampshire; the Loughton and Colchester districts, Essex; and in some parts of Kent. It has been noted from Tilgate Forest, and other localities in Sussex; and also from Surrey, Berkshire, and Suffolk.

WHITE-PINION SPOTTED (_Bapta bimaculata_).

The two cross lines on the fore wings of this silky white species (Plate 107, Fig. 9) commence in blackish spots on the front margin; often they are only indicated by series of dots, and are rarely really distinct. Occasionally, a greyish submarginal line or band is present.

The darkish green caterpillar has a series of purplish marks on the back; head, inclining to yellowish, and powdered with purplish. It feeds, in June and July, on the leaves of wild cherry and plum, and will eat hawthorn; it may be beaten from its food plant in the daytime. The moth is out in May and June, and shelters in bushes, etc., in woods and hedgerows. During the day it is frequently put up from its hiding-places, but its usual time of flight is the evening, when it is readily seen and not difficult to capture. It is local, and perhaps most frequently met with in those parts of South England where the wild cherry flourishes. Occurs more or less commonly in most of the southern counties, but north of Gloucester, Oxford, and Norfolk it has only been noted from North Lancashire, Westmoreland, and Cumberland. In Wales the late Mr. C. G. Barrett found the moth rare in Pembrokeshire, and there is also a record from Anglesey.

The range abroad extends to China, Corea, and Japan. {266}

CLOUDED SILVER (_Bapta temerata_).

In its silky, white wings this species (Plate 107, Figs. 7 [male], 8 [female]) is similar to the last mentioned. It is, however, rather larger, and there are greyish clouds on each side of the outer cross line, but there are no blackish spots on the front edge of the fore wings. The clouding referred to is heavier and darker in some specimens than in others, but occasionally, chiefly in the female, is almost absent.

The green caterpillar, when full grown, is ornamented with brown-bordered reddish spots on the back, but these markings are absent in its earlier stages. The head is paler than the body, and has a reddish spot on each side. It feeds, in July and August, on sloe, plum, and bird cherry in this country, but the continental authors give birch, willow, rose, etc. The moth is out in May and June, and occurs throughout England and Wales, to Cumberland; but it is far more frequent in the south than in the north. Barrett mentions a single specimen from Wigtownshire in Scotland. In Ireland, Kane states that it is abundant at Clonbrock, Merlin Park, and in several other localities in Galway; it is not uncommon at Killarney, Kerry; and a few specimens have been taken at Powerscourt, Wicklow, and Sligo.

The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

COMMON WHITE WAVE (_Cabera pusaria_).

In its typical form (Plate 107, Figs. 10, 11) this white species has three dark-grey almost parallel cross lines on the fore wings and two on the hind wings. The first or the second of these lines on the fore wings may be absent, occasionally both may be missing and the third very faint. Not infrequently in undersized bred specimens the first line approaches the second line either throughout its length or near the inner margin, and more rarely the two are united; in most of such aberrations the tips of the fore wings are rather more rounded than in typical specimens, and these are referable to ab. _rotundaria_, Haworth (Round-winged Wave). I have over a dozen examples of this form, all of which were reared from caterpillars which had been kept on short rations when nearly mature; in some, the outer margin of the fore wings is distinctly rounded, but in others it is much the same as in the larger typical form, and one of these is shown on Plate 107, Fig. 12. The ground colour occasionally assumes a greyish tint, and sometimes this is tinged with pink; more rarely the general colour is leaden grey.

2 Pl. 106. 1. BARRED RED: _caterpillar_. 2, 2a. BARRED UMBER: _egg_, _natural size and enlarged, and caterpillar_. 3. LIGHT EMERALD: _eggs_, _natural size and enlarged_.

2 Pl. 107. 1-3. CLOUDED BORDER. 4, 5. SCORCHED CARPET. 6. SLOE CARPET. 7, 8. CLOUDED SILVER. 9. WHITE-PINION SPOTTED. 10-12. COMMON WHITE WAVE. 13, 14. COMMON WAVE.

{267} The caterpillar, of which there are two broods, one in July and another in September, feeds on birch, alder, sallow, etc. It is purplish brown, spotted with white above, and greenish below on the first three rings. There is also a green form with purplish brown marks on the back. (Plate 105, Fig. 3, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich.) The moth is out in May, June, and August, and is generally common throughout the greater part of the British Isles.

Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia and Amurland.

COMMON WAVE (_Cabera exanthemata_).

Somewhat similar to the last species, but sprinkled with ochreous grey; the fore wings have three greyish cross lines, the first two less regular than those of _pusaria_, and the outer one distinctly curved; variation in the lines is pretty much the same as in _pusaria_ and its small form ab. _rotundaria_. Of the form showing the first and second lines more or less confluent, I have seven examples reared from collected caterpillars; six are undersized, but the other is of quite ordinary size (ab. _approximata_, Haworth); another specimen, also bred, is thinly {268} powdered with ochreous grey, and the lines are very indistinct. The more usual forms are shown on Plate 107, Figs. 13, 14.

The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish or to brownish; some purplish-red marks and white-edged black spots on the back; the ring divisions are yellow, and there are reddish-brown or purplish-red marks on the sides; the markings vary. It feeds on birch, alder, and sallow, and may be beaten out at any time from July to September. The moth is out through the summer from May; its range in the British Isles is very similar to that of the last species, but it seems to have a preference for moist places.

The distribution abroad extends eastward to Amurland, and a form known as ab. _schaefferi_, Bremer, occurs in the last-named country, and also in Corea and Japan.

BARRED UMBER (_Numeria pulveraria_).

Pale ochreous or reddish brown freckled with darker; the central dark reddish brown band is sometimes much narrowed below the middle; sometimes only the edges of the band are dark, the enclosed space being but little darker than the ground colour, or occasionally tinged with greenish; one example of the latter and two of the former were reared this year (1908) from larvae received in July, 1907, from Mr. F. Pope of Exeter; a male specimen bred from the same batch of larvae, but which emerged in August of the year last mentioned, is distinctly tinged with rosy over all the wings; the narrow band on the hind wings, not usually extended to the front edge, is in this specimen entire, whilst the greenish-banded specimen referred to above is without trace of a band on the hind wings. Two examples which are without locality, but which, I believe, came from the New Forest, have pale greyish-brown fore wings banded with brown in which there is a tinge of olive. Two examples of the male are figured on Plate 108. The eggs (Plate {269} 106, Fig. 2a) were pale greenish yellow when laid, May 17 to 20; the larvae hatched out from May 31 to June 2.

The caterpillar, which is also depicted on the plate, is reddish brown, mottled with yellowish brown. It feeds on birch, sallow, ash, etc., from June to August.

The moth, as a rule, does not emerge until the following spring, but sometimes specimens will come out the same year.

Although widely distributed over nearly the whole of the British Isles, the species seems to be rarely met with in large numbers. The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

BARRED RED (_Ellopia_ (_Hylaea_) _prosapiaria_).

The typical form of this species is depicted on Plate 108, Figs. 4 [male], 5 [female], and Fig. 3 on the same plate represents ab. _prasinaria_, Hubner, a form not uncommon in Germany (whence came the example figured), Switzerland, and other parts of the continent, but which is very rare in Britain, and has been recorded from Kent and Suffolk. Sometimes, but chiefly in Scotland, the colour varies to a greyish or even yellowish tint; the cross lines are often parallel or nearly so, and frequently approach each other about the middle; the usual white edging to the cross lines is occasionally absent, and the enclosed space in such specimens is hardly darker than the general colour.

On Plate 106, Fig. 1, will be found a figure of the caterpillar, which is tawny brown with white-edged, connected reddish marks along the back. It feeds, from September to May, on Scots pine (_Pinus sylvestris_), and occasionally on larch. The moth is out in June and July, and sometimes in September. It may be jarred from the pine boughs, and is not infrequently seen resting on foliage of the undergrowth. Generally distributed in fir-woods throughout Great Britain, and widely spread in Ireland.

The range abroad extends to East Siberia. {270}

THE LIGHT EMERALD (_Metrocampa_ (_Eudalimia_) _margaritaria_).