Part 22

When quite fresh, this species (Plate 108, Fig. 6) is of a delicate whitish-green colour, but the green tint is apt to fade or to change colour, so that the wings are almost ochreous white sometimes.

The eggs shown on Plate 106, Fig. 3, were kindly supplied by Mr. Norman Riley.

The caterpillar ranges in colour from greenish brown to purplish brown, and is frequently freckled with a darker shade of the general colour; there is sometimes a pale patch on rings 6 and 7, and the sides are fringed with fine bristles along the spiracle area. It feeds, from September to May, on the leaves of oak, birch, beech, elm, etc., and during the winter will nibble the bark of the younger twigs, and also eat the buds.

The moth, which is partial to the woodlands, is out in June and July, and is pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, except the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands.

LARGE THORN (_Ennomos autumnaria_).

This fine species was first definitely ascertained to occur in Britain in 1855, but it had been reported as British at a much earlier date, and was figured by Wood in 1839. Up to 1859 it had only been recorded from the North Foreland and Margate in Kent, and from Brighton, Sussex. In 1862, a specimen was taken at Brighton and one at Deal, the latter a female. Two examples were secured at Gosport, Hampshire, in 1865, and one at Deal in 1867. Then, after an interval of ten years, three were captured in Hants (Alverstoke), and two years later a round dozen were obtained at Gosport. During the last thirty years specimens have been recorded from Margate, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Hythe, and Ashford (1907), in Kent, from Chichester, Sussex, and from Shoeburyness, Essex (1898). It has been reared on several occasions from eggs obtained from captured females, and is still more frequently bred from eggs deposited by the descendants of wild parents.

2 Pl. 108. 1, 2. BARRED UMBER. 3. BARRED RED (GREEN VAR.). 4, 5. BARRED RED. 6. LIGHT EMERALD.

2 Pl. 109. 1, 3. LARGE THORN. 2, 4, 5. AUGUST THORN.

{271} The eggs are deep olive, with a white ring at one end; and the caterpillar is brownish in colour, rather shining, and very twig-like. It feeds on birch, alder, hawthorn, sloe, plum, etc., and has been found on sycamore and cherry; May to August. The early stages are figured on Plate 106, Figs. 1, 1a. The moth (Plate 109, Figs. 1 [male], 3 [female]), which varies in colour from pale to deep ochreous yellow, and also in the amount of purplish brown freckling, usually has the upper part of the outer marginal area some shade of tawny brown. Specimens of a greyish chocolate tint have recently been reared by Mr. Newman, of Bexley (Plate 134, Fig. 9). Most of the specimens captured in England have been obtained at light in the autumn. The range abroad extends to Amurland, Japan, and North America.

AUGUST THORN (_Ennomos quercinaria_).

The male (Plate 109, Fig. 2) is generally yellower than the female (Fig. 4), and it is in the former sex that brownish or red-brown clouding on the outer area beyond the second cross line appears most frequently, but it occurs also in the female (Plate 109, Fig. 5). Sometimes the wings are partly or entirely dull reddish brown. Two other examples of the type form showing modification of the cross lines will be found on Plate 111, Figs. 5 [male], 6 [female]. In ab. _carpinaria_, Hubner, the wings are of a reddish ochreous colour. A hybrid resulting from a crossing of _E. alniaria_ [male] and _E. quercinaria_ [female] has been named _dartfordi_, Tutt.

The caterpillar (Plate 113, Fig. 3) is generally grey brown, mottled with reddish or olive; but, according to Fenn, it is {272} sometimes greenish, without humps or projections. It feeds, in the summer, on lime, birch, oak, hawthorn, etc. A chrysalis which I took out of its puparium (two leaves spun together with silk) on July 9, 1907, was green, with the upper surface tinged with yellowish; a dark-green central line, and a series of dark-green irregular marks on each side; the tail pointed and furnished with reddish hooks.

The moth is out in August and September, and may often be seen sitting on the boles of trees, generally low down. The species is widely distributed over England, but is much more frequent in the south than in the north. It has been recorded from Swansea in Wales; from Dumfries, Dunoon, and Monteith, in Scotland; and from near Derry, Hazlewood (Sligo), Mote Park (Roscommon), and Clonbrock (Galway), in Ireland.

CANARY-SHOULDERED THORN (_Ennomos alniaria_).

This species (Plate 111, Figs. 1, 2) is generally easily recognised by the canary yellow coloured hairs of the thorax. The fore wings are yellowish, sprinkled with purplish grey, and crossed by two curved greyish-brown lines, which not infrequently fall close together on the inner margin. In some female specimens that I reared from eggs, received from York, the wings are more or less tinged with dull tawny brown, especially on the outer area, and in two of them the thorax is also brownish tinged.

The at first green, and afterwards blackish slate-coloured, egg, with whitish ring, and the caterpillar are shown on Plate 110, Fig. 2, 2a. The latter is brownish, mottled with purplish above, and inclining to greenish below; head, rather paler brown. It feeds, from May to July, on birch, alder, etc. The moth is out in the autumn, and occurs in suitable woodland and marshy places over England, Wales, and Scotland to Moray. It has been found in many parts of Ireland.

2 Pl. 110. 1, 1a, 1b, 1c. LARGE THORN: _eggs, natural size and enlarged; caterpillar, chrysalis and puparium_. 2, 2a. CANARY-SHOULDERED THORN: _eggs, natural size and enlarged, and caterpillar_. 3, 3a. DUSKY THORN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2 Pl. 111. 1, 2. CANARY-SHOULDERED THORN. 3, 4. DUSKY THORN. 5, 6. AUGUST THORN.

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DUSKY THORN (_Ennomos fuscantaria_).

Figs. 3 [male], 4 [female], Plate 111, represent the usual form of this species; in some specimens the outer marginal pale purplish-brown shading spreads inwards over the fore wings to the base; in other examples it is only seen on the upper part of the outer area.

The caterpillar (Plate 110, Fig. 3) is green, pretty much of the same tint as the underside of the ash leaf upon which, and the stalks, it rests by day. In some examples the general colour inclines to pale brown, or reddish brown. It may be found during the summer, and where the leaves are seen to have neat round holes in them, these should be examined, when this caterpillar will probably be found somewhere adjacent. Ash (_Fraxinus excelsior_) is the usual food, but possibly privet might answer as a substitute. The moth is out in August and September, and occurs in most parts of Southern England where the ash flourishes; its range extends into South Wales, and northwards to Durham and Northumberland. Only doubtfully recorded from Ireland, and apparently unknown in Scotland.

SEPTEMBER THORN (_Ennomos erosaria_).

This species, shown on Plate 134, Fig. 6, varies in ground colour from pale ochreous to pale fulvous; the cross lines approach towards the inner margin, and sometimes the second line is bent inwards below the middle. The central spot is generally absent, and when present is exceedingly faint. The twig-like caterpillar is brownish, with a greenish or purplish tinge. In its infancy it is a smooth-looking creature, but as it advances in growth knobs and humps appear, the most prominent of which are on rings 2, 5, 8, and 11; on the {274} last ring there are two points. It feeds on oak chiefly, but will eat birch, lime, etc.: May to July. The moth is out in August and September, and occurs more or less frequently in most of the southern counties of England, but is rather scarce in the Midlands and northwards. It occurs in South Wales, and has been recorded from the south of Scotland. Very rare in Ireland.

NOTE.--The species of _Ennomos_ are fond of light, and in suitable spots, gas and electric lamps, in the streets, or even in the house when windows are open, will attract these moths. Most of the specimens of _autumnaria_ that have been captured in Britain have occurred at light. _Quercinaria_ is, perhaps, less often noted at light than its allies; but, curiously, this species is more frequently seen at rest on tree trunks, etc., than are either of the other kinds. Female moths taken at light may not always be in first-rate condition, but they will probably lay eggs, and should be kept for that purpose in a chip box. The caterpillars do not hatch out until the following spring. Put the eggs in a cool place.

EARLY THORN (_Selenia bilunaria_).

The sexes of the spring or typical form are depicted on Plate 112, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female], and the paler summer form var. _juliaria_ (July Thorn), Haworth, is represented by Fig. 3. The underside is shown in Mr. H. Main's photo of the moth in its natural resting attitude.

The caterpillar is orange or reddish brown, sometimes inclining to purplish; there are pairs of reddish raised points on the back of rings 7 and 8; as will be seen from the accompanying illustration, which is from a photograph by Mr. Main, the creature, when resting, is very like a twig. It feeds on birch, alder, sallow, hawthorn, sloe, etc., in May and June, and again in August and September. The moth is out in April and {275} early May. In 1905, a male occurred at Carnforth, Lancs., on June 8; the second generation appears in July and August. A third has been obtained in captivity, and the moths of this brood are similar to those of the second. It has happened that the emergence of some moths of the second, or summer, form has been delayed until the following February, but these remained true to their race and did not assume the spring form.

(Photos by H. Main.)

Generally distributed throughout England and Wales, and often abundant, especially in the south. In Scotland, Renton states that it is common in Roxburghshire, but there is only one brood; the range extends to Sutherlandshire. Widely spread in Ireland and plentiful in some parts. {276}

LUNAR THORN (_Selenia lunaria_).

A female of this species is shown on Plate 112, Fig. 4; the male is usually more clouded with reddish. A second generation is sometimes raised in captivity, and the males of this brood (var. _delunaria_, Hubner) are somewhat paler, whilst the females incline to a yellowish tint. In Scotch specimens, the reddish markings are tinged with purple; and ab. _sublunaria_, Stephens, from Derbyshire, has the coloration very similar to that of the spring form of _S. tetralunaria_.

The caterpillar is figured on Plate 113, Fig. 2. The ground colour is usually some shade of brown, ranging from greyish or greenish to reddish, variegated with darker or paler clouds, and with traces of pale lines on the back. It occurs in the open from July to September, but may be reared both earlier and later in confinement. It feeds on sloe, plum, oak, birch, etc. The moth, in May and June, is sometimes seen on hedges or on the plants growing below; or it may be jarred from the branches of trees, when it is more apt to fall to the ground than to fly. Like others of this group it is fond of light, and is frequently attracted thereto at night. The species is rarely plentiful, and always more or less local, but it is widely distributed over the British Isles to the Orkneys.

PURPLE THORN (_Selenia tetralunaria_).

On Plate 112, Fig. 5 represents a specimen of the spring brood, and Fig. 6 one of the summer brood (var. _aestiva_, Staudinger). The ground colour of the typical form is whitish, sometimes tinged with grey, and sometimes with pinkish; the patch at the tip, and the basal two-thirds of the fore wings, also the basal half of the hind wings, are purplish brown, varying almost to blackish; or they may be rich red brown. Var. _aestiva_ is rarely whitish in ground colour, but this is frequently of a pinkish tinge, and the darker portions of the wings are brownish, inclining to olive; sometimes the general colour is ochreous brown with dark brown cross lines, and a rust-coloured lunule at the tips of the fore wings. The hybrid resulting from a female of this species that had paired with a male _bilunaria_ has been named _parvilunaria_, Bastel. At the time it is laid, the egg is pale olive green, but it changes to shining reddish, and just before hatching to purplish black. (Plate 113, Fig. 1a.)

2 Pl. 112. 1-3. EARLY THORN. 4. LUNAR THORN. 5, 6. PURPLE THORN. 7, 8. LILAC BEAUTY.

2 Pl. 113. 1, 1a. PURPLE THORN: _eggs and caterpillar_. 2, 2a. LUNAR THORN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_. 3. AUGUST THORN: _caterpillar_.

{277} The caterpillar is reddish brown, mottled with darker brown, and with pale greyish. It feeds on birch, alder, oak, sallow, cherry, etc.: June and July, and again in the autumn. (Plate 113, Fig. 1.)

The moth is out in April and May, and the second generation emerges in July and August. A few specimens of a third generation have been reared in October, but this is unusual.

The species is more or less local, and rarely common, at least in the moth state; it occurs in all the southern counties of England, and a few specimens have been recorded from some of the midland and northern counties, and from South Wales. In Scotland, only noted from Rannoch, Perthshire, and a specimen was reared on April 25, 1901, from a caterpillar found at Dunkeld, in the same county, the previous autumn.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.

LILAC BEAUTY (_Hygrochroa_ (_Pericallia_) _syringaria_).

The sexes of this species are shown on Plate 112, and it will be noted that the male (Fig. 7) is rather smaller and decidedly more brightly coloured than the female (Fig. 8). An older English name is "Richmond Beauty," Wilkes. Figures of the curiously shaped caterpillar and chrysalis will be found on Plate {278} 115, Figs. 2, 2a. The former is yellowish brown, variegated with reddish and violet; it feeds on honeysuckle, lilac, and privet, and may be beaten or searched for in May and early June, after hibernation. I have found it commonly on privet hedges in the Mill Hill district, Middlesex, but in woods, and especially in the New Forest, it is obtained from honeysuckle. In my experience, the privet-feeding caterpillars always produce larger moths than those reared from caterpillars fed on honeysuckle. The moth emerges in June and July, the former month chiefly in confinement, and from such early moths a second generation may be obtained in the autumn.

Although most frequent in the southern half of England and Wales, the range of the species extends to the northern counties; and single specimens have been recorded from Durham and Northumberland, but the species has not been noted in Scotland.

The distribution abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

SCALLOPED HAZEL (_Gonodontis bidentata_).

This species varies in ground colour, from pale whity brown through shades of grey brown, olive brown, ochreous, and dark brown to black; the blackish cross lines of the fore wings are generally edged with white, but the edging is sometimes absent, and occasionally it alone remains distinct; the central space enclosed by the cross lines is often darker than the general colour, and not infrequently it is faintly reddish. Figs. 1 and 2, Plate 114, represent two of the more usual forms of the species. Fig. 3 is the black ab. _nigra_, Prout, which occurs on the mosses of Lancashire, and in Yorkshire.

The yellowish and brown mottled, purplish caterpillar is figured on Plate 115, where also are shown the eggs (turquoise blue, changing to reddish brown), and the reddish brown chrysalis. The latter, which is twice the natural size, is from a photograph by Mr. H. Main. The caterpillar feeds on the foliage of oak, birch, sallow, hawthorn, sloe, plum, larch, etc.; it grows very slowly, and may be beaten out in most of the months from July to October. The moth is out in May and June, and sometimes earlier. Pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, but not noted in the Orkneys or Shetlands. The range abroad extends to Amurland and Japan.

2 Pl. 114. 1-3. SCALLOPED HAZEL. 4, 5. FEATHERED THORN. 6, 7. SCALLOPED OAK.

2 Pl. 115. 1, 1a, 1b. SCALLOPED HAZEL: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_. 2, 2a. LILAC BEAUTY: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{279}

FEATHERED THORN (_Himera_ (_Colotois_) _pennaria_).

A more or less typical but rather small male specimen is shown on Plate 114, Fig. 4, but the ground colour is frequently more tawny in tint, and sometimes it is much paler inclining to yellowish; the cross lines may be either wider apart, or closer together, and the inner one is often clouded with blackish; sometimes both lines become almost bandlike; the submarginal, usually interrupted, line is occasionally well defined. The female, often browner than the specimen depicted (Fig. 5) is frequently tinged with purple, and occasionally with pink.

The batch of eggs, as deposited, was photographed by Mr. Main. The egg is olive green with a ring of pale specks around the micropylar end. The caterpillar is slaty grey inclining to purplish, with a series of not clearly defined ochreous diamonds on the back and a row of ochreous dots on each side; the raised points on the last ring are tipped with reddish (Plate 116). It feeds on oak, birch, poplar, sallow, apple, hawthorn, sloe, etc. April to June. The moth is out in October and November, but is seldom noticed in the daytime; at night, the males are frequently seen at gas and electric light. The species is generally common in woodlands, especially as caterpillars, over the southern half of England and Wales, and occurs more or less frequently over the rest of the country, also in Scotland to Moray, and in Ireland. {280}

SCALLOPED OAK (_Crocallis elinguaria_).

Fig. 6 on Plate 114 shows the usual form of this species, in which there are blackish dots on the outer margins of all the wings. Fig. 7 depicts a form with the ground colour paler, and the outer marginal dots absent (ab. _trapezaria_, Boisduval). The ground colour varies to almost whitish on the one hand and to reddish buff on the other; the cross lines on the fore wings are distinct as a rule, but may be faint, and occasionally are entirely missing; the central space between the lines is most often brownish, sometimes tawny, but not infrequently this area is but little darker than the general colour. The blackish discal spot on the hind wings varies in size and somewhat in shape, but this and also the line beyond, are sometimes absent. Porritt (_List of Yorkshire Lepidoptera_) mentions two gynandrous specimens. Eggs, pale grey, with darkish grey marking (Plate 116, Fig. 2b). The caterpillar, of which two figures from coloured drawings by Mr. A. Sich are given on Plate 116, Figs. 2, 2a, varies from ochreous grey to dark grey tinged with purple; the front rings are often paler above, and the back has diamond-shaped marks upon it; the elevation on the last ring is edged with black. It feeds on the leaves of most trees and bushes during the spring. The moth is out in July and August, sometimes earlier. A pretty generally distributed species throughout the British Isles, but so far it has not been noted from the Hebrides, Orkneys, or Shetland.

Abroad, the range extends to East Siberia.

ORANGE MOTH (_Angerona prunaria_).

Typical males of this species are orange and the females pale ochreous, all the wings sprinkled or freckled with purplish grey. (Plate 117, Figs. 1 [male], 7 [female].) Ab. _corylaria_, Thunberg (Figs. 2 [male], {281} 8 [female]), is brownish on the basal and outer marginal areas of the fore wings, and nearly the whole of the hind wings. The typical ground colour appears on the fore wings as a central band, but as a rule this does not quite reach the inner margin. Ab. _pickettaria_, Prout, is a modification of the _corylaria_ form, in which the typical ground appears on the front margin above the brownish basal patch, and also along the outer margin, thus narrowing the brownish border on that area; in one male specimen the right pair of wings were _corylaria_ and the left pair _pickettaria_. Another modification has the basal and outer marginal areas "a nondescript grey shade in the male and a golden brown in the female" (ab. _pallidaria_, Prout). Ab. _spangbergi_, Lampa, is of the typical form, but is without the dark freckles. Other aberrations have been named, and at least one gynandrous specimen is known. The eggs, which are laid in June, hatch in about twelve days. The caterpillars feed slowly until September or October, and then hibernate; but it has been noted that when reared in confinement, and supplied with privet, they nibble the stems during the winter. Occasionally, a caterpillar will feed up and assume the moth state in the autumn, but the usual habit is to complete growth in the spring, enter the chrysalis state in May, and appear as moths about the end of that month, if in captivity, or in June and July in the open. Various food plants have been given, among which are hawthorn, sloe, plum, birch, lilac, privet, and honeysuckle. The caterpillar is figured on Plate 118, Fig. 2.

The male flies in the early evening, but the female not until later. The species frequents woods, and may be disturbed by day from among the bracken and other undergrowth. It is more or less common in many woods throughout the southern half of England, and its range extends northwards to Yorkshire. In Ireland, it has occurred locally in counties Waterford, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Clare, and Galway. It has been {282} recorded from the Isle of Arran, but not from the mainland of Scotland.

Abroad, the distribution spreads to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

SWALLOW-TAILED MOTH (_Ourapteryx sambucaria_).

This conspicuous-looking insect (Plate 117, Fig. 6) is frequently seen in gardens, lanes, and the outskirts of woods, pretty well all over England, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland, it seems to be rare and confined to the south, but has been noted up to Glasgow. Very rarely the cross lines of the fore wings are placed close together, but, except in the matter of size, there is, as a rule, little variation.

The caterpillar, of which a figure, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich, is given on Plate 118, Fig. 1, is brownish, variegated with reddish or purplish. It feeds, from August to June, on the foliage of hawthorn, sloe, elder, etc., but is especially partial to ivy.

The moth is out in July, and sometimes an odd specimen or two will appear in the autumn; one was captured at Gravesend on October 22, 1904.

The species is represented in Amurland and Japan by the smaller and whiter var. _persica_, Menetries.

SCORCHED WING (_Eurymene dolabraria_).

The crumpled or shrivelled appearance of the wings, coupled with the brown coloration of the streaks and other markings on the wings, no doubt suggested the English name of this species (Plate 117, Fig. 3).

The twig-like caterpillar is brownish, tinged with greenish or reddish, and variegated with darker, especially along the back of the first three rings, the hump on ring 8, and a cross stripe on the last ring. It feeds on oak, birch, and sallow, from July to September.

2 Pl. 116. 1, 1a, 1b. FEATHERED THORN: _eggs, natural size and enlarged, and caterpillar_. 2, 2a, 2b. SCALLOPED OAK: _eggs, natural size and enlarged, and caterpillar_.

2 Pl. 117. 1, 2, 7, 8. ORANGE MOTH. 3. SCORCHED WING. 4, 5. BRIMSTONE. 6. SWALLOW-TAILED.