Part 9

The caterpillar (figured on Plate 41, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich) is green, with three lines along the back, the central one dark green, the others whitish; a pinkish stripe low down along the sides, the points on the head and the first and last rings of the body are often pink also. It feeds on pettywhin (_Genista anglica_), also on broom (_Cytisus scoparius_) {102} and gorse (_Ulex_); in captivity it seems to thrive on laburnum. Most frequently obtained in the springtime after hibernation.

The moth is to be found in June and July on moorlands and commons pretty well throughout the British Isles, but it seems not to have been noted north of Perthshire, in Scotland.

Odd specimens have been known to occur in late August or early September, but this is quite exceptional.

THE LARGE EMERALD (_Geometra papilionaria_).

This charming green species (Plate 40, Figs. 1 and 4) varies in tint and in the distinctness of the whitish wavy cross lines. In some examples, one or other of the lines is absent, and far more rarely there is but little trace of any of these markings. Occasionally, the discal mark is preceded by a whitish wedge-shaped spot on the fore wings (ab. _cuneata_, Burrows).

When newly laid the eggs are whitish, but soon change to greenish yellow, and finally to pinkish.

The caterpillar hatches in late summer, and feeds on birch, hazel, and beech, until the leaves begin to fall in the autumn; it then constructs a carpet of silk on a twig, and near a bud, upon which it takes up its position for the winter. When thus seen, its reddish brown colour, variegated more or less with green, assimilates so closely with its surroundings that the creature is not easy to detect. In the spring, when it awakens, the green colour increases in extent as the buds open and the leaves unfold; when they are fully expanded, the caterpillar sits among the foliage towards the tip of a twig, and is then almost entirely green, the reddish brown only showing on the head, slightly on the warts, and more distinctly on the hinder parts which are in touch with the twig. The chrysalis, enclosed in a flimsy silken web among the dead leaves, usually on the ground, is of a delicate green colour, dotted with buff on the back, and shaded with buff on the wing cases. The early stages are figured on Plate 42.

2 Pl. 40. 1, 4. LARGE EMERALD. 2, 3. SMALL EMERALD.

2 Pl. 41. 1. GRASS EMERALD: _caterpillar_. 2. BLOTCHED EMERALD: _caterpillar_. 3. COMMON EMERALD: _caterpillar_.

{103} The moth is out in June and July, and may occasionally be beaten out of a hedge or bush, but is most frequently obtained late at night, when it is active on the wing, and is attracted by a brilliant light.

The species occurs in woods, on heaths and moors, and in fens, throughout the British Isles, except the most northern parts of Scotland and the isles.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and Japan.

THE SMALL EMERALD (_Geometra vernaria_).

This species (Plate 40, Figs. 2 and 3) is smaller than the last mentioned, the green colour is of a softer tint, and the lines crossing the wings, two on the fore wings and one on the hind wings, are whitish, and not waved.

The caterpillar hatches from the egg in August, and after hibernation is to be found in May and June on Traveller's Joy or Old Man's Beard (_Clematis vitalba_). It is then green, with white dots arranged in lines along the back and sides; the head is deep reddish brown, and this, and also the first and last rings of the body, have raised points. Transformation to the greenish chrysalis is effected among the leaves, drawn together with silk. (Plate 44, Figs. 3 and 3a.)

The moth flies in the evening in July and August, and in the daytime may be disturbed, by the application of the beating stick, from its retreats in hedges, etc., where the food plant flourishes. Found in most of the southern and eastern counties of England, most frequently on the chalk; its range extends to Worcestershire. Except that it has been recorded as a doubtful inhabitant of Ireland, the species does not appear to occur elsewhere in the British Isles. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland. {104}

THE BLOTCHED EMERALD (_Euchloris_ (_Comibaena_) _pustulata_).

When quite fresh, this moth (Plate 43, Fig. 1) is exceedingly pretty; the pale blotches vary a little in size, as also do the reddish marks upon them.

The caterpillar adorns itself with particles of its food as soon as it leaves the egg in July; after hibernation it uses the scales or husks of the oak buds for the same purpose. When stripped of its trappings it is found to be reddish brown in colour, with three slightly darker lines along the back; hooded bristles arising from raised brownish spots afford means for the attachment of the masquerading outfit, each moiety of which is covered with silk on one side before being placed in the required position. When beating oaks for larvae in May and June, the contents of the umbrella or beating tray should not be too hastily thrown away, but allowed to remain therein for awhile, and closely watched for any movement among the litter. The spectacle of a cluster of oak bracts suddenly becoming active will certainly arouse curiosity, and on examination the cause of the commotion will frequently be found to be the caterpillar of this species. (Plate 41, Fig. 2; after Auld.)

The moth is out in June and July, and flies at dusk in and around oak woods. In the daytime it may be jarred from its perch in oak trees, and once I found a specimen on a fence in the Esher district. It has been known to visit light, and examples of a September emergence have been recorded.

As a British species it only inhabits England, and it has been noted from Staffordshire and Leicester, but seems to be rare in the midland counties generally. It is more frequently found in the southern and eastern counties.

Abroad, the range extends through Central Europe to Southern Sweden, S. Russia, N. Asia Minor, and Andalusia. {105}

THE ESSEX EMERALD (_Euchloris smaragdaria_).

In some examples of this species (Plate 43, Figs. 2, 3) the green colour is brighter than in others, and very occasionally it is tinged with bluish; typically, there are white cross lines on the fore wings, but the inner one is not infrequently absent, and more rarely both are missing. The white central spot is very rarely absent, and the edges of the fore wings are yellowish.

The caterpillar feeds on the sea wormwood (_Artemisia maritima_), and adorns itself with fragments of its food plant in much the same manner as that of the species last referred to. Although obtained in the autumn in some numbers from its food plant, it seems to have been rarely met with in the spring after hibernation. It is, therefore, advisable to collect the caterpillars about September, and transfer them to plants of the garden _Artemisia abrotanum_, locally known as "Southernwood," "Old man," or "Lad's love," or, where available, wormwood (_A. absinthium_) will suit it admirably. Upon either of these plants the larvae will hibernate, feed up in the spring, and become full grown about May. The early stages are figured on Plate 42, larva and pupa from photos by Mr. H. Main.

The moth is out in June and early July, but it is rarely seen in the open, although over sixty years ago a few specimens were put up from among grass and netted at St. Osyth; in later years an example or two have been taken at Sheerness in Kent. Possibly, others may also have been captured in one or other of the insect's haunts, but records are silent on the matter. Barrett mentions a specimen emerging in September, and the Rev. C. R. N. Burrows notes that part of a brood of caterpillars reared from eggs, and fed on _A. absinthium_, attained the moth state during the autumn. So far as concerns {106} the British Isles it seems to be almost exclusively an inhabitant of the salterns, or sea marshes of Essex.

Abroad, the species occurs inland, and is not confined to the coast; its range extends eastwards to Siberia and Amurland.

THE SMALL GRASS EMERALD (_Nemoria viridata_).

This species, represented on Plate 43, Figs. 5 and 6, is readily distinguished by its small size and the well-defined white cross line on each wing. In most examples there is a more or less distinct whitish inner line on the fore wings. Ab. _mathewi_, Bankes, has all the wings dusted with orange scales, more especially on the outer marginal areas. A few examples of this form were reared in 1905, with a number of normal specimens, from eggs laid by a female captured in South Devonshire.

The caterpillar (figured from a skin on Plate 44, Fig. 1) is green, roughened with whitish points; a dusky line along the middle of the back, marked on the front and end rings, also between the rings, with purplish red. Head, and first ring of the body, notched, the points reddish; last ring of the body pointed. When at rest on a twig it assumes a rigid posture, and the legs are tightly drawn together. It feeds on heather, sallow, and birch, but the general experience appears to be that in captivity it thrives best on a diet of hawthorn, and is especially partial to the young shoots. It may be obtained in July and August, and the moth comes out in the following May or June. In 1905, Mr. A. J. Scollick reared some caterpillars from eggs laid June 2nd, and hatched June 16th; all duly pupated, and a moth came up on December 20th of that year. Four others appeared in January and February, 1906.

2 Pl. 42. 1, 1a, 1b, 1c. LARGE EMERALD: _egg, caterpillars and chrysalis_. 2, 2a. ESSEX EMERALD: _eggs, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2 Pl. 43. 1. BLOTCHED EMERALD. 2, 3. ESSEX EMERALD. 4, 7. LITTLE EMERALD. 5, 6. SMALL GRASS EMERALD. 8, 9. COMMON EMERALD.

{107} The Rev. F. E. Lowe states that in Guernsey the species occurs exclusively among furze on cliffs by the sea, and chiefly where the plant is cut down from time to time. In Britain it inhabits heaths and mosses, but is very local. It is found in the English counties of Hants (New Forest, etc.), Dorset (Poole Heath, etc.), Devon (Woodbury, Exeter district, etc.), Norfolk (Horning), Worcester (Malvern district, rare); also at Methop, Witherslack, and other localities in Westmoreland and Cumberland. Only doubtfully recorded from Scotland and Ireland.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, Corea, and China.

THE LITTLE EMERALD (_Iodis lactearia_).

The green tint in this species (Plate 43, Figs. 4 and 7) is even more unstable than in others of the group. When quite fresh the wings can often only be described as whitish with a delicate green tinge, but even when the greatest care is taken to preserve it, the colour is apt to fade.

The caterpillar (Plate 44, Fig. 2, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A. Sich) is long and thin, with two points on the edge of the first ring, and one on the last ring, of a bright green colour, paler between the rings; the spots along the back are reddish, as also is the whitish-fronted deeply notched head. It feeds on the leaves of various trees and bushes, such as birch, oak, hawthorn, sallow, etc. It may be obtained by beating or searching from August to September.

The moth is out in May and June, in some seasons later, and may be beaten out of hedges, as well as from trees in woods. Generally distributed, and often common, throughout England, Wales, and Ireland. In Scotland it is locally common in Clydesdale, and occurs in other southern parts of that country.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, Corea, China, and Japan.

THE COMMON EMERALD (_Hemithea strigata_).

When freshly emerged from the chrysalis, this species (Plate 43, Figs. 8 and 9) is darkish green, but it soon fades to a greyish {108} tint. Easily distinguished by its shape, and by the chequered fringes. It is the _aestivaria_ of Hubner, and _thymiaria_ of Guenee. The long, thin, green caterpillar is ornamented with reddish brown, the V-shaped marks on rings 5 to 8 are sometimes whitish; head, deeply notched, brown; the first ring of the body is also notched. It hatches from the egg in August, when it is said to feed on mugwort (_Artemisia vulgaris_), and other low plants; after hibernation it feeds on the foliage of oak, birch, hawthorn, rose, etc., and attains full growth in May or June. In late June and in July the moth may be put up from the undergrowth in woods, or from bushes in well-timbered hedgerows bordering lanes and fields. Specimens so obtained are poor in colour as a rule, and it is well, therefore, to rear the species from the caterpillar. (Plate 41, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.) This remark applies to all "Emeralds."

The species is often common in the south and east of England, and along the western side, including Wales, up to Cheshire and Lancashire, but it becomes local in Worcestershire and northwards. There are few records of it from Yorkshire, and its occurrence in Durham, Northumberland, and Scotland is doubtful. In Ireland it appears to be widely distributed, but scarce.

The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and Japan.

[_Thalera fimbrialis_. A specimen of this Central European species (identified by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett) was taken on August 7, 1902, by Mr. C. Capper, from a blade of grass growing on a slope under Beachy Head, Sussex. The species is somewhat similar in appearance to _H. strigata_, but is larger; the hind wings are notched above the angle on the outer margin; the fringes of all the wings are chequered with red, and the antennae of the male are bipectinated.] {109}

ACIDALIINAE.

PURPLE-BORDERED GOLD (_Hyria muricata_).

Two forms of this pretty little species (known also as _auroraria_) are shown on Plate 45. Fig. 1 represents the more usual form, but between this and the almost entirely purple variety (Fig. 4), which occurs chiefly in the north, there are various modifications. Then again, especially in the south of England, there is a tendency to become entirely yellow, the purple, inclining to crimson in such specimens, being confined to the front margin and cross lines on the fore wings, and a narrow band on the outer margin of all the wings.

The caterpillar is pale brownish, inclining to ochreous at each end, marked with irregular blackish lines on the back, and dots and streaks on the sides. Its natural food plant seems to be unknown, but when reared from the egg the caterpillar will eat knotgrass, and sometimes a few will feed up and attain the moth state the same year. August to May.

The moth occurs in late June and in July, and frequents fens, boggy heaths, and mosses. Although odd specimens may, occasionally, be flushed during the day, the collector will need to be up early in the morning if he would see this species on the wing, as it seems to fly most freely about sunrise. The New Forest in Hampshire is a noted district for it, as also are Ranworth, Horning, etc., in Norfolk, and Witherslack in Westmoreland. In Ireland, it is found in counties Galway, Kerry, and Mayo.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland, China, Corea, and Japan.

WEAVER'S WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _contiguaria_).

The earliest known British specimen of this species (Plate 45, Figs. 2 and 5) was taken in North Wales by Weaver, in 1855, {110} and was figured and described in _The Entomologist's Annual_ for 1856 as _Dosithea eburnata_, Wocke. About seven years later Greening captured a female specimen, and he subsequently reared the insect, when it became known as "Greening's Pug." Still later, about 1875, the English name was changed to "Capper's Acidalia."

Fortunately, the species seems not difficult to rear from the egg, otherwise specimens in collections would be not only very limited in number, but frequently very indifferent in condition.

In colour the moth is whity brown, more or less dusted or clouded with dark grey; except in the darker forms, three irregular black lines on the fore wings, and two on the hind wings, are clearly seen. It flies at dusk in June and July, and sits by day on lichen-covered rocks.

The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, with irregular dark brown lines. It feeds on ling (_Calluna_) and crowberry (_Empetrum_) from September to May; but when eggs are obtained, the caterpillar hatching from them may be kept on chickweed, knotgrass, etc., and the moth be reared the same year.

Mr. R. Tait records the finding of ten caterpillars on navelwort (_Cotyledon_) growing among heather in a very sheltered corner among rocks in North Wales, at Easter, 1906. He also notes that moths reared in captivity pair readily.

The British localities, all in North Wales, are Aber, Bangor, Barmouth, Bettws-y-coed, Conway, Dolgelly, Lanfairfechan, and Penmaenmawr.

THE LEAST CARPET (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _rusticata_).

The whitish fore wings of this species (Plate 45, Figs. 3 and 6) are crossed by a blackish central band, and there is a blackish patch at the base of the wings, with an extension along the front margin, almost or quite to the central band; the hind wings have a central dot, and three or four dark grey wavy lines, the space between the first and second darkened, and appearing to be a continuation of the fore wing band. The thick set, pale ochreous-brown, or grey-brown, caterpillar (Plate 48, Fig. 1, drawn from a skin) has three more or less distinct pale lines along the back, and a series of darker diamonds along the central area; head, brown. In the open, its food probably consists of decaying or withered leaves, but when treated in captivity it will eat and thrive upon growing knotgrass, groundsel, dandelion, etc. August to May. Mr. Mera mentions that some caterpillars he reared on dandelion produced moths that were larger in size than most captured specimens.

2 Pl. 44. 1. SMALL GRASS EMERALD: _caterpillar_. 2. LITTLE EMERALD: _caterpillar_. 3, 3a. SMALL EMERALD: _caterpillar, chrysalis and cocoon_.

2 Pl. 45. 1, 4. PURPLE BORDERED GOLD. 2, 5. WEAVER'S WAVE. 3, 6. LEAST CARPET. 7, 10. RUSTY WAVE. 8, 11, 14. SMALL DUSTY WAVE. 9, 12. DOTTED BORDER WAVE. 13. SILKY WAVE. 15, 18. DWARF CREAM WAVE. 16. ISLE OF WIGHT WAVE. 17. SATIN WAVE.

{111} The moth is out in July, and specimens have been bred in September from eggs laid in July of the same year. To obtain this species, a journey will have to be made to one or other of its special haunts in Kent, lying between Greenhithe and Sheerness. Other localities from which it has been recorded are Kingsdown, Dover, Folkestone (Kent); Brighton, Lewes, West Horsham (Sussex); Isle of Portland (Dorset); Rame Head, Torquay (Devon); and single specimens have been reported from Stowmarket and Felixstowe (Suffolk).

THE RUSTY WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _herbariata_).

In _The Entomologists Annual_ for 1856, two species of _Acidalia_ were brought forward as new to the British list. One of these has been referred to under _A. contiguaria_, the other was the present species, which at the time was wrongly referred to _circuitaria_, Hubner. The specimens depicted on Plate 45, Figs. 7 and 10, are of continental origin.

Although other specimens were then known to exist in at least two British collections, the first recorded example was that mentioned above. This was captured in Bloomsbury Street, {112} London. In June, 1868, three or four examples were found in a herbalist's shop in Holborn; one occurred on a shop window in Oxford Street in 1873; one example was taken from a door-post in Cannon Street, July 21, 1879; and two others have been noted from the same street, but dates were not given. The latest record, that of a specimen on July 21, 1898, in a shop in Southampton Row, Bloomsbury, closes the list; it then appears that all the British specimens known to us have been taken in London.

The eggs are laid on dry or withered plants, upon which the long brownish or greenish caterpillars feed throughout the autumn, winter, and following spring. They pupate towards mid-May, and the moths appear in June and July. According to Guenee, caterpillars seem to have been found only in herb or drug stores, and the moths occur in gardens and houses in July and August.

THE SMALL DUSTY WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _virgularia_).

In most parts of the southern half of England this species, of which three specimens are shown on Plate 45, Figs. 8, 11, 14, is more or less common, and is often to be seen on garden walls, pales, and other kinds of fences. Although apparently infrequent in the Midlands, it has been recorded as common at Rugely in Staffordshire; in several parts of Cheshire it is not uncommon, and its distribution is known to extend to Northumberland. Possibly the species is more widely spread over England than the records show it to be. In Wales, it has been found in the North; in Scotland, it occurs locally from Berwick to Aberdeen; and it is doubtfully recorded from Ireland. The long, thin caterpillar is ochreous-brown, with a pale stripe on each side. It feeds on the leaves of various low plants, and seems, at times, to like its food best when withered. Some {113} that I reared from eggs deposited in September, 1904, fed for a time on fresh dandelion, but on the approach of winter they apparently ceased feeding, and were allowed to remain in the box with the food last supplied. In March it was found that they had been, and were then, eating the old provender. Some fresh dandelion was added, but this was not touched until all the old had been consumed. The same thing was repeated until the caterpillars were nearly full grown, when the fresh food was eaten as well as the stale. The moths resulting from them emerged during the last week in April, 1905, and were all well above the average size, and considerably larger than the female parent. One example is represented by Fig. 11 on the plate.

There are certainly two generations of the moth during the year; in some years possibly more.

DOTTED BORDER WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _straminata_).

In its ordinary form this moth (Plate 45, Figs. 9, 12) is greyish white, sometimes with a tinge of brown, especially on the fore wings; the darker cross lines are slightly wavy; each wing has a central black dot, and there is a more or less distinct series of black dots on their outer margins. Ab. _circellata_, Guenee (Plate 61, Fig. 3), has the first and second lines of the fore wings strongly defined and deep brown, and the first is united with the central shade above the inner margin; the corresponding lines on the hind wings are also deep brown. This form, which occurs on the Lancashire and Cheshire mosses, and is known as the Obscure Wave, has been considered a distinct species, but it is connected with typical _straminata_ by intermediate aberrations which occur together with _circellata_ and the ordinary form on the same ground. Similar intergrades also occur in the New Forest, Hampshire, the Dover district of Kent, and probably elsewhere. {114}

The rough-looking, long and slender caterpillar is pale greyish, with a black-edged pale line along the middle of the back, the black edging interrupted on rings 4-9; on each side of the central line, and lower down along the sides, are other black streaks; head, notched on the crown, and marked with brown.

Some eggs laid August 8th, hatched on September 1st; the infant caterpillars were long and thread-like, the colour was black, and there was a whitish stripe low down along the sides. They would not feed on knotgrass and other plants offered to them, and I failed to rear them. Moths have, however, been bred, as a second generation, in the autumn from caterpillars reared from the egg, on bramble and knotgrass.