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j.3 2 c) 3
THE Noctuas, Owi, MoTHS, OR FULL-BODIES (in
science Noctua), constitute the next principal
division. They are very numerous; in Britain
alone, three hundred species have been dis-
covered, and in Guenée's great work on the
Noctuélites, no less than eighteen hundred and
eighty-four are characterised: the three hun-
dred species inhabiting Britain are remarkably
uniform in appearance, size, and tint; there
are, indeed, a few grand and striking depar-
tures from the usual brown and sombre
colouring, but these exceptional instances,
like gleams of Sunshine in a dark cloudy day,
seem to make the pervading gloom still more
oppressive. This uniformity adds greatly to
the difficulty of the describer; for, although
the more striking differences may be rendered
intelligible without much difficulty, it is com-
paratively a hard task to distinguish, either by
words or representations, objects that closely
resemble each other, and seem almost to defy
Our powers of discrimination, even when
placed side by side.
Although this general uniformity pervades
the Noctuas in their perfect state, there is a
great difference among the caterpillars, both as
to their appearance and economy. In the two
species which stand at the head of the list, the
Buff-arches and the Peach-blossom, the cater-
pillars are smooth and velvety, and feed ex-
posed on the leaves of the bramble: they
attach themselves by their ventral claspers,
and hold the anal claspers slightly elevated,
in the same manner as the Cuspidates. In the
next genus Cymatophora, the caterpillars live
between two leaves, the edges of which they
spin together; in this home they remain all
day, with their heads turned round towards
the middle of their bodies: they come out to
feed by night. The caterpillars of the genus
N O C T U A. S.
Bryophila, reside in cases formed of silk and
fragments of lichen, and come out to feed at
night, and also in wet weather. In the large
and interesting genus Acronycta, the cater-
pillars are generally hairy, sometimes exces-
sively so, and greatly resemble the bear
caterpillars of the Tiger-moths; they feed per-
fectly exposed, having no means of conceal-
ment. Many of the genera which follow
these, have perfectly smooth caterpillars, which
feed on herbs, coming abroad only by night,
and, when disturbed, roll themselves in a
compact ring, and, thus disguised, fall to the
ground, and, feigning death, remain motionless
at the roots of the herbage until the supposed
danger has passed. As regards the number
of claspers, ten is the general number, the
last, or anal, pair being always present. In
the genus Erastria, the first pair are wanting,
and in the beautiful genus Plusia, the first
and second pair are wanting, the number being
thus reduced to eight in Erastria, and to six
in Plusia.
These caterpillars, as well as those of the
grand genus Catocala, comprising the Clifton
Nonpareil and the Red and Crimson Under-
wings, crawl with arched backs, like the Geo-
meters, and hence were called by my prede-
cessor, Half-loopers or Hemigeometers.
The pupation of the Noctuas is as various
as the economy of the caterpillar; the greater
number undergo this change underground;
the numerous chrysalids found by gardeners
in digging for the winter crops are those of
Noctuas, for they abound everywhere; but
others are found spun up among the leaves of
trees, and others, again, on the ground; they
are generally very shining, and of a bright
reddish-brown colour, or black; the body is
conical and pointed. The chrysalids of the
236 BRITISH
MOTHS.
Catocalae are covered with delicate powder,
which exactly resembles the bloom on a plum.
The moths have rather long and slender
antennae, always decreasing in size from the
base to the tip; those of the male generally
appear slightly stouter than those of the
female, from their being downy or pubescent;
and some are as decidedly pectinated as those
of the Bombyces. Their trunks, or maa'illae,
as I have called this organ at p. 205, are long
and robust; when at rest by day, they are
tightly coiled up under the head, but when
abroad at night, expanded to their full length,
and in constant use for sucking the honey of
flowers. This honey-sucking propensity makes
the Noctuas an easy prey to the entomologist,
who avails himself of this taste for sweets, not
only by searching their favourite flowers, but
also by providing artificial sweets exactly to
their taste. At night, Noctuas swarm on the
blossoms of honeysuckle, jasmine, red vale-
rian, and a number of other plants. It is,
indeed, a beautiful sight to see the Noctuas
revelling on the plant last named ; if you
take a bull's-eye lantern, and throw the
light full on a party of moths feasting off
these saccharine flowers of the valerian, the
sight is one not soon to be forgotten ; the
glare of the lamp is reflected from a hundred
pairs of the brightest eyes, and as these change
their position in moving from flower to flower,
the scene is almost magical. Sallow bloom
in the spring and ivy bloom in the autumn,
are quite as attractive as valerian in the sum-
mer. Still more attractive is sugar, an arti-
ficial substitute for flowers. This discovery
was first made known in the pages of the
Jintomologist, and has been the means of re-
volutionising the science: species previously
unknown have been discovered; and species
previously of excessive rarity have become
abundant. I will describe the process of
sugaring for Noctuas. Buy three or four
pounds of the strongest moist sugar, it is
usually called “Jamaica foots; ” mix it with
hot beer until it becomes of the consistence
of treacle; carry it to the field of operations
in a small tin can suspended by a strap pass-
ing over the shoulder. In a separate phial,
carry a modicum of rum, and, before using
the mixture already described, add a few
drops, perhaps a teaspoonful of rum. Select
a tree with tolerably smooth bark, and, with
a painter's brush, lay on the mixture in
narrow stripes; then paint another tree; then
a third, fourth, fifth, and so on in the same
way. In twenty minutes return to the first
tree, and the Noctuas will be found, with
sparkling eyes, extended trunks, and gently
quivering wings, revelling on the banquet
thus provided. Now throw the light of the
bull's-eye lantern full on the revellers, and
box those you want in chip pill-boxes, holding
the box below the moth, and the lid above,
and so proceed until your coat pockets are
filled with pill-boxes, a rarity in each. I
have always found a mild, damp, dark night
the best for this occupation. The reader will
please observe that this plan of entomologising
is often attended with some unpleasantness;
such, for instance, as the obtrusive visits of
gamekeepers, who always require a bribe to
leave you alone; and, in Ireland, the attention
of the police, who are excited by a lantern,
just as a turkey-cock is by a red rag, or
a bull by a scarlet cloak or coat. Then,
if the evening turn out rainy, the herbage
becomes loaded with moisture, and boots,
stockings, and trousers get saturated with
moisture. Juvenile collectors are greatly com-
forted in the belief that they possess some
nostrum with a long Greek name that will
keep out wet ; but this delusion is evaporated
by experience, which, after all, is the most
Satisfactory guide. A writer in the Intelli-
gencer says that aniseed has been found re-
markably attractive to Noctuas; and another
writer in the same periodical recommends the
following method:—Instead of brushing the
Sugar on the bark of the trees, get some
pieces of coarse rag, then mix up your bait
and steep the rags in it; let them remain
in Soak until they are well saturated, when
they may be pinned up wherever you wish,
and, when done with, put away for another
night. In Germany, it is a common practice
to cut apples in slices and thread them on a
string, and, when dried, they are found quite
NOCTUAS.
as attractive as sugar to the night-wandering
Noctuas. It has also been found an excellent
expedient to sugar isolated thistle-heads when
standing up in fields. It is quite useless to
offer any of these baits for Noctuas on a bright
moonlight night.
As a general rule, it may be said that the
fore wings of Noctuas entirely cover and hide
the hind wings when the insect is at rest ;
they are never raised over the back as in
Rutterflies, or rolled round the body as in the
Footmen : the ornamentation of the fore wings
is very rarely indeed continued on the hind
wings, as we so frequently see it more or less
conspicuously in the Geometers; but it is very
uniform, that is, it is generally referable to
one pattern, which undergoes almost endless
modification—for instance, near the centre of
the wing, in the place occupied by the dis-
coidal spot, which I have described in so many
of the Geometers, there are two ocellated or
eye-like spots, that is, spots having a different
colour in the centre from that on the circum-
ference: the one nearest the body is generally
round, or nearly so, and is called the orbicular
discoidal spot; the other nearer the tip of the
wing, but still not very far distant from the
first, is kidney-shaped, and is called the remi-
form discoidal spot; these two discoidal spots
will be frequently mentioned in the descrip-
tions which follow ; the hind wings, besides
being less variegated are generally paler;
nevertheless, in some instances the hind
wings are brilliantly yellow, red, or blue,
these bright colours being transversely inter-
sected with one or two black bands.
With regard to the position of the Noctuas
in a natural system, I am unable to perceive
their resemblance to the Geometers, which
have always hitherto been placed between
the Noctuas and the Deltoids. The genus
Acronycta the Noctuas with the
Arctias, and the smaller Noctuas merge so
gradually and naturally into the Deltoids, that
it is utterly impossible to tell where one tribe
ends and the other begins: the series would
be not only interrupted, but entirely broken
by the intervention of the Geometors.
unites
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}
412. The Buff-arches (Gonophora derasa).
412. THE BUFF-ARCHES.—The antennae are
very slightly pubescent in the male, quite
simple in the female ; the fore wings are broad
and ample, the tip very slightly arched; their
colour is various, and their ornamentation ex-
tremely beautiful: an oblique white bar ex-
tends from the costa near its base to the anal
angle, and this bar emits a branch towards
the base of the thorax ; a second white bar
extends from the tip of the wing to the anal
angle, where it unites with the oblique bar
already described ; these two bars unite with
the costal margin in forming a triangle, which
encloses at least two-thirds of the wing; the
enclosed area is almost white near the costal
margin, Sienna-brown towards the base, and
Smoky-brown towards the hind margin; the
whole is exquisitely and delicately pen-
cilled; the basal area of the wing is smoky-
brown, and has a semi-transparent appearance;
the hind-marginal area is brown, transversely
divided into five lines, and these are traversed
by a scalloped line of pure white, which is so
distinct as to appear like a white thread: the
hind wings are smoky-brown; the head is
umber-brown ; the thorax brown, with its
fore and hind margin raised in a ridge or
crest ; the body is brown; the second, third,
and fourth segments are dorsally crested.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a slightly bent
position, both extremities being held clear of
its food-plant, and the anal claspers unat-
tached : the head is exserted, and has an
almost square outline; the body is smooth and
velvety ; the colour of both head and body is
a raw sienna-brown, with a rather paler
medio-dorsal stripe: on each side of the fourth
segment is a round white spot, and very

238
BRITISH MOTHS.
frequently, but not constantly, a smaller white
spot on each side of the fifth segment; there
is a short oblique dark stripe on each
side of each segment, but this is by no
means conspicuous or distinct ; the spiracles
are black ; the ventral is paler than the
dorsal area, indeed, inclined to gray ; the
legs are reddish-brown; the claspers are paler,
corresponding to the ventral area ; I have fre-
quently found this caterpillar feeding on the
common bramble(Rubus fruticosus), and I know
of no other food-plant; when full-fed it spins
a few leaves together, and in the retreat
thus made it turns to a cylindrical CHRYSALIS
with a conical body, which terminates in
a slender horn-like point directed back-
wards. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
is common in most of the English counties;
Mr. Birchall says it is very common in Ireland,
and gives Killarney, Wicklow, Galway, and
Howth, as habitats. (The scientific name is
Gonophora derasa.) .
Obs.—Ochsenheimer has united the Buff-
arches with the Peach-blossom, under the
genus Thyatira; they are very different in
appearance, and I quite incline to Mr.
Bruand's view of keeping them distinct.
413. The Peach-blossom (Thyatira batis).
413. THE PEACH-BLOSSOM. — The antennae
are very slightly pubescent in the male, quite
sinple in the female; the fore wings are blunt
at the tip ; their colour is olive brown with
one small and four large roundish spots on
each, and also one additional large spot com-
mon to both wings near the middle of the
inner margin ; the largest of these spots is
amorphous, and is seated at the base of the
4.
wing; two others closely approximate are at
the extremity of the costal margin ; a fourth
occupies the anal angle ; and close to this on
the hind margin is the smaller spot already
mentioned ; the disk of all these remarkable
and very ornamental spots is rosy or rosy-
brown, but their circumscription is white ;
they have much the appearance of the fallen
petals of some flower, whence the name of
“Peach-blossom :” the hind wings are dingy-
brown, with a paler and indistinct transverse
median band: the head is pale brown ; the
thorax pale brown with transverse bars of
rosy brown, faint and delicate; the body is
pale brown, the second, third, and fourth seg-
ments having a small dorsal crest.
The CATERPILLAR rests with the anal claspers
raised from its food-plant, and apparently not
used for prehension; the legs likewise are
seldom attached. The head is about equal in
width to the second segment; the face is prone,
and the crown slightly produced and indis-
tinctly notched; the body is rather velvety,
the dorsal area irregularly humped; the prin-
cipal hump is on the third segment ; it is
bifid, projected forwards, generally extending
over the second segment, and sometimes over
the head; the fourth and fifth segments are
nearly simple, but those which follow from
the sixth to the tenth, both inclusive, have
each a medio-dorsal crest or hump; the twelfth
segment is dorsally pointed: the colour of
the head is reddish-brown ; the dorsal area
of the body is reddish-brown, marbled with
reddish-gray; it feeds on the common bramble
(Rubus fruticosus), and in September, or some-
times as early as the end of August, spins a
very slight and loose cocoon among the leaves,
and when in confinement among the moss or
rubbish on the floor of the breeding-cage, and
therein changes to a blackish CHRYSALIS, which
has a stout thorax but rather small conical
body and a sharp anal point.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July of the following year, and is far from
uncommon in most of our English counties,
and Mr. Birchall says it is very common in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Thyatira
batis.)

NOCTUAS.
239
me of those of the Tortrices.
414. The Lesser Satin Moth (Cymataphora duplaris).
414. THE LESSER SATIN MoTH. —The an-
tennae are slender in both sexes and almost
simple, but slightly stouter in the male than
in the female ; in both sexes they have a very
short pubescence: the fore wings are nearly
straight along the costa and square-tipped,
they are very ample compared with the size
of the body; their colour is Smoky-gray trans-
versely marked with different shades of the
same colour; the basal area is pale, bounded
by an almost white line; the middle area is
dark smoke-coloured, taking the form of a
broad median band, on the exterior margin of
which are two sub-linear black marks, which,
perhaps, represent the orbicular discoidal spot;
then follows a paler band and then a smoky
hind-marginal area, which is traversed through-
out by a zigzag white line: the hind wings
are dingy gray with a paler transverse median
bar: the head and thorax are smoky gray;
the body, which is very slender, almost like
that of a Geometer, pale gray. -
The CATERPILLAR resides between two leaves
of birch (Betula alba), carefully fastened to-
gether with silken cords; I found that instead
of eating the leaves it used for a domicile, it
left them by night and ate other leaves in the
neighbourhood ; when ejected from its dwell-
ing-place by day, it usually retreated back-
wards and invariably hung by a thread; no
persecution could induce it to roll in a ring or
feign death; but when on the carpet or table-
cloth it crawled to some place of concealment
with restless and unceasing activity, -these
characters, which it possesses in common with
several species which follow, have reminded
The head is
slightly narrower than the second segment; the
crown gibbose and very shining; the body is
slightly depressed dorsally and flat ventrally :
the colour of the head is pale brown across the
middle of the face, and has a black space be-
tween the lobes of the crown, and a black
spot on each side of the mouth ; the dorsal
area of the body is occupied almost exclusively
by a very broad bluish smoke-coloured stripe,
within which, on each lateral margin, is a
series of white marks, two on each segment ;
the lateral area is whitish, slightly mottled
with smoke-colour; the belly, legs, and claspers,
are dingy whitish-green.
The MoTH appears on the wing about mid-
summer, and has occurred in most of our
English counties: Mr. Birchall informs us
that he has taken it at Killarney, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is ('ſmatophora duplaris.)
5. The Satin Carpet (Cymatophora fluctuosa).
4 l S. THE SATIN CARPET.—The antennae
are slender and very slightly pubescent in
both sexes; they are rather stouter in the
males; the fore wings are very ample, nearly
straight on the costa, and bluntly square at
the tip; their colour is pale gray at the base,
traversed always by one, sometimes by more,
waved transverse lines; the middle area is .
occupied by a broad smoky band; this is
followed by a pale gray, almost white, band,
traversed by darker lines, the exterior of
which dilates and deepens into a costal
blotch ; the hind-marginal area is smoky
gray; the hind wings are pale gray, almost
white; the head and thorax are smoke-
coloured, the body Smoky gray.
The cATERPILLAR resides between two leaves
of the birch (Betula alba) when young ; when
older, it uses more leaves than two for the
purpose of a domicile, and in this always
remains concealed during the day, feeding by
night only; it has a great propensity to fall,


240
MOTHS.
|BRITISH
and hang by a thread when disturbed. The
head is about equal in width to the second
segment, the divisions of the crown are rather
convex and prominent; the body is dorsally
depressed, ventrally flattened, it bears nume-
rous fine scattered hairs; the colour of the
head is dark brown on the crown, paler across
the face, and has a black spot on each side,
close to the mouth ; the colour of the body
is almost white, or yellowish-gray, the dorsal
area more inclining to gray, and having a
| narrow slightly darker medio-dorsal stripe,
probably due to food in the alimentary canal;
there is also a distinct black mark on each
side of each segment; the sides and belly are
whiter than the back. My specimens were
full fed at the beginning of October, and then
spun slight cocoons among the birch leaves, in
which to turn to CHRYSALIDs.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June. It
seems to be of much more limited distribution
than those species which immediately precede
and follow. My specimens have come from
Huddersfield and Ipswich, and I have seen
others from the western counties. Mr. Birchall
has taken it at Killarney, in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Cymatophora fluctuosa.)
416. The Lesser Lutestring (Cymatophora diluta).
416. THE LESSERLUTESTRING.—The antennae
are slender and very slightly pubescent in
both sexes, but most so in the males: the
fore wings are ample, very slightly curved on
the costa, and bluntly square at the tip ; their
colour is dingy gray with a tendency to a
brickdust-red tinge in fine and recently dis-
closed specimens; at the base there is usually
a darker shade, and there are two distinct
transverse brown bars; one of these is rather
before, the other rather beyond, the middle;
both of these are nearly direct, but their
borders are waved, and both of them are
evidently composed of four lines crowded
together ; there is a third but indistinct band
nearer the hind margin, and a delicate dark
line on the margin itself: the hind wings are
gray with two faint transverse bars of a darker
tint : the head, thorax, and body are gray;
the body is stout, and invariably has one, and
sometimes two, erect medio-dorsal tufts of
black scales near the base.
The CATERPILLAR resides resting on its ven-
tral surface, and with its head turned on one
side, between two spun-together leaves of oak
(Quercus robur) or birch (Betula alba), and
comes out of its domicile to feed during the
night : it hangs by a silken thread when
driven out of this retreat. The head is nar-
rower than the second segment, rather convex
on the crown, and very glabrous: the body is
obese and maggot-like; it bears numerous
fine scattered hairs. The colour of the head
is dark brown, almost black; of the body pale
gray, with a narrower medio-dorsal stripe
rather darker, and a narrow lateral stripe
rather lighter; the spiracles and a series of
dots beneath them are nearly black. It spins
a slight cocoon among the leaves, and therein
changes to a CIIRYsALIs towards the end of
June or beginning of July.
The MOTII appears on the wing in August,
and occurs in most of the English counties;
Mr. Birchall also reports it from Killarney, in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Cymatophora
di/u/a.)
Obs.—The upper figure represents a very
beautiful variety in the cabinet of Mr. Bond,
kindly kent me expressly to figure in this
work ; but it is not a species given to
variation, this and its immediate congeners
being insects of much uniformity in tint,
markings, and size.

NOCTUAS.
241
417. The Poplar Lutestring (Cymatophora Or).
417. THE POPLAR LUTESTRING.—The an-
tennae are very slender in both sexes, but
slightly stouter in the males than in the fe-
males: the fore wings are scarcely curved on
the costa, and bluntly square at the tip; their
colour is gray, with two transverse dark lines
at the base, and two transverse bands; the
first, the broader of the two, is nearly direct,
and is situated before the middle of the wing;
it is composed of four dark lines; the second,
beyond the middle of the wing, is rather
oblique, and is composed of four zigzag lines;
between these bars the orbicular and reniform
discoidal spots are perceptible, but not con-
spicuous : each has a pale area and a darker
border; near the hind margin is a dark zigzag
line, commencing in a dark streak at the tip
of the wing, and on the very margin is a
slender dark line: the hind wings are dingy
gray : the head, body, and thorax are gray;
the body is stout and of a brownish-gray
colour. -
The CATERPILLAR, when full-fed, resides
habitually between two leaves of the poplar
or aspen (Populus migra, and Populus tremula),
on which it feeds: the two leaves thus con-
verted into a residence are always on one
shoot, so that the wind, moving the shoot or
twig altogether, has no tendency to separate
them ; they are generally placed with the
back of the upper leaf to the face of the lower
one, and the edges are united together by
silken threads, with much skill and neatness;
in this retreat the caterpillar rests during the
day in a curved form, the head being brought
round towards the middle of the body, but the
body invariably resting on its ventral surface,
and not on its side ; when driven from this
EDWARD NEWMAN’S BRIT (SH
MOTFIS. N.O. 16, PRICE 6D.
* * ~ ****----------ºr-
i
t
ſ
paler than the dorsal area.
retreat, it frequently escapes backwards, and
but rarely falls to the ground, generally hang-
ing suspended by a thread. The head is
narrower than the second segment, the face
rather flat and porrected; the body is rather
depressed dolsally, and flattened ventrally;
it has a number of minute warts, each of
which emits a hair. The colour of the head is
red, of the body whitish-green, or tinged with
glaucous: it has a very bleached and semi-
transparent appearance, probably owing to its
habit of living protected from the sunlight;
there is a medio-dorsal stripe of dingy green,
probably owing to the presence of food in the
alinentary canal; this is especially visible
when the caterpillar is crawling, an act which
it performs with much activity when expelled
from its retreat ; just below the spiracles is a
faint yellowish stripe; the ventral is rather
It undergoes pu-
pation in its retreat, and turns to a red-brown
CEIRYS ALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June
and July, and has been taken in most of our
English counties. (The scientific name is
Cymatophora Or.)
418. The Figure of Eighty (Cym top' ora ocularis).
418. THE FIGURE OF EIGHTY.—The antennae
are very slender; the fore wings are ample,
almost straight on the costa, and obtuse at the
tip ; their colour is pale brown, with a tinge of
red in recently disclosed specimens; there is
a slightly paler transverse median band, which
contains the reniform and orbicular spots;
these are closely approximate and very con-
spicuous and ornamental, the central area of
each being dark and the border pure white;
on the left wing this ornamentation represents
the number 80, on the right wing it is re-
I.O.N.DoN : W. Twº DTE,
l 337, STRAN D.


BRITISH
MOTHS.
versed; the wing is traversed by several
transverse dark lines, two or three of them
before, and four or five beyond, the figure of
eighty; there is a short oblique dark stripe
at the tip : the hind wings are dingy brown,
with two or three slender darker lines across
the middle, and a darker hind margin : the
head, thorax, and body are gray-brown : the
body is stout.
“The CATERPILLAR is very pale yellowish-
green, with greenish dorsal line, and greenish
line along the spiracles, which are reddish ;
a row of black dots above the legs (Frey). It
feeds on aspen (Populus tremula).”—Stainton’s
Manual, vol. i. p. 175. “The CHRYSALIS is
black and stout, enclosed in an extremely deli-
cate open network of a rusty brown colour; it
is very difficult to find; it frequently—nay,
generally—spins on the surface of the spread-
ing moss, or barely beneath it, sometimes be-
tween two leaves; in this latter case it is soon
blown away, and, in the former, falls an easy
prey to the first prowling mouse : it should,
therefore, be sought for as soon as possible
after the change; this, I think, should cer.
tainly not be later than the first week in Oc-
tober. I have found the following
a very good method of obtaining it. Instead
of turning up the sod, lay hold of the grass
lying close to the trunk, and pull it (the
sod) from the tree about an inch or so, and
the chrysalis, if there, will almost invariably
be found attached to the tree, or else among
the blades of grass which lie close to it.
Its presence may be detected by the open
network alluded to above. If, after pulling
the grass from the trunk, small pieces of bark
are found loosely attached to it, i.e., the
trunk, they should be carefully removed and
examined, as behind them the caterpillar fre-
quently spins up.”—Greene's Insect Hunter's
Companion, p. 19. -
The moth appears on the wing at the end of
June, and has occurred in Norfolk, Suffolk,
Essex, Buckinghamshire, and Worcestershire,
but is always esteemed a rarity. Mr. Greene
has taken it in Ireland. (The scientific name
is Cymatophora ocularis.)
419. The Yellow-Horned (Cymatophora flavicornis).
419. THE YELLow-HoRNED.—The antennae
are stout, particularly in the males, and of an
ochreous-yellow colour: the fore wings are
rather narrow, the costa nearly straight, the
tip blunt; their costal area is gray from the
base to the middle; the remainder of the wing
is dark Smoky gray, the orbicular spot is large,
but rather indistinct; the reniform spot im-
perceptible; the wing is traversed by seven
or more transverse dark lines, three of these
are before the discoidal spots; these lines are
perfectly separate at the inner margin, but
united on the costa; two others are beyond
the discoidal spots, and much bent; again,
nearer the hind margin, are two others, waved
and indistinct; the hind wings, head, thorax,
and body, are gray-brown : the thorax is very
stout, the body rather so.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is pale wainscot-
brown, with a black spot on each cheek, near
the mouth : the body is dingy yellowish-green,
the second segment having six black spots, all
of them close adjoining the head, and the two
dorsal ones being larger than the rest; on each
of the following segments are five black spots,
the largest of which form a dorsal series; the
second, smaller, constitute a supra-spiracular
series; and the third, the smallest, an infra-
spiracular series; each of the larger black spots
has a row of three white dots above it, and one
white dot below; the third and fourth seg-
ments have a transverse band or belt of twelve
white dots. It feeds on birch (Betula alba),
of which it rolls up the leaves into a kind of
case, and only comes partially out to eat : it
is almost impossible to beat this caterpillar :
in order to obtain it, the rolled-up leaves must
be sought out and picked: it is full-fed in the
beginning of July.
The MoTH appears on the wing in March,

NOCTUAS.
243
*
and is by no means uncommon in our English
counties, and Mr. Birchall says it is common
in Ireland. (The scientific name : is Cymato-
phora flavicornis.) .
420. The Frosted Green (Cymatophora ridens).
420. THE FROSTED GREEN.—The antennae
are dull yellow, rather stout, and, in the
male, strongly ciliated; the fore wings are
rather narrow, and have a very straight costa ;
, their prevailing colour is gray-green, there
being a broad transverse median band darker,
a basal area paler, and a bar beyond the
median band also paler : the hind margin is
darker, and the fringe spotted alternately pale
and dark: this distribution of colour is incon-
stant, and every part of the wing is orna-
mented with transverse markings : the hind
wings are whitish gray, with brown wing-
rays, and a smoky cloud on the hind margin,
especially towards the tip : the head and
thorax are beautifully mottled with the
colours of the fore wings; the body is rather
stout and of the colour of the hind wings.
The Eggs are laid on the twigs of oak
(Quercus Robur) in April, and the young
CATERPILLARs emerge in the beginning of June,
and spin for themselves little domiciles for
concealment or protection ; this is generally
effected by curling the edge of a young and
tender oak-leaf, and securing it in that posi-
tion by a few silken threads: it continues to
conceal itself in this manner for several weeks,
and appears to be full-fed by the middle of
July. I took a great number on the 8th of
July, 1864, beating them from the oaks in
Eirch wood. They fell into the umbrella
without any covering; but, immediately it
had the opportunity, each caterpillar con-
structed a domicile for itself, generally fasten-
ing together two oak-leaves face to face, and
allowing them to remain perfectly flat; but, in
Some instances, I found that a caterpillar had
bent the tip of an oak-leaf backwards, and
fastened it in this position in the manner
always practised by the recently - emerged
caterpillar: in either case the domicile was
perfectly closed all round with silken threads:
in this retreat it rests on its ventral surface
during the day, having the head always
turned on one side, and the thirteenth seg-
ment, with its claspers, tucked in under the
preceding segment. I have never seen one
feeding by day; at night it makes an opening
in its dwelling-place, and devours the leaves
within its reach, but never those of which its
dwelling is constructed: sometimes a cater-
pillar would appear to be very circumspect in
what might be called keeping its seat during
temporary absence, the anal claspers adhering
to the entrance of its retreat, while the body
was stretched about in all directions: at other
times it would come completely out and
wander at random among the dwelling-places
of its brethren ; in such cases, it seems to lack
the unerring instinct of the bee in returning
to its own hive, for I have more than once
seen two caterpillars contending for the same
retreat : in these contests one of the com-
batants often receives an unpleasant gripe,
and its pale green blood issuing from the
wound, seems to impart cannibalistic propen-
sities to the aggressor, for in these civil wars
several caterpillars were destroyed and par-
tially eaten. The head of the full-grown
cate pillar is exserted, it is quite as wide as
the second segment, having very gibbose
cheeks and a notch on the crown : the body
is very flaccid and wrinkled, both transversely
and longitudinally, the latter more especially
along the sides: the divisions of the segments
are sufficiently obvious : a number of small
but obvious warts occur on the body; the
second segment is without these warts; the
third and fourth have ten each; the rest, as
far as the tenth, have eighteen warts each ;
six of these are arranged in a transverse series,
reaching from spiracle to spiracle; two, not
invariably present, are behind these ; and five
others are situated on each side below the
spiracle. The colour of the head is wainscot- .

|
|
Y------— -------------------------------.
Z
244
BRITISH MOTHS.
brown, reticulated with dingy white; the
colour is paler about the mouth, and this pale
region has a black reniform spot on each side
of the mouth, including the ocelli, which are
also black; on each side of the face, near the
median division, is a whitish line, which
ascends to the crown, and then turns obliquely
towards the anterior margin of the second
segment. The colour of the body is yellowish,
the warts being white, and very frequently—
that is, in many of the specimens—surrounded
by a smoke-coloured ornamentation, that im-
parts a decidedly different appearance to those
specimens which possess it; the spiracles are
wainscot-brown, the bristles from the warts
are white; the legs and claspers are very pale,
almost white. From the 8th to the middle
of July, I observed these caterpillars spinning
their cogoons on the still verdant leaves of the
oak ; and, on subsequently examining these
cocoons, I found them very tough and compact,
and each contained a smooth, brown, obese
CHRYSALIS, having a very pointed anal ex-
tremity, furnished with a series of minute
hooks, by which it is suspended, head down-
wards, in the interior of the cocoon. From
the circumstance of the perfect insect being
almost invariably found on the trunks of the
oaks in April, when they are perfectly de-
nuded of leaves, it must be inferred that the
falling leaves, acting as parachutes, carry with
them, in their descent, the enclosed chrysalis,
which, thus protected, remains on the ground
until the moth makes its escape : in confine-
ment, this escape took place at the end of
February and the beginning of March—at
least a month before the ordinary time in a
state of nature.
“Of the chrysalisof this rare and very beauti-
ful insect, I took twenty-six last autumn ; like
that of Cymatophora ocularis, it is extremely
difficult to find, and should be sought for as
soon as possible, viz., at the middle and end
of August. The following directions may en-
able others to find it: detached oaks growing
in meadows of a dry, loamy soil, seem the
best ; the situation evidently preferred is the
corners filled with dry rubbish and little
stunted branbles.
Insert the trowel well
into the earth, six or seven inches from the
angle, and turn up the sod, bramble and all,
if possible: to find the chrysalis, after this
is done, is a work both of time and pain; it
will not do in this case to tap the sod. First,
carefully examine the dead leaves, for the
caterpillars frequently spin up in them : you
must then, regardless of scratches, tear the
roots asunder as gently as possible. The
cocoon is very weak, composed of little bits
of stick, dried leaves, &c., and requires deli-
cate handling. Indeed, the whole concern
demands an elaborate manipulation.”—-Greene.
The MOTH appears on the wing in April,
and seems to be very generally distributed in
our English counties, but nowhere common.
(The scientific name is Cymatophora ridens.)
421. The Marbled Green (Bryophila glandifera).
421. THE MARBLED GREFN.—The antennae
are slender, simple, and similar in both sexes;
the wings are straight on the costa, and blunt
at the tip; their colour is gray, with darker
markings, and the whole suffused with green :
there is a dark blotch at the base, followed
by a white bar, which extends from the
costal almost to the inner margin, but not
quite; the inner discoidal spot is larger and
reniform, the outer small and orbicular; the
costa and fringe are spotted with black, and
there are several transverse bent black lines:
the hind wings are pale at the base, smoky
at the margin, and the fringe is white and
unspotted: the head and thorax are whitish
gray; the body gray. The ground colour of
the fore wings is very variable, sometimes
nearly white, sometimes gray green, some-
times very decidedly green, and sometimes
reddish-brown. -
The Eggs are laid in September, on those
flat lichens which so commonly cover the
surface of stones used in. building walls,
bridges, houses, churches, &c.; they are

NOCTUAS.
245
white, and, when laid in confinement, are
arranged in a perfectly straight line; they
are hatched in October; the little CATER-
PILLAR, on leaving the egg-shell, being per-
fectly black and very hairy: they appear to
hybernate in the crevices of the stone while
i
occupy the same dwelling as tenants in Com-
mon. Should any difficulty arise in finding
an empty house, which not unfrequently
happens, the caterpillar sets to work in the
still extremely small, but in the following
March or February, or even the end of
January, if the weather happen to be wet and
mild, they again begin to feed : each then
constructs a new house for himself, a kind of
cocoon made of silk and particles of earth,
mortar, or stone ; this cocoon has little resem-
blance to the usual formula adopted by cater-
pillars when preparing for pupation, but is
very like the blister we occasionally see on
paint; while tenanted, it is closed at both
extremities, just as though the occupant had
shut himself up to undergo pupation; in
the night or early morning, more especially
in wet weather, he gnaws an opening at one
end of his dwelling-place, comes completely
out, and feeds on the lichen ; but during the
greater part of the day, and indeed during the
night also in very dry weather, he remains
shut up in his house : in moist weather, after
swollen lichen, each caterpillar seeks his
accustomed shelter, always carefully fastening
the door, or, in other words, spinning up the
opening; but it is curious, and rather opposed
to the ordinary habits of insects in this re-
spect, that, as a general rule, each caterpillar
is totally careless whether he return to his
own dwelling-place, or to that of some friend
or relation : he will, without a moment’s hesi-
tation, coolly possess himself of any tenement
he finds unoccupied, and carefully closing the
entrance, maintain his position against all
comers; supposing, however, that the tene-
ment he examines with a view of taking pos-
session, be already occupied, he never pre-
sumes to intrude, never thinks of contesting
the point, but continues to wander about on
the look-out for a house until he finds one
unoccupied : an occupied cell is invariably
closed, so that when you find one open, you
may at once conclude it is an empty house;
in no instance do two caterpillars attempt to
most contented manner to construct one, and
probably before long is as comfortably housed
as any of his friends. I have said that in dry
weather these caterpillars remain sealed up in
their domiciles, and when this continues for
long, they appear to suffer greatly from lack of
food — for if, after a long continuance of
drought, the cocoon be forcibly opened, the
caterpillar is found in a very shrivelled and
atrophied state,
tionately large and conspicuous.
with its head dispropor-
When full-
fed, which is about the end of May, it has a
limp and flaccid character very similar to that
of a caterpillar that has been ichneumoned;
it neither feigns death, nor rolls in a ring
when disturbed or annoyed, as probably
the only protection it seeks or requires is
that afforded by its case. The head of the
full-grown caterpillar is porrected in crawl-
ing; it is rather narrower than the body, and
is perfectly glabrous, but emits about thirty
fine hairs, which are directed forwards; the
making a copious meal on the saturated and
body is of uniform substance throughout, the
back slightly depressed, the belly flattened;
each segment has twelve warts, and each wart
emits a bristle. The colour of the head is
intense black and shining, the labrum white ;
the dorsal surface of the body is dark smoke-
coloured as far as the spiracles, and having
an irregular narrow medio-dorsal yellowish
stripe, interrupted on the tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth segments; the warts and bristles
are white, the ventral surface beginning at
the spiracles, as also the legs and claspers are
ochreous yellow ; in very wet weather, when
the caterpillar feeds voraciously, the belly and
all the under parts assume a tinge of green :
nevertheless, although these parts assume this
green tinge after voracious feeding, they in-
variably return to their normal colour before
pupation, thus proving the altered tinge to
be the result of repletion : when the time of
pupation arrives, they usually secrete them-
selves in holes in the wall, and spin a slight
Web among old spiders' webs, dust, and
246
BRITISH MOTHS.
crumbled earth or mortar, in which they
undergo the change, but sometimes they use
for this purpose the cocoons they had pre-
viously constructed as habitations during
their caterpillar state; they usually remain
in the chrysalis state throughout June and
July. On account of its peculiar economy,
this species is rather difficult to manage in
confinement; the caterpillars from which my
description is made, proved exceedingly rest-
less in confinement, and pertinaciously re-
fused to build or to feed on the diversified
banquet of lichens, which I provided for their
well-being. ... -
The MoTH appears on the wing in July
and August, and is abundant, but local, in
our southern counties, occurring in plenty
on walls at Exeter, Plymouth, Brighton, &c.,
and formerly on the canal bridge in the Old
Kent Road, where I have not seen it for
twenty-five years; I know of no other
locality in the London district: it comes
freely to sugar. (The scientific name is
Bryophila glandifera.)
422. The Marbled Beauty (Bryophila Perla).
422. The MARBLED BEAUTY.—The antennae
are slender, simple, and similar in both sexes;
the fore wings are very nearly straight on the
costa ; the tip is blunt ; their colour is pale
gray, almost white, and varied with darker
markings of a Sinoky gray, but these as well
as the general surface of the wing are often
suffused with a greenish and sometimes with
an ochreoustinge; there is always a dark blotch
at the base of the wing, and this is followed
by a white bar, which extends from the costal
to the inner margin; the discoidal spots are
very large, vague, and almost united with each
other, and also with the inner margin by a
smoky cloud; the costal margin and fringe
are spotted with blackish gray, and there are
several transverse lines of the same colour.
The hind wings are pale, but smoky towards
the margin; the head and thorax are white,
the body smoky gray.
The EGGs, which are white, are laid in
August and September on those fat lichens
which are so commonly found growing on
brick walls: in the neighbourhood of London
are many such localities, and in one in my
own immediate neighbourhood, there is a
brick wall which these little moths have
colonised, and which I have been in the habit
of visiting for the last twenty years.
The young CATERPILLARs, which are at first
very dark coloured, and very hairy, emerge
from the egg-shell in about a fortnight—
indeed, the time varies from ten to twenty
days; at the approach of winter they are still
very small, and, spinning little silken cocoons
in the crevices of the bricks or mortar, remain
entirely concealed during the winter; in the
spring they begin to feed again, eating nothing
but the flat lichens on which the eggs are
laid, and these only when saturated with
moisture; the colony I have more par-
ticularly observed, is on a wall facing the
south, and exposed to the mid-day sun, but
the caterpillars always retire from the sun-
shine, concealing themselves in little silken
domiciles; they feed morning and evening,
when the atmosphere is laden with moisture;
and in wet weather in the day also ; the
lichens absorb water, whether from dew or
rain, and it is only in this moistened state
that they are relished by these little cater-
pillars, which then feed greedily, and are
rarely found at rest except in their cocoons.
When full-fed, the head is rather small,
and is retractile within the second segment;
it is shining, slightly hairy, and of a bluish
black colour on the crown and sides, but the
face is spotted with black; the body is stout,
and of uniform thickness throughout, with
the back slightly depressed, and the belly
flattened; each segment has twelve small
warts, and each wart emits a bristle; the
dorsal area is almost entirely occupied by a
broad slate-coloured stripe, which is bounded
on each side by a series of orange markings,
narrow, linear, or somewhat crescentic; be-

NOC TUAS.
2.47
tween this series'of markings and the legs is a
slender white line on the anterior segments,
and attached to each of the markings is a
small white spot; the ventral area is smoke-
coloured tinged with green, and the legs and
claspers are of the same colour. When
arrived at its full size, it finally leaves its
silken home and builds another, in which it
changes to a smooth CHRYSALIs, which is of a
testaceous red colour, the wing-cases being
especially red; it is covered with a slight
whitish bloom, like that of a ripe plum ; the
last segment is fluted, and terminates in three
spines, the outer ones of which are smaller
than the middle one.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July;
August, and September; there seems to be a
continuous succession of moths for about ten
weeks: it is very common in most of our
English counties, and occurs also in Scotland
and Ireland. (The scientific name
phila Perla.)
is Bryo-
423. The Tree-lichen Beauty (Bryophila Algæ).
423. THE TREE-LICHEN BEAUTY.—The an-
tennae are slender, simple, and alike in both
sexes. The fore wings are rather ample,
nearly straight on the costa, and rounded at
the tip; their colour at the base is gray-green,
followed by a nearly straight transverse bar
almost white ; then follows a broad median
brown band, which includes a darker dis-
coidal spot; then follow a very pale bar very
distinct, and divided at both extremities, but
less distinct in the middle, and lastly, a
grayish or brownish green hind margin : the
hind wings are brown, with a perceptible but
not very conspicuous crescentic discoidal spot:
the head and thorax are brownish green, the
85 7
body paler, with a medio-dorsal series of
black spots. &
The CATERPILLAR is gray-green, marbled,
with a white medio-dorsal stripe, and a series
of white lateral spots; a stripe near the
spiracle, and a horse-shoe shaped marking are
black; the head also is black: it feeds on the
lichens which grow on trees. I am un-
acquainted with this caterpillar, and have
made the best I can of Guenée’s brief descrip-
tion.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July : two
specimens have been taken by Mr. Sidebotham
in the north of England, but I have neither
seen these nor any other British examples.
(The scientific name is Bryophila Algae.)
424. The Scarce Marveil-du-Jour (Diphthera Orion).
424. TILE SCARCE MARVEIL-DU-Jour.—The
antennae are ciliated in the male, simple in
the female; the colour of the fore wings is a
beautiful clear green, with four longitudinal
white stripes, and three interrupted transverse
black bars; the four white stripes are equi-
distant, the first costal and narrow, the
fourth inner marginal and narrow, the inter-
mediate ones rather broader; the first black
bar is near the base of the wing, much bent
and very irregular; the second is median and
interrupted in the middle; the third is the
broadest and most conspicuous, very much
bent and slightly interrupted, it is accom-
panied on the outside by a smoky-band; the
orbicular spot is small, and is united with the
median bar on its inner side ; the reniform
spot is outside the median bar, it is black
with a white exterior border; there is a
regular hind-marginal series of black and
white spots, the inner portion of each being
white, the outer portion black; the fringe is


248
MOTHS.
IBRITISH
dering from one to the other.
regularly spotted with black and white : the
hind wings are dark smoke-coloured, with a
still darker discoidal spot, some transverse
white lines at the anal angle, and a spotted
fringe : the head is green, the eyes black, the
collar black, the median area of the thorax
green, the posterior margin of the thorax is
divided into four lobes, all of which are black
at the base, and pale green at the tip; the
body is smoky gray, with a medio-dorsal
series of blackish crests, of which the third
and fourth are the most prominent.
The EGG is figured by Sepp as having the
shape and somewhat the appearance of an
Echinus, or sea-urchin, having twenty ribs,
which, instead of being perfectly direct, are
slightly waved ; there are also a great number
of delicately minute transverse lines. Mr.
Crewe has described the CATERPILLAR. He
says, “Whilst staying in Hampshire, I took
a female D. Orion; as she was slightly worn
and chipped, I kept her in the hope of obtaining
In this I was not disappointed, and the
young caterpillars fed well till their last moult
on birch (Betula alba). They then, without
any apparent reason, began to die off. I then
introduced some twigs of oak (Quercus Robur),
for which the birch was entirely deserted, but
out of a numerous brood I only succeeded in
obtaining four chrysalids. I am inclined to
think that in a state of nature the caterpillar
feeds indiscriminately on oak and birch, wan-
I never but
once beat the caterpillar; this was in Suffolk,
where I thrashed it out of a birch bush
in a wood near Ipswich, and thence it was
that I fed my young caterpillars solely on
birch.” The following is a description of
the caterpillar : the back is bluish black;
on the fourth, sixth, and ninth segment
respectively is a large primrose-yellow blotch,
and smaller ones of the same colour on
the third and anal segments; on the second
and third segments are the rudiments of two
eggs.
central primrose-yellow dorsal lines: the
dorsal and lateral segmental divisions are girt
with a belt of orange and primrose-yellow
tubercles surmounted by tufts of pale reddish
hair ; the subdorsal lines are primrose-yellow,
interrupted and studded with various-sized
primrose-yellow spots; the lateral lines are
four or six in number, black interrupted with
yellow and orange, the intermediate spaces
being yellow; the head is black, slightly
marked with yellow ; the belly is dirty gray,
spotted and marked with black and white;
the legs and claspers are yellowish, with
black markings: it is full-fed in September,
and then strongly resembles the caterpillar of
the satin moth (Liparis Salicis). The CHRY-
SALIS is enclosed in a cocoon of gnawed bark,
or rotten wood ; it is of a dull red colour.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and has been found in the New Forest in
Hampshire, near Maidstone in Kent, near
Brighton, and in the Weald of Sussex, and
especially near Ipswich. I have no record of
its occurrence in Scotland or Ireland. (The
scientific name is Diphthera Orion.)
Obs. I have given two very different figures
of this most beautiful moth, and I find two
descriptions of its caterpillar equally different:
it is very probable that there are two species
combined under one name, and require sepa-
ration; the late eminent naturalist, J. F.
Stephens, was decidedly of this opinion, and
called one of them Diphthera Orion, and the
other Diphthera Runica (see Illustrations of
British Entomology, Haustellata, vol. iii. p. 46),
but entomologists have hitherto declined to
accept them as species.
425. The Dark Dagger (Acronycta tridens).
425. THE DARK DAGGER.—The antennae


NOCTUAS. 249
are rather short, and are simple in both sexes;
the fore, wings are gray, with various black
linear markings: the principal of these are,
first, an irregular cross, which bears a fancied
resemblance to a Greek psi placed sideways e-,
and is situated near the anal angle ; exactly
intermediate between this and the tip of the
wing, is a much smaller mark of the same
shape : the reniform and orbicular spots are
very vague and obscure; the orbicular has a
very delicate black border on its outer side
only, the reniform has a similar black border
on its inner side only, and this is double at its
lower extremity; these two semicircular
markings are placed back to back, and are
connected by a short and straight black line;
together this constitutes the second principal
marking ; the third is a strong black line,
which proceeds from the base of the wing
almost to its middle, and which emits three
or four lateral branches: the hind wings are
nearly white with darker wing-rays and a
spotted fringe: the head, thorax, and body are
gray; a black line originating in each palpus,
passes along the head including the eye, and
along the thorax just above the base of the
wing.
The CATERPILLAR does not roll in a ring,
or feign death when disturbed. The body is
somewhat incised at the interstices of the seg-
ments, hairy, and having a conspicuous hump
on the fifth and twelfth segments. The head is
black and shining, but emitting so many hoary
hairs, as to give it a gray appearance. The
body is black, beautifully ornamented with
orange and snow-white markings; the second
segment is black, with a small median
white spot on the back; the third and
fourth segments are slightly swollen on the
back, the centre of each SWelling being
orange-yellow ; on each side of each of
these segments is also a bright orange spot;
the fifth segment has a conspicuous median
hump, velvety black on the summit, but
hoary behind, and having one white spot on
each side; a little distance below this is a
pair of white spots closely approximate, and
on each side of them a larger orange spot ; on
the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and
eleventh segments is a median stripe, rather
narrowed, entire, and of an orange-yellow
colour, in the centre of each segment, rather
dilated, longitudinally divided, and dingy
white in the interstices; on each side of each
segment, below this median stripe, are two
White spots, one above the other, like the
colon in printing, and there are three orange
spots of different forms below the lower of
these white spots; the twelfth segment is
decidedly humped, and has a conspicuous
Snowy-white mark on the summit, shaped
something like a cross, but the hinder radius
of the cross is sometimes wanting; the hind
margin of this segment has a broad orange
border ; the thirteenth segment terminates in
a kind of horn, quite black and directed back-
wards: below the lateral series of orange spots
I have described, is a lateral stripe mottled
with yellowish markings, among which are
situated the spiracles, and below this again is
a slender interrupted orange stripe. It feeds
on white-thorn (Cratagus oxyacantha), black-
thorn (Prunus spinosa), and some other trees
and shrubs. When full-fed in September and
October, it spins a silken cocoon on the trunks
of trees, concealing itself in crevices of the
bark, and therein changing a CHRYSALIS,
in which state it remains throughout the
winter.
The MOTH appears in June; the caterpillar
has been taken in many English counties, and
also in Ireland. (The scientific name is Acro-
mycta tridens.)
1. Obs. The beautiful variety represented by
the second figure is in the rich cabinet of
Mr. Greening, and has been kindly lent me
purposely to figure in this work.
2. Obs. I do not know why this insect is
called the “Dark’’ Dagger: it is no darker
than the “Gray” Dagger; but I have an in-
Superable objection to changing a name. I
may, perhaps, be allowed, in this place, to
express a hope that my younger readers, for
whose accommodation the English names are
introduced, will endeavour to learn the Latin
or scientific names which are now in universal
use among entomologists.
MOTHS.
426. The Gray Dagger (Aeronycta Psi).
426. THE GRAY DAGGER.——The antennae
are rather short, and are simple in both sexes;
the fore wings are gray, with various black
linear markings: the principal of these are,
first, an irregular cross, which bears some
small resemblance to a Greek psi placed side-
ways -e-, and is situated near the anal angle :
exactly intermediate between this and the tip
of the wing, is a much smaller mark of exactly
the same shape: the reniform and orbicular
spots are vague, but perceptible; the orbicular
has a very delicate black border on its outer
side only, the reniform has a similar black
border on its inner side only, and this black
border is double at its lower extremity; these
two semicircular markings are placed back to
back, and are connected by a short black line;
together they constitute the second principal
black marking ; the third is a strong black
line which proceeds from the base of the wing
almost to its middle, and which emits three
or four lateral branches: the hind wings are
nearly white with darker wing-rays, and a
spotted fringe: the head, thorax, and body are
gray; a black line originates in each palpus,
and passing along the head, includes the eye,
and along the thorax just above the base of
the wing. -
The head of the CATERPILLAR is rather wider
than the second segment; the body is hairy
with parallel sides, but humped on the back;
the first hump is slender, long, erect, horn-
like, and seated on the fifth segment; the
Second hump is shorter, broader, and on the
twelfth segment. The head is black, hairy,
and shining; its divisions very convex; the
second segment is black, with a very narrow
median yellow line; the third, fourth, sixth,
—w
Seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh
segments have a broad median yellow stripe,
and there is a median square spot of the same
colour on the hinder part of the twelfth seg-
ment; the horn-like hump on the fifth seg-
ment is intensely black, and clothed with
crowded short black hairs, intermixed with
scattered long ones; on each side of the
median stripe is an equally broad jet-black
stripe, and in this, on every segment, from
the fifth to the twelfth, both inclusive, are
two transverse bright red spots, with two
minute whitish warts between each pair, the
warts emitting black bristles: below the
black stripe, on each side, is a broad gray
stripe emitting gray hairs, and including the
black spiracles; this gray stripe is reddish on
the anterior segments, the intensity of the red
increasing towards the head. The belly, legs,
and claspers are dingy flesh-coloured. It
feeds on whitethorn, pear, and a variety of
other trees, and is full-fed in September,
when it spins a whitish cocoon in the crevices
of the bark of trees, and therein changes to a
CHRYSALIS, in which state it remains through-
out the winter.
The MOTH appears in June, and is common
everywhere. (The scientific name is Aero-
nycta Psi.)
Obs. I am quite unable to distinguish by
words between this and the preceding species,
but am convinced they are distinct, from the
great difference of the caterpillar: in my
specimens, the reniform and orbicular spots
are more clearly defined in Psi than in
tridens ; they are very obscure and difficult
to trace in both, but Psi has most decidedly
the advantage in this respect. Mr. Double-
day, whose almost instinctive perception and
appreciation of difference is familiar to all
who know him, says that he finds little
difficulty in distinguishing the two insects
in their perfect state; but I am little for-
tunate, or, more properly speaking, less
gifted in the power of discrimination, and
never pronounce on either with feelings of
certainty. 0.

NOCTUAS.
§
|
º§|
º
º-3 *-
427. The Miller (Acronycta leporina).
427. THE MILLER.—The antennae are simple,
but rather stout; the fore wings are gray,
with three principal black spots on the costa,
the middle one of which descends in an elon-
gate linear form towards the middle of the
wing, which it almost reaches; beyond the
third black costal spot is a transverse zigzag
oblique black line; the fringe is very distinctly
spotted : the hind wings are nearly white,
with a marginal series of black dots: the
head, thorax, and body are gray.
The CATERPILLAR, when disturbed, falls off
its food plant, and for a short time feigns
death, lying in a semicircular posture; but its
outline is concealed by the length of its hairs:
its colour is pale delicate green, completely
covered with long curved silky hairs, all of
them directed backwards; these hairs are
either hoary white, or delicate pale canary-
colour, or more decidedly yellow, and the
body has a tendency to similar variation in
colour, although its normal tint is green :
there are small erect fascicles of short black
hairs on the back of the fourth and sixth
segments, and single erect black hairs in a
row on both sides. It feeds on birch (Betula
alba), and is full-fed towards the end of
September, when, concealing itself in a crevice
of the bark, it makes a little excavation, in
which it changes to a CHRYSALIS, and remains
in that state all the winter. In confinement,
it will gnaw a hole in cork, or touch-wood,
about the circumference of its body, and after
entering, gum up the mouth of the hole, so
that its ulterior proceedings are completely
concealed ; but in this retreat it changes to a
CHRYSALTs, and remains in that state through-
out the winter.
The MoTH appears in June, and occurs
occasionally in all our English counties, but
is always considered a rarity. Mr. Birchall
reports it as common in the counties Wick-
low and Kerry, in Ireland.
name is Aeronycta leporina.)
Obs. Two supposed species represented
by the first and second figures, are here in-
cluded under the name Leporina : these are
A. leporina of Stephens (Illustrations of British
Entomology, Haustellata, vol. iii. p. 35), and
A. bradyporina of Stephens (Id. vol. iii. p. 36);
the third figure represents a beautiful variety
in the rich collection of Mr. Bond, which has
been lent me expressly for this work.
428. The Sycamore (Acronycta Aceris).
428. THE SycAMoRE.—The antennae are
rather stout, but simple in both sexes; the
fore wings have the costal margin straight,
the hind margin very slightly sealloped; their
colour is pale gray, streaked and mottled with
smoky gray; the orbicular spot is clearly
defined, the reniform more vague, and con-
fused with the other markings; there is a
(The scientific





252
MOTHS.
BRITISH
hind-marginal series of eight black dots, and
opposite each of these the gray fringe is inter-
rupted by a smoke-coloured streak: the hind
wings have the hind margin slightly scalloped;
they are white, occasionally but not constantly,
with black wing-rays: the head, thorax, and
body are uniformly gray.
The Eggs are laid in July, but whether on
the leaves, twigs, or trunk of the food plant,
I am unable to state with any certainty. The
CATERPILLAR is full-fed in August and Sep-
tember, and then if annoyed, rolls itself into a
compact ring, with the head on one side like
an Iulus ; and in this position it remains for a
long time most pertinaciously. The head is
as wide as the body, wider than the second
segment; the body is almost uniformly cylin-
drical, densely clothed with long hairs, which
on each segment converge at the extremities:
along each side is a slender skinfold passing
immediately below the spiracles: the head is
black and shining, with a white mark on the
face, shaped like an inverted letter W ; the
labrum is white. The body is pale gray,
sometimes approaching to flesh colour, and
sometimes having a tinge of smoke colour,
especially near the head, with a medio-dorsal
series of kite-shaped, snow-white spots; eight
of these, those from the fifth and the twelfth
segments, both inclusive, are bordered with
intense velvety black; three others, those on
the second, third, and fourth segments, are
linear and almost confluent, but still bordered
by the same intense black; on the thirteenth
segment the black is present, but the white is
wanting: the converging hairs form a double
series of dorsal fascicles, each series composed
of nine fascicles, and arranged on each side of
the medio-dorsal ornamentation just described;
these fascicles are usually of a uniform dingy
Orange-red or Salmon-colour, but in some
specimens are ochreous yellow ; in one speci-
men I have examined, six of these fascicles
were salmon-coloured, and the rest ochreous;
all the other hairs on the body are ochreous;
the spiracles are black, the legs nearly
black; the claspers dark brown. This cater-
pillar feeds on the sycamore (Acer pseudo-
platanus), often on the loftiest branches;
also on the horse chestnut (AEsculus hippocas-
tanum), and more rarely on the oak (Quercus
Robur): when these beautiful and very con-
spicuous caterpillars are full-fed, they may be
observed crawling down the trunks in order
to undergo pupation, which takes place in a
web on the surface of the ground, amongst
fallen leaves, under loose bark, &c. : it remains
in the chrysalis state all the winter.
The MoTB does not appear on the wing until
June, generally between the 8th and the
23rd, when it may occasionally be found
resting on the trunks of the Sycamores.
It occurs every year all round London, and
also in the eastern and south-eastern counties,
as at Ipswich, Norwich, Stowmarket, Col-
chester, Maidstone, Lewes, Worthing, and
Brighton, and Mr. Birchall records its occur-
rence in the county Galway, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Acronycta Aceris.)
Obs. The second figure represents an un-
common variety in Mr. Bond's collection, in
which the entire surface of the fore wings is
suffused with ochreous brown.
429. The Poplar Gray (Acronycta megacephala).
429. THE POPLAR GRAY.—The antennae are
rather short and rather slender; they are simple
in both sexes: the fore wings are pale gray,
mottled with darker or smoky gray; the
orbicular spot is clearly defined, the reniform is
vague and amalgamated with a large pale blotch
nearer the tip, and this large blotch is also
vague and its boundaries undefined : the hind
wings are white with smoky wing-rays, and
not unfrequently also with two very vague and
indistinct smoky transverse bars: the head
and thorax are very dark gray, the body pale
gray.
The cATERPILLAR rests on the surface of a
leaf in a curved posture, the head being

NOCTUAS.
253
turned on one side and brought into contact
with the side of the tenth segment: it fre-
quently spins together the edges of two poplar
leaves, and thus conceals itself from observa-
tion, generally, however, maintaining the bent
posture. The head is porrected, and much
wider than the second segment ; indeed, so
large as to justify the name of “megacephala,”
probably given to the species on this account;
the body is rather depressed, of nearly uniform
width, and has the divisions of the segments
clearly marked; it has several series of small
wants, each of which emits a few hairs.
The colour of the head is whitish, with a large
and almost circular black blotch on each cheek;
this is enclosed in a whitish circle, and this
again in a black circle; the clypeus is in-
cluded in a black V-shaped mark; the dorsal
area of the body is smoky-black with a slender
medio-dorsal line extending from the head to
the fifth segment; the second, third, and fourth
segments have a whitish spot on each side of
this median line; the fifth segment has a
white spot and a red spot on each side of it;
the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth
segments have each two longitudinal com-
pound marks, each composed of four closely
approximate spots, the first of which is white,
the second and third reddish, and the fourth
white; the eleventh segment has a medio-
dorsal whitish blotch, and the twelfth segment
four white spots; the thirteenth segment and
its claspers are dingy white; the ventral area,
legs, and ventral claspers, are pale smoke-
colour, tinged with pink. The caterpillar
feeds on several species of poplar. I
found it commonly on the tacamahack poplar
(Populus balsamifera), at Leominister, in July
and August, 1866; in the latter month it
appeared to be full-fed. In order to undergo
pupation, it creeps into the very smallest
chinks of the bark of the trees on which it
has been feeding: Mr. Greene gives the fol-
lowing directions for finding the chrysalis:—
“Break off every bit of loose bark with the
point of the trowel, and the chrysalis-case,
which with the chrysalis closely resembles
that of Acronycta Psi, will be found firmly
The
anal claspers are rather long and spreading.
glued to the surface: the cocoon is formed of
decayed wood.” Guenée also informs us that
the readiest way to obtain this species is to
search the bark of poplars and aspens.
The MoTH appears in June, and is of common
occurrence in most of our English counties.
Mr. Birchall says it is also common in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Acronycta megacephala.)
430. The Grisette (Acronycta strigosa).
430. THE GRISETTE.-This insect is smaller
and more slender than its congeners : the an-
tennae are very slender; the fore wings are
pale gray, marbled with smoky gray, and
having at the base of the inner margin an
ochreous linear patch, the two combining to
form on the closed wing an ochreous spot at
the base of the thorax : the costal and hind
margins are spotted with smoke-colour; the
orbicular and reniform spots are distinct, and
there is a conspicuous angled line between
the reniform spot and the hind margin : the
hind wings are very pale gray, with a rather
darker but still very pale discoidal spot, and
transverse median bar: the head, thorax, and
body are gray. -
The Eggs are laid at the end of June, on
the twigs of whitethorn, more particularly in
old whitethorn hedges, growing in chalky
districts throughout the neighbourhood of
Cambridge; the CATERPILLAR emerges in July,
and is usually full-fed at the end of August,
or beginning of September. The head is
porrected, flat, of about the same width as the
second segment; the body is of nearly uni-
form width throughout; the segments are
strongly pronounced, and the divisions between
them deeply incised; there is a double series
of bristle-bearing warts down the back—two
each on the third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and
tenth segments; four each on the fifth, eighth,
ninth, eleventh, and twelfth segments. The
colour of the head is umber-brown, with very

254
JBRITISH MOTHS.
dark reticulations on the cheeks; the colour
of the body is delicate apple-green, with a
well-marked medio-dorsal stripe, of a rich
purple-brown colour; this is dilated on the
second segment immediately behind the head,
also on the fifth, eighth, and ninth segments;
thence it decreases in width, and on the
twelfth and thirteenth segments, is very
narrow ; the spiracles are white, in a brown
ring; the legs and claspers green, red-brown
at the extremities; when full-fed, it spins
together any dead leaves or rubbish within
its reach, or buries itself in decayed wood, if
it have the opportunity; and thus concealed
it changes to a CHRYSALIS, and remains in that
state throughout the winter.
The MoTH appears on the wing during June
and July. I have received it from Cambridge,
but know of no other locality. (The scientific
name is Acronycta strigosa.)
431. The Alder (Acronycta Alici),
431. The fore wings are gray, with a very
large dark brown, almost black, blotch which
occupies nearly half of the wing, extending
from the middle of the base to the hind margin,
near the anal angle, and covering all the inner
margin, excepting a very small space at the
basal, and another at the anal angle, both of
which are gray: this dark blotch has also a
broad band or branch, which connects it with
the middle of the costal margin : the areas
not occupied by this blotch are two, the first
occupying broadly the basal half of the costal
margin, the Second being somewhat triangular
and apical, both of them are beautifully
marked with darker shades; the fringe is
spotted; the reniform spot is indicated by a
pale gray outline; the orbicular is scarcely
perceptible; the hind wings are white, with
smoky discoidal spot, wing-rays amp apical
angle, the fringe is spotted; the head is gray,
the antennae and eyes black; the thorax
gray, with a black streak at the base of the
wings; the abdomen gray, inclining to Smoky.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position, and does not fall from its food plant
when disturbed, or exhibit any symptoms of
uneasiness when handled; its head is about
equal in breadth to the second segment, and
intensely glossy; the body is almost uniformly
cylindrical, the segmental divisions clearly
indicated. The colour of the head is black,
of the body intense purple-black, without gloss,
and having in most specimens a medio-dorsal
series of yellowish markings, one on each
segment; these are transverse and oblong,
and in many specimens bordered with white :
the presence of these markings is not constant,
and some entomologists have figured the cater-
pillar only exhibiting these on the second and
twelfth segments; each segment has a process
or appendage on each side resembling a black
horse-hair dilated and flattened at the tip :
the appearance of these appendages is so
remarkable, that it is impossible to mistake
this caterpillar for any other: when full-fed,
it sometimes spins together the leaves of its
food plant; sometimes it excavates a dead
bramble stick; and in either situation changes
to a CHRYSALIs of a rich deep chestnut-brown
colour. With regard to the food-plant of the
caterpillar, there is considerable doubt; it has
been found in confinement to eat whitethorn
(Crataegus oxyacantha), and alder (Alnus gluti-
nosa), but I am not certain whether it has
been ascertained to eat either dºf these in a
perfectly natural condition.
The MoTH appears in June, and has been
found occasionally in most of our English
counties, and Mr. Birchall records the occur-
rence of a single specimen from the county
Wicklow, in Ireland, but it has always been
regarded as a great rarity. (The Scientific
name is Acronycta Alhi.)
Obs. The extraordinary caterpillar of this
moth has no affinity with any others of the
genus; indeed, the great diversity in the
caterpillars of the Acronyctae is very remark-
able. -
sº---------------

NOCTUAS.
255
432. The Coronet (Acronycta Lºgtastri).
432. THE CORONET. — The antennae are
simple, but stouter in the male than in the
female; the colour of the fore wings is dark
rich brown, sometimes with a tinge of green,
and always marbled and mottled; the orbi-
cular spot is indicated by a white outline;
the reniform has a white exterior border, and
beyond it is a large whitish blotch, which has
a double black outline: the hind wings are
brown-gray : the thorax, like the fore wings,
is marbled with dark brown and white; the
body, like the hind wings, is brown-gray.
The CATERPILLAR will not roll in a ring
when handled. The head is of a delicate
green, almost transparent, and very shining ;
the mouth dark brown, or almost black. The
body is of a glaucous-green, with a very narrow
median white stripe down the back, not
always extending to the second or thirteenth
segment; there is another stripe, rather
broader than the median stripe, and of a
yellowish white on each side, extending from
the head the entire length of the caterpillar;
this is about equidistant between the dorsal
stripe and the spiracles; each segment emits
eight, ten, or twelve delicate silky-looking
bristles. It feeds principally on ash (Fraa inus
ercelsior), but also sometimes on privet
(Ligustrum vulgare), and is full-fed towards
the end of September, when it buries
under the moss growing on the trunks of
ash trees. Mr. Greene says the CHRYSALIS is
to be found abundantly in such situations,
and directs that the moss must be torn off
very carefully when the chrysalis case, which
is black and very tough (not hard), will, in
most cases, be found adhering to the moss; if
there be no moss, examine the trunk. There
aro often long, perpendicular slits in the bark
of ash trees, ºnd this is a favourite retreat of
this species.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is considered moderately common
both in England and Ireland. (The scientific
name is Acronycta Jigustri.)
433. The Knot-Grass (Acronycta Rumicis).
433. THE KNOT-GRASS.—The antennae are
simple in both sexes, but rather stouter in the
male ; the colour of the fore wings is dark gray
marbled and mottled with black : the orbicular
and reniform spots are visible in outline, but
are indistinct ; there are two rather small and
closely approximate white spots placed trans-
versely near the hind margin at two-thirds of
the distance between the base and anal angle:
the hind wings are brown-gray, the base and
fringe being paler: the thorax is mottled and
marbled with pale gray, almost white, and
dark gray, almost black : the body is brown-
gray.
The Eggs are laid on the leaves of very
many low herbaceous plants in May or June,
and the CATERPILLAR is full-fed by the second
week in July : it then rests in a nearly straight
position, but with the head somewhat bent
under the anterior segments: when annoyed,
it falls from its food-plant feigning death and
rolls in a ring, but very soon unrolls and com-
mences crawling with some rapidity. The
head is rather narrower than the second seg-
ment; and manifestly narrower than those
which follow; the body is obese, the segments
swollen, the incisions between them deep; on
every segment is a transverse series of ten
warts, all somewhat dilated and flattened, and
each emitting a fascicle of spre: ding hristles.


256
x3-,-------~~~~~~~s=x-aa-ºº--->|- sº - ~~~~ :- " -º - ----
-7
BRITISH MOTHS.
- -*--- - - - - - ------- - - ---- - - - -------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - -------------------- *-*.*.*.*.*-º-º-º-º-º:
The colour of the head is black with clearly Obs, Mr. Greening, of Warrington, had
defined rich brown markings on each side, and
a brown mark on the face in the form of an
inverted letter V: the body is richly adorned
with diversified colours, somewhat after the
fashion of tesselated pavement : each segment
from the fourth to the twelfth, both inclusive,
has on its anterior margin a medio-dorsal
orange spot, on each side of which is an in-
tensely black velvety spot; these two being
connected behind the orange spot, and com-
pletely enclosing it: on each side of the black
spot is a somewhat quadrate pure white spot,
the hinder margin of which terminates in a
wart also white; the lateral surface below the
series of white spots is smoke-colour delicately
lined and irrorated with burnt-sienna brown ;
this lateral region contains the spiracles, which
are pure white surrounded with intense velvety
black, there are also on each segment threewarts,
two of which are above the spiracle and brown,
the third below the spiracle and orange red,
being seated in a conspicuous spot of the same
showy colour; below the spiracles and extend-
ing from the fifth to the twelfth segment is a
zigzag and moderately wide pure white stripe,
interrupted by the orange spots just described;
the posterior half of the dorsal surface of each
segment is orange-brown irregularly lined with
black; the ventral surface, legs, and claspers
are smoke-coloured, approaching to pitchy-red:
the fifth wart on each side is situated at the
base of a clasperor in a corresponding site, when
the clasper is absent; it is smoke-coloured; all
the bristles are red-brown. It feeds on the
common knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare),
dock, and strawberry, both wild and cultivated,
and many other plants: it is particularly fond
of those strawberries which are cultivated
under the name of “alpine : ” when full-fed,
it spins a cocoon near the ground and therein
turns a CHRYSALIS, and remains in that state
during the winter.
In May and June, the MOTII appears on the
wing, and is very common both in England
and Ireland, and Mr. Douglas Robinson in-
forms me it is taken in Kirkcudbrightshire, in
Scotland. (The scientific name is Acronycta
Jºumicis.)
bred a considerable number of this species,
smaller and darker than usual; and has
most kindly presented some to me for figur-
ing in this work : this variety is represented
in the second figure. -
434. The Scarce Dagger (Acronycta auricoma).
434. THE SCARCE DAGGER.—The antennae
are simple; the colour of the fore wings is
dingy-gray mottled with darker markings, but
all of them confused and indistinct; the or-
bicular spot is surrounded by a paler ring, and
usually has a black dot in the centre; the reni-
form is scarcely discernible ; there is a black
streak at the base of the wing and another
near the anal angle, both very obscure : the
hind wings are pale brown-gray with pale
gray fringe : the head and thorax are of the
colour of the fore wings; the body of the
colour of the hind wings.
The GATERPILLAR rests in nearly a straight
position, but falls off its food-plant, assuming
a crescentic form when disturbed; its head is
manifestly narrower than the second segment,
into which it is partially received when at
rest, but porrected when crawling; the body is
of nearly equal size throughout, but exhibits
the division of the segments in a very decided
manner; each segment has six or eight warts,
each of which emits a fascicle of radiating
hairs; four of these warts forming a square
on the back, are more conspicuous than the
rest ; on the thoracic segments the dorsal
warts form a transverse series: the head is
black and shining; the body smoky-gray with
a broad black band round each segment; the
warts are orange-coloured, the hairs they emit
are yellowish; the spiracles are white; the
ventral is paler than the dorsal area, but of
the same smoky-gray colour. It feeds on
bramble (Rubus fruticosus), and is full-fed the
... …— . ... ººº-ºº----- * - “-

NOCTUAS.
middle of July, when it spins a silken cocoon
on the underside of a bramble-leaf, and therein
turns to a dark brown cIIRYSALIs.
The MOTH appears in about a fortnight and
is extremely local, being almost confined to
the counties of Kent and Sussex. (The
scientific name is Acronycta auricoma.)
Obs. Mr. Doubleday thinks this species may
be double-brooded: the moth certainly appears
in May from chrysalids of the preceding
autumn. - g
435. The Light Knot. Grass (Acronycta
Memyanthidis).
435. THE LIGHT KNoT-GRASS.–The an-
tennae are simple, but stouter in the males than
in the females; they always possess an ochreous
tint: the colour of the fore wings is pale gray
with black markings, as follows:—at the
middle of the base is a short streak which
generally unites with an angulated transverse
line crossing the wing very near the base;
beyond the middle is a second and bent line;
between these two lines are the two discoidal
spots, the orbicular is generally a small and per-
fectly circular ring, but sometimes it is a solid
spot having no pale central area; the reniform
is large but less clearly defined; the hind-
marginal area of the wing is darker than the
median or basal areas: the costal margin and
fringe are spotted: all these markings are
subject to be suffused and indistinct : the
hind wings are brown-gray with a whitish
fringe: the head is gray; the thorax gray,
with a black line on each side at the base of
the wing; the body is gray.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position on the twigs of the sweet-gale (Myrica
gale), on the leaves of which shrub it feeds:
the head is rather narrower than the second
segment; the body is of almost uniform sub-
stance throughout, and rather obese, the
segments swollen in the middle, the incisions
between them very decided ; each segment
has a transverse series of warts, and each wart
emits a radiating fascicle of longish hairs : the
colour of head, body, legs, and claspers is
black, excepting the warts which are bluish,
the spiracles which are white, and an in-
terrupted stripe below them which is bright-
red.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
has occurred in most of those boggy districts
in England where the sweet-gale grows.
(The scientific name is Aeronycta Menyan-
#hidis.) -
Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the
loan of the beautiful varieties represented in
the third and fourth figures,
436 The Sweet-gale Moth (Acronycta Myrica).
436. THE SweBT-GALE MoTH.—The anten-
nae are slender and simple; the costal margin of
EDWARD NEWMAN's BRITISub
Motiis, No. 17. I’ltic E 6p.)
| Losmos : W. Twº EDIE,
! . 337, SrraN 1).




258 BRITISH
MOTHS.
the fore wings straight, the tip rather prolonged
and rather pointed, the hind margin rather
oblique; their colour is dark lead-coloured
gray, mottled and marbled; at the base of the
inner margin is a slender dash of white; the
orbicular and reniform spots are visible in out-
line only; the fringe is spotted: the hind
wings are white in the male with darker wing-
rays and a marginal series of dark dots; dark
smoky-brown, almost black, in the female, with
white fringe : the head, thorax, and body are
of the same colour as the fore wings.
The MoTH appears on the wing in May and
June, and occurs plentifully at Rannoch, in
Scotland, and has also been taken at Killarney,
in Ireland, but hitherto not in England. (The
scientific mame is …ſcronycta J/yrica.)
. The Powdered Wainscot (Simyra renosa).
487. THE PowDERED WAINscot.—The am-
tennae are almost simple in both sexes, but
those of the male are rather stouter than those
of the female: the fore wings are slightly
arched on the costa, and very sharply pointed
at the tip; their colour is white, approaching
to cream colour, with a narrow longitudinal
stripe of dark brown originating at the base
of the wing, and running along the middle of
the wing, but not quite reaching the hind
margin : the whole area of the wing is more
or less thickly sprinkled with brown dots: the
hind wings are snowy white : the head and
thorax are creamy white, the body snowy
white.
The Egg is laid on the leaves and stems
of the common reed (Arundo Phragmites),
in June, and the young CATERPILLARs emerge
in about fourteen days, and feed on that
plant. - .
The full-grown caterpillar rests in a nearly
straight position on the reed, but when
annoyed rolls itself in a very compact ring
and falls to the ground. The head is rather
narrower than the body, and very glabrous;
the body is cylindrical with the segmental
divisions clearly indicated, and each segment
has a transverse series of prominent warts,
each wart crowned with a fascicle of radiating
hairs.
a white W-shaped mark on the face, two
whitish lines on the crown, a whitish blotch
ini the middle of each cheek, and a conspicuous
white base to the antennal papillae; the colour
of the body is varied; there is a broadish but
irregular medio-dorsal black stripe, then a
lateral stripe of a creamy-white colour, in
which are situated two reddish warts in each
segment, the bristles emitted by the warts being
black; then follows a broad gray or mottled
stripe on each side; this is really composed of
black and white spots, the mixture of which
gives the gray colour, this stripe also contains
a wart on each segment, and below this wart
a white spiracle; bélow this broad mottled
stripe is the skin-fold, which is white with a
reldish wart-like spot on each segment; the
ventral area is honey-yellow, the legs varie-
gated and shining; the claspers honey-yellow
tinged with green, semi-transparent, and with-
out gloss. When full-fed it draws together the
edges of one of the broad leaves of the reed,
and spins a perfectly white cocoon on the
upper surface of the leaf, but before this
habitation is finally closed, it collects a num-
ber of fragments of the leaves, and in some
instances those of smaller grasses, and laying
them side by side with much care, skill, and
neatness, binds them together with silk, and
thus forms a kind of roof to protect the co-
coon in which it changes to a CHRYSALIS, and
in which also it has to pass the winter.
The MOTH appears on the wing about mid-
summer, and has been found only in the fen
districts of Cambridgeshire. Both the cator-
pillar and cocoon are very conspicuous objects
on the reeds, and both, as well as the perfect
insect, exhibit many striking similarities to
some of the Ursines. (The scientific name is
Simyra venosa.)
The colour of the head is black, with

438. The Brown-line Bright-eye (Leucania conigera).
438. THE BRowN-LINE BRIGHT-Eye.—The
antennae are slightly ciliated in the male,
simple in the female : the fore wings have the
costal margin very straight, the tip almost
pointed; their colour is raw-sienna brown with
two slender transverse umber-brown lines, the
first of which originates on the costa at about a
Quarter of the distance from the base towards
the tip ; it runs obliquely nearly to the
middle of the wing, and then turns abruptly
to the inner margin and joins it at a third of
the distance between the base and anal angle;
the second originates on the costa at three-
fourths of its length, and runs obliquely to-
Wards the inner margin, and joins it at two-
thirds of the distance between the base
and anal angle ; the orbicular and reniform
spots are between these two lines, the orbi-
cular scarcely perceptible, the reniform very
conspicuous and shaped something like the
letter S, the upper portion being ochreous, the
lower brilliantly white: the hind wings are
gray-brown with a brick-dusty tinge: the head
and thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings, the body of the
hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR has been found in May, and
is described in the third volume of the Entomo-
logists’ Monthly Magazine, by Mr. Buckler.
Six specimens were received by that gentle-
man, three of them of a bright ochreous tint,
and the other three were of an almost uniform
gray colour. It is nearly cylindrical in form,
but tapers slightly at the anterior extremity:
in the ochreous variety, Mr. Buckler says,
“The colour of the back is deep ochreous, the
dorsal line pale Sulphur-yellow, enclosed on
either side by a black line, and well defined
in its entire length. The sub-dorsal line
same colour as the
rather broad, of equal width, and uninter-
ruptedly black throughout, followed by a pale
yellow line, finely edged below with black;
next, a stripe of pale ochreous, then another
pale yellow line finely edged above with
black, and followed by a broad stripe of deep
ochreous, and broadly edged with black, both
above and below, the black spiracles being
along the lower edge. Above the legs is a
stripe of pale dull ochreous, the belly and
claspers being slightly darker, the anterior
pairs of black dots visible only on the back of
each segment. The head is brownish, streaked,
and mottled with black. The other variety is
of a brownish-gray tint, with all the lines and
stripes less distinct, but all disposed in the
same order as above described; but the yellow
lines of the former are, in these, represented
by lines of gray, and the ground colour of the
back is brownish gray.” It feeds on several
grasses, preferring that plague of the gardener
called couch-grass, spear-grass, or squitch
(Triticum repens), and is full-fed at the end of
May. - -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July; it is
common and generally distributed in England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Leucania conigera.)
439. The Delicate (Leucania ritellina).
439. THE DELICATE.—The antennae are very
slightly pubescent in the male: the fore wings
are straight on the costa and rather blunt at
the tip; their colour is delicately pale ochre-
ous, the reniform spot and three slender zigzag
transverse lines being slightly darker, indeed,
tinged with brown; the first of these trans-
verse lines crosses the wing half way between
the base and the reniform spot, and is nearly
direct, but very indistinct, indeed scarcely
perceptible; the second and third are very


2(3()
BRITISH MOTHS.
oblique, and divide the area between the reni-
form and hind margin into three nearly equal
parts; the wing-rays are slightly darker than
the ground colour: the hind wings are very
pale ochreous white, the wing-rays are slightly
darker : the head and thorax are of the most
delicate ochreous; the body silky.
The CATERPILLAR has been minutely
described and most carefully figured in
Boisduval's Collection des Chenilles ; and I
can obtain no information respecting it from
any other source: it rests on a blade of grass
in a perfectly straight position ; the head is
small, manifestly narrower than the second
segment; the body is nearly uniformly cylin-
drical from the fourth segment to the eleventh,
but tapers at both extremities; the colour of
the head is ferruginous-brown reticulated with
black; of the body a very pale reddish brown;
there are two narrow white stripes on each
side, and each of these stripes is slightly inter-
rupted at the incisions of the segments, and
also bordered on both sides with pale brown ;
below these are the spiracles quite black,
and below the spiracles is a broader stripe
very pale, but not so nearly white as those
already described ; and below this is a pale
brown stripe which touches the legs and
claspers; the ventral is paler than the dorsal
area, and the legs and claspers are concolorous
with the belly: the text describes the first
and last segments as having a reddish dorsal
plate, but the figure does not exhibit this
character.
the beginning of spring feeding on grasses,
and undergoes pupation in February, March,
and April, buried in the earth, but without
spinning a cocoon : the CHRYSALIS is of a dull
reddish-brown colour, and is furnished at the
caudal extremity with a number of small
hooks, two of which are larger than the others,
distant from each other and parallel.
Two specimens only of this delicate insect
have been taken in England, both of them at
Brighton, by Mr. Thorncroft, who has kindly
presented one to my collection with the view
of offering all entomologists the opportunity
of examining it. (The scientific name is
Leucania wifellina.)
******T***** *** --------------------------------- - ---. --- - - -
It is found during winter and at
A
440. The Double-line (Leucania tured).
440. TME DOUBLE-LINE.—The antennae are
very slightly pubescent in the male, simple in
the female: the fore wings are dull brick-
dust red with two transverse dark brown lines;
the first is slightly waved, but its direction is
nearly straight; the second is oblique and
slightly waved near the inner margin; the
orbicular spot is wanting; the reniform spot
is narrow, crescentic and whitish : the hind
wings are brown in the disk, reddish round
the margins: the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the fore wings, the body of
grayish brown, more or less inclining to brick-
dust red.
Guenée says that the CATERPILLAR is of
a yellowish gray colour, with a slender Whitish
medio-dorsal stripe, and a lateral stripe in the
region of the spiracles which divides th9
caterpillar into two colours, the whole of the
ventral being decidedly paler than the dorsal
area; there is also a very imperfect series of
dorsal lozenges, which are brighter on each
side: the head is pale, horny, Shining, and
unspotted ; the spiracles are very obvious,
each has a black circumscription : the legs are
of the same colour as the body. It feeds in
February and Maréh on the grasses which
grow in woods, more particularly on the Spring
wood-rush (Luzula vernalis), a species which
does not occur under that name in the British
flora. In Britain, Luzula pilosa and L. cam-
pestris, two very common species of wood-rush,
are likely to be its food-plants.
The Moth appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken principally on our south coast,
as at Folkestone, Rye, Worthing, Lewes,
Brighton, and in the New Forest of Hampshire.
It occurs at Epping, but is rare; it was
formerly abundant in Hainault Forest. (The
scientific name is Leucania ſured.)
------------------------- - - -- ~~~~

NO{TUAS.
441. The Clay (L, tcania litharſ/yria),
441. THE CLAY-The antennae are slightly
pubescent in the male, simple in the female :
the fore wings are reddish-gray, the red having
a brick-dust tinge ; there is a bent transverse
series of ten or eleven brown dots curving
across the wing nearly parallel with the hind
margin ; the orbicular spot is absent; the
reniform is reduced to a small whitish dot :
the hind wings are smoky-brown, the fringe
paler : the head, thorax, and body are nearly
of the same colour as the fore wings.
The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe has described
the CATERPILLAR in the Zoologist for 1861, as
under:-‘‘The ground colour is ochreous or
reddish-drab, the central dorsal line slender
and blackish, with a white centre; the sub-
dorsal lines are broad and deep black, bordered
with white on the lower side; between the
dorsal and sub-dorsal lines is a very slender in-
distinct dusky line. The spiracles are black in a
whitish ring; and between the latter and the
sub-dorsal lines is a whitish waved lime edged
with black; between the spiracles and legs
are two conspicuous yellow lines; the belly is
destitute of spots or markings: the Šub-dorsal
lines vary much in intensity of colour : it
feeds by night, in April or May, on various
species of grass, concealing itself by day, and
crawling up the blades as soon as it is dark:
it is full-fed from the middle to the end of :
May. The CHRYSALTs is of a bright red
colour, and is enclosed in an earthen cocoon.”
The MOTII appears on the wing in July, and
is common in almost every part of England,
Ireland, and Scotland. It has a remarkably
delicate appearance, the colours being ex-
quisitely blended. (The scientific name is
Leucania lithargyria.)
|
}
i
42. The American Wainscot (Leucana extraſted).
442. THE AMERICAN WAINscot.—AI. Guené
says that the species varies greatly in size, but
is always larger than Leucania lithargyria ;
the circumscription of the wings is, however,
altogether different, and rather resembles that
of Heliothis armigera and H. peltigera: the
fore wings are very pointed at the tip; their
colour is gray, more or less tinged with red,
but sometimes whitish, thickly sprinkled with
black scales : the two discoidal spots are
detached, and of a light colour, more or less
tinged with red; below the reniform spot there
is a white dot indistinctly surrounded with
black: there is no trace of lines, but the series
of black dots which represents the elbowed
line, is often very distinct; an oblique black
streak which originates in this series ascends
to the tip of the wing, and this, in conjunction .
with the form of the wing, is a principal
characteristic of the species: the hind wings
are semi-transparent and gray, with the hind
border and Wing-rays blackish : there is
scarcely any difference in the sexes.
The MoTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber : Mr. Bond captured one specimen at
sugar at Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight, on
the 6th of that month, 1859. It has always
been considered an American insect. (The
scientific name is Zeueaned extranea.)
443. The Obscure Wainscot (Leucania obsoleta).
443.- THE OBSCURE WAINSCOT. — The am-
tennae are slightly ciliated in the male, simple
* ---- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----ºf---- ------------ -


262
IBRITISH MOTHS.
in the female : the fore wings are pale wains-
cot-brown, the wing-rays being a shade lighter;
on each side of each ray is a delicate line of
darker brown, and in the interspace between
the rays is a similar slender brown line. The
median wing-ray has a pale, almost white spot
at its extremity, and beyond this is a transverse
series of eight or nine black dots; these descend
as far as the third or fourth in a direct line
from the costa, and then trend obliquely to the
middle of the inner margin : the hind wings
are almost white, with the wing-rays and an
apical radiating cloud Smoky-brown ; on the
extreme margin is a series of dark brown
dots: the hind wings are pale gray with dark
brown rays, and a brown cloud on the hind
margin : the head and thorax are exactly the
same tint as the ground colour of the fore
wings; the body is much paler, almost white.
Guenée describes the CATERPILLAR as of a
grayish-yellow colour with a tinge of red,
which is more perceptible at the interstices of
the segments where the skin is folded; there
is a slender white medio-dorsal stripe, bordered
on each side with deep transparent green, and
also a slender whitish lateral stripe; the area
between the medio-dorsal and lateral stripe is
marbled, and is longitudinally divided by
another broader and less clearly defined stripe;
the spiracular stripe is continuous and bright;
the spiracles are black with a dingy gray
centre; the head is pale, reticulated with
brown, and having the upper margin of the
divisions darker; the neck is gray-brown with
three white lines. It feeds by night, in
August and September, on the leaves of the
common reed(Arundo Phragmites), and conceals
itself by day in the hollow stems of the reed,
which it fills with its green excrement : at
the approach of winter it loses its colour, and
passes the whole of that season in the reed-
stems, only changing to a chrysalis in the
following spring. &
The MOTII appears on the wing in June,
and occurs commonly round London in reed-
beds, more especially on the banks of the
Thames: Mr. Birchall records its having been
taken in the County Wicklow, in Ireland, by
--~~~~~~~~~-- *** ----4-------. ----- ~~~~
Mr. Bristow. (The scientific name is Leucania
obsoleta.)
444. The Cosmopolitan (Letteania Loreyi).
444. THE CosMopolitAN.—The palpi are
rather long and porrected, the terminal joint
being short and naked : the antennae are
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
nearly straight on the costa, but slightly
bent and blunt at the tip ; their colour is
pale wainscot-brown with a darker median
dash, which extends from the base beyond
the middle of the wing, and includes a white
spot, which represents the reniform; a simi-
larly coloured shade extends obliquely from
the tip towards the middle of the wing, but
does not reach the median dash; the upper
boundary of this oblique shade is sufficiently
definite, but the lower vanishes in the hind-
marginal area; there is a curved series of
small black dots half way between the cem-
tral white spot and the hind margin ; the
fringe is concolorous with the hind-marginal
area: the hind wings have their hind margin
slightly scalloped ; their colour is very pale
with darker wing-rays, which, in the female,
expand into undefined spots on the hind
margin : the head and thorax are pale wains-
cot-brown; the body is much paler.
The MOTII appears on the wing in July,
and is common to almost all countries—the
south of Europe, Africa, Asia, the islands of
the eastern archipelago, and South America.
In Britain it has only occurred twice, two
specimens having been taken on the race-
course near Brighton by Mr. Thorncroft, one
of our most energetic and successful ento-
mologists. (The scientific name is Leucania
Lorey.)
Z - --- ---------

NOCTUAS.
263
445. The Shore Wainscot (Leucania littoralis).
445. THE SHORE WAINSCOT.-The antennae
are almost simple in the male, quite so in the
female: the fore wings are blunt at the tip,
their colour is a most delicate isabelline brown,
with a median longitudinal slender but con-
Spicuous white line, extending from the base
to the middle of the hind margin; this white
line near its middle emits a short branch
towards the amal angle; the sides of this white
line are darker brown than the rest of the
disk: the hind wings are white, the rays being
slightly darker: the head and thorax are of
the same colour as the fore wings, the body
paler. .
We are indebted to Mſ. Mabille for our
knowledge of the life-history of this species:
it is published in the “Annals of the Entomo-
logical Society of France,” in the first quarterly
part for 1863. The EGG is laid in July among
the grasses which grow on the sand-hills by
the sea-side, and the young caterpillar, emerg-
ing before the winter, hybernates, burying
itself in the loose sand : in early spring it
eats very little and grows very slowly; it is
of a very delicate constitution, and when in
confinement, the accidental omission of any of
the attentions necessary for its welfare, is at
once fatal to its existence; as spring advances
it feeds more freely, and grows more rapidly,
but never thinks of leaving the vicinity of its
birth-place, when its presence is rendered
apparent by the abundance of its yellow-
green excrement on the sand : if this be
absent, the entomologist has no chance of
finding the caterpillar. The full-grown
caterpillar has a flattened porrected head,
rather wider than the second segment, and
rather broader at the mouth than on the
crown ; the body is nearly cylindrical, but is
slightly attenuated at both extremities; the
;
divisions of the segments are clearly defined,
and the segments themselves are full and
tumid; there is a glabrous plate longitudinally
divided on the back of the second segment :
the colour of the head is shining testaceous-
brown with a white line down the face, and
a white neck; the plate on the second seg-
ment is also shining testaceous-brown; the
body is pale gray tinged with red, but varies
in different individuals, some having a brighter
tint, others are of a plain ashy-gray colour:
the dorsal area is gray intersected by a narrow
white medio-dorsal stripe, and bounded on
each side by a compound stripe, the middle
portion of which is pale, the two borders
composed of elongate dark markings; this
compound stripe is followed by a narrow
white stripe, and this again by a narrow
isabelline-brown stripe; then another white
stripe and another isabelline stripe; and,
lastly, there is a broad milky-white stripe,
which includes the black spiracles; below
this the colour is testaceous-gray, a colour
which also pervades the claspers; the ventral
area is tinged with green. In a state of
nature, this caterpillar feeds exclusively on
the maritime grass, so valuable, in an econo-
mical point of view, in binding the sandy
dunes of our sea-shores, and so familiarly
known under the names of “marram,” “mat-
weed,” and “sea-reed” (Ammophila arundi-
nacea), but in confinement it. will eat sedges
(Carew riparia and C. sylvatica). When full-
grown, it emits a gummy fluid from its mouth,
and, mingling this with the loose grains of
dry sand, constructs therewith a cocoon rather
larger than a partridge's egg ; the grains of
sand are arranged with some regularity on
the outside of this cocoon, but its powers of
cohesion are very limited, and the contour of
the cocoon is easily (disturbed : in the interior
the caterpillar changes to an elongate CHRY- .
SALIs, of a bright yellow tint, having still
paler wing cases: it remains in the chrysalis
state from fifteen to twenty days.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June
and July, and is very local in England; it has
been taken on the sand-hills at New Brighton,
in Cheshire, and abundantly at Lytham, in

264
BRITISH MOTHS.
ſ
Lancashire, in the Isle of Wight, and on the
east coast of Ireland.
Leucania littoralis.)
(The scientific name is
446. The Striped Wainscot (Leucania pudorina).
446. THE STRIPED WAINscot.—The antennae
of the male are slightly ciliated; the fore
wings have the costa straight, the tip blunt, and
the hind margin rather arched; their colour is
ochreous, strongly tinged with a rosy hue, and
thickly sprinkled with dark-brown scales which
occupy the wing-rays; on the upper side of
the median ray these dark scales are numerous
and crowded, and foln a rather conspicuous
streak along the middle of the wing; they are
also more crowded towards the costal and hind
margins, near the latter forming decided
markings which diminish to points towards
the central disk: the hind wings are dingy
gray-brown; the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the fore wings; the base of
the body is rather paler; the rest of the body
inclining to a reddish tint. .
The Eägs are laid on the common reed
(Arundo Phragmites) and on several grasses on
which the CATERPILLAR feeds. The full-grown
caterpillar rests in a perfectly straight position,
and when disturbed falls off its food plant and
forms a lax ring, but almost immediately un-
folds to resume the straight position. The
head is porrected, and of the same width as
the second segment: the body is obese, cylin-
drical, and tapers towards the anterior ex-
tremity. The colour of the head and body is
pale wainscot brown: the head being glabrous,
and having darker reticulated markings, and
two approximate longitudinal dark stripes on
the face, which diverge at the clypeus; the
body has two closely approximate but very
narrow and very indistinct medio-dorsal black
stripes, exterior to which are numerous very
delicate reticulated or rivulet markings of a
smoky black colour; again, exterior to the
somewhat wide space occupied by these, is a
distinct double stripe on each side, of a dark
smoke-colour, almost black; this has the ex-
terior margin darker than the interior margin,
and bounded by a narrow lighter stripe, which
makes it still more conspicuous; exterior to
this are four lateral stripes, each composed of
multitudinous. delicate markings, the lowest
on each side containing the perfectly black
spiracle; below the spiracles is a broader
pale stripe, and then a delicately reticulated
surface of rather a darker hue ; each segment
has two very small but intensely black dots
on its dorsal surface, equidistant from the
double medio-dorsal stripe and the next dark
stripe ; and ranged along each side is a series
of black dots, one above and another behind
each spiracle; and similar black dots occur
below the lowest lateral stripe; the ventral
surface, legs, and claspers, are of the same
pale wainscot-brown as the general, dorsal
surface. -
The MoTH appears on the wing in July,
and has been taken in the southern, castern,
and northern counties of England, and Mr.
Birchall says it is abundant at Killarney, in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Leucania
pudorina.) g
447. The Shoulder-striped Waimscot (Leucania Comma).
447. THE SHOULDER-STRIPED WAINSCOT.—
The antennae of the male are slightly pubes-
cent; the fore wings are rather rounded at
the tip; their colour is wainscot-brown with
a whitish dash under the costa, originating at
the base and cxtending nearly to the tip of
the Wing; the median wing-ray is white,


NOCTUAS.
265
and the parallel rays running to the hind
margin are pale; there is a dark brown dash
beneath the median ray, and in each inter-
space between the parallel wing-rays is a
shorter dash of the same colour: the hind
wings are pale smoky brown gradually growing
darker towards the fringe, which is lighter;
the rays are darker : the head, thorax, and
body are wainscot-brown.
The EGG is laid on cock's-foot grass (Dactylis
glomerata) and other grasses in June, and the
cATERPILLAR probably hybernates, not being
full-fed until the following spring; it feeds
almost exclusively by might, reposing by day
near the ground, on the stem of its food-
plant, in a perfectly straight position : when
annoyed, it rolls itself in a compact ring,
falling to the ground and remaining con-
cealed at the roots of the grasses. The
head is semi-globose, of the same breadth as
the second segment; the body is almost
uniformly cylindrical, slightly narrower to-
wards the anal extremity; the anal claspers
project beyond the anal flap and are slightly
spreading. . The head is glabrous, wainscot-
brown, delićately reticulated with darker
brown, and having two dark-brown stripes
down the face which approximate on the
crown, but divide towards the mouth, en-
closing the clypeus; the colour of the body
is wainscot-brown, variegated throughout the
dorsal surface with delicate rivulet markings,
of both darker and paler brown, and having
four black dots, arranged as a trapezoid, on
the dorsal surface of every segment, from the
fifth to the twelfth inclusive; the second
segment has a semicircular semi-corneous
plate, its truncated margin next the head :
this is traversed by three distinct pale
stripes, which are continued indistinctly
throughout the entire length of the cater-
pillar, and are bordered with dark brown
dots and shades, here and there massed into
patches; the spiracles are intensely black,
and immediately below them is a rather broad
and very distinct pale stripe; the ventral
surface is tinged with purplish semi-trans-
parent green; the legs and claspers are of
the same colour; it changes to a smooth
brown CHRYSALIS beneath the surface of the
ground.
The MOTH appears in June, and is found in
most of our English counties, north, mid-
land, and South; it is also common in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Leucania Comma.)
448. The Devonshire Wainscot (Leucania putrescene).
448. THE DEvoNsh.IRE WAINSCOT.-The an-
tennae are slender in the males, still more so in
the females; the wings are straight on the
costa, blunt at the tip, slightly scalloped on
the hind margin; their colour is very. pale
wainscot-brown, with a median longitudinal
dash of dark brown, in the middle of which
is a slender white lunule; there are a number
of dark brown longitudinal streaks towards
the hind margin, and these are separated and
rendered more conspicuous by six white wing-.
rays: the hind wings are pearly white, with
a marginal series of black dots alternating
with smoky wing-rays; the head and thorax
are wainscot-brown, tinged with gray; the
latter has two transverse dark lines on the
neck, the posterior of which emits two longi-
tudinal branches parallel with the base of the
wings, and directed towards the base of the
boily, which is pale gray brown.
The CATERPILLAR has been described by
Mr. Buckler in the second volume of the
“Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine : ” it was
found feeding on grass in the month of October;
its colour was pale grayish ochreous, striped
longitudinally after the manner of its con-
geners. The head is mottled with dusky-
gray and ochreous, with a black streak border-
ing the front of each lobe, followed by a
white streak on each side of the central
portion : the dorsal line is whitish, con-
spicuous only on the second, third, and fourth
segments, and afterwards nearly obliterated
by the dusky edging enclosing it ; and on

266
either side a dorsal broad stripe of mottled
grayish-ochreous, followed by a pale ochreous
stripe, and a grayish-ochreous darker stripe.
The sub-dorsal line is whitish, very finely
edged above and below with dusky grayish-
brown, followed by a broad stripe of mottled
ochreous, and then by a lateral whitish line,
finely edged with dark grayish-brown; below
this is a broad grayish-brown stripe, the
spiracles being situated along its lower edge,
the belly and legs pale ochreous. The ordi-
nary spots and spiracles are black. The
shining plate on the second segment is dusky
between the lines.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
occurs in great abundance on the Devonshire
coast. (The scientific name is Leucania
putrescens.)
449. The Southern Wainscot (Lºucania straininet).
449. THE SOUTHERN WAINSCOT.-The an-
tennae are very slightly ciliated in the male,
perfectly simple in the female: the fore wings
are pointed at the tip; their colour is a very
delicate wainscot-brown with a slightly darker
dash from the base along the middle of the
wing; the wing-rays are rather paler than
the interstices; in the very centre of the
wing is a black dot, and half way between
this and the hind margin is an oblique trans-
verse series of black dots, some of them very
inconspicuous, but two are distinct, and these
form a triangle with the central dot; there is
also a series of seven or eight small circular
black dots on the very margin; the hind
wings are white, but have an obscure trans-
verse median series of small black dots, and a
marginal series of still smaller ones ; some of
the interstices between the wing-rays are
indistinctly clouded with smoky brown ; the
head and thorax are delicate wainscot-brown;
the body white.
.*.*.*-----
\ --------. . . . -- . . e., º.º.º. .
BRITISH MOTHS.
Guenée says, that although the perfect
insect has been well described by Treitschke,
it is not so with the CATERPILLAR, which varies
greatly, if we may judge by the published de-
scriptions. This great lepidopterist thus gives
the result of his own observations: its body
is very long, and the ventral surface rather
flattened; the legs are very long ; the head is
lenticular and of a yellowish red colour; there
is a very slender medio-dorsal stripe placed
between two series of black dots; there is
a lateral stripe like the medio-dorsal, but less
distinct ; and a broad and clearly defined
spiracular line on both sides, and having its
margins rather lighter; in the area between
the lateral and spiracular stripes there is a
series of small slender lines alternately
blackish and of the ground colour, or even
lighter; the spiracles are above the spiracular
stripe, whitish and encircled by black: the
first spiracle situated in the neck of the
caterpillar is unusually large :
very pale, with indistinct markings. It is
found in February in damp meadows and on
the banks of streams; and when at rest
stretches itself out in a straight position and
remains motionless.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and was formerly taken in great abundance
among the reeds at Hammersmith; but this
once favourite locality seems likely to be
destroyed, and I know of no other. (The
scientific name is Leucania stramined.)
450. The Smoky Wainscot (Leucania impu ().
450. THE SAIOKY WAINscot.—The antennae
are evidently stouter in the male than in the
female: the fore wings are scarcely pointed at
the tip; their colour is wainscot-brown, the
wing-rays being paler; they have a central
black dot, and between this and the hind
---...-------- ~~~~~~.- …------- ------> -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --- * * * * * * * * <-- - -------------- - - -------> -
the head is


NOCTUAS.
267
margin are two other black dots which com-
bine with the first in forming a triangle : the
hind wings are dark smoke-colour, almost
black, the fringe white : the head and thorax
are wainscot-brown; the body very much
paler.
. The GATERPILLAR has been minutely described
and figured in Boisduval's Collection des Che-
milles, and I have obtained no information
respecting it from any other source; it rests in
a straight position on the blades of grass on
which it feeds; the head is small, much
narrower than the second segment, and por-
rected; the body is cylindrical, except at the
extremities, which are tapering; the colour of
the head is reddish brown, with darker re-
ticulations, and six darker lines; the body is
pale reddish gray : there is a medio-dorsal
stripe intersected by a white thread-like line,
and this is bordered by a rather broad
brownish stripe, which has two black dots in
each segment, really four on each segment,
two on each side of the medio-dorsal stripe,
and each of these black dots emits a small
bristle : on each side are two compound
stripes paler than the ground colour, one
above, the other below the spiracles ; both
these stripes are pale yellow-gray and rather
broad, and both are intersected throughout by
a median red portion which seems to have no
clearly defined boundaries; the ventral is paler
than the dorsal area, and slightly tinged with
green, the spiracles are oval, reddish, and
edged with black: the legs are reddish, the
claspers are concolorous with the ventral
area, but each has two black points and a
little cloud on the outside : it undergoes
pupation in the earth without spinning any
cocoon, and changes to a smooth CHRYSALIs of a
dull deep red brown, which has a number of
hooks at the anal extremity, two of which are
longer and every way larger than the rest:
they are widely separated at the base, but
approach at the tips. * *
The MOTH appears on the wing about mid-
summer, and continues throughout July; it
is very abundant in England, Ireland, and
Scotland. (The scientific name is Leucania
ºmpura.)
Obs. A series of Scotch specimens, most
kindly presented to me by Mr. Birchall, are
rather smaller, and have the hind wings much
blacker than English ones.
451. The Common Wainscot (Leucanía pallens).
451. THE COMMON WAINSCOT.-The antennae
are very slightly thicker in the male: the fore
wings are obtuse, almost rounded, at the tip;
their colour is pale wainscot-brown, very fre-
quently inclining to red, the tint being very
delicate and beautiful; the wing-rays are
very pale, nearly white; there is a black dot
in the very centre of the wing, and two others
between this and the hind margin, the three
forming a triangle: the hind wings are white,
the wing-rays and a portion of the interspaces
slightly clouded; there are a few dots on the
wing-rays, in Some specimens forming a
median series; the fringe is pure white; the
head and thorax are wainscot-brown; the
body paler. *
The cATERPILLAR has been reared from the
EGG which hatched in September; it feeds
on grass and lives through the winter; it is
full-fed about the middle of March or during
April, and is thus described by Mr. Buckler
in the third volume of the “Entomologists’
Monthly Magazine : ” its form is cylindrical,
its colour ochreous or grayish ochreous, with a
whitish dorsal line outlined with dark gray
running through the middle of an oval mark
of brownish-gray on each segment; the sub-
dorsal line is whitish-margined above, with a
grayish stripe, and below by a thin brownish
line, and after an interval of the ground
colour, another fine line of brown, edged
below with a thin line of pale ochreous,
followed by a broad stripe of grayish, the
black spiracles being along its lower edge;
below is a broad stripe of pale ochreous; the

268 BRITISH
MOTHS.
belly and legs are ochreous-gray; the ordinary
dots along the back are dark brown, and very
small: the head is mottled with gray-brown.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
July, and August, and is generally distributed
throughout England, Ireland, and Scotland.
(The scientific name is Leucania pallens.)
452. The Flame Wainscot (Meliana flammea).
452. THE FLAME WAINSCOT.-“The antennae
are alike in both sexes, inserted close to
the eyes on each side of the crown of the
head, not very long, setaceous, covered with
scales above, pubescent beneath, the basal
joint very robust. * * * Labial palpi curved
upward, thickly clothed with scales, triarticu-
late, basal joint robust, second scarcely so
thick, cylindrical, truncated obliquely; third,
the longest, spoon-shaped, hollow, coriaceous
at one edge, submembranous and ciliated at
the other, and terminated by a bifid claw or
tooth. * Wings convoluted when at rest,
fore wing rather long and narrow, hind wings
ample. * * * Fuscous with a pale reddish
tinge, fore wings with a brown flame-like
space along the centre (narrowed at the base),
above which is a short narrow ochraceous
stripe, five or six minute brown spots, forming
a curved line near the hind margin, upon
which there are seven minute black spots,
alternating with the wing-rays, which are
w
%. 33
inferior wings
\ , ----------- - - - - - - - - --~~~~
pale, inclining to white towards the costa, the
internal margin sprinkled with dark spots ;
rather paler, their fringe
whitish.”—Curtis's British Entomology, Fars.
201.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
has only been taken at Wicken Fen, in Cam-
bridgeshire, and Yaxley, in Huntingdonshire.
(The scientific name is Meliana flammed.)
Obs. The upper figure is copied from Mr.
Curtis’s “British Entomology,” the lower
figure from a specimen kindly lent me by
Mr. Bond.
©
453. The Silky Wainscot (Seſºta maritima).
--& X-
2. c < , , ,
453. THE SILKY WAINSCOT.-The antennae
are very slightly pubescent, the fore wings are
rather arched in the costa, rather pointed at
the tip, and quite straight on the hind margin
for half its length, when the outline suddenly
bends obliquely to the anal angle; their ground
colour is pale wainscot-brown, silky and
glistening ; the discoidal spots appear to be
always present; sometimes only to be traced
by an extremely slight outline, sometimes


NOCTUAS. 269
plainly visible as black spots; but the orna-
mentation of the wings is so diverse and so
varied, that no description could be compiled
which should include them all, and therefore
four of the most striking variations are selected
as illustrations: the hind wings are pearly
white; the head and thorax are pale wainscot-
brown; the body silky white.
“The CATERPILLAR is yellowish ochreous
with several fine lines (Treitschke). It feeds
on the common reed (Arundo Phragmites), in
September, March, and April.”—Stainton's
Manual, vol. i. p. 191.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and has been taken in the Cambridgeshire
fens, and also in Hammersmith marshes.
(The scientific name is Senta maritima.)
Obs. The moth represented in the third
figure has been named Bipunctata by Haworth,
and is the Ilythia anella of Stephens. This
species is also the Melia seriea of Curtis, and
the Senta Ulvae of Doubleday’s List. I am
indebted to Mr. Bond for the loan of the three
varieties.
454. The Small Rufous (Conobia rufa).
- ' ' . . . "... . . . .
i-4- º • *-
454. THE SMALL RUFOUs.—The antennae
are very slender in both sexes: the fore wings
have the costa rather arched, the tip very
blunt, and the upper portion of the hind
margin very straight; their colour is reddish-
brown, with a median longitudinal dash, and
the wing-rays darker; at some distance from
the hind margin each ray has also a black dot,
and these together form an oblique transverse
series; the lowest ray, that nearest the inner
margin, has two such dots; the hind wings
are dark gray, tinged with brown ; the basal
portion of the fringe is ochreous, the exterior
portion brown; the head and thorax are gray-
brown; the body is paler, and very sparingly
clothed with scales; it is tufted at the ex-
tremity.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July : it
occurs very commonly in the Cambridgeshire
fens, and has been taken at Epping and other
places in the South. (The scientific name is
Coenobia rufa : it is the Monagria despecta of
Doubleday's List.)
455. The Reed Wainscot (Yonagria Cannº).
455. THE REED WAINSCOT. —The antennae
are slightly ciliated in the male, and therefore
appear stouter than in the female : the fore
wings have the costa very slightly arched, the
tip blunt but not rounded, the hind margin
almost straight; their colour is red-brown,
with the median ray dark brown, and ter-
minating in a brown spot, beyond which is an
arched series of dark brown spots, one on
each wing-ray; the lowest wing-ray, that
nearest the inner margin, has two such spots;
the hind margin has sometimes, but not con-
stantly, a dark continuous line; the fringe is
red-brown : the hind wings are dingy brown,
with reddish margins and fringe: the head
and thorax are reddish brown, the body
paler.
“The cATERPILLAR is greenish or yellowish,
with the dots black, the head brownish, the
plate of the second and anal segments greenish
white; the spiracles black (Treitschke). It
feeds on the reed mace (Typha latifolia).”—
Stainton’s Manual, vol. ii. p. 193. *
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and has been taken in the fens of Cambridge-
shire. (The scientific name is Wonagria
Cannae.)
Obs. The very peculiar red colour of
this moth distinguishes it at once from either
of its congeners, which are, generally speak-
ing, very similar in colour, and difficult to
distinguish.


270 BRITISH
MOTHS.
456. The Bull-rush (Nonagria Typhae).
456. THE BULL-RUSH.--The antennae are
ciliated in both sexes, rather most so in the
male : the fore wings have the costa rather
arched, the tip rather blunt, the hind margin
slightly scalloped ; their usual colour is
wainscot-brown, with three transverse series
of small dark spots, the first of which consists
of the usual six or seven spots forming a
curved line, and these are always seated on
the wing-rays; the second of longitudinally
linear or sometimes arrow-like marks, all
seated in the interspaces and not on the wing-
rays, and the third is a hind-marginal series
of crescents on the extreme edge of the wing:
the hind wings are pearly gray, and have a
broad band, more or less conspicuous, of a
smoky black colour, just within the margin :
the ground colour of the fore wings sometimes
varies to a dark umber-brown, and this is
more, especially the case in the male : the
head and thorax are Wainscot-brown, the
body dingy brown. -
The CATERPILLAR is long and maggot-like,
the head very glabrous, and the second seg-
ment having a dorsal plate, which is also
highly polished. The head is reddish : the
body is putty-coloured, inclining to wainscot-
brown, with the plate on the second segment
reddish—indeed, of the same colour as the
head; on each side, above the spiracles, are
two narrow ochre-coloured stripes, the Spi-
racles themselves being black; the ventral
surface, legs, and claspers are pale putty-
coloured, the legs tipped with brown. It
feeds in the stem of the reed mace (Typha
latifolia), eating only the pith until nearly
full-fed, when it prepares a circular hole for
escape, eating away the coating of the reed-
mace, except a very slender skin, almost as
thin as tissue paper: having prepared this
means of escape, it returns up the gallery
it has excavated, and at the end of August
changes to a dark brown CHRYSALIS, the anal
extremity of which is fixed to the wall of its
gallery, and there it hangs with the head
downwards, about an inch and a half above
the hole. - .
The MoTH appears on the wing in Sep-
tember, and occurs commonly in all localities
in England where the reed mace (Typha
latifolia) abounds. Mr. Birchall has not met
with it in Ireland, but gives the County
Wicklow as a locality, on the authority of
Mr. Bristow. (The scientific name is Mona-
gria Typhae.) -
457. The Twin-spotted Wainscot (Nonagria
geminiprotota).
457. The Twin-spotted WAINscot.—The
antennae are nearly simple in both sexes; the
fore wings have the costa rather arched, the
tip blunt, the hind margin nearly straight;
their colour is dingy olive-brown, paler and
inclining to ochreous along the inner margin,
more especially towards the base of the wing ;
in the very centre of the wing is a small
double spot, sometimes white, sometimes dark
brown, and in some instances, white sur-
rounded with dark brown ; and between
this and the base is a second double spot,
often indistinct, and apparently almost absent,


NOCTUAS.
-
but when distinctly present, entirely brown
without any white: the hind wings are plain
brown with paler fringe: the head, thorax,
and body are rather pale brown.
The CATERPILLAR, according to Guenée, is of
a dingy white colour freckled with brown
spots; the head is ferruginous and glabrous,
and the spiracles are black: it resides in the
interior of the hollow stems of the common
reed (Arundo Phragmites), on which plant ex-
clusively it seems to feed.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken near Witham, in Essex, and
in Hammersmith marshes. (The scientific
name is Wonagria geminipuncta.)
458. The Brown- veined Wainscot (Non agria
Arundinet). - . . . . . . . . .
458. THE BROWN-VEINED WAINSCOT.-The
antennae are nearly simple in both sexes; the
fore wings have the costa rather arched, the
tip very blunt, and the hind margin slightly
arched; their colour is ochreous-brown in some
specimens, plain brown in others; in the
former instances there is a darker median
longitudinal dash, and near the extremity of
this is an ocellated nearly circular spot, dark
brown in the centre, and surrounded with
paler brown : in the paler specimens the
Wing-rays are spotted; there are three rather
conspicuous but very small spots above the
ocellated spot, but nearer the base of the
wing, and there is also a hind-marginal series
of dark crescentic spots: the hind wings are
gray-brown and rather paler at the base; they
also have a marginal series of dark crescentic
spots: the head and thorax in the paler
specimens is ochreous-brown; in the darker
red dorsal line (Treitschke).
dissoluta of Treitschke : this is the neuriea of
specimens, dark-brown; the body is long,
slender, and tufted at its tip; its colour is
grayish-brown. -
“The CATERPILLAR is dirty white with pale
It feeds in the
stem of the common reed (Arundo Phrag- “
mites).”—Stainton’s Manual, vol. i. p. 193.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in the fems of Cambridgeshire.
(The scientific name is Wonagria Arundinet; "-
it is the Wonagria neuriea of Doubleday's
List.) - .
Obs. The lower figure represents the variety
Hübner, figs. 659–661, and the Hessii of
Boisduval. The upper figure is the neurica of
Treitschke.
459. Fenn's Nonagria (Yonagria brevilinea).
459. FENN's NoNAGRIA. — “Fore wings
rather sharply angulated at the junction of
the costal and hind apical margins; brownish
ochreous, with numerous scattered black
scales; a sharply-defined short black dash
from the middle of the base; a curved row of
small black dots reaches from the costa to the
inner margin beyond the middle ; apical veins
[rays] conspicuously paler than the ground
colour, apical margin unspotted; hind wings
gray, paler towards the base, a very indistinct
transverse row of black dots, rather beyond
the middle, uniform with those in the fore
wings.”—C. Fenn, in Entomologists’ Monthly
Magazine, vol. i. p. 107. -
The MoTH appears early in August : Mr.
Fenn, to whom we are indebted for a know-
ledge of the insect, and whose description I
have quoted, took a single specimen flying at
dusk among the great reed mace (Typha
latifolia), on the 4th of August, 1864: he has
most kindly lent me the insect to figure for
* -- : * - --- ~~~~ -------d


272
9
MOTHS.
BRITISH
this work. (The scientific name is Monagria
brevilinea.) - -
Obs. I can do nothing more than quote the
description, without expressing any opinion as
to the validity of the species.
$3% % - **f, *, *:
3% ſº
º %iº.
*ść%# §§
460. The Large Wainscot (Calamia littosa).
460. THE LARGE WAINSCOT.-The antennae
are slightly ciliated in the male, which gives
them the appearance of being much stouter
than those of the female, but in both sexes
they are rather stouter than in the congeneric
species: the fore wings have the costa slightly
arched beyond the middle, the tip rather
pointed, and the outline of the hind margin
waved; their usual colour is very pale
wainscot brown, the wing-rays being still
paler, and the interspaces in the immediate
vicinity of the rays being sprinkled with
black scales; beyond the middle of the wing
is a curved series of six or seven black spots,
all of them seated on wing-rays; the ground
colour often varies to reddish-ochreous, and
sometimes to sienna-brown; the hind wings
are pearly white, sprinkled with dark brown
or black scales, and frequently, but not con-
stantly, having a median transverse series of
dark spots, all of them seated on wing-rays :
the head and thorax are usually very pale
wainscot-brown, but vary with the colour of
the fore wings; the body is pearly white,
slightly tinged with wainscot-brown. -
The EGG is laid in August, September,
and even occasionally so late as October, on
the stems of the common reed (Arundo
Phragmites), and the young CATERPILLAR very
shortly emerges, and eats into the stem,
descending towards the roots, on which it
feeds, below the surface of the ground : it
feeds during the remainder of the autumn,
and probably also throughout the winter and
Spring, ceasing and remaining in a quiescent
state only during severe frost: when full-fed,
it gnaws its way upwards, and just above the
surface of the earth it erodes the reed-stem,
in a circular form, sufficiently large to admit
of the escape of the moth, but invariably
leaving a thin epidermal layer of cuticle, just
sufficient to prevent the influx of water in
flood-time, but offering very slight resistance
to the moth, when, having accomplished its
final change in August, it is prepared to enter
on its new career. The caterpillar is full-fed
about midsummer : the head is then exserted
and porrected in crawling, and is nearly equal
in width to the second segment; it is semi-
globose, prominent, and glabrous: the body is
very long, maggot-like, flabby, and gradually
attenuated towards the anal extremity ; there
is a corneous, glabrous, dorsal plate on the
second segment; the dorsal surface is trans-
versely wrinkled when at rest, and has a
lateral skinfold; small bristles are scattered
over the body, more especially on the
thirteenth segment. The colour of the head
is clear chestnut-brown, with black labrum
and mandibles: the body is pale flesh-colour;
the ventral paler than the dorsal surface ; the
legs and claspers of the same pale hue as the
ventral surface. It changes to a smooth
brown CHRYSALIS in the interior of the reed.
The Moth appears on the wing in August,
and has been taken in many of our English
: counties: it has the same predilection for
the common reed (Arundo Phragmites) as
Nonagria Typhae has for the reed-mace. (The
scientific name is Calamia lutosa.)
461. The Fen Wainscot (Calamia Phragmitidis).
461. THE FEN WAINSCOT.-The antennae
are scarcely different in the two sexes: the
fore wings are rather produced at the tip, but
*
i
l
ſ -




N()('TUAS.
2
3
not pointed; they are extremely glossy and of
a very ambiguous colour, pale ochreous at the
base, gradually deepening to an olive-brown
towards the hind margin ; the fringe is
darker than any other part of the wing ; the
hind wings are gray-brown, with the rays
and fringe paler; the head and thorax are
pale ochreous-gray, the body rather darker.
The EGGs are laid in July, on the stems
of the common reed (Arundo Phragmites),
and the little CATERPILLARs soon emerge,
enter the stem through a minute circular
aperture, which they gnaw, and begin feed-
towards the end of the following May
they may be found in the stem, in the
first or second internode from the top. When
full-grown, the caterpillar has a very maggot-
like if removed from the in-
terior of the reed, it does not feign death, or
roll itself in a ring, but is restless, and crawls
incessantly, but not with great activity: the
head is very small and extremely glabrous; it
is porrected in crawling : the body is obese,
and slightly attenuated towards both ex-
tremities; on the dorsal surface of the second
segment is a semicircular corneous plate, the
convex margin of which is behind; the dorsal
surface of the thirteenth segment is entirely
covered by a similar plate; the incisions of
the segments are clearly marked. The head is
intensely black; the body dingy white, with
a large amorphous ill-defined purplish patch
on each side of each segment, except the
second and thirteenth ; the corneous plate on
the second segment is glabrous and brown ;
below it on each side are three black dots; on
the third and fourth segments, respectively,
is a transverse dorsal series of ten black dots;
on each of the following segments are four
such dorsal dots; the anterior pair on each
segment, excepting the eleventh, are rather
nearer together than the posterior pair; on
the twelfth segment they form an exact quad-
rangle ; on the sides are two series of similar
dots; every one of these dots, emits a black
bristle; the ventral surface of the fifth and
sixth segments is purplish, of the others,
dingy white; the legs are rather long, gla-
brous, corneous, and dark brown; the claspers
ing :
i
W
}
i
i
are dingy semi-transparent white; they are
slightly constricted at the base, a peculiarity
which gives them an elongate-linear and
unusual appearance. About the middle, or
towards the end of June, the caterpillar
gnaws a perfectly circular hole in the stem
of the reed, and, descending to the ground,
changes to a CHRYSALIS amongst damp moss.
The Moth appears on the wing about mid-
summer, and is very local: I have taken it on
the banks of the Thames below and opposite
Greenwich, once a delightfully wild and pro-
ductive region for the naturalist; subsequently
it became a perfect hive of industry in our
shipbuilding days : now, owing to the effects
of trades’ unions and strikes among the ship-
wrights, this trade has gone abroad or to the
North, and the wretched inhabitants are
pauperised, and subsisting on parish relief or
private bounty, so that we may look forward
to the return of the whole district to its
pristine state, and that the naturalist will
again revel in undisturbed security and
silence, where the clang of hammers, and the
smell of pitch, and the busy tread and loud
voices of innumerable money-making artizans
once reigned supreme. It has also been taken
in some abundance in the Cambridgeshire
fens. (The scientific name is Leucania Phrag-
mitidis.)
462. The Brighton Wainscot (Synia musculosa).
462. THE BRIGHTON WAINSCOT.-The an-
tennae are slightly pubescent in the male,
quite simple in the female; the wings are
very straight on the costa, blunt, but not
rounded at the tip, and have the hind mar-
gin very oblique; their colour is whitish,
almost white, with a tinge of ochreous, and
there are three very faint and indistinct stripes
originating at the base and diverging: the
hind wings are almost white, and their rays
appearance ;
EDw ARD NEWMAN’s BRITISH N.
Moths. No. 18. PRICE 61).j
LoN Dos : W. TwkEDIE,
| 337, STúANI).

274
BRITISH MOTHS.
darker: the head, thorax, and body are pale
ochreous.
My specimen was taken in August at
Brighton, and Mr. Douglas Wilkinson informs
me it has been taken in Kircudbrightshire, in
Scotland, but I have not seen any specimens
from the North : is the specimen correctly
named 2 (The scientific name is Synia mus-
culosa.) -
463. The Small Wainscot (Tupicosfola fidra).
463. THE SMALL WAINSCOT.-The antennie
of the male are slightly pubescent, and there-
fore appear stouter than those of the female :
the fore wings have the costa quite straight to
the tip, which is rather pointed; their hind
margin is straight at the tip, but rather con-
vex below ; their colour is very various, some-
times whitish gray, sometimes ochreous, or
fulvous, and sometimes even ferruginous or
brick-dust red, but always sprinkled, more or
less, with black or dark-brown atoms or
single scales, and these are so numerous on
the wing-rays and in the vicinity of the sub-
costal and median Wing-rays, and again near
the tip, as to give these parts a decidedly
darker tint; each of the parallel rays has
also a small black dot, and these together
form a curved series almost parallel with the
hind margin; the fringe is nearly concolorous
with the disk of the wing: on the underside
of the moth the central area of the fore wing
is smoky gray, and all the margins are paler:
|
the hind Wings are small, rather narrow and
rather long, in this respect contrasting with
those of Hellmanni; their colour is smoky-
gray, the fringe and costal margin being
paler: the head and thorax vary in colour
with the fore wings, the thorax being densely
clothed with longish scales; the body is
whitish gray, the extremity in the male being
tufted, or rather fringed with long scales.
“The CATERPILLAR is short and thick, dirty-
white with reddish dorsal stripe; a blackish
line above the spiracles (Treitschke). Feeds
in the stems of grass (Poa aquatica), and sedge
(Carew).”—Stainton's Manual, vol. i. p. 193.
The MoTH appears on the wing in September,
and is found in most of our English counties,
north and south. Mr. Birchall informs us
that it is widely distributed in Ireland, and
Mr. Iogan takes it in Scotland. (The scien-
tific name is Tapinostola fulva : it is the
Nonagria fulva of Doubleday’s List.)
464. The Concolorous (Tapinostola concolor).
464. THE CONCOLOROUS. – The palpi are
long and projecting; the antennae are simple
in both sexes: the fore wings are nearly
straight on the costa and blunt at the tip;
their hind margin is straight for half its
length, and then
towards the anal angle ; their colour is dingy
white, slightly tinged with wainscot-brown,
the wing-rays appearing paler from the inter-
spaces being sprinkled with darker atoms or
scales, especially towards the hind margin :
there is an arched series of seven or eight
black dots beyond the middle of the wing,
and somewhat following the course of the
hind margin : the usual discoidal spots are not
rather suddenly bends


NOCTUAS.
275
perceptible: the hind wings are rather darker
than the fore wings, especially towards the
hind margin, and there is a small, faint and
scarcely perceptible discoidal spot: the head
and thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body is paler.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and has been taken in the fens of Cambridge-
shire. (The scientific name is Tapinostola
concolor.)
Obs. Guenée believes this species to be
Jeucania extrema of Herrich-Schaeffer, de-
scribed at great length in his “Systematische”
(Nocturni, p. 228, and figured 337); but
neither the description nor figure exactly
agree with our English insect: the transverse
series of minute spots is not represented in
Herrich-Schaeffer's figure, which, moreover,
has a marginal series of black dots wanting in
Oll]’S.
465. The Mere Wainscot (Tapinostola Hellmanni).
465. THE MERE WAINSCOT.-The palpi are
rather long and projecting ; the antennae
are simple in both sexes; the fore wings are
straight on the costa, pointed at the tip, and
have the hind margin straight for about two-
thirds of its length, and then bent rather
abruptly towards the anal angle; their colour
is reddish-fulvous, all the wing-rays being
darker and speckled throughout ; both the
discoidal spots are plainly perceptible ; they
are outlined in pale ochreous, almost in white,
the enclosed space being nearly of the same
colour as the disk of the wing: the hind
wings are very ample, and their hind margin
is semicircular; their colour is paler than that
of the fore wings, but still faintly clouded
with brown towards the hind margin : the
head, thorax, and body are of the same colour
as the wings; the female is usually smaller
and paler than the male.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken in the fens of Cambridgeshire.
(The scientific name is Yonagria Hellmann.)
466. The Lyme Grass (Topinostola Elymi).
466. THE LYME GRAss. – The palpi are
almost concealed by the long scales in which
they are clothed: the antennae are slightly
stouter in the male than in the female : the
fore wings are straight on the costa, Very
blunt at the tip, and arched on the hind
margin; their colour is pale wainscot-brown
with darker shades, more especially in the
male; the darker colour forms two spreading
streaks, both extending towards the hind
margin : there is a double series of very in-
conspicuous spots on the wing-rays taking the
same curve as the hind margin; in the male
there is an indication of the reniform and
orbicular spots paler than the general area,
and in the female there is a brown spot in the
place of the reniform; in both sexes the
fringe is alternately darker and lighter, but
the contrast is not great; the hind wings.
are very pale and rather silky : the head
and thorax are precisely of the same colour
as the fore wings, the body of the hind
wings.
The MoTH, according to Guenée, has been
taken in Prussia on the shores of the Baltic,
but is very rare : one or two specimens have
been taken in England. (The scientific name
is Tapinostola Elymi.) - &
Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Doubleday
for the loan of the continental specimen I
have figured: I have not an English one.
|
!
|


276 BRITISH MOTHS.
467. Bond's Wainscot (Chortodes Bondii).
467. BoND’s WAINSCOT.-The antennae are
very nearly simple in both sexes; the fore
wings are almost straight on the costa and
almost pointed at the tip, their colour is white
slightly clouded with gray, and having a
curved transverse series of six or seven black
dots parallel with the hind margin; on the
under side of the moth the entire area of the
fore wings, with the exception of the mar-
gins, is smoky brown : the hind wings are
smoky brown with white fringe : the head
and thorax are white, the body pale gray.
The MoTH appears in June and July, and
has been taken in Woolwich marshes, and
also near Folkestone. (The scientific name is
Chortodes Bondi.) -
Obs. It need not be concealed that con-
siderable uncertainty attends the name of
Bondii, most entomologists believing the
species to be identical with the Woctua ea-
trema of Hübner; but on this I am unable to
pronounce with certainty, and therefore pre-
fer to retain the name of “Bondii,” a just
compliment to a most zealous entomologist,
and a kind friend to all who know him. I
would not, however, on these grounds trans-
gress the law of priority were I by any means
certain that the two names under considera-
tion referred to the same insect.
468. The Small Dotted. Buff (Chortodes areuosa).
468. THE SMALL DoTTED-BUFF.
The palpi
are porrected, moderately long and rather
distant ; the antennae are simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are ample, especially
in the male, their costal margin is very
slightly arched, and their tip blunt; their
colour is ochreous, with several dark spots on
the costa, and two series of longitudinally
linear black spots on the disk, and between
these two series is a broad transverse band
slightly darker than the general area, and
more particularly observable in the female,
especially towards the inner margin; there is
a hind-marginal series of transversely linear
spots, and a longitudinally linear mark is
attached to each of them, but soon disappears
towards the disk of the wing: the fringe is
also varied : the hind wings are smoky
brown with a paler fringe: the head and
thorax aredingy ochreous, the body smoky
brown.
The CATERPILLAR is said to feed on the
turfy hair-grass (Aira caespitosa), and to con-
ceal itself in the interior of the enormous
tussocks formed by that beautiful grass, but I
have never succeeded in finding it.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June and
July, frequenting those grassy places in woods
where the Aira abounds in most of our
English counties. (The scientific name is
Chortodes areuosa.) -
Obs. 1. My illustrious predecessor described
the sexes of this insect as distinct species,
and placed them in different genera without
taking any notice of their similarity; the
male is his Phytometra areuosa (Lepidoptera
Britannica, p. 260, No. 17), and the female
his Noctua minima (Id. p. 216, No. 153). In
Doubleday’s List, these are united under the
name of Miana areuosa.
Obs. 2. In concluding the family of Leu-
canidae, it seems desirable to allude to the
changes which it has been deemed right to
make in the names: but I believe I may
state, that where I have departed from the
names and arrangement of Mr. Doubleday's
List, it has been with the entire approval
of that lepidopterist. -


NOCTUAS.
277
º:
ſº
The under-side of the Brindled Ochre.
469. THE BRINDLED OCHRE.-The palpi are
rather slender and compressed, forming a kind
of beak, the divisions of the joints are not per-
ceptible on account of the mass of scales in
which they are clothed; the trunk is very
short, and the moth has rarely been observed
using it for procuring the honey of flowers or
attracted by the sugar-bait prepared by en-
tomologists: the antennae of the male are
doubly fringed, each joint emitting on each
side a fascicle of slender hairs, six or eight in
the fascicle, and these are of different lengths;
the hairs in each fascicle are approximate at
the base, but diverge towards the extremity:
the antennae of the female are dowmy or
velvety, but the down is so short that they
appear simple when viewed with the naked
eye: the head and thorax are thickly clothed,
especially in the males: the wings are ample,
and their fringe remarkably long; the fore
wings have a straight costa and a rounded tip;
their colour is ochreous-gray, the ochreous
tint generally much more apparent in the
males than in the females; both the discoidal
spots are paler than the ground colour, but
very indistinct and sometimes scarcely per-
ceptible, and there are two transverse zigzag
lines darker than the ground colour, but also
like the discoidal spots, very indistinct and
imperfectly defined; the first of them is
nearer the base than the discoidal spots, and
is nearly direct ; the second is exterior to the
discoidal spots, curved after leaving the costa,
and very oblique; the hind-marginal area has
a darker tint than the rest of the wing, but is
interrupted by a pale transverse zigzag line,
very undefined : the hind wings are paler
than the fore wings, and have two indistinct
Inarrow bars rather darker than the ground
colour, the margin is also darker; the head,
thorax and body are dingy gray-brown, in-
clining to ochreous in the male : the fore and
middle thighs are densely clothed with thick
woolly scales as shown in the third figure, in
which it will also be seen that the ornamenta-
tion of the under side is different from that of
the upper. - . -
The hybernated females, impregnated in
the autumn, lay their EGGS in March on the
cow parsley (Heracleum sphondylium), in con-
finement. Mr. Doubleday found that this
event took place about the 20th of March,
and that the eggs were fixed on the under-
side of the leaves, but whether this is so in a
state of nature I am unable to say: the egg is
shaped somewhat like an Echinus, but is
rather taller, and its sides are ribbed ; when
first laid “it is yellowish in colour, with a
pinkish-brown spot on the top, and a ring
rather above the middle; finally turns black
a day or two before the hatching of the eater-
pillar.” The caterpillars “appear about the
20th of April; at first, they are of a dingy
olive colour, with black heads, rather longish-
looking in shape.” “Some began by attack-
ing the leaf itself, and afterwards the stem ;
others made at once for the stem, and com-
menced eating their way into the interior and


278
BRITISH MOTHS.
drinking the sap which flowed in their little
tunnels.” As the caterpillars grow older and
larger, they burrow downwards head foremost,
and make their way slowly but regularly in
the same direction, until eventually they enter
the root, in the very centre of which they
excavate a circular gallery at least half an
inch in diameter; the presence of a cater-
pillar in the root is made apparent by the
drooping or sickly appearance of the plant on
which its destructive powers are being exer-
cised. Removed from its retreat, an operation
which since the slightest
fracture of the skin is fatal, it neither feigns
death nor rolls in a ring, but crawls slowly
and deliberately into some dark recess, and
embraces the first opportunity of concealing
itself in the stem or root of the food-plant. I
need, perhaps, scarcely say that the plant must
be pulled up and the stem carefully split
open until the interior of the root is exposed.
The head is very glabrous and is porrected in
requires care,
crawling, but when the caterpillar is perfectly
quiescent, it is nearly withdrawn into the
second segment: the body is uniformly cylin-
drical, and has a conspicuous corneous plate
on the back of the second, and another on the
back of the thirteenth segment: on the
twelfth are three minor corneous
plates arranged transversely : the colour of
the head and corneous plates is testaceous
brown; the body is dingy flesh-coloured, and
rather shining, and has a number of dark brown
dots on every segment; these dots form a
transverse series on the backs of the third and
fourth segments; they are four in number on
the back of the following segments, from the
fifth to the eleventh, both inclusive; the
twelfth has but two dorsal dots in addition to
the three corneous plates already mentioned ;
on each side of each segment are four such
dots, and within the area bounded by these
four dots is a white spiracle margined with
black, and there is one other such dot on each
side of each segment at the base of each leg
and clasper; every dot emits a minute hair;
on the fifth, sixth, eleventh, and twelfth Seg-
ments are numerous smaller dots of the same
colour, and these are arranged in a transverse
segment
series: the legs and claspers are concolorous
with the body.
The CATERPILLAR is full-fed about the middle
of August, when it makes an aperture in the
side of the root, and leaves its domicile for
ever; it now wanders a considerable distance
from its food-plant, sometimes on the surface
of the ground, but I think generally beneath the
surface : this certainly was the case with
those I had in confinement, which were pro-
vided with loose light earth, in which they
could have burrowed without difficulty; and
having placed a satisfactory space between its
present resting-place and its quondam home,
it makes a rude cell in the earth, and without
the slightest apology for a cocoon, changes to
a smooth dark brown CHRYSALIS, the terminal
or anal segment of which is rather long and
slender, and is furnished with two long and
sharp spines.
Both sexes of the MOTII leave the chrysalis
state in Öctober, and the female is impreg-
nated, after which, it may be presumed, the
male dies, for he certainly disappears; but the
females hybernate, passing the winter under
stones, and may be found motionless and
semi-dormant during the coldest weather:
the entomologist has often found it a finger-
aching and laborious task to remove the heaps
of stones, one by one, in the hope of finding
an occasional prize, and it may not be quite
out of place to remark that the dense furry
clothing of the moth seems especially adapted
for its protection and comfort under such
adverse conditions. It has been found both
in the north and south of England, Yorkshire,
Lancashire, Devonshire, and the Isle of Wight.
The Rev. Job Johnson says he took the female
at the blossoms of the sallow. Mr. Birchall
informs us it is common at Howth, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Dasypolia Templi.)
Obs. 1. –The genus Dasypolia, instituted
for the reception of this single species by
M. Guenée, who was unacquainted with its
economy, is placed by that eminent lepidop-
terist between Polia and Epunda, but having
been most obligingly furnished, by a friend,
with all the materials for a life-history of the
species, and its interesting economy having
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280 BRITISH
MOTHS.
disk, and is yellowish on the sides; the body
is dusky; the anterior pair of thighs is densely
clothed with long woolly scales.
The EGG is laid on the stems of burdock
(Arctium Lappa), thistles (Carduus), elder
(Sambucus migra), hemp agrimony (Eupatorium
cannabinum), fox-glove (Digitalis europa’a),
mullein (Perbaseum thapsus), and even the cul-
tivated potato of our gardens; and the young
caterpillar enters the stems through an exces-
sively small opening, no trace of which can
be discovered a few days after it has achieved
the passage: the plant in which I have most
commonly found this caterpillar is the marsh
thistle(Carduus palustris), and this only by cut-
ting open the stem about midsummer, when the
full-grown caterpillar will be seen comfortably
ensconced in the interior, and devouring the
pith. When removed from its domicile, it
neither feigns death nor rolls in a ring, but
deliberately crawls away to some haven of
refuge, which all the internal feeders seem to
consider dependent on darkness. The head is
narrower than the second segment, into which
it can be partially withdrawn, but when the
caterpillar is crawling, the head is porrected:
it is rather flattened, glabrous, corneous, and
of an ochreous-yellow colour: the body is
nearly cylindrical, but rather attenuated at
both extremities; it has a corneous plate on
the back of the second segment, and another
on the back of the thirteenth segment; both
of these are hard and glabrous, the colour of
these plates is dingy brown : the rest of the
body is soft, maggot-like, and of a pale putty-
colour tinged with yellow or pink, and it has
a number of dark brown dorsal dots on each
segment, each of which emits a minute bristle;
these dots form a transverse series on the
third and fourth segments, and a kind of
square on those which follow; there are also
other lateral dots, generally four. On each side
of each segment; the legs are horny and
tipped with brown; the claspers soft, and of
the same colour as the rest of the body. I
have found these caterpillars full-fed during
the first week in July in the stems of the tall
marsh thistles, which often abound in Joyn-
son’s wood, at the back of the inn at Birch
Wood Corner : scarcely one of these stately
plants escapes, and its fate is plainly indicated
by the sickly and moribund state of the
remarkable clustered head of flowers with
which this species is so conspicuously crowned.
The annual gathering of entomologists at
Birch Wood during the first week in July,
when these observations have been so often
repeated, seems to fix indelibly on the mind
the period when the caterpillar has arrived at
its full growth. When about to change, it
prepares a means of escape by gnawing away
the substance of the thistle-stem, leaving only
the most slender and delicate epidermis which
always remains intact; and then changes to
an elongate, cylindrical, smooth, dark brown
CHRYSALIs, which has a small nipple-like pro-
jection from the crown of the head, and two
sharp spines placed transversely on the ter-
minal or anal segment.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and is generally distributed throughout our
English counties: it is common and widely
distributed in Ireland and Scotland. (The
scientific name is Gortyna flavaffo.)
Obs. This species is remarkably obnoxious
to the attacks of an ichneumon; scarcely one
in twenty seems to reach maturity; but the
mode in which the ichneumon contrives to
introduce its egg into the concealed caterpillar
has not been ascertained.
471. The Ear Moth (Hydroeia nictitans).
471. THE EAR MoTH. — The palpi are
slightly curved upwards, but not very pro-
minent ; the antennae appear thicker in the

NOCTUAS.
281
male, owing to their being slightly ciliated:
the fore wings are nearly straight on the
costa, pointed, but not acutely, at the tip,
and waved, but not scalloped, on the hind
margin ; their prevailing colour is rich ferru-
ginous brown, varied with darker longitudinal
streaks or stripes and transverse lines, which
combine in giving a somewhat reticulated
appearance to the wing. The orbicular is very
round, and usually of a fulvous colour, but
often indistinct; the reniform is usually white,
and very distinct, but sometimes bright ful-
vous; it is divided at its lower extremity into
two portions, and the upper portion contains
an evident reniform mark, in outline corre-
sponding with the exterior outline ; the hind
wings are gray-brown with a paler fringe ;
the head, palpi, antennae, and neck are rich
reddish brown; the thorax darker brown, the
body gray brown, inclining to red towards the
extremity. --
“The CATERPILLAR is dull brown, the dorsal
plate of the second segment darker and shining;
a row of brown dots on each side of the dorsal
line (Treitschke), on roots of various grasses.”—
Stainton’s Manual, vol. i. p. 197.
I have found this pretty little MoTH on the
wing in the middle of the day in all English
localities where I have collected; it is very
fond of settling on flowers. Mr. Birchall says
it is common, and widely distributed in Ire-
land, and Mr. Douglas Robinson that it occurs
in Kirkcudbrightshire, in Scotland. (The
scientific name is Hydracia nictitans.)
Obs. 1. The very common variety of this
insect represented in the second figure, and
having no trace of white in the reniform, is
the Noctua erythrostigma of Haworth (Lep.
Brit., p. 240.) My illustrious predecessor,
although comparing it with the more usual
variety with the white reniform, emphatically
pronounces it “distinct” as a species, a deci-
sion in which I am unable to concur.
Obs. 2. — Hydroecia lucens of Herrich-
Schaeffer must also be referred to this species:
I entirely agree with M. Guenée, who says, “I
confess that I am totally unable to point out
any character by which to distinguish Lucens
from Wictitans.”
472. The Butter-bur (Hydroecia Petasitis).
472. THE BUTTER-BUR. — The palpi are
curved upwards, but are very inconspicuous;
the antennae are delicately ciliated in the
male : the fore wings are slightly arched on
the costa, rather pointed at the tip, very
slightly incurved below the tip, and have the
hind-marginal outline waved but not scalloped;
their colour is gray-brown, suffused in recently
disclosed specimens with a purplish gloss or
reflections: there is a darker median band, in
which the paler reniform and orbicular are
very visible; there is also a hind-marginal
band, the interior border of which is irregular,
but mapped out by a slender gray line : the
wing-rays are thickly sprinkled, but not
entirely covered with pale gray scales: the
hind wings are pale dingy gray-brown, with a
crescentic discoidal spot, a median transverse
line, and a hind-marginal shade rather darker:
the antennae are pale ; the head and thorax of
the same colour as the fore wings; the body
of the same colour as the hind Wings.
“The cATERPILLAR is of a dull whitish colour
with black dots; the head and the dorsal
plates of the second and anal segments reddish-
brown” (Freyer)—Stainton's Janual, vol. i.
p. 198. It feeds in the roots and flowering
stems of the butter-bur (Petasites vulgaris),
and when full-fed leaves its food-plant and
forms a cocoon of earth glued together, and in
this changes to a CHRYSALIS.
The AIOTH appears on the wing in October.
It is likely to be found wherever the butter-
bur (Petasites vulgaris) occurs, but at present
has only been captured in one English county,
Lancashire; in Scotland, near Edinburgh;
in Perthshire; and at Howth, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Hydroeia Petasitis.)
Obs. This species is the Hydrawia vindelicia

282
MOTHS.
BRITISH
of Freyer, Herrich-Schaeffer and Guenée, the
last of whom treats our English insect as a
variety, and retains Mr. Doubleday's name to
the variety only ; as this name has the claim
of priority, and as I am unable to distinguish
between the type and the variety, I retain the
earlier name for the species. -
473. The Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea).
473. THE RosY RUSTIC.—The palpi are short
and inconspicuous; the antennae very slightly
stouter in the males: the fore wings have the
costa very straight, the top pointed, and the
hind margin waved but searcely scalloped ;
their colour is rich reddish brown, with a
broad median band, the limits of which, as
well as those of the orbicular and reniform
spots, are clearly mapped out in outline; the
outer portion of the median band is very rich
dark brown; the space following the outer
portion is much paler, but gradually deepens
in tint to the hind margin, which is marked
by a waved darker line; the hind wings are
dingy gray-brown with a darker crescentic
discoidal'spot and transverse median bar; the
antennae are nearly white; the head and thorax
of the same colour as the fore wings; the body
of the same colour as the hind wings.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is rather
narrower than the second segment ; it is
glabrous and porrected, and has a rather flat
face: the body is soft, fleshy, and maggot-like,
the segments being distinctly marked ; each
has sixteen or eighteen minute black warts,
and each wart emits a minute but rather stiff
bristle; there is a corneous glabrous plate on
the second and thirteenth segments; the colour
of the head is testaceous-red, of the body
grayish flesh-colour, with a very narrow darker
medio-dorsal stripe; the dorsal has more
colour than the ventral surface, which has a
glaucous or bleached appearance; the warts
on the third and fourth segments are arranged
a transverse dorsal series, but not so on the
fifth and following segments, including the
twelfth ; on these segments the dots usually
form something like a triangle on each side of
the medio-dorsal stripe, and three others form
a linear series below them ; the warts, as
well as the bristles, are black; the legs and
claspers are nearly concolorous with the
ventral area. It feeds at the base of the leaves
of sedges (Carew, Cyperus, &c.), but leaves this
situation and buries itself in the earth in order
to change to a CHRYSALTs. - º
The Rosy Rustic appears in the MOTH state
throughout the autumn ; there seems to be a
succession of emergences, as in the case of so
many internal feeders; it has been taken in
most of our English counties. Mr. Birchall
says it is common and widely distributed in
Ireland; and Mr. Douglas Robinson gives it as
a native of Kirkcudbrightshire, in Scotland.
(The Scientific name is Hydroecia micacea.)
474. The Flame (Aarylia prºtris).
474. THE FLAME.-The palpi are short,
rather inconspicuous, slightly curved upwards,
and distinctly separate, the terminal joint is
very short ; the antennae are simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are narrow, straight on
the costa, rounded at the tip, and having
the hind margin very slightly waved ; their
colour is pale wainscot brown, with a dark
umber-brown costal margin, and two blotches
of the same colour on the hind margin ; the
upper of these is somewhat wedge-shaped, the
point of the wedge being directed towards the
reniform spot; the lower, near the anal angle,
is Smaller and almost round; the reniform spot
is indistinctly shaped like the letter S, the
middle being a bent gray line, and surrounded
by a black line, this again by a pale line, and
last by a slender dark brown border; the
orbicular is very inconspicuous, but has the


NOCTUAS.
umber-brown.
same colours; a double series of very distinct
but very small black dots crosses the wing,
half way between the reniform and the hind
margin; the fringe is spotted : the hind wings
are very pale wainscot-brown and semi-trans-
parent, with a very indistinct crescentic dis-
coidal spot, and a series of dark marks on the
hind margin, forming an almost continuous
line: the head, neck, and body are pale
wainscot-brown; the thorax is variegated with
The species rests with its
wings folded round the body, and much re-
sembles a short piece of stick.
The cATERPILLAR is described by Guenée. It
is of a brown colour like the bark of trees, and
having the spiracular stripe dirty white, and
the medio-dorsal stripe very slender, of a
yellowish colour, and marked with a yellow
dot, and two white dots on each segment; the
fifth and sixth segments have also a dark
green triangular spot ; the head is of the same
colour as the body; the spiracles are white,
encircled with black; the twelfth segment is
raised into a dorsal hump almost like that of
Mamestra Persicariae.
low plants.
The MOTH appears in June. It is common
in most of our English, Irish and Scotch
counties. (The scientific name is 4.eylia
putris.)
It feeds in August on
475. The Clouded-bordered Brindle (Xylophasit
* retrea).
475. THE CLOUDED-BORDERED BRINDLE,-
The palpi are rather long and porrected, the
terminal joint long and slender; the antennae
are slightly ciliated in the male: the fore
wings are slightly arched on the costa, more
especially towards the tip, which is blunt, the
hirid margin is waved ; their ground colour is
various, and necessitates the describing of three
varieties.
The first variety is wainscot-brown, with
a dark blotch of the costal margin passing
between the discoidal spots and extending
below them ; there are two similarly coloured
blotches on the hind margin, both of them
pointing towards the middle of the wing, and
a large whitish space on the inner margin;
a double series of small and indistinct dark
dots crosses the wing between the reniform
and the hind margin; all these dots are seated
on the wing-rays: on the extreme hind mar-
gin is a series of crescentic spots, each seated
between the extremities of two wing-rays; the
fringe is pale at the base, the pale bases of the
scales forming a delicate line almost white;
the exterior border of the fringe is spotted
with two shades of brown; the hind wings
are smoky-brown, paler at the base, and
having an indistinct crescentic discoidal spot:
the head and collar are wainscot-brown, the
thorax umber-brown, the body gray-brown and
crested : the tips of the crests are dark smoky-
brown. This is, without doubt, the Rurea of
Fabricius, but it is the Hepatica of Haworth,
whence a confusion of names. -
- The second variety differs in having the
fore wings of a uniform red-brown, the reniform
spot being indicated by a pale line, and a few
other darker and paler dots being scattered
over the wing.
he describes it as the Alopecurus of Esper:
it is represented in the second figure.
The third variety has the fore wings dark
brown, with very little clouding or marbling,
but having the discoidal spots mapped out in
white. This appears to me to be Haworth’s
Combusta, but I believe that name is usually
assigned to the preceding variety: my opinion
is founded on Haworth's expressions fusco-
This is Guenée's variety A:
brunneus and stigmata ordinaria albide margi–
mata, neither of which terms are applicable to
the second variety.

BRITISH MOTHS.
In all three varieties the reniform spot is
of the usual form, the orbicular oblong and
oblique. . .
The CATERPILLAR is obese, cylindrical, Shin-
ing, and of a reddish colour, the second seg-
ment having a darker tint than the rest,
and being adorned with three longitudinal
streaks, which serve as the commencement of
three stripes, one of which is medio-dorsal,
dingy white, and bordered on each side with
brown ; the others are lateral and bordered
on the upper side with brick-dust red; it
feeds on the species of Primula, Rumex, and
several grasses, and when full-fed buries
itself just below the surface of the earth, and
there forms a very fragile earthen cocoon, in
which it changes to a CHRYSALIs.
The Moth appears on the wing in June, and
is common in most of our English counties; it
has also been taken in Scotland by Dr. Gordon,
and it is said by Mr. Birchall to be common
and widely distributed in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Xylophasia rurea.)
476. The Light Arches (Xylophasia lithocyled). .
476. THE LIGHT ARCHES.—The palpi are
curved and very slightly porrected, and the
terminal joint is slender ; the antennae are
slightly ciliated: the fore wings are narrow,
nearly straight on the costa, blunt at the tip,
and waved on the hind margin; their colour is
very pale wainscot-brown or whitey-brown :
they have on them three darker but very
imperfectly defined blotches, the first near the
middle of the costal margin, the second below
the middle of the wing, and the third at the
anal angle; I do not trace the discoidal spots,
but there is a transverse series of dark dots
beyond the middle of the wing, and each is
seated on a wing-ray: the hind wings are very
pale and thinly clothed with scales, so as to
appear semi-transparent, but they have a
rather darker though indistinct crescentic dis-
coidal spot, and an equally indistinct bar
parallel with the hind margin; the head,
thorax, and body are of the same pale colour
as the wings; the thorax and body are crested;
the body has a large spreading tuft at the
extremity.
The CATERPILLAR has been described in
the Entomologists’ Weekly Intelligencer by
Mr. Robson, who says, “I have bred Xylo-
phasia lithocylea this summer from a cater-
pillar found at the roots of grass: it was of
large size; the colour dirty white, with a
bluish tinge below ; head and tail black, with
two rows of black shining spots on each seg-
ment, one hair in each spot. I found it on
the 8th of May : it seemed then nearly full-
fed. The perfect insect appeared on the 8th
of July.” - *
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
usually about midsummer : it is very common
in England; has been taken in Scotland, and
is common and widely distributed in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Xylophasia lithocylea,)
477. The Reddish Light Arches (Xylophasia
sublustris).
477. THE REDDISH LIGHT ARCHES. — The
palpi are short, curved, and scarcely porrected;
the antennae are slightly ciliated in the male :
the fore wings are nearly straight on the costa,
blunt at the tip, and waved on the hind mar-
gin ; their colour is wainscot-brown, tinged
with the reddish hue of raw-sienna; there is a
darker transverse median blotch, almost con-
tinued into a band, but ceasing before the inner
margin; there are two other blotches of ex-
actly the same tint on the hind margin, the
first rather above the middle of the wing, the


N()('TUAS.
285
second near the anal angle; the fringe is
spotted ; the hind wings are pale dull gray-
brown, with a darker crescentic discoidal spot,
and a darker transverse line between this spot
and the hind margin ; the fringe is pale ; the
head and thorax are of the same colour as the
fore wings, the body rather paler and slightly
crested. -
The MoTH appears on the wing at Midsum-
mer, and has been found in most of our English
counties, as far north as Yorkshire. Mr.
Birchall says it is very abundant near Galway,
and that it has been taken near Dublin by Mr.
Barrett. (The scientific name is Xylophasia
sublustris.)
Obs.—My predecessor does not mention this
common species as distinct from Lithorylea,
probably including the two species under that
name: the words “magis ferruginea,” as
applied in reference to Lithocylea, when com-
pared with Hübner's figure of that insect,
induces me to query whether he had not
this species before him. Guenée expresses a
doubt as to their distinctness, but appears
satisfied to leave them as species, in which
view I entirely concur. -
478. The Dark Arches (Xylophasia polyodon).
478. THE DARK ARCHES.—The palpi are por-
rected, the terminal joint slender; the antennae
are slightly ciliated; the fore wings are nearly
straight on the costa, blunt at the tip, and
waved on the hind margin ; their colour is a
mixture of several shades of brown; the orbi-
cular and reniform spots are very clearly de-
fined by a double circumscription, the interior
border being nearly white, the exterior dark
umber-brown ; the costal margin has a number
of oblique dark spots, and three pale ones near
the tip; there is a dark, almost black, streak
at the middle of the base, a dark brown space
below the discoidal spots, bounded by a very
dark, almost black, streak, and a dark brown
hind-marginal band, very irregular and bordered
towards the middle of the wing by a pale
transverse zigzag line, which forms a distinct
letter W just below the middle; the inner
marginal area is pale, becoming almost white
beyond the middle: the hind wings are gray-
brown, with a darker crescentic discoidal spot,
and a darker broad marginal band; the margin
is waved, the fringe pale : the head, thorax,
and body are pale brown; the body crested on
the back, and tufted at the extremity.
The CATERPILLAR is figured by Hübner as
of a dull putty-colour, with the dorsal area of
the second and twelfth segments considerably
darker, and all the segments have shining
black warts: it feeds exclusively on the roots
of grasses and other herbage.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is very common in England, Ireland,
and Scotland. (The scientific name is Xylo-
phasia polyodon.)
Obs.—Through the kindness of Mr. Birchall
I have specimens of this common moth from
Scotland that are really almost black, but I
am not certain that this case of melanism is
either constant in Scotland, or confined to
that country. The black variety is represented
by the lower figure.
479. The Clouded Brindle (Xylophasia hepatica).
479. THE CLOUDED BRINDLE.—The palpi are



286 BRITISH
MOTHS.
curved and porrected, the terminal joint small
and almost bare of scales; the antennae are
slightly ciliated in the male, simple in the
female; the fore wings are slightly arched on
the costa, especially towards the tip, which is
blunt; the hind margin is waved; their colour
is ochreous brown, with umber-brown mark-
ings; the chief of these is a suffused blotch
between the discoidal spots, a more clearly de-
fined blotch at the base of the inner margin,
having its exterior border deeply notched, and
a hind marginal band, having its interior
border very irregular, and being intersected
throughout by a curved and indented pale
transverse line, exterior to which is a second
pale line, regularly zigzag ; the orbicular is
long and oblique; the reniform of its usual
shape; a double series of dark brown dots
crosses the wing exterior to the reniform : the
hind wings are dull dingy brown, with a
paler and iridescent costal margin, and a dark
crescentic discoidal spot; the head and thorax
are variegated with the two shades of brown
which prevail on the fore wings; the body is
dorsally crested, of a dingy brown colour, with
the tips of the crest darker brown.
The Rev. H. Harpur Crewe has thus
described the CATERPILLAR, in the Zoologist
for 1861:—“Back, dark brown: medio-dorsal
stripe, whitish, bordered on either side of each
segment by two black spots: sub-dorsal stripes
slender, indistinct, whitish : the head and
second segment are dark brown, the head
rather the paler of the two, and traversed by
two black lines: the sides are pinkish drab,
marked on each side with a black spot: the
ventral surface is pale drab ; the back and
sides are thinly clothed with slender hairs.
This caterpillar hybernates in the autumn,
when nearly full fed, and begins to feed again
on grass, chickweed (Stellaria media), &c., in
February, and is full fed at the end of March,
or beginning of April: it them forms a meat
cocoon of earth or moss, and therein changes
to a dark red CHRYSALIS, the thorax and upper
part of the body being darker than the rest.
The MOTH appears on the wing towards the
end of June, and has been taken in most of
our English counties. It has also been taken
in Scotland, by Mr. Lennon, and at Powers-
court, in Ireland, by Mr. Birchall. (The
scientific name is Xylophasia hepatica.)
480. The Slender Clouded Brindle (Xylophasia
scolopaeina).
480. THE SLENDER CLOUDED BRINDLE.—
The palpi are porrected and curved upwards,
the terminal j oint very pointed; the wings
are slightly arched on the costa, and scarcely
waved on the hind margin, the upper half of
which is nearly straight, while the lower
slopes rather abruptly to the anal angle; their
colour is dingy ochreous, but the markings are
generally very distinct. The reniform has a
distinct white circumscription, the orbicular
is indistinct; the space between them is dark
bistre-brown, in many specimens prolonged in
an indistinct manner to the inner margin,
which has also a very dark, distinct, and
somewhat linear blotch near its base; beyond
the reniform is a sharply zigzag and elbowed
transverse line, the extremity of its lobes or
teeth being very dark, and often forming a
transverse series of dots; the hind margin is
occupied by an umber-brown shade, intersected
throughout by a paler line, which terminates
at the tip of the wing in an ochreous blotch;
the fringe is spotted; the hind wings are
pale dingy brown, with a still paler fringe; the
head is ochreous-brown; the thorax ochreous-
brown, with a posterior crest tipped with dark
brown; the body is dingy brown, with a
medio-dorsal series of dark brown Crests.
Mr. Buckler has thus described the CATER-
PILLARs in the Entomologists' Monthly Maga-.
zine, for 1864:—“They feed on coarse
grasses, and a species of wood-rush (Luzula);
their bodies are uniformly cylindrical and
slender. The head, and plate on the second
segment, are of a translucent greenish tint,
and there is a black mark on each side of the

NOCTUAS.
287
olive-green above; on the back there is a fine
thread-like line of yellowish or pale grayish,
enclosed by two others of dark gray, which
form the dorsal line, and run through a series
of elliptic marks of slate-colour. The sub-
dorsal stripe is narrow and slate-colour, begin-
ning at the third segment, and after the fifth
merging into a broad lateral stripe (which
commences on the second segment) of dark,
slaty gray, most intense at its lower edge,
just above which, on each segment, is a large
blackish shining tubercle, furnished with a
bristle; the ordinary dorsal tubercular spots
are small, with minute hairs. The spiracular
region is bright sulphur-yellow, and the belly
greenish.”
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in Buckinghamshire, Suffolk,
Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and Lancashire.
Mr. Birchall says it has also been taken at
Powerscourt, in Ireland. (The scientific name
is Xylophasia scolopaeina.)
481. The Bird's-wing (Dipterugia Pinastri).
481. THE BIRD’s-wiNG. —The palpi are
rather long, curved, porrected, and naked at
the tip; the antennae are simple in both sexes;
the fore wings are ample, nearly straight on
the costa, blunt at the tip, and scalloped on the
hind margin; their colour is dull black, with a
dull ochreous mark on the inner margin, which
expands at the anal angle into a large blotch,
representing with remarkable fidelity the ex-
panded wing of an eagle, whence the name
of “Bird’s-wing;” there are two or three
pale streaks between this bird’s wing and the
costa, and seven pale streaks in the black
fringe. The hind wings are smoky black, with
still darker rays, and a crescentic discoidal
spot; the fringe is rather paler; the palpi and
head are black; the antennae dark brown, with
a small pale button at the base in front; the
thorax is crested, the front and sides being
black; and the disk, dark ochreous brown;
the body is smoky brown, and very slightly
crested.
The CATERPILLAR has a small head, narrower
than the second segment; the body is cylin-
drical, smooth, rather attenuated at the
anterior, and rather incrassated at the pos-
terior extremity, the twelfth segment having
a slight medio-dorsal elevation; the head is
chocolate-brown, with four lines down the
face; the body is of the same colour and has a
darker medio-dorsal stripe, which is intersected
throughout by a pale line; on each side is a
lateral stripe less distinct; below this a spira-
cular stripe very distinct, broad, continuous,
and of a dirty white colour; the dorsal dots
are small and black, each of the posterior ones
is attached to a small round white spot, parti-
cularly conspicuous on the fifth and sixth seg-
ments. It feeds in autumn on the different
species of dock (Rumex), and when full fed
spins a cocoon on the surface of the earth, and
therein changes to a stout, cylindrical, blunt
CHRYSALIS, the wing-cases of which are some-
what swollen.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June. It
is abundant in Epping Forest, near Loughton,
and also near Lewes, and in other parts of
Essex and Sussex, and it has been taken in
Surrey, Kent, and Suffolk. (The scientific
name is Dipterygia Pinastri.) -
Obs. This is one of these moths which
are constant in the arrangement and tint of
their colours. I am unable to select from
among the numerous specimens which have
reached my hands, a single individual to
which I can possibly allude as a variety.
In this respect there is a great discrepancy
among the Noctuas; some, as we shall have
to observe in the genus Agrotis, being so
variable that it is almost impossible to find
two alike; others, as in the present instance,
so similar, that it is equally difficult to find a
variety. * *

BRITISH MOTHS.
482. The Silver Cloud (Xylomiges conspicillaris).
482. The SILVER CLoup–The palpi are
short, straight, and scarcely projecting, the
terminal joint is short, blunt, and scaly; the
antennae are slightly ciliated in the male,
simple in the female: the fore wings are rather
narrow, the costal margin almost straight, the
hind margin slightly scalloped ; their colour is
dark smoky gray, with a pale gray inner
margin tinged with ochreous, and two bands
obscurely indicated near the hind margin ;
the usual discoidal markings are not conspi-
cuous in our English specimens.
Although this description will do very well
for the more usual form of the species, it
seems desirable to say that the distribution of
colour in the fore wings is excessively various.
Three marked varieties occur in the series of
Continental specimens kindly lent me by Mr.
Doubleday. - .
The first variety may be described as having
the dark colour suffused over the whole costal
and median areas; a pale oblique streak
descends from the tip and ceases before reach-
ing the middle of the wing; but is nearly
joined by a second oblique streak proceeding
from a large pale blotch near the anal angle.
(See the upper figure.) -
The second variety has the dark colour
much more limited ; it occupies the middle of
the Wing, and leaving a large oblong space at
the tip, ascends to the costa between the dis-
coidal spots. (See the middle figure.)
The third variety is almost without the
dark colour, being of a confused and some-
what ash - coloured tint, variously clouded
with different shades of brown. (See the
lower figure.)
In all three varieties there is a radiated
appearance more or less conspicuous in the
fore wings, arising from the blackness of the
wing-rays : the fringe seems always to be
dark, and there is a small linear tuft of pale
scales at the extremity of each wing-ray : the
hind wings are white or whitish, with a pale
brown discoidal spot, margin, and wing-rays;
the fringe is white; the head and thorax are
gray, the latter decorated with a dark disco-
idal blotch, and darker borders, especially on
the sides; the body is obese, crested at the
base, and squarely truncate at the extremity;
its colour is grayish-brown.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
being of a brown colour, tinged with brick-
red, and marbled with brown and white; the
spiracular stripe is broad and continuous, paler
than the ground-colour, and bordered above by
a dark stripe; the subdorsal stripe is indicated
by a dorsal series of darker lozenges, the
“trapezoidals” are white, each with a black
dot, the head is concolorous with the body,
and has two dark streaks on the face. It feeds
in July on bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
and other plants.
When full fed it buries itself below the
surface of the earth, and changes to an obese
blunt CHRYSALIS. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in May, and
is exceedingly rare in Great Britain. A few
specimens have been taken in Kent, Surrey,
and Worcestershire. (The scientific name is
Nylomges conspicillaris.) -

NOCTUAS.
289
483. The Feathered Brindle (Aporophyla australis).
488. THE FEATHERED BRINDLE.—The palpi
are short but porrected, scarcely curved; the
antennae of the male are stout and pectinated,
the pectinations being very short, those of the
female are simple: the fore wings are rather
narrow, nearly straight on the costa, blunt at
the tip, and somewhat scalloped on the hind
margin; their colour is pale gray, with a
cloud of brown-gray about the middle of the
costa and extending round the reniform spot,
which it includes; the reniform is of the
usual form and clearly defined; the orbicular
is oblique and oblong; at the base of the wing,
about its middle, is a black streak, extending
about a fifth of the length of the wing; on
the inner margin near its base is a small but
conspicuous linear blotch ; on the costa be-
yond the middle are four small white spots;
beyond the middle of the wing there is a
Zigzag and sharply angled black line, and
between these and the base of the wing there
are several other black lines angled and vari-
ously inclined ; the hind-marginal area has
the Wing-rays black, and being on a pale gray
ground they are very conspicuous; the black
ceases before the transverse zigzag line; in
each interspace between the black wing-rays
is an elongate club-shaped black spot, which
emanates from a small but very distinct black
crescent, situated on the margin; the fringe
is long, its outline waved, its colour gray-
brown, interrupted by a few long white scales
issuing from the end of each wing-ray: the
hind wings are white in the male, with gray-
brown wing-rays, and a marginal series of
EDWARD NEWMAN’s BRITISH U
MoTris, No. 19. Price 6p.)
linear marks of the same colour, and frequently
with a slight hind-marginal cloud in the
female : in the female they are dull brown,
with a pale fringe ; the hind margin of the
hind wings is indistinctly scalloped: the head
is gray-brown with a black transverse line
behind the collar; on each side of the thorax
is a white patch, and at the middle of the
posterior border is a black spot: the body is
gray-brown, the basal segment having some
longer-scales, more especially observable in the
male ; the sides are fringed with similar
scales. - -
Guenée describes the CATERPILLAR as cylin-
drical and smooth, and as having the dorsal
area yellowish-red with a paler medio-dorsal
stripe; the spiracular line is shaded with
brown dots, and bordered on its upper side.
with black streaks: there is a short black
mark originating in the “ anterior incision,”
and resting on an oval brown blotch, which
occupies the entire width of the segment; the
head is testaceous-red, reticulated with a
darker tint, and having a darker streak; the
ventral area is greenish-yellow. In France it
feeds on the endive (Cichorium), and Asphodelus
microcarpus, not recorded as a British plant.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August.
It was first taken at Yarmouth in Norfolk,
and was described and figured by Mr. Curtis
under the name of Agrotis pascuea, but Mr.
Doubleday took one of the specimens to Paris,
and found that it was the Australis of Bois-
duval; it has since been taken in Devonshire,
Dorsetshire, Isle of Wight, Sussex, and Kent,
but I believe nowhere north of these counties ;
neither is it recorded from Scotland or Ire-
land. (The scientific name is Aporophyla
australis.) -
484. The Small-mottled Willow (Laphygma exigua).
484. THE SMALL-MOTTLED WILLow. — The
palpi are very inconspicuous; they are curved
* -------------
Tosnos : W. TwºFork,
l $37, STRAN ID,


290
BRITISH MOTHS.
-
and ascending, very close together, and rather
appressed to the face than porrected; the
terminal joint is pointed; the antennae are
simple or nearly so in both sexes, those of the
male are very slightly ciliated, and thus have
an appearance of being rather stouter than
those of the female : the fore wings have the
basal portion nearly straight, the apical portion
slightly arched, the tip blunt, and the hind
margin slightly waved; their colour is gray-
brown, with fulvous, pale gray, and dark
brown markings; the orbicular has a fulvous
area, with whitish border and a dark brown
surrounding ; between this and the base of the
wing is a club-shaped mark with the same
colouring, that is, the median area is fulvous,
with white borders and dark surroundings;
the reniform is dull fulvous, approaching to
smoky-brown, but still having small portions
of pure fulvous; it has pale borders; beyond
the reniform is an interrupted zigzag line pale
gray, almost white, and in spots pure white,
but bordered interiorly with very dark brown;
midway between this and the hind margin is
a second pale line, very slender and zigzag ;
the costal margin is distinctly spotted, the
pale gray and dark brown tints alternating
with some regularity; on the hind margin are
six crescentic spots very dark-coloured, but
bordered with pale gray on the interior side;
there are other dark and pale markings on the
disk and inner margin of the wing: the hind
wings are very pale, semi-transparent, and
slightly iridescent, the wing-rays and hind
margin being decidedly darker; the outline of
the hind wings is irregular and the fringe
very long : the head, thorax, and body are of
the same colour as the fore wings; the legs
are sparingly clothed with scales, and of a
pale gray colour with black rings.
At the meeting of the Entomological Society
held on the 2nd March, 1859, Dr. Wallace,
who took the female moth in the Isle of
Wight, exhibited specimens which he had
reared from the egg, and read the following
description of the CATERPILLAR : “Pinkish-
brown on the back, pinkish-yellow beneath; a
row of black dots down the back; two rows each of the parallel rays near the hind margin;
on each side, between which are the white
\
spiracles on rather a darker ground than that
outside the rows of black spots; head and tail
greenish; length when full-grown about an
inch : it feeds on plantain, remaining during
the day rolled up in the leaves or roots: the
Eggs were laid about the 18th July, and
hatched in about three weeks; the caterpillars
were full-fed about the 12th of September,
and the moths exhibited emerged about the
20th of October.”
This very rare little Wootua was first taken
at sugar at Ventnor, by Mr. A. Maitland,
about eighteen years ago, and next by Mr. H.
Cooke, near Brighton; after that near Worth-
ing ; and then three or four specimens by
Dr. Wallace at Bembridge, in the Isle of
Wight; three by Mr. Bond at Freshwater;
and one or two by Mr. Rogers in the same
locality; and, lastly, one by Mr. Fenn at
Lewisham, near London. I am indebted to
Mr. Bond for this list of localities, as well as
for the loan of the moth to figure. (The
scientific name is Laphygma eacigua.)
485. The Bordered Gothic (Neuria Saponaria).
485. THE BORDERED GoTHIC.—The palpi
are slightly porrected in front of the head,
the basal joints are very hairy, the terminal
joint is short, naked, and truncate at the ex-
tremity; the antennae are slightly ciliated in
both sexes, but most so in the male; the eyes
are very hairy; the fore wings have the costa
straight, the tip blunt, the hind margin
slightly scalloped; their colour is rich umber-
brown, with very decided darker and lighter
markings, the darker markings are almost
black, the light ones pale wainscot-brown;
the orbicular spot has a pale outline, the reni-
form a pale outline, and a pale central line ;
all the wing-rays are pale except a portion of
there are four pale transverse lines: the first

NOCTUAS.
short, very crooked, and sharply angled, is
almost close to the base; the second, which is
curved, precedes the orbicular; the third is
much bent and situated outside the reniform ;
the fourth is irregular but very distinct and
parallel with the hind margin ; the interior
border of this last emits a series of black
wedge-shaped spots, the tips of which point
towards the middle of the wing; on the mar-
gin itself are seven black lunules with pale
interior borders; the fringe is of two colours,
pale inside, dark brown outside; the decided
character of the markings give the fore wings
a very beautiful appearance : the hind wings
are dingy-brown, approaching to gray at the
base, and having a crescentic discoidal spot
and a broad but ill-defined marginal band
darker; the rays passing through this band
are very dark, and there is a marginal series
of crescentic dark lines: the head and thorax
are variegated with the two colours of the
fore wings; the body is gray-brown.
Guenée describes the CATERPILLAR as short,
stout, cylindrical, and smooth : it has a
corneous plate on the second and twelfth
segments; the head is moderately large, sphe-
rical, and dull in colour; the body is grayish-
yellow or reddish (green when young), dis-
tinctly striated with brown, and having a
medio-dorsal stripe slightly paler : the spira-
cular stripe and the ventral surface are pale
gray without markings: the head and corneous
plates are brown. It feeds on low plants, and
particularly on the species of catchfly (Silene),
and when full-fed turns to a CHRYSALTs beneath
the surface of the ground.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken occasionally in most of the
English counties south of Yorkshire. (The
scientific name is Weuria Saponariæ.)
Obs.—Saponariæ is a moth of great beauty:
its markings are very similar to those of
Popularis; but the very distinct pale trans-
verse lines which add so greatly to the beauty
of Saponariæ are wanting in Popularis, and
this difference serves at once to distinguish
the two.
486. The Feathered Gothic (Heliophobus popularis).
486. THE FEATHERED GoTHIC.—The palpi
are porrected and scarcely curved, the ter-
minal joint is slender and naked ; the an-
tennae are strongly pectinated in the male,
quite simple in the female ; the eyes are very
hairy; the maxillae are slender, short, and
altogether insignificant: the fore wings are
straight on the costa, blunt at the tip, and
waved on the hind margin ; their colour is
brown, with very pale wing-rays; the dis-
coidal spots are very distinct; the orbicular
is strongly outlined with pale wainscot-brown;
the reniform is also strongly outlined, and is
intersected by the white curved ray which
closes the median cell; two double trans-
verse lines of a very dark colour cross the
wing, one of them before the orbicular, the
other beyond the reniform; both of these are
intercepted by the pale wing-rays; parallel
with the hind margin is a series of eight pale
crescents; and on the hind margin itself is a
series of very dark, almost black, crescentic
lines: in the interspaces between the parallel
wing-rays is a double series of dark brown
spots, the interior series wedge-shaped, the
exterior nearly round ; they are separated by
the intervention of the pale crescents already
noticed : the hind-wings are brown-gray,
paler at the base, with a crescentic discoidal
spot and a pale fringe: the thorax is brown,
with paler and darker lines, both on the
front and sides; the body, which is very
stout in the female, is ringed with two shades
of brown.
Guenée describes the CATERPILLAR as obese,
smooth, and almost cylindrical, but attenuated
at both extremities, and having a spherical
head; the colour of the head is gray, with

292
BRITISH MOTHS.
two black streaks; that of the body is a
metallic bronze-brown, the dorsal being much
deeper in colour than the ventral area; all the
usual stripes are broad, well defined, of a dull
white colour, and continuous, except where
interrupted by dots of a rosy-brown colour;
there are corneous plates of a shining black
on the second and twelfth segments; the
spiracles are entirely black. It feeds in
April and May on grasses, and lives generally
underground; it is a very pretty caterpillar,
although its colours are dull, and delights to
roll itself in a compact ring : it changes to a
CHRYSALIS beneath the surface of the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end
of August or beginning of September, and has
been taken occasionally in most of our English
counties and as far north as Perthshire; Mr.
Birchall says it is common and generally dis-
tributed in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Heliophobus popularis.)
487. The Beautiful Gothic (Heliophobus hispidus).
487. THE BEAUTIFUL GoTHIC. —The palpi
are small and inconspicuous, the terminal
joint naked; the antennae are pectinated in
the male, simple in the female : the fore
wings are straight on the costa, rather pointed
at the tip, and waved on the hind margin;
their colour is umber-brown, with four trans-
verse pale lines; the first is short, zigzag,
and very near the base; the second is
nearly direct, and situated before the or-
bicular; the third is much bent, and situated
beyond the reniform; near the costa it bends
towards the base of the wing; the fourth is
very distinct, oblique, and parallel with the
hind margin; the discoidal spots are pale and
vory distinct, and immediately below them is
a forked wing-ray quite white, and there is a
second white wing-ray parallel with the inner
margin; there is a very dark slender waved
line on the hind margin, and almost close to it
a second slender line rather paler : the hind
Wings of the male are pale gray with a trans-
verse median line darker, and the fringe
paler; in the female the hind wings are
darker : the head, thorax, and body are gray,
the front and sides of the thorax lined with
darker. -
The CATERPILLAR is gray dotted with black,
the medio-dorsal and sub-dorsal stripes more
distinctly dotted (Dup.) (Stainton's Manual,
vol. i., p. 204.) Mr. Doubleday has reared
these caterpillars, and found they invariably
feed on grass.
The MOTH appears in September, and has
been taken, but not abundantly, in Devon-
shire and the Isle of Wight, but nowhere
north of those counties. (The scientific name
is Heliophobus hispidus.)
488. The Antler (Characas Graminis).
488. THE ANTLER.—The palpi are slightly
porrected, the terminal joint naked but not
exceeding in length the hair-like scales of the
preceding joint; the antennae are pectinated
in the males, the pectinations decreasing in
length to the tip, which is very pointed;
those of the female notched or serrated, each
joint bearing a single hair: the fore wings are
Small and short, straight on the costa, and
simple on the hind margin; their colour is
reddish-brown, the orbicular spot is small and
ovoid; the reniform is pale, and united at its
lower extremity with a forked whitish in-
Crassated wing-ray, which is continued to the
base, where it unites with a second whitish
wing-ray that passes above the orbicular; a
third wing-ray of the same pale colour runs
parallel with the inner margin; a pale brown
transverse bar crosses the wing half way
between the reniform and the hind margin;
beyond this is a series of obscurely wedge-


NOCTUAS.
293
shaped dark brown spots: the hind wings are
pale at the base, and smoky-brown towards the
margin; the discoidal spot is very small and
usually circular: the fringe is pale : the head,
thorax, and body are brown; the body having
a tinge of rufous towards the extremity; the
sides and extremity of the body are clothed
with long hair-like scales. The female is
usually considerably larger than the male.
The CATERPILLAR lives almost entirely be-
neath the surface of the ground, in grass
pastures, and its mode of life can only be
inferred from this circumstance: the head is
nearly equal in width to the second segment,
it is very glabrous: the body is almost uni-
formly cylindrical; the colour of the head is
testaceous-brown; of the body dingy gray-
brown, with a medio-dorsal as well as a
lateral stripe on each side yellowish ; on the
second and thirteenth segments, respectively,
is a glabrous plate, somewhat darker than the
ground colour. It feeds on the roots of grass,
and changes to a CHRYSALTs beneath the sur-
face of the ground.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end
of August, or early in September, and is found
more or less abundantly on commons, moun-
tains, and meadows naturally clothed with
grass. (The scientific name is Charasas Gra-
nºnis.)
Obs. 1.-The caterpillar has always been
notorious for the injuries it causes in grass
lands. Linnaeus emphatically says, “This is
the most destructive of our Swedish cater-
pillars, laying waste our meadows and annihi-
lating the crop of hay.” In the years 1741
and 1778 its ravages were so great as to
amount to a national calamity. Guenée ob-
serves that, although met with throughout
Europe, including France, it has nowhere
caused such a panic as in Sweden. Some
authors have asserted that it spares the species
of the genus Alopecurus, and others those of
the genus Trifolium, but these assertions are
not published on authority sufficiently reliable,
since there is no evidence of care in the
observation on which they are founded.
Obs. 2.-In the first volume of the Entomo-
logical Magazine, Mr. Wailes has published
some remarks on this moth, which I consider
of such general interest that I think no
apology is needed for quoting them entire :-
“Though the devastations committed by
the caterpillars of this moth in our island
do not in general appear to bear any com-
parison with its ravages in the Swedish pas-
tures, yet when, from the failure of some
of the checks appointed for keeping it within
proper bounds, the species is left to increase
unmolested its effects are very apparent, as
the following instance will show. Some
years ago, during the spring and early sum-
mer, the herbage of a large portion of the
level part of the mountain of Skiddaw, near
the well which most tourists visit on the
ascent, previous to climbing to the summit of
the first man, comprising at least fifty acres,
and extending some distance down the West-
ern side of the mountain, was observed, even
from the town of Keswick, to assume a dry
and parched appearance; and so marked was
the line, that the progress made by the
caterpillars down the mountain could be dis-
tinctly noted. Nor was the change of colour
of the herbage the only thing that attracted
the attention of the good folks of Keswick;
large flocks of rooks, attracted, no doubt, by
the abundance of food which these caterpillars
afforded them, were every morning seen
wending their way to the spot, both from
the rookeries at Lord’s Island and other
places in the vale of Keswick, and also
from those of distant ultramontane parts of
the neighbourhood; and, after spending the
day in preying upon the unfortunate cater-
pillars, on the approach of night, rising in
one dense cloud, and dispersing to their
respective homes. Though the number of
caterpillars must in this manner have been
greatly reduced, yet I was informed, by a
very intelligent friend residing at the foot of
the mountain, that in August the moths
literally swarmed throughout the Ineighbour-
hood. So completely was vegetation de-
stroyed, that, on a visit to the spot in 1880,
the extent of their ravages was distinctly
visible, being very similar to the effect pro-
duced by the burning of heather, which is so
294 BRITISH
MOTHS.
––––-------------- ~~
much practised on all our hills. Of course
the quality of the newly-grown herbage was
materially improved; thus affording another
instance of indirect advantages derived from
insects.
“Another very remarkable fact, illustrative
of the natural habits of this moth, fell be-
neath my observation in the beginning of
August, 1831. I was staying at Meldon
Park on an entomological excursion, and, by
chance, one morning visited some old pas-
tures about a mile from that place—this was
about eight o’clock—and my astonishment
was very great to find the fields swarming
with moths upon the wing. I managed to
capture one with my hat, having neglected to
take out my net, and was delighted to find it
was a specimen of Charasas Graminis, of which
I had only captured an occasional one or two,
flying amongst thistles in the middle of the
day. I returned to breakfast, fully calcu-
lating on getting an ample supply during the
forenoon. Accordingly, big with expectation,
and completely prepared for the onslaught, I
reached the spot about ten o’clock; and if my
first surprise on beholding the countless my-
riads in my morning walk was great, it was
not less on my return to find that in the
same place where, not three hours before, I
could scarce step without treading on them,
a single specimen was all that rewarded my
incessant search for some hours, over the space
of at least one hundred and fifty acres. Cha-
grined at my ill luck, I determined that the
peep of the morrow’s dawn should find me
prepared to profit by the experience of that
day; and, accordingly, taking an assistant
with me, we reached the place early ; but not
a moth was to be seen. The wind had
changed to the east, and the drifting mist
threatened to end in rain; and having fixed
that day for my return to Newcastle, I felt
somewhat disappointed, and wandered over
the ground in the hopes that some single
specimen might venture forth, but in vain;
not a solitary moth was to be seen. Despair-
ing of success, and wet and uncomfortable,
from the heavy dew, on the grass, and moist
fog overhead, about half-past seven I was
\
about to return, when suddenly the whole
field, as far as the eye could reach, was once
more the scene of their gambols. Struck
with the suddenness of their reappearance,
and rejoicing at their unexpected return, I put
Horace's truly entomological recommendation,
‘Carpe diem, quâm minimum credula postero,”
into force. And now the difficulty was, not
where to find a moth, but which one of the
nubmerless thousands on the wing to select
for an object of capture, as their flight was so
rapid and irregular that the eye became
bewildered with their motions, and, like the
Gyrini, they were lost in the mazes of their
evolutions. After securing what specimens I
wanted, I could not help watching the scene
before me; and, as in the study of all nature's
works, the trouble, or rather the time spent,
was more than amply repaid ; for sudden as
their appearance had been, their disappear-
ance was equally so, when, as with one
general consent, about half-past eight, they
again settled; and their flight for the morning
being over, scarcely a solitary specimen was
anywhere to be seen. The moths flew about
three or four inches from the ground, and
apparently very seldom alighted, but threaded
their way most dexterously amongst the long
culms of the grasses. I reached home, not
only pleased with my capture, but infinitely
more so with the interesting habits of this
insect ; and I regret that I have not had an
opportunity of again witnessing them. The
species, though common hereabouts, has been
considered rare in the south of England, pro-
bably from entomologists being unacquainted
with its habits.”
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489. The Feathered Ear (Pachetra leucophaea).
489. THE FEATHERED EAR.—The palpi are
straight, and very slightly projecting; the







NOCTUAS.
295
terminal joint is small and short; the antennae
are long, pointed, and strongly pectinated in
the male, but simple in the female : the fore
wings are ample, very nearly straight on the
costal, and Scalloped on the hind margin ;
their colour is gray, slightly tinged with
ochreous, and clouded and variegated with
brown; the discoidal spots are very con-
spicuous; they are of the same clouded gray
colour as the rest of the wing, but their cir-
cumscription is white, and the ground colour
surrounding it very dark; below the orbicular
is a very dark and obtusely wedge-shaped spot
pointing towards the hind margin; there are
four double transverse lines, the first near the
base, very short, bent, and imperfect to-
wards the inner margin; the second before
...the orbicular, and united to the wedge-shaped
spot; the third, which is much interrupted
and oblique, beyond the reniform ; and the
fourth, which is very zigzag, and very pale,
parallel with the hind margin; on this last
are seated six or seven distinct and acutely
wedge-shaped dark spots, all of them pointing
towards middle of the wing; the costal
margin is spotted with darker and lighter :
the hind wings are cloudy gray, with the
wing-rays, a crescentic discoidal spot, and a
marginal line decidedly darker; their outline
is waved ; there is also an indistinct clouded
band parallel with the hind margin, more par-
ticularly observable in the female; the fringe
is spotted ; the head and thorax are varied
with gray and brown ; the body is grayish-
brown, with a medio-dorsal series of darker
crests.
The CATERPILLAR has not been found in this
country, but Guenée describes it as obese,
velvety, and swollen posteriorly, and having
Small and short claspers, and a large and glab-
rous head of a light brown colour; the body
is yellowish-gray, and striated, with a very
conspicuous medio-dorsal stripe of a nankeen-
yellow colour; the sub-dorsal stripe is less
distinct, and the spiracular stripe melts
gradually into the paler area beneath; the
usual dots are extremely small and scarcely
perceptible: the spiracles are strongly out-
lined with black: there is a shining htown
plate on the second segment. It feeds in
those tufts of grass which grow on com-
mons and in dry woods, and lives through
the winter from October till the follow-
ing April. When full-fed, it makes a soft
cocoon among mosses on the surface of the
ground, and therein changes to a short, big-
bellied CHRYSALTs, with the anterior part of each
segment chagreened, and the extremity of the
abdomen very blunt.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end
of June, and continues flying until the middle
of July: the only British locality in which it
has been known to occur is Mickleham, in
Surrey, and here it has not been taken during
the last seven years. Mr. Stevens has kindly
sent me the following information for publica-
tion in this work: — “Whilst mothing on
Mickleham Downs, early in July, about fifteen
years ago, I boxed several moths that were
flying round flowers then in bloom, and the
next morning, when pinning my captures, I
found aimongst them a specimen of Pachetra
leucophaea. For several years afterwards, dur-
ing the same month of July, I succeeded in
capturing a few more specimens, not more
than fourteen or fifteen in all. For the last
seven or eight years I have tried in vain. I
have only heard of three more specimens be-
sides those mentiomed above: the last was
taken about seven years ago.” (The scientific
name is Pachetra leucophaea.)
490. The Straw Under-wing (Cerigo Cytherea).
490. THE STRAw UNDER-WING.—The palpi
are slightly curved and porrected, the terminal
joint naked and pointed; the antennae of the
male are serrated, of the female simple;
the fore wings are ample, very slightly arched
on the costa, blunt at the tip, and Waved on the
hind margin ; their colour is various, most

296 BRITISH
MOTHS.
|
|
commonly bistre-brown of several shades, yet
Sometimes tinged with brick-dust red, and
always having four transverse lines and the
two discoidal spots mapped out, or, at least,
indicated in pale brown, gray, or white; the
first transverse line is close to the base, short
and imperfect; the second, much angled, pre-
cedes the orbicular; the third follows the
remiform, and is the most distinct; the fourth
is parallel with the hind margin, vague, waved,
broken, and often indistinct ; the hind wings
are straw - coloured, with a broad smoke-
coloured marginal band; the margin is waved;
the hind margin of all the wings has a deli-
cately slender black line: the head and thorax
are gray-brown, the tint produced by a
diversity of colour in the scales; the body is
gray-brown, the scales concolorous.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
elongate and cylindrical, smooth and shining ;
the head is pale, with two black lines down
the face; the body is of a grayish yellow
colour, excepting the three thoracic segments
and the lateral area, which are wood-brown;
all the stripes are conspicuous and blackish,
the medio-dorsal is the most distinct, double,
crowded with black dots, and velvety on
the anterior part of each segment; the sub-
dorsal stripe also is double, the spiracular
stripe is bordered with black above. It feeds
on the grasses which grow on dry and stony
hills, and lives through the winter from Sep-
tember until the following April : the CHRY-
SALIS is subterranean.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in most of our counties as far
north as Kircudbrightshire; Mr. Birchall says
it is common, and generally distributed in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Cerigo
Cytherea.)
491. The Flounced Rustic (Luperina testacea).
491. THE FLOUNCED RUSTIC.—The palpi are
short and scarcely projecting; the antennae
are ciliated in the male, simple in the female :
the fore wings are rather narrow, very straight
on the costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly
waved on the hind margin; their colour is
testaceous, with several dark umber-brown
markings, the most conspicuous of which is
below the two discoidal spots, and has some
resemblance to a capital letter I placed longi-
tudinally; the disk of the reniform is paler
than the ground colour of the wing; there is
a series of crescentic dark brown spots be-
beyond the reniform and the concavity of each
crescent is occupied by a paler crescent ; these
markings are followed by a broad transverse
paler band, and a darker and indented hind-
marginal band: the hind wings are delicately
pale, and exhibit the most slender trace of a
darker discoidal spot, and a linear interrupted
border: the head and thorax are testaceous
brown, the body gray-brown.
“The caterpillar is dull flesh-colour, the
head and the corneous plate on the second
segment pale yellowish brown (Treitschke) on
the lower parts of the stems of grass.” (Stain-
ton’s Manual, vol. i. p. 206.)
The MOTH appears on the wing throughout
August and September, and is common in
England, Scotland, and Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Luperina testacea.)
492. Dumeril's Luperina (Luperina Dumerilii).
492. DUMERIL's LUPERINA.—The palpi are
short and scarcely projecting, the antennae are
ciliated in the male, simple in the female, the
fore wings are rather narrow, very straight on
the costa, and scarcely waved on the hind
margin; their colour is testaceous brown, with
a darker median band, and a darker but
narrow hind-marginal band : the discoidal
spots are very distinct and very pale; the


NOCTUAS.
297
~ * *-* > * * -------------
orbicular is oblong and oblique, the median
wing-ray on which they rest is quite white,
and emits two white branches, there is also a
perfectly white wing-ray parallel with the
hind margin : the hind wings are extremely
pale wainscot-brown, slightly clouded towards
the hind margin in the female : the head and
thorax are testaceous brown ; the body pale
wainscot-brown. -
Two specimens of the MOTH are said to have
been taken in the Isle of Portland by Mr.
Seeley; one of them is in Mr. Bond's collec-
tion. (The scientific name is Luperina Dume-
rilii.)
Obs.—The specimen figured and described is
One of a fine and valuable series from the Con-
tinent, kindly lent me by Mr. Doubleday.
493, GUENEE’s LUPERINA. – “Thorax pale
griseous, mixed with white : body very pale :
fore wings pale testaceous, irrorated with black
and white atoms—an indistinct interrupted
pale striga before the middle—then a second
arcuated striga composed of black lunules,
edged externally with whitish ; the first striga
terminates in a rather conspicuous black dot
on the inner margin of the wing, the ordinary
discoidal spots are placed between these
strigae, the reniform one being distinctly edged
with white. Between the black dots on the
inner margin of the wing and the thorax is a
slender black line. Hind margin pale testa-
ceous, with an indistinct undulating pale line,
commencing at a pale patch on the costa near
the apex. A distinct row of black marginal
lunules; fringe spotted with deep and pale
fuscous: on the costa near the apex are two
oblique white spots: hind wings pure white
in both sexes, with black marginal lunules;
antennae of the male rather strongly ciliated.
“Three specimens of this insect were taken
in Wales in the autumn of 1862; it is closely
allied to Luperina testacea, L. Nickerli, and
L. Desy/lesi, but is apparently distinct from
either. The Rev. Henry Burney most kindly
sent me his pair for examination, and allowed
me to forward one of them to my valued
friend, M. Guenée, who informs mc that it is
identical with a specimen in his cabinet taken
in France, which is described in his works as
“Luperina testacea, var. A,” accompanied by a
remark that it will probably prove a distinct
species. In this remark I coincide, and with
the consent of Mr. Burney, I propose to name
it after my friend.
“It differs from L. testacea in the thorax
and abdomen, being slenderer, in the peculiar
mottled appearance of the fore wings, and in
the absence of the three round white dots on
the costa, near the apex, which are so distinct
in Z. testacea and L. Wickerlić. The hind
wings in both sexes are of a much purer
white than in Z. testacea.”
Of this species I have no knowledge what-
ever beyond what is conveyed in Mr. Double-
day’s original description, which I have copied
from the Entomologists’ Manual for 1864, p.
123. (The scientific name is Luperina Guenée.)
494. The Hedge Rustic (Luperina Cespitis).
494. THE HEDGE RUSTIC. — The palpi are
inconspicuous, they scarcely project beyond
the head; the antennae are ciliated in the
male, simple in the female; the eyes are
very hairy: the fore wings are ample,
straight on the costa, and blunt at the tip ;
their colour is opaque bistre-brown, the
discoidal spot clearly mapped out in white,
and there are three distinct transverse lines,
the first is before the orbicular; the second
beyond the reniform ; and the third, which is
broken up into crescentic spots, is parallel
with the hind margin ; each of these lines is
double, that is, consists of two portions, the
one darker, the other paler than the ground
colour; the first has the pale portion towards
the base, the second and third towards the
hind margin; the hind wings of the male are
very pale, almost white, souretimes with one,

298
BRITISH MOTHS.
sometimes two darker bars, parallel with the
hind margin : in some specimens I find
scarcely any trace of these bars; but there is
always a slender dark brown line on the
extreme margin : the hind wings of the
female are clouded with smoky brown : the
head and thorax have exactly the same colour
as the fore wings; the body is pale dingy-
brown.
“The EGG is at first pale straw-colour, soon
turning pale purplish brown, and again
becoming dingy-gray a long time before the
caterpillars appear : this is singular, for the
last change of colour usually precedes the
hatching of the caterpillar but a few days or
hours at the outside. The CATERPILLAR at
first is a little dingy fellow, but after a moult
or two, puts on the gayest dress worn in all
its existence, becoming of a clear full green,
with white medio-dorsal, sub-dorsal, and
broader spiracular lines.” Thus writes the
Rev. John Hellins, one of our very best
observers, in the Entomologists’ Monthly Maga-
zine, vol. iii. p. 212. In June, 1866, I re-
ceived some of the full-grown caterpillars
from a friend who dug them up in a meadow
which had been completely laid waste by the
ravages of caterpillars, and had assumed the
appearance of a scorched desert: the cater-
pillars of an Agrotis hereafter to be described
were the main agents in this devastation, but
they were intermixed with others more at-
tractive in appearance, which subsequently
proved to be those of Luperina Cespitis. The
head of these was rather narrower than the
second segment, the face flat, and the whole
glabrous; the body is almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but slightly decreases in bulk towards
each extremity; on the second segment is a
semi-circular glabrous plate, and there is
another on the thirteenth segment; the
colour of the head is dingy-brown, and that
of the two dorsal plates is darker brown, the
rest of the dorsal surface has a metallic
bronze-like lustre with five dingy-white
stripes, one of them medio-dorsal, the others
lateral; the ventral surface and claspers have
a semi-transparent greenish tint; the legs are
(2Ol'IléOllS &lS usual, and of a rather darker
colour. It feeds on grass, and exclusively by
night, either burying itself in the earth or
hiding at the roots of the grass by day: about
midsummer my specimens finally entered the
earth and formed themselves earthen cells,
without any perceptible admixture of silk or
gum, and in these they changed to shining
red-brown CHRYSALIDs, having an anal spike
forked, or, perhaps, more properly speaking,
bearing two sharp bristles at the extremity.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and, although never abundant, has been occa-
sionally met with in many of our English
counties, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent, Surrey,
Essex, Suffolk, Woréester, Lancashire, York-
shire. Mr. Birchall informs us it is abundant
on the Irish coast near Dublin. (The scientific
name is Luperina Cespitis.)
495. The Crescent-striped (Mamestra abjeeta).
495. THE CRESCENT-STRIPED.—The antennae
are rather long, and almost simple in both
sexes; the palpi are curved upwards, naked,
and widely-separated at the tips: the fore
wings are rather long, rather narrow, and
slightly waved on the hind margin ; their
colour is dingy brown; the orbicular spot is
oblong and oblique, its border whitish, and
rendered more conspicuous by the dark, but
narrow, area immediately around it; the
reniform is irregular, its colours the same
as those of the orbicular, except that it has
two white dots at its lower exterior extremity;
beyond this are two oblique transverse paler
lines, the outcr of which is zigzag, and the
inner is accompanied by several dark lunules,
and there are three, as is usual in this tribe,
rather conspicuous pale dots on the costal
margin near the tip ; the hind wings are pale
grayish-brown, with darker wing-rays and
hind margin, and paler base; the head and

NOCTUAS.
299
thorax are of the colour of the fore Wings,
the body of the hind wings.
The MoTII appears on the wing in July, and
is said to occur in several of our English
counties; but it seems to be very local and
so imperfectly known that the recorded
habitats must be received with great doubt;
it is certainly abundant on the banks of the
Thames near Gravesend, and also on the Irish
coast near Waterford. (The scientific name is
Mamestra abjecta.)
Obs.—This obscurely-marked insect is the
Noctua lunulina of Haworth (Lep. Brit. p. 192,
No. 92).
496. The Large Nutmeg (Mamestra anceps).
496. THE LARGE NUTMEG.—The antennae
are rather long, and almost simple in both
sexes; the palpi are short, the tips naked and
distant: the colour of the four wings is pale
dingy-brown, tinged with ochreous; the
ground colour of the orbicular and reniform
spots is scarcely different from that of the
rest of the wing, but the border of the reni-
form is almost white; there is an irregular
paler band parallel with the hind margin, ac-
companied on the outside by a slender zigzag
line of the same colour, which, below the
middle, projects two teeth or angles to the
hind margin itself: the hind wings are pale
gray-brown, with a darker hind-marginal band
and darker wing-rays : the head and thorax
are exactly of the same colour as the fore,
wings, the body of the same colour as the
hind wings. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is common in most of our English counties, it
is also reported from Scotland, and Mr.
Birchall says it is common on the Irish coast
near Dublin. (The scientific name is Mamestra
anceps.)
The CATERPILLAR of this moth is very im-
perfectly known. Mr. Stainton, citing Bork-
hausen, says it is “pale brown, with three
faintly darker streaks; the spots black, the
second and anal segment black; food un-
known.” (Stainton’s Manual, vol. i. p. 208.)
Obs. This species is certainly the Woctua
contigua of Haworth (Lep. Brit. No. 91); but
that name will occur farther on applied to
another species.
497. The White Colon (Mamestra albicolon).
497. THE WHITE Colox.—The antennae are
rather long, and nearly simple in both sexes;
the palpi are inconspicuous: the fore wings
are rather ample, their colour is dark gray-
brown, mottled and marbled with darker
colours, the markings being generally sharp
and well-defined; the orbicular spot is nearly
circular, and of the ground colour; the reni-
form is rather elongate, and has two white
dots at its lower outer extremity; these are
placed one above the other, and resemble the
colon (:) used in printing: parallel with the
hind margin is an irregular transverse series of
whitish or ochreous spots: the hind wings
are gray-brown, darker towards the hind
margin and apical angle ; the wing-rays also
are conspicuously darker: the head and thorax
are of the same colour as the fore wings, as
are also the tips of the crests on the body; the
rest of the body is of the same colour as the
hind wings.
The EGGs are laid in June, in waste places, on
various species of Atriple.c and Chenopodium,
and in gardens on lettuce and other esculents:
the CATERPILLAR is full-fed about the end of
July, when it falls from its food-plant and rolls
itself in a compact ring if disturbed. The head
is rather narrower than the second segment;
and the body is almost uniformly cylindrical,


300
BRITISH MOTHS. . *
-- - - - - - - - -- . ~... -- ~~~~
... --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --~~~~. ----------- *** *******
very smooth and velvety, and slightly decreas-
ing towards either extremity: the colour of
the head is pale semi-transparent green, and
glabrous: the second segment has on its
anterior margin a crescentic glabrous plate,
resembling the head in colour; the body is
grass-green, with a medio-dorsal stripe slightly
darker, and intersected by an extremely narrow
paler stripe on each side just below the
spiracles, and, touching all of them except the
first and ninth, is a pale stripe, intersected by
a darker stripe; the claspers and legs are con-
colorous with the body.
The MOTH appears on the wing in May and
June, and has been taken in Devonshire by
Mr. Mathew, in Somersetshire by Mr. Crotch,
in Cheshire and Lancashire by Mr. Birchall,
in Northumberland, Durham, and the Lake
District; it is also exceedingly common on the
Irish coast near Dublin. (The scientific name
is Mamestra albicolon.)
498. The Confused (Mamestra furva).
498. THE CONFUSED.—The antennae are
slightly ciliated in the male, and of a tes-
taceous brown colour; the palpi are very in-
conspicuous: the colour of the fore wings is
dark gray-brown, obscurely mottled and
marbled with darker markings; the reniform
and orbicular spots are confused, and have no
white or light borders; parallel with the hind
margin is a pale interrupted line, or rather a
series of pale linear spots: the hind wings are
dingy gray-brown, paler at the base, and
having darker wing-rays: the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body of the same colour as the
hind wings.
The GATERPILLAR is thus described by Guenée
—“Vermiform, shining, transparent, and of a
dull violet-brown colour, with the usual some-
what wart-like spots, as well as the head, the
plates of the neck and twelfth segment, and
the spiracles shining black. It lives in June
concealed at the root of grasses, especially Aira
canescens in the manner of Xylophasia polyodo?
and X. lateritia, both of which it much re-
'sembles.”
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
is said to have been taken in Devonshire,
Somersetshire, Kent, Berkshire, Suffolk, Wor-
cestershire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire,
the Lake District, Scotland, and Ireland: it is
certainly very local, and is imperfectly known,
one of the varieties of Apamea gemind here-
after to be described, being constantly sent
under the name of Furva : on this account I
receive all reports of its capture with distrust
unless accompanied with specimens. (The
scientific name is Mamestra furva.)
Obs. This confused and obscurely-coloured
moth is not noticed by Haworth or Stephens,
and, therefore, I believe has received no
English name prior to that now given.
499. The Cabbage Moth (Manestra Brassica).
499. THE CABBAGE MoTH.—The antennae
are rather long and slender, and scarcely
ciliated in either sex : the fore wings are dark
smoky gray-brown, mottled and marbled with
confused markings, both darker and paler; the
orbicular spotis inconspicuous, but decidedly to
be traced; the reniform is delicately outlined
with white or whitish gray, and has a pale in-
terior disk, in which the same pale gray colour
predominates: the hind wings are dark Smoky-
brown, with rather pale base, and rather darker
crescentic discoidal spot and wing-rays: the
head, thorax, and body have the same colour
as the fore and hind wings.
The Egg is laid on the cultivated varieties of
Arassica, as summer cabbage, brocoli, cauli-


NOCTUAS.
301
flower, Seakale, &c., and the young CATER-
PILLAR emerges in a few days, and imme-
diately commences its destructive career. I
am unable to give a precise date for ovipo-
sition, or for the emergence of the caterpillar,
having observed them feeding throughout the
Summer and autumn. In a perfectly natural
state this caterpillar devours the leaves of
almost every herb, particularly the various
species of Chenopodium and Rumex : in the
garden it is excessively destructive, having an
insatiable appetite, which it seeks to indulge,
without intermission, day and night; it spoils
even more than it devours, gnawing its way
into the very heart of our cabbages, and filling
its galleries with watery and disgusting excre-
winter
ment; it is next to impossible to rid the
cabbages of their unwelcome tenant, which
continually escapes the vigilant eyes of the
cook, and, boiled to death in the midst of its
noxious career, is served up as an almost in-
evitable concomitant of summer cabbage. It
is, however, by no means confined to the in-
terior, but may be found feeding exposed on
cabbages, dahlias, geraniums, marygolds, and
almost every plant, useful or ornamental, that
the garden produces. When full-fed, it rolls
itself in a compact ring if annoyed, and re-
mains in that position for a considerable time;
when crawling, the head is somewhat por-
rected. The head is scarcely so broad as the
body, and is partially received into the second
segment; the body is cylindrical, smooth, and
velvety; the twelfth segment is slightly in-
crassated dorsally. The head is very glabrous,
testaceous, reticulated, or marbled with darker
brown; the body usually divided longitudi-
nally into two equal regions as regards colour;
the dorsal region, including the spiracles, is
olive-brown; the ventral region dingy yellow ;
the division between the two colours is usually
abrupt and clearly defined, and extends
throughout the length of the caterpillar from
the head to the end claspers; on the back of
every segment is a somewhat obscure triangular
mark pointing backwards, and rendered more
conspicuous by being bounded by a lighter
shade ; in each triangle are two white dots
placed transversely; the spiracles are also
white; the legs and claspers are of the same
colour as the ventral surface. Such is a de-
scription of the normal and more marked
colouring of this ubiquitous caterpillar, but it
varies infinitely; in some examples there are
evident black dorsal markings on each side of
each segment, except the twelfth, and on that
a large square black patch, of which the hinder
and lateral margins are well defined, but not
the anterior margin; in others the olive hue
of the back is replaced by a clear brown, and
again in others the entire body is of a pale and
perfectly uniform dingy-green. The cater-
pillar changes to a brown and glossy CHRYSALIS
in the earth, and remains in that state through-
out the winter. During the autumnal and
garden-digging, the chrysalids are
turned up by hundreds, and might then be
readily collected; they are a favourite food of
all kinds of poultry—fowls, guinea-fowls, pea-
fowls, and pheasants devour them with the
greatest avidity.
The MOTH appears on the wing continuously
during the summer, and is common in England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Mamestra Brassicae.)
500. The Dot (Mamestra Persicariae).
500. THE DOT.-The antennae are long, and
very slender towards the tip, those of the male
are very slightly ciliated; the fore wings are
ample, rather pointed at the tip, and slightly
waved on the hind margin, their colour is very
rich dark bistre-brown, frequently variegated
with rich chestnut ; the orbicular spot is
circular, but very indistinct, its outline is
sometimes indicated by a few white scales;
the reniform is very bright and conspicuous;
it is of a pure white, excepting a cloud in the
centre, which takes the form of the exterior
outline, and varies in tint from a dingy smoke-

302
MOTHS.
BRITISH
colour to a rich chestnut-brown ; there is a
conspicuous but small pale spot on the costa
immediately above the reniform, and other
smaller ones nearer the tip ; there is also an
irregular series of yellowish dots on the disk
of the wing parallel with its hind margin : the
hind wings are pale towards the base, very
oblique markings, taking an opposite direction
dark Smoky-brown towards the hind margin,
this colourforming a broadband; the crescentic
discoidal spot and wing-rays in the pale portion
of the wings are darker : the thorax, which
has a double crest in front, is dark bistre-
brown; the body is smoky gray-brown, with
a ferruginous tuft at the base; the tip has a
triple tuft in the male, the median lobe being
erected, the lateral lobes arched.
The EGG is laid in June and July, and the
young CATERPILLAR emerges towards the end
of the latter month; when full-fed it rolls it-
Self in a tight ring if disturbed, and falls to
the ground; the head is rather small, and
partially withdrawn into the second segment
when at rest; the body is smooth, very stout,
and somewhat attenuated anteriorly; the
twelfth segment is the largest, tumid and
obtusely humped: the colour is various,
bright green, dingy green, rosy brown, or
dark brown ; as in many other cases where
this difference of colour prevails, the brown
Specimens generally produce males, the green
ones females; in the following definition I
describe only the intensity, not the colour of
the markings. The head shining, pale, mottled
with darker; the second segment has a nearly
Square dark velvety patch on the back,
bounded on each side by a longitudinal white
line, and being intersected in the middle by a
third longitudinal white line; a pale narrow
median stripe commences at the termination of
this short white line, and terminates on the
twelfth segment; on each side are two series
of oblique dark markings; those of the upper
series commence on the fifth segment, and are
continued to the twelfth segment, each com-
mencing about the middle of the side, pass
obliquely upwards and backwards to the
median stripe, and there meet a corresponding
marking on the opposite side, thus forming
a series of V-shaped markings, the points of
the V's directed backwards; those V's on the
fifth and sixth segments have the greatest in-
tensity; the twelfth segment is also much
darker than the rest, but the dark portion has
lost the V-shape; there is a slender dark
rivulet stripe on each side below the V-shaped
markings, and from this descend five other
to the upper ones, and terminating in the
claspers; in the upper part of each of these
is situated a white spiracle; the twelfth seg-
ment has a pale squarish patch behind; the
anterior part of the body is dark beneath. It
feeds on a great variety of plants, and is par-
ticularly fond of elder; is full-fed at the end
of September, and buries itself in the earth
in order to undergo the change to a CHRYSALIS.
The MoTH appears at the end of June, and
is common throughout July in most of our
English counties, and extends also into
Scotland; but Mr. Birchall did not meet with
it in Ireland. (The scientific name is Ma-
mestra Persicariae.)
501. The Rustic Shoulder-Knot (Apamea basilinea).
501. THE RUSTIC SHOULDER-KNOT. — The
antennae are slightly ciliated in the male ; the
palpi are porrected and prominent, the second
joint densely clothed with scales, the terminal
joint very distinct and almost naked: the fore
wings have the hind margin slightly waved;
their colour is pale ochreous-brown, marbled
with shades of greater or less intensity; the
orbicular is rather oblique and very indistinct;
the reniform is more clearly defined, its border
outlined in dingy white, and the lower half of
its area filled with smoky-brown; there is a
short black line at the base directed towards,
but not nearly reaching, the middle of the
wing; this black line is slightly elbowed in
the middle, and often emits at the elbow a

NOCTUAS.
303
very short branch : the hind wings are more
dingy than the fore wings, but of very similar
tint : the head and thorax are ochreous-brown ;
the body rather pale.
The EGGS are laid on the ears of wheat in
little clusters, generally in sufficient number to
supply one or more CATERPILLARs when hatched
to every grain in the ear; then they penetrate
the grains, and consume the contained flour
as soon as it has commenced to become solid,
leaving the cuticle of the grain, as well as the
chaffy husks with which it is enveloped, per-
fectly intact, with the exception of the very
Small aperture through which it escapes. As
soon as the caterpillar is too large for the grain
to contain, it introduces itself between the
husk and the beard of the ear, in which situa-
tion it cannot be detected without difficulty,
being exactly similar in colour: this occurs at
harvest-time. It then allows itself to be
hidden in the sheaves, and is housed with the
corn : if we examine the floor of the barn
where the wheat is threshed, we find these
caterpillars, them about the thickness of a
straw, expelled by the stroke of the flail,
crawling about in multitudes. The time has
now arrived when its destructive propensities
have ceased: the grains have acquired the re-
quired hardness, and the lower temperature of
approaching winter serving to benumb the
caterpillars, each constructs a little cocoon in
which to pass the cold season. No sooner has
the spring arrived, bringing with it a rapid
vegetation, than they change their manner of
life altogether; they forsake the granaries and
barns, and, wandering into the fields and
hedge-rows, attack and devour the roots and
lower leaves of many herbaceous plants; they
still grow somewhat slowly, and now assume
the usual habits and appearance of the other
Apameas; for up to this period they have pos-
sessed all the characteristics of the caterpillars
Leucanias or of young Dianthecias; so true it
is that the food and economy of caterpillars
exercise a great influence on their forms as
well as colours. They now attain their full
size, and are, to all appearance, genuine
Apameas; they feed almost entirely by night,
concealing themselves in or near the ground
by day; they rest in a straight position, but w
roll themselves in a compact ring when dis-
turbed or annoyed. The head is shining, and
rather narrower than the second segment into
which it is partially withdrawn when at rest;
the body is obese and almost uniformly cylin-
drical. The colour of the head is pale semi-
transparent brown, slightly reticulated with
darker brown : there is a rather narrow medio-
dorsal stripe of a dull yellow colour, and a
similarly-coloured lateral stripe on each side,
the interspace being occupied by a darker
ground-colour, interrupted by a longitudinal
series of black spots; the spiracles are black,
and situated in a palish stripe of a dingy white,
the ventral area and claspers being nearly of
the same colour. In this state the caterpillar
finally buries itself in the ground in the month
of March, and forming an earthen cell rather
than cocoon, changes to a brown shining CHRY-
S.A.L.I.S.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end of
May and during June : the females may then
be seen flying over the wheat-fields and com-
mencing the work of destruction by depositing
their eggs in the ears. It is but too common
everywhere, and is one of the most destructive
of all our Noctuas. (The scientific name is
Apamea basilinea.)
502. The Union Rustic (Apamea conneca).
502. THE UNION RUSTIC.—The antennae
are simple in both sexes, but rather stouter in
the male ; the palpi are porrected and very
slender at the tips: the colour of the fore
wings is gray, with a median band which is
altogether darker than the ground colour, but
more especially so towards the inner margin
where the bands are contracted, and the dark
colour forms a decided blotch ; the costal
portion of the band includes the two discoidal
spots; the orbicular is clearly defined, it has a
gray circumscription and a clouded median

304
BRITISH MOTHS.
area; the reniform is gray and very imperfectly
defined: the hind wings are dark gray-brown,
rather paler towards the base, and have an in-
distinct crescentic discoidal spot; the head is
gray; the thorax gray, often with a reddish
median tuft; the body gray, with a reddish
tuft at the base.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July; it has been taken in some abundance in
Yorkshire, and is recorded as occurring in
other English counties. Mr. Douglas Robinson
mentions it as a native of Kirkcudbrightshire,
but Mr. Birchall omits it in his Irish list.
(The scientific name is Apamea conneca.)
503. The Dusky Brocade (Apamea gemina).
503. THE DUSKY BROCADE.-The antennae are
almost simple in both sexes; the palpi are por-
rected, but not prominently so, they are naked
at the tip : the colour of the fore wings is so
different that it is necessary to describe two
varieties; the first (represented in the upper
figure) has two very different shades of
colour; there is a large blotch at the base,
not reaching the costa or inner margin; a
second blotch on the costa descending between
the discoidal spots, and abruptly terminated
below these spots by a blackish and straight
streak, and a hind marginal band dark bistre-
brown; the remainder of the wing being pale
ochreous-brown; both discoidal spots are of
the same pale colour, and have a pale gray cir-
cumscription: the second variety (represented
in the lower figure) is of a smoky bistre-brown
colour, almost uniform throughout ; the dis-
coidal spots scarcely perceptible; and the only
distinct and constant marking being a pale
angled line, parallel with the hind mar-
gin : the hind wings are smoky gray-brown,
paler at the base, with darker wing-rays and
crescentic discoidal spot; the fringe is pale,
the outer portion almost white: in both
varieties the head and front of thorax are pale,
the disk of the thorax is dark brown, and has
a short bifid crest in front; the body is paler,
slightly crested, the crests being slightly
darker.
The Eggs are laid in July and probably also
in August on the culms of grasses of various
species, and the young CATERPILLARs emerge in
August and September; they hybernate at the
roots of grasses when very small, and feed
again in April, becoming full-fed in May;
they eat mostly by night, concealing them-
selves by day; when disturbed, they fall to
the ground rolled in a compact ring: the head
is shining, and narrower than the second seg-
ment, into which it is partially received; the
body is obese and soft, it is of a dark smoke-
colour, with a paler medio-dorsal stripe, and a
paler lateral stripe, the space between which
two stripes has a series of black spots; in the
region of the spiracles is a still paler and rather
| ochreous stripe, in which are the black spiracles,
above each of which is a black spot.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and occurs almost everywhere in the
United Kingdom. (The scientific name is
Apamea gemina.)
Obs. I believe that my predecessor has given
three English and three scientific names to
this variable species. The Brown-Pinioned
Brocade (Noctua oblonga, Lep. Brit. No. 78);
the Gothic Brocade (Noctua remissa, No. 79);
and the Dingy Brocade (Noctua obscura, No. 80).
Mr. Stephens has called it the Dusky Brocade
(Hama furva). This is one of those cases in
which there seem to be two distinct types of
ornamentation, which in their extremes must
pass for species, but which seem connected by
intermediates of less frequent occurrence than
either of the types.

NOCTUAS.
305
504. The Small Clouded Brindle (Apamea
wnanimis),
504. THE SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE. – The
palpi are porrected and conspicuous, the
second joint densely clothed with scales, the
apical joint rather long and naked; the
antennae are simple and slender ; the colour of
the Wings is umber-brown, marbled with a few
waved transverse lines of darker brown and a
few pale bent lines exterior to the reniform; the
orbicular is rather oblique, and very difficult
to make out ; the reniform very clearly de-
fined, and having a white circumscription,
which is particularly conspicuous on its outer
border: the hind wings are gray-brown, paler
at the base, and having a distinct crescentic
discoidal spot: the head and thorax have ex-
actly the colours of the fore wings; the body
that of the hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR of this moth is unknown
to me. Mr. Stainton gives Freyer as his
authority for the following description :-
“Dull gray; white dorsal line; a row of black
dots between it and the whitish sub-dorsal line;
spiracular line whitish. Feeds on grass.”
(Stainton's Ilſanual, vol. i. p. 211.)
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in Devonshire, Somersetshire,
Sussex, Surrey, Essex, and occasionally in more
northern counties, extending even into Scot-
land; and Mr. Birchall has taken it in the
counties of Dublin and Wicklow, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Apamea unanimis.)
Obs. - It must be admitted that this
insect very closely resembles the preceding.
It may, however, be distinguished by its larger
size, and much greater constancy of colour-
IllSº,
Edwarn NºwMAN's BRITISH N.
Moºrirs. No. 20. PRICE 61), J
505. The Double-lobed (Apamea ophiogramma).
505. THE Dot BLE-LOBED.—The palpi rather
long and porrected, slender at the base,
then swollen, and again slender and naked
at the tip ; the antennae are slender and sim-
ple: the fore wings are dark brown on the
costa ; this colour descends in a kind of festoon
below the middle of the wing, and enclosing
both the discoidal spots, which are rather ob-
scurely indicated, again ascends, terminating
in a point on the costa very near the tip of the
wing : below this large dark area the inner-
marginal area is pale gray : there is a brown
shade about the middle of the hind margin,
and a brown dash at the anal angle, which
approaches the inferior border of the dark
3rown area first described : the hind wings are
dingy gray-brown, as well as the head, thorax,
and body.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, in
the gardens of Kent and Surrey, Essex and
Middlesex, in the immediate neighbourhood of
London. Mr. Douglas Robinson informs me
that it has been taken in Kirkcudbrightshire;
and Mr. Birchall says that there is one speci-
men in the collection of Trinity College,
Dublin, captured by Mr. Tardy. (The scientific
name is Apamea ophiogramma.)
Obs.—In this, as in many other instances,
the number and perseverance of entomologists
resident in London has given to this species
the reputation of being a London insect pay ex-
cellence, a reputation which will, in all proba-
bility, be shaken as entomologists increase
in number at a distance from the metropolis:
in London, supposing the number of indus-
trious entomologists only keeps pace with
the population, our records ought to exceed
tenfold that of any other city in the empire
UAON pon : W. Tweepinº,
l $37, STRAN p.
-- - - - - --- ------------------------ - -


BRITISH MOTHS.
506. The Crescent (Apamea fibrosa).
506. THE CRESCENT. — The antennae are
nearly simple in both sexes; the palpi are
porrected and naked at the tip : the fore
wings are rather pointed at the tip, and rather
concave below the tip; as regards colour,
there are two very distinct varieties of this
insect; in the first (represented in the upper
figure) the inner margin and a broader band
parallel with the hind margin, are pale gray-
brown, the hind margin itself, and all the
basal area of the wing being umber-brown,
somewhat marbled with other tints : in the
second variety (represented in the lower figure)
the fore wings are uniform umber-brown; the
orbicular spot is very obscure, the reniform
very distinct, sometimes altogether of a snowy
whiteness; sometimes its circumscription and
a central line only are white ; but I almost
invariably find that the wing-rays proceeding
from its lower extremity are pure white for a
short distance: the hind wings are gray-
brown : the head, thorax, and body are of the
colour of the wings.
The CATERPILLAR is an internal feeder, living
concealed in the flowering stems of the common
yellow flag (Iris pseudaeorus), and devouring
the pith : it has a brown shining head, and a
whitish maggot-like body, with a dark brown
dorsal plate on the second segment.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July. All
my specimens came from the fens of Cam-
bridgeshire, where it appears to be abundant;
i
}
it has also been taken in Sussex, Surrey,
Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Yorkshire. (The
scientific name is Apamea fibrosa.)
507. The Common Rustic (Apamea oeulea).
507. THE COMMON RUSTIC. — The antennae
are slender and simple, those of the male
scarcely different from those of the female; the
palpi are porrected, and the tips naked: the
fore wings have the tips blunt, and the outline
of the fringe scalloped; their colour is re-
markably inconstant, it has not a single cha-
racter by which the species can be with cer-
tainty distinguished; the most common
colouring appears to be umber-brown, with a
darker median band more or less distinct; but
in many specimens there is not the slightest
trace of this band; another very distinct variety
has the whole of the inner margin of the wing
ochreous-brown, which colour, passing under
the reniform, ascends obliquely to the tip of


NOCTUAS.
307
*m---------
the wing, leaving a broad dark brown costal
area, and a dark brown hind margin; the
orbicular spot is very seldom clearly defined,
often entirely imperceptible ; the reniform is
generally well defined, its circumscription pale,
and its disk occupied by a crescentic pure
white spot; sometimes, howevor, this con-
spicuous character is wanting, the white being
confined to a mere line, and sometimes it is
replaced by an ochreous spot : the hind wings
are dark smoky-brown : the colour of the
head and thorax varies as much as that of the
fore wings: in some specimens there is a
median elongate pale blotch on the thorax,
in others a ferruginous tuft at the base;
the body is slightly crested, and is almost
invariably of the same dull colour as the hind
wings.
I am by no means certain that I know the
CATERPILLAR of this ubiquitous insect. Three
years back I possessed a number of caterpillars
which I supposed to be this species, but after
feeding upon sods of grass, they finally
entered the earth, turned to CHRYSALIDs, and
so died: they were putty-coloured, with a
black glossy plate on the second, and a smaller
one on the twelfth segment; there was a very
indistinct medio-dorsal and another lateral
stripe. (See Stainton's Manual, vol. i. p. 211,
where the description is rather different. The
scientific name is Apamea oeulea).
Obs. My predecessor divides this protean
species into five — the Flame Furbelow
(Woetua furca, Lep. Brit., No. 136); the
Russet (M. rava, Lep. Brit., No. 137); the
Letter I (N. I-niger, Lep. Brit., No. 140); the
Common Rustic (V. oeulea, Lep. Brit., No.
141); and the Rustic Mourner (N. lugens,
JLep. Brit., No. 142); in addition to which
he describes thirteen varieties, designating
them by letters of the Greek alphabet: our
collections are now so much more extensive
than in the time of Mr. Haworth, that these
species and varieties are shown to be connected
by intermediates, thus rendering the descrip-
tions useless: it were a hopeless task, the
endeavour to describe every individual of the
species which differed from the rest.
508. The Marbled Minor (Aſiana strigilis).
508. THE MARBLED MINOR.—The palpi are
porrected and curved upwards; the antennae
are rather stout in the males, slender in the
females: the fore wings are slightly pro-
longed but not pointed at the tip; their colour
is usually dark brown, marbled with white,
but the variation in colouring is so great that
it may truly be said that two specimens can-
not be found alike ; a conspicuous whitish
bar usually crosses the wing parallel with the
hind margin ; this is elbowed below the mid-
dle, irregular and toothed; this white bar is
particularly bright near the inner margin, and
on the said inner margin, half way between
this bar and the base, are two white linear
marks, which indicate the commencement of
two irregularly elbowed and approximate
white lines, which in some specimens ascend
to the costa, and in others are entirely want-
ing ; in the specimens possessing these white
markings the discoidal spots are also outlined
in white, but in others no markings are dis-
tinctly visible, the entire wing being suffused
with black more or less shaded and tinted
with ferruginous-brown : the hind wings are
always dark smoky-brown : the body has a
medio-dorsal series of very distinct crests.
The CATERPILLAR has a small shining head,
narrower than the second segment ; the body
is stout, smooth, and rests in a bent position
in the interior of the stems of the larger
grasses; it is attenuated at both extremities:
*:- - - - - - --

308
BRITISH MOTHS.
there is a corneous dorsal plate on the second
and twelfth segments. The colour of the
head and of these dorsal plates is dingy red;
of the body pale grayish-green, but varying to
different tints in different specimens; there
are traces of five longitudinal stripes paler
than the ground colour, but these are very
indistinct; these stripes are studded with
minute warts, each of which emits a short
stiff black hair; the spiracles are black and
connected by a dark stripe ; the ventral is
paler than the dorsal area, its colour is in-
clining to dingy ochreous-green. When full-
fed it leaves the grass on which it has been,
feeding, and descending to the earth forms an
oval cell in the ground, and in this changes to a
small and reddish CHRYSALIs of rather slender
form : these may frequently be dug up in
gardens, especially those in which weeds have
been allowed to get too much ahead.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is abundant in most of our English
counties: in South Wales, Monmouthshire,
Herefordshire, it flies in the day-time over the
ripe grass when ready to cut, and is accom-
panied by the -following species, Fasciuncula.
(The scientific name is Miana strigilis.)
Obs. Four of Haworth’s species are here
included under the name of Strigilis : the
Marbled Minor (Noctua praeduncula, Lep. Brit.,
No. 145), represented in the upper figure;
the Minor Beauty (Noctua strigilis, Lep. Brit.,
No. 146); the Tawny Marbled (Noctua latrun-
cula, Lep. Brit., No. 147), represented in the
third figure; and the Blackamoor (Noctua
Aºthiops, Lep. Brit., No. 148), represented in
the last figure.
509. The Middle-barred Minor (Miana fasciuneula).
509. THE MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR. — The
palpi are porrected and curved upwards; the
antennae are rather stout in the male, slender
in the female; the colour of the fore wing is
reddish-brown, with a darker central band, in
which are situated the paler discoidal spots:
theshind wings are dark smoky-brown ; the
body is slightly crested.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
flying over the standing grass: it occurs in all
our counties from the North of Scotland to the
Land’s End, but is not very abundant. (The
scientific name is lſiana fasciuncula.)
Obs. I have followed Haworth and Double-
day in treating this as a distinct species:
Guenée makes it a variety of Strigilis, from
which it differs principally in the red tinge
which pervades the wings and in the smaller
size : the CATERPILLAR and economy are un-
known. . -
510. The Rosy Minor (Miana literosa).
510. THE ROSY MINOR. — The palpi are
curved, porrected, and slightly ascending ;
the antennae are very slender in both sexes:
the fore wings are gray-brown and suffused
with a beautiful tinge of vinous-red; the
wing is almost equally divided in two areas
by a straight whitish transverse line; the
area within this divisional line is darker than
the area without, which has a pearly-gray
tinge, shading, however, into the vinous-red
towards the hind margin; in the pearly-gray
space is situated the reniform, in the darker
or basal area is situated the orbicular : the
hind wings are pearly gray-brown: the thorax
is slightly crested, the front pearly-gray,
transversely traversed by a black line; the
square disk of the thorax is vinous-red; the .
body is pearly-gray.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and occurs in most of our English coun-
ties, but is particularly abundant in Devon-
shire, Cornwall, and the South Western
Counties. (The scientific name is Miana
literosa.)


NOCTUAS.
309
Obs. This species is the Erraticula of
Hubner, the Suffuruncula of Treitschke, the
Literosa of Haworth, and the Latruncula of
Freyer. Guenée adopts the first of these
names; Doubleday, whom I follow, the third.
511. The Cloaked Minor (Miana furuncula).
511. THE CLOAKED MINOR.—The palpi are
pointed, porrected, and slightly ascending;
the antennae are very slender in both sexes;
the wings are nearly equally divided into a
dark basal and pale outer area, the division
between these areas being marked by a straight
whitish line; the dark area includes the
orbicular, the pale area the reniform spot;
the hind margin has a dark band bordered
towards the middle of the wing by a sinuous
outline : the hind wings are pale gray-brown,
and somewhat iridescent,
The MoTT appears on the wing in July, and
is abundant in our English, Irish, and Scotch
counties. (The scientific name is lſiana
furuncula.)
Obs. There are three very distinct varieties
comprehended, and I believe very correctly so,
under one specific name; the first, represented
by the upper figure, is the Cloaked Minor
(Noctua humeralis), of Haworth (Lep. Brit.,
No. 149); the second, represented by the
middle figure, is the Flounced Minor (Noctua
terminalis), of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 150);
and the third, represented by the lower figure,
is the Plain Red Minor (Noctua rufuncula), of
Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 152); of this last
Mr. Birchall writes:—“The variety Rufun-
cula, of Haworth, occurs commonly at Howth.
The wings are uniformly clay-coloured, with-
out lines or spots, and the insect has a strong
resemblance to Nonagria concolor.” I am in-
debted to Mr. Birchall for specimens. The
name of Furuncula in the Vienna Catalogue
has the priority. -
512. The Least Minor (Photedes captiuneula).
512. THE LEAST MINOR.—The palpi are
porrected, pointed, and generally rather widely
separated; the antennae are slender in both
sexes: the fore wings are rather ample for so
small an insect, and rather pointed at the tip;
their colour is dull bistre-brown, with a some-
what darker median band, which is sometimes
bounded exteriorly by a sinuous white line;
the discoidal spots can scarcely be traced : in
some specimens the colouring is much broken
up and more variegated, and then a second
transverse and sinuous white line, and the two
discoidal spots are perceptible: the hind wings
are smoky-gray, with pale fringes: the head,
thorax, and body are umber-brown, and re-
markably slender.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July,
and I believe has only been taken in one
locality in England, the neighbourhood of
Darlington; Mr. Birchall informs us that it is
common near Galway, and that the Irish
specimens are smaller and much more brightly
coloured than English ones. (The Scientific
name is Photedes captiuncula.)
Obs. This insect is the Miana captiuncula
of continental authors; Herrich-Schaeffer's
figures 173 and 174 resemble the Irish, rather
than the English, specimens, but are more
variegated than any I possess. Haworth was
unacquainted with the insect.


310
BRITISH MOTHS.
513. Haworth's Minor (Celaena Haworth it).
513. HAworth’s MINOR.—The palpi are
porrected and somewhat ascending; the an-
tennae are slightly ciliated in the male, simple
in the female: the fore wings are straight on
the costa, and blunt but not rounded at the
tip; their colour is bright rich umber-brown,
often with a reddish tinge, and always having
an oblique paler bar extending from the tip
to the inner margin, and also a hind-marginal
compound paler bar, which includes a series
of crescentic marginal black spots; the Orbi-
cular spot is small, often incomspicuous, and
sometimes wanting ; it is variously formed,
but generally appears as a small circular white
mark; the reniform is very conspicuous, often
brilliantly white; a conspicuously white wing-
'ay proceeds from the middle of the base of
the wing, and unites with the lower extremity
of the reniform, where it branches, the two
branches, still white, extending almost to the
hind margin; the fringe is spotted alternately
light and dark brown : the hind wings are
dark smoky-brown, with the base and fringe
paler the thorax is densely clothed with
longish scales of a rich red-brown colour; the
body is smoky-brown, and without dorsal
erests, but tufted at the extremity in the
male.
The cATERPILLAR, according to Mr. Stainton,
feeds on the cotton grass (Eriophorum), but I
do not find that it has been seen, much less
described. -
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
continues flying over the peaty heaths during
August ; it has been taken in Hampshire,
Sussex, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Lancashire,
Yorkshire, Durham, and in several Scotch
localitics, and Mr. Birchall says it is common
on the Dublin and Wicklow mountains.
(The scientific name is Celaena Haworthii.)
514. The Treble Lines (Grammesia trilinea).
514. THE TREBLE LINES.–The palpi are
short, inconspicuous, and almost straight; the
antennae are rather long, slightly pectinated in
the males, pubescent in the females: the fore
wings are ample, and rather pointed at the
tip ; their colour is dingy-gray, in some speci-
mens inclining to ochreous, in others to Smoky;
both the discoidal spots are wanting, but there
are usually four slender transverse lines,
darker than the ground colour; the first of
these is very short, abbreviated, and near the
base of the wing ; the second is almost direct,
and situated at a third of the distance between
the base and tip; the third, generally the
broadest, but sometimes absent, crosses the
middle of the wing somewhat obliquely; and
the fourth is rather curved, and parallel with
the hind margin : the hind wings are gray-
brown, almost invariably darker than the fore
wings, their hind margin is sinuous, and their
fringe paler : the thorax is woolly, and always
takes the tint of the fore wings, whatever that


NOCTUAS.
311
may be ; the body has the same tint as the
hind wings. -
The Rev. John Hellins has described the
CATERPILLAR of this moth as short and thick in
form, and very wrinkled. He says:—“The
head is small and retracted, the thirteenth
segment also very small, the segmental folds
deeply cut, ground colour variable ; sometimes
dark gray; then the dorsal line is pale gray,
edged with black at the segmental folds. The
subdorsal line is a series of pale gray wedges
on the several segments, the thin end of each
wedge pointing forwards, and its upper side
bordered by a short oblique black stripe, and
its bigger end inclosing a black dot : below
again comes a rather broad dark-brown stripe,
and below that a narrow one of gray; spiracles
black, each placed on a little swelling; belly
pale gray. Sometimes the ground colour is a
dirty reddish-brown, with the dorsal line par-
taking of the same tint, but paler, edged with
black, as before, most distinctly at the folds;
the subdorsal row of stripes of the same colour
as the dorsal line, but of uniform width, and
S
showing distinctly only on the anterior part of
each segment, where also appear a pair of black
dots; the spiracular brown stripe tinged with
ochreous. There is another variety of dirty
flesh-colour, with the markings but faintly
visible.” -
The MOTH appears on the wing in June : it
has been taken in all our southern and midland
counties, and occasionally in the northern also,
extending as far north as Kircudbrightshire;
and Mr. Birchall says it is common in most
parts of Ireland.
Grammesia trilinea.)
Obs. 1. I always take the descriptions of Mr
(The scientific name is
Hellins or Mr. Buckler, when these gentlemen
have published them, in preference to my own
unpublished descriptions; first, because they
are generally so excellent, and, secondly, as a
just tribute of thanks to entomologists who,
by publishing these descriptions in the Ento-
mologists' Monthly Magazine, have saved me
infinite labour, and thus laid me under an
obligation I can never otherwise repay or ac-
knowledge. In the present instance, I would,
has hardly given an exact idea of the form of
this caterpillar, which I should rather describe
as somewhat onisciform, the extremities nar-
rowed, the middle of the body broad, and the
belly flattened. The colour of the head is
testaceous, and the front of the Second segment
of the same colour, or even more inclining to
red. It feeds on the great plantain (Plantago
major).
Obs. 2. Four supposed species are here in-
cluded under the name Trilinea. First, the
Equal Treble-lines (Noctua trilinea) of
Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 262), represented in
the upper figure ; second, the Inequal Treble-
lines (Noctua approacimans) of Haworth (£ep.
Brit., No. 263), represented in the second
figure; third, the Clouded Treble-lines (Noctua
semifusca) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 264),
represented in the third figure; and, fourth,
the Dark Treble-lines (Noctuq bilinea) of
Haworth (Lep. Brit., No.
the lowest figure,
265), represented in
515. The Marsh Moth (Hydrilla palustris), female.
515. THE MARSH MoTH.—“The palpi are
slender and straight or bent downwards, and so
densely clothed with long scales, which add
greatly to their apparent size, as entirely to con-
ceal the apical joint: the antennie are short and
moniliform : the fore wings of the male are ob-
long, and rounded at the tip, they are of a violet
gray-brown colour, with the two discoidal
spots, and two approximate and parallel trans-
verse lines (the elbowed and the subterminal)
darker, but all the markings are very obscure,
and composed of dark scales: the bind Wings.
are silky and whitish-gray, with the Wing-rays
and a line (trait) occupying the whole cellule
darker. The female is much smaller than the
male, and has the fore wings marrower and
darker-coloured, and the markings less distinct;
however, venture to suggest that Mr. Hellins the hind wings are also darker and narrower.
s
---------- *

312
BRITISH MOTHS.
---------- - - - - - - - --------" "Tº
“The CATERPILLAR is fusiform, and of a
brown colour, with darker chevroned mark-
ings, terminating in black points; the medio-
dorsal stripe is white, and interrupted with
two large white dots on each side : the head
and spiracles are black. It feeds, in July and
August, on plantain (Plantago) and other low
plants : the CHRYSALIS is subterranean.
“The MOTH appears on the wing in May
and July.” A single specimen is said to have
been taken in Cambridgeshire, and another “at
Compton's wood, near York, flying over grass
in a damp place.” (The scientific name is
Hydrilla palustris.)
Obs. My description is copied from Guenée.
I do not possess the insect. The figure is from
a female specimen in the British Museum.
516. The Reddish Buff (Acosmetia caligiuosa).
516. THE REDDISII BUFF.—The palpi are
porrected and curved ; their joints very dis-
tinct, the second joint is scaly, and the terminal
joint filiform and naked; the antennae are
short and pubescent in the male, slender, and
furnished with scattered hairs in the female :
the fore wings are very ample, and Square at
the tip, the hind margin is slightly waved;
the colour is gray-brown, with three inter-
rupted and indistinct transverse lines; between
the first and second of which is an indistinct
cloudy spot, probably representing the reni-
form ; between the second and third trans-
verse lines there is a transverse series of nine
black dots, always indistinct, and sometimes
scarcely to be traced ; the hind wings are very
ample, with a waved margin; their colour is
gray, powdered with gray-brown scales: the
head, thorax, and body are gray-brown ; the
body is remarkably slender.
The MOTII appears on the wing in June.
My specimens were taken by the late Charles
Turner, in Hampshire, flying by day; they
are in a very imperfect condition. (The
Scientific name is Acosmetia caliginosa.)
Obs. 1. In this species, as in the preceding,
the females are smaller than the males.
Obs. 2. This is the Reddish Buff (Noctua
lutescens) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No 15);
Mr. Stephens seems to have made some mis-
take (Haustell. iii. 122) in giving Caliginosa
and Lºttescens as distinct species (a mistake
which is not entirely rectified in the Museum
Catalogue, where the name Lutescens is still
retained as a variety). Mr. Stainton very
properly drops this fictitious species altogether.
517. The Mottled Rustic (Caradrina Morpheus).
517.—THE MoTTLED RUSTIC.—The palpi
are slightly porrected, slightly curved up-
wards, and rather distant ; the antennae are
almost simple in the male, quite so in the
female : the fore wings are rather square at
the tip and straight on the costa ; their colour
is dingy gray-brown, with the discoidal spots
and several transverse, linear markings darker
brown ; there is also a distinct bar of the
same darker colour, parallel with the hind
margin: the hind wings are whitish-gray,
with a darker shade at the tip, and a marginal
Series of linear spots, which often form an
almost continuous line; the wing-rays and
discoidal spots are also darker : the head and
thorax have the darker colour of the fore
wings, the body the paler colour of the hind
wings.
The EGGS are laid in July and August on
docks and other low plants, and the young
CATERPILLARS, hatched in about a fortnight,
feed on the leaves and continue feeding
throughout the autumn and winter, and until
the following May, when they are full grown;
they are throughout their lives excessively


NOCTUAS.
313
sluggish, concealing themselves on the under-
side of leaves close to the ground, or even
under the surface of the earth, coming out to
eat when they find the temperature agreeable.
The head is rather narrower than the second
Segment, the body stout and full; its colour
is gray-brown with a series of darker wedge-
shaped markings on each side, and a pale
stripe in the region of the spiracles: there
are short bristles or hairs scattered over every
part of the body : it makes a cell rather than
a cocoon just under the surface of the earth
in May, and therein changes to a CHRYSALTs.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
July, and August, and is common in most
parts of England. Mr. Douglas Robinson
reports it from Scotland, but Mr. Birchall did
not meet with it in Ireland. (The scientific
name is Caradrina J/orpheus.)
518. The Uncertain (Caradrina Alsines).
518. THE UNCERTAIN. — The palpi are
slightly porrected, curved upwards, and very
distant; the antennae are almost simple in
the male, quite so in the female : the fore
wings are very straight on the costa, and
blunt at the tip; their colour is pale dingy-
brown tinged with ochreous; the discoidal
spots are darker than the ground colour, very
distinct, and very regularly and distinctly
outlined with pale brown; two transverse
zigzag lines cross the wing, the first before
the orbicular, the second beyond the reniform;
between these two is a transverse median
darker shade or obscure band; parallel with
the hind margin is a pale whitish line with a
dark-brown interior border: the hind wings
are pale gray-brown tinged with ochreous;
the head and thorax are ochreous gray-brown,
the body paler,
*
Mr. Harpur Crewe has given a very careful
description of the CATERPILLAR in the Zoologist
for August, 1861; it is as follows:—“Before
last moult: back and sub-dorsal parts dusky
purplish-brown ; sides and belly yellowish-
gray; central dorsal line whitish ; sub-dorsal
line edged with black; central line bordered
on either side of each segment by a large
black tubercular spot; spiracular line waved,
blackish ; between sub-dorsal and spiracular
lines a row of blackish tubercular spots,
Smaller than the dorsal ones. Both dorsal
and lateral tubercles surmounted by a longish
white hair; head dusky yellowish-brown;
belly mottled on the sides with dusky
markings. After last moult: ground colour
pale reddish-drab or buff; back more or less
tinged with purplish-brown ; medio-dorsal
line whitish, bordered with black at the centre
of each segmental division ; tubercular spots
as before ; sub-dorsal lines yellowish-white,
edged, on the upper side narrowly, and on the
lower side broadly, with black, and dotted on
the former, on each segment, with a yellow
tubercle having a black centre; spiracles en-
closed in a dusky space between two black
lines; tubercular hairs yellowish ; when very
young the ground colour is a uniform pale
yellowish-gray; central dorsal and sub-dorsal
lines white, the latter indistinct; spiracular
line blackish ; dorsal and lateral tubercles
very small and indistinct. The caterpillars
from which the foregoing description was
taken, were reared from eggs laid by moths
taken by myself in August; they were hatched
in about six weeks, and fed throughout the
autumn and winter on chickweed (Alsine
media). They were full-fed in March; CHRY-
SALIS bright red, short and stout, enclosed in
a tightly spun earthen cocoon.”
The MOTH appears on the wing in July; it
has been taken in our southern and midland
counties, and even as far north as the Mersey,
but I think has not been reported from Scot-
land or Ireland. (The scientific name is
Caradrina. Alsines.) -

BRITISH
MOTHS.
519. The Rustic (Caradrina blanda).
519. THE RUSTIC.—The palpi are slightly
porrected, curved upwards, and distant; the
antennae are almost simple in the male, quite
so in the female : the wings are straight on
the costa and blunt at the tip; their colour is
gray-brown with a slight rosy tinge, and
powdered with white scales; the discoidal
spots are darker than the ground colour, very
distinct, and very regularly outlined with
pale brown; there are two transverse lines of
a darker tint, the first inside the orbicular,
the second outside the reniform, and broken
up into dots; between these two is a trans-
verse median shade or obscure band ; parallel
with the hind margin is a pale whitish line
with a dark brown interior border ; the hind
wings are gray-brown, and slightly iridescent;
the head and thorax are of the same colour as
the fore wings, the body of the same colour
as the hind wings.
Mr. Harpur Crewe has given the following
careful description of the CATERPILLAR in the
Zoologist for August, 1861 —“When quite
young this caterpillar is not distinguishable
from that of C. Alsines, but after a few moults
they may be separated with the greatest case.
Before last moult : ground colour, reddish-
gray, or buff. Down the centre of the back
a series of fig or mushroom-shaped dusky
blotches, intersected by a whitish central line
edged with black on the lower side; space
between sub-dorsal lines and spiracles dusky;
spiracles and spiracular line black, the lower
edge of the latter buff; dorsal, sub-dorsal,
and spiracular lines studded with very small
scarcely perceptible tubercles, each surmounted
by a whitish hair; head buff; belly destitute
of markings. After last moult: ground colour,
yellowish buff, or drab ; back slightly marbled
with black; central dorsal line yellowish,
edged with black, and entirely black at the
centre of each segmental division ; sub-dorsal
lines very slender and faint, black or dusky-
brown; immediately below the latter a broad,
distinct, dusky line; spiracular line black-
ish ; spiracles black, in a white ring; space be-
tween sub-dorsal and spiracular lines dusky;
belly greenish-yellow ; tubercles and tubercu-
lar hairs as before. These caterpillars were
hatched in September from eggs laid in
August, and fed all through the winter on
chickweed (Alsine media), being full-fed in
April. CHRYSALTs bright red, similar to that
of C. Alsines, enclosed in a tightly spun earthen
cocoon.”
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is not uncommon in our English
counties, and extends northwards even into
Scotland. Mr. Birchall informs us it is com-
mon in most parts of Ireland. (The scientific
name is Caradrina blanda.)
Obs.—Few entomologists distinguish ac-
curately between this and the preceding, and,
therefore, the published localities for the two
species are not trustworthy: they are ex-
ceedingly similar, the principal distinction
being in the tint of colour, Alsines having a
tendency to ochreous, blanda to obscure purple
and rosy : nevertheless, there can be no doubt
as to their distinctness, the caterpillars being
so different.
520. The Pale Mottled Willow (Coradrana
cubicularis).
520. THE PALE MoTTLED WILLow.—The
palpi are porrected, slightly ascending, and
rather distant; the antennae are simple in
both sexes; the fore wings are straight on the
costa, and blunt at the tip; their colouris that
of putty, sometimes slightly approaching to


NOCTUAS. 315
ochreous; the orbicular is very small and cir-
cular, the reniform is elongate ; both are dis-
tinct; the costa is pale, with four conspicuous
and equidistant black spots, the last of which
is over the remiform ; there are several dark
transverse lines, all of them interrupted and
indistinct, and there is a dark bar on the hind
margin : the hind wings are white, with
pale brown wing-rays and hind margin ; the
head, thorax, and body are of the same colour
as the fore wings.
The CATERPILLAR has a shining head, rather
narrower than the second segment, into which
it can be partially withdrawn; the body is
short and stout, slightly narrower towards the
extremities, and having a few hairs scattered
over all parts of the body, and each emanating
from a minute wart; the colour of the head
is black; there is a broad dorsal area of an
obscure greenish-gray colour, with a broad
lateral area smoky-gray: the ventral area is
paler, and the claspers are concolorous with
the ventral area. The EGGs seem to be laid on
various kinds of farinaceous and leguminous
crops, on which the young caterpillar feeds,
and, being very small at the time of harvest,
gets housed with the corn and pulse, and ther,
forms a little cubiculum among the stalks of the
corn in which to reside throughout the winter,
changing to a CHRYSALIS in May : in wheat
ricks they sometimes swarm to a fearful extent,
doing great injury; but I was not aware that
they attacked also the field-peas, until I read
the following passage from the pen of Mr.
Buckler, in the ninth number of the Ento-
mologists’ lonthly Jagazine —“During the
past summer, some field-peas grown in this
neighbourhood were observed by the owner
and his men to be very much blighted, and
constantly visited by flocks of starlings, es-
pecially just before they were harvested :
when the peas were taken into the barn, on
the 12th of December, to be threshed, an im-
mense number of the eaterpillars of Caradrina
cubicularis, from half to full-grown, were dis-
lodged from the haulm. Having previously
only known this species to infest wheat-stacks,
and seeing these caterpillars to be rather
greemer than usual, I resolved to rear some of
them, in the hope of obtaining some varieties
of the moths; and, accordingly, Secured eighty
specimens, most of which are nearly full-
grown, and inhabit cocoons, formed of their
food, and fragments of peas and earth spun
together.”
The MoTH appears on the wing about mid-
Summer, or rather earlier, and is common
throughout England, Scotland and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Caradrina cubicularis,
a name which the authors of the “Accentuated
List” attribute to its “belonging to a bed-
chamber ; occurring in out-houses:” is it not
more probable that the observant authors of
the “Vienna Catalogue” imposed this most
appropriate name in allusion to the familiar
habit of the caterpillar residing in a little
cubiculum or lodging-room of its own con-
struction ?)
521. The Brown Rustic (Rusina tenebrosa),
521. THE BRowN RUSTIC.—The palpi are
flattened, porrected, and ascending; the
tennae are pectinated in the male, simple, but
rather stout in the female : the fore wings are
rather ample, and square at the tip, their
colour is rich lustrous-brown, with two trans-
verse zigzag black lines, between which is a
transverse darker shade ; outside of this shade
the reniform is perceptible, but rather indis-
tinct; it is slightly paler than the rest of the
wing ; the orbicular is scarcely to be traced;
on the costa are five pale spots, the first and
second larger and more distinct than the other
three which are near the tip : the hind wings
are smoky-brown, ample, and With a sinuous
outline :
8ll-
the head and thorax are umber-
brown; the body smoky-brown.
- - ---------- -----------> ------> --------- --- * * * * * * * * * *** -- * * * * * * *

316 BRITISH
MOTHS.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is narrower
than the second segment, and susceptible of
being partially withdrawn thereinto, it is very
glabrous, with a few scattered bristles; the
body is nearly cylindrical, very gradually
attenuated towards the anterior margin of the
twelfth segment, thence suddenly sloping to
the anal extremity; it has a manifest lateral
skinfold, and a velvety surface. The colour of
the head is dark brown ; the antennal papillae
pale at the base; the body is rich umber-
brown, with a very marrow pale medio-dorsal
stripe on the second, third, and fourth seg-
ments; also a series of pale subdorsal markings
on each side, and each of these is bounded
below by a darker oblique mark; the lateral
skinfold is paler; the ventral surface, legs, and
claspers are reddish-brown. It feeds on several
low plants which preserve their green leaves
throughout the winter, more especially on the
species of violet (Piola); it continues to feed
during the winter; in confinement it will eat
the common knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare).
When full-fed it retires just below or on the
surface of the earth, and there spins a silken
cocoon, attaching particles of earth to the ex-
terior, and in this it changes to a short dumpy
CHRYSALs, resembling those of the Cuspidates.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
occurs in some abundance in most of our
English counties, and also in Scotland, and
Mr. Birchall informs us it is common in most
places in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Rusina tenebrosa.)
Obs. The male is the Feathered Rustic
(Bombya phaus) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No.
94), and the female the Brown Rustic (Noctua
obsoletissima) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No.
129). -
522. The Archer's Dart (Agrotis valligera).
522. The Archer's Dart (Agrotis walligera).
522. THE ARCHER’s DART. —The antennae
of the male are decidedly ciliated, those of the
female simple: the fore wings have the costal
margin straight, the tip rather blunt, but not
rounded; their ground colour is pale bistre-
brown, varied with dark bistre-brown mark-
ings; the orbicular spot is small, compressed,
and ocellated, its figure elongate-oval, its
colour very pale, and it almost invariably has
a dark brown dot in the centre; it is usually
placed in a dark brown wedge-shaped mark,
the point of which is directed towards the
base of the wing, while its own base rests on
the reniform spot, which is large and con-
spicuous, with a dark contre, pale circum-
scription, and very dark surroundings; near
the base of the wing is a third oval spot, with
very pale circumscription and light brown
centre, and on this rests a very dark and
distinct oblong spot called the claviform : the
costal margin has three rather conspicuous
pale narrow spots, the third opposite the




NOCTUAS.
3
|
7
reniform, and beyond the third, that is nearer
the tip, are three pale dots: the hind margin.
is dark brown bounded, towards the disk of
the Wing, by a pale zigzag line, on which
rest six or seven wedge-shaped spots, their
points being directed towards the base of the
wing; the fringe is pale on the inside, dark on
the outside : the fore wings of the female are
usually darker than those of the male, and
less distinctly variegated: the hind wings are
very pale in the male, smoky-brown in the
female ; they have a crescentic discoidal spot,
a darker but indistinct marginal band, darker
rays, and a pale fringe : the thorax is varie-
gated with the two tints of brown, which.
adorn the fore wings; the body is pale gray
at the base, pale brown at the tip.
“The CATERPILLAR is dull greenish-gray,
with paler dorsal and darker sub-dorsal stripes;
two rows of black dots between them, and a
row of short white streaks on each side of the
spiracles (Freyer). It feeds at the roots of
grasses.”—Stainton's J/anual, vol. i. 223.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
seems rather a coast than an inland species:
it has been taken rather plentifully in the
localities where it occurs, as at Penzance,
Whitsand Bay, Slapton Ley, Budleigh-Salter-
ton, Torquay, Braunton-Burrows, Poole, Isle
of Wight, Brighton; Essex, Norfolk, and
Suffolk coasts, coasts of Pembroke, Caermar-
then, Glamorgan, Cardigan, Flint, Cheshire,
and Yorkshire : it also occurs in Scotland, and
Mr. Birchall says it is abundant on the coast
of Ireland. (The scientific name is Agrotis
valligera). -
Obs. In our British Lepidoptera many of
those groups of individuals now regarded as
“species” are excessively variable in the
tint of . colour, and in the character of the
markings: this is more particularly the case
in the genus Agrotis, and my illustrious pre-
decessor, Haworth, who has been justly styled
the Father of British Lepidopterology, founded
numerous species on these very obvious
differences. Much as I value the labours of
Baworth, and greatly as I treasure his
“Lepidoptera Britannica,” I need hardly say
that I entirely agree with those later ob-
servers, who have regarded such differences as
of less importance than specific rank; and
who have found, by breeding from the egg,
that progeny the most diversified, in these
particulars, often claim a common parentage;
and, therefore, that it is each group of such
diversely ornamented individuals, and not
each form of variation, that is entitled to rank
as a “species:” all the descendants of one
parent or one pair of parents thus consti-
tute a “species.” This principle was always
admitted, but it is only of later years that the
wide extent of variation in a species has been
thoroughly appreciated and understood. It
has therefore become desirable, under each of
our modern species of these variable moths, to
associate the names given by Haworth, whe-
ther under the impression that they were
species, or from any reason previously un-
described. The present species is the Archer’s
Dart (Bombya sagittiferus) of Haworth (Lep.
Brit., No. 66).
523. The Shuttle-shaped Dart (Agrotis puta).
523. THE SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART.-The an-
tennae are very slightly ciliated in the male,
simple in the female ; the fore wings are
Inearly straight on the costa, and rather blunt
at the tip; their colour in the male is wain-
scot-brown with a dark brown shade at the
base, and another surrounding and incorporat-
ing the concolorous reniform spot; in the
female they are dark bistre-brown with a
medium pale shade, which includes the orbi-
cular spot, reduced to a short dark brown line
bordered with pale brown : the hind wings
are white in the male, pale Smoky-brown in
the female; the head is pale gray, the front
of the collar dark brown, the rest of the

3.18
BRITISH MOTHS.
thorax pale gray; the body is pale dingy-
brown.
Mr. Buckler has described the CATERPILLAR
in the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine for
February, 1868. Some Eggs, obtained by Mr.
Hellins, hatched on the 2nd of September,
1867, and the young caterpillars were placed
in a large pot with a quantity of sea sand, and
growing plants of dandelion and knot-grass,
leaves of lettuce and slices of carrot being
provided as food; the lettuce appeared to be
preferred. Most of the caterpillars obtained
their full growth about the end of the year.
The head is then small, “the body plump and
cylindrical, with a semicircular inflation in
the region of each spiracle; the segmental
divisions deeply cut; the legs and claspers
small in proportion. The colour of the back
is at first dark ochreous-brown, but changes
gradually with its growth to brownish-ochre-
ous or dull ochreous; this tint is bounded on
either side by the dark brown edge of the
sub-dorsal line ; there is a delicate mottling
of rather darker brown of a pear-shape on
each.segment, its broad end in front, through
which runs the dorsal line, which is of the
brown colour (pale when the caterpillar is
quite full-grown), and is very thin at the
beginning, but expands almost into an elon-
gated diamond form at the end of each seg-
ment, and is distinctly edged with darker
brown, particularly at its widest part. The
sub-dorsal line is dark brown, having close
beneath it a mere thread of very pale green-
ish-gray; and from this to the spiracles, the
sides are grayish-brown; another pale thread,
much interrupted, running a little above the
spiracles. Below the spiracles is a very faint
trace of a double dirty whitish line; all the
rest of the lower and under surface being a
pale greenish-gray tint and semi-translucent.
The head is brown, the lobes and mouth
marked with darker brown, and very gla-
brous. There is a dark brown plate on the
Second segment, having three pale longitudi-
nal lines. The spiracles are black, and the
tubercular warty dots very dark brown, each
furnished with a very minute short hair.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and is by no means abundant : the only speci-
mens I have ever taken were in my own
garden at Peckham ; indeed, it seems gene-
rally distributed round the metropolis. It
occurs at Brighton, Lewes, Dover, Cambridge,
Bristol, &c., but not frequently in the north.
I do not recollect having seen it reported from
Scotland or Ireland. (The scientific name is
Agrotis puta.)
Obs. This is the Shuttle-shaped Dart
(Bombya radius) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No.
67), who described it as a novelty, but it is
now universally admitted to be the Wootta
puta of Hubner.
524. The Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis suffusa).
524. THE DARK Sword-GRASS.—The antennae
are slightly ciliated in the male, simple in the
female : the fore wings have the costal margin
nearly straight, and the tip blunt; the colour
in the male is pale umber-brown, with a dark
umber-brown shade along the costal and hind
margins; in the females the dark costal shade
extends to the inner margin, and occupies
...two-thirds of the wing; there is a clearly-
defined dark brown linear mark resting on the

|NOCTUAS.
319
*
outer edge of the reniform spot, and pointing
to the hind margin, but between this dark
mark and the hind margin there are two
acutely wedge-shaped spots pointing towards
the middle of the wing: the hind wings are
delicate pearly-gray, glossed with pink reflec-
tions, and having darker wing-rays, more es-
pecially towards the hind margin, which is
also clouded with brown; the head and thorax
are umber-brown, the body rather paler.
Some EGGs of this moth, procured from a
female captured on sallow blossoms on the
24th March, were laid on 7th of April, and
were hatched on the 30th of the same month.
The CATERPILLARs appear to lead a subter-
ranean life, invariably remaining buried in
the earth during the hours of daylight, and
only coming out to feed by night. The head
is smaller than the second segment, and very
glabrous; the body is cylindrical, and having
the warts common in these subterranean cater-
pillars very small and inconspicuous, and each
emits a short and very fine bristle; there is a
glabrous plate on the second segment. The
Colour of the head is pale semi-transparent
brown, mottled with darker brown ; of the
body, dull lead-colour, slightly metallic and
somewhat shining; there is a very narrow
medio-dorsal stripe rather paler, and two
stripes on each side rather darker than the
ground colour, and all of these are rendered
more visible from having darker borders; but
all these markings are extremely indistinct.
It feeds on the roots and leaves of endive,
spinach, sea-kale, lettuce, radishes, and pro-
bably other cultivated vegetables. When
full-fed it forms an oval cell in the earth,
polishing the inside with care, and in this
changes to a red-brown cIIRYSALIS with a sharp
spine-like caudal extremity.—See No. 47 of
the Entomologists’ Monthly Magazine.
The MoTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, and occurs in most of our English coun-
ties; it is reported by Mr. Douglas Robinson
from Scotland, and by Mr. Birchall from Ire-
land. (The scientific name is Agrotis suffusa.)
Obs. This is the Small Sword-grass (Bom-
bya spiniferus) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 51),
and Noctua spinifera (Lep. Brit., No. 154),
and also the Dark Sword-grass (Noctua suffusa,
Lep. Brit., No. 155).
525. The Pearly Underwing (Agrotis saucia).
525. THE PEARLY UNDERWING...—The an-
tennae are very slightly ciliated in the male,
making them appear stouter than those of the
female : the fore wings are straight on the
costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly waved on
the hind margin; their colour is generally
dull-brown, with a strong tendency to become
winous-red on the costa, and sometimes this
colour pervades the whole of the wing, but
these shades are very inconstant—indeed, the
distribution and tint of ground colour seems
very capricious; in some specimens the costal
area is almost black, as in the second figure,
in others it is pale wainscot-brown, as in the
third figure ; both the discoidal spots are to
:
i

BRITISH
MOTHS.
be traced, but are not very conspicuous; the
reniform has usually a dark central area with
a few very pale scales on its router edge; the
costal margin of the wing is spotted, having
seven black and three very small pale spots;
the black markings are thus arranged : two
approximate and transversely linear near the
base; then two also approximate before the
orbicular; then a single one opposite the
orbicular; and then two opposite the remi-
form ; between these and the tip are three
very small equidistant pale spots; every part
of the wing is more or less thickly marked
with short transverse black lines: the hind
wings are pearly-gray, clouded, especially
towards the hind margin, with smoky brown,
and having the principal wing-rays and a
rather indistinct crescentic discoidal spot dark
brown : the head and thorax are very nearly
of the same colour as the fore wings, the
vinous-red generally prevailing; the body is
dingy gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR is stout and almost uni-
formly cylindrical: it is of a grayish-red
colour, having the same tinge of colour as the
moth ; there is a paler but narrow medio-
dorsal stripe which passes through a series of
dorsal lozenges of a darker brown; on each
side is a lateral stripe also of darker brown: it
feeds on grass, clover, dock, plaintain, and
probably many other low plants, concealing
itself by day and eating only at night.
The MOTH appears in May and October, and
Mr. Doubleday considers it regularly double-
brooded; Mr. Hellins records the capture of three
full-fed caterpillars—one in July, the moth
appearing on the 22nd of September; a second
on the 2nd of August, the moth appearing on
the 14th of September; and a third on the 4th
of August, the moth appearing on the 5th of
October : this careful observer adds, “I think.
we must conclude there are two broods,
one on the wing in May and June, the
other in August, September, and October.”
This species is very capricious in its ap-
pearance, some years being plentiful, others
extremely scarce; it seems to be very gene-
rally distributed in England and Scotland, and
Mr. Birchall informs us that it was taken at
Dublin in 1865.
Agrotis Saucia.)
Obs. This is the Pearly Underwing (Noctua
margaritosa) of Haworth (Lep. Brit. No. 156),
and the Dark Pearl Underwing (Noctua
majuscula) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No.
157).
(The scientific name is
526. The Turnip Moth (Agrotis Segetum).
526. THE TURNIP MOTH.—The antennae are
strongly ciliated in the male, simple in the
female; the fore wings are nearly straight on
the costa, and nearly square, but rather blunt
at the tip; their colour is pale gray-brown,
approaching to putty-colour in the male, dark
umber-brown in the female ; the discoidal
spots are clearly defined in the male, less dis-
tinct in the female, their circumscription or
boundary line is very dark, and the central
area rather dark, the intervening Space being
pale; between the orbicular and the base of
the wing a double and rather sinuous dark
line crosses the wing, and outside the reniform
is a second double transverse line; the Costal
and hind margins are spotted and varied with
two shades of brown; near the hind margin,
and parallel therewith, is a row of eight pale
spots: these different markings are nearly
always traceable, but very inconstant and
various as regards their distinctness: the hind
wings are pearly white, clouded in the female

NOCTUAS. 321
towards the hind margin; the principal wing- || the males and dark in the females: the body
rays are also dark; the thorax varies in colour is putty-coloured in the males, gray-brown in
with the fore wings, being generally pale in the females.
#####s==
š
§
*
§
§
§
Caterpillars of the Turnip Moth (Agrotis Segetum), feeding in the intelior of a Turnip.
The EGG is laid in June, either on the ground caterpillar is enabled to attack the young
or on some plant, generally a seedling, close to turnips, carrots, cabbage-plants, charlock, man-
the ground; hatched in this position, the young gold wurzel, radish, and a number of the
Edward NEwMAN's BRIrisii U
" * – r y T.ON Dos : W. Tw EEDIE,
Morus. No. 21. PP. ICE 6 D. j \
$37, STRAN p.

3
2
2
BRITISH MOTHS.
common weeds. Having tried the CATERPILLAR
with a great variety of provender, I can vouch
for its feeding on any plant sufficiently suc-
culent; but when young its depredations are
mostly above the surface of the ground, and it
seems to delight in that particular part of a
plant which lies between root and stem, as I
have found numbers of young turnips and
carrots divided exactly at this spot, the upper
part being left to perish on the surface of the
ground. It also visits our flower-gardens.
Very often in a bed of China Asters—
that favourite flower with all old-fashioned
gardeners—the leaves of a plant here and there
will be found withering and curling up, and
you become aware that it is dying, and can’t
tell why : just examine the stem where it
enters the ground, and you will find it com-
pletely decorticated ; the rind has been
gnawed off all round, and, the circulation of
sap being prevented, life is destroyed. This
is the work of the caterpillar of Agrotis
Segetum : you pull up the aster to find the
enemy, but fail; his depredations were com-
mitted in the night, and before daybreak he
has wandered far away, several inches, or
perhaps feet, and has burrowed like a mole
in the light friable earth that gardeners love.
It is tedious work looking for the mischief-
maker at night with a candle and lantern, and
picking up every caterpillar you may chance
to find; and it is destructive to dig between
the plants: some gardeners sprinkle lime on
the ground, others sawdust, others soot, others
ashes, others salt, and others ammoniacal
water from gas-works; but the result is far
from certain, and, therefore, unsatisfactory. In
August and September the caterpillar, which
bas selected a turnip or a Swede for its
food, goes further down; its operations are
now almost entirely subterranean, and its
chosen site is the very base of the turnip bulb
around the tap root which descends into the
earth. Here it excavates large and almost
spherical cavities, in which it resides hence-
forward, except during severe frost, not re-
turning to the surface unless its food fails:
when full-grown it is an inch and three-
quarters, or cven two inches, in length,
extremely stout, and its skin tight and shining:
when forcibly unearthed, it rolls itself in a
loose ring, but almost immediately afterwards
unrolls, and, if placed on the surface of the
earth, instantly buries itself with the activity
and skill of a mole. The head of the full-fed
caterpillar is stretched out on a plane with the
body, and is much narrower than the second
segment, flattened, and not notched on the
Crown ; the body is cylindrical, the back
slightly wrinkled transversely; the colour of
the head is pale dingy-brown, with two longi-
tudinal patches of dark brown on the face; the
labrum and antennal papillae are white; the
body is pale Smoke-colour, sometimes slightly
tinged with pink, or purplish-brown, and
always striped, although sometimes very
indistinctly; the second segment has on its
back a dark and semicircular shining plate;
and each of the other segments has ten cir-
cular, Shining, dot-like spots, slightly raised
above the surface of the skin, and slightly
darker than the ground colour; each of these
spots emits a small central bristle, and
each, also, is surrounded by a paler area; on
the third and fourth segments these spots form
a pretty regular transverse series, but on the
fifth and following segments four of them are
ranged in a square or trapezoid ; one spot is
situated just above each spiracle, one below it,
and two others on each side of each spiracle ;
the spiracles themselves are very small and in-
tensely black; the ventral area is the colour
of putty; the legs are pale, and the claspers
putty-coloured and very small, not spreading
at the ends. These caterpillars turn to smooth
brown CHRYSALIDS in the ground, some in
October, but the greater number not until the
following May. Those which become chry-
salids in October emerge as perfect moths in
the course of a few days; they rarely, if ever,
pass the winter in the chrysalis state, and it is
a very remarkable and hitherto unexplained
fact, but one which I have dwelt on at some
length in a paper read before the Entomological
Society, that the female moths which are dis-
closed in October and do not hybernate, are
almost invariably barren : I say almost, be-
cause I do not desire to press this theory
- ----- - - --------------—----...--------,
NOCTUAS.
*
3
2
3
unduly; as far as my observations have extended
they are always barren and therefore entirely
useless as regards the continuance of their
kind. This is by no means an isolated case
of the superabundant supply of life provided
by Nature; the autumnal production of drones
in bee-hives—not one in a thousand of which
ever serves any useful purpose, as far as apia-
rians have ascertained—is a similar instance
of the lavish abundance Nature supplies; and
the destruction of these drones by the workers
exhibits the mode in which she disposes of
this superabundance. These barren moths
are not merely unproductive, but their bodies
are perfectly empty, mere hollow cavities
without eggs or any perceptible ovary. If the
winter prove severe the caterpillars retire
deeper, beyond the reach of frost, returning
towards the surface again as soon as the ther-
mometer rises.
The bulk of the MOTHS emerge in June, and
then the sexes are in equal numbers, and the
females are invariably fertile, their bodies
being filled with eggs. The species is only
too common everywhere. (The scientific name
is Agrotis Segetum.)
Obs. 1. The hybernation of caterpillars is a
fact very familiar to entomologists; but they
live through the winter in a quiescent state, as
though slumbering, and do not eat, simply be-
cause their usual supply of food has failed ;
the leaves have fallen, and they are compelled
to wait until spring has produced a fresh sup-
ply. But in the case of these turnip-grubs it is
very different : their food, being roots, is to be
found at all seasons, and the work of destruc-
tion goes on incessantly, and is only limited
by the supply; indeed the various agricultural
roots are often harvested with the enemy con-
cealed in the interior.
Obs. 2. I believe I should rather understate
the fact if I were to say that during the spring
and summer of 1864 I received, through her
Majesty's Post-office, one hundred consign-
ments of this most injurious insect, together
with details of its ravages, and demands for a
remedy. It is taken for granted, from my
long course of observation, and frequent com-
munications to public papers on the subject of
insect pests, that I possess a sort of omni-
science in these matters, whereas, the truth is,
however we may seek to disguise it, that the
most learned and most observant of entomolo-
gists knows but little, very, very little; and
when he ventures on advice, instead of being
couched in the cabalistic figures of a prescrip-
tion, or a recommendation to purchase some
nostrum of which he, the entomologist, may
be supposed the proprietor, is generally a
simple recommendation to the querist to allow
Nature to take her course. Thus, all my own
observations tend to show that Nature is her
own physician, and that neither allopaths nor
homoeopaths can do anything better or wiser
than allow Nature to work out her own cure.
In our own bodies we find that almost every
disease can be traced, more or less directly,
to interference with the course of
Nature: we eat too much, or drink too much,
or interfere in some way with Nature's laws;
inconvenience follows, and we demand a
second interference to balance the first. It is
exactly thus with the world of animals.
Birds, insects, all living things, have their ap-
pointed food : this is a law with which it is
dangerous to interfere: the present instance is
as good an illustration of this as can possibly
be given. Nature supplies roots as the food
for the turnip-grub. Man increases the supply
of food prodigiously ; Nature increases the
number of devourers prodigiously. The farmer
does everything in his power, and very
properly so, to increase the crop of swedes,
turnips, mangold wurzel, potatoes, and so
forth ; Nature does all in her power to increase
the number of the grubs so abundantly supplied
with food: these grubs are the especial and
favourite food of certain birds—the partridge,
the rook, the starling. Following up the in-
variable law, Nature multiplies the birds
because of this superabundant supply of grubs;
man thwarts Nature, destroys the birds, and
gives immunity to the grubs. Thus we allow
the grubs to increase—in fact, give them every
encouragement ; they revel in the abundance
we have provided for them, and we wonder at
their voracity, and demand a remedy for the
injury we have caused. This principle of
SOD162
324
BRITISH MOTHS.
interference is carried on by man in very many
other instances, in a manner highly detrimental
to his own interest: he pays the price of a sack
of grain for every owl mailed to his barn-door,
because that owl would destroy mice every
night; and these mice being relieved of their
oppressive enemy would, in a very short time,
consume a sack of wheat, peas, or beans. The
kestrel, in like manner, kills mice, and the
death of a kestrel may fairly be reckoned a
loss of five pounds. A sparrow-hawk left to
himself, even by scaring the sparrows from the
ripening grain, will save the wages of at least
three boys. In Scotland the incessant warfare
against birds of prey, and the near accom-
plishment of their extermination, has allowed
such an increase of the ring-dove as to threaten,
by their insatiable voracity, a dearth of cereals
for the food of man. Associations are formed,
officers appointed, speeches made, rewards
offered: the object being solely and exclusively
to remedy the evil which the speech-makers
have, by their supposed sagacity, induced.
Fifty such instances might be given, but let
us take the particular instance of the turnip-
grub. Two birds make it their special and
favourite food; these are the partridge and the
rook : it is very interesting to watch with a
pocket-glass the instantaneous movement with
which they seize on the caterpillar directly
they have brought him to the surface, the
rook delving for him with its beak, a habit
that might have obtained for this invaluable
bird the name of fodiens rather than frugilegus,
—and the partridge turning him out by the
simple expedient of scratching, after the
method practised by all birds of the poultry
order. Neither of these birds is favoured with
a place in that “gamekeeper's museum,” the
bole of an oak or the door of a barm ; but,
nevertheless, they are persecuted for sport, or
destroyed by poison, and, whatever the pre-
text for the slaughter, the effect is the same.
Partridges and rooks alike grace our tables—
partridges under their own name, rooks,
nomine mutato, as the chief ingredient of pigeon
pies.
Obs. 3. The first author who noticed the
ravages of this caterpillar was “Rusticus,” of
Godalming, in 1832; the second, Mr. Le Keux
in the “Transactions of the Entomological
Society,” in 1840; and the third, Mr. Curtis,
in his “ Farm Insects,” in 1860.
Obs. 4. This is the Brindled Heart and
Club (Bombya catenata) of Haworth (Lep.
Brit., No 54) and also the Pectinated Dart.
(Bombya peetinatus, Lep. Brit., No. 55); the
Necklace Dart (Bombya monileus, Lep. Brit.,
No. 56); the Brindled Dart (Bombya spinulus,
Lep. Brit., No. 57); the Dark Dart (Bombya,
subatratus, Lep. Brit., No. 61); and the Black
Dart (Bombya, nigricornutus, Lep. Brit.,
No. 62); all these are subsequently placed
in the genus Noctua at p. 218-9 of the same
work.
527. Eversman's Rustic (Agrotis fennica).
527. EvPRSMAN's RUSTIC.—The palpi are
rather porrected, and slightly arched, the
apical joint sparingly clothed with scales, and
very distinct; the antennae are simple in both
sexes, those of the males are slightly incras-
sated : the fore wings are very narrow, their
colour is dingy bistre-brown, with the inner
margin ochreous; the ochreous area, extending
from the base to the third double transverse
line, is rather broad, reaching nearly to the
discoidal spots; there are three very distinct
double transverse lines, or rather pairs of lines;
the first short, and very near the base of the
wing; the second just before the orbicular;
the third just beyond the reniform; the fourth
is parallel with the hind margin, and emits a
number of wedge-shaped markings, pointing
towards the base of the wing; the discoidal
spots are very distinct and conspicuous; the
orbicular is rather small, oblique, and oblong;
its circumscription is ochreous-white, its
median area dark brown; the reniform is large,
its circumscription ochreous-white, its median

NOCTUAS. 3
2
*r
area blackish at both extremitics, more par-
ticularly the lower: the hind wings are very
ample, their colour is pale gray-brown at the
base, darker brown towards the hind margin ;
there is a crescentic discoidal spot, which with
the wing-rays is also darker: the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body as the hind wings.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
August; it has occurred on the Continent of
Europe, and also in the State of New York;
and Mr. Stainton says, “One specimen has
occurred in Derbyshire.” (The scientific name
is Agrotis fennica.)
528. The Crescent Dart (Agrotis lunigera).
528. THE CRESCENT DART. — The antennae
are ciliated in the male, simple in the female :
the fore wings are straight on the costa and
rather blunt at the tip; their ground-colour is
gray in the males, with a slight tinge of sepia-
brown, and they have various markings of a
dark sepia-brown; they are almost entirely
dark sepia-brown in the females; the claviform
spot is black, or nearly so; the orbicular is
very round and very conspicuous, pale gray,
with a black, or nearly black, circumscription,
and a central dot; the reniform is partially
obscured by a transverse cloud-like bar; the
hind margin is occupied by a broad sepia-brown
band: the hind wings are white in the males,
Smoky-brown in the females, the base of the
wing being paler and the wing-rays darker;
there is also a row of linear spots on the hind
margin, and a crescentic discoidal spot is just
discernible in both sexes: the thorax is varied
with two shades of brown in the males; it is
uniform dark brown in the females; the body
is gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR has been bred by Mr.
Buckler, from eggs obtained by Mr. W. Far-
ren. Its medio-dorsal stripe is conspicuously
sulphur-yellow on the black shining plate of
the second segment only, while on all the
other segments scarcely noticeable, and chiefly
at the commencement of each a rather paler
brown than the mottled portions it runs
through. The anal segment is buff colour,
forming a conspicuous pale mark above the
flap. The sides are blackish-green, bounded
above by the sub-dorsal line of rather darker
hue, and below by the black spiracles and
usual waſty tubercles; the sub-dorsal line is
edged below by a fine thread of dirty whitish-
green, and another such fine line, but undu-
lating and interrupted, runs between it and
the spiracles. Above the legs is a pale thin
dirty-whitish line; the belly and legs slightly
darker, of a greenish-drab tint; the ventral
legs are more beneath the body than usual; all
the tubercular warts are blackish, large, and
shining. The head is mottled-brownish, with
a large black blotch on cach side of the crown.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
but is by no means generally distributed. It
is reported from Cornwall, Devonshire, Isle of
Wight, Pembrokeshire, Flintshire, and Scot-
land; and Mr. Birchall says it is common at
Howth, and has occurred at Cork. All my
specimens have been taken in the Isle of
Wight, where it is attracted by sugar
sprinkled on the heads of thistles and knob-
weed growing on the chalk-downs. (The
scientific name is 24yrotis lumigera.)

BRITISH
MOTHS.
529. The Heart and Dart (Agrotis exclamationis).
529. THE HEART AND DART.-The antennae
are ciliated in the male, simple in the female :
the fore wings are nearly straight on the costa
and blunt at the tip; their colour is umber-
brown, the ground-colour rather pale, the
spots dark; the claviform is almost black, and
is united to, or rather seated on, a slender
transverse dark line; the orbicular is less dis-
tinct; the reniform is large, distinct, and uni-
colorous; immediately beyond it, is a curved
and ZigZag dark line crossing the wing: the
hind Wings of the male are pale, with darker
wing-rays, and a dark but slender hind-mar-
ginal line; the hind wings of the female are
Smoke-coloured; the head, thorax, and body
are of the same ground-colour as the fore
wings; the collar is very erect, and has a deep
brown mark, which, as you look at the face of
the moth full in front, has a great resemblance
to the conventional representation of a flying
bird.
The EGG is laid in June, either on the ground,
or on the young leaves of turnips, rape, radishes,
or other vegetables, or perhapsom those of dande-
lions, docks, or other weeds, the young CATER-
PILLAR at first feeding entirely above ground
and on green leaves, but I think this habit
only lasts until the second month, when it
burrows beneath the surface, and becomes
either an entirely subterranean feeder, or a
subterranean resident during the day, some-
times ascending plants or garden vegetables
by night, and feeding on the leaves. Thus I
have often found it on either autumnal or win-
ter greens by night, making copious mines in
Some of the more solid heads in company with
the caterpillar of Mamestra Brassicae already
described. It also feeds on the roots of tur-
nips, parsnips, carrots, and mangold Wurzel,
particularly about the crown and round the
base of the tap root: it thus does an almost
incredible amount of damage, in this respect
vieing with its congeher, Agrotis Segetum,
emphatically known as the “turnip-grub.” I
have found it at the approach of winter appa-
rently full fed, although I have ascertained
that it continues its destructive operations
throughout the winter, so long as it finds roots
that it can devour. It shows a decided pre-
ference for those turnips commonly known as
“white rounds,” and should these be sown in
the same field with swedes or mangold Wurzel,
it will exhibit its taste by confining its ravages
to the white rounds. The caterpillar is full
fed in September and October, and is then
about an inch and a half long, stout, fleshy,
and cylindrical; it rolls in a ring when an-
moyed. The head is slightly narrower than
the second segment, into which it can be
partially withdrawn. It is glabrous, and of a
pale brown colour, with two dark brown marks
down the face. The colour of the body is pale
dingy-brown, with a double, but slender,
medio-dorsal stripe, which appears to be
united at the interstices of the segments, but
opens, and encloses a small linear space on
the disk of each ; on each side of the medio-
dorsal is a slender and slightly waved stripe,
and between this and the medio-dorsal is a
series of black dots, one on each side of the
first and second segments, two each on the
others as far as the twelfth inclusive; on each
side of each segment, and below the lateral
stripe, are three dots, excepting the first and
second, which have but two, and every dot
emits a minute bristle : the legs and claspers
are concolorous with the body. When full fed
it forms an earthen cocoon, three or four inches
below the surface of the ground, and therein
changes to a smooth brown shining CHRYSALIS,
with a stout body and a sharp anal point,

NOCTUAS.
3
2
7
The MOTH appears in June, and continues on
the wing throughout the summer. It is com-
mon everywhere. (The scientific name is
Agrotis eacclamationis.)
Obs. 1.—I have followed my usual plan of
describing the caterpillar of this most destruc-
tive insect without comparing it with that of
the closely-allied Agrotis Segetum, and have
brought out certain characters in each descrip-
tion not mentioned in the other; but there is
so great a difficulty in distinguishing the two
species when in the caterpillar state, that I
have often found the moths of both emerge
from the same turnip, when I supposed it con-
tained only the caterpillar of one.
Obs. 2.-The male of this species is the
Heart and Dart (Woetua evolamationis) of
Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 169), and the female
the Pitchy Dart (Wootua picea, Lep. Brit.,
No. 170).
Obs. 3.—Owing to an inadvertence, the
ordinary form of this abundant moth has not
been figured: the varieties represented have
been kindly lent for this work by Mr. Bond
and Mr. C. Fenn : the spots are usually more
separate and distinct.
530. The Heart and Club (Agrotis corticea). Males.
530. The Heart and Club (Agrotis corticea). Females.
530. THE HEART AND CLUB.—The antennae
are decidedly ciliated in the male, simple in
the female : the costal margin of the fore
wings is straight, the tip blunt, their colour is
smoky gray-brown, with darker blotches and
numerous minute transverse lines; the princi-
pal blotches are two ; the first seems to com-
bine and include the claviform and orbicular,
the second the reniform spot; a slender but
double transverse line adjoins the first of these
on the side nearest the base, and a similar
double line adjoins the second blotch on the
side nearest the hind margin; the costal
margin is spotted with pale and dark; short
and slender dark lines and dots are scattered
or sprinkled over the entire surface of the
wings; in some specimens these are rather
crowded, in others distant from each other :
the hind wings are pale gray-brown with a
very inconspicuous crescentic discoidal spot:
the head and thorax are very much the same
colour as the fore wings; the body the same
colour as the hind Wings. -
M. Guenée says that he has often met with
the CATERPILLAR of this species, but has unfortu-
nately neglected to describe it. I am still
more unfortunate in never having seen the
caterpillar.
The MoTH appears on the wing at the end
of June and beginning of July, and often
Swarms at the blossoms of the lime, a tree
that offers a banquet to bees by day, and to
moths by night. It seems very generally



328 BRITISH
MOTHS.
distributed in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Agrotis corticea.)
Obs. This is the Heart and Club (Bombya,
clavigerus), of Haworth (Lep. Brit. No. 52);
the Chain-Shot Dart (Bombya connecus, Lep.
Brit., No. 58); the Pointed Dart (Bombya,
corticeus, Lep. Brit., No. 59); the Broad-
Weined Dart (Bombyc venosus, Lep. Brit., No.
60): these are subsequently placed in the
Genus Woctua, at p. 218 of the same work.
531. The Light-Feathered Rustic (agrotis cinerea).
58i. The LIGHT-FEATHERED Rustic.—The
antennae are ciliated in the male, simple in
the female : the fore wings are very straight
on the costal margin, but rounded at the tip;
their colour is pale gray with three slender
transverse lines, and two transverse shades;
the first transverse line is very short and very
near the base, the second is zigzag, and pre-
cedes the orbicular spot, which is represented
by a mere dot ; then follows the first trans-
verse shade which includes the reniform spot,
and beyond this is the third transverse line,
bent and zigzag : the second transverse shade
is parallel with the hind margin; in some
specimens, especially females, the entire ground
colour of the wing is darker, in others only
the Space between the second and third trans-
verse lines: the hind wings are almost white,
with darker wing-rays, and a very indistinct
crescentic discoidal spot: the head, thorax,
and body are pale gray.
“The CATERPILLAR is shining greenish-
brown; dorsal and sub-dorsal lines darker:
between them are small oblique dark streaks
Treitschke). On roots of various low plants.”
Staënton's Manual, vol. ii., p. 225.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken in the Isle of Wight, at Brigh-
f
ton, Lewes, and in Gloucestershire, Hereford-
shire, Pembrokeshire, and Carnarvonshire.
(The scientific name is Agrotis cinerea.)
532. The Sand Dart (Agrotis Ripa).
532. THE SAND DART.-The antennae are
ciliated in the male, simple in the female: the
fore wings are rather long and rather narrow,
straight on the costa, and rounded at the tip;
their colour is pale gray, with a very slight
tinge of ochreous; the claviform spot is pre-
sent, but not strongly marked, the orbicular is
small and round, defined by its darker outline
only, the reniform is almost square and its
disk dark; there are two irregular and inter-
rupted transverse lines, both of them semi-
double, and both broken up into spots: the
hind wings of the male are white, those of the
female slightly clouded, especially on the
wing-rays and towards the hind margin: the
head, thorax, and body are gray, the body
rather the palest.
The Rev. John Hellins' has described the
CATERPILLAR in the Zoologist as having the
ground colour varying from a light pea-green
to a yellowish gray (in one instance the cater-
pillar was green half its length and gray the
other half) having a medio-dorsal stripe of a
darker shade of the ground colour, but inter-
sected throughout by a very slender pale
stripe; there are three slender waved lateral
lines on each side ; these are placed close
together just above the spiracles, and are
slightly paler than the medio-dorsal stripe;
they are followed by a stripe rather darker
than the ground colour, and containing the


NOCTUAS.
spiracles which are black; the head, and a
dorsal plate on the second segment are pale
brown. These caterpillars were found feeding
on hound’s-tongue (Cynoglossum officinale),
which grows on sand-hills by the sea coast, and
were fed on the same plant in confinement:
they are very fond of burrowing in the sand,
and Mr. Hellins thinks some of them hyber-
nate in the sand at a depth of several inches:
they always leave off feeding in October.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and has been taken in Cornwall, Devon-
shire (at Instow Sand-hills, and Braunton
Burrows, Dawlish, and Exmouth), Somerset-
shire, and Glamorganshire, but I believe
always on the sea coast. (The scientific name
is Agrotis Ripa.)
Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Waughan for the
use of a beautiful variety.
533. The Coast Dart (Agrotis cursoria).
533. THE CoAST DART.-The antennae are
very slightly pectinated in the male : the fore
wings are rather long and narrow, straight on
the costa, and blunt at the tip; their colour is
* pale gray tinged with ochreous or brown, and
presenting in different specimens almost every
shade of colour from pale ochreous gray to
dark brown; there are evident indications of
three darker transverse lines, all of them
double; the first is short and indistinct, it is
almost close to the base of the wing, and does
not reach the inner margin; the second crosses
the wing just before the orbicular spot, and is
almost straight; and the third is bent, and
situated beyond the reniform spot: the orbi-
cular spot is, almost round and rather paler
gray than the rest of the wing; the reniform
is larger and conspicuous, it has a pale circum-
scription; the inclosed area is of two shades,
the upper portion paler, the lower darker than
the general ground colour: the hind wings
are pale gray with a slightly darker marginal
cloud, especially towards the tip, and an
indistinct crescentic discoidal spot; in the
females the wing-rays also are darker: the
head and thorax vary in tint with the fore
wings: the body is gray in the males, brown-
gray in the females. -
“The CATERPILLAR is pale ochreous with
dark brown dorsal line; spiracular line whitish,
edged above with brown : ordinary spots
black (Freyer) on spurge (Euphorbia esula).”
Stainton’s Manual, vol. i., p. 225.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has occurred in Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorset-
shire, Kent, Suffolk, Norfolk, Glamorganshire,
Denbighshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire; it is
also reported from Scotland, and Mr. Birchall
says it is very abundant on the Irish coast.
(The scientific name is Agrotis cursoria.)
Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the use
of an unusually fine series of specimens.
534. The Garden Dart (Agrotis nigricans).
534. THE GARDEN DART.—The antennae
are very slightly ciliated in the male, but are
evidently stouter than those of the female;
the costal margin of the fore wings is slightly
arched, and the tip blunt; their colour is
dark umber-brown, sometimes slightly tinged
with reddish-brown; the claviform spot is
connected with the base of the wing by a
mixed longitudinal streak which presents an
appearance of having had the scales scraped
off with a penknife; the orbicular spot is
rather depressed, in some specimens a good
deal flattened; it has a dark circumscription
and a pale disk; the reniform is more perfectly
kidney-shaped than in any other of the genus,
its circumscription is very dark, its disk rather
dark towards the base of the wing, rather pale
gray towards the hind margin ; there is a


330 BRITISH
MOTHS.
waved series of pale spots six to eight in
number parallel with the hind margin : the
hind wings are pale at the base, darker and
smoky towards the hind margin; they have a
crescentic discoidal spot, and some of the
wing-rays rather darker.
The CATERPILLAR of this moth has been
found by Mr. Doubleday, in the neighbour-
hood of Epping, and has been carefully
described by Mr. Buckler in the Entomolo-
gists’ Monthly Magazine: the egg is laid in July
on clover and other plants; the caterpillar,
when full-grown, is an inch and a-half
long, smooth, and cylindrical; the colour
of the back ochreous-brown, and in some indi-
viduals very bright ochreous; a thin gray
dorsal line, margined with blackish, and
running through a series of blackish-brown
triangular and diamond shapes, well defined
in some individuals, though obscure in others;
sub-dorsal line greenish-black, in some varie-
ties quite black, and edged below with a
narrow line of dirty whitish-green, then a
broad stripe of blackish-green, followed by
another dirty whitish-green, narrow and
slightly interrupted, line, and then another
darker broad stripe of blackish-green, along
he lower edge of which are the black spi-
racles; a double whitish stripe follows, ex-
tending down the sides of the anal claspers,
which is made by a line of pale dirty grayish-
green, being the colour of the belly and clas-
pers, running through the middle of the white;
the ordinary shining warty spots black; the
head grayish-brown, mottled, and streaked
with black; a dark brown shining plate on
the back of the second segment, with three
paler grayish lines; some of these caterpillars
presented great resemblance to several of the
varieties of Agrotis Tritici, but the double
white stripe above the feet, and black warty
dots, give distinct characters to the caterpillars
of Wigricans.
Obs. This is another most destructive cater-
pillar, and Mr. Doubleday has communicated
to me some interesting particulars of its
ravages in 1865, near Epping. In one in-
stance, a field of ten acres, sown with wheat in
the autumn and with clover in the spring,
was attacked so vigorously that by the 17th
of May not a clover leaf was to be seen : it is
not a little remarkable that the wheat re-
mained entirely uninjured, and that when
the clover and weeds too commonly sown with
clover seed had been utterly consumed, the
caterpillars betook themselves to the hedges
and devoured every green leaf they could find ;
every kind of weed, even the large umbellifers
were entirely stripped, but grasses of every
zind were spared. I am indebted to Mr. Last
as well as Mr. Doubleday for specimens of
these caterpillars, and have described them for
publication, but prefer quoting Mr. Buckler's
description as a just compliment to one who
has done so much to elucidate the natural
history of our British Lepidoptera.
The MOTH appears on the wing throughout
July, and is only too common throughout the
country. (The scientific name is Agrotis
nigricans.)
Obs. This is the Dark Rustic (Noctua
fumosa) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 173);
the Garden Dart (Noctua nigricans, Lep. Brit.,
No. 174); the Rufous Dart (Woetua ruris,
Lep. Brit., No. 175); the White Line (Noctua
dubia, Lep. Brit., No. 176); and the Square
Spot Dart (Noctua obeliscata, Lep. Brit., No.
177). -
535. The White-line Dart (Agrotis Tritici).


NOCTUAS.
331
~~~º. --
535. THE WHITE-LINE DART.-The palpi
are porrected, slightly ascending, and rather
distant; the antennae of the male are slightly
serrated, those of the female simple : the
fore wings are straight on the costa, blunt at
the tip, and rather rounded on the hind mar-
gin ; their colour is dark bistre-brown, more
or less varied with pale wainscot-brown; of
this latter colour there is generally but not
always a rather conspicuous dash beneath the
costa, extending from the base to the remi-
form ; the discoidal spots are generally very
distinctly outlined with the paler colour, and
have a darker central area; the orbicular is
small, oval, and oblique; some of the Wing-
rays are often pale, and there is generally a
sinuous line or interrupted series of linear
spots parallel with the hind margin, from
which emanate three, four, or five clongate
wedge-shaped spots, the tips of which point
towards the middle of the wing: the hind
wings are pale at the base, the wing-rays and
hind margin being smoky-brown ; the fringe
is paler: the head and thorax are bistre-
brown, freckled with gray scales; the body is
uniform smoky-brown.
THE CATERPILLAR of this very common spe-
cios has a rather small and porrected head,
and an obese cylindrical and shining body, in
which the usual minute warts are not conspi-
cuous, and each emits a short hair : the head
is shining, of a pale brown colour mottled
with darker brown : the second segment has
a dark brown glabrous plate; the dorsal area
of the body is gray-brown, with a narrow
medio-dorsal stripe considerably paler; there
is a narrow lateral stripe on each side, not
far from the medio-dorsal, and of the same
pale hue, and all these three stripes pass
through the dorsal plate of the second seg-
ment, and come close to the head; the sides
of the caterpillar are dingy green, inter-
sected throughout by a narrow grayish stripe;
the spiracles are black; the ventral is paler
than the dorsal area, and the claspers are
concolorous. It feeds at the root of all kinds
of garden weeds and vegetables, and changes
to a CHRYSALTs beneath the surface of the
ground.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July,
and appears very generally distributed over
England: it is also reported from Scotland,
and Mr. Birchall says it is common every-
where on the coast of Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Agrotis Tritici.)
Obs. This is the White-line Dart (Noctua
albiline?) of Haworth (Lep. Brit., No. 180);
the Lineolated Dart (Noctua lineolata, Lep.
J3rit., No. 181); the Pupilled Dart (Noctua.
pupillata, Lep. Brit., No. 183); and the
Gothic Dart, (Noctua subgothica, Lep. Brit.,
No. 185.)
536. The Streaked Dart (Ayrotis aquilina),
536. THE STREAKED DART.-The palpi are
porrected, slightly ascending, and rather dis-
tant ; the antennae of the male are stout and
slightly separated, those of the female more
slender and quite simple: the fore wings
are straight on the costa, and blunt at the
tip ; their colour is umber-brown, sometimes
with a paler dash under the costa ; the dis-
coidal spots are well defined, outlined with
pale brown, and having darker centres;
there is generally a pale sinuous line or inter-
rupted series of pale linear spots parallel with
the hind margin, from which emanate three,
four, or five elongate wedge-shaped spots, the
tips of which point towards the middle of the
wing: the hind wings are pale at the base,
with darker crescent-shaped discoidal spot,
wing-rays, and hind margin : , the head and
thorax are umber-brown ; the body Smoky-
brown.
The CATERPILLARs of this moth have been
discovered by Mr. Last, of Ipswich, at the
roots of various vegetables, especially where
growing among weeds; they feed on chick-
weed, cabbage, broccoli, onions, poppies,
plantain, &c. The caterpillar, when full-
grown, is thus described by Mr. Buckler, in

332
BRITISH MOTHS.
No. 18 of the Entomologists' Monthly illaga-
Sine :-
“It is an inch and a half long, cylindrical,
and rather shining. The head gray-brown,
mottled with blackish ; the back dingy-brown,
a dorsal line of rather paler gray-brown, the
sub-dorsal line black, edged below with a thin
line of gray-brown, and which, like thé dorsal
line, Tuns through the blackish plate on the
second segment; to this succeeds a broad
stripe of dingy blackish-green, then another
thin line of gray-brown, followed by another
broad stripe of dingy blackish-green, the black
spiracles being situated along its lower edge;
the belly and legs gray-brown, the warty
spots dark brown and not very conspicuous;
the general aspect of the caterpillar very dark
and dingy.” º, ºr
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
August, and occurs not uncommonly in our
English counties, but it is so imperfectly
known, and so rarely distinguished from the
preceding, that no confidence whatever can be
placed in the recorded habitats. Mr. Birchall
informs us that it has been taken at Malahidé
Sand-hills in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Agrotis a ſuilina.)
537. The Square Spot Dart (Agrotis Obelisco).
537. THE SquarE SPOT DART.-The palpi
are porrected and prominent ; the antennae are
very stout and slightly serrated in the male,
rather slender and simple in the female : the
colour of the fore wings is sepia-brown; there
is a gray shade beneath the costa ; the dis-
coidal spots are distinct, and rendered more so
by the space between them being intensely
dark brown or almost black; a similarly
coloured wedge-shaped spot adjoins the orbi-
cular pointing towards the base, and below
the orbicular and extending nearly to the base
of the wing, is a compound mark of the same
colour; there are also two interrupted trans-
verse lines or rather irregular series of dark
marks, the first before the orbicular, the
second beyond the reniform : the hind wings
are very pale in the males with darker wing-
rays and hind margin, Smoky brown in the
females: the head and thorax are dark brown;
the body paler, and with a slight appearance
of still paler rings.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position on the slender stems of its food-plant;
When annoyed it falls to the ground in a com-
pact ring : the head has a rather flat face, and
is considerably narrower than the second seg-
ment, into which it is partially received;
the body is very stout, smooth, and almost
uniformly cylindrical; its colour is pale testa-
ceous-brown, with a slender white medio-
dorsal stripe, which is bordered on each side
by a still more slender and threadlike black
stripe; there is a similar white stripe, deli-
cately black-bordered on each side of the cater-
pillar, and, connecting the medio-dorsal with
the lateral stripes; there is also a short oblique
stripe on each side of each segment, each pair
of oblique stripes forming a letter W, the apex
of which is directed towards the anal extre-
mity; below these, and in the region of the
spiracles, is a series of round dots, ten on each
segment, and also a short oblique line : the
ventral is concolorous with the dorsal area, and
the claspers are also of the same colour, and
just above each is a black dot. It feeds of the
ladies' bedstraw (Galium verum).
The MOTH appears on the Wing in August,
and occurs pretty abundantly in the Isle of
Wight, whence I received the series in my
possession ; it has also been taken at Brighton;
it is reported by the Rev. Harpur Crewe from
Derbyshire, and from Lancashire by Mr.
Birchall, who has also taken it in Ireland:
this indefatigable entomologist writes of the
species thus: “Abundant at Howth ; fre-
quents the higher slopes of the hill, where it
may be taken freely from the rag-wort flowers
in August in company with Lunigera. Although
Tritici swarms at the foot of the hill and along

NOCTUAS. 333
the shore, it rarely intrudes on the more aris-
tocratic society of the higher levels.” (The
scientific name is Agrotis obelisca.)
538. The Heath Rustic (Agrotis agathina).
538. THE HEATH RUSTIC.—The palpi are
porrected, slightly ascending, and rather dis-
tant ; the antennae are slender in both sexes,
but rather stouter in the male, and slightly
Serrated ; the fore wings are straight on the
costa, obtuse at the tip, and waved on the
hind margin ; their colour is brown glossed
and tinged with a rich vinous red; there is a
pale dash on the costa, extending from the
base to two-thirds of its length; the orbicular
is pale, clearly defined, and very conspicuous;
the reniform is outlined in pale gray, but not
so conspicuous as the orbicular; its exterior
border is indistinct, the space between the
discoidal spots is very dark brown, and there
is a triangular mark of the same colour on the
basal side of the orbicular, and pointing to-
wards the base of the wing ; below this are two
whitish marks; a broken series of pale mark-
ings crosses the wing just beyond the middle,
and of this the reniform forms a part, and a
second broken series is parallel with the hind
margin, and terminates in a rather conspicuous
pale blotch near the anal angle : the hind
wings are waved on the hind margin, very
pale brown with crescentic discoidal spots, a
transverse median line, a broadish marginal
-bar darker brown; the thorax and body are
reddish-brown.
The CATERPILLAR does not roll itself in a
ring when touched, but falls off its food, and,
bending its body slightly at both extremities,
remains motionless a short time, feigning
death. In form it is almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but slightly decreases in size at either
end, it is smooth and welvety: the head is
rather small and very shining, of a pale dull
green or dull brown, with two obscure longi-
tudinal darker markings: the body is of
different ground colour in different indivi-
duals, the prevailing hues are green and
brown, in all instances adorned with five
longitudinal white stripes, all of which are
more or less interrupted by folds in the skin,
especially at the interstices of the segments:
three of these are brighter and more distinct
than the remaining two, and may be called
dorsal, the remaining two are lateral, and are
tinged more or less with the ground colour of
the body : the medio-dorsal stripe is found on
close examination to be composed of a series
of shuttle-shaped markings, placed end to
end : the next stripe on each side is bordered
on its upper or dorsal margin with velvety
black, massed on each segment into a conspi-
cuous blotch : the lower margin is also bor-
dered, but less conspicuously, with black:
the lateral stripe is broader and more diffused,
as well as less conspicuous, than the others:
it encloses the spiracles, which are ranged
just within its upper margin, excepting the
last and last but one, which are placed above
the stripe: by these five stripes the dorsal
surface of the body is divided into four nearly
equal compartments, all of which are alike in
ground colour, whatever its tint, and are
delicately mottled with velvety black: the
under surface bordering the lateral stripe
partakes of the same colour, but the ventral
area, legs and claspers, are paler, having a
semi-transparent appearance. It feeds on the
common ling (Calluna vulgaris) principally at
night, when it is swept off the food-plant in
early spring by collectors who are acquainted
with its habits; it is full-fed about the end
of May.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
as soon as the heaths are in full flower, when
S.

334
MOTHS.
BRITISH
it frequents the blossoms more particularly of
those which grow under the shade of trees.
It has occurred at Lyndhurst, in the New
Forest; at Weybridge and West Wickham, in
Surrey; and also in Lancashire and York-
shire. Mr. Birchall has taken it not uncom-
monly at Howth, and in the county Wicklow,
in Ireland, by sweeping heath at night in
August and September. (The scientific name
is Agrotis agathina).
539. The True Lovers' Knot (Agrotis porphyrea).
539. THE TRUE LovERs’ KNOT.-The palpi
are porrected and slightly ascending; the scales
on the second joint extend to the tip of the
apical joint, making each palpus look bifid ;
the antennae are slightly serrated in the male :
the fore wings are nearly straight on the costa,
blunt at the tip, and entire on the hind
margin : their colour is brickdust red, with
numerous nearly white markings; the dis-
coidal spots are outlined in white, but each
has a darker area ; the parts between and
around them are also darker—indeed, very dark
brown; there are seven white spots on the
costa, four rather large ones at cqual dis-
tances, the second and fourth of which secru
to originate transverse zigzag white lines, the
first before the orbicular, the second beyond
the reniform ; the seventh costal spot is near
the tip, and extends a considerable distance
into the wing, and is followed by a series of
white dots irregularly parallel with the hind
margin ; most of the wings-rays are also white
for the whole or the greater part of their
length ; most Öf the white markings are accom-
panied by darker blotches, which make them
more conspicuous: the hind wings are pale
grayish-brown, darker towards the hind mar-
gin : the thorax is variegated with the colours
of the fore wings, the body has the more
uniform colour of the hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR is uniformly cylindrical ;
the head is very shining, and of a pale brown
colour; the body is umber-brown, paler be-
tween the segments: on the back are three
series of linear clearly-defined whitish marks
placed end to end; the first series is median,
and extends from the third to the tenth seg-
ment, both inclusive, and consisting, therefore,
of nine spots; the first of these, that on the
third segment, is circular; that on the fourth
oval ; the rest are linear; on each side of this
series is a lateral series of similar whitish
linear spots, and these commence on the fifth
segment, and extend to the thirteenth ; below
these lateral series of whitish spots there is a
whitish stripe which includes the spiracles,
which are black; the legs are very shining, pale
brown, spotted with black; the claspers are
pale. It feeds on the common ling (Calluna
vulgaris) only in the night. The EGGS are laid
and hatched in the autumn, and the caterpillar
hybernates: in April it begins to feed again,
and is full-fed in May : it then spins a slight
cocoon on the surface of the ground, and
therein changes to a CHRYSALIS.
The MOTII appears on the wing in June and
July, and occurs in every locality I have
J } #
visited where the common ling grows abun-
dantly, hiding among the branches of that
plant until disturbed by the entomologist.
Mr. Birchall says it is very common at
Howth, in Ireland, secreting itself by day
among the broken limestone shale. (The
Scientific name is Agrotis porphyrea.)
540. The Portland Moth (Agrotis praecox).
540. THE PORTLAND MOTH.—The palpi are
short and inconspicuous, and the antennae
slender in both sexes; the fore wings are
straight on the costa and blunt at the tip ; they


NOCTUAS. 335
are decidedly narrow, the costal and hind
margins being nearly parallel; their colour is
pale obscure green, with numerous very dis-
tinct markings, most of them black; the orbi-
cular and reniform are outlined in black, the
area enclosed by the black outline is light
gray, with a median darker shade, which in
the orbicular is indistinctly circular, and in
the reniform has somewhat the shape of an
hour-glass; there are three zigzag black lines,
the first short and near the base, the second is
before the orbicular, and the third beyond the
remiform ; beyond the third is an elbowed
reddish bar parallel with the hind margin, but
not quite reaching the costa, and on the hind
margin itself is a linear series of elongate
black spots: the hind wings are Smoky-brown,
paler at the base, having an obscurely crescent-
shaped discoidal spot, and a black marginal
line: the thorax is pale greenish-gray, dotted
with black: the body is of the same colour as
the hind wings.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is very pale
brown, broadly notched on the crown, and
there is a dark V-shaped mark pointing back-
wards on the face: the colour of the body is
very various: a medio-dorsal series of longi-
tudinal gray markings, each extending almost
the length of a segment and dilated posteriorly;
these markings are margined on each side by
others of a Smoky-brown, which are narrowed
to mere lines in front, but dilated posteriorly :
on each side of the narrowed portion is a spot
of the same colour; all the aforesaid markings
constitute a variegated median stripe; on each
side of this is a ferruginous stripe, interrupted
at the segmental divisions, and below this on
each side is a narrow stripe extending to the
spiracles, which are black; there is a gray
stripe below the spiracles; the belly is dingy
gray : it feeds on chickweed (Alsine media),
and is full-fed at midsummer, when it
changes to a CHRYSALIS just below the surface
of the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August;
it has been taken both on the north and south
coasts of Devonshire by Mr. Reading, in Dor-
setshire by Mr. Dale, in Kent, Norfolk, Suffolk,
in South Wales, Cheshire, and Lancashire.
Mr. Douglas Robinson reports it from Scot-
land, and Mr. Birchall says it is common on
the sand-hills of the Dublin coast. (The
scientific name is Agrotis praºco.c.)
541 The Stout Dart (Agrotis ravida).
541. THE STOUT DART.-The palpi are por-
rected and slightly ascending; the second joint
is cup-shaped, the third very small and scarcely
perceptible: the antennae are simple and
slender: the colour of the fore wings is dingy
brown with very obscure and inconspicuous
markings: the orbicular is longitudinally
elongate and oblique ; it is outlined in black,
but the median area is concolorous with the
general ground colour of the wing ; the reni-
form is incomplete, being outlined in black on
its interior border only; the hind wings are
pale gray-brown, the wing-rays and hind
margin rather darker: the head and thorax
are the same colour as the fore wings, the
body the same colour as the hind wings.
The CATERPILLARs were found by Mr.
Doubleday just below the surface of the
ground, at the roots of thistles and dandelions;
they feed greedily on the leaves of the latter.
Mr. Buckler has described three varieties in
No. 17 of the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine,
as under :—
Par. 1. Caterpillar yellowish-brown, slightly
tapering near the head, but almost of uniform
thickness, and cylindrical; a thin dorsal line
slightly paler than the ground colour, and
running throngh a dusky W-like streak at the
end of each segment after the fourth. At the
commencement of the fourth segment, on each
side, and close to the division, is a sub-dorsal
ochreous-yellow spot, which, on the fifth to

336
BRITISH MOTHS.
the eleventh, inclusive, has an almost con-
fluent yellow waving curved streak, extending
along two-thirds of each segment, becoming
less curved towards the twelfth, on which
they are straight, and slightly converging at
the end of that segment, where they are
margined above with dusky brown wedge-
shaped streaks pointing forwards, and a dusky
edging above to the curved yellow streaks,
but gradually less intense towards the head on
the other segments.
The sides and belly, with legs, brownish-
gray; a paler grayish stripe freckled with
dusky atoms above the feet; immediately
above that are the spiracles, minute and dirty
white in a dusky blotch, which emits an
oblique dusky streak, extending to the sub-
dorsal marking of the segment in advance.
Head gray, mottled and streaked on the lobes
and face with dusky brown; a dull brown
plate on the second segment, with slight indi-
cations of dorsal and sub-dorsal faint lines
through it.
Looking on the back of this caterpillar, the
yellow marks on each side are suggestive of a
series of incomplete horse-shoe shapes.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July; it
occurs in Devonshire, having been taken by
Mr. Dorville at Alphington, and by other
entomologists at Tórquay: also in Dorset-
shire by Mr. Dale; in Kent, Essex, and
Norfolk, and Suffolk, in nearly all the midland
and northern counties, extending even into
Scotland. (The scientific name is Agrotis
Tavida.)
542. The Dotted Rustic (Agrotis pyrophila).
542. THE DOTTED RUSTIC.—The palpi are
short but ascending, approximate, and very
inconspicuous; the antennae are slender and
simple: the colour of the fore wing is gray-
brown; the discoidal spots are very indistinct
and very near together; beyond the reniform
is a transverse series of black dots, and on the
hind margin itself a similar series; the hind
wings, head, thorax, and body, are also
grayish-brown,
“The CATERPILLAR is dull gray-brown
(Treitschke) on grasses and low plants.” (Stain-
ton's Manual, vol. i., p. 228.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
seems to be local, rare, and most imperfectly
known ; it has been reported from Dorsetshire,
Hampshire, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Wor-
cestershire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Lanca-
shire, Yorkshire, Cumberland, and Scotland.
(The scientifie name is Agrotis pyrophila.)
543. The Northern Rustic (Agrotis lucernea).
543. THE NoFTHERN RUSTIC.—The palpi
are porrected and slightly ascending, the
terminal joint projects slightly beyond the
scales of the second ; the antennae are long
and simple in both sexes, but rather stouter in
the male; the fore wings are slightly arched
on the costa, blunt at the tip, and rather
broad; their colour is smoky-gray, suffused in
some specimens with a decidedly ochreous tint,
and having three very indistinct and irregular
darker lines, the first of which is very short
and almost close to the base; it scarcely reaches
half-way across the wing; the second is before
the usual site of the orbicular; the third
beyond the usual site of the reniform, but I


NOCTUAS.
3
3
7
*---ºr-
can discover no trace of the former, and a
mere cloud indicates the usual position of the
latter; between the second and third trans-
verse lines there is a transverse shade which
includes the reniform, and beyond the third
transverse line is a dark band rendered rather
more conspicuous by a lighter line which
melts into the hind-marginal area : the hind
wings are smoky, and paler at the base ; the
fringe is very pale, almost white : the head,
thorax, and body are Smoky-gray.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched, feigning death, and falling off its
food-plant; in shape it is almost uniformly
cylindrical; the surface is smooth and velvety;
the head is shining, its triangular plate in-
tensely black; its hemispheres mottled with
black and gray-brown: the colour of the body
is a mottled mixture of gray-brown and black-
brown, the darker colour assuming somewhat
the form of a double medio-dorsal series of V-
shaped markings, the tips of the V’s directed
towards the head; the space within each V is
only a shade paler than the V itself, but
terminates at its tip in a very decided pale
spot, which has a black dot in the middle, the
dot emitting a black bristle; the legs are
black and shining ; the claspers pale ; the
spiracles almost white, but surrounded by a
black space. In a state of nature it feeds on
the common yellow-flowered stone-crop, and
occasionally also on grasses. In confinement the
caterpillars fed voraciously by might on the
leaves of the common harebell (Campanula
rotundifolia), but concealed themselves in peat-
earth by day; they were full-fed and finally
buried themselves on the 1st of May.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July; it
is rather abundant in Cornwall and Devon-
shire, particularly about Whitsand Cliffs,
Bovisand, and Torquay. Mr. Reading, who
has paid so much attention to the Lepidoptera
of this district, says it has the habit of flying
from flower to flower in the sunshine; it has
also been taken in the Isle of Wight, on the
coast of Kent, in South Wales, and in several
Scotch localities: Mr. Birchall informs us it
is very common at Howth, in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Agrotis lucernea.)
544. Ashworth's Rustic (Agrotis Ashworthii).
544. AsHworTH's RUSTIC.—The palpi are
porrected and slightly ascending ; the basal
joint is black, the second joint black at the
base, and white and very scaly at the tip; the
third or apical joint is very small and short,
and is received into the second joint and almost
hidden like an egg in its nest: the fore wings
are very slightly curved on the costa and
blunt at the tip; their colour is the most deli-
cate blue-gray approaching to dove-colour,
with three very narrow transverse black lines;
the first of these is at the base and very short,
beginning at the costa and searcely reaching
half across the wing: the second is before the
orbicular and waved, but pretty direct; and
the third is beyond the remiform, very much
bent and very zigzag ; between the second and
third is a transverse smoky shade, and in this
the orbicular and reniform may be traced, but
are very inconspicuous; parallel with the
hind margin there is, in some specimens, a
narrow, waved, darker bar, but this is by no
means constant; the hind wings are smoky-
gray, paler at the base, and having darker
wing-rays; the head and thorax are gray, the
body pale gray, and very downy at the base,
rather darker towards the tip.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a compact ring,
feigning death and falling off its food-plant
when touched. In shape it is almost uniformly
cylindrical, quite smooth and velvety: the
head is bright red and shining ; the body is
EDw ARD NEWMAN’s BRITISR
MoTHS, No. 22. PPICF 6D. §
LoN no N : W. Twº Epte,
337, STRANI).

338
BRITISH MOTHS.
uniformly coloured, generally smoky-green :
in some specimens olive-green, in others
smoke-coloured, with scarcely a perceptible
shade of green : on the dorsal surface of each
segment are two somewhat distant conspicuous
markings of an intense velvety black: the
figure of each of these markings is that of a
longitudinally elongated square or parallelo-
pipedon, its limits always clearly defined but
not very regular; near the head these markings
become narrower or more linear, and the pair
on the twelfth segment are also narrow and
placed obliquely; the legs are red-brown and
very shining.
These caterpillars feed on the fescue-grass
(Festuca ovina), several species of hawk-weed
(Hieradium), sun cistus (Cistus helianthemum),
wild thyme (Thymus Serpyllum), devil's bit
scabious (Scabiosa succisa), golden rod (Solidago
Virgaurea), burnet (Poterium Sanguisorba), &c.;
and in confinement revel on sallow (Salia,
caprea), especially the catkins. They feed by
night only, and bury themselves in the earth
by day; they were full-fed and finally dis-
appeared beneath the earth on the 8th of May.
The MoTH appears on the wing in August,
and hitherto has only been taken in the neigh-
bourhood of Llangollen, in North Wales.
(The scientific name is Agrotis Ashworthii.)
545. The Lesser Broad-Border (Tryphana čanthina).
545. THE LESSER BROAD-BORDER.—In all
the “yellow underwings” the palpi are in-
conspicuous; the antennae in both sexes simple,
and the fore wings rather narrow and rather.
elongate; the hind wings are very ample; in
the Lesser Broad-Border the colour of the fore
wings is rich brown, glossed and tinted with
purple reflections; the costa is very pale at
the base, the pale portion being confined to a
mere marginal line; there are three delicate
clouds of a gray tint descending from the costa
obliquely towards the middle of the wing, and
nearer the tip of the wing is a transverse
series of pale spots parallel with the hind
margin ; these are generally not more than
three or four in number, and are confined to
the costal portion of the wing ; the discoidal
spots are imperfectly indicated by portions of
a gray outline: the hind wings are bright
Orange in the middle, and on the hind margin,
and black at the base; they have also a broad
waved band of intense black parallel with the
hind margin : the head and collar are very
pale, the thorax and body are rich brown, with
a vinous tint. -
The CATERPILLAR is by no means common ; it
occurs sometimes at the roots of polyanthuses
and other garden plants, concealing itself by
day and feeding by night; it eats into the
crown, and also feeds on the leaves of these
and other garden plants: the head is smaller
than the second segment, and very shining;
the body obese, smooth, and velvety; the
colour of the head is dull testaceous-brown,
of the body dingy ochreous, with a paler
narrow medio-dorsal stripe on each side of each
segment after the seventh, and there are two
conspicuous black spots on each side of the
ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth segments;
the ventral is paler than the dorsal surface,
and the legs and claspers are concolorous. The
egg is hatched in the autumn, and the cater-
pillar feeds through the winter, and is full-fed
in April and May, when it buries itself just
below the surface of the earth, and changes to
a smooth red-brown CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
occurs in most of our English, Scotch, and
Irish counties. Mr. Reading says it is com-
mon throughout Cornwall and Devonshire,
and going thence northward and eastward I
find the name in almost every local list. (The
scientific name is Tryphaena ianthina.)
Obs.—The colour of the fore wings is
remarkably rich and attractive, and is loss
liable to vary than in any other species of the
genus Tryphaena. -

NOCTUAS. 339
black: the head and thorax are of the same
546. The Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing
(Tryphaena fimbria). &
546. THE BROAD-BoFDERED YELLOW UNDER-
wiNG.—The antennae are white at the base :
the colour of the fore wings is pale wainscot-
brown, or rich mahogany-brown, or rich olive-
green; the specimens of the mahogany-brown
colour are comparatively rare, those with the
wainscot-brown and olive-green colour are
equally common ; the two discoidal spots are
very close together, and sometimes, although
rarely, united; they are clearly marked by a
pale and very fine outline, but the enclosed
area differs little from the general ground-
colour; there is a pale transverse bent line
beyond the discoidal spots, and another pale
line nearly straight, parallel with the hind
margin; the area enclosed between these two
lines is paler than the rest of the wing, and
has a darker blotch on the costal margin ; the
hind wings are dark orange at the base and
on the hind margin, between which parts
intervenes a broad band of the most intense
colour as the fore wings; the body is dark
Orange.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched, feigning death and falling off its food-
plant: it is smooth, cylindrical, gradually
diminishing in size from the twelfth segment
towards the head, which is remarkably small
for the size of the caterpillar : the colour of
the head is shining, clay-brown, mottled and
reticulated with darker brown; the body is
clay-brown, mottled, and velvety; the second
segment has three marrow longitudinal pale
lines; on each side of each segment there is
an indistinct oblique pale stripe; along the
back is a median series of obscure darker
marks, seated in the interstices of the seg-
Iments; the spiracles are pale and each seated
in a dark brown mark; on the twelfth segment
is a pale and a dark transverse mark; the
belly, legs, and claspers, are paler than the
back. The egg of this beautiful moth is
laid on birch (Betula alba), sallow (Salic
caprea), and several other trees early in the
autumn, and the young caterpillar remains on
the tree until the approach of winter, when it
descends to the ground and hybernates: in
the spring it ascends the trunk every night as
soon as it is dark, and devours the newly-ex-
panded leaves, then very small, again retiring
to the ground before the approach of daylight.
It is generally full-fed before the middle of
May, when it finally changes to a CHRYSALIS
on the surface of the ground. When full-fed
it is very conspicuous on the almost naked
twigs of the birch, and is readily procured by
collectors who seek it by lamp-light.
The MOTH appears on the wing from June
to September, and occurs not unfrequently
in most of our English, Scotch, and Irish
counties. (The scientific name is Tryphana
fimbria.)
Obs.—Like the last, this species is remark-
ably rich in colour and attractive in appear-
ance, but differs from that in being subject to
three very marked varieties of colour: those
of the mahogany-brown tint are very un-
( QYūlūOll.

BRITISH MOTHS.
547. The Least Yellow Underwing (Tryphana
Žnterjeeta).
547, THE LEAST YELLOW UNDERWING.—
The colour of the fore wings is rusty-brown,
sometimes inclining to brickdust-red, and
having a broad but imperfectly defined band
of smoky-brown on the hind margin; this
band is intersected throughout by a pale line;
the discoidal spots are indistinctly outlined in
dark brown, and there are several other short
and narrow transverse darker markings: the
hind wings are yellow in the middle and on
the hind margin; smoky-black on the costal
margin, and having a broad Smoky-black band
before the hind margin; the inner margin is
clouded with the same smoky-black; there is
a crescentic discoidal spot of the same black
tint united with the black on the costal mar-
gin : the head and thorax are of the same
rusty colour as the fore wings; the body is
gray-brown. . -
The CATERPILLAR rests in a straight position
on the stems of its food-plant, and when
shaken or annoyed it falls to the ground rolled
in a ring, but very soon resumes the straight
position and crawls with rapidity : the head
is narrower than the second segment, into
which it is partially received; it is porrected,
flat, rather glabrous, and not notched on the
crown; the body is obese and rather velvety,
and has the divisions of the segments strongly
marked ; it is somewhat attenuated at the
anterior extremity, and has the twelfth seg-
ment dorsally slightly swollen; the prevailing
colour of both head and body is putty-colour;
the head has two dark brown marks down the
face, and outside of each of these is a pale
mark; the body has a narrow medio-dorsal
white stripe, bordered on each side by brown
slightly darker than the ground colour; near
the medio-dorsal on each side is amother nar-
row white stripe similarly bordered, and dif-
fering only in being somewhat less distinct;
on each side in the region of the spiracles, but
just above them, is a broader and triple stripe,
the outer portion on each side being whitish,
the middle reddish ; and this compound stripe
is also bordered with brown, particularly on
its upper margin; the dorsal area is orna-
mented with a number of intensely black dots;
on the second segment these are very minute
and apparently without much arrangement;
on the third they form a straight transverse
series and are eight in number; on the fourth
they also form a straight series and are six in
number; on the following segments, the fifth
to the eleventh both inclusive, they are also
six in number on each segment, but no longer
form a straight series; two near the anterior
margin of the segment are larger than the
rest, the next on each side stands back about
the middle on the dorsal area of the segment,
and the third on each side is nearer the an-
terior margin ; the twelfth segment has four
of these black dots arranged in a perfect
square; the ventral is slightly darker than
the dorsal area, and has a double series of
black dots below the compound lateral stripe :
the legs are pale, semitransparent, and shining;
the claspers are semitransparent, and each has
a distinct black dot and a crescentic black
mark above it : in the interspaces between
the stripes which I have described there is a
further indication of stripes, but these are
very inconspicuous: it feeds on dock, mallow,
grass, &c., &c.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
occurs occasionally in most of our English
counties as far north as Yorkshire, and also
very generally in Ireland; but I do not re-
collect seeing any Scotch localities re-
corded. (The scientific name is Tryphana
&nterjecta.)
Obs.—Like Tryphana ianthina, this species
is very uniform in tint and constant in its
markings; but compared with either ianthina
or fimbria, it is very unattractive in appear-
{{I}( (*. - -

NOCTUAS.
341
548. The Lunar Yellow Underwing (Tryphaena
subseqtta).
548. THE LUNAR YELLOW UNDERWING.—
The fore wings are narrow, the costal and
inner margins being almost parallel; their
colour is rather various, generally gray-brown ;
the discoidal spots are clearly outlined with
pale wainscot-brown ; on the costal margin,
towards the tip, is a transverse black spot very
conspicuous; the other markings are incon-
stant: the hind wings are yellow with a
smoky cloud along the costal margin, and
somewhat radiating from the base; there is a
distinct crescentic discoidal spot, and a waved
black band parallel with the hind margin :
the head, thorax, and body, are gray-brown,
The cATERPILLAR is only known to me
through Mr. Stainton’s description, which is
as follows:—“Brownish-gray with a slight
greenish tinge; the second segment dark
brown ; dorsal and sub-dorsal lines paler;
above the latter is a row of quadrangular
blackish spots (Freyer). On various low
plants.” (Stainton's Manual, vol. i., p. 230.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, but
is either very rare in this country, or from
its great similarity to Orbona, very seldom
noticed; it is recorded from Dorsetshire, and
the New Forest in Hampshire, from Suffolk,
Derbyshire, and Nottinghamshire, and I have
taken it at Peckham. (The scientific name is
Tryphaena subsequa.)
Obs. This species, so frequently spoken of º
as doubtfully distinct, is, in my opinion, as
good a species as either of the others, although
its superficial resemblance to Orbona is cer-
tainly very striking : it may be distinguished
on comparison with that much commoner
insect by its narrower wings and the constant
presence of the black mark on the costa.
549. The Lesser Yellow Underwing (Tryphaena
orbona).
549. THE LESSER YELLOW UNDERWING.
The fore wings are rather broad, and very
various in tint, varying from pale gray-brown
to dark umber-brown; some again have a very
uniform colour, while others are a good deal
variegated, and there is a striking variety
with two transverse zigzag lines across the
wings; the discoidal spots are distinctly out-
lined with pale wainscot-brown, the median
area of each being of a darker shade than the
general area of the wing : the hind Wings are
yellow, with a smoky cloud along the costal
margin, a distinct black crescentic discoidal
spot, and a waved black band parallel with the
*

BRITISH
MOTHS.
hind margin ; the head, thorax, and body
have the same variation in general tint as the
fore wings. -
The EGG is laid in July, on a number of low
plants, on which the young CATERPILLARs feed;
one of those very commonly selected is the
common chickweed (Alsine media); they are
hatched in August, and hybernate early; as
soon as the buds of the sallow and whitethorn
open, they ascend the stems and feed on the
young leaves. The caterpillar is full-fed in
May, when it rolls into a compact ring if dis-
turbed. The head when moving is porrected,
and is rather narrower than the body; the
body is velvety, nearly uniformly cylindrical,
but increasing almost imperceptibly to the
twelfth segment, which is the largest; the
colour of the head and body is dingy umber-
brown, the head being slightly variegated
with darker shades of the same colour; the
dorsal region of the body is uniformly brown;
the anterior segments from the second to the
fifth, both inclusive, are interrupted by a
median very narrow and very indistinct line;
the eleventh and twelfth segments have each
two very conspicuous velvety dorsal markings
almost black; on the eleventh segment these
are distant, narrow, longitudinal, and waved;
those on the twelfth segment are decidedly more
approximate, broader, and larger, their figure
is irregular, but their anterior extremity is
pointed, the posterior extremity square; the
spiracles are white, and are situated at the
extreme edge of the brown dorsal area; below
them is a broad pale wainscot-brown stripe
extending the entire length of the caterpillar,
and this, from the second to the seventh seg-
ment, is tinged along the middle with brick-
red; the belly is smoky-brown, and the legs
and claspers are of the same colour. It
changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIs on the
surface of the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
is common everywhere. (The scientific name
is Tryphaena orbona.)
Obs. I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the
variety represented in the third figure, and to
Mr. Wellman for the richly-marked variety
represented in the fourth figure.
550. The Large Yellow Underwing (Tryphaena
pronuba).
550. THE LARGE YELLOW UNDERWING.—In
different specimens the fore wings vary in
general colour, from pale wainscot-brown to
rich umber-brown, and occur with almost
every intermediate shade; the discoidal spots
are generally clearly defined, the circumscrip-
tion being paler than the ground colour; in
some specimens the orbicular is entirely pale;
there are many transverse lines, some darker
and some paler; but these are very variable
and inconstant ; there is, however, a pale line
parallel with the hind margin, almost invaria-
bly present, and adjoining the upper or costal
extremity of this is a double black spot: the
hind wings are orange-yellow without a dis-
coidal spot, but having a narrow waved black
band parallel with the hind margin; the head
and thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body paler, and inclining to
reddish-yellow towards the tip; on the last
segment but one is a transverse black spot.


NOCTUAS.
343
In a beautiful variety, in which the fore wings
are much variegated, the head and collar are
pale brown.
The Eggs are laid in July on almost every
kind of vegetable or plant grown in gardens,
and the young CATERPILLAR feeds throughout
the autumn, winter, and spring, on the stem
or heart—hence the French name of ver du
cour. It conceals itself almost entirely during
the day beneath the surface of the ground,
emerging at night: I have frequently found it
concealed about the roots of lettuces, and
brought to light when they are pulled up for
the table; when thus exposed it rolls itself in
a very compact ring. The head is glabrous
and small in comparison with the size of the
body, which is full, obese, and velvety. The
colour of the head is reddish-brown, of the
body very various; it is of all shades,
from pale sickly yellowish-green to a dark
dingy brown; there is generally a narrow
yellowish medio-dorsal stripe, on both sides of
which is a brownish stripe, making the medio-
dorsal more conspicuous; and below this is a
longitudimal series of seven or eight linear
black or very dark marks, one on each side of
each segment, generally commencing with the
fifth, but sometimes with the sixth segment;
below these is another pale and yellowish, but
very indistinct stripe, and again below this a
darker stripe also indistinct, and containing
the white spiracles, each surrounded with
black; the ventral is usually paler than the
dorsal area ; and the legs and claspers are
concolorous. I have found it full fed in
March, April, May, and June, when it
changes to a stout, smooth red-brown CHRYSA-
LIs, just below the surface of the earth, in an
oval cell or cavity of its own making.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is common everywhere. (The scientific name
is Tryphaena pronuba.)
Obs. The beautiful, but not uncommon
variety represented in the lower figure, I have
been used to call Innuba, and it is described
under that name by Stephens, but this seems
to be an error, for Guenée describes that
variety as having the costal margin and collar
concolorous with the upper wings, whereas in
t
i
}
the Innuba of English entomologists these
parts are so much paler as to present a
striking contrast.
551. The Autumnal Rustic (Noctua glareosa).
551. THE AUTUMINAL RUSTIC.—The palpi
are porrected, but not very prominent; the
antennae are slightly serrated in the male,
simple in the female : the colour of the fore
wings is dove-coloured gray, with three rich
brown markings; the first double and almost
at the base of the wing, the second precedes
the orbicular spot, and the third precedes
the reniform ; but neither of these discoidal
spots are conspicuous; the three dark mark-
ings approach, but do not touch, the costal
margin: the hindwings are white in the male,
gray in the female ; the head, thorax, and
body are dove-coloured.
The CATERPILLAR is stout and velvety; the
head is small and glabrous. The colour of
the head is testaceous-brown, with two darker
lines down the face; that of the body wainscot-
brown, with a narrow medio-dorsal stripe,
slightly paler, and bordered on each side with
a rather darker tint; there are many black
dots on the dorsal surface, four of these being
ranged in a transverse series on the second,
third, and fourth segments respectively; on
the fifth and following segments they form a
quadrangle; in the young caterpillar there is
a lateral stripe of bright yellow, just below
the spiracles which are black, but this yellow
stripe becomes gradually indistinct as the
caterpillar grows, until when full fed it has
almost disappeared; the ventral is paler than
the dorsal surface; the claspers are small and
concolorous. It feeds principally on the
common broom (Spartium), but sometimes eats
dock and sorrel (Rumex). -
The MOTH appears on the wing in September,

344
MOTHS.
BRITISH
and occurs in most of our English and Scotch
counties, beginning in Cornwall and Devon-
shire, and extending northwards, even to
Sutherland and Caithness, and Mr. Birchall
says it is widely distributed and common
in Ireland. (The scientific name is Noctua
g/areosa.)
552. The Plain Clay (Noctua depuncta).
552. THE PLAIN CLAY.—The palpi are dis-
tant, porrected, and spreading; the antennae
are very slightly incrassated in the male, ex-
tremely slender and thread-like in the female :
the colour of the fore wings is ochreous-gray,
with two dark-brown markings, the first double
and near the base of the wing; the second
triple, its three component parts being arranged
transversely; the usual discoidal spots have a
very slender pale circumscription, but are gene-
rally quite distinct, and between them is a
darker shade; beyond the reniform is a slender
double line, then a series of dots, and then a
broader waved line, parallel with the hind
margin : the hind wings are grayish-brown,
paler at the base: the head, thorax, and body
are ochreous-gray. -
“The CATERPILLAR is grayish-brown; the
sub-dorsal line whitish, with a row of black
dots; the spiracles are white in black rings
(IIub.) On sorrel and other low plants.”
(Stainton's Manual, vol. i., p. 234.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
may be described as local and rare. Mr. Read-
ing gives Yealmpton, Harford Bridge, Exeter,
and Alphington as western localities; Mr.
Płorton has taken it at Worcester; it has also
been obtained in the northern English counties,
and in Kircudbrightshire in Scotland, but not
hitherto in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Noctua depuncta.) --
553. The Double Dart (Noctua augur).
553. THE Double DART.—The palpi are
curved, projecting, and ascending; the anten-
mae are stout in the male, slender in the female :
the fore wings are gray-brown and very dull;
the orbicular has the lower border, the reni-
form the interior and exterior borders strongly
outlined with black ; there are two transverse
zigzag black lines, the first before the orbicu-
lar, the second beyond the reniform: the hind
wings, head, thorax, and body are gray-brown.
The EGG is laid in June, and hatched in June
or July. The GATERPILLAR hybernates early.
In the spring it again begins to feed on white-
thorn (Crataegus oayacantha), sallow (Salia,
caprea), and other shrubs. When full-fed,
which is usually at the end of May, it rests in
a straight position, but falls off its food-plant
and rolls in a ring when disturbed. The head
is of much less circumference than the body,
semi-porrected, and slightly notched on the
crown; in moving, the head is stretched for-
ward, and moves about in a very leech-like
manner. The body is cylindrical, slightly
attenuated towards the head, and slightly in-
crassated dorsally on the twelfth segment.
The head is very shining, pale pellucid brown,
reticulated and variegated with darker. The
body is excessively smooth, dull purplish-
brown, with several darker markings, more
particularly a narrow waved rich brown stripe
along each side, including the spiracles; there
is a transverse mark of the same colour, dilated
at each extremity, on the twelfth segment; on
various parts of the back there are also small
round white spots, two on the anterior part
of each segment, beginning with the third,
and two rather less distinct on the posterior
part; the belly, claspers, and legs, are pale


NOCTUAS.
3
4
5
and semi-transparent. It changes to a CHRY-
SALIS on or near the surface of the ground.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
is common in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Noctua augur.)
554. The Flame Shoulder (Noctua plecta).
554. THE FLAME SHOULDER.—The palpi are
porrected and conspicuous, the third joint
small, and received into the second as into a
cup ; the antennae of the male are delicately
ciliated, those of the female simple: the colour
of the fore wings is vinous-brown, with the
costal margin broadly white from the base to
beyond the reniform spot; the white colour is
impure; there is a dash of the same colour at
the base of the inner margin; both the dis-
coidal spots are distinctly outlined in gray, and
both are united with the costal white; a streak
of purer white extends from the base of the
wing to the orbicular, and below this, imme-
diately adjoining it, is a blackish shade: the
hind wings are white: the head and collar are
pale, the square disk of the thorax is vinous-
brown; the body pale wainscot-brown.
The Eggs, kindly given me by Mr. Moncreaff,
were laid in a chip box, and were hatched in
June; and the CATERPILLARs, which fed on
ladies' bed-straw (Galium verum) and sweet
woodruff (Asperula odorata), were full-fed on
the 26th of July. The caterpillar rolls itself
in a compact ring when annoyed. The head
is glabrous, very shining, narrower than the
second segment, and especially narrower than
the rest of the body, porrected in crawling,
and not notched on the crown ; the body is
smooth and velvety, gradually but slightly in-
creasing in width from the second to the
eleventh segment, which is wider. The twelfth
is rather abruptly truncate: the colour of the
head is umber-brown, with a pale longitudinal
patch on each cheek; the dorsal surface of the
body is umber-brown ; the medio-dorsal stripe
rather darker, narrow, and intersected by a
slender interrupted white line; there is an
upper lateral stripe, darker, half-way between
the medio-dorsal stripe and the spiracles; this
is also intersected by a slender interrupted
whitish line ; the lower margin of the dorsal
surface is darker; the ventral is paler than the
dorsal area, particularly at the junction of the
two areas, where it may be called a pale
lateral stripe; all parts of the body are retiel-
lated and dotted with dark brown; the legs,
feet, and claspers are of the same dingy colour
as the body.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
is generally common throughout England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Noctua plecta.)
555. The Black Collar (Noctua flammatra).
555. THE BLACK CoILAR.—The palpi are
porrected, rather connivent towards the tip,
and blunt; the antennae are rather long and
slightly serrated: the fore wings are rather
narrow, the costa very straight, the hind
margin rather rounded, and slightly waved;
their colour is grayish-brown with a somewhat
silky appearance, and having a black linear
mark issuing from the middle of the base, and
extending rather more than a sixth of the length
of the wing ; beyond this, and rather higher
on the wing, is a second black mark almost
linear, and yet obscurely and obtusely pyra-
midal in outline; there are other markings on
the fore wings both darker and paler than the
ground colour, but these are so obscure—the
specimen being somewhat wasted—that I
cannot describe them with any certainty: the


346
BRITISH MOTHS.
hind wings are slightly paler, but of the same
prevailing tint as the fore wings: the head,
thorax, and body are grayish-brown, with a
tendency to dove-colour; and there is a most
conspicuous transverse black mark on the front
of the thorax immediately behind the neck; this
very striking mark is convex in front, nearly
straight behind, very pointed at the two ex-
tremities, and divided by a slender median
line.
“The CATERPILLAR is unknown except
through Treitschke’s very unsatisfactory de-
scription.”—Guenée.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
is only known as British through the capture
of a single specimen by Mr. Bond, in the Isle
of Wight. With his usual kindness, Mr.
Bond has lent me this specimen for figuring
and describing in this work. (The scientific
name is Noctua flammatra.)
556, The Setaceous Hebrew Character (Noctua
C-nigrum).
556. THE SETACEOUS HEBREW CHARACTER.—
The palpi are porrected and prominent; the
antennae are simple: the colour of the fore
wings is a rich bistre-brown, the orbicular spot
large, conspicuous, whitish, and obscurely tri-
angular, the base or broadest side of the triangle
being towards the costal margin; the reniform
is less in size and less distinct; it is of the
usual form ; on the costa, near the tip, is a
blackish spot, and the tip itself is rather gray :
the hind wings are pale gray-brown : the head
and thorax are dark brown, the body pale
brown.
The GATERPILLAR is greenish-gray, with a .
yellowish dorsal stripe, pale green sub-dorsal
stripe, and white spiracular stripe, the space
between the two last stripes being dark green
(Hubner). On various low plants. (Stainton's
Manual, vol. i., p. 234.)
This species is double-brooded, the MoTHs of
the first brood appearing on the wing in May
and June, and those of the second brood in
August and September. It is generally dis-
tributed in England, Ireland, and Scotland.
(The scientific name is Noctua C-nigrum.)
557. The Triple-Spotted Clay (Noctua ditrapezium).
557. THE TRIPLE-SPOTTED CLAY. — The
antennae are simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are rather narrow ; their colour is rich
umber-brown, tinged with red; a very dark
shade extends from the base to beyond the
reniform, ascending to the sub-costal ray on
both sides of the orbicular; there is a distinct
dark brown, almost black, spot seated on the
costa, near the tip of the wing: the hind
wings and body are gray-brown tinged with
Saffron reflections; the head and thorax are
darker.
The CATERPILLAR is grayish-ochreous, with
a slight reddish tinge, with darker marks
along the back, most conspicuous on the
eleventh and twelfth segments. (Hubner.)
On various low plants. (Stainton's Manual,
vol. i., p. 235.)
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in Cornwall; in Devonshire,
between Plymbridge and Bickleigh, at Barn-
staple, Devonport, Torquay, and Lee Moor;
in Dorsetshire, in Hampshire, in the New
Forest, in the Isle of Wight, Sussex, and at
Birch Wood, in Kent, but I think not in
Scotland: Mr. Birchall informs us he took a
pair at sugar, near Galway, in July, 1857.
(The scientific name is Noctua ditrapezium.)


NOCTUAS.
347
558. The Double-Spotted Square Spot (Noctua
triangulum).
558. THE DOUBLE-SPOTTED SQUARE SPOT.—
The palpi are porrected, the scales of the
second joint projecting beyond the first,
which is small and short; the antennae are
simple: the colour of the fore wings is
grayish-brown, with several dark and well-
defined markings; there is a short transverse
line at the base, with a dark spot at its lower
extremity; the orbicular and reniform are
outlined with pale gray, but have lost their
characteristic form ; the orbicular is pale, and
ascends to the costal margin, and, except on
the margin, is surrounded with dark brown,
which forms a square spot between the orbi-
cular and reniform ; there is a very strongly
pronounced dark brown spot on the costa, near
the tip of the wing: the hind wings, head,
thorax, and body, are gray-brown..
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
annoyed; the head is narrower than the
second segment, into which it is partially
received; the body is attenuated anteriorly;
the twelfth segment is slightly elevated, the
thirteenth rounded, the anal claspers extended
beyond it; the colour of the head and body
is pale dingy brown, delicately reticulated
with black; there are two dorsal series of
oblique oblong markings, commencing on the
fifth segment and extending to the twelfth ;
those on the twelfth segment are almost
united posteriorly; the others are perfectly
distinct ; each marking is accompanied and
almost surrounded by a paler area ; there is
also a thread-like medio-dorsal paler stripe;
on each segment is a transverse series of black
dots, and the spiracles are of a deeper black;
the legs and claspers are concolorous with the
body. Early in May the caterpillars bury
themselves in the ground, and there turn to
CHRYSALIDS.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken freely in most of our English
counties, from Cornwall to York; Mr. Douglas
Robinson reports it from Kircudbrightshire,
and Mr. Birchall says it is eommon in most
localities in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Noctua triangulum.)
559. The Square-Spotted Clay (Noctua rhomboided).
559. THE SQUARE-SPOTTED CLAY. — The
palpi are porrected, the second joint being
rather long and rather slender; the antennae
are simple: the colour of the fore wings is
very dark brown, all the markings being
obscure from their general similarity to the
ground colour; the orbicular and reniform are
delicately outlined with ochreous gray; the
space before and beyond the orbicular is in-
tensely dark; there is an obscure darker band
parallel with the hind margin, the outer
boundary of which is waved and delicately
outlined with ochreous gray : the hind wings
are gray-brown with a slight gloss; the head
and thorax are dark brown; the body gray-
brown.
The EGG is laid on chickweed (Stellaria
media) and other low plants, at the roots of
which the cATERPILLAR hybernates when
small; in the spring it feeds on chickweed,
dock, &c., but also ascends sallows (Salia:
caprea), and feeds on the young leaves; it is
very generally full-fed about the end of May
or beginning of June: the head is almost
prone, rather small, generally half-concealed
in the second segment; the body is smooth,
velvety, almost uniformly cylindrical, but
having the second, third, and fourth segments
more slender than those which follow ; the


348 BRITISH
MOTHS.
crown of the head is brown and shining ; the
body has the dorsal area as far as the spiracles
brown, but the tint of the brown is different
in different individuals, approaching some-
times to sepia, sometimes to sienna-brown;
this brown area is divided by three equidistant
narrow stripes, of a pale greenish hue, and
these three equidistant narrow stripes are
connected on the twelfth segment by a trans-
verse bar of the same colour; the back has
Several black markings, almost taking the
character of dots; the belly below the spiracles
is pale olive-green.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
seems to be confined to the Southern counties of
England, as Darent Wood in Kent, West
Wickham in Surrey, Essex, Hertfordshire,
Isle of Wight, Berkshire, and Oxfordshire.
(The scientific name is Noctua rhomboidea.)
560. The Purple Clay (Noctuq brunnea).
560. THE PURPLE CLAY.—The palpi are
porrected, pointed, distant, and of a rich red-
brown colour; the antennae are simple ; the
colour of the fore wings is richly marbled with
several shades of brown ; the reniform is
ochreous-white, and very conspicuous; the
orbicular is purplish-gray, subtriangular, and
very indistinct; there is an indication of two
transverse bands, rather darker than the
ground colour; the first is between the dis-
coidal spots, the second beyond the reniform;
both these are rather dark towards the costal
but very faint towards the inner margin;
there are several ochreous spots on the costa :
the hind wings are dull gray-brown, a cres-
centic discoidal spot, the wing-rays, and the
extreme hind margin being darker, and the
fringe testaceous-brown; the head and thorax
are rich dark brown; the body is dingy brown,
its extremity tufted and testaceous-brown.
The CATERPILLAR feeds on sallow, and is full-
fed at the end of April. It rolls in a com-
pact ring when annoyed. The head is very
much narrower than the body; the body is
velvety, attenuated anteriorly; the twelfth
segment is very stout; the thirteenth rounded;
the colour of the head is pale brown, shining,
with a dark longitudinal line on each side the
commissure; the body is dingy olive-brown,
with two transversely placed, and somewhat
triangular, marks on the back of the eleventh
and twelfth segments, the apex of the
triangles pointing forwards, and much atten-
uated; there is a darker stripe along each
side, enclosing the white spiracles, and behind
each spiracle is a black spot ; each segment
has a transverse series of minute black dots;
the legs and claspers are concolorous; it
changes to a glabrous brown CHRYSALIS be-
neath the surface of the ground, and enclosed
in a very slight web.
The MOTH appears on the wing the first
week in July, and occurs throughout England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Noctua brunnea.)
561. The Ingrailed Clay (Noctua festiva).
561. THE INGRAILED CLAY. —The palpi are
rather long and distant, the terminal joint long
and slender, but rarely exceeding the scales of
the second in length ; the antennae are simple:


NOCTUAS. 349
the fore wings are rather squarely pointed at
the tip, their colour is obscure ochreous-gray,
clouded with various shades of brown; the
orbicular is gray, the reniform only outlined
with gray, and its median area of the same
colour as the general area of the wing; adjoin-
ing the orbicular is a dark brown triangular
spot, the apex of which points to the base of
the wing, and between the two discoidal spots
is a dark brown square spot ; on the extreme
hind margin is a series of minute black spots,
each situated at the extremity of a wing-ray :
the hind wings are gray-brown, with a darker
crescentic discoidal spot and a pale testaceous
fringe: the head and collar are pale wainscot-
brown, the thorax testaceous-brown; the body
gray at the base, gray-brown in the middle,
and bright testaceous-brown at the extremity.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a lax ring if an-
noyed, the head being brought into contact
with the ventral claspers: the head is glabrous,
of about the same width as the second seg-
ment, and prone, the cheeks rounded, and
there is scarcely any notch on the crown; the
body is uniformly cylindrical, smooth, and vel-
vety; the colour of the head is pale ferrugi-
nous, reticulated with darker brown, and hav-
ing black ocelli and several other black dots;
the colour of the body is dull ferruginous,
reticulated and dotted with darker brown; all
the markings are very minute; there is a very
narrow medio-dorsal thread-like stripe extend-
ing from behind the head to the anal extremity,
a transverse line on the twelfth, and another
on the thirteenth segment; the anterior por-
tion of these is dark brown, the posterior por-
tion nearly white; on each side of the medio-
dorsal stripe is a series of whitish spots; the
spiracles are nearly white, with a small black
blotch behind each ; the ventral surface, ex-
tending to the spiracles, is paler than the
dorsal surface, and there is an appearancé of a
still paler lateral stripe, which partially in-
cludes the spiracles, but is chiefly below them;
the legs and claspers are very pale. It feeds
on sallow, and my specimens were full-fed on
the 6th of May, and retired beneath the sur-
face of the earth to undergo pupation.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
is common in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Noctua festiva.)
Obs. This MOTH is exceedingly variable.
Through the kindness of friends I have at
times possessed hundreds of specimens, of
which I can truly say that no two were exactly
alike. The figures represent some of the more
common varieties.
562. The Lesser Ingrailed (Noctua conftwa).
562. THE LESSER INGRAILED.—The palpi are
rather long and distant; the terminal joint is
long and slender, but rarely exceeding the
scales of the second in length; the antennae
are simple: the fore wings are rather squarely
pointed at the tip; their colour is dingy gray,
with scarcely any tint of ochreous, but clouded
with various tints of gray and brown; the
orbicular is gray, the reniform only outlined
with gray; between these two discoidal spots
is a very dark square spot or space; and on
the extreme hind margin is a series of Small
linear black marks; the hind Wings are gray-
brown, much darker towards the margin, and
having a crescentic discoidal spot and a pale
fringe of a testaceous-red colour: the head,
thorax, and body are dingy brown, the last
paler at the base and tip. -
The Eggs are laid in July on various low
plants. The CATERPILLAR is polyphagous, but
prefers the leaves of the moss campion (Silene

350
BRITISH MOTHS.
acaulis). The head is small and almost spheri-
cal: the body rather obese, smooth, and hav-
ing the twelfth segment slightly tumid dor-
sally. The colour of the head is pale brown,
the face having two conspicuous crescentic
black markings placed back to back, that is,
with the convexity of each towards the median
suture: the colour of the dorsal area of the .
body is greenish-yellow, delicately striated
with brown. Like the caterpillars of many
other true Woctude, it is marked from the fourth
segment to the tenth, both inclusive, with a
Sub-dorsal stripe, surmounted on each segment
with a wedge-shaped black spot, the apex of
which points towards the head of the cater-
pillar: the medio-dorsal stripe is straight,
nearly white, and delicately bordered on each
side with brown; it is scarcely perceptible on
the middle segments. The spiracular stripe is
indicated by a series of straight brown mark-
ings: the spiracles are oval, black, and encir-
cled with white : the ventral is paler than the
dorsal area, and has no markings: the feet are
testaceous, the extremities black: the claspers
are concolorous with the ventral area, except
at the extremities, which are brown. In the
autumn this caterpillar hybernates towards the
roots of herbage, feeding again in May for a
short time; when full-fed it again descends
towards the ground, and, Secreting itself among
fragments of its food-plant, spins a cocoon of
these materials, mixed with particles of earth:
in this it almost immediately changes to a
CHRYSALIS, which is of moderate length and
ordinary form, and rather glabrous, brown,
with a black tip to the body, which is fur-
nished with four straight, but rather spreading,
spine-like bristles: of these the outer one on
each side is only half the length of the other.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is abundant on the heaths or mosses near Dar-
lington, as also in similar localities in Perth-
shire, and Mr. C. Buxton has taken it in the
north of Scotland, but it is evidently very
local. (The scientific name is Woetua conflua.)
Obs. 1. This pretty little species strikes me
as very like Festiva in miniature, but our best
continental lepidopterists have not noticed this
similarity. I am indebted to Mr. Backhouse,
of Wolsingham, for my own series, and for
a hundred specimens for distribution, none of
them exceeding in size the three which I have
figured. The total difference of the two cater-
pillars proves the two species to be perfectly
distinct.
Obs. 2. I am indebted to M. Millière’s beau-
tiful work for a description of the caterpillar
and chrysalis. -
563. The Barred Chestnut (Noctua Dahli).
563. THE BARRED CHESTNUT.-The palpi
are porrected and rather long; the second
joint has very long scales, particularly on the
under side, and these project as far as the
naked apical joint; the antennae are slightly
ciliated in the male, simple in the female :
the costal margin of the fore wings is arched,
their colour is dull chestnut-brown, lined and
clouded with darker brown; the discoidal
spots are scarcely distinguishable from the
ground colour, but are always traceable; there
is always a small oblique black spot below
the orbicular; a median shade crosses the
wing between the discoidal spots, but this is
neither very conspicuous nor very constant :
the hind wings are gray-brown, paler at the
base; the fringe is pale, and inclining to rosy.
The CATERPILLAR is reddish mixed with
gray, with paler dorsal and subdorsal lines;
above the latter is a row of black dots, in
white rings (Hubner). On various low plants.
(Stainton's Manual, vol. i., p. 236.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
August. It has been taken both in the north and
south of England; Mr. Reading reports it from
various localities in Devonshire, as Plym-
bridge, Shaugh Woods, Radford Wood, Tor-
quay, Exeter, and Stoke Wood; he says it
frequents open places in woods, where at
dusk it is easily captured on the wing ; it also
|
------------------------------"

- NOCTUAS.
351
occurs in the New Forest in Hampshire, in
the Isle of Wight, in Sussex, Kent, Surrey,
Derbyshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire; also
at Howth and Killarney, in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Noctua Dahlii.)
564. The Rosy Marsh (Noctua subrosea).
564. THE ROSY MARSH.-The palpi are
porrrected and rather long; the antennae are
strongly pectinated in the male, simple in the
female: the fore wings are slightly arched on
the costal margin; their colour is gray with a
tint of red, and very glossy; both the discoidal
spots are paler, and the space between them
darker than the general area; there are also
a darker cloud before the orbicular, a zigzag
line beyond this, and a narrow bar again
beyond this; there are three black spots on
the costa, that nearest the tip commences the
dark bar : the hind wings are whitish wains-
cot-brown, with a strongly marked discoidal
spot, a transverse bar near the hind margin,
and the wing-rays darker : the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings, the body the same colour as the hind
wings.
The CATERPILLAR is very beautiful, of a
bright reddish-gray colour, lined and marbled
with brown, and having broad medio-dorsal
and sub-dorsal stripes, clearly defined, con-
tinuous, and straight, of a citron-yellow
bordered with brown; there is another very
broad stripe in the neighbourhood of the
spiracles of a sulphur-yellow, and this pre-
cedes a ventral band of dark brown ; the
spiracles are brown; the head has two brown
lines: it feeds on the sweet gale (Myrica gale),
in May and June.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has occurred in Huntingdonshire and Cam-
bridgeshire. It has not been taken in Britain
for many years.
Noctua subrosea.)
Obs. I am indebted to Guenée's work for a
description of the caterpillar, for although my
kind friend Mr. Doubleday once possessed
the caterpillars in abundance, I did not avail
myself of the opportunity of describing them.
(The scientific name is
565. The Small Square-Spot (Noctuq Rubt).
565. THE SMALL SQUARE-SPOT.-The palpi
are porrected and scaly; the antennae nearly
simple in the male, quite so in the female :
the costal margin of the fore wings is nearly
straight; their colour is reddish-brown, with
several transverse darker lines; the discoidal
spots are distinctly outlined in gray, the reni-
form being particularly conspicuous; there is
a distinct black spot below the orbicular, and
a dark cloud between the discoidal spots;
beyond the reniform, and parallel with the
hind margin, are two distinct transverse lines,
the outer portion of each being dark, the inner
portion pale : the hind wings are pale gray-
brown, tinged with reddish, and having a
pale reddish fringe; the discoidal spot is
darker: the head, thorax, and body, are red-
dish-brown.
“The cATERPILLAR is greenish-gray, with
darker-edged white dorsal line; spiracular
line pale greenish-ochreous, edged above with
darker, with faint indication of lateral
oblique stripes along the sub-dorsal line. On
various low plants.” (Stainton's Manual,
vol. i., p. 236.)
This species is regularly double-brooded, the
MoTH appearing on the wing in May and
August: it is generally distributed over
England; it has been taken in Scotland; and
Mr. Birchall says it is common at Howth, in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Noctua
Rubi.) *


BRITISH MOTHS.
566. The Six-Striped Rustic (Noctua umbrosa).
566. THE SIX-STRIPED RUSTIC.—The palpi
are porrected, the second joint square at the
tip, and the Small naked apical joint standing
out distinct; the antennae are slightly serrated
in the male; the colour of the fore wings is
reddish-gray, with three dark transverse lines,
the first is very short and close to the base of
the wing; the second is zigzag, and precedes
the orbicular; the third is beyond the reni-
form; both discoidal spots are clearly defined
in outline, but their median area is concolorous
with the rest of the wing; a dark shade
crosses the wing between the orbicular and
reniform, and another beyond the third line
and parallel with the hind margin : the hind
wings are gray-brown, the fringe paler, and
tinged with red : the head and thorax are
reddish-gray; the body paler.
The CATERPILLAR is very imperfectly known,
as Guenée well observes; it is said to feed on
grass; but Guenée thinks it probable that col-
lectors have confounded it with that of Woetua
acanthographa. Mr. Stainton, on the authority
of Treitschke, says it is whitish-gray, with
black sub-dorsal lines.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August, and
has been taken in most of our English coun-
ties, and also in Scotland, and Mr. Birchall
says it is common in most places in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Noctua umbrosa.)
567. The Dotted Clay (Noctua baja).
567. THE DOTTED CLAY. —The palpi are
porrected, the summit of the second joint cut
off obliquely, and its scales extending beyond
the third, which is small and naked, the basal
portion of the palpi, extending almost to the
tip of the second joint, is rich umber-brown,
but the tip of that joint, as well as the whole
of the apical joint, is pale brown; the antennae
are very slightly serrated in the male, simple
in the female : the colour of the fore wings is
reddish-brown; the orbicular is outlined in
gray, its median area being concolorous with
the ground colour; the reniform is also out-
lined in gray, but its median area is not
entirely of the ground colour, the lower half
being dark gray-brown; there is a transverse
median shade passing between the discoidal
spots, and a transversely elongate dark brown
spot on the costa near the tip; these are the
more obvious markings: the hind wings are
reddish-brown, inclining to gray on the disk,
and to gray-brown on the hind margin ; the
fringe is pale testaceous-brown; the head is
pale gray-brown; the front of the thorax
testaceous-brown, its disk darker brown; the
body is ferruginous-brown, reddish towards the
extremity.
The CATERPILLAR is yellow-ochreous, marbled
with brownish, with yellowish dorsal line
edged with black: yellowish sub-dorsal line
from which, on the fifth to the twelfth seg-
ment, an oblique yellow streak proceeds to the
middle of the back (Hubner). On various
low plants. (Stainton’s Manual, vol. i.,
p. 237.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
is generally common in England, Scotland,
and Ireland. (The scientific name is Noctua
baja.)
568. The Cousin-German. (Noctua sobrina).
568. THE Cousin-GERMAN.—The palpi are
but slightly projected; the terminal joint
is naked and pointed ; the antennae are very



NOCTUAS.
&
)
!
*
3
3
slightly serrated in the male, quite simple in
the female : the colour of the fore wings is
grayish-brown, with a tinge of purple; the
orbicular is outlined with pale gray, it is
rather oblique and somewhat reniform ; the
reniform is very indistinct; there is a short
and incomplete transverse line near the base,
a complete line before the orbicular, a trans-
verse shade before the reniform, a transverse
zigzag dark line beyond the reniform, and a
pale gray transverse line parallel with the hind
margin: the hind wings are gray-brown, paler
at the base, and exhibiting a trace of the
crescentic discoidal spot: the head, thorax,
and body are purplish-brown.
The CATERPILLAR, according to Guenée, a
good deal resembles those of Cerastis Paccinii
and C. erythrocephala; it is of a violet or
vinous-gray colour, delicately marbled with
yellowish white, and having the medio-dorsal
and sub-dorsal stripes very conspicuous, but
broken up into spots of a dull ochreous-yellow
colour; there is a side stripe in the region of
the spiracles, rather paler than the ground
colour, this is abruptly bounded on its upper
border, but on its lower border is fused with the
colour of the ventral area; above this are the
spiracles, each situated in a very conspicuous
black dot : the head and legs are concolorous;
the caterpillar, in its younger stages, very
much resembles that of Noctua baja : it is of a
dark blackish-brown colour, and is marked at
each division of the segment with a white
spot: its food-plant is entirely unknown.
The MOTH has been taken in July at
Rannoch, in Perthshire, but I know of no
other British locality. (The scientific name
is Noctua sobrina.) -
Obs. With regard to this and other rarities,
the attempt to collect them all with one's own
hand is quite hopeless: a perfect collection
can only be obtained by an extensive corres-
pondence with those of similar pursuits; and
this can only be attained through the medium
of the Entomologist, where long lists of dupli-
cates are published every month for exchange
or gratuitous distribution. The Entomologist
is published by Messrs. Simpkin, Marshall,
& Co., at sixpence.
EDw AR 1) N EwMAN’s BRITISH U
Morus. No. 23, PP1c); 61.)
569. The Gray IRustic (Noetua neglecta).
569. THE GRAY RUSTIC. —The palpi are
porrected, the second joint obliquely truncate,
the terminal joint Small and naked, and not ex-
tending so far as the scales of the second ; the
antennae are very slightly serrated in the
male, quite simple in the female : the colour
of the fore wings varies from ochreous-gray to
brickdust-red; the circumscription of the dis-
coidal spots is most delicately outlined with
testaceous brown; the median area of the
orbicular is concolorous with the general area
of the wing, but in the reniform it is smoky
at the lower extremity; the other markings
are extremely indistinct : the hind wings are
gray-brown, pale at the base, and having a
paler fringe inclining to red; the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings, the body of the same colour as the
hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring and falls off
its food-plant, feigning death, when disturbed.
It crawls very actively, often moving the
anterior part of the body in the manner of a
leech. The head is rather small, and shining;
the body uniformly cylindrical, and velvety.
The colour, including the head, is uniform
dull brown or uniform pale green, in both
instances having a very slender and very
obscure pale medio-dorsal stripe, and a very
distinct broader white stripe on each side
immediately below the spiracles. The dorsal
region is thickly dotted or reticulated with
a darker colour. It feeds in the night-
time on the common ling (Calluna vulgaris),
and is full fed at the end of May; it then
* Los no N : W. Tw EEI, I k,
} 337, Sir RAN in.

354
BRITISH MOTHS.
*
enters the earth to undergo its change to a
CHRYSALIS.
The MoTH appears on the wing in August,
always frequenting heaths. In such situations
it is common in Cornwall and Devonshire, in
which county Mr. Reading gives Ivybridge,
Ugborough Beacon, Shaugh Downs, St. Clear
Downs, Whitsand Heights, Torquay, and
Exeter, as localities; Somerset, Wilts, Dorset,
Hampshire (in the New Forest), Sussex,
Kent, and Surrey, at West Wickham; and is
also reported from two northern counties,
Lancashire and Yorkshire; it is common at
Rannoch, in Scotland; and Mr. Birchall
(The scientific
found it at Galway. Il{LI]] G. 1S
Noctua neglecta.)
570. The Square-spot Rustic (Noctuq alanthographa).
570. THE SQUARE-STOT RUSTIC.—The palpi
are porrected, the apical joint naked and dis-
tinct; the antennae are slightly serrated in
the male, quite simple in the female; the
fore wings are short, the hind margin unusually
rounded; their colour is gray-brown, tinged
either with ochreous-brown, brickdust-red, or
umber-brown; the discoidal spots are generally
very distinct and decidedly paler, being of an
ochreous-gray tint; in some their median
area is exactly concolorous with the general
area of the wing: the hind wings are pale
gray-brown, with a dark brown hind-marginal
band; the fringe is paler; the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings, the base of the body is pale gray-
brown, but beyond the middle it is darker
brown.
The Eggs are laid in August and September,
on various species of grass, which constitute
the food of the CATERPILLAR ; it retires towards
the roots when very small, Secreting itself
under any covering that will protect it from
the weather : at this season, and again in the
spring, after it has recommenced feeding, it is
very fond of hiding on the under surface of
stones, if such occur near its dwelling-place.
The full-fed caterpillar drops from its food-
plant when annoyed, and rolls itself into a
very tight and compact ring, but quickly
unrolls when the danger is passed, and crawls
with considerable activity. The head is
manifestly narrower than the second segment;
the body is obese, almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but still increasing very gradually
from the second to the twelfth segment; the
colour of the head is pale semi-transparent
brown, very glabrous, with two slightly
curved longitudinal dark stripes on the face,
and the cheeks are slightly reticulated with
the same colour; the body is pale velvety-
brown, with a narrow medio-dorsal stripe still
paler, and margined on each side with black,
which shades off externally into the pale-
brown ground-colour; this black, however,
consists of innumerable minute specks, which
are crowded when in close proximity to the
pale medio-dorsal stripe, but become scattered
as they recede from it; just- above the spira-
cles is a rather broad lateral stripe, somewhat
darker than the ground colour, and having a
dark but ill-defined upper margin, and a
unicolorous and clearly defined lower margin;
exactly intermediate between the medio-
dorsal stripe and this lateral stripe, is a parti-
coloured stripe, scarcely so wide as the latter;
it is divided longitudinally into two equal
parts, the upper part very dark brown, almost
black, and somewhat interrupted at the inter-
stices of the segments (thus forming a series
of eleven clongate blotches), the lower part
pale, and throwing the series of Llotches into
bold relief; three pale stripes are also to be
traced on the second segment; the legs,
claspers, and belly are pale, and have a semi-
transparent appearance. It enters the ground
in May, but never changes to a CHRYSALIS
until the middle of July, and sometimes not
before August. The chrysalis is shining and
brown : that state gencrally lasts about three
weeks.
The MoTT appears on the wing in July and
August, and is equally abundant in England,

NOCTUAS.
3
5
5
&
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Woetua acanthographa.)
Obs. This moth is sometimes a perfect
nuisance to the collector who adopts the
sugaring mode of capture. Guenée observes
that a great number of individuals die in the
chrysalis state, a conclusion at which he
arrives from the fact that in France the
caterpillars are much more abundant than the
moth. Mr. Doubleday informs me he thinks
this is also the case in England.
571. The Pine Beauty (Trachea piniperda).
571. THE PINE BEAUTY.—The palpi are small,
short and inconspicuous; they are clothed with
longish scales, which conceal their form : the
antennae of the male are serrated, the teeth
being very short; those of the female are
simple; the head is very small and almost
hidden by the clothing of the thorax: the fore
wings are rather long and narrow, and of a
bright reddish-brown colour, mixed with
orange; the orbicular is small, the reniform
large and oblique; both are outlined in white,
and both are cut off at the lower extremity by
a white wing-ray, which emits a branch below
the orbicular; the hind marginal area is occu-
pied by a broadband of ochreous-yellow, which
contains eight oblong and closely approximate
red spots: the hind wings are gray-brown, the
inner margin paler; the fringe is yellowish-
red : the head is yellowish, the thorax gaily
ormamented with red, orange, and white; the
body is brown at the base, reddish towards the
tip. *
The CATERPILLAR rests in a straight position
on the twigs of fir-trees, but when knocked off
rolls in a compact ring; the head is rather
narrower than the second segment; the body
is obese, but decidedly tapering to the anal
extremity: the colour of the head is pale
wainscot-brown, of the body clear pale brown,
or dark olive-green, or rich oil-green, varying
in different specimens, and has five longitudi-
nal white stripes, one of which is medio-dorsal;
the next is lateral, and accompanied, or rather
bordered, on each side by a very delicate jet-
black line; the next is in the region of the
spiracles, and is accompanied by a bright
orange stripe; the wentral is rather paler than
the dorsal area, and the claspers are concolo-
rous; on all parts of the body are scattered
black dots, but I find no order in their arrange-
ment; the legs, like the head, are wainscot-
brown. It feeds on the needles of the Scotch
fir, beginning at the tip and eating slowly and
systematically to the base; it is full fed dur-
ing the first or second week in July, when it
forms a very flimsy cocoon in the crevices of
the bark, and therein turns to a slender and
sharp-tailed reddish CHRYSALIS.
The MoTH appears in April, when it may be
found just emerged from the chrysalis case and
sticking close to the back of the fir, with
which, although so variegated, it strikingly
assimilates in colour. It is found only in pine
plantations, but is generally present both in
England and Scotland where these occur: it
has not been observed in Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Trached piniperda.)
Obs. M. Guenée describes the chrysalis as
enterrés, and I have no doubt this is correct as
a rule, but it is contrary to my very limited
experience.
572. The Mountain Rustic (Pachyobia carnica).
(li's . . .
572. THE MoUNTAIN RUSTIC.—The palpi
are short and porrected, the second joint
ºather slender, the apical joint distinct and
naked; the antennae are serrated in the male, .
the serratures being short and inconspicuous,
simple in the female; the fore wings are
rather pointed at the tip; their colour is dingy
gray, the exterior portion of the wing being
#


356
BRITISH MOTHS.
t
more inclined to brown; the orbicular spot is
very indistinctly defined, and unites with a
costal blotch similar in its gray tint; the
reniform is distinct, its outline well defined
and pale, its median area rather dark brown ;
the space between the discoidal spots is dark
brown, and between the orbicular and the
base of the wing there is a conspicuous
brown mark, which encloses a square pale
costal spot; there is a dark but vague spot
near the base of the wing, an angled line
between the orbicular and the inner margin,
and a zigzag line beyond fhe reniform ; the
hind-marginal area is pale, interrupted by a
series of six or seven dark oblong spots; on
the hind margin itself is a series of linear
black spots : the hind wings are grayish-
brown, paler at the base, and having a hind-
marginal series of dark linear spots; the head,
thorax, and body are gray-brown. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in August.
Mr. Douglas took a single specimen on Cairn
Gower, in Perthshire, and the late James
Foxcroft a second, also in Scotland; the
latter is in the rich cabinet of Mr. Bond, and
has been most kindly lent me to describe and
figure in this work. (The scientific name is
Pachnobia carnica.)
573. The Hebrew Character (Taniocampa gothica).
573. THE HEBREW CHARACTER.—The palpi
are small, slightly porrected, and very in-
conspicuous; the second joint is slender, and
very dark brown below ; the third short,
slender, and very pale ; the antennae are
pectinated in the male, simple in the female :
the colour of the fore wings is purple-brown,
more or less tinged with gray; the scales seem
to stand erect ; the orbicular spot is incom-
plete at the top, and the reniform at the
ring, with the head on one side.
bottom ; both are circumscribed, where com-
plete, with a slender pale line, and the in-
closed area is gray; the space between the
discoidal spots, and around the orbicular,
except on its upper side, is dark brown ; half
way between the reniform and the inner
margin is a short, dark line; near the base of
the wing, and extending half way across it, is
a narrow transverse line, and there are three
other narrow transverse lines, the first nearly
direct, and situated before the orbicular ; the
second much curved, and situated beyond the
reniform; and the third oblique, and parallel
with the hind margin : just within this last is
a transverse pale cloud, in general very con-
spicuous, but not reaching either the costal or
inner margin : the hind wings are brownish-
gray, with a slight indication of a crescentic
discoidal spot; their fringe is pale and tinged
with pink : the head, thorax, and body are
gray-brown, often inclining to red, the scales
are long, giving the thorax and body a woolly
appearance.
The EGG is laid in the spring, and the CATER-
PILLAR feeds on sallow (Salia, caprea), white-
thorn (Crataegus oayacantha), oak (Quercus
Robur), and many other trees and shrubs. Mr.
Doubleday has observed it feeding on laurel in
his own garden. When full-fed, which is usually
in June, it falls off the food-plant if annoyed,
and feigns death, rolling itself into a compact
The head is
glabrous, and narrower than the body; the
body is obese, uniformly cylindrical, and quite
smooth. The colour of the head is pale
transparent apple-green, with black ocelli;
of the body delicate apple-green, with a broad
and very conspicuous stripe on each side,
of a pale glaucous-green, approaching to
white; this stripe commences immediately
behind the head, and terminates in the anal
claspers; it passes below the first and ninth
spiracles, but includes all the rest, and is gra-
dually attenuated towards both extremities:
there is a very narrow pale yellow medio-
- - /
dorsal stripe; and exactly intermediate be-
tween this and the broad lateral stripe is
another very narrow pale yellowstripe, less con-
tinuous and less distinct ; there are numerous

NOCTUAS.
357
minute yellow markings throughout the dorsal
surface, in addition to the three narrow
stripes I have mentioned ; and along the upper
margin of the brown lateral stripe the green
is tinged with smoky-black. The belly, legs,
and claspers are pale semi-transparent green.
It buries itself in the earth, and changes to a
CHRYSALIS about the middle of June.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, frequenting the catkins of the
sallow. It is generally distributed through-
out the kingdom. (The scientific name is
Taniocampa gothica.)
574. The White-marked (Taeniocampa leucographa).
574. THE WHITE-MARKED.—The palpi are
short, and slightly porrected, reddish-brown,
tipped with pale brown; the antennae are
pectinated in the male, simple in the female;
the fore wings are brickdust-red, inclining to
gray-brown; the orbicular spot is pale gray, in
Some specimens almost white; the reniform is
rather darker gray; two transverse series of
dots, rather darker than the ground colour,
cross the wing, the first before the orbicular,
the second parallel with the hind margin;
none of the markings, except the pale dis-
coidal spots, are at all conspicuous: the hind
wings are pale reddish-brown, and have a
slightly transparent appearance; the fringe is
inclined to pink; the head, thorax, and tip of
the body are brickdust-red; the base of the
body is gray.
“The CATERPILLAR is at present unknown,
except through a description given by Treit-
schke after Zincken-Sommer, on the fidelity
of which it would not do to place too
much reliance. It is, therefore, much to be
desired that our entomologists residing on the
banks of the Rhine would supply us with
exact figures and descriptions, which would
until the first or second week in June.
decide whether I am right or wrong in placing
the species in this genus.”—Guenée.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, frequenting the catkins of the
sallow. It is rare and local, and has been
taken at Lee Moor, Exeter, and Barnstaple,
in Devonshire; in Somersetshire, by Mr.
Crotch; in the Isle of Wight, Sussex, Suffolk,
Yorkshire, and the Lake District. I have no
records from Scotland or Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Taeniocampa leucographa.)
5
7
5. The Red Chestnut (Taeniocampa rubricosa).
575. THE RED CHESTNUT.-The palpi are
very inconspicuous; the antennae very slightly
serrated in the male, simple in the female :
the fore wings are brick-red, inclining to
gray-brown; the discoidal spots are indistinct,
the orbicular pale gray, the reniform outlined
in pale gray, but filled up with gray-brown ;
three transverse pale gray lines cross the wing;
the first, which is interrupted, is before the
orbicular ; the second, which is much bent,
is beyond the reniform ; and the third, which
is broader and more conspicuous than the
other, is parallel with the hind margin; the
costal margin has several darker as well as
lighter spots, all of them small but distinct :
the hind wings are gray-brown, the costal
margin and fringe paler, and inclining to red:
the head and thorax are red-brown, and
densely clothed with scales; the body gray-
brown, inclining to red at the tip. -
The Eggs are laid about the middle of April,
on dock (Rumex), and are hatched in a few
days: the young CATERPILLARs continue feeding
When
full-fed, the caterpillar rests in a straight
position on the leaves or leaf-stalks of the
dock, but rolls itself in a compact ring and


BRITISH
MOTHS.
falls to the ground when annoyed; the head
is small but exserted; it is narrower than the
second segment, but is never received into
it; the body is velvety and obese; it is rather
attenuated at the anterior extremity; the
colour of the head prior to the last moult is
dull brown, with a paler reticulated line down
the middle of the face, and another on each
cheek; the body is umber-brown of two
shades, which form bands across the back, the
paler bands being at the interstices of the
segments; the entire surface is delicately
reticulated ; there is a short white or yellow
linear mark on each side of each segment;
this is always in the dark bands, and above
each of these marks are two round white dots;
there is a continuous bright yellow stripe just
below the spiracles, which are black, and
which touch and seem to rest on this yellow
stripe; the colour of the spiracles is always
black; the ventral is rather paler than the
dorsal area, and the legs and claspers are of
the same colour. After the last moult con-
siderable change takes place in the colouring;
the bright yellow stripe in the region of the
spiracles disappears, and its position is only to
be traced by searching with a lens along the
side, when a very indistinct stripe will be
found just below the spiracles, except on the
second segment close to the head, where an
ochreous-yellow line clearly marks the site
where the bright yellow stripe commenced;
the white or yellow linear spots on each side
of the back remain very distinct; and in the
space between each of these is a circular white
spot; immediately above it is of an intensely
dark velvety brown, almost black; the ground
colour below each linear spot is also very
dark, so that these markings are rendered
very conspicuous; the dark colour of the back
assumes somewhat the appearance of a series
of inverted pyramids, the apices of which
point towards the anal extremity.
The MOTII appears on the wing in March
and April, frequenting the catkins of the
sallow : it is very generally distributed in
England, and has been taken rather abun-
dantly in Scotland. Mr. Birchall reports it
from the county Wicklow, in Ireland, on tho
authority of Mr. Bristow. (The scientific
name is Taeniocampa rubricosa.)
576. The Clouded Drab (Taeniocampa instabilis).
576. THE CLouTED DRAB.—The palpi are
very inconspicuous; the antennae slightly
serrated in the male, quite simple in the
female : the wings are very different in colour
and markings, the ground colour varying to
almost every shade of ferruginous brown and
gray-brown, sometimes plain and almost uni-
colorous, at others mottled and marbled; the
discoidal spots are usually entire, their cir-
cumscription clearly defined in pale gray,
almost white; and there is also usually a very
distinct pale line parallel with the hind mar-
gin; this is slightly irregular, scarcely so
much so as to be called zigzag : the costal
margin is usually paler, and interrupted with

NOCTUAS.
359
darker spots; and there is generally a median
transverse cloud. Notwithstanding the gene-
ral occurrence of these markings, in some of
my specimens they are scarcely perceptible,
and in others entirely absent : the hind wings
are gray-brown, the discoidal spot being dis-
tinctly darker and of a crescentic form; the
fringe is paler : the head and thorax vary in
colour with the fore wings; they are densely
clothed with scales; the body is gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched. The head is green, shining, and
unspotted : the body bright pea-green, with a
whitish ring immediately behind the head, a
narrow whitish medio-dorsal stripe, another
on each side supra-spiracular; intermediate be-
tween the dorsal and supra-spiracular stripes
is another indistinct stripe, composed of a
series of whitish dots: every part of the
caterpillar is sprinkled with whitish dots,
except the belly, which is sprinkled with
black dots; the disks of the claspers are also
intensely black; occasionally black dots of
uniform size, but at irregular distances, appear
on the back and sides. It feeds on sallow
(Salia caprea), oak (Quercus Robur), and also
on dock and many other plants, and is full-fed
about the 10th of July: it buries itself in the
earth to assume the CHRYSALTs state.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, and is plentiful and generally
distributed throughout the kingdom. (The
scientific name is Tacniocampa instabilis.)
577. The Northern Drab (Teniocampa opina).
*
577, THE Norriſ ERN DRAB,-The palpi are
almost hidden ; the antennae are slightly
pectinated in the males, simple in the female :
the fore wings are slightly pointed at the tip;
their colour is various; there are two principal
varieties, the first, pale gray-brown, with a
median darker shade; the second, uniform
darker brown, without a median darker shade;
in both instances the discoidal spots are dis-
tinctly outlined in pale gray, and there are
usually three pale transverse lines; the first
bent or waved, and situated before the orbi-
cular; the second, oblique and waved, beyond
the reniform ; and the third more distinct
than the others, oblique and parallel with the
hind margin : the hind wings are gray-brown,
with a paler fringe ; the head and thorax are
plain gray-brown, and densely clothed with
scales; the body is slightly paler.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is of a brick-
red colour, reticulated with brown; the dor-
sal area of the body is purplish-brown,
reticulated or rather delicately striated with
a paler tint; there is a very distinct and paler
medio-dorsal stripe, and a lateral stripe also
paler; the ventral surface, as far as the spira-
cles, is of a bright yellow-green ; the spiracles
are white in black rings; the legs and
claspers are dingy semi-transparent yellow-
green, slightly tinged at the extremities with
rosy brown : it feeds on sallow (Salic caprea).
The MoTH appears on the wing in March
and April. It is by no means generally dis-
tributed, but has been taken freely in Sussex,
Herefordshire, Radnorshire, on both the
Cheshire and Lancashire sides of the Mersey,
and in the Lake District. (The scientific
name is Temiocampa opima.)
Obs. There seems to be a constant differ-
once between this species and the preceding,
in the third pale line being more direct in
Opima than in Instabilis, in which I have
described it as slightly irregular : in other
respects they are very similar; but I have
always observed that Opima is far more
constant in colouring. The two varieties
moticed above are the only ones which are
at all of frequent occurrenee.
*

36() BRITISH
MOTHS.
578. The Lead-coloured Drab (Tºniocampa Populeti).
578. THE LEAD-COLOURED DRAB.—The palpi
are very inconspicuous; they are pale at the
tips, but nearly black on the outside ; the
antennae of the male are rather strongly pec-
tinated, those of the female quite simple: the
colour of the fore wings is gray-brown, with
a purple or violet tinge, inclining to dove-
colour; the discoidal spots are distinctly out-
lined in pale gray, and the median area of
each is rather darker than the ground colour ;
there is but one manifest transverse line, and
that is parallel with the hind margin, irregu-
lar, interrupted, and slender ; it is preceded
by, and almost united with, a darker line, also
irregular and interrupted: the hind wings are
very dingy gray-brown, the crescentic dis-
coidal spot being scarcely visible; the fringe
is rather paler: the head and thorax are of
the same colour as the fore wings, the body
slightly redder.
The EGGs are laid in little clusters on the
twigs of poplar and aspen trees, just below the .
axils of the leaves, before the leaves have
expanded in the spring ; and the young CATER-
PILLARs emerging in May, or sometimes even at
the end of April, attack the newly-expanded
leaves, spinning two or three together and .
living between them : in the young caterpillar
the head is almost black, but when older
becomes of a paler colour, almost buff: the
ground-colour of the dorsal area of the body
is dingy white, as is so commonly the case
with caterpillars that live, during any portion
of their existence, concealed: there is a broad
and very distinct medio-dorsal stripe, almost
white, and a narrower one on each side of it
loss distinct : the whole surface of the body is
sparingly clothed with whitish hairs: the
spiracles are encircled by slender waved
whitish lines: during the whole of its cater-
pillar life it continues to feed between united
leaves of various species of poplar, preferring
that known as the black Italian, and may be
found full fed throughout the month of June ;
it then descends to the ground, and penetrates
deeper than the other species of the same
genus: throughout life it is fond of company,
and Mr. Greene found a “nest” of thirteen
chrysalids altogether at the roots of a poplar.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, and is widely, although perhaps not
generally, distributed. Mr. Reading records
its having been taken at gas-lamps at Wood-
side, Plymouth; it has also occurred in all the
metropolitan and eastern counties, and again
in Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwick-
shire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, the
Lake District, and Yorkshire; and Mr. Bir-
chall reports it from Wicklow and Killarney,
in Ireland. (The scientific name is Taºnio-
campa Populet.)
Obs. This species seems to me best dis-
tinguished from the two which precede it by
its more pectinated antennae.
579. The Common Quaker (Taeniocampa stabilis).
579. THE COMMON QUAKER.—The palpi are
porrected and rather conspicuous, the apical
joint naked; the antennae are rather strongly
pectinated in the male, slightly serrated in
the female : the colour of the fore wings is
wainscot-brown, inclining to ochreous-red, and
very uniform ; the discoidal spots are near
together, and distinctly but delicately outlined
with pale ochreous, the enclosed area being
concolorous with the general area of the wing;
there is a distinct and conspicuous pale line
parallel with the hind margin, and the parallel
wing-rays which pass through this to the
hind margin are pale; there are also three
transverse series of black dots, the first situated


NOCTUAS.
361
before the orbicular, and often forming an
irregular but nearly continuous line; the
second consisting of six or eight dots, and
situated beyond the reniform, and the third
also consisting of six or eight black dots, being
just within the hind-marginal fringe; there is
frequently, but not invariably, a black dot at
the base of the wing: the hind wings are
gray-brown, their hind margin waved, and the
fringe long and pale : the head and thorax
are wainscot-brown, inclining to ochreous-red;
the body is gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR does not roll itself in a
ring when touched, but falls off its food plant
and twists itself violently, bringing head and
tail together alternately on each side. The
head is rather large, the body uniformly
cylindrical, and quite smooth. The colour of
the head is pellucid, shining glaucous-green;
of the body delicate, clear bright green, and
velvety, with a slender pale medio-dorsal
stripe, very indistinct, but rendered percep-
tible by the action of the dorsal canal; a
narrow transverse yellowish band crosses the
back of the twelfth segment : the dorsal sur-
face is mottled with indistinct paler dots; the
ventral surface is glaucous-green, and un-
spotted. It feeds on oak (Quercus Robur), is
full-fed in the beginning of July, when it
changes to a CHRYSALIs on the surface of the
earth, perhaps spinning a few silken threads,
but making nothing that can be properly
called a cocoon.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, and is universally distributed and
abundant throughout the kingdom. I know
of no species of which the chrysalis is to be
obtained more plentifully by digging at the
roots of trees, as so strenuously recommended
by Mr. Greene : I have known a collector
obtain more than two thousand chrysalids of
this species in the course of a week's pupa-
digging : they may be found throughout the
autumn at the foot of every oak. (The scien-
tific name is Taniocampa stabilis.)
580. The Powdered Quaker (Taeniocampa gracilis).
580. THE POWDERED QUAKER.—The palpi
are very inconspicuous, their naked tips
scarcely projecting beyond the head; the
antennae are serrated in the male, simple in
the female : the fore wings are rather pointed
at the tip; their colour is gray, with an
ochreous, or, in some specimens, an indistinctly
reddish tint; the discoidal spots are outlined,
but not always very distinctly, with a slender
paler line ; their median area is darker than
the general area of the wing, more especially
the lower portion of the reniform; there is a
pale transverse line parallel with the hind
margin, and also two transverse series of
black dots, the first beyond the reniform, and
always seated on the wing-rays, which are
paler than the general area of the wing; the
second just within the hind-marginal fringe,
and never on the wing-rays; there are also
minute black dots scattered sparingly over
every part of the wing: the hind wings are
pale gray at the base, gradually deepening
in shade until they become smoke-coloured at
the hind margin ; the discoidal spot is cres-
centic and rather distinct; the fringe very
pale.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched. The dorsal area of the body is dull
green, with three paler narrow stripes, and
between these paler stripes is a series of
pale dots; the broad green portion of the back
is bordered on each side by a smoke-coloured
stripe, the upper margin of which is suffused
and indistinct, the lower margin sharply de-
fined and very distinct; on each side below
the smoke-colour is a pale green stripe, paler
still at both its upper and lower margins.
The belly and claspers are pellucid green.

362
BRITISH MOTHS.
It feeds on sallow (Salia, caprea), and is
full-fed in the beginning of July. An un-
usual variety of the caterpillar is described
by Mr. Hellins in No. 12 of the Entomologists’
Monthly Magazine. The ground colour of
this variety was deep brown, tinged with
pink, the slender
dorsal stripes of the same, but becoming
rather paler; along the region of the
spiracles, and reaching half way down the
anal claspers, is a broad stripe of pale dingy
pink, sharply edged above with a fine blackish
line ; the belly and legs are concolorous with
the ground colour; the usual dots were pre-
sent, but of a dark brown colour, and enclosed
in paler rings, and the dorsal area was slightly
freckled with the paler tint. --
The MOTH appears on the wing in April
and May, and is widely distributed in our
English counties, and Mr. Birchall obtained
it at Killarney, in Ireland.
name is Taeniocampa gracilis.)
581. The Blossom Underwing (Taniocampa miniosa).
581. THE BLossom UNDERWING.-The palpi
are porrected rather conspicuously; their tips
very slender; the antennae are pectinated in
the male, simple in the female ; the fore
wings are gray, strongly tinged with red, and
having a median band of a brighter red, ap-
proaching to orange: this band in many speci-
mens does not reach either the costal or the
inner margin; the circumscription of discoidal
spots is very vague sand imperfect, but the
median area of the reniform is inclined to
smoky brown and rather conspicuous: the
hind wings are pale gray, with pink opalescent
reflection, and having a small but rather con-
spicuous discoidal spot, and two indistinct
transverse waved lines, slightly darker than
the general area: the head and thorax are
densely clothed with scales, and are of the
medio-dorsal and sub-
(The scientific
same colour as the fore wings; the body is
paler.
The impregnated female performs the
duties of oviposition during the first week in
April, and sometimes even at the end of
March; she settles on a twig of oak (Quercus
Robur), and deposits from sixteen to twenty-
five eggs in a cluster just below the leaf-bud,
and of course before there is any symptom of
vernal vitality. The young CATERPILLARs do
not emerge for a month or more, and then
unite their labours in constructing a silken
web, completely enclosing the terminal twig,
and residing constantly beneath the shelter of
their tent; as soon as the oak-buds are suffi-
ciently expanded to afford an abundant supply
of food—a period of from ten or twelve to
twenty days, according to the temperature—the
caterpillars separate and distribute themselves
over the food-plant; they usually select the
lower branches or frequently the shrub-like
oaks in hedges, and from these they wander to
bushes of white-thorn (Cratagus owyacantha),
and even to the low herbaceous plants in the
hedge-rows and on the hedge-banks: after the
social or gregarious propensity of these cater-
pillars has deserted them, and their solitary
walkthrough life has begun, they feed greedily
and increase in stature very rapidly; some-
times the social life endures for ten days, and
the solitary life for ten more; in other
instances the caterpillar existence is ex-
tended to twenty-six days; the full-fed
caterpillar rests in a straight position, but
falls from its food-plant if annoyed, form-
ing a loose ring, with the head on one side;
the head is rather narrower than the body,
which is almost uniformly cylindrical, the
anal claspers projecting behind and spreading;
the head is lead-coloured, with black blotches;
the body variegated; a bright yellow medio-
dorsal stripe extends the entire length ; this is
irregular in breadth, and interrupted at the
incisions of the segments; on each side of this
medio-dorsal stripe is a broad lead-coloured
space, often tinged with pink, and always
irrorated and variegated with intense velvety
black; this is bounded below by a narrow and
interrupted pale yellow stripe, and this again

NOCTUAS.
363
by a narrow space or stripe of intense velvety
black; then follows a pale stripe, which in-
cludes the spiracles; this is varied with yellow
and white, and spotted with black; the ven-
tral area, legs, and claspers are smoky-pink,
sprinkled with black spots. At the end of
May these caterpillars descend to the ground,
and change to smooth, pale-brown CHRYSALIDs,
among fallen leaves and other rubbish.
This delicately-coloured MOTH appears on the
wing in March and April; it is widely, but
not generally, distributed in England. It has
been taken in Cornwall, Devonshire, Somerset,
Wilts, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Sussex, Surrey,
Kent, Essex, Berks, Gloucester, Herefordshire,
and Yorkshire, but is not reported in the
Scotch and Irish lists. (The scientific name
is Toniocampa miniosa.)
582. The Twin-Spotted Quaker (Toniocampa munda)."
582. THE TWIN-SPOTTED QUARER.—The
palpi are inconspicuous; the antennae are
pectinated in the male, serrated in the female;
the colour of the fore wings is gray, strongly
suffused with ochreous, saffron or wainscot-
brown, and always freckled, and more or less
clouded with other shades of brown; the or-
bicular spot is very indistinct, often imper-
ceptible; its circumscription is pale, its median
area exactly of the same tint as the general
ground-colour of the wing ; the reniform is
distinct; and its circumscription pale, its
median area dark, more especially at the
lower extremity; there are two closely
approximate and very conspicuous black
spots on the disk of the wing nearly equi-
distant from the costa, hind margin, and
reniform spot: the hind wings are smoky-gray,
and almost invariably conspicuously darker
than the fore wings, and having a still darker
crescentic discoidal spot.
The CATERPILLAR falls off its food, rolls in a
ring, and feigns death when touched or dis-
turbed; it is smooth and uniformly cylindrical.
The head is nearly equal to the body in dia-
meter, and is of a pale, very shining wainscot-
brown, mottled with black in the middle of the
face, and reticulated on the cheeks. The ground-
colour of the dorsal surface is putty-white,
mottled or sprinkled and reticulated with
velvety black, and having an extremely narrow
pale medio-dorsal stripe; and on each side of
the pale dorsal area is a series of small, circular,
pure white spots; these are three in number
on each segment, and are not arranged in a
direct line, the middle one of each three being
slightly nearer a median line of the back than
either of the others; an intensely black,
but not very clearly defined, waved stripe
extends the whole length of each side, and
immediately below this is a pale area, and in
this area are small white patches on the fourth,
fifth, and sixth of the segments; the dorsal
surface of the twelfth segment is very dark,
except on its posterior margin, which is pale ;
the legs and claspers are pale; the anal pair of
claspers is spreading; the belly is Smoky-gray.
It feeds on oak (Quercus Robur) and plum,
and is full-fed at the end of May.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April, and has been taken in most of our
English counties; it is common in some parts
of Scotland, and Mr. Birchall has taken it at
Killarney, in Ireland; Mr. Greene has found
the chrysalids at the roots of oaksin Gloucester-
shire, in October. (The scientific name is
Taniocampa munda.)
583. The Small Quaker (Tacniocampa eruda).
583. THE SMALL QUARER.—The terminal
joint of the palpi is rather long and slender ;
the antennae are strongly serrated in the male,
simple in the female : the fore wings are very
black at the tip, their colour is dingy ochreous-
gray, often interspersed with brighter ochreous


BRITISH MOTHS.
markings, and these brighter markings gene-
rally surround the discoidal spots; these are
rather obscure, but manifestly darker than the
general area of the wing, which always has a
freckled or mottled appearance; beyond the
reniform is a transverse series of black spots,
very small and indistinct; and there is a
second series on the extreme hind margin: the
hind wings are gray-brown, and darker than
the forewings; their fringe is paler : the head
and thorax are gray, tinged with dingy ochre-
ous; the body is pale gray.
The CATERPILLAR is pale green, sometimes
grayish or brownish ; the medio-dorsal and
sub-dorsal stripes are whitish-green, and be-
tween them is a row of dark green dots; the
spiracular stripe and incisions of the segments
are yellowish (Freyer). It feeds on oak
(Quercus Robur).-Stainton’s Manual, vol. i.,
p. 245.
The MoTH appears on the wing in March and
April, and is common in all parts of the United
Kingdom, sometimes frequenting the catkins
of the sallow in great numbers. Mr. Greene
says that the chrysalids of Stabilis, Instabilis, .
Gothica, and Cruda are extremely abundant
at the roots of various trees in October : he
remarks of the species of Taniocampa, they
may easily be found by simply shaking the
sod, or looseming the earth (at the roots of
trees); and by taking a large number (once he
had a thousand chrysalids of Instabilis) of the
common species, some curious and beautiful
varieties may be obtained without trouble.
(The scientific name is Zoeniocampa cruda.)
584. The Suspected (Orthosia suspecta).
584. THE SUSPECTED,-The palpi are por-
rected and slender, the terminal joint un-
usually slender and pointed; the antennae are
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
rather narrow; their colour is red-brown,
mottled and freckled with various tints; both
the discoidal spots are outlined in pale gray,
the median area of each being concolorous
with the general colour of the wing; half way
between the reniform and the hind margin is
a transverse series of compound spots, all of
them seated on wing-rays; each of these spots
has a darker and a lighter portion, the darker
portion being nearest the base : the hind wings
are gray-brown ; the head and thorax are of
the same colour as the fore wings, the body
being dingy gray. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, but
is rare and local ; it has been taken almost
exclusively in the North, Lancashire, the
Lake District, and Yorkshire: my specimens
came from Huddersfield. (The scientific name
is Orthosia suspecta.)
585. The Dismal (Orthosia Upsilon).
585. THE DISMAL.—The palpi are incon-
spicuous, the terminal joint being almost con-
cealed by scales; the antennae are, simple in
both sexes: the fore wings are ample; their
colour is bistre-brown; the orbicular stigma
is oblique and oval, and outlined in paler
brown; the reniform is scarcely perceptible;
between them is the figure of a Greek upsilon
Y, very distinctly defined in most specimens;
parallel with the hind margin is a transverse
ZigZag line, of a pale ochreous-brown colour:
the head and thorax are bistre-brown : the
hind wings and body are dingy gray-brown.
The GATERPILLAR rolls itself into a lax ring
when disturbed, and falls off its food-plant,
but very soon abandons this posture, and
crawls with great vigour and almost in-
credible activity: the head is small and
shining, the body uniformly cylindrical,
Smooth, and velvéty. The colour of the head
is pale brown, reticulated with darker brown;
the body is brown, with a medio-dorsal series


NOCTUAS. 365
of somewhat shuttle-shaped pale markings,
placed end to end, and forming an almost
continuous stripe : there is a slightly paler
mark on each side, including the spiracles,
which are situated just within its upper
margin; the dorsal area, as far as this lateral
stripe, is variegated or marked with velvety
black : the belly and claspers are paler. It
feeds by night on the common willow (Salic
fragilis), and other narrow-leaved species of
the same genus, descending in the morning to
the ground, or concealing itself in a crevice of
the bark; on the approach of night these
caterpillars leave their hiding-places, and
crawl up the trunks of the willows, travelling
at a great rate, and in windy weather in-
variably keeping on the lee side of the trunk.
They are full-fed at the end of May, when
they finally descend to the ground, and change
to CHRYSALIDs in a slight cocoon on the sur-
face of the earth. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July,
and may sometimes be observed by hundreds
sporting in the evening over the tops of willows,
always those of narrow-leaved species: it
occurs in all our English counties; but Mr.
Reading says it is rare and local in Cornwall
and Devonshire, except as regards the neigh-
bourhood of Exeter, where Mr. Parfitt has
found it commonly. Mr. Birchall met with
it in the &ounty Wicklow, in Ireland. Mr.
Greene says the caterpillars may be found in
profusion under loose moss and bark of willows
and poplars, but they must be fed: the CHRY-
SALTs may be found at the beginning of July in
the same situations, or spun up at the roots.
(The scientific name is Orthosia Upsilon.)
586. The Red-Line Quaker (Orthosia tota).
586. ThE RED-LINE QUARER.—The palpi
are porrected and pointed; they are clothed
beneath with black bristly scales; the an-
tennae are simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are pointed at the tip; their colour is
dull leaden-brown, or dull ochreous-brown,
the two shades being equally common; and
there are also other intermediates of less
frequent occurrence ; the discoidal spots have
a very slender pale circumscription, and out-
side of this a slender brick-red circumscrip-
tion ; the lower half of the reniform is almost
black; parallel with the hind margin is an
oblique compound line, the inner portion of
which is brick-red, the outer portion ochreous-
gray; both colours are sharply defined and
very distinct: the hind wings, head, thorax,
and body are leaden gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR is dull dingy-brown, with
a slight tint of purple, and is powdered over
with minute white dots; it has a narrow
medio-dorsal stripe of almost pure white,
interrupted at the incisions of the segments.
It feeds on the common willow (Salic fragilis)
or sallow (Salic caprea), and secretes itself
during the day in the cracks of the bark,
ascending the tree only at night. It generally
changes to a CHRYSALIS between the leaves of
the sallow or willow, but sometimes on or
near the surface of the ground in a slight
web. 1.
The Moth appears on the wing in Septem-
ber and October, and comes freely to sugar
and to ivy bloom, and to the luscious muci-
laginous berries of the yew : it occurs in all
our English counties, and has also been taken
in Scotland : Mr. Birchall informs us it is
common and widely distributed in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Orthosia lota.)
587. The Yellow-Line Quaker (Orthosia maeilenta),
587. THE YELLow-LINE QUAKER. — The
palpi are porrected, pointed, and very pale
in colour; the antennae are ciliated in the
male, simple in the female : the fore wings
are rather narrow, their colour is, yellow-
ochre; the orbicular is scarcely perceptible, in


366
BRITISH MOTHS.
most specimens it is entirely absent; the reni-
form is indistinct, but the lower half of its
median area is dark, forming a rather con-
spicuous spot; parallel with the linear margin
is an oblique compound line, the inner portion
of which is slightly darker, the outer portion
slightly paler than the general area of the
wing: the hind wings are smoke-coloured and
much darker than the fore wings, having an
indistinct crescentic discoidal spot and a broad
ochreous fringe: the head and thorax, and a
tuft at the extremity of the body in the male,
are yellow-ochre; the body itself Smoke-
coloured.
The CATERPILLAR is very beautiful; it is of a
testaceous-brown colour, powdered with minute
dots, and having five very distinct white
stripes, one being medio-dorsal, one on each
side lateral or sub-dorsal, and another in the
region of the spiracles. It feeds on beech
(Fagus sylvatica).
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and is especially partial to the
luscious mucilaginous berries of the yew, and
also frequents the ivy bloom, and comes to
sugar. Mr. Greene says of the chrysalis, “ of
this species, so difficult to obtain good in the
perfect state, I have found only three: the
chrysalis, which is extremely delicate, is
enclosed in a weak cocoon;” it may be found
at the roots of birch in September. It is com-
mon and generally distributed in England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Orthosia maeilenta.)
588. The Flounced Chestnut (Anchocelis ruftna).
588. The FLOUNCED CHESTNUT.-The palpi
are pointed and very slightly porrected; the
antennae are almost simple in the male, quite
so in the female : the colour of the fore wings
is reddish-brown, inclining to fulvous, and
having two darker transverse bands, in which
there is no tinge of fulvous; the first of these
is short and near the base; the second is
beyond the reniform spot, and is interrupted
by a series of acutely wedge-shaped marks
running into it from the middle of the wing ;
the two discoidal spots are delicately outlined
in a paler colour, and between them is an
indistinct transverse bar rather sharply angled
in the middle : the hind wings are smoky-
gray, bordered with rosy-gray on the costal
and hind margins: the head and thorax are
reddish-brown tinged with fulvous; the body
is pale gray at the base, reddish-gray towards
the extremity. - .
The beautiful cATERPILLAR of this species
is represented by Hübner as of a bright
orange-colour, with a yellowish-white medio-
dorsal stripe, and a series of whitish spots on
each side of it; there is a broad white stripe
in the region of the spiracles. It feeds on oak
(Quercus Robur).
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and occurs, but not generally, in
most of our English counties, extending north-
wards over the whole of Scotland, so far as
hitherto examined ; and Mr. Birchall says it
is common and widely distributed in Ireland:
it comes freely to sugar. (The scientific name
is Anchocelis ruftna.)
589. The Beaded Chestnut (Anchocelis pistagina).
589. THE BEADED CHESTNUT.--The palpi
are very inconspicuous; the antennae almost
simple in the male, quite so in the female :
the fore wings are so various in colour that it
is impossible to define any particular colour as


NOCTUAS.
367
peculiar to the species; the prevailing tint is
Orange or ochreous-gray, sometimes inclining
to brick-red, at others to gray-brown, and
again at other times to simple ochreous;
the discoidal spots are generally present, but
in some specimens I find no trace of them;
the reniform is long and rather narrow ; it is
outlined in pale yellowish-gray, and the
median area is gray-brown; the orbicular is
extremely narrow, and very oblique; its
obliquity is in a contrary direction to that of
the reniform ; the wing-rays are sometimes
much paler than the general area, and when
this is the case, slender transverse lines cross
them, giving the entire surface of the wing a
reticulated appearance; the costal margin is
spotted, the spots being both darker and
lighter than the ground colour; there are also
several transverse series of darker spots or
markings: the hind wings are very dark
Smoke-colour, with pale fringe ; the head and
thorax generally take the colour of the fore
wings, but the body is paler than the hind
wings, and tipped with rosy.
The EGGS are laid in the autumn, on the
herbage in meadows after the hay-crop has been
harvested, more especially on the flowering
stems of various species of Ranunculus (butter-
cup), on the leaves of which the CATERPILLAR
feeds. The caterpillars do not emerge until
the spring, when they ascend the stalks of the
food-plants, which are probably very various,
including many grasses; they are full-fed at
the end of May and beginning of June, and
then may be readily obtained by sweeping
standing grass morning and evening, but not
so abundantly in the middle of the day. When
a caterpillar is disturbed it forms itself into a
ring, and rolls to the bottom of the sweeping-
net; but on being removed from the débris
there collected, a strangely heterogeneous
mass, it soon finds the use of its legs, and
crawls with considerable rapidity. The head
is of nearly the same width as the body, semi-
porrected in crawling; the body velvety, of
uniform substance throughout, and perfectly
without humps: the colour of the head is dull
green, of the body delicate apple-green, with
an extremely slender medio-dorsal stripe
almost white, and a somewhat broader and
much more distinct lateral stripe, also nearly
white; there are, besides, a few white dots
on the dorsal surface, each emitting a short
and slender hair; on the second and third
segments six of these dots form a straight
transverse series; on each of the following
segments, namely, the fifth to the twelfth,
both inclusive, are four of these dots, forming
somewhat of a quadrangle: as the caterpillar
moves, a transverse skinfold becomes con-
spicuous at the interstices of the segments,
and these skinfolds assume the appearance of
evanescent yellow rings; the spiracles are
very pale, almost white, and each is sur-
rounded by a black margin; behind each
spiracle there is often a jet-black spot; the
whole of the dorsal surface is moreover
freckled with minute amorphous markings,
scarcely differing from the general ground
colour: the ventral surface and claspers are
apple-green; the legs paler. It spins a
very tight, neat, earthen cocoon, in which it
remains some weeks before assuming the
CHRYSALIS state : the cocoon, when kept dry,
becomes exceedingly brittle.
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October; it is common in most of our
English counties, and is found also in Scotland.
Mr. Birchall says it is common and widely
distributed in Ireland. It comes freely to
sugar, to ivy, and to the berries of the yew.
(The scientific name is Anchocelis pistacina.)
Obs. I will here quote at length the in-
structions given by Mr. Walton for capturing
moths while feeding on the berries of the
yew, this species having been taken on that
tree in especial abundance:—“I will now
describe, in as few words as possible, consist-
ent with clearness, the method of capturing
the moth at the berries of the yew.
bull's-eye lantern, with a powerful lens, the
larger the better; a pair of forceps, such as
are generally used by entomologists, having
the sides and bottom covered with white
gauze, and about six inches wide at the mouth
when opened. Also I use a portable sliding-
rod, or one with two lengths, jointed like a
fishing-rod, from six to nine feet long, and a
I use a .
368
BRITISH MOTHS.
small round net, made of white gauze or
muslin, screwed or fixed on at the end, of
about five or six inches diameter, and the
same in depth. I then direct the rays of light
upon the insect. If it is within reach I use
the forceps, and take it very deliberately; if
out of reach, but within the length of the rod,
they are easily jarred into the small bag at the
end of your rod, lowered down, and transferred
into the forceps. In this way they are cap-
tured with certainty, and the most surprising
facility, principally in consequence of that
singular instinctive faculty which many in-
sects possess, in a greater or less degree, of
feigning death when alarmed. For example,
Orthosia pistaeina and O. litura contract their
legs and wings, and fall into the bag-net or
forceps immediately when touched, tumbling
and rolling about without evincing the least
signs of life; and so do many others. On the
contrary, O. m.acilenta and others, under the
same circumstances, exhibit very little, if any,
of that predisposition for feigning death.
They will try to creep away when disturbed,
having no inclination to use their wings, but
are easily jarred off the berries or leaves into
the bag-net, or induced to creep upon some
part of it, until they are finally secured with
the forceps. If they happen to miss the net
in the act of falling, they invariably drop
lightly to the ground, and may be taken from
the grass with the forceps. The above obser-
vations only apply to the Noctuas, which carry
their wings horizontally; the Geometers, which
carry their wings erect, invariably fly away
when touched or disturbed. It requires a little
patience and address, when beyond the reach
of the forceps, to secure any of this-family;
however, they affect death in some degree, and
will fall a short distance as if shot when the
rays of light are directed upon them, and the
small bag-net held just under them.
necessary to wait patiently a few seconds, and
gently to touch the twig with the ring of your
net, until they feel inclined to exercise that
shamming propensity; it must then be lowered
with care, otherwise, if alarmed or disturbed,
the insect will fly out of the bag before you
can place over the top the flat side of your
It is
forceps. Take the bag-net to some convenient
place, and the insect will be seen adhering to
the bottom or sides, with its wings erect;
then place the mouth of the forceps in a
vertical position over the circle of the bag-net,
and lower it to the ground. This operation
will raise up the bottom of the net, and with
it the insect, which will fly up into the forceps,
and these being closed at the sides, as before
directed, it cannot escape.
seems to flourish best in chalky districts.
Few persons are aware of the great age and
gigantic size of many of these magnificent trees
in Norbury Park. They seem common in the
Woods and hedgerows on the chalk in Kent
and Surrey. Those in Norbury Park are really
a natural curiosity. I invite entomologists to
examine them, more particularly, of course,
when the fruit is ripe. I am convinced they
will be rewarded by new discoveries.”
590. The Lunar Underwing (Anchocelis lumosa.)
590. THE LUNAR UNDERWING.—The palpi
are porrected, their terminal joint naked; the
antennae are very nearly simple in the male,
quite so in the female: the outline of the
costal margin of the fore wings is slightly
produced before the tip ; their colour is
Various, sometimes rich bistre-brown, at others
pale olive-brown, or pale ochreous-brown;
the discoidal spots have a pale circumscription
and a dark median area; the wing-rays are
generally decidedly paler than the general
area of the wing; and a pale transverse band,
always accompanied by a series of very dark
spots, crosses the wing parallel with the hind
The yew tree.

NOCTUAS.
369
margin : the hind wings are pale with a con-
spicuous dark discoidal spot, and an interrupted
dark bar parallel with the hind margin : the
head and thorax are of the same colour as the
fore wings, the body is darker than the hind
wings.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
stout, rather moniliform, and somewhat flat-
tened below ; the head is small and of a
brown colour, with two darker lines on the
face: the body is of a dull gray-green, and
sometimes of a brighter green, with a white
medio-dorsal stripe and a white sub-dorsal
stripe; there is also a white lateral stripe in
the region of the spiracles, and this is deli-
cately bordered above with a black line; the
usual dots are large, very observable, wart-
like, black, and shining; there is a distinct
and very observable plate on the second, and
another on the thirteenth segment. It feeds
on grasses, particularly in elevated and dry
situations, and is fond of concealing itself by
day under stones.
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, and is generally distributed in England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Anchocells lunosa.)
591. The Brown-spot Pinion (Anchocelis Litura).
591. THE BRowN-spot PINION.—The palpi
are porrected and pointed, the points naked:
the colour of the fore wings is pale reddish-
brown, strongly inclined to gray in the basal
half; the discoidal spots are distinct; they
have a pale circumscription and a dark median
area ; there are four dark spots on the costal
margin ; the first, almost close to the base,
reaches half-way across the wing; the second
is rather oblique, pointing towards the anal
angle; the third, also oblique, is situated just
about the reniform, and points in an opposite
EDWAR 1) NEw MAN's BRITIs H
Morus. No. 24. Pºnch. GI), ſ
direction to the second ; the fourth is much
the largest and most conspicuous, and situated
very near the tip of the wing; it serves as
the commencement of a straggling series of
dark spots, which vanish before reaching the
inner margin : the hind wings are smoky,
with paler fringe : the head, thorax, and
body are of the same colour as the fore
wings.
| The CATERPILLAR is stout and smooth, and
varies in the tint of the ground-colour, in the
way so common among the caterpillars of
Yoctuas, some specimens being green and
others brown ; the medio-dorsal stripe is dull
dingy white, inclining to green or brown, in
accordance with the ground-colour; there is
also a lateral stripe of the same pale colour :
it feeds on a variety of low-growing plants,
perhaps most commonly on meadow-sweet
(Spiraea ulmaria).
The MoTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber and October, and is common and generally
distributed in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Anchocelis Litura.)
Obs. This species comes to sugar when
spread on the trunks of trees, and has thus been
taken freely near Catford Bridge, in my own
neighbourhood.
i
592. The Chestnut (Cerastis J'accinii).
592. THE CHESTNUT.-The palpi are rarely
porrected beyond the scales on the head : the
antennae are almost simple in both sexes: the
fore wings are broad and short, almost square
at the apical angle, but the apex itself is
blunt; their colour is wainscot-brown, inelin-
ing to red-brown, indistinctly divided by
waved transverse darker limes; the discoidal
spots are distinctly perceptible; their circum-
scription is pale; the lower half of the median
area in the reniform is almost black; the
orbicular is oblong and oblique; its median
-
* ... ------------> ------- - ~~~--------------------. -
A LoN DoN : W. 'I'w FEI) IF,
337, Sºrk A N I).


370 BRITISH
MOTHS.
area is concolorous with the disk of the wing:
the hindwings are smoky-gray, with a reddish
fringe, and having a pale transverse waved
line, sometimes very indistinct, rather below
the middle : the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the fore wings; the body is
gray at the base, but reddish beneath and
towards the tip.
When full-fed the CATERPILLAR rests in a
straight position, but falls off its food-plant
and feigns death when disturbed, lying on its
back with the entire ventral surface exposed,
and the head bent round on one side until it
touches the fourth pair of ventral claspers;
the head is shining, porrected in crawling,
otherwise prone, much narrower than the body,
and partially received into the second seg-
ment: the body is very obese, velvety, slightly
increasing in size from the second to the
twelfth segment; the second segment has a
semi-circular dorsal plate, the truncate diameter
of which is towards the head. The colour of
the head is light brown, reticulated with darker
brown; the second segment has the dorsal
plate dark brown, the anterior and lateral
margins darker, and the disk traversed by
three pale longitudinal lines; the dorsal sur-
face of the body is purplish brown, irrorated
with indistinct pale markings, some of which
are so arranged as to form three very narrow
pale dorsal stripes, all of them indistinct, but
the medio-dorsal one especially so; the spira-
cles are intensely black; the ventral is paler
than the dorsal surface, semi-transparent and
tinged with green; the legs are greenish
brown, tipped with pale brown; the claspers
concolorous with the ventral surface. It feeds
on the elm (Ulmus campestris), oak (Quercus
Robur), and Sallow (Salia caprea.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in October,
November, and even December if mild; it
survives the winter and re-appears in the
spring, not unfrequently being observed on the
catkins of the sallow, but then generally in a
worn condition : in October it sometimes comes
to sugar in such abundance as to be a positive
annoyance to the collector. It is found every-
where in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Cerastis Paccinii.)
fi93. The Dark Chestnut (Cerastis spadicea).
593. THE DARK CHESTNUT.-The fore wings
are square and pointed at the tip; their colour
is chestnut-brown, rich and dark, with no
conspicuous markings; the discoidal spots are
to be traced with a lens, and the lower half of
the median area of the reniform appears filled
up with black: the hind wings are smoky
gray, the fringe is reddish-brown : the head
and thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body is pale gray at the base,
brown-gray in the middle, and reddish to-
wards the tip. -
The CATERPILLAR, according to Guenée, much
resembles that of Orthosia lota ; the head is
red, with two black lines down the face; the
colour of the body is dark-brown, marked
with lighter; there is a very indistinct medio-
dorsal stripe, broadly clouded with brown;
the spiracular stripe is reddish flesh-colour,
dotted with paler, and surmounted by a broad
band darker than the general ground-colour;
there is a corneous plate on the second and
thirteenth segments as in Cerastis Vaccini.
When young this caterpillar is found on black-
thorn and honeysuckle, and is then of a gray-
green colour; later in life it descends from
these trees and feeds on low plants.
The MoTH appears on the wing in October,
and is of common occurrence in England and
Scotland, and Mr. Birchall reports it from
Ireland on the authority of Mr. Bristow.
(The scientific name is Cerastis spadicea.)
594. The Redheaded (Cerastis erythrocephala).
594. The REDREADED. — The palpi are


NOCTUAS. 371
concealed by the projecting scales of the head;
the antennae are almost simple in both sexes:
the fore wings are reddish-gray; the discoidal
spots are distinct; the reniform is pale, with
five or six black spots in the lower and outer
portion of its median arca; the orbicular is
round and pale, but has a slightly darker
cloud in its centre; a double transverse pale
bar crosses the wing parallel with the hind
margin; and between this and the reniform is
a single and much waved pale line: the hind
wings are gray-brown; the head, thorax, and
body are reddish-gray.
The CATERPILLAR is gray-brown with a
white stripe in the region of the spiracles;
this character, however, is uncertain, as some
authors suppose there are two species com-
prised under the single name, namely—
Glabra, the caterpillar of which possesses this
white stripe, and Erythrocephala, which is
without it; but M. Guenée says he has reared
both of these supposed species from the same
caterpillars.
The MoTII appears on the wing in November,
and is very rare : a single specimen was
taken at Ivybridge, in Devonshire, in 1856; a
second in Somersetshire, by Mr. Crotch. The
principal locality, however, is the Sussex
coast, in the vicinity of Brighton, where Mr.
Wright has obtained it by sugaring for several
years. (The scientific name is Cerastis erythro-
cephala.)
.595. The Satellite (Scopelosoma satellitia).
595. THE SATBILITE.--The palpi are con-
cealed by the projecting scales of the head; the
antennae are rather stout in the male, slender
in the female : the fore wings are rather long
and very decidedly scalloped on the hind
margin; their colour is reddish-brown, with
several transverse darker lines; the orbicular
spot is absent; the reñiform is difficult
to trace, but its situation is generally indi-
cuted by the presence of a very conspicuous
white spot of considerable magnitude, and
accompanied both at the outer upper and
outer lower extremity by a smaller white
spot; these three spots are sometimes bright
orange, and sometimes entirely absent : the
hind wings are smoke-coloured, with a paler
and rather rosy fringe: the antennae, head,
and thorax are of the some colour as the fore
wings; the base of the body is gray-brown,
shadiug to rosy red towards the extremity.
The EGG is laid in March, on twigs of oak
(Quercus Robur), by females which have hyber-
nated; the CATERPILLAR makes its appearance in
May, and spins together the leaves of the oak,
forming a retreat from which it sallies forth in
quest of its living prey, the caterpillar of any
other Lepidoptera which may happen to have
the misfortune to be located in its vicinity: to
the entomologist who, like myself, indulges
in the rearing of caterpillars, these cater-
pillars often prove most determined enemies.
Mr. Buckler writes pathetically on the sub-
ject:-‘‘It happens sometimes that in gather-
ing food for other things, one of these wretches,
then quite small, luks among the leaves, and
is unconsciously introduced to his prey : an
instance of this kind occurred to me a few
years ago, when I had reared fifty-seven cater-
pillars of Toniocampa Populeti from the
O’ O’ “
egg y
they were about half-grown, had spun the
leaves of poplar together, and were feeding
between them : all went well for a time, but
at length I observed spots of moisture between
the withered leaves, and being puzzled at not
finding any caterpillars in the food that was
removed, an investigation took place, when I
could discover no Populet caterpillars, but an
ill-looking monster of a Satellitia coiled up at
the bottom of the jar. This monster had
actually murdered fifty-seven of his fellow-
prisoners, and devoured their bodies.” I

37.2
BRITISH MOTHS.
could not find that my own captives ate
any of the oak-leaves provided for them, but
feasted on juvenile Brumatas and such small
deer, until I expelled them from the breeding-
cage. These caterpillars are so decidedly
cannibalistic in their propensities, that in
default of aliens they will devour their own
species. When half or three-quarters grown
this caterpillar is excessively active, and very
persistent in its endeavours to escape ob-
servation, crawling with great activity, and
often wriggling backwards out of its retreat,
after the manner of a Tortria. the head is
porrected in crawling, rounded on the crown,
and decidedly narrower than the body : the
body is nearly cylindrical, but the anterior
segments are attenuated. The colour of the
head is clear bright brown on the crown,
black-brown about the mouth; that of the
body rich velvety-brown; the second segment
has three paler longitudinal lines on the back;
of these the middle one is less distinctly
pronounced than the other two : these appear
like the anterior extremities of three dorsal
stripes, the remaining portion of which has
been obliterated in the great number of speci-
mens, but they are slightly indicated in some
throughout the entire length of the body: on
a line with the spiracles there is present, be-
tween the second and third segments, and
again between the third and fourth segments,
a somewhat linear but inconstant snow-white
spot; a linear white spot on the fifth and
another on the eleventh segment; these seem
like broken portions of a spiracular line which
is very evident in some specimens, but scarcely
perceptible in others; the ventral surface, legs,
and claspers are paler, and less velvety than
the dorsal surface; the legs are variegated
with black. From Guenée we learn that this
caterpillar, when approaching its full size,
descends from its exalted station amongst the
branches of forest trees, and feeds on humble
herbs, like the Orthosidae. It changes to a
CHRYSALIS beneath the surface of the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing in October,
and again in the spring after hybernation; it is
common in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Scopelosoma satellitia.)
596. The Dotted Chestnut (Dasycampa ru'iyánea).
596. The DoTTED CHESTNUT.-The palpi
are, slightly porrected, the tips pointed and
naked ; the antennae are almost simple and
almost alike in both sexes: the fore wings are
rather broad and somewhat square ; the hind
margin straight, the tip obtuse; their colour
is fulvous chestnut; the discoidal spots are
present, but searcely distinguishable from the
general ground-colour; the orbicular has a
central dot, and the lower half of the reniform
is represented by a dark spot; the general
area of the wing is clouded with darker brown,
and sprinkled with blackish spots, giving the
insect a marked and beautiful appearance :
the hind wings are smoke-coloured, with a
pink fringe : the head and thorax are fulvous
chestnut ; the body grayish smoke-colour, in-
climing to red towards the tip.
The head of the CATERPILLAR, according to
Guenée, is narrower than the second segment,
black and shining; the body is cylindrical,
moniliform, and covered with numerous fasci-
culated hairs; its colour is sepia-brown, the
second segment being darker, and each of the
following segments having a medio-dorsal
black spot ; the legs and claspers are con-
colorous with the body; the hairs are reddish-
brown. It feeds in July on the apple, and
also on the dandelion and other low plants;
and changes to a CHRYSALIS in a cocoon com-
posed of silk and earth. . -
The MOTH appears on the wing in October,
and again in the early spring after hyberma-
tion. It is a species of considerable rarity,
but not so rare as formerly. We learn from
Mr. Reading that it has been taken' at Ply-
mouth, Bickleigh, Torquay, Teignmouth, Exe-
ter, Alphington, and Barnstaple, all in Devon-
shire; near Weston, in Somersetshire; in the
New Forest, Hampshire; at Worcester; at
Brighton, in Sussex; and Norbury, in Surrey,

NOCTUAS. - 373
where it was discovered by Mr. Walton
feeding on the yew-berries. He writes: “I
was extremely fortunate in detecting the
locality for this, insect, as it is stated to be
unknown ; there were previously only two
specimens reputed to be British, one in the
British Museum, and the other in the cabinet
of Mr. Dale. I captured mine at intervals
from the 10th of October to the 6th of Novem-
ber, all equally perfect and beautiful.” Mr.
Birchall informs us that in Ireland it is widely
distributed ; he had taken it at Dublin,
Tullamore, and Killarney. (The scientific
llame is Dasycampa rubiginea.) ;
597 The Orange Upper-Wing (Hoporina croccago).
597. THE ORANGE UPPER-WING. The
palpi are decidedly porrected, connivant, and
forming a kind of beak with closely approxi-
mate points; the antennae are almost simple
in both sexes: the fore wings are very
straight on the costa, and nearly square at the
tip ; their colour is reddish fulvous with five
or six elongate and pure white spots on the
costal margin ; the two discoidal spots are
present but very indistinct; the wings are
sprinkled over with black markings which
form indistinct obliquely transverse series,
and in two instances almost continuous lines:
the hind Wings are very pale, almost white,
but just stained with saffron, and having a
slender transverse median line very indistinct,
and a marginal orange line equally slender
and indistinct : the head and thorax are
reddish fulvous; the body is very depressed,
white at the base, and pale gray-brown in the
middle and at the extremity.
Mr. Pristo has given us in the “ Fºtomolo-
gist,” a most interesting life-history of this
species, which I have extracted entire, inter-
polating my own description of the CATERPILLAR.
‘‘ On the 11th of November, 1864,” says Mr.
Pristo, “I happened to take an oak-branch,
covered with dry leaves, from a hedge, and to
my astonishment two specimens of Hoporina
croceago crawled out from beneath the leaves.
Having a couple of boxes in my pocket, I
quickly secured them : they were taken home
and put into a cage in an out-house, with a
portion of the resting-place they had chosen.
Being anxious to know as much of their
habits as possible, I visited them nearly every
evening, and with great satisfaction. They
were supplied with Sugar in a sponge, but
although they generally came out from their
hiding place on mild evenings, I could not see
them touch the sugar till the 5th of April,
1865. They rested by day among the leaves,
and could scarcely be detected, so well does
their colour match with the leaves. I had
often wondered if my two insects were a pair;
fortunately they were : on the 16th of March
I had the pleasure of seeing them in cop. at
8 p.m. The EGGs were deposited singly, on
the cage and on the oak-leaves, from the 7th
to the 20th of April. These began hatching
on the 26th of the same month, and the
young caterpillars were supplied with oak,
fed well, and grew remarkably fast. When
full-grown the caterpillar rolls in a compact
ring if disturbed : its colour is wainscot-
brown, tinged with orange, and most delicately
mottled with the same colour of a rather darker
hue ; this darker colour is very apparent in a
V-shaped mark on the back of every seg-
ment, the apex of the W pointing towards the
hinder extremity of the eaterpillar; it feeds
on Oak. The caterpillars begau going down
on the 5th of June, and had all disappeared
by the 12th of the same month. They spun
a slight cocoon just beneath the surface of the
soil, and remained till the 25th of August
before changing to CHRYSALIDs. The first moth
appeared on the 9th of September, the last on
the 6th of October; the greatest number in
one day, six—on the 26th of September, The
produce of the pair was thirty-three perfect
specimens.” -
The MOTH appears on the wing throughout
September and October, and has been found
º

374
MOTHS.
BRITISH
principally in Devonshire, especially at Ply-
mouth, Ivybridge, Bickleigh, Devonport,
Exeter, and Barnstaple ; also in Somersetshire,
Wiltshire, Isle of Wight, New Forest, Wor-
cestershire, &c. (The scientific name is
Iſoporina croceaſo.)
598. The Orange Sallow (Xanthia citrago).
598. THE ORANGE SALLow. — The palpi
are rather long, straight, and 'very sharp-
pointed ; the antennae are simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are slightly arched and
pointed at the tip; their colour is saffron-
yellow ; the discoidal spots have a very
slender but perceptible circumscription some-
what darker than the general area of the
wing ; the reniform has its median area also
darker; three darker transverse lines cross the
wing, dividing it into four nearly equal por-
tions; the first of these is very slender; it
originates on the costa, tends for a short dis-
tance towards the anal angle, and then is sud-
denly elbowed; turning towards the base of
the inner margin, before it reaches which it is
again elbowed, and finally meets the second
transverse line on the inner margin ; the
second is oblique, and rather diffuse, but
much the most conspicuous of the three ; the
third is very slender, but very distinct; it is
situated half-way between the second and the
hind margin : the hind wings are slightly
tinged with saffron, but very pale : the head
and thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings; the body as the hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR, according to Freyer, is
gray, with paler medio-dorsal and sub-dorsal
stripes; the latter is surmounted on each
segment with a black spot and three or four
white dots; there is a lateral stripe in the
region of the spiracles, edged above with black.
It feeds on the lower leaves of the lime (Tilia
europaea), eating the green portion, and leaving
the veins like a network.
The MOTH appears on the wing in September,
and is not uncommon in most of the English
counties, principally in the South, but extend-
ing as far north as Northumberland. I am
not aware that it has been taken in Scotland,
but Mr. Birchall reports it from the County
Wicklow in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Manthia citrago.)
599. The Sallow (Xanthia cerago),
599. THE SALLow.—The palpi are almost
concealed by the scales on the head, the
terminal joint being small and naked: the
fore wings are very slightly arched, and very
indistinctly pointed at the tip; their colour is
canary-yellow ; the orbicular spot is indis-
tinguishable; the reniform almost so, it is
only rendered perceptible by its lower half
being dark smoky-brown, and forming a spot
in the very centre of the wing; the wing is
transversely traversed by many cloudy mark-
ings of sienna-brown, inclining to purple,
all of which are strongly pronounced on the
costal margin, but vanish before reaching the
inner margin; the position and direction of
these will be seen in the upper figure: the
hind wings are almost white : the head is
pale canary-yellow ; the thorax is bright
yellow and crested, it is slightly paler in
front; the body is pale. The variety Fla-
vescens of Esper, represented in the lower
figure, is pale yellow without any of the
cloudy transverse markings, but having the
central spot, which — from the absence of
other markings—is rendered very conspi-
CULOllS.


——-------,
|NOCTUAS.
5
3
7
Tho head of the CATERPILLAR is shining and
of a ferruginous-brown colour; the second seg-
ment has a dorsal shining corneous plate
nearly black with three white lines, the
middle one of which is rather obscure, the
outer ones very distinct; the colour of the
body is violet brown, and with a medio-dorsal ,
stripe bordered by two pale thread-like lines;
there is a lateral line, of a pearl-gray colour, in
the region of the spiracles: it is found in early
spring feeding on the catkins of the sallow
(Salia caprea), but as it approaches its full
growth it leaves the sallows, and feeds on the
plants which grow near the ground. •
The MOTH appears on the wing in September,
and occurs in all our English counties, and
occasionally also in Scotland. Mr. Birchall
says it is common in the County Wicklow in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Xanthia
cerago.)
600. The Pink-barred Sallow (Vantha silago).
600. THE PINK-BARRED SALLOW.-The palpi
are rather long, porrected, and sharp-pointed ;
the antennae are simple in both sexes: the
fore wings are very slightly arched on the
costa and incompletely pointed at the tip ;
their colour is orange-yellow : the discoidal
spots are scareely to be recognised; there are
several ferruginous-purple markings on the
wing; first there is a conspicuous blotch on
the costa near its base, beyond which are four
small spots on the costa ; then a broad but
broken band extending from the costa
obliquely to the middle of the inner margin;
there are other small spots between this band
and the base of the wing, and a semi-double
transverse series of similarly-coloured spots
between the band and the hind margin : the
hind wings are very pale, but the hind margin
is decidedly tinged with yellow; the head
and front of the thorax are deep ferruginous-
purple; the hind part of the thorax is yellow ;
the body grayish yellow.
The CATERPILLAR is reddish-brown with
numerous brown, red, yellow, and white dots,
by which a paler lateral stripe is formed
(Freyer), (Stainton's Manual, vol. i., p. 253,
under the name of Flavago.) It feeds on the
sallow (Salic caprea).
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, and has occurred in all our English coun-
ties, and also in Scotland. Mr. Birchall has
taken it not uncommonly in the counties
Wicklow and Dublin, in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Xanthia silago.)
601. The Barred Sallow (Xanthia aurago).
601. THE BARRED SALLow.—The palpi are
conspicuously porrected ; the antennae are
simple: the fore wings have the costal margin
very slightly arched, and the tip pointed;
their colour is yellow, with a ferruginous-
purple band at the base, and another broadly
occupying the whole of the hind margin, but
interrupted throughout by a transverse waved
yellow line which expands into a blotch at the
tip of the wing; the discoidal spots are repre-
sented by two small and imperfectly defined
ferruginous-purple marks, the orbicular being
the larger and somewhat reniform, the reni-
form the smaller and somewhat orbicular: the
hind wings are pale fulvous-yellow, with an
indistinct crescentic discoidal spot, and a
double bar, also indistinct, on the hind margin :
the head is yellow tinged with pink ; the
thorax yellow, variegated with ferruginous-
purple, inclining to pink; the body is of the
same colour as the hind wings. -
Although there is something like a descrip-
tion of the CATERPILLAR I cannot trust to it.
M. Guenée says “it is imperfectly known.”
It feeds on birch (Fagus sylvatica).
The MoTH appears on the wing in September,


376
MOTHS.
BRITISH
and is rather local; its principal localities are
Torquay and Teignmouth in Devonshire,
Weston in Somersetshire, Isle of Wight,
Brighton and Lewes in Sussex, Kent, Essex,
Norfolk, Suffolk, Gloucestershire, and Wor-
cestershire. It is said to have been taken by
Mr. Haughton in Ireland, but the locality is
unknown. (The scientific name is Xanthia
attrago.)
602. The Dusky-lemon Sallow (Xanthia givſt/0).
602. THE DUSKY-LEMON SALLow. — The
palpi are inconspicuous but sharp-pointed ;
the antennae are simple: the fore wings are
blunt at the tip and of a pale ferruginous
colour with smoky clouds; the discoidal spots
are clearly defined, the lower half of the
median area of the reniform being filled with
smoke-colour; the smoky clouds on the
general area of the wing are chiefly confined
to two irregular and indistinctly defined
bands, the first nearer the base than the
orbicular, the second beyond the orbicular,
and including the reniform ; the second band
is interrupted by a transverse zigzag pale
ferruginous line; beyond this band there is
frequently, but not invariably, a transverse
scries of black dots, and beyond the black
dots, parallel with the hind margin, a smoke-
coloured bar often broken up into black spots:
the hind wings are very pale ochreous : the
head alid front of the thorax are pale ferrugi-
mous; the disk of the thorax is smºky; the
body is of the same colour as the hind wings.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is very de-
cidedly narrower than the second segment; it
is porrected in crawling, and not notched on
the crown; the second segment is smaller and
narrower than the following ones; the body
is smooth and almost uniformly cylindrical,
but very gradually increasing to the twelfth
segment, which is the largest ; it is velvety,
and with the segmental divisions very clearly
marked; the anal claspers are small, closely
approximate, and not spreading ; the head is
umber-brown, shading to paler brown on the
cheeks, and very glabrous; the dorsal area of
the body is dingy-brown, the second segment
having a semicircular patch of darker brown,
the convex margin of which is directed back-
wards, and the disk of which is interrupted
by three pale longitudinal lines, with an in-
tervening pale spot on the convex margin;
between each two there is a dorsal series of
subtriangular markings, all darker than the
ground-colour, the apex of each pointing
backward; the ventral is paler than the
dorsal area, and is slightly tinged with olive-
green, the division between the dorsal and
ventral -areas being abruptly marked, at the
region of the spiracles, which are intensely
black; the dorsal area and triangles are varied
with linear markings, which disappear towards
the period of pupation: it feeds on elm
(Ulmus campestris).
The MoTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, but seems by no means generally dis-
tributed. It has been taken in some plenty
in the Isle of Wight, in Worcestershire, and
Staffordshire, abundantly in Derbyshire, and
also in Yorkshire. (The scientific name is
Xanthia gilvago.)
603. The Brick (Xanthia ferrugined).
603. THE BRICK.—The palpi are porrected
but short ; the terminal joint naked; the
antennae are simple: the fore wings are nearly
straight on the costa, blunt at the tip, and
slightly scalloped on the hind margin; their
colour is ferruginous-gray; the discoidal spots
have a slender dark circumscription, except at
the upper extremity, where it is occasionally
wanting : the orbicular is more perfect than


NOCTUAS.
3
7
7
the reniform in this respect; the lower portion
of the area of the reniform is nearly black, but
interspersed with gray scales, and has an
appearance of being burnt; several irregular,
interrupted, and inconspicuous transverse dark
lines cross the wing; there is also a broad
band of slightly darker brown on the hind
margin, and this is traversed throughout by a
very narrow pale waved line: the hind wings
are pale ochreous, along the costal margin, and
have a broad fringe of the same colour; the
median area is smoky : the head and thorax
are of the same colour as the fore wings; the
body is smoky, with the sides and extremity
paler.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is narrower
than the second segment, porrected in crawling,
and not notched on the crown; the body is
smooth and almost uniformly cylindrical, but
gradually increases in size to the twelfth
segment, which is the largest ; the anal
claspers are small and closely approximate ;
the colour of the head is umber-brown and
very glabrous, the body is brown, with a
medio-dorsal series of triangular markings, the
points of which are direc'ed backwards: it
feeds on the buds of the sallow (Salic caprea)
and aspen (Populus tremula) in April and May.
The MOTH appears on the wing in September,
and is the most universally distributed of the ,
genus; it occurs in all the English, Scotch,
and Irish counties that have been investigated
by entomologists. (The scientific name is
Yanthia ferrugined.)
604. The Centre-barred Sallow (Cirrhaedia ceram-
pelina).
604. THE CENTRE-T3ARRED SAILow. — The
palpi are inconspicuous, the terminal joints
very small and naked ; the antennae are
simple: the fore wings are slightly arched
towards the tip and pointed, and the hind
margin distinctly scalloped; their colour is
orange-yellow, with a median band, and a
hind marginal hand forruginous-purple ; there
is also a dot of the same colour near the base
of the wing; the median band scarcely reaches
the costal margin; its inner border is broadly
excavated near the top, its outer border very
oblique; the orbicular is wanting; the reni-
form only indicated in the median band; both
borders of the median band are delicately
pale-margined: the hind wings are very pale
and slightly iridescent, they are rather darker
and inclined to rosy-ferruginous towards the
hind margin : the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the fore wings; the body of
the same colour as the hind wings.
The cATERPILLAR has been described by
Guenée, and more recently and fully by Mr.
Buckler in the 42nd number of the Entomolo-
gists’ lſonthly J/agazine. Mr. Buckler re-
ceived two caterpillars, one from Mr. Greene,
in April, 1866, and the other from Mr.
Hutchinson, in May, 1867. I quote Mr.
Bucklor’s description :-
“The first caterpillar was found before the
ash-trees had put forth blossoms, and ash-buds
were given it for food, into which the cater-
pillar ate round holes, burrowed, and devoured
the interior. The second and full-grown
caterpillar came after the ash had assumed its
foliage, and it partook of young shoots for a
few days before spinning. The caterpillar
had then attained nearly one inch and a
quarter in length, and was rather broad in
proportion, the head rather smaller than the
next segment. Viewed sideways, it appeared
tapering gradually towards the head, and
from the eleventh segment to the anal extre-
mity; but even on the back it looked of
almost uniform width, excepting just at each
end. The divisions deeply cut, giving each
segment a plump appearance. The caterpillar,
when two-thirds grown, is very suggestive of
lichen, and of a lichen-feeder. Its head is
shining dark gray-brown, mottled and streaked
with darker blackish-brown ; a black shining
plate on the second segment, having two rather
broad angulated whitish stripes. The back
and sides are brownish-gray, delicately mottled

378 BRITISH
MOTHS.
with a darker tint of the same. The dorsal
stripe is dirty whitish, edged with black, and
is on the third and fourth segments con-
tinuous, but contracted and expanded, while
on the others it is only visible, and expanded
towards the end of each segment, excepting
the twelfth and thirteenth, where it is
widened into a broad blotch, extending to the
sub-dorsal region, and strongly margined with
black; from its base on the middle segments
is a brownish-gray streak on either side,
curved obliquely forward to the middle of the
sub-dorsal line. The tubercular dots are
whitish, delicately ringed with black, and
with minute black centres, each with a short
and very fine hair. The sub-dorsal line is a
very thin thread of dirty whitish, delicately
and interruptedly edged with black; the space .
between it and the spiracular region is grayish-
brown, darker than the back, and having a
paler blotch in the middle of each segment.
The spiracular stripe is a pale freckled
brownish-gray, edged above by a black line;
the spiracles dirty whitish, outlined with
gray, and inconspicuous. The belly and legs
are a slightly mottled greenish-gray. Of the
CHRYSALTs, Mr. Greene says:—“I took forty-
seven in 1855, in 1856 I only met with
eight. It is, perhaps, the most difficult of all
chrysalids to find, and when found the most
liable to be injured. The following directions
may be found useful:—They are to be sought
for at roots of ash ; trees of good growth need
only to be tried ; those on the borders of
streams and damp ditches will be found most
productive. This insect forms a hard egg-
shaped cocoon. Turn up the loose dry earth,
rubbish, or moss, about or adhering to that
side of the tree which faces the stream, and
crumble it very carefully with the hand;
should you see something resembling a cocoon
of a dark muddy colour, take it up and try
whether you have obtained a prize; but in
this trying lies the danger. Though hard, the
cocoon is extremely brittle, and almost the
slightest pressure crushes it. The best way,
therefore, when you think you have a cocoon,
is to pare one end with a pen-knife as gently
as possible; if, after scraping it in this man-
ner, you find it is a cocoon, you have found
Yerampelina, and may congratulate yourself.
You may look for it as early as the beginning
of August, certainly not later than the first
week of September. I may add that Mir.
Doubleday informs me that the caterpillar
feeds on the seeds of ash-trees. Subsequent
experience leads me somewhat to modify the
above. I find it is by no means the fact that
the chrysalis case is always brittle. It cer-
tainly was so in Suffolk; this may have been
due to the soil. In Hampshire and Derby-
shire, however, where I have taken it not
uncommonly, the cocoon is soft and leathery.
I am decidedly wrong in giving September as
one of the months in which to find it : this is
much too late. This insect, Croceago, and, I
believe, all the species of the genus Xanthia,
are full-fed in June. I can speak from actual
knowledge of all except Croceago and Aurago;
but they do not turn to the chrysalis state for
four or five weeks. This presents a double
difficulty to the digger: first, that of hitting
the precise time when to dig, and secondly,
the great danger of injuring the caterpillar if
not turned, or the chrysalis if only just turned.
As a rule I should recommend the last week
in July as the time in which to begin.
You may go on till the middle and end of
August, about which time, if fortunate, you
may sometimes see the insect itself, drying its
wings on the trunks of the trees, about a foot
from the ground. This takes place generally
from about two to four p.m. Subsequent
experience, however, by no means leads me to
alter my opinion as to the difficulty of finding
the chrysalis. I must acknowledge that it is
*
hard, and sometimes disheartening work, but
you are repaid when you see a magnificent
fellow drying his wings in the breeding cage:
some of the caterpillars barely enter the earth,
and the most likely place for the chrysalis is
among the loose rubbish, composed of bits of
stick, dry roots, &c., collected round the
trunks. All this should be most carefully
and completely separated and examined. I
may remark here that the chrysalis of all these
species most closely resemble each other, and
it has often been a marvel to me how such
NOCTUAS. t 379
large insects can be contained in so small a
compass.”
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, and has occurred in several of our English
counties; between Bickleigh and Plympton
station, and at Torquay in Devonshire; in
Somerset, Dorset, Essex, Berkshire, Suffolk,
Cambridge, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and the
Lake District; but I think not in Scotland or
Ireland. (The scientific name is Cirrhoedid
acerampelina.)
605. The Olive (Tethea subtusa).
605. THE OLIVE.—The palpi are rather
long, porrected, and sharp - pointed ; the
antennae are simple in both sexes: the costal
margin of the fore wings is slightly arched,
the tip scarcely produced, and not very sharp-
pointed; the hind margin is slightly waved ;
their colour is olive-gray, the discoidal spots
being delicately outlined in paler olive-gray :
there are three slender transverse lines of the
same colour as the circumscription of the
discoidal spots, and two of these are nearer
the base of the wing than the orbicular; they
are almost straight, but are nearer the base of
the wing at the costal than at the inner-
marginal extremity; the third transverse line
is very nearly straight, and is situated beyond
the reniform : the hind wings, head, thorax,
and body are nearly of the same colour as the
fore wings, but perhaps slightly less olive,
and tending to gray-brown; the fringe of the
hind wings is paler.
The CATERPILLAR of this moth has been very
carefully described by the Rev. Joseph Greene,
who says:—“The Eggs are probably laid at
the end of July and throughout August on
the young twigs of poplar. The caterpillar
hatches in the following spring, as soon as the
young buds burst into leaf; it immediately
spins two leaves together, and continues this
practice during the whole of the larval state.
Like Some other species it effects the various
changes of skin in the same situation. In
confinement it appears to feed only at night.
The following is a description of the full-grown
caterpillar, which is not at all variable either
in colour or markings: pale yellowish-green,
rather glossy, not unlike the caterpillar of
Notodonta dictaea. The dorsal stripe is broad
pale yellow, much more so than the ground-
colour. Spiracular line the same ; along this
latter is a row of black rings, somewhat oval,
having a pale yellow centre. There is one
such ring in the second and ten following seg-
ments; just midway between the dorsal and
spiracular lines is another slender, clear yellow
stripe, slightly interrupted by the segmental
divisions. Head chrome - yellow, bordered
with black mouth and claspers black,
slightly mottled with yellow. The caterpillar
lies curled up between two leaves spun
together, and in this position—when in a
state of nature—may be easily detected by
looking up at the leaves. CHRYSALIS subter-
ranean ; chrysalis-case weak. The caterpillar
is full-grown about the end of May.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken now and then in most of our
English counties, but I think not in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Tethea subtusa.)
606. The Double Kidney (Tethea refusa).
606. THE Dou BLE KIDNEY. —The palpi are
rather long, porrected, and sharp-pointed ;
the antennae are simple: the costal margin
of the fore wings is nearly straight, the tip
produced and very sharp-pointed ; the hind
margin is sinuous and concave just below the
tip; indecd, the tip may be described as
slightly falcate; their colour is dark olive-
gray, the discoidal spots being very distinctly


BRITISH
MOTHS.
paler olive-gray,
each being very
general ground-
but delicately outlined in
and the median area of
slightly darker than the
colour of the wings ; there are three slender
transverse lines of the same colour as the
circumscription of the discoidal spots; all of
these are oblique, two of them are nearer the
base of the wing than the orbicular, and both
these are farther from the body at the costal
than at the inner-marginal extremity ; the
third transverse line is situated beyond the
reniform : the hind wings, head, thorax, and
body are very nearly of the same colour as
the fore wings; the hind wings have a paler
fringe.
Mr. Hellins, who has described the CATER-
PILLAR in the Entomologists' Monthly Magazine
for January, 1868, says that when full-grown
it is about an inch in length, slightly tapering
towards both extremities, and flat beneath ;
the head is small, rounded, and rather flat ;
the skin is very delicate and thin, so that the
stripes on it show as if ribbed or raised, and
the internal organs are partially seem through
it: the colour is pale dull green, with a
yellow tinge towards both extremitics; there
is a broad whitish dorsal stripe, and the
slender lateral stripes of the same colour, the
latter in the region of the spiracles is waved ;
the head is rather yellowish-green or blackish-
brown, and occasionally there is a dark collar
on the second segment; the young cater-
pillars have the usual dots very visible and
black, but lose all trace of them as they grow
larger : it folds and spins together the leaves
and shoots of the sallow (Salic caprea), and
resides in the domicile thus formed ; it may
be found by opening these retreats at the end
of May and beginning of June. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and occurs sparingly in some of our English
counties; at Exeter and Alphington, in Devon-
shire; at Glanville's Wootton, in Dorsetshire;
in the Weald of Sussex, the Isle of Wight,
Birch and Darent Wood, in Kent; Essex,
Cambridgeshire; at Leominster, in Hereford-
shire, Worcestershire, and Yorkshire, but I
believe neither in Scotland nor Ireland. (The
scientific name is Tethea relusa.)
607. The Angle-striped Sallow (Emperia fulvago).
607. THE ANGLE-STRIPEDSALLOW.-The palpi
are very slightly porrected, the second joint
very stout, the terminal joint small and pointed;
the antennae are very slightly ciliated in the
male, quite simple in the female : the fore
wings are scarcely arched, but decidedly
pointed at the tip; their colour is ochreous;
the discoidal spots and two transverse lines
being clearly but very delicately defined in
brown ; the median area of the orbicular is
uniformly ochreous, that of the reniform has a
darker blotch at its lower extremity; the first of
the transverse lines is bent or elbowed towards
the middle, it is considerably nearer the base
... than the orbicular ; the second is much bent,
but scarcely elbowed; there is a very short
line going half-way across the wing at its
base; the lower part of the reniform is
occupied by a dark spot, and from this to the
middle of the inner margin is a slightly darker
shade: the hind wings are very pale ochreous:
the head and body are of the same colour as
the fore wings, the body of the same colour as
the hind wings; the body of the female ter-
minates in a sharp-pointed ovipositor.
uenée has described the CATERPILLAR as
having the head fulvous-red, and the body
pale green or grayish, with a medio-dorsal and
sub-dorsal stripe white and continuous there ;
is also a whitish lateral stripe in the region of
the spiracles; the warty spots are white also :
the CHRYSALIS is covered with a violet-coloured
bloom ; the caterpillar feeds on the oak
(Quercus Robur) and birch (Betula alba).
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
but is very local, having only been taken in
Derbyshire, Westmoreland, and Lancashire.
It occurs in Mr. Greene's List of the Lepi-
doptera of Ireland. (The scientific name is
Euperia fulvago.)

NOCTUAS. 381
608. The Heart Moth (Dieyela oo).
608. THE HEART MoTH.—The palpi are
curved upwards, the terminal joint being
small and pointed; the antennae are slightly
ciliated: the fore wings are ample, straight
on the costa, and blunt at the tip; their
colour is pale ochreous-gray, with darker
markings; there are two orbicular and one
reniform discoidal spot; the two orbiculars are
placed transversely, that is, one below the
other, the lower one is flattened; all three
are clearly defined in outline; there are five
transverse lines, the first very short and near
the base; the second zigzag and before the
orbicular ; the third is near the middle of the
wing, is interrupted by the reniform, and is
much bent; the fourth is beyond the reniform,
and is also much bent; and the fifth is near
the hind margin, and parallel therewith ; the
hind margin itself is delicately margined with
the same darker colour, and the parallel wing-
rays being also of that colour, the wing has
a very elegant reticulated appearance; there
is a smoky cloud near the base, half-way be-
tween the costal and inner margin : the hind
wings are delicately pale, almost white : the
head is almost white; the thorax ochreous-
gray ; the body is paler, and in the female
terminates in a very sharp-pointed ovipositor.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
having a large head and a smooth, elongate,
and rather depressed body, of a blackish-brown
or reddish-brown colour, with a medio-dorsal,
sub-dorsal, and lateral stripe pure white; the
medio-dorsal is narrowest in the middle of
each segment; the lateral stripe is tinged with
<x brimstone-yellow, and is intersected by a black
streak near each spiracle ; the spiracles them-
selves are encircled with brown : it feeds on
the young unexpanded leaves of the oak
(Quercus Robur), which it spins together at the
extremity of the twigs, and thus forms a
dwelling-place, which it only leaves to under-
go its transformation to a CHRYSALIS, which is
enclosed in an oval cocoon on the surface of
the earth. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has occurred in the New Forest, Hampshire, in
Kent, Essex, Cambridgeshire, and Wiltshire.
(The scientific name is Dicycla 00.)
609. The Dun-bar (Cosmia trapezina).
609. The DUN-BAR.—The palpi are pop-
rected, curved upwards, and approximating,
the terminal joint being pointed; the antennae
are simple: the fore wings are ample, the
costal margin slightly arched, the tip pointed,
but not acutely so; their colour is various:
pale gray, bright rust - colour, and dingy
brown are the commoner colours, but there is
almost every intermediate shade between
them ; the discoidal spots are generally dis-
tinctly outlined, and the lower portion of the
median area in the reniform is usually occu-
pied by a dark spot; there are three trans-
yerse dark lines, the first short and near the
base ; the second very oblique, and having a
white or very pale interior border; the third
much bent, and having a white or very pale
exterior border; beyond this, and parallel
with the hind margin, is a pale line with a
series of rather coarse dark spots on its interior
border, and terminating on the costa in a dark
shade: the hind wings are gray-brown, with
a pale fringe; the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the 'fore wings; the body of



382
BRITISH MOTHS.
the same colour as the hind wings, and tufted
at the extremity in the males.
The female lays her Eggs on oak (Quercus
Robur) in August, and less commonly on horn-
beam (Carpinus betulus); the CATERPILLARs
abound in the following May, particularly
from the middle to the end of the month, and
beginning of . June. Although, doubtless,
occasionally feeding on leaves, they seem to
prefer animal food, devouring with great
greediness the caterpillars of other Lepidop-
tera, particularly those of the winter moth
(Cheimatobia brumata), which absolutely
swarm in our Woods, forests, and gardens
during the entire month of May and the
beginning of June. It neither feigns death
nor rolls in a ring when rudely dislodged by
the beating-stick, but falls at full length into
the umbrella, amid a shower of the other
caterpillars which the same stroke has also
dislodged : in this predicament it instantly
catches sight of the first caterpillar that
ventures to crawl, and starts in immediate
pursuit, and an exciting race ensues, in which
the Cosmia is not always the victor, the Cheſſ-
matobia sometimes escaping through sheer
superiority of speed: the carnivorous cater-
pillar, however, generally gains the day, and
it is curious to observe that he does not seize
the leaf-feeder by the hinder part of the body,
but never slackens his pace until his head is
abreast of the other's neck, which he then
seizes with savage eagerness, reminding one
strongly of a deerhound pulling down a stag,
or at least of the representations of this cruel
feat by the inimitable Landseer. When the
first paralysing grip is given, it is all over
with the leaf-feeder; there is scarcely a
struggle ; the Chełmatobia submits to its fate,
and the Cosmia continues his repast, until one
wonders at his power of consumption: when
introduced into the collecting-box with any
other caterpillars, a somewhat similar scene
ensues, but the chance of escape for the leaf-
feeder is gone, and his destruction is inevit-
able : I have rarely, if ever, opened a box in
which a Cosmia and Cheimatobia have been
enclosed together, without finding that the
latter has fallen a prey to the former. The
head of the Cosmia caterpillar is manifestly
narrower than the body, very glabrous, and
porrected in crawling; the body is obese,
slightly narrowed at the anterior extremity,
and slightly swollen on the back of the
twelfth segment. The colour of the head is
dusky semihyaline green; the body is pale dull
green, with numerous small warts, and five
equidistant pale, almost white, stripes ex-
tending its entire length; these stripes are
often tinged with yellow or yellow-green, and
the outer or lateral stripe is often bordered
with dark smoke-colour along its upper
margin ; the warts are jet-black and each
is surrounded by a ring of pure white, and
emits a rather conspicuous bristle; on each
segment there are usually eight of these
warts; on the second, third, and fourth seg-
ments they are arranged in a straight trans-
verse series, but on the following segments,
namely, the fifth to the twelfth inclusive,
four of them are arranged almost in a square
on the back, and two below them on each side;
the medio-dorsal stripe is narrow, but very
distinct ; the next on each side is still
narrower, irregular, and interrupted; the
exterior or lateral stripe is much wider than
the others, and very distinct; it includes all
the spiracles, except the first and ninth; the
upper margin of this wide stripe is sometimes
bordered with black, which merges abruptly
in the general ground-colour: the ventral
surface, including the legs and claspers, is
delicate apple-green, with a semitransparent
appearance. It changes to a CHRYSALIs in a
slight web on the surface of the earth : the
chrysalis is of a brown colour, covered with
a beautiful bloom like that on a ripe Orleans
plum.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
occurs in all the English, Scotch, and Irish
counties that have been investigated by en-
tomologists. (The scientific name is zCosmia
trapezina.) -
Obs.—The presence or absence of the deli-
cate bloom on the chrysalids of this family of
moths is very interesting, and not unfrequently
forms an excellent character by which to sepa-
rate nearly allied species from each other.
NOCTUAS.
383
610. The Lunar-Spotted Pinion (Cosmia pyralina).
| 610. THE LUNAR-SPOTTED PINION. — The
palpi are porrected and curved upwards, the
terminal joints being slender and pointed ; the
antennae are simple: the fore wings are
scarcely at all arched on the costa, and square
at the tip; their colour is rich reddish-brown,
the discoidal spots being scarcely perceptible,
but there is a white crescent on the costal
margin near its apical angle, its cusps point-
ing towards the hind margin; nearer the
middle of the wing is a transverse and much
elbowed white line; and nearer the base, a
transverse waved pale line ; parallel with the
hind margin is a compound transverse line,
uniting with the crescentic mark already
described : the hind wings are Smoky-gray
with a somewhat rosy fringe : the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore
wings, the body as the hind Wings.
The CATERPILLAR is pale green, the medio-
dorsal and sub-dorsal stripes being paler green;
the spiracular line is yellowish, edged above
with black; the spots yellowish-green ; the
head dark green (Freyer). It feeds on plum
and pear (Stainton’s Manual, vol. ii., p. 258).
The MoTII appears on the Wing in August,
but is very local ; Mr. G. C. Green found it
very abundant at Modbury, in Devonshire;
it has also been taken in Dorsetshire, Wilt-
shire, Sussex, Kent, Suffolk, Worcestershire,
and Derbyshire. (The scientific name is
Cosmia pyralina,)
611. The White-Spotted Pinion (Cosmia diffinis).
The
611. THE WHILE-SPOTTED PINION.
palpi are porrected and curved upwards, the
terminal joint being slender and pointed ; the
antennae are simple: the costal margin of the
fore wings is almost straight, the tip blunt;
their colour is red-brown, the discoidal spots
being scarcely perceptible ; there are four
white marks on the costa ; the first is near
the base of the wing and linear ; the second
is triangular at its commencement, then bends
slightly towards the body, and then unites
with a pale line which descends to the middle
of the inner IIlargin; the third is large and
triangular at the costa, and unites at its apex
with a pale transverse line which at first bends
towards the hind margin, and then rather
abruptly descends to the immer margin ; the
fourth is linear, or slightly crescentic, and
combines with a third pale transverse line
parallel with the hind margin : the hind
wings are gray-brown with pale fringe: the
head and thorax are of the same red-brown
colour as the fore wings, the body of the same
gray-brown colour as the hind wings.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is black and
shining; the body is nearly cylindrical, but
the anterior extremity is more slender, a
character very evident when this part of the
body is stretched out to its full extent : its
colour is pale apple-green, with medio-dorsal
and lateral stripes dingy-white; there is a
second stripe on each side in the region of the
spiracles of a pale yellow; it feeds on elm
(Cºlmus campestris), and is full-fed the begin-
ning of June, when it spins a slight cocoon
either on the trunk of the elm or between two
leaves.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
occurs rather commonly in the southern coun-
ties of England, in Worcestershire, Derbyshire,
and Yorkshire. (The scientific name is Cosmia
diffinis.)
612. The Lesser-spotted Pinion (Cosmia affinis).
The
612. THE LESSER-SPOTTED PINION.
--------"




384
BRITISH MOTHS.
palpi are very decidedly curved upwards, the
terminal joint small and pointed; the antennae
are simple: the fore wings are very slightly
arched on the costa, blunt at the tip, and
scalloped at the anal angle; their colour is
cinnamon-brown, mottled and marbled with
darker brown ; the discoidal spots are pale
cinnamon-brown, the reniform assuming the
appearance of a figure of eight, the two median
areas thereof being black spots; the orbicular
has one such black spot, and there is a very
similar cinnamon-brown and black central
mark between the orbicular and the costal
margin ; there are four gray transverse lines,
all of which are inconspicuous; the first is
short and very slender, and it is situated near
the base of the wing; the second is also slender,
and situated before the orbicular; the third is
beyond the orbicular, is much bent outwards
in the middle, and expands into a gray cloud
on the costal margin; the fourth is parallel with
the hind margin, and expands into a gray cloud
on the costal margin : the hind wings are black,
but slightly paler towards the base, and the
pale portion contains a dark crescentic discoidal
spot ; the fringe is orange : the head and
thorax are dull orange-brown; the body is
blackish-brown, with delicate orange rings:
the disk of the under surface of all the wings
is black, with a broad Orange margin.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée
as having the head of a pale green-colour,
the body much attenuated anteriorly and
flattened below ; the segments distinctly
divided and somewhat rhomboidal in form :
the colour is a beautiful glaucous-green, with
a broad and continuous medio-dorsal stripe of
a pure white; there is also a sub-dorsal and a
latéral stripe, both of which are narrower
than the medio-dorsal, but like that, unin-
terrupted and pure white; the lateral stripe is
below the spiracles, which are black, but
encircled with white: the legs and claspers
are pale greem : it feeds on the elm (Ulmus
campestris), the leaves of which it binds care-
lessly together with a few silken threads: the
cIIRysALIs is short and covered with a violet-
coloured bloom. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has occurred in several English counties. Mr.
Reading gives a number of Devonshire loca-
lities, and it seems not to be uncommon in
Somersetshire, Dorsetshire, Isle of Wight,
Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Hereford,
Worcester, Shropshire, Derbyshire, and York-
shire, and Mr. Birchall met with it at Powers-
court, in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Cosmia affinis.) .
613. The Dusky Sallow (Eremobia ochroleuca).
613. THE DUSKY SALLOW.-The palpi are
porrected, the second joint slender but scaly,
the scales almost entirely concealing the
very small terminal joint; the antennae of the
male are ciliated with short hairs, each sepa-
rate hair being recurved, those of the female
are simple: the fore wings are straight on the
costa, rounded at the tip, and waved on the
hind margin; their colour is dull ochreous-
brown with darker brown markings; the
discoidal spots are scarcely to be distinguished;
the reniform is contained in, and confused
with, a pale costal blotch ; the orbicular is
contained in, and confused with, a larger and
darker costal blotch nearer the base of the
wing; opposite this latter is a smaller dark
blotch near the middle of the inner margin;
there is a series of dark crescentic spots on
the waved hind margin of the wing, and the
fringe contains two series of corresponding
spots: the hind wings have much the same
colour as the fore wings, but the paler tint is
confined to the base and fringe, the darker
tint forming a broad but vague hind-marginal
band : the head, thorax, and body are pale
ochreous-brown, the head and front of the
thorax being very pale ochreous.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
having a large head of a pale red-cólour, and
an elongate cylindrical body, with the usual

NOCTUAS.
385
wartlike spots prominent, and each bearing a
hair or bristle on its summit; the colour is
yellowish-green, with a lateral stripe in the
region of the spiracles of a bright yellow ; the
warts and their accompanying hairs are black:
the claspers are pale red : it feeds on grasses
in dry places, and turns to a CHRYSALIS in the
ground. -
The MoTT appears on the wing in July : it
is a very local species, occurring only at Brigh-
ton and Lewes, in Sussex; at Bristol; in
Suffolk, and in Yorkshire. (The scientific
name is Eremobia ochroleuca.)
614. The Tawny Sheers (Dianthascia carpophaga),
614. THE TAWNY SHEERs.-The palpi are
porrected, the second joint being clothed with
rough unequal scales, which frequently conceal
the small terminal joint; the antennae are
*
almost simple in both sexes: the fore wings
are very straight on the costa, and rather
blunt at the tip; their colour is various, in
some specimens pale ochreous-brown, often
approaching to white, in others dark bistre-
brown; in all, the discoidal spots are con-
spicuous and well defined ; in one specimen
in my possession, there is a very obvious
median darker band, and this contains the
two discoidal spots; parallel with the hind
margin is a zigzag pale line, adjoining which
and pointing towards the base of the wing
are two or three wedge-shaped dark-brown
spots: the hind wings are pale dingy brown
at the base, and have a broad dark band on
the hind margin ; this is frequently preceded
by a slender transverse line: the head, thorax,
and body partake of the general tint of the
wings.
The Eggs of this variable species are laid on the
calyx or corolla of the bladder campion (Silene
inflata), and the young CATERPILLAR emerging
in about a week, gnaws a minute hole in the
capsule, and, entering through the aperture,
takes up its abode in the interior until it has
consumed the whole of the seed, and then
emerging, seeks another capsule and empties
that of its contents in the same manner; when
grown so large as to be unable to conceal itself
in one of the capsules, it generally descends
to the ground during the day, ascending to
the flower-heads only during the night. On
examining the flower-heads with a lanthorn
at night the caterpillars may frequently be
found with the head and anterior segments
concealed in the capsule, and the remainder of
the body very obviously exposed to sight; when
full-grown the head is exserted, the face rather
flat, glabrous, and of a reddish-brown colour,
with four darker longitudinal lines: the
body is cylindrical, smooth, and plump, the
divisions of the segments being very clearly
marked; its colour is greenish-gray, with a
broad medio-dorsal, and narrower sub-dorsal
and lateral stripes dingy white: when full-fed
it descends finally to the ground, and burying
itself in the earth, and there forming a very
slight cocoon, changes to a CHRYSALIs of a
reddish-brown colour, the case containing
EDWARD NEWMAN’s BRITISH
MOTHs, No. 25. PEICE 6D,
LoN DoN : W. Twer. DIE,
} 337, STRANI).
|

BRITISH
MOTHS.
the legs and antennae being prolonged below
those containing the wings.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June : it
occurs in most of our English counties, and
the name occurs in the Irish lists. (The
scientific name is Dianthascia carpophaga.)
615. The Pod-lover (Dianthocia capsophila).
615. THE POD-LOVER.—The palpi are por-
rected, the second joint being clothed with
bristly scales, which conceal the small ter-
minal joint; the antennae are almost simple in
both sexes: the fore wings are rather ample,
very straight on the costa, and rather blunt at
the tip; their colour is dark bistre-brown,
with numerous pale and clearly-defined mark-
ings; the two discoidal spots are very distinct;
each has a very pale circumscription and a
dark median area ; there are four pale trans-
verse lines, the first very near the base, and
very short; the second before the orbicular,
oblique and waved ; the third beyond the
reniform, and much bent ; and the fourth
parallel with the hind margin, and zigzag.
These pale lines have black borders, which
make them very conspicuous; all the markings
are sharp and clearly defined : the hind wings
are light dingy brown at the base, and have a
broad dark brown marginal band, preceded by
a slender waved line : the head and thorax
are richly varied with different shades of gray
and brown ; the body is gray-brown.
The EGG is laid on the seed-pods of the sea
campion (Silene maritima), and the young
CATERPILLAR enters the capsule and feeds on
the seed; as it increases in size it devours the
walls of the capsules, and even the calyx.
When full-fed it rolls itself into a ring, and
feigns death if removed from its food. The
head is small, porrected in crawling, glabrous,
and beset with scattered hairs. The body is
obese, smooth, and cylindrical.
attenuated towards each extremity. The head
is pale, semi-transparent brown, and has a few
hairs; the ocelli are black, and there is a
black dot at the base of each hair; the body
is pale wainscot-brown, with five paler longi-
tudinal stripes; the most conspicuous of these
is medio-dorsal; the widest is lateral, and
includes the spiracles, which are pale in the
centre, but bordered with black. Exactly
intermediate between the medio-dorsºl and
the spiracular lateral stripe is one less con-
spicuous and rather narrower than either.
The dorsal surface of the second segment is
glabrous, subcorneus, and darker brown ;
but the medio-dorsal stripe passes distinctly
through this darker portion. The belly, legs,
and claspers are very pale. These caterpillars
were full-fed on Midsummer-day. I am in-
debted to Mr. Birchall for a supply, which I
fed on the bladder campion (Silene inflata) in
the absence of their proper food-plant. They
became pale brown cIIRYSALIDs on the 11th of
July.
The MOTH appears on the wing early in June,
and has hitherto only been found in Ireland on
the Hill of Howth and at Waterford, and in the
Isle of Man. (The scientific name as adopted
in England is Dianthaecia capsophila.)
Obs.—Mr. Birchall in his “List of Irish
Lepidoptera” appends this note to his mention
of Dianthaecia capsophila :-‘‘There has been
much discussion as to the claims of this insect
to be considered a species distinct from Carpo-
phaga, some of the darker varieties of which
from Scotland approach Capsophila both in
form and colour. The caterpillars of . Carpo-
phaga and Capsophila, like the perfect insects,
differ principally in colour: Capsophila in both
cases being darker. The caterpillars of Cap-
sincola and Conspersa are, however, equally
difficult to separate; and these slight variations
in the caterpillar state seem to be characteristic
of the Dianthaeide, and alone are insufficient to
enable us to discriminate the species. So we
may suppose that the common origin of the
various species of the genus is indicated by
these slight differences in the caterpillar state;
but for the purpose of classification Carpophaga
It is slightly
and Capsophila seem to me abundantly distinct,

NOCTUAS. - 387
and must be so recorded.” But subsequently
—writing to me on the 24th of this present
October—Mr. Birchall adds : “This insect is
the Irish representative of D. Carpophaga, and
in my opinion only a variety of that species,
and reaches its extreme point of divergence
from the English and continental type in the
Isle of Man. The difference between Capso-
phila and Carpophaga is wholly one of colour,
and oily exists in the perfect insect, the
caterpillars and chrysalids presenting no
difference. As we travel northward in Great
Britain there is a gradual deepening of the
shade of colour from the clay-coloured almost
immaculate Carpophaga of the southern
counties to the rich brown specimens obtained
in Argyleshire. Amongst the Irish Capsophila
an occasional dark brown specimen occurs, but
the colour of the majority is dark gray, and
the Manx specimens are usually still darker,
sometimes almost entirely black. The expla-
nation seems to be that the species has reached
Ireland by way of Scotland, and that the
effect of insular conditions has been still
further to increase the divergence from the
original type of the mainland. As respects
its natural history, the Isle of Man is certainly
an outlying province of Ireland, in many
respects Hibernior Hibernicis. Capsophila
occurs on the Irish coast from Belfast to
Waterford, but I have not seen or heard of it
on the Western coast, or in the interior of
Ireland. There have been records of its
capture in North Wales, but I have not seen
the specimens, and cannot say whether they
ought to be referred to Carpophaga or Capso-
phila.” This species was first discovered by
Anderegg, in Switzerland: Guenée gives
“Alps of the Valais, neighbourhood of Digne,”
and “Spain,” as the continental habitats; and
he describes the Spanish form “as much
darker than the Swiss, and almost black, with
the transverse lines very white and slender,
the wing-rays powdered with white, and the
underside very dark.” This seems to militate
against the opinion expressed above by Mr.
Birchall: and it is a remarkable fact that the
most northern and most southern examples of
the species are the darkest.
;
!
;
!
;
616. The Lychnis (Diauthocia capsineola),
616. THE LYCHNIs.—The palpi are por-
rected, the terminal joint very small and in-
conspicuous; the antennae are simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are nearly straight on
the costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly waved
on the margin ; their colour is umber-brown
with sharply-defined paler markings; the
discoidal spots have a distinct pale circum-
scription, and they are connected at the lower
extremity by a pale wing-ray ; there is a very
irregular but very distinct pale line parallel
with the hind margin: the hind wings are
smoky gray, the basal area being much paler
with the exception of the wing-rays; there is
a white spot near the hind margin, and nearer
the anal than the apical angle : the head and
thorax are variegated like the fore wings: the
body is dorsally crested, and is tufted at the
extremity in the male; in the female it is
conical, and terminates in a long and sharp-
pointed ovipositor.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched: the head is rather small; the body
is smooth and attenuated at both ends: the
colour of the head is pale brown, and very
shining : of the body dingy brown, and
opaque, with a very slight, indication of a
medio-dorsal stripe, and having each segment
marked on the back with a somewhat obscure
smoke-coloured W-shaped mark, the apex of
which points towards the posterior extremity;
near its apex each V encloses a small trans-
verse bar of its own colour, and at each ex-
tremity of each bar is a nearly circular dot,

388
MOTHS.
BRITISH
still of the same colour; the spiracles are
black, and immediately above each is a slight
swelling. It feeds on the seeds of the white
campion (Lychnis vespertina), and makes a per-
fectly round hole in the capsule, and usually
feeds with half its body hanging out of the
hole: it is full-fed in the beginning of October.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August, and
is widely distributed in England, Scotland,
and Ireland. (The scientific name is Dian-
thacia capsinoola.)
Obs. The extraordinary specimen repre-
sented in the lower figure was kindly lent me
for this work by Mr. Bond.
617. The Campion (Dianthocia Cucubali).
617. THE CAMPION.—The palpi are porrec-
ted, the terminal joint small and inconspi-
Cuous; the antennae are simple in both sexes:
the fore wings are ample, nearly straight on
the costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly waved
on the hind margin; their colour is umber-
brown, beautifully overlaid with purple re-
flections; the discoidal spots have a distinct
pale circumscription; both of them are oblique,
and the obliquity is in different directions—
thus they recede from each other at the
upper, and approach at the lower, extremity,
so much so, indeed, as in some instances to
be united : there is a pale zigzag and inter-
rupted but well-defined line parallel with the
hind margin : the hind wings are gray-brown,
rather paler at the base; the head and thorax
are variegated like the fore wings; the body
plain gray-brown like the hind wings; the
body is crested, but neither conspicuously
tufted in the male nor conspicuously pointed
in the female.
The CATERPILLAR has a flattened and glabrous
head, and a smooth cylindrical body, which
has the divisions of the segments very dis-
tinctly marked. The colour of the head is
greenish-gray, with four slender dark lines
down the face; the body is greenish-gray,
tinged with reddish-orange, especially on the
anterior segments. There are three dark
dorsal stripes on the second, third, and fourth
segments, after which the middle one alone
appears, and the lateral ones are replaced by
an oblique brown line on every segment, as
far as the eleventh inclusive. Every segment
has, moreover, a number of ocellated white
dots. The ventral is greener than the dorsal
area. It feeds on the flowers and seed-pods
of the bladder campion (Silene inflata), and
is full-fed in August, when it descends to
the ground, and spinning a very slight cocoon,
changes to a CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June. It
is found in nearly all our English counties,
extending even into Scotland; and Mr. Birch-
all says it occurs not uncommonly at Howth
and Killarney in Ireland. (The scientific
name is Dianthaecia Cucubali.)
618. The White Spot (Dianthocia albimaculo).
618. THE WHITE SPOT.-The palpi are very
inconspicuous, scarcely projecting beyond the
tuft of scales which covers the crown of the
head ; the antennae are simple in both sexes:
the fore wings are straight on the costa, and
rounded at the tip ; their colour is smoky-
black, tinged with olive, and they have sharply-
defined black and white markings; the dis-
coidal spots are conspicuous, but rather small;
both of them have a broad white circum-
Scription, and a transverse central shade of
the ground-colour; beneath the orbicular is
a pure white Square spot, and from this there
projects a lobe towards the lower extremity
of the reniform ; there are four white spots in
two pairs at the base of the costal margin,
and several others on the costa itself, par-
ticularly two just above the orbicular; three
transverse lines conspicuously black and
white cross the wing; the first is about half


NOCTUAS.
389
|
*-------
way between the base and the orbicular; this
is almost direct; its white portion is on the
inner, its black portion on the outer side ; the
Second is much elbowed and zigzag ; it is
situated beyond the reniform, and has the
white portion outside, the black inside ; the
third is very zigzag, and very sharply defined ;
the white portion is outside, the black inside;
the fringe is spotted with black and white :
the hind wings are smoky-black, with paler
base, and a white spot near the anal angle ;
the fringe is pale: the head and thorax are
variegated like the fore wings; the body is
smoke-coloured, the basal segments crested,
the crests tipped with black.
The CATERPILLAR is ochreous-yellow ; the
medio-dorsal line dark gray, with oblique
lines proceeding from it on each segment; a
row of black spots on each side ; subdorsal
line pale gray (Gu). It feeds on the
Nottingham catchfly (Silene nutans.) Stain-
ton’s Manual, vol. i., p. 262.
The MOTH appears in June. There is a
specimen in the late Mr. Stephens' collection,
said to have been taken in Birch Wood, Kent,
in 1816, and from this my description is
made ; a second is reported in the Entomo-
logist's Monthly Magazine for 1865, p. 237,
as having been taken at Gosport. Its occur-
rence in these localities is very remarkable
from the entire absence of the food plant.
(The scientific name is Dianthocia albimacula.)
619. The Marbled Coronet (Dianthaeia conspersa),
619. THE MARBLED CoronRT.—The palpi
are scarcely porrected, the second joint very
scaly, the terminal joint Scarcely perceptible;
the antennae are very slightly serrated in the
males, quite simple in the females: the fore
wings have the costal margin almost straight,
the tip blunt, the hind margin slightly waved;
their colour is smoky black, with creamy-
white and sharply-defined markings ; the
orbicular is creamy-white, and in some speci-
mens has a slight smoky cloud in its median
area; in other specimens this cloud is entirely
wanting. This orbicular spot is often con-
tinued to the costal margin, and is frequently
united to a pure white blotch in the middle of
the wing. The reniform is white, with a
smoky cloud in its median area; there are
several white spots at the base of the wing,
and several others on the inner margin, par-
ticularly a large one opposite the reniform ;
there is also a transverse zigzag and inter-
rupted white line parallel with the hind
margin, which terminates in a white blotch
on the costal margin ; there is a scalloped
black line on the hind margin; the fringe is
whitish, with a double series of Smoky or
blackish markings: the hind wings are Smoke-
coloured, the base and fringe being rather
paler; the wing-rays and discoidal spot rather
darker; and there is a small pale spot near
the hind margin, and nearer the anal than the
apical angle: the head is white, with two
dark lines on the crown, the thorax is varie-
gated with black and white like the fore
wings; the body is smoky-gray like the hind
wings.
The EGGs are laid on the flowers or calyces
of the ragged Robin (Lychnis Flos-Cuculi), and
the young CATERPILLAR feeds on the seeds.
For a while it is concealed entirely within the
seed-pod; but as it grows larger it is com-
pelled to leave this very limited residence,
and may afterwards be generally found with
its head and anterior segments in the capsule,
and the rest of the body exposed. When full
fed the head is narrower than the second seg-
ment and very glabrous, the face rather
flattened, the crown not perceptibly notched;
the body is smooth and almost uniformly
cylindrical, but gradually and very slightly
increasing in size from the second to the tenth

39()
BRITISH MOTHS.
segment; the colour of the head is pale wains-
cot-brown, with four slender and rather darker
lines down the face; the body is also wainscot-
brown, with a dorsal series of ten darker V-
shaped markings; the apices of the W’s point-
ing towards the anal extremity; a very narrow
pale medio-dorsal stripe passes through all
these, intersecting each V at its apex; there is
also a black dot on each side of each W near
its apex ; it has two lateral stripes rather
darker than the ground-colour, but still very
pale; and below the lowermost of these is a
third stripe paler than the ground-colour—in-
deed almost white; this contains the spi-
racles, which are pink encircled with black;
the ventral surface is pale flesh - colour,
tinged more or less with yellow ; the legs and
claspers are of the same colour as the ventral
area: when full-fed it finally descends to the
ground, and constructs a rather imperfect
cocoon of silk and earth just below the sur-
face, and in this changes to a CHRYSALIS, which
is rather long and slender, the wing-cases
being detached and projecting at their ex-
tremity, the body conical and terminating in
two sharp diverging spines; its colour is
bright reddish-brown, the tip and spines being
black.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June ; it
is by no means an abundant species, but has
nevertheless been obtained in most of our
English and Scotch counties, and Mr. Birchall
informs me it occurs at Howth in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Dianthecia conspersa.)
Obs. – The so-called “black ’’
taken in Ireland in company with the usual
form by the late Mr. Weaver, and sold for so
high a price, would probably now be referred
conspersa,
to the next species: I thought the late Mr.
Stephens was a purchaser of these, but do not
find them in the British Museum. The beau-
tiful specimen represented in the lower figure
was kindly lent me for this work by Mr. C.
Fenn.
question has been raised as to the identity of
this and the next species, that entomologists
should endeavour to procure an extensive
series whenever practicable. .
It seems highly desirable, now that a
620. Barrett's Marbled Coronet (Dianthacea
Barrettii).
620. BARRETT's MARBLED Coronet.—The
palpi are scarcely porrected ; the second joint
is very scaly, the Scales unequal and having a
rough appearance, the terminal joint is
scarcely perceptible ; the antennae appear
rather incrassated in the male, quite simple in
the female : the fore wings have the costal
margin almost straight, the tip blunt, and the
hind margin slightly waved; their colour is
dingy-brown with a somewhat metallic tinge
of ochreous-olive; there are many markings
both darker and lighter, but all of them are
obscure ; both discoidal spots are to be traced
without difficulty, both of them are slightly
paler than the ground-colour, and both have a
median shade; the orbicular is rather oblong
and rather oblique; they are apparently almost
connected at the lower extremity by a blotch
of their own colour, occupying nearly the
middle of the wing; there are several pale
markings at the base of the wing, and others
on the inner margin, more particularly a large
one nearly opposite the reniform ; there is
also a paler blotch at the tip of the wing, and
these two blotches are connected by a trans-
verse, bent, and interrupted zigzag line which
is parallel with the hind margin; the fringe
is spotted with the shades of the ground
colour : the hind wings are Smoke-coloured,
the base and fringe being rather paler; the
wing-rays and two narrow transverse waved
lines are rather darker, and there is a small
linear whitish spot near the hind margin, and
*
*** > --------- - - - -


NOCTUAS.
391
nearer the anal than the apical angle : the head
and thorax are dingy olive-brown, the latter
sprinkled with a few gray scales; the body is
dull gray-brown.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June and
July; it was first taken in the neighbourhood
of Dublin by Mr. Barrett, and subsequently
by Mr. Birchall and other entomologists.
(The scientific name is Dianthaecia Barrettº.)
Obs.—This moth was first described by Mr.
Doubleday, at p. 124 of the Entomologist's
Annual for 1864. That excellent lepidopterist
concludes the description with these words:
“It cannot possibly be confounded with any
other British species;” and I know from recent
correspondence, that he still entertains the
same view. Had it not been for my friend’s
very decided opinion, I should have supposed
Barretti to be a suffused, darker, and local
(Irish) type of Conspersa, from which it widely
differs in the tint of colour and in the ob-
scurity of its markings, but neither in the
form, size, or number of those markings. Mr.
Birchall, who is more thoroughly acquainted
with the species than any other entomologist,
writes thus respecting it: “Until the early
states of this insect are known, I hesitate to
express an opinion as to whether it is specifi-
cally distinct from Conspersa, or only a melanic
form of that insect. Beyond the difference of
colouring, the generally somewhat larger size
and rougher aspect, and the occurrence of a
dark spot in the centre of the orbicular stigma
of Barrettii, I am unable to point out any
character by which the two insects (so unlike
at first glance) can be distinguished. The
under-surface of the wings is alike in both
species, even in colour. Irish specimens of
Conspersa are somewhat darker than English,
but I have not seen any that very closely
connect it with Barrettii in general aspect.
Barretti has hitherto only been observed at
Howth, where also Conspersa occurs, but more
rarely. Oct. 21, 1868.-EDw1N BIRCHALL.”
On the same subject, Mr. Bond, in com-
pliance with my request, gives me his
opinion thus:–“I am hardly prepared to
say that Barrettii is a species; if I had
only seen the figure in the Annual for 1864,
I should have said it was only Conspersa with-
out doubt. In the two fine specimens you
showed me, I quite failed in finding the Gen-
lsta-like marks which Mr. Doubleday men-
tions in his original description; and had I
only seen the female specimen in your pos-
Session, I shoull have said it was a dark
variety of Conspersa. I well recollect, some
years ago, the late Mr. Weaver bringing over
from Ireland three or four very dark specimens
of Conspersa, but who had them, I do not
know, and, at present, I have failed to trace
them ; I have four specimens of his taking,
which are much darker than any other speci-
mens I have ever seen. October 22, 1868.
—FREDERICK BoxD.”
I have thus brought together the rather
conflicting opinions of our three English macro-
lepidopterists. It may be noted that the
differences hitherto observed between Barrettii
and Conspersa are, first, the slightly stouter
antennae of the male in Barretti: ; Secondly,
the rather broader fore wings; thirdly, the
obliquity of the orbicular; and, fourthly,
the more obscure coloration : it remains to be
seen whether the first, second, and third of
these differences will hold good in a long
series of each ; if that prove to be the case,
Barrettii must, I think, be admitted as a
distinct species.
621. The Gray (Dianthaeia caesist).
621. THE GRAY.--The palpi are porrected
and very scaly, the terminal joint is very small;
the antennae are simple: the fore wings are
rather narrow, the costa very straight, the tip
rather produced but blunt; their colour is
uniform dull bluish-gray, the various mark-
ings—as discoidal spots and transverse lines
—being slightly indicated but never defined:
the hind wings are smoky : the head and
thorax are dull bluish-gray, the body Smoky-
black.

392
BRITISH MOTHS.
power.
Mr. Gregson having watched a female of
this moth depositing her eggs on the flowers
of the bladder campion (Silene inflata), in
the Isle of Man, gathered the flowers, and
has succeeded in obtaining caterpillars, which,
being full-fed on the 6th of July, he has most
kindly transmitted to me for description. The
usual position of the caterpillar is with the
head and anterior extremity of the body con-
cealed within the capsule or inflated calyx,
and the anal claspers tenaciously holding the
slender footstalk of the flower. The head is of
nearly the same width as the second segment,
Somewhat glabrous, and emits about twenty
minute bristle-like hairs: the body is almost
uniformly cylindrical and velvety; it has a few
short and slender bristle-like hairs along each
side, but these are so few and inconspicuous as
only to be observed under a lens of considerable
The colour of the head is pale
wainscot - brown, slightly reticulated with
darker brown markings, in one specimen so
slightly as only to be observable under a lens;
there is a blackish dot at the insertion of each
hair, and the ocelli are also dark: the body is
pale brown, and very minutely and densely
irrorated with umber-brown ; these irrorations
are crowded in some parts, but more distant
in others, leaving a double longitudinal series
of irregular pale patches, which form two in-
distinct stripes; the ventral surface, including
legs and claspers, is pale Smoky-brown slightly
tinged with pink.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken somewhat abundantly in the
Isle of Man, and a single specimen in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Dianthacia caesia.)
622. The Small Ranunculus (IHecatera dysodea).
622. THE SMALL RANUNCULUS.–The palpi
project very slightly, their terminal joint is
imperceptible; the antennae are very slightly
ciliated in the male, quite simple in the
female: the fore wings have the costal margin
very straight, the tip blunt, the hind margin
slightly waved; their colour is smoky-gray,
mottled with both darker and lighter markings,
and having a rather darker median band, not
very clearly defined, and in which are situated
the discoidal spots, which are also indistinct;
each wing is adorned with numerous Orange
spots, six or seven of which form a transverse
series parallel with the hind margin; there is
one on each side of the reniform, one on the
outside of the orbicular, two at the base of
the wing, and two on the inner margin : the
hind wings are blackish-gray, with the basal
area and fringe paler, the wing-rays and dis-
coidal spots rather darker; there is also a
whitish longitudinal streak near the anal
angle: the antennae are testaceous, approach-
ing to ochre-colour; the head is gray; the
thorax is gray, with two conspicuous approxi-
mate orange spots, rather behind the middle,
and two smaller and more distant orange
spots behind these ; the body is gray.
The CATERPILLAR feeds on the blossoms and
seed of the common lettuce : it rests in a
straight position on its food-plant, but falls to
the ground when disturbed, and, tucking the
head under its body, embraces it with the
ventral claspers, the anal extremity, together
with the anal claspers, remaining extended;
the head is glabrous, scarcely notched on the
crown, narrower than the second segment, into
which it is partially received : the body is
cylindrical, but slightly attenuated towards
both extremities; the anal claspers are spread-
ing; the colour of the head is pale dull olive-
green, inconspicuously reticulated with darker
lines: the body is pale dull olive-green,
sometimes exhibiting a shade of gamboge-
yellow ; the dorsal and ventral areas are
abruptly divided on a level with the spiracles,
which are intensely black; the dorsal is slightly
darker than the ventral area, and having also
three darker, but nevertheless very incon-
spicuous, stripes; one of these is medio-dorsal,
and intersected throughout by a slender paler
stripe; the others are lateral and immediately
above the spiracles: the legs and claspers are
concolorous with the ventral area. When full-
fed it descends to the ground, and changes to a
- - - - - - ------------------------------ -

NOCTUAS.
393
CHRYSALTs just beneath the surface of the
earth. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
although abundant in certain localities, can by
Ino means be regarded as generally common :
it has been taken in Somersetshire, Dorset-
shire, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk,
and Cambridgeshire. (The scientific name
is IIecatera dysodea.)
623. The Broad-barred White (Hecatera serena).
623. THE BROAD-BARRED WHITE. — The
palpi are very slightly porrected, the terminal
joint concealed; the antennae are slightly
ciliated in the male, simple in the female; the
fore wings are very slightly arched on the
costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly waved on
the hind margin; their colour is white ; the
costal margin conspicuously spotted with black,
and they have a dark median band, so much
broader at the costal than at the inner margin
as to appear almost triangular ; this band
includes both the discoidal spots, which are
white, with a darker central shade; there
are several black spots at the base of the wing:
the hind wings are pale at the base, the pale
area being traversed by dark wing-rays, and
there is a broad band of smoky-brown along
the hind margin, and in this bar are two
whitish spots, one near the apical, the other
near the anal angle : the head and thorax are
gray, mottled with black; the body gray.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a straight position
on its food-plant, but falls to the ground when
disturbed, and, tucking its head under the
body, embraces it with the ventral claspers,
the anal extremity, together with the anal
claspers, remaining extended : the head is
glabrous, scarcely notched on the crown, nar
rower than the second segment, into which it
is partially received; it emits a few slender
bristles: the body is cylindrical, but slightly
attenuated towards both extremities; the anal
claspers are spreading ; there are a few
minute warts, each of which emits a fine
bristle, scattered about the body; the colour of
the head is dull, pale greenish-brown; of the
body, dingy yellow-green, the dorsal and
ventral areas being divided by a very distinct
yellow-green stripe, extending from the head
to the anal claspers; this stripe is immediately
below the spiracles, which are testaceous-
brown, surrounded by a very delicate black
ring; the second segment has a quadrate
smoky-black dorsal patch, longitudinally
intersected by a pale line; it is also bounded
on both sides by a similar pale line; the
dorsal area of the other segments is sprinkled
with smoky black, which forms itself into a
kind of dorsal ornamentation, consisting of a
medio-dorsal and two lateral series of blotches;
all these markings are very obscure, but there
are two dorsal dots placed transversely on the
back of each segment, which are distinct and
constant; the ventral area is sprinkled above
the claspers, but is perfectly unicolorous, and
of a more decided green below them ; the legs
and claspers are concolorous with the ventral
surface : it feeds on the blossoms of the corn
sow-thistle (Sonchus orrensis), the common
sow-thistle (S. oleraceus), and the wild
lettuce (Lactuca virosa), and in confinement it
feeds freely on the flowers of the cultivated
lettuce. When full-fed the caterpillar de-
scends to the ground and changes to a
CHRYSALIs just below the surface of the earth :
this change takes place at the end of August.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is not uncommon in the southern
counties of England, particularly in Kent, in
which county I once found forty, or perhaps
fifty, specimens at rest on the trunk of a pollard
ash, in the lane leading to Darent Wood. Mr.
Birchall took it in the county Wicklow, and at
Howth in Ireland. (The scientific name is
JHecatera serena.) • º
Obs.—The broad dark median band from
which this species has been named, gives it a
remarkable and beautiful appearance when at
rest; it would form a valuable feature in a
cabinet if one of each species could be pre-
served in this natural position of rest.

BRITISH MOTHS.
624. The Gray Chi (Polia Chi).
624. Tiſº GRAY CITI.-The palpiare scarcely
porrected beyond the head, and the terminal
joint is extremely small and inconspicuous;
the antennae of the male are slightly ciliated,
those of the female simple; the fore wings have
the costal margin nearly straight, but slightly
curved towards the tip; their colour is white
or whitish-gray, with numerous darker mark-
ings; the discoidal spots have a dark circum-
scription, but a Whitish median area, with a
slightly darker shade in the centre; below
the discoidal spots and equidistant from both,
is a black mark in the shape of a Greek chi x,
which gives its name to the species: the hind
wings of the male are pure white, with a
delicate marginal black line; those of the
female are clouded with smoke-colour, es-
pecially near the hind margin, and on the
wing-rays: the head, thorax, and body are
pale-gray, almost white. There is a beautiful
local variety, in which the ground-colour of
the fore wings is a delicate olive-green, inter-
rupted by four transverse series of pure white
spots, the first very short and close to the
base ; the Second nearly direct, but zigzag ; it
is situated before the middle of the wing; the
third very much bent, and situated beyond
the middle of the wing; and the fourth is
oblique and parallel with the hind margin.
The discoidal spots are rather obscure.
The EGGs are laid in the
hatched in the spring, from the 17th to the
31st of March. When the CATERPII.LAR is full-
fed its head is slightly porrected, and about
equal in width to the second segment; the
body is smooth and almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but slightly decreasing in size towards
both extremities : the colour of both the
head and body is glaucous-green; the dorsal
paler than the ventral area, and interrupted
by three slender white stripes, the medio-
dorsal stripe being the least distinct of the
three ; the dorsal area is bounded, on a line
with the spiracles, by a narrow black stripe,
the upper margin of which melts, through
delicate gradations of olive-green, into the
pale glaucous-green of the back, but its lower
margin is bounded by a very distinct and
rather broad pure white stripe; the belly,
legs, and claspers are glaucous-green ; the
spiracles are pure white, surrounded by a
black ring on the third and fourth segments:
in an exquisite drawing by Mr. Buckler,
kindly lent me by Mr. Hellins, are repre-
sented black dots exactly in the place occu-
pied by spiracles in the spiracle-bearing seg-
ments. In reference to these 'abnormal
markings, which may be called false spiracles,
Mr. Buckler observes:—“I have seen simi-
lar markings on the larvae of other Noctude,
but very rarely ; and I may here mention
that in some of the more dingy-coloured
Noctude I have had varieties in which the
spiracles have not been visible by any dis-
tinction of colour or markings, while in other
individuals of the same species they will be
most distinct; these aberrant markings on the
third and fourth segments are remarkably
large on some of the Cucullia when they do
occur.” Since Mr. Buckler wrote this he
has had the kindness to send me a caterpillar of
Anchoscelis pistacina, in which this peculiarity
is very apparent. The caterpillar of Polia
Chi feeds on the Whitethorn (Crataegus
owyacantha) and sallow (Salie caprea), and
whom full-fed, which is about the middle
of May, it descends to the ground, and
autumn, and

NOCTUAS.
395
undergoes pupation beneath the surface of
the earth.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July,
August, and September; it is decidedly a
local insect : in Devonshire it occurs at
Plymouth, Torquay, Teignmouth, and Mod-
bury; in Herefordshire, at Leominster, where
the caterpillar feeds on that familiar plant the
tea-tree (Lycium barbarum), frequently com-
pletely stripping it of its leaves. Mr. Stainton
reports it from Stowmarket, in Suffolk; Mr.
Borton from Worcester; several entomologists
have taken it in Staffordshire, Derbyshire,
Cheshire, and thence northwards to nearly
all parts of Scotland; and Mr. Birchall says
it is common and generally distributed in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Polia Chi.)
Obs.—The beautiful variety mentioned above
is described as a species by Mr. Stephens
(Illus. JHaust., vol. iii., p. 325.), under the
name of Olivacea ; but I scarcely incline to
consider it distinct.
625. The Black-banded (Polia nigro-cincta).
625. THE BLACK-BANDED.—The palpi are but
slightly porrected and the terminal joint almost
concealed : the antennae of the male are
very slightly ciliated, those of the female
simple: the fore wings are slightly arched
on the costa, blunt at the tip, and slightly
waved on the hind border; their colour is
whitish-gray, with a median but somewhat
interrupted black band, which includes both
the discoidal spots; these are of the pale-gray
ground-colour, with a darker transverse shade
in the centre, but neither of them is clearly
defined ; the rest of the general area of the
wing is thickly sprinkled with black dots and
markings, interspersed with a few minute
orange dots: the hind wings are pure white
in the male, with a very slender black margi-
mal line; they are very dark in the female :
the head is nearly white : the thorax mottled-
gray, with black dots: the body very pale-
gray, almost white.
The CATERPILLAR has been found by Mr.
Greening, feeding on the campions (Silene), the
sea pink (Statice Armeria), violet, and common
harebell (Campanula rotundifolia); when nearly
full-fed, and in confinement, it will eat
almost anything. In appearance the cater-
pillaris very similar to that of Epunda lichenea,
and would at once be taken for that species
by anyone who was not thoroughly acquainted
with Lichenea. It is full-fed about the
middle of July: it then goes down and spins a
tolerably compact cocoon, in which it changes
to a CHRYSALIS.
The MoTH appears on the wing at the end
of August or beginning of September, and is
very common in some parts of Hungary and
France; but very few specimens have been
recorded as British : the first is mentioned by
Mr. Doubleday, at p. 349 of the third volume
of the Entomologist, as having been taken in the
caterpillar state by Mr. Greening, in the Isle
of Man, feeding on the bladder campion; the
second specimen is recorded by Mr. Hopley, in
the forty-second number of the Entomologists’
lſonthly lſagazine; this specimen was taken
during daylight, by Mrs. Fisher, from off the
window of a light-house, near Padstow, in
Cornwall, about the middle of August, 1862;
and several caterpillars and one moth have
been taken by Mr. Greening in the Isle of
Man, during the present year (1868). Mr.
Greening, who has kindly furnished me with
all the information I possess respecting this
species, says: “It is very sluggish in the day-
time, but when on the wing in the evening it
flies quick and strong. I sugared for three
nights, but did not take a specimen ; and I
think it just possible that it will not come to
sugar, but I have scarcely had a fair chance,
as the wind was blowing a gale the whole
time.” (The scientific name is Polia nigro-
cincta.) -
Obs. It is much to be regretted Mr. Green-
ing did not describe the caterpillar.
-

396
BRITISH MOTHS.
626. The Large Ranunculus (Polia flavocincta).
626. THE LARGE RANUNCULUS.—The palpi
are slightly porrected, the terminal joint being
slender, but very perceptible; the antennae are
almost simple in both sexes; the fore wings
are very slightly arched on the costa, blunt at
the tip, slightly waved on the hind margin,
and very slightly scalloped at the anal
angle ; their colour is Smoky-gray, marbled
and mottled with darker markings; there is
a series of six or seven orange spots parallel
with the hind margin, and on each of these
rests a black arrow-head pointing towards the
base of the wing; there are also four trans-
verse orange marks in the median area of the
wing, one on each side of each discoidal spot,
and the two innermost of these Orange mark-
ings are united at the base : the hind wings
are dingy smoke-colour in the male, darker
in the female; in both sexes they have two
transverse bars of a darker shade parallel with
the hind margin : the head and thorax are
gray, the body more inclined to Smoke-
colour.
The EGGs are laid in October and hatch in
the spring; the caterpillars feed on chickweed
(Stellaria media), groundsel (Senecio vulgaris),
on various species of mint, and many other
herbs; they are full-fed in June and July.
The full-fed caterpillarrests in almost a straight
position, with the head slightly tucked in, but
falls off its food-plant and forms a rather loose
ring when annoyed. The head is mani-
festly narrower than the body, and partially
retractile within the second segment; the
body is uniformly cylindrical, smooth, and
velvety; the colour of the head is pale opaque-
green, with black ocelli: the body is pale
----. *r-, *-** -- * -- *.* ----
apple-green, inclining to glaucous, and sprin-
kled with minute white dots; there is a
narrow median stripe on the back, slightly
darker than the ground-colour, but very in-
distinct; along each side is a very slender
white stripe passing below the spiracles, but
just touching them; this is bordered above by
a very narrow and interrupted black stripe,
particularly observable between the first and
second spiracles, and having a conspicuous
black dot behind the second, third, fourth,
fifth, and sixth spiracles: the spiracles are
dingy-yellow, bordered with black: the legs
are almost colourless; the claspers pale trans-
parent green. When full-fed the caterpillars
enter the earth to change to CHRYSALIDs.
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber; it is common near London, and is gene-
rally distributed in the southern counties, but
has not been met with in the north. It occurs
in the county Wicklow, in Ireland. (The
Scientific name is Polia flavocincta.)
627. The Deep-brown Dart (Epuada lutulenta).
627. The DEEP-BRowN DART-The palpi
are very short and inconspicuous; the antennae
pectinated in the male, simple in the female;
the fore wings are straight on the costa ; their
colour is smoky black-brown, the discoidal
spots being scarcely distinguishable from the
ground-colour: in many of the females there
is a distinctly darker broad median band; the
hind wings are pure silvery white in the males,
smoky-brown in the females; the head and
thorax are of the same colour as the fore


NOCTUAS.
397
wings; the body Smoky-gray, paler at the
base.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is almost exactly
of the same width as the second segment, very
smooth and shining ; the body is smooth
and almost uniformly cylindrical, but tapers
slightly towards either extremity; the colour
of the head is green; the second segment of
the body has a semi-circular dorsal green plate,
the remainder of this segment, as well as the
entire dorsal surface of the third and fourth
segments, being rosy red; the dorsal area of
the remaining segment is apple-green, inter-
rupted by a narrow medio-dorsal stripe of a
pale brown, which deepens to a dark brown
at the interstices of the segments; there is a
broad rosy lateral stripe, the lower border of
which is bounded by a narrow stripe of pure
white, and below this a narrow rosy stripe;
the ventral surface is pale green, with the
legs and claspers concolorous. It feeds on
gromwell (Lithospermum arvense), and several
other plants, more especially in woods. The
EGGs are laid in October, and the young CATER-
PILLARs hybernate very small, and feeding
again in the spring, are full-fed at the end of
April, when they spin rather slight cocoons
just under the surface of the earth. The
cocoon is composed of silk and grains of earth.
The cIIRYSALIS is dark red-brown and very
shining, the wing-cases being of yellowish-
green colour; and the extremity of the body
is furnished with two long and closely ap-
proximate spines.
The MoTII appears on the wing in Septem-
ber; some specimens, taken about the middle
of September, and kindly brought me by the
Rev. P. H. Jennings, were quite worn, and
appeared to have been out some time. It
seems to be abundant in Devonshire, in which
county Mr. Reading records Plymouth, Whit-
sands, Stadden Heights, Devonport, Torquay,
Teignmouth and Alphington as localities. It
also occurs in the New Forest, and Isle of Wight,
Brighton, Lewes, Darent Wood in Kent, Cam-
bridgeshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire,
and Cheshire; and Mr. Birchall, since the
publication of his list, has taken it in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Epunda lutulenta.)
\
628. The Black Rustic (Epunda nigra).
628. THE BLAck RUSTIC.—The palpi are
slightly porrected, and rather blunt at the
tip ; the antennae are rather long, slightly
thickened in the male, simple and slender in
the female : the fore wings are slightly arched
towards the tip, and slightly scalloped on the
hind-margin; their colour is rich dark sepia-
brown, slightly clouded ; the discoidal spots
are indicated, and there is a transverse series
of whitish scales on the exterior border of the
reniform ; with this exception, both spots are
of the same colour as the general area of the
wing: the hind wings are silvery white in
the male, with a slightly clouded hind mar-
gin in the female; the hind wings are con-
spicuously clouded with smoke-colour, except
at the base : the antennae, head, and thorax
are almost pure black; the body Smoke-colour,
but paler on the sides at the base.
In No. 7 of the Entomologist Mr. Hammond
gives a short description of the CATERPILLAR.
When full grown they were about an inch
and a half in length, cylindrical, of nearly
uniform thickness, with the head rounded
and but little smaller than the second seg-
ment; the anal segment was tapering.
Mr. Buckler subsequently described four
varieties in the Entomologists' Monthly llaga-
zine, as follows:–
War. 1.-The ground-colour is a brilliant
pale yellow-green, sometimes a very bright
grass-green, others of a bright olive-green,
deepest in tint at the extremities, and often

BRITISH
MOTHS.
suffused with pink anteriorly, the dorsal
broad stripe in some being faintly blackish, in
others reddish, but intensely black or red
forming a dark mark just at the beginning of
each segment; in others this dark spot is
confluent with the two anterior tubercular
large black dots, thus forming blunt arrow-
head marks pointing forwards; the sub-dorsal
stripe of red or blackish is sometimes com-
piete, but oſtener interrupted in the middle of
each segment; the skin-folds at the incisions
are bright yellow; the spiracles in all varie-
ties are white, placed in semi-circular black
marks, and immediately beneath them is a
narrow stripe of pale sulphur-yellow or of
greenish-yellow ; the belly and legs are pale
green, tipped with red at their extremities;
the tubercular dots are sometimes absent, but
when visible are black, and the anterior pair
very much larger than the pair behind them :
the head is green, suffused with pink; a dull
pinkish plate on the second segment. One
olive-green caterpillar had the plate dark red,
and a large crimson spot on the top of each
lobe of the head. º
P'ar. 2.-The ground-colour is cinnamon-
brown ; a narrow pale greenish stripe beneath
, the spiracles; the folds of the skin at the
segmental divisions grayish ; the dorsal stripe
faintly indicated by a dusky spot at the
beginning of each segment; the sub-dorsal
stripes more distinct and faintly blackish.
War. 3.−Deep dingy crimson on the back
and sides; below the spiracles is a greenish-
yellow stripe; the belly and legs, with the
head, and dull plate on the Second segment,
rather paler than the back; a broad dorsal
and narrow sub-dorsal stripe of faint blackish,
but just at the beginning of each segment
quite black. -
War. 4.—The whole of the back between
the sub-dorsal lines a brilliant deep citron-
yellow, the sides from the sub-dorsal to the
lines of spiracles of the same ground-colour,
but almost entirely suffused with dark red:
the head and thoracic segments, with the anal
extremity, also suffused with red; the dorsal
stripe composed of two red confluent lines
forming a broad stripe, with blunt arrow-head
shapes of red at the beginning and end of
each segment, and anteriorly margined with
short black streaks; the tubercular dots black,
the anterior pairs being much the largest;
sub-dorsal line black, and interrupted in the
middle of each segment; the spiracles are
white in semi-linear blotches of black, and
edged below by a pale greenish-yellow stripe;
belly greenish, with a large red blotch along
the sides above the legs, the latter being
Orange-red.
It feeds upon the great hedge bedstraw
(Galium mollugo), and is full-fed at the end of
May and beginning of June.
The MOTHs do not appear on the wing until
September and October, and the species
seem to be very local ; in Devonshire it
occurs at Plymbridge, Ivybridge, Totnes,
Kingsbridge, St. German’s, Saltash, Torquay,
Teignmouth, and Alphington ; in Somerset-
shire, in the Isle of Wight, New Forest, Lewes,
and in the Lake District; it is also recorded
from Banff, in Scotland, but not from Ireland.
(The scientific name is Epunda nigra.)
629. The Minor Shoulder-knot (Epunda viminalis).
629 THE MINOR SHOULDER-KNOT. — The
palpi are slightly porrected and pointed; the
antennae are slightly pectinated in the male,
simple in the female ; the fore wings are
straight on the costa and rather produced at
at the tip ; their colour is silvery gray, clouded
with darker gray; there is an almost square
costal blotch of the paler colour at the base of
the wing, and this is bordered below by a
black line; the discoidal spots are also pale,

NOCTUAS.
but each has a dark centre : in many speci-
mens I have received from the North of
England, the darker colour is diffused over
the whole wing, as represented in the lower
figure: the hind wings are pale gray in the
male, smoky-gray in the female : the body is
of nearly the same colour as the wings.
The EGGs are laid in August, but are not
hatched until the spring : the plants usually
selected by the female are two species of Salia,
S. caprea and S. cinerea, both familiarly known
by the name of sallow : on both these species
the cATERPILLARs feed, previously spinning
together the edges of some of the leaves, and
constructing a kind of imperfect tent, in which
they are concealed from birds. The cater-
pillar is full-grown at the beginning of June :
it then rests in a tolerably straight position,
and if disturbed falls from its food-plant, curled
up into a very lax and imperfect ring, and
remains motionless for many minutes; the
head is rather small, decidedly narrower than
the body, and porrrected in crawling: the
body is smooth and velvety, almost uniformly
cylindrical, but evidently attenuated towards
both extremities, and having the ventral flatter
than the dorsal surface; the colour of the
head is almost white, having an extremely
slight tint of green, and being finely reticu-
lated on the cheeks with a darker colour; it
also has black mandibles, a straight black
transverse line just above the mandibles and
labrum, and a black margin where received
into the second segment; this black margin is
only observable when the caterpillar is crawl-
ing: the body is pale glaucous-green, with five
still paler but scarcely white equidistant dorsal
stripes; the broadest of these is medio-dorsal,
and, together with the next on each side,
extends from the head to the extremity of the
amal flap ; the exterior stripe on each side
passes just below the spiracles, touching all of
them, except the ninth ; the spiracles are
perfectly white, encircled with a black ring;
between the medio-dorsal and the next stripe
is a series of about thirty small circular spots,
or rather dots, of exactly the same colour;
there are three on each segment, the middle
one being nearest the medio-dorsal stripe;
each has a minute black dot in the centre, and
from the black dot emanates a very slender
bristle : the ventral surface and claspers are
Concolorous with the back; the legs paler and
almost transparent, and encircling the base of
each is a black ring, which emits two spread-
ing branches anteriorly. The caterpillars in
my possession were full-fed the first week in
June, when they spun up in leaves that had
fallen on the earth at the bottom of the breed-
ing cage.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end
of June and during the whole of July, and
has been taken in most of our English counties,
and also in the Highlands of Scotland : Mr.
Birchall reports it from Belfast and Killarney,
in Ireland. (The scientific name is Epunda
riminalis.)
.
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630. The Feathered Ranunculus (Epunda Lichenea).
630. THE FEATHERED RANUNCULUs.—The
palpi are porrected, their acutely-pointed
tips projecting very slightly beyond the head;
the antennae are decidedly pectinated in the
male, simple in the female; the fore wings
are straight on the costa almost to the tip,
very slightly scalloped on the hind margin;
their colour is a mottled mixture of green,
gray, and ochreous; the discoidal spots are
perceptible, but not conspicuous; both partake
of the mixed colours which surround them;
the orbicular, is generally small and circular,
and has a dark centre and pale circumscrip-
tion; the wings have three transverse zigzag
lines, or rather zigzag series of pale spots, each













400
MOTHS.
BRITISH
pale spot being often accompanied by a darker
one; the first of these series is before the
orbicular, the second and third beyond the
reniform ; the hind wings of the male are
very pale gray, with a crescentic discoidal spot,
a transverse interrupted median line, and an
interrupted hind-marginal series of linear
spots, all darker; the wings of the female are
Smoky-gray, with faint indications of the same
markings as in the male : the head, thorax,
and body are nearly of the same colour as the
fore wings. -
. The EGGS, which are laid about the be-
ginning of October, hatch early in November;
the CATERPILLARs remain very small during the
winter, and are mostly hidden amongst roots
of grass. About the beginning of January
they begin to exhibit themselves at night, and
Soon feed very ravenously on groundsel, &c.,
and grow rapidly. They are of a green
colour, with a whitish stripe along the
spiracles; they retain the green colour
after several moults, when they appear in
a mottled olive suit. When young they
repose in the position of the privet hawk-
moth (Sphina Ligustri), with their head and
fore legs erect, on the stems of dry grass. As
the spring advances they will feed on chick-
weed, dock, dandelion, scabious, burnet, &c.
until May, when they assume the chrysalis
state. Mr. Dell, who has paid great attention
to rearing the species, says: “I never had any
remain in the caterpillar state until June; out
of many dozens during two or three years' ex-
perience of rearing them, I never saw any
above the surface after May. I do not by any
means think them a tender caterpillar to rear;
I have during the last two or three years
reared about three-fifths of them on an
average. They form a cocoon of a web-like
texture, mixed with the earth; the chrysalids
are rather blunt at the ends: they generally
lie in that state for about four months. My
method of rearing them is this: in a clear
wide-mouthed glass bottle I put the eggs, also
a piece of white paper, and cover over the top
of the bottle with a fine piece of gauze, so
that when the caterpillars hatch I can see
them creep on the paper; I then put in some
dry stems of fine grass and a small leaf of
groundsel, so that there should not be too
much refuse left; they soon leave their food
and creep on the fine grass to repose, and I
then remove the refuse; every evening I put
in fresh food, and always remove what they
leave; but after awhile, when they improve
in size, I remove them to a medium-sized
flower-pot, half filled with loose mould and
pieces of turfy-grass, under which they
generally hide by day, and at night they come
out to feed, when I put in some fresh leaves;
in clearing out the refuse care must be taken
not to throw away any of the caterpillars
which may be hid in it. By following these
instructions I think there would be no
difficulty in rearing these caterpillars.”
To this I must add a description of the
full-fed caterpillar. The head is obviously
narrower than the body, extremely shining,
but emitting several slender hairs; the body
is uniformly cylindrical, obese, and smooth,
but emitting a very few, very distant, short,
and fine hairs; these are only discernible
under a lens. The head is olive-brown, tes-
Selated with paler markings. The body is
dull olive-brown on the back, pale transparent
olive-green on the belly, and having a paler
stripe dividing the two colours, and including
the spiracles; the back has a series of some-
what lozenge-shaped oblique paler marks, the
whole of these markings being obscure and
indistinct, yet viewed together constituting a
dark median stripe, with a paler and inter-
rupted stripe on each side; the legs are shin-
ing, the claspers opaque, both pellucid, and
of a yellow-green colour. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
but seems to be a very local species; it is
plentiful in Devonshire, where Mr. Reading
records its occurrence in gardens and on street
lamps at Woodside, North Hill, Plymouth
Boe, Crabtree, Plymbridge, Tavistock, Tor-
quay, Teignmouth, and Alphington; it occurs
| in Dorsetshire, in the New Forest, and Isle of
Wight; and at Birkenhead in Cheshire, and
Mr. Birchall informs us it is common at
Howth, in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Jºpunda Lichened.)
NOCTUAS.
401
631. The Green-brindled Dot (Valeria oleagina).
631. THE GREEN-BRINDLED DOT.-The palpi
are porrected and rather ascending, very
scaly, with the exception of the terminal joint,
which is almost naked, slendor, and pointed;
the antennae are decidedly pectinated in the
male, slightly so in the female : the fore
wings are straight on the costa, blunt at the
tip, and Scalloped on the hind margin ; their
colour is olive-brown, interspersed with scales
of bright metallic green, which impart a
greenish lustre to the whole wing ; both the
discoidal spots are distinct, the reniform re-
markably so, being large and pure white,
with the exception of a few scattered brown
scales near each extremity; the orbicular,
which is much smaller, is outlined in white,
and has a brown median area ; parallel with
the hind margin is a zigzag line, almost white
and not very distinct; on the margin itself is
a series of seven black crescents ; and in the
fringe, alternating with these crescents, are
seven short white lines: the hind wings are
pale gray at the base, and have a broad smoke-
coloured baſid occupying the hind margin ;
and this band is interrupted throughout by a
compound bar, the interior portion of which is
white, the exterior black: above the marginal
band, but rather below the middle of the
wing, is a waved transverse black line : the
antennae are pale testaceous-brown; the head
and thorax are densely scaly, and of the same
confused olive-brown colour as the fore wings;
the body is crested, and of a smoky-brown
colour, with paler sides.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is garnished
with hairs; it is very large, and yet seems
almost buricó in the second segment, which
projects beyond it on all sides; the second,
third, and fourth segments are all very stout,
and appear particularly so when the cater-
pillar is in a state of repose, from their being
crowded together, when the divisions between
them entirely disappear; the segments follow-
ing the fourth are much narrower; the wart-
like spots are rather prominent, and each
emits a bristle from its summit ; the warts on
the twelfth segment are very prominent and
conical: the colour of the head is bluish-gray,
its hairs white; the body is gray or brown,
with an orange-coloured neck, which is
adorned with a transverse series of black dots;
there is a broad dorsal black spot, becoming
white at its extremity, on the fourth and fifth
segments; there is also a blackish and inter-
rupted medio-dorsal stripe; the wart-like dots
are generally black, and connected with each
other by waved blackish lines; some of these,
however, on the sides of the caterpillar, are
orange : it feeds on the black-thorn (Prunus
spinosa), principally in shady places, and on
the skirts of woods: when full-fed it descends
to the ground, and forms an irregular cocoon
of silk and earth, in which it changes to a
CHRYSALTs.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March and
April; it seems to be a very rare species in
this country. Haworth says, in Anglia
rarissima, etiam in Wallia:—I know of no
capture since the publication of the “Lepi-
doptera Britannica,” in 1803. (The scientific
name is ſaleria oleagina.) The description of
the caterpillar is copied from the French of
M. Guenée. -
Obs.—I believe there is no ground for
doubting the capture of this beautiful moth
in Wales: several specimens occur in the
older British collections which from time to
time come under the hammer, and they are
always set in the customary English fashion,
and with English pins; at that early period,
the setting boards which are now so commonly
used by beginners, and which flatten out the
partially folded character of the hind wings,
had not been invented. Few of our English
entomologists adopt the old fashion of setting
insects with card braces beneath the wings,
but Mr. Doubleday is one of them, and
his specimens are always distinguishable for
the perfectly matural elegance of their shape.
The specimen of this moth in the collection
EDWARD NEWMAN's º
MoTTIS, No. 26. PRICE 6 D,
* LON UN ON : W . Twº EE tyr 12,
} $37, St RAN D.

402
MOTHS.
BRITISH
under my care is from the late Mr. Haworth’s
cabinet.
632. The Green-brindled Crescent (Miselia
Oayacanthac).
632. THE GREEN-BRINDLED CRESCENT.—The
palpi are densely scaly at the base, the ter-
minal joint slender and pointed ; the antennae
are slightly thickened in the male, simple in
the female : the fore wings are rather arched,
their hind margin rather scalloped, their
colour dull-brown, somewhat inclining to
reddish-brown, marbled and sprinkled with
metallic green scales, the discoidal spots are
defined, but so nearly of the same colour as
the general area as to be inconspicuous;
the reniform is placed longitudinally; at the
base of the wing is a black longitudinal streak,
which passes through a black transverse line,
and then ceases; parallel with the hind mar-
gin is a broadish pale band, and the interior
border of this is accompanied by a delicate
waved white line, which expands into a con-
spicuous white mark before it reaches the
inner margin : in a variety of frequent occur-
rence, which I have represented in the lower
figure, the fore wings are of a nearly uniform
dark-brown colour, the white mark being thus
rendered very conspicuous : this is called the
the “dark crescent ’’ by Haworth; the hind
wings are Smoky-gray : the head and thorax
are gray-brown ; the body of nearly the same
colour, and Crested, the crests being darker.
The CATERPILLAR neither feigns death nor
rolls in a ring when disturbed; the head is
exserted rather wider than the second seg-
ment, and slightly notched on the crown; the
body is cylindrical, and exhibits the divisions
of the segments plainly ; the twelfth segment
is elevated, but scarcely humped dorsally; it
bears two pairs of small warts, the posterior
pair rather larger and rather wider apart than
the anterior pair: the colour of the dorsal
surface is either brownish-gray or red-brown,
very dull, and has four white dots on each
segment; the medio-dorsal and lateral stripes
are scarcely perceptible; the ventral surface
is gray-green, with a conspicuous medio-
ventral dark stripe; the legs and claspers are
green: it feeds on black-thorn (Prunus spinosa),
white thorn (Crataegus oxyacantha), and is full-
fed at the end of May, when it spins a thick
cocoon on the surface of the earth, in which it
changes to a CHRYSALIS ; the eyes of the
chrysalis shine very brightly for the last
fourteen days of its remaining in that state.
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber, and is of very frequent occurrence in
England, Scotland, and Ireland. (The
scientific name is Miselia Oryacanthae.)
633. The Marvel-du-Jour (Agriopis Aprilina).
633. THE MARVEL-DU-JouT.—The palpi are
pointed at the tips; the antennae simple, but
rather stouter in the male; the fore wings are
pale-green, ornamented with black and white
markings, the black markings often forming
something like a median band; the discoidal


NOCTUAS.
403
spots are distinct, and always white, with
green centres, bounded by black: the hind
wings are smoky black, with a darker discoidal
spot, a lighter median transverse line, and a
hind-marginal white line; the fringe is smoke-
colour, with six white spots: the head and
thorax have the same colour as the fore wings;
the body is smoke-colour, slightly paler at the
base. -
The head of the CATERPILLAR is shining, and
of a greenish-gray colour, with a black cross,
resembling the letter X, on the face, the body
stout, cylindrical, and of a greenish-gray
colour, sometimes tinged with red; the dorsal
area is dark, and interrupted by a series of
lozenge-shaped markings of the same pale
green-gray, which is the general ground
colour, fbere is a pale stripe in the region of
the spiracles, bounded above by a somewhat
waved darker stripe. It feeds on oak
(Quercus Robur), and is full-fed in June, when
it descends the trunk, and entering the earth,
constructs an earthen cocoon a considerable
depth beneath the surface, and therein changes
to a CHRYSALIs, of which Mr. Greene says it
occurs “in the utmost profusion. I have
taken as many as twenty at one tree. This
will be one of the first chrysalids found by the
beginner; nothing can be easier; merely turn
up the earth and break it, and they will
tumble out of their brittle cocoons in plenty.”
This extremely beautiful MOTH appears on
the wing in October, and is very common in
England and Scotland, also in the counties of
Dublin and Wicklow, in Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Agriopis Aprilina.)
º
º §§ .*
§ º -
sº
H!
634. The Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa).
634. THE ANGLE SHADES.–The palpi are
slightly porrected and connivent at the extre-
mity; the second joint is cup-shaped and
contains the very small terminal joint; the
form of the united palpi reminds one of the
mandibles of some coleopterous insect; the
antennae are very slightly ciliated in the male,
simple in the female : the fore wings are
arched towards the tip, and very deeply
scalloped on the hind margin, particularly on
the lower half thereof; they are folded longitu-
dinally in repose; their colour is ochreous or
wainscot-brown, often tinged with olive-green ;
the two discoidal spots are very similar in
shape; both are oblique but in different direc-
tions, separating at the upper, and approaching
and actually connivent at the lower extre-
mity, they are separated by a dark V-shaped
mark, the apex of which is directed towards
the inner margin of the wing; all these mark-
ings are enclosed in a larger W, the base
whereof occupies the middle third of the costal
margin, and the apex thereof touches the middle
of the inner margin : the hind margin of the
hind wings is also scalloped and produced into
a decided tooth at the apical angle; their
colour is ochreous-gray, tinged with pink
towards the hind margin, and having two
darker waved transverse and parallel bars :
the head, antennae, thorax, and body are pale
wainscot-brown.
The CATERPILLAR when touched or annoyed
feigns death, turning its head on one side of
the body, and I have sometimes seen it form a
complete ring; the form is somewhat leech-
like, the head small, the second, third, and
fourth segments are gradually larger, those
following much larger, the twelfth gibbose,
but not humped on the back; smooth, velvety;
the colour of the head is pale obscure green,
semihyaline, and reticulated with darker lines;
the colour of the body is apple-green or olive-
brown ; in either case it is densely sprinkled
with very obscure whitish dots; there is an
interrupted very narrow median white line
on the back, and a broader, obscure whitish
line on each side just below the spiracles,
better defined on the twelfth and thirteenth
segments, and terminating in the anal claspers;
the spiracles are whitish, surrounded by a
delicate black line; the legs and claspers
semihyaline-green; it feeds throughout the












404 BRITISH
MOTHS.
winter months on groundsel (Senecio vulgaris),
the cultivated chrysanthemums, primrose, and
a variety of low-growing herbs; it spins a
slight web on the ground in April or May,
and changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears in May or June, and a
second brood is out in September ; it is com-
mon everywhere. (The scientific name is
Phlogophora meticulosa.)
635. The Flame Brocade (Trigonophora empyrea).
635. THE FLAME BROCADE.-The palpi are
slightly porrected and pointed, they are dis-
tinctly separated; the antennae are very
slightly ciliated in the male, quite simple in
the female ; the fore wings are nearly straight
on the costal margin, scalloped on the hind
margin, and reflexed on the inner margin;
their colour is rich umber-brown, with a
purplish gloss suffused over the basal and
median areas; the orbicular spot is small, it is
indicated in outline, and the median area
frequently contains a second smaller circle in
outline, but both are inconspicuous; the reni-
form, on the contrary, is large, slightly oblique,
almost white, and very conspicuous; it con-
tains two parallel slender brown lines, which
are generally united at both extremities; the
lower extremity of the reniform emits a wedge-
shaped dash of its own white colour, and
directed towards the base of the wing; parallel
with the hind margin of the wing is a broad
pale band; the reflexed inner margin is almost
white : the hind wings are smoky-brown, paler
at the base, and have a darker crescentic dis-
coidal spot: the head and thorax are dark
brown, the body Smoky-brown, reddish towards
the extremity.
The EGGS are laid in September and October
on the leaf stalks of pile-wort (Ranunculus
Ficaria), on the shining leaves of which the
CATERPILLAR foods: they are not generally
hatched for two or three weeks, and then eat
but little, making very small holes in the
leaves of the pile-wort; I cannot, however,
find that there is anything like hybernation,
except, perhaps, during hard frost, when most
caterpillars become torpid : the caterpillars
are full grown in April and May. It rests in
a nearly straight position on the leaf-stalks of
the pile-wort, but falls off, and rolls in a ring
on being disturbed: the head is smooth,
shining, and narrower than the second Seg-
ment; the body is velvety, nearly uniformly
cylindrical, but with the dorsal surface of the
twelfth segment rather swollen. The colour
of the head is fulvous-yellow, reticulated with
brown, and there are two longitudinal streaks
of brown on the face. The body in some
specimens is grayish-yellow, in others grayish-
dove-coloured, and again in others green, or
blue-green. The first of these is the most
common, and has the markings most distinct;
but in each of the others the markings are to
be traced, although they are very incon-
spicuous; there is a medio-dorsal series of
rather darker lozenge-shaped markings, placed
point to point, and connected by a rather
paler slender medio-dorsal stripe, which passes
through the entire series. On each side the
series of lozenges is a slender stripe just
touching their lateral points; each of the
dorsal lozenges has four white dots, and each
dot has a black anterior margin; one of these
white dots is situated at each outer angle of
the lozenge, and another half way between this
and the anterior point; the latoral narrow
stripe which touches the lateral angles of the
lozenges is succeeded by a broad stripe, and
this has two white dots on its lower border
in each segment; the spiracles are yellow,
delicately surrounded with black: the legs
are pale, dingy flesh-colour, with brown tips;
the claspers are of the same colour, with
brown disks. When full-fed, it makes a loose
cocoon of grains of carth and silk, and therein
changes to a CHRYSALIs of a deep shining red
colour, and having a projection at the tip,
which is armed with two slender spines, which
are rather distant at the base, but curve
slightly inwards, and approach at the tips.

NOCTUAS.
405
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and seems to be common in one
or two localities on the south coast of Sussex,
as near Brighton and near Lewes, but has not
been taken elsewhere. (The scientific name
is Trigonophra empyrea.)
Obs. 1. The prior name of this species is
Flammea : it is the Noctua flammea of Esper,
Borkhausen, and Engramel: it has been
changed to avoid conflicting with another
Noctua of the same name. I am indebted to
Boisduval’s “Collection des Chenilles” for my
description of the caterpillar.
Obs. 2. I can find no affinity between this
species and Meticulosa, with which it has been
associated ; both the caterpillar and perfect
insect agree better with the genus Hadena :
when placed between Meticulosa and Lucipara
it seems to dissever a very natural alliance.
636. The Small Angle-Shades (Euplexia lucipara).
636. THE SMALL ANGLE-SIIADES.—The palpi
are rather long, decidedly porrected, and
widely separated; the antennae are slightly
ciliated in the male, quite simple in the
female: the fore wings are nearly straight on
the costa, and scalloped on the hind margin;
their colour is rich umber-brown, with a paler
transverse band between the reniform and the
hind margin, and this band is intersected
throughout by a slender brown line; the orbi-
cular is scarcely to be traced ; it is large,
nearly devoid of outline, and nearly of the
same colour as the general area; the reniform
is large, conspicuous, and almost white, with
a darker linear shade in the middle : the hind
wings are smoke-coloured, rather paler at the
base, and having the rays and a discoidal spot
rather darker; they have several waved lines
parallel with the hind margin, which is dis-
tinctly scalloped : the head and thorax are
dark brown, the body Smoky-brown, and very
decidedly crested.
The GATERPILLAR rolls in a very rigid ring
when touched. The head is shining, pale,
pellucid-green; the body gradually tapers
towards the head, but increases in size
towards the anal extremity, rising almost
into a hump on the twelfth segment; its
colour is opaque, but delicate green on
the back, gradually paler on the sides until
this colour merges in a white stripe below
the spiracles; the belly below this white
stripe is of a more intense green than the
back; on each side is a series of rather
darker oblique lines than the rest of the
back, these are very indistinct; meeting on
the back they combine to form indistinctly-
pronounced V-shaped markings, pointing back-
wards, and their apices meeting on a central
very narrow paler stripe : there are two con-
spicuous white dots on the twelfth segment,
and others less observable on various parts of
the body. It feeds on the common brakes
(Pteris aquilina), and sometimes on the male
fern (Dryopteris Filia;-mas). Mr. Doubleday
has occasionally found it on nettles.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is universally distributed in Great
Britain and Ireland. (The scientific name is
Euplexia lucípara.)
637. The Green Arehes (Aplecta herbida).
637. THE GREEN ARCHES.—The palpi are
porrected and scarcely at all curved upwards;
the second joint is densely scaly, the third
somewhat pointed; the antennie are almost
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
slightly curved on the costal, and slightly
waved on the hind margin; their colour is
gray-greeminterspersed with numerous sharply-
defined black markings and a few white ones,


406
MOTHS.
BRITISH
which give it a variegated appearance; the
discoidal spots are outlined in pure black, but
their median area is so nearly filled up with
the ground-colour as to render them incon-
spicuous : there is a large pale blotch outside
the reniform, a white dot at the base of the
wing, another near the base of the inner
margin, and a series of four white spots seated
on the wing-rays and parallel with the lower
half of the hind margin ; several zigzag trans-
verse lines cross the wing, but are inconstant
in colour and intensity : the hind wings are
dark smoky-brown with a pale fringe : the
antennae are white at the base; the head and
front of the thorax are pale gray; the disk of
the thorax is darker, and the body smoke
colour.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position, but falls from its food-plant, rolled in
a compact ring, when annoyed; the head is
porrected, rather flattened, obscurely trian-
gular, and not notched on the crown; it is
narrower than the second segment, into which
it can be partially withdrawn; the body is
obese and velvety, rather narrowed towards
the head, and rather swollem and dorsally
elevated on the twelfth segment; the head
is very glabrous, of a testaceous-red colour,
and having two very dark, almost black lines
down the face; the body is plum-coloured
with a double series of large dark spots
occupying a great portion of the dorsal area;
each pair of these spots forms a kind of semi-
circle, the convexity of which is posterior,
the straight portion anterior, and a pale and
narrow medio-dorsal stripe divides each semi-
circle; there is a rather dark stripe on each
side including the spiracles which are pale ;
the legs are testaceous-red like the head and
the ventral area and claspers, and rather paler
than the dorsal area : the general colour of
the body may be described as plum-colour or
violet-brown. It feeds on dock (Rumex) and
other low-growing plants.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and has occurred in most of our English
counties north and south, extending its range
into Scotland. Mr. Birchall says it is widely
distributed, and common in many places in
Ireland. (The scientific name
herbida.)
is Aplecta
638. The Great Brocade (Aplecta occulta).
638. THE GREAT BROCADE.-The palpi are
slightly incurved, and sometimes almost con-
nivent at the tips; the second joint is very
slender at the base; the fore wings are almost
straight on the costal margin, and scalloped on
the hind margin ; their colour is very dark
smoky-gray almost black, with two transverse
pale gray zigzag lines, the first nearly straight
and situated before the orbicular, the second
much bent and beyond the reniform ; the
orbicular is oblique, it has a pale gray circum-
scription and darker median area ; the reni-
form is less distinct, its circumscription is also
pale gray, and its median area dark smoke-
colour: the hind wings are smoky with a
white fringe : the head, thorax, and body are
very dark.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a straight position,
but falls to the ground rolled in a compact
ring if annoyed : the head is narrower than
the second segment, and the face is rather
flattened; the body is almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but there is a slight diminution in
circumference towards the head : the anal
claspers are rather long, stretched out behind,
and spreading ; the colour of both head and
body is a rich bistre-brown, the head shining

NOCTUAS.
and having a median pale line, and a pale
patch on each check; the body is adorned
with five pale stripes extending the entire
length of the caterpillar; one of these is
narrow and medio-dorsal; this is followed by
a pale lateral stripe which in each segment
emits a short oblique branch directed back-
wards; then follows on each side a white
stripe in the immediate region of the spiracles;
on the dorsal area of each segment are two
distinct white spots on each side of the narrow
medio-dorsal stripe; the ventral area, legs,
and claspers are rather paler than the dorsal
area. The CHRYSALIS is subterranean, of a dull
dead black colour, with a very conical body
and two sharp bristles like spines directed
backwards from the thirteenth segment. It
feeds on primrose (Primula acaulis) and other
low-growing plants.
The MoTH appears on the wing in July, and
has occasionally been taken in the Isle of
Wight, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, Cheshire,
Lancashire, Yorkshire, and in Scotland, but I
cannot find that it has been met with in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Aplecta
occulta.)
Obs.—The northern specimens are remark-
able for their dark colour, some of them being
almost black.
639. The Gray Arches (Aplecta nebulosa).
639. The Gray Arches (Apleeta nebulosa).
639. THE GRAY ARCHES. — The palpi are
porrected; the second joint is rather slender
at the base and stouter at the tip, which gives
it a clavate form ; the antennae are almost
simple in both sexes; the costal margin of the
fore wings is very slightly arched, the margin
very slightly scalloped; their colour is either
pale whitish-gray, or dark smoky-gray; in
both cases they are marbled and mottled with
darker shades; the discoidal spots are distinct;
the orbicular is nearly circular, generally of a
pale gray, with a central dark spot; the reni-
form has a dark circumscription, and a reni-
form figure outlined in its median area : the
hind wings are Smoky-gray and pale at the
base; the thorax is crested and variegated
with two shades of gray; the body is crested
and Smoky-gray. . .
The head of the CATERPILLAR is porrected
and somewhat exserted, although rather nar-
rower than the second segment; it is almost
triangular in shape and very glabrous; the
body is obese, and the segments are very
strongly marked, each being somewhatswollen
in the middle ; it tapers gradually at the
anterior extremity, and rapidly and suddenly
at the posterior extremity; the surface is soft
and velvety: the colour of both the head and
body is wainscot-brown on the dorsal surface,
shaded to pale, sickly, and semi-transparent
olive-brown on the belly; there is a dark
;
!
!


4.08
MOTHS.
BRITISH
brown mark on the head, single at the mouth,
but divided towards the crown ; the second
segment has a shining plate and a somewhat
kite-shaped mark, the apex pointing back-
wards; the third and fourth segments have
each a narrow median dark mark, single and
united in front, but forked and spreading
behind, and each prong of the fork terminates
in a circular black dot; the following segments
(the fifth to the eleventh inclusive) have each
a dorsal lozenge, the anterior half of which is
pale, and contains two circular black dots, the
posterior half is dark; a delicately slender
pale medio-dorsal stripe passes through the
entire series of these lozenges; on each side
of the caterpillar is a darker shade just above
the spiracles, but not amounting to a stripe;
its ventral boundary is rather abruptly defined,
but it is without a dorsal boundary ; within
this shade there is a single dot on the fifth
segment, two spots on the sixth, and two
oblique lines pointing backwards on the re-
mainder. It probably feeds on low-growing
plants in the autumn, but is rarely met with
before hybernation, which frequently takes
place in the stems of thistles: in early spring
it ascends the stems of sallows (Salia, caprea),
white-thorn (Cratagus oayacantha), birch
(Betula alba), &c., and devours the young buds
and opening leaves, and is full-fed in April and
May, after hybernation ; it then changes to a
curry SALIS beneath the surface of the earth :
the chrysalis is rich dark brown with a rather
long cylindrical body, and has two strong
straight bristles at the tip around which there
are soveral short hooks. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is very commonly found resting on
park-palings and similar fences: it is abun-
dant in the South of England, and is widely
distributed in the North and in Scotland; and
Mr. Birchall informs us it is also widely dis-
tributed in Ireland, and common in many
places. (The scientific name is Aplecta nebu-
bosa).
Obs.—I am indebted to Mr. Bond for the
loan of the extraordinary specimens repre-
sented in the right-hand column of the
preceding page.
640. The Silvery Arches (Aplecta tincta).
640. The SILVERY ARCHES.—The palpi are
connivent or curved towards each other, the
terminal joint being rendered inconspicuous
by the scaliness of the second ; the antennae
are nearly simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are siightly arched beyond the middle
of the costal margin ; their colour is pearly-
gray, very glossy, and somewhat silvery,
which tint predominates in a broad band
parallel with the hind margin, and bounded
by a waved dark brown line; the upper
median area of the wing is clouded with
brown ; the discoidal spots are present, but
very inconspicuous, the orbicular is generally
filled up with silvery gray : the hind wings
are smoke-coloured, the rays being rather
darker, and they have a waved white line
parallel with the anal portion of the hind
margin; the fringe is also white : the palpi
and face are brown ; the crown of the head
and front of the thorax are very pale gray;.
the disk of the thorax is pale brown ; the
body is crested and Smoky-brown.
The CATERPILLAR falls off its food-plant,
feigns death, and rolls in a ring when touched
or disturbed; its head is Small in proportion
to the body; its body soft and fleshy, the
divisions of the segments being very distinctly
marked by depressed rings: on the segments
themselves are numerous depressions; and
along the sides, in the region of the spiracles,
The colour
of the head is shining testaceous-brown; of
the body, pale raw sienna-brown, sprinkled
with both white and black markings, so small
as to be scarcely perceptible to the naked eye,
and having also a very inconspicuous double
medio-dorsal stripe composed of black dots,
the intervening very narrow space being
are various conspicuous skin-folds.

NOCTUAS.
409
nearly white; the spiracles arc black; the
egs and claspers of the same colour as the
body. It feeds on birch (Betula alba), and
those in confinement seemed to be nearly
full-grown at the end of October, when they
hybernate. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, but cannot be called common ; it has
occurred at Plymouth, in the New Forest,
Hampshire, in Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Essex,
Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire,
Shropshire, and also in Scotland, so that its
geographical range in Great Britain is ex-
tensive, but I do not find it recorded for
Ireland. (The scientific name is Aplecta
tincta.) *
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#º
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641. The Pale-shining Brown (Aplecta advena).
641. THE PALE-SIIINING BROWN. — The
palpi are very slightly porrected, and some-
what connivent at the tip; the antennae are
nearly simple, but those of the male are mani-
festly stouter than those of the female; the
fore wings are scalloped on the hind margin ;
their colour is pale wainscot-brown, with the
slightest possible tinge of red; the discoidal
spots are very indistinct; the reniform has a
white outer border, more particularly apparent
at the lower extremity; parallel with the hind
margin is a darker, but interrupted and un-
certain line, which dilates into a kind of blotch
near the anal angle : the hind wings, head,
thorax, and body are dingy gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR feeds by night, on lettuce,
knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare), and many
other plants, but buries itself during the day
just below the surface of the earth; when an-
noyed it rolls itself in a ring, generally lying
on its side, the legs and claspers being visible;
it is full-fed at the beginning of September,
and is then very obese; the head is generally
porrected in crawling, glābrous, narrower than
the second segment, into which it is partially
withdrawn at the will of the insect; the
second segment is narrower than the others,
and has on its back a semicircular glabrous
plate, the convex margin of which is directed
backwards; the body is almost uniformly
cylindrical; the thirteenth segment is very
small; the anal claspers are very approximate
and inconspicuous; the colour of the head is
pale semi-transparent brown, that of the
dorsal surface of the body very pale brown,
tinged with Smoky brown; there is a narrow
medio-dorsal stripe of darker brown, tinged
with olive-brown, and on each side of this is a
broader testaceous stripe; the spiracles are
bright sienna-brown, margined with black;
the ventral surface, legs, and claspers very
pale semi-transparent olive-brown; all the
colours and every part of the body have
smoke-coloured reticulations variously ar-
ranged : some of these assume the form of
four dorsal dots on each segment, but all the
colours and markings are confused and obscure.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July and has occurred in most of our English
counties and also in Scotland, but, I think,
not in Ireland. (The scientific name is Aplecta
adrena.)
642. The Beautiful Brocade (IIadena satura).
642. THE BEAUTIFUL BRocADE.-The palpi
are rather long and very decidedly porrected ;
the second joint is not very sealy, it is un-
usually slender towards the base, but stouter
towards the tip, the terminal joint is small
and short; the antennae are rather stout in the
male, but simple in both sexes: the fore wings
are ample, the costal margin is rather arched
towards the tip, the hind margin is scalloped
rather slightly throughout the principal part
of its length, but very deeply at the anal angle;


BRITISH
MOTHS.
there in a slight prominence almost amounting
to a tooth, on the inner margin rather before
its middle, reminding one of the appendage
so generally observable in the genus Notodonta;
the colour of the fore wings is rich umber-
brown, a good deal marbled and mottled with
browns of other shades; the two discoidal
spots are conspicuous, and have an unusually
indented and irregular circumscription; their
colour is testaceous-brown, but the reniform
has a long dark cloud extending parallel with
its interior border, and the orbicular has also
a dark central cloud; a large blotch of tes-
taceous-brown is situated within the anal
angle of the wing; there is a series of pale
dots on the hind margin, one at the point of
each tooth of the scalloped margin, and a
series of corresponding black dots, one in each
hollow of the scalloped margin; within these,
but still parallel with the hind margin, is a
pale brown and interrupted zigzag line;
below the discoidal spots, and parallel with
the inner margin, is a large and diffused, but
very dark blotch : the hind wings have an
irregular outline; they are of a gray-brown
colour, slightly glossed and iridescent, paler
towards the base, and having a vague crescentic
discoidal spot in the middle, and a series of
very slender crescentic markings on the ex-
treme margin : the head and thorax have the
same colour as the fore wings, the body the
Same colour as the hind wings.
I believe Freyer is the only entomologist
who has obtained the caterpillar of this
species; the head is represented as of nearly
the same width as the second segment, rather
gibbous in the checks, and very slightly
notched on the crown; the body is uniformly
cylindrical, as far as and including the
twelfth segment, the thirteenth very much
narrower and smaller; the anal claspers are
stretched out behind, and rather spreading, the
colour of the head and dorsal area is pale
testaceous-brown, each side of each segment
having an oblique darker line, each pair of
these lines forming the letter V, the point of
which is directed backwards; an interrupted
medio-dorsal series of black spots passes
through each of these W’s, and the first and
second of these dorsal spots is accompanied by
a smaller white spot : the ventral area is pale
ochreous-green, and the legs and claspers par-
take of the same colour; a very narrow but
distinct white stripe separates the dorsal from
the ventral area.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and two specimens are said to have been taken
in England—one in Oxfordshire, the other in
Cambridgeshire—and one in the county Wick-
low, in Ireland, by Mr. Bristow. (The scien-
tific name is Hadena Satura.)
643. The Northern Arches (Hadena assimilis).
643. THE NoFTHERN ARCHES.—The palpi
are porrected, distant at the base, extremely
sharp-pointed, and rather incurved or approxi-
mating towards the tips; the antennae are
perfectly simple in both sexes: the fore wings
are ample and densely clothed with scales;
their colouris the richest umber-brown, almost
black, and glossed with purple; the discoidal
spots are distinctly outlined in ochreous-
white, but there is a solution of continuity,
or almost so, on the inner side of each ; at the
base of the wing is a pale spot, and the disk
of the wing is traversed by two transverse
Zigzag pale brown lines, one within the
orbicular, the other without the reniform ;
the hind marginal area between this second
transverse line and the hind margin itself is
traversed by eight pale parallel wing-rays,
and each joins a slender pale marginal line;
a minute white spot appearing at each junc-
tion: the hind wings are smoky towards the
hind margin, but paler at the base, and
having a distinct crescentic discoidal spot;
the fringe is rather paler than the disk of the
wing, and there is a delicate pale line on the
hind margin itself, similar to that on the fore
wings: the head and thorax are exactly of

NOCTUAS.
the same colour as the fore wings; the thorax
is very stout and densely clothed with scales;
the body has more the colour of the hind wings.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June.
Mr. Doubleday has a pair of this insect
taken at Rannock; Mr. Shepherd also has a
specimen taken in Scotland by the late Mr.
Weaver, and Mr. Stainton one taken by
himself at rest, also in Scotland. (The Scien-
tific name is Hadena assimilis.) .
Obs. It seems desirable here to say a few
words concerning Crymodes eaculis, a species
to which the present insect, Hadena assimilis,
has been referred by Dr. Staudinger. In the
first place I would remark that, supposing
ºry modes evulis and Iſadena assimilis to be
identical, it is a remarkable instance of one
genus assuming the character of another, for
I can in no respect distinguish generically the
two insects under consideration, and yet the
caterpillar of Evulis, as described and figured
by Millière, seems to have little or no re-
semblance to the caterpillar of an Hadena.
Seeing that the name of Crymodes evulis
(should it not rather be Crymodis Evul)
has been introduced into our list, it seems
desirable to give figures and a description of
authentic continental specimens of that insect
kindly lent me by Mr. Doubleday, and quote,
from Millière's inestimable works, a description
of the caterpillar.
The Exile (Crymodes eaulis).
The palpi are inconspicuous, almost hidden
beneath the very slightly projecting scales of
the head; the fore wings are dark brown,
tinged with ochreous or saffron, the discoidal
spots being paler; the reniform is large and
amorphous, the outer border being strongly
toothed or divided into points; there is a
darker band across the middle of the wing,
including the orbicular, but only touching the
reniform ; this band is interrupted longitudi-
nally by two paler wing-rays; the hind mar-
ginal area is also darker, and is interrupted by
eight paler parallel rays; very near the tip of
the wing is a rather conspicuous transversely-
placed palespot on the costa; the hindwings are
saffron-brown towards the base, smoky-brown
towards the hind margin; there is a slightly
darker median transverse line, and a paler
fringe tinged with saffron: the head, thorax,
and body are very nearly the same colour as
the fore wings. -
The EGG is deposited by the provident
parent on the stem of a grass, generally on
some species of Poa, and the young CATER-
PILLAR emerges after a few days, and then at
once introduces itself into the stem by gnaw-
ing a small hole just below the first septum ;
it feeds on the interior, making its way gra-
dually downwards, head foremost, until it has
arrived at the root. Winter, always so early
in the north of Europe, is still more prompt
in making its appearance in Iceland, the native
country of this species, which is then in the
caterpillar state: at its approaches these
caterpillars hasten to shelter themselves from
the severity of the cold, under that dense bed
of moss or lichen with which almost the whole
surface of the island is covered : in this vege-
table bed they form long galleries, or mines,
and in these they remain in a state of tor-
pidity for many months. On the arrival of
spring the caterpillar attains its full size,
and if sought for at that season will readily be
found, the long galleries which it has formed
among the lichens revealing its presence to the
entomologist. About the middle of June—
that is to say, seven or eight months after
burying itself in the lichen, it appears to be
full-fed. -
In its mysterious economy the caterpillar

412 BRITISH
MOTHS.
of this species resembles those of the great
genus Agrotis, which generally live concealed
near the roots of low plants, or even among
the roots themselves; it possesses, moreover,
the maggot-like appearance and the obscure
colouring of the greater number of these sub-
terranean caterpillars: it is elongate, stout,
cylindrical, and transversely wrinkled, and
has a horny dorsal plate on the second and
thirteenth segments, which are more wrinkled
than the others, slightly tinged with yellow
above, and exhibit certain indistinct indica-
tions of a medio-dorsal and lateral stripes; the
head is of moderate size, spherical and notched
on the crown; it is very shining and of a red-
dish colour, with brown mandibles and ocelli;
the legs are of the same colour as the head,
but black at the extremities; the claspers are
of the same colour as the body, with the ex-
ception of the terminal disks, which are brown :
the spiracles are oval and black, and are ren-
dered very conspicuous by their contrast with
the pale ground colour; the corneous plate of
the second segment, occupying its entire dorsal
surface, is of a reddish-yellow colour, but
paler than the head; the corneous plate of the
thirteenth segment is also brown, and cor-
responds in colour with that on the second ;
the trapezoidal warts are not larger than the
other bristle-bearing warts, and in like manner
emit short black hairs. -
It spins itself a slight cocoon in the lichen,
and in this changes to a CHRYSALIS, which is
smooth, shining, rather elongate, and of a red-
dish-brown colour, and has absolutely no
character by which it can be distinguished
from the general run of Noctua chrysalids,
unless it be that the last segment of the body,
which is browner, is square at the extremity,
and ends in four short points, of which the
two in the middle are rather longer than
those on the outside. -
The MOTII appears on the wing in July, and
has been brought in great numbers from Ice-
land. It flies during the day, and may some-
times be seen flying in crowds about the
flowers scattered sparingly over the surface of
the ground. The species has also been found
in Labrador, Kamtschatka, Lapland, and the
Arctic regions of North America. (The scien-
tific name is Crymodes eaculis.)
There can be no doubt that the natural situ-
ation for this species is between Dasypolia
Templi and the genus Xylophasia.
644. The Dark Brocade (Hadena adusta).
644. THE DARK BROCADE.-The palpi are
slightly porrected, the Second joint clothed
with long bristly scales, the terminal joint is
comparatively slender, and square at the tip;
the antennae are slightly pectinated in the
male, simple in the female : the fore wings
are waved on the hind margin, but scarcely
scalloped; their colour is rich dark umber-
brown, the discoidal spots being perceptible,
but indistinct; their central area is of the
same colour as the general area of the wing;
the circumscription of the orbicular is black
and very slender ; the reniform is narrow, its
outer border ZigZag and pale ochreous; parallel
with the hind margin of the wing is a pale
zigzag line, on the interior border of which
rest a series of very dark wedge-shaped marks,
the tips of which point towards the base of the
wing; the entire area of the wing is mottled
and marbled with darker and paler patches
and lines, none of them very conspicuous : the
hind Wings are pale gray at the base, gradu-
ally shading to Smoky-brown towards the hind
margin, the discoidal spot and wing-rays being
dark and very distinct ; the fringe is pale,
intersected throughout by a waved darker
line: the head and thorax are dark umber-
brown, the latter crested at the base; the
body is slightly crested on the back and tufted
along the sides; it is gray-brown with long
paler scales at the base.
The EGG is laid in June on the leaves
of many garden plants, and the CATERPILLAR
emerges in August ; at first it is a dingy
green colour and without markings: it attains
º

NOCTUAS.
413
its full growth before the end of Septem-
ber, and then rests in nearly a straight
position on the twigs of the sallow, but when
annoyed it falls to the ground rolled in a
compact ring and feigns death; in this posture
it remains but a few seconds, and then re-
ascends the stems of the sallow with great
activity. At this period it nearly abandons
the leaves of the sallow as food, and feeds
almost exclusively on those swollen flower-
buds which contain the male catkins of the
ensuing year : the head is semi-porrect, sub-
globose, highly glabrous, and scarcely narrower
than the second segment: the body is almost
imperceptibly attenuated at the anterior ex-
tremity, otherwise uniformly cylindrical; the
dorsal surface transversely wrinkled ; the
colour of the head is dingy green, reticulated
with brown; the dorsal surface of the body is
pale purple-brown, inclining to pink on the
second, third, and fourth segments, and ob-
scurely reticulated throughout with smoky-
brown ; the spiracles are very pale wainscot-
brown, almost white, and are surrounded with
jet black rings; the ventral surface is pale
olive-green, sprinkled with dingy white, many
of the white markings emitting pale hairs;
the claspers are concolorous with the ventral
surface; the legs are pale transparent green,
tipped with pink. Turing October these
caterpillars may be found at night feeding
on low-growing plants, but in the daytime
they invariably secrete themselves in the
ground or under leaves: when full-fed they
enter the ground, each forming a hybernacu-
lum, in which it remains until April, and then
assumes the CIIRYSALTs state.
Mr. Buckler has described two varieties of
the caterpillar as under :-
Par. 1.-The ground colour is a brilliant
yellow, the upper surface suffused with deep
rose pink; the dorsal stripe composed of two
darker pink lines, confluent at the beginning
of each segment, forming a spot; the sub-
dorsal stripe bright yellow, only visible on the
anterior halves of the segments; the tubercular
spots and two transverse streaks near the end
of each segment also of the bright yellow
ground colour.
War. 2.-A dull pale yellowish-green, the
dorsal stripe faintly outlined with orange-red,
with a spot at the segmental divisions; sub-
dorsal line of the same colour, but interrupted
on the hinder half of each segment ; tubercular
dots red, and situated on the faint reddish
outlines of diamonds, which are very delicately
freckled within ; spiracles white ringed with
black.
The MOTII appears on the wing towards the
end of May, and has been taken in most of
our English and Scotch counties, and Mr.
Birchall informs us that in Ireland it is com-
mon and widely distributed. (The scientific
name is IIadena adusta.) -
645. The Brindled Green (Hadena Proteus).
645. THE BRINDLED GREEN.—The palpi are
slightly porrected, the second joint clothed
with bristly scales, the terminal joint also
rather scaly; the antennae are nearly simple
in both sexes; the fore wings are waved on
their hind margin, their colour is a variegated
mixture of black, white, and green, the
boundary of each colour being sharply de-
fined; the orbicular is almost wholly white,
the median area having a few scattered black
and green scales; the reniform is oblique and
indistinct ; below the discoidal spots, and
often united with the orbicular, is a pale

414
BRITISH MOTHS.
blotch of about the same size, but this is
inconstant and colour ; it
Sometimes forms an obscure triangle in con-
junction with the two discoidal spots; parallel
with the hind margin is a bent transverse
series of white dots; the hind wings are
smoky-brown, rather paler at the base ; the
hind margin is waved, the fringe is paler than
the general area, and is intersected through-
out by a slender darker line; the head and
thorax are richly mottled like the fore wings,
the body Smoky-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position, but falls from its food-plant rolled in
a compact ring when annoyed : the head is of
nearly the same width as the second segment,
the body is almost uniformly cylindrical, soft
and velvety : the head is gray, tinged with
testaceous-brown, and having a very slender
darker median line, and a rather broader dark
stripe down each cheek; the body is pale
gray or putty-coloured, with a treble medio-
dorsal stripe, the interior division being almost
white, the exterior divisions nearly black, and
each projecting a decided lateral lobe into the
middle of each segment ; on each side there is
a less distinct stripe of a smoky-brown colour;
this stripe emits a rather slender branch,
directed obliquely backwards and upwards;
the ventral surface is nearly of the same
colour as the dorsal area, but has a tendency
to greem between the claspers and between
the legs.
The MOTH appears on the wing in Sep-
tember, and seems to be very generally dis-
tributed in England and Scotland, and Mr.
Birchall says it is common in the county
Wicklow in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Iſadena Proteus.)
Obs. 1.-The beautiful varieties represented
in the second and third figures are kindly lent
me by Mr. Bond and Mr. Wenman, purposely
to illustrate this work.
Obs. 2.-It will be observed that I have
restored the proper name “Proteus” to this
species, it having been previously changed to
in form, size,
“Protea” in order to make it agree with the
genus Hadena. Entomologists have rather
peculiar views about the construction of Latin,
but I do not consider myself under any obli-
gation to depart from the ordinary rules of the
language as we find it in the classics. -
646. The Glaucous Shears (Hadena glauca).
646. THE GLAUCOUs SHEARS.—The palpi
are porrected and rather distant, the scales
rough and hair-like ; the antennae are simple:
the colour of the fore wings is smoky-black,
much variegated with gray, and having the
discoidal spots of a chalky whiteness, with a
slight median shade; the reniform is very
conspicuous, the orbicular less so, and there is
an oblong pale spot below the orbicular, also
less distinct; the other markings are sharply
defined, but of the same colours—smoky-
black and gray; the fringe is spotted; the
hind wings are gray-brown, with a small
black discoidal spot and a whitish fringe : the
head and thorax are variegated like the fore
wings, the body plain gray-brown, like the
hind wings; it is crested, the tips of the
crests being darker.
The CATERPILLAR, when full-fed, rests in
a nearly straight position, but falls off its food-
plant and rolls in a compact ring when dis-
turbed; the head is narrower than the second
segment, and very shining; its colour is pale
testaceous-brown, reticulated with darker
brown; the body is smooth and cylindrical ;
its colour is umber-brown, and reticulated,
like the head, with a darker tint; there is a
narrow and somewhat interrupted medio-dorsal º
stripe, and a double series of oblique markings
on each side of this stripe; each mark has a
portion darker and a portion lighter than the
general ground colour; there is a rather
broad and very distinctly defined side-stripe of
a dingy white colour, extending from the head
to the extremity of the anal claspers; the
spiracles are white; the belly is dingy brown
and the claspers concolorous. It feeds on

NOCTUAS.
415
the sallow (Salix caprea), and will eat let-
tuce freely in confinement. At the beginning
of August my specimens, for which I am in-
debted to Mr. W. Johnson, of Liverpool,
changed to CHRYSALIDs on the surface of the
earth: these were dark brown and shining,
and had two very distinct incurved spines
seated on the broad wrinkled tip of the body;
each segment of the body had also a ring of
short spines, like those of the goat-moth
chrysalis.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and seems to be a northern species; it is, how-
ever, said to have occurred in Worcestershire,
Shropshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, the Lake
District, and Yorkshire; it is reported to be
common also in Scotland. (The scientific
name is Iſadena, glauea.)
647. The Shears (Hadena dentina).
647. THE SHEARS.—The palpi are very in-
conspicuous, scarcely porrected, and almost
connivent; the antennae are simple: the fore
wings are gray with the slightest possible
tinge of wainscot-brown ; they have a darker
median band, broad on the costa, and narrow
on the inner margin : this band contains both
the discoidal spots; these are clearly defined,
pale gray with a darker median cloud; the
wing-rays passing through this band are also
pale gray: the hind margin is chiefly occupied
by a darker band-like shade, which is inter-
sected throughout by a pale zigzag line: the
hind wings are gray-brown with slightly
darker rays, and a pale fringe : the head,
thorax, and body are dark gray, variegated
with paler gray; the body is crested, the tips
of the crests being darker. -
The head of the CATERPILLAR is narrower
than the Second segment, into which it is
partially received; the body is almost uni-
formly cylindrical and smooth, but emitting a
few scattered hairs from each segment; it is
of a dull opaque ground-colour, and has a
medio-dorsal series of lozenge-shaped markings
placed end to end, and forming a continuous
chain; this chain has a white border on each
side following the outline of the lozenge; each
side of the caterpillar has three parallel stripes
in the region of the spiracles, the middle one
darker than the others; the legs and claspers
are concolorous with the body. It feeds on the
roots of dandelion, an 1 when full-fed changes
to an opaque dark brown CHRYSALIS, emitting
singular spines from the body, the posterior
of which, those on the twelfth segment, are
the largest and most conspicuous.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and is of general occurrence throughout
England and Scotland. Mr. Birchall says it
is widely distributed, and often very common
in Ireland. (The scientific name is Hadena
dentina.)
648. The Stranger (Hadena peregrina).
648. The STRANGER.—The palpi are por-
rected and connivent, the terminal joint conical
and nearly naked; the antennae are simple, the
fore wings are nearly straight on the costa,
blunt at the tip and slightly scalloped on the
hind margin; their colour is gray, tinged with
pale wainscot-brown, and having certain in-
distinct and confused markings, both paler
and darker than the ground colour; the
orbicular spot is large, oblong, oblique and
pale; the reniform very indistinct, but having
a darker central area; parallel with the hind
margin is a pale zigzag line, which projects
two sharp teeth to the extreme margin, rather
below its middle : the hind wings are very
pale, almost white, with darker wing-rays,
but the darker portion of the wing-rays neither
reaches the base nor the margin, which is
slightly scalloped and accompanied by a
slender brown line; the head and thorax are


416
BRITISH MOTHS.
of the same colour as the fore wings, the body
of the same colour as the hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR is figured and described
with evident care in Boisduval’s “Collection
des Chenilles:” the head is greenish: the
body is sometimes of a reddish-brown colour,
and sometimes of a violet-brown ; it has, on
the back of every segment, four small black
dots, arranged in pairs between two darker
stripes, and is also covered with crowded
white dots below the spiracles; the spiracles
are white and are rendered conspicuous by
being placed each in the middle of a long
narrow black spot, and these black spots form
a very regular series, below which there is an
Orange-red stripe, bordered both above and
below with a very narrow stripe of pure
white ; and again, below this compound stripe
of white and red there are on each segment
two black dots placed obliquely; the vertical
surface is generally of a pale yellow or green;
the legs and claspers are concolorous with
the ventral surface. It feeds on the prickly
saltwort (Salsola ſali) and various species of
goosefoot (Chenopodium) from the middle of
May to the beginning of July, when it is full-
fed and spins on the surface of the ground a
very flimsy and imperfect cocoon, in which it
changes to a CHRYSALIS in about a week.
The MOTH appears on the wing continuously
from the last week in July to the beginning
of September, and is common on the shores
of the Mediterranean ; but as regards Britain,
two specimens only have been taken, both in
the Isle of Wight; one of them is in the
possession of Mr. Bond, who has most kindly
brought it to me for figuring and description
in this work. (The scientific name is Hadena
peregrina.)
649. The Nutmeg (Hadena Chenopodii).
649. THE NUTMEG.-The palpi are pop-
rected, the second joint slender and not very
scaly; the antennae are simple; the hind
margin of the fore wings is very slightly
waved; their colour is gray-brown, obscurely
mottled and lined with darker and paler
brown; both discoidal spots are traceable, but
inconspicuous; their circumscription is black
and very slender, and within this is a second
paler circumscription; three paler transverse
lines cross the wing: the first is short, near the
base, and waved, and both sides are delicately
bordered with black; the second is before thé
orbicular, also waved, and bordered on both
sides with black; the third is beyond the
reniform, zigzag, and bordered on the inside
only with black: parallel with the hind mar-
gin is a bent and zigzag pale line; the hind
wings are gray-brown, a crescentic discoidal
spot and the wing-rays being darker; the
fringe is pale; the head, thorax, and body are
gray-brown.
The EGGS are laid about Midsummer, on
the stalks and leaves of several species of
goosefoot (Chenopodium), on which the cater-
pillars appear almost exclusively to feed ; they
are full-fed about the end of August, and then
fall off their food-plant and roll into a compact
ring if annoyed. The head is narrower than
the body, and porrected in crawling; the body
is obese, uniformly cylindrical, very smooth
and velvety, the anterior extremity sometimes
extended in a leech-like manner. The head
is glabrous, opaque green, and reticulated on
the sides of the cheeks with paler markings;
the body is olive-green, delicately reticulated
with black, and having two parti-coloured
stripes on each side, the upper imperfectly de-
fined, white or pinky white, or more rarely
yellow; it extends from the head completely
round the amal flap, and is bordered above
with a series of amorphous patches of intense
velvety black; the lower stripe is narrow, but
very distinct and clearly defined; it passes,
just below the spiracles, from the head to the
anal claspers; its colour is pink, narrowly
bordered above and below with pure white;
the spiracles are also pure white, delicately
bordered with black; the belly, legs, and
claspers are pure olive-green. Such is a
description of the moro usual or normal

NOCTUAS.
417
y
-
colouring of this pretty caterpillar, but neither
of the colours seems absolutely constant, and
the dorsal surface varies from the usual
opaque green to bright apple-green, to pink,
to clear brown, and to deep olive-brown; it
is full-fed at the end of August, and changes
to a Smooth brown CHRYSALIS below the surface
of the ground. -
The MOTH appears on the wing about Mid-
Summer, stragglers being met with throughout
July. The caterpillar is much more abundant
than the moth, since it absolutely swarms on
the various species of Chenopodium which in-
variably spring up in waste places round Lon-
don. It also occurs in all the southern
counties of England, but does not extend far
north, Shropshire being its utmost limit so far
as hitherto ascertained. The name appears in
Mr. Greene's list of Irish Lepidoptera. (The
scientific name is Hadena Chenopodii.)
650. The Orache Moth (Hadena Atriplicis).
650. THE ORACHE MOTH.-The palpi are
porrected, the second joint stout and scaly,
the third slender, very distinctly exserted, and
almost naked : the antennae are simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are very straight on the
costal, slightly waved on the hind margin, and
almost rounded at the tip; their ground-colour
is gray-brown; the discoidal spots are green,
the orbicular having a pale, almost white,
circumscription, the reniform having the inner
border white, and a waved white line as well
as a gray-brown shade on the median area;
there are several other green blotches, one at
the base of the wing, another between the base
and the orbicular, but lower than either; a
third, the largest, near the anal angle, and
several others: there is also a very conspicuous
white blotch almost in the middle of the wing,
it originates at the lower outer extremity
of the orbicular, and passing obliquely below
the reniform, points towards the anal angle;
parallel with the hind margin is a much bent,
very clearly-defined whitish line, which termi-
nates at the anal angle : the hind wings are
smoky-brown, with the base and fringe pale,
and the discoidal spot darker : the head and
thorax are variegated like the fore wings, the
body plain gray-brown like the hind wings.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is porrected in
crawling, but semi-prone when at rest; it is
scarcely narrower than the second segment,
the face is flat, and the crown without a
notch ; the body is obese and rather velvety,
cylindrical, and having the dorsal surface of
the twelfth segment gibbous; it falls from its
food-plant rolled in a very compact ring when
disturbed : the colour of the head is pale tes-
taceous-brown, approaching to red, and having
a slightly darker mark down each cheek; the
dorsal surface of the body is green, but the tint
is very various, sometimes approaching to olive,
at others to yellow-green, and sometimes it is
even dark olive-green: there is a very dark
but narrow medio-dorsal stripe, and a sub-
dorsal stripe of the same width and colour,
but less clearly defined ; each of these three
stripes contains a series of pale dots, and on the
back of each segment are the usual four black
dots, of which the anterior pair are nearest
together : below the dark sub-dorsal stripe is
a bright stripe, sometimes inclining to yellow,
but generally to pink, and both the borders of
this bright stripe, which extends from the
head to the very extremity of the anal
claspers, are almost white, which makes the
stripe itself peculiarly conspicuous; this stripe
contains the spiracles, which are white; on
each side of the dorsal area of each segment is
an oblique dark streak; the ventral is rather
paler than the dorsal area; the legs and
claspers are pink, but rather dingy : it feeds
on various species of orache (Atripler), goose-
foot (Chenopodium), persicaria (Polygonum),
dock (Rumex), and many other low plants,
but only in the night, concealing itself by day
under stones or clods of earth, often at a very
considerable distance from its food-plant;
when full-fed it changes to a GIIRYSALTs beneath
*Moºrers,
EDw ART, NIºwMAN’s BRITISH
No. 27. PRICE 61), i.
N Dos : W. Twº:}; i, i F.,
7, STRAN 1).

4.18 BRITISH
MOTHS.
the surface of the ground, enclosed in a very
singular cocoon, half silk and half earth ;
these the dealers collect in great numbers and
sell at a very moderate price, and from them
are procured those fine series of moths which
appear in most of our collections: the chry-
salis is of a reddish-brown colour, and shining;
the body is conical, and terminates in a very
sharp point.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has occurred at Hampstead in Middlesex,
Buckinghamshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk,
and Cambridgeshire. (The scientific name is
Iſadena Atrip/icis.)
651. The Dog's-tooth (Hadena suasa).
651. THE Dog's-Tooth. – The palpi are
manifestly porrected, the terminal joint con-
cealed among the scales of the second; the
antennae in both sexes are simple : the colour
of the fore wings is pale dingy-brown, the
discoidal spots having a median area of the
Same colour; the orbicular has generally a
complete but very narrow black circumscrip-
tion; it is oblong and oblique ; the reniform
has a less perfect circumscription, and the
lower portion of its median area is darker
than the upper portion; there is a dark line
at the middle of the base of the wing pointing
towards the middle of the wing; parallel with
the hind margin is a very distinct but narrow
zigzag yellow line, which projects a W-shaped
mark to the hind margin, and on which rest
several dark wedge-shaped marks, the points
of which are directed towards the base of the
wing; the hind margin is usually darker than
any other part of the wing: the hind wings
are gray-brown; the head and thorax are of
the same colour as the fore wings; the body is
crested and of the same colour as the hind
wings.
In confinemont the CATERPILLAR feeds
vigorously on the common knotgrass (Poly-
gonum aviculare), and is full-fed about the
third week in J uly. It eats principally by
night, resting by day in a straight position on
those stems of its food-plant which are pros-
trate on the ground ; but, when disturbed, it
elevates the anterior part of its body, tucks
its head in tightly, and assumes an elegant
and most Sphinx-like attitude, even more
striking than that of Sphina Ligustri. If the
food-plant be shaken, it falls to the ground in
a tight compact ring: the head is narrower
than the second segment, into which it is
partially received when at rest: the body is
almost uniformly cylindrical, but slightly
attenuated at both extremities, the divisions
of the segments being decidedly but not deeply
marked ; the surface is smooth and velvety,
but exhibiting under a lens a few minute
short hairs: the colour is various; that of the
head and body of the same hue; the prevailing
varieties are obscure grass-green and olive-
brown, as in so many other of our Noctuas, the
head sometimes plain, sometimes reticulated
with darker markings, the dorsal being always
darker than the ventral area of the body, and
divided immediately below the spiracles by
a bright and very conspicuous stripe which
extends from the head into the anal claspers;
this stripe is bright ochreous-yellow, narrowly
margined above by dark umber-brown in the
browner specimens, by black in the greener
ones, and margined below by a paler stripe,
which in some specimens has a tinge of brick-
red; the dorsal surface has three indistinct
narrow stripes darker than the ground-colour,
and dividing the dorsal area into four equal
parts; these three stripes are scarcely per-
ceptible in the greener specimens, but in some
of the browner specimens are very conspicuous,
and interrupted at the divisions of the seg-
ments, and each of the exterior ones is thus
divided into a series of separate markings,
each of which is slightly oblique, and together
they constitute a tolerably regular series on
each side of the back: on each side of each
segment, equidistant between the medio-dorsal
and the interrupted stripe, is a double dot,
half black and half white ; and the entire

NOCTUAS.
W
surface is reticulated with smoky-black, and
dotted with white; the ventral is not only
paler than the dorsal area, but is slightly
transparent, and, like the dorsal area, is
reticulated with darker and dotted with
lighter markings.
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
has occurred in nearly all our English coun-
ties as far north as Yorkshire, and also in the
county Wicklow, in Ireland, but is not com-
mon in any part of that island. (The scientific
name is Hadena Suasa.)
652. The Bright-line Brown-eye (Hadena oleracea).
652. THE BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE. — The
palpi are porrected and slightly incurved at
their tips; the antennae are simple: the colour
of the fore wings is reddish-brown, the reni-
form, when perceptible, which is not always
the case, has a white circumscription, the me-
dian area being of the general ground colour;
the reniform has an interrupted circumscrip-
tion, composed of white scales, but these are
occasionally wanting ; it has also a dull
ochreous blotch towards its costal extremity :
parallel with the hind margin is a bright snow-
white line, which near its middle projects a
white W to the hind margin; the hind wings
are pale gray-brown at the base and darker
towards the hind margin, and have the fringe
again paler : the head and thorax are of the
same colour as the fore wings, the latter is
conspicuously crested; the body is gray-
brown, with long, pale, hair-like scales at the
base.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when dis-
turbed: its usual colour is pale delicate green,
less commonly clear transparent brown, always
having a narrow bright yellow stripe imme-
diately below the spiracles; above the yellow
stripe is a less distinct smoke-coloured stripe,
which gradually vanishes into the green of
the back; on the back of every segment are
several jet-black dots; on the second, third,
and fourth segments these dots form a direct
transverse series, but not on the following
segments; on each side of the caterpillar,
below the spiracles, are three or four more of
these black dots, and on the sixth, seventh,
eleventh, and twelfth segments there are
black dots on the belly; in addition to the
more conspicuous black dots, the back is
sprinkled with multitudes of ocellated and
very minute white dots: it feeds on a variety
of plants—the common nettle (Urtica dioica),
elm (Ulmus campestris), several species of dock
(ſtume.c &c., &c., and is full-fed in Sep-
tember, when it buries itself in the earth to
assume the CHRYSALIS state.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is very generally distributed in England, Scot-
land, and Ireland. (The scientific name is
J/adena oleracea.)
653. The Broom Moth (Hadena Pisi).
653. THE BROOM - MoTH.-The palpi are
porrected, the second joint very scaly, the
scales projecting beyond the tips of the third ;
the antennae are simple: the colour of the
fore wings is reddish-brown sometimes slightly
variegated, at others quite plain ; the dis-
coidal spots are inconspicuous; parallel with
the hind margin is an interrupted waved
transverse yellow line, which expands into a
blotch near the anal angle; in the variegated
and darker specimens this line is white : the
hind wings are reddish gray-brown, rather
paler at the base : the thorax is crested and
of the same colour as the fore wings, the body
of the same colour as the hind wings.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when dis-
turbed. It is very beautiful; the head is


420
BRITISH MOTHS.
shining, very pale green; the body has a broad
medio-dorsal stripe olive-green and most
delicately irrorated and margined with black;
on each side of this is a narrower stripe of
bright clear yellow ; and again, below the
yellow stripe is a broader stripe of olive-green
which, like the medio-dorsal stripe, is deli-
cately irrorated and margined with black;
then follows on each side a narrow stripe, the
upper half of which is white, the lower half
yellow; this stripe includes the spiracles;
the belly is pale green sprinkled with black
along the spiracular line; the legs and
claspers are pale green. After the last change
of skin, the green parts frequently become
rich purple-brown. It is said to feed on broom
and other shrubs, but I have invariably found.
it on the common brake (Pteris aquilina).
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
seems to be very generally distributed in
England, Scotland, and Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Hadena Pisi.)
654. The Pale-shouldered Brocade (JIadena.
(halassina).
654. The PALE-shouldFRED BRockDE.—The
palpi are scarcely porrected and inconspicuous,
the second joint being very scaly; the antennae
are simple in both sexes: the colour of the
fore wings is reddish-brown, brightly varie-
gated with darker shades; both the discoidal
spots are clearly defined by a slender black
circumscription ; the orbicular has also a
white circle within this black one : there is a
pale blotch at the base of the costal margin,
which gives its name to the species, and there
are three transverse pale lines, the first before
the orbicular and nearly direct; the second,
beyond the orbicular and much bent; and the
third, parallel with the hind margin, and near
its middle projecting a W-mark towards the
:- ge e g gº 49. 2-
hind margin ; resting on this third pale line
are two or more acutely-pointed dark wedge-
shaped marks which point towards the base of
the wing; in connection with the second of
these transverse lines, and between it and the
third, is a transverse series of six white dots,
all of them seated on the wing-rays, and each
preceded, as well as followed, by a black dot :
the hind wings are reddish gray-brown, the
wing-rays being slightly darker and the fringe
slightly paler: the thorax is crested, and, like
the fore wings, much variegated ; the body is
also crested and gray-brown, and much redder
in the male at the extremity.
The CATERPILLAR feeds freely in confine-
ment on the common knotgrass (Polygonum
aviculare), by night, almost invariably retiring
just below the surface of the earth by day.
I once observed a specimen at rest, stretched
at full length on one of the stems of knotgrass
during the day, with its back downwards and
its anal claspers stretched out behind, but
still grasping the food-plant; on being touched
it instantly rolled in a compact ring. The
head is rather narrower than the second
segment, porrected, and highly glabrous; the
body is velvety and almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but slightly attenuated anteriorly; the
twelfth segment is slightly gibbose dorsally:
the colour of the head is pale dingy brown,
delicately reticulated with darker brown; the
body is dull brown, tinged with pink, every
part beautifully and delicately reticulated
with dark umber-brown, which colour forms
a pair of oblique sub-dorsal markings; these
pairs are indistinct towards the head, but
increase in intensity to the twelfth segment,

NOCTUAS. 421
on the back of which they are united; on
each side immediately below the spiracles,
which are almost white, is a well-defined
light stripe, conspicuously tinged with pink;
the upper margin of this lateral stripe is
delicately bordered with white, the stripe
itself is reticulated, but not so conspicuously
as the dorsal surface; the ventral surface,
legs, and claspers, are slightly paler and more
semi-transparent than the back, dotted and
reticulated. It changes to a CHRYSALIS just
beneath the surface of the earth, at the end of
July.
Such is the general character and appear-
ance of the caterpillar; but as Mr. Buckler
has described some varieties which were sent
him by my friend Mr. Doubleday, I can do no
less than copy his descriptions.
War. 1.-Reddish-brown above as far as
the spiracles, a dull brown plate on the
second segment, through which the dorsal and
sub-dorsal lines are traced; the dorsal line
pale ochreous on the anterior segments, but
on the others much suffused with the ground-
colour, except at the segmental divisions,
where it reappears as an ochreous spot. The
sub-dorsal line is ochreous, and much suffused
with brown. On the fifth segment to the
twelfth, inclusive, a dorsal diamond-shape
of mottled brown, darker than the ground-
colour, and on each side a wedge-shape of
very dark brown pointing forwards, their
broad ends a little distance from the segmental
divisions, their sides edging the lower half of
the diamonds and the sub-dorsal lines. The
wedge-marks gradually increase in size towards
the twelfth segment, where they are largest
and darkest, and most conspicuous, by the
sub-dorsal line being there suddenly paler
and united by a transverse pale line at the
base of the wedges. Spiracular line black, on
which are the white spiracles, and running
immediately beneath is a pale grayish stripe, its
upper edge whitish, belly and legs brownish-
gray, head pale brown. - -
War. 2.-A rich cinnamon-brown mottled
with ochreous above; belly and legs paler,
and greenish-ochreous; dorsal and sub-dorsal
lines paler than the ground-colour, but not
very distinct, the diamond - marks hardly
visible ; the blackish wedge-marks strongly
defined, but with the addition of two or three
fine streaks of ground-colour cutting trans-
versely through them all; the tubercular dots
black in the following order: a transverse row
of eight dots on the third and fourth segments,
and on the fifth to the twelfth, inclusive; the
anterior dorsal pair distinct, the posterior pair
hardly visible by being placed in the broad
ends of the wedges, and a lateral anterior dot
midway between the sub-dorsal and black
spiracular lines; a dull brown plate on the
Second segment; head brownish-ochreous,
with a blackish stripe on each lobe from the
Crown to the mouth.
Par. 3.-A dull grayish-brown; the dorsal
and sub-dorsal lines, and penultimate trans-
verse mark, very little paler than the ground;
the tubercular dots black, the wedge-marks
black, with a thin transverse line of ground-
colour cutting them through towards the
broad end.
The MOTH appears at the end of May and
beginning of June, and seems to occur very
generally in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Hadena thalassina.)
655. The Beautiful Brocade (Hadena contigua).
655. THE BEAUTIFUL BROCADE.-The palpi
are inconspicuous, the antennae simple in both
sexes; the fore wings are beautifully mottled
and marbled with delicate shades of brown
and gray, and in the region of the reniform
there is not uncommonly a saffron tint; the
orbicular is roundish, and its median area
white; the reniform has a slender black cir-
cumscription, its median area is gray; adjoin-
ing the orbicular and passing obliquely below •
the reniform is a lozenge-shaped pale gray
spot; at the costal base of the wing there is
****---------------------- . -

BRITISH
MOTHS.
margin is
also a rather large gray spot; a transverse
waved line, not very distinct, crosses the
wing before the orbicular, and another beyond
the reniform ; these two lines are connected
below the lozenge-shaped spot already noticed
by a longitudinal black line, somewhat resem-
bling the letter I; at the middle of the base
of the wing is a second black line not so con-
spicuous as the first ; beyond the discoidal
spots is a gray band, very pale at its lowest
extremity, and between this and the hind
which are several dark wedge-shaped marks,
having their points directed towards the base
of the wing ; the hind wings are pale gray,
slightly suffused with saffron: the head and
thorax have the same colour as the fore wings;
the body is gray-brown, and crested, the tips
of the crests being dark-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rolls in a ring when
touched, but soon unrolls itself and commences
crawling with great rapidity : the head is
shining, and of a dingy green colour reticulated
with rufous-brown ; the body is orange-ochre
coloured, inclining to rufous on the back, and
to dingy yellowish-green on the sides and
belly; the rufous tint of the back is due to
reticulated markings, which are crowded and
clustered in certain parts, so as to form a
series of eleven W’s down the middle, the apex
of each V pointing towards the anal extremity;
a narrow and interrupted rufous stripe on
each side includes the spiracles. It feeds
on the common birch (Betula alba) and oak
(Quercus Robur), and is full-fed at the end of
September.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June,
and although by no means an abundant
species, seems to be widely, and I think I
may say generally, distributed in England,
Scotland, and Ireland. (The scientific name
is Hadena contigua.)
Obs.—The English names of the JTadenas
are adapted for the sake of uniformity: I
cannot say that I regard them as either very
descriptive or appropriate: the present species
for instance is not distinguished from the rest
by its greater beauty.
a zigzag white line, resting on
to 5 • 7 S-) * -
656. The Light Brocade (Hadena Genista).
656. THE LIGIIT BROCADE.-The palpi are
inconspicuous, the terminal joint small and
pointed; the antennae are simple: the fore
wings are beautifully mottled and marbled
with various tints of gray and brown; the
º º 2–
orbicular is round and has a slender black
circumscription ; the reniform has not so per-
fect a circumscription; the median area is gray
in both ; immediately below them is a longi-
tudinal blotch of rich dark brown ; at the
costal base of the wing is a rather large gray
spot, and below this a very distinct linear
longitudinal black mark; beyond the discoidal
spots is a broad pale gray band extending
entirely across the wing, and beyond this a
pale gray zigzag line accompanied by dark
margins and a few dark wedge-shaped marks
which point towards the base of the wing:
the hind wings are gray-brown with darker
wing-rays and paler fringe : the head is gray :
the thorax is gray and crested; it has a very
distinct transverse black line on the collar;
the body is gray-brown and crested.
Mr. Buckler has described the CATERPILLAR
from specimens sent him by my friend Mr.
Doubleday. He says: “When young the
colours of these catérpillars were brighter and
darker than they afterwards became, with dis-
tinct paler dorsal and sub-dorsal lines outlined
with darker and black spiracular lines. When
full-grown they were very plump creatures,
varying from an inch and five-eighths to an
inch and three-quarters in length, cylindrical
and tapering towards the head; the back and
sides, as far as the row of spiracles, of very
mottled dull brown, brownish-gray, dull
greenish-gray, deep purplish-brown, or dirty
olive-greenish—for all these tints were found
in the brood. The dorsal and sub-dorsal
stripes are outlined with darker brown, in
many instances only visible on the anterior
*N

NOCTUAS.
423
Segments, and in others also at the segmental
divisions. A series of darker brown diamond
and wedge-shaped marks down the middle of
the back, on the fifth to the twelfth segment,
inclusive; namely, on each side of these seg-
ments a diamond united to a wedge-shape on
either side, the broad ends of the wedges
extending to the end of the twelfth segment
only, and to about one-third from the ends of
the other segments, each wedge pointing
forwards reaching a third into the segment
in advance. The tubercular dots blackish,
the upper pair placed on the edges of the
diamonds, the lower pair on the broad ends of
the wedges; in the purplish-brown variety
the dots and lines are paler than the ground-
colour, and in some instances not visible. The
whitish spiracles edged with blackish are
placed along the terminal line of the above
brown colouring, and the remaining surface
below, including the legs, is of a dirty whitish
or pale drab-colour, the legs tipped with
brown. Head with two central black streaks
across the face; a dark brown plate on the
second segment, sometimes marked with one
pair, and in others two pairs, of pale spots.”
It feeds freely in confinement on chickweed
(Alsine media), and Persicaria (Polygonum), and
is full-fed by the second week in August,
when it retires just beneath the surface of the
earth to undergo pupation.
The MOTH appears on the wing at the end
of May, and occurs not unfrequently in our
Southern counties, and as far north as Worces-
ter, but I think not in Scotland: Mr. Birchall
says that it occurs in the county Wicklow,
but is not common in Ireland. (The scientific
name is Hadena Genista.)
657. The Saxon (Hadena Rectilinea).
THE SAXON.—The palpi are slightly por-
rected and have a small naked white terminal
joint; the antennae are simple; the colour of
the fore wings is a mixture of pale gray almost
white, and rich sepia-brown; the lighter colour
occupies the base of the wing, more particularly
the costal half of the base, and also the hind-
marginal area; the median area of the wing
is occupied by the sepia-brown, and includes
the discoidal spots; the orbicular is small,
obscure, and flattened longitudinally, some-
times reduced to a mere line ; it varies also in
colour, sometimes being pale gray, at others
concolorous with the brown area by which it
is surrounded ; in some instances it is a dark
line united to the reniform, of which it ap-
ears a mere appendage; the reniform is more
distinct but narrow, its usual colour is gray
with a slender median shade of brown ; the
hind-marginal aréa contains cloudy brown
marks and darker wedge-shaped marks, the
points of which are directed towards the base
of the wing ; the outer lower angle of the
gray blotch which occupies the costal portion
of the base of the wing is often prolonged into
a kind of hook, the point of which is directed
towards the base of the wing; it must, how-
ever, be admitted that the markings of the
wings are far too inconstant to afford any
reliable characters: the hind wings are gray-
brown; the head is gray; the thorax is gray,
with the sides and a transverse line in front
rich brown ; the body is gray-brown and
crested.
The EGG is laid in June, on the leaves of
sallow (Salia, caprea), and the young CATER-
PILLAR emerges in July; it feeds with great
voracity, and grows very rapidly, attaining
its full size before it retires for the winter,
which is usually about the end of October,
but sometimes earlier; in a state of nature
these caterpillars probably hybernate on the
surface of the ground, under the fallen leaves
of the sallow ; but in confinement they have a
diversity of practice, sometimes concealing
themselves in the débris, covering the earth in
the breeding-cage, sometimes ascending the
sides of the cage, and adhering to the sides or .
top : they also differ in another respect,
sometimes covering themselves with a slight
web, at other times being perfectly exposed :

424 BRITISH
MOTHS. - .
towards the end of March they appear to
become more lively, and crawl about the cage;
they are, however, much reduced in size by
the winter's abstinence; if supplied with
twigs of sallow they do not appear to eat the
opening leaves, but prepare for pupation. The
caterpillar now rests with its head frequently
turned on one side until it touches the ninth
segment; if annoyed, it falls to the ground
rolled in a compact ring, feigning death, and
remains in that posture several minutes: the
head is semi-porrect, sub-globose, highly
glabrous, slightly narrower than the second
segment: the body is nearly uniformly cylin-
drical, but slightly attenuated towards the
anterior extremity; the twelfth segment is
transversely dorsally elevated, but not very
conspicuously so; the surface is velvety and
iridescent, the iridescence resulting from the
light falling on the delicate soft short pile
with which it is covered; the anal claspers
are spreading: the colour of the head is dark
brown, and, like the body, iridescent : the
dorsal surface of the body is dark rich umber-
brown, clouded and variegated with lighter
and darker shades; a darker shade forms an
obscurely-defined medio-dorsal stripe, which
emits at the posterior margin of each segment
a branch, extending obliquely downwards and
forwards, until it reaches a broad dark lateral
stripe that terminates abruptly on a level with
the spiracles, which are wainscot-brown :
ventral surface extending upwards towards
the spiracles, purple-brown, with a bloom like
that of a ripe plum, and delicately reticulated;
twelfth segment crowned with two dorsal
yellow spots placed transversely; dorsal and
ventral surfaces separated on the second, third,
twelfth, and thirteenth segments by a yellow
line; legs and claspers reddish-brown. It
descends to the ground and undergoes pupa-
tion just below the surface of the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
seems to be entirely a northern species, oc-
curring only in Yorkshire and Scotland: Mr.
Birchall took it at Killarney, in Ireland, but
did not find it common. (The scientific name
is Hadena rectilinea.)
658. The Early Gray (Xylocampa lithorhiza).
658. TriB EARLY GRAY. —The palpi are
short and clothed with bristle-like scales, the
terminal joint is slightly porrected and naked;
the antennae are perfectly simple in both sexes,
but slightly stouter in the males than in the
females: the fore wings are rather narrow,
straight on the costa, and very slightly
scalloped on their hind margin; their colour is
gray with smoky markings; the discoidal
spots have their median area gray, their cir-
cumscriptión dark, but very incomplete; in
fact, the pale gray colour of the median area
is continued below them, so that they are
united at the lower extremity ; there is a
black longitudinal streak at the base of the
wing, and there are seven or eight very dark
wedge-shaped marks on the hind margin, and
pointing towards the base of the wing; each
of these appears attached to a very slender
crescentic line on the margin itself; the
fringe is very long and of a pale gray colour
slightly spotted with darker gray: the hind
wings are gray and slightly tinted with
ochreous iridescence ; they have a darker dis-
coidal spot, a darker transverse median line,
and a very slender dark line on the hind
margin: the head, thorax, and body are gray,
the latter is rather unusually long, and has
the basal segments crested. Mr. Doubleday
observes that, when fresh out of the chrysalis,
the whole insect is suffused with a beautiful
rose tint. .
The Egg is laid in April on the slender
stems of the honeysuckle (Lonicera periely-
menum), and the CATERPILLAR feeds on the
leaves of this favourite and familiar climber
in June, July, and August; in the last-named
month. I have found it full-grown and ready
to descend to the ground; it then rests in a
perfectly straight position with the head por-
rected, and a twig of the food-plant held
`-----,
z-i-º-
...----------. ---------------~~~~-- ~ * * * * *** * * - - - ------- . ---.”

NOCTUAS.
425
-
-
firmly by its legs and claspers; the thirteenth
segment is porrected, and at its extremity the
anal claspers are still farther extended : when
touched or otherwise annoyed, it relaxes its
hold and falls rolled in a ring; the head is
narrower than the second segment, and the
body altogether is gradually attenuated an-
teriorly, but the divisions of the segments
are well defined. The colour of both the head
and body is ochreous-gray, the head having
two blackish lines on the face, and the body
having a still paler medio-dorsal stripe inter-
sected throughout by a slender and much
interrupted darker stripe : there is an ill-
defined dark brown blotch on the back of the
eighth segment, and an indication of a similar
blotch on the ninth segment: the medio-dorsal
stripe passes through the blotch on the ninth,
but not through that on the eighth segment;
there are moreover on each side of the cater-
pillar several extremely delicate stripes both
dark and light, but these are so fine as to re-
quire a lens for their definition. The CHRYSALIS
has on each segment a bent line which appears
as though artificially sculptured, and its anal
extremity is wrinkled and squarely truncate.
The MOTH appears on the wing in March
and April: it is one of the earliest Noctuas met
with in the spring ; it is common in our
English, Welsh, and Scotch counties, and Mr.
Birchall says it is also common in the county
Wicklow in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Yylocampa lithorhiza.)
659. The Purple Cloud (Cloantha perspicillaris).
659. THE PURPLE CLOUD.—The palpi are
but slightly porrected, the second joint being
clothed with bristly scales, and the terminal
joint short and almost concealed ; the an-
tennae are slightly pilose, and alike in both
sexes: the fore wings are moderately wide,
nearly straight on the costal margin, rather
pointed at the tip, and slightly scalloped on
the hind margin; their colour is purplish-
brown, in some specimens approaching to rosy
brown; the remiform spot is present, but not
very clearly defined ; the orbicular is not
perceptible ; a long dark streak runs from the
base nearly to the middle of the wing ; there
is a transverse series of rather small wedge-
shaped spots parallel with the hind margin:
the hind wings have the median area ochreous-
gray, the hind border being rather darker :
the head, thorax, and body are gray-brown.
M. Guenée has described the CATERPILLAR
as of a reddish-brown colour, dotted with
darker brown, and as having a narrow unin-
terrupted medio-dorsal yellow stripe and a
dorsal series of indistinct brownish chevrons:
the spiracular stripe is broad, clearly defined,
continuous, and bright yellow, bordered with
darker yellow ; the head and legs are con-
colorous. It feeds in July and August on
several species of St. John’s wort (Hypericum).
There are two records of the occurrence of
this MOTH in England—one at Yarmouth, and
the second, a wing only, at Ashford, in Kent;
the latter is said to have been found in a
spider's Web. (The scientific name is Cloantha
perspicillaris.)
660. The Golden-rod Brindle (CIoantha Solidaginis).
660. The GoLDEN-Rod BRINDLE. – The
second joint of the palpi is porrected and not
very bristly, the terminal joint is short,
slender, and naked ; the antennae are very
slightly pubescent in both sexes: the fore
wings are long and narrow, the costal margin
almost straight, the tip neither pointed nor
rounded, and the hind margin waved; their
colour is gray, with a darker median band, .
which, however, is very indistinct; it con-
tains the discoidal spots; the orbiculars are
three in number—two of them very small


426 BRITISH
MOTHS.
and circular; the reniform is large and dis-
tinct, and has a white circumscription and a
white centre separated from the circumscrip-
tion by a Smoky margin, which completely
encloses it; there is a zigzag white line
parallel with the hind margin, and on this
rest two very distinct and acutely-pointed
wedge-shaped spots, pointing towards the base
of the wing; the hind wings are smoky gray;
the head, thorax, and body are also dingy
gray. - .
The CATERPILLAR is dark reddish-brown, with
the slender dorsal broad spiracular line (bor-
dered with blackish-brown) and dorsal spots
pale yellow, the latter placed on a row of
blackish blotches (Hub.) on bilberry (Pac-
cinium). (Stainton's Manual, vol. 1, p. 281.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and is exceedingly local. We are informed
by Mr. Reading that Lieutenant Reed, of the
12th Regiment, took a specimen on Sugar at
Torquay, but its favourite counties are Lan-
cashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire. It is not
mentioned in Mr. Birchall’s Irish list. (The
scientific name is Cloantha Solidaginis.)
661. The Red Sword-grass (Calocampa vetusta).
661. THE RED SworD-GRASS.—The palpi
are scarcely porrected beyond the head, their
terminal joint being hardly distinguishable
from the second joint; the antennae are almost
simple in both sexes, and rather unusually
long : the fore wings are long and narrow,
the costal margin nearly straight, the tip
obtuse, the hind margin waved ; their colour
is wainscot-brown throughout the costal half,
rich umber-brown throughout the hind-mar-
ginal half; the reniform somewhat interrupts
the division between these distinct shades;
the orbicular is scarcely to be traced : the
hind wings are smoky-brown with an ochreous
iridescence : the head and collar are wainscot-
brown; the disk of the thorax is very square,
and entirely dark rich umber-brown ; the
body is pale reddish-brown.
The Eggs are laid in March and April, but the
CATERPILLAR does not attain its full size until
July, and then rests in a nearly straight position
on the stems of scabious and other field plants,
but rolls in a ring and falls to the ground
if annoyed : the head is narrower than the
second segment, Smooth and somewhat trian-
gular; the body is stout and uniformly cylin-
drical: the colour of the head is dull apple--"
green, the second segment has a dorsal plate
of nearly the same colour; the rest of the
body is also dull green, with a medio-dorsal
and two lateral yellow stripes on each side;
between the medio-dorsal and upper lateral
stripe is a series of circular white dots, each
of which is delicately bordered with black;
the second segment is without these dots, the
third and fourth have but two each, and the
following segments as far as the eleventh have
each three; the lower lateral stripe is deeper
yellow, inclining to orange, and is bordered
above by a very fine dark brown stripe; the
spiracles are orange encircled with black; the
legs are tinged with red; the claspers dull
green; the belly glaucous. It feeds on sedge,
dock, and various species of trefoil and scabious.
When full-fed it constructs a cocoon of silk and
particles of earth on the surface of the ground,
and changes to a dark-brown shining CHRYSALIS,
armed with a black obtuse anal point, and
two approximate spines of the same colour.
The MOTH appears on the wing in Septem-
ber and October, coming freely to sugar, and
also to the blossoms of the ivy. Mr. Reading
gives a number of Devonshire localities, and
going thence northwards it has been found in
most of the English counties, and still further
north in the Highlands of Scotland, and in
the Scottish Isles. Mr. Birchall says it is
common in the counties Wicklow and Dublin,
in Ireland. (The scientific name is Calocampa
vetusta.)

NOCTUAS.
427
662. The Sword-grass (Calocampa eſcoleta).
662. THE SworD-GRASS. — The palpi are
scarcely porrected beyond the head, their ter-
minal joint being hardly distinguishable from
the second joint ; the antennae are nearly
simple in both sexes, and rather unusually
long : the fore wings are long and narrow,
very straight on the costa, blunt at the tip,
and waved on the hind margin; their colour
is ashy-gray; the discoidal spots are distinct,
and nearly of the same shape, both being
...A transversely elongate, and both also have a
double and distinct dark circumscription and
a paler central area except at the lower part
of the orbicular, which is sienna-brown ;
there is an indistinct pale ZigZag line parallel
with the hind margin, and on this rests a
single very sharp-pointed wedge-shaped spot,
the tip of which is directed towards the reni-
form : the hind wings are Smoky-gray with
paler fringe: the head and collar are ashy-
gray; the disk of the thorax is square and
dark brown; the body is pale dingy brown.
The CATERPILLAR feeds throughout May and
June, and in July, when full-fed, it rests in
a nearly straight position on a stalk of its food
plant, but falls to the ground rolled in a ring
if annoyed. The head is narrower than the
second segment, and somewhat triangular;
the body is stout and uniformly cylindrical;
the colour of the head is dull apple-green,
sometimes approaching to brown ; that of the
body is either dull apple-green or bright ver-
digris-green with two stripes on each side,
the upper of which is bright yellow, and
surmounted on each segment by a short black
line, at each extremity of which is a circular
pure white spot surrounded with black; the
second segment has two black spots instead of
white ones, and the twelfth segment has but
one white spot. In the region of the spiracles,
is the second lateral stripe of an intense bright
vermillion colour, and usually bordered both
above and below with a delicate white stripe:
on each segment, and resting on this white
stripe, is the spiracle, also white, and accom-
panied on each segment from the fifth to the
eleventh inclusive, with three circular white
spots very similar to the spiracle; the second
segment has but one such white spot, the
third and fourth two each, and the twelfth
none; the belly is glaucous-green; the legs
reddish-green ; the claspers apple-green. It
feeds in meadows on a variety of plants, the
most singular of which appears to me the
creeping plume-thistle of the fields (Carduus
arrensis). The way in which the delicate
velvety body of the caterpillar escapes injury
from the sharp thorns of the thistle is really
miraculous. I have watched it for hours, and
never saw it receive the slightest damage. The
devil’s bit scabious (Scabiosa succisa), the
bladder campion (Silene inflata), and the rest-
harrow (Ononis arrensis), are also favourite
food-plants. The CHRYSALIS is reddish-brown
and shining. I have found it on the surface
of the earth in the breeding cage without any
COCOODI.
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and comes freely to sugar. It
also reappears in the early spring, after hyber-
nation ; it is common in England, Scotland,
and Ireland. (The scientific name is Calo-
campa eacoleta.)
663. The Conformist (Xylina conformis).
663. THE CONFORMIST. — The palpi are
porrected, and the terminal joint almost


428
BRITISH MOTHS.
__. -- -, -...--— — —---------- * * * *
naked; the antennae are nearly simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are narrow, the costal
margin very straight, the fore and inner
margins almost parallel; their colour is a
beautiful purplish-gray with a mixture of
reddish-brown, more particularly apparent in
the reniform, and occasionally observable in a
transverse waved series of small spots parallel
with the hind margin ; the inner margin of
the wings is slightly reflexed, and inclined to
red-brown : the hind wings are gray-brown,
inclining to cinnamon-brown at the base: the
head and thorax are of the same purple-gray
colour as the fore wings; the outline of the
thorax is very square; the body is flat, and of
the same colour as the hind wings, but rather
paler at the base.
The CATERPILLAR is figured by Hubner, and
is said by Freyer to feed on alder (Alnus gluti-
nosa), and birch (Betula alba).
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and is common in those months
in Austria and Germany : all that I know of
it, as a British species, is contained in a report
of the March meeting of the Entomological
Society, published in the Zoologist for 1861,
p. 7452, in these words: “Mr. Stainton ex-
hibited two beautiful specimens of Xylina
conformis, taken near Cardiff on ivy blossoms
in October, 1859. The species had not
hitherto been captured in Britain.” There
appears to have been no discussion on this
subject; one would like to know why so
extraordinary a capture was not made known
for two years, and whether the name is given
on the authority of Mr. E. Shepherd, who
writes the report, or of Mr. Stainton who
makes the exhibition: it would also be
pleasant to know where the specimens are
deposited. I would recommend the captor
OI’ possessor of any very great rarity to submit
it to Mr. Doubleday’s inspection, in order that
it may receive the proper name, or, at least,
have the supposed name properly authenti-
cated. (The scientific name is Xylina con-
formis.)
664. The Nonconformist (Xylina Zinckenii) ſ
664. THE NoNCONFORMIST.-The palpi are
slightly porrected ; the antennae are almost
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
rather narrow, their colour is bluish-gray in
some specimens, prettily varied with darker
and lighter gray in others, the colour being
very confused and almost uniform ; there is,
however, almost invariably at the middle of
the base, a curved black line which is bifur-
cate at the extremity, and a second short but
decided black line beneath the reniform spot,
and between this and the hind margin are a
pair of white dots placed transversely; the
discoidal spots are more or less distinct, always
partaking of the colour of the general area:
the hind wings are smoky-brown, rather paler
at the base; the fringe is paler and intersected
throughout by a median darker line : the
head and thorax are of the same colour as the
fore wings, the body as the hind wings.
The MOTH appears in September, and has
been taken in Sweden and the north of
Germany : a single specimen was reported to
have been taken at New Cross, in the Ento-
mologist, vol. iii., p. 203, and almost immedi-
ately afterwards Mr. Cooke, the well-known
and energetic naturalist of Oxford-street,
received another unnamed among some insects
recently collected at Guildford. (The scien-
tific name is Xylina Zinckenii.)
Obs.—The figures are copied from Herrich-
Schaeffer.

NOCTUAS.
429
665. The Gray Shoulder-knot (Xylina rhizolitha).
665. THE GRAY SHOULDER-KNot.—The palpi
are straight and porrected, the terminal joint
rather long and almost square at the extre-
mity; the antennae are nearly simple in both
sexes; the frontal tuft at their base is four-
lobed, the lobes forming a kind of square, two
of which are above and two below the inser-
tion of the antennae : the fore wings are long
and narrow, both the costal and inner margins
are straight and almost parallel with each
other; their colour is gray with a few darker
markings; there is a short curved black line
at the base, which is bifid at the extremity;
and it has moreover a very short branch on
the lower side half way between the base and
the bifurcation; the two discoidal spots are
indicated, but often rather obscurely; there is
a series of eight or nine oblique dark spots on
the costa, and another series of seven or eight
black dots on the hind margin : the hind
wings are dull ochreous-gray : the head and
thorax are whitish-gray; the thorax is very
square; the body brownish-gray and very
flat.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is almost
exactly the same width as the second segment;
it is obtusely triangular and not conspicuously
notched on the crown; the body is uniformly
cylindrical, the divisions of the segments
"ather indistinctly marked, and the whole
surface emitting scattered hairs : the colour of
both the head and body is a pale glaucous-
green, the body having five narrow stripes of
a dingy-white colour, and between each two
of these stripes is a series of wartlike dots of
the same dingy-white colour and each emitting
a bristle. The spiracles are very small and
inconspicuous, they are white in black rings:
the wentral is paler than the dorsal surface, it
has a tinge of glaucous but very nearly ap-
proaches the same dingy-white which charac-
terises the stripes of the dorsal surface. When
full-fed at the end of May, it descends to the
ground and then changes, amongst fallen leaves
or grass, to a reddish-brown CHRYSALIS, which
has two rather long hooked bristles at the anal
extremity. I have found nothing that can
with propriety be called a cocoon.
The MOTH appears on the wing in October,
and in our southern counties is very commonly
found at rest in the day-time on park palings
and the trunks of trees; it also comes to sugar
by night: it occurs in most of the English
counties, but is most abundant in the western
and south-western. Mr. Birchall says it is com-
mon at Killarney, and also occurs, although
more rarely, in the county Wicklow, in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Xylina rhizolitha.)
666. The Tawny Pinion (Wylina semibrunnea).
666. THE TAwNY PINION.—The palpi are
porrected and straight, the terminal joint is
rather long and naked; the antennae are
almost simple in both sexes: the head has a
four-lobed tuft, the four lobes forming a square,
two being above and two below the insertion
of the antennae, and all being directed for-
wards; the fore wings are straight and nar-
row, the hind margin slightly scalloped and
decidedly notched at the anal angle ; their
colour, as regards the costal half, is wainscot-
brown, longitudinally streaked with sepia-
brown, the inner marginal half being almost
entirely of this darker colour: the hind wings
are gray-brown, the costal margin and fringe
inclining to red, and the wing-rays being
conspicuously darker; the upper lobes of the
frontal tuft are sepia-brown; the thorax has
three longitudinal crests or rather ridges, the
middle one partially projecting over the head,


BRITISH
MOTHS.
and all of them very dark sepia-brown : the
body is decidedly crested on the second, and
less so on the third and fourth segments, and
is dark gray-brown, the crests being darker.
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and comes freely to sugar, it is
also attracted by ivy blossom : it occurs
principally in our Southern and midland
counties. The mame does not occur in the
Irish list. The scientific name is Xylina
semibrunned.)
667. The Pale Pinion (Xylina petrificata).
667. THE PALE PINION.—The palpi are
porrected, and have the terminal joint almost
naked; the antennae are almost simple in both
sexes; the frontal tuft is four-lobed, the
lobes forming a square, two points being above
and two below the insertion of the antennae :
the fore wings are long and narrow, the
costal and inner-marginal borders being almost
parallel; their colour is wainscot-brown, varied
with a number of zigzag markings parallel to
the hind margin; the hind wings are gray-
brown, the head and thorax are wainscot.
brown, the latter is almost square, and has
three longitudinal crests or rather ridges, the
middle slightly projecting over the head at its
anterior extremity: the body is gray-brown,
with a medio-dorsal series of small crests
which are darker at the tips.
The CATERPILLAR is pale green, with white
dorsal and lateral stripes : the head and legs
are black, the claspers green (Parfitt in litt.).
It feeds on oak (Quercus robur), lime (Tilia
Europaga), &c. (Stainton's Manual, Vol. i. 283.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in September
and October, and again, after hybernation, in
March and April; it is very abundant in the
south-western counties, and as far north as
Herefordshire. In Ireland it is widely dis-
tributed and frequently abundant. Mr. Birch-
all says: “I once saw an ivy bush near Tulla-
more, the flowers of which were swarming
with this insect.” (The scientific name is
Yylina petrificata.)
~~~
668. The Mullein (Cucullia Perbasel). (
668. THE MULLEIN.—The palpi are slightly
porrected and form a conspicuous tuft beneath
the head, the second joint being so densely
clothed with bristle-like scales as almost to hide
the terminal joint, which is short and very
nearly naked; the antennae are quite simple in
both sexes; the fore wings are narrow, very
straight on the costa until towards the tip,
where it is finely arched; the hind margin is
regularly scalloped, the notched border of the
fringe making the scallops still more conspi-
cuous; their colour is rich umber-brown along
the costal margin, delicately shaded to pale
wainscot-brown along the middle of the wing,
the inner margin again being dark umber-
brown, interrupted about the middle by two
pale crescents: the hind wings are smoky-
brown, paler at the base, and having the
fringe also paler and intersected throughout
by a darker line: the head is darkish brown,
the collar delicate wainscot-brown, and raised
into a very distinct crest, which is bordered
behind by darker brown ; the sides of the
thorax are pale wainscot-brown; the body is
crested and dingy brown, with a very dark
medio-dorsal stripe which is broadest imme-
diately behind the collar, and gradually de-
creases into a series of points.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is slightly
narrower than the second segment, and sub-
spherical in shape; the body is very stout,
slightly wrinkled transversely, and uniformly
cylindrical: the colour of the head is yellowish
with a few black spots, of the body pale or


NOCTUAS. 431
whitish-green, with various yellow as well as
black marks which give it a very gay appear-
ance; on every segment is a bright yellow
band extending on each side below the spira-
cles ; this yellow band is interrupted by pure
black markings which are inconstant both in
their outlines and extent; they consist princi-
pally of a double dorsal series or rather two
series, each composed of two marks, the
anterior rather short and oval, the posterior
larger, longer, and slightly bent: there are
several small black marks on the sides, but I
find so great difference in the extent and
number of these smaller spots in different
individuals, that I forego the pleasure of
describing them rather than induce confu-
sion by laying stress on characters which are
certainly inconstant. It feeds principally on
the woolly muilein (Verbascum Thapsus), and
being so abundant and so conspicuous is a
great favourite with all beginners in ento-
mology: it also eats the leaves of the water-
figwort (Sorophularia aquatica): when full-
fed it descends to the ground, and binding
together particles of earth with silk, forms a
tough cocoon, in which it changes to a greenish-
brown CHRYSALIS, of which the case containing
the legs is much elongated, and that which
contains the wings is almost colourless, but
appears greenish in consequence of being so
transparent.
The MOTH appears on the wing in April, and
is common in the South-western and southern
counties of England, but rarely occurs north-
wards. I have known the time when I could
readily have obtained a quart of its beautiful
caterpillar from the mulleins in the hedge-
rows about Darenth and Green-street Green ;
and Mr. Mathew, in Mr. Reading’s “List of
the Lepidoptera of Cornwall and Devonshire,”
says: “The extreme abundance of the cater-
pillar of this species on Braunton Burrows, in
the summers of 1858, '59, and '60, is worth
mentioning. Every plant of Perbascum
Thapsus was completely covered with them ;
the caterpillars in July varying in size from
the juvenile just hatched to the full-fed indi-
vidual ready to burrow in the sand.
positive that had anyone desired to have taken
I am
ten or twenty thousand, it might easily have
been done.” It is common in the counties of
Dublin and Wicklow, in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Cucullia Verbasci.)
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669. The Water Betony (Cucullia Serophularia).
669. THE WATER BETONY.—The palpi are
slightly porrected and form a rather conspi-
cuous tuft beneath the head, the second joint
being so densely clothed with bristle-like
scales as almost to hide the terminal joint,
which is short and very nearly naked ; the
antennae are quite simple in both sexes: the
fore wings are narrow and the costa very
straight until near the tip, where it is finely
arched; the hind margin is regularly seal-
loped and the fringe notched, adding thereby
to the scalloped appearance; their colour is
umber-brown along the costal margin, deli-
cately shaded to wainscot-brown along the
middle of the wing ; the hind margin is dark
brown, interrupted about the middle by two
pale approximate crescents: the hind wings
are gray-brown, much paler towards the base,
and with the wing-rays darker; the hind
margin is scalloped; the fringe is pale and
intersected throughout by a darker line : the
head is dark brown, the collar very delicate
Wainscot-brown, and raised into a crest, the
sides of the thorax are also wainscot-brown;
the body is pale brown and crested with a
medio-dorsal stripe of darker brown, this is
broadest at the base, and gradually decreases
in breadth as well as in intensity towards the
tip.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is narrower
than the second segment, sub-spherical, and
slightly porrected; the body is cylindrical and
slightly wrinkled transversely; the divisions
of the segments are clearly defined; the
colour of the head is pale greenish-yellow,
with a few black markings; of the body pale
---------





4.32
BRITISH MOTHS,
or whitish-green, with bright yellow and
black markings, which give it a very gay
appearance: on the back of each segment is a
yellow band interrupted by a black mark,
which consists of two oval spots and a trans-
verse band, each black spot is united to the
band by a very slender black line, so that the
oval spots, the transverse band, and the con-
necting lines unite in forming a compound
ornamentation on the back of each segment.
It feeds on figwort (Serophularia nodosa and
S. aquatica), and on the moth mullein
(Verbascum Blattaria), and is full-fed in July,
when it descends to the ground forming a
tough cocoon of silk and earth, in which it
changes to a greenish-brown CHRYSALIS, with
semi-transparent and almost colourless wing-
CàS62S,
The MOTH appears on the wing in May, and
seems to be confined to the southern and
western counties of England. It is extremely
difficult to distinguish this from the preceding
species when in the perfect state, and, there-
fore, I refrain from giving localities: the
caterpillars of the two seem equally difficult
to separate, but I have trusted for my descrip-
tion of the present species to the exquisite
figures and minute description in Boisduval’s
“Collection des Chenilles.” (The scientific
name is Cucullia Scrophularia.)
670. The Striped Lychnis (Cucullia Lychnitis).
670. THE STRIPED LYCHNIs.—The palpi are
slightly porrected, the second joint being scaly
but not very densely so, the terminal joint is
scarcely perceptible ; the antennae are per-
fectly simple in both sexes; the fore wings
are very straight on the costa until near the
tip, and then slightly arched; the hind margin
is scalloped ; their colour is wainscot-brown
with a black-brown costal margin and a black-
brown inner margin, interrupted in the middle
by two minute pale crescents, and towards
the anal angle by several pale lines; the hind
wings are very pale at the base, often almost
white, but darker and smoke-coloured towards
the hind margin; the collar is very pale and
raised in the form of a crest; the hinder part
of the thorax and body are very pale brown,
the latter having a medio-dorsal stripe almost
black; this is broad at the base, and very
narrow and indistinct towards the tip.
The head of the CATERPILLAR is rather nar-
rower than the second segment, slightly pot-
rected, and somewhat triangular; the body is
stout, cylindrical, and slightly wrinkled trans-
versely; the colour of the head is greenish-
yellow, with five or six black dots on each
cheek; of the body, dingy white with a slight
tendency to glaucous-green, each segment has
a transverse yellowish band, and a compound
black mark which consists of a transverse
band slightly indented in the middle and bent
forward at both extremities; and anterior to
this are two oval black spots joined to the
band by connecting lines; the second segment
has a double series of small black spots in the
place of the ornamentation I have attempted
to describe; the third segment has the
ornamentation divided into spots, and the
twelfth segment has only a transverse series
of black spots: it feeds on the flowers and
seed-pods of the white mullein (Verbas-
cum Lychnitis), and the black mullein
(P. nigrum), and is full-fed in July and
August, when it spins its tough cocoon on
the surface of the ground, and in this changes
to a smooth browſi CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and appears confined to the southern
districts of England; the neighbourhood of
Arundel seems to be the principal locality.
It is at present entirely unknown in Scotland
or Ireland. (The scientific name is Cucullia
Lychnitis.)
Obs.—In this species I have relied on Bois-
duval’s “Collection des Chonillos” for the
description of the caterpillar.

NOCTUAS.
433
671. The Star-wort (Cucullia Asteris).
671. THE STAR-woPT.—The palpi form an
obtuse tuft in front of the head, and the
terminal joint seems emerging from the
surrounding scales; the antennae are perfectly
simple in both scNes: the fore wings are
narrow and nearly straight along the costa,
but gradually arched towards the tip, which
is blunt; the hind margin is entire; their
colour is umber-brown on the costal margin,
gradually shading to slate-colour towards the
middle of the wing; there is an indistinct
indication of both discoidal spots; the inner
margin is dark brown, this colour being very
narrow from the base to beyond the middle,
then expanding and containing a distinct
whitish crescent: the hind wings are gray-
-brown with paler fringe: the head, thorax,
and body are slaty gray-brown with a rather
darker but not very distinct medio-dorsal
stripe.
The CATERPILLAR has a rather small and
somewhat triangular head, and a long cylin-
drical body, attenuated towards both extre-
mities, very different from that of those obese
caterpillars I have been describing; the colour
of the head is pale or glaucous-green, the
prevailing colour of the body is olive-green
with a narrow medio-dorsal stripe bright
yellow; then follow on each side two narrow
bluish stripes, and lastly, in the region of the
spiracles another stripe which is sometimes
partly yellow and partly white, and sometimes
entirely yellow ; the spiracles are yellow deli- -
cately margined with black: it feeds on the
golden rod (Solidago Pºrgaurea), on the sea
Star-wort (Aster Tripolium), and on China
asters in gardens. .
The MOTH appears on the wing in June: it
is common at Darenth wood, and in Tilgate
i e
i forest, and has occurred at Brighton, and
Lewes, and occasionally at West Wickham,
| (The scientific name is Cucullia Asteris.)
|
|
:
|
|
|
|
|
672. The Cudweed (Cucullia Gnaphali).
672. THE CUDwDED.—The palpi are in-
conspicuous, the tip only of the terminal
joint appearing in front of the head; the
antennae are simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are rather narrow, the costa straight
for three-quarters of its length, and them bent
towards the tip, which is pointed; their
colour is grayish-ash with the median area
brownish ; this colour forms a kind of median
band in some specimens, but in others a cloudy
ash-colour pervades the whole wing; the
discoidal spots are defined but of irregular
form ; the orbicular has a slender black cir-
cumscription ; the reniform is of irregular
form and colour, and its median area is divided
into five, six, or even seven compartments;
in the dark suffused specimens there is a
defined and acutely-angled white mark between
the reniform and the inner margin : the hind
wings are smoky-brown, inclining to testaceous-
brown at the base, the wing-rays being darker
and the fringe paler: the head and thorax are
gray-brown, the latter somewhat crested; the
body is brown with a darker medio-dorsal
stripe which forms a crest on the first, second,
and third segments.
I am indebted to Boisduval’s beautiful
“Collection des Chenilles' for the following
particulars of the CATERPILLAR, which I have
never seen. It lives singly on the golden rod
(Solidago Pirgaurea), throughout the month of
July and in the beginning of August, and
rests with its belly closely appressed to a twig
of that plant, with its head downwards, and
sometimes even resting on another plant; in
EDWARD NEWMAN’s BRITISH \
MoTBIs. No. 28. PRICE 6 p. ;
\ I,0N no N : W. Twº Epi F.,
} 337, STRAN p.


434 BRITISH
MOTHS.
this singular position it is by no means easy
to detect, because the colour of its medio-
dorsal stripe much resembles that of a stem
of the food-plant. It is extremely active, and
when touched throws itself on the ground, and
continues to twist itself about with great
energy: the head is rather narrower than the
second segment; the body is attenuated
towards both extremities, and the divisions of
the segments are not very clearly defined;
from every part of the head and body spring
a few very slender and very inconspicuous
scattered hairs: the colour of the head is
apple-green, with a reddish band on the hind
part of the crown, which is often concealed by
the anterior margin of the second segment :
the colour of the body is apple-green with a
broad medio-dorsal red or violet compound
stripe, rather narrowed at both ends and
bordered by a brown line ; the spiracles are
yellow, delicately circled with black, and
each is situated in an oblique shuttle-
shaped mark of the same colour as the medio-
dorsal stripe; all the markings are delicately
outlined in black; the ventral area is blue or
glaucous-green, with five, approximate, narrow,
and rather indistinct white stripes; the legs
and claspers are of the same colour as the
body. It feeds on the golden-rod, and when
full-fed descends to the ground, and there
constructs an oval cocoon of considerable
strength and solidity by the intermixture of
silk and earth, and in this cocoon changes to
a CHRYSALIs of a pale yellowish-green colour,
with red-brown incisions; the cases of the
wings and thorax are also yellow-green and
very transparent ; the anal extremity is dark
brown, dilated, and spatulate.
The MoTBI appears on the wing in June: Mr.
Doubleday has three British examples of this
insect, which were raised from caterpillars
found feeding on the golden-rod in Darenth-
wood. This species was described by the
late Mr. Stephens in his “Illustrations of
British Entomology,” Vol. iii. p. 87, under
the name of Cucullia thapsiphaga, in 1829, and
figured in the “Transactions of the Entomo-
logical Society of London,” Vol. ii., pl. iii.,
fig. 7.., under the name of Cucullia Solidaginis,
in 1837. (It is without doubt the Cucullia
Gnaphalii of continental authors.) .
673. The Wormwood (Cucullia Absynthii).
673. THE WoRMwooD.—The palpi are in-
conspicuous, the terminal joints only itst
appearing in front of the frontal tuft ; \the
antennae are simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are narrow at the base, but considerably
wider opposite the anal angle; the costa is
straight for three-quarters of its length, and
then bends gradually towards the tip; their
colour is ashy-gray tinged with pale purple
and having numerous dark markings both
transverse and longitudinal; these are princi-
pally noticeable, first, as forming a trans-
verse band before the orbicular, and this band
is interrupted by a pale zig-zag line ; and
secondly, occupying the space between the
discoidal spots, but connected with this is a
cloud on the hind margin below the reniform;
the usual discoidal spots are singularly dis-
torted and divided, éach appearing as an
assemblage of four or five squarish black spots;
on the hind margin is a row of eight black
spots: the hind wings are pale gray, slightly
suffused with saffron, and also slightly clouded
towards the fringe which is pale: the head is
adorned with two pale transverse lines before
the antennae; the crown, eyes, and collar are
almost black; then follows a band of almost
pearly whiteness; the body is silvery-gray
with a medio-dorsal series of small dark
CrestS. -
The head of the CATERPILLAR is narrower
than the second segment; it is somewhat
triangular; the body is rather short and obese
with the segmental divisions clearly defined;
the colour of the head, and also of the second
segment is dull pale reddish-gray; the ground-
colour exhibited chiefly at the incisions of

NOCTUAS. 435
the segments is green : the figure in Bois-
duval’s “Collection des Chenilles,” has a
purple-brown back interrupted by eight
whitish dots on each segment, and three or
more oblique white lines; there appears to be
rather an unusual number of bristle-like
hairs: the ventral surface is green with many
longitudinal streaks; it is found from July to
the end of September feeding on the common
wormwood (Artemisia Absynthium), and its
mixed colours so exactly correspond with
those of the blossoms that it is extremely
difficult to detect except after rain, when the
plant assumes a more vivid green, which
contrasts with the colour of the caterpillar.
When full-fed it constructs a tough oval
cocoon of mixed silk and earth, and in this
changes to a CHRYSALIs of a yellowish-green
colour with a brown case inclosing the legs.
The MOTH, according to Boisduval, appears
in June and September, according to Guenée
and Mr. Reading, in July. In this country it
seems confined to the southern counties of
England, particularly Cornwall. Mr. Reading
says: “For this rare and very distinct insect
there are in Cornwall and Devon three widely
separated districts in which it is found. In
1855-6 the caterpillar was found near Wem-
bury feeding on wormwood; Dr. Cocks
records it as occurring at Falmouth ; and Mr.
Dorville, by cultivating the food-plant, has
been able to procure the insect at Alphington,
near Exeter.” Mr. Dale has taken it in Dor-
setshire, and Mr. Harpur Crewe in Berkshire.
(The scientific name is Cucullia Absynthii.)
674. The Chamomile Shark (Cucullia Chamomille).
674. The CHAMoMILE SHARK.—The palpi
form a conspicuous tuft beneath the head, and
from this the tips of the terminal joints slightly
project; the antennae are simple in both sexes;
the wings are narrow, nearly straight on the
costa, but curved and pointed at the tip; their
colour is smoky-gray with a very sharply-
defined but slender line from the base to the
middle of the wing; the wing-rays are also
dark, and opposite the extremity of each is a
corresponding black line in the fringe : the
hind wings are gray-brown with paler base
and darker wing-rays: the head, thorax, and
body are gray, the thorax having a sharp keel-
like crest in some specimens porrected over
the head; the body has three smaller crests
each tipped with darker brown.
The EGG is laid at the end of April or
beginning of May, on the stems of the wild
chamomile or feverfew (Anthemis Cotula):
the young CATERPILLAR emerges at the end of
May or during the first week in June : when
first hatched it is light green, and is generally
to be found coiled round the unexpanded
flower-bud; it grows with great rapidity, and
scarcely three weeks elapse from its being
found in this diminutive state to its acquiring
its full size, which is generally at the end of
June, although stragglers may be occasionally
found as late as the third week in July; from
the 12th to the 20th of June may, however,
be regarded as the best season for collecting
these caterpillars: they are extremely partial to
waste places, such as shipwrights’ yards and
amongst old timber, and are very local, often
occurring abundantly in one spot, and being
entirely absent from another apparently simi-
lar. They do not hide during the day, as is
so frequently the case with the larvae of
Noctuas, but bask in the sunshine, and continue
feeding, more especially on the flowers of their
food-plant, amongst which they make great
havoc. When full-fed the head is rather
narrower than the second segment; the body
is uniformly cylindrical and somewhat shining;
the twelfth segment has its dorsal surface
prominent, yet scarcely elevated above the
plane of the back: the colour both of head
and body is either pale olive-green or pale
pinkish-brown; in either case the body is
adorned with six nearly equidistant waved
stripes of the same colour, but of a darker

436
BRITISH MOTHS.
shade: these waved stripes are invariably
bordered throughout by a delicate waved
marginal line of a still darker hue, and are
also intersected on each segment by a trans-
verse interrupted band, in which reddish-pink
is the predominant colour: the ventral sur-
face, legs, and claspers are less variegated,
having a dull homogeneous tint of obscure
pink and green. When full-fed the cater-
pillar buries itself very deep in the earth or
rubbish, and forms a tough cocoon, in which
particles of earth or sand, or even fragments
of leaves or little sticks, are intermixed and
interwoven : sometimes when a considerable
number of these caterpillars have been con-
fined together, they will bury themselves in
company, and their cocoons will be connected
together, adhering after the fashion of a bunch
of grapes.
The MoTH appears on the wing in April and
May; it is generally but not plentifully dis-
tributed in our English and Irish counties.
Mr. Reading says: “The caterpillar in Corn-
wall and Devonshire is found abundantly on
Pyrethrum inodorum and maritimum, but not
in Anthemis or Matricaria.” (The scientific
name is Cucullia Chamomillae.)
675. The Shark (Cucullia umbratica).
675. THE SHARK.—The palpi form a con-
spicuous tuft beneath the head, the tips of
the terminal joints being scarcely perceptible;
the antennae are simple in both sexes: the
fore wings are narrow, nearly straight on the
costa, but slightly arched towards the tip ;
their colour is smoky-gray with a slender but
very distinct black line from the middle of the
base to the middle of the wing; the wing-
rays are also black, but I find that the dark
colour is not continued into the fringe: the
hind wings are smoky-gray, with the wing-
rays darker and the base paler : the head is
Smoky-black, the thorax is gray and crested,
the body is smoky-gray and scarcely crested.
The EGG is laid on the leaves of lettuce
(Lactuca virosa), and on several species of
sowthistle (Sonchus arvensis, S. oleraceus, and
S. palustris), in June and July, and the CATER-
PILLAR, which emerges in July, devours the
leaves of these species, as well as those of the
garden lettuce, sometimes doing great injury
to the latter: it eats only by night, and
secretes itself by day under those lower leavés
which lie prostrate on the ground, or aré so
bent over as to afford perfect concealment.
When full-fed it may be readily found in this
situation, reposing in a straight position on
the under surface of a leaf, with its back
downwards; when annoyed it falls from its
food-plant, and twists its head right and left
in an angry manner, sometimes stretching it
out in a leech-like fashion; but I have not
observed it feign death or roll in a ring. The
head is considerably narrower than the body :
the body is cylindrical, and of nearly uniform
size throughout, the dorsal surface being trans-
versely wrinkled and delicately shagreened.
The colour of the head is black, but not shin-
ing; the body dark brown or nearly black,
delicately reticulated with pale smoke-colour,
the reticulations being depressed, the darker
warts raised; the dorsal surface of the second
segment is darker than the rest, and its mar-
gin is adorned with seven orange spots, which
appear somewhat as the anterior extremities
of stripes which have become almost obsolete,
but are to be traced along the back and in the
region of the spiracles, and three of which
appear conspicuously on the twelfth segment,
and converge at the extremity of the anal flap;
the ventral surface is paler than the dorsal ;
the legs are black and shining; the claspers
black at the base and white at the extremities,
their hooks black. The CHRYSALIS is subter-
I’8. Il Cºlll. ſ
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
may frequently be observed resting on park
palings, which it exactly resembles in colour.

NOCTUAS.
4
3
7
It is generally distributed in England, Scot-
land, and Ireland. (The scientific name is
Cucullia umbrática.)
676. The Bordered Sallow (Heliothis marginatus).
676. THE BORDERED SALLow.—The palpi
are slightly porrected and ascending, the tips
are incurved on approaching the summit; the
antennae are simple in both sexes: the fore
Wings are ample, straight on the costa and
pointed at the tip; their colour is orange-
brown with a broad purplish hind-marginal
band; the discoidal spots have a slender but
distinct circumscription of darker brown, and
there are six transverse lines; the first very
short and close to the base ; the second zig-
zag and before the orbicular ; the third
elbowed and beyond the orbicular; the fourth
oblique and beyond the reniform ; the fifth
Zigzag and intersecting the purple hind-
marginal band; the sixth on the margin : the
hind wings are cloudy at the base with a
Smoke-coloured discoidal spot, then ochreous
with a brown smoky hind-marginal band and
a pale fringe : the head and thorax are rich
orange-brown, the body testaceous-brown.
The CATERPILLAR feeds on the common
rest-harrow (Ononis arvensis), and is full-fed
towards the end of August, when it rests with
the anterior segments slightly elevated and
arched, and the head tucked in, the attitude
being somewhat Sphinx-like; when annoyed
it falls off its food-plant, rolling itself in a ring
and feigning death; in confinement, like so
many other caterpillars, it feeds greedily on
knot-grass (Polygonum aviculare). The head
is porrected in crawling and narrower than
the second segment, into which it is partially
received : the body is almost uniformly cylin-
drical, but has the twelfth and thirteenth
segments rather attenuated and depressed;
the skin is densely covered with a velvety
pile of very short bristles, intermixed with
longer hairs. The colour of the head is pale
apple-green and shining; of the body dull
apple-green, the dorsal darker than the ventral
surface, and sprinkled with white spots,
certain of which form four longitudinal series;
it also has numerous black dots, each of which
culminates in an acute point; these black
dots are particularly crowded along each
lateral margin of the dorsal surface : the
dorsal surface is bounded by a narrow white
lateral stripe, extending from the head to the
anal claspers; on the upper margin of this
are seated the spiracles, which are nearly
circular, of a testaceous-brown colour, and
surrounded by a black ring : the inferior
margin of the white lateral stripe is shaded
off into green; the ventral surface is spotted
with white.
The MOTH appears on the wing in May and
June, and seems to be widely distributed in
our English counties, from Cornwall to the
Lake District. It seems particularly common
in Cornwall and Devonshire, the caterpillar
having been found in great abundance on the
rest-harrow. Mr. Douglas Robinson reports
it from Scotland, but we have at present no
record for Ireland. (The scientific name is
JZeliothis marginatus.)
677. The Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltiger).
677. THE BORDERED STRAW,--The palpi
are porrected and connivant at the tips, which
are almost without scales; the antennae are
almost simple, and very slender in both sexes:
the fore wings are ample, almost straight on
the costa, produced and rather pointed at the
tip; their colour is ochreous gray; the or-
bicular is absent; the reniform is Smoky-
black, and connected with the costal margin
by a blotch of somewhat similar colour; near
the apex is another darkish blotch on the costa,


438 BRITISH
MOTHS.
→ *-*------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ...- - - - - - - -
which forms the commencement of a dark
transverse line parallel with the hind margin ;
there is also a small black spot near the anal
angle ; the hind wings are very pale, with a
crescentic discoidal spot and a broad smoky
hind margin, which contains a pale median
blotch : the head, thorax, and body are of the
Same colour as the fore wings. . . .
The CATERPILLAR rests in a perfectly straight
position on the leaves, especially selecting the
ribs, of the common henbane (Hyoscyamus
niger); it eats both the leaves and ribs, and
some of the smaller caterpillarsbury themselves
in excavations which they make in the latter;
they roll themselves in a lax ring when an-
noyed. The head is narrower and smaller
than the second segment, in which it is par-
tially concealed; the segmental divisions are
strongly marked, and each has four dorsal and
four lateral warts, each wart emitting a rather
long bristle, so that every segment has twelve
of these bristles, which being white are rather
conspicuous; there are other smaller bristles
on the belly; with these exceptions the body
is uniformly cylindrical; there are ten claspers,
fully and uniformly developed ; the colour of
the head and body is pale dull green, sprinkled
with white dots, and having three darker
dorsal stripes not very distinctly pronounced;
after the last change a tawny patch occupies
the dorsal area of each segment, near the ex-
treme margin of which are situated the
spiracles, which are white surrounded by a
slender black ring, and this again by a whitish
ring: the legs and claspers are nearly con-
colorous with the body, but more transparent.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is very uncertain in its occurrence. Of this
species Mr. Reading says:—“More frequent
on the coast than inland.
coastwise in the two westernmost counties.
So uncertain, however, are the seasons of its
occurrence, that it might with propriety be
termed either very common or very rare. In the
years 1853 and 4 the caterpillars of this insect
were found in great abundance in most of the
bays that skirt the coast from Looe Island to
Berryhead—many patches of Ononis, var.
Spinosa, covering an area of not more than
Has a wide range
two feet superficial, yielding as many as 800
caterpillars. More than two thousand were
collected, and many left, in all likelihood to
the number of thousands. It appeared thus
plentifully during the two seasons mentioned;
but since those periods the insect, in any stage,
has not been observed in numbers that would
warrant its being considered common. Indeed,
throughout whole seasons not one specimen
falls to the share of even the industrious
lepidopterist. The caterpillars vary consider-
ably in colour. As many variations are to be
seen in this as are met with in its congener
A. marginatus. The two forms describéd
below are those usually found.
“No. 1.-Deep green, scattered short bristly
hairs; dorsal, sub-dorsal, longitudinal, and
transverse lines deeper; spiracles, spiracular
line, and scattered spots, white.
“No. 2.- Same markings as in No. 1 ; but
the whole ground-colour is chromish-red,
inclining to pink. -
“The caterpillar of No. 2 is found feeding
upon the bright petals of Ononis spinosa, the
hue of which is shed through the transparent
skin of the caterpillar, whilst No. 2 feeds on
the leaves and seeds of one or more of its
food-plants. The food-plants of the caterpillar
are: Onon's spinosa and arvensis (merely two
forms of one species; occurs commonly along
the coast as well as inland); Arenaria rubra,
a common rock-plant ; Hyoscyamus niger,
Whitsand-cliffs; Pyrethrum inodorum and
naritimum (both being forms of one plant);
common on the coast and near thereto—
caterpillars feed on the anthers of this plant,
like those of Polia serena on a similar part of
a Sonchus. The caterpillars on Pyrethrum are
yellowish-green, the yellow anthers imparting
Some of the colouring matter, with which they
are charged, to the caterpillar; whilst the
pollen gives a stronger tinge of the same to
the external covering, by adhering to the
hairs of the insect. Full-grown caterpillars
are found in the beginning of August, but
partially-grown are to be obtained from as
early as May.
“The moth flies in September, and in spring
and summer, not double-brooded, but semi-
**-***** - - - ---------------------------- -------- - - - - - - - - - - - *--**-* ---------ºr--------. .
NOCTUAS.
439
brooded twice a year; one portion coming forth
soon after the completion of the chrysalis con-
dition, and the other portion, or part of it, re-
maining in the chrysalis state till the next
season; whilst sometimes it happens that a
few keep to the chrysalis covering for one,
two, and even three years.”
This species has also occurred in the counties
of Somerset, Gloucester, Dorset, Hants, Sussex,
Surrey, Kent, Cambridge, and Cheshire, and
in Wales. (The scientific name is IIeliothis
peltiger.)
678. The Scarce-Bordered Straw (Heliothis armiger).
678. The ScARCE-Bordered STRAw.—The
palpi are porrected and connivent, the terminal
joint almost naked; the antennae are simple,
or nearly so; the fore wings are straight on
the costa, produced, and almost pointed at the
tip ; their colour is dingy ochreous-brown,
the orbicular being visible as a small dot, the
reniform conspicuous and dark brown; there
is a transverse narrow band of dingy brown
parallel with the hind margin : the hind
wings are paler, with a crescentic discoidal
spot and a broadish smoke-coloured hind-
marginal band, interrupted by a median paler
blotch : the head, thorax, and body are dingy
brown.
The CATERPILLAR has a smooth and shining
porrected head, about equal in width to the
second segment of the body, which is rather
slender, cylindrical, attenuated behind, and
sparingly covered with scattered hairs; the
colour of the head is smoky brown, as also that
of the second segment of the body, which is
covered by a leathery plate; the general
colour of the body is dingy brown, with a
medio-dorsal stripe darker brown ; there is a
yellow lateral line which includes the spiracles,
which are black, and encircled first with a
yellowish, and then with a black ring, both of
them very delicate; between the medio-dorsal
and spiracular stripes the body is pale greenish-
brown, with numerous slender streaks both
paler and darker than the ground-colour, and
on each segment are two wart-like dots. I
have never possessed this caterpillar, and
have been obliged to describe it from con-
tinental figures.
A local and very uncertain species, the
MoTH flies generally by day, in September and
October, but also comes to sugar; it has been
taken at Hoe, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Al-
phington, near Exeter, Barnstable, &c., in
Devonshire; also in Somerset, Dorset, Hamp-
shire, Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Cam-
bridge, and, according to Mr. Stainton, in the
Lake District; but I think not in Scotland or
Ireland. (The scientific name is Heliothis
armiger.)
Obs.—This insect is truly cosmopolitan. I
have seen specimens from the United States,
South America, and almost every part of con-
tinental Europe; and to-day Mr. Bond has
shown me others from Australia and India.
Dr. Horsfield records it as an inhabitant of
Java, and figures the caterpillar and chrysalis.
The caterpillar is supposed by many to be the
army-worm so destructive in the United States
to the cotton crop; but this is a matter of
grave doubt, and I would particularly refer
the reader to papers by Mr. Birchall and Mr.
Müller on this subject, at pp. 166 and 213 of
the third volume of the Entomologist.
679. The Marbled Clover (Heliothis dipsaceus).
679. THE MARBLED CLovER.—The palpi are
decidedly porrected and slightly ascending,
the tips pointed; the antennae are simple in
both sexes: the fore wings have the costal
margin almost straight, the tip scarcely pointed,
and the hind margin oblique; their colour is
dingy pale olive-brown; the orbicular is a
mere spot; the reniform is large and conspi-
cuous, and forms part of an indistinct and


440 BRITISH
MOTHS.
sometimes interrupted median transverse band;
half way between this and the hind margin
is a second band still less distinct and paler;
on the hind margin is a series of dark dots:
the hind wings are very pale ochreous-white
with a large black discoidal spot and a broad
black hind-marginal band which is interrupted
by a pale ochreous spot about the middle ; the
fringe is pale: the head, thorax, and body are
of the same colour as the fore wings.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
straw-colour, strongly striated with reddish-
brown, and having a broad continuous medio-
dorsal stripo of a violet-brown colour; the
spiracular stripe is concolorous and margined
below with brown : on every segment there
is a broad transverse reddish spot which
reaches from one spiracular stripe to the other;
the spiracles are black; the head is very pale,
the crown covered with black dots: it feeds
on a great number of low-growing plants,
especially the common yellow Snapdragon
(Linaria vulgaris).
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in Dorsetshire, Hampshire,
Surrey, Kent, Suffolk, and also, it is said, in
Yorkshire. (The scientific name is Heliothis
dipsaceus.)
680. The Broad-bordered White Underwing (Anarta
onelanopa).
680. THE BROAD-BORDERED WHITE UNDER-
WING.—The palpi are porrected and clothed
with bristle-like scales, the terminal joint
having the same character; the antennae are
slender and simple in both sexes: the fore
wings are nearly straight on the costa, pro-
duced at the tip, and obliquely convex on the
hind margin; their colour is smoky gray,
clouded, and transversely lined with black;
the discoidal spots are inconspicuous, but still
readily to be traced; the fringe is spotted
black and white : the hind wings have a
broad band of smoky black on the hind and
been taken at Rannoch, in Perthshire.
inner margins, and a black crescentic discoidal
spot ; the median disk and fringe are white :
the head, thorax, and body are smoky black,
the last a little varied with gray.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
so far as Great Britain is concerned, it was
first discovered by Mr. Hewitson, in the
Shetland Islands, and subsequently by Mr.
Weaver, at Rannoch, in Perthshire. (The
scientific name is Anarta melanopa.)
681.-The Small Dark Yellow Underwing
• (Anarta cordigera).
681. THE SMALL DARK YELLow UNDER-
w1NG.—The palpi are porrected and rather
conspicuous, the second joint is clothed with
bristly scales but is very slender at the base,
the terminal joint is also very scaly; the an-
tennae are simple in both sexes; the fore
wings are straight on the costa and blunt at
the tip, their colour is smoky black; the reni-
form is white and very conspicuous, the
orbicular obsolete; there are two slender zig-
zag gray lines, one before the usual site of the
orbicular, the other beyond the reniform ; the
fringe is spotted with black and white; the
hind wings are yellow, with a black marginal
band and a white fringe ; the head is black,
the thorax black, with two minute discoidal
white dots, and a larger one in the situation of
the scutellum ; the body is black and hirsute.
The CATERPILLAR is reddish-ochreous; the
medio-dorsal stripe is brownish-ochreous, with
an oblique brownish streak meeting it on each
segment; the spiracular line is whitish an-
teriorly, the spots and spiracles are white
(Hub). It feeds on Vaccinium. (Stainton's
Manual, vol. i., 293.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in May, and,
so far as Great Britain is concerned, has only
(The
scientific name is Anarta cordigera.)
... --> -- ----------- -


NOCTUAS.
441
682. The Beautiful Yellow Underwing (Anarta
Myrtilli).
682. THE BEAUTIFUL YELLOW UNDERWING.
—The palpi are rather porrected and rough
with bristle-like scales; the antennae are
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
straight on the costa, and produced but
scarcely pointed at the tip; their colour is
bright red-brown with a very conspicuous and
somewhat triangular median white spot, this
spot usually projects an acutely wedge-shaped
lobe towards the base of the wing; there are
several transverse gray lines either waved or
zigzag : the hind wings are bright yellow at
the base and have a broad black hind-marginal
band: the head and thorax are of the same
colour as the fore wings; the body Smoky
black delicately ringed with gray.
The CATERPILLAR, when full-fed, rests with
the second, third, and fourth pairs of ventral
claspers, as well as the anal claspers, firmly
attached to the food-plant, the anterior part of
the body raised, and the head bent under
Sphinx-like; the first pair of claspers are
held free : when disturbed it falls from its
food-plant and rolls into a compact ring, but
does not long retain that position, soon un-
rolling itself and crawling with considerable
activity. The head is of the same width as
the second segment, the cheeks rounded, the
crown not conspicuously notched, the whole
extremely glabrous, yet emitting several
bristles: the body is uniformly cylindrical.
The colour of the head is pale transparent
green, with a number of dark brown dots; the
second segment of the body has a dull green
plate occupying its entire dorsal surface; the
remainder of the body is olive-green, decorated
with numerous pale markings; there is a
medio-dorsal series of eleven spots, all of them
guttiform or elongate-oval; on each side is a
series of eleven spots, almost semicircular, but
not perfectly so, and each of these is divided
at the junction of the segments; there is still
another series in the region of the spiracles,
and these are more united, forming a zigzag
line; the spiracles themselves are white ; each
is surrounded by a black ring; the ventral
Surface has a chain-like series of pale markings,
extending to all the segments except the
second, third, fourth, and thirteenth : the legs
and claspers are of the ground-colour, but
each has a pale streak at the base, and on all
parts of the body are numerous smaller
markings, intervening between those I have
described: these various markings are far
from constant in form, number, or colour;
their ordinary colour is an impure white, but
sometimes they are pure white, and sometimes
tinged with yellow; in one specimen I find
the lateral series alternately pure white and
dingy white; the dorsal area also varies in
tint, bright green, olive-green, olive-brown,
and bottle-green ; and the lateral ornamenta-
tion is sometimes varied with a darker ground-
colour, encroaching on and almost eclipsing
the paler markings. It feeds on heath (Erica
vulgaris), and when full-fed spins a cocoon
on the surface of the earth, mixing grains of
sand with its silk. -
The MoTH appears on the wing in June, and
is common on the heaths of most of our southern
and south-eastern counties; Mr. Reading says
it is local and scarce in Cornwall and Devon-
shire, but he gives several localities where it
has been taken, as Bickleigh Down ; Brent-
hill, near Tavistock; St. Clear Down, Fal-
mouth, Torquay, and Haldon. Tracing its
progress northwards it seems to occur here
and there in all the north-English and Scotch
counties, and Mr. Birchall says it is generally
distributed and common in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Anarta Illyrtilli.)
Obs. The upper figure represents the insect
in its natural position when at rest.

BRITISH
MOTHS.
683. The Small Yellow Underwing (Heliodes
A rbuti) &
683. THE SMALL YELLow UNDERwing.—
The palpi are rarely porrected beyond the
frontal tuft; the antennae are slender and
simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
rather ample, they have a nearly straight
costal margin and a pointed, but not acutely
pointed, tip; their colour is rich mahogany-
brown sprinkled with a few white scales, and
having a median as well as a hind-marginal
darker shade; the fringe is black at the two
extremities and in the middle, the rest being
rich orange-colour: the hind wings are black
with a median transverse deep yellow blotch
and a pale fringe : the head and thorax are
dark brown; the body is very slender and
smoky black, with narrow gray belts.
The CATERPILLAR is described by Guenée as
having a pale green or gray-green head, body,
and legs; the medio-dorsal stripe deeper green
and bordered on both sides with white, the
sub-dorsal stripe lighter, and the spiracular
stripe white, bordered above with darker green
or gray. It feeds on field chickweed (Ceras-
tium artense), and changes to a CHRYSALIs on
the surface of the earth.
The MoTH appears on the wing in May and
June; it is generally distributed in Great
Britain, being very abundant in Cornwall, not
uncommon in Devonshire, and so on eastwards
and northwards, even extending into Scotland,
but I cannot learn that it has ever been
observed in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Iſeliodes Arbuti.) -
00s. Engramelle, who calls this little in-
sect La Polynome, represents a variety with
the hind Wings white, a very unusual circum-
stance; it is very little subject to variation.
It is the Heliaca of the Vienna Catalogue,
Fasciola of Esper, Domestica of the Naturfors-
cher, and Policula of others; so that Engra-
melle's French name is very appropriate.
- * *-------------------, .
684. The Spotted sulphur (Agrophila sulphuralis).
684. THE SPOTTED SULPHUR.—The palpi
are decidedly porrected, very sharp-pointed,
and moderately distant from each other; the
antennae are very slender and alike in both
sexes; the fore wings are very nearly straight
on the costa and scarcely pointed at the tip ;
their colour is sulphur-yellow, with two trans-
verse black bars parallel with the hind mar-
gin, two longitudinal black stripes parallel
with the inner margin, and five black spots in
the area enclosed between the inner black bar,
which is often interrupted or broken up into
spots, and the upper black stripe : I find no
trace of the discoidal spots; the fringe is
black, slightly interrupted at the costal end
with whitish-yellow ; the hind wings are
smoky black; the face is yellow, the crown of
the head blaðk; the thorax is black on the
median disk, yellow on the sides; the body is
belted with black and yellow, but neither
colour very bright. -
The following particulars of the CATERPILLAR
have been kindly handed me by Mr. Hellins,
at the request of Mr. Brown, of Cambridge, who
procured him the eggs:—“Unfortunately,
only one egg reached me uninjured, and the
solitary caterpillar died when it seemed just
about to change; it was hatched June 25th
and died August 15th. The food which I
gave it, and which it seemed to eat readily,
was the field bindweed (convolvulus arvensis),
and for the first half of its life two small
shoots, bearing five or six little leaves, suf-
ficed it both for food and resting place. When
first hatched it was of a dingy gray colour,
with four black transverse humps on as many
of the middle segments; but at each moult
these humps became less and less prominent,
* * * **** * ***** **** **------------------...-


NOCTUAS.
443
until they disappeared entirely. When full-
grown, the caterpillar is about an inch long,
cylindrical, and having the segmental divisions
deeply indented; the claspers are six in
number, four ventral and two anal; the body
is thickest at the fourth segment, and when
at rest is usually bent in a curve from the
middle. The colour is a rich chocolate-
brown; the medio-dorsal stripe is rather
darker, but edged with very fine paler lines;
the sub-dorsal stripe is also darker, but very
faintly marked ; the spiracular stripe is broad,
of a pale yellow, with a fine brown thread
running through it; after the last moult there
are some deep yellow and orange spots in it
also, but these soon disappear, as do the usual
dorsal dots, which at first are black and plainly
visible.”
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, but
has only been taken in three of our English
counties, and neither in Wales, Scotland, nor
Ireland; the localities are in Cambridgeshire,
near Thetford in Norfolk, and near Brandon
in Suffolk.
sulphuralis.)
(The scientific name is Agrophila
685. The Pale-shoulder (Acontia albicollis).
685. THE PALE-SHOULDER.—The palpi are
porrected, approximate, small, and very in-
conspicuous, the terminal conical joints just
appearing beneath the frontal tuft ; the an-
tennae are simple: the fore wings are straight
on the costa, and rounded at the tip, they are
creamy-white at the base, and have a square
creamy-white spot on the costa, rather beyond
the middle; the basal white area has a black
dot near the base of the wing, and a curved
line above it, reminding one of an eye and eye-
brow ; the remainder of the wing is rich
purple-brown, mottled and marbled with
various shades and tints, and having three
white crescents near the anal angle ; the
fringe is long, the apical half brown, the lower
half white : the hind wings have the basal
area brown, this colour projecting three dif-
ferently-shaped lobes into the median area,
which is creamy-white, the hind margin is
occupied by a broad brown band, the fringe is
long and white: the head, thorax, and body
are white, the head and neck having the
faintest tinge of brown. -
According to M. Guenée “The caterpillars
of the genus Acontia possess but two pairs of
claspers; they are very long and very slender,
but rather incrassated towards the posterior
extremity; they are smooth, but the dorsal
dots or tubercles are very visible, and each is
surmounted by a hair: they feed on low
plants, and turn to chrysalids in small earthen
eocoons.”
The MOTH on the continent appears in July,
flying in the Sunshine. I possess one spe-
cimen supposed to be British, but know
nothing of date or locality. (The scientific
name is Acontia albicollis.)
686. The Four-spotted (Dysthymia luctuosa).
686. THE Four-spotte D.—The palpi are
rather long and very slender, the terminal
joint being very fine-pointed; the antennae
are simple in both sexes: the fore wings are
broad and ample, the costal margin very
straight; their colour is nearly black but
slightly marbled with other shades; the orbi-
cular is not to be traced; the reniform, on the
contrary, is very large and conspicuous, and it
-


444
MOTHS.
BRITISH
is either chalky-white or rosy-red, and at its
upper or costal extremity it actually touches
the costa, and has, moreover, a little lobe each
side of its costal extremity, which also touches
the costa : the hind wings are black with a
white median band, which is very various in
size and form, and is sometimes interrupted
in the middle; on the hind margin is a small
white spot, and the fringe is white with a
black spot in the middle.
The EGGS are laid in May, or early in June,
on the climbing stems and flower-buds of the
common bind-weed, and the young caterpillars
emerge in about ten or twelve days: the head
is then much larger in proportion to the body
than in more advanced life, but not so large
as is generally the case in infant caterpillars:
both the head and body are furnished with a
considerable number of hairs, which are far more
conspicuous at this early period than, a week
or ten days later : the body is of nearly equal
substance throughout, and the sides are nearly
parallel: they feed almost entirely by might,
and principally on the unexpanded flower-
buds of the bind-weed, hiding themselves by
day near the surface of the ground, and re-
maining motionless during daylight. The
full-grown caterpillar rests in a perfectly
straight position, so far as the sinuosities of
the plant will allow, on the slender stems of
the common field bind-weed (Convolvulus
artensis), the legs holding the stem slightly,
but the claspers being more firmly attached,
except the anal pair, which are stretched out
behind : when annoyed it falls to the ground,
rolled in a lax and imperfect ring, the head
turned on one side : the head is exserted and
porrected; it is of almost exactly the same
width as the second segment, and emits a
considerable number of straight hairs: the
body is elongate and rather slender; it is
attenuated towards the anal extremity; on the
second segment is a glabrous shining plate of
a semicircular figure, the convex side being
posterior; the remaining segments are dis-
tinctly marked, and each is slightly swollen in
the middle. The colour of the head is pale
rather shining brown, with eight irregular ||
longitudinal series of amorphous spots; the
plate on the second segment is dingy brown,
intersected by three paler stripes; the dorsal
area of the body is striped with brown of two
shades, there being three pale and four darker
stripes; the paler stripes are medio-dorsal and
lateral, the darker stripes alternating with
them, and each darker stripe having in each
segment a paler wart-like spot, which emits a
hair; the lower dark stripe on each side is
compound or composed of several minor
stripes; the ventral is decidedly paler than
the dorsal area, and the division between the
two is abrupt and clearly defined; there is a
medio-ventral series of black spots, connected
by a slender and indistinct stripe of the same
colour; the black spots are most conspicuous
on the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth seg-
ments: the legs are rather long, pale, semi-
transparent brown, with black rings; the
claspers are nearly concolorous with the
ventral area. These caterpillars, which were
full-fed on the 14th of June, went down to
undergo pupation on or under the surface of
the earth.
The MOTH appears on the wing in May,
June, August, and September. It has been
taken in the utmost profusion by Dr. Bat-
tersby, in Torquay, and subsequently by all
collectors who have visited the Jocality; also
near Exmouth by Dr. Jordan, in Hampshire,
Isle of Wight, Brighton and Lewes, in
Sussex, and near Gravesend, in Kent. (The
scientific name.is Dysthymia luctuosa.)
Obs. 1.-The caterpillars of the genus
Acontia, with which this species has usually been
associated, have only six claspers, four of them
ventral and two anal, whereas Luctuosa has
invariably ten, eight of them ventral and two
anal: this extraordinary discrepancy was
pointed out by M. Guenée, who did not,
however, consider it desirable to separate the
species generically: I think I have no choice
but to propose a new generic name for
Luctuosa. -
Obs. 2.—I am indebted to Mr. Vaughan
for the loan of the beautiful variety represented
in the lower figure.
NOCTUAS.
445
687. The Rosy Marbled (Erastria venustula).
687. THE Rosy MARBLED.—The palpi are
porrected, extending very considerably in
front of the head, the second joint is very
sparingly clothed with scales, the terminal
joint sharp-pointed and almost entirely naked ;
the antennae are very slender and simple in
both sexes; the habit of the insect is that of
a Tortria: ; the costal margin of the fore wings
is curved, more especially at the base; their
colour is creamy-gray, with a delicate rosy
tint on the basal portion of the costal area.
I find no trace of the orbicular; the reniform
is present, its median area being light brown,
and the circumscription of its minor lower
border white; a waved transverse white line
crosses the wing beyond the reniform; the
hind margin has a broad and somewhat
triangular brown blotch ; in the middle of
the inner margin is another large and some-
what triangular brown blotch ; this latter is
bordered with white and also intersected by
a white line near its basal extremity : the
hind wings are pale dingy brown : the head,
collar, and disk of the thorax are brown, the
sides and hind part of thorax almost white;
the body is gray.
The CATERPILLAR when annoyed falls from
its food-plant but does not roll itself in a
ring or feign death, being apparently satisfied
with the natural protection afforded by its
colour, for it is almost impossible to distinguish
it on the ground and among the grass: the
head is narrower than the second segment,
prone and shining : the body is smooth and
velvety, the fourth and fifth segments con-
siderably incrassated; the segments exhibit
a decided continuity, the interstices between
them being difficult to perceive: the colour
of both head and body is purplish-brown, with
a paler medio-dorsal stripe, which is indistinct
throughout, and nearly obliterated on the
third and fourth segments, and there is a
roundish spot of the same pale colour on each
side of the fifth segment : it feeds on the
yellow blossoms of the trailing tormentil
(Tormentilla reptans) and when full-fed, about
the end of August, it conceals itself at the
roots of the plant, or the short grasses among
which the plant grows in the sides of forest
roads, and there spinning a slight cocoon
changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIs.
The MoTH appears on the wing at the end
of June and during July. As far as regards
Great Britain, it has only been found in
Epping Forest, where it was discovered many
years back by Mr. Doubleday. (The scientific
name is Erastria venustula.)
Obs. I think that neither Treitschke nor
any subsequent author can have really been
acquainted with the caterpillar of this species:
my description is from the life, the specimens
described having been kindly presented to me
for that purpose by Mr. C. J. Biggs.
688. The Marbled White-spot (AErastria fuscula).
688. THE MARBLED WHITE-SPOT.-The palpi
are porrected, rather long, very slender,
and sharp-pointed; the antennae are slender
and alike in both sexes: the fore wings are
rather arched on the costal margin ; their
colour is dark marbled bistre-brown; the anal
angle is occupied by a large white blotch,
which is shaded with pale brown as it ap-
proaches the hind margin ; the reniform and
orbicular are distinctly outlined in white, the
median area being brown; the fringe is .
spotted: the hind wings are dingy gray-
brown : the head and thorax are brown; the
body is gray-brown and crested, the crest on
the fourth and fifth segments being prominent;
all the crests are tipped with brown.
I have not seen the CATERPILLAR of Erastria
fuscula, but M. Guenée describes it as of a
yellowish-gray colour, with a broad brown
continuous medio-dorsal stripe, a narrow black


446
BRITISH MOTHS.
and interrupted sub-dorsal stripe, and a
spiracular stripe of the ground-colour between
two shades of a brick-red colour; the head is
concolorous with the body, and has two black
spots; the legs are reddish: it feeds in August
and September on different species of bramble
(Rubus fruticosus, &c.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, and seems common in Cornwail and
Devonshire, and also in Monk’s wood among
brambles; it is occasionally found by Mr.
T}oubleday at Epping among brambles in dry
situations. Mr. Birchall informs us of this
species, also Bankia argentula and Hydrelia
wnca, that they occur in profusion at Killarney,
in Ireland; he says: “Anyone who has
traversed the bogs of the county Kerry in the
early part of June, will not soon forget the
astonishing numbers of these three insects,
which rise around him as he pushes his way
through the thick growth of sweet-gale (Myrica
gale).
689. The Silver-barred (Bankia argentitla).
689. THE SILVER-BARRED.—The palpi are
porrected, rather long, very slender, and
sharp-pointed; the antennae are slightly
pubescent in both sexes: the fore wings are
slightly arched on the costa, and sharply so at
the base; their colour is olive-green with two
white bars; the first commences near the
middle of the inner margin, and ascends
obliquely to the costal margin near its base,
it then proceeds along the costa until it touches
the thorax, and then curving downwards
ceases on the inner margin near its base; the
second white bar commences near the anal
angle and ascends obliquely to near the middle
of the costal margin; just beyond its middle
this bar projects a lobe towards the base of
the wing; there is an oblique white line near
the tip of the wing, and a double whitish band
on the hind margin : the hind wings are gray :
the head is olive-green sprinkled with white
scales; the collar olive-green in front, white
behind; the body is gray and slightly crested,
its shape is linear, and its extremity tufted in
the male ; it is stouter, porrected, and pointed
in the female.
The cATERPILLAR, according to Guenée, is
green, the dorsal area and the incisions of the
segments being a little darker; there are two
lateral stripes of a yellowish-white, both of
them surmounted and bordered with dark
green : the head and legs are also green : it
feeds on grasses. The CHRYSALIS is short and
enclosed in a small oval cocoon on the surface
of the earth. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken in profusion at Killarney. Mr.
Stainton also gives Beachamwell, in Norfolk,
and Whittlesea Mere, in Cambridgeshire, as
localities where it has occurred. (The scien-
tific name is Bankia argentula.)
690. The Silver Hook (Hydrelia unca).
690. THE SILVER Hook.-The palpi are
porrected, slender, widely separated, and
pointed; the antennae are short, slender, and
very slightly pubescent in both sexes: the
costal margin of the fore wings is straight ;
there is a costal stripe of dove-colour, some-
timestinged with ochreous, and this is bordered
below by another stripe almost white; the
disk of the wing is wood-brown, excepting
the reniform, which is of the same white hue
as the sub-marginal stripe, of which it seems
to form an oblique projecting lobe; the hind-
marginal band is most delicately lined with
different shades of brown, the extreme inner
and extreme outer borders of this band being


NOCTUAS.
447
pure white: the hind wings are dingy gray-
brown : the head, thorax, and body are
grayish dove-colour.
The CATERPILLAR, according to Treitschke,
is very similar to that of Bankia argentula; it
is slender and of a green colour, with a white
lateral stripe.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June; it
is common in Cornwall, and Mr. Reading
says: “It is most plentiful on Dartmoor, in
Devonshire, but the nature of the place pre-
cludes one from obtaining it easily;” it has
also been taken in Somersetshire, Suffolk,
Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, and the
Lake District: it absolutely swarms in the
neighbourhood of Killarney, in Ireland, but I
think has not occurred in Scotland. (The
scientific name is Hydrelia unca.)
691. The Purple Marbled (Micra ostrina).
691. THE PURPLE MARBLED.—The palpi are
porrected, ascending, and curved, the terminal
joint being slender, distinct, and pointed; the
antennae have a very short and fine pubescence
in the male, in the female they are quite
simple; the fore wings are nearly straight on
the costa and pointed at the tip; their colour
is nearly white; there is an oblique median
orange band, and beyond this an oblique and
rather wide hind-marginal band generally
intersected by a waved white line; the fringe
is pale brown: the hind wings are rather
small and almost white, with two or three
pale brown transverse bars; the fringe is
almost white: the head and thorax have the
mixed colours of the fore wings; the body is
almost white.
The CATERPILLARs of the genus Micra have
only six claspers; they have a small head and
a rather stout body, attenuated at both extre-
mities; they are supposed to feed on the stems
of low-growing plants, especially towards the
ends; the CHRYSALIDs are short with promi-
ment segments, and are enclosed in lax oval
cocoons spun among the leaves of the food-
plant.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken in one English and one Welsh
county only, Devonshire and Glamorganshire.
Mr. Iteading records the capture of a specimen
at Torquay, by Miss Battersby, and Mr.
Stainton says one specimen was taken at Bide-
ford, in June, 1825. The Welsh locality is
thus recorded in the Entomologists’ Monthly
Magazine by Mr. Llewelyn : “It was in the
month of July, a few years since, that I
captured, on the sand hills at Pembrey, South
Wales, a pretty little insect whose identity I
have, until lately, been utterly unable to
establish. The spot at which I secured it was
rather barren and sandy, in a sheltered situa-
tion; an abundance of dwarf sallow grew in
the vicinity, and also, as far as I remember,
thistles, bed-straw, wild thyme, and a short
kind of grass, from which latter I expect that
I disturbed it ; at any rate, the insect was
flying low over the barren sand when I caught
it. The day was showery, with occasional
gleams of sunshine, during which H. Semele
and other butterflies were on the wing, and
during one of these gleams I took the insect,
and seeing that it was something I did not
know, boxed and pinned it at once. The
recollection of the capture is very fresh in my
mind, owing to the pleasure of the expedition
and the difficulty I have had in getting the
insect named.” (The scientific name is Micra
ostrina.)
Obs. 1.-The figure is from a specimen
kindly lent me by Mr. Bond.
Obs. 2.—My knowledge of this genus and
the two supposed species is very slender and
derived almost exclusively from books.
692. The Small Marbled (Micra parva).
692. THE SMALL MARBLED.—The palpi are
porrected, ascending, and curved; the terminal
joint is distinct and pointed; the antennae are


448
BRITISH MOTHS.
simple: the fore wings are nearly straight on
the costa and pointed at the tip ; their colour
is almost white, with a median oblique pale
brown band which is exteriorly bordered with
white, and a broad hind-marginal band of the
same pale hue, and intersected throughout by
a narrow waved white line; there is a black
dot just within this white line near its costal
extremity, and a second near the apical angle ;
the fringe is delicately pale brown: the hind
wings are white, slightly cloudy at the base,
and have a pale brown hind margin : the
palpi, head, thorax, and body are almost
white.
The CATERPILLAR is said by Stainton to feed
on the stems of thistle.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June : it
was first taken in England, says Mr. Reading,
at Teignmouth, in Devonshire, by Dr. Jordan,
who secured a specimen when flying about a
lamp. In 1858 Dr. Battersby found a good
habitat for this species at Torquay, where he
obtained examples. (The scientific name is
Micra parva.)
Obs. 1.-The figure is from a specimen
kindly lent me by Mr. Bond.
Obs. 2. —The following paragraph is copied
from the Entomologists’ Annual for 1859. It
is written by Dr. Battersby of Torquay: “My
daughter having found a specimen of Micra
ostrina in June, I was induced to go with my
children the two following mornings and make
a close search along the coast wherever the
cliffs are accessible, and having a good many
little eyes at work we were fortunate enough
to meet with five more; they occurred at
three places in an extent of about three miles,
and were met with half-way down the cliffs
to the water’s edge. We found Micra parva
Only in one place, and saw but two specimens,
both of which were captured; they as well as
Ostrina lay very close among the grass and
brambles, and when disturbed did not fly
more than a yard or two, Ostrina settling on
the ground, and Parva on plants: this was
the only difference I observed in their habits;
indeed, until I was able to examine both care-
fully at home, I considered that I had merely
taken the two sexes of Ostrina. We searched
the cliffs with great care for nearly a week
afterwards, but without seeing a trace of
more.” From the figure which accompanies
the notice in the Annual, I should have sup-
posed this insect to be the female of Ostrina.
I observe that M. Guenée regards Micra parva
as a distinct species, but whether Dr. Batters-
by’s insect belongs to that species or not,
we have no evidence. I incline to refer both
insects to the Phytometra minuta of Haworth,
p. 265, No. 30.
693. The Orange Underwing (Brephos Parthenias).
693. THE ORANGE UNDERWING.-The palpi
are concealed in a beak-like tuft of hairy
scales; the antennae of the male are thickened
and serrated, not pectinated: the wings are
ample, the costal margin of the fore wings
being straight almost to the tip, and then
slightly curved ; their colouris reddish-brown,
thickly sprinkled with paler scales; about
the middle of the costa there is a more or less
conspicuous pale blotch, which serves as the
commencement of a very indistinct transverse
pale median bar; this bar generally includes
the reniform ; half-way between the bar and
the base of the wing are two pale marks on
the costa : the hind wings are deep rich
orange with a large Smoky gray patch occu-
pying the inner margin, and projecting a sharp
angle into the very middle of the wing, where
it joins the dark discoidal spot: the head,
thorax, and body are black-brown and very
slender. •
The CATERPILLAR has a smooth semi-porrected
head, scarcely narrower than the second

NOCTUAS.
segment; the body is slightly hairy, rather
slender, and has the back always arched in
crawling, after the manner of a Geometer;
although it has eight ventral claspers, it never
uses the two anterior pairs for prehension;
when annoyed it does not feign death or roll
in a ring, but falls from its food-plant and
hangs by a thread: the colour of the head is
apple-green, of the body green, with a double
white or whitish-yellow medio-dorsal stripe,
and a lateral stripe of the same colour;
there is also a more conspicuous yellowish
stripe below the spiracles, which are black;
between the stripes there are two white dots
on each segment. It feeds on birch (Betula
alba), and when full-fed descends to the
ground, and spinning a slight cocoon either in
crevices of the birch-bark or on the ground,
changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing with the
first bright sunny days of March, flying in the
sunshine, and has been taken in Sussex,
Surrey, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Gloucestershire,
Herefordshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, York-
shire, in the Lake District, and also in
Scotland, but I think not in Ireland. (The
scientific name is Brephos Parthenias.)
694. The Light Orange Underwing (Brephos notha),
694. THE LIGHT ORANGE UNDERWENG.-The
palpi are concealed in a beak-like tuft of bristly
scales; the antennae of the male are distinctly
pectinated, those of the female simple: all
the wings are ample, the costal margin of the
fore wings is nearly straight, being slightly
curved only at the tip; their colour is grayish-
- - - - - - - - - - - -- ~~~. -----º-º-º-º-º- ----------------- - - - - - - - -
brown, with an indistinct paler blotch near the
middle of the costal margin, and the entire
surface is sprinkled with paler scales: the
hind wings are deep rich orange, with a large
smoke-coloured blotch on the inner margin,
an angle or lobe of which is prolonged into
the very middle of the wing, where it joins a
discoidal spot of the same colour; the hind mar-
gin is also smoke-coloured: the head, thorax,
and body are black-brown and very slender.
The CATERPILLAR has a smooth semi-porrected
head, almost triangular in shape, and rather
narrower than the second segment; the body
is rather slender, and always arched in crawling,
after the manner of a Geometer, and although
it has eight ventral claspers, like the cater-
pillars of true Noctude, it never uses the two
anterior pairs for prehension. When annoyed
it does not feign death or roll in a ring, but
drops from its food-plant, suspended by a
thread; the colour of the head is smoky
brown, with a darker patch in the middle of
each cheek; the body is dull apple-green with
four brown spots on the back of the second
segment, and a narrow continuous medio-
dorsal stripe rather darker than the ground-
colour, and rendered more conspicuous by
being bordered with very pale green ; on each
side, in the region of the spiracles, is a broader
continuous stripe, almost black; the belly and
claspers are green; the legs tinged with brown.
It feeds on aspen (Populus tremula). The CHRY-
SALTs is reddish-brown, smooth and shining.
The MoTH appears on the wing in March and
April: it has been taken in Sussex, Surrey,
Kent, Essex, Berkshire, Suffolk, Gloucester-
shire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, and York-
shire. (The scientific name is Brephos motha.)
695. The Light Spectacle (Abrostola Urtica).
695. THE LIGHT SPECTAcLE.—The palpi are
long and slender, not directly porrected, but
obliquely ascending, the second joint is lent,
EDWARD NEWMAN’s BRITISHN
Moths. No. 29. PRICE 610.
A LoN DON : W. TwkE louk,
* 337, STRAND.
—re-



450 BRITISH
MOTHS.
the terminal straight; the scales on both are
short, so much so on the terminal joint as to
make it appear almost naked; the antennae are
delicately pubescent but otherwise simple in
both sexes: the fore wings are straight along
the costa until near the tip, when they are
slightly curved and pointed; their colour is
inclined to gray both at the base and hind
margin, the median area being brown, and
being also bounded on both sides by a double
transverse line; the discoidal spots are im-
perfectly outlined in brown, the orbicular is
the larger of the two, oblique and reniform ;
the tip of the wing is dark brown : the hind
wings are glossy black-brown, rather paler at
the base : the head, thorax, and body are
gray-brown; the thorax and body are crested.
The CATERPILLAR never rolls in a ring, but
sometimes feigns death and falls off its food-
plant when disturbed, assuming a bent pos-
ture: it is slender at the anterior extremity
—the second, third, and fourth segments being
particularly attenuated and stretched out
leech-like in crawling; the fifth, sixth, and
seventh segments are tumid on the back, but
scarcely humped; the eighth, ninth, and
tenth segments are rather tumid and very
convex on the back; the twelfth segment is
humped, and terminates in two sharp short
distant points directed backwards; between
this bifid hump and the thirteenth segment
the body is slightly concave, and the hind
claspers are passed under the body in crawling;
the prevailing colouris clear pale green, mixed
with white-green on the back, and not varied
with brown; the clear green forms an inter-
rupted median stripe of shuttle-shaped mark-
ings down the back, one on each segment;
also, two oblique marks of the same green on
each segment, distant in front but approxi-
mate behind, and forming something like
V-shaped markings pointing backwards; there
is a narrow white stripe along the middle of
each side on the fifth, sixth, and seventh seg-
ments; this is connected by a very distinct
white line with the white on the back: it feeds
on theatinging-nettle (Urtica dioica), and is full-
fed in September, when it spins up amongst
the leaves.
The MOTH appears on the wing twice in the
year, in June and August, and occurs in all
our English, Scotch, and Irish counties so
far as they have been investigated by ento-
mologists. (The scientific name is Abrostola
Urtica.)
696. The Dark Spectacle (Abrostola triplasia).
696. THE DARK SPECTACLE.—The palpi are
long and slender, not directly porrected, but
obliquely ascending : the second joint is bent,
the terminal joint straight, the scales on both
are short, so much so on the terminal joint as to
make it appear almost naked; the antennae are
delicately pubescent, otherwise simple in both
sexes: the fore wings are straight along the
costa, where they are slightly curved and
pointed, their hind margin is waved; their
colour is chocolate-brown, the general area of
the wing is divided into three compartments
by two compound transverse lines; the median
area is almost uniformly brown and contains
indications of the usual discoidal spots; the
basal area is paler, being tinged with ochreous;
the apical area has a blackish cloud near the
tip, and an ochreous blotch near the anal angle;
a pale ZigZag transverse line, parallel with the
hind margin, passing through both of these:
the hind wings are dark smoky-brown, paler
at the base; the outer portion of the fringe
is silvery-brown: the head, thorax, and body
are brown, the thorax and body crested.
The CATERPILLAR never rolls in a ring, but
feigns death when disturbed, and falls to the
ground, assuming somewhat the figure of a
pot-hook, or letter S. The body is attenuated
in front, the second, third, and fourth seg-
ments being elongated and stretched out leech-
like in crawling; the fifth and sixth segments
are humped and elevated in crawling; the
claspers are ten in number, the anterior pair,
those on the seventh segment, being generally

NOCTUAS.
451
held clear of the ground in crawling; the
twelfth segment is humped, and the hump is
concave, culminating: in two lateral points;
the outline of the caterpillar from this last
hump descends perpendicularly to the anal
pair of claspers, and these evidently pass under
the body whenever moved forward in walking.
The prevailing colour is olive-green or dingy
brown, very variable; the second, third, and
fourth segments being deeper olive-brown,
with a whitish central dorsal stripe, and
generally also a short lateral stripe of the
same pale hue; the fifth and sixth segments
have each a dark velvety patch on the middle
of the back, which I have already described
as humped; on the fifth segment this patch is
triangular, the apex of the triangle being
anterior, and the triangle surrounded by a
whitish margin ; the patch on the sixth seg-
ment is rounded before and behind, and there
margined with white, but open and not dis-
tinctly margined on the sides; the twelfth
segment has a transversely oblong dark velvet
patch, surrounded with a white line; on all
the segments, from the fifth to the twelfth
inclusive, is a rather indistinct and narrow
white stripe just above the spiracles, which
are also white; above this lateral stripe is an
oblique line of the same colour on each seg-
ment. It feeds on the stinging-nettle (Urtica
dioica) and hop (Humulus lupulinus), and is
full-fed about the end of September, when it
spins up amongst the leaves.
The Moth appears on the wing twice in the
year, in June and August, and seems to have
been found in England, Scotland, and Ireland,
wherever investigated by entomologists. (The
scientific name is Abrostola triplasia.)
697. The Scarce Burnished Brass (Plusia orichalcea).
697. THE SCARCE BURNISHED BRASS.—The
º,
palpi are curved upwards in front of the frontal
tuft; the second joint is scaly, the terminal
joint long, slender, pointed, and almost naked ;
the antennae are simple: the fore wings are
nearly straight on the costa, and slightly bent
and pointed at the tip ; their colour is umber-
brown, suffused in recent specimens with a
purple glow; they are traversed by two
transverse lines, the outer of which divides a
large gold-coloured metallic blotch, which is
situated near the apical angle : the hind wings
are gray-brown: the head, thorax, and body
are brown : the body crested.
The CATERPILLAR is green, the medio-dorsal
line white, edged with a wavy streak, the
spiracular stripe broad and white, edged above
with dark green; spots white (Treitschke).
It feeds on hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium canna-
binum).-(Stainton's Manual, vol. i. p. 306).
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and is always regarded as a great rarity by
entomologists: Mr. Reading informs us it
has been taken by Mr. E. Lethbridge, near
Plymbridge, and under the Hoe, at Plymouth;
the specimens were flying from flower to
flower in open daylight; Mr. Dale has taken
it in Dorsetshire; Mr. Harding, near Deal, in
Kent; and Mr. Jenner Fust reports it for his
thirteenth subprovince, which includes Glou–
cestershire and Monmouthshire. (The scientific
name is Plusia orichalcea.)
Obs. I do not possess a specimen of this
beautiful moth, and have to acknowledge my
obligation to Mr. Bond for his kindness in
lending me one to figure and describe.
&y , - f2 a.-rº-'--
tº 4 -º/º
#698. The Burnished Brass (Plusia chrysitis).
698. Tire BURNISHED BRASS.—The palpi
are curved upwards in front of the frontal
tuft, the second joint is scaly; the terminal


452 BRITISH
MOTHS.
joint long, slender, and naked; the antennae
are simple: the fore wings are very straight
in the costa, but decidedly curved, indeed
slightly hooked, and sharply pointed at the
tip ; their colour is metallic golden-green,
with a brown blotch at the base, another and
larger brown blotch at the middle of the costal
margin, and a third opposite this on the inner
margin; in some of my specimens the costal
and inner-marginal blotches unite in forming
a median band; the hind margin itself is occu-
pied by a semi-metallic band much less bright
than the other metallic portions of the wings:
the hind wings, head, thorax, and body are
gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a bent posture on
the leaves or stems of its food-plant, the
anterior extremity being held up and not
touching the food-plant, to which the attach-
ment is by the claspers only ; these are six in
number, four ventral and two anal; the head
is small and shining, the face rather flat ; the
body is attenuated at the anterior extremity,
and stretched out leech-like ; it gradually in-
creases in size to the twelfth segment, which
is swollen and rather humped; the colour of
the head and body is apple-green without
stripes, but having a dorsal ornamentation on
each segment consisting of six white marks;
the two of these nearest the middle are V-
shaped, the angles of the W’s pointing back-
wards; the others, two on each side, are linear
and slightly oblique; on the second, third,
and thirteenth segments the W’s are wanting,
the lines only being present; there is a very
slender lateral stripe also white, and imme-
diately below this are the spiracles, visible
orily from their black circumscription; beneath
the spiracles is a series of white dots. It feeds
on the white dead-nettle (Lamium album),
burdock (Arctium Lappa), stinging-nettle,
(Urtica dioica), andanumberofotherlow plants,
and is full-fed in June, when it spins a whitish
cocoon among the leaves of its food-plant, and
therein changes to a black CHRYSALIS with a
pointed horn at its anal extremity.
The MoTH appears on the wing twice in
the year, in June and August, and is of fre-
quent occurrence in our English, Scotch, and
Irish counties. (The scientific name is Plusia
chrysitis.)
699. The Gold Spangle (Plusia bractea).
699. THE GOLD SPANGLE.-The palpi are
curved upwards, the second joint being long
and slender and standing quite upright; the
antennae are simple: the fore wings afe nearly
straight on the costa, and scarcely bent at the
tip ; their colour is rich umber-brown below
the median blotch, which is of a most brilliant
metallic gold-colour; the shape of this blotch
will be best seen by a reference to the figure :
the hind wings are gray-brown towards the
margin and paler at the base, and the wing-
rays are darker in this pale portion : the
palpi and front of the thorax are reddish-
brown; the crown of the head and disk of
the thorax are umber-brown ; the body is pale
gray, brown towards the base, red-brown to-
wards the tip; the back is crested, the crest
on the fourth segment being the most con-
spicuous and very dark brown.
The CATERPILLAR has a small flat and por-
rected head, much narrower than the second
segment; the body has the segmental divisions
very clearly marked; the anterior ones are
rather small, but those which follow are
stouter, and the posterior ones, from the ninth
to the twelfth, are very stout and tumid; the
entire surface of the body is covered with fine
scattered hairs; there are but six claspers, two
each on the ninth, tenth, and thirteenth seg-
ments: the head is pale green, with a narrow
brown line on each side : the body is apple-
green, with a narrow medio-dorsal white line,
and a narrow lateral white line on each side.
It feeds on the hemp agrimony (Eupatorium
cannabinum) and, spinning a rather loose
cocoon near the roots of the plant, therein

NOCTUAS.
changes to a CHRYSALIS. I am it.debted to my
kind friend, Mr. Doubleday, for drawings of
the caterpillar.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in Worcestershire, Shropshire,
Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Scotland. Mr.
Birchall took it in the county Wicklow in
Ireland. (The scientific name is Plusia
bractea.)
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- / 2.
2. ' 700. The Göld Spot (Plusia Festuca).
700. THE GoLD SPOT.-The palpi are com-
pressed, porrected and ascending ; the long
scales of the second joint projecting in front;
the terminal joint is erect and pointed; the
antennae are simple: the fore wings are nearly
straight on the costal margin and scarcely at
all bent towards the tip; their colour is brown,
washed here and there with gold, more par-
ticularly at the base of the costal margin,
near the apical end of the same, along the
hind margin, especially toward its anal angle,
and on the inner margin near its base; there
are also three metallic spots, the colour of
which is somewhat between the white of
silver and the yellow of gold; their brightness
is intense; two of these are obscurely pear-
shaped, and placed lengthwise in the middle
of the wing; the third is nearer the apical
angle and adjoins the golden wash at the
apical extremity of the costa : the hind wings
are gray-brown, all the fringes are pale rosy-
brown, the antennae, head, palpi and thorax
are reddish-brown; the body gray-brown
tipped with reddish-brown.
The cATERPILLAR has rather
narrower than the second segment and
slightly porrected; the body is cylindrical
and rather stout, it is sparingly covered with
short fine hairs; it has but four ventral
claspers, and arches its back in crawling after
a small head,
---------------- - ----->{-------------- - ------, - ... ------- - - - - - -
the manner of Geometers : the colour of both
head and body is bottle-green, with six narrow
and equidistant white stripes on the back, and
a rather broader stripe on each side in the
region of the spiracles, bright yellow : it feeds
on several grasses in May and June, and is full
fed the beginning of August, when it spins a
whitish cocoon among the leaves of grasses
and changes to a green CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and is generally distributed in our English
counties, commencing with Cornwall and
Devonshire and reaching not only Yorkshire
but entering Scotland. Mr. Birchall says it
is common and widely distributed in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Plusia Festucce.)
701. The Plain Golden Y (Plusia Iota).
701. THE PLAIN GOLDEN Y.—The palpi are
porrected ascending and, excepting the terminal
joint which is erect and pointed, they are
completely muffled in scales; the antennae are
simple : the fore wings are straight on the
costal margin, slightly bent towards the pointed
tip, and somewhat produced at the anal angle
of the immer margin ; their colour is umber-
brown, washed with rosy-brown, except as
regards a large lozenge-shaped blotch, which
occupies the middle of the inner margin, and
ascends to the middle of the wing; this blotch
contains two bright marks of burnished gold,
the lower and smaller of these is round, the
upper is V-shaped : in one of my specimens
these are united; the brown tints of the wing
are softly blended together, and not sharply
divided: the hind wings are gray-brown, paler
at the base and having the wing-rays in the
paler area decidedly darker; all the fringes
are rosy-brown indistinctly alternated with
umber-brown : the head, thorax and body are
rosy-brown; the body is crested and the third


454
MOTHS.
BRITISH
crest is very prominent, and tipped with darker
brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a bent position,
the anterior extremity being elevated and held
away from its food-plant; it has but six clas-
pers; the head is small, shining and porrected;
the anterior part of the body is slender and
stretched out leech-like in crawling, when the
back is arched after the manner of a Geometer;
the body increases in thickness to the twelfth
Segment, which is swollen and rather humped;
the colour of both the head and body is apple-
green; there are three slender white lines on
each side of the medio-dorsal vessel, which is
scarcely visible; and on each side just above
the spiracles is a slender yellow line perfectly
continuous from the mouth to the anal claspers,
this is bordered above by a darker stripe also
very slender, this dark or black border is
Sometimes interrupted, and sometimes almost
absent; on each side of this side-stripe is a
Series of white dots, generally three on the dor-
Sal surface of each segment, and four below the
stripe; the spiracles are whitish and scarcely
perceptible: it feeds on the white dead-nettle,
(Lamium album), the stinging nettle (Urtica
dioica), and other low plants, and is full-fed at
the beginning of June, when it spins a whitish
cocoon among the leaves of its food-plant and
in this changes to a black CHRYSALIS, which has
the incisions of the ventral segments greenish-
brown, and the wing-case is prolonged beneath
the segments of the body; the body terminates
in a small black knob, which is rather pro-
minent and furnished with six short spines
placed side by side; the two middle ones are
longer than the rest, placed close together and
bent in the form of a hook, the spiracles are
reddish. .
The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
July, more plentifuly in the latter; it occursin
all our English and Scotch counties, and Mr.
Birchall says it is common and widely distri-
buted in Ireland. (The scientific name is
Plusia Iota.)
Obs. My knowledge of the caterpillar and
chrysalis are derived from the “Collection des
Chenilles.”
702. The Beautiful Golden Y (Plusia pulchrina).
|
702. THE BEAUTIFUL GoLDEN Y.—The palpi
are porrected and ascending, and, excepting
the terminal joint, which is erect and pointed,
they are completely muffled in scales; the
antennae are simple: the fore wings are straight
on the costal margin, and slightly bent towards
the pointed tip; their colour is rosy-brown,
blotched and variegated with darkrich umber-
brown; there is a large lozenge-shaped blotch
near the middle of the inner margin, which
contains two bright marks of burnished gold;
the lower and smaller of these is round, the
upper somewhat V-shaped, and emitting a
thread-like line of glittering scales, which
meanders nearly to the base of the inner
margin ; both the discoidal spots are per-
ceptible, and are always either partially or
entirely circumscribed with a thread-like
boundary of metallic scales: the hind wings
are gray-brown, paler towards the base,
the paler area having a darker median bar,
wing-rays, and discoidal spot; the fringe of
all the wings is rosy-brown, alternating with
darker brown; the head and thorax are varied
with the two shades of brown; the body is
gray-brown, redder towards the extremity :
its back is crested, the crests being darker.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been taken in most of our English and
Scotch counties, and Mr. Birchall informs us
it is widely distributed and common in Ire-
land. (The scientific name is Plusia pul-
chrina.) -
Obs. Contrasted with the preceding species
Pulchrina is more decidedly variegated than
Iota ; the boundaries of the shades being more
sharply defined.

NOCTUAS.
455
sms-mass- -
703. The Silver Y (Plusia Gamma).
703. THE SILVER Y.—The palpi are por-
rected and ascending, the second joint very
scaly, the terminal joint slender and erect;
the antennae are simple: the costal margin of
the fore wings is straight nearly to the tip,
where it is very slightly hooked and pointed;
their colour is glittering-gray, mottled and
marbled; with sepia-brown; the darker colour
forms a large lozenge-shaped patch between
two pale transverse lines, and occupying the
middle of the inner margin ; in this patch is a
bright silvery mark, supposed to represent the
Greek gamma Y and the English y, as written:
the hind wings are pale at the base, with
dark wing-rays, there is a broad black hind-
marginal band; the fringe of all the wings is
gray.interrupted with smoky-brown : the head,
thorax, and body are gray-brown, the last
crested.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a bent posture, the
back slightly arched: the head is small and
porrected in crawling, the body having the
action characteristic of a Geometer; the
anterior extremity is attenuated, and the
remainder of the body gradually increases in
thickness to the twelfth segment, which is
thickened and slightly humped; every partemits
short bristle-like hairs; like its congener it
has four ventral and two anal claspers; the
colour of both head and body is apple-green, or
glaucous-green, with six very narrow and rather
inconspicuous white stripes; in the region of
the spiracles is a yellow stripe, almost as
slender as the six dorsal stripes, but more
conspicuous, inasmuch as it has a decidedly
yellow tint; closely approximate to this last
are the spiracles of a whitish-green colour,
and very inconspicuous; the legs are reddish-
brown, the claspers green : it feeds on all
kinds of garden herbs and low plants; I find
it every year on a hop (Humulus lupulus) in
my own garden; when full-fed it spins a
whitish cocoon among the leaves of its food-
plant, and in this it changes to a black Shining
CHRYSALIS.
The MoTH appears on the wing throughout
the summer and autumn, flying about flowers
morning, noon, and night; it comes freely to
light, and is equally attracted by Sugar:
throughout Great Britain and Ireland it seems
ubiquitous. (The scientific name is Plusia
Gamma.)
704. The Ni Moth (Plusia Yi).
704. THE NI MoTH.—The palpi are por-
rected, but scarcely ascending, the second
joint is scaly, but not densely so ; the terminal
joint slender and pointed; the antennae are
simple: the costal margin of the fore-wings is
straight nearly to the tip, when it is slightly
bent and somewhat pointed; their colour is
gray, mottled and marbled with sepia-brown;
this darker colour occupying the median area
of the wing, and containing a dull silvery
mark supposed to bear a resemblance to the
Greek 9 or English y : the hind wings
are gray-brown, rather paler at the base, where
‘...they have darker wing-rays: the head, thorax,
and body are gray-brown, the latter with long
reddish scales at the sides near the tip.
The MOTH is an inhabitant of North America,
Italy, Sicily, and the South of France; it
appears on the wing in June and August. A
single specimen is said to have been taken at
Alphington, near Exeter, by Mr. D’Orville, on
the 13th of August, 1868, flying over the
flowers of red valerian. I make use of the
qualified term “is said,” because the details
given by Dr. Knaggs, in the Entomologists’
Monthly Magazine, vol. v., p. 127, and in the


456
BRITISH
MOTHS.
Annual for 1868, p. 125, do not agree with
the authentic examples of the species from the
continent of Europe kindly given me by Mr.
Doubleday and described above. (The scien-
tific name is Plusia AV.) -
705. The Scarce Silver Y (Plusia interrogationis).
705. THE ScARCE SILVER Y.-The palpi
are porrected and ascending, the second joint
very scaly, the terminal joint slender, short,
and erect ; the antennae are simple : the costal
margin of the fore wings is straight nearly to
the tip, then slightly bent and slightly pointed;
their colour is gray of various shades, beauti-
fully mottled and marbled, and having a rich
purplish-sepia tint; in the middle of the wing
is a silvery mark which has been variously
described, sometimes compared to a note of
interrogation ; its shape is inconstant, but its
more ordinary appearance is represented in the
engraving; the fringe is gray spotted with
sepia-brown; the hind wings are dark sepia-
brown with a pale median band and darker
wing-rays; the fringe is gray spotted with
brown : the head and thorax are mottled like
the fore wings, the body is gray-brown.
CATERPILLAR green with white marking
(Treitschke). It feeds on stinging-nettles (Ur-
tica dioica). (Stainton's Manual, vol. i., 308.)
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
has been taken by Lieut. Reed at Torquay,
and Mr. J. S. Dell near Cañn Quarry, Bick-
leigh Wale; these two captures, recorded by
Mr. Reading, are the only ones I have heard
of in the south of England, but other records
exist of its occurrence at Llangollen in Wales,
at Shrewsbury, in Derbyshire, Cheshire, York-
shire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, and the
Iſighlands of Scotland. It has not yet been
recorded as occurring in Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Plusia interrogationis.)
*.
S.
706. The Herald (Gonoptera Libatria).
706. The HERALD.—The palpi are porrected
and obliquely ascending ; the second joint is
long and densely clothed with scales, the ter-
minal joint long and slender; the antennae
are serrated; the fore wings are nearly straight
on the costa, hooked and pointed * tip,
and strongly toothed on the hind margin; their
colour is gray, thickly freckled with minute
transverse brown streaks, a little darker than
the ground colour; the median and basal areas
are tinged with rufous-orange; there is a white
dot at the middle of the base, and an indistinct
transverse gray line before the orbicular, which
is represented by a small white spot; the reni-
form is not perceptible, but beyond the situa-
tion it usually occupies, is an oblique double
gray line ; a third gray line descends from
near the tip, and is lost in the hind-marginal
area: the hind wings are gray-brown : the head
and thorax are tinged with reddish-brown, the
body is gray-brown and flattened.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position on its food-plant; the head is smooth,
obviously narrower than the second segment;
the body is long, slender, and slightly attenu-
ated towards both extremities; it is smooth
and velvety, both in appearance and to the
touch ; the claspers are ten, but I have ob-
served that the first ventral pair are rarely
used in crawling ; the anal pair are rather
widely separated and are stretched out behind ;
the colour of the head is pale apple-green, of
the body apple-green, with a narrow medio-
dorsal stripe, slightly darker, but very indis-
tinct; the ventral area is glaucous-green,
but the division between the dorsal and
ventral areas is neither abrupt nor decided;
there is a whitish and narrow lateral stripe,
which, however, seems rather to form part of
i
----------------


NOCTUAS.
457
Jº
the dorsal area, than to divide the dorsal from
the ventral; the legs and claspers are glaucous-
green; the spiracles are yellowish. It feeds
on the sallow (Salia, caprea), and when full-fed,
which is towards the end of June, it binds to-
gether the leaves at the end of one of the
twigs, and within the domicile thus formed it
spins a beautifully white, oval cocoon, in which
it turns to a black CHRYSALIs, which has a
sharp-pointed extremity furnished with
hooks.
The Motif appears on the wing in August
and September, but is very fond of hybernat-
ing in the perfect state almost as soon as it
has left the chrysalis : common as it appears
to be throughout the kingdom, I have only
found it in stables, outhouses, and the dwell-
ings of man; I have seen more than a dozen
in a thatched tool-house that was kept locked,
and into which they must have entered through
a small square aperture left for the admission of
light, and always closed unless when the tools
were required; and they seemed to remain
quite stationary all the winter, each keeping to
the site it had originally selected. (The
scientific name is Gonoptera Libatric.)
707. The Copper Underwing (Amphipyra pyramidea).
707. THE COPPER UNDERWING.—The palpi
are rather long and ascend in front of the
frontal tuft; the second joint is somewhat club-
shaped, slender at the base, and gradually
thickened towards the tip; they are scaly, but
the scales lie flat and are closely appressed ;
the terminal joint is rather long, naked and
pointed, and the points incline towards each
other, scruetimes even meeting; the antennae
are simple: the fore wings are broad, slightly
arched on the costal margin, rounded at the
tip, and slightly scalloped on the hind margin,
their colour is brown ; the orbicular is a mere
black dot in a pale ring, the reniform is indis-
tinguishable; there is an imperfect pale zigzag
line between the base and the orbicular, and a
more distinct zigzag line beyond the orbicular,
followed by a suffused pale bar and two
transverse series of white dots of diverse
forms: the hind wings are dull orange-brown
towards the costal margin : the head, body
and thorax are gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests in nearly a straight
position ; it does not fall from its food-plant if
annoyed, unless compelled to do so, and it
never rolls in a ring. It is stout, obese, of
nearly uniform width throughout ; the second,
third and fourth segments, however, are
rather more slender, and the twelfth rises in a
pyramidal form, and is surmounted with a
medio-dorsal horn-like point which is slightly
curved backwards. The colour of the head is
apple-green ; the body in some examples
apple-green, in others glaucous-green : in all
there is a narrow medio-dorsal stripe extend-
ing from the head to the anal flap, and inter-
rupted only by the horn-like summit of the
twelfth segment, which is red : a lateral
stripe passes along each side, just below the
spiracles, from the head to the extremity of
the anal flap, the spiracles themselves being
white and surrounded by a black ring on each
side; exactly intermediate between the medio-
dorsal and lateral stripe is a waved and much
interrupted stripe which originates imme-
diately behind the head, and, after pursuing
its sinuous course along eleven segments,
ascends to the summit of the pyramidal pro-
tuberance on the twelfth, and again descends
in a curve, vanishing in the anal flap; looking
down on the summit of the pyramidal pro-
tuberance, six stripes seem to radiate from it
in as many different directions: besides these
stripes there are several dots on every segment,
excepting the second; on the third and fourth
segments these dots are eight in number, and
arranged in a transverse dorsal series; on the
following segments there are generally three
of these dots between the medio-dorsal stripe
and the interrupted stripe, and one between
the interrupted stripe and the lateral stripe:
the whole of these stripes and dots are of a
"------------- --------

458
MOTHS.
BRITISH
yellowish-white colour and are very distinct;
each dot emits a minute and delicate hair from
its centre; the legs are green, spotted with
black, the black preponderating; the ventral
surface and claspers are apple-green. It
feeds on oak (Quercus Robur) and other trees,
and is full-fed about the 1st of June, and then
changes to a CHRYSALIS in a cocoon on the
surface of the earth.
The MOTII appears on the wing in August,
and comes freely to sugar in our southern and
midland counties, extending, but less com-
monly, as far north as Yorkshire. Mr. Birchall
says it is common at Killarney in Ireland.
(The scientific name is Amphipyra pyramidea.)
708. The Mouse (Amphipyra Tragopogonis).
708. THE MoUSE.-The palpi are rather
long, and ascend in front of the frontal tuft ;
the second joint is rather club-shaped, the
scales being closely appressed and lying very
smooth; the terminal joint is naked and
pointed, the two points approaching and nearly
meeting. The antennae are simple, the fore-
wings are slightly arched on the costa and
rounded at the tip; their colour is dull brown
but shining; the orbicular is simply a black dot;
the reniform two black dots placed one above
the other as in the printed colon : the hind
wings are gray-brown rather paler at the base:
the head and thorax are dull brown ; the body
gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests with its back slightly
curved, the extremities being somewhat
elevated, but not so conspicuously as in the
Cuspidates: the head is narrower than the
second segment, into which it is partially
received: the body is smooth and velvety,
almost uniformly cylindrical, but with the
twelfth segment dorsally raised into an
angular protuberance. The colour of the
head and body in some specimens I examined
was glaucous-green, in others apple-green;
in the glaucous specimens there were two
narrow and rather distant white stripes, which
commenced very faintly on the second segment,
and ascended making an obtuse angle on the
twelfth and vanished on the thirteenth, in the
apple-green specimens these stripes were pale
yellow ; in both there was a lateral stripe,
equally narrow, just below the spiracles; this
also was white in the glaucous specimen,
yellow in the apple-green ones; it commenced
on the Second segment, and was continued the
entire length of the caterpillar and round its
anal flap ; this side-stripe is margined above
with black, the black being sometimes inter-
rupted, but generally running from spiracle
to spiracle, and surrounding each with a
narrow black ring; the spiracles are oblong
and pure white: scattered over the body are a
few short and very slender bristles, only
visible under a lens of moderate power: the
legs are yellowish green : the claspers con-
colorous with the body. They were full-fed
on the 24th of May. My specimens fed on
the white thorn (Crataegus oayacantha), but
in gardens the caterpillars are very partial to
larkspurs: they retired just beneath the sur-
face of the earth on the 25th, and there changed
to smooth CHRYSALIDS, without spinning any
web or cocoon. --
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
August, and is common and generally distri-
buted in England, Scotland and Ireland. (The
scientific name is Amphipyra Tragopogonis.)
709. The Gothic (Nania typica).
709. THE GoTHIc.—The palpi are porrected
and ascending, the second joint flattened and
very scaly, the scales forming a projecting lobe
in front, beneath the terminal joint, which is


NOCTUAS.
459
* * * *-***********-es-º-º-, ... -
rather long, slender, naked, and ascending ;
the antennae are simple: the fore wings are
ample, the costa very slightly arched, and the
tip scarcely pointed; their colour is marbled
with darker brown, and ornamented with light
brown; the orbicular and reniform are distinct;
their circumscription is pale brown ; the wing-
rays are pale brown; and there are three
transverse pale brown lines; the first is rather
oblique, and situated before the orbicular, it
has dark edges; the second is bent and is
situated beyond the orbicular; it consists
of eight or nine double crescents, each
of which is bordered by a dark crescent of
similar size and shape; the cusps of all these
crescents point towards the hind margin; the
third transverse line is parallel with the hind
margin : the hind wings are gray-brown : the
head, thorax, and body are gray-brown, the
thorax strongly crested.
The EGGs are laid in July and August in
clusters on the leaves of pear, plum, and very
many other trees; I have always found them
on the upper surface of the leaf, and also
always in autumn, when the fruit has been ripe
or ripening; they hatch in ten or twelve days,
the young CATERPILLARs proceeding at once to
devour the upper cuticle and parenchyma of
the leaf, leaving the lower cuticle entire,
dry and brown; they lie closely packed side by
side, and apparently motionless, the only in-
dication being that day after day, and hour
after hour, the rank move gradually but surely
onwards, leaving a larger brown space be-
hind; in a few days, perhaps from ten to
fifteen, they abandon this arboreal life, and de-
scending scatter themselves over vegetables and
living plants of all kinds, obligingly selecting
dock where it can be found, but making
perfectly free with lettuce and autumnal
greens; in October the caterpillar begins to
hybernate, concealing itself in gardens at the
bottom of box-edging, or under the leaves of
herbaceous plants lying on the ground, or
under stones, or the leaves of docks. In the
spring it feeds greedily, but always, I believe,
on herbaceous plants, never ascending trees.
The full-fed caterpillar has a shining head
rather narrower than the second segment, and
a smooth velvety body; it rolls in a ring on
being annoyed: its colour is a dull pale brown,
with a rather darker medio-dorsal, and a much
darker lateral stripe; the latter has a blackish
border above; a longitudinal series of oblique
white lines intersects the lateral stripe. It
changes to a CHRYSALIS beneath the surface of
the ground.
The MOTH appears in June, and is common
everywhere, so far as entomologists have ex-
plored. (The scientific name is Mania typica.)
Obs. Guenée, who has noticed in France the
little companies of caterpillars of this insect,
observes, “La chemille 8e reneontre souvent par
petits groupes dans le jeune age, au premier
printemps.” In England I have only seen these
clusters in autumn.
710. The Old Lady (Mania Maura) Variety.

BRITISH
MOTHS.
--
710. The Old Lady (Mania inaura).
710. THE OLD TA DY. — The palpi are
moderately long, the second joint being
thickly clothed with scales, and slightly
ascending; the terminal joint is directed
straight forwards, and is slender, naked, and
pointed ; the antennae are almost simple: the
fore wings are rather arched on the costa,
slightly excavated at the tip, and decidedly
scalloped on the hind margin ; their colour is
black-brown ; the reniform and orbicular are
very distinct, and are contained in a dark
median band : the hind wings are black-brown,
with an oblique median pale line; their hind
margin is regularly scalloped: the head, thorax,
and body are black-brown ; the thorax and
body are crested; all the wings have a mar-
ginal border slightly paler than the general
area; this is particularly observable at the
apical angle of the fore wings, and the anal
angle of the hind wings: on the underside
this border exactly resembles the pale border
of Vanessa Antiopa.
The Eggs are laid on fruit trees, in the
autumn, and the young CATERPILLARs hyber-
nate early ; they feed again in spring, as soon
as the leaves expand, and are full-grown in
May; the head is slightly porrected and
rather small: the body is smooth and velvety,
rather attenuated and leech-like anteriorly,
but stouter from the seventh to the eleventh
segment: the colour of the head and body is
ingy umber-brown, with various darker and
paler markings; the head is obscurely reticu-
lated ; the second, third, and fourth segments
have an interrupted pale medio-dorsal stripe;
in some specimens this may be indistinctly
traced throughout every segment, except the
thirteenth; on the back of each segment from
the fifth to the twelfth, both inclusive, the
brown colour is intensified in a lozenge-shaped
mass; these lozenges are eight in number;
the last is cut off posteriorly by a transverse
black bar extending on each side to the
spiracles: on the side of each segment, from
the fifth to the twelfth inclusive, are a variety
of paler and darker markings: the spiracles
are reddish, with a black margin, and above
each is a rather complicated marking, con-
sisting principally of a pale oblique bar,
bordered posteriorly by a dark brown or
black oblique bar, and having a black
marking united to it anteriorly; on the
twelfth segment
extending from spiracle to spiracle. I have
found this caterpillar feeding on strawberry
leaves, but this is, I think, uncommon.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July and
August, and is fond of resorting to summer-
houses, boat-houses, sheds, &c., in the interior
of which it may frequently be observed in the
day time, sitting on the inner surface of the
roof: I once counted twenty-eight in a boat-
house at Godalming. Mr. Reading says that
a marked specimen has returned to the same
house after being repeatedly ejected. (The
scientific ſame is Mania Maura.)
Obs. It appears to me that Mr. Stephens
wisely separated this species generically from
the foregoing : both the insects figured were
kindly lent me by Mr. Bond.
is a narrow black bar

***
711.
711. THE BLACK NECK.—The palpi are por-
rected, the second joint stout and moderately
long, the terminal joint short, naked, and
pointed; the antennae are slightly ciliated ;
the fore wings are nearly straight on the costa,
The Black Neck (Torocampa Pastinum).
blunt at the tip, and waved on the hind
margin; their colour is pale brownish-gray
freckled with minute transverse short lines;
the orbicular is represented by a brown dot;
the reniform is dark velvety brown, with one
or sometimes two short oblique lines of the
same colour; the Wing-rays are concolorous
with the general area, but there is a trans-
verse shade beyond the reniform slightly
darker than the general area: the hind wings,
face, thorax, and body are pale gray-brown ;
the crown of the head and collar are rich
velvety brown.
The CATERPILLAR has a small, rather pointed
and rather porrected head, a long and leech-
like body considerably attenuated at the an-
terior extremity ; the colour of the head is
smoky-gray; the body has seven distinct
stripes, all of them rather narrow ; the medio-
dorsal is ochreous-yellow, the next on each
side black, the next yellow, the next and last
on each side plumbeous-gray, and including
several black dots and spots; all these stripes
are bordered with white ; the ventral surface,
legs, and claspers are very dark smoke-coloured,
almost black. It feeds on the purple vetch
(Pleia craeca).
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
is by no means generally distributed in this
country; it occurs in Cornwall, Devon, Somer-
set, Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Surrey, Kent,
Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire,
and has been reported from the lake district
and Yorkshire. (The scientific name is Toro-
campa Pastinum.)
t
712. The New Black Neck (Torocampa Cracca).
712. THE NEw BLACK NECK.—The palpi
are porrected, the second joint being stout and
|
moderately long, the third short, naked, and
pointed ; the antennae are slightly ciliated: the
i fore wings are straight on the costa, blunt at the
tip, and slightly waved on the hind margin ;
their colour is pale brownish-gray suffused
with a purple tinge and freckled with minute
transverse darker lines; the reniform is re-
presented by a cluster of dark-brown spots;
the orbicular is scarcely perceptible; there
are four equidistant brown spots on the costa ;
there is a transverse shade beyond the reni-
form, and the wing-rays, which are very pale,
are shown conspicuously in passing through
this: the hind wings are pale gray-brown ;
the face and disk of the thorax and body are
also pale gray-brown, but the crown of the
head and the collar are dark rich velvety
brown. *
Mr. Buckler thus describes the CATERPILLAR :
“When full grown it is an inch and a quarter
to an inch and a half in length. When viewed
from above it tapers towards the head, and
still more towards the posterior end; but
when seen sideways it appears almost uni-
formly long and slender. Its manner of crawl-
ing is a partial looping of the first six seg-
ments; the first two ventral claspers are very
slightly shorter than the others, but to such
an extent as to be scarcely noticeably so, and
it generally assumes an undulating posture in
repose along the stem of its food-plant. Along
the back, commencing on its head, is a dark
brown, very finely mottled broad stripe, widest
along the middle segment, and with an addi-
tional widening on the eleventh segment ; in
the centre of this is a thin, rather pale stripe,
enclosing the very dark brown dorsal line.
The subdorsal stripes are double, brown, with


462
BRITISH MOTHS.
a paler ochreous-brown ground, followed by a
pale stripe of ochreous, enclosing a very thin
brown line; the lateral lines double, dark
brown, extending from the mouth to the anal
claspers; this is edged above with black at
the anterior portion of each segment, the
upper one widening below in the middle, along
which are some black dots; the belly and legs
are brown. Within the dark portion of the
back, on each segment are placed four black
dots in the usual order, and on the eleventh
segment there is an additional black dot on
each side, outside the dark region; subdorsal
lines also, containing two black dots and a
minute ring. It feeds on the wood vetch
(Vicia sylvatica), and is full-fed about mid-
SUIIll]]] CI’.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has only occurred to entomologists in Devon-
shire, where it was discovered by the Rev. E.
Horton. (The scientific name is Towocampa
Cracca.)
713. The Anomalous (Stilbia anomala).
713. THE ANOMALOUS.—The palpi are short
and distant, they are porrected, and the
terminal joint is naked and porrected; the
antennae are slightly pubescent in the male,
simple in the female: the fore wings are
narrow, scarcely arched on the costa, and
blunt at the tip ; their colour is smoky gray
and glossy; both the discoidal spots are clearly
defined, and both are composed of the same
tints, first a black circumscription, then a
border of pale gray; within this a smoky
median area, and within the median area a
pale gray line; the position of the orbicular is
very oblique, its shape very elongate; the hind
wings are ample, much folded, of a pale pearly-
gray colour, and very glossy; the head, thorax
and body are gray-brown. * *
The CATERPILLAR according to Graslin, is
obese and of a greenish-yellow colour, with
the medio-dorsal and subdorsal stripes slender
and yellowish-white; the spiracular line is
broad and bluish-white, attenuated at both
extremities, and bordered above by a darker
tint; the spiracles above are blacker, and the
legs concolorous with the body; the head is
pale reddish-green: it feeds entirely on grass
in the open parts of woods. The CHRYSALIS is
short and of a yellow-ochre colour, with a
darker stripe down the back.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August
and September and seems very local: in some
localities in Cornwall and Devon it is abundant,
but always confined to a small space: it has
occurred in Hampshire, Dorsetshire, Sussex,
Surrey and Kent, it would seem that no ento-
mologist has observed it in the midland
counties of England, but it appears again in
the north, having been taken in Cheshire and
Lancashire; it has been found somewhat
abundantly in Scotland, my series having been
taken by the late James Foxcroft, at Kinloch
Rannoch, and Mr. Birchall says it is not
uncommon at Howth in Ireland. (The scien-
tific name is Stilbia anomala.)
714. The Alchymist (Catephia Alchymista).
714. THE ALCHYMIST.-The palpi are rather
long and curved upwards, the second joint is
slender and bent, the third is slightly dilated
at the extremity; the antennae are delicately
ciliated in the male, the ciliations white and
the shaft of the antenna black; the fore
wings are of moderate size and proportions;
the outline of the costa is slightly arched
both at the base and tip, but the middle
portion of the costa is nearly straight; the
hind margin is cut off obliquely, and decidedly
but not deeply scalloped; their colour is
almost black, but marbled and lined with still
deeper black; there is an indication of the site
where the reniform spot is usually placed;


NOCTUAS.
463
there are two white spots on the costa near
the tip, and the hind margin is occupied by a
broad pale band, the inner margin of which is
very irregular : the hind wings are smoky for
a very small space at the very base, and along
the inner margin there is a long somewhat
triangular snow-white space occupying the
basal portion of the wing to nearly one third
of its area: this is followed by a very broad black
band which is interrupted at the apical angle,
and again at the anal angle, by a longish but
narrow snow-white mark, which includes that
portion of the fringe that adjoins it. The
thorax is densely clothed with long erect
scales, and the body is crested in both sexes;
the colour of the head thorax and body is
Smoky black the extremity of the body being
slightly paler.
Guenée observes, that Esper’s figure of the
CATERPILLAR in no respects resembles it : he
therefore describes it de novo : the colour is
gray mixed with reddish; it has no distinct
stripes, but the border of the second segment
is bright yellow ; the trapezoids are salient
and of a yellow colour surrounded with black,
those on the fifth and twelfth segments are
elevated in a somewhat pyramidal form, notched
at the summit, and crowned with a few hairs;
a number of black dots are sprinkled without
order amongst them; the ventral area is bluish-
white, with a black spot on those segments
which have no legs or claspers; the spiracles
are yellow in black rings: it feeds on oak
(Quercus Robur) in August, and when full-fed
spins a slight cocoon, and therein changes to a
stout CHRYSALIs the anal extremity of which is
squarely truncate. -
The MoTH appears on the wing in May : it
occurs, although very rarely, in central and
Inorthern Europe, and a single specimen has
been taken at sugar by Dr. Wallace in the
Isle of White: this specimen is unique as
British, in the rich cabinet of Mr. Bond, to
whom I am indebted for the opportunity of
figuring and describing it for this work. (The
scientific name is Catephia Alchymista.)
715. The Clifden Nonpareil (Catocala Frawini).
715. TIE CLIFDEN NoNPAREIL.—The palpi
are porrected and slightly curved upwards,
the terminal joint being slender, pointed and
almost naked ; the antennae are long and
slender, pubescent in the male, and simple in
the female : the fore wings are somewhat
arched on the costa, the arch being gradual
from the base to the tip; they are regularly
scalloped on the hind margin; their colour is
gray, with various transverse and longitudinal
darker markings; the reniform is distinct, the
orbicular apparently absent; adjoining the
reniform on its inner side is a pale-gray blotch
without defined boundaries, and below the
reniform is another pale blotch with well-
defined boundaries; beyond the middle is an
acutely zig-zag bar, its outer moiety pale
gray, its inner moiety black : the hind wings
are black, with a median blue-gray band, and
a marginal white band, which is narrow and
delicately bordered with a waved black line;
the fringe is white; the head and thorax are
mottled-gray; the body is smoky-black, with
delicate blue-gray rings.

464
BRITISH MOTHS.
The CATERPILLAR rests with the ventral sur-
face closely appressed to a branch or twig of
the food-plant, and has no power of rolling in
a ring, and does not fall off or relinquish its
hold if annoyed, but seems to clasp the bark
all the more firmly, and to defy all at-
tempts at removal; the head is placed trans-
versely, the position being prone and the face
flattened ; it is much broader than the second,
third, or fourth segments; the body is convex
above and flattened beneath, and appears to
have fourteen segments, the one which is ad-
ditional occurring after the thirteenth ; the
number of claspers is ten, situated, as usual,
on the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and ter-
minal segments; after the fifth segment the l
body is gradually incrassated to the ninth seg-
ment, which has a dorsal hump, and the fifth
and sixth segments have each a pair of small
lobes in the ventral surface somewhat resem-
bling false claspers, and along each side where
the convex dorsal and flattened ventral surface
meet, is a continuous series of pointed fleshy
appendages mixed with hairs exactly similar
to those I have described as possessed by
Metrocampa margaritata at page 53 : the use
of these curious appendages no one has been
able to detect ; their resemblance to the
rootlets of ivy is very striking, and the imita-
tion of an ivy twig climbing on the branch of
the ash is absolutely perfect: the colour is
brownish-gray sprinkled with black ; the
}
underside is somewhat putty-coloured, with
a large black spot on each segment : it feeds on
ash (Fraxinus excelsior), and poplar, and is full-
fed in July, when it spins a net-work of silk
among the leaves, and in this changes to a
smooth CHRYSALTs covered with a mealy powder
or bloom of a bluish-gray colour.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August
and September, and is always esteemed a great
prize, and some supposed English specimens
are sold by dealers at a very high price, a
fact that holds out a perpetual premium to
fraud. I strongly recommend entomologists
never to buy an English specimen : if they
desire to place an example of this beautiful
insect in their cabinets, let them give a few
bence for a French or German specimen, and,
p p y
having labelled it with care, place it in its ap-
pointed station: it is an excess of folly to
give two or three pounds for an insect just
because it is supposed to be taken on the
English instead of the French side of the
Channel. This practice, however, prevails to
so great an extent as to render it next to im-
possible to unravel the history of every re-
puted British specimen. Single specimens
have been occasionally reported as captured in
Somerset, Wilts, Dorset, Hants, Isle of Wight,
Sussex, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk,
Cambridge, Shropshire, Lancashire, and York-
(The scientific name is Catocala
shire.
Frawini.)
716. The Red Underwing (Catocala nupta). º
716. THE RED UNDERWING.—The palpi are
second joint being densely covered with scales,
porrected and slightly curved upwards, the the terminal joint erect and nearly naked;

NOCTUAS.
465
• --------------- ------- - -
the antennae are slightly pubescent in the
male, simple in the female : the costal margin
of the fore wings is nearly straight for about
two-thirds of its length, and then curved very
decidedly to the tip; the hind margin is scal-
loped, but not deeply so; their colour is dark
gray tinged with ochreous and marbled with
darker markings; the reniform is distinct and
dark ; the orbicular absent : the hind wings
are red, with a narrow median, and broad hind-
marginal black band; the hind-marginal
fringe is white, the inner marginal fringe
light brown ; the head and thorax are marbled
with the same colour as the fore wings; the
body is gray-brown and glossy.
The CATERPILLAR has all the peculiarities of
form described under Catocala Fraa'ini : the
head is broader than the second, third, or
fourth segment; the body is very flat below
and convex above; its colour is ashy-gray,
and has two irregular, interrupted, and waved
dorsal stripes rather darker than the ground-
colour, but these are sometimes absent; the
ventral surface is glaucous, with a black spot on
each segment: it feeds on the crack-willow(Salic
fragilis), and when closely adherent to the
bark is almost impossible to detect: I have
sometimes found it by passing my hand gently
over the surface of the bark about a foot below
the branches of a pollard willow, when its
cold, soft feel at once betrayed it.
net-work cocoon among the leaves or in a cre-
vice of the bark about midsummer, and changes
to a smooth CHRYSALTs covered with purple
bloom. -
The MOTH appears on the wing in August
and September, and has been taken in some
abundance in all the southern and south-
eastern counties of England. (The scientific
name is Cafocala nupta.)
717. The Dark Crimson Underwing (Catocala sponsa).
717. THE DARK CRIMISON UNDERWING.—The
palpi are porrected and slightly curved
upwards, the second joint densely covered
with scales, the terminal joint erect and
nearly naked; the antennae are slightly
pubescent in the male, simple in the female;
the fore wings are nearly straight along the
costal margin, but slightly arched towards
the tip, and scalloped on the hind margin;
EDWARD NEwMAN’s BRITISH)
MOTHS. No. 30. PRIC1, 61).
their colour is a rich ochreous-gray with a
decidedly ochreous patch in the region of the
reniform, and including that spot, which is
clearly defined; the orbicular is absent, but
there is a distinct and bright ochreous spot
immediately below the reniform, having a
º - - { -
black circumscription: the general area is
beautifully and richly marbled, the hind wings
are crimson with a narrow but sharply-angled
It spins a
1 LoNDON : W. T.W. & Epi F.,
Q 337, STR AN p.


466
BRITISH
MOTHS.
median black band, and a broad hind-marginal
black band : the head and thorax are marbled
with the colours of the fore wings, the body is
uniformly gray-brown.
The CATERPILLAR rests in a nearly straight
position on the branches of the oaks, on the
leaves of which it feeds, the ventral surface
being appressed to the bark; the head is some-
What narrower than the second segment, but
distinctly exserted; the face is flat and the
crown gibbose and notched : the body is convex
dorsally, and flattened ventrally, the ninth
segment has a transverse dorsal ridge, the
twelfth segment has also a ridge, but this
terminates at each extremity in a lateral
tubercle surmounted by a bristle; the fifth,
sixth, seventh, eighth, tenth, and eleventh
Segments have each two wart-like tubercles
placed transversely, each bearing a bristle;
the claspers are long, dilated and divided at
the extremity: the colour of the head is
Wainscot-brown, reticulated with
brown, and having a conspicuous black band
surrounding the face, except towards the
mouth ; within this, and very near the crown,
are two eye-like black spots: the dorsal sur-
face of the body is dull brown, reticulated
with pale wainscot-brown; the tubercles, as
well as certain minor warts, are rufous-brown
and very glabrous; there is a pale transverse
dorsal mark on the fifth segment; the ventral
surface is whitish, inclining to glaucous, with
a rufous patch between each pair of ventral
claspers. It is full-fed about the eighth of
June, when it spins a thin web among the
oak-leaves, without descending to the ground.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has been found in Dorsetshire, Hampshire,
Sussex, Surrey, Kent and Essex. I have seen
it, but not obtained it, sitting on the trunks
of oaks in Darenth Wood, but the New Forest
in Hampshire is its most abundant locality.
(The scientific name is Catocala sponsa.)
darker
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718. The Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa).









NOCTUAS.
718. THE LIGHT CRIMISON UNDERWING.-The
palpi are porrected and slightly curved up-
wards, the terminal joint being slender, almost
naked and pointed, the costal margin is nearly
straight but slightly bent at the tip, and
scalloped on the hind margin; their colour is
gray, mottled and marbled with darker gray,
and having not unfrequently a tinge of
ochreous, the reniform is readily to be made
out, but not situated in an ochreous patch as
in Sponsa : the hind wings are crimson with a
narrow median band, which is very slightly
waved, and is turned towards the body at its
lower extremity; there is also a broad hind-
marginal black band and a gray fringe; the
head and thorax have the colours of the fore
wings, the body is uniformly gray-brown.
The full-grown CATERPILLAR is figured by
Hubner: it rests stretched at full length on a
tree, or trunk of its food-plant, the head is
prone, and broader and larger than the second
segment; it is scarcely notched on the crown :
the body is very much attenuated at the
anterior extremity, and the posterior portion is
large and inflated, each segment being smaller
in the middle, and the anal claspers extend-
ing backwards and being widely separated;
the colour of the head and body is greenish-
gray with sundry black marks on the dorsal
surface of every segment; there are no two
segments in which the black markings are
similar, but all of them are distinct and most
clearly defined ; on the eighth segment these
assume the appearance of two capital letter X
X. The ventral area is flattened, and there is
a fringe of bristles mixed with fleshy threads
extending the entire length of the body, at
the junction of the dorsal and ventral areas;
the ventral surface and claspers are pale green.
The CHRYSALIS is slender, obtuse at the head,
and gradually tapering towards the anal
extremity, which is acutely pointed : its
whole surface is covered with a delicate purple
bloom like that on a ripe Orleans plum.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and has been taken in the New Forest, Hamp-
shire, in Sussex, and in Berkshire. (The
scientific name is Catocala promissa.)
|
719. The Lunar Double Stripe (Ophiodes lunaris).
719. THE LUNAR DoDBLE STRIPE.—The
palpi are porrected and rather distant, the
second joint slightly ascending, very long, and
densely clothed with short scales; the ter-
minal joint is scarcely so long as the second:
it is directed straight forwards, slender, and
pointed; the antennae are slightly serrated in
the male, simple in the female; the fore wings
are ample, the costal margin somewhat arched,
the tip blunt, the hind margin waved, and the
wing-rays prominent; their colour is pale
dingy-brown ; the orbicular is a small dark
spot; the reniform has a distinct dark circum-
scription, and a median area corresponding
with the general area of the wing; there are
two narrow transverse lines rather paler than
the ground-colour; the first of these is situ-
ated before the orbicular; it is oblique, the
costal extremity being rather nearer the base
of the wing than the inner-marginal extremity;
the second is situated beyond the reniform,
and is bent both above the middle and at the
lower extremity, where the bend is almost
close to the inner margin, when it suddenly
turns towards the base of the wing and follows
the hind margin until it meets the first trans-
verse line; the broad hind-marginal area is
darker than the median and basal areas, and
is intersected by an indistinct waved line : the


46S
BRITISH MOTHS.
hind wings, head, thorax, and body are con-
colorous with the fore wings.
The CATERPILLAR is beautifully figured by
Sepp : it has the head porrected, flattened,
not notched on the crown, and rather narrower
than the second segment; the body is rather
long and leech-like, and tapers slightly to-
wards the anal extremity; it is arched in
crawling like the Geometers, the first pair of
claspers being raised and relaxing their hold
on the food-plant; there is a small excrescence
on each side of the fifth segment, and there
are two dorsal papillae on the twelfth, and two
smaller ones on the thirteenth segment ; the
anal claspers are long, slender, protruded back-
wards, and spreading ; the colour of the head
is light-brown or greenish-brown, with two
darker or reddish-brown streaks down the
face, but united by a band above the mouth :
the body is bistre-brown, with a very narrow
chain-like stripe containing, as it were, two
beads in each segment; on each side of this is
a broader stripe very dark-coloured, but inter-
sected throughout by a chain of pale spots;
below this broader stripe are three line-like
stripes extending the entire length of the in-
SeCt.
Some specimens have a pale-yellow stripe
in the region of the spiracles. It feeds on
oak (Quercus Robur).
The MoTH appears on the wing in May. A
specimen was taken in Hampshire by Captain
Chawner, another at West Wickham, in
Surrey, by Mr. Smith, and two at Killarney,
in Ireland, by the late Peter Bouchard.
scientific name is Ophiodes lunaris.)
720. The Mother Shipton (Euclidia Mi).
720. THE MOTHER SHIPTON.—The palpi are
short and curved upwards, the second joint
dotted with bristly scales, the terminal joint
(The
land, and Ireland.
naked ; the antennae are slightly pubescent in
the male, simple in the female : the fore wings
are slightly hollowed along the costa until
near the tip, then slightly arched; their colour
is sepia-brown with several dirty white lines;
the orbicular is a round black spot, the reni-
form an oblique black spot, the space between
them being pale ; beyond the reniform is a
short transverse whitish line, which may be
supposed to mark its outer border; beyond
this is a curiously contorted white line : it
begins on the costa and descends nearly to the
anal angle, then turns upwards towards the
reniform, but before touching, it again descends
to the inner margin, where it is again
bent, and finally ascends to the costa near its
base: the hind wings are sepia-brown, with
numerous pale spots, a series of which form
an irregular transverse band; the head, thorax,
and body are sepia-brown, the last with deli-
cate white rings.
The CATERPILLAR is figured by Hubner: it
rests with the anterior extremity elevated and
the back slightly arched : the head is about
equal in width to the second segment; it is
semi-prone, and not conspicuously notched on
the crown : the body is slender and almost
uniformly cylindrical, but tapers towards the
posterior extremity; there are but two pairs
of ventral claspers, and these are situated on
the ninth and tenth segments; the anal
claspers are rather long and spreading; the
colour of the head and body is pale gray ap-
proaching to putty-coloured; the head has a
longitudinal stripe down the middle of the
face ; the body has four whitish stripes ex-
tending from the head to the anal claspers, all
of them having a delicate black margin; the
legs and claspers are of the same colour as the
body; it feeds on the common melilot trefoil,
and changes to a smooth CHRYSALIs of a bright
red-brown colour, and having six or eight
sharp anal points.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
occurs almost everywhere in England, Scot-
(The scientific name is
Euclidia M.)
~ : -: *-* * : *-- ~~~~--------------->

NOCTUAS.
469
721. The Burnet Noctua (Euclidia glyphica).
721. THE BURNET Noctua.-The palpi are
short and curved upwards, the second joint
being clothed with bristly scales; the terminal
joints are short and naked; the antennae are
simple: the fore wings are nearly straight
along the costa and slightly arched towards
the tip; their colour is ochreous-brown, in
recent specimens glossed with purple; the
reniform is represented by an obscure and
ill-defined cloud; the orbicular is indis-
tinguishable, the broad hind-marginal area
is paler and contains a large and distinct
square costal blotch of very dark brown : the
hind wings are smoky brown at the base, and
dull orange towards the hind margin ; the
Orange-coloured area is intersected by a waved
brown bar, and an irregular hind-marginal
band : the head, thorax and body are dark
gray-brown. - -
The CATERPILLAR is figured by Hubner : it
rests with the anterior extremity elevated,
and the back slightly arched; the head is
about equal in width to the second segment;
it is semi-prone and not conspicuously notched
on the crown; the body is slender and almost
uniformly cylindrical, but tapers towards
the anal extremity; there are but two pairs
of ventral claspers, and these are on the ninth
and tenth segments; the anal claspers are
rather long and spreading. The colour of the
head is brown with a V-shaped white mark
on the face, the dorsal area of the body is
pale wainscot-brown with four paler stripes
extending from the head to the anal claspers,
all these are bordered by a delicate black line,
and those on each side are intersected by a
similar line; the ventral is much darker than
the dorsal area; the legs and claspers are con-
colorous with the former. It feeds on Dutch
clover (Trifolium repens) and turns to a
CHRYSALIS, which is of a delicate violet colour,
and has six or eight short anal points.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and
occurs almost everywherein England, Scotland,
and Ireland.
glyphica.)
(The scientific name is Euclidia
722. The Small Purple Barred (Phytometra anea).
722. THE SMALL PURPLE-BARRED.—The
palpi are long, recurved, ascending and later-
ally compressed; the second joint is flat and
densely scaly; the terminal slender and
pointed ; the antennae are short and simple in
both sexes; the forewings have the costa very
straight, their colour is olive-green, with the
costal margin and two oblique bands of a
delicate rosy-purple colour; the first of these
is median, the second (the broader one) hind-
marginal: the hind wings are olive-brown, the
hind margin slightly tinged with purple; the
head, thorax and body are of the same colour
as the hind wings. All the wings in some
specimens are dingy olive-brown.
The CATERPILLAR feeds on the common Milk-
wort, (Polygala vulgaris), and has been des-
cribed by the Rev. John Hellins: its colour is
a velvety full green, scarcely paler on the
belly; the head mottled with faint brown; a
hasty inspection would scarcely detect any
lines, but on looking closely, the dorsal vessel
appears as a darker green thread, bordered
with paler lines, between which and the
spiracles, come three pale sub-dorsal lines;
the spiracles yellowish, below them a broader
pale line, which on segments ten to thirteen
becomes whitish. The segmental folds yellow,
the usual dots very small, black, surrounded
with light lings, and emitting small bristles.
When full fed their walk is semi-looping, and
they rest extended straight and flat on the
stems of their food-plant; if disturbed they
drop off, and fling themselves about angrily.


470 BRITISEI MOTEIS.
About the 10th of September they begin to | The MOTH appears on the wing in June and
contract in length and to grow pale, and in a
day or two, spin themselves up in very tight-
fitting little cocoons of close-woven gray silk,
wrapped about with some of the leaves and
stems of their food. -
July, and occurs occasionally almost every-º
where in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
(The scientific name is Phytometra anea.)
NOCTUAS.
471
SUPPLEMENT.
DURING the progress of this work through
the press, seven additional species of MOTH
have been discovered in Britain, and have been
fully described in the Entomologist or Insect-
Hunter’s Year-book, periodicals instituted for
the express purpose of preserving a record
of every discovery and observation made in
British Entomology. These are now re-
described in this Supplement, and an unfortu-
nate transposition of two of the figures is
also pointed out and rectified.
23*. The Thrift Clearwing (Sesia Philanthifornis).
23*. THE THRIFT CLEARwing.—The palpi
are distant, porrected, and very sharp-pointed,
the second joint is clothed with long scales,
the terminal joint is naked; the fore wings
are long and narrow, their colour is black,
with two transparent spots, the first an elon-
gate triangle reaching from the base to the
middle of the wing, the second roundish and
beyond the middle; this second spot is tra-
versed by three longitudinal wing-rays, and
beyond this second transparent spot is a yel-
lowish blotch also traversed by three longi-
tudinal wing-rays, which are black but rather
indistinct; hind wings transparent, with a
black discoidal spot, rays and fringe ; the
palpi are of two colours—black and gray; in
the female the gray predominates; the ter-
minal joint is naked, its colour is gray at the
base and black at the tip; the antennae are
black, with a slight indication of a gray ring
near the tip; the face is silvery white, the
crown of the head and eyes black, the collar is
orange in front, black behind ; the thorax is
black, with three longitudinal, pale yellow
lines; the body is black, with a medio-dorsal
series of gray spots and several narrow whitish
belts; these are usually three in the male and
four in the female; the caudal tuft is black,
largely interspersed with pale yellow scales,
which in the males occupy the sides, in the
females the middle; the legs are alternately
dull black and gray.
The cATERPILLAR has a small shining
brownish head and a whitish maggot-like
body; it feeds in the interior of clumps of
thrift (Statice armeria), selecting by preference
those which are isolated and starved, and is
very rarely found where the thrift is luxuriant
and the plants approximate : its presence may
readily be detected by the dried and dying
appearance of the centre of the tuft: when
full-fed, it changes to a CHRYSALIS in the heart
of its food-plant; the chrysalis is pale brown
and very shiming, and each segment has two
transverse rows of rather sharp pointed dorsal
warts directed backwards; the warts in the
first row are more than double the size of .
those in the second row.
The MoTH appears on the wing about Mid-
summer, and is common at Torquay in Devon-
shire, in the Isle of Man, and probably

472
BRITISH MOTHS.
wherever the thrift abounds.
name is Sesia Philanthiformis.)
(The scientific
40*. The Cistus Forester (Procris Geryon).
40*. THE CISTUS For BSTER.—The antennae
are slightly incrassated towards the tip in
both sexes; those of the male are serrated,
those of the female simple: the colour of the
fore wings is shining green ; the hind wings
are smoky black and transparent ; the head,
thorax, and body are golden green.
The EGGs, which are of a pale yellow colour,
are laid at the beginning of July in confine-
ment, and are scattered at intervals in the
box or cage in which the imago has been kept ;
the young CATFRPILLARs emerge in a few days;
the full-fed caterpillars were found in April
by the Rev. E. Horton, to whom I am in-
debted for a supply: they were feeding on
the common Sun cistus (Helianthemum vulgare),
on the Malvern Hills; and the fact of their
feeding in July, and again in April, leads to
the conclusion that they hybernate. Unable
to supply my caterpillars with their proper
food-plant, I gave them sorrel (Rumea, aceto-
sella), on which they fed freely and arrived at
maturity; but Mr. Horton informs me that
although he offered them the sorrel they
would not touch it while the supply of cistus
lasted. The full-fed caterpillar when dis-
turbed, falls off its food-plant, and lies on its
side in a crescentic form, the two extremities
approaching but not touching. The head is
very small, and entirely retractile within the
second segment ; the body is obese, almost
onisciform, gradually decreasing in size
towards both extremities; the incisions be-
tween the segments are well marked, the
segments being distinctly divided; on each
segment are six warts, neither of them con-
spicuous, but each emitting a thin fascicle of
short radiating bristles, among which are
interspersed a few longer silky hairs: every
part of the dorsal surface, the warts alone
excepted, is covered with minute papilliform
black dots. The head is black and shining :
the second segment dingy yellow in front,
black and rather shining on the disk, and
purplish flesh-coloured beneath; the medio-
dorsal stripe is dingy-white, narrowly bordered
| with very dark reddish-purple; exterior to
these narrow borders is a broad dingy yellow
stripe on each side, swelling on each segment
into a rounded lobe ; the sinuous exterior
margin of the yellow stripes is bordered with
black, which is gradually shaded off into
reddish-purple in the spiracular region; the
belly and claspers are dingy flesh-colour: the
legs black. The caterpillars were full-fed
early in May, and spun a thin white silken
cocoon among the leaves of the food-plant, in
which they turned to CHRYSALIDs, which were
brown, smooth, and obese, the anterior
extremity acute, the posterior remarkably
obtuse ; the dorsal surface incised at the
segments as in the caterpillar, and the pos-
terior margin of each projecting over the
anterior margin of the next ; the wing-cases
are ample and clearly-defined ; the leg-cases
extending to the extremity of the body; the
colour is brown, with longitudinal series of
darker dots, those in the middle approximate,
the others more distant.
The MOTH appears on the wing in May and
June, and is common in certain localities in
Sussex, Surrey, Herefordshire, Yorkshire, &c.
(The scientific name is Prooris Geryon.) §
Obs.—I announced this as a new British
species in 1863, Mr Doubleday having identi-
fied it with the Procris Geryon of Hubner. It
differs from Procris Statices, in the males and
females being of the same size, , whereas in
that species the males are much larger : the
colour of the two is very similar; the cater-
pillars are different, and the food-plant totally
So, that of the common Forester being the
sorrel (Rumex acetosella).

NOCTUAS.
45*. The Handmaid (Naclia Ancilla).
45%. THE HANDMAID.—The palpi are slender
and distinctly porrected; the antennae are
strictly setaceous and of a dark brown colour;
the eyes prominent and intensely black. The
fore wings are ample; their colour is ochra-
ceous semi-transparent brown, with four nearly
circular white spots on each : two of these are
closely approximate, placed transversely, and
equidistant from the costa and anal angle, but
slightly nearer the hind margin ; the others
are much smaller, and equidistant from the
uppermost of the two spots already described
and the costa : the hind wings are smaller,
unspotted, and slightly darker than the fore
wings; the crown of the head, collar, shoul-
ders and body are rich ochreous-yellow ; the
last has a medio-dorsal series of six black
spots. In general appearance and habit it
closely resembles a Lithosia.
The CATERPILLAR rests on epidendric lichens,
on which it feeds, in any position suited to its
shape. The head is quite as wide as the
second segment; the body is slightly de-
pressed and warty, each wart emitting a fas-
cicle of radiating black hairs. The colour of
the head is black, of the body black, with five
yellow stripes, the broadest medio-dorsal and
bright yellow, very conspicuous, the others
lateral, narrow and very pale : its appearance
altogether is that of a Lithosia caterpillar.
When full-fed it spins a white silken cocoon,
and therein changes to a CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June.
Mr. Wildman possesses the only British speci-
men yet obtained : he took it near the sea-
coast of Sussex, and has kindly placed it in
my hands for description and figuring in this
work. (The scientific name is Maclia An-
cilla.)
58”. The Hoary Footman (Lithosia caniola).
58*. THE HOARY FootMAN.—The fore wings
are silky and whitish-gray, with a very
sler.der yellow costal margin and a narrow
whitish stripe below the costal margin, and
adjoining it : the hind wings are very pale
gray : the head is yellow, the eyes intensely
black, the collar very bright yellow : the
thorax and body dove-colour.
The female lays her EGGs in August, on the
Dutch clover (Trifolium repens), the Bird's-
foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), and other
Leguminosae, on the leaves of which the
CATERPILLAR feeds. The young caterpillars
emerge in about ten days, and are then of a
pale yellowish colour, semi-transparent, and
bristling all over with hairs: they feed for
about six weeks, changing their skins four or
five times before they hybernate, eating very
little, growing very slowly, and not attaining
a length of more than a third of an inch;
about the middle or end of September they
retire towards the roots of the herbage, and,
spinning a very slight web, remain concealed
during the winter; in the spring they re-
ascend the food-plant, feeding principally by
night, and in damp weather retreating under
stones by day, but when the weather is warm
and the sun bright they mount on every
exposed stone and bask in its rays. The pro-
cess of changing the skin again goes on, and
really seems the chief occupation of life : nor
can I say that the number of moultings is by
any means constant; four or five changes
seem to be the allowance for the autumn, and
from five to eight for the vernal moulting:
at each moulting they seem to lose almost all
they had previously gained, crawling to the .
top of their cage considerably increased in
size, and coming down again most disappoint-
ingly small; they seem to grow alternately
larger and Smaller. These caterpillars are


BRITISH
MOTHS.
ſ
• *------. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - * : * * * * * *~
smaller and approximate;
full-fed on or about the 15th of June, and
then roll in a ring and fall off their food-plant
if touched or annoyed : it is stony ground
where they principally occur, and a small
shell—a species of Planorbis 2—abounds in
the same locality, and has almost exactly the
appearance, in form, colour, and size, of a
rolled-up Caniola caterpillar, a circumstance
which greatly increases the difficulty of
finding them when thus feigning death. In
confinement, as at large, they feed exclusively
on Leguminosae, and seek no change of diet,
pertinaciously refusing to touch, and indeed
appearing to avoid, the lichens that my solici-
tude for their well-being had provided. The
head is narrower than the body; when per-
fectly at rest, it is partially concealed by the
second segment. The body is of nearly
uniform thickness, but slightly decreasing
towards the anal extremity; the segmental
divisions are deeply incised; the second seg-
ment has the dorsal surface scabrous behind
the head, the scabrous part emitting bristles
which project over the head; this segment
has also two scabrous warts on each side ; the
other segments have twelve scabrous warts,
that is, six on each side, and each wart emits
a fascicle of radiating bristles; four of these
warts are strictly dorsal ; two anterior,
two posterior,
larger and more distant ; the third on each
side is large and circular ; the fourth smaller
and linear ; and the fifth much smaller, and
immediately above the claspers when these
occur. The colour of the head is black and
shining; there is a white spot on each side at
the base of the mandibles. The body has a
very narrow black medio-dorsal stripe, bounded
on each side by a still narrower and very
sinuous gray stripe; this is followed by a
somewhat broader Smoky-black stripe, and
this, again, by a sinuous and irregular orange
stripe; this last contains, and is interrupted
by, the second row of scabrous warts; next
on each side follows a broad stripe of smoky-
black, delicately tessellated with sinuous gray
markings; this lateral stripe contains the
third series of warts, and also the spiracles,
which are pale orange ; finally comes a narrow
sub-spiracular stripe of a dingy orange-colour,
and this contains a fourth series of warts.
The ventral surface is smoky flesh-colour; the
legs and claspers rather less dingy. On or
about the 8th of July it spins a slight cocoon
at the roots of the clover, and changes to a
smooth brown CHRYSALIS.
The MOTH appears on the wing in August,
and has been taken at Torquay, and more
abundantly in the county Dublin, in Ireland,
by Mr. Birchall, to whose unremitting kind-
ness I am indebted for a most abundant
supply, both of the perfect insect and cater-
pillar, as also for the interesting details of its
life-history given above. (The scientific
name is Lithosia caniola.)
Obs.—1. The males assemble freely, after the
manner of Bombyces, to seek the company of
the females.
Obs.—2. Mr. Doubleday, with his usual
acumen, discovered this species in a collection
of insects brought by Mr. G. King from Tor-
Quay.
59*. The Leaden Footman (Lithosia molybdeola).
59*. THE LEADEN FootMAN.—“Is inter-
mediate between L. complana and L. plum-
beola; it has the figure of the former, the
colour of the latter, and is rather more shining
than either. It may be distinguished from
L. complana by its darker hue, and in having
the yellow costal stripe straighter, and ter-
minating in a point before arriving at the apex
as in L. plumbeola; the hind wings are always
strongly tinged with gray along the inner
margin, this colour even extending, in some
specimens, over the whole surface, and leaving
none of the usual ochreous colour visible,
except a tolerably broad border, which forms
a notch between the median and internal ner-
vures: the head and neck are of a very bright
yellow; the thorax and abdomen lead-coloured,
this last not exhibiting any yellow except at

NOCTUAS.
475
the extremity, and the yellow even here is
generally mixed with gray. The female espe-
cially has scarcely any yellow at the anus; it
is of the size of the male, or smaller. This
species may be still more readily distinguished
from Z. plumbeola by the form of the wings,
which altogether resemble those of L. com-
plana ; the gray is equally shining, the costal
band straighter and more distinct, the cilia
tinged with gray, the neck unicolorous, the
hind wings lead-coloured, but especially by
the presence of the scaly fold of the costa of
the fore wings.”—Guenée in Zool. for 1863.
The MOTH appears on the wing in July, and
has only been observed in Cheshire and Lanca-
shire. It inhabits low and marshy places,
and its CATERPILLAR in all probability feeds on
the lichens which grow on the stems of the
heath, or which carpet the stones that are
scattered over the surface of the ground. (The
scientific name is Lithosia molybdeola.)
4.38%. The White-point (Leucania Albipuncta).
4.38%. THE WHITE-PoſNT.—The palpi are
slightly porrected and very inconspicuous, the
minute terminal joint scarcely extending be-
yond the second joint; the antennae are almost
simple in both sexes; the fore wings are
nearly straight on the costa and obtuse, but
not rounded at the tip; their colour is brick-
dust red, with a perfectly white spot at the
lower extremity of the reniform, which
would otherwise escape notice. This species
closely resembles Leucania lithargyria, but
Guenée thus differentiates them :—Lithar-
gyria, confounded by many authors with
Albipuncta, is distinguished from that species
by its larger size, by the fore wings being less
ferruginous, by the white spot amalgamating
with a pale lunule situated above it, and, thus
united, constituting the reniform, by the
elbowed line being less conspicuous, and on
the other hand by the transverse series of dots
being much more so.
The MoTH appears on the wing in August.
A single specimen, captured at Folkestone on
the 15th of that month, at sugar, by Mr.
Briggs, was exhibited at the meeting of the
Entomological Society on the 2nd of Novem-
ber : a second specimen, much worn, was
taken in the second week in October, within
five yards of the same place. Mr. Allis has
a third specimen, which he obtained from one
of the Yaxley collectors. (The scientific
name is Leucania Albipuncta.)
613”. The Viper's Bugloss (Dianthopeia Echii).
6.13%. THE WIPER's BUGLoss.-The palpi are
slightly porrected, the terminal joint very
small, and appearing as a little button amidst
the scales of the second; the antennae are
nearly simple in both sexes; the fore wings
are nearly straight on the costa, rounded at
the tip, and perfectly simple on the hind
margin; their colour is ochreous, beautifully
marked and marbled with darker and lighter
colours, some of the darker approaching
umber-brown, some of the latter being almost
white ; the orbicular spot is well-defined,
white, with a slight central ochreous shade ;
the reniform is less perfect, its median area of
a darker tint; there is a short transverse dark
mark near the base, a waved dark line before
the orbicular, a bent and zigzag dark line
beyond the reniform, and finally a compound
and zigzag transverse line parallel with the
hind margin ; the inner portion of this last is
dark, the other white; the hind margin itself
is occupied by a delicate fawn-coloured band ;
the fringe is brown, interrupted with seven
white streaks; there are moreover four pale
undefined clouds, the first near the base of the


476
BRITISH MOTHS.
wing, but exterior to the first short transverse
line; the second on the costal margin, nearly
above the orbicular; the third near the inner
margin and towards the anal angle, and the
fourth towards the apical angle and within
the compound transverse line.
The CATERPILLAR feeds on the Viper's
Bugloss (Echium vulgare), and also, according
to Guenée, on the flowers of Gypsophila pani-
culata, which grows on stony hills near
Vienna, but has not been found in England.
The MOTH appears on the wing in June.
The only known British specimen was taken
by the Rev. A. H. Wratislaw, at rest, on a
plant of Echium vulgare, as recorded in the
Entomologist, vol. iv., p. 214. (The scientific
name is Dianthascia Echº.)
This beautiful species stands at the head of
the genus Dianthaecia, and next to Ilarus
ochroleuca, which in colour, as well as the
distribution of markings, it closely resembles.
692. The Small Marbled.
The words at the end, which stand thus,
must be erased :—“I incline to refer both
insects to the Phytometra minuta of Haworth.”
I learn from Mr. Doubleday that the species
in question is North American, and is the
A contia candefacta of authors.
698. The Burnished Brass.
700. The Gold Spot.
The figures above these two names are
unfortunately transposed; the figure of the
Burnished Brass is numbered 700, that of the
Gold Spot 698. The descriptions in both
instances are correct.
→ --- *-*-**------- - - - . . . . . ... --- . --

Abbreviata, Eupithecia, 140
Abietaria, Boarmia, 64
Abjecta, Mamestra, 298
ABRAXAS, 98
A BROSTOLA, 449
Abruptaria, Hemerophila, 62
Absynthiata, Eupithecia, 136
Absynthii, Cucullia, 434
Aceris, Acronycta, 251
ACHERONTIA, 5
ACIDALIA, 76
ACONTIA, 443
ACOSMETIA, 312
ACRONYCTA, 248
Adusta, Hadena, 412
Adustata, Ligdia, 101
Advena, Aplecta, 409
Advenaria, Epione, 51
AEnea, Phytometra, 469
AEscularia, Anisopteryx, 105
AEsculi, Zeuzera, 18
Affinis, Cosmia, 383
Affinitata, Emmelesia, 113
Agathima, Agrotis, 333
AGRIOPIs, 402
AGROPHILA, 442
AGROTIS, 316
Albicillata, Melanthia, 156
Albicollis, Acontia, 443
Albicolon, Mamestra, 299
Albimacula, Dianthoecia, 388
Albipuncta, Leucania, 475
Albipunctata, Eupithecia, 129
Albulata, Emmelesia, 114
Alchemillata, Emmelesia, 113
Alchymist, 462
Alchymista, Catephia, 462
Alder, 254
Alder Kitten, 210
ALEUCIS, 86
Algae, Bryophila, 247
Alni, Acronycta, 254
Alniaria, Ennomos, 56
Alsines, Caradrina, 313
Alternata, Macaria, 87
Amataria, Timandra, 84
I N D E X.
American Wainscot, 261
AMPHIPYRA, 457
AMPHYDASIS, 61
Amulet, 68
Anachoreta, Clostera, 222
ANAITIS, 198
ANARTA, 440
ANCHOSCELIS, 366
Anceps, Mamestra, 299
Ancilla, Naclia, 473
Andreniformis, Sesia, 15
ANGERONA, 52
Angle Shades, 403
Angle-striped Sallow, 380
Angularia, Ennomos, 58
ANISOPTERYX, 105
Anomala, Stilbia, 462
Anomalous, 462
ANTICLEA, 164
Antler, 292
Antigua, Orgyia, 40
APAMIEA, 3 2
Apiciaria, Epione, 51
Apiformis, Sesia, 16
APLASTA, 89
APLECTA, 405
APOROPHYLA, 289
| Aprilina, Agriopis, 402
Aquilina, Agrotis, 331
Arbuti, Heliodes, 442.
Arceuthata, Eupithecia, 126
Archer's Dart, 316
ARCTIA, 35
Arcuosa, Chortodes, 276
Argent and Sable, 157
Argentula, Bankia, 446
Armiger, Heliothis, 439
Arundineti, Nonagria, 271
Arundinis, Macrogaster, 17
Asellus, Limacodes, 21
Ash-tree Pug, 131
Ashworthii, Agrotis, 337
Ashworth’s Rustic, 337
ASPILATES, 97
Assimilata, Eupithecia, 138
Assimilis, Hadena, 410
Asteris, Cucullia, 433
ASTHENA, 74 -
Atomaria, Fidonia, 92
Atriplicis, Hadena, 417
Atropos, Acherontia, 5
Augur, Noctua, 344
August Thorn, 58
Aurago, Xanthia, 375 -
Aurantiaria, Hybernia, 103
Aureola, Lithosia, 28
Auricoma, Acronycta, 256
Auriflua, Liparis, 36
Auroraria, Hyria, 74
Australis, Aporophyla, 289
Autumn Green Carpet, 181
Autumnal Moth, 109 f
Autumnal Rustic, 343
Aversata, Acidalia, 82
AXYLIA, 282
Badiata, Anticlea, 165
Baja, Noctua, 352
Bajularia, Phorodesma, 71
BANKIA, 446
Barberry Carpet, 167
Barred Carpet, 114
Barred Chestnut, 350
Barred Hooktip, 208
Barred Sallow, 375
Barred Straw, 192
Barred Red, 53
Barred Tooth striped, 149
Barred Umber, 90
Barred Yellow, 192
Barrettii, Dianthoecia, 390
Barrett's Marbled Coronet, 390
Basilinea, Apamea, 302
Batis, Thyatira, 238
Beaded Chestnut, 366
Beautiful Brocade, 409
Beautiful Brocade, 421
Beautiful Carpet, 156
Beautiful Gothic, 292
Beautiful Golden Y, 454 -
Beautiful Yellow Underwing, 441
478
INDEX.
Bedstraw Hawk-moth, 8
Beech-green Carpet, 112
Belgiaria, Scodioma, 91
Belle, 196
Belted Beauty, 59
Bembeciformis, Sesia, 16
Berberata, Anticlea, 167
Betularia, Amphydasis, 61
Bicolor, Notodonta, 227
Bicuspis, Dicramura, 210
Bidentata, Odontopera, 53
Bifida, Dicranura, 212
Bilberry Pug, 145
Bilineata, Camptogramma, 171
Bipunctata, Eubolia, 197
Birch Mocha, 74
Bisetata, Acidalia, 77
Bird's-wing, 287 wº
BISTON, 60 -
Biundularia, Tephrosia, 66
Black Arches, 38
Black-banded, 395
Black-collar, 345
Black Mountain Moth, 68
Black-neck, 461
Black Rustic, 397
Black-veined, 94
Blanda, Caradrina, 314
Blandiata, Emmelesia, 116
Bleached Pug, 135
Blomer's Rivulet, 75
Blood Wein, 84
Blossom Underwing, 362
Blotched Emerald, 71
Blue-bordered Carpet, 154
BOARMIA, 63
BoLETOBIA, 69
Bombiliformis, Macroglossa, 12
BOMBYX, 42
Bondii, Chortodes, 276
Bond's Wainscot, 276
Bordered Beauty, 51
Bordered Gothic, 290
Bordered Gray, 91
Bordered Limespeck, 121
Bordered Sallow, 437
Bordered Straw, 437
Bordered White, 92
Boreata, Chimatobia, 108
Bractea, Plusia, 52
Brassicae, Mamestra, 300
BREPHOs, 448
Brevilinea, Nonagria, 271
Brick, 376 - -
Bright-line Brown-eye, 419
Bright Wave, 76
Brighton Wainscot, 273
Brimstone Moth, 52
Brindled Beauty, 60
Brindled Green, 413
‘Brindled Ochre, 277
Brindled Pug, 140
Brindled White-spot, 67
Broad-barred White, 393
Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-Moth,
1]. *
Broad-bordered
Caesia Dianthaecia, 391
CALLIGENIA, 27
Castigata, Eupithecia, 127
Five spotted
Burnet, 23
Broad-bordered White Under-
wing, 440
Broad-bordered Yellow Under-
wing, 339
Broom Moth, 419
Broom Tip, 201
Brown-line Bright-eye, 259
Brown Rustic, 315
Brown Scallop, 177
Brown Silver Line, 90
Brown-spot Pinion, 369
Brown-tail Moth, 36
Brown-veined Wainscot, 271
Brumata, Chimatobia, 106
Brunnea, Noctua, 348
Brussels Lace, 63
BRYOPHILA, 244
Bucephala, Pygaera, 219
Buff-arches, 237 --
Buff Ermine, 35
Buff Footman, 28
Buff-tip, 219
Bull-rush, 270
Burnet Noctua, 469 2 -
Burnished Brass, 451 (fig. 453)
Butter-bur, 281
Cabbage Moth, 300
CABERA, 84
Caenosa, Orgyia, 39
Caeruleocephala, Diloba, 234
Caesiata, Larentia, 110
Caja, Chelonia, 33
CALAMLA, 272
Caliginosa, Acosmetia, 312
CALLIMORPHA, 31
CALOCAMPA, 426
Cambricaria, Venusia, 76
Camelina, Notodonta, 225
Campanula, Eupithecia, 133
Campanula Pug, 133
Campanulata, Eupithecia, 133
Campion, 388 -
CAMPTOGRAMMA, 171
Canary-shouldered Thorn, 57
Candidata, Asthena, 75.
Caniola, Lithosia, 473
Cannae, Nonagria, 269
Capsincola, Dianthoecia, 387
Capsophila, Dianthoecia, 386
Captiuncula, Photedes, 309
CARADRINA, 312
Carbonaria, Fidonia, 92
Carmelita, Notodonta, 227
Carnica, Pachnobia, 355
Carpini, Saturnia, 48
Carpophaga, Dianthocia, 385
CARSIA, 198
Cassinea, Petasia, 217
Chaonia, Notodonta, 233
-Chesnut-coloured Carpet, 150
Clouded Brindle, 285
Castrensis, Bombyx, 42
CATEPHIA, 462
CATOCALA, 463
CELENA, 310
Celerio, Choerocampa, 9
Centaureata, Eupithecia, 120
Centomalis, Nola, 25
Centre-barred Sallow, 377
Cerago, Xanthia, 374
CERASTIs, 369
CERIGO, 295
Certata, Scotosia, 178
Cervinaria, Eubolia, 194
Cespitis, Luperina, 297
Chaerophyllata, Tanagra, 201
Chalk Carpet, 158
Chalk Carpet, 197
Chamomile Shark, 435
Chamomillae, Cucullia, 435
CHARAEAs, 292
CHELONIA, 32
Chenopodii, Hadena, 416
CHESIAs, 200
Chesnut, 369
Chevron, 191 -
Chi, Polia, 394
CHIMATOBIA, 106
Chimney Sweeper, 201
Chinese Character, 209
Chocolate-tip, 221
CHOEROCAMPA, 9
CHORTODEs, 276
Chrysidiformis, Sesia, 14
Chrysitis, Plusia, 451 (fig. 453)
Chrysorrhoea, Liparis, 36
CIDARIA, 180
CILIX, 209
Cinctaria, Boarmia, 64
Cineraria, Mniophila, 69
Cinerea, Agrotis, 328
Cinnabar, 31
Circellata, Acidalia, 79
Circellate, 79
CIRRHOEDIA, 376
Cistus Forester, 472
Citrago, Xanthia, 374
Citraria, Aspilates, 97
Clathrata, Strenia, 89
Clay, 261
Clay Triple-lines, 73
CLEORA, 62
Clifton, Nonpareil, 463
Cloaked Minor, 309
Cloaked Pug, 142 * >
CLOANTHA, 425
CLOSTERA, 221
Clouded Border, 101
Clouded-bordered Brindle, 283
Clouded Buff, 32
Clouded Drab, 358
Clouded Magpie, 100
Clouded Silver, 85
J-migrum, Noctua, 346
INDEX. " 479
Coast Dart, 329 Crimson Speckled, 31 DICYCLA, 381
COENOBIA, 269 Cristulalis, Nola, 25 Didymata, Larentia, 109
COLLIX, 146 CRoCALLIS, 56 Diffinis, Cosmia, 383
Comitata, Pelurga, 194 Croceago, Hoporina, 373 DILOBA, 234
Comma, Leucania, 264 Cruda, Taeniocampa, 363 | Diluta, Cymatophora, 240
Common Carpet, 160 CRYMODES, 4 || 1 ... ----- ~ * Dilutata, Oporabia, 108
Common Emerald, 72 Cubicularis, Caradrina, 314 Dingy Footman, 29
| Common Footman, 28 Cucubali, Dianthoecia, 388 Dingy Mocha, 73
Common Heath, 92 Cucullatella, Nola, 25 Dingy Shell, 75
Common Marbled Carpet, 184 CUCULLIA, 430 DIPHTHERA, 247
Common Pug, 135 Cucullina, Notodonta, 226 Dipsaceus, Heliothis, 439
Common Quaker, 360 Cudweed, 433 DIPTERYGIA, 287
Common Rustic, 306 Culiciformis, Sesia, 14 Dismal, 364
Common Swift, 19 Currant Clearwing, 15 Dispar, Liparis, 37
Common Vapourer, 40 Currant Moth, 98 Ditrapezium, Noctua, 347
Common Wainscot, 267 Currant Pug, 138 Dodonea, Notodonta, 233
Common Wave, 85 Cursoria. Agrotis, 329 Dodoneata, Eupithecia, 140
Common White Wave, 84 Curtula, Clostera, 221 Dog's-tooth, 418
Complana, Lithosia, 28 CUSPIDATES, 203 Dolobraria, Eurymene, 53
Complanula, Lithosia, 28 CYMATOPHORA, 239 Dominula, Calliumorpha, 31
Concolor, Tapinostola, 274 Cynipiformis, Sesia, 15 Dot, 301
Concolorous, 274 Cytherea, Cerigo, 295 Dotata, Cidaria, 193
Conflua, Noctua, 349 - Cytisaria, Pseudoterpna, 69 Dotted Border, 104
Conformis, Xylina, 427 Dotted-bordered Cream Wave,
Conformist, 427 80
Confused, 300 Dotted Carpet, 63
Conigera, Leucania, 259 Dahlii, Noctua. 350 Dotted Chesnut, 372
Conjunctaria, Phibalapteryx, Dark Arches. 285 Dotted Clay, 352
175 - Dark-barred Twin Spot, 169 Dotted Footman, 27
Connexa, Apamea, 303 Dark-bordered Beauty, 51 Dotted Rustic, 336
Consignata, Eupithecia, 118 Dark Brocade, 412 Double Dart, 344
Consonaria, Tephrosia, 66 Dark Chesnut, 370 Double Kidney, 379
Consortaria, Boarmia, 65 Dark Cream Wave, 78 Double Line, 260 ;
Conspersa, Dianthoecia, 389 Dark Crimson Underwing, 465 Double-lobed, 303 .
Conspicillaris, Xylomiges, 288 Dark Dagger, 248 Double-spotted Square Spot, 347
Conspicuata, Fidonia, 93 Dark Spectacle, 450 Double-striped Pug, 143
Constrictata, Eupithecia, 133 Dark Spinach, 194 Drab Geometer, 94
Contigua, Hadena, 421 Dark Sword-grass, 31S Drinker, 45 -
Contiguaria, Acidalia, 77 Dark Tussock, 39 Dromedarius, Notodonta, 229
Convolvuli, Sphinx, 6 Dark Umber, 178 Dubitata, Scotosia, 176
Convolvulus Hawk-Moth, 6 DASYCAMPA, 372 Dumerilii, Luperina, 296
Copper Underwing, 457 DASYDIA, 68 Dumeril's Luperina, 296
Cordigera, Amarta, 440 DASYPOLIA, 277 Dun-bar, 381
COREMIA, 168 Dealbata, Scoria, 94 Duplaris, Cymatophora, 239
Coronata, Eupithecia, 143 Death's-head Hawk-moth, 5 Dusky Brocade, 304
Coronet, 255 Debiliata, Eupithecia, 146 Dusky Carpet, 69
Corticea, Agrotis, 327 December Moth, 41 Dusky Clearwing, 16
CORYCIA, 85 Decolorata, Emmelesia, ! 14 Dusky-lemon Sallow, 376
Corylata, Cidaria, 182 Deep-brown Dart, 396 Dusky-marbled Brown, 224
Coryli, Demas, 40 Defoliaria, Hybernia, 104 Dusky Sallow, 384 - }
COSMIA, 381 - Degeneraria, Acidalia, 83 Dusky Thorn, 57 !
Cosmopolitan, 262 DEILEPHILA, 7 Dwarf Pug, 130
COSSUs, 18 . . DEIOPEIA, 31 Dysodea, Hecatera, 392
Cousin-German, 352 Delicate, 259 DYSTHYMIA, 443
Coxcomb Prominent, 225 | DEMAs, 40 .
Craccae, Toxocampa, 462 Dentated Pug, 146
Crataegata, Rumia, 52 Dentina, Hadena, 415 -
Crataegi, Trichiura, 41 Depuncta, Noctua, 344 Early Gray, 424
Cream-spot Tiger, 34 Derasa, Gonophora, 237 Early Moth, 102
Cream Wave, 80 Derivata, Anticlea, 166 Early Thorn, 55
Crenata, Gluphisia, 224 Devonshire Wainscot, 265 Early Tooth-striped, 148
Crepuscularia, Tephrosia, 66 Dew Moth, 27 Ear Moth, 280
Crescent, 306 DIANTHOECIA, 385, 475 Echii, Dianthoecia, 475
Crescent Dart, 325 DICRANURA, 210 Edinburgh Pug, 124
Crescent-striped, 298 Dictaea, Notodonta, 228 Elephant Hawk-moth, 10 .
Cribrum, Eulepia, 30 Dictaeoides, Notodonta, 229 Elimguaria, Crocallis, 56 :
--~ *-- - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - -------- - - - - -- . . . . . . . -- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
480
INDEX.

ELLOPIA, 53
Elpenor, Choerocampa, 10
Elutata, Ypsipetes, 153
Elymi, Tapinostola, 275
Emarginata, Acidalia, 84
EMMELESIA, 113
Emperor Moth, 48
Empyrea, Trigonophra, 404
Emutaria, Acidalia, 82
ENDROMIS, 46
Engrailed, 66
ENNo Mos, 56
EPHYRA, 72
EPIONE, 51
EPUNDA, 396
ERASTRIA, 445
EREMOBIA, 384
Ericetata, Emmelesia, 115
ERIOGASTER, 42
Erosaria, Ennomos, 57
Erythrocephala, Cerastis, 370
Essex Emerald, 70 -
EUBOLIA, 194
EUCHELIA, 31
EUCLIDIA, 468
EUCOSMIA, 179
EULEPIA, 30
EUPERIA, 380
Euphorbiae, Deilephila, 7
Euphorbiata, Minoa, 94
EUPISTERIA, 75
EUPITHECIA, 116
EUPLEXIA, 405
EURYMENE, 53
EUTHEMONIA, 32
Eversman's Rustic, 324
Exanthemaria, Cabera, 85
Exclamationis, Agrotis, 326
Exigua, Laphygma, 289
Exiguata, Eupithecia, 141
Exile, 411
Exoleta, Calocampa, 427
Expallidata, Eupithecia, 135
Extersaria, Tephrosia, 67
Extranea, Leucania, 261
Exulis, Crymodes, 411
Eyed Hawk-Moth, 4
Fagi, Stauropus, 216
Falcula, Platypteryx, 207
False Mocha, 72
Fascelina, Orgyia, 39
Fasciaria, Ellopia, 53
Fasciuncula, Miana, 308
Feathered Brindle, 289
Feathered Ear, 294
Feathered Footman, 30
Feathered Gothic, 291
Feathered Ranunculus, 399
Feathered Thorn, 58
Fennica, Agrotis, 324
Fenn's Nonagria, 271
Fen Wainscot, 272
Fern, 173
Ferrugata, Coremia, 168
Ferruginea, Xanthia, 376
Festiva, Noctua, 348
Festoon Moth, 21
Festucae, Plusia, 453 (fig. 451)
Fibrosa, Apamea, 306
FIDONIA, 92
Fiery Clearwing, 14
Figure-of-Eight Moth, 234
Figure of Eighty, 241
Filigrammaria, Oporabia, 109
Filipendulae, Zygaena, 24
Fimbria, Tryphaena, 339
Firmata, Thera, 152
Flame, 165 -
Flame, 282
Flame Brocade, 404
Flame Carpet, 168
Flame Shoulder, 345
| Flame Wainscot, 268.
Flammatra, Noctua, 345
Flammea, Meliana, 268
Flavago, Gortyma, 279
Flavicornis, Cymatophora, 242
Flavocincta, Polia, 396
Flounced Chestnut, 366
Flounced Rustic, 296
Fluctuata, Melanippe, 164
Fluctuosa, Cymatophora, 239
Fluviata, Camptogramma, 172
Forester, 22
Formicaeformis, Sesia, 14
Fortified Carpet, 195
Four-dotted Footman, 27
Four-spotted, 443
Four-spotted Footman, 29
Foxglove Pug, 119
Fox Moth, 43
Fraximata, Eupithecia, 132
| Fraxini, Catocala, 463
Freyer's Pug, 125
Frosted Green, 243
Frosted Orange, 279
Frosted Yellow, 93
Fuciformis, Macroglossa, 11
Fuliginaria, Boletobia, 69
Fuliginosa, Arctia, 34
Fulva, Tapinostola, 274.
Fulvago, Euperia, 380
Fulvata, Cidaria, 192
Fumata, Acidalia, 81
Furcula, Dicramura, 211
Furuncula, Miana, 309
Furva, Mamestra, 300
Fuscantania, Ennomos, 57
Fuscula, Erastria, 445
Saliata, Melanippe, 163
Galii, Deilephila, 8
Galium Carpet, 163
Gamma, Plusia, 455
Garden Carpet, 164
Garden Dart, 329
Gem, 172
Geminipuncta, Nonagria, 270
Gemina, Apamea, 304
Genistae, Hadena, 422
GEOMETRA, 70
GEOMETR.E, 49
Geryon, Procris, 472
Ghost Swift, 20
Gilvago, Xanthia, 376
Gilvaria, Aspilates, 98
Gipsy, 37 .
Glabraria, Cleora, 63.
Glandifera, Bryophila, 244
Glareosa, Noctua. 343
Glauca, Hadena, 414
Glaucous Shears, 414
Globulariae, Procris, 22
GLUPHISIA, 224
Glyphica, Euclidia, 469
Gnaphalii, Cucullia, 433
GNOPHOs, 68
Goat Moth, 18 - -
Golden-bordered Purple, 74
| Golden-rod Pug, 127
Golden-rod Brindle, 425
Gold Spangle, 452
/---Gold Spot, 453 (fig. 451)
Gold Swift, 19
GONOPHORA, 237
GONOPTERA, 456
Gonostigma, Orgyia, 39
GORTYNA, 279
Gothic, 458
Gothica Taeniocampa, 356
Gracilis, Taeniocampa, 361
GRAMMESIA, 310
Grammica, Eulepia, 30
Graminis, Characas, 292
Grass Eggar, 44
Grass Emerald, 69
Grass Rivulet, 114
Grass Wave, 97
Gray, 391 .
Gray Arches, 407
Gray Birch, 67
Gray Chi, 394
Gray Dagger, 250
Gray Mountain Carpet, 110
Gray Pug, 127
Gray Rustic, 353 -
Gray Scalloped Bar, 91
Gray Shoulder-Knot, 429
Great Brocade, 406
Great Oak Beauty, 65
Great Prominent, 232
Green Arches, 405
Green-brindled Crescent, 402
Green-brindled Dot, 401
Green Carpet, 112
Green Pug, 144 º
Greening's Wave, 77
Griseata, Lithostege, 199
Griseola, Lithosia, 29
Grisette, 253,
Grossulariata, Abraxas, 98
Ground Lackey, 42
Guenée's Pug, 123
INDEX.
HADENA, 409
HALIA, 88
Hamula, Platypteryx, 208
Handmaid, 473
Hastata, Melanippe, 157
Haworthii, Celae.)a, 310
Haworth's Carpet, 115
Haworth's Minor, 310
Haworth's Pug, 123
Hazel Carpet, 182
Heart and Club, 327
Heart and Dart, 326
Heart Moth, 381
Heath Rivulet, 115
Heath Rustic, 333
Hebrew Character, 356
HECATERA, 392
Hectus, Hepialus, 19
Hedge Rustic, 297
HELIODES, 442
HELIOPHOBUs, 291
HELIOTHIS, 437
Hellmanni, Tapinostola, 275
Helvola, Lithosia, 28
Helveticata, Eupithecia, 124
HEMEROPHILA, 62
HEMITHEA, 72
Heparata, Eupisteria, 75
Hépatica, Xylophasia, 285
HEPIALUS, 19
Herbida, Aplecta, 405
Herald, 456
Hexapterata, Lobophora, 147
HIMERA, 58
Hippocastamaria,
, 102
Hirtaria, Biston, 60
Hispidaria, Nyssia, 60
Hispidus, Heliophobus, 292
Hoary Footman, 473
Holosericata, Acidalia, 78
HoPORINA, 373
Hornet Clearwing of the Osier, 16
Hornet Clearwing of the Poplar,
16
Horse Chesnut, 102
Humming–Bird Hawk Moth, 11
Humuli, Hepialus, 20
HYBERNIA, 102
HYDR.ECIA, 280
HYDRELIA, 446
HYDRILLA, 311
HYRIA,"74
Pachycnemia,
Ianthina, Tryphaena, 338
Ichneumoniformis, Sesia, 15
Ilicifolia, Lasiocampa, 46
Illunaria, Selenia, 55
Illustraria, Selenia, 55
Imbutata, Carsia, 198
Imitaria, Acidalia, 82
Immanata, Cidaria, 186
Immutata, Acidalia, 80
Impluviata, Ypsipetes, 153
Impura, Leucania, 266
Incanaria, Acidalia, 78
Indigata, Eupithecia, 132
Ingrailed Clay, 348
Inormata, Acidalia, 83
Instabilis, Taeniocampa, 358
Interjecta, Tryphaena, 340 –
Interjectaria, Acidalia, 78
Interrogationis, Plusia, 456
IODIs, 71 ..
Iota, Plusia, 453
Iron Prominent, 229
Irriguata, Eupithecia, 131
Irrorella, Setina, 27
Isogrammata, Eupithecia, 123
*
Jacobaeae, Euchelia, 31
July Highflyer, 153
Juniper Carpet, 150
Juniperata, Thera, 150
Juniper Pug, 142
Kentish Glory, 46
Knot-Grass, 255
Lace Border, 79
Lacertula, Platypteryx, 206
Lackey, 42
Lactearia, Iodis, 71
Lanestris, Eriogaster, 42
LAPHYGMA, 289
Lapidata, Phibalapteryx, 174
Lappet, 45 -
Larch Pug, 129
LARENTIA, 109
Large Emerald, 70
Large Nutmeg, 299
Large Ranunculus, 396.
Large Red-belted Clearwing, 14
Large Thorn, 56
Large Twin-spot Carpet, 171
Large Wainscot, 272
Large Yellow Underwing, 342
Lariciata, Eupithecia, 130
LASIOCAMPA, 45
Latticed Heath, 89
Lead-colouréd Drab, 360
Lead-coloured Pug, 123
Leaden Footman, 474
Least Black Arches, 25
Least Carpet, 77
Least Minor, 309
Least Yellow Underwing, 340
Leopard Moth, 18
Leporina, Acronycta, 251
Lesser Broad Border, 338
Lesser Cream Wave, 80
Lesser Ingrailed, 349
Lesser Lutestring, 240
Lesser Satin Moth, 239
Lesser-spotted Pinion, 383
Lesser Swallow Prominent, 229
Lesser Yellow Underwing, 341
LEUCANIA, 259, 475
Leucographa, Taeniocampa, 357
Leucophaea, Pachetra, 294
Leucophearia, Hybernia, 103
Libatrix, Gonoptera, 456
Lichenaria, Cleora, 63
Lichenea, Epunda, 399
LIGDIA, 101
Light Arches, 284
Light Brocade, 422
Light Crimson Underwing, 466
Light Emerald, 53 -
Light Feathered Rustic, 328
Light Knot-grass, 257
Light Orange Underwing, 449
Light Spectacle, 449
Lignata, Phibalapteryx, 174
Ligniperda, Cossus, 18
Ligustri, Acronycta, 255 t
Ligustri, Sphinx, 7 .
Lilac Beauty, 54
LIMACODES, 21
Lime Hawk-moth, 4
Lime Speck, 120
Linariata, Eupithecia, 119
Lineolata, Eubolia, 197
Ling Pug, 137
LIPARIS, 36
Literosa, Miana, 308
Lithargyria, Leucania, 261
Lithorhiza, Xylocaupa, 424
LITHOSIA, 27, 473
LITHOSTEGE, 199
Lithoxylea, Xylophasia, 284
Little 12tuerald, 71
Little Thorn, 51
Littoralis, Leucania, 263
Litura.. Anchocelis, 369
Liturata, Macaria, 88
Livornica, Deile phila, 9
LOBOPHORA, 146
Lobster, 216
Lobulata, Lobophora, 148
LOMASPILIS, 101 -
Lonicerae, Zygaena, 24 -
Loreyi, Leucania, 262 :
Lota, Orthosia, 365
Lubricipeda, Arctia, 35 t
Lucernea, Agrotis, 336
Lucipara, Euplexia, 405 -
Luctuosa, Dysthymia, 443 i
Lunar Double Stripe, 467
Lunar Marbled Brown, 233
Lunar-Spotted Pinion, 383
Lunar Thorn, 55
Lunar Underwing, 368
Lunar Yellow Underwing, 341
Lunaria, Selenia, 55
Lunaris, Ophiodes, 467
Lunigera, Agrotis, 325
Lumosa, Anchocelis, 368
LUPERINA, 296 - -
Lupulinus, Hepialus, 19
INDEX.
Luteata, Asthena, 74
Lutosa, Calamia, 272
Lutulenta, Epunda, 396
Lychnis, 387 .
Lychnitis, Cucullia, 432
Lyme Grass, 275 *
LYTHRIA, 95
MACARIA, 87
Macilenta, Orthosia, 365
MACROG ASTER, 17
MACROGLOSSA, 11
Maculata, Venilia, 52
Maiden's Blush, 72
Mallow, 194
MAMESTRA, 298
Manchester Treble-bar, 198
MANIA, 460 . . -
Many-lined, 175
Maple Prominent, 226
Maple Pug, 139
Marbled Beauty, 246
Marbled Brown, 233
Marbled Carpet, 185
Marbled Clover, 439
Marbled Coronet, 389
Marbled Green, 244
Marbled Minor, 307
Marbled Pug, 131
Marbled White-spot, 445
March Moth, 105
Margaritaria, Metrocampa, 58
Marginata, Lomaspilis, 101
Marginatus, Heliothis, 437
Maritima, Senta, 268
Marsh Carpet, 183
, Marsh Moth 311
Marsh Pug, 124
Marvel-du-Jour, 402
Maura, Mania, 460
May Highflyer, 153
Megacephala, Acronycta, 252
MELANIPPE, 157
Melanopa, Anarta, 440
MELANTHIA, 154
M ELIANA, 268
Mendica, Arctia, 34
Mensuralia, Eubolia, 196
Menthastri, Arctia, 35
Memyanthidis, Acronycta, 257
Mere W aimscot, 275
Mesomella, Lithosia, 27
Meticulosa, Phlogophora, 403
METROCAMPA, 53
Mi, Euclidia, 468
MIANA, 307
Miata, Cidaria, 181
Micacea, Hydroecia, 282
MICRA, 447 -
Middle-barred Minor, 308
Miller, 251 - .
‘Miniata, Calligenia, 27
Miniosa, Taeniocampa, 362
MINOA, 94 -
Minor Shoulder-knot, 398
..] Muslin Moth, 34 ---
Minos, Zygaena, 23
Minutata, Eupithecia, 137
MisſeIDIA, 402
MINOPHILA, 69
Mocha, 73
Moeniata, Eubolia, 195 -
Molybdeola, Lithosia, 474
Monacha, Liparis, 38
Montanata, Melanippe, 162
Morpheus, Caradrina, 312
Mother Shipton, 468
Mottled Beauty, 63
Mottled Gray, 110
Mottled Pug, 141
Mottled Rustic, 312
Mottled Umber, 104
Mountain Rustic, 355
Mouse, 458
Mullein, 430
Mullein Wave, 79
Multistrigata, Larentia, i 10
Munda, Taeniocampa, 363
Mundana, Nudaria, 27
Munitata, Coremia, 168
Muscerda, Lithosia, 27
Musculosa, Symia, 273
Muslin, 27 z
Myricae, Acronycta, 257
Myrtilli, Anarta, 441
Naclia, 473
Naenia, 458
Nanata, Eupithecia, 134
Narrow-Bordered Bee Hawk-
moth, 12
Narrow-bordered Five-spotted
Burnet, 24 * -
Narrow-winged Pug, 133.
Nebulosa, Aplecta, 407
Neglecta, Noctua, 353
NEMORIA, 71
Nerii, Choerocampa, 10
Netted Carpet, 188
| Netted Pug, 118
Netted Mountain Moth, 92
NEURIA, 290
Neustria, Bombyx, 42
New Black-neck, 461
Nictitans, Hydroecia, 280
Nigra, Epunda, 397
Nigricans, Agrotis, -329
Nigrocincta, Polia, 395.
Ni Moth, 455
Ni, Plusia, 455
NoCTUA, 343
NOCTUAS, 235
NOCTURNI, 3
NOLA, 25
Nonconformist, 428
NONAGRIA, 269
Northern Arches, 410
Northern Drab, 359
Northern Rustic, 336
Northern Spinach Moth, 191
Northern Swift, 20
Northern Winter Moth, 108
Notata, Macaria, 37
Notha, Brephos, 449
NOTODONTA, 225
November Moth, 108
Nubeculosa, Petasia, 218
NUDARIA, 27
NUMERIA, 90 .
Nupta, Catocala, 464
Nutmeg, 416
Nut-tree Tussock, 40
NYSSIA, 59 -
Oak Beauty, 61
Oak Eggar, 43
Oak Hook-tip, 208
Oak-tree Pug, 139
| Obelisca, Agrotis, 332
Obeliscata, Thera, 151
Obfuscata, Dasydia, 68
Obliquaria, Chesias, 201
Oblique Carpet, 174
Oblique-striped, 197
Obscurata, Gnophos, 68
Obscure Wainscot, 261
Obsoleta, Leucania, 261
Occulta, Aplecta, 406
| Ocellata, Melanthia, 155
Ocellatus, Smerinthus, 4
Ochrata, Acidalia, 76
Ochreous Pug, 132
Ochroleuca, Eremobia, 384
Ocularis, Cymatophora, 241
Oculea, Apamea, 306
ODONESTIs, 45
ODONTOPERA, 56
Old Lady, 460
Oleagina, Valeria, 401
Oleander Hawk-moth, 10
Oleracea, Hadena, 419
Olivata, Larentia, 112
Olive, 379 •
Qumicronaria, Ephyra, 73
Onomaria, Aplasta, 89
Oo, Dicycla, 381
OPHIODEs, 467
2
Ophiogramma, Apamea, 305 .
Opima, Taemiocampa, 359
| OPORABIA, 108
Or, Cymatophora, 241
Orache Moth, 417
Orange Footman, 28
Orange Moth, 52
Orange Sallow, 374 -
Orange-tailed Clearwing, 15
Orange Underwing, 448
Orange Upper-Wing, 373
Orbicularia, Ephyra, 73
Orbona, Tryphaena, 341
ORGYIA, 39
| Orichalcia, Plusia, 451
Orion, Diphthera, 247
Ornata, Acidalia, 79
| ORTHOSIA, 364
INDEX.
483.


Ostrina, Micra, 447
Oxyacanthae, Miselia, 402
PACHETRA, 294
PACHNOBIA, 355
PACHYCNEMIA, 120
Pale Brindled Beauty, 59
Pale Footman, 29
Pale Gray Carpet, 199
Pale Mottled Willow, 314
Pale Oak Eggar, 41
Pale Oak Beauty, 65
Pale Pinion, 430
Pale Prominent, 224
Pale-shining Brown, 409
Pale-Shoulder, 443
Pale-Shouldered Brocade, 420
Pale Tussock, 38
Pallens, Leucania, 267
Palpina, Ptilodontis, 224
Palumbaria, Eubolia, 196
Palustris, Hydrilla, 311
PANAGRA, 90 .
Papilionaria, Geometra, 70
Parthenias, Brephos, 448
Parva, Micra, 447
Pastinum, Toxocampa, 461
Peach-blossom, 238
Peacock, 87
Pearly Underwing, 319
Pebble Hook-tip, 207
Pebble Prominent, 231
Pectinitaria, Larentia, 112
Peltiger, Heliothis, 437
PELURGA, 194
Pendularia, Ephyra, 74
Pennaria, Himera, 58
Peppered Moth, 61
Peregrina, Hadena, 415
PERICALLIA, 54
Perla, Bryophila, 246
Perngtata, Eupithecia, 123
Persicariae, Mamestra, 301
Perspicillaris, Cloantha, 425
PETASIA, 217
Petasitis, Hydraecia, 281
Petraria, Panagra, 90
Petrificata, Xylina, 430
PHIBALAPTERYx, 173
PHIGALIA, 59 g -
Philanthiformis, Sesia, 471
PHLOGOPHorA, 403
Phoenix, 190
PHORODESMA, 71
PHOTEDEs, 309.
Phragmitidis, Calamia, 272
PHYTOMETRA, 469
Picata, Cidaria, 182
Pictaria, Aleucis, 86
Pigmy Footman, 28
Pilosaria, Phigalia, 59
Pinastri, Dipterygia, 287
Pine Beauty, 355 -
Pine Carpet, 152
Pinetaria, Fidonia, 93
Piniaria, Fidonia, 92
Pinion-Spotted Pug, 118
Piniperda, Trachea, 355
Pink-barred Sallow, 375
Pisi, Hadena, 419
Pistacina, Anchocelis, 366 _--"
Plagiata, Anaitis, 198 --- "
Plain Clay, 344
Plain Golden Y, 453
Plain Pug, 134
Plain Wave, 83
Plantaginis, Chelonia, 32
PLATYPTERYX, 206
Plecta, Noctua, 345
Plumaria, Selidosema, 91
Plumbeolata, Eupithecia, 122
Plumed Prominent, 224 -
Plumigera, Ptilophora, 224
PLUSIA, 451
Pod-lover, 386
PCECILOCAMPA, 41
. - j-Z 4
_| POLIA, 394ºr:”
TPolycommatā. ophora, 149
Polyodon, Xylophasia, 285
Poplar Gray, 252
Poplar Hawk-moth, 4
Poplar Kitten, 212
Poplar Lutestring, 241
Popularis, Heliophobus, 291
Populata, Cidaria, 191
Populeti, Taeniocampa, 360
Populi, Poecilocampa, 41
Populi, Smerinthus, 4.
Porata, Ephyra, 72
Porcellus, Choerocampa, 10
Porphyrea, Agrotis, 334
Portland Moth, 334
Portland Riband Wave, 83
Potatoria, Odomestis, 45
Powdered Quaker, 861
Powdered Wainscot, 258
Praecox, Agrotis, 334
Prataria, Acidalia, 81
Pretty Pinion, 116
Privet Hawk-moth, 7
Procellata, Melanippe, 158
PROCRIs, 22, 472 -
Prodromaria, Amphydasis, 61
Progemmaria, Hybernia, 104
Promissa, Catocala, 466
Promutata, Acidalia, 79
Pronuba, Tryphaena, 342 .
Propugmata, Coremia, 168
Proteus, Hadena, 413
Prunaria, Angerona, 52
PSEUDOTERPNA, 69
Psi, Acronycta, 250
Psittacata, Cidaria, 180
Psodos, 68
PTILOPHORA, 224
PTILODONTIS, 224
Pudibunda, Orgyia, 38.
Pudorina, Leucania, 264
Pulchella, Deiopeia, 31
Pulchellata, Eupithecia, 119
:
Pulchraria, Asthena, 75
Pulchrina, Plusia, 454
Pulveraria, Numeria, 90
Pumilata, Eupithecia, 143
Punctaria, Ephyra, 72
Punctulata, Tephrosia, 67
| Purple Bar, 155
Purple-barred Yellow, 95
Purple Clay, 348
Purple Cloud, 425
Purple Marbled, 447
Purple Thorn, 55
Purpuraria, Lythria, 95
Pusaria, Cabera, 84
Pusillata, Eupithecia, 131
Puss Moth, 214 -
Puta, Agrotis, 317
Putrescens, Leucania, 265
Putris, Axylia, 282
PYG.ERA, 219 .
Pygmaeata, Eupithecia, 124
ygmaeola, Lithosia, 28
Pyraliata, Cidaria, 192
Pyralina, Cosmia, 383
Pyramidea, Amphipyra, 457
Pyrophila, Agrotis, 336
Quadra, Lithosia, 29
Quadrifasciata, Coremia, 171
Quercifolia, Lasiocampa, 45
Quercus, Bombyx, 43 -
Rannoch Geometer, 93
Rannoch Sprawler, 218
Ravida, Agrotis, 335 325
Reclusa, Clostera, 223 -
Rectangulata, Eupithecia, 145
Rectilinea, Hadena, 423
Red Arches, 27
Red-Belted Clearwing, 14
Red Carpet, 168
Red Chesnut, 357
Reddish Buff, 312 s
Reddish Light Arches, 284
Red-green Carpet, 180
Redheaded, 370
Red-Line Quaker, 365
Red-necked Footman, 29
Red Sword-grass, 426
Red-Tipped Clearwing, 14
Red Twin-spot Carpet, 168
Red Underwing, 464
Reed Moth, 17
Reed Tussock, 39.
Reed Wainscot, 269
Remutata, Acidalia, 80
Repandata, Boarmia, 63
Rest Harrow, 89.
Reticulata, Cidaria, 188
Retusa, Tethea, 379
Rhamnata, Scotosia, 178
Rhizolitha, Xylina, 429
Rhomboidaria, Boarmia, 64
Rhomboidea, Noctua, 347
Riband.Wave, 82
484
INDEX.
Ribesiaria, Cidaria, 190
Ridens, Cymatophora, 243
Ringed Carpet, 64
Ripae, Agrotis, 328
Rivata, Melanippe, 159
Rivulet, 113
Roboraria, Boarmia, 65
Rosy Footman, 27
Rosy Marbled, 445
Rosy Marsh, 851
Rosy Minor, 308
Rosy Rustic, 282
Rosy Wave, 82
Rotundaria, Cabera, 85
Round-winged Muslim, 27
Round-winged White Wave, 85
Royal Mantle, 164
Ruberata, Ypsipetes, 152
Rubi, Bombyx, 43
Rubi, Noctua, 351
Rubidata, Anticlea, 165
Rubiginata, Melanthia, 154
Rubiginea, Dasycampa, 372
Rubricata, Acidalia, 76
Rubricollis, Lithosia, 29
Rubricosa, Taeniocampa, 357
Ruby Tiger, 34
Ruddy Highflyer, 152
Rufa, Coenobia, 269
Ruficinctata, Larentia, 111
Rufina, Anchocelis, 366
RUMIA, 52
Rumicis, Acronycta, 255
Rupicapraria, Hybernia, 102
Rurea, Xylophasia, 283
RUSINA, 3158.
Russata, Cidaria, 185
Russula, Euthemonia, 32
Rustic, 314
Rusticata, Acidalia, 77
Rustic Shoulder-Knot, 302
Sacraria, Sterrha, 96
Sagittata, Cidaria, 183
Salicata, Larentia, 111
Salicis, Liparis, 36
Sallow, 374 -
Sallow Kitten, 211
Sambucata, Uropteryx, 50
Sand Dart, 328 º
• Sandy Carpet, 114
Saponariae, Neuria, 290
Satellite, 371 -
Satellitia, Scopelosoma, 371
Satin Carpet, 64
Satin Carpet, 239
Satin Moth, 36
Satin Wave, 80
Satura, Hadena, 409
SATURNIA, 48
Satyr Pug, 126
Satyrata, Eupithecia, 126
| Saucia, Agrotis,%219
Saxon, 423
Scalloped Hazel, 56
Scalloped Hook-tip, 206
Scalloped Oak, 56 -
Scallop Shell, 179
Scarce Black Arches, 25
Scarce Bordered Straw, 439
Scarce Burnished Brass, 451
Scarce Chocolate Tip, 222
Scarce Dagger, 256
Scarce Footman, 28
Scarce Forester, 22
Scarce Hook-tip, 207
Scarce Marveil-du-Jour, 247
Scarce Prominent, 227
Scarce Silver Y, 456
Scarce Tissue, 178
Scarce Umber, 103
Scarce Vapourer, 39
Scarlet Tiger, 31
SCODIONA, 91
Scolia formis, Sesia, 15
Scolopacina, Xylophasia, 286
SCOPELOSOMA, 371 -
Scorched Carpet, 101
Scorched Wing, 53
SCORIA, 94 -
Scotch Amulet, 68 A
SCOTOSIA, 176
Scrophulariae, Cucullia, 431
Scutulata, Acidalia, 76
Segetum, Agrotis, 320
SELENIA, 55 -
SELIDOSEMA, 91
Semibrunnea, Xylina, 429
Senex, Nudaria, 27
SENTA, 268
September Thorn, 57
Seraphim, 147
Serena, Hecatera, 393
SESIA, 14,471
Setaceous Hebrew Character, 346
SETINA, 27
Sexalisata, Lobophora, 146
Shaded Broad Bar, 151
Shaded Pug, 122
Shark, 436
Sharp-Angled Carpet, 159
Sharp-Angled Peacock, 87
Shears, 415
Shore Waimscot, 263
Short-cloak Carpet, 182
Short-cloaked Moth, 25
Shoulder Stripe, 165
Shoulder-striped Wainscot, 264
Shuttle-shaped Dart, 317
Sicula, Platypteryx, 207
Silaceata, Cidaria, 189
Silago, Xanthia, 375
Silky Waimscot, 268
Silky Wave, 78
Silver-barred, 446
Silver Cloud 288
Silver-ground Carpet, 162
Silver Hook, 446 -
Silver-striped Hawk-moth, 9
Silvery Y, 455
A
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Silver Arches, 408
Simulata, Thera, 150
SIMYRA, 258
Sinuata, Anticlea, 164
Single-dotted Wave, 76
Six-belted Clearwing, 15
Six-spotted Burnet, 24
Six-striped Rustic, 352
Slender-clouded Brindle, 286
Slender Pug, 139
Slender-striped Rufous, 174
Sloe Carpet, 86
Small Angle-Shades, 405
Small Argent and Sable, 157
Small Black Arches, 25
Small Blood-vein, 82
Small Brindled Beauty, 60
Small Chocolate-tip, 223
Small Clouded Brindle, 305
Small Dark Yellow Underwing,
440 w
Small Dotted Buff, 276
Small Dusty Wave, 78
Small Eggar, 42
Small Elephant Hawk-moth, 10
Small Emerald, 71
Small Engrailed, 66
Small Fan-footed Wave, 77
Small Grass Emerald, 71
Small Lappet, 46
Small Mallow, 196
Small Marbled, 447
Small Mottled Willow, 289
Small Phoenix Moth, 189
Small Purple-barred, 469
Small Quaker, 363 -
Small Ramunculus, 392
Small Rivulet, 113
Small Rufous, 269
Small Scallop, 84
Small Seraphim, 146
Small Square Spot, 351
Small Wainscot, 274
| Small Waved Umber, 3.75
Small White Wave, 75
Small Yellow Underwing, 442
Small Yellow Wave, 74
Smaragdaria, Geometra, 70
SMERINTHUS, 4
Smoky Waimscot, 266
Smoky Wave, 81
Sobrina, Noctua, 352 -
Sobrinata, Eupithecia, 142
Solidaginis, Cloantha, 425
Southern Waimscot, 266
Spadicea, Cerastis, 370
Sparsata, Collix, 146
Spartiata, Chesias, 200
Speckled Beauty, 62
Speckled Footman, 30
Speckled Yellow, 52
Sphegiformis, Sesia, 16
SPHINX, 6
Spinach, 193
Spinula, Cilix, 209
Sponsa, Catocala, 465
INDEX.
Spotted Sulphur, 442
Sprawler, 217
Spring Usher, 103
Spurge Hawk-moth, 7
Square Spot, 66
Square Spot Dart, 332
Square-Spotted Clay, 347
Square-spot Rustic, 354
Stabilis, Taeniocampa, 360
Star-wort, 433
Statices, Procris, 22
STAUROPUS, 216
Stellatarum, Macroglossa, 11
STERRHA, 96
STILBIA, 462
Stout Dart, 335
Straminata, Acidalia, 80
Straminea, Leucania, 266
Stramineola, Lithosia, 29
Stranger, 415
Straw Belle, 98
Straw Underwing, 295
Streak, 200
Streaked Dart, 331
Streamer, 166
STRENIA, 89
Strigillaria, Aspilates, 97
Strigilis, Miana, 307
Strigosa, Acronycta, 253
Striguba, Nola, 25
Striped Hawk-moth, 9
Striped Lychnis, 432
Striped Twin-spot Carpet, 111
Striped Waimscot, 264
Suasa, Hadena, 418
Subangled Wave, 81
Subfulvata, Eupithecia, 122
Subsericata, Acidalia, 80
• Subciliata, Eupithecia, 139
Sublustris, Xylophasia, 284
Subnotata, Eupithecia, 134
Subrosea, Noctua, 351
Subsequa, Tryphaena, 341
Subtristata, Melanippe, 160
Subtusa, Tethea, 379
Subumbrata, Eupithecia, 122
Succenturiata, Eupithecia, 121
Suffumata, Cidaria, 188
Suffusa, Agrotis, 318
Sulphuralis, Agrophila, 442
Suspecta, Orthosia, 364
Suspected, 364
Swallow Prominent, 228
Swallow-tailed Moth, 50
Sweet gale Moth, 257
Sword-grass, 427
Sycamore, 251
Sylvata, Asthena, 75
Sylvinus, Hepialus, 19
Synia, 273
Syringaria, Pericallia, 54
Taemiata, Emmelesia, 114
TENIOCAMPA, 356
Taminata, Corycia, 86
TANAGRA, 201
TAPINOSTOLA, 274
Tawny-barred Angle, 88
Tawny Pinion, 429
Tawny Sheers, 385
Tawny Speck, 122
Tawny Wave, 76 --~
Temerata, Corycia, 85
Templi, Dasypolia, 277
Tenebrosa, Rusina, 315
Tenuiata, Eupithecia, 139
TEPHROSIA, 66
Tersata, Phibalapteryx, 173
Testacea, Luperina, 296
Testata, Cidaria, 191
Testudo, Limacodes, 21
TETHEA, 379
Thalassina, Hadena, 420
THERA, 150
Three-humped, 230
Thrift Clearwing, 471
THYATIRA, 238
Thymiaria, Hemithea, 72
Tiger, 33
Tiliaria, Ennomos, 57
Tiliae, Smerinthus, 4
TIMANDRA, 84
Tincta, Aplecta, 408
Tipuliformis, Sesia, 15
Tissue, 176
Toadflax Pug, 119
Togata, Eupithecia, 142
TOXOCAMPA, 460
TRACHEA, 355
| Tragopogonis, Amphipyra, 458
Transparent Burnet, 23
Trapezina, Cosmia, 381
Treble-bar, 198
Treble Brown Spot, 77
Treble Lines, 310
Tree-lichen Beauty, 247
Trepida, Notodonta, 232
Trepidaria, Psodos, 68
Triangle Moth, 21 ë.
Triangulum, Noctua, 347
TRICHIURA, 41
Tridens, Acronycta, 248
Trifolii, Bombyx, 44
Trifolii, Zygaena, 23
Trigeminata, Acidalia, 77
TRIGONoPHORA, 404
Trilinea, Grammesia, 310
Trilinearia, Ephyra, 73
Trilophus, Notodonta, 230
Triplasia, Abrostola, 450
Triple Spot Pug, 130
Triple-spotted Clay, 346
Trisignata, Eupithecia, 130
Tristata, Melanippe, 157
Tritici, Agrotis, 330
True Lover's Knot, 334
TRYPHENA, 338
Turca, Leucania, 260
Turnip Moth, 320
Twin-spot Carpet, 109
Twin-spotted Quaker, 363
Twin-spotted Wainscot, 270
Typhae, Nonagria, 270
Typica, Naenia, 458
Ulmata, Abraxas, 100
Umbratica, Cucullia, 436
Umbrosa, Noctua, 352
Unangulata, Melanippe, 159
Unanimis, Apamea, 305
Unca, Hydrelia, 446
Uncertain, 313
Undulata, Eucosmia, 179
Unguicula, Platypteryx, 208
Unidentata, Coremia, 169
Unifasciata, Emmelesia, 115
Union Rustic, 303
Upsilon, Orthosia, 364
| UROPTERYX, 50
Urticæ, Abrostola, 149
Urticae, Arctia, 35
Vaccinii, Cerastis, 369
WALERIA, 401
Valerianata, Eupithecia, 129
Valerian Pug, 129
Walligera, Agrotis, 316
Velleda, Hepialus, 20
VENILIA, 52
Venosa, Simyra, 258
Venosata, Eupithecia, 118
VENUSIA, 76
Venustula, Erastria, 445
Verbasci, Cucullia, 430
Vernaria, Iodis, 71
Versicolor, Endromis, 46
Vespertaria, Epione, 51
Vespiformis, Sesia, 16
Vestal, 96
Vetulata, Scotosia, 177
Vetusta, Calocampa, 426
Viduaria, Cleora, 62
Willica, Chelonia, 34
Viminalis, Epunda, 398
Vimula, Dicramura, 214
Viper's Bugloss, 475
Wiretata, Lobophora, 147
Virgaureata, Eupithecia, 127
Viridata, Nemoria, 71
Vitalbata, Phibalapteryx, 175
Vitellina, Leucania, 259
V-Moth, 88
V-Pug, 143
Vulgata, Eupithecia, 135
Water Betony, 431
Water Carpet, 187 e
Water Ermine, 35
Wavaria, Halia, 88
Waved Black, 69
486
INDEX.
Waved Carpet, 75
Waved Umber, 62
Welsh Clearwing, 15
Welsh Wave, 76
White-barred Clearwing, 16
White Colon, 299
White Ermine, 35
White-line Dart, 330
White-marked, 357
White-pinion Spotted, 86
White Point, 475
White Prominent, 227
White Spot, 388
White-spotted Pinion, 383
White-spotted Pug, 128
Wild-Thyme Pug, 132
Willow Beauty, 64
Winter Moth, 106
Wood Carpet, 159
Wood Swift, 19
Wood Tiger, 32
Wormwood, 434
Wormwood Pug, 136
XANTHIA, 374 -
Xanthographa, Noctua, 354
Xerampelina, Cirrhoedia, 377
YYLINA, 427 *
XYLOCAMPA, 424
XYLOMIGES, 288
XYLOPHASIA, 283
< *g
Yellow-barred Brindle, 147
Yellow Belle, 97
Yellow-Horned, 242
Yellow-Legged Clearwing, 15
Yellow-line Quaker, 365
Yellow-ringed Carpet, 111
* Yellow Shell, 171
Yellow-tail Moth, 36
YPSIPETES, 152
ZEUZERA, 18
Ziczac, Notodonta, 231
Zinckenii, Xylina, 428
Zonaria, Nyssia, 59
ZYG.ENA, 23

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