Butterflies and Moths Part 30

_The Six-spotted Burnet_ (_Zygaena Filipendulae_)

So common is this moth, and so conspicuous when it flies in the blazing sun, that it must be familiar to almost everybody. On a bright midsummer day hundreds may often be started from their gra.s.sy beds from one little patch of ground.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 106.--THE SIX-SPOTTED BURNET.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 107.--THE LARVA OF FILIPENDULae.]

The colouring of the wings is much the same as in the last species, but there are two crimson spots instead of one near the tips of the fore pair.

The larvae may be seen in vast numbers during May and June, feeding on clovers (_Trifolium pratense_ and _T. repens_), and the bird's-foot trefoil (_Lotus corniculatus_); and in the latter month thousands of the chrysalides, inclosed in shuttle-shaped coc.o.o.ns on gra.s.s stems, may be seen on downs and sunny banks in almost every part of the country.

The caterpillar, which is yellow, may be known by the two rows of black spots that adorn each segment of the body.

CHAPTER XVIII

_BOMBYCES_

This tribe is an important one, inasmuch as it contains those few moths whose silk is of present or antic.i.p.ated commercial value. Many of the British members, even, make silken coc.o.o.ns of moderate compactness, but none of them yield a quant.i.ty and quality of silk to justify any attempt to utilise it in the arts.

There are more than a hundred British species in this group, and these represent no less than seventeen families, which exhibit a great variety in their general appearance and habits.

Family--NYCTEOLIDae

_The Green Silver-lined_ (_Hylophila prasinana_)

This family, under the name of _Chloephoridae_, is included by some authors among the _Tortrices_ (page 298), which they somewhat resemble in habits. It contains only four species, of which we will take one example--the Green Silver-lined.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 108.--THE GREEN SILVER-LINED.]

The fore wings of this insect are pale green, with three oblique silvery white lines, the middle one of which is far more distinct than the other two. The hind wings are silvery white in the female, and yellow in the male. It flies in May, and is common in the wooded districts of the south-eastern counties.

The caterpillar is pale green, dotted and striped with yellow, and has a reddish transverse band on the second segment. It feeds on oak (_Quercus Robur_), birch (_Betula alba_), hazel (_Corylus_ _Avellana_), beech (_f.a.gus sylvatica_), and alder (_Alnus glutinosa_), from which trees it may be beaten in July and August.

Family--NOLIDae

_The Short-cloaked Moth_ (_Nola cucullatella_)

We select this common moth as a representative of the small family _Nolidae_, which contains only five British species. These are all small insects. They are nocturnal in their habits, and may be found at rest on the trunks of trees during the daytime. The caterpillars are hairy, and undergo their metamorphoses within silken coc.o.o.ns.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 109.--THE SHORT-CLOAKED MOTH.]

The fore wings of _Cucullatella_ are pearly grey, with a dark patch at the base, a triangular spot on the middle of the costal margin, and wavy lines beyond this, parallel with the hind margin. The hind wings are grey, and devoid of any markings.

The caterpillar is of a brownish colour, with a line of lighter patches down the back, and it is covered with little tufts of hair. It feeds on the blackthorn (_Prunus spinosa_), whitethorn (_Crataegus oxyacantha_), and also on plum trees in our gardens during the month of May. The moth is on the wing during June and July.

Family--LITHOSIIDae

_The Muslin Moth_ (_Nudaria mundana_)

The family _Lithosiidae_ contains several small moths, distinguished from the other _Bombyces_ by the narrowness of their fore wings. When the insects are at rest, all the wings are wrapped closely round the body.

They fly at dusk on summer evenings, but may be obtained during the daytime by beating the boughs of trees. If an open net be held under the boughs during this operation, the moths will generally feign death and allow themselves to fall into it when they are disturbed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 110.--THE MUSLIN MOTH.]

Most of the larvae of this family feed on the lichens that cover walls and the bark of trees, and they conceal themselves so artfully among this peculiar vegetation that it is no easy matter to search them out; probably many still remain unknown to entomologists.

Our first example--the Muslin Moth--has light brownish-grey and semi transparent wings, the front pair of which have darker markings arranged as shown in the ill.u.s.tration. It is a common moth, and may be met with in July and August.

The caterpillar feeds on lichens in June. It is of a dull grey colour, with a yellow stripe down the back, and has numerous little tufts of light hair.

_The Common Footman_ (_Lithosia lurideola_)

The fore wings of this species are of a leaden grey, with a bright yellow costal stripe which dwindles to a point just before it reaches the tip. The hind wings are very pale yellow.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 111.--THE COMMON FOOTMAN.]

The larva is black, with a reddish line on each side just above the feet. It may be found during May and June among the lichens of oaks, blackthorns, and firs, especially in the woods of the south of England.

The perfect insect flies during July and August.

Family--EUCHELIIDae

_The Cinnabar_ (_Euchelia Jacobaeae_)

The family _Eucheliidae_ contains only four British species, two of which must receive a share of our attention. The first of these is the Cinnabar Moth, which is common in all localities where its food plants--the groundsel (_Senecio vulgaris_) and the ragwort (_S.

Jacobaea_)--abound.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 112.--THE LARVA OF JACOBaeae.]

Its colours are so striking that a glance at its representation (fig. 1 of Plate X) will render a written description quite unnecessary.

The caterpillar is a very familiar and conspicuous object. Its colour is bright orange, broken by several broad black rings; and its body is thinly covered with hair. When fully grown (July or August) it descends to the ground, and there changes to a smooth and shining reddish-brown chrysalis.

The moth appears in June or early in July.

_The Scarlet Tiger_ (_Callimorpha Dominula_)

This is certainly one of the most beautiful of all our moths. Its fore wings are dark olive green, with a lovely metallic l.u.s.tre, and boldly marked with large white and yellow spots. These spots are arranged generally like those in the ill.u.s.tration, but are subject to great variation. The hind wings are crimson, with large black patches, chiefly distributed near the hind margin. The thorax is black, with two white streaks; and the abdomen crimson, with a black line down the back.