Butterflies and Moths Part 47

The family _Botydae_ contains the moths that are popularly known as the 'Pearls' on account of the pearly l.u.s.tre of the wings. One of its species--the Small Magpie--is shown in the accompanying ill.u.s.tration.

Its fore wings are pearly white, with blackish hind margin, a yellow streak at the base, and blackish markings, the arrangement of which may be seen in the figure.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 211.--THE SMALL MAGPIE.]

It is a very common moth, flying at dusk during June and July in waste places where the stinging nettle grows.

The caterpillar is whitish, with a dark dorsal line. It feeds on the stinging nettle (_Urtica dioica_), always remaining concealed between leaves which it has spun together with silken threads.

_The Mother-of-Pearl_ (_Botys ruralis_)

This is another very common species of the family _Botydae_, abundant almost everywhere, and to be found on the wing from June to August.

Its wings are whitish, and exhibit a very decided pearly l.u.s.tre, and all the markings are of a dull dark grey.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 212.--THE MOTHER-OF-PEARL.]

The caterpillar is glossy, and has a semi-transparent appearance. It is greenish white above, with a darker line down the back; and the sides are of a brighter green. It feeds on the stinging nettle (_Urtica dioica_) during May.

_The Garden Pebble_ (_Pionea forficalis_)

The same family contains also the Garden Pebble, which is one of the commonest frequenters of gardens, both in town and country.

The fore wings are pale yellowish grey with brown markings. The latter include a fine line from the tip to the middle of the inner margin, and another paler one inside and parallel with this, having a dark spot near its centre. The hind wings are lighter, and have a pale and interrupted line parallel with the hind margin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 213.--THE GARDEN PEBBLE.]

The caterpillar is pale greenish, with a dark line along the back and on each side. It feeds on the cabbage and other cruciferous plants.

The moth flies from May to the end of the summer, and the caterpillar may be found about midsummer, and again in the autumn.

_The Beautiful China Mark_ (_Hydrocampa stagnata_)

Our last example of the _Pyralides_--the Beautiful China Mark--belongs to the family _Hydrocampidae_. This small family is remarkable for the fact that its four species spend their larval state in the water, feeding on the under surfaces of the leaves of water lilies and other aquatic plants. These curious larvae live either in cases which they construct for their protection, something after the fashion of the larvae of caddis flies, or quite free in the water, and then they are supplied with special breathing organs that enable them to absorb the oxygen held in solution in the water.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 214.--THE BEAUTIFUL CHINA MARK.]

The moth we have selected for ill.u.s.tration is a very common species, and may be seen flying in great numbers in the neighbourhood of ponds during June and July.

_The Pterophori_

The members of this remarkable group are easily distinguishable from all other moths by the feathery appearance of their wings, a feature that has gained for them the popular name of _Plume Moths_. Their fore wings are more or less divided or cleft, and their hind wings are generally divided into three distinct feathery plumes.

The larvae are hairy, and when full fed they suspend themselves by their a.n.a.l claspers, and change to the chrysalis state without any kind of covering. They are generally to be found in spring and early summer, but some of them feed in the autumn.

The chrysalides are often hairy, though some of them are perfectly smooth.

Plume moths are to be met with more or less throughout the year. Many of the earlier species appear on the wing in spring and early summer; but the late feeders emerge in the autumn, and hybernate through the winter, often taking to the wing on the mild days of our coldest months.

The _Pterophori_ include only about forty British species, all of which, with two exceptions, belong to the family _Pterophoridae_. The two exceptions represent as many families--one the _Chrysocorididae_, and the other the _Alucitidae_.

_Platyptilia gonodactyla_

This is one of the commonest of the _Pterophoridae_, generally appearing in our gardens and in waste places towards the end of May, and continuing with us for some time. It starts from its retreat at or before sunset, and remains on the wing after dark.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 215.--GONODACTYLA.]

Its fore wings are ochreous grey, with a narrow brown costal margin, and a triangular brown patch on the costa. Beyond this patch the wing is cleft. The hind wings consist of three distinct brownish plumes, the third of which has a small tuft of black scales projecting from the middle of the inner margin.

The caterpillar feeds on the flower stalks of the coltsfoot during March and April.

_Leioptilus osteodactylus_

This is another species of the same family. It is not uncommon, but is more local than the last.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 216.--OSTEODACTYLUS.]

Its fore wings are pale yellow, with a small brown dot at the commencement of the dividing fissure, and a brown blotch on the costal margin nearer the tip. The hind wings are divided into three distinct plumes like those of _Gonodactyla_.

This is a later species, appearing on the wing in July.

_Aciptilia pentadactyla_

The fore wings of this species are white, frequently with a few greyish scales, and are deeply divided into two feathery plumes. The hind wings are pure white, and consist of three plumes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 217.--PENTADACTYLA.]

This pretty insect is common and widely distributed, and flies during June and July.

The caterpillar feeds on the convolvulus in May.

_Alucita hexadactyla_

Our last example of the _Pterophori_ is the Twelve-plume Moth, the only British representative of the family _Alucitidae_.

This little insect is of a yellowish colour, with two dark bands across the fore wings; and both fore and hind wings are divided into six distinct feathers. It is a common moth, and frequents sheltered spots, flying at dusk. It appears in August, remains on the wing till October, and then hybernates till the following April. During the winter it is commonly met with in outhouses and even in dwelling houses.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 218.--HEXADACTYLA--ENLARGED.]

The caterpillar feeds during June and July on the flower buds of the honeysuckle (_Lonicera Periclymenum_). It is not hairy, like most of the larvae of the last family; and, unlike these, it changes to a chrysalis in a silken coc.o.o.n.