The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 26

The ordinary form of the male and the female is represented on Plate 104.

The species is an exceedingly variable one, and Haworth (1803), believing them to be distinct species, gave Latin and English names to several of the different forms. The ground colour in the male ranges from pale whitish or brownish ochreous, with strong markings, to blackish brown, with the markings obscured. The female ranges in colour of {202} fore wings from greyish to blackish. Caterpillar, greyish brown, tinged with ochreous, or sometimes pinkish; a glossy plate on first ring, greyish or brownish; spots glossy, each with a tiny hair; lines rather darker, but often indistinct.

It feeds from July to April on various plants, but only attacks the tender stems near the surface of the ground. In fields it is destructive to turnips and swedes, making large cavities in the bulb, which it enters from just above the tap-root. The moth flies in June, and occasionally as a second generation in the autumn. Generally distributed over the British Isles, and often very common. Its range extends throughout nearly the whole of Europe and the greater part of Asia.

THE ARCHER'S DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _vestigialis_).

The specimens shown on Plate 104 are typical of the s.e.xes (Figs. 1[male], 3[female]). The normal pale brown colour is sometimes replaced by greyish, reddish, or olive brown. A specimen with black fore and hind wings has been recorded from North Wales by Mr. Jager. The markings vary in intensity, and occasionally are almost or quite absent. Several of the varieties have been named. The caterpillar, which feeds on bed-straw and various gra.s.ses, etc., is greenish grey, inclining to brownish above, with a dark-edged pale line along the middle of the back, and a similar line on each side; the raised spots are black, and the plate on first ring brownish; head ochreous, marked with darker. August to May. The moth is out in July and August, and is chiefly found on sandhills by the sea. It is most plentiful on the eastern and southern coasts, and in Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire: it is often not uncommon in the Brandon and Tuddenham districts, and others, in the "Breck Sand" area of Suffolk and Norfolk. The species has been recorded from Worcestershire, and I understand that a few specimens were taken in Surrey last August (1907). In Scotland it occurs on the east coast, and in the Orkney Isles; also in Ayr, on the south-west. In Ireland, also, it is found on suitable parts of the coast.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 106.

1, 2. SAND DART.

3, 4. COAST DART.

5, 6. GARDEN DART.

7, 8, 11. WHITE LINE DART.

9, 10. WHITE-LINE DART, _var. aquilina._ 12. SQUARE-SPOT DART.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 107.

1. TRUE-LOVER'S KNOT.

2, 3. HEATH RUSTIC.

4. PORTLAND MOTH.

5, 6. STOUT DART.

7, 8. DOTTED RUSTIC.

9, 10. NORTHERN RUSTIC.

{203} THE HEART AND CLUB (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _corticea_).

The more usual form of the male and the female are shown on Plate 105 (Figs. 7[male], 8[female]). The colour varies from pale brown to a whitish or greyish brown tint in one direction, and to reddish or blackish brown in another. The cross lines, generally well defined, are sometimes absent, or nearly so, in some of the pale forms, and much obscured in the dark forms.

The black outlined reniform and orbicular stigmata are sometimes obscured by a blackish cloud; the pale-centred, club-like mark below them varies in length, and is occasionally reduced to a small spot. "_Noctua subfusca_,"

Haworth, has been determined by Mr. E. R. Bankes, who possesses the type, to be an obscurely marked fuscous [male] example of this species. The greyish brown, rather rough-looking caterpillar, is freckled with a darker tint above, and inclined to greenish below; a fine, pale line along the middle of the back is edged with brownish, and on each side there is a pale line, edged above with brown, and below this a double pale line; head marked with blackish (Plate 109, Fig. 1). It feeds from March to April, after hibernation, on various low-growing plants, including goose-foot (_Chenopodium_), persicaria, knotgra.s.s, dock, and clover. The moth is on the wing in June and July, and very occasionally in September. It is rather a common insect in eastern and southern counties bordering the sea, but extends into Surrey, and occasionally into Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, and Berkshire; and is also found more or less frequently in Herefordshire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. In Scotland it occurs in Ayr, and on the eastern side to Moray. It has been taken in various {204} counties, on the coast, of Ireland from Cork to Sligo, and from Wicklow to Derry.

THE LIGHT FEATHERED RUSTIC (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _cinerea_).

Both s.e.xes are shown in their typical forms on Plate 105. The fore wings of the male (Fig. 9) are generally pale greyish in colour, with blackish cross lines and central shade; the claviform mark is absent, and the orbicular stigma usually so, or represented by a dusky dot; sometimes the ground colour is brownish, occasionally purplish grey, and very rarely black. The female (Fig. 10) is smaller, and always much darker.

The caterpillar is blackish green or dark greyish, with three fine pale lines, the central one edged on both sides, and the others edged above, with a darker tint; a pale stripe along the black spiracles; head, and plate on first ring black. It feeds on wild thyme, and is said to eat dock.

It hatches from the egg in late June or early July, and presumably hibernates when full grown, as it does not seem to feed again when it reappears in early spring.

The moth flies in May and June, and is only to be found on hills and downs in chalk or limestone districts. It occurs in Surrey, Dorset, Isle of Wight, Devon, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, North Wales, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridge, and Suffolk; it seems to have been most frequently met with in Kent and Suss.e.x. The small form, with narrow and distinctly marked fore wings, and whitish hind wings, occurring in the south of England, has been named var. _tephrina_, Staud.

THE SHUTTLE-SHAPED DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _puta_).

As will be seen by the figures on Plate 104, the s.e.xes of this species also differ greatly in colour. Usually the cross lines on the fore wings of the male do not show up so distinctly as in {205} Fig. 2, which closely approaches a form figured and described as _radiola_ by Stephens in 1829.

Fig. 5 represents the typical blackish-brown female. Gynandrous specimens, one side [male] the other [female], have been recorded. The caterpillar feeds on dandelion, lettuce, knotgra.s.s, and other low-growing plants, from September to April; probably full grown before hibernation. The moth, which is out in July and August, sometimes in May, is partial to low-lying, marshy ground and meadows, and is widely distributed over the whole of the south of England, but it is seemingly rare in the north, and still more so in Scotland and Ireland. Barrett states that it has been found commonly in Carmarthenshire, Wales.

THE CRESCENT DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _lunigera_).

Although its position in cla.s.sification is that of a local form of _A.

trux_, Hubn., this moth, which is figured on Plate 105, Figs. 1[male], 2[female], may here retain the name that was given to it by Stephens in 1829. Except that it has been reported to occur in the north of France, it seems to be peculiar to the British Isles. The earliest known specimens were captured near Cork in Ireland, June, 1826, and it is now found not only on the coasts of Cork and Kerry, but also on the Hill of Howth, near Dublin. In England it occurs in the Isle of Wight, Dorsetshire (Portland), Devonshire (Torquay), Cornwall, and the Scilly Isles. Reported from Suss.e.x in 1918. In Wales it is to be found above Barmouth, and in various parts of South Wales; and in Scotland around Edinburgh and on the Moray coast. The moth is out in July and August. Mr. A. E. Gibbs, writing of this species in Cornwall, remarks, "It is generally stated that _A. lunigera_ is only to be taken on steep and dangerous cliffs, in places where sugaring is by no means a safe occupation; but its abundance at Polzeath showed that this is not invariably the case. Here it was found on posts and flower heads in the valley at some {206} distance from the seash.o.r.e, and so abundantly did it occur that one evening's work yielded upwards of fifty specimens."

The caterpillar is greyish or greenish grey, inclining to brownish above, and with darker brown marks on the back; lines paler, edged sometimes with darker grey; raised spots blackish, rather glossy; head brownish, marked with black, and the plate on first ring is black with a central yellow line. It feeds from August to May on various low plants growing in rocky places by the sea. Will eat dandelion, plantain, and knotgra.s.s in confinement, also sliced carrot.

THE COAST DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _cursoria_).

The specimens whose portraits will be found on Plate 106 are more or less typical of the s.e.xes of this most variable species. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from whitish ochreous through all shades of brown up to dark reddish, and from whitish grey through leaden grey to brown grey.

The markings, too, are exceedingly variable; the cross lines are often faint, sometimes entirely absent; the stigmata are frequently obscure, and occasionally the blackish lower part of the reniform is the only indication of these marks. There is often a white streak along the costa, and in some specimens this is very conspicuous (Figs. 3[male], 4[female]).

The caterpillar feeds from September to June on various gra.s.ses growing on sandhills, and is said to eat wormwood and violet. It is ochreous in colour, more or less tinged with green; the lines are pale grey, edged with darker grey; spots brown, and head ochreous brown.

The moth is on the wing from late July to early September, and is to be found on all the larger tracts of sandhills on the east coast from Suffolk northwards, and on the coasts of Cheshire and Lancashire. It is not common on our southern coasts, but occurs in Dorsetshire and Devon. In Scotland it is obtained {207} on the Firth of Forth, Kincardine, and Aberdeen coasts, and also in the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Isles; and on very many parts of the coast of Ireland.

THE GARDEN DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _nigricans_).

This moth is typically sooty or blackish brown in both s.e.xes (Plates 106, Figs. 5[male], 6[female]), but varies to pale brown, or through various shades of red brown. The markings, usually obscure, occasionally are well defined, and sometimes there are additional black spots and pale streaks.

The caterpillar is pale or dark ochreous brown on the back, inclining to greenish on the sides; lines greenish grey, edged with black, and a double whitish one low down on the sides. It feeds from September to June, on clover, plantain, dock, and various other low plants; and also cow-parsnip and other umbelliferae. The moth flies in July and August, and is to be found in most English counties, but perhaps most commonly in the eastern.

In Scotland it ranges to Moray, and seems to be generally distributed in Ireland.

THE WHITE-LINE DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _tritici_).

This is another exceedingly variable species. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from pale whitish or ochreous brown, through various tints of greyish and red brown, up to black or sooty brown; variation in markings is somewhat similar to that referred to in _A. cursoria_. Three forms are shown on Plate 106, Figs. 7, 8, and 11; the latter represents a specimen closely approaching _A. obelisca_. Var. _aquilina_ (Figs. 9 and 10), the English name of which is the Streaked Dart, is larger than the type, and the wings, consequently, are broader; by some entomologists it is considered to be a distinct species.

The caterpillar is obscure greyish or brownish, with a dark-edged pale line along the middle of the back, and a dusky line {208} on each side of it; low down on the sides is another dusky line. It feeds from September to May on mouse-ear chickweed, bedstraw, plantain, and other low-growing plants growing on sandy soils.

The moth is out in July and August, and is widely distributed throughout the British Isles, including the Orkneys and Shetlands, but especially common on coast sandhills.

THE SQUARE-SPOT DART (_Agrotis_ (_Euxoa_) _obelisca_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 106, Fig. 12) are pale greyish brown, purplish brown, or sometimes slaty brown, with fairly distinct black cross lines, and a pale streak along the front edge; the first line is straight and less angled, and the second line less curved towards the front margin than in _A. tritici_. The caterpillar, which feeds from about October to July on rock rose, bedstraw, and other low plants growing in rocky places by the sea or on hillsides, is very similar to that of the last species.

The moth is out in August and September in its special haunts. A well-known locality for it is Freshwater in the Isle of Wight, but it may be obtained at Torquay, Devonshire; Padstow, Cornwall; and the Scilly Isles. Also recorded from Suss.e.x, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, South Wales, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Yorkshire. In Scotland on the south-west and east coasts; and in Ireland at Howth, Dublin; Dungarvan, Co.

Waterford; and Mt. Charles, Donegal.

THE HEART AND DART (_Agrotis_ (_Feltia_) _exclamationis_).

On Plate 105 are figured two examples of the male (Figs. 3, 4) and two female specimens (Figs. 5, 6). The colour of the fore wings ranges from pale whitish brown through various shades of brown and grey to a sooty brown or black. The cross lines are rarely very distinct, the reniform, orbicular, and claviform marks are, however, generally much in evidence; but either of the two last, sometimes both, may occasionally disappear. Not infrequently the reniform is connected with the orbicular by a black streak from the former; more rarely the claviform is much widened and lengthened, and almost united with a dusky cloud above it (var. _plaga_, Steph.). This species is sometimes mistaken for _A. corticea_, but apart from the shorter teeth of the male antennae, the present species has a distinct, and often conspicuous, black mark on the front of the thorax.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 108.

1, 2, 4, 5. NORTHERN DART.

3. ROSY MARSH MOTH.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 109.

1. HEART AND CLUB: _caterpillar_.

2. HEATH RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.

3. NEGLECTED RUSTIC: _caterpillar_.

4. TRUE-LOVER'S KNOT: _caterpillar_.