The Moths of the British Isles Volume Ii Part 13

Bluish-green, sometimes tinged with ochreous; raised dots, black at the tips, on a base of whitish green; along the middle of the back is a series of darker green spear-points, and beyond this on each side a pale line, edged above by a fine wavy black line, and below by a darker green line; the eighth and eleventh rings of the body darker than the others. (Abridged from description by Buckler.) It feeds on lichens growing upon larch, spruce, hawthorn, sloe, fruit trees, etc., from September to May. The moth is out in June, July, and August, and may be beaten from the branches of trees, and from hedges, but the flushing of a specimen in this way is always a more or less casual event. It has been taken on several occasions at street lamps, and also in illuminated moth traps.

In England the species seems to be widely distributed over the southern counties to Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire; and in the east to Norfolk. It has also been recorded from Derbyshire (one), and Yorkshire (two).

The range abroad extends to Amurland. {86}

THE WAVED BLACK (_Parascotia fuliginaria_).

In the shape of its wings and general appearance the dingy insect represented on Plate 36, Fig. 2, would seem to belong to the Geometridae rather than to the present group, and, indeed, has been mistaken for a dark form of _Ematurga atomaria_. However, the long, projecting palpi are evidence of its being a member of this sub-family.

The caterpillar, which is moderately stout, and tapers slightly towards each end, has only twelve feet. Ground colour, sooty black, with orange-coloured raised dots, from which arise long recurved hairs. The late Mr. W. H. Tugwell (from whose description of the larva that given above has been adapted), in 1884, was shown caterpillars upon a black sooty-looking fungus (determined by Dr. M. C. Cooke as an effused _Muscedine_), growing in ma.s.ses on rotten wood in an old wooden building in Bermondsey, near the river. He afterwards reared the moths.

The caterpillar hatches from the egg in August, but it is not full grown until May or June, when it spins a fairly compact coc.o.o.n of greyish silk, which is coated with particles of decayed wood and dried fungus.

The moth is out in June and July, and most of the known British specimens have been captured in London, or reared from caterpillars found therein.

Stephens (1831) mentions three or four examples taken during the previous thirty years, and gives as localities--Blackfriars bridge, and Little Chelsea; Stainton (1859) adds, Fleet Street. Other specimens have been taken in the City in 1855, 1859, 1862, 1870, 1879, and 1881. One occurred at Clapham in 1864, and one has been reported from Crome in Worcestershire.

More recent records are--one specimen flying around a sugared post at Walthamstow, July 29, 1901; eight, chiefly at light, at Camberley, 1904-5; and lastly, a specimen at St. Katharine's Docks, July, 1906. {87}

THE FAN-FOOT (_Zanclognatha tarsipennalis_).

This species is shown in both s.e.xes on Plate 35, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female]; it is the _Pyralis tentaculalis_ of Haworth, and also that author's _tarsicrinatus_, and the _tarsicrinalis_ of Stephens. The general colour is brownish, sometimes inclining to ochreous, and occasionally with a greyish cast. The submarginal line starts from the front edge, before the tip, of the fore wing.

The caterpillar is greyish brown, darker freckled, and dotted with black, downy; three broken darker lines along the back, the central one broad and inclining to black, and lower down along the sides is a series of blackish streaks; head, darker. It feeds in July and August, and hibernates when nearly or quite full grown. Among various foods that have been mentioned for it are raspberry, ivy, and knotgra.s.s. Some years ago I had some moths emerge in the autumn; these resulted from caterpillars that I had reared from the egg on blackberry, and I remember that they showed a decided preference for the withered leaves left in the cage for them to pupate among. (Plate 34, Fig. 2.)

The moth is out in June and July, but individuals of a second generation seldom occur in the open. Although it occurs in woods, it is far more frequent in lanes and hedgerows. Common and generally distributed, from Worcester southwards, and to the east and west; northwards its range extends to Yorkshire, but it is local and uncommon.

In Scotland it is not scarce in some parts of Ayrshire, and has been recorded from Kircudbrightshire. Kane mentions it as fairly common in Ireland.

The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan. {88}

THE SMALL FAN-FOOT (_Zanclognatha grisealis_).

This species (Plate 35, Fig. 3) is somewhat similar to the last in colour, but it is smaller, and the submarginal line is rather curved, and runs to the tip of the fore wing. The caterpillar is obscurely greyish, with a pinkish tinge; three darker lines along the back, the central one broadest, but not distinct on the first three rings; head, brown, freckled with darker brown, plate of first ring of the body, blackish brown. It feeds on oak, and may be beaten from the foliage in August and September. Buckler states that this species pa.s.ses the winter in the chrysalis state, and this has been confirmed by Plum. (Plate 34, Fig. 1; after Hofmann.)

The moths emerge in June and July, and may frequently be dislodged from trees, hedges, and undergrowth in the daytime. Pretty generally distributed over the southern half of England, plentiful in many parts, and widely spread over the northern half of the country. It is not scarce in some parts of Wales, but seems to be uncommon in Scotland, and has been recorded from the south only. In Ireland it has a wide range, but does not appear to be noted as common in any locality.

THE OLIVE CRESCENT (_Zanclognatha_ (_Sophronia_) _emortualis_).

The species depicted on Plate 36, Fig. 8, from a continental specimen, is exceedingly rare in England, in fact, apart from the specimens mentioned by early authors, only three authentic British examples appear to be known.

These are--one captured at Brighton, Suss.e.x, in June, 1858; one in June, 1859, in Epping Forest, Ess.e.x; and one taken at sugar by the Rev. B. H.

Binks, of Stonor, Henley-on-Thames, in July of the year last mentioned.

Stephens (1834), who gives a very unsatisfactory description {89} of the species, refers to two specimens, of which one was in his collection, from Devonshire. Wood's figure (768) of _emortualis_, in the Westwood edition of the _Index Entomologicus_, does not represent this species, but is far more like _Herminia derivalis_, Hubner.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.

THE LESSER BELLE (_Madopa salicalis_).

A portrait of this uncommon British moth will be found on Plate 35, Fig. 4.

The greyish fore wings are crossed by three paler edged reddish-brown lines, the outer one running to the tip of the wing, and the inner one is sometimes faint or absent.

The caterpillar is said to feed in July and August on sallow and aspen, and is described by Hofmann as having only fourteen feet; green, inclining to greyish, in colour, with black spiracles, and the ring divisions yellowish.

(Plate 39, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.)

The moth is out in May and June, and in its few known localities in England it is found in moist woods, hiding among gra.s.s and varied undergrowth.

Stephens (1834) wrote, "A very rare and local insect: I have specimens taken many years since in the neighbourhood of Bexley, in which vicinity I believe my friend Mr. Newman has captured it within these few years; it has also been found at Charlton." Since that time other localities in Kent have been mentioned, among which were Darenth Wood and West Wickham; the species was also noted from Birch wood, Surrey. A specimen was found in a gas lamp at Dulwich in 1858 by the late Mr. C. G. Barrett, and one was taken in Shooter's Hill wood, Kent, in June, 1859.

Between 1862 and 1868 specimens were obtained at Haslemere, Surrey, and near Sevenoaks, Kent. According to Barrett {90} it occurred at Petersfield, on the borders of Suss.e.x and Hampshire, in 1877.

It has also been recorded from Dunham, Cheshire.

Abroad, its distribution extends to Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan.

THE DOTTED FAN-FOOT (_Herminia cribrumalis_ (_cribralis_)).

The fore wings of this species (Plate 35, Fig. 5) are whitish tinged with brown, inclining to purplish on the outer margins; beyond the blackish central dot there are two series of blackish dots crossing the wings, but these are not always distinct.

The caterpillar, which feeds on various marsh gra.s.ses, _Carex_, _Luzula_, etc., hatches from the egg in late summer, hibernates when about half-grown, and feeds up in the spring. It is pale greyish brown with fine yellowish freckles; there are three lines along the back; the central one dark, finely edged on each side with pale greyish, the outer ones pale; the usual dots are dusky and the spiracles are black.

The moth may be found in June and July in fens and marshes, where it hides among the herbage in the daytime, but is easily seen and netted when it takes wing at dusk, or sits on the sedges, etc., before or after flight.

It is most frequent in the fens of Cambridge and Norfolk, (Stalham), but occurs also in Suffolk; Ess.e.x (s...o...b..ryness); Kent (Deal); Surrey (recorded from marshes near Redhill, Dorking and Guildford); Suss.e.x; Hants (bogs near Lyndhurst), and, according to Barrett, Somerset.

THE CLAY FAN-FOOT (_Herminia derivalis_).

This local species has the wings pretty much of the same shape as those of _S. emortualis_, and has been mistaken for that species; but the colour is ochreous-brown, and the cross lines {91} are dark brown. Its favourite haunts appear to be woods in Kent and Suss.e.x, and in the last-named county it is perhaps most frequently met with in Abbots wood, Guestling, and Lewes. It has also been recorded from Ess.e.x (Colchester). (Plate 35, Fig.

6.)

The caterpillar feeds on dead oak leaves, chiefly those that have fallen to the ground. After hibernation it becomes full grown about June, and is then brown with a downy appearance; there are three faintly darker lines along the back, and the usual dots are dusky. (Plate 34, Fig. 3; after Hofmann.) The moth is out in June and July, and in the daytime may be put up from its lurking place among herbage in wood clearings, or netted as it flies in the gloaming. It is also attracted by sugar and light.

The species has been erroneously recorded from Chester and Barmouth (North Wales); and Mr. Carr informs me that he is not quite sure that a specimen he recorded from Dawlish, South Devon, was correctly identified. In the catalogue of Malvern Lepidoptera _H. derivalis_ is stated to be rather common in that district, but the occurrence of the species in the Midlands requires confirmation.

Abroad, the range extends to Amurland.

THE COMMON FAN-FOOT (_Pechipogon barbalis_).

The fore wings of the species shown on Plate 35, Fig. 7, are greyish brown, crossed by three darker lines, the outer one almost parallel with the hind margin, and edged with whitish.

The caterpillar feeds on the dead leaves of oak and birch, and has almost attained full growth when it retires for the winter. In the spring it has been known to eat birch catkins. The general colour is reddish ochreous, with diamond-shaped markings, forming a series along the back and two series along each side. {92}

The moth, which is out from late May until early July, frequents the more open parts of woods, and in the daytime may be induced to show itself by tapping the lower branches of trees or brushing the bushes and undergrowth as we pa.s.s along.

The species is widely distributed over England, from Staffordshire southwards, but it is apparently most frequently met with in some of the woods of Kent, Surrey, and Suss.e.x.

The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.

THE BEAUTIFUL SNOUT (_Bomolocha fontis_).

The portraits of this species on Plate 35 show each s.e.x in its most usual form: Fig. 8 representing the male, and Fig. 9 the female. The outer and inner areas of the fore wings are generally ashy grey, more or less brownish tinged, in the male; and the same parts are whitish in the female.