The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 7

PUSS MOTH.

_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars, chrysalis and coc.o.o.n._

{65} The caterpillars feed on beech, and also occasionally on birch, oak, hazel, and some fruit trees, and may be found from July to September.

The chrysalis, which is enclosed in a tightly woven coc.o.o.n {66} spun up between leaves, usually dead ones, is blackish brown with a violet bloom upon it.

The moths are on the wing in May and June in an early season, but not until June and July in a backward one. They may be sometimes found resting by day on the stems of small trees or even bushes. "In fact, anything," Mr.

Holland says, "which stands upright in a beech wood will do, so that it is not too large." The blackish form of the moth is so like a knot on a stem that it is easily overlooked. There is sometimes a second emergence in August. Possibly those caterpillars found during the latter part of September in some favourable years are from eggs deposited by moths emerging in early August, and the offspring of May parents.

The species is widely distributed, but not often common, over the Midland, Southern, and Eastern Counties of England. It seems to flourish chiefly in beech woods, and is perhaps more frequent in parts of Berkshire, Bucks, and Oxfordshire, than elsewhere, but it is not uncommon in some seasons in the New Forest. It has been reported from Swansea in Wales, and once from Selby, Yorkshire. In Ireland it is exceedingly rare, and is not known to occur in Scotland. The range abroad extends through Central Europe, northward to Sweden, southward to Spain and Portugal, and eastward to Armenia, Ussuri, and j.a.pan.

THE DUSKY MARBLED BROWN (_Gluphisia crenata_).

Only three authenticated British examples are known of this dingy grey-brown moth (Plate 28, Fig. 3). The earliest intimation we have of the occurrence of this species in England is the following record by the late Mr. Henry Doubleday in the _Entomologist_, vol. i. p. 156: "_Chaonia crenata._ The first British specimen of this insect was taken in Ongar Park Wood, in June, 1839; a second in the same place, in June of the present year. Both specimens were females." The locality mentioned in the foregoing notice which was penned July 10th, 1841, is in the County of Ess.e.x. At a meeting of the Entomological Society of London held in April, 1854, the Rev. Joseph Greene exhibited a specimen that he had reared from a caterpillar obtained from a poplar near Halton, in Bucks, August, 1853.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Pl. 26.

LOBSTER MOTH.

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Pl. 27.

LOBSTER MOTH.

_Egg, enlarged, caterpillars, chrysalis and coc.o.o.n._

{67} According to Buckler the caterpillar is pale green, with a thin whitish line down the middle of the back, a broader yellow line on each side, and some reddish spots on the front and hind rings of the body; the spiracles are black. It spins a somewhat oval-shaped coc.o.o.n between two poplar leaves, and therein turns to a glossy blackish brown chrysalis.

Abroad the species is found in Central Europe, North Italy, North-western Russia, Southern Norway, and also in Amurland and Ussuri. There are said to be two broods on the continent, one emergence of moths taking place in April and the other in June or July.

THE MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia trimacula_).

Somewhat similar to the next species, but the fore wings are generally whiter; the cross lines are not so straight, and there is no black crescent above the centre of the wings (Plate 28, Fig. 1).

The caterpillar is green, with two yellow lines on the back, and a yellow one along the spiracles, the latter edged above with reddish. It feeds on oak, and may be found from July to September; stated to hide by day in the c.h.i.n.ks of the bark. The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in a coc.o.o.n of earth held together with silk. It may be searched for at the roots of gra.s.s, etc., around the foot of oak trees growing in parks or in the more open parts of woods. The moth appears in May.

Although nowhere really common, it seems to occur pretty generally over the southern portion of England, and as far north {68} as Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Farther north, and in Wales and Scotland, it has been rarely met with. Recorded by Birchall to be not uncommon at Killarney; but Kane states that he has never seen an Irish specimen.

The species occurs locally throughout Central Europe, also in Transylvania, Northern and Central Italy, and Eastern Armenia. In Ussuri, and j.a.pan, it is represented by the form _dodonides_, Staud.

THE LUNAR MARBLED BROWN (_Drymonia chaonia_).

The fore wings of this moth (Plate 28, Fig. 2) are dark fuscous, almost blackish, a short white line near the base; the central third is white clouded with the ground colour and limited by white edged black wavy lines; a black crescent just above the centre of the wing. Hind wings smoky grey with a pale curved line. The egg, which is bluish white in colour, is of the usual Notodont shape. Caterpillar green, merging into bluish-green on the back; the lines are pale yellow, or creamy white, that along the black margined spiracles is rather broad and is sometimes tinged with reddish on the three front rings. Head green, mouth marked with pale yellow. Feeds in June, July, and August on oak. From about a dozen eggs that I had in May, 1907, the caterpillars hatched on the 13th of the month. Only one got through safely to the chrysalis stage which it reached at the end of June.

On June 26th some half-grown and smaller caterpillars were received from the New Forest, only one of these was seen on July 19th, but it was then nearly full grown and appeared to be quite healthy, and others had pupated or died.

The chrysalis is deep red brown, enclosed in a silken coc.o.o.n covered with particles of earth; generally found at the roots of isolated oak trees (Plate 29, Figs. 1, 1a).

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Pl. 28.

1. MARBLED BROWN MOTH.

2. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN.

3. DUSKY MARBLED BROWN.

4. SWALLOW PROMINENT, _female_; 5 _male_.

6. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT.

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Pl. 29.

1, 1a. LUNAR MARBLED BROWN: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.

2, 2a, 2b. SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

3, 3a, 3b. LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT: _egg, caterpillar and chrysalis_.

{69} The moth emerges in May, sometimes at the end of April, generally in the afternoon; it sits on the tree trunk to expand and dry its wings, and then ascends higher up the tree. It is found in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and in most of the southern counties of England, and in the west, but it seems to be rarer eastward and northward, and also in Scotland. In Ireland it has been found, very sparingly, in Wicklow and Kerry, and "numbers were taken in a moth trap at Clonbrook."

The range abroad is very similar to that of the next species.

THE SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia tremula_).

Normally whitish, with a brown shaded black stripe along the inner margin of the fore wings, and a brownish cloud, with black streaks in it, towards the tips of these wings; the outer extremities of the veins are white, there is a white wedge-shaped streak between veins 1 and 2, and from the apex of this an indented white line runs to the base of the wing. Sometimes the whole discal area is suffused with brownish. The moth is shown on Plate 28, Figs. 4, 5, and the early stages on Plate 29, Figs. 2, 2a, and 2b. The egg when laid is creamy white, and the newly hatched caterpillar is pale green. When full grown the caterpillar is green with rather darker, but not always clearly defined, lines along the back, and a yellow line along the region of the black spiracles; the underside is sometimes reddish. Another form is brownish in colour and the yellow line is then generally obscure.

The green form is figured on Plate 29. The usual food is poplar, but sallow is also eaten. It may be found in late June and early July and again in September and October. The chrysalis is reddish brown and glossy except on the wing covers, which are granulated and appear darker. The coc.o.o.n is roughly constructed of silk and earth, and before spinning it the autumnal caterpillar sometimes burrows a good depth under the surface of the soil; the summer coc.o.o.ns are said to be made up among leaves. The moth is on the wing in May and August. {70}

The species is perhaps most common in the southern and eastern counties of England, but seems to be pretty generally distributed throughout the country, and extends into Scotland as far as Moray. In Ireland it has a wide range but is only common near Londonderry. Abroad it is found in Central and Northern Europe, and as far east as Amurland and Ussuri. In America it is represented by _P. dimidiata_, H.-S., which does not seem to be really specifically distinct.

THE LESSER SWALLOW PROMINENT (_Pheosia dictaeoides_).

Very similar to the last species, but generally smaller, and the ground colour has usually less brown in it; the chief character, however, by which it may be distinguished, is the broader and clearer white wedge-shaped mark between veins one and two on the fore wings. Reference to the figures of each species on Plate 28 will show this at once.

The eggs are greenish white, and the full-grown caterpillar is purplish brown on the back merging into violet on the sides; there is a broad yellow stripe along the spiracle area; the head is violet, faintly marked with black. A noticeable feature of this caterpillar is its varnished appearance. It feeds on birch in June and July, and sometimes in September and October. The early stages are figured on Plate 29, Figs. 3, 3a, and 3b.

The species has a somewhat similar distribution to that mentioned for the preceding, but it seems to be commoner in the North of England and in Scotland than elsewhere in the British Isles.

THE PEBBLE PROMINENT (_Notodonta ziczac_).

This moth varies in the colour of the fore wings from pale ochreous brown to a darker brown tinged with reddish; the usual pale greyish patch in the middle of the costal area is {71} sometimes obliterated by a suffusion of the darker colour; the dark-brown first and second lines are often only visible towards the front edge of the wings; a blackish lunule or crescent forms, in conjunction with the strongly curved outer line, the outline of the characteristic pebble-like mark on the apical area of the wings; a pale saw-edged line, which is inwardly shaded with dusky and intersected by black streaks on the veins, traverses the pebble mark, but in the lighter coloured specimens this line is not traceable. The female has browner hind wings than the male. The moth is depicted on Plate 31, Fig. 2; and the early stages on Plate 30, Figs. 1, 1a, and 1b.

The caterpillar, when full grown, is pale ochreous grey, sometimes tinged with pink or purplish brown, or with yellowish, and especially on the hind rings; a yellow stripe along the back is edged here and there with brownish; the diffuse dusky line along the area of the black margined spiracles is edged with yellowish. It is occasionally found on poplar, but sallows and willow are the more usual food plants, and it feeds upon these in June and July and again in August and September. The reddish brown chrysalis is enclosed in an earthen coc.o.o.n just under the surface of the ground at the roots of tree or bush upon which the caterpillar fed. The moth emerges in May and June from chrysalides of the previous year, and in August as a second generation. Three broods in the year have been obtained in confinement, but this is probably exceptional.

Widely distributed throughout the British Isles, but seems to have a preference for fens and marshy ground. It occurs all over Central and Northern Europe, its range extends through France to Spain, Italy, and Corsica, and it has been recorded from Armenia and Amurland. {72}

THE IRON PROMINENT (_Notodonta dromedarius_).

The specimen shown on Plate 31 is from Surrey, and represents the form most frequently obtained in the south of England. Northwards the species becomes darker in colour, and the reddish and yellow marking much reduced. The form _perfusca_, as figured by Stephens, has the fore wings dark purplish grey, streaked with dark brown; a pale patch at the base is russet marked, the line before the middle of the wing is russet, and a dash of the same colour lies at the lower extremity of the line beyond the middle; the hind wings are brownish grey with a broad whitish cross line. The specimen, which is of the female s.e.x, was from Dublin, and the form was not then supposed to occur in any other part of the British Isles. It is now, however, well known in Scotland and the North of England, and also in Ireland. Some examples that I have seen from Scotland are much larger and darker than the figure referred to. In his description of this form Stephens states that the fore wings are fuscous mixed with chestnut, with darker clouds. The caterpillar, which is figured on Plate 30, is green, becoming yellowish on the back; a rather broad stripe on the back of the front rings and the markings on the humps and on other parts of the body are purplish brown. It feeds on birch, alder, and sometimes hazel, usually on the former, in June, July, and August. In some seasons, and localities, the moth appears twice in the year: the caterpillar may then be found in September and October.

The chrysalis is blackish-brown and rather glossy, enclosed in a coc.o.o.n composed of silk and sand or other soil, and may be obtained by lightly digging up the earth and sods at the roots of trees.

THE THREE HUMPED (_Notodonta phoebe_ = _tritophus_).

Very little is known in Britain of this Central European moth (Plate 31, Fig. 3). The first specimen of which we have any {73} knowledge was reared on August 10, 1842 from a caterpillar found in Ess.e.x on aspen. This example was included, with two others, one of which was captured in Suffolk, in the collection of the late Dr. Mason, which was dispersed at Stevens' Auction Rooms in March, 1905.