Volume I Part 34 (1/2)
THE FLOUNCED RUSTIC (_Luperina testacea_).
Portraits of this moth will be found on Plate 128, Figs. 5, 6. The ground colour of the fore wings ranges from very pale brown through greyish brown to blackish. In some specimens the markings are very faint, and, excepting the whitish submarginal line, are hardly visible. Usually there is a black or {268} dark brown bar connecting the first and second cross lines; not infrequently there is a black mark on the inner margin below the bar, and a black mark or two in the cell above. These marks are sometimes supplemented by others, and so form a more or less complete black central band. The reniform and orbicular stigmata are often only outlined in paler brown, but they may be whitish and very distinct. Var. _gueneei_, Doubleday, is pale ochreous brown, with the first line pale, interrupted, and terminating in a black dot on inner margin; and the second line made up of white-edged black crescents; the reniform distinctly edged with white, and there is a slender black line above the inner margin between the first line and the base of the wing. Hind wings pure white, with black marginal lunules.
The caterpillar is pinkish ochreous; usual dots not in evidence; skin much wrinkled and glossy; spiracles pink margined with black; head and plate on first ring pale brownish yellow. Robson (Cat. Lep. of Durham, etc.) states that the caterpillar feeds on gra.s.s roots, and adds, ”I have known it abound in the gra.s.s tufts at the foot of palings around a large mill.” The moth is out in August and September. At night it flies freely to light, but is not known to visit any of the usual floral attractions or the collector's sugar. Generally distributed and often common.
DUMERIL'S LUPERINA (_Luperina dumerilii_).
Fore wings ochreous grey or brown, two brownish streaks represent the basal line; the s.p.a.ce between the first and second cross lines darker, and there is a darker band on the outer margin; the stigmata are pale inclining to yellowish, and the veins below them are white. Hind wings whitish tinged with darker on outer margin. Ab. _desyllesi_, Boisd., has almost unicolorous fore wings, and this form, according to Staudinger, has been found in Northern France and England. I have only seen a continental specimen of this species, which is very local and somewhat rare abroad.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Pl. 132.
1, 2. RUSTIC SHOULDER-KNOT.
3, 4. SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE.
5. DOUBLE-LOBED MOTH.
6-11. COMMON RUSTIC.
12. UNION RUSTIC.
13. FLAME MOTH.
[Ill.u.s.tration]
Pl. 133.
1. FIGURE OF EIGHT: _caterpillar_.
2. FEATHERED RANUNCULUS: _caterpillar_.
3, 3a. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
{269} In his _Manual_, vol. i. (1857), Stainton states, ”one specimen has occurred in the Isle of Arran.” Reference is made in 1885 (_Entom._ xviii.
73) to two specimens taken in the Isle of Portland in 1858, and three others in 1859. Then, in the _Entomologist_ for 1902, Mr. Stockwell records, from Dover, the capture of ”a fine female of this rare Noctua, on a gas lamp in this town, during the latter part of September.”
THE STRAW UNDERWING (_Cerigo matura_).
This moth, both s.e.xes of which are shown on Plate 128, Figs. 2, 3, is readily recognized by the yellowish hind wings. The caterpillar is ochreous or dull reddish brown; series of greyish brown marks along the middle of the back, and a brown edged line on each side; a pale ochreous line edged above with brown low down along the sides; head pale brown, with darker streaks. It feeds from September to April, sometimes later, on gra.s.ses, chiefly in dry situations. The moth is out in July and August. Generally distributed throughout the British Isles, but in Scotland not recorded north of Moray. In suitable localities it is common, and sometimes is the only visitor to the sugar patch.
HAWORTH'S MINOR (_Celaena haworthii_).
In this reddish brown moth (Plate 128, Fig. 7) the reniform and orbicular stigmata are white or broadly outlined in white, and the vein below as well as the branches also white. The wings of the female are smaller than those of the male, and the body is distinctly stouter. The white markings referred to are sometimes obscured or absent, and such specimens are referable {270} to var. _hibernica_, Haworth. The caterpillar is purplish brown, with the usual raised dots darker brown; three pale lines along the back, the central one least distinct; head and plates on first and last rings reddish brown; spiracles black. From April to July on cotton gra.s.s (_Eriophorum v.a.g.i.n.atum_), feeding in the stems down towards the root. The moth flies in August and September. It was first noted as British in 1819, and Stephens in 1829 mentions it as common in Whittlesea Mere. Although still occurring in the fens, the species is far more common on the moors and mosses of Northern England, Scotland to the Shetlands, and in Ireland.
THE CRESCENT STRIPED (_Hama oblonga_ (_abjecta_)).
In its most frequent form this species (Plate 131, Figs. 5, 6) has the fore wings greyish brown and somewhat s.h.i.+ning; the markings, especially the cross lines, indistinctly paler; the reniform is outwardly dotted with white. Sometimes the ground colour is paler grey with black markings arranged very similar to such marks in _A. gemina_, var. _remissa_ (Fig.
8).
The caterpillar is greenish grey, with the raised dots rather greyer; a pinkish line along the back; head and plate on first and last rings s.h.i.+ning reddish brown. It feeds on gra.s.ses growing in salt marshes, edges of tidal rivers, and ditches of brackish water: in the spring and until June; perhaps from September. The moth is out from June to August, and may be obtained at the flowers of marram gra.s.s as well as at sugar. The species is found in most of the eastern and southern seaboard counties of England; at Sandown and Freshwater in the Isle of Wight; in the fens of Huntingdon and Cambridge; also occasionally in Herefords.h.i.+re, Gloucesters.h.i.+re, Lancs, Yorks, and Durham. In Scotland it has been obtained in Moray and in the Shetlands. Local in Ireland. The range abroad extends to Amurland. {271}
THE LARGE NUTMEG (_Hama sordida_).
The fore wings of this moth (Plate 131, Figs. 1, 2) are pale ochreous brown, much marbled with darker brown, and sometimes slightly tinged with reddish; the pale stigmata and submarginal line are the most distinct of the usual markings. The caterpillar is said to be very like that of _Apamea basilinea_. The moth flies in June, and is not uncommon in most parts of Southern England. It occurs in Lancas.h.i.+re and Ches.h.i.+re, but is more frequent in Yorks.h.i.+re and Durham; also found in South Wales, and although it has been obtained in the Shetlands, it seems to be very local and infrequent in Scotland. Only twice recorded from Ireland, one specimen on the Dublin coast, 1860, and one at Howth (Kane).