Volume Ii Part 42 (1/2)

Somewhat similar to the last species, but sprinkled with ochreous grey; the fore wings have three greyish cross lines, the first two less regular than those of _pusaria_, and the outer one distinctly curved; variation in the lines is pretty much the same as in _pusaria_ and its small form ab.

_rotundaria_. Of the form showing the first and second lines more or less confluent, I have seven examples reared from collected caterpillars; six are undersized, but the other is of quite ordinary size (ab. _approximata_, Haworth); another specimen, also bred, is thinly {268} powdered with ochreous grey, and the lines are very indistinct. The more usual forms are shown on Plate 107, Figs. 13, 14.

The caterpillar is green, inclining to yellowish or to brownish; some purplish-red marks and white-edged black spots on the back; the ring divisions are yellow, and there are reddish-brown or purplish-red marks on the sides; the markings vary. It feeds on birch, alder, and sallow, and may be beaten out at any time from July to September. The moth is out through the summer from May; its range in the British Isles is very similar to that of the last species, but it seems to have a preference for moist places.

The distribution abroad extends eastward to Amurland, and a form known as ab. _schaefferi_, Bremer, occurs in the last-named country, and also in Corea and j.a.pan.

BARRED UMBER (_Numeria pulveraria_).

Pale ochreous or reddish brown freckled with darker; the central dark reddish brown band is sometimes much narrowed below the middle; sometimes only the edges of the band are dark, the enclosed s.p.a.ce being but little darker than the ground colour, or occasionally tinged with greenish; one example of the latter and two of the former were reared this year (1908) from larvae received in July, 1907, from Mr. F. Pope of Exeter; a male specimen bred from the same batch of larvae, but which emerged in August of the year last mentioned, is distinctly tinged with rosy over all the wings; the narrow band on the hind wings, not usually extended to the front edge, is in this specimen entire, whilst the greenish-banded specimen referred to above is without trace of a band on the hind wings. Two examples which are without locality, but which, I believe, came from the New Forest, have pale greyish-brown fore wings banded with brown in which there is a tinge of olive. Two examples of the male are figured on Plate 108. The eggs (Plate {269} 106, Fig. 2a) were pale greenish yellow when laid, May 17 to 20; the larvae hatched out from May 31 to June 2.

The caterpillar, which is also depicted on the plate, is reddish brown, mottled with yellowish brown. It feeds on birch, sallow, ash, etc., from June to August.

The moth, as a rule, does not emerge until the following spring, but sometimes specimens will come out the same year.

Although widely distributed over nearly the whole of the British Isles, the species seems to be rarely met with in large numbers. The range abroad extends to Amurland, Corea, and j.a.pan.

BARRED RED (_Ellopia_ (_Hylaea_) _prosapiaria_).

The typical form of this species is depicted on Plate 108, Figs. 4 [male], 5 [female], and Fig. 3 on the same plate represents ab. _prasinaria_, Hubner, a form not uncommon in Germany (whence came the example figured), Switzerland, and other parts of the continent, but which is very rare in Britain, and has been recorded from Kent and Suffolk. Sometimes, but chiefly in Scotland, the colour varies to a greyish or even yellowish tint; the cross lines are often parallel or nearly so, and frequently approach each other about the middle; the usual white edging to the cross lines is occasionally absent, and the enclosed s.p.a.ce in such specimens is hardly darker than the general colour.

On Plate 106, Fig. 1, will be found a figure of the caterpillar, which is tawny brown with white-edged, connected reddish marks along the back. It feeds, from September to May, on Scots pine (_Pinus sylvestris_), and occasionally on larch. The moth is out in June and July, and sometimes in September. It may be jarred from the pine boughs, and is not infrequently seen resting on foliage of the undergrowth. Generally distributed in fir-woods throughout Great Britain, and widely spread in Ireland.

The range abroad extends to East Siberia. {270}

THE LIGHT EMERALD (_Metrocampa_ (_Eudalimia_) _margaritaria_).

When quite fresh, this species (Plate 108, Fig. 6) is of a delicate whitish-green colour, but the green tint is apt to fade or to change colour, so that the wings are almost ochreous white sometimes.

The eggs shown on Plate 106, Fig. 3, were kindly supplied by Mr. Norman Riley.

The caterpillar ranges in colour from greenish brown to purplish brown, and is frequently freckled with a darker shade of the general colour; there is sometimes a pale patch on rings 6 and 7, and the sides are fringed with fine bristles along the spiracle area. It feeds, from September to May, on the leaves of oak, birch, beech, elm, etc., and during the winter will nibble the bark of the younger twigs, and also eat the buds.

The moth, which is partial to the woodlands, is out in June and July, and is pretty generally distributed over the British Isles, except the Hebrides, Orkneys, and Shetlands.

LARGE THORN (_Ennomos autumnaria_).

This fine species was first definitely ascertained to occur in Britain in 1855, but it had been reported as British at a much earlier date, and was figured by Wood in 1839. Up to 1859 it had only been recorded from the North Foreland and Margate in Kent, and from Brighton, Suss.e.x. In 1862, a specimen was taken at Brighton and one at Deal, the latter a female. Two examples were secured at Gosport, Hamps.h.i.+re, in 1865, and one at Deal in 1867. Then, after an interval of ten years, three were captured in Hants (Alverstoke), and two years later a round dozen were obtained at Gosport.

During the last thirty years specimens have been recorded from Margate, Deal, Dover, Folkestone, Hythe, and Ashford (1907), in Kent, from Chichester, Suss.e.x, and from s...o...b..ryness, Ess.e.x (1898). It has been reared on several occasions from eggs obtained from captured females, and is still more frequently bred from eggs deposited by the descendants of wild parents.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2 Pl. 108.

1, 2. BARRED UMBER.

3. BARRED RED (GREEN VAR.).

4, 5. BARRED RED.

6. LIGHT EMERALD.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

2 Pl. 109.

1, 3. LARGE THORN.