The Moths of the British Isles Volume I Part 34

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).

THE CONFUSED (_Hama furva_).

This darker mottled greyish brown moth (Plate 131, Figs. 3, 4) is very similar to the typical form of _A. gemina_ (Fig. 7); the fore wings, however, are distinctly broader at the base, the W-like angles of the submarginal line are less noticeable, and this line is comparatively straighter. The reddish tinge so usual in _A. gemina_ is absent in the present species.

The caterpillar is ochreous tinged with pinkish, except on the first three rings and the under surface; central line dusky; usual dots reddish brown, as also are the head and plates on first and last rings. On gra.s.ses, September to June, feeding chiefly on the shoots near the roots (condensed from Buckler). The moth occurs from July to September, and may be obtained at flowers of ragwort, scabious, etc., and freely at sugar, in rocky places from Lancas.h.i.+re northwards through Scotland to the Shetlands. It also occurs in Wales, and suitable places in Gloucester, Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, and has also been recorded from Suss.e.x. In Ireland found on several parts of {272} the coast, but not plentiful. Abroad the range extends to Amurland.

THE DUSKY BROCADE (_Apamea obscura_ (_gemina_)).

In its ordinary form the moth shown on Plate 131 is purplish brown, as in Fig. 7, sometimes mottled with greyish or pale ochreous. A more ornamented form is known as var. _remissa_ (Fig. 8), and the ground colour of this is not infrequently pale ochreous brown, or almost whitish, with the black marking very conspicuous. The caterpillar is brownish grey, finely striated with darker; a yellowish white line along the middle of the back, and a brownish ochreous stripe on each side of it; stripe along the black edged spiracles greyish ochreous. It feeds from autumn till March on gra.s.ses in moist situations. The moth is perhaps most abundant in the south, but it occurs, in June and July, pretty well all over the British Isles; and abroad its range extends to Amurland and j.a.pan.

THE RUSTIC SHOULDER KNOT (_Apamea basilinea_).

The species shown on Plate 132, Figs. 1[male], 2[female], is found almost everywhere in the British Isles, is generally common, and in many parts abundant. Usually the pale brown fore wings are clouded or suffused with reddish, but this tint may be absent, or the wings may be tinged with greyish: the single black dash from middle of the base is the "Shoulder Knot." The caterpillar, according to Barrett, is pale olive brown varying to grey brown; a greyish white line along the middle of the back edged with short undulating black lines; spiracular line a row of blackish dashes, clouded with olive brown, or edged with greyish white and looped with grey brown; head black, plate on first ring black and white striped. It feeds from August to March on gra.s.ses, etc. The moth flies in May and June. {273}

THE SMALL CLOUDED BRINDLE (_Apamea unanimis_).

The fore wings are generally reddish brown mottled with darker, but the reddish tinge may be almost absent; the reniform is more or less outlined in white and there are two black streaks from the base. (Plate 132, Figs.

3[male], 4[female].) The caterpillar is pale ochreous brown, sometimes tinged with greenish; three dark edged pale lines on the back; spiracular line pale edged above with darker; head, and plate on first ring, brown and glossy. On gra.s.ses that occur in damp places, such as water meads, marshes and fens from July to April. The moth flies in June and July. It is widely distributed, and sometimes common in most moist localities throughout England. More local in Scotland but occurring in Aberdeens.h.i.+re, and on the western side ranging to the Orkneys. Not frequent in Ireland, but has been obtained in several parts. The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.

THE UNION RUSTIC (_Apamea pabulatricula_).

The very distinctly marked, and sometimes brownish tinged, greyish white moth shown on Plate 132, Fig. 12, is very local in the British Isles, and apart from its reported occurrence in the Clyde and Tay districts of Scotland, seems to be found only in some of the woods of South Yorks.h.i.+re, as near Rotherham, Sheffield (Wharncliffe Woods), and Barnsley. It has been obtained in c.u.mberland; and Barrett states that formerly it occurred in Norfolk. The caterpillar, which is little known, is said to feed on gra.s.ses in May. The moth flies in August and early September. It is also known as _connexa_, Bork. {274}

THE COMMON RUSTIC (_Apamea secalis_).

Following Guenee, British entomologists at one time knew this species as _oculea_; afterwards it became the habit to label it _didyma_, a name given to it by Esper in 1788. Just now the authorities insist on _secalis_, Linnaeus, being adopted. The species is an exceedingly variable one, and six examples of it are shown on Plate 132, Figs. 6 to 11. The form with blackish fore wings and a white reniform mark is var. _leucostigma_, Esp.

_Nict.i.tans_, Esp., has brownish fore wings and a white reniform. _I-niger_, Haw., is greyish or grey brown with darker central band, and the cross lines united by a black bar. Ochreous or reddish ochreous specimens with the front marginal area broadly and irregularly reddish brown, and the outer margin bordered with reddish brown, are referable to var. _furca_, Haw. Many other forms have been named. The caterpillar is green with three reddish lines on the back; head and plate on the first ring pale brown, also plate on last ring. In stems of gra.s.ses such as _Festuca_, _Dactylis_, etc., also on wood-rush. From Autumn to April or May. The moth flies in July and August, and is common everywhere in the British Isles; its range abroad extends to Western China.

THE DOUBLE LOBED (_Apamea ophiogramma_).

This species (Plate 132, Fig. 5) is usually found in marshy localities, or in gardens, over the eastern counties, and from Northamptons.h.i.+re through Bucks, and Hertfords.h.i.+re, to Kent, and Surrey. The caterpillar feeds from September on the shoots of _Phalaris arundinacea_ and the cultivated form of that plant grown in gardens, and known as ribbon gra.s.s. Also said to feed on _Poa aquatica_. When the gra.s.s dies down in the late autumn the caterpillar enters the ground to hibernate, and {275} emerges in the spring ready to attack the young gra.s.s shoots as soon as they appear. Where the new growth of ribbon gra.s.s a.s.sumes a brown and withered appearance this larva will probably be found at the bottom of the trouble. When nearly full grown it eats down the interior of the thicker stems to the base. In colour it is ochreous with a pinkish tinge; a pale brownish plate on first and last rings, each edged with blackish and that on the first ring traversed by a white line; head pale brown, glossy. The moth flies in July and August, sometimes in June.

THE MARBLED MINOR (_Miana strigilis_).

Half a dozen specimens are shown on Plate 134, and these will serve to give some idea of the range of aberration in this species. The most typical of the species are those represented by Figs. 1 and 4; the farthest removed from the type is var. _aethiops_, Haworth (Fig. 16). In the reddish var.

_latruncula_, Hubn., as figured by him, the most conspicuous character is the white lower curve of the second cross line, as in Fig. 7.

The caterpillar is purplish brown above, and ochreous below; striped on the back with pale yellow, and less distinctly on the sides; spiracles black and very distinct; head and plates on the first and last rings of the body ochreous brown and s.h.i.+ning. Found in March and April, after hibernation, feeding on the stems of various gra.s.ses. The moth is out in June and July, and may frequently be seen at rest on palings, etc., but at night it often abounds at sugar or honey dew. Generally distributed in the British Isles, except perhaps in the islands of Scotland.

THE MIDDLE-BARRED MINOR (_Miana fasciuncula_).

In its typical form this species (Plate 134, Fig. 3) has the fore wings reddish ochreous, with a darker central band, and {276} the cross lines, especially the second, distinctly white towards the inner margin.

Sometimes, chiefly in Scotland, the ground colour is much paler, occasionally almost whitish, and the band reddish (var. _cana_, Staud., Figs. 5, 8). There is a good deal of variation, both in the ground colour and in that of the band; the latter is often smoky brown in pale specimens of both s.e.xes.

The caterpillar is of a pale flesh tint, rather inclining to greyish ochreous, the dorsal stripe of a darker tint of the same colour well defined on each side by the pale ground colour; next a very broad stripe of pinkish brown, followed by a narrow stripe of the ground colour, faintly edged below with pinkish brown; above the black spiracles is a stripe of pinkish brown freckles; head and plates on first and last rings of the body light brown, s.h.i.+ning (Buckler). In the shoots of gra.s.ses such as _Aira cespitosa_, in April and early May, probably after hibernation. The moth is out in May and June, and its haunts are moist woods and marshy grounds, generally. The species is widely distributed, and often common, throughout the British Isles. Abroad it seems to have a very limited range.

THE ROSY MINOR (_Miana literosa_).

The ground colour is pale, or dark, violet grey, more or less clouded inwards from the submarginal line, and on the basal area, with purplish; a central reddish or reddish brown band is limited inwardly by the, sometimes, whitish edged black first line, and outwardly by an almost straight black line pa.s.sing between the stigmata to the inner margin.

(Plate 134, Figs. 11, 14.)