Butterflies and Moths, Shown to the ChildrenWood, Theodore
General
Butterflies and Moths, Shown to the Children
Wood, Theodore
Butterflies -- Juvenile literature; Moths -- Juvenile literature
There are really two kinds of Orange Underwings, the light and the
dark. But they come out at the same time, and fly about together, and
are so much alike that it is not at all easy to tell the one from the
other. The time to look for them is about the middle or end of March,
and then, if you go into a large wood on a warm, sunny morning, you
may sometimes see them flying about among birch trees. They are very
fond, too, of visiting sallow, or “palm,” bushes, and sucking the sweet
juices from their golden-yellow catkins. But the moment that the sun
is clouded over they seem to disappear, and you will see them no more
until it begins to shine again.
The caterpillars of both the Orange Underwings are dull green in
colour, with yellow lines on their backs and sides, and when they
walk they hunch their bodies up into loops, just like the “stick”
caterpillars of such moths as the “swallow-tail” and the “willow
beauty.” That of the Light Orange Underwing feeds on aspen, and that
of the Dark Orange Underwing upon birch. You may find both in June and
July.
PLATE XLVIII
THE BURNISHED BRASS (3)
This moth well deserves its name, for across its greyish-brown or
reddish-brown front wings its has two broad bands of golden-green,
which shine just like a piece of highly polished brass. It is
“double-brooded,” coming out first in June and then again in August,
and flies soon after sunset on warm, still evenings. If you want to
catch it, the best place to look for it is over beds of nettles, where
you may often see it flying backwards and forwards until it is too dark
to see at all. But sometimes it will fly through an open window into a
lighted room, and buzz about in the most excited way round the lamp or
the gas-flame.
The caterpillar of this pretty moth feeds upon stinging-nettle,
dumb-nettle, and burdock, and sometimes also upon thistle and wild
mint. When it is not walking it always rests with its front legs held
up in the air, and its body gets stouter and stouter from the head
almost to the tip of the tail. It is apple-green in colour, with a
number of white marks on its back shaped just like the letter V.
Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO.
Edinburgh & London
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:
Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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