The Moths of the British Isles, First Series: Comprising the Families Sphingidæ to NoctuidæSouth, Richard
History
The Moths of the British Isles, First Series: Comprising the Families Sphingidæ to Noctuidæ
South, Richard
Lepidoptera -- Great Britain; Moths -- Great Britain
The caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 1), is obscure brownish, sometimes
ochreous or green tinged; with ochreous lines on the back, the outer ones
edged with blackish bars on rings four to eleven; head pale brown marked
with darker. It feeds from August to May on grasses and low plants, and is
often a pest in the flower or vegetable garden. When eggs are obtained
early, the caterpillars from them will sometimes attain the moth state in
the same year. The moth flies in June and July, and has occurred in April,
September, and October.
THE BROAD-BORDERED YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphæna fimbria_).
This is another species with variable coloured fore wings, and four
examples of it are shown on Plate 116. Pale ochreous brown and greyish
brown is the most frequent colour, but various shades of greenish or olive
brown are not uncommon. A dark reddish-brown form, known to collectors as
the "mahogany form," seems to be somewhat rare. In the majority of
specimens the basal third, and more or less of the central area adjacent to
the second line seems to be the darkest coloured; but occasionally these
parts are pretty much of the same tint as the rest of the wings.
The caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 4) is of a soft ochreous brown, sometimes
red tinted, minutely dotted with blackish; the central line on the back is
pale, and on each side are darkly-edged pale {234} oblique streaks; the
white spiracles are followed by blackish marks; head brown freckled with
darker. It feeds in the autumn on primrose, violet, dock, etc., and in the
spring it seems to prefer the buds and young leaves of birch, sallow,
bramble, hawthorn, sloe, chestnut, etc. The chrysalis, which also is
figured, is dark reddish-brown, with two short anal spikes.
This species occurs in June and July, and frequents woodland localities
throughout England, Ireland, Scotland (up to Moray), and Wales.
THE LESSER BROAD-BORDER (_Triphæna ianthina_).
Fore wings violet or purplish grey with blackish cross bands and brownish
suffusion, the latter more especially on the basal area; reniform and
orbicular stigma outlined in whitish. (Plate 116, Fig. 3.) In another form
the bands and suffusion are reddish-brown. The black clouding on basal area
of hind wings sometimes extends further towards the marginal band. The
caterpillar (Plate 118, Fig. 3) is of a greenish tinged ochreous brown
colour, with a pale central line and series of dusky dashes along the back,
these dashes becoming blackish on the hind rings; the white spiracles are
set in a blackish mark, and under them is a pale ochreous stripe. It feeds
in the autumn on primrose, bramble, dock, etc., and in the spring on the
young growth of sallow, elm, hawthorn, etc. The moth flies in July and
August, frequenting lanes, hedgerows, and woods. It is pretty generally
distributed throughout England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland as far north
as Moray.
THE LEAST YELLOW UNDERWING (_Triphæna interjecta_).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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