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 BIRD'S WING (_Dipterygia scabriuscula_).
The curious wing-like marks on the blackish fore wings of this moth (Plate
137, Figs. 1[male], 2[female]) are its chief features. The {282} stigmata
are outlined in black, but are rarely paler than the ground colour. The
caterpillar is reddish brown with yellow and black dots; three lines along
the back, the central one white with a black edging, and the others
blackish; head brown and glossy, marked with black; a blackish plate on
first ring is also glossy, and is followed by a black mark on the next
ring, both streaked with white. It feeds on dock, sorrel, and plants of the
genus _Polygonum_, in July and August. The moth flies in late May and June,
sometimes as a second generation in August or September. It occurs more or
less commonly in most southern and eastern counties from Oxfordshire. In
other parts of England, and in Scotland, it seems to be local or absent.
THE PURPLE CLOUD (_Cloantha polyodon_).
This moth is figured on Plate 137, Fig. 7. The first recorded British
specimen was taken at Yarmouth, in June, 1839. In 1855 a specimen, found in
a spider's web at Ashford, Hampshire, was exhibited at a meeting, held in
May, of the Entomological Society of London. Two specimens were taken in
1892; one at Folkestone, Kent, at sugar, and the other outside Norwich, in
Norfolk, at a gas lamp. In the _Entomologist_ for 1894, there is a record
of a specimen captured at sugar, July, 1891, at Clonbrock, Co. Galway,
Ireland. The species has a wide range abroad, extending eastward to
Amurland and Japan.
THE DEEP-BROWN DART (_Aporophyla lutulenta_).
In the south of England the species (Plate 137, Figs. 9, 10) is generally
of a dark brown coloration on the fore wings, and the markings are often
indistinct; but blackish forms also occur, although the latter are more
frequent northwards, and in Scotland and Ireland are the prevailing form of
the species. In black or blackish specimens, usually referred to
_luneburgensis_, {283} Freyer, the hind wings in the male, have the veins
more or less blackish and dotted with black beyond the middle; var. _sedi_,
Guenée, has the fore wings pale greyish with the markings distinct, and the
central area blackish.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account