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 LARGE RANUNCULUS (_Polia flavicincta_).
The fore wings of this moth (Plate 138, Figs. 6 and 7), are pale grey,
clouded, and marked with darker; yellowish freckles at the base, and on the
central area and the submarginal line are usually, but not always, present.
Sometimes, chiefly in northern specimens, these wings are much suffused
with darker grey, approaching blackish. The caterpillar is green with a
yellowish or bluish tinge; a dusky line along the back, and a dark green
line along the black-edged white spiracles. It feeds on dock, groundsel,
plantain, and many other plants from April to July. The moth flies in
September and October, and, except in Kent, and perhaps Sussex, is rather
uncommon in the southern counties of England. It occurs, however, not
infrequently in the eastern counties, and through Oxford, Berks,
Gloucester, Somerset to Cornwall, and northward through Hereford and parts
of the Midlands to Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Durham.
THE GREY CHI (_Polia chi_).
Four specimens are depicted on Plate 138. Figs. 2 and 3 represent the sexes
of the type form, and Figs. 4 and 5, the greenish-grey var. _olivacea_,
Stephens. Both forms may be paler or darker, but the green tinge is apt to
fade out. Var. _suffusa_, Tutt, is a dark greyish suffused form. {287}
The caterpillar is green, inclining to bluish green above; the lines on the
back are whitish, edged with dark green; that along the black-margined
white spiracles is white, shaded above with dark green. It feeds on dock,
dandelion, groundsel, etc.; also on sallow and hawthorn, from April to
June. The moth is out in August and September. It prefers the open country
to woodlands, and is often seen resting on rocks, stone, or other walls,
and buildings. Except that it occurs in Devon and Dorset, the species seems
to be absent in the south of England, but its area of distribution extends
in the British Isles from the Midlands of England to Moray and Ross in
Scotland, and to Ireland.
THE BLACK-BANDED (_Polia xanthomista_).
The form of this species occurring in Britain is var. _nigrocincta_, Tr.
(Plate 140, Figs. 2, 3), which is pale grey, spotted with white, and
clouded on the central area with black. The typical yellow flecking and
dotting is in this form usually sparse, but occasionally it is prominent. A
specimen reared from a caterpillar taken in the Isle of Man was suffused on
the fore wings with bright orange.
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