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
A good many specimens visited the south of England, more particularly South
Devon, in June, 1906, but the species was reported as occurring in large
numbers on rhododendron blossom near Cork in Ireland from June 9 to 13 or
14. In August and September the moth was reported from Kent, Sussex, Hants,
Dorset, Devon, Somerset, and South Wales; such specimens probably being the
offspring of the early immigrants. During the past forty years the barren
seasons for the Striped Hawk appear to have been only ten. The dates of its
occurrence have been somewhat erratic. One was captured in 1887 in the
month of February, one on March 27 in 1903, but the moth has been observed
in each month from May to September inclusive, although May, June, and
August would seem to have been the more favoured. The caterpillar has not
been seen often in England. Mr. Farn recorded six or seven from Ryde in
July, 1870; they were feeding on vine and centaury in a garden. One spun up
in the leaves at the bottom of the box on July 27, but the web was so
fragile that the caterpillar fell out, and changed to the chrysalis state
on the 30th. The moth emerged on August 26. In the same year several
caterpillars occurred in Devon and Cornwall, and one of these was found on
July 11 in a mangold-wurtzel field in the Exeter district. It was
afterwards reared on fuchsia, and produced a moth on August 18. Nine others
were reported from a nursery garden at Plymouth; they were fed up on
dock--the plant upon which they had been found--and the moth was reared
later in the year. In 1902 Mr. Jäger received a caterpillar from Starcross
about July 20, and this attained the moth state on September 27. A
caterpillar, believed to be of this species, was found in a sunny garden at
Lewes in Sussex, July 20, 1906. {43}
According to Hellins the eggs are light green in colour, and the
caterpillars hatch out in about three weeks. When it first emerges from the
egg-shell the caterpillar is dirty white without spots, and the head and
horn are black. The adult is dark green or black dotted with yellow; three
yellow lines on the back and two rows of black-ringed yellow spots, with
some black spots above them; each yellow spot is tinged with pink on the
upper portion. Head black, marked with yellow; horn reddish, with the tip
black. Sometimes the rings of the body are banded.
It feeds in June and July on vine, fuchsia, dock, and probably other
plants. It may be noted that the foliage of house vines are stated to be
unsuitable food. The blossoms of numerous plants are visited by the moths
in the evening, among which are delphinium, petunia, honeysuckle, tobacco,
rhododendron, valerian, and silene.
In the daytime it has been found resting on walls, windows, and also the
curtains; on grass turf, railway metals, fences, and on plants and shrubs.
The distribution of this species is somewhat similar to that of the
Silver-striped Hawk-moth, but it extends into Western China and is
represented in North America.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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