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 PALE TUSSOCK (_Dasychira pudibunda_).
This moth is much commoner and more widely distributed in England than that
last mentioned. The central area of the greyish white fore wings is subject
to variation in width and also in tint; this latter may be darker or
lighter than the example shown on Plate 40, and the cross lines are in some
specimens black and very distinct. The colour of the female ranges from
pale greyish white through various tones of grey, and the bands on the hind
wings may be as well defined as in the male. Black males of the species
have been recorded.
The hairy caterpillar is green or yellow, the former mottled with whitish
and the latter with greenish; on rings 4 to 7 are thick brushes of yellow
hairs, and on ring 11 there is a tuft of reddish hair; the back is marked
with black between the brushes, and there are black spots on the sides of
the hind rings. Sometimes the caterpillar is light or dark brownish and the
brushes are then greyish, or tinged with pale reddish or blackish.
Altogether it is a pretty creature, and as it is, or was previous to the
modern "washing," common in hop gardens at picking time, it was christened
the "hop dog." It may be found from July to September on the foliage of
birch, hazel, oak, and many other trees, as well as on hop. The moth
appears in May and June, and rests by day on herbage, especially on bracken
in woods (see Fig. 6, p. 7); at night it comes readily to light, but
specimens so obtained are generally of the female sex.
[Illustration]
Pl. 42.
1, 1a. YELLOW-TAIL: _caterpillars_.
2. BROWN-TAIL: _caterpillar_.
3, 3a. DARK TUSSOCK: _caterpillar and chrysalis_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 43.
1. BROWN-TAIL MOTH, _male_; 2 _female_.
3. YELLOW-TAIL MOTH, _female_; 4, 5 _males_.
6. WHITE SATIN MOTH, _female_.
{99} It is most at home in the southern portion, but occurs throughout
England and Wales, to Cumberland. Only doubtfully recorded from Scotland,
but in Ireland it has occurred in Galway, Kerry, Waterford, Cork, and
Wicklow.
Distribution: Central and Northern Europe eastward to North-east China and
Japan.
THE BROWN-TAIL (_Euproctis chrysorrhoea_).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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