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 three moths, one male and two females, shown on Plate 52, were reared
from caterpillars obtained in Kent, and they {116} represent the more or
less ordinary South English forms of the species. Sometimes the ground
colour of the male is more distinctly reddish, or rust tinted, and the
yellowish bands narrower on all the wings. Or the bands may be much broader
than in the male figured, and the widening is effected by extension in the
form of rays towards the outer margins of the wings. A form that has been
referred to, in error, as var. _roboris_, Shrank (= _marginata_, Tutt), has
the outer margins of all the wings broadly yellow. I have not seen an
English example of this form, but I have a reddish specimen in which the
yellow band on the fore wings is broader than usual, and the whole of the
outer third of the hind wings yellow, with a slight brownish shade on the
external margin; this is _semimarginata_, Tutt, and is also identical with
var. _roboris_ of other British authors. The white spot usually present on
the fore wings varies somewhat in size and shape; it is often seen on the
under as well as the upper surface of the wings, except in the lighter
coloured forms.
Var. _callunæ_ (The Northern Eggar), is shown on Plate 54. The chief
features of this form are the generally darker coloration in both sexes,
the yellow patch at the base of the fore wings of the male, and the outward
turn of the lower ends of the yellow bands. All these characters are
subject to modification; the yellow bands may be very narrow at one
extreme, or greatly widened at the other, and the hind wings may
occasionally be bandless; the basal patch is often of large size, but in
some examples it is entirely absent. Sometimes the bands are greenish in
colour (var. _olivaceo-fasciata_, Cockerell), and more rarely, perhaps, the
greenish tinge extends over the whole of the wings (ab. _olivacea_, Tutt).
It should be noted here that the var. _olivaceo-fasciata_ has occurred once
or twice in South England, but this phase of aberration seems to be more
connected with _callunæ_ than with _quercus_.
[Illustration]
Pl. 54.
NORTHERN EGGAR.
[Illustration]
Pl. 55.
OAK EGGAR.
_Egg, natural size and enlarged; caterpillars and cocoon._
{117} _Callunæ_ was not recognized as British until the year 1847, when it
was introduced as a species distinct from _quercus_. The late Richard
Weaver, who gave it the English name of the "Scotch Eggar," took specimens
of the moth at Rannoch in 1845, and he found caterpillars in that year, as
well as in 1844 and 1846. It is now well known to occur not only in
Scotland, including the Hebrides and Orkneys, but also on the moors of
Northern England, and in Ireland and Wales. In North Devonshire it is found
not uncommonly in the Exmoor district, and it has been recorded from
various parts of the New Forest in Hants.
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