The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series: Comprising the Families Noctuidæ to HepialidæSouth, Richard
History
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series: Comprising the Families Noctuidæ to Hepialidæ
South, Richard
Lepidoptera -- Great Britain; Moths -- Great Britain
This moth seems to have been known as a British species to Haworth, but he,
and subsequently Stephens (1830), referred it to _Noctua leucomelas_, Linn.
At all events, Stephen's description of the specimen in Haworth's cabinet
bearing this name applies exactly to _C. alchymista_. In the _Ent. Ann._
for 1860 there is a figure of a specimen that was taken at sugar in the
Isle of Wight, September, 1868. Seven years later, one was captured in an
oak wood near Horsham, Sussex (June 4), and another found on the trunk of
an oak tree near Colchester (June 9). In 1882, a specimen was taken at
sugar in a wood near Dover (June), and on June 24, 1888, one came to sugar
at St. Leonards, Sussex. In the last-named year, two other specimens, said
to have been taken in the Isle of Wight, July, 1867, were recorded.
Fig. 2, Plate 29, represents a specimen from Dalmatia.
THE CLIFDEN NONPAREIL (_Catocala fraxini_).
This handsome species (Plate 29, Fig. 3) seems to have been known to quite
the earliest writers on, and delineators of, British moths, and a specimen
in the Dale collection, now in the Hope Museum, Oxford, was obtained in
Dorset in 1740. Stephens (1830) mentions captures in the years 1821, 1827,
and 1828. Since that time the occurrence of the species in the British
Isles, chiefly in single specimens, may be tabulated as follows:
England--London, 1842, 1870, 1872. Kent, 1889, {79} 1893, 1895, 1900.
Sussex, 1838, 1869, 1889, 1895. Isle of Wight, 1866, 1900. North Devon,
1895. Somerset, 1850. Shropshire, 1872. Suffolk, 1868, 1872, 1901, 1905.
Norfolk, 1846, 1872, 1894, 1900. Lincoln, 1872. Yorkshire, five specimens
in all, the most recent in 1896. Lancashire, six specimens, latest 1868.
Cheshire, four specimens, latest 1868. Scotland--1876 (Berwick); 1896
(Aberdeen and Orkney); 1898 (Roxburghshire). Ireland--1845, 1896.
It may be noted that during a period of seven years--1866 to 1872
inclusive--1867 and 1871 were the only years in which a specimen was not
recorded from some part of England.
The caterpillar is pale ochreous, tinged with greenish and freckled with
brown; head, pinkish, inclining to purplish above. It feeds on poplar in
May, June, and July. From eggs (obtained from abroad) the caterpillars
hatched April 27 till May 9, pupated between June 17 and 27, and the moths
emerged July 20 to August 4.
The range abroad extends through Central Europe to Scandinavia, and
eastward to Amurland.
_Catocala electa._
Only two specimens of this moth are known to have occurred in Britain. One
of these was taken at Shoreham, near Brighton, Sussex, September 24, 1875,
and the other at Corfe Castle, Dorsetshire, September 12, 1892. The
specimen shown on Plate 31, Fig. 1, is from Saxony.
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