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
The rough-looking, long and slender caterpillar is pale greyish, with a
black-edged pale line along the middle of the back, the black edging
interrupted on rings 4-9; on each side of the central line, and lower down
along the sides, are other black streaks; head, notched on the crown, and
marked with brown.
Some eggs laid August 8th, hatched on September 1st; the infant
caterpillars were long and thread-like, the colour was black, and there was
a whitish stripe low down along the sides. They would not feed on knotgrass
and other plants offered to them, and I failed to rear them. Moths have,
however, been bred, as a second generation, in the autumn from caterpillars
reared from the egg, on bramble and knotgrass.
The moth occurs in July and August on bush-sprinkled heaths, or heathy
ground, where it may be disturbed from the herbage in the daytime, or
netted as it flies in the evening. South of England from Kent to Dorset;
also in Berkshire, Cheshire (one specimen, Whitegate Heath, 1901, one ab.
_circellata_ in Delamere Forest, July, 1903); Yorkshire (Thorne Moor, and
rather plentiful on Skipton Common in 1900 and subsequent years; ab.
_circellata_ also occurred).
THE DWARF CREAM WAVE (_Acidalia_ (_Ptychopoda_) _interjectaria_).
This moth (Plate 45, Figs. 15, 18) is said to be referable to
_fuscovenosa_, Goeze, and as this is an earlier name than _interjectaria_,
Guenee, it may have to be adopted. For many years it was known in England
as _osseata_, and was described by Haworth, Stephens, and others, under
this name. It is also the _dilutaria_ of some authors, but not of Hubner.
Hubner's dilutaria is considered by some writers to be the _holosericata_
of Duponchel, and therefore an earlier name for the species generally known
by the latter name. {115}
The present species, to which Haworth gave the English name here used, is
whitish straw-coloured, and silky in appearance; the wings have a central
black dot and four or five dusky cross lines, some of which are more
distinct than others; the front edge of the fore wings is tinged with
reddish brown, in which is often a dark dot at the ends of the first and
central lines; a series of linear blackish dots at the base of the fringes,
most distinct on the fore wings.
The somewhat stumpy caterpillar is dull smoky brown, marbled and variegated
with ochreous, the darker colour most in evidence in front, and the
ochreous behind; an ochreous line along the middle of the back, and one
along the region of the spiracles; white spots on rings 5-7. (Adapted from
Porritt.) It feeds from August to April on dandelion and other low-growing
plants, and especially on the withered leaves. The moth occurs among weeds
growing on banks, and hedgerows, and the outskirts of woods, in greater or
lesser plenty throughout the South of England; but it becomes local, and
more or less rare in the north of the country. In Scotland it is said to be
uncommon in Clydesdale, but has not been noted from Ireland, or from Wales.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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