Family--COSMIIDae

_The Dun-bar_ (_Calymnia trapezina_)

Our example of this family is the Dun-bar, common everywhere during July and August.

Its fore wings are greyish ochreous, with a darker band across the middle. On each side of this band is a white line margined with dark grey, and there is a row of black spots along the hind margin. The hind wings are smoky brown, becoming paler towards the base.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 166.--THE DUN-BAR.]

The caterpillar feeds on oak (_Quercus Robur_), hornbeam (_Carpinus Betulus_), and birch (_Betula alba_), and may be found in abundance during May and June. It is green, with dark spots, and white lines on the back and sides. Although it partakes of the leaves of the above-named trees, yet its chief food seems to be other caterpillars, for it devours these with a savage greediness that is simply astonishing. It will chase an unfortunate caterpillar, seize it by the neck with a fatal grip, and rapidly devour it. Its chief prey seems to be the larva of the Winter Moth (_Brumata_).

Family--HADENIDae

Nearly fifty British _Noctuae_ are included in the family _Hadenidae_.

They are of variable dimensions, and differ much in the brightness of their colours, some being very dingy, and others gaily tinted. Their antennae are rather long; and when at rest the wings slope from the back like the sides of a roof.

The larvae are smooth, and not very thick; and there is sometimes a hump on the twelfth segment. The pupae are brown and shiny, and are inclosed in earthen coc.o.o.ns beneath the surface of the soil.

_The Broad-barred White_ (_Hecatera serena_)

Although not gaily coloured, this is a pretty little moth, there being a bright contrast between the white ground and the grey markings of the wings. It is common in the south of England, and seems to be plentiful in and around London.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 167.--THE BROAD-BARRED WHITE.]

The caterpillar is of a dingy greenish colour, with a yellowish stripe on each side of the back; and there are two distinct dots on the back of each segment. It feeds during July and August on sow-thistles (_Sonchus oleraceus_ and _S. arvensis_), sleepwort (_Lactuca virosa_), and hawkweeds (_Hieracia_).

The moth flies in June and July.

_The Marvel-du-jour_ (_Agriopis Aprilina_)

The Marvel-du-jour is decidedly a beautiful moth--quite an exception among the _Noctuae_ in this respect, and it is withal both common and widely distributed. We need not describe it, since it is represented on Plate XI (fig. 2), and can hardly be mistaken for any other species.

The caterpillar is dull green, often tinged with red. The dorsal line is broad and dark, and interrupted by a series of very light lozenge-shaped spots. It feeds on the oak in May and June, and is full grown in the latter month. It then burrows into the earth at the foot of the tree, and there constructs a fragile earthen coc.o.o.n previous to changing to a chrysalis.

From July to September the chrysalides may be obtained in plenty by breaking up the sods at the roots of oaks, and the perfect insect may be found toward the end of September and throughout October.

_The Small Angle Shades_ (_Euplexia luc.i.p.ara_)

This pretty little moth is represented in fig. 3 of Plate XI. It is very common throughout the country, and may be seen in June and July.

The caterpillar is thickest on the twelfth segment, and gradually tapers from this towards the head. Its colour is pale green, with a white stripe just below the spiracles, which are black. On each side of the back are a number of oblique lines, which meet in the middle line, thus forming a series of V-shaped marks pointing towards the tail. It feeds on the common bracken fern (_Pteris aquilina_), foxglove (_Digitalis purpurea_), and the male fern (_Lastraea Filix-mas_), in August and September.

_The Angle Shades_ (_Phlogophora Meticulosa_)

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 168.--THE ANGLE SHADES.]

This moth is so common and so widely distributed that it is almost sure to be taken by the young collector during his first season. Its wings are scalloped on the hind margin, and their colour light ochreous, often tinged with pink or olive green, and marked with dark brown as shown in the ill.u.s.tration. It is double brooded, the first brood appearing in May and June, and the second in September and October.

The caterpillar is green or olive brown, and thickly covered with white spots. It feeds on groundsel (_Senecio vulgaris_) and many other low plants, the first brood throughout the winter from November to April, and the second in July and August.

_The Grey Arches_ (_Aplecta nebulosa_)

The fore wings of this moth vary from greyish white to a rather dark smoky tint. The markings are of a darker colour, and are also subject to considerable variation. The orbicular and reniform spots are large, and paler than the ground colour; and several zigzag or scalloped lines, more or less distinct, cross the wings transversely.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 169.--THE GREY ARCHES.]

The larva is brown, with a lighter line down the back. On each of the segments five to eleven is a dark lozenge-shaped spot, bisected by the dorsal line; and on the second segment is a shining plate and a triangular mark. It feeds on the dock (_Rumex_), and various other low plants during the autumn; and, after its hybernation, on the leaves of the sallow (_Salix Caprea_), birch (_Betula alba_), and whitethorn (_Crataegus oxyacantha_). It is full grown in May, when it burrows into the ground to undergo its metamorphoses.

The moth flies during June and July, and is common in nearly every part of Great Britain. Large numbers may be obtained by searching fences and tree trunks about midsummer.

_The Shears_ (_Hadena dentina_)

The Shears is another very common moth of the same family. The ground colour of the fore wings is very variable, but is generally a lighter or darker shade of grey. Sometimes, however, it has a very decided brownish tinge. Across the centre of the wing is a darker band, wider on the costal side, containing the orbicular and reniform spots, as well as a light patch beneath them, and bordered on each side by a pale zigzag line. There is another similar line near to and parallel with the hind margin. The hind wings are smoky grey or smoky brown, darker towards the hind margin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 170.--THE SHEARS.]

The caterpillar is greyish, and has a series of triangular black spots along each side of the back. It feeds on the roots of the dandelion (_Taraxac.u.m officinale_), and changes to a peculiar spiny chrysalis.

The perfect insect appears to be abundant everywhere, and is on the wing in June and July.

_The Bright-line Brown-eye_ (_Hadena oleracea_)

Every collector is sure to meet with this insect during his first season. The moth is abundant everywhere in June, the caterpillar may be found feeding in almost every waste and weedy spot in August and September, and the chrysalis is certain to be turned over by the pupa digger.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 171.--THE BRIGHT-LINE BROWN-EYE.]

The fore wings of the perfect insect are reddish brown. The orbicular spot is usually very indistinct, being of almost exactly the same tint as the ground colour, and surrounded by a very fine whitish line. The reniform is generally more conspicuous, a portion of it being of a light ochreous colour. Near the hind margin, and parallel with it, is a white line, bent sharply into the form of a W, just on the a.n.a.l side of the middle.

The hind wings are greyish brown in the base, and dark smoke colour towards the margin.

The caterpillar is pale green or brown, dotted with both black and white, and adorned with a bright yellow line just below the spiracles.

It feeds on the nettle (_Urtica dioica_), dock (_Rumex_), and many other low plants; and, according to some observers, on the elm (_Ulmus campestris_).

Family--XYLINIDae

The next family--_Xylinidae_--contains twenty British species, several of which are local, but two or three are abundant and widely distributed.

The transverse lines that so often cross the wings of the _Noctuae_ are nearly or entirely absent in this family, and longitudinal lines take their place. When the insects are at rest the wings are folded rather closely, the outer pair being arranged like a roof with a very gentle slope. The bodies of the perfect insects are very stout, particularly in the thorax, and thus present a rather powerful appearance.