53 



BRITISH AXD EUROPEAX BUTTERFLIES AXD MOTHS. 



tufts, and there is another at the posterior 

 extremit}-. On the back are four pairs of 

 yellowish brown tufts. It lives in May and 

 June on oak, beech, sloe, and other trees. 



O. antiqua, Linn. The \'apourer Moth. 

 PI. XVIII. fig. 6. Larva 6a. appears from 

 June to September, and is common throughout 

 Europe. The caterpillars, as well as the moths, 

 may often be seen in London squares. The 

 female is yellowish grey and wingless, and is 

 smaller and less stout than that of gonostiffma. 

 The larvae are hatched in the Spring from 

 eggs which the female lays close together on 

 her cocoon. They may be found from June 

 to August on various trees — oak, sloe, wild 

 rose, hazel, etc. 



O. ericae. Germ. The wings of the male 

 are rusty brown, with unicolorous fringes, and 

 a whitish spot in front of the hinder angle of 

 the fore wings. The antenna; are bipectinated; 

 the abdomen is black with yellowish brown 

 hairs. The female is wingless, light grey, with 

 simple antennae. It is found in North-Eastern 

 Germany. The larva is orange, with black 

 longitudinal stripes and greyish white hair 

 on the sides. It has two black tufts behind 

 the head, a similar one on the last segment, 

 and four yellowish white tufts on the back, and 

 two yellow warts on segments lo and ii. It 

 is found on boggy heaths, feeding on Callunn, 

 Myrica, Andromeda polifolia, etc. 



Genus Dasychira, Steph. 



Fore wings moderately broad, with an 

 appendicular cell. The females are larger 

 than the males, with longer and narrower 

 wings. The antennas are bipectinated in the 

 males, and are either bipectinated or simple 

 in the females. The abdomen is stout in the 

 females, with the extremity thick and woolly. 

 The femora and tibiae are downy. The larva; 

 have four or five tufts on two of the middle 

 segments, another tuft on the twelfth, and 

 two on the second segment. 



D. selenitica, Esp. Fore wings dark grey, 

 darker at the base, with two blackish trans- 

 verse lines, a white central lunule, centred 

 with darker, and a white subterminal line, 

 which expands into a white spot near the 

 hinder angle. The fringes are chequered. The 

 hind wind's blackish, with a \-ellowish base and 



yellow fringes. The antenna?, head, and thorax 

 are brownish grey. The abdomen is darker. The 

 female is larger and dark grey, with the same 

 pattern as the male, but the anterior trans- 

 verse line is expanded to a band, and the 

 base and the inner half of the central area 

 are lighter. The antenna; are dark grey and 

 slightly bipectinated. The abdominal tuft is 

 large and ashy grey. The moth appears in 

 May, and is local in Central and Northern 

 Germany. The caterpillar is black, with five 

 yellowish grey tufts tipped with black, and 

 three longer black tufts. It is full-grown in 

 September, and lives principally upon clover. 

 It hibernates under stones, and changes to 

 a chrysalis in May without taking any food 

 after hibernation. The pupa is reddish brown, 

 with 3'ellowisli hair, and enclosed in a loose 

 cocoon. 



D. fascelina, Linn. The Dark Tussock. 

 The fore wings are ashy grey, dusted with 

 black, with two black wavy submarginal lines 

 bordered with orange. There is a whitish 

 central lunule, and the fringes are unspotted. 

 The female is larger than the male, and less 

 distinctly marked. The hind wings are brown- 

 ish grey. The antenna; are black and grey. 

 The head, thorax, and abdomen are ashy grey, 

 with thick dark grey wool at the end of the 

 abdomen in the female. The moth appears' 

 in June and July, and is widely distributed in 

 Central and Northern Europe. The larva is 

 dark grey, covered with warts bearing yellow 

 hair, and on the five middle segments light 

 and dark tufts, as well as two longer black 

 tufts behind the head and a single one at the 

 extremity. It li\-es in the Autumn, and after 

 hibernation till May on low plants, and also 

 on blackberry, raspberry, willow, Sarothamuus, 

 etc. The pupa is dark brown, with brown hair, 

 and is enclosed in a hair)' cocoon. 



D. abietis, Esp. The female closely resembles 

 that of the next species, but is whiter, and 

 has more sharply defined markings. The male 

 is also white, with a sharp black zigzag line. 

 It is found in most parts of Germany and in 

 East Central Europe, appearing in July. The 

 larva is green, with black and white spots, black 

 incisions, and two long black tufts, as well as 

 four shorter brownish ones, yellow on the sides. 

 It hibernates and lives till May on pine and fir. 



