BRITISH AXD EUROPEAN' BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



173 



them. The pupje have a bhie bloom and are 

 enclosed in a dense cocoon. 



C. fraxini, Linn. The Clifden Nonpareil. 

 PI. XXVIII. fig. 2. Larva 2a. is very common 

 in many parts of Central Europe, especially 

 in poplar rows and near brooks in the neigh- 

 bourhood of willows and poplars, but is very 

 rare in Britain, though it is generally distri- 

 buted and is sometimes met with even in the 

 London parks. It appears in August and 

 September and remains hidden on the trunks 

 of trees in the day-time. The larva feeds on 

 poplar, oak and aspen in May and June. 

 The pupa is slender, reddish brown with a 

 blue bloom. 



C. elocata, Esp. Fore wings grey, more 

 or less varied with yellowish brown, with 

 both sides of the transverse lines and the 

 broad central shade, which obscures the reni- 

 form stigma, darkest. The two transverse lines 

 are light and distinct, the posterior being 

 formed of uniform regular dentations. The 

 submarginal line is nearly straight. The hind 

 wings are cinnamon-red with a broad black 

 marginal band, which is slightly irregular, and 

 is narrowed opposite the anal angle and to- 

 wards the base. The central band is almost 

 uniformly broad throughout, somewhat curved, 

 and forms two slight rounded projections to- 

 wards the base. The fringes are white and 

 the thorax is slightly crested. It is found in 

 Southern and South-Central Europe in August, 

 and is very common in many localities. The 

 larva is ashy grey with two brown dorsal lines, 

 with light warts on them, and an obtuse brown 

 hump in the middle with a brown spot on 

 each side of it. The head is notched and 

 edged with black. It feeds on willow and 

 poplar in May and June. The pupa is slender, 

 reddish brown with a blue bloom. 



C. nupta, Linn. The Red Underwing is 

 very like the last species. Fore wings dark 

 grey tinged with ochreous and marbled with 

 darker. The posterior transverse line is irre- 

 gularly zigzag, the last dentation at the hinder 

 angle extending towards the base to below the 

 well-marked reniform stigma. The submarginal 

 line corresponds with it. The marginal band 

 of the hind wings is uniformly broad through- 

 out, and forms two rounded projections oppo- 

 site the anal angle towards the base. The 



central band is broader and narrower, and is 

 angulated. The collar is striped with darker 

 transversely, and is bounded by yellow spots. 

 The moth is common among bushes near 

 streams in Central Europe, and is more abun- 

 dant in the South and South-East of England 

 than in other parts of the country. The cater- 

 pillar is brownish grey with a double, waved, 

 whitish line on the back and another beneath 

 it, and slight rose-coloured humps on seg- 

 ments 5 and 12. It lives on willow and poplar 

 in May and June. 



C. sponsa, Linn. The Dark Crimson 

 Underwing. PL XXVIII. fig. 3. Larva 3a. 

 is common, especially in oak woods, in Central 

 Europe in July and August. It is fond of 

 sitting on the trunks of trees, and when the 

 heat is great may be seen flying from tree to 

 tree in search of shade. The larva lives on 

 oak in May and June and closely resembles 

 the branches and twigs upon which it crouches. 



C. promissa, W. \'. The Light Crimson 

 Underwing. Fore wings light grey, clouded 

 with yellowish brown and black, with the 

 anterior transverse line darkest and the cen- 

 tral area behind it lightest. Both transverse 

 lines are indistinct, the anterior moderately 

 dentated and the posterior as in sponsa, and the 

 submarginal line is fairly straight and acutely 

 dentated. The hind wings are carmine with 

 a broad marginal band narrower behind and 

 only distinctly excavated opposite the anal 

 angle, and a central band in the form of a 

 double hook. It is common in oak woods in 

 Central and Southern Europe in Jul}-, and is 

 commonly met with together with sponsa. The 

 larva varies considerably both in colour and 

 markings, but is usually light blue varied with 

 bluish and yellowish, with prominent white 

 warts. On the ninth segment there is a dark 

 brown-bordered elevation and on the twelfth 

 two fleshy points. It feeds on oak in May 

 and June. 



C. pacta, Linn. Fore wings light grey 

 with zigzag transverse lines; hind wings pale 

 crimson with a verj' abbreviated central band; 

 abdomen crimson. It is scarce in the North 

 of Germany and is also found in Eastern 

 Europe. The larva resembles that of electa, but 

 is more slender with reddish warts and a hump 

 on the ninth segment. It lives on willow in June. 



