BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



223 



Genus Triphosa, Steph. 



Large greenish brown moths with a sillvy 

 lustre and broad wings with delicate nervures. 

 The fore wings have pointed tips, slightly 

 convex waved hind margins and obtuse hinder 

 angles; the hind wings have a straight almost 

 rectangular inner margin, projecting far beyond 

 the abdomen, and a convex, strongly zigzag 

 hind margin. The front is somewhat raised, 

 the palpi tapering and projecting horizontally 

 above it. Proboscis spiral; antennae setiform: 

 abdomen with a thick anal tuft in the males. 

 Legs thick. The hind tibiae with two pairs 

 of spurs. Neuration as in Cidaria. 



T. dubitata, Linn. The Tissue Moth. 

 Fore wings bronze-colour, with several dark 

 waved transverse lines as far as the waved 

 central band, which is darker at the edges 

 and on the nervures, and projects outwards 

 on nervure 6 in an obtuse angle. There are 

 also a few dark waved lines in the marginal 

 area as far as the finely curved yellowish 

 white submarginal line, which is somewhat 

 expanded towards the hinder angle. There is 

 a black marginal line. The fringes are long 

 and finely yellowish white at the base, darkest 

 through the middle. Hind wings paler, spotted 

 alternately with lighter and darker on the 

 nervures, with a few indistinct curved lines, 

 a distinct submarginal line, a sharply zigzag 

 marginal line and fringes as on the fore wings. 

 The variety cinereata, Steph. is a smaller and 

 paler form of the male sometimes met with 

 in Britain. The type is common throughout 

 Europe in May and in July and August. The 

 larva is green with four yellow dorsal Hues, 

 the two middle ones most distinct, and a 

 narrow yellow lateral line above the spiracles, 

 extending to the anal plate. It feeds between 

 the leaves of Rhamnus cathavtictis in June and 

 July. The pupa is reddish brown, short and 

 thickened. 



Genus Eucosmia, Steph. 



Rather large moths with the same shape 

 and pattern as the last genus, except that the 

 hind wings are not so deeply dentated, and 

 more sinuated on the margins, with a close 

 tuft of hair on nervure ib in the males beyond 

 the middle. 



E. certata, Hubn. The Scarce Tissue 



resembles T. dubitata, esj^ecially in the female, 

 but differs in the following details: — Wings 

 rusty brown with three transverse bands, the 

 anterior of which is distinctly edged with 

 lighter towards the hind margin, and the two 

 others which bound the central area are simi- 

 larly edged on the sides remote from one 

 another. The posterior with two projections, 

 but not more prominent, on nervure 6. Hind 

 wings somewhat lighter than the fore wings, 

 with distinct transverse lines and a slightly 

 deeper zigzag hind margin than in T. dubi- 

 tata, but with a similar submarginal line and 

 fringes. The male has a short crooked tuft 

 on each side of the last segment but one of 

 the abdomen. It is common in Central and 

 Southern Europe in April and May, and again 

 in July. The larva is bluish grey on the back 

 with three darker dorsal lines, light grey on 

 the sides with orange spots. It feeds on bar- 

 berry. The pupa is light reddish brown, short 

 and thickened at the end. 



E. undulata, Linn. The Scallop Shell 

 is light brown, the fore wings, as far as the 

 submarginal line, with fine waved alternating 

 dark brown and white transverse lines. There 

 is also a narrow central area with a black 

 central spot, a very indistinct marginal line 

 and fringes spotted with white. Hind wings 

 with a dark central spot and from this to the 

 hind margin with uniform somewhat lighter 

 transverse lines. The marginal line and other 

 markings are as on the fore wings. It is 

 common in Central and Northern Europe in 

 May and July. The larva is contracted, reddish 

 brown, sparsely covered with short bristles, 

 with a flesh-coloured lateral line, enclosing 

 the spiracles. The double dorsal line is indi- 

 cated by fine light streaks and dots. It feeds 

 from July to September between the leaves 

 of willow and poplar. The pupa is brownish 

 red with the extremity triangular and furnished 

 with a forked spine. The first three segments 

 of the abdomen have an elevated rid^re, which, 

 like the back, is thickly punctured. It is 

 enclosed between the leaves of the food-plant. 



Genus Scotosia, Steph. 



The shape of the wings and their pattern 

 are as in the last two genera, except that 

 the tips of the fore wings are more pointed 



