DOT MOTH. 87 



Easpberry, as well as Gooseberry, is one of the recorded 

 food-plants of the caterpillars of the Dot Moth, and the kind 

 was noticed by Dr. E. L. Taschenberg as also in the year 1871 

 being found on orchard trees. 



In the latter part of September, 1890, specimens of the 

 caterpillar were sent me by correspondents near Leicester, 

 with the observation: — "We have discovered an unusual 

 visitor at this time of the year in Gooseberry anil Currant 

 bushes, as a very active and destructive caterpillar which 

 divests the bushes of all their leaves." 



The specimens sent gave good examples of the marked 

 variety of colouring which sometimes occurs in the case of 

 this kind of caterpillar. One was rosy brown with brown 

 markings ; another was rather smaller, and of a green ground 

 colour. 



On Sept. 30th I was favoured with the following notes of 

 observation of attack by Mr. Oliver E. Janson, F.E.S., of 

 Perth Eoad, London, N. : — " The larva of M. persicarice has 

 been exceedingly abundant and destructive to the leafage of 

 various plants, including Gooseberry, in my own garden this 

 year; t^ere are still many left, although I have destroyed a 

 great number. The variation of colour is very striking, 

 especially the extremes you mention (rosy brown and a beauti- 

 ful green)." A little later on Mr. Janson further mentioned : 

 — " The gardens in this neighbourhood have suffered severely 

 from the ravages of the caterpillar of the common ' Dot ' 

 Moth {Mamestra iiersicarice) , which made its appearance in 

 extraordinary abundance about the middle of August, and 

 lasted up to the end of September. 



" In my own garden, although I destroyed some hundreds 

 of them, their numbers seemed in no way diminished, and 

 almost all plants were attacked by them ; but Lettuce, Parsley, 

 Mint, Gooseberry, Geranium, and Marigold they appeared 

 particularly partial to and entirely devoured, and some, which 

 were kept in confinement in a larva- cage, I found would feed 

 as readily on Apple and Poplar as any other kind of plant. 

 The colour of these caterpillars varies very much ; the peculiar 

 shading of the markings of various tints of green, grey, or 

 brown render them very difficult to detect when at rest in the 

 daytime on the stems or leaves of the plants." 



The figure at p. 86 gives a good idea of the shape and 

 markings and the size, when fully grown, of these caterpillars. 

 The head is pale, and sometimes partly drawn back into the 

 next segment, which has a dark patch on the back divided 

 lengthways down the middle, and also bordered on each side 

 by a white line, and a pale white line runs down the back. 

 On each side of this line, beginning at the fourth segment 



