GOOSEBEERY AND CURRANT MOTH. 91 



afterwards shining black, with orange-coloured rings, from 

 which the moth comes out about midsummer or rather later. 



The perfect insect, which in its lightness of make and gay- 

 colouring more agrees with the general idea of a butterfly than 

 a moth, is variable in colouring, but when regular m its 

 marking is easily known. Commonly it has a black head, 

 yellow body between the wings, with a large black spot in the 

 middle ; the abdomen also yellow, with five rows of black 

 spots. The wings are white spotted with black, and the fore 

 wings have a yellow blotch at the base and a yellow band 

 across them. There are, however, almost endless varieties of 

 markings, from black of different shades to white ; some have 

 the upper half of the wing white and the lower black, or the 

 reverse ; some have the ground colour of the wing (instead of 

 merely a band) yellow ; and in some cases the hinder wings 

 are striped with black. It is noteworthy, however, that, as 

 recorded by Mr. Robson, the black variety of larvfe observed 

 by him near Newcastle-on-Tyne only produced the common 

 form, not the especially black marked varieties of the moth. 

 (See reference to black larvae, p. 90). 



The life-history of the insect is that the eggs are laid, one 

 or more as the case may be, on the leaves of the attacked 

 plants, " not only in the evening, but even in the middle of a 

 warm summer's day."* These soon hatch, and the cater- 

 pillars may be found in August and September, and feed for a 

 while, but, it is stated, rarely longer than for four weeks. 

 Before winter they (in some cases) prepare a shelter by spin- 

 ning the sides of leaves together, in which they may rest, and 

 also spinning the leaf fast to the twig, so that w^hen it fades 

 the caterpillar still hangs securely in the hung-up leaf, but in 

 others the caterpillars merely drop down and shelter them- 

 selves in the fallen leaves below the bushes. In these situa- 

 tions they pass the winter, but with the appearance of the 

 leaves in the following spring they come out again, and feed 

 on leafage until some time during May, or towards the begin- 

 ning of June. Then they spin their light transparent cocoons 

 attached to twigs, or palings, or in crevices of walls, or possibly 

 on the ground, from which the moth comes out towards the 

 middle of summer. 



The duration of the whole life of the insect — that is, the 

 time included in the egg condition in summer, subsequent 

 caterpillar state in autumn, winter, and following spring, and 

 chrysalis, from which the moth comes out towards midsummer 

 — is about a year. 



Prevention and Remedies. — The habit of the caterpillar of 



* Newman's 'British Moths,' p. 99. 



