rebruory 5, 187-1. 1 



JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUEE AND COTTAGE QAEDENER. 



119 



rather small moth, I introtluoe a species commonly known aa 

 the Marbled Ueauty (Bryophila perla), which is frequently to 

 be seen sitting on garden walls towards the close of the sum- 

 mer. So nearly does the insect often resemble the wall when 

 it is greenish white or grey with lichens, that I have observed 

 persons be so close to the wall as to place a finger on it close 

 to one of these moths, and yet not see the insect, which does 

 not readily take fright. Nor does it soon catch the eye when 

 resting on a paling, though if on a brick wall, if the usual 

 colour, it is soon noticed. The wings, of a very light grey, 

 have markings of a darker grey, many specimens, however, 

 being found with the ground colour much darker, either green- 

 ish or brown — of course, according to the views of certain 

 theorists these are intended to sit on dark-hued walls. At the 

 base of the wing is a dark blotch, and beyond that a white 

 bar; what ai'e called the discoidal spots are largo and irre- 

 gular, and the fringe of the wings is prettily spotted with 

 black and grey. 



These little creatures are no wanderers, seemingly, from the 

 home in which they have been reared ; their life as larva; and 

 pupa! is passed upon the wall where we find the moths, and 

 the latter seldom fly to any distance ; indeed, I have never 

 seen one take wing unless forced by alarm, when it can fly 

 rapidly enough, yet settling again at the first convenient spot. 

 It is worth anyone's while, in spring or early summer, to go 

 to a wall on which he has seen the perfect insect and examine 

 the crevices for the abodes of the larv;e. They emerge in the 

 autumn from the eggs which have been deposited by their 

 parents among the flat lichens so common on walls and build- 

 ings, and after feeding a little they hide themselves in crannies, 

 to remain inactive during the cold and wet season, each one, 

 hermit-like, making arrangements to live alone, yet not exactly 

 solitaiy, a3 his brethren of the same brood are all about him. 

 Upon the arrival of the first mild days of spring these larvaj 

 begin to feed again, always preferring those hchens that are 

 saturated with moisture, and therefore usually engaged upon 

 their food at morning and evening. Through the day they 

 mostly rest in their cocoons, for even when larger they still 

 follow the same habit of forming abodes of silk mingled with 

 particles of mortar or moss, or perhaps with biickdust gnawed 

 off the bricks by the busy jaws of the larva, as was observed 

 by the late Mr. Kennie. They are often in crevices, or, it not, 

 Btm so ingeniously made to resemble the wall, that it needs a 

 little patience to discover them ; and hence it appears that 

 each time one of these larvffi leaves its abode it has to make a 

 hole therein, the same being carefully closed again on its 

 return. 



■Larva of Acronycta Aceiis.-* 



Mr. Newman, writing of the habits of the larvai of a species 

 of the same genus, and closely resembling the Marbled Beauty, 

 though not so generally distributed throughout England — 

 namely, the Marbled Green (Bryophila glandifera), has stated 

 as follows : — " It is curious, and rather opposed to the ordinary 

 habits of insects in this respect, that, as a general rule, each 

 caterpillar is totally careless whether he return to his own 

 dwelUng-place or to that of some relation ; he will, without a 

 moment's hesitation, coolly possess himself of any tenement 

 he finds imoccupied, and, carefully closing the entrance, main- 

 tain his position against all comers. Supposing, however, that 

 the tenement he examines, with a view of taking posses- 

 sion, be already occupied, he never presumes to intrude, never 

 thinks of contesting the point, but continues to wander about 

 on the look-out for a house until he finds one unoccupied ; in 

 no instance do two caterpillars attempt to occupy the same 

 dwelling as tenants in common. Should a difliculty arise in 

 finding an empty house, which not unfreiiuently happens, the 

 caterpillar sets to work in the most contented manner to con- 

 struct one." 



The proceedings of B. perla are somewhat similar, and it is 

 also observable in both species that the larvae are reluctant to 

 stir out in dry weather, and should it be long-continued, some 

 of them die in their houses from starvation. The full-grown 



2. — Larva of Acronycta Aceris.* 



larva is of a bluish or slaty colour above, with some irregular 

 orange markings along the sides of the body ; the legs and 

 the under sides are green ; the head is blackish and shining. 

 Being mature, it then forms another cocoon, in which it be- 

 comes a pupa or chrysalis. A succession of the moths is to 

 be seen most years, during about two months, in July, August, 

 or September. 



The cocoons of the moth bearing the Latin designation of 

 Acronycta Aceris (see figx. 1, 2, and 3), and the English of 

 the Sycamore Dagger, are to bo found among garden rubbish 

 near the roots of trees, and also on palings, for the larva has 

 rather a propensity for wandering after it has ceased eating, 

 and does not, as a rule, spin-up close to where it has been 

 r>.v-^ feeding. One cause of 

 \JyTH, its peregrinations are the 

 ]/— ^ high winds which some- 

 times prevail in autumn, 

 and as this caterpillar ia 

 most partial to the higher 

 branches of the Sycamore 

 and Horse Chestnut, it is 

 apt to lose its grasp and 

 come to the ground with 

 a sudden thud, rarely, 

 however, seeming much 

 the worse for its fall, 

 owing to the protective 

 coating of hairs. I have 

 had this insect shown to 

 me by gardeners as some- 

 thing remarkable, and certainly its aspect does distinguish it 

 amongst hairy caterpillars, and it may claim the epithet " beau- 

 tiful," while it is never common enough on those trees which 

 furnish it with food to be deemed in any way an injurious insect. 

 The body of the caterpillar is flesh-coloured, but the most 

 characteristic peculiar- 

 ity it has is a row of 

 lozenge - shaped white 

 spots along the back, 

 eight of these having 

 a velvety black edging. 

 On each side, also, there 

 are a series of pencils 

 or brushes of orange- 

 coloured hairs, while 

 the black head has on 

 it a white mark having 

 a resemblance to the letter V. This caterpillar, which is 

 about in August and September, if alarmed, at once rolls 

 itself into a ring, the head, however, not being within the 

 ring, as with some other caterpillars that resort to this mode 

 of defence. I have never found the larv;e of this species make 

 any attempt to bite, as do some of those belonging to the 

 family of the " Daggers," though their jaws can scarcely 

 penetrate the human skin. No doubt the hairs serve to pro- 

 tect the larva very effectively from the attacks of most birds. 



The illustrious Eeaumur repeatedly watched the larvaj of 

 A. Aceris while engaged in forming their cocoons, and he per- 

 ceived that by the time the task is finished they are almost 

 entirely bare, the hairs being introduced at intervals among 

 the silk. With his usual accuracy he notes the fact that 

 though a larva pulled out the hairs in tufts, these were after- 

 wards subdivided and distributed in smaller parcels, each being 

 not simply entangled in the cocoon already partly spun , but 

 secured by added threads. Quoting this account, Figuier, in 

 his work on insects, remarks that " the operation must, with- 

 out doubt, be painful to the poor animal." As to that efiect, 

 however, I hardly think we can speak so positively ; the hairs 

 mingled with the silk do certainly serve as a protection from 

 the variable weather through which the pupa has to exist for 

 eight or nine months. The Sycamore Dagger moth has grey 

 wings dotted and streaked with black, specimens occasionally 

 turning-up in which all the wings are of a dingy shade of 

 brown.— J. R. S. C. 



. 3. — Larva of Acronycta Aceris taken out of 

 its cocoon.* 



MRS. PINCE'S BLACK MUSCAT-GROWTH OP 

 YOUNG VINES. 

 I HAVE seen nothing to cause me to suppose that there are 

 two Grapes in cultivation under the name of Mrs. Pince's 



♦ From Messrs. Cassell's edition of Figuier's " Insect World." 



