THE OAK EGGAR. II5 



conspicuous greyish anal tuft, the hairs from which she uses to 

 cover over her pale oily green eggs when they are deposited in 

 clusters on twigs of hawthorn or sloe in February or March. 

 Plate 50, Figs. 5, 6; Plate 53, Figs. 2, 2a. 



The caterpillar is black or greyish black, wnth reddish brown 

 hairs, and a series of black-edged yellowish brown, or reddish 

 brown blotches on each side of the back ; these blotches are 

 outlined in pale yellowish and occasionally connected by a line 

 of the same colour. From the time they are hatched until 

 nearly mature the caterpillars live in companies on a closely 

 woven web of silk on a branch of hawthorn or sloe, only leaving 

 their habitation to feed. These webs may often be seen on 

 hedgerows from May to July. The brown chrysalis is enclosed 

 in a solid-looking oval cocoon of a pale ochreous or whitish 

 colour. Not all the moths emerge the following year : some 

 will remain in the chrysalis over two or three winters, and 

 occasionally they have been known to emerge seven years after 

 pupation. The moth is said to be fully formed within the 

 chrysalis all the time, but for some reason will not emerge, 

 although if extracted from its shell, the moth has been known 

 to expand its wings in the ordinary way. Barrett states that 

 in the middle of February, after a moth had emerged, he " put 

 a large number of cocoons upon a warm mantelpiece and 

 obtained scores of moths within a few hours." 



Generally distributed over the southern half of England; 

 plentiful in some years in the Southern and Eastern Counties. 

 Northwards and in Scotland it is local and less frequent. Kane 

 states that in Ireland it is very locally abundant. The range 

 abroad is through Central and Northern Europe to Southern 

 Lapland, and eastward to Siberia and Amurland. ^ -- 



The Oak Eggar {Lu im td^ ^% ^ q^iercus). ^/^ ^^^ 



The three moths, one male and two females, shown on Plate V^T^^ 



52, were reared from caterpillars obtained in Kent, and they „,\q\', 



