128 LYIMANTRTA. By Dr. E. Strand. 



that only the forewing has dark marginal spots. ^ 38. 3 mm. — The eggs are laid in brown clusters densely 

 covered with anal wool, on trunks, branches, boards, stones, etc., so that they look like ochreous clumps 

 of fungus and have gained for the moth the German name of "Schwammspinner". The eggs hibernate under 

 this protective covering, and the small larva emerges in April. The larva grows until July, and is then grey 

 marbled with yellow; dorsal warts blue on the first 5 segments, red on the others; head greyish yellow with 

 two brown streaks ; lives on fruit-trees and various other deciduous trees. Pupa blackish browTi, with reddish 

 brown hair arranged in tufts. The hairs of the larva sting slightly when touched roughly, but do not cause any in- 

 flammation on a not too tender skin. In years when the larvae are unusually abundant, they are much decimat- 

 ed by a beetle, Calosoma sycophanta, which the caterpillar tries to evade by letting itself suddenly down from 

 the branches by a thread, remaining hanging about 1 or 2 yards above the ground. The pupa, which lies in a 

 very loose cocoon, usually between leaves, is as such pursued by an ichneumonid (Pimpla); it is also often in- 

 fested by Tachinae ; otherwise the moth emerges from the end of June to September. The (J (J are on the wing 

 in daytime in the sunshine, their flight being restless; the $$, whose wings are often crippled, are very sluggish 

 and mostly do not fly at all. — By crossing geographical races Brake has obtained whole series of gyandro- 

 morphous specimens (cf. Plate 22g). By continuous inbreeding the size of the form japonica was in Germany 

 in a few generations reduced to that of the West European dispar. We also mention that it is said to be proved 

 by separating the (J^J pupae from the $$ pupae that parthenogenesis obtains, this phenomenon being observed 

 in nine succeeding generations. Much doubt is thrown on these results by various authors. 



tnailiiira. L. inathura Moore (20 e). $: Head and thorax white, two white spots each on collar, meso-and meta- 



thorax; palpi, teeths of antennae and two spots on the mesothorax red. Abdomen red, with a row of black spots 

 above, endsegment whitish; legs black and red. Forewing white, with red and black basal spots, dark trans- 

 verse bands partly separated into spots or lunules, and black rounded marginal spots ; costal margin and fringes 

 red. HindAving red, with dark discocellular spot, a sublimbal row of dark spots and small round marginal spots. 

 5 96 to 112 mm. (^: Forewing with whitish ground and black-brown markings, those in the marginal area being 

 very sharply defined; in the middle of the cell a small round dark spot in a whitish patch. Hindwing and ab- 

 domen light orange ; the former with sharply defined black discocellular spot, an also black sublimbal row 

 of almost connected spots and smaller, distinctly separate, marginal spots. Abdomen with a longitudinal row 

 aurora, of black dorsal spots. Kashmir, Japan, and widely distributed in India. — The very closely allied form aurora 

 Bull. (20e) is smaller in the $; forewing with the ground-colour darker and the transverse dark bands more 

 numerous, without red spot on the mesothorax, also without black dorsal ones on the abdomen. $ 75 to 80 mm. 

 (^ fairly uniformly black-broAVTi, without distinct markings (according to Swinhoe the q type described by 

 fusca. Butler was an old faded specimen). Amurland, China, Corea and Japan. — Under the name of fusca(20e)LEECH 

 figures of this species the (J-form which he considers the darkest, but which, apart from the sharply defined 

 l)lack transverse iTands of the forewing, seems to agree with the form which Swinhoe (1903) considers the 

 chief form. In the basal half three narrow black transverse bands, the proximal one of which stands immedi- 

 ately at the base, while the other two are less distant from each other than from the jiroximal one. Further, 

 there is a transverse band through the centre and a zigzag dentate submarginal band, as well as black marginal 

 spots. Hindwing uniformly black-brown. Nagahama, in July. 



moiuicha. L. monacha L. (20g). This moth, only too well known unfortunately on account oft its bad repute, 



has the name of "Black Arches". It has white forewing with black basal spots and four sharply angulate black 

 transverse lines, the second of which is the broadest; hindwing greyish white and grey. Abdomen light rose- 

 pink. 37 to 55 mm. Distributed nearly throughout Europe with the exception of the Arctic Region, kiiown 

 from Castile, North Italy, Croatia, Greece, also from Armenia, Amurland and Japan. — The species varies 

 nitjra. strongly and has received the following aberrational names, nigra Fr. : The two central bands are confluent 

 at the costal and posterior margins, forming black spots, or the whole median area is dark, the red of the ab- 

 eremiia. domen usually weaker, eremita 0. (20 g): Forewing and abdomen smoke-brown or blackish grey, the former 

 atra. with black markings, atra Linst.: Forewing uniformly black, without markings, hindwing greyish broAvn, ab- 

 lutea. domen black, lutea Auel is a light form in which the central bands are interrupted; the red colour of the ab- 

 flavo- domen is equally deep almost to the thorax, flavoabdominalis Schultz has the abdomen yellow instead of red; 

 uhdominalis. subfusca Sckultz $ is distinguished by everything which is black in true monacha being yellowish brown, and the 

 obsolela. abdomen being also yellowish brown instead of red; in obsoleta Schultz the dark transverse bands in the median 

 area of the forewing are absent, wliile they remain in the basal and outer-marginal areas. All these names 

 were given to European specimens. — The eggs are laid in August on various trees, preferably conifers ; they 

 are oval, light brown or light red. The larvae liibernate when yoimg, remain together in batches and are full- 

 grown in June. They are then whitish grey to blackish, with grey hairs, red and blue warts, and a dark longitu- 

 dinal dorsal line which is interrupted or broadened into spots in places. The larva belongs to the few species 

 of Lepidoptera feeding both on conifers and on deciduous trees, but they are most damaging to conifers. The 

 species is the most important moth economically and about the most dangerous insect to oiir forests. A large 

 amount of literatui'e treats of the "Blach Arches" and its destruction, which has always been very difficult 



