THE EMPEROR MOTH. I3I 



SATURNI1D.E. 

 The Emperor Moth {Sahmiia pavonia). 



In a general way the fore wings of the male may be described 

 as purplish grey, suffused with rosy or with tawny shades ; a 

 reddish cloud, black marked above, at the tips of the wings ; 

 the outer margins are more or less whitish, and there is a 

 whitish patch about the middle of each wing, in which is an 

 eyed spot ; the hind wings are tawny, with a central eye spot 

 and a blackish band towards the outer margin. The female 

 has all the wings pale purplish grey, with whitish boidered 

 outer margins; markings much as in the male, but the central 

 area of the hindwings is more or less whitish. There is some 

 variation in the ornamentation ; occasionally the white markings 

 are of large size, or, on the other hand, may be almost or quite 

 obscured. Very rarely the eye-spots are absent from all the 

 wings (ab. obsoleta^ Tutt), and sometimes they are of abnormal 

 shape. Now and then specimens of the female sex are dark 

 in colour, with red bands, and Barrett mentions an example of 

 this sex smoky black in colour, with still blacker markings 

 (Plate 66). 



The olive brown, clouded greyish eggs are laid in neatly 

 arranged batches around the stems or twigs of plants ; 1 once 

 found a batch in North Devon on a loose piece of rock. 

 The caterpillar when full grown is bright green, with black 

 markings ; the warts from which blackish bristles arise are 

 yellow, sometimes pink or blackish. In an early stage it is 

 black, with an orange line low down along the sides; later on 

 it is still black, but ringed with orange. It feeds in June, July, 

 and August on many kinds of plants, among which may be 

 mentioned heather, bramble, sallow, sloe ; also meadow-sweet 

 {SpircEa ulmarid) and purple loose-strife {Lytliruni salicaria). 



The curious cocoon formed by the caterpillar (Plate 67) is 



