190 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



black, and this is the typical form of the species ; the plainer 

 specimens — those less spotted with black — being referable to var. 

 ninica^ Stephens. Stephens in 1829 notes that the species was 

 then little known in England. It is still very local, inhabiting 

 oak woods in Sussex (Hailsham), Hampshire (New Forest, some- 

 times common), Devonshire (Plymouth district), Cornwall (East 

 Looe), Essex (Colchester), and Suffolk (Ipswich). The moth is 

 out in June ; on September 5, 1906, Mr. L. W. Newman bred 

 a small specimen that had only been in the chrysalis seventeen 

 days. Usually it rests by day on boughs, and sometimes on 

 the trunks of trees (see Fig. 8, p. 9) ; it flies at night and then 

 patronizes the sugar patch, but often is a late visitor. The 

 caterpillar, which feeds upon oak in July and August, is black 

 on the back with a yellow or whitish blotch on rings four, six, 

 and nine ; the reddish warts are crowned with tufts of brown 

 or whitish hairs. Head black marked with yellow except on the 

 top. It is also said to eat^.leaves of beech and birch. Staudin- 

 ger gives alpiian, Osbeck (1778), as an earlier name than orion^ 

 Esp. Hampson refers alpinum to Daseochata, Warren. 



Distribution : Central and Northern Europe, and represented 

 by var. jnurrhina, Graes., in Amurland, China, and Japan. 



The moth is depicted on Plate 100, Fig. i, and the caterpillar 

 and chrysalis on Plate loi, Figs. 2, 2a. 



The Nut-tree Tussock {Demas coryli). 



Usually the fore wings of this moth appear to be brownish, 

 or reddish brown on the basal half, arid whitish, more or less 

 suffused with greyish, or sometimes reddish brown, on the outer 

 half; the hind wings are pale brownish, or greyish, lighter 

 towards the base. Not infrequently the fore wings are greyish 

 white with some brownish clouding between the two blackish 

 cross lines. The caterpillar is variable in colour, but generally 

 of some shade of brown, ranging from dark chocolate brown to 



