I02 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



and gorse {Ulex) ; in captivity it seems to thrive on laburnum. 

 Most frequently obtained in the springtime after hibernation. 



The moth is to be found in June and July on moorlands and 

 commons pretty well throughout the British Isles, but it seems 

 not to have been noted north of Perthshire, in Scotland. 



Odd specimens have been known to occur in late August or 

 early September, but this is quite exceptional. 



The Large Emerald {Geometra papUionarid). 



This charming green species (Plate 40, Figs, i and 4) varies 

 in tint and in the distinctness of the whitish wavy cross lines. 

 In some examples, one or other of the lines is absent, and far 

 more rarely there is but little trace of any of these markings. 

 Occasionally, the discal mark is preceded by a whitish wedge- 

 shaped spot on the fore wings (ab. cuneata, Burrows). 



When newly laid the eggs are whitish, but soon change to 

 greenish yellow, and finally to pinkish. 



The caterpillar hatches in late summer, and feeds on birch, 

 hazel, and beech, until the leaves begin to fall in the autumn ; 

 it then constructs a carpet of silk on a twig, and near a bud, 

 upon which it takes up its position for the winter. When thus 

 seen, its reddish brown colour, variegated more or less with 

 green, assimilates so closely with its surroundings that the 

 creature is not easy to detect. In the spring, when it awakens, 

 the green colour increases in extent as the buds open and the 

 leaves unfold ; when they are fully expanded, the caterpillar 

 sits among the foliage towards the tip of a twig, and is then 

 almost entirely green, the reddish brown only showing on the 

 head, slightly on the warts, and more distinctly on the hinder 

 parts which are in touch with the twig. The chrysalis, enclosed 

 in a flimsy silken web among the dead leaves, usually on the 

 ground, is of a delicate green colour, dotted with buff on the 



