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THE GENERA OF BRITISH MOTHS. 
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PLATE X. 
No. 1.—The Gipsy (Hypoyymna Dispar). No. 6.—The Nut-tree Tussock (Demas Coryli). 
No. 2.—The Female of the Gipsy. No. 7.—The Caterpillar of the Nut-tree Tussock. 
No. 3 —The Caterpillar of the Gipsy. No, 8.—The Scarce Vapourer (Orgyia Gonostigma). 
No. 4,—The Light Tussock (Dasychira Pudibunda). No. 9.—The Female of the Scarce Vapourer. 
The) Male. No, 10.—The Caterpillar of the Scarce Vapourer. 
No, 5.—The Caterpillar of the Light Tussock. 
Tur fourth family of our native Moths, according to the arrangement of the collection in the British Museum, is 
that of the Arctiide. The first sub-family of which, in the same system, is termed the Liparidi. One genus of 
this sub-family, Zymantria, was described in Plate IX., before some of the last genera of Bombycide. The present 
Plate contains four other genera of the first sub-family of the Arctiidw. For the sequential arrangement of the 
Arctiidae, see page 28. 
Aypogymna Dispar (the Gipsy, No. 1) is a genus remarkably like Zymantria for the disparity of size in the 
male and female, as the specific name imports. The popular name of the Gipsy was no doubt suggested by the 
brown, tanned kind of colour of the male, which is always much deeper toned, as well as much smaller than the 
female (No.2), the ground colour of which is generally of a yellowish white tinted with buff. The Caterpillar 
(No.3) appears from June to August, and feeds on many different kinds of trees. It is found plentifully in fenny 
districts, but is not generally common; on the Continent, however, it is occasionally a real pest, from its vast 
numbers, stripping the trees of whole districts. There is only one British species. 
The genus Dasychira contains two native species, and belongs to that section of this sub-family, of 
which the Caterpillars are termed Tussocks, from the close, massive tufts of silky hairs emitted from some of the 
anterior segments of the body. 
Dasychira Pudibunda (the Light Tussock, No. 4) is a common but handsome insect, the female being often 
near twice the size of the male. The female differs also from the male in the slender and simple antenne, and 
in the lighter and grayer colour of the wings. The Caterpillar of this species (No.5) is remarkably beautiful, 
being thickly clothed with spreading silky hairs of a delicate straw-colour, the divisions of the segments 
showing folds of deep, velvety black. From several of the anterior segments issues a compact tuft of hairs of 
a deep yellow, so massively packed, and of such equal length, that they appear cut through at the top, which 
exhibits a dense flat surface. There is also a tuft of a dull reddish colour issuing from the twelfth segment, which 
is, however, conical instead of flat at the apex, and points backwards, like a kind of tail. It is from this last 
feature that when occasionally found in considerable numbers in Hop-grownds, it is called the Hop-dog. This 
Caterpillar is found in the autumn, and the perfect insect appears in the following May and June. It is common, 
and very generally distributed. 
Dasychira Fascelina (the Dark Tussock), This species, in the perfect state, is very much like Pudibunda, but 
is generally much darker in colour, and there is not so much difference either in size or colour between the sexes. 
The Caterpillar is very distinct in appearance—the whole of the skin of the body being black, which gives a deep 
tone to the yellow hairs, while the Tussocks, instead of being of a deeper yellow, like those of Pudibunda, are of 
the same deep black as the skin. It feeds on various plants, and is found most frequently in open situations, 
such as heaths, commons, ete. It appears in autumn, and is sometimes found all through the winter ; the Moth 
appearing in the following July. 
