256 



FOREST ENTOMOLOGY. 



The male moths (fig. 245 a) have a wing span of about 1 to 1| inch. 

 The fore wings are of a light brown-grey colour, and marked by sev- 

 eral faint transverse bands or bars. The hind wings are a pale greyish- 

 white colour. The antenna? are simple, and the body very slender. 



The abortive wings and body of the female are of an ashy-grey 

 colour. The fore wings are brightened by irregular white markings. 

 The colour harmonises very beautifully with the lichen covering the 

 bark of the trees, on which it may be found. The abdomen is very 

 large in proportion to the thorax, and thus the creature when at rest 

 may, as Miss Ormerod remarks, be mistaken for a spider. 



I have not found the eggs on the trees, but have examined them 





Fig. 244. Foliage of sycamore eaten by larvce of 

 Winter Moth. 



Fig. 245.- Winter Moth (natural sine). 

 a, male; b, female; c, caterpillar. 

 (From ' The Forester,' by J. Nisbet.) 



when deposited in confinement. At first they are a light-green colour, 

 and later on they change to a beautiful light-orange. Prior to hatch- 

 ing they are a dark-green colour, from the colour of the encased cater- 

 pillar, and after hatching the empty shells are glassy and transparent. 

 The approximate measurement would be about -g^th of an inch in 

 length, oval, blunt at both ends, and beautifully pitted over the sur- 

 face. The hatching-cases were placed in a cool shed, and the eggs 

 hatched very irregularly. The first larvae were recognised on Febru- 

 ary 10, 1905, and a few appeared every week until the beginning of 

 April, when the bulk then hatched out. At first the larvae are of a 

 dirty-green colour, with dark heads. When full fed they are about 

 an inch in length, green, with a dark dorsal line, and three yellow 

 stripes along each side, and a dark-brown head. 



