104 



BKITISH MOTHS. 



coloured than those of the male, and have 

 two brown transverse bars on each ; the 

 body is orange-brown with two dark brown 

 spots on each segment. 



The CATERPILLAR has been described by 

 Mr. Hornby : when first hatched it is of a 

 deep yellow colour, which grows gradually 

 darker until it becomes nearly black, ex- 

 cepting a medio-dorsal yellow stripe : when 

 full-fed it is dusky greenish-black, with a 

 light-brown medio-dorsal stripe ; it feeds 

 chiefly by night on the leaves of the white- 

 thorn, and also occasionally on birch and 

 oak, and spins a slight cocoon on the sur- 

 face of the earth before changing to a 

 CHRYSALIS, which is of a reddish-brown 

 colour, with a dark medio-dorsal stripe. It 

 is to be found in May and June. 



The MOTH appears on the wing in Octo- 

 ber and November, and is not uncommon 

 in most of our English counties. Mr. 

 Birchall says it is common in Ireland. (The 

 scientific name is Hybernia aurantiaria.) 



234. The Dotted Border (Hybernia progemmaria). 



234. THE DOTTED BORDER. The an- 

 tennae of the male are slightly pectinated, 

 of the female quite simple ; the wings of 

 the male are ample, those of the female 

 very short and incapable of flight ; the fore 

 wings of the male are pale reddish-brown, 

 with three transverse darker lines ; the 

 first and second of these are very short, 

 and near the base of the wing ; the third 

 is much longer, more oblique, and bent to- 

 wards the hind margin, at a third of the 

 distance from the costa ; beyond this the 

 ground colour of the wing is darker, and 

 between the second and third lines is a 

 dark, transversely -linear spot ; on the hind 

 margin, but within the fringe, is a series of 

 distinct dark dots ; the hind wings are pale, 

 with a dark central spot, and a waved line 

 outside the spot; the short wings of the 



female are pale brown, with two darker 

 bars across the fore, and one across the 

 hind wings. 



The CATERPILLAR is full-grown in May, 

 when it rests in nearly a straight position, 

 generally holding to its food-plant by both 

 feet and claspers ; the head is semi-porrect, 

 and broader than the body ; the body is 

 of uniform substance throughout, without 

 prominent warts or excrescences, but each 

 segment bears a few scattered bristles, each 

 bristle seated on an extremely minute wart ; 

 the colour of the head is generally brown, 

 sometimes inclined to yellow; it has two 

 indistinct paler bars across the face; the 

 colour of the body is extremely various, 

 but the prevailing shade always brown ; 

 the middle of the back generally paler, and 

 forming a broad stripe ; on each side is also 

 a pale stripe, which includes the black and 

 shining spiracles ; this stripe is generally 

 continuous, but sometimes divided, and then 

 forms a series of pale spots. I have found 

 these caterpillars in great abundance feed- 

 ing on hornbeam in Epping Forest. They 

 turn to CHRYSALIS just below the surface of 

 the earth between the 24th of May and 

 1st June ; the chrysalis is brown and 

 shining. 



The MOTH does not appear on the wing 

 until the following February and March. It 

 is common in Great Britain and Ireland. 

 (The scientific name is Hybernia progem- 

 maria.) 



235. The Mottled Umber (Hybernia defoliaria) male, 

 variety of male, and female. 



235. THE MOTTLED UMBER. The an- 

 tennae are pectinated in the male, simple in 

 the female ; the wings are ample in the 

 male, of a pale wainscot-brown colour, with 

 two dark brown bands ; the first of these 

 is short, crescent-shaped, and near the base 



