NOCTUAS. 



243 



and is by no means uncommon in our Eng- 

 lish counties, and Mr. Birchall says it is 

 common in Ireland. (The scientific name 

 is Cymatophora flavicornis.) 



420. The Frosted Green (Cymatophora ridens), 



420. THE FROSTED GREEN. The an- 

 tennae are dull yellow, rather stout, and, in 

 the male, strongly ciliated ; the fore wings 

 are rather narrow, and have a very straight 

 costa ; their prevailing colour is gray-green, 

 there being abroad transverse median band 

 darker, a basal area paler, and a bar beyond 

 the median band also paler : the hind 

 margin is darker, and the fringe spotted 

 alternately pale and dark : this distribution 

 of colour is inconstant, and every part of 

 the wing is ornamented with transverse 

 markings ; the hind wings are whitish- gray, 

 with brown wing-rays, and a smoky cloud 

 on the hind margin, especially towards the 

 tip : the head and thorax are beautifully 

 mottled with the colours of the fore wings ; 

 the body is rather stout and of the colour 

 of the hind wings. 



The EGGS are laid on the twigs of oak 

 (Querous robur) in April, and the young 

 CATERPILLARS emerge in the beginning of 

 June, and spin for themselves little domi- 

 ciles for concealment or protection ; this is 

 generally effected by curling the edge of a 

 young arid tender oak -leaf, and securing it 

 in that position by a few silken threads : it 

 continues to conceal itself in this manner 

 for several weeks, and appears to be full-fed 

 by the middle of July. I took a great 

 number on the 8th of July, 1864, beating 

 them from the oaks in Birchwood. They 

 fell into the umbrella without any covering ; 

 but, immediately it had the opportunity, 

 each caterpillar constructed a domicile for 

 itself, generally fastening together two oak 

 leaves face to face, and allowing them to 

 remain perfectly flat ; but, in some instances, 



I found that a caterpillar had bent the tip 

 of an oak-leaf backwards, and fastened it 

 in this position in the manner always prac- 

 tised by the recently -emerged caterpillar : 

 in either case the domicile was perfectly 

 closed all round with silken threads : in this 

 retreat it rests on its ventral surface during 

 the day, having the head always turned on 

 one side, and the thirteenth segment, with 

 its claspers, tucked in under the preceding 

 segment. I have never seen one feeding 

 by day ; at night it makes an opening in 

 its dwelling-place, and devours the leaves 

 within its reach, but never those of which 

 its dwelling is constructed: sometimes a 

 caterpillar would appear to be very circum- 

 spect in what might be called keeping its 

 seat during temporary absence, the anal 

 claspers adhering to the entrance of its 

 retreat, while the body was stretched about 

 iu all directions : at other times it would 

 come completely out and wander at random 

 among the dwelling-places of its brethren ; 

 in such cases, 'it seems to lack the unerring 

 instinct of the bee in returning to its own 

 hive, for I have more than once seen two 

 caterpillars contending for the same retreat : 

 in these contests one of the combatants often 

 receives an unpleasant gripe, and its pale 

 green blood issuing from the wound, seems 

 to impart cannibalistic propensities to the 

 aggressor, for in these civil wars several 

 caterpillars were destroyed and partially 

 eaten. The head of the full-grown cater- 

 pillar is exserted, it is quite as wide as the 

 second segment, having very gibbose cheeks 

 and a notch on the crown : the body is very 

 flaccid and wrinkled, both transversely and 

 longitudinally, the latter more especially 

 along the sides : the divisions of the seg- 

 ments are sufficiently obvious : a number 

 of small but obvious warts occur on the 

 body ; the second segment is without these 

 warts ; the third and fourth have ten each ; 

 the rest, as far as the tenth, have eighteen 

 warts each ; six of these are arranged in a 

 transverse series, reaching from spiracle to 

 spiracle; two, not invariably present, are 

 behind these ; and five others are situated 

 on each side below the spiracle. The colour 

 of the head is wainscot-brown, reticulated 

 with dingy- white ; the colour is paler about 



