48 



milTISH MOTHS. 



side of each of the three segments nearest the 

 head, is another short, raised, white stripe : 

 the twelfth segment has a hump on the back 

 ending in a short, blunt, white horn, which 

 !;as a delicate white line behind ; from this 

 horn descends a short white stripe, and below 

 the spiracle on the same segment is another 

 white stripe, bordered above with black. This 

 caterpillar feeds only on the birch throughout 

 May and June ; it then descends the tree, 



and spins a loose dark-brown cocoon among 

 fallen leaves on the surface of the earth, and 

 then changes to a dark-brown chrysalis, which 

 is covered with a delicate bloom. The Moth 

 appears the following March and April, the 

 males flying very swiftly in the middle of the 

 day, the females sitting quietly on the twigs 

 of the birch. (The scientific name is En- 

 dromis versicolor.) 



102. The Emperor Moth 



1.05?. THE EMPEROR MOTH. Brown bloom. 

 Fore wings of the male beautifully variegated 

 with shades of brown, red, and grey ; hind 

 v/ings deep orange, also variegated with 

 browii ; all the wings of the female pearly- 

 grey, variegated as in the male. In both sexes 

 all tue wings are adorned with a large and 

 beauwfui eye-like mark in the centre. This 

 eye has an ample black centre, surrounded 

 with a narrow buff-coloured ring ; that por- 

 tion of this buff-coloured ring which is nearest 

 the base of the wing is bordered with crim- 

 son, and the crimson with a delicately violet- 

 coloured crescent, the whole eye being set in 

 a black frame or ring. This beautiful Moth 



(Male) (Skuumia cwpini). 



has many other ornamental markings : but 

 those now described are quite sufficient to 

 distinguish it from any other Moth found in 

 Great Britain. The caterpillar is of the most 

 delicate green colour the segments being very 

 distinct, and each being adorned with pink tu- 

 bercles, each surrounded by a black ring, and 

 emitting a few short black bristles. It feeds in 

 August and September, on willow, blackthorn, 

 heath, and a number of other plants, and 

 before winter spins a brown pearl shaped co- 

 coon, open at one end, amongst its food. The 

 Moth appears in April. (The scientific name 

 is Saturnia carpini.) 



The Emperor Moth (Female). 



