126 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



hamshire. (The scientiBc name is Eupithecia 

 arceuthata). 



1st Obs. Staudinger, in his catalogue of 

 European Lepidoptera, unites Eupithecia ar- 

 ceuthata of Freyer with E.helveticata of Bois- 

 duval : this opinion is shared by many ento- 

 mologists; but as the caterpillars seem so 

 distinct, it is desirable to keep them separate. 



2nd Obs. It appears to be a most variable 

 species some specimens having the discoidal 

 spot very large, while in others it is scarcely 

 perceptible. 



270. THE SATYR PUG. The fore wings 

 are long, and rather pointed : they are of a 

 brownish smoky gray colour, with numerous 

 paler waved transverse lines ; one of these 

 near the hind margin is paler and much more 

 distinct, although less continuous than the 

 rest, being broken Tip or divided into whitish 

 spots, which sometimes form a zigzag series ; 

 one of these spots near the anal angle is larger 

 and more conspicuous than the rest : there is 

 an evident, but not very conspicuous, dis- 

 coidal spot, and the wing-rays in perfect speci- 

 mens are dotted with dark smoke-colour : the 

 hind wings are obscure smoky gray, with in- 

 dications of transverse waved lines, and are 

 perceptibly darker towards the hind margin ; 

 the head, thorax, and body are of the same 

 colour as the fore wings. 



Var. 1. Three varieties of the CATERPIL- 

 LAR are thus described by Mr. Crewe : 

 "Ground-colour, pale yellowish green, with 

 the segmental divisions yellow; the central 

 dorsal line is dusky green. Down the centre 

 of the back is a series of Y-shaped dusky green 

 blotches, edged with purplish brown, and be- 

 coming confluent or merged in the central line, 

 on the anterior and posterior segments ; the 

 eubdorsal lines are very slender and indis- 

 tinct, and of a dusky green colour ; the spira- 

 cular line is yellow. Between the subdorsal 

 and spiracular lines is a row of small slanting 

 purplish blotches; the back is studded with 

 very minute yellowish tubercles. 



Var. 2. The back is greenish white ; the 

 central dorsal line pinkish or rose-colour ; the 

 subdorsal lines the same. Down the centre of 

 the back is a series of large rose-coloured and 



rusty red goblet-shaped blotches, becoming 

 faint or merged in the central line on the an- 

 terior and posterior segments; the spiracular 

 line is waved and rose-coloured ; the subdor- 

 aal and spiracular lines connected by a num- 

 ber of slanting rose-coloured streaks ; the 

 belly is pale sea-green, or greenish white, 

 with a central white line ; the back is studded 

 with numerous small white tubercles. 



Var. 3. The whole of the back is suffused 

 with rose-colour ; the subdorsal lines are yel- 

 lowish ; the dorsal blotches are edged with 

 yellow. The spiracular line is interrupted 

 with yellow patches; the belly is greenish 

 white; the ventral segmental divisions are 

 white. 



This caterpillar tapers considerably towards 

 the hed ; it is very local, but occurs in 

 plenty in some parts of Buckinghamshire, 

 where, however, it is confined to the open 

 spaces between and near the beech woods. It 

 feeds upon the petals of almost any flower 

 which happens to grow in the locality, e.g., 

 Centaurea nigra, Knautia arvensis, Gentiana 

 amarella, and G. campestris, Apargia hispida, 

 Origanum vulgare, Prunella vulgaris, Galium 

 mollugo, &c., preferring the two first-named. 

 It is full-fed in September. The CHRYSALIS, 

 which is enclosed in an earthen cocoon, has 

 the thorax and wing-cases golden yellow, 

 suffused with red. The divisions of the seg- 

 ments and the tip of the body are red." 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June, and 

 occurs plentifully in Buckinghamshire, and is 

 said to have been found in the north of England 

 and in Scotland. Mr. Birchall says that it is 

 generally distributed and common in Ireland. 

 (The scientific name is Eupithecia satyrata.) 



271. THE PAUPER PUG. Fore wings lead- 

 coloured, with darker transverse lines, four of 

 these are equidistant, and near the base of the 

 wing a fifth originates on the inner margin, 

 and terminates in the discoidal spot, which is 

 very distinct : beyond this is a double line 

 twice elbowed, and again beyond this a 

 single line ; the hind-marginal area is inter- 

 sected by a zigzag whitish line ; the extreme 

 margin of the wing is delicately edged with 

 black, and the basal half of the fringe is 



