138 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



prepared to express an opinion, as varieties 

 occur in the series of both insects in this 

 respect. 



291. THE CURRANT Puo. The fore wings 

 are broad and rather short, they are rounded 

 at the apex; their colour is dusky grayish 

 brown, with scarcely a tinge of red or fer- 

 ruginous brown ; the discoidal spot is very 

 black and distinct, and transversely elongate ; 

 between the costal and sub-costal rays are 

 several transverse dark markings, and from 

 these, obscure indications of waved transverse 

 lines descend to the inner margin ; parallel 

 with the hind margin is an interrupted 

 series of white markings, terminating in a 

 double white spot, which is very conspicuous ; 

 the hind wings are scarcely paler than the 

 fore wings, and have a decided discoidal spot, 

 and several narrow transverse waved lines, 

 and a white spot at the anal angle ; the head, 

 thorax, and body are of the same colour as 

 the fore wings ; the body has a medio-dorsal 

 row of dark brown spots, and dark brown 

 sides. 



The CATERPILLAR is described by Mr. Crewe 

 as " slender, and tapering slightly towards 

 the head, and about three-quarters of an inch 

 in length. The ground colour is yellowish 

 green ; segments of rings yellow ; the cen- 

 tral dorsal line dark green ; the two side ones 

 of the same colour, but very indistinct ; these 

 latter are studded, in some instances, at in- 

 tervals with black dots. The whole body is 

 thickly sprinkled with small yellowish green 

 tubercles, and very sparingly strewed with 

 short whitish hairs. It strongly resembles a 

 young larva of E. cervinaria. It turns pinkish 

 when ready to spin up; the CHRYSALIS is greenish 

 brown, and enclosed in an earthen cocoon. 

 The caterpillar feeds, towards the middle of 

 October, on the under side of the leaves of the 

 black currant ; mine were taken in October, 

 from the 13th to the 15th. I am inclined to 

 think it is double-brooded. It eats oblong 

 holes in the leaves, by which its presence 

 may be generally detected. In repose it 

 mostly lies along the mid-rib of the leaf. 



''' Var. 1. Of a uniform pale green colour 

 until the last moult ; afterwards it has a chain 



of rusty brown dorsal spots running from tip 

 to tail, and these are intersected and united 

 by a central dorsal line ; the ground colour is 

 dirty yellowish green ; the dorsal spots are 

 confluent on the anterior and posterior seg- 

 ments, and bordered on each side by a dusky 

 line ; the sides are suffused with dusky red- 

 dish brown, and streaked with waved lines of 

 the same colour ; the belly is greenish j the 

 body is covered with small white tubercles, 

 and studded with a few short white hairs ; 

 the segmental divisions are orange ; the head 

 is greenish, marked with black ; it feeds on 

 the black currant and wild hops in September 

 and October. 



" Var. 2. The ground colour is pinkish ; 

 the back and belly are tinged with green; 

 the central dorsal line is dark green, having 

 on each of the middle segments a black dot on 

 either side ; the segmental divisions are red- 

 dish ; the body is thickly studded with minute 

 white tubercles, and less thickly with short 

 whitish hairs. Head green, transparent, 

 marked with black. I found this caterpillar 

 on the black currant in September, 1859 ; 

 and this spring, as I expected, it produced 

 E. assimilata." 



The MOTH appears on the wing in May and 

 August; its geographical range in this country 

 has not been ascertained. (The scientific 

 name is Eupithecia assimilata.) 



Obs. I am quite unable to write any 

 character of this little moth, by which I can 

 satisfactorily distinguish it from Itlwpithecia, 

 absynthiata, but I think Guen6e is right in 

 stating that the fore wings are generally 

 broader and more rounded at the tip ; the 

 discoidal spot is very long and very dark, and 

 is followed by five or six very delicate gray 

 marks, which, however, are not entirely 

 absent in E. absynthiata. The series of 

 white spots near the hind margin is more 

 clearly defined and distinct, and the double 

 transverse white spot at the anal angle more 

 conspicuous ; the hind wings have a similar 

 white spot at the anal angle ; the fringe is 

 slightly interrupted : in all other characters 

 the moth resembles E. absynthiata. 



292. THE SLENIXER PUG. The fore 



