CUSPIDATES. 



227 



401. The Scarce Prominent (Notodonta Carmelita). 



401. THE SCARCE PROMINENT. The 

 palpi are very small and inconspicuous ; 

 the antennae are slightly pectinated in the 

 male, quite simple in the female : the fore 

 wings have the costa nearly straight, the 

 tip pointed ; the hind margin very slightly 

 scalloped, the inner margin with a small 

 median projection ; their colour is pale 

 purplish-brown throughout the costal area, 

 shading to purplish-gray throughout the 

 inner-marginal area ; on the costa itself is 

 a very conspicuous crescentic white spot at 

 one-third of the distance between the tip 

 and the base ; and half way between this 

 and the base is a small and insignificant 

 whitish spot, sometimes scarcely percepti- 

 ble ; two transverse series of triple spots 

 cross the disk of the wing ; these are seated 

 on the wing-rays, and each is composed of 

 a whitish dot, accompanied by a darker 

 dot on each side ; the fringe is alternately 

 brown and whitish, and the extreme margin 

 within the fringe is indicated by a scalloped 

 brown line : the hind wings are purplish- 

 gray, with a darker cloud at the anal angle 

 and a spotted fringe : the head and thorax 

 are purple-brown, the latter with a whitish 

 blotch at the base of the body, which is 

 uniformly brown. 



The head of the CATERPILLAR is pale 

 semi-transparent green, with two approxi- 

 mate longitudinal yellow lines on the face, 

 separated only by the usual suture ; the 

 dorsal surface of the body is apple-green, 

 with raised pale yellow markings variously 

 situated ; there is a bright stripe along each 

 side, being a dilated skinfold, and includ- 

 ing the spiracles, which are black ; this 

 stripe is of three colours, white, yellow, and 

 pinkish-red, the colours being clearly de- 

 fined ; it commences immediately behind 

 the head, and extends the entire length of 



the caterpillar, passing below the anal flap ; 

 the belly, legs, and claspers are glaucous- 

 green. It feeds on birch (Betula alba), and 

 is full-fed in June or July, when it buries 

 itself in the earth and changes to a CHRYS- 

 ALIS. 



The MOTH usually appears in April, some- 

 times in March. It has been taken at 

 Birchwood, in Kent, West Wickham, in 

 Surrey, Hurstpierpoint, in Sussex, Epping, 

 in Essex, and Cockermouth, in Cumber- 

 land. (The scientific name is Notodonta 

 Carmelita.) 



402. The White Prominent (Notodonta bicolor). 



402. THE WHITE PROMINENT. The an- 

 tennas are slightly pectinated in the male, 

 quite simple in the female : the fore wings 

 have the costal margin very slightly arched, 

 the tip obtuse, and the inner margin has a 

 slight angle or notch about the middle ; 

 their colour is white with two oblique 

 trans-v^rse series of black spots, one before, 

 the other beyond the middle of the wing : 

 neither extremity of the first series quite 

 reaches the costal or the inner margin ; it 

 is accompanied on its outer side by two 

 orange blotches, the upper of which is 

 double and very short, the lower is also 

 double at the end nearest the body, but is 

 prolonged almost to the anal angle, crossing 

 the second transverse series of black spots : 

 the hind wings are light and spotless ; the 

 head, thorax, and body are white ; the last 

 is sometimes tinged with fawn-colour. 



Hubner figures the CATERPILLAR in a 

 nearly straight position : the head narrower 

 than the second segment, and rather por- 

 rected ; the body almost uniformly cylin- 

 drical, the divisions of the segments being 

 conspicuously marked. The colour of both 

 head and body is green, rather approaching 

 to olive-green, and adorned with a bright 

 yellow stripe on each side, commencing im- 



