314 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



519. The Rustic (Caradrina blanda). 



519. THE RUSTIC. The palpi are slightly 

 porrected, curved upwards, and distant ; the 

 antennae are almost simple in the male, quite 

 so in the female : the wings are straight on 

 the costa and blunt at the tip ; their colour is 

 gray-brown with a slight rosy tinge, and 

 powdered with white scales ; the discoidal 

 spots are darker than the ground colour, very 

 distinct, and very regularly outlined with 

 pale brown ; there are two transverse lines 

 of a darker tint, the first inside the orbicular, 

 the second outside the reniform, and broken 

 up into dots ; between these two is a trans- 

 verse median shade or obscure band ; parallel 

 with the hind margin is a pale whitish line 

 with a dark brown interior border : the hind 

 wings are gray-brown, and slightly iridescent; 

 the head and thorn x are of the same colour as 

 the fore wings, the body of the same colour 

 as the hind wings. 



Mr. Harpur Crewe has given the following 

 careful description of the CATERPILLAR in the 

 Zoologist for August, 1861 : "When quite 

 young this caterpillar is not distinguishable 

 from that of C. Alsines, but after a few moults 

 they may be separated with the greatest ease. 

 Before last moult : ground colour, reddish- 

 gray, or buff'. Down the centre of the back 

 a series of fig or mush room -shaped dusky 

 blotches, intersected by a whitish central line 

 edged with black on the lower side ; space 

 between sub-dorsal lines and spiracles dusky; 

 spiracles and spiracular line black, the lower 

 edge of the latter buff; dorsal, sub-dorsal, 

 and spiracular lines studded with very small 

 scarcely perceptible tubercles, each surmounted 

 by a whitish hair ; head buff ; belly destitute 

 of markings. After last moult : groundcolour, 

 yellowish buff, or drab; back slightly marbled 



with black ; central dorsal line yellowieh, 

 edged with black, and entirely black at the 

 centre of each segmental division ; sub-dorsal 

 lines very slender and faint, black or dusky- 

 brown ; immediately below the latter a broad, 

 distinct, dusky line ; spiracular line black- 

 ish ; spiracles black, in a white ring ; space be- 

 tween sub-dorsal and spiracular lines dusky ; 

 belly greenish-yellow; tubercles and tubercu- 

 lar hairs as before. These caterpillars were 

 hatched in September from eggs laid in 

 August, and fed all through the winter on 

 chick weed (Alsine media), being full-fed in 

 April. CHRYSALIS bright red, similar to that 

 of C. Alsines, enclosed in a tightly spun earthen 

 cocoon." 



The MOTH appears on the wing in June and 

 July, and is not uncommon in our English 

 counties, and extends northwards even into 

 Scotland. Mr. Birchall informs us it is com- 

 mon in most parts of Ireland. (The scientific 

 name is Caradrina blanda.) 



Obs. Few entomologists distinguish ac- 

 curately between this and the preceding, and, 

 therefore, the published localities for the two 

 species are not trustworthy : they are ex- 

 ceedingly similar, the principal distinction 

 being in the tint of colour, Alsines having a 

 tendency to ochreous, blanda to obscure purple 

 and rosy : nevertheless, there can be no doubt 

 as to their distinctness, the caterpillars being 

 so different. 



520. The Pale Mottled Willow (Caradrina 

 c-ubicularis) . 



520. THE PALE MOTTLED WILLOW. The 

 palpi are porrected, slightly ascending, and 

 rather distant ; the antennae are simple in 

 both sexes ; the fore wings are straight on the 

 costa, and blunt at the tip ; their colour is that 

 of putty, sometimes slightly approaching to 



