378 



BUITISH MOTHS. 



with a darker tint of the same. The dorsal 

 stripe is dirty whitibli, edged with hlack, and 

 is on the third and fourth segments con- 

 tinuous but contracted and expanded, while 

 on the others it is only visible, and expanded 

 towards the end of each segment, excepting 

 the twelfth and thirteenth, where it is 

 widened into a broad blotch, extending to the 

 sub-dorsal region, and strongly margined with 

 black ; from its base on the middle segments 

 is a brownish-gray streak on either side, 

 curved obliquely forward to the middle of the 

 sub-dorsal line. The tubercular dots are 

 whitish, delicately ringed with black, and 

 with minute black centres, each with a short 

 and very fine hair. The sub-dorsal line is a 

 very thin thread of dirty whitish, delicately 

 and interruptedly edged with black ; the space 

 between it and the spiracular region is grayish- 

 brown, darker than the back, and having a 

 paler bloi.sh in the middle of each segment. 

 The spiracular stripe is a pale freckled 

 brownish-gray, edged above by a bl*ck line ; 

 the spiracles dirty whitish, outlined with 

 gray, and inconspicuous. The belly and legs 

 are a slightly mottled greenish-gray. Of the 

 CHRYSALIS, Mr. Greene says : " I took forty- 

 seven in 1855, in 1856 I only met with 

 eight. It is, perhaps, the most difficult of all 

 chrysalids to find, and when found the most 

 liable to be injured. The following directions 

 may be found useful : They are to be sought 

 for at roots of ash ; trees of good growth need 

 only to be tried ; those on the borders of 

 streams and damp ditches will be found most 

 productive. This insect forms a hard egg- 

 shaped cocoon. Turn up the loose dry earth, 

 rubbish, or moss, about or adhering to that 

 side of the tree which faces the stream, and 

 crumble it very carefully with the hand ; 

 should you see something resembling a cocoon 

 of a dark muddy c< >lour, take it up and try 

 whether you have obtained a prize ; but in 

 this trying lies the danger. Though hard, the 

 cocoon is extremely brittle, and almost the 

 slightest pressure crushes it. The best way, 

 therefore, when you think you have a cocoon, 

 is to pare one end with a pen-knife as gently 

 as possible ; if, after scraping it in thio man- 



ner, you find it is a cocoon, you have found 

 Xerampdina, and may congratulate yourself. 

 You may look for it as early as the beginning 

 of August, certainly not later than the first 

 week of September. I may add that Mr. 

 Doubleday informs me that the caterpillar 

 feeds on the seeds of ash-trees. Subsequent 

 experience leads me somewhat to modify the 

 above. I find it is by no means the fact that 

 the chrysalis case is always brittle. It cer- 

 tainly was so in Suffolk ; this may have been 

 due to the soil. In Hampshire and Derby- 

 shire, however, where I have taken it not 

 uncommonly, the cocoon is soft and leathery. 

 I am decidedly wrong in giving September as 

 one of the months in which to find it : this is 

 much too late. This insect, Croceago, and, I 

 believe, all the species of the genus Xanthia, 

 are full-fed in June. I can speak from actual 

 knowledge of all except Croceago and Aurago; 

 but they do not turn to the chrysalis state for 

 four or five weeks. This presents a double 

 difficulty to the digger : first, that of hitting 

 the precise time when to dig, and secondly, 

 the great danger of injuring the caterpillar if 

 not turned, or the chrysalis if only just turned. 

 As a rule I should recommend the last week 

 in July as the time in which to begin. 

 You may go on till the middle and end of 

 August, about which time, if fortunate, you 

 may sometimes see the insect itself, drying its 

 wings on the trunks of the trees, about a foot 

 from the ground. This takes place generally 

 from about two to four p.m. Subsequent 

 experience, however, by no means leads me to 

 altrr my opinion as to the difficulty of finding 

 the chrysalis. I must acknowledge that it is 

 hard, and sometimes disheartening work, but 

 you are repaid when yu see a magnificent 

 fellow drying his wings in the breeding cage : 

 some of the caterpillars barely enter the earth, 

 and the most likely place for the chrysalis is 

 among the loose rubbish, composed of bits of 

 stick, dry roots, &c., collected round the 

 trunks. All this should be most carefully 

 and completely separated and examined. 1 

 may remark here that the chrysalis of all these 

 species most closely resemble each other, and 

 it has often been a marvel to me how such 



