196 OTHER DENIZENS OF THE WOODS 



followed by two together, then by three in a rank, then by four in a rank, and so 

 on. When changing into pupae, the whole company spins for itself a mass of 

 cocoons, from which the moths emerge in August. The hairs of the larvae have 

 barbed hooks, and can apparently be shaken off at will, to adhere to other objects, 

 and inflame the skin of men and animals by causing a burning irritation. Another 

 species of procession moth (G. pinivora) is restricted to firs. The larvae are sharply 

 keeled across the forehead and have triangular black spots on the back. They 

 move only in single file, one after another, often assembling on the sand, in which 

 they form regular tracks. 



The puss moth {Centra vinula) is remarkable for the form of its 

 larva, which at first is blackish, then green, with a dark brown saddle 

 on the white-bordered back, two long tail-points, and a red-edged, dark-eyed face. 

 The moth, which is 3 inches across, and found practically all over Europe, 

 derives its name from its delicately white-furred body, and is distinguished by 

 greyish white black-veined fore-wings, wdth dentated lines and spotted edges, but 

 mainly by its abdomen, which is striped at the sides, with a chain line down the middle. 



From July to September, on oaks, birches, limes, alders, and 

 hazels, is found the caterpillar of the lobster moth (Stauropu8 fagi), 

 resembling at first glance a crumpled beech-leaf and strangely unlike that of any 

 other species. It has fourteen legs, of which the first six are very long ; the three 

 middle segments carry humps, and there are two anal projections, which, with the 

 lobster-shaped head, are raised up whenever this strange larva is alarmed or 

 attacked. The larva eventually develops into a rather widely distributed moth, in- 

 habiting all parts of Europe, although seldom in large numbers, in June and July. 

 The fore-wings are brownish grey, reddish towards the inner margin, with a black dot 

 at the base, and a wavy dentated yellowish stripe ; the wing-spread being 2 A inches. 



The next group of moths we have to mention are the Geometrce, 



Magpie Moth. ■> . » 



frequently called spanners and loopers, from the peculiar mode of 



locomotion affected by their caterpillars. The moths have small heads and slender 



bodies, while their larvae are usually provided with only ten, rarely twelve to 



fourteen, legs. The larvae " measure the earth " (geo-metrce) as they progress in a 



series of loops due to the want of legs in the middle. These larvae are often coloured 



like their surroundings, and when frightened hold on only by the hind-part, 



stretching the body at an oblique angle from the branch on which they happen 



to be crawling so as to resemble the butt-end of a broken twig. 



One of the commonest of this group is the magpie moth (Abraxas grossu- 



lariata), which ranges over most of Europe and northern Asia. The larva is 



whitish with an orange stripe along the spiracles, and rows of black spots on 



the sides and back, and feeds on currant and gooseberry bushes, sloes, thorns, 



and plum-trees, and of late years has betaken itself largely to the now common 



evergreen Euonymus japonicus. The moth is white, spotted with black, the front 



wings having a yellow base and a narrow yellow bar between the black blotches 



near the tip, and the body being yellow T and black. 



Mottled umber Another voracious species, the mottled umber moth (Hibemia 



Moth - defoliaria), occurs in nearly the whole of Europe with great frequency. 



Its caterpillar is reddish brown, with sulphur-coloured sides, and a small brown 



