WOOD-BOEEES. 



19 



ing on its work of devastation out of sight, 

 lias escaped the notice of superficial observers ; 

 before changing to a chrysalis it spins a very 

 large tough cocoon, composed of silk mixed 



with fragments of gnawed wood. This cater- 

 pillar is the Cossus of Pliny and the lloman 

 epicures. (The scientific name is Cossus Hy- 

 niperda.) 



FAMILY IV. THE HEPIALID^E. 



3;l. The Gold Swift (llepialus hectui). 



31. The Common Swift (Hepiulus lupuUiuts). 



3 3. The Wood Swift (Hepialus sylcinus). 



36. The Northern Swift (Hejrialus Vall 



37. The Ghost Swift (llepialus /tumuli'). 



THE FOURTH FAMILY of Moths (Hepialida) 



contains but five British species, most of them 

 distinguished by their rapid flight, and hence 

 called SWIFTS. They are all remarkable for 

 the very short and simple antennae, a charac- 

 ter that will be made very obvious from our 

 figures. 



33. The Gold Swift (Jlep'utltis Jieclns). 



33. THE GOLD SWIFT. Fore wings tawny, 

 with two oblique rows of silvery white spots, 

 the outer interrupted, angled, and irregular ; 

 hind wings smoke-coloured, with pale fringe ; 

 head, thorax, and body fulvous brown : the 

 female has the markings on the fore wings 

 very indistinct. Caterpillar dirty white ; feeds 

 on the roots of plants in hedges and woods. 

 The Moth flies directly after the sun is set, 

 and with a restless sportive kind of flight, as 

 though for pleasure, and not with that steady 

 business-like air which a moth assumes when 

 going to suck the honey of flowers or in search 

 of its mate. The caterpillar feeds in the 

 winter and spring, turns to a chrysalis in 

 May and the Moth flies at Midsummer. (The 

 scientific name is Hepwdu* hectus.) 



34. THE COMMON SWIFT. This common 

 insect is so extremely variable in colour that 

 it is almost impossible to write such a descrip- 

 tion as shall agree with half-a-dozen specimens 

 taken consecutively. Fore wings brown, with 

 a row of irregular whitish spots, which runs 



from the. tip to the middle of the inner mar- 

 gin, and then turns inwards towards the base ; 

 hind wings smoke-coloured, with pale fringes : 



34. The Common Swift (Hep lulus lupullnus). 



such is the more general appearance of the 

 male. The female has scarcely any variety 

 of colour, the fore wings being dingy brown, 

 the hind wings smoke-coloured ; head, tho- 

 rax, and body, dingy brown. Caterpillar 

 dirty white, with dark plates on the .seg- 

 ments nearest the head : it feeds on roots of 

 the dead nettles (Ballota fvetida, Lamium 

 album, &c.) throughout the winter ; changes 

 to a chrysalis in May, and the Moth appears 

 in June, darting swiftly about every hedgerow. 

 (The scientific name is llepialus lupnlinus.} 



35. The Wood Swift (Jfepialus syh-im/s). 



3-5. THE WOOD SWIFT. Fore wings tawny, 

 with a rather obscure whitish line running from 

 near the tip to near the middle of the inner 

 margin, and then turning inwards towards the 

 base of the wing ; these white marks arc bor- 

 dered with dark brown, and within the trian- 

 gle formed bv these marks is a very obvious 



