40 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



has a single tuft of long black hairs ; and the 

 thirteenth segment three such tufts, all point- 

 ing backwards. It feeds on nut and oak, spins 

 a web on the stems of the trees, and turns to 

 a hairy chrysalis. The female never leaves the 

 web ; the male Moth appears on the wing in 

 July, and is not common. (The scientific 

 name is Oryyia gonostigma.) 



Male. Female. 



88. The Common Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua). 



88. THE COMMON VAPOUREB. All the 

 wings of the male bright chestnut-brown, the 

 fore wings having darker transverse markings, 

 and a white, rather crescent-shaped, mark in 

 the anal angle : head, thorax, and body brown. 

 The female is without wings, but is covered 

 with grey down. The caterpillar is parti- 

 coloured brown, grey, and pink ; different 

 specimens are of different colours ; the fifth, 

 sixth, seventh, and eighth segments have each 

 a tuft or brush of yellowish hairs on the 

 back ; the second segment has two long- 

 slender black tufts, pointing forwards over 

 the head, and the twelfth segment has one 

 slender tuft pointing backwards. It feeds on 

 every tree or shrub in the garden. It spins 

 a web on walls, trunks of trees, and other 

 exposed places, and, in this, changes to a 

 hairy chrysalis. When the female comee out, 

 she crawls on the web, and never leaves it, 

 laying her eggs all over it. It is a very 

 curious thing, and I believe hitherto unob- 

 served, and therefore unpublished, that these 

 eggs do not hatch all together like those of 

 Moths in general, but come out a few at a 



time, over a period of ten weeks, so that the 

 caterpillar, chrysalis, and Moths are all found 

 together throughout the summer and autumn. 

 Quartermaster-sergeant M'Laren, of Warley 

 Barracks, a most excellent observer, first 

 called my attention to this interesting fact. 

 The caterpillar is to be seen in abundance in 

 all the squares of London, and the male Moth 

 may be observed also daily dashing about the 

 streets, even in the hottest sunshine. (The 

 scientific name is Orgyia antiqua.) 



89. The Nut-tree Tussock (Demas Coryli}. 



89. THE NUT-TREE TUSSOCK. Fore wings 

 with the outer half grey, the inner half 

 darker grey, and marked with still claiker 

 waved transverse lines ; at the very base, the 

 wings arc slightly paler ; in very fine speci- 

 mens, there is a small dark ring near the 

 middle ; hind wings pale-brown, and without 

 markings ; thorax grey, with two longitudinal 

 dark lines down the middle, and three trans- 

 verse dark lines on each side ; body grey- 

 brown. The caterpillar is dingy-white, some- 

 times tinged with rosy-br,own ; it has a broad 

 dark stripe down the middle of the back, 

 and a tuft or brush of brown hairs on the 

 fourth, fifth, and twelfth segments. I have 

 found it only on the nut and beech, but 

 continental authors describe it as feeding on 

 a number of different trees ; it spins a slight 

 web under moss at the roots of trees. The 

 chrysalis is hairy, and may be found under 

 the moss about the roots of beech trees. 

 The Moth appears in June, and is far from 

 common. (The scientific name is Demas 

 Conjli.} 



