44 



BEITISH MOTHS. 



grown it is very large, and rolls in a ring when 

 touched : its ground colour is velvety black 



but densely covered with short down of an 

 amber-brown colour, interspersed with longer 



The Oak Eggar (Female). 



hairs, so that the black scarcely shows itself, 

 except when the caterpillar rolls itself up, and 

 then a black ring becomes visible between each 

 two segments ; two thin tufts of longer and 

 paler hairs spring from the sides of each seg- 

 ment, and point outwards : on each side of 

 the third and fourth segments is a crescent- 

 shaped white mark ; a row of dotted white 

 markings forms an interrupted white line 

 along each side ; the spiracles are also white, 

 and there is a row of white marks clown the 

 very middle of the back, one on the hind 



part of each of the velvety black bands, 

 which is shown when the animal is rolled up 

 or crawling. It spins a very compact brown 

 cocoon, and in this changes to a dark brown 

 chrysalis. The Moth appears in July. (The 

 scientific name is Bomlyx Qnercus.} In many 

 parts of England and Scotland the caterpillar 

 remains in that state throughout one winter, 

 and in the chrysalis state throughout a 

 second winter ; the Moth appearing in May or 

 June. (The scientific name of this variety is 

 Bomlyx Callunce..) 



97. The Grass? Eggar (Bombyx Tnfulii). 



97. THE GRASS EGGAU. Dingy red-brown, 

 the male rather deeper colour than the fe- 

 male ; there is a narrow oblique pale bar 

 across the fore wing, rather beyond the 

 middle, and a second very obscure bar com- 

 mences on the costal margin very near the 

 base of the wing nearly midway between 

 'the two bars is a distinct white spot : head, 

 thorax, and body red-brown above and below. 

 The caterpillar is black, and covered with 

 velvety pile, which is bright orange-colour 

 down the centre of the back and greyish on 



the sides ; there is a pure black velvety 

 transverse stripe behind the head, and an 

 indistinct grey stripe on each side ; there is 

 also sometimes a. small orange spot on each 

 side of the third and fourth segments ; the 

 velvety pile is interspersed with longer hairs 

 of a grey colour ; the head is black with a 

 central longitudinal whitish line : this cater- 

 pillar feeds on trefoil and clover, and spins a 

 very small compact brown cocoon among its 

 food ; in this it changes to a smooth brown 

 chrysalis. The caterpillar is found in autumn 



