404 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



winter months 011 groundsel (Seneciovulgaris), 

 the cultivated chrysanthemums, primrose, and 

 a variety of low-growing herbs ; it spins a 

 slight web on the ground in Api'il or May, 

 and changes to a smooth brown CHRYSALIS. 



The MOTH appears in May or June, and a 

 second brood is out in September ; it is com- 

 mon everywhere. (The scientific name is 

 Phlogophora meticulosa.} 



G35. The Flame Brocade (Trigonoplira empyrea). 



635. THE FLAME BROCADE. The palpi are 

 slightly porrected and pointed, they are dis- 

 tinctly separated ; the antennae are very 

 slightly ciliated in the male, quite simple in 

 the female ; the fore wings are nearly straight 

 on the costal margin, scalloped on the hind 

 margin, and reflected on the inner margin ; 

 their colour is rich umber-brown, with a 

 purplish gloss suffused over the basal and 

 median areas; the orbicular spot is small, it is 

 indicated in outline, and the median area 

 frequently contains a second smaller circle in 

 outline, but both are inconspicuous ; the reni- 

 form,on the contrary, is large, slightly oblique, 

 almost white, and very conspicuous ; it con- 

 tains two parallel slender brown lines, which 

 are generally united at both extremities ; the 

 lower extremity of the reniform emits a wedge- 

 shaped dash of its own white colour, and 

 directed towards the base of the wing; parallel 

 with the hind margin of the wing is a broad 

 pale band ; the reflexed inner margin is almost 

 ; white : the hind wings are smoky-brown, paler 

 at the base, and have a darker crescentic dis- 

 coidal spot : the head and thorax are dark 

 brown, the body smoky-brown, reddish towards 

 the extremity. 



The EGGS are laid in September and October 

 on -the leafstalks of pile-wort (Ranunculus 

 Ficaria), on the shining leaves of which the 

 CATERPILLAR feeds: they are not generally 



hatched for two or three weeks, and then eat 

 but little, making very small holes in the 

 leaves of the pile-wort; I cannot, however, 

 find that there is anything like hybernation, 

 except, perhaps, during hard frost, when most 

 caterpillars become torpid : the caterpillars 

 are full grown in April and May. It rests in 

 a nearly straight position on the leaf-stalks of 

 the pile- wort, but falls off, and rolls in a ring 

 on being disturbed : the head is smooth, 

 shining, and narrower than the second seg- 

 ment ; the body is velvety, nearly uniformly 

 cylindrical, but with the dorsal surface of the 

 twelfth segment rather swollen. The colour 

 of the head is fulvous-yellow, reticulated with 

 brown, and there are two longitudinal streaks 

 of brown on the face. The body in some 

 specimens is grayish-yellow, in others grayish- 

 dove-coloured, and again in others green, or 

 blue-green. The first of these is the most 

 common, and has the markings most distinct; 

 but in each of the others the markings are to 

 be traced, although they are very incon- 

 spicuous; there is a medio-dorsal series of 

 rather darker lozenge-shaped markings, placed 

 point to point, and connected by a rather 

 paler slender medio-dorsal stripe, which passes 

 through the entire series. On each side the 

 series of lozenges is a slender stripe just 

 touching their lateral points ; each of the 

 dorsal lozenges has four white dots, and each 

 dot has a black anterior margin ; one of these 

 white dots is situated at each outer angle of 

 the lozenge, and another halfway between this 

 and the anterior point ; the lateral narrow 

 stripe which touches the lateral angles of the 

 lozenge is succeeded by a broad stripe, and 

 this has two white dots on its lower border 

 in each segment ; the spiracles are yellow, 

 delicately surrounded with black : the legs 

 are pale, dingy flesh-colour, with brown tips ; 

 the claspers are of the came colour, with 

 brown disks. When full-fed, it makes a loose 

 cocoon of grains of earth and silk, and therein 

 changes to a CHRYSALIS of a deep shining red 

 colour, and having a projection at the tip, 

 which is armed with two slender spines, which 

 are rather distant at the base, but curve 

 slightly inwards, and approach at the tips. 



