
Fig. q. Catocala fraxinz, the Clifden Nonpareil, 
is the largest of the European Noctue. The moth 
is found in autumn, and is a great rarity in England, 
though found in all parts of the country occasionally; 
on the Continent, it is commoner, though never 
very. abundant. The large grey caterpillar lives on 
poplar, aspen and ash from May to July, and forms 
its pupa in a cocoon between the leaves, or in a cleft 
of the bark. 
Fig. r. Catocala nupta, the Red Underwing, 
is much commoner than the last species, and is found 
resting on walls or on the trunks of trees in July 
and August, though when the bright-coloured hind 
wings are covered by the fore wings, it is not al- 
ways easy to see the insect. The larva is brownish 
grey with yellowish spots and interrupted streaks, 
and feeds on willows and poplars in May and June. 
The Geometre have a slender body, broad 
wings, similarly coloured, and gencrally expanded 
when at rest, and simple (rarely pectinated) antenne. 
The Jarvee have usually only 10 legs, and they creep 
by bending their bodies. The pupa is most frequently 
naked. This group is less numerous than the WVoc- 
tue, but contains a much larger proportion of 
brightly coloured a= NS 
species. 
Urapteryx 
sambucaria, the 
Swallow-tail 
Moth, is the larg- 
est species of the 
group. The wings 
are pale sulphur- 
yellow, with olive- 
brown transverse 
stripes. It is not 
scarcein June and 
July. The cater- 
pillar is brown 
with palerstreaks, 
and is found in 
autumn on elder, 
lime, ivy &c. 


Epione apiciaria is yellow with a_ brown 
border, and is not scarce in 
summer and autumn. The larva 
is greyish brown with fine longi- 
tudinal lines, and is found on 
willows and poplars. 
Ventlia maculata, 
golden yellow, with irregular 
black spots. It is common in 
woods in May and June. The 
larva is green, with a dark line 
on the back, and feeds on dead- 
nettle and other low plants in autumn. 
Selenta illustraria is flesh-coloured, varied with 
purplish-brown. It is 
found in May and July, 
but is not very abun- 
dant, The larva is of 
a colour resembling 
bark; it is grey, with 
paler and darker pro- 
minences. It is found 
in June and September on sloe, oak, birch, rose &c. 
Fig. u. Pericallia syringaria, the Lilac Beauty, 
has olive-grey wings, varied with violct-grey. The 
fore wings are tinged with rusty-yellow, and there 
is a large whitish mark on the costa. It is found 
in gardens in July, but is not generally very com- 

the Speckled Yellow, is 


29 

mon The larva 
cherry &c. 
Ennomos alniaria 
with brown. The 
fore wings are 
marked with two 
brown lines, and 
there is a dark 
brown spot in the 
middle of the fore 
wings. It appears 
in August and 
September, but is a very scarce insect in England. 
The brown humpy larva feeds on alder, birch 
and lime. 
Amphidasts betularia, the Pepper and Salt Moth, 
is a stout-bodied hairy moth nearly two inches in 
expanse, whick looks more like one of the Bombyces 
than one of the Geometre. It has chalky-white wings 
speckled with black, and is common in May, The 
lives on elder, alder,  bird- 
is 
ochreous-yellow, dusted 


caterpillar is greyish brown with a pointed head, 
and feeds on various trees in autumn. When at 
rest, it resembles a dry twig, like the caterpillars 
of many other Geometre. 
Phorodesma bajularia, the Blotched Emerald 
Moth, is green with a white mark at the hinder 
angle of the fore wings, and 
whitish crescent-shaped. markings 
on the hind wings. The brown 
caterpillar lives under a covering 
of fragments of plants. It is found 
on oak in May and the moth ap- 
pears in July, but is not a very common insect. 
Asthena luteata is a small yellow moth with 
brown bands, which is not very 
scarce in May and June. The pale 
yellowish-brown larva feeds on low 
plants. 
Fig. w. Abraxas grossulariata, the Magpie 
Moth, is very common in gardens. The female lays 
her eggs in summer between leaf-stalks of the 
ceooseberry and currant. The caterpillars are white, 
spotted with black, and appear in September, and 
pass the winter on the ground. Next year they 
attack the trees, and when they are full-grown, they 
suspend themselves to the branches by the tail, and 
surround themselves with a web. 
Abraxas ulmata resembles the last species, 
being white, with a row of round violet-grey spots, 
and with large rusty-brown = 
blotches marked with blu- 
ish white towards -the 
margins. The moth ap- 
pears in June, and is much 
less abundant than A. | 
grossulariata. The bluish ee Sse 



feeding on elm and vine. 
Vig. v. Hibernia defoliarta is one of the winter- 
moths, in most of which the female is wingless, In 
October and November the male is often seen  fly- 
ing in gardens, and the female climbs up the trunks 
of trees, where she lays her eggs. In April and 
May the caterpillars may be found on various 
