LEPIDOPTERA 201 



that these marks imitate the wounds made by an ichneumon, 

 and suggest^that a parasite is already in possession.* 



Liparidse (tussock-moths). Dull - coloured moths, often 

 with zigzag streaks on the fore wings ; the female is often 

 wingless. Antennae conspicuously pectinate in male ; slightly 

 so in female, when winged. Larva usually hairy and often 

 tufted. 



The vapourers, with wingless females (see Lesson 18), 

 the gipsy-moth, the black arches-moth, the gold-tail and 

 the brown-tail, are destructive insects belonging to this family. 

 Two of the worst, the gipsy-moth and the black arches-moth 

 ("Nonne"), are comparatively rare in Britain. 



Division III. — Noctuae (owlets) 



Night-flying moths, usually of sombre colours, grey or brown, 

 but sometimes conspicuously coloured, like the yellow under- 

 wing. The fore wing is often variegated, and shows a pattern 

 called the Noctua-marking. Three zigzag streaks cross the 

 wing, and a little nearer to the point of attachment there is an 

 imperfect fourth ; between the second and third streaks are 

 two spots, one circular and the other oval. 



The cabbage - moth {Mamestra brassicce) is particularly 

 injurious to cauliflowers and cabbages ; it eats into the heart 

 and spoils far more than it devours. The moth has the 

 characteristic Noctua-marking, and shows the brown and grey 

 colours characteristic of the division; it is about 22 mm. 

 (nearly an inch) long. The larvs are naked, and usually of a 

 dull green colour, varied with yellow, brown, and black. They 

 winter in the earth as pupse. Other species of Mamestra 

 devour lettuces, peas, etc. 



The figure - of- eight moth {DUoba cxruleocephala) is some- 

 times mischievous in orchards. The so-called surface- 

 caterpillars {Agrotis) do much injury to turnips. The antler- 

 moth {Charceas graminis) is occasionally very destructive to 

 grasses, 



Division IV. — Geometridse (loopers) 



Body slender. Wings expanded when at rest. The larv£ 

 have fewer prolegs than usual, walk by looping the body, and 

 when resting, stick out like twigs. 



* This account of the puss-moth and the lobster-moth is taken from 

 Poulton's "Colours of Animals," Chap. XIV. 



