INSECTA : LEPIDOPTERA 



233 



Fio. 161.— The Swallow-tailed Moth 

 ( Ourapteryx sambucaria). 



(Drawn from a dead specimen.) 



The Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapieryx sambucaria) is a 

 common, large example of the Geometridae. The eggs are 

 laid in July, usually on ivy leaves, and the caterpillars so 

 strongly resemble little pieces of stick, that it is quite difficult 

 to detect them amongst the ivy twigs. They hold to the twig 

 by their abdominal feet only, the rest of the body being held 

 stiffly out at an 

 angle to the twig, 

 so that it looks like 

 a side branch. The 

 caterpillars feed on 

 ivy, hawthorn, or 

 other plants, from 

 August of one year 

 until the following 

 June, and then 

 they pupate. The 

 moth emerges in 

 July. It is a large 

 yellowish form, 

 with two thin darker marks across the front wings, and a 

 distinct " tail " on the outer margin of each hind wing, with 

 a small dark speck just at the base of each such tail (Fig. 161). 

 The Magpie Moth (Abraxas grossulariata) is another very 

 common Geometrid. It is the caterpillar of this moth which 

 often destroys to a serious extent the foliage of currant and 

 gooseberry bushes. Both caterpillar and moth have a varied 

 coloration of yellow, white, and black. The pupae also are 

 conspicuous, for they are black and shiny, and barred with 

 bright yellow. They are to be found attached to the bushes 

 by a few silk threads. 



The China '^^^ China Mark Moths are worthy of mention 



Mark Moths because of the adaptation of the larvae to aquatic 



(Hydro- life^ which is rare amongst Lepidoptera. The 



c pmae;. caterpillars live on the surface of the water, and 

 surround themselves with cases made of leaves in the fashion 

 of some caddis worms. Fig. 162 represents the Small China 

 Mark (Cataclysta lemnata), the caterpillar of which makes for 

 itself a case of duckweed bound together with silk. The 

 eggs of this moth are frequently to be found on the under 

 surface of the leaves of frogbit or of duckweed. The larva 



