THE YOUNG NATUEALIST. 



205 



THE LEPIDOPTERA OF LONDON. 



By ERNEST ANDERSON. 

 (Continued from page 1B6.) 



The next of our town species, H. abmptaria (Waved Umber) is of very- 

 general occurrence in gardens during May and the early part of June, sitting 

 on fences, doors, etc., during day-time, and flitting round the lilac trees at 

 dusk. Occasionally remarkable melanic varieties occur of this species, and 

 Dr. J. S. Sequeira has a very extraordinary specimen which he captured at 

 sugar, in his garden at Hackney, the wings of which are suffused all over 

 with brownish black. The larvee of this species feed during the autumn 

 upon privet and lilac, and like many of the loopers are very similar to 

 the twigs of the shrubs they inhabit. The cocoon is formed of small 

 fragments of bark carefully joined together, and is generally placed in such 

 a position as to appear part of the branch it is on, in fact, so beautifully 

 are these cocoons made that it is almost impossible to detect them. We 

 may dismiss this beautiful species with the remark that it seems to thrive 

 well in our smoky town, and shows no sign of decrease, neither does 

 the next on our list, Boarmia rhomboidaria, which is not nearly so con- 

 spicuous a species, although perhaps even commoner than the " Umber " ; 

 it is on the wing in June and July, and is fond of resting in dark corners. 

 The larvae hybernate when very small and feed up in the spring. They 

 are not very frequently seen owing to their sluggish habits. Nearly 

 all of our specimens of this insect are the dark suffused form, known 

 as perfumaria, and considered to be a distinct species by some entomologists. 



The little Acidalia incanaria is the only representative of its genus I have 

 been able to meet with in town ; it is not common, but is sometimes taken 

 at dusk, and more frequently at rest on fences and door posts. I believe the 

 larva? feed upon ivy. 



The Garden Y. Halias wavaria is very common during June and July, 

 being freely met with in all its stages, the larvse being sometimes so abundant 

 as to become a pest to our currant and gooseberry bushes ; but it is more 

 particularly the larvse of Abraxas grossulariata or the Magpie Moth, whieh 

 are so well-known as infesting these plants, frequently stripping them 

 entirely of their leaves, the yellow and black pupse hanging in exposed and 

 conspicuous positions upon the bare twigs, fortunately there is only one 

 brood of this handsome, but destructive insect, which appears during July. 



Another very well-known destructive moth is C. brumata, the larvse of 

 which hatch in early spring, and feed on the buds of fruit and other trees, 

 thus causing great damage, with us, however, it is somewhat scarce, the 



