230 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



BRITISH MOTHS. 



By John E. Robson. 

 2. POPULI. 



The Poplar Hcurok-moth. 

 "PoPULi, L., Po'j)iili^ feeds on poplar 

 (Populus alba).''' — A.L. 



Imago. — Grey, clouded and mottled 

 with darker grey and olive brown ; veins 

 yellowish brown ; hind wing brick-red at 

 the base, then clouded grey. 



Larva. — Pale apple green, covered with 

 lighter coloured warts. Seven oblique green- 

 ish yellow streaks as in the last species. 

 The head is small and green ; the horn is 

 rough, yellow, sometimes orange at the tip ; 

 the legs reddish, and there are often one or 

 two rows of reddish spots. A variety is not 

 uncommon of a pale bluish green colour, 

 but it may always be readily known from 

 ocellat\,s by the following : — -populi has no 

 trace of the lateral stripe extending in ocel- 

 lotus from the first oblique streak to the 

 head. The face of ocellatus is also larger 

 and flatter, pointed at the top, and with a 

 reddish marginal ridge terminating at the 

 top in two little points which stand above 

 the crown. The horn of oceUatns is blue at 

 the tip, popxili always yellow or orange. 



Pupa. — Dull dark brown, rough and 

 dirty looking, not bright and smooth like 

 most of subterranean pupae. 



Food Plant.— Willows and poplars, 

 but has been found on a few other trees also. 



Times of Appearance.— The imago 



emerges at the end of May or in June, and 

 continues on the wing till July. The egg, 

 which is laid singly on the upper side of the 

 poplar or willow leaf, hatches in about four- 

 teen days. The larvae are full fed in Sep- 

 tember and October, but they may be found 

 even in November at times, though these 

 are probably ichneumoned. The pupa 

 remains over the winter. 



Habitat. — Common throughout Britain, 



perhaps the most abundant of all the hawk 

 moths. It sits on tree trunks and on palings, 

 and has a habit of placing its wings so that 

 the central portion of the hind wing appears 

 beyond the costa of the fore wing. When 

 sitting in this position the brick-red patch 

 at the base of the hind wing is covered, and 

 the whole insect appears bluish grey. This 

 may be protective, as it is thus much of the 

 colour of a lichen-covered tree trunk or a 

 weather-beaten paling. It is found all over 

 Europe except the polar regions, Southern 

 Italy and Greece, also in Northern and 

 Western Asia. 



Varieties, — S pojiuUvsLues greatly in 

 the depth of shade of the darker markings. 

 Sometimes it is almost unicolourous, and at 

 others the darker and lighter shades are 

 well contrasted. The bluish grey of the 

 wings is sometimes changed to yellowish 

 grey, or even to light reddish brown, form- 

 ing a very distinct looking insect. Hybrids 

 between this species and the last have often 

 been obtained. They are generally unsatis- 

 factory looking things, dingy and character- 

 less ; but one in my cabinet, while bearing 

 a general resemblance io populi, has the eye 

 of ocellatus on the hind wing curiously 

 blended with the brick-red patch of the 

 present species. This specimen is figured 

 in Mosley's illustrations. Smerinthus, pi. 

 I, fig. 3- 



ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 



By S. L. Mosley. 



2. Insects Injurious to Live 

 Stock. 



The insects injurious to our live stock are 

 principally in the form of parasites which 

 infest our domestic animals, and live by 

 sucking their blood. These in many cases 

 do no real positive injury, but it is much 

 more pleasant to be without them if possible. 

 We will take them again in alphabetical 

 order. 



