168 THE SMALL ERMINE MOTHS. 

black or dark brown spots, and possesses sixteen feet. It 
tapers markedly both before and behind. When disturbed 
it lowers itself to the ground by a silken thread, as shown in 
the Figure. 
The commonest species are :— 
FHT. padella L. (1. vartabilis Zell.), with a wing stretch of 
about inch. The upper. surface of the fore wings is bluish 
or greyish white, traversed longitudinally by three irregular 
rows of black spots (about 30 in all), the hind wings being 
greyish brown. The caterpillar has a dark head, and a body 
covered by wart-like tubercles from which hairs spring. 
This species is met with on the plum, appie, hawthorn, 
sloe, mountain ash, etc. 
FH, evonymella L. (Hf. padi Zell.; measures nearly an inch 
across the wings. The upper surface of the fore wings is 
lustrous-white in colour, and shows five rows of black spots 
(over 40 in all). In appearance the caterpillar closely 
resembles the former. This species generally feeds on bird 
cherry, and is the species most usually met with in the 
North of England. 
The “ Small Ermine” that frequents apple trees is gener- 
ally regarded as a distinct species (/. mallinella Zell.), but, 
in any case, it so closely resembles H. fadclla as to be 
practically indistinguishable. 
Life-Fitstory. 
The Ermine Moths that damage British trees have all a 
similar life-history. From about the middle of July till the 
middle of August, for the most part, they are on the wing, 
at which time they lay their eggs in clusters on the buds 
and shoots of the trees already indicated. In the course of 
the autumn, or in the following spring, the eggs hatch and 
produce caterpillars, which in the month of May spin a veil- 
like web, under which they live gregariously in detached 
colonies. At this time the caterpillars feed voraciously, so 
that destruction of the foliage of the food-plant proceeds 
rapidly. As the creatures increase in size and find it 
necessary to secure more food, they spread their webs over 
a larger and larger portion of the tree or bush on which they 
