Lepidoptera The Beautiful China Mark Moth – Hydrocampa Stagnata
Fig. 214.-The Beautiful China Mark.
Our last example of the Pyralides-the Beautiful China Mark-belongs to the family Hydrocampida. This small family is remarkable for the fact that its four species spend their larval state in the water, feeding on the under surfaces of the leaves of water lilies and other aquatic plants. These curious larva live either in cases which they construct for their protection, something after the fashion of the larva of caddis flies, or quite free in the water, and then they are supplied with special breathing organs that enable them to absorb the oxygen held in solution in the water.
The moth we have selected for illustration is a very common species, and may be seen flying in great numbers in the neighbourhood of ponds during June and July.
Just as my husband was moaning that we hadn’t seen any dragonflies or been visited by any frogs and that our pond was not living up to expectations, we were greeted the other evening by a flurry of little white things criss-crossing it. What a delight to discover that our seemingly useless pond had been playing host to one of our most beautiful moths up on the Northwest coast on Morecambe Bay!