Moths

Lepidoptera The Lime Hawk Moth – Smerinthus Tilia This beautiful moth (fig. 5, Plate IX) is easily identified by its rich olive green and brown wings, the fore pair of which have very conspicuous patches of deep olive, sometimes uniting to form a continuous central bar. It flies in May and June. The caterpillar is […]

Lepidoptera The Old Lady Moth – Mania Maura Fig. 162.-The Old Lady. This fine moth is so very different from the last in appearance that the reason for placing the two in the same genus is not apparent till the earlier stages and life history have been studied. All its wings are very deep brown; […]

Lepidoptera The Oak Hook Tip Moth – Drepana Binaria This can hardly be described as a very common moth, but it is fairly plentiful in the woods of the southern counties of England. Fig. 129.-The Oak Hook Tip. Its wings are yellowish brown, marked with two lighter transverse lines. There are two black spots between […]

Lepidoptera The Flame Shoulder Moth – Noctua Plecta Fig. 158.-The Flame Shoulder. As our example of the next genus we take the Flame Shoulder, a rather small moth, easily identified by the broad yellowish-white streak along the costa of the reddish-brown fore wings. The orbicular and reniform spots are margined with white, and a thin […]

Lepidoptera The Small Angle Shades Moth – Euplexia Lucipara This pretty little moth is represented in fig. 3 of Plate XI. It is very common throughout the country, and may be seen in June and July. The caterpillar is thickest on the twelfth segment, and gradually tapers from this towards the head. Its colour is […]

Lepidoptera The Small Phœnix Moth – Cidaria Silaceata Again passing over a few small and less important genera, we select the small Phœnix as the last example of this very extensive family. Fig. 207.-The Small Phœnix. The fore wings of this species are dark brown, paler toward the hind margin. Most of the wing rays […]

Lepidoptera Ephippiphora Cirsiana Moth This insect represents the family Grapholithida. It is a common moth, and is widely distributed. Fig. 231.-Cirsiana-Enlarged. Its fore wings are greyish brown, with a large white patch on the middle of the inner margin; and beyond this white, in the anal angle, is a pale grey patch containing three or […]

Lepidoptera Leioptilus Osteodactylus Moth This is another species of the same family. It is not uncommon, but is more local than the last. Fig. 216.-Osteodactylus. Its fore wings are pale yellow, with a small brown dot at the commencement of the dividing fissure, and a brown blotch on the costal margin nearer the tip. The […]

Lepidoptera Coleophora Ibipennella Moth Fig. 239.-Ibipennella-Enlarged. The family Coleophorida contains about seventy small moths, characterised by their very narrow and pointed wings, with long fringes, and also, generally, by a little tuft of hair on the first joint of the antenna. The larva live in little cases which they construct, and feed on various leaves […]

Lepidoptera The Riband Wave Moth – A. Aversata Fig. 184.-The Riband Wave. All the wings of this species are of a pale yellowish or ochreous grey. The fore wings are crossed by three transverse dark lines, and the hind wings by two. The space between the two outer lines of the fore wing and that […]