Butterflies and Moths

Lepidoptera Family Amphidasyda Moths The seven British species of the family Amphidasyda are generally to be distinguished by their rather stout abdomens, and the long shaggy hair that covers their thoraces. The antenna of the males are pectinated, and those of the females simple; and in three cases the latter sex is wingless. The caterpillars […]

Lepidoptera The Treble Bar Moth – Anaitis Plagiata Our last example of the Geometra is the Treble Bar, a very pretty moth, which is illustrated in fig. 9 of Plate XII. It may be readily identified by the aid of this coloured picture, and therefore need not be described in words. It is pretty generally […]

Lepidoptera Family Zyganida Moths The remaining family of the Sphinges-the Zyganida-includes seven British species, three of which are known popularly as the Foresters and the others as the Burnets. Their antenna are thickest beyond the middle, but do not terminate in a hook. Their wings are narrow and completely covered with scales. These moths are […]

Lepidoptera Family Caradrinida Moths There are only ten British species in this family, two of which are rare; and most of the others are particularly dingy. The transverse lines so often seen on the fore wings of Noctua are generally well marked. The larva have short stiff bristles, and feed on low plants; they undergo […]

Lepidoptera The Large Tortoiseshell Butterfly – Vanessa Polychloros Our two tortoiseshells-large and small-are very similar in their colour and markings, and moreover are not always to be distinguished by their size, for specimens of the larger species are sometimes even inferior in this respect to the largest of the smaller species; so, to avoid all […]

Lepidoptera The Lappet Moth – Lasiocampa Quercifolia Our last example of the Bombycida is the Lappet (Plate X, fig. 6), a large moth, the female often measuring considerably over three inches from tip to tip. The wings are of a rich reddish brown, and exhibit a beautiful purplish bloom in a newly emerged insect. Scalloped […]

Lepidoptera Facts Setting And Preserving Butterflies And Moths Up to the present we have been dealing only with living forms-learning how to catch and rear the Lepidoptera that fall to our lot; but now we have to become acquainted with the methods of preparing our dead specimens in such a way that they may form […]

Lepidoptera The Common Blue Butterfly – Lycana Icarus Although this pretty little butterfly is so common that it is almost sure to be known to all who take any interest in insect life, yet it is important to observe it carefully, since it is an easy matter to confound it with other species of the […]

Lepidoptera The Silver-spotted Skipper Butterfly – Hesperia Comma Fig. 96.-The Silver-spotted Skipper-Under Side. This species is very similar on the upper side to the last, except that the squarish spots of both fore and hind wings are much paler and much more distinct; and here, too, the male (Plate VII, fig. 16) is to be […]

Lepidoptera The Brindled Beauty Moth – Biston Hirtaria Early in April, and sometimes in March, this moth may be seen in abundance, resting on the lime trees in and around our towns. In fact, so strongly marked is its partiality to the haunts of man in the neighbourhood of our great metropolis that it has […]