Butterflies and Moths

Lepidoptera The Mottled Rustic Moth – Caradrina Morpheus We select as our type of this family the Mottled Rustic-a common moth that may be procured from June to August. Its fore wings are brownish grey, with darker lines and spots; the hind wings are almost white, but darker at the tip. Fig. 154.-The Mottled Rustic. […]

Lepidoptera The Mother-of-pearl Moth – Botys Ruralis This is another very common species of the family Botyda, abundant almost everywhere, and to be found on the wing from June to August. Fig. 212.-The Mother-of-Pearl. Its wings are whitish, and exhibit a very decided pearly lustre, and all the markings are of a dull dark grey. […]

Lepidoptera The Common Heath Moth – Ematurga Atomaria Of this family we shall select two examples, the first of which is the Common Heath, often so abundant on heaths and downs that they are disturbed at almost every footstep. Fig. 189.-The Common Heath. The ground colour of the wings of the male is a dull […]

Lepidoptera The Ghost Swift Moth – Hepialus Humuli Fig. 116.-The Ghost Swift-Female. One of the commonest of these moths is the Ghost Swift, which may be seen in hundreds on waste places in the south of England during the month of June. The wings of the male are white, with a silky gloss, and a […]

Lepidoptera Crambi Moth The third group of the ‘Micros’ is the Crambi, and contains about eighty species, arranged in four families. Some of them are common moths with which all must be more or less familiar, as they are roused from the grasses on which they repose at almost every footstep as we walk through […]

Lepidoptera The Common Wave Moth – Cabera Exanthemata Fig. 186.-The Common Wave. The first of our two examples of this small family is the Common Wave, the wings of which are pale grey, almost white, dusted all over with small dark dots. The fore wings are crossed by three parallel and equidistant darker transverse lines, […]

Lepidoptera Facts Collecting Butterfly And Moth Ova, LarvA, And PupA We have already observed that insects should, as a rule, be set as soon as possible after their capture; and it would therefore seem that this is the proper place for instructions in this part of the work. But it so happens that butterflies and […]

Lepidoptera Facts Butterfly And Moth Pupa Or Chrysalis Fig. 30.-The Pupa of the Privet Hawk (Ligustri). As soon as the last moult of the caterpillar is over, the chrysalis that had already been developing under the cover of the old skin is exposed to full view; and although the perfect insect is not to be […]

Lepidoptera The Poplar Grey Moth – Acronycta Megacephala This is also a very common moth, to be found in all the southern and midland counties, wherever poplars abound, during June and July. Fig. 140.-The Poplar Grey. Its fore wings are grey, marbled with a very dark grey. A little inside the middle of these wings, […]

Lepidoptera The Netted Pug Moth – Eupithecia Venosata We now come to the enormous genus Eupithecia, containing about fifty small species, most of which are known as ‘Pugs.’ Many of these are only imperfectly known, there being yet much to learn about their earlier stages. Fig. 197.-The Netted Pug. The Netted Pug flies in May […]