Lepidoptera The Common Carpet Moth – Melanippe Sociata
The genus Melanippe contains twelve species, some of which are extremely common. One of these moths-the Common Carpet-is represented in fig. 203. Its wings are all of a smoky-brown colour, crossed by numerous white lines, the arrangement of which may be gathered from our illustration better than from a written description. It is a double-brooded insect, appearing first in May, and then again about the end of July.
The caterpillar is mottled with shades of brown and grey. On the back are five or six greyish-white lozenge-shaped marks, and there are a few white dots on the back of each segment. It feeds on the hedge bedstraw (Galium Mollugo), and when full grown it changes to a chrysalis in a light cocoon on the ground.