Lepidoptera The Scalloped Oak Moth – Crocallis Elinguaria

This species is common and widely distributed, and may be seen flying at dusk towards the end of July and throughout August. It is represented in fig. 4 of Moth PicturesPlate XII. The antenna of the male are strongly pectinated; those of the female are simple.

The caterpillar may be found in the autumn, and again in spring, feeding on the honeysuckle (Lonicera Periclymenum), whitethorn (Cratagus oxyacantha), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), beech (Fagus sylvatica), and various fruit trees. It is full grown in June, when it turns to a chrysalis in a cocoon spun between leaves or moss on or near the ground. It is of a greyish-brown or greyish-purple colour, and looks very like a piece of twig.