Kent and Sussex; the districts mentioned being those of Rochester, Canterbury, Hailsham, and Hastings.
The caterpillar is figured on Plate [102], Fig. 2. It is slaty grey in colour with a black plate on the first ring; on the back of each ring is a broad black band, and four orange warts from which arise golden-yellow silky hairs; the hairs on the sides are pale drab (adapted from Buckler). It feeds in June and early July, sometimes in September, on oak, birch, various kinds of Rubus, such as blackberry and raspberry, and also on bilberry (Vaccinium). The moth is out in late April and in May; occasionally late July and in August. It is rarely seen in the day time, but has been found resting on tree trunks. The range abroad extends to Southern Russia and Siberia.
The Sweet-Gale Moth (Acronycta euphorbiæ var. myricæ).
Our form of this species—var. myricæ, Guenée (Plate [103], Fig. 4), is rather larger and much darker than the type; but although it is generally somewhat smaller than the Alpine var. montivaga, Guenée, it is not otherwise separable from that form. So far as concerns the British Isles, it is only found in Scotland and, rarely, in Ireland. It was first obtained in Perthshire, in 1846, by Weaver, and it is now known to occur more or less commonly through Scotland from Ayr to Sutherlandshire. In Ireland it occurs in Cork, Kerry, Galway, and Sligo, and Kane considers that specimens from Markrea, and Lough Gill in the latter county are referable rather to var. montivaga, than to var. myricæ. The moth is out in April, May, and June.
The dark greyish caterpillar has a deep black, broken, stripe along the middle of the back, and a series of pale yellow marks on each side of it; along the black-margined white spiracles there is a reddish orange line, or broken stripe; pale brownish hairs arising from yellowish warts on the back, and a cross-bar of reddish orange near the head. It feeds on sweet
gale, heather, birch, sallow, etc., and may be found from July to September. Two figures of it, from coloured drawings by Mr. Alfred Sich, will be found on Plate [102].
The Knot Grass (Acronycta rumicis).
The ordinary form of this moth is shown on Plate [103], Figs. 6♂, 7♀. The species varies greatly in the amount of dark mottling and clouding on the fore wings; sometimes this is much reduced, and the pale grey ground colour is then clearly seen; more often these wings are entirely clouded over with blackish or sooty brown, leaving only the white bracket-like mark above the inner margin, and the submarginal cross line, distinctly visible (var. salicis, Curtis). The moth flies in June and July, and sometimes in August and September.
The hairy caterpillar, which is somewhat humped on rings four and eleven, is figured in Plate [102], Fig. 1. It is dark brownish grey, marked on the back with a central series of black patches in which are reddish spots, and a row of white spots on each side; below the white spiracles is a yellowish wavy line with reddish warts upon it. Various low-growing plants, such as plantain, dock, sorrel, and also hawthorn, sallow, and bramble, afford it nourishment, and it is found in July, August, and September.
Generally distributed throughout England and Wales, its range extending into Scotland as far north as Morayshire; also in Ireland. The var. salicis occurs northwards from Shropshire through northern England into Scotland, but is perhaps most common in Ireland.