stigma. Except that the yellowish submarginal line is sometimes obscured, the species is very constant in the British Isles. Abroad, a form without the white mark is known as unicolor, Staud., and one or two examples have been recorded as occurring in England, two in 1895 said to have been reared by a northern collector from caterpillars obtained in the London district. The caterpillar figured on Plate [129], Fig. 2, was pale green with darker green markings. In another form the colour is pale brown with the markings darker brown. It is found from August to October on all sorts of low plants, and in the garden, where it is often common in the suburbs of London, is very fond of the foliage of Anemone japonica and lupin, among other plants. The moth is out in July and August, but is not often common north of the Midlands, though it occurs, or has been found in almost all the counties of England. Its occurrence in Scotland seems to be doubtful, and Kane states that it is rare in Ireland, and almost absent from the northern counties. Its range abroad extends to China and Japan.
The White Colon (Mamestra albicolon).
Two specimens of this species are shown on Plate [120], Figs. 7, 8. It will be noted that, except for the two white dots at the lower outer edge, the outline of the reniform mark is very obscure; these dots are placed one below the other, thus forming a :, hence the English name of the moth. Blackish specimens have been obtained on the east coast of Scotland.
The caterpillar is green or bluish grey, with a dark-edged pale central line; spiracles white, margined with black. Barrett states that it feeds in June and July, and probably as a partial second generation in September, on plantain, dandelion, and other low plants growing in sand; probably also on Atriplex, Chenopodium, and Cruciferæ; but it is a larva of secret habits and is very little known.
|
| Pl. 118. |
| 1, 1a. | Large Yellow Underwing: eggs and caterpillar. |
|
| 2. | Lesser Yellow Underwing: caterpillar. |
|
| 3, 3a. | Lesser Broad-border: caterpillar and chrysalis. |
|
| 4, 4a. | Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing: caterpillar and chrysalis. |
|
|
|
| Pl. 119. |
| Grey Arches Moth and varieties. |
The moth, which flies in May and June, and again in July and August, frequents sandhills on the west, especially those of Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, and Wales. In Norfolk and Suffolk it is found in the Breck Sand district as well as on the coast, and it also occurs on the coasts of Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, but seems to be uncommon in most of these counties. In Scotland it occurs in suitable parts of the east coast to Aberdeen, and on the west coast to the Clyde; and in Ireland on the coasts of Kerry, Louth, and Derry.