The Feathered Ranunculus (Epunda lichenea).
This is a maritime species and is chiefly found in the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Portland, and along the coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Gloucester, and on the opposite Welsh coast. It is locally common in Cheshire and Lancashire, and occurs on the coast of North Wales, in Flint and Carnarvon. In Yorkshire it is not uncommon at Scarborough. Has been recorded from the Lincolnshire coast and from Eastbourne. There are two records from Scotland—Renfrew and Ayr. In Ireland it is common at Howth, and abundant at Rossbeigh, Co. Kerry. This species, and the last two, have a rather limited range abroad. On Plate [137] are portraits of two local forms, Fig. 5 is from Portland, and Fig. 6 from Plymouth. It will be noted that the former is greyish in tone whilst the latter is greenish and rather larger. Similar local variation occurs throughout the range of the species.
The caterpillar (Plate [133], Fig. 2) is olive green inclining to brownish above; along the back are darker markings forming a central stripe and a paler interrupted stripe on each side; a pale stripe along the spiracles. It feeds from autumn to May on various low plants. The moth flies from late August to early October. The first British specimen is said to have been taken in the New Forest in 1847; but in 1850 about a hundred were captured at New Brighton in Cheshire.
The Brindled Ochre (Dasypolia templi).
The dull ochreous-brown moth shown on Plate [138], Fig. 1, has hardly any well-defined markings, but the cross lines are generally darker, and the reniform and orbicular paler. The caterpillar, which feeds in the stems of cow-parsnip (Heracleum sphondylium) from April to August, is pinkish ochreous with a rather darker stripe on the back; raised spots brown; head
reddish brown. The moth flies in the autumn, and, after hibernation, in the spring. It frequents rocky places on the coast and on hills. Its range in England is pretty much as in the last species, but it does not seem to occur on the south-east coast. In Scotland it is widely spread over the country to the Orkneys, and has been found in the most northern isle of the Shetlands, but it is generally uncommon. It has been taken near Dublin in Ireland, and less frequently in Antrim and Donegal.
The Large Ranunculus (Polia flavicincta).
The fore wings of this moth (Plate [138], Figs. 6 and 7), are pale grey, clouded, and marked with darker; yellowish freckles at the base, and on the central area and the submarginal line are usually, but not always, present. Sometimes, chiefly in northern specimens, these wings are much suffused with darker grey, approaching blackish. The caterpillar is green with a yellowish or bluish tinge; a dusky line along the back, and a dark green line along the black-edged white spiracles. It feeds on dock, groundsel, plantain, and many other plants from April to July. The moth flies in September and October, and, except in Kent, and perhaps Sussex, is rather uncommon in the southern counties of England. It occurs, however, not infrequently in the eastern counties, and through Oxford, Berks, Gloucester, Somerset to Cornwall, and northward through Hereford and parts of the Midlands to Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Durham.