Although apparently commoner in some counties than in others, this species ranges over the British Isles to the Orkneys.
The distribution abroad extends to Amurland.
The Mother Shipton (Euclidia mi).
The ancient fathers of British Entomology were sometimes happy in their selection of names in the vernacular for those of our moths that were known to them at the time, and the present species is a fair example of this. Moses Harris first dubbed it the Shipton Moth, but afterwards changed the name to the "Mask Moth." Both names refer to the peculiar shape of the markings which adorn the fore wings and bear a more or less fanciful resemblance to a grotesque mask, and even more closely to the profile of an historical dame yclept
Shipton. This character, also supposed to be like the letter M, hence the specific name mi, stands out very distinctly in the paler specimens, but in some of the darker individuals it is somewhat obscured. On the hind wings the spots are whitish or yellowish, and those composing the central series are sometimes united, and form a band. (Plate [26], Figs. 6 ♂, 7 ♀.)
The egg is greenish, and the caterpillar is pale ochreous-brown, with darker brown lines along the back and sides: head, ochreous, with brown lines. It feeds on clover and grasses, in July, August, and September, and the chrysalis, which is covered with a whitish powder, is enclosed in a brownish cocoon spun up in a blade of grass. All the early stages are figured on Plate [30]. The enlarged chrysalis, Fig. 1, is from a photo by Mr. H. Main. The moth flies in May and June, and is often common in meadows, on railway banks, and other sloping banks and such-like places where wild flowers abound. The species is widely distributed over England, Wales, and South Scotland; also Ireland.
The range abroad extends to Amurland.
The Burnet Companion (Euclidia glyphica).
The ground colour of the fore wings is purplish brown, sometimes becoming greyish on the outer area; the space between the dark brown or blackish cross bands is sometimes filled up with the darker colour. Some specimens are much greyer than others, and all the examples in a series from the Lake district that I have seen were distinctly grey, with very dark bands. The yellow on the hind wings sometimes inclines to orange, and sometimes it is so pale as to be almost whitish; there is also variation in the amount of black marking and shading on these wings. (Plate [26], Figs. 8 ♂, 9 ♀.)
The caterpillar is somewhat similar to that of the last species; it feeds on clovers and trefoils in July and August, but so far does not seem to have been noted to eat grasses.