The male Eggar seems to enjoy the bright sunshine, for I have seen large numbers flying over the rugged cliffs of the south-west throughout all hours of the day.
The Drinker (Odonestis potatoria)
The popular name of this species is applied on account of a peculiar feature of the larva, which sucks up the dewdrop that lies on its food plant.
The colour of the male is tawny and brown, with a reddish tinge; that of the female is yellow. The front wing has an oblique dark bar passing from the apex to the middle of the inner margin; also two white spots—one in the middle of the wing, and the other between it and the costal margin.
The caterpillar is dark bluish grey above, and has a line of orange spots on each side. Along the spiracles are oblique orange streaks, and a series of tufts of white hair. It feeds on the annual meadow-grass (Poa annua), and several other grasses. It is a hybernator, commencing its caterpillar state in the autumn, and reaching its full dimensions about the end of the following May.
The moth flies during July and August.
The Lappet (Lasiocampa quercifolia)
Our last example of the Bombycidæ is the Lappet ([Plate X], fig. 6), a large moth, the female often measuring considerably over three inches from tip to tip. The wings are of a rich reddish brown, and exhibit a beautiful purplish bloom in a newly emerged insect. Scalloped black lines pass transversely across each wing, and a small black dot lies near the centre of the fore wings.