The caterpillar feeds on oak (Quercus Robur), hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus), and birch (Betula alba), and may be found in abundance during May and June. It is green, with dark spots, and white lines on the back and sides. Although it partakes of the leaves of the above-named trees, yet its chief food seems to be other caterpillars, for it devours these with a savage greediness that is simply astonishing. It will chase an unfortunate caterpillar, seize it by the neck with a fatal grip, and rapidly devour it. Its chief prey seems to be the larva of the Winter Moth (Brumata).
Family—Hadenidæ
Nearly fifty British Noctuæ are included in the family Hadenidæ. They are of variable dimensions, and differ much in the brightness of their colours, some being very dingy, and others gaily tinted. Their antennæ are rather long; and when at rest the wings slope from the back like the sides of a roof.
The larvæ are smooth, and not very thick; and there is sometimes a hump on the twelfth segment. The pupæ are brown and shiny, and are inclosed in earthen cocoons beneath the surface of the soil.
The Broad-barred White (Hecatera serena)
Although not gaily coloured, this is a pretty little moth, there being a bright contrast between the white ground and the grey markings of the wings. It is common in the south of England, and seems to be plentiful in and around London.
The caterpillar is of a dingy greenish colour, with a yellowish stripe on each side of the back; and there are two distinct dots on the back of each segment. It feeds during July and August on sow-thistles (Sonchus oleraceus and S. arvensis), sleepwort (Lactuca virosa), and hawkweeds (Hieracia).
The moth flies in June and July.