The genus Melanippe contains twelve species, some of which are extremely common. One of these moths—the Common Carpet—is represented in fig. 203. Its wings are all of a smoky-brown colour, crossed by numerous white lines, the arrangement of which may be gathered from our illustration better than from a written description. It is a double-brooded insect, appearing first in May, and then again about the end of July.
The caterpillar is mottled with shades of brown and grey. On the back are five or six greyish-white lozenge-shaped marks, and there are a few white dots on the back of each segment. It feeds on the hedge bedstraw (Galium Mollugo), and when full grown it changes to a chrysalis in a light cocoon on the ground.
The Silver Ground Carpet (Melanippe montanata)
In this species the ground colour is silvery white. The bases of the fore wings are blotched with pale brown, and a dark brownish-grey
bar, containing a black spot, crosses the middle. The hind margins of the fore wings are faintly marked with pale brown, and lines of the same tint, more or less distinct, cross the hind wings.
This moth is very common in all parts of the country, and may be seen on the wing throughout the summer.
The caterpillar is light brown, with several longitudinal lines of different colours. On the back of each of the segments seven, eight, and nine is a distinct black V-shaped mark, terminating behind with a bright red spot. It feeds on the primrose (Primula acaulis) in the autumn, hybernates through the winter, and is full grown about the beginning of April.