Pl. 126. 1, 2. BORDERED GOTHIC. 3, 4. DUSKY SALLOW. 5. ORACHE MOTH. 6, 7. SAXON MOTH.
Pl. 127. 1, 2. FIGURE OF EIGHT MOTH. 3, 4. FEATHERED GOTHIC. 5. GREEN BRINDLED DOT. 6, 7. BEAUTIFUL GOTHIC. 8, 9. ANTLER MOTH.
{ 255} FEATHERED GOTHIC (_Tholera_ (_Epineuronia_) _popularis_).
The male of this species (Plate 127, Fig. 3) is strongly attracted by light, and frequently seen in houses, and is no doubt a familiar object to most residents in the country, and even in the suburbs of London. The female (Fig. 4) does not visit light, but this sex, and the males also, may be found sitting after dark upon the upper erect leaves of the hard grasses, such as the matweed (_Nardus stricta_). Of course a lantern will be required to throw a light on the business of collecting them, and it is curious to note that even the brilliant glare of the acetylene lamp does not seem to disturb the moths very much, if at all.
The caterpillar is dark greenish brown and rather glossy, with a dusky plate on the first ring upon which are traces of the five dark-edged pale brownish stripes which traverse the body and meet on the last ring; the latter has a black plate. The spiracles are black, and the head is brownish, marked with { 256} darker. The caterpillars hatch in the spring from eggs laid the previous autumn, and may be found until July. They feed at night on the leaves of grasses, especially _Nardus_ and such kinds, growing in parks and open places. The moth is out in August and September, and occurs more or less commonly throughout England and Wales. In Scotland it is found in Ayrshire, and in other localities in the Clyde area; thence eastward to Aberdeen. Kane states that in Ireland it is generally distributed, and in some localities very abundant, as at Clonbrock, and on the Wicklow coast.
The sexes of this moth are depicted on Plate 128, Figs. 8[male], 9[female]. In habits, and also in the kind of places it frequents, this species has much in common with that last mentioned. It is certainly more local, but its range in the British Isles is somewhat similar to that of the Gothic. The life history also is very like that of the last species, and the caterpillar feeds on the same kinds of grass.