Volume 14, Plate XXI / Entomology (Insects)

Wood Tiger-Moth, Cinnabar Moth & Crimson Speckled Footman

Nemeophila Plantaginis, Callimorpha Jacobææ & Deiopeia pulchella

1. Wood Tiger-Moth. The male is about an inch and a half across and the female larger, the forewings deep black with a cream-coloured stripe forming a kind of cross and two marginal spots, the hinder wings ochreous-yellow with black basal stripes and marginal spots in the male. The black hairy caterpillar, with six reddish middle segments, feeds on plantain and chickweed, this insect found in June and July in certain localities including Shetland and Orkney.
2. & 3. The Cinnabar Moth. The colouring is very peculiar with the upper and under surfaces precisely alike, the forewings greyish-black with a carmine stripe along the anterior margin and two rounded red marginal spots, the under wings entirely bright red save a greyish-black fringe and edge. The yellow black-ringed caterpillar feeds on ragwort flowers, this insect of occasional occurrence apparently throughout Britain and abundant in some places, including the Northumbrian coast, though nowhere plentiful in Scotland.
4. & 5. Crimson Speckled Footman. A very beautiful but rare native species, the head, thorax, and pale straw-coloured upper wings marked with five curved rows of quadrate black spots interspersed with bright scarlet spots, the abdomen and under wings white tinged with blue. The hairy bluish-grey caterpillar, spotted with black and red, feeds on heliotrope, nightshade, and field mouse-ear, this moth frequent in southern Europe but among the rarest British kinds, found only near Christchurch, Brighton, and in Yorkshire.