White Ermine

Appearance

Milky white, abdomen orange with black dorsal dots. Forewing more or loss sprinkled with sharply defined black dots, of which there are always some at the costa and others arranged in rows in the disc. Hindwing with discal dots and often with anal ones and others.

Antennae black. In specimens from Northern Scotland the forewing is sandy yellow, ab. ''ochrea'', also found elsewhere as an exception among. The forewing may be darkened to brown; this is the case in ab. ''brunnea'' Ober. In ab. ''luxerii'' Godt. the forewing is suffused with rose-red distally and brownish proximally. In ab. ''walkeri'' Curt, the dots merge together to form radial streaks. In Japan it usually occurs in the form ''sangaica'' Walk. which is only distinguished from ''lubricipeda'' by the sparse dots, especially in the outer area of theforewing. Specimens similar to ''sangaica'' occur aberratively also in Europe, bearing the name ''paucipuncta'' Fuchs and in contradistinction to it there is the very strongly dotted ''krieghoffi'' Pabst. A still further reduction of the dots leads to ab. ''unipuncta'' Strand, in which there is only one dot on the hindwing.-''punctarium'' Cr.[now full species ''Spilosoma punctarium'' ]is distinguished from ''lubricipeda'' by the carmine abdomen with sharp transverse spots, and by the wings being rather more spotted.

Behavior

The moth flies May to September depending on the location. They are not eaten by birds because they are poisonous.

Egg light yellow. Larva lilac-brown. witii deep dark brown hair and orange-yellow dorsal stripe. The larvae feed on Stinging nettle, ''Cytisus scoparius'', Alfalfa, ''Echium vulgare'' and ''Taraxacum officinale''.