EECEEATIVE SCIENCE. 



27 



Phalcena, a fanciful name deriyed from the 

 Greek word ^a^aiva, meaning an insect wWchi 

 flies towards a candle at night — a name 

 evidently suggested to the great Swedish 

 naturalist by the old proverbial image of the 

 moth and the candle. The name is, however, 

 no longer applied to the general group, to 

 which, as a whole, it has been shown to be 

 inappropriate. 



Among those, however, which are strictly 

 night- flyers a very pretty collection might be 

 made ; and some account of their habits, as 

 observed by the student, and an accurate and 

 careful description of theirtime of appearance, 

 etc., might be made to form a very interest- 

 ing record. The following are a few of the 

 species which are attracted by a lighted 

 candle. Supposing the window to be open, 

 and a bright light burning upon the table, 

 a succession of these scaly-winged visitors 

 wotdd, on a mild summer evening, in July 

 or August for instance, continue to appear 

 from dusk to dawn, each with its peculiar 

 kind of flight ; but only a few can be se- 

 parately noticed. Among these, Pheosia 

 Dictcea, popularly called the Swallow Promi- 

 nent (No. 1), ought to be distinguished. This 

 pretty genus of moths, of which there are two 

 British species, are known as the " swallows," 

 on account of the long lancet-shaped wings, 

 and their remarkably rapid flight. The front 

 pair of wings of this elegant insect are deli- 

 cately marbled with shades of brown upon a 

 white ground, the brown being blended in 

 some places with a soft tone of gray. In its 

 fitful flight, when agitated by the light of the 

 candle, this insect continually darts towards 

 the ground, and is lost in the darkness, soon 

 to appear again glancing swiftly past the 

 light, and then downward into the shade as 

 before. 



The caterpillar of this elegant moth is of 

 a shining, reddish brown, with small white 

 spiracular marks above the legs. It has the 

 last segment conspicuously humped, as is 

 usual with the caterpillars of this genus, and 



those of several allied genera, from which 

 they are made to form a group, popularly 

 known as the " Prominents." One species 

 of a closely allied genus has two additional 

 humps, or segments, nearer to the head, from 

 which peculiarity the specific name "Dro- 

 medarius " has been conferred upon it. The 

 caterpillar of Pheosia Dictcea feeds on the 

 foliage. of the poplar, birch, and other trees, 

 and there are two distinct broods, the perfect 

 insect appearing both in June and August. 

 It is, however, by no means a common species, 

 and if the young collector should find it 

 come to his light on the first evenings of his 

 experiments, he may consider it a prize. 



Agrotis Corticea, the Heart and Club Moth 

 (No. 2), is less fleet on the wing than the pre- 

 ceding, and instead of flying downwards, 

 towards the floor, invariably flies towards 

 the celling, attracted apparently by the mUd 

 white light by which it is pervaded. This 

 moth, with its markings of plain brown, un- 

 varied by any other tone, is yet well worthy 

 of examination. The two brown marks in the 

 centre of the front pair of wings, the upper 

 one shaped like a heart, and the one next the 

 body in the form of a club, are the most in- 

 teresting, as having suggested the popular 

 name of the insect ; but the other bandings 

 and scalloped transverse lines also form very 

 intricate and delicate tracery. Agrotis Cor- 

 ticea belongs to a very numerous genus, com- 

 posed of sixteen, or as some make it, twenty- 

 three or more species, many of which are 

 very common, as the Heart and Dart, and 

 many others ; but Corticea, the species de- 

 scribed, is rather rare, and the caterpillar, as 

 yet, remains unknown. 



Cosmia Pyralina, the Lunar-spotted 

 Pinion Moth (No. 3), if it enter a room, 

 attracted by the light, is veiy wUd and irre- 

 gular in its flight, dashing from the candle to 

 the ceiling, and from the ceiling to the floor. 

 Its front wings are very richly shaded with 

 full warm tones of brown ; the light band 

 towards the fringed edge, which widens and 



