BRITISH AXD EUROPE AX BUTTERFLIES AXD MOTHS. 



105 



rare. A very dark variety, microdon, Guen. 

 inhabits the higher Alps. The larva is bright 

 blue-black, very finely pubescent, with a fine 

 white dorsal line above the first three segments, 

 having two lemon-yellow stripes of unequal 

 breadth on each side, interrupted at the in- 

 cisions, and with black dots between. The 

 head is blackish. It feeds on Hippocrepis comosa, 

 Oi-niiliopiis, and Coronilla in June. 



M. chenopodii, W. V. The Nutmeg 

 Moth. Fore wings brownish grey, with rusty 

 brown markings. The reniform stigma is 

 darkest on the lower half. The submarginal line 

 is whitest. The fringes are rusty brown, divided 

 by white conical spots on the nervures, and 

 through the middle passes a rusty brown band. 

 Hind wings dirty white, whitest on the ner- 

 vures, with a central lunule and a greyish 

 brown band near the hind margin, and a light 

 spot in front of the marginal line towards 

 the anal angle. The head and thorax are 

 grey, and the abdomen greyish white. The 

 antennae are ciliated in the male. The moth 

 is common throughout Europe during the 

 Summer. In England it is found chiefly in 

 the Southern Counties. The larva is green 

 or brownish, varied with darker and lighter, 

 with a dark dorsal line edged on both sides 

 with white, and a red lateral line above the 

 legs edged with white. It feeds from July 

 till Autumn on Chenopodium, Atriplex, and other 

 low plants. 



M. saponariae, Borkh. The Bordered 

 Gothic. Fore wings with the hind margin 

 slightly curved in front of the apex, walnut- 

 brown varied with purplish red. The ner- 

 vures as far as the posterior transverse line 

 and all the markings are sharply defined and 

 pale yellow. The claviform stigma is margined 

 with black, and the nearly straight transverse 

 lines are sharply bordered with black on both 

 sides. The deeply dentated submarginal line has 

 a W mark and thick sagittate spots on the 

 inner side. The marginal line is composed of 

 black triangular spots, and the fringes are 

 finely intersected with white on the nervures. 

 Hind wings greyish brown, lighter towards 

 the base, with a central lunule, and with fringes 

 yellow at the base and white at the tips. The 

 thorax is sHghtly tufted, walnut-brown, and 

 the abdomen greyish brown. The antennae 



are ciliated in the male. It is common in 

 May and June in Central and Northern Europe, 

 flying at night near Echium. The caterpillar 

 is light green without markings, with a brown- 

 ish green head and cervical plate. It lives 

 on the unripe capsules of Silenc, Saponaria, 

 carnation, etc. 



M. dysodea, W. V. The Small Ranunculus. 

 Fore wings short, with obtuse tips, ashy grey, 

 more or less varied with orange, especially on 

 the markings. The central area is the darkest. 

 The transverse lines are distinct, the posterior 

 uniformly thickened and deeply dentated. The 

 three stigmata are edged with darker, the 

 claviform being the darkest. The marginal 

 line is composed of faint dark crescent-shaped 

 spots, edged with paler towards the base. The 

 fringes are light, varied with darker. Hind 

 wings light grey, darker in the female, with 

 a lighter curved line, darker marginal band, 

 and the fringes white in their anterior half. 

 It appears in June and July, and is common 

 in Central and Southern Europe. The larva 

 is grass-green, with bright warts, a white or 

 yellowish lateral line above the legs, and 

 yellowish spiracles. The head is darker green, 

 and the belly and legs are darkest of all. It 

 feeds in August on the seeds of lettuce, 

 Chenopodium, etc. 



M. Serena, W. V. The Broad-barred 

 White. Fore wings milky white or bluish 

 grey, varied with brownish grey, especially 

 in the dark central area. The transverse lines 

 are distinct, bordered on both sides with 

 darker, and the three stigmata are edged with 

 black. The orbicular and reniform stigmata 

 are of the pale ground colour, with a brownish 

 centre, and the central shade is more or less 

 distinctly dentated. The submarginal line is 

 indistinct, with three darker spots. The 

 marginal line is formed of crescents, and the 

 fringes are white, marbled with brown, banded 

 in the middle, and especially in the apical half, 

 with white on the nervures. Hind wings grey, 

 lighter towards the base, with a faint curved 

 line, a few lighter spots in front of the inter- 

 rupted dark marginal line, and fringes, which 

 are whitish in the apical half. It is not un- 

 common in Central and Southern Europe in 

 June and July. The larva is green, with black- 

 ish green connected lozenge-shaped spots on the 



