«30 



BRITISH AND EUROPE AX BUTTERFLIES; AND MOTHS. 



in all parts of the stems of Arundo phragmites 

 in May, and assumes the pupa-state in the 

 ground. 



Genus Meliana, Curt. 



This Genus is most closel}' allied to Senta 

 but the eyes are hairjr and the scales more 

 like these of Lencania. The thorax is arched 

 and has smooth hair and no ridge. The ab- 

 domen is slender, elongated, conical and arched; 

 obtuse in the male, and pointed in the female. 

 The only species is: — 



M. flammea. Curt. The Flame Wain- 

 scot. Fore wings yellowish grey merging into 

 red, with scattered black dots on and between 

 the nervures. The wings are very pointed. 

 The hind wings and abdomen are yellowisli 

 grey. It appears in May and June in Central 

 Europe, but is local. In England it has been 

 taken in the fens of Cambridgeshire and 

 Huntingdonshire. The larva is long, light, 

 flesh-coloured, with very slender pale longi- 

 tudinal lines, and a pale head and cervical 

 plate. It feeds in reeds in the Autumn, and 

 passes into the pupa-state before Winter. 



Genus Leucania, Ochs. 



Fore wings with strong nervures and with- 

 out markings, or at most with onl}' a row of 

 dark dots replacing the posterior transverse 

 line and small light or dark dots in the place 

 of the stigmata. Nervures 8 and g rise by a 

 common stem from 7. The appendicular cell 

 is large. Nervure 5 of the hind wings is 

 slender, and 3 and 4, 6 and 7 rise side by 

 side, the last named being sometimes stalked. 

 The absence of the horny plate on the front 

 distinguishes this genus from Nonagria. The 

 larvae are long, and tapering at the ends with 

 fine longitudinal lines. The}' feed on low plants 

 and some of them on reeds. 



L. impudens, Hiibn. The Striped Wain- 

 scot. Fore wings with tolerably straight hind 

 margins, orange-yellow or brownish red, with- 

 out transverse lines, dusted with darker be- 

 tween the nervures, especially towards the hind 

 margins and on the median nervure, and with 

 reddish fringes. Tlic hind wings are brown 

 with a reddish tinge. The fringes are usually 

 somewhat lighter in the male. The abdomen 

 has several small tufts on the back in the 



male, and a reddish anal tuft. It is common 

 in Central Europe in June, but is somewhat 

 local in England. The larva is dirty white 

 with three white dorsal lines, the two outer 

 of which are edged with black, and three fine 

 light lines on the sides and a grey stripe on 

 the legs. It feeds on grass till Maj^, and 

 passes into the pupa state on the ground. 



L. impura, Hiibn. Tlie Smoky Wainscot. 

 Fore wings obtuse, wainscot -brown, with- 

 out transverse lines, and with rather lighter 

 nervures, edged with darker, especially on the 

 median nervure and on those towards the 

 base. At the point of division of the median 

 nervure there is a small black dot, and there 

 are also some in the position of the posterior 

 transverse line. There is a very indistinct 

 row of dots in front of the striped fringes. 

 The .hind wings are brownish grey, lighter 

 towards the base, with white fringes. The 

 head and thorax are wainscot-brown. It flies 

 in June and September, and is common in 

 Central Europe. The larva is pale reddish 

 grey with a white median dorsal line, edged 

 with dirty yellow, and a light lateral stripe, 

 above the legs, containing two white lines. 

 It feeds on grass from Autumn till Ma}'. The 

 pupa is elongated. 



L. pallens, Linn. The Common Wain- 

 scot. Fore wings pale ochre-j-ellow like dried 

 reeds and without transverse lines. The ner- 

 vures are light with small black dots at their 

 points of division and also on nervures 2 and 

 5 in the position of the posterior transverse 

 line. The hind wings are white, suffused 

 with yellowish grey. It is common in most 

 parts of Europe in June and in August and 

 September. The caterpillar is yellowish or 

 reddish, with grey finely pubescent warts, a 

 white dorsal line edged with blackish, an inter- 

 rupted blackish lateral line, and another, dark 

 above and light beneath, placed above the 

 legs and enclosing the spiracles. It is double 

 brooded, being found in June and September, 

 and lives on low plants and grass. 



L. obsoleta, Hiibn. The Obscure Wain- 

 scot. Fore wings yellowish brown or reddish 

 grey without transverse lines, with lighter, 

 dark -bordered nervures, a white dot on the 

 median nervure, a row of black dots on the 

 nervures in the position of the posterior trans- 



