BRITISH AND EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



133 



with dark brown, with a narrow light brown 

 dorsal line, a sinuated line near it, as well as 

 a broad lateral stripe of the same colour above 

 the legs. It feeds on grasses till May, 



Genus Mythimna, Guen. 



Head retracted, eyes small and hairy, pro- 

 boscis spiral. The antenna are provided in the 

 males with short stout pectinations, shortly 

 ciliated; in the females they are setiform with 

 a felt-like pubescence. The front, palpi and 

 legs are thinly covered with coarse hair. The 

 thorax is arched, quadrilateral in the males, 

 rounded in the females. The abdomen is not 

 tufted, slender, and obtuse at the extremity 

 in the males, pointed in the females. The 

 anal fold is short and obtuse, and is slightly 

 expanded at the end. The wings are shorter 

 and broader than in Leucania. 



M. imbecilla, Fabr. Fore wings yellow- 

 in the male, rusty brown in the female, with 

 two dark transverse lines and a smaller yellow 

 reniform stigma, whitish on the outer side. 

 The hind wings are black. It is widely distri- 

 buted through Europe, except in the North- 

 West and Scandinavia. It appears in Jul}- 

 and is found chiefly in mountainous districts. 

 On Alpine meadows it often occurs in large 

 numbers, flying about the flowers of Polygonum. 

 Tlie larva is dirty grey, with an oval dorsal 

 spot divided by a white line, and a dark 

 grey lateral stripe. It feeds on low plants 

 in Spring. 



FAMILY 



CARADRINID^. 



These moths form a connecting link be- 

 tween the Lencanida and Orthosida. They 

 are not very stout, have the eyes naked, 

 the front vertical, and usually the abdomen 

 untufted and the legs without spines. The 

 fore wings are obtuse in all the species, rather 

 broad externally, dull clay-coloured or brown- 

 ish, with more or less shining entire fringes. 

 The two stigmata are small, and either of the 

 colour of the wings or only slightly darker. The 

 two transverse lines are fine and indistinct. 

 The outer usually consists of crescents arranged 

 in a row, often darkly dotted on the nervures. 

 The central shade is distinct, and the sub- 

 marginal line faint and slightly sinuated. The 



hind wings are rounded and without markings, 

 generally slightly suffused with grey, and are 

 grey towards the hind margins. The moths 

 fly at night and hold their wings flatly over- 

 lapping when at rest. The larvae are smooth 

 and generally without markings. 



Genus Grammesia, Steph. 



Rather small and stout moths, -without any 

 trace of stigmata on the wings, with two 

 straight transverse lines, with a more or less 

 distinct central shade between, taking the same 

 direction. The eyes are naked and the head 

 is covered with short smooth hair. The pro- 

 boscis is spiral. The antennse are thick and 

 shortly pectinated and ciliated in the males, 

 setiform in the females. The abdomen is short 

 and not tufted. 



G. trigrammica, Hufn. The Treble-lines 

 ]\Ioth. PI. XXVI. fig. 8. is common in Central 

 and Southern Europe in June and Juh", 

 especially in woody localities. It is fond of 

 flying about flow-ering grasses in the evening. 

 The variety bilinea, Hiibn. has two distinct 

 pale yellow- transverse lines on the fore -wings 

 and a brow-n streak in the middle. The larva 

 is ashy grey, with interrupted longitudinal 

 streaks and bristly hairs. It hibernates and 

 feeds on low plants in April and May. 



Genus Stilbia, Steph. 



Body and legs smoothly scaled, those on 

 the thorax being flattened and shining, w-ith 

 a thick horizontal raised tuft on the scutellum. 

 The antennae are setiform, ciliated in the 

 male. The male is very slender, the female 

 stouter, with narrow-er w-ings. The only spe- 

 cies is: — 



S. anomala, Haw. The Anomalous Moth. 

 Fore wings bluish grey, shading into reddish, 

 with the submarginal line and two stigmata 

 lighter. The hind wings are greyish yellow, 

 darker towards the hind margins. The head 

 and thorax- are like the fore wings and the ab- 

 domen light grey. It is found in the British 

 Isles, France, and some parts of Germany, 

 but is local. It appears in August and Sep- 

 tember. The larva is green or brown, with 

 three w-hite dorsal lines and a bluish-white 

 lateral stripe. It hibernates and lives on grass 

 in Spring. 



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