146 



BRITISH AND EUROPEAK BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS. 



plate. When young it lives between the 

 leaves of the beech which it has spun together, 

 and afterwards on plantain, hen-bit, etc. 



O. circellaris, Hufn. The Brick Moth. 

 Fore wings reddish yellow, with the half line 

 and the two transverse lines darker in the 

 middle; and the two stigmata bordered with 

 darker, the reniform with a sharply-defined 

 iron-grey spot. The central area has a more 

 or less distinct central shade. The distinctly 

 darker marginal area has a greyish lustre and 

 contains a yellow submarginal line, blotched 

 with brown on the inner side. The marginal 

 line is similar; and the nervures are dusted 

 with white. The hind wings are yellowish 

 grey with sometimes a semi-transparent central 

 lunule and curved line, and yellowish costa 

 and fringes. The abdomen has a yellowish 

 extremity. The antennae are notched in the 

 male. It is common in Central Europe in 

 Autumn. The larva is reddish brown, dotted 

 with darker, with a light dorsal and lateral 

 line, the latter above the legs, and dark oblique 

 stripes on each segment, forming a V, with 

 the point behind, and most distinct on the 

 posterior segments. There is a white cervical 

 plate and a pink belly and legs. It lives in 

 June on oak and aspen and the pupa has a 

 dense earthy cocoon. 



O. helvola, Linn. The Flounced Chestnut. 

 Fore wings pale olive-green or cinnamon-colour 

 with the stigmata surrounded with olive-yellow. 

 Hind wings smoky grey, bordered with red- 

 dish on the costa and hind margins. It is 

 common in Central and Southern Europe. 

 The larva is brownish red with a white stripe. 

 It feeds in May and June on oak. 



O. pistacina, W. V. The Beaded Chest- 

 nut. Fore wings yellowish grey, reddish grey 

 or rusty brown, with the costa lighter as far 

 as a dark spot near the apex. The nervures 

 are light, and the two transverse lines are 

 bounded externally with darker. The stigmata 

 are dark grey with paler margins, the orbi- 

 cular being very narrow, and the submarginal 

 line is also dark grey. The inner margin, the 

 central shade in front of the reniform stigma, 

 and the space between the transverse and 

 submarginal lines (in front of which is a row of 

 dark spots), are the darkest parts of the wings. 

 The fringes are yellow with tiarker crescents. 



The hind wings are light or dark grey, with 

 yellow fringes, like the fore wings. The moth, 

 which hibernates, is common in Autumn in 

 Central and Southern Europe. The larva is 

 thinly pubescent, yellowish green, with whitish 

 or rust-coloured spots, a more or less rust- 

 coloured dorsal and lateral line and a white 

 spiracular band bordered with rust-colour above. 

 It feeds in June on Centaurea scabiosa, Raniiiiculiis 

 hulbosHs and other low plants. 



O. nitida, W. V. is brownish yellow. The 

 fore wings have the half line, the two dark- 

 bordered transverse lines across tlie middle, 

 the margins of the stigmata, and the submar- 

 ginal line, which is dotted with black and com- 

 mences in front as a dark streak, as well as 

 the nervures, all yellow. The centre of the 

 stigmata, of which the orbicular is elongated 

 and approaches the reniform closely behind, 

 a dusky line from this to the inner margin 

 and the marginal line, which is composed 

 of curves, are darker. The hind wings are 

 suffused with grey and have yellowish fringes. 

 The anus is yellowish. It is widely distri- 

 buted through Central Europe, except the 

 North-West, appearing in July and August, 

 the later specimens hibernating. The larva 

 is greyish brown, with a reddish tinge, with 

 small scattered hairs, and a black cervical 

 plate, with two black lines upon it. It feeds 

 on Veronica and other low plants in Ma}- and 

 June. 



O. humilis, W. \'. Fore wings light or 

 dark ashy grey with a reddish brown tinge, 

 dusted with black and with two light trans- 

 verse lines, edged on the inner side with red- 

 dish and on the outer with dark grey. The 

 stigmata are bordered with reddish, the orbi- 

 cular being generally centred with black. There 

 is a central shade, a yellowish submarginal 

 line, a marginal line formed of black punctated 

 lunules, brown fringes and light nervures, 

 the whole so arranged that the wings appear 

 reticulated. The hind wings are brownish 

 grey with a faint central lunule and yellowish 

 white fringes. The abdomen is without any 

 tinge of red and is provided with an ovipositor 

 in the female. The moth is found in South- 

 Central Europe in July, but is scarce and local. 

 The larva is green, with fine scattered hairs, 

 with three white longitudinal lines, the median 



