BRITISH AXD EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AXD MOTHS. 



83 



It has the usual black-bordered stiguiata, and 

 lias the posterior transverse line blacker, with 

 the inner margin whiter and broader than in 

 the next species. The marginal area, espe- 

 cially beyond the transverse line, is darker, 

 and the marginal line is sharply spotted with 

 Mack. The fringes are light grey, chequered 

 with black. The hind wings are light grey, 

 with darker hind margins. Both head and 

 thorax are w^hitish, and the abdomen is reddish 

 grey. The moth frequents swampy places in 

 Central and Northern Europe. The larva is 

 black, with eight hairy black warts on each 

 segment, and a dark red longitudinal line above 

 the legs. It lives in July and August on sweet 

 gale (Menyanthes trifoliata), Vaccinium oxycoccos, 

 low willows, etc. Var. salicis, Curt, is a 

 dark grey, nearly imicolorous form, occurring 

 in England. 



A. auricoma, W. V. The Scarce Dagger 

 Moth. Fore wings dark or light grey, with a 

 brown line passing through the reniform stigma, 

 and two black transverse lines, the anterior 

 of which is double, the posterior deeply den- 

 tated and edged with white on the inner side. 

 On nervure ib., as in the allied species, there 

 are two black longitudinal lines, of which the 

 one at the base describes a curve backwards 

 to nervure la. The marginal area is darkest 

 on the transverse hne, with rows of whitish 

 spots towards the hind margin. The mar- 

 ginal line is indistinctly dotted with black. 

 The fringes are brownish at the base, brown 

 chequered with white on their anterior half. 

 The head and thorax are black varied with 

 grey, and the abdomen is grey. The moth 

 appears in May and again in July and August 

 in Central and Northern Europe, and is most 

 common in swampy places. The larva is 

 black, with a transverse row of orange-coloured 

 warts on each segment, and stiff orange-coloured 

 hairs. It lives in June and again in Autumn 

 on birch, willow, aspen, raspberry, etc. 



A. abscondita, Treit. Fore wings leaden 

 grey, heavily dusted with black, with very 

 indistinct markings, and the ends of some of 

 the nervures darker, with the orbicular stigma 

 close to the posterior transverse line. The 

 fringes are black, chequered with white. Hind 

 wings white in the male, with a blackish 

 marginal line; grey in the female, with white 



fringes. The moth is found in April and May 

 and again in July and August in Eastern 

 Europe. The caterpillar is blackish, partly 

 veined with yellow, with a velvety black dorsal 

 stripe, white incisions, yellow and red warts 

 on the sides, and a row of brown ones above 

 the legs, eight on the first two segments, and 

 twelve on those following. All of these warts 

 are covered with black and white hairs, and 

 have yellow and white spots between them. 

 It lives on spurge and heath in June and in 

 the Autumn. 



A. euphorbiae, W. V. Fore wings ashy 

 grey, thickly dusted with black, with two par- 

 tially indistinct double transverse lines, be- 

 tween which is a small dark spot on the inner 

 margin of the wings. The stigmata are edged 

 with black, and there is a white submarginal line 

 and a dark line before the middle of the base, 

 extending to the anterior transverse line, with 

 the curve of which it unites. The fringes are 

 white, chequered with gre}', the outermost tip 

 of the fringes being grey. The hind wings 

 are white in the male, with dark nervures 

 and dots near the hind margin; brownish grey 

 in the female, with paler fringes. The body 

 is grey, the head and thorax varied with white. 

 It is widely distributed in Europe in May and 

 June, but is not common. The larva is dark 

 grey, with a velvety black spot on the back, a 

 white spot on each side of it, and eight hairy 

 warts on each segment. On the sides there 

 is an orange-coloured longitudinal line, in which 

 the spiracles are conspicuously white with 

 black rings. It feeds on spurge, bog-myrtle, 

 and other low plants in June. The pupa is 

 dull brown, with a few bristles on the. short 

 terminal spine, and has a white cocoon. Var. 

 myricae, Guen. The Sweet Gale Moth is 

 darker, with unicolorous bluish grey markings. 

 It is found in the Alps, and in the British 

 Isles at Rannoch, in Perthshire, and at Kil- 

 larne3\ 



A. euphrasiae, Borkh. is very similar to 

 the last species, but the markings are more 

 sharply defined, and the thorax is covered 

 with yellowish hair. The male has a yellow 

 anal tuft. It appears in April and May and 

 again in July and August, and is found in 

 some parts of Central Europe. The larva is 

 of a very deep velvety black, with a bright red 



