239 



CHAPTER XIX 



THE N0CTU2E 



We ha^•e already noticed that several of our moths fl.y by day ; 

 that some come out of their hiding places at dusk, and settle down 

 again to rest before the deepest shadows of night fall ; and that 

 others prefer the darkest hours of the night. The tribe of moths 

 we are next to consider includes the greater mimber (about three 

 hundred) of our truly nocturnal species, hence the name that heads 

 this chapter. 



They are generally of a somewhat dingy appearance, the pre- 

 vailing colours being dull shades of grey, drab, and brown. So 

 closely, in fact, do certain of them resemble each other, that the 

 greatest care has to be exercised in the identitication of species — a 

 task that is rendered still more difficult by the variations that we 

 observe in the tints and markings of certain species. 



These moths have generally rather stout bodies. Their fore 

 wings are somewhat narrow, and, when the insects are at rest, 

 these are brought clofje to the body, and the hind pair are folded 

 up beneath them. 



Family — Bryophilid.e 



The Marbled Beautij {Bri/ojihila Peria) 



Our first family — the Bryojjhilidcs — contains only four British 

 species. These are small and slender-bodied uioths, whose larvae 

 feed in early morning on the lichens that cover stones and old 

 walls, and conceal themselves by day in holes and chinks and under 

 stones. 



The Marbled Beauty is the only moth of this fauiily that may 



