240 



COMMON BRITISH MOTHS 



be described as common with us. It is abundant in nearly every 

 Englisli county, as well as in parts of Scotland and Ireland. 



Its wings are very pale grey, marked with 

 a darker bluish grej-, as shown in the engrav- 

 ing. These markings are variable, but the 

 bases of the fore wings have alwaj's a dark 

 blotch, followed by a patch of pale grey or 

 white, extending the whole widtli of the 

 wing. The moth may be found from the be- 

 ginning of July to the middle of September. 

 The larva feeds from February to April. 

 It is black above, with a broad orange-bordered stripe down the 

 back; and its body is covered with small warts, each of which 

 bears a single hair. 



Fig. 138.— The 

 Mahbled Beauty. 



Family — Bombycoid.e 



In this family there are sixteen British moths, several of which 

 are exceedingly common. They are much larger than the Bryoplii- 

 lidcp, and of a much stouter build. The larvae are covered with 

 little hair-bearing warts, and are, indeed, often so hairy, that they 

 may be mistaken for the caterpillars of the Bomhyces. 



The Grey Dagger {Acronycta Psi) 



This is the commonest of all the Bomhycoidce. It may be 

 found at rest on tree trunks and palings during the daytime 

 throiighout the summer. Its fore wings are pale grey, with four 



conspicuous black marks, one of 

 ^ ^ which — that in the anal angle — re- 



_^ sembles the Greek letter ])si (\//) 

 '^^fe^^fr placed sideways. 



The larva is black or very dark 



grey, with a pale yellow line down 



: ' " the back, and a black hump on each 



of the fifth and twelfth segments, 



Fig. 1^!).— The Gkey Daggek. that on the fifth being much larger 



than tlie other. It feeds in the 

 autumn on lime {Tilia vulgaris), blackthorn [Prunus s2nnosa), 

 whitetliorn {Cratcegus oxyacantha), fruit trees, and various other 

 trees, slmibs, and herbs. 



U 



