246 



COMMON BRITISH MOTHS 



same colciu' along the hind margin ; also a row of small black dots 



parallel with the same 

 margin. The hind wings 

 are pale ochreous : they 

 are brownisli along the 

 hind margin, and have 

 a light fringe. 



The moth is very 

 common in waste places, 

 and flies in Jiine and 

 July. 



The caterpillar is of 



a dirty white colour, dotted with black, and has a black head. It 



feeds on the roots of grasses in May. 



Fig. 148. — The Light Akches. 



T 



m 





The Flounced Rustic {Luperina festacca) 



The fore wings are greyish brown, with darker umber-brown 

 markings. These latter are variable, 

 but the most conspicuous is a series 

 ^^^,^^3^^ of dark crescent-shaped spots almost 

 parallel ^vith the hind margin, and 

 immediately outside these is a series 

 of paler crescents. 



The caterpillar is dull flesh-colour, 



with a brown head, and a brownish 



plate on the second segment. It feeds 



on the stems of grasses. 



The moth is common throughout the British Isles, and flies in 



A-Ugust and September. 



Fig. 149.- -The Flounced 

 Rustic. 



The Cabbage Moth {Mamestra Brassicce) 



Whatever be your methods of moth collecting, you are sure to 

 meet with Brassicce in abundance. They swarm round the insect 

 hunter's sugar in such numbers as to become a positive nuisance. 

 They are also attracted by light. During the day the}- may be seen 

 at rest on palings. The caterpillar is even better known, and with 

 reason, for it is fearfully destructive to our vegetables and even our 

 flower beds. It burrows into the hearts of cabbages, filling the 

 gallferies it makes with its excrement, often leaving no very 



