THE GENUS SMERINTHUS. 177 



a considerable space of time ; in 1894, I " assembled " a perfectly fresh 

 male on June 22nd, and a specimen is recorded (Ent. Rec, vol. i., p. 

 180), as having been taken in a moth-trap on July 8th. 



The well-known position assumed by tlie moths when at rest, is 

 undoubtedly protective so far as our British sj^ecies are concerned. S. 

 tiliae is said to rest on the young shoots that spring directly from the 

 trunk of the lime, and to simulate a gi'oup of small leaves. I have seen 

 one hanging from the top of a split oak fence, and it so exactly resembled 

 a withered leaf, that none but a practised eye could detect tlie difference. 

 S. ocellatus rests on bushes or hedges, and is said to exactly resemble a 

 withered leaf or spray of leaves. I have never found one at large, but 

 even in a breeding-cage, notwithstanding its large size and rich 

 coloration, it is by no means a conspicuous object. What special purpose 

 the ocelli subserve, it is rather a puzzle to determine ; they are completely 

 hidden by the fore- wings when the insect is at rest, and cannot, there- 

 fore, be protective under those circumstances ; is it possible that they 

 have the effect of startling bats or birds that are about to make a meal 

 of the flying moth ? That they are of some special benefit to the moth 

 I feel sure, because they are such a constant character, and moreover, are 

 well developed in the many allied species that are distributed over nearly 

 the whole of the N. Temperate Zone. S. populi is said to rest during 

 the day on the trunks of poplars or on hedge-banks. I have only once 

 found the moth at rest, and then it Avas on the trunk of a poplar, where 

 it was not at all well protected. 



All three species are said to fly slowly and heavily at dusk, and 

 again later in the night. I have never seen any of them on the wing 

 spontaneously, but have thrown up S. popult and S. ocellatus during the 

 day ; they had a feeble and fluttering flight, something like that of a 

 bat — but slower. Bred specimens of both species are usually lively and 

 active about dusk, and the males again from about RI.3U p.m. to mid- 

 night. 



DiSTiuBUTioN. — S. tiliae is much less common than either of the other 

 two. It is fairly plentiful and widely distributed in the south and 

 south-east of England, scarce in the Midlands, and very scarce, if not 

 altogether absent, in the north of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. 

 On the Continent, according to Mr. Kirby, it is common except in the 

 extreme north and south ; it also occui-s in Siberia, and there is a 

 specimen in the Brit. Mus. collection, from Sierra Leone. 



S. ocellatus is commonly distributed in the south and east of 

 England, less commonly in the north of England and south of 

 Scotland ; in Ireland it is scarce but widely distributed. It occurs 

 throughout Eurojie and northern Asia, and closely allied forms are found 

 over nearly the whole uf the N. Temperate Zone. 



S. popnli is found throughout Europe, except in the extreme north 

 and south, and also in northern and western Asia. Mr. Barrett says, 

 " It appears to occur in all parts of the United Kingdom excepting the 

 west of Scotland. It is scarce in the west of England and Wales, and 

 in Ireland it is found wherever poplar is common. Formerly it was 



abundant in the south of England, and even in London now, 



however, it is rarely seen in the subin-bs of London, and seems to be 

 generall}^ less common throughout the country." My own experience 

 is (juite the reverse of that of Mr. Barrett's. 1 have always found it 

 common in the suburbs of Loudon, in fact, much more plentiful in and 



