EUCLIDIA. 



175 



brown towards the base, with a broad dark brown marginal 

 band, and Hght brown fringes, bounded by a dark sinuated 

 line. 



The larva feeds on oak and aspen. The pro-legs increase 

 gradually, in length from the first to the last pair. The head 

 is flat and rather large, orange-coloured, with yellow lines. 

 Before the last moult, the larva is dark green with white dots, and 

 a red line just above the legs. On the fifth segment are two 

 raised red dots, and on the penultimate segment are two raised 

 red points. The anal plate is rather long. After the last 

 moult, the body is reddish- brown, with a very pale lateral line, 

 and the red spots become orange-coloured. Varieties are also 

 met with in which the colour is greyer, or blackish. 



It undergoes its metamorphosis in the ground, in a slight 

 cocoon partly composed of dry leaves and moss. The moths 

 do not generally appear until the following May, but some 

 appear the same autumn from the earliest larvae. The moths 

 fly by day. 



FAMILY EUCLIDIID^. 



This is a small Family of moths, remarkable for their clear and 

 sharply-defined markings, which sometimes resemble geome- 

 trical figures. The European species are of small size, and 

 fly in meadows during the day-time, like the Skippers. 



GENUS EUCLIDIA. 

 Eudidia, Hiibner, Tentamen, p. 2 (1810?); Ochsenheimer, 

 Schmett. Eur. iv. p. 96 (1816) ; Trcitschke, Schmett. 

 Eur. V. (3), p. 38S (1826) ; Guen^e, Spec. Gen. L^pid. 

 Noct. iii. p. 290(1852); Walker, List Lepid. Ins. Brit. 

 Mus. xiv. p. 1457 (1S58). 



These are small brown moths, with the abdomen as long as 

 the hind-wings, moderately stout, and slightly crested at the 



