J40 LEPIDOPTERA. 



Oa the wing from the end of Jime till August. 



Larva and I'ipa unknown. 



The moth frequents fens and marshes, hiding during the 

 day among the coarse herbage, close to the ground, and is 

 rarely seen at that time, since it will not ily, but drops down 

 if disturbed, and can only be discovered by careful parting 

 of the grass and herbage and the blowing-down of smoke. 

 But after sunset it flies of its own accord, and may be seen 

 and taken in multitudes, keeping near to the ground and 

 threading its way on the wing among the coarse jilants. 

 Apparently it furnishes no indication of any preference for 

 moss, grass, or any other plant. Sometimes a shower of rain 

 earlier in the afternoon will bring it out in full force. Most 

 abundant in the fens of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Cambridge- 

 shire, but apparently to be found in every wet marsh in the 

 southern portion of England, with the Eastern Counties ; 

 also in Herefordshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire, and 

 Yorkshire. Probably overlooked in a great portion of the 

 Midlands and Northern Counties ; for it exists in a marsh in 

 Fife, near Edinburgh, and in the Orkneys and Unst, Shet- 

 land. My only record in Wales is in Pembrokeshire, where 

 it is common in the smallest marshes. In Ireland it is 

 found near Dublin, and in Waterford, ilonaghan, Armagh, 

 Antrim, and Donegal. Abroad distributed through Central 

 Europe, North and East Spain, and Livonia. 



Section 2. PTEROPHORID^. 



Proboscis present; maxillarj- palpi imperceptible; labial 

 paljji short. Fore wings usually shortl}' cleft ; vein 5 absent 

 or curtailed ; hind wings closely folded or triply cleft ; vein 5 

 absent ; vein S closely pressed to vein 7 ; abdomen very 

 slender, long, constricted at the base, thickened behind. 



