98 THE MOTHS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



June or July. Sometimes the young caterpillars have been 

 found in their winter quarters about the middle of July, and 

 this would seem to imply that they occasionally lie dormant for 

 two winters ; at least this would appear to be so in Scotland 

 whence such individuals have been recorded, with the additional 

 information that they did not eat through the summer and that 

 one was still alive in the following March. The chrysahs is 

 glossy black, and hairy (Plate 42, Fig. 3^). 



This is chiefly a northern insect, occurring most commonly 

 on the Cheshire, Lancashire, and Cumberland coast. It is 

 more generally distributed in Scotland and is often abundant 

 on the moorlands. In Ireland three caterpillars were found 

 by Mr. Kane in the Bog of Allen, and the species has also 

 been recorded from TuUamore and MuUingar. Distribution : 

 Northern and Central Europe, extending to the Altai, 



^ J^'^^ ' The Pale Tussock {Dasychira pudibwida). '^J't'^< 



^'^ This moth is much commoner and more widely distributed ' 

 in England than that last mentioned. The central area of the 

 greyish white fore wings is subject to variation in width and also 

 in tint ; this latter may be darker or lighter than the example 

 shown on Plate 40, and the cross lines are in some specimens 

 black and very distinct. The colour of the female ranges from 

 pale greyish white through various tones of grey, and the bands 

 on the hind wings may be as well defined as in the male. The 

 egg is grey, with a darker shade in the depression on top. 



The hairy caterpillar is -green or yellow, the former mottled 

 with whitish and the latter with greenish ; on rings 4 to 7 are 

 thick brushes of yellow hairs, and on ring 11 there is a tuft of 

 reddish hair ; the back is marked with black between the 

 brushes, and there are black spots on the sides of the hind 

 rings. Sometimes the caterpillar is light or dark brownish and 

 the brushes are then greyish, or tinged with pale reddish or 



