l68 THE MOTHS OK THE BRITISH ISLES. 



marked with orange on the back, and white on the sides ; the 

 warts are yellowish, and the hairs arising therefrom are reddish 

 brown ; the head is black. It feeds in spring, after hibernation, 

 on grasses, heather, and low herbage, and becomes full grown 

 in May. 



The Speckled Footman (Coscinia cribrum). 



The fore wings are whitish, crossed by three rows of blackish 

 grey dots, more or less connected, forming lines ; and two 

 streaks of the same colour through the length of the wings, but 

 not always extending to the outer margin ; a cross series of 

 wedge-shaped marks or dots on the outer area ; hind wings 

 grey. Sometimes the fore wings are wholly suffused with the 

 darker colour, and between such specimens and less frequent 

 examples in which the wings are almost devoid of marking, 

 there arc many gradations (Plate 90, Figs, i J , 2 9 ; 4, 5, 6 vars.). 



Eggs received from the New Forest, June 25, 1907, were laid 

 around a slender, bare, twig of heather, the batch measuring 

 about three-quarters of an inch in length. At first they were 

 golden yellow, but afterwards became pale purplish brown and 

 very glossy (Plate 91). 



Although the eggs appear to be more frequently laid on 

 heather than on anything else, the caterpillars do not seem 

 to be very partial to the plant as an article of food if others 

 are available. At the present time (October 13) I have about 

 a score or so of young larv;t' feeding, and apparently thriving, 

 on dandelion, lettuce, and grass, but they certainly seem t3 

 prefer the first named. They are now rather over half an 

 inch in length, and yellowish brown in colour ; there is a 

 whitish grey stripe along the back ; the warts are shining black, 

 and the hairs arising from them are black, mixed with a few 

 longer white ones ; head blackish. 



Caterpillars after hibernation have been found on the grass, 



