256 LEPIDOPTERA. 



Larva veiy slender, about an inch and a quarter in length ; 

 head of the same width as the second se<,'ment, unifornilv pale 

 ureen ; face llattened ; body cylindrical or tapering very 

 slightly fiom the jjosterior segments to the head ; segmental 

 folds overlapping and rendering the divisions distinct ; on 

 the anal segment are two short pointed projections ; the skin 

 has a slightly puckered appearance ; ground colour pale 

 green, strongly tinged with yellow, the segmental divisions 

 being of the latter colour ; a dark green pulsating vessel 

 forms the dorsal line, best seen in a young specimen, less 

 conspicuous as it approaches maturity ; no perceptible sub- 

 dorsal lines ; spiracular lines very narrow and indistinct, 

 faintly darker than the ground colour ; spiracles imper- 

 ceptible ; colour of the undersurface the same as the upper, 

 hut with a conspicuous central line of pinkish-brown ; legs, 

 prolegs, and anal points also pinkish-brown. (G. T. 

 Porritt.) 



June to August on sallow, alder, oak, birch, willow, and 

 other deciduous frees. 



Pi PA very slender, purple-brown, covered with a delicate 

 bloom. In a very slight open cocoon consisting of a few 

 threads of silk among grass-roots, moss, or bits of rubbish on 

 the ground — connnouly at the foot of a willow or poplar 

 tree. 



The moth hides during the day in thick bushes, and espe- 

 cially under any very dense shelter, such as chip-thatch or 

 faggot-thatch, or even under the roofs of buildings. It 

 hybernatos in outhouses or disused buildings, creeping under 

 rafters or tiles — both sexes — since it pairs in the spring. It 

 flies at dusk, and into the night, about shrubberies, lanes, 

 hedges, and woods, is strongly attracted by light, and also 

 exceedingl_v fond of the sweets of ivy-blossom in the autumn, 

 and sallow-bloom in the spring. Never very abundant, yet 

 fairly common throughout the southern half of England, 

 except that it seems to be scarce in Cornwall ; common also 



