TRTFID^. 125 



yellow-bufF or creamy-white, with a tinge of olive-brown or 

 of dull red, which beyond the middle is gradually darkened 

 to the hind margin and apex ; no trace of any markings ; 

 cilia yellowish-drab or pale purplish-drab. Hind wings 

 rather ample ; hind margin faintly sinuous ; smoky-yellowish- 

 white or pale smoky-brown, darker down the middle from 

 the base to the hind margin ; nervures faintly paler ; cilia 

 white. Female a very little stouter, with a smaller anal tuft, 

 otherwise quite similar. 



Underside of the fore wings smoky-white with all the 

 margins whiter, and pale dashes running in between the 

 nervures from the hind margin ; hind wings silky- white. 

 Body and leg-tufts yellowish-white ; legs pale brown. 



Variation is in the lines already mentioned ; the ground 

 colour of the fore wings being tinged either with pale olive- 

 brown or with pale red or purplish-red or even approaching 

 to a bright pink. This brighter colour seems to be most 

 frequent in fens. 



On the wing in July and August, 



Larva rather slender, very slightly thickest in the middle ; 

 head small, with the lobes ovate, shining black ; dorsal plate 

 rounded at the back, shining dark brown ; anal plate brown- 

 black ; body yellowish-white ; dorsal stripe broad, hardly 

 paler ; on each segment, from the fifth to the twelfth, there 

 is on each side of it a pair of round black spots lying in a 

 large roughly rectangular purple-brown blotch, divided by 

 the subdorsal line, which is slender, yellowish-white ; across 

 the third and fourth segments is a row each of black spots ; 

 spiracles black ; legs dark brown ; prolegs and uudersurface 

 paler yellowish-white, the former rather constricted and 

 elongated, especially the anal pair, the others each with a 

 black spot on the base. 



August to June feeding within the stem of the reed 

 (Arundo ])]i'ra(jmitc6), eating out the heart-leaves and inner 

 substance of the stem, and when approaching full growth 



