SERICORIDM—PCECILOCHROMA. 353 



soft innei' substance of the gall. Spinning up in the larval 

 habitation. 



This moth is the most abundant of the Tortrices, which sit 

 by day upon the trunks of oaks in woods, and often is so 

 plentiful that it flies off in clouds in the face of an inquisitive 

 collector ; but it also frequents the lower branches, and is 

 sometinaes the greatest nuisance, from its numbers, with which 

 he has to contend. At dusk it often flies in myriads around 

 the branches of the same trees. Most plentiful in the 

 southern and eastern counties of England, but sufBciently 

 common throughout this country and South Wales; also in 

 the South of Scotland, though I find no record for the district 

 north of Aberdeen and Perthshire. In Ireland the records 

 include Cork and Antrim, and it probably occurs every- 

 where ; also found in abundance throughout the Continent 

 of Europe, except in the polar region. 



o. P. occultana, Dougl. ; pinicolana, Zdl. ; diniana, 



iSfcu'i/. Cut. — Expanse | inch (18 mm.). Fore wings long 

 and narrow ; pale grey, with dark slate-grey dorsal blotch 

 and central band. 



Antenna3 dark brown, barred with paler : palpi, head, and 

 thorax pale grey; abdomen grey-brown. Fore wings long 

 and rather narrow, costa flatly curved, apex bluutlj^ angu- 

 lated, hind margin oblique ; pale grey with hoary dusting ; 

 basal blotch large, dark slate colour or grey-black, sharply 

 angulated on its outer side ; closely followed by a large 

 grey-white dorsal blotch, having a rounded margin ; this is 

 edged on the outer side by a narrow, oblique, black-brown 

 central stripe or band ; apical area filled with slate-grey 

 clouding ; cilia grey. Hind wings with their cilia smoky 

 brown. Female similar or having the front edge of the 

 dorsal blotch more sharply marked. 



Underside of the fore wings glossy leaden-brown ; costa 

 dotted with white. Hind wings leaden-white. 



Decidedlj- variable in the dejDth and distinctness of the 



VOL. X. v. 



