SERICORID^—l'ENTHINA. 3O1 



In the beginning of May it rolls up leaves of bircb and 

 feeds therein ; also spins up to change to pupa in the leaf. 

 CW. Machin.j 



The moth sits during the day among the leaves, or on the 

 trunks, of birch trees and bushes, and from the brightness of 

 the white portions of its wings is very conspicuous ; except 

 when it elects to sit upon a bit of the white paper-like bark 

 of the tree, when it is equally well coixniled. If disturbed 

 it flies rather violently to another tree. At dusk it flies 

 around the birch tree.s. but rather too high to be easily 

 distinguished. Rather frequent among birch on commons in 

 the eastern and southern counties of England, and in 

 ^Middlesex, Somerset, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Che- 

 shire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, and Durham ; albO in Mon- 

 mouthshire, but not recorded, I think, elsewhere in Wales. 

 In Scotland it is found in Perthshire, Stirlingshire, Koss- 

 .shire, Dumbartonshire, and elsewhere in the Clyde districts : 

 but I have no record for Ireland. Abroad it inhabits Central 

 Europe, Northern Italy, and Finland. 



3. P. betulaetana, Hmr. — Expanse § to I inch ("15-22 

 mm.). Fore wings for two-thirds their length black-brown, 

 remainder pure white with numerous delicate grey lines ; 

 division very oblique and nearly straight. 



Antenna? reddish-lirown : palpi and head black-brown : 

 thorax similar, but dusted with white : crest large, black, 

 tipped with chestnut ; abdomen grey-brown ; anal tuft pale 

 brown. Fore wings rather broad ; costa arched ; apex 

 squared ; hind margin nearly pei-pendicular : mottled black- 

 brown from the base to beyond the middle, where this colour 

 is obliquely and rather straightly cut off, but enclosing some 

 white loops near the dorsal margin : remaining third snow- 

 white dappled with delicate curved lines of faint cloudy 

 grey dots, and having often in the middle a faint rosy cloud ; 

 cilia dull grey. Hind wings dark brown with a lighter 

 brown glo.ss ; cilia white. Female similar. Underside of 



