256 LEPIDOPTERA. 



Cross — twenty years later, wrote of it: "The best time for 

 capturing these moths is when the sun shines a little, but 

 the weather is otherwise cold ; they may then be seen running 

 over the surface of the moss ; when approached they almost 

 invariably ran in among moss which was nearly of their own 

 colour, and secreted themselves. The females were much 

 more rare than the males." I am not aware that this 

 habit of running over the moss in cold sunshine has been 

 again observed. 



Its range in these Islands appears to be limited to the 

 mountains of Perthshire, Inverness, Aberdeenshire, Banff- 

 shire, Sutherlandshire, Ross-shire, and Argyle. Abroad it is 

 found in Norway and Lapland, the mountains of Galicia, 

 and the summits of the Alps and Pyrenees. 



Genus 41. ABRAXAS. 



Antennae simple, strongly ciliated in the male ; palpi 

 minute ; head small, smooth, rather depressed ; thorax iiot 

 stout, smooth, but with loosely raised shoulder-lappets ; 

 abdomen smooth, very cylindrical and even in thickness; 

 fore wings broadly ovate, devoid of the usual defined lines ; 

 hind wings broad and rounded; all weak in texture, their 

 margins even. 



LAKViE rather short and thick, without humps, brightly 

 coloured, and with black markings. 



PUP^ in slight cocoons ; upon the food plants and neigh- 

 bouring objects, or among rubbish on the ground. 



Our two species are perfectly easy to discriminate, the 

 ground colour of all their wings is white ; A. grossitlariata 

 has a yellow stripe and numerous black spots ; A. ulmata 

 faintly a cloudy-grey stripe, and large rounded bistre-brown 

 blotches. 



1. A. grossulariata, L, — Expanse li to 1^ inch. All 

 the wings white ; at the base of the fore wings, and again 



