330 LEPIDOPTERA. 



that the crimson-purple becomes dark pur])le, and the yellow 

 paler. Bod}- and leys dusky yellow ; hinder pair of legs 

 short. 



\ ery variable in the degree of yellow clouding. In the 

 South-east of England this is sometimes so much extended, 

 upon the fore wings, as to confine the crimson-purple colour 

 to the costal and hind marginal regions ; and Dr. P. B. Mason 

 possesses a specimen of which the wings are wholl}^ yellow 

 except the blackish-purple outer line on all the wings. On 

 the other hand specimens from the mosses of the North and 

 Korth-west of England are almost devoid of the yellow 

 clouding, the whole surface of the fore and hind wings being- 

 dull crimson-purple, except the discal and central spots, 

 which are now visible as yellow dots, and the cilia, which 

 remain narrowlv yellow. There is some intermediate varia- 

 tion, especially in specimens from the bogs of the New 

 Forest, but the general tendency is very strongly to these 

 local strains. 



On the wing at the end of June and in July. In con- 

 finement very casual specimens of a partial second genera- 

 tion have been reared in October. 



Lakva three-fourths of an inch long, slender, rather 

 flattened along the spiracles, tapering towards the head, 

 which is small, bifid, light brown ; the skin a little wrinkled, 

 either brown or very pale grey ; anterior and posterior seg- 

 ments much tinged with ochreous ; a blackish double dorsal 

 line commences very fine and faint on the second segment, 

 but on segments five to nine becomes suddenly thicker in 

 the middle of each and at the segmental fold, so as to form 

 a series of nine jiairs of dark curved dashes, alternately 

 curving inwards and outwards ; on segments ten to twelve 

 these dorsal lines become continuous again, but strong and 

 distinct ; the subdorsal line is blackish and distiuct on the 

 front and hind segments, but splits into two or three faint 

 irregular threads on the intermediate poi'tion ; spiracles 



