26 LEPIDOPTERA. 



daytime ; probably it rests in trees. Its resemblance, when 

 quiescent, with its wings folded straight down, almost rolled 

 round its body, and coloured with different shades of umbreous 

 and black, to a bit of stick, is so close that it would almost 

 certainly pass unobserved. At night it frequents ivy-bloom, 

 and will come to sugar; it has also, though rarely, been 

 taken at sallow-bloom in the spring. A local species, and 

 usually scarce. To all appearance attached more especially 

 to chalky districts, aDd is more frequent in the West of 

 England than elsewhere. It has been found as near to 

 London as Lewisham, and elsewhere in Kent at Charlton, 

 Darenth, Dover, and Sheerness ; in Surrey, very rarely, at 

 Guildford, Mickleham, and Hampton Court ; also in Sussex, 

 Dorset, the south coast of Devon, Somerset, Wilts, Berks, 

 Bucks, Oxfordshire, Middlesex ; St. Ives, Hunts ; Whittles- 

 ford, Cambs; Suffolk, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worces- 

 tershire, and even Cumberland. There is a record of its 

 capture, commonly, at Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, which 

 record, had it been of its capture rarely, might have been 

 accepted, but I confess to a strong suspicion that the species 

 there taken was X. petrificata, in the darker variety known 

 in Wales. It does not appear to have been seen in Scotland. 

 Iu Ireland Mr. Kane records it as found in Galway and 

 rather commonly in Kerry. Abroad its range is through 

 Central and Western Europe, Southern France, and Austria. 



2. X. petrificata, Schiff. ; socia, Stand. Cat. — Expanse 

 1^ to If inch. Fore wings narrow, contracted behind ; 

 brownish-buff clouded a little with rust-red and sometimes 

 with black ; in the middle is a whitish dot and below it a 

 short similar curved streak. Hind wings pale brown with a 

 purple flush. 



Antennas simple, ciliated, dark brown, but toward the 

 under portion of the base clothed with white scales; palpi 

 broadly tufted, whitish-brown shaded outside with dark 

 umbreous ; apical joint prominent but blunt ; eyes naked, 



