ii8 LEP1D0PTERA. 



with a large orange spot in the middle of the fore wings. 

 Very dark forms are found in the North of Scotland. 

 On the wing in June and July. 



Larva stout with a bristly appearance from numerous stiff 

 short hairs, anterior segments rather tapering ; head small, 

 rounded, glossy green; mouth and a stripe on each side black ; 

 body pea-green with the dorsal surface almost white, having 

 broad dorsal and subdorsal lines and five intermediate loncn- 

 tudinal more slender lines white, so as to fairly crowd all this 

 portion of the body ; spiracular stripe yellowish-white ; spi- 

 racles yellowish-white, edged with brown; undersurface darker 

 green. Sometimes the central dorsal line is deeper green 

 and the white stripes become rather more lateral, or are 

 reduced in number, to the increase of the green area. 



Mr. Porritt says that the newly hatched larva is greyish- 

 white, indistinctly spotted with black, and with the segmental 

 divisions smoke-colour. 



August to May, hibernating when little more than half an 

 inch in length. On honeysuckle, white dead-nettle, common 

 avens, cow-parsley, groundsel, and other herbaceous plants; 

 feeding mainly at night and hiding frequently under the 

 leaves of the food-plants by day. 



Pupa of the usual form, provided with a thick tongue-case, 

 projecting beyond the wing-covers, in front of the abdominal 

 segments ; wing-covers, back of the thorax, and the tongue- 

 case, dull pitchy-black, remaining surface rather more glossy 

 brown-black, almost devoid of sculpture ; cremaster black, 

 short, thick, and rather bulbous, with very short hooked 

 bristles. In a thin but tough dirty-white cocoon, under a 

 leaf or among rubbish on the ground. 



The moth hides in the daytime among herbage, often in 

 the more bushy annuals in gardens or the plants on hedge 

 banks. At dusk it flies actively to flowers of honeysuckle, 

 turn-cap lily, thistle, nettle, Lychnis, and probably to any 



