NUDARIA. 95 



BOMBYCES. 



Thirteen families are included under this heading ; and the two last families of the Sphinges 

 are very closely related to the two first of the Bombyces. As before, we shall treat of the families 

 of the Bombyces separately, as they differ widely, and to attempt to indicate common characters for 

 them would be unsatisfactory. 



FAMILY I.— LITHOSID^. 



Small or middle-sized moths with slender wings, of a yellow or grey colour, and occa- 

 sionally black. The fore-wings are generally either without markings or dotted with black, and 

 marked with zigzag transverse black lines in a few cases. The antennae are rather short and 

 thread-like, ciliated in the male ; the legs are slender, with depressed scales ; the front tibia; are 

 furnished with a leaf-like appendage, and the hind tibiae have four spurs. The abdomen is 

 sometimes shorter and sometimes a little longer than the hind-wings. The larvae have sixteen 

 legs, hairy worts, and a small, round head. They feed on lichens, and change to a thick 

 obtuse pupa, which is enclosed in a cocoon. In captivity they will eat withered lettuce-leaves. 

 The moths mostly fly at night, though some fly at twilight or in the daytime. They may often 

 be beaten from bushes or thickets, and generally simulate death in the net. 



GENUS I.— NUDARIA (STEPH.). 



Very delicate species with thinly-scaled wings. Fore-wings rounded at the tip and hind 

 margin ; pale, with rows of dark spots or transverse stripes ; hind-wings regularly rounded. 

 The larvae are rather flat, and covered with short hair. They hybernate when small, and change 

 to pup£ at the beginning of June. The moths (except Miirind) seldom expand much more 

 than three-quarters of an inch. They appear in July, and sit with their wings spread out flat. 



* I. N. Scncx (Hiibri.). — Fore-wings pale ochre-yellow, with a brown spot in the middle, 

 two rows of brown spots, and dark spots on the hind margin ; hind-wings paler, with a 

 brown spot in the middle, and one row of spots beyond. Widely distributed in Northern and 

 Central Europe and in the Alps, frequenting damp places in woods, but rarely common. The 

 larva is dark ashy-grey, with a blackish-brown head. 



2. N. Murina (Esp.). — Fore-wings pale yellowish-grey, with two rows of brown spots ; hind- 

 wings whitish, unspotted. Expands rather more than i inch. It is found throughout South 

 Europe and Western Asia, but is very scarce and local north of the Alps, though found as far 

 north as Frankfort, and in Holland. It often flies into lighted rooms. The larva is pale grey, with 

 two rows of sulphur-coloured spots on the back, and yellowish-grey warts. It feeds on lichens 

 growing on trees and rocks. 



* 3. N. Mundana (Linn.). — Fore-wings semi-transparent ; dull yellowish-grey, with a brown 

 spot in the middle, and two zigzag transverse stripes ; hind-wings without markings. Common 

 in Western and South-Eastern Europe. The larva is pale grey, with two rows of yellow spots 

 on the back, and a blackish transverse spot on the 7th segment. It feeds on lichens 

 growing on walls, rocks, and trunks of trees ; and the moth, which is figured at PI. 22, Fig. i, 

 may be found in similar places. 



