Ellofia. 297 



GEOMETRID.^. 



Body slender ; the wings large, broad, and delicate ; the fore-wings triangular, and the 

 hind-wings rounded, often with projecting angles, and extending as far or further than the 

 abdomen ; sometimes with nervule 5 much slenderer than the others ; the thorax rounded 

 in front, with the short collar and the scapulae adherent. The thorax and abdomen are not 

 crested, and the legs are short and slender ; the femora are seldom hairy. Some species, 

 however, resemble Notodontidm by their stout bodies and longer and stouter fore-wings ; 

 but they have no tuft of hair at the base of the antenna;, and their tarsi are much longer 

 than those of Notodonta. The larvJE have generally only one pair of prolegs on the loth 

 segment, and seldom a pair on the gth, or on the 8th also. They move very rapidly by 

 fixing their claspers close to their prolegs and strongly arching their bodies, which they 

 then extend in front and fix by their true legs, then draw up the claspers again, and 

 proceed as before ; whence they derive their names of Geometers, or Looper Caterpillars. 

 When at rest, they fix themselves by the claspers and prolegs only, and stretch their bodies 

 stiffly out, or curved in front, and in this position they greatly resemble twigs or leaf- 

 stalks ; and as these larvae are much relished by birds, their safety is believed to depend 

 mainly on this resemblance. The moths mostly fly at night, and generally expand their 

 wings flat when at rest, though some species hold them sloping, or erect them in the 

 manner of a butterfly. They also resemble butterflies by their broad and often brightly- 

 coloured wings and slender bodies, and are easily dislodged from their retreats during the 

 day by beating hedges and bushes ; or they may be found at rest on walls, tree-trunks, 

 &c. This large group is divided either into a number of subordinate families, or into two 

 main sections, and in the present worlv we have followed the latter arrangement. 



FAMILY I.— DENDROMETRID/E. 



The costal nervure of the hind-wings rises from the base, and is not united with the 

 subcostal nervure, or only for a short distance, and diverges from it much before the end 

 of the discoidal cell. In some species nervule 5 of the hind- wings is slenderer than the 

 other branches, and in others just as thick. The pattern generally consists of two transverse 

 lines and a central spot on the fore-wings, and a transverse line on the hind-wings. The 

 lines are counted from the base outwards, as first line, second line, &c., though they are 

 sometimes called inner, elbowed, and subterminal lines, as in the Nociuce. 



GENUS I. — ELLOPIA (TR.). 



Wings moderately broad ; the hind margin of the fore-wings nearly as long as the inner 

 margin, and both margins of the hind-wings of equal length ; the antennae of the male are 

 pectinated, and the femora are naked. The larvae have twelve legs, a round head, and two 

 points on the I2th segment. They undergo their transformations in a slight cocoon. 



*i. E. Prosapiaria (Linn.), Fasciaria (W. V.). — Fore-wings flesh-colour, darker in the 

 central area (leaf-green in the rare Southern variety Prasinaria, Hiibn.), which is bounded by 

 two white parallel transverse lines, the outermost continued on the hind-wings. Expands about 

 45 



