TRIFID^. i6i 



August to May, apparently feeding mainly on low plants, 

 sucli as clock, plantain, and knotgrass, in the autumn ; hyberna- 

 ting, and feeding in the spring, more especially on the opening- 

 buds of birch, but sometimes on those of hawthorn, sallow, 

 and bramble. Feeding at night, and readily obtained in the 

 spring on twigs and bushes of birch, on which it may some- 

 times be found in abundance till half grown ; after this great 

 numbers seem in this climate to die off. In the daytime it 

 hides close to the ground and will often form itself quite a 

 comfortable chamber in loose moss. 



PurA rather elongated, eye-covers prominent, smooth ; 

 wing and limb covers moderately glossy, but sculptured all 

 over with fine strife and pits, chocolate-red ; abdomen very 

 glossy, bright light chocolate-red, segments very mobile, 

 deeply divided and strongly rounded, stout, but the last three 

 tapering regularly off, the anal segment verging to a large 

 triangular deeply striate black process, or cremaster, which 

 is terminated by the usual pair of straight spikes, small 

 and bent at the tips. In a chamber formed among moss 

 on the ground or beneath the surface. Difficult to rear, a 

 large proportion apparently being killed by a fungoid growth 

 which quickly breaks up the whole substance. The time in 

 pupa otherwise is short, hardly more than a fortnight. 



The moth sits often in the daytime upon the trunks of 

 birch and other trees, and on fences near them, doubtless also 

 among dead leaves on the ground. It flies at dusk, and from 

 its light colour is then rather conspicuous, especially when 

 hovering about boggy ground among sweet gale and birch ; 

 but it comes readily to sugar, sits down pretty quietly, and 

 is not difficult to secure. Blossoms of 8ilnie. injiata also 

 attract it when growing at the edge of a wood. Almost con- 

 fined to birch woods and heathy or boggy land in which are 

 scattered birch bushes and trees. In such situations 

 moderately common in Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hants and 

 Essex ; very scarce in Dorset and Devon, though found near 



VOL. IV. L 



