178 LEPIDOPTERA. 



brown triangle, its base resting on the black spiracalar streak ; 

 below is the bright yellow subspiracular stripe, its lower edge 

 gradually tinged with the brownish colour of the undersurface 

 (W. Buckler). 



June to August, on plantain, knotgrass, lettuce and other 

 low-growing plants, usually near marshy places, feeding at 

 night. 



PrPA of the ordinary nodua form, rather stout, surface 

 glosy, except the wing-covers, which are dull, from an 

 abundant but minute sculpture of irregular lines ; limb-covers 

 close and compact ; abdominal segments rather short and 

 close ; anal point rather broad and short, tapering to a blunt 

 tip, which has the usual terminal spikes extremely short and 

 but just appearing as a fork ; half way up the sides of this 

 anal triangle are two subsidiary minute points. General 

 colour dark red-brown or red-black, anal tip blackish. In a 

 brittle cocoon in the earth. 



In this state through the winter. 



The moth is rarelv seen in the davtime. hidingr amongr 

 herbage on the ground. It flies at dusk, sometimes early 

 dusk, comes freely to sugar and occasionally to light. It 

 more especially frequents marshy districts on the coasts, but 

 is found locally in similar places inland, yet is not much 

 addicted to fens. Usually scarce in the Southern Counties, 

 yet recorded in Kent, Sussex, Isle of "Wight, Dorset. Devon, 

 Gloucester and Somerset, and once in Cornwall. More widely 

 distributed in the Eastern Counties, and more frequent in the 

 neighbourhood of salt marshes. Eare in Berks, Oxfordshire, 

 Northampton shire, Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, 

 Herefordshire and Worcestershire; locally rather common in 

 Cheshire and Lancashire, and widely distributed in York- 

 shire, being in these counties especially attached to the 

 mosses. In South TS'ales it has been found, not rarely, in 

 Glamorganshire, and rather commonly near Laughame, on 

 tlie coast of Carmarthenshire. Verv rare in Scotland, but 



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